p.s. -monthly fees F*CK THAT

@ Pentacube

It also makes you look foolish to take things out of perpspective. I'm sure i can trawl the internet to find sources for Tolkien's influence and design but that wouldnt be the point, the point is a comparison between war and wow...Warhammer being alot closer to fantasy source material and influence than blizzard who i already stated used warhammer 40k designs as an influence for their starcraft series. i also chose my words carefully, i didnt say it "created" a genre i simply said "defined." Another case of someone needing to read before they comment.

"In WAR, Orcs don't dance like MC Hammer outside the auction house. Why would they? They're too busy beating down Dwarves, stealing their delicious beer, and swearing in cockney English accents."

While WAR is fun, it is in no way the best MMO out there right now. It's a great distraction to WoW until WotLK releases.

I've been playing WAR since beta, the ToK and beastiary are excellent, there are many issues.

The questing system praised above makes it so the average player simply ignores the quest text at levels past 5 and simply run from red spot to red spot on the map killing whatever is says on the mouse-over, and ignoring any storyline.

While the PvP and queueing system are excellent and much more convenient than WoW, upper level PvP has MAJOR balance and gameplay issues. Dont believe me? Level a character to the Tier 3 PVP (minimum level 20) and go join some battles. CC and knock-backs make the gameplay less than desirable when every class has them, and most are in an AE form. It's less about fighting and more about ping pong at that moment, and sadly thats how most tier3 scenarios play out.

I think the biggest exception I have to this editorial is the "No more grinding" claim... Maybe re-address this when you get into your high-teens and low 20's...

The quest content in the starting areas do not pace you well enough into the next areas. There simply isn't enough quests/experience before they filter you to the next town/area to quest there. This is even with a lot of RvR going on between quests, and doing full PQs in those zones. While this isn't that big of a deal when you're level 5 going to Krom Kor Gap, or level 9 going to the beginning of Barak Varr, when you're only level 15 and storyline puts you into a level 18-20 area, you have 2 options, 1. leave your faction zone and begin repeating the same tier with another faction pairing, 2. grind, either in RvR or in your last quest area until you gain enough levels for your spells/abilities to actually land on the mobs (for those saying that I need to PvP more, that isn't the issue. I've been capped on Renoun at each level, since it can't progress past your base char level, making PvP less rewarding than grinding mobs, which is a whole other issue).

Those Public Quests which were great at levels 1-15 are more and more difficult to complete when you get to chapters 8,9,10+ due to the fact that there are very very few players around you. Good luck soloing stage II or stage III by yourself when you need to kill 1 hero and 3 champions to complete the objective (oh, and they're 2-3 levels higher than you because of the story/experience gap).

Don't get me wrong, WAR is a fun game. It's leaps and bounds better than Conan, which was an abortion of a game after level 20... The RvR (both open Keep battles and Scenarios) are fun, but there is not the class and faction balance in the upper tiers that you see in WoW. It also has nowhere near the polish that you see in WoW. If you're lucky enough to stumble into a PvE instance, you'll see that very clearly as you clear the instance and complete it (Don't expect a Dire Maul type encounter in the 2 Inevitable City's gladiator arena, it isn't even close to RFC).

WAR is fun, but it's in no way a WoW killer, and it's far from "the best MMO out there right now". That title still falls to WoW, and that will be even more evident in November with WotLK.

@pendola

It took WOW years to hit that level of polish. It wasn't all roses on release thats for sure. War's release has easily been better.

I actually like that I don't have to read a wall of text for quests either. I like that it shows me where to go so I can play without alt tabbing to websites just to know what to do.

I also disagree about the pacing. In those zones, when you reach warcamps there's always quests where you fly to other zones. Nothing says you have to only stay in your race's zone the entire time obviously. If you're just rushing through each zone then thats not really war's fault. Thats your own decision. Just like people who do scenarios and RvR from level 1 - 40. Just another way to play the game. Thats what I really like the most about warhammer. I can play the game how I choose to play.

lol @phnatom boner, best name ever. also i agree with what you where saying

I agree that WAR is a fantastic game, but people won't give up their friends they made in WoW to move on to a better game. I'm afraid that's all WoW has become: Renting out your friends.

I completely agree with the author. The reason some people think this game still is a grind is because mythic starts us off so fast and we never want to get off the fast track.

As a hardcore mmoger, I've realized how much content i've missed 'grinding'. So yes, I can get to lvl 25 within a few days, but I miss out trying all the different scenarios, taking keeps, getting my t2, t3 sets, instances and PQ (i do pure pvp grind - khaines embrace t1, mourkains temple t2 and tor anoc t3).

Having said that, I would like to point out to all the hardcore gamers complaining that there is still a grind that you're bullshit. We all have the option of slowing down and really appreciating the time the devs have put into the game, but if ur like me and don't want to, then its ur own problem. Any mmog that has a lvling system where u want to beat everyone to the cap will seem like a grind no matter how they make it.

@Samael

I'd have to say the orcs in WAR are definitely not the evil stereotype. Orcs and goclins in WAR provide the game with awesome comic relief. Clicked on an orc a couple times to hear its responses. The npc farted, and said "Hey! My bum just spoke!"

And then there are the orc quests like taking a bag of poo... placing it in front of a dwarven stronghold, lighting it on fire, a dwarf comes out to stomp on it while you kill him and take his hat. Yeah, really evil.

I must be a rare case or something but I just gave up WoW. I've been playing WoW since it came out. Been there when Hillsbrad was the original Battleground. All you had to do is go over there and the first thing you normally would see would be people ranging from 20 to 60 fighting. After years of playing, WoW has lost its vibe within me. Its now all the same to me. Doing battlegrounds constantly. PvE never changes except when they add new instances. Then they get old very quick. I've played DAOC as well during those times. I loved the mechanics in both. I never liked blizzard but they made a good game. But I like Mythic and their games more. This past June, I quit my character. Psychotic on Blade's Edge server. I was one of those people who had tier armor up the ass until WoW: BC came out. Then when arenas started, I finally said screw this when I had full season 3 gear in a few weeks. I need a change. All of my friends on the same server as me has all decided to move onto Warhammer. I was in closed beta, open beta, and headstart. After playing WAR and WoW, I don't care how good supposedly WOTLK is going to be, I still believe Warhammer will triumph. I'm not trying to convince anyone to move over, but this is my honest opinion. I really enjoy everything about Warhammer. For those who say "I'm not going to switch because I'm a WoW only person" you should atleast try someone elses account who you know has one.

I've been a big WoW fan for the longest time, but people WoW gets old, nothing changes. At least Warhammer, when someone takes over a keep or nodes or even start losing a main city, all other areas get affected by it. The world is constantly changing. Leveling up guilds, your characters, your cities. Everything has its own entity and EXP bar. I know this message is going to piss off a few people, but oh well. It's only my opinion. All I say is give WAR a try and if WoW still suits you better, cool, at least you have tried WoW's competition. Have fun and hope to see you at WAR!

I was a Guild Master of a top 5 Alliance guild in WoW. I farmed all the time, actually liked it, also enjoyed helping get most all my raiding members keyed for the level 70 raids. To make a long story short, I quit, and no I didn't give the guild away I told the members that WoW was just not exciting for me anymore, the same things every day ... got old to me, so I just turned off my account. The farming I enjoyed so much made me hate the game. Farming Kara, Tk, SSC, Mt. Hyjal, BT, and SWP all of it got old. Mostly because the people on the server got greedy. When WotLK was announced most of them wanted to play their alts and gear them through the T-6 crap and would you guess they were in greens and blues....now come on!!

Anyways I heard about War and signed up for the Bata and I fell in love again. I wanted to do the renown farming and the PQ grinding. I also like that I don't get spelled locked the entire time till I am dead by a rogue ... thats because War don't have them!!! Reason # 2 I love War.
I would recommended playing War to level 30 before making a choice of how good or bad it is. Personally I feel it is the best game out there for me. I also feel that the PvP content in War is 100 times better that WoW for many reasons.. one I like is that they have diferent BG's for each tier and not just 4 that you are stuck playing from level 1 to 70.

For starters, I am a WOWer now playing WAR. I like WAR better for the following reasons:

1) YOU get to pick how you want to level. If you like grinding, you can level that way. If you like BGs, you cna level in BGs. If you like quests, you can level that way. Most quests are soloable. Public Quests (PQs) are not. But you don't need to join a group to do them; if you desire, you can simply be in the PQ area. Everyone there contributes to the collective goal and is graded on their individual contribution when it's time to divvy up the loot. No matter how you prefer to level or play, WAR gives you an opportunity to pursue that style of play. FAR superior to WOW's mandatory quest/grind system of levelling!

2) In terms of RvR (PvP), WoW is no match for WAR. For unknown reasons, the best gear in WoW is only available in Arena play. Ludicrous since Arena play occurs in closed containers and doesn't let you use all your toys and abilities. WoWs attitude towards PvP is cavalier, at best; it seems PvP is a necessary evil to them, included in lightwieght form only because players want it, not because they think it has value.

On the other hand, WAR give RvR/PvP the full hands on treatment. If you like WoW style BGs, WAR lets you LEVEL by playing similar type instances. And you get loot while doing it!

If you play on an Open RvR server (the only way to play if you ask me), you can fight the enemy everywhere except a few safe zones. Even on non-open RvR servers, every zone has areas where RvR is available - and who controls those areas affects your game. Tower to capture, castles to seige, huge battles over strategic passes or 1 on 1 encounters, WAR offers it all!

3) As mentioned above, I don't need to pocket my best toys to qualify for the best gear. I can USE my heal pots, my Netherwing pet dragon I worked so hard to get but can't use in Arenas, my energy boosts - they ALL work in this PvP play. WoWs arenas are a joke for that very reason: they limit your use of items you earned in non-arena play. I will never understand why WoW thinks this is desireable - or sane.

Does WAR have faults? Sure. Every game does. For starters, Mythic has never been known for being computer-resource friendly. A low end system won't run it. A middle of the road system may bog down in large encounters. Such is life in a land of 100+ vs 100+ man fights over Keeps. The polish is not there yet. This is expected in a game which was just released. I currently have a pair of armguards whose icon looks like boots and even displays as boots when I put them on - even though the game treats them as though they are in my arm slot. Monsters sometimes lag when you atack them at distance, then jump forward to appear next to you. Disturbing, but playable. The mail system doesn't offer a "you got mail" flag in the UI. Completely baffling as you frequently miss any chat box mail notice if you are in battle. The mail system also only lets you mail 1 item at a time, another strange limit which most assuredly will be improved in a future update.

So, to those who say WoWers won't switch to play WAR. YES WE WILL. I already did. I predict many more will follow.

I played WoW since it came out and got two lvl 70 and soon another but in the end I quit around 4 months before War came. Even though I never played very seriously I had alot of fun while lvling and doing UBRS. I guess what ruined the game was how Blizz made TBC with free epix and quite boring/stupid lore (Dranei) and also the reason I quit the game. One thing I think War fixed from War was grinding and giving some real PvP action not just grinding BG 100 times to get marks for Epix. Tactic slots and moral skills also gives a more advanced play style requiring more experience and gear will no longer give you the title "Pro". In the subject of race lore I prefer a stereotypically brutal orcs than being a flower sniffing Tauren who really should be stomping gnomes as the flies they are. Orcs using every single minute figuring how to best smash and kill their enemy fast and most painful. Not having to see your enemy in same armor as yourself since each race have their different classes and play style. To make balance you see similarities such as how both Witch Hunter and Witch Elf can use "stealth" only its not overpowered here and you got a time limit + action point drain (no mana, rage or energy in this game) I could go on a long time like this but I got something else to do :) Sry for writing so much for War but I just couldnt help it after experiencing how War differs from WoW in so many things :P

I had previously played wow a ton (was in a high-end raiding guild) and quit because I realized they encourage the grind. daily quests, insane faction numbers required for rewards, buff food, pots, etc... for raiding.

Warhammer doesn't have any of the grind feel to it. Each chapter has a faction, and doing 2/3 public quests is usually enough to max you out on influence (read: wow faction), which takes maybe 1-2 hours. Then you're rewarded with gear pertinent to your level.

I agree though, tons of people won't want to give up the time invested in their wow toons. they should though.

And I got a free month when I signed up, not sure what the person above is talking about. Its the same as any other MMO, when you sign up it asks how you're going to continue to pay, so you enter CC or gamecard info to register.

oops didn't see the rest of the comments. I disagree that there isn't a balance, you have options as a healer to avoid getting wtfpwned by a stealth (witch elf) toon popping up behind you.

Its a better, more well-thought out game than wow imo.

All you WoW players make me laugh becuase you all say "I'm not gonna leave WoW because of my time and effort I have put into my 70's" Well for your information everyone is starting over again! At 71 everyone is the same as you! Eveeything you have worked hard for over the years is GONE thrown out the window, done your the same as the next 71 next to you. Enjoy the WoW shortbus I won't miss it!

I don't think WAR will over-shadow WOW in the near future. But it doesn't need to in order to be very successful. I think most WOW players will keep playing their game because most of their friends are there and they enjoy the PvE much more than the PvP. Because let's face it, WoW PvP has taken a nose dive since BC.

Then there are those who enjoy PvP and simply thrive for group-oriented PvP with strategy and a sense of accomplishment. I am one of those players that enjoyed the WoW quests, and the amazing artwork, and the occasional raid. But the lack of quality PvP and guild oriented PvP was a huge factor for me when switching to WAR.

WAR offers RvR which hasn't been replicated since DAOC. WAR offers mind blowing artwork and creativity with public quests. Basically, WAR offers similar attractions that WOW has while offering players with the potential for large scale battles that shape and mold not just the player and the guild, but the whole realm. Finally a player's actions can contribute to the whole game world. This is something that is missing from WOW...maybe WOTLK will change that.

WAR class balance was based around the classes, thus making it better for PvP. WoW class balance was based around the monsters, which in turn make it pretty skewed for PvP. WAR set out to make a PvP MMO, and threw in PvE as a needed appetizer. WoW did the opposite.

I've always hated WoW, but for none of the above reasons I stated. I just found it god-awfully boring. Personally, WAR is the best MMO I have played since UO. Big thumbs up from me.

ok I am writing to help you decide whether you should try Warhammer (my exp is valid up until tier 4, i am black orc lvl 31).

First, I love wow and I still think it's a very good game. But I must now admit, WAR is the holy mother of MMORPG.

Why?

- YOU CAN CHOOSE TO PLAY IT THE WAY YOU WANT

very accessible to both hard core and casual players. there are many things that you can do. 20 classes (which will be 24) with 10 different mechanics.

PVE lvling is more fun because it comes with interesting objectives and less grinding time needed (but some grinding remains - it's a MMORPG for god sake). Public Quest and Influence gain are also very good ideas.

Instances: although there arent a lot of em yet. They are separated into many sub sections which can be done in a short period of time, or you can spend more time and finish all the quests in one go.

scenarios (battleground): about 20 battlegrounds with different play styles, you can hardly get bored.

RvR World Pvp battles = Dynasty warrior + Wow + Counter Strike 3 in 1. and you get to fight for the control of keeps. buy rams, ballistas etc.

Lots & lots of character customization.
Dyed items, trophies. You can also adjust different tactics to suit with playstyle.

waaagh, I could go on and on....


Summary: just try it. atleast you will get to know what it's all about. I say you try it. but I also know that when you do, you will already cross the point of no return.

how much did they pay you to write this crappy article? let the people chose, and don't talk shit about either game

why the fuck are ppl saying there is a difference between the 2 games. it's the same friggin thing. grind levels, rvr = BGs. only difference i see is WAR lags a lot and things aren't as smooth as WOW. i mean for god sake's the character window's text are crammed and shit. just wait after awhile people will start writing how WAR sucks and it takes your life away