Warhammer-Online-news-Update-1-3-4-preview
MMORPG.com's Garrett Fuller asks a few questions of the team at Mythic Entertainment of the most recent update to their MMORPG Warhammer Online.
MMORPG.com: How does changing the scenario system impact players the most? Will removing the less used scenarios help with wait time?
James Casey: The biggest impact of the scenario system changes is that there is a higher concentration on scenario quality and consistency. For some of the more popular scenarios, we're extending them across multiple tiers, so players can learn the ropes in the lower tiers and be masters of the scenario by the endgame. Each tier also has unique scenarios, so there's something fresh to experience. In selecting those, we focused on scenarios that were more appropriate given the abilities players would have at those levels. This new scenario allocation also means that at any given time, people will always know what to expect from the scenario systems, the gameplay, and the rewards. This is especially important in Tier 4, where the dependency on the campaign meant that there could be as few as one scenario open for players. Now there will always be at least six.
As for wait time, removing the less used scenarios should help with wait time in a number of ways. With a consistent and manageable core group of scenarios (in tier 4 especially) that are comprised of some of the most popular scenarios, the pool of players for any given scenario should be larger, which in turn brings less wait time. Additionally, the scenarios that were selected for Tier 4 centered around a group of scenarios that have similar ending times and renown gain, so that players would be more likely to embrace the variety. With the addition of Warfront events, weekends will be buzzing with players revisiting old scenarios, which should drive bigger pools in a targeted fashion. We'll be monitoring the metrics of scenarios post 1.3.4 to see how well the new lineup affects wait time amongst a number of other measurable goals.
All activities in WAR contribute to the campaign, as it is the primary focus of the game. Each of the aforementioned activities generate Victory Points (VP) which measure a realm's progress in capturing a zone. When one realm reaches a designated amount of Victory Points in a particular zone, that zone falls under their control and the war pushes deeper into enemy territory. This back and forth struggle for zone control continues until one side holds two racial pairings, and the attacking side may sack, loot, and pillage the enemy's capital city. The capture of a capital city is the pinnacle objective of the campaign. Once a capital city is taken, the attackers are given a period time to loot the city. When this period expires, the defeated players receive increasing support from NPC guards until they are able to force the attackers out of their city and close the gates. At this point the campaign then begins anew, restarting the cycle.
Keeps and Keep Sieges were introduced into WAR’s Realm vs Realm combat system during the Closed Beta phase of testing. Keeps can be captured for Victory Points towards your realm and can be claimed by the capturing guild. NPC guards are stationed at all keeps (claimed or unclaimed) to ensure that a certain level of difficulty is maintained and that, at minimum, six to twelve players are required for capture. Should players decide to defend it; the difficulty in capturing the keep will increase greatly. Keeps are decorated according to the aesthetics of the race that currently controls it; however, the basic layout will stay the same. If a keep has been claimed by a guild, it will display the heraldry of that guild. Siege warfare includes four types of siege weapons: rams for destroying keep doors, ballistae for targeting enemy players or destroying enemy siege emplacements, cannons, catapults, and trebuchets for AoE splash damage, and boiling oil to use from keep walls. Emplacements located around the keeps, known as siege pads, are used to determine where siege weapons can be constructed. The pads themselves can be destroyed by players of the defending realm, inhibiting the siege process.
the relative business: