Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning: Windows

...

removes the ganking factor.

The game still has some technical issues, as with any MMO when it launches will have. Most annoying are the crashes to desktop, which have since the last patch decreased but I may still get one every play session. Population balance on servers is very tricky, with some servers being full and you actually have wait times to log in.
Most importantly since the last patch if you crash or want to switch characters after already being logged in, you don't have to wait in the server queue again! There is also some considerable server lag at times. I expect that Mythic will eventually fix all these issues and I think they are worth suffering through for the entertainment value the game provides.

The graphics are not anything to rave about, but with the large scale PvP that this game is going to have, you'd have to turn all the effects down anyway.
If you enjoy PvP, especially open world large scale PvP, you will love this game. If you want long hours of raiding and grinds, Warhammer is not for you.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning: Windows

...

a scenario. In this way, WAR emphasizes its committment to more than PvE. In fact, a PvP'r could spend his or her time entirely PvPing and level all the way to the endgame. It helps that scenarios are constantly running and chances are you'll be in one before you know it.

The distinction, though, is that if you don't really care much about PvP, there are other opportunities. Spread throughout the entire game are approximately 300 (according to developers) Public Quests (PQs). These PQs are areas within each zone that are open to everyone of your side to participate in. No matter whether you're grouping with someone or not, you'll contribute to the various stages of these areas (stages that range from killing a number of things, fighting a boss like a dragon or destroying urns) and, when the PQ is over you roll on a loot bag. What makes this work even better is that each loot bag will have a piece of equpiment that your class can use, guaranteed.

Additionally, there's a bar that tracks your story chapter's PQ progress and awards you three different items (usually a potion or talisman, followed by equipment and then a weapon) as you progress through three tiers.

Awards abound at every turn, even in PvP as you are tracked separately by your PvP level. At certain levels, or renown ranks as they're called, you'll have access to not only powerful equipment but also renown skills that will help you in both PvP and PvE. But let's not stop here; each of the race pairings have zones that are grouped into tiers, with tier four being the high content. Each zone has PvP areas with towers and, as you progress into tier two and beyond, keeps. Both sides (Destruction and Order) can take over a keep and, if your guild is high enough in rank (more on that later), you can capture a keep in your name.

But keeps are also treated like PQ areas, being populated by NPCs and a very strong leader that also supplies equipment. Fighting into a keep can turn into epic encounters, with siege weapons, rams to break down the keep's walls, boiling oil for the defenders to pour onto wouldbe attackers, places for ranged attackers to unleash devastating spells and arrows...it's quite a rush to be involved in one, especially as both sides start to get more aggressive, calling in reinforcements to help.

And as the game progresses, these types of battles become more common. Which is a huge difference from the elephant in the room, World of Warcraft. WoW crafts a similar structure, with two side duking it out...but it was never meant to be a truly PvP-centered game in the way WAR is. From the very beginning, you are immersed in this warfare, from the very first level all the way to the end and beyond.

And all of this is before you get into how many bars/levels there are to tackle. Sure, the game is capped at level 40 at launch, but that's not taking into consideration that each chapter of PQs has a bar with loot associated to it or that there's 80 renown ranks that will take a lot of PvPing to hit, or that your guild actually levels up to 40 based not on how many members you have in your guild but on their accomplishments, a system that benefits both small and large guilds. Guild ranks are actually important as they provide you with a ton of abilities, from being able to carry benefit-providing standards to having a guild vault to access to guild auctions, crafting vendors, quick flight paths to the dungeons, the ability to take keeps, etc.

There's just so much here, so many shinies to grab your attention. And it's all tied into the Tome of Knowledge, a large compendium that tracks everything you do from quests to accomplishments to titles, etc. It's so indepth that you have to wonder how Mythic pulled it off. And pulled it off, they did. WAR is a monumentous game that feels as relevant and genre-shifting as WoW did when it came.

So, there you have it. A very rambling review that didn't even touch on half of what the game has to offer (did you really want to be here for another century?), but will have to remain incomplete. Because, here's the thing. Even when you strip away all the little details, the leveling and all of that junk that I spent forever typing about, what we find is...this game is fun. And diverse. And it's just what I wanted and needed from a MMO.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning: Windows

...

to worry about logging in before you start dinner so you only have to wait 30 min for your que to be over.

I say congratulations on their set up, and foresight. This was the smoothest I've ever seen the first few weeks of an MMO go. Honestly it's smoother and has less interruptions to play than WOW did for the 3 years I played it. The strange thing, I've played it. All weekend. ALL WEEKEND. I think I got kicked for 1 min and was back on in 3min. Just amazing.

You can play anything, any part of the game, at any time and aren't horribly disadvantaged because of the adjustment that interveins and modestly adjusts you to play RVR in an area. So you can PVP with your friends who played all the first 2 weeks and your level gets adjusted so you can hang out or they can have a character in 12 or so levels from you and you can all get together. Lovely. You find groups incredibly quickly if you want. There isn't a 30 min delay while WOW asks you to waste time staring at your flight screen ( get a drink, make a sandwhich, watch tv.. oh.. is it time for me to play again?), or 3 hours waiting to get a party for an instance, because you can only have a certain numbers and even then you need certain folks, and even then, it take 3 hours to do and you need to find folks who aren't going to leave in the middle so it takes you 12 hours to do one scholomance run, and these are the 5 folks dungeons.. not the 40 or 20... etc. Just so much hassle. Waisted life. WAISTED. Still played it. Almost 1 year total /played (if characters added).

So quick. Everything is refreshingly quick in warhammer. Play for 15 min, for 30, or for hours. Quick, lvl quick, never feel too low to play anything, always something to do. Some fun to be had. PVP (or RVR) EVERYWHERE in multiple fun ways. Or ignore it all together and play the game PVE (which is short).

There have been at MOST 15 min - 20 min portions of my time where I didn't want to log out to finish something. Easy stopping points. No life remodeling to play this game needed. Thank you. Thank you Warhammer. Seriously. If this was another of those, I'd have to sign off the whole class to remain functional in society and still play. Seriously. You can play this MMO and have friendships and life emergencies. And just enjoy your play experiences. Just well done for the lifestyle.

Thank you.
- Nide

Cons:
It's new and they are doing updates. It's a short game PVE still. Some of the PVE quests need someone to run through them and ask the question, is this fun? (wow had the same problem, hense Ohforf's comic with the rat quests). Some begining instructions are on some races and not on others. I'm still not sure how one puts points into subsections to rank up. It did needs some outside support for play, but those websites made by fans are already set up. Thank you warwiki and wardb, will fill in those gaps, but they are gaps. I miss buffing folks not in my party when you pass them as a social greeting.

Is the view similar. Yes. Folks who liked the look of WOW will like the play/look of this. They went for more realism in shading/skin look/color choices (not are orcs real, seriously) which may have been difficult back when WOW launched, may like this. You can see your characters, have really good control of your image on your screen. Which helps me get into the play. I like it and am happy they have it in there. That and it's fantasy and has a similar spell bar. That's it for me.

For both, still need the chat overlay Ventrillo or others to be a contender, especially in RVR/PVP. But really is a joy. Playing both, it really is different. I thought it was going to take the place of WOW in my heart, and I really am enjoying it. It's not the same. I can't wait to see this game in 3 years. I've got 2 more healing classes to play through. I can't wait. A fun game. Grab it and enjoy.