By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), Onrpg writer
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is an MMORPG by Mythic entertainment that is based on the tabletop game Warhammer of Games Workshop.
The game revolves around the world where chaos has erupted and the two forces, the order and the destruction are in constant battle to gain supremacy against each other. Your character takes part in all of this as one of races that belong to these two realms, and your overall goal is to take part in the battles ahead.
Factions, races and job class
Warhammer Online has a very expansive universe when it comes to its character and job class. Each faction has three reaces attuned to it, for the Order you have the Dwarves, the High Elves and the Empire while for Destruction you have the Greenskins, The Chaos and the Dark Elves.
Each race in Warhammer Online has four job classes, or as the game calls them ‘careers’. Each career is exclusive for that race. Levels in Warhammer Online are classified as Ranks and like your typical MMO, your character ranks up via RvR, quests, Killing monsters or other players in the world. As you rank up you earn mastery points that you can allocate in your character’s skills.
Unlike in most MMOs out where there’s always a counterpart of a certain job in either gender, there are career and races in Warhammer Online that are unique to each race and sometimes are restricted to only a certain gender. Take that Disciples of Khaine, a career that is offered for the Chaos are only female while sorcerers, also of the same race can either be male or female.
Game features and controls
Almost everything is integrated in Warhammer Online, finishing public quests not only helps your character out in leveling and getting items, you also help out your realm in the overall battle of supremacy as every finished public Quest earns your realm victory points that helps in zone control.
Another unique feature in Warhammer Online is the Action Points system. The AP system is the points you use up as you act in the manner of attacks or skills against other monsters in the game. If you use up the points you can’t do anything except move and talk to NPCs, however the points recover fast so you would barely notice it.
Warhammer Online’s other key feature is the live cities. The sceneries of your cities change depending on what the war effort is like. If your faction is doing well the sceneries around your city along with the sceneries of the other races that belong to your faction too, the more prosperous your city is means that your realm is doing well.
RvR?
RvR or Realm vs. Realm is the bread and butter of Warhammer Online. They are instanced-pvp battles between the forces of the Order and the Destruction.
The goals you have in RvR vary and it depends on what kind of RvR you choose to join. There are three general types RvR you can choose to join are, the Scenarios, Keep and Castle Seige. You earn experience, renown, gold, weapons, items and the chance on helping out your realm and turn the tides of war in your favor as you participate and win.
What’s beautiful about RvR is that you do not do it alone. You work with people who participate in your realm towards a common goal which is varies depending on the RvR instance you join.
Conclusion
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning’s bread and butter in the MMO scene is that is has one of the most refined pvp system in the market to-date. The game’s Realm vs. Realm battles has been beautifully entwined into the gameplay that you would not experience the fun of playing Warhammer Online if you do not take part in it.
The game is so pvp oriented that even newly created characters can immediately join the Realm vs. Realm fray. You don’t have to actually kill the players from the other faction as your way of contributing to the battle, you can take key positions or defend or even stay in the sidelines as a spy or observer of some sort that would help in coordinating your realm-mates, everyone has a job or two in the RvR regardless of whatever rank you are in.
Another good feature in Warhammer Online is that the game feels that you really belong to the race you are in. Everything you do, even the public quests you finish helps out your realm earn victory points. This makes your game experience more enjoyable.
Another thing good about in participating in RvRs is that you earn experience faster compared to doing quests. As long as your realm is doing good in the RvR you are in the experience points come racking in. Not only that, you can earn items, weapons, gold and renown too as well.
However, the RvR shortcut may in fact cause players to not enjoy everything Warhammer Online has to offer. You should remember that even if the game is RvR concentrated it is still an MMORPG, meaning quests and the story itself must also be put into consideration. Warhammer Online’s Lore is rich and huge that rivals even the biggest of MMO titles in the market right now, the problem is that you may possibly enjoy RvR-ing more than going through the whole Warhammer Online Universe which is the whole point of an MMORPG anyway.
You have to make sure though that the server you play in WAR has a large population. This is main problem I see in Warhammer Online. You don’t get to enjoy the whole game experience if you’re in a sparsely populated server being that the game relies heavily on player to player interaction.
The game has huge lore base, it has unique features that are exclusively for the game, Warhammer Online has made in fact a lot of things right however, being that the game is heavily reliant to the server population is still a matter to be considered. If you are a battle junkie or someone who craves to wars or something in those lines then WAR: Age of Reckoning is the game for you.
Pros:
– Rich gaming environment
– RvR battles keep the game upbeat and exciting
– The ever changing surroundings livens the whole experience
Cons:
– The controls makes the game seem less of an RPG
– The Action Point system may confuse new players specially those who are not familiar with the tabletop game
– Quests seem pointless especially with the amount of experience you gain in RvR battles
