Warhammer Online FAQ

[Mutt]

Courtesy of the VN boards:
WAR FAQ


For questions on beta, please see this thread.


Q. Who is developing Warhammer?

Mythic Entertainment http://www.mythicentertainment.com (http://www.mythicentertainment.com/)


Q. What company created Warhammer?

Games Workshop http://www.games-workshop.com (http://www.games-workshop.com/)


Q.When will Warhammer be available?

As of now the best guess is 4th quarter 2007


Q. What are the playable races in Warhammer?

Empire(humans),Dwarfs,High Elves,Dark Elves,Orcs and Goblins, and Chaos(humans)


Q. How will the war front be setup?

There will be 3 battlefronts consisting of 2 races at war. Empire vs Chaos,Dwarfs vs Orcs and Goblins, and High elves Vs Dark Elves.


Q: "Why does WAR look like WoW!?"

Games Workshop who design the World of Warhammer back in 1983 took many of ideas and impression from the work of Tolkien aswell as other European influence. The game Warhammer while it has a dark under tone has always had a little sense of humor. The art that was start in the 80s was cartoon yet dark.

Mythic in keeping with the basic art concept establish by Games Workshop began to use their model and art that nearly 25 year old to make the model for the MMOG. While the color texture may appear similiar to WoW the model design of Dwarf and Orc is with in the traditional style of Games Workshop creation since 1983. The only similiar of the 2 games is truelly that it share the same level of color texture. The only people Mythic is coping is the work that has been already in place by the artist that had work for Games Workshop.


Q: Why is there no Stealth in Warhammer?

In the Warhammer universer or rather within the table top version of the game since it has a little more influence on the design than the RPG book. The army that have special unit that one would refer to stealh is limit to 3 armies. They are Skaven, Dark Elves and Wood Elves are the only whom have unit one would say are stealth oriented. Dark Elves and Skaven have assassin for is there nature of the theme of the army that they are double-crossing individual and not to be trusted. The Wood Elf are more sneak in they are limit that they are able to hide well in the forest. This would be fair unfair for the other race. Games Workshop would never allow for High Elf or Dward to have stealth unit since it not in the nature of this army to try to hide. The Empire woudl be next possible option but again it fall in that the theme of army is The Empire they may not try to hide while fighting the force of Chaos. While it possible that The Empire may have them I would almost bet GW said no to that. Again this game while been develop by Mythic they have to pass much of character design and world design through GW and should GW find not to be in the theme of their game they will say no.


Q: Why there no pure healer class?

In the table top version of Warhammer which has the greater influence at moment in the game design. There are no healer unit or individual in the game. While there are magic spell and magic item that can heal they do in limit way. If this what Mythic is using for their design they will limit the healing possible in the game.

It may be possible they may have some form of healing. What may turn out to be support/hybrid class. The question would be how often and how much will the ability heal yourself and others. Some of the reference made thus it sound like it will be very limit and something you may not want to depend on.

Hope at the end of the tunel. The career/class system has already been change once so they may yet alter the current design again and introduce what would be full healer class. There still a year or so to go and anything is possible.


Q: Why is there no "female" orc?"

From Pual E3 Gamespot Interview: Cause they are a mushrooms from space!

The Orcs come from mushroom/fungi that are left behind after the creation of a WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH. Orcs and goblines are actually asexual creatures but are physicaly potrayed as masculine. The reason there are no female orcs to play in WAR is because there are none. Mythic included the goblin race to make up for the lack of character options that other races have.


Q: Has WAR's rating been determined?

WAR will have a Teen rating


Q: What are the races in WAR?

Dwarves vs Ork+Goblins
High Elves vs Dark Elves
Human (Empire) vs Human (Chaos)
Paired off against each other like that, "good" guys on the left.


Q: Is there leveling in WAR?
There will be an advancement system, however no levels as such
Grinding should not be needed.
Skill system (what you use=what you're better in)
Career system
Majority of levelling will be done in RvR, this does not = PvP
LOTS of skills, more complex than WFRP
Racials from WH
A fully tricked out veteran will 100% kill a newbie if they fight. Levels will make a difference.


Q: What are the realms?
See races answer, good vs evil


Q: What's this about WAR on the Xbox 360?
It will most likely be released on the Xbox, nothing is 100% confirmed though. If gameplay is different on the Xbox they will be on different servers.


Q: Is Beib single?
I'm not allowed to answer that, I know what happened to the country of the last person that did shock


Q: Is Mhykol single?
I don't really care about that grin


Q: What is this public quest system?
A quest that everyone in the zone contributes to, when it is completed everyone in the zone gets a reward according to how much they actually helped.


Q: What are the types of PvP Content?
Instanced areas that affect the zone their in, skirmishes (as in the daoc RvR, meet ppl in open zones, kill, post on VN boasting/whining wink ), sacking the other faction's town.


General Overview


Magic System

Will be "fun" for current MMO players.
Will have a WH feel.
Buffing will not be done in the DAOC system. Temporary buffs.
Will play a major role in the game.

Magical Items

Will not be as rare as in your standard WH games.
You will be playing great heroes and champions -> magical items will be a normal part of what you wear.
They will not be as cheap/disposable as other games but not as rare as in the tabletop games.


Playerdeath

No permadeath (doh)
No item loss, corpse runs 100% sure
Death penalty will not be a deterrent for fun, but will be a deterrent for griefers.
Definitly no level loss.
Dumb moves will be punished (Can I kill this dragon alone?)
Experience debts or similar under discussion
"House of the Dead" Pay to "save" yourself.
Death will sting but shouldn't change your playstile due to being afraid of it.

Alts

Yes

Collectors Edition (and other bonuses)
Definitly no "uber" items -> no items you can't get otherwise in the game and are of same (or superior) strength.
Veteran rewards for long time players very likely
Pre-orders will get a head start most likely (1 day) to spread the load.


Farming
No farming should be necessary in the game.
There will be a strong anti farming stance.


Griefing
Special steps will be taken to prevent griefing.
Griefing will be punished.
No ganking lvl 1 newbies right when they start (doh)


RvR/PvP
Both instanced and open field.
Instanced: Will be integral to field RvR, will help war outside the instances, Will NOT have anything to do with WoW like instances.
Open field: Just open fights all the way to sacking the city, which will require the taking of "checkpoints"
Balancing: Imbalances will always happen due to the amount of races/classes involved, they will do their best to balance the races.
PvP flagging: No
No inter realm communication at any time.
Will be the main focus of the game development.
Rewards for successes will definitly be in.


Sacked cities
Quest NPC's aren't killeable, you can still quest etc with no problem (other than the enemy being all around you)
Will be retaken by the owners in 24 hours.


Graphics
Not a WoW clone!
Looks between 5th and 6th edition
Out of time, no specific time period known copied.
Career system from WFRP.
Special heroes from WH will be in the game.


Crafting
Will be available for ALL races due to balance reasons.
Geared towards RvR, small AND large scale.
Will not require you to create 100 items to advance
Should be enjoyable.
No farming should be needed.
Lots of choice.


Quests
No travel time sinks/kill 4091824091284 mobs time sinks.
Will tie in to the backstory and fit the WH lore.
No killing 89420184 mobs to get the drop you need.


Levels
There will be an advancement system, however no levels as such
Grinding should not be needed.
Skill system (what you use=what you're better in)
Career system
Majority of levelling will be done in RvR, this does not = PvP
LOTS of skills, more complex than WFRP
Racials from WH
A fully tricked out veteran will 100% kill a newbie if they fight. Levels will make a difference.


Servers
Euro and American servers ALL run by Mythic


Expansions system
Lots of free expansions, some payed for ones (DAOC system)

Races
Humans (Empire)
High Elves
Dwarves
Dark Elves (Mark will play these)
Chaos
Orcs+Gobbies
Expansions coming with more.
No female Orcs+Goblins
"Lots of attractive female avatars"


Travelling
Faster possibilities the higher level you are.
Long travel times should not be in the game unless (rarely) used to enchance immersion.
Sooner or later instantaneous travel.


RP servers
Yes
Will be intensivly monitored for idiots.


Voice Chat
Do it yourself.
They do not want to have to also monitor a voice chat.
It breaks RP
It costs a lot of bandwidth/server power

[Mutt]

Dev Q&A from SomethingAwful.com


So can you touch on character advancement at all?

No levels. Four tiers, with ranks within each tier. You'll have 4 XP bars that allow you to select "packages" of advancements - abilities, static buffs, skills, etc. that you want to work on. Three will be "standard" bars, one will be RvR-specific.

The packages allow you to select advancements that interest you without level-locking them. So, if you're a big fan of exploring and you want to get a mount earlier than - say - an improved combat ability, you can choose a package that includes the ability to use a mount. Packages will have SOME restrictions - most likely tier-specific - but they offer players the ability to wind up with all of the stuff they want eventually, but also the ability to get it in the order of their choosing.

As I understand it, there are 4 classes per realm which seems fairly limited; although I saw a Goblin Battler in one of those videos so I'm a bit confused since I thought that was an Orc class only.

Well, one of the things that's causing the "limited" classes is the requirement that every class be combat-effective and serve an immediately recognizable role. We have no pure "support" classes. In addition, we don't have rogues or stealth classes. We're not fond of hybrid classes either, though there will almost certainly be SOME degree of hybridization for some races.

Regarding the Battler, don't rely too heavily on the models you saw in the demos in terms of what to expect from the final design. They were chosen mostly for aesthetic reasons and aren't intended to represent exactly what you'll see when we launch (or even when we go into beta later this year). The class-limiting for Greenskins is mostly designed to allow us to use both Orcs and Gobbos without having ridiculous stuff like a goblin Warboss running around as a powerful melee character.

Four careers seems a bit low and I'm afraid there will be too much overlap, or are those classes just base arch types like we saw EQ2? Basically, in what ways can a player build his character to differentiate from the next person?

In short, we're looking for Gauntlet-style, iconic classes. To use the Gauntlet classes, a warrior beats the snot out of you, a Valkyrie sucks up damage all day long, a wizard blasts the crap out of you and an elf runs around really quickly, pinging you with arrows. You know exactly what you're in for simply by looking at your opponent.

Regarding differentiation, there are a number of things to consider:

1) In terms of simple aesthetics, customization will play a large role. Armor dying and trophies, primarily, will allow players to be visually unique without breaking the aforementioned "iconic look, iconic role" rule. When I say trophies, I mean things like orcs wearing belts of dwarf beards and the skulls of fallen opponents impaled on the spikes of their armor.

2) In terms of personal advancement, we have the package system. I explained this earlier, but it basically lets you play the class you want to play and advance in exactly the way that appeals to you, in exactly the order you want to do it.

3) And in terms of combat, we have tactics. This system is a strategic layer of combat where players choose from a pool of available "tactics" before combat that they are then locked into for a set period of time (minutes or hours, not days). Tactics can be things like persistant buffs, race or mob-specific attack bonuses, etc. As players advance, additional slots open up allowing players to use more - or more powerful tactics. Weak tactics are worth one point, the most powerful tactics are worth - say - five. So if you have ten slots open, you might choose ten minor tactics or two extremely powerful tactics or a mix of five of the former, one of the latter. Or any other mix in between.

This is designed to help players avoid being locked into a specific character spec in any significant way without giving them the ability to respec on the fly without any advanced thought. And, of course, to avoid the typical "I hit these three buttons and - SOMETIMES - this button over here too" style of play.

Also will character creation be just choose gender, choose class, choose head, and thats it? Or do we get more?

Still in discussion on that one. Your character's appearance WILL change over time, though. Orcs will get larger and more muscular, dwarf beards will grow longer, etc.

Will each faction have the same 4 classes? Fighter, shooter, healer magic, offensive magic? Or will it vary from faction to faction?

Absolutely not. We are 100% married to the IP when it comes to stuff like this. Dwarfs and magic don't mix, so the closest you'll get to a magic class will be a priest carving runes into things. And I can't say this enough - EVERY class will be a combat class. Nobody will be running around, healing all day long and trying to stay out of the fray.

What I want to know, is that how do you plan on balancing parties in PvP?

Current plan: Don't get much sleep at night, lie awake fixated on making it all work.

Seriously, though, RvR combat will come in three flavors:

Skirmish RvR - players stumbling across enemy players in RvR areas and fighting right then and there.
Battlefields - Static, objective-based areas (take objective in question, plant flag, etc) that help to focus skirmish RvR a bit.
Scenarios - Instanced, point-balanced, objective-based "arenas." This is our closest cousin to Fantasy Battle. All players will be worth a certain number of points based on a "we're-not-discussing-how-at-the-moment" set of stats. Players will be matched up evenly and groups with fewer points will be bolstered by NPC "Dogs of War." Dogs of War will be - obviously - worth less than their PC counterparts, but they'll allow us to avoid long queues AND one side constantly enjoying a slight but significant advantage due to population wierdness.

Finally, we're relying on an extensive, year+ long beta, coupled with everything (good, bad and otherwise) that we've learned from Camelot.

The focus of the game makes it so you'll primarily be working with people of the same race, right?

Primarily, but by no means exclusively. Dwarfs, humans and High Elfs can all work together as they see fit. Ditto with orcs, Dark Elfs and Chaos warriors.

What default size group are you guys shooting for? 5, 6?

To be determined. Balance is crucial, especially for campaigns and city capturing, so this will be one of those "under microscopic scrutiny" issues that we bang on non-stop until it's just right.

How does PVE factor in to the game?

Fully-realized PvE is absolutely going to be there. Players don't ever need to set foot in any RvR zone in order to move through all four tiers. And vice-versa.

I would like to know how much time /played is your goal to "level" a character?

To be determined.

Leveling Grinds have been getting shorter and shorter, will Warhammer continues this trend?

By offering full-blown PvE and RvR in every tier, we hope to make the process essentially painless for most players. Nothing depresses our world designers more than the idea that people might blow through 80% of the stuff they hand-craft with love and disturbingly intense affection to get to the last portion of the game.

I am also interested in advancement through RvR. Will this be as speedy as normal "grinding", or at a mere fraction of normal XP rate?

I can't speak for final speeds, numbers, etc. but our intention is that players will find compelling reasons to engage in PvE AND RvR in all tiers.

How does the mechanics of tanking work?

Player collision for enemies. You won't collide with friendly PC characters, but you will with enemy units. As a result, you won't be able to simply run through enemy tanks in order to get to less defensively-significant players. You also won't be able to clip back and forth through someone to hit them from behind, then the side, then the front, etc.

I don't see what's stop people from running around you and getting to support guys.

Again, player collision is the one bit that's been announced. That said, it can be VERY effective for protecting less defensive players if groups know how to make use of it properly.

Will there be knock back of some kind?

To be determined. I'm personally a huge fan of it.

Are Halflings actually in Warhammer? I know they're the token comedy team in Bloodbowl but I haven't seen them in fantasy.

Yes. And - as noted above - they're DELICIOUS. Mmm... free range halfling... *drools*

[Mutt]

Q&A from Mythic themselves


Q: How can I get into the beta test?

A: There are numerous opportunities for you to secure a spot in the Beta Test. If you are a subscriber to the WAR monthly newsletter you have a chance every month to win a Beta spot. We choose 5 subscribers each month and we'll offer additional opportunities to win spots in the future. If you are not already a subscriber to the newsletter, click here to subscribe.

Also, keep an eye out for special promotions and contests with gaming magazines and online sites. We will be offering many chances to win a Beta spot in the future.

While we haven't worked out the full details yet, anyone who pre-orders the game will be offered special Beta access. Dark Age of Camelot players will also have a chance to get into the Beta Test.

There will certainly be more Beta access opportunities that arise in the coming year and we'll be sure to post the information in this newsletter and on the official WAR website, www.warhammeronline.com.

Q: Do I need to be familiar with the Warhammer Fantasy Battles or Fantasy Roleplay games in order to play the MMO?

A: While our game is set firmly in the Warhammer world, you do NOT need to be familiar with the existing games in order to enjoy the MMO. We will provide you with all of the background information you will need to comprehend the setting and storyline, and become familiar with the various races and characters in the game, If you are interested in learning more about Warhammer, the following links may be helpful:

http://us.games-workshop.com/games/warhammer/default.htm
http://www.blackindustries.com/default.asp
http://www.sabertoothgames.com/warcry/index.asp
http://www.blacklibrary.com/gotrekandfelix/movie.htm
http://www.blacklibrary.com/otherfantasy/

Q: Can you point me to the game's official forum?

A: Mythic does not run its own forums, but we strongly support the efforts of the community and their many forums and fan sites. We will regularly check-in with these sites to share news and information about the development process, and hear from the community regarding their hopes and desires for the game.

A few WAR forums and fan sites that may be of interest include:
Warhammer Alliance
Warhammer Gate
Only-WAR.com
Warhammer Offline
IGN Forum
http://war.mondespersistants.com/
http://www.war-welten.de/

Q: Will there be a monthly subscription fee to play the game?

A: Yes, there will be a monthly subscription fee much like other MMO's. However, at this time we have not finalized our pricing structure.

Q: What are the playable races?

A: This was the number one question from you this month, and I can now read it in five languages. From the lead designer, Big Steve: "Empire/Human, High Elves, Dark Elves, Dwarfs, Orcs, Goblins, Chaos Humans." For all the information we have available, check out our previous newsletters and the Warhammer Online website.

Q: How are the races divided into factions?

A: Some information is available in the backstory we've already released - but Big Steve wanted to make sure that you knew that this early in development, there might still be changes.

Q: Can you clear up the timeline/history issues? Does the Age of Reckoning take place before, after, or instead of the Storm of Chaos?

A: And this was easily the second most popular question. The answer is simply that we're none of the above. This answer comes to you from our lead writer, one of Mythic's many Matts - Matt Daniels: "The Age of Reckoning is set in the "modern" Warhammer world. This is the world in which Karl Franz is the Emperor in Altdorf, Finubar sits upon the Phoenix Throne, and the High King of the Dwarfs is Thorgrim Grudgebearer. That's as specific as we�re going to get, in order to allow ourselves the maximum creative flexibility in developing the game."

Q: What are your plans for European distribution?

A: Some of our most rabid... er, important and vocal... Warhammer Online players live in Europe and around the world, and we want to make sure we treat them right. We have plans in the works, and details are being finalized as we speak. Keep an eye out for future newsletters.

Q: Will there be a Mac/other platform version?

A: I never say never - but we will only launch WAR on the PC.

Q: What will the game be rated?

A: We're shooting for a Teen rating.

Q: Will the six announced races be the only playable races, or will you add others?

The game will launch with six playable armies – Greenskins, Dwarfs, Dark Elves, High Elves, the Empire and Chaos. The Greenskins army is comprised of two separate races, Orcs and Goblins, while both the Empire and Chaos armies are human. However, the Empire and Chaos are designed separately and completely unique. As Greg Grimsby, WAR’s Art Director puts it, "Their equipment will look different, they will have different customization options, and their physiques will be different." So we think of it as six armies, and seven races.

You’ll find many of the other Warhammer races in the game as NPC’s. As for other playable races, let's get WAR out the door before we start talking about expansions… wink

Q: How many realms will there be in WAR?

A: Short answer: we are launching with two realms, six armies, and three battlefronts. Each realm is comprised of a loose alliance of armies that have formed out of circumstance (see the game’s backstory for more details) – the Alliance of Order (Dwarfs, High Elves, and the Empire) and the Armies of Destruction (Greenskins, Dark Elves, and Chaos). Everything you do in WAR furthers the cause of your army and thus your realm.

Realm vs. Realm™ combat in WAR centers around the above armies and takes place on one of three fronts where ancient foes battle one another – Dwarfs vs. Greenskins, High Elf vs. Dark Elf, and Empire vs. Chaos humans. Players begin the game fighting their racial enemy, but are later free to journey to other battlefronts to help their allies in the larger struggle.

A particular dark elf, for example, can work with allies to invade the capital cities of the Empire, high elves, or the dwarfs. That same dark elf can choose instead to defend his own lands or those belonging to his Greenskin or Chaos "allies." Assuming his own interests don't incline him towards betrayal, of course.

Q: How will you prevent spoilers being found on the internet?

A: We won't. Ever try to stop the sun from rising? The minute someone finishes a quest, he is capable of posting how he solved it and what the reward was. It is up to each person to choose whether or not he will use a spoiler.

I do hope that we will be able to make the community webpage the best possible resource for information.

Q: Does the teen rating mean the game won't be dark and sinister?

A: This will not be a cheerful world where unicorns shoot rainbows at grumpy bears. It will be true to Games Workshop’s vision of the world. At the same time, the game will have a "teen" rating, as I said in the last edition of this column. Check out http://www.esrb.org/esrbratings_guide.asp for more information about what this rating means.

[Koltas]

Q: Why is there no Stealth in Warhammer?

In the Warhammer universer or rather within the table top version of the game since it has a little more influence on the design than the RPG book. The army that have special unit that one would refer to stealh is limit to 3 armies. They are Skaven, Dark Elves and Wood Elves are the only whom have unit one would say are stealth oriented. Dark Elves and Skaven have assassin for is there nature of the theme of the army that they are double-crossing individual and not to be trusted. The Wood Elf are more sneak in they are limit that they are able to hide well in the forest. This would be fair unfair for the other race. Games Workshop would never allow for High Elf or Dward to have stealth unit since it not in the nature of this army to try to hide. The Empire woudl be next possible option but again it fall in that the theme of army is The Empire they may not try to hide while fighting the force of Chaos. While it possible that The Empire may have them I would almost bet GW said no to that. Again this game while been develop by Mythic they have to pass much of character design and world design through GW and should GW find not to be in the theme of their game they will say no.
Fuck.

[Mutt]

lol i like the fact that there is likely no stealth. It is quite an overpowering ability in many games and hard to do right. But then Im not a ninja wannabe like you Koltas :p:

[Dong]

Most important question to me: will there be name filtering that doesn't allow the name Dong?

[Whisper]

You could very well have an inside agent to facilitate that name being reserved ;p

-W

[Mutt]

You could very well have an inside agent to facilitate that name being reserved ;p

-Wthink its possible to have an area of the map named Dongolia? :p:

[Dong]

That's awesome, Whisper. I'd also like to get a pony if possible, please.

[Sephiiro]

Griefing
Special steps will be taken to prevent griefing.
Griefing will be punished.
No ganking lvl 1 newbies right when they start (doh)

LOL i can hear the warcraft gankers crying already.......

god i cant wait for this game to come out.......

[Whisper]

A Dongolia map is possible....but only if I am allowed to get within bribing/threatening distance of the actual developers.

If that happens, all hell will break loose. ;p

-W

[Mutt]

Just show them that pic of you in your den with your new "toy"

[Slak]

I love this, Ill almost be halfway out of college before a new game comes out. Good game...

[Elora]

Just show them that pic of you in your den with your new "toy"

The one that goes "BOOM!" :rock:

I want one.

[Mutt]

The one that goes "BOOM!" :rock:

I want one.lol, I can totally see Whisper walking into the dev teams meeting and doing an take on the classic Ash.

"Alright listen up desk monkeys, this is my Boomstick. See the nice shiny barrel? Good. Now I want to talk about some changes we are going to be making..."

[Elora]

*rofl*

Not sure how long the job... or freedom.... would last after that, but it would be beautiful to see!