MMO Gamers

Having dinged both level and renown rank 15 yesterday I thought I’d share my adventures of the past week.  Also the fact that I’ve been awful at blogging of late but I’ll blame that on two things;  (a) having an absolute blast in Warhammer, so much so that I can’t sit at the computer and NOT play and (b) being so incredibly busy with running a guild that I couldn’t bear to stare at a computer screen to blog.

Beyond level 5 you really start to get a feel for your character and familiarise yourself with the game mechanics.  All through Tier 1 I did a bit of everything; quests, public quests, RvR, everything except crafting.  For some reason I just can’t get motivated to craft.  And in any case, there’s just been too much to do.

RvR is really the shining light in this game and really takes me back to Dark Age of Camelot, minus the buffbots and twinked assassins.  In fact, I was enjoying the RvR so much that during the quiet times I would wander over to Chrace on my level 8 DoK and over to the High Elf area.  I’m playing on Phoenix Throne and that’s not an Open RvR server so I couldn’t attack anyone, technically.  Of course, I could flag myself for RvR and then stand in an aggressive manner near an Order dude, and as sure as the sun comes up every morning, they would attack me.

And I learned that in a one-on-one fight I can take on anybody, even those a level or two higher.  Swordmasters, Archmages, Shadow Warriors, cake if I can close the distance.  Even in the scenarios I can beat Witch Hunters, Engineers, Bright Wizards; even the dwarf tank.  The only classes that provide a tough fight are the White Lions and the Warrior Priest.  Now that I’m in Tier 2 the fights are tougher.  At level 15 I just can’t seem to do any damage to the level 20 guys, even though my stats are “raised” to level 18.  I’ve been specializing as a healer so I’ve started to hang back and play a more traditional healer role, rather than trying to kill people.

I’ve also learned some tactics and a couple of morale abilities.  Morale abilities really add something extra to combat, and they can be a real “get out of jail free card”.  One of my morale abilities is a big heal and the other does AoE damage and heals the group also.  Tactics allow you to set yourself up for combat and focus on various things.  For instance, I can have one set of tactics which increase the healing I do to myself or another where my damage is increased by 25%.

I have noticed that now that I’m in Tier 2 it’s harder to complete PQ’s then it was in Tier 1 for lack of players participating.  This isn’t due to a low population; Phoenix Throne is full to capacity.  I suspect that it’s more a case of the level ranges spreading more, from the hardcore gamers working through Tier 3 and the casual gamer still in Tier 1.  Also the popularity of RvR might be pulling players away from questing.  It’s a shame because the PQ’s offer good rewards once you complete the Chapter.  I’ve introduced a Monday Night PQ night for our guild so we can work through the Tier 2 and 3 Chapters, and our first one was quite popular.   I ended up getting a very groovy pair of boots and robe as an upgrade.  Woot!