The end is nigh…a new beginning
Relax. The world isn’t about to end if that’s what you were thinking, at least not to my knowledge, nor is this a religious diatribe. But some virtual worlds are about to end, at least for me.
Today I cancelled my subscriptions, and I had a couple. I’d reactivated my Sony Station Access in a 2am drunken frenzy because I thought I wanted to play EQ2 and Pirates of the Burning Sea again. I didn’t, so it was a waste of money, but then I seem to have a talent for flushing cash down the toilet.
I haven’t finished playing anything yet because I still have time left on my subs, but I’m winding down in preparation for Warhammer. So Age of Conan, your time is up. I’d like to say I have mixed feelings about AoC, that it was a love/hate relationship, but I just wasn’t that passionate about it. I didn’t love it, and I didn’t hate it. I did enjoy my time in Hyboria but not enough to keep paying for it; it’s just not that good. Who knows, perhaps I’ll reactivate my account in another 2am drunken frenzy some time down the track. I did meet some great people though, and I’ll miss them. On the plus side, I have a new online best friend *waves to Keiri* and the two of us are going to try WAR together. This is nice for me because my wife doesn’t play games period, and most of my friends are either console nerds or playing WoW. So I’ll have someone who I can hopefully duo with some of the time and we can level up together, avoiding to a large extent the solo side of MMOs that doesn’t appeal to me.
So Keiri and I have been discussing the classes we might play and what combinations might make for a good duo and desirable to groups. I’ve narrowed it down to three and I know you’re all just dying to know what they are and the dizzying intellectual considerations that brought me to these determinations.
Shadow Warrior – The High Elf ranger/scout/archer type. I played an Albion scout in Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC) for a while and enjoyed it. The SW might be a good choice for the RvR aspects of WAR. The only trepidation I have is that I’ve never enjoyed the ranger classes in any other MMOs I’ve played.
Swordmaster – Another High Elf class (sheesh, I don’t know why) this is one of the Order’s tanks. I played a monk in EQ2 up to level 50 and enjoyed that also, but ended up focusing on my Inquisitor (healer) as a main. With the loss of the Knight of the Blazing Sun, the other Order tank, I foresee a shortage of these on the side of good. I’m not into playing dwarves so this is the only other tank option. It’s always good to have a tank for PvE and they’re not the first to die in PvP. A shortage of tanks should guarantee me a group should I choose to play one. Destruction should have a plentiful supply of tanks, with the Chosen receiving a lot of attention to date.
Disciple of Khaine – Top of my list so far, the Dark Elf healer. What’s not to like about these evil buggers. These guys look cool and the DE zones look good. I’m a healer from way back and these guys are the healers of choice for me. My only concern, and this applies to both Order and Destruction, is the popularity of WAR’s healers, which seems quite high. I don’t want a repeat of AoC where I often couldn’t get a group because they already had three healers. How they perform in PvP is also a concern, healers make great targets.
So that’s where I’m at for the moment. A lot will depend on what Keiri chooses of course, but I guess it really just comes down to deciding on Order or Destruction.
Just a little off topic, we were at a friend’s place last night for dinner and were discussing a weekend to go away together to one of the nearby wine regions. I work many weekends so my availability is paramount. Someone suggested the weekend of 19, 20, 21 September. My response? “No I can’t, that’s the worldwide launch of Warhammer”. Blank stares and an audible sigh from the wife.
Comments
Comment from 
caliga
Time: August 18, 2008, 12:10 am
Yes my download speed sucks, if I have to download the whole thing it’ll take me days 
Comment from Openedge1
Time: August 18, 2008, 4:29 am
Yet, my wife would have been like…”No way …WAR launches”, and I would have sighed…lol
Anyways, well, I am sorry about AoC. I know you really wished to give them your support, but how can you support that friend that you tell “Hey you have to stop using drugs”, they say “Ok”, then pull out a needle in front of you and use again.
A great guild probably helped, but in the end, the game itself also needs to be fun, and Funcom totally ruined that aspect.
Good luck in WAR, and thank you for buying it so I don’t have to.
Comment from Keiri
Time: August 18, 2008, 2:02 pm
I am lucky enough to be married to a gamer also, but he’s not as into it as I am. So…it’s kinda reversed with him being the one who giggles at my gaming urges. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to log in and get my character name before we have to leave on vacation on Sept. 20. I know, I know, don’t kill me, Cal ok? We had the vacation booked before the launch date went out and there’s no way to reschedule! 
That’s why I put in my preorder so I can get into the headstart! *does a little dance*
I’m actually considering the Witch Elf for Destruction, and the Witchhunter for Order. After a lengthy chat last night, though, I think I’m more interested in playing on the Destruction side. I try not to ponder too much about what this means about my inner personality. *shifty eyes*
I’m glad to have a friend to try this new game out with. I share a lot of Cal’s feelings about AoC. I was sooo excited about it–had been waiting for over a year to play, counted down, the whole thing. I wanted to love it. I did. And I met some amazing folks and joined a great guild, which I am very sorry to leave. But the gameplay wasn’t there, it couldn’t keep me interested in the end. =/
I’m holding my expectations in check for WAR, and just keeping a cautiously optimistic attitude. I’ve never played WoW, so I’m one of the fortunate few who can’t say “OMG this looks just like WoW!” because I have no idea what WoW looks like. It will be all new to me, at any rate. *grin*
At any rate, I’m excited to try something new with a talented gamer and rp’er. *pokes Cal* Thanks for letting me tag along.
Comment from Theresa
Time: August 18, 2008, 2:58 pm
Hi there! I get updates from Google as to who writes about Pirates of the Burning Sea. I work for Flying Lab and I just got back from GenCon Indy. You should try PotBS again, drunk or sober! We have lots of updates to the game if you haven’t played in a while, many of the people who stopped by the booth were happy with what we’ve done to the game since release. Check it out this September for even more improvements, and Talk Like a Pirate Day. 
Comment from
caliga
Time: August 18, 2008, 3:58 pm
@Theresa
I did try it again only the other night for about an hour. Afraid to say it didn’t do anything for me, the swashbuckling was frustrating, and I spent more time zoning then doing anything else. I think I’m done with that game forever
@Openedge
How could I not buy it after your heartfelt request earlier. Anything for you mate
@Keiri
NOOOOO!!!! Are you kidding? You wouldn’t believe this, but I just put in for a few days off over the following week of release. And you won’t be there *shakes fist*.
Someone’s going to have a lot of making up to do *shifty eyes*
Comment from Keiri
Time: August 18, 2008, 4:00 pm
One thing that I find interesting (though mildly disappointing) is that you can only roll one alignment per server. If you roll Destruction on the server of your choice, you are prohibited from playing an Order-aligned character on that same server. Now, I TOTALLY think this is a good thing, because it out and out helps cut down a bit on cheating, even though I know that yes, people who want to cheat WILL find a way. I remember a scandal back on the Venekor server in EQ2 a long time ago where a guild was basically farming for pvp tokens, which were used to buy gear. They had alts on both sides and would take turns meeting up to “kill” their alts. They were able to easily obtain a bunch of tokens and get the great pvp gear with no work whatsoever. I don’t remember the ultimate outcome, but there was a HUGE stink over it and I’m pretty sure the cheaters got in trouble with SOE over it. So I get why you can’t have more than one alignment per server.
HOWEVER, it’s going to be stinky having to roll on different servers to try the different classes. I plan on having a Dark Elf as my “main” but I’d love to try the Witch Hunter and possibly the Warrior Priest as well, which are, of course, an Order-aligned classes. Ah well, once I figure it out (hopefully during open beta if I can ever get the dumb download manager to work) and then can roll/re-roll accordingly.
Comment from
caliga
Time: August 18, 2008, 4:10 pm
I hadn’t looked into this Keiri but that’s how it was in DAoC so I naturally assumed it would be the same for WAR. I understand the reasons too but it does suck to have to play on a different server, or do what I did in DAoC, and delete all my toons and reroll (I did that when server populations were starting to hurt, pre clusters - DAoC players will know what I’m talking about).
So it means that we need to fully commit to one side/race and see it through. Dark Elves FTW!
Comment from Kindramera
Time: August 18, 2008, 9:57 pm
I ordered the CE today from gamesmen if anyone is still looking :)(http://www.gamesmen.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=21398)
Comment from
caliga
Time: August 18, 2008, 10:30 pm
Interesting, and it’s $20 cheaper than EB Games.
Comment from Openedge1
Time: August 19, 2008, 9:18 am
PS: Guys left AoC just in time…
Mass exodus, as todays patch did not include the PvP changes…AGAIN!
OUCH.
Now, as to the good/evil servers situation. Very novel. I never played DAoC (ok, I trialed it, but got bored too quickly), and since the issue has been population for the Good/Evil classes, this could be well done in my opinion.
Of course I expect full reports from you kids, and I am actually excited to read how you guys handle the situation of RvR!!!
Comment from Keiri
Time: August 19, 2008, 9:44 am
@Openedge: I was wondering what they’d do with the patch today. I spent a few minutes perusing the general forums yesterday to get a little feel for what the concerns were, and this patch seemed to be a big turning point for some folks as to whether or not they’d deliver in time to keep the mass exodus from occurring. I don’t usually go the general boards because they tend to be full of either trolls or fanboi’s, but if you read between the lines, you can sometimes get a grip on what the underlying issues are.
I foresee some server consolidations coming rapidly. =/ Geez. I’m kinda sad. Even though I had already decided to move on, I had hopes they’d right the ship sooner rather than later.
As for RvR, I plan on handling it this way: If they aren’t Destruction, they need to die.
We need a few more people to get our guild up and running, Openedge. You sure you don’t want to pre-order? *hint hint*
Comment from
caliga
Time: August 19, 2008, 3:36 pm
Well I’d cancelled my account already and it expires this Saturday I think. I’m hoping to get in a couple of times before then and I’m interested in the class balancing that the patch notes hint at. When I submitted my user survey that came in my email some time ago, and when I completed the questionairre on cancellation, I was highly critical of the combat dynamics and particularly of the priests. Maybe it’s just me that thinks the healers are overpowered nukers and underperforming healers but I like to think not.
Comment from Openedge1
Time: August 20, 2008, 6:47 am
@caliga
Not just you I’m afraid. But, since the gem duping bug, Guardians have taken over with 1 shot kills guaranteed thanks to the gems being stackable. Now the Guardians are the overpowered, and ToS being second thanks to massive AoE damage.
Mind you, this is PvP as well, for PvE, overpowered grays were the issue, and mobs were hoss..
@Keiri
I am tempted, as I am really into a RP guild myself. My issue is if I can handle another standardized MMO (like WoW, LOTRO, EQ2, Vanguard)
But, you guys will be the first I check with if I do join..
Cheers
Comment from
caliga
Time: August 20, 2008, 3:44 pm
Awesome Openedge, we’ll keep you updated on how it’s all going in any case. Still in the very early planning stages.
BTW I pre-ordered my copy of WAR yesterday. I won’t be in on this weekends test but should hopefully get a look in during the open beta.
Comment from Kindramera
Time: August 17, 2008, 9:56 pm
lmao. He he, wont it take your computer 2 days to download it all anyway?