So today was the last chance to drop in and say goodbye to Warhammer Online. And seeing as how it really kicked this blog off a little over 5 years ago, it seemed fitting to let bygones be bygones and pay my respects on the last day.
I didn’t have much time, but I logged into my main, a Shadow Warrior, and dinked around for half an hour while I grabbed some lunch. I did some combat, completed a quest, visited the capital, used some leftover dye’s, made a couple of potions, and, true to my real life patron, planted some seeds and grew a plant or two.
I had forgotten how fun crafting was in WAR. I guess you could call it a minigame of sorts, but it was never onerous. I loved planting and harvesting and then turning the ingredients into plenty of potions that then got handed out to my brother or friends or just used for myself. Most of my backpack space was dedicated to seeds I was saving or wanting to use once I got leveled up enough.
In fact, most of my time was spent uncovering all the little things that I enjoyed so much about WAR. I hate that the game got derailed in the way it did, and to be honest, I hate that I gave up on it so soon. I think that was my main lesson learned today. And I know nobody wants to hear me go on and on about the awesome dye system, or how the poses of the characters were straight from the tabletop game, or the neat buffs that granted abilities and so on. So instead I took a few minutes to put together a collage. So here you go, a few of my favorite things:
Looking back, I regret not giving the Gobbo Shaman and the Elf Swordmaster a whirl. Those were both classes that seemed fun. Eh, I’m getting all misty.
I guess its easy to look back with rose colored glasses when the game is getting its plug pulled isn’t it? Someone might even be in such an emotionally delicate state as to make outrageous claims about how good the game was…or is.
Truth be told, the game is still rough. The graphics are pretty bleh, not having held up well over time – which is sad given the minimum requirements of the game back at launch – one of the many things that can be filed under “poor design decision.” The PvP over PvE imbalance was a nightmare – though it seems they might have fixed that, given the insane XP I was getting per kill for creatures a level or two lower than me on the quest I did.
Overall, I think we will look back at WAR as being a bit of a pioneer. Public Quests, Open World PvP, Slottable Passive Abilities…just a few of the things that we have come to integrate fully, iterate on, and to some extent, feel are absolutely necessary in MMO’s today. WAR was ugly at times, but it was brimming with new ideas and exciting possibilities. If it fell short of expectations, at least we can afford it some respect for shooting for the moon, and doing so with an IP that was rich and fun (remember the Gobbo/Orc starting area? Getting shot out of the catapult? And the dwarves in the barrels? lol…).
Thanks for the memories WAR, and the impetous to do this blog. Like you, its had its ups and downs, but it was a worthwhile endeavor. Until we meet again…
Harbinger Zero 