Impressions of WAR
Today I'm going to spend some time giving my impressions of WAR so far. Having played in the CE beta and preview weekend, I may not have as much experience as some of the old school closed beta testers, but I got a chance to really capture a cross-section of the game, and today I'm going to share my impressions.
Well... first things first.
Character Creation
This is, in my opinion one of the most important parts of any MMO. It's that first impression the user gets about their character, and the look and feel of the game. WAR's character creator, like many others offers variations from the neck up. These include general options like:
- hair
- face
- eye color
- hair color
However there are also options which are specific to each race. For example, greenskins have tooth color, dwarves have metal color options for their beard accessories, high elves have tiara options, etc... This is satisfactory for me, but not what I would call excellent.
It's a step forward from WoW's customization possibilities, but it's a step backward from their previous game, DAOC. In DAOC you were able to change eye size, eye height, mouth size, character height, nose size/shape, and even your general expression can be changed from slightly happy all the time, all the way to slightly pissed off all the time. So all in all, it's good, but I fully expect that they will improve upon it, at which time they will grant all characters an appearance re-spec.
Loading Screens/Times
WAR's loading screens are simple, and effective. They show the area you're entering with images and text that explains the history of the zone. This allows users to become more immersed in the fiction, and even has a ever-changing tip section that helps new users to learn about the game.
The loading times are (as those of you who've seen my videos will know) not terribly long when the server is not being stressed, however they can be a bit long when the server is being bombarded with people signing in. Luckily for us, they are using the head start as a way to both reward pre-order and collector's edition users, and also stagger the launch over the period of a week to avoid a... well... clusterfuck. Still, you can expect that on the 15th there will be an increase in loading times due to the fact that anyone can, and probably did pre-order if they're into MMOs.
Starting Out
When first entering the World of WAR (excuse the partial blasphemy), users can expect a very intuitive experience. In each race's starting area there is a quest NPC that is located within clicking range of your character. This NPC will give a few quests that are located in the immediate area.
These quests are designed to get you right into the battle, while also help you learn the basics of gameplay. There will be a few "kill this many invading enemies" quests, however the method you use to kill them will vary. In some quests you must slay them the traditional way, with brute force. In other quests you will learn to use siege weaponry to kill them. This will be infinitely useful in RvR, so it's great that they teach you how to use them right away.
One of the elements of WAR that is a first of it's kind, is the ability to join PvP battles at lvl1.
When first entering the game, you can click on the "join scenario" button, and when a slot opens, you will be whisked away to a pvp match. Don't worry though, it will "Bolster" (a buff) your level to match the average level in the scenario. You won't be a badass, but you certainly won't die in one hit either.
You will notice also that public quests are explained early on. There's 1 major public quest that is usually located just a short walk from the starting area. The trend with these public quests is usually several stages of killing NPCs of the enemy race in your racial pairing, followed by a very large monster. In dark elf and high elf areas for example it is a dragon-type mob.
Public Quests
Public quests have their own UI element that will pop up when in a PQ area. This quest indicator explains what stage of the PQ you are on, and what the current objectives need to be completed. If there is a time limit for the current stage, it will also be displayed.
Overall, public quests are simple to understand, but require progressively more teamwork and strategy to complete.
They are perfect for people who love to explore because they're located everywhere in the world, and each one has a new adventure to offer, without all the hassle of normal questing.
Tome of Knowledge
This handy UI element takes all sorts of important information and useful utilities, and combines them all into an easy to navigate compendium of knowledge. Quests, titles, lore, Important NPCs, even a list of all the monsters you've encountered. Everything can be tracked and referrenced in this handy book. This is also where you will manage things like titles, and which quests you're tracking via your map and UI. I really like this design, and it speaks volumes about how much thought has been put into this game.
Stay Tuned for Part2 of my first impressions when I discuss general gameplay, RvR, scenarios, and more!
WAAAGH,
MAUL0r
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