News from the Front 5/28

It's the last few days of May, which means a new Producer's Letter should be out anytime now.  I'm looking forward to it but it will be tough for Mythic to top 1.3.5.  Speaking of the new patch, it seems most people are still having a blast.  Continue on for this weeks News from the Front.

Mythic

• It is Pink for Tink week in WAR's Blogger Roll Call.  Be sure to go buy your special dyes while you can!
• A new hot fix was released.  A bug was fixed which should reduce some of the high damage players were seeing. 

New WAR Blogs

• Welcome to Artiee Punts!  He likes to punt people.  Also welcome to Critical Hit!  New WP and a lot of pictures. 

Articles

• Bootae tells us about his first few days with 1.3.5   Could this be the best patch, ever?  I think it ranks up there.
• The WAR Bureau talks about character naming in WAR.  Some of my guys are a variation of the name Werit.  Others are random and still others actually make sense with the career.
• Grimnir ponders whether PvE is for suckers.  Of course it is!  Ok that might not be true and I may be a bit biased.  I just don't like having to depend on the RNG to get a piece of equipment, it only leads to frustration. 
• How is Open (World) RvR doing these days?  One Shard has some pictures (hint: it's packed).
• Rancid (known scrub) gives us his impressions of the new city siege.  It isn't perfect, but it can be very fun.
• Did you know they made a movie about Ironbreakers?  He is a little on the tall side for a Dwarf, and was that a VHS tape?

Videos

• Two Warrior Priests versus a lot of Destro.  Great video which shows that numbers are not the only thing that matter.  Music Warning, so you might want to  turn down those speakers.  Great, now I want to put more time in on my WP.
• The Inquisitors brings us a video about Boss #5 in ToVL.  I've fought this guy once, with a single tank, and it was a bit of a pain.  We just could not get both champs to stick on the tank. 
• Grudge take their group to Tier 3 for some RvR.  Nice video,  due in no small part to the Engineers.  There is some WW2 footage in there too. Might want to turn down the speakers for this one too. 
• A tribute to Orcs.  Video is made up of a few games, all involving Orcs.  Music warning, but it works with the Orcs. 

Addons

• Unbearable is a one click way to assign Standard bearing roles.
• Casualties of WAR (not the guild) was updated this week.
• EveryBodyGuard, a nice guard management addon, received an update this week. 

Feedback

In the past few weeks, the News from the Front's have gotten pretty big and that is with me leaving stuff out.  It's been a good indicator that the WAR community is growing.  This week I am trying to make it a bit smaller and hopefully more enjoyable.  What do you guys think?

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Contest Reminder

Just a quick reminder, this weeks WAR contest will be ending tomorrow morning ( 5/27/2010 ) at 8am EDT.  I'll send the winner a notification soon after.  To enter, all you have to do is send me what you like about WAR's 1/3/5 patch.  Check out the full details!

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Choices

One thing I love about MMO's is the amount of choices they tend to offer.  Race, class, skill trees and gear are just a few choices which are usually offered.  WAR is no exception but puts a PvP spin on theirs.  In the next few weeks, I have some important choices to make involving my Engineer.

My guild was organizing a Lost Vale run on Tuesday night and I went along.  I have never done a real run of LV, so this was the first time I cleared the left and right wings.  It was getting late, so I skipped the middle.  Overall, It was fun but not very challenging. 

Much to my delight, an epic spanner ( Earthkeeper Greatwrench ) dropped.  This turned out to be a nice upgrade from my Onslaught Spanner.  It also raised some questions.  My plan was to get the Invader level scenario weapon to replace my melee weapon.  Now there is really no need to do that.  The scenario weapon does have 2% ranged crit on it, so it is still a little tempting.

Since I won a Warlord weapon during the city siege, I won't need to get the Invader insignia rifle either.  Guess it will be a trophy for me so I can start working on Warlord insignias.  I'm in no rush though, these weapons should last me quite a while.

With these upgrades, Tirew is fast approaching the Ballistics cap of 1050 (1032 at the moment).  To make it even more interesting, I should be able to wear 3 pieces of Warlord soon as well.  Replacing my 2-piece Conqueror set with Warlord/Invader will likely put me over the cap.

Being close to the cap means I can start to look at replacing my talismans and accessories.  My first thought is to get a couple armor talismans into the mix.  I could also use more ranged power which doesn't have a cap.  To improve my survivability, the new accessories could be used as well.

Another decision I am mulling over is whether to use one of the new AP reducing talismans (Aptitude) instead of my Bandolier tactic.  Using the talisman would free up a tactic and a mastery point.  It is awful tempting, but there are some downsides.  The talisman only reduces AP costs by 10% (versus 35% on grenade abilities).  It also decays and costs 25 Officer medallions every 8 hours of game time.

Making these kind of choices is a lot of fun for me.  I don't like seeing templates, best specs and so on.  Figuring out what works and what is fun is a big part of the game in my opinion.  I don't care if what I run is optimal, so long as it is enjoyable.

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Clone Respeccing

For the past few weeks I have been playing a bit more of Fallen Earth.  I've actually played the game since launch and have never really quit.  One of the things I like about FE is that compared to most modern MMO's it is quite complex due to the skill system.  As a result, I was very happy when they announced a one time respec. 

Spending points on skills is a critical decision, so I should come up with a clear direction for my character.  Luckily my guy just made level 5 so he could use the re-spec.  Yea, that sounds like a low rank but I've spent most of my time trying to raise all of my tradeskills.  I've always wanted to take Fallen Earth slow because I knew they would be making good improvements as time goes on.

My plan is to have a crafter who can also participate in PvP.  I don't expect to dominate in combat, but I would like to be competitive on occasion.  Since crafting is my primary goal, Intelligence and Perception are the main stats I need to concentrate on.  They will both raise my skill cap for all of the tradeskills. 

I find melee is the easiest way to handle combat in FE so far.  I think many crafters go down that path, but it's just not for me.  Don't get me wrong, beating up people with a golf club is good old fashioned fun but I'm a rifle kinda guy. Perception is used in determining the rifle skill cap, so crafting should help me there too.

In the above image, you'll notice I put points into Athletics.  These were likely a mistake and the reason I am using the the respec.  With a skill based game, it usually is important that you focus on as little goals as possible.  Jack of all trades characters often have a difficult time later in the game.

The only skill I need to put points into at the moment is Armor Use.  If I don't, the armor I currently wear would be useless.  My crossbow only requires the Rifle stat to be at 15, so no more points needed just yet.  That is all the points I need to spend right now which leaves me 25 left over.  I plan on assigning those as I need them.

Now that my character is set, I will be moving on to some spring cleaning.  More about that next time!

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Special Dyes

A new hot fix hit the live servers today.  There are a bunch of nice fixes, like career trainers in the new city instances, and there was one special announcement.  For a short time, two new dye colors will be available for purchase.

The new colors are pink and purple.  These are not really traditional colors of war, but they do serve a special purpose.  The vendors offer a pretty good clue as they contain the name Tink.  It is a very nice gesture from Mythic to show their support for Tink (and everyone else) with their struggle against cancer. 

A guildie, Tzudevil, contributed this picture of his Archmage:

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Deadly Embrace

Khaines Embrace made a triumphant return to WAR a couple weekends ago during the Weekend Warfront. I have to admit, I was not a big fan of this scenario in Tier 1.  However, in Tier 4 I actually had a really good time playing it again.  I took some video of my Engineer, Ironbreaker and Rune Priest playing this scenario, which is after the break.

High Quality stream: Part 1 and Part 2

Youtube version: 



The action was pretty intense at times, I completely forgot that the objectives exploded on more than one occasion.  Now that 1.3.5 has gone live, we should see some more new scenarios during the Weekend events. I really hope they address the rewards soon, I didn't even bother collecting mine.  On the plus side, that means I just played because it was so fun.

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That's right

I like the new mount.  You might too if you had been using a gyro-copter for almost 2 years.  My mount capable alts are all Dwarfs, so this is the first time I have really ridden a horse.  Sure it would be more appropriate for our Elven "friends", but I am secure in my Dwarfhood and still I carry a big gun.

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Contest: Best Part of 1.3.5

Now that 1.3.5 has arrived, I think it is time for another contest.  I'm pretty excited about this one since the prizes are open to both NA and EU markets!  I'm going to try something new for this contest, so continue on for all of the details.

NOTE: The contest has ended.  Check back soon for the next one!

Choice of Prizes?

As I mentioned, prizes are open to both NA and EU subscribers. With your entry, please include which prize you would like and whether or not you play the NA or EU version of WAR.  Prizes to choose from:

• Humble Indie Gaming Bundle.  License key for 5 popular Indie games. Proceeds went to charity and the developers.
• WAR Item Code: Rivenstaff's Deck of Eight and Bottomless Custard
• WAR Item Code: Skaven Skin Cloak

How do I enter?

Send your entry to contests@weritsblog.com with a subject of "Best Part of 1.3.5"  The contest will end Friday morning (May 28, 2010) at 8am EDT.  I will pick a random entry from those that submitted one.

Best Part of 1.3.5

The question you need to answer is, what is the best part of 1.3.5? 

My answer would be the new options.  The new city siege opened up the possibility of earning Warlord and Sovereign gear.  Also, the new potions, accessories and mount provide more options for building my characters.  

When the contest ends, I may re-post some of the answers.  Thanks to Mythic and GOA for the prizes!

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News from the Front 5/21

It's been a pretty quiet week for WAR.  Just kidding, it has been crazy with the release of 1.3.5.  As you might expect, the community chatter has been mostly about the new patch.  I know a good chunk of my posts have been lately.  As usual, there is a lot to read and watch if you want to make your Friday go faster.  New section this week, Addons!

Mythic

• Did you hear that 1.3.5 was released?
• Josh, Andy and Andy's hat put together a video podcast about the new patch.

New WAR Blogs

• Welcome to Tarelther (not really new, but long overdue) and Ze War.
• If you have a new blog, be sure to comment or drop me an e-mail.

Articles

• Gaarawarr discovers that there are new potions in the Land of the Dead to buy.
• Bootae gives me an award!  It's true, I can be bribed with baked goods.  Just for that, also check out his latest post in the What WAR needs from DAoC.
• Blurring Shock takes a closer look at crit and initiative. Another great analysis post.
• A DoK's impressions of the new city siege.
• Make a difference with the Super Effective team.
• Shadow WAR takes a look at the highlights of the 1.3.5 patch.
• Blog the Witch shares his new Witch Elf spec, appropriately called Kill em' All.
• Ze War talks about Ze Patch.
• A great FAQ for the 1.3.5 patch. Highly suggested reading.
• Krossus writes up his ideas for a new WAR faction, the Forces of Disease. 
• Just One More Unlock is always up for Just One More Spawn-Camp.  As a ranged DPS, I don't mind being spawn camped, I consider it a challenge or a chance to try different tactics.
• Back Seat Dev gives us an update on his 6 vs 6 tournament.  Great work getting these events started!

Videos

• Mykiel posted Part 1 and Part 2 of his How to Survive WAR series.  It's a great tutorial about the new city siege, I highly recommend it before venturing in.
• Grimnir posted Part 7 of his look at WAR add-ons.
• Shadow Warrior scenario video from Badlands. Music Warning.
• A narrated video of a Hunters Vale to obtain a cape as quickly as possible.
• Witching Winter, an amazing WAR movie (PvP video).  I am jealous of his/her movie making skills.
• A Vulture Lord purge from Karak-Azgal.

Addons

• Zone Watch allows you to list Tier 4 zones and their VPs.
• Be sure to update your Squared for 1.3.5!
• Therapy is a group session monitor.  Looks like it would be great for tracking your 6-man's effectiveness.

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The Day After

Yesterday was a big day for WAR, 1.3.5 hit the live servers.  Patch days rarely go smoothly and this one was no different.  There were a few bugs and some unexpected downtime.  The downtime and real life conspired against me so I was only able to play for a little bit.  How did it go?

Before the game went down to be patched, Destruction had pushed 2 pairings closer to Altdorf.  Not long after the servers were up the first city siege commenced.  Luckily, our alliance was putting together a warband which I joined.  When the siege started, we had a full warband in the instance.

The siege itself went very smoothly, I didn't see any bug complaints.  It was a bit hectic as this was the first time for many of the players.  Destruction trickled in and were outnumbered (by a little) for much of the siege.  They also seemed like they were pugging it, which puts them at a disadvantage versus an organized group.  Word of advice:  You will have a lot more fun if you organize. 

We ended up winning all 3 stages and somehow I won a bag in each stage!  I won a Gold (Massive) bag in stage 1 and a purple bag in stage 2 and 3.  I'm not sure how that happened, as I rarely win bags.  What were in my bags other than the normal choices?

• Stage 1 Gold: Piece of Invader or 10 Invader crests
• Stage 2 Purple: Warlord weapon (Long Rifle of Boundless Focus) or 5 Warlord Crests
• Stage 3 Purple: Overlord armor or 5 Royal Crests

One interesting note is the Overlord item is BoE, so I can sell it on the AH or send it to my Salvager to break down. The Stage 3 purple bag was disappointing, I really want to see a better variety of rewards.

As for that Warlord weapon...

Ranged snare? yes please.  It isn't a huge upgrade, but I am going to try it out.  Lately, my wounds have gotten a bit low due to other upgrades.  I may have to readdress my talismans to add some survivability.  Needing to make these choices is a large part of why I have fun in WAR.

After a ride to the bank, 3 more bank rows were purchased.  I could use some more, but I'm too cheap to spend the gold.  That is about all I was able to do yesterday.  Today I hope to try our that new mount, we'll see if Destro cooperates.  How did it go for everyone else?

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1.3.5 Wrapup

Patch day is here!  Today Mythic will bring the much anticipated 1.3.5 patch to the live servers.  I am pretty excited about this patch, as it adds a lot of great things to WAR. What sort of things does 1.3.5 bring to the table?  I'm glad you asked!

New Stuff

1.3.5 Features. Gutters, Mount Info, Combat Highlighting, new talismans and looting improvements.

1.3.5 Features Part 2. New NPC locations, more bank space, heraldry and tactic resets and item changes.

1.3.5 Features Part 3. Map improvements, dye clearing, more customization options and rally flags.

New Crest Rewards.  New temporary accessories to spend RvR crests on.

Mythic sneaks in a new mount. Rent a new mount with Invader crests.

Speed Kills.  New talismans can be purchased with medallions.

Engineer in 1.3.5.  A look at some of the upcoming changes to the Engineer career.


Videos

Vulture Lord Video.  Footage of the improved purge mechanic and the Boss 7 fight. 

1.3.5 City Siege. Video from an early city siege test. 

Battle of Altdorf.  City siege testing video of a very fun final stand in Altdorf.

The Final Battle.  Stage 3 city siege video from the PTS which shows the King fight. 


Mythic Trip

Mythic Day 1.  First round of twitter questions and answers.

Combat and careers.  Q and A with the combat and careers team.

More City Details.  A look at some of the finer details of the new city siege system.

It's been a very interesting couple of months!  For me, it has gone by extremely quick.  Time flies when you are having fun right?  We are already more than half way through May, which means a Producers Letter is right around the corner.  I am very anxious to see how Mythic will follow up 1.3.5 as the bar is now set pretty high.

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Mythic sneaks in a new mount!

Much to my surprise, Mythic has added a new mount to WAR!  It should be live tomorrow with the launch of the 1.3.5 patch.  The new mount is from the Land of the Dead and has an interesting twist.  Continue on for the details and some screenshots.

From the updated patch notes:

There is also a new, exciting mount that can be found on the Mount merchant in the Cities. This mount is exotic and temporary, imported straight from Tomb Kings. As such, you will only be able to purchase this mount if your realm owns Land of the Dead. This exotic steed can be purchased using Invader Crests and will last 30 real time days.

I took a quick trip to the PTS to check this new mount out.  I couldn't buy one, but I did get to check out the details.  How much does it cost?  On the PTS, it is only 30 Invader Crests.  Remember, this mount will only last 30 days real time, not played time.  It also has a RR60 and level 40 requirement.

Be sure to check your capitals mount vendor the next time your realm controls the Land of the Dead.

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The Final Battle

I was hoping to post something about 1.3.5 launching today but it seems it was not to be.  Instead, I have a video from the final PTS event which was held on Sunday night.  This time, the video focuses on the final battle between the Kings.

High Quality stream:  The Final Battle

Youtube version:



Overall, we were pretty outmatched by Destruction.  It was still fun, which is all that really matters.  The video itself seems a bit 'busy' with all of the effects.  This is partly due to Destruction being able to push us without too much danger.  In other fights, it has been more spread out. 

Best part of the video?  The Champion Engineer of course.  Also, I'd like to thank Gaarawaar for pointing out there was other WAR music I could use.

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New Crest Rewards

One of the known additions coming in 1.3.5 are new time limited talismans which can be purchased with RvR medallions.  They only went up to the Officer level medallions, leaving some to wonder if we will get new items to purchase with crests.  On the PTS, we have been answered!

These new jewelry items cost 15 Invader, Warlord and Royal crests respectively.  They are available for purchase on the normal crest vendors.  There was no mention of these in the patch notes, so it is possible they may not be in the 1.3.5 patch.

The real interesting thing about these items is that they have a decay timer.  I imagine these would work just like Event slot items.  Once you obtain one, the timer will countdown whether you are online or not.  In two weeks time, these items will decay which seems like a reasonable amount for 15 crests.

I'm actually a big fan of items that decay.  All I want to do is RvR and be able to advance and customize my character through those activities.  I'm going to get crests as a result, so having more to spend them on is great!  The more options I have, the happier I am.

That being said,  I am not all that impressed with these 3 items.  On the positive side, they are nice considering the low required renown rank.  I'm sure some classes will enjoy these quite a bit.  Personally, I don't see slotting any of these on my Engineer as I'm happy with my new accessories.  If one of them provided a good amount of Weapon Skill, I might.

Another nice thing about these new items is they are available on different tiers of crests.  This might give high ranked players a reason to keep Invader crests around instead of breaking them down.  We can thank the crest break down changes for being able to do this.  In the old system, they would have to be considerably more expensive or only available using Royal crests. 

It is very encouraging to see Mythic adding more crest rewards. 1.3.5 is shaping up to be an excellent patch.  I'm hoping it will go live this week.

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News from the Front 5/14

This week saw two public play tests of the new city siege system. For the most part, players seem to have had a lot of fun with the new system.  After 6 tests, I am ready to play this on live!  When will that be?  Only Mythic knows, but I am hoping for next week.  On to the community news.

Mythic

• Could this be the end of bombing as we know it?  Bright Wizards and Sorcerers are in for a big change come 1.3.5.
• Carrie, the producer of WAR, has an interview at Massively and another at MMORPG. Best part, she is very excited about the 1.4 patch.

New WAR Blogs

• Welcome to war 4 scrubs, Vauleen and Suffer Not the Heretic

Articles

• WAR 4 scrubs posted a nice guide to crests and medallions.  I especially like the table which has all of the item cost information.
• Grimnir posts about his experience in the new city siege.  In short, he liked it quite a bit ;)
• Backseatdev discusses whether or not players will actually receive more or less crests in 1.3.5.
• Gaarawarr, typing machine, posted a transcript of Tuesday's PTS Q&A. 
• WAR portraits has some AWESOME sketches of the rumored red plague. 
• Mmmmm Gud is taking a look at what some of the lesser known armor sets look like.  Great idea, never thought to check these out!
• Krosuss posts about some of the new WAR interviews which are making the rounds.
• Blurring Shock writes about bombing in WAR.
• Just One More Unlock unlocks an interesting item in WAR.
• Vauleen shows and dissects the infamous melee train. 
• Zizlak wonders if dynamic RvR zones are possible.  

Videos

• Video footage of 24 vs 24 fights in a locked zone.
• Sorcerer footage from WAR Europe.  Music warning.  
• A quick look at the new King vs King fight coming in 1.3.5.
• Machinima style video starring 4 Magus.  WAR + The Matrix + Stargate:)
• HD RvR video from the Horde of Chaos guild.  Looks like fun times in Tier 2.
• Warrior Priest video from Karak-Azgal.  Music volume warning. 

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PTS Event Tonight!

Tonight is the last scheduled testing event for the 1.3.5 patch on the PTS.  Tuesday's was a lot of fun, so stop in if you can.  This time, the Inevitable City will be invaded.  The test starts around 8pm EDT.  You may want to copy over a live character as well (it's quick).  See you there!

NOTE: Big balance change for tonight's test!

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1.3.5 Features Part 3

It seems that two posts is not enough to contain the features of WAR's 1.3.5 patch.  This post covers a few more miscellaneous changes and additions.  I'm not a big fan of one of them, let's see if you can guess which!  Hopefully we will see 1.3.5 live in the next week or two.

The city maps got a bit of sprucing up on the PTS.  This isn't documented in the patch notes, so no guarantee we will see this when the patch goes live.  Looks like a great addition though.  I've been playing for close to 2 years and I still get confused in Altdorf. 

Talismans are not the only new items you can spend medallions on.  Scouring Agent has been added to the Officer medallion merchant which will allow you to reset an items dye to its original color. The PTS price is 35 officer medallions and is subject to change.

When creating a new character, you may now choose some customization options imported from WAR Asia.  As far as I know, there is no in-game way to alter your characters appearance.  I think this screenshot says it all...

Rally Flags are a new feature of the city siege which was added during closed testing.  After you respawn, you can use a flag to teleport to a location which you control.  They add a nice bit of strategy to the fight.  The one's pictured below are currently locked for Order.  The flags would be blue if we controlled the associated objective.

In order to make itemization a bit more transparent, the item level has been added to the items tooltip.  This should make judging an item a bit easier for newer players.  Seems to becoming a standard feature of MMO's.

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Upgrades

Over the weekend I put together a quick run of Tomb of the Vulture Lord with my guild.  Just like last time, the goal was to down the first two bosses or spend an hour trying.  Some groups can clear quite a bit of ToVL in an hour however I like to keep the run nice and accessible.  By the end of the night I had some nice upgrades for my Engineer.

Going into the dungeon I had only two goals.  First, I wanted to get some more Silver Ankhs in order to buy my two piece jewelry set.  Second, I wanted to make some gold.  Neither of those count on the random number generator which means if we down the bosses I will leave happy.  If I went in wanting a piece of Tyrant, most trips I'd end up disappointed.

We tend to use a master looter in guild/alliance events so the massive (gold) bags can be given to those that need them.  They contain, among other things, Golden Cartouches which can be broken down to 5 Silver Ankhs.  I mentioned I only need a few more and was given the bag.  Goal #1 is complete!  As an added bonus, I won the roll for an interesting crafting ingredient. More on that next week.

The second boss is where you can make some decent gold, I think I made ~12 gold.  It should have been more but I was careless and did not clean out my inventory.  I think one of the cursed treasures turned out to be a piece of Primeval, which usually sells well on the AH.  Overall it was a fun and productive trip.

My ToVL goals have been reached, but it is not the end of my trips there.  There is always a good amount of gold to be made and I wouldn't pass on a glyph or tyrant drop.  Plus I do like the crafting materials and scarabs you can get from the dungeon.

As I mentioned, my Engineer got a few upgrades as a result of the run.  First is the 2 piece jewelry set (cloak and accessory).  The set bonus gives me +90 Ranged Power which is the same as adding 90 ballistics.  That is around a 10% damage increase (from stats).

I also won a roll for another accessory, the Primeval Horn of Endurance.  The new 2 accessories caused me quite a dilemma.  I was using 2 +43 wound rings at the time.  That comes out to be 860 more hit points which is quite a bit.  The downside is they had no other stats and very poor resistance values.  I decided to use the new ones, here are the accessories I am using now (4th is above):

The ballistic increases has put me just over 1000 unbuffed.   That is the highest it has ever been on this character.  Along with the Ranged Power increase, I should be putting out some decent damage.  Once I start upgrading the rest of my gear to Warlord, I'm hoping to give my defensive stats some more attention.

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Contest: Who am I?

During our trip to their HQ, Mythic was kind enough to provide us with some items to give away.  I had planned to do this a couple of weeks ago, but there was too much awesome stuff going on with 1.3.5. This contest will involve a bit of trivia.  Also, you will have your choice of prizes.  Read on for the details.

NOTE: Contest has ended, mail has been sent to the winner!  I plan on holding another one in a week or two.  

Choice of Prizes?

With your entry, please include which prize you would like:

• Humble Indie Gaming Bundle.  Proceeds go to charity and the developers, so why not?
• WAR Item Code: Rivenstaff's Deck of Eight and Bottomless Custard (North American version only)
• WAR Item Code: Skaven Skin Cloak (North American version only)

How do I enter?

Send your entry to contests@weritsblog.com with a subject of "Who am I entry"  The contest will end Friday morning (May 14, 2010) at 8am EDT.  I will pick a random entry from those that were correct.

Who am I?

What is the name is this WAR monster:

A necromancer built me from the fallen bodies of Dwarfs and Greenskins.  I'm not big on warm climates and much prefer the mountains.  If you want to drop by for a visit, you may have to do a bit of jumping.

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Hoplon

A couple of weeks ago, I did something that I have never done before in any MMO.  I got a second character to the level cap. In all other games, I have only managed to get one guy to the max level .  In WAR, I now have 2 (40, not RR max).  Introducing Hoplon, the Ironbreaker.

I've probably been working on Hoplon for at least a year.  During that time, I have mostly run with a shield.  That isn't the speediest way to level, especially when you solo quite a bit.  Thanks to the double XP from Mythic's billing apology and the Land of the Dead, I was able to push through those last few levels.

My intent with Hoplon is to be a traditional sword and board tank.   For his mastery, I am using a build featuring Oathstone and Punishing Knock.  Coming from my Engineer, it is actually a lot of fun to be tough to kill.  Even though he is still wearing Annihilator gear, he can take a lot of punishment.

Stat wise I have been concentrating on Wounds and Toughness, 965 and ~815 respectively. A focus on defense means that I won't be able to deal a lot of damage.  Often times I am just ignored by enemies, but that's alright.  I run around guarding, putting my 50% outgoing healing debuff on their healers, snaring, challenging and just being a general nuisance.  

My favorite part of being a tank is the shield.  Nothing better that seeing a Block message come up instead of damage.  Since my Renown Rank is still pretty low (RR 34), I am using a shield from the Land of the Dead.  It is pretty decent even with green souls.  Yea, I'm cheap when it comes to LotD currency.

Once I reach RR 38 I can use the influence reward shield from Empire Tier 4, or I can go with the scenario reward shield.  It is great to have options.  I really need to upgrade my weapon too, as I'm using a Rank 31 axe from the Land of the Dead.  I could by the improved version, but I'm not sure it is worth 20 gold scarabs.

Potion wise, I am just using a Liniment of War: Hunger.  It comes from the Golden Serrisa hybrid seed and gives me +60 wounds and +60 strength.  It may not be the choice for a tank, but it is something my Cultivation/Apothecary character can make.  I really do not want to rely on the AH for anything.

As for my defensive potion, I plan on using one to improve my Elemental resist.  With my current gear, my current resist is only 266!  Spirit and Corporeal are in much better shape. I would use one for toughness or armor, but my Butchering character is not maxed out yet. I need to get to work on a level 200 seed.

It's really nice to have more character options at 40.  When my guild needs a tank, I can help out in some situations.  Hoplon plays a lot different than my Engineer, so it is a great way to keep things fresh.  Speaking of which, my Rune Priest is rank 38, so soon I will have 3 characters at 40.

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News from the Front 5/7

Last night was the final closed PTS event to test the new city siege.  Overall, it is solid and has improved quite a bit over the last four tests.  There is still some work to do though. Next week, I will post about my overall impressions of the city siege experience.  Public testing should be right around the corner!

Mythic

• Tokens of Appreciation have been sent out to those affected by the billing problems.
• Another WAR Blogger Roll Call was posted.  Thanks Mythic!
• The Producer's Letter for April was released.  

New WAR Blog

• Welcome to Thrangis the Red!  A nice blog with a unique style.

Articles

• Gaarawarr posted a guide about the Token of Appreciation.
• Krosuss asks if we are jealous of other games expansion packs.  I know I am. 
• Shadow WAR writes a bit about the new cross-realm feature of WAR.
• Fight on the Flag also covers the cross-realm topic. 
• What does WAR need from DAoC?  Bootae knows. 
• Blurring Shock takes a look at the Disrupt stat.  Great information in this post.
• Mooooooooo!  Screenshots from the PTS events this week. 
• Super Effective posts a Zealot's guide to Lost Vale's left wing.
• WAR Bureau talks about her first week as a guild leader. 
• Yitu posts about WAR's new city siege on the PTS.  Includes pictures and videos.  

Videos

• Shadow WAR brings us Part 2 of his no add-ons project. 
• Black Orc action in 1080p!
• Tier 1 Zealot video.  Don't see too many videos starring a zealot.
• The folks at Gaiscioch are back with another video about the new city siege. Music warning!
• A Hunter's Vale video!  HV is a relatively new and popular Tier 1 dungeon. 
• Tier 4 keep siege from Volkmar.  Interesting to watch since the speed has been increased quite a bit.
• 6burn brings us some Shadow Warrior RvR video.  Every time I see them in videos I'm tempted to roll one.  
• Some crazy Black Orc footage.  Who knew they could do that much damage?

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Battle of Altdorf

The third PTS test event was held on Tuesday night.  This time we grouped up in six man parties to tests the new city siege system.  The Altdorf siege was the site of an epic battle during the first Stage.  Continue on for a video and an explanation of the fight.

High Quality streams: Part 1 and Part 2

Full length youtube version:



One of the new additions, which can be seen in the video, is Rally Flags.  Once your side owns an objective, these flags can be used to teleport you there from your spawn point.  Prior to this, you would just spawn at the closest objective.  These flags are not accessible until a couple minutes after the fight starts.  They do seem to add a nice bit of strategy to the battle.

The battle which the video focuses on took place at the Palace gates.  Destruction had rolled over us until they captured the central objective, Emperors Circle. After that point we started to actually win a few fights, but they slowly pushed us back to the palace. 

At the doors, we made our final stand.  The only way to damage the door is to let the NPC's (catapults) do their work.  What took place was a back and forth fight to control the gates.  In the end, we managed to hold off Destruction until time was up.  I think there was only ~2% left on the palace door when it ended.  Order had won the stage.

Destruction won the next 2 stages and brought down the king.  I think the fights during Stage 1 showed the potential of this new city siege rather well.  Even though we lost 2/3, it was a lot of fun.  Tonight is the forth and final closed PTS test.  Be sure to watch it live!

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Sanctioned Cross-Realming

Last week, Mythic sent out the Producer's Letter for April.  It was mostly about what they have been up to this month.  At the end, they did reveal an interesting plan:  They want to allow players to have Order and Destruction characters on the same server. 

My initial reaction to this was not a very positive one.  With this kind of news, I like to hold off on posting and let it sink in.  It has been a few days and I'm still not sure if this is a good or bad change.  Here is my thought process:

Cross Realming

[ - ]  Players will abuse this ability to gain intelligence and other advantages on the opposing realm.

[ + ] This already happens with trial accounts and multiple game accounts.  I was actually surprised to learn how much this actually occurs now.  In the letter, Mythic does say there will be a significant lockout timer.

Realm Pride

[ - ]  Playing both sides will make realms lose their meaning.  Fighting against my own side (Order) just won't feel right.

[ + ]  Immersion and Realm Pride are different for everyone.  How many of us play the opposing realm on different servers?  No one is going to force me to roll a Destruction character on Badlands.

Flipping

[ - ]  Players will push one realm to the city and then hop on the opposing realm and repeat the process.  It will increase the amount of RvE in the lakes too.

[ + ]  I wouldn't put anything past our carrot following friends.  Hopefully the lockout timer will discourage this type of behavior.  Personally, I have some self control and won't hop realms just for virtual items.

Expansion

[ + ]  This could be part of the groundwork needed for a 3rd realm! It would make sense, as this change seems to have come out of no where.  In my WAR-view, I didn't think this was something players have been asking for.

[ - ]  Sadly, there is no real evidence to support this yet.  Mythic has yet to admit they are working on anything that could be considered an expansion.  I do think they are though :)

Balancing

[ + ]  Being able to switch realms will allow players to help balance the server.  If one side is losing all the time, opposing players who want a challenge can just switch sides for some time.

[ - ]  I don't think a lot of players are actually looking for a challenge.  In a game like WAR, challenge is often a limiting factor when it comes to advancement.  You're more likely to get the good gear if no one shows up to fight you.

[ - ]  I could see this balancing happening in reverse.  Players on the losing side are tired of losing and they switch to the winners realm.

Fun

[ + ]  Players will often want a change of scenery and switching realms is a good way to accomplish that.  Fighting against your friends can also be a lot of fun.

Accounts

[ - ]  If server transfers are allowed, this move may cause Mythic to lose some accounts.  Players with multiple accounts would likely not need them anymore. 

Is this a good or bad change?  I'm not sure.  Right now, I am leaning towards this being a negative step.  That is just from my viewpoint though and Mythic has to consider the entire player-base. Unless this is leading towards some form of 3rd realm, I wouldn't mind seeing it shelved.

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Reminder

Tonight is the 3rd city siege event on the PTS!  Mykiel will be running a live stream of the event, so be sure to tune in and watch the action around 8pm EST.  We'll also be chatting about it in the stream's chat room.  Each event has been better than the last, so I am looking forward to tonight's.

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1.3.5 City Siege

Over the weekend, I put together a video of last Thursday's city siege event on the PTS.  The event itself was considerably better than the first one and actually a lot of fun.  I am already looking forward to the test this Tuesday!  Continue on for the video.

I am trying out a new streaming service, which looks quite a bit better than youtube.  Let me know what you think.

High Quality Stream: Part 1 and Part 2

Full length youtube version:

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ToVL High Quality

A weekend post?  Yep!  I'm trying out something new.  Last week I posted a video trailer of 1.3.5 Tomb of the Vulture Lord testing.  It was pretty decent, but I'm not really happy with the quality.  I'm trying out a new service, which should be much better.  Continue on for the high-quality version!

Just click on the image below to start the video.  Once the video is started, at the top you will see HD options, be sure to give those a shot and full screen the video.



So, what do you think?

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