| |
|  | | | | | 
 We’re almost ready to re-open the WAR Beta, and I know that our Beta Community has been gnashing their teeth in anticipation. Guess what? They should be giddy with excitement because we’ll have an amazing amount of new features and enhancements in the game for them to test, as well as brand new Elf content for them to experience.
Before getting into content specifics, I wanted to share a quick word about our testing process as we’ll be doing things a little differently in this next phase of Beta II. Instead of bringing up the Beta server and leaving it up 24/7 for free play, we’ll be moving forward with a series of focused Beta events set around a specific concept or two. These events will last anywhere from 3-10 days and will enable us to gather specific, detailed feedback from our Beta Community in regards to specific features and locations. We’ll be bringing the server down between each event for a day or two in order to prepare for the next focused event. This will also give us time to process the feedback we receive and incorporate it in future events.
When Beta reopens, players will be treated to what we’re calling our “Dark Elf Sneak Peek”. During the first weekend, the Beta Community will be able to play through the Dark Elf starting and Tier 1 areas with two new careers. We are going to ease players back into the Beta to spend some quality time with the Dark Elves, as well as with many newly updated UI elements, such as the Tome of Knowledge. We are looking forward to hearing the community’s thoughts on these areas of the game.
Much of the testing over the next three months will be focused on RvR and the enhancements we are implementing to this system. The team has been diligently working on the Open Field RvR experience while the beta has been closed and they are anxious to debut the expanded Battlefield Objectives with ... wait for it ... new RvR Keeps.
While we aren’t ready to publicly discuss Keeps and their siege mechanics in great detail at this time, anyone that has taken part in a Keep battle in Dark Age of Camelot® will have an idea of what we have in store for WAR (though it should be noted that this new Keeps system will differ from the one found in DAoC). The addition of Keeps will bring focus and meaning to Open Field RvR and beta participants should be able to experience this new system in its early stages by the end of the year.
Player Careers have also received a lot of love and attention these past couple of months. One of the biggest issues raised during the beta was the perceived lack of differentiation between characters of the same career and same level. Why should every level 30 Warrior Priest look and play the same way?
We are actually approaching this issue from two different angles:
First, we’re introducing the concept of Career Mastery to better differentiate character abilities. This new system allows a player to customize their character’s skills to suit their desired play style. It allows an archetype career (Tank, Ranged DPS, etc.) to stay true to its role, while giving the player the flexibility to pursue specialized skills to make their character more unique. To learn more about Career Mastery, please read this week’s Beta Update posted on the WAR Herald.
Second, we are implementing our Trophy system which will allow players to visually differentiation their characters from others of the same career. This system has always been planned and is now being introduced into the game for the first time. In a nutshell, players are awarded visual bits, or Trophies, that they are then allowed to place on their character in pre-determined slots (the number of slots is determined by a characters level). Over the course of the game, you’ll literally be able to earn hundreds of these Trophies, way more than you’ll be able to equip at any one time, and display them in thousands of unique combinations.
This combination of the Trophy and Career Mastery systems, combined with our player creation options, numerous available armor sets, armor tinting system, and weapon variety will ensure that no two players will ever look the same on the field of battle in WAR.
One final system to discuss and that is Public Quests. PQs are an exciting aspect of the PvE side of WAR, and they are something new and completely unique to our game. They have been very well received in beta, but we’ve been tweaking and enhancing them to make them even more engaging and fun. One of the biggest changes to PQs are the way we divvy up loot. We’ve implemented a new and improved loot system and we’ll be very interested to hear what the testers think of it.
With all of these new additions and exciting new Elf content, we’re certainly going to be keeping the Beta Community busy well into the new year.
Speaking of the new year, you’ll be happy to know that we’ll be *finally* inviting a few thousand guild members (from specific guilds chosen in our Guild Beta contest) into the Beta in early ’08. They will be helping us test the newly implemented “Living Guild” features. Believe it when we say that guilds won’t just be a glorified chat channel in our game. They will have their own personality that the guild members can craft as they play WAR, and some significant new ideas make them a vital part of our game.
That is all for now from the Beta. For those of you still waiting to get in, keep checking your inboxes because we’ll continually be bringing new participants into the game as we ramp up our testing efforts in the new year.
Every week or so, you’ll find a regular Beta Update from the WAR team discussing their current projects posted on the WAR Herald. This is a great way to keep up with the ongoing development of the game and learn more about the team’s goals and vision. November 28 Update
November 15 Update
November 8 Update
October 18 Update | |
| | |
 |
| | | 
 Only by the divine will of the Witch King is a Druchii allowed to study the high art of magic. Those who succeed in the twelve tests of a Sorceress are found worthy and embrace the Dark Arts of his majesty. A Sorceress must walk the dark paths of the Realm of Chaos, the deep pits of the oceans, and the raging bowels of the fiery mountains in her quest for knowledge. The channeling of the raw Winds of Chaos and the binding of these forces give the Sorceress her power. Such power is vast but dangerous, and the aspirant to the Dark Convent of the Sorceresses must be courageous and strong. She must be wedded first and foremost to the great Witch King, and so may never take a husband nor sire children. - From the Sixth Book of Secrets by Kaladhtoir of Clad Karond 
Watch the exclusive video introduction of the Sorceress (more breaking news!) and stay tuned for more career information in future newsletters. Learn more about the Sorceress in PLAY Magazine’s Girls of Gaming Vol. 5 (available in early December). | | | | |
| | | | 
| We are very excited to announce that work has begun on a new cinematic trailer for Warhammer Online! We are once again collaborating with Blur Studio, the Venice, CA based company that created our first cinematic and introduced the world to WAR. To whet your appetite and share with you just a hint of the many great visuals still to come, here is a sneak peek at the video’s Chaos Marauder in all his mutated glory. 
Stay tuned for more as each month we’ll be giving you another peek at the work being done on the cinematic. Enjoy! | | | | |
| | | | 
| 
"While Lesser races must study magic in its corrupted broken form, our Mages harness its power as pure mystical energy. Our minor spells, those Lores taught to the humans by mighty Teclis, are but a pale reflection of the power that can be wielded by an Asur fully trained in the magical arts of the white tower."
- Loremaster Haydrel, Archmage of the White Tower Read more about the Archmage >> Archmage Staffs | | | | |
| | | | 
 Violent and apocalyptic energies were unleashed, tearing the northern lands of Ulthuan apart. A wall of seawater a thousand feet high crashed into Nagarythe and drowned countless thousands. At the last moment, Malekith and the other surviving Sorcerers chanted spells to preserve their greatest fortresses, transforming them into floating Black Arks. These sailed westward, eventually coming to rest in the north of the New World. Malekith named this land Naggaroth and his exiled people, now called Dark Elves, made a new civilization for themselves. 
What little remains of Nagarythe is a tortured and twisted land, blasted by fire and seared by destructive magical energies. Strange, mutated creatures stalk this gloomy, barren wasteland of gray earth and black stone. The High Elves named this cursed place the Shadowlands, for it seemed always to be in darkness.  Read More About Shadowlands >> 
| | |
|
|
|
| 
| 
The Tome of Knowledge is undeniably cool. I say this with every ounce of humility, it has little to do with the fact that I’m working on it. I say this because, not a conversation about the Tome goes by where I don’t end up leaving, pad of paper and pen in hand, rushing back to my desk to take notes about new Tome ideas. Every presentation I’ve ever given has begun with me suggesting some of the ways in which we use the Tome, and the recipients giving me fifty of their own ideas. My mother tells me what she’d like to see in the Tome. The press tells us what to put in the Tome. People at conventions tell us what should go in the Tome. And above all, every person working on Warhammer Online has an impact on what goes into the Tome. So it is my great honor to be able to work on this system. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the concept of the Tome of Knowledge, allow me to use common references that may set your imagination ablaze. Picture the diary that Sean Connery (Henry Jones) keeps in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and then multiply by it by the Xbox 360 Achievement system, and then multiply that by a thousand. Read more about the Tome of Knowledge >> | |
|
|
|
|
| 
| Player Mounts are the primary form of free-roaming fast transport in WAR. Travel routes are great when you want to get from Point A to Point B, but nothing beats a trusty warhorse if you want to take a journey that is off the beaten path! Players will have a variety of options when it comes to choosing and using a mount, including unique mount types for each race and temporary “rental” mounts for low level players. However, you will have to be careful when riding you’re trusty steed across the battlefield. You definitely don’t want to be thrown from you’re horse because you tried to ride it into a lake. And you certainly don’t want to get shot off the back of you’re steed as you ride into battle. In future newsletters we will dive deeper into the mounts in WAR, including specifics on where you and you’re mount can travel and customization options your high level mounts! | |
|
|
|
|
| 
| Destruction players will come across a Dwarf Ironclad crashed ashore near the Port of Barak Varr. Behind it is a wake of destroyed greenskin barges, and fortified within is the King of Barak Varr himself, Byrrnoth Grundadrakk. Players will fight their way into the nautical tank and eventually come to face with the stalwart king in epic battle. King Byrrnoth Grundadrakk eyes narrowed as the extent of the destruction across the Port of Barak Varr came into view: fires raged, billowing clouds of smoke rose, and greenskins swarmed. With a grim resolve in his eyes, he roared a command to his engineers below decks, "Higher! Stack the furnaces higher! I want to smell the fire of Grimnir’s rage aboard my ship!" The stout king surveyed the length of his Ironclad. Its hull was fashioned with ore from the deepest mines in all of Karak Ankor. Its engine was seen to by the most reliable of engineers this side of Karaz-a-Karak. He whispered the prayer of his ancestors reassuring himself. "By hammer, by forge, by beard, we shall endure always as the mountain does, and so shall my ship." Read More About King Byrrnoth Grundadrakk >> | |
|
|
|
| | | 
Warhammer Online Podcasts are now available on iTunes! Subscribe today! 
Click Image to Watch Podcast
This month, Associate Producer Josh Drescher unveils two major updates to important areas of the game: the Career System and RvR Combat. Based on your feedback, we are adding some exciting new enhancements to the career system that will allow players to create more individual and specialized characters. We are also adding new features to Open World RvR to make it more meaningful and exciting. Watch the video for the details! | | | | | | | | | 
| Each newsletter, the Video of the Month brings you a fresh, new look at WAR in action! These videos are not highly polished marketing trailers, but clips of raw game footage showcasing many of the cool features of WAR. 
Click Image to Watch Video
This month we wander into the dark streets of the Inevitable City, the sprawling capital city of followers of Chaos. Though still very much a work-in-progress, take a frightening journey through this urban nightmare in an exclusive first look at this tainted city. Inevitable City Concepts | | | | | | | | | 
Join Creative Director, Paul Barnett, and his trusty video phone for a truly unique look at the making of WAR. This month, Paul shares more from behind-the-scenes including Chaos city goodness, more on the sorceress and why you just need to trust in the chicken. View the Video Blog >> | | |
|
|
| | | 
| 
The WAR Beta is scheduled to reopen in December and now is the time to sign up if you’d like to take part in one of the largest beta tests ever for an MMORPG. We’ll be admitting a horde of new recruits so sharpen your sword, unleash your inner mutation, and prepare to meet your destiny on the battlefields of Warhammer Online.. Sign up for the WAR Beta at:
betacenter.eamythic.com WAR is coming! Are you ready? | | | | | | | | | 
| There are a million stories in the Age of Reckoning just waiting to be told. What is your tale? 
Okay soz dis is a story about howz I killed a whole army of stunties and saved da whole marshez outpost. Oh and got rich too.
Anyway I'm runnin along in da swamp, and I sees dis ork boy standin at da base of a hill. He tellz me that therez a bunch of stunties wit cannons up on dat dere hill, and he sez if I dont come wit em and kill all da stunties, he's gonna eat me!
Now I'z usually not likin' threatz n wot not, but dis ork was pretty big, and I wuz thinkin he could prob'ly outrun me, so I figgure best to listen to im. Read This Month's Beta Journal Entry >> | | | | |
| | | | 
| 15% Holiday Discount at the
EA Mythic Store WAR is coming! Are you properly dressed? Receive 15% of of any purchase made at the EA Mythic Store December 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007.* Enter this code at checkout - holiday07. Supplies are limited so order now and start your WAR collection today! | 
Visit the EA Mythic Store! * Offer valid for U.S. residents only | | | | | | | |
| EARN A SPOT IN THE CLOSED BETA! Feeling creative? We know we have some talented fans out there and now is the time for you to demonstrate your skills. Send us your WAR-inspired art and we’ll showcase the best submissions in upcoming newsletters. Plus, featured artists will be invited to join us in the closed beta test! Get into the spirit of the season and send us your best holiday related WAR Fan Art to be featured in the December newsletter! |
| | | | | | | | 
| EARN A SPOT IN THE CLOSED BETA! Have a knack for creative writing or a story you are dying to tell? We are looking to “publish” the best WAR-inspired fan fiction written by our readers. We will choose our favorites and feature them in upcoming newsletters. Plus, featured writers will be invited to join us in the closed beta test! Submissions must be no longer than 2000 words. This Month’s Featured Stories Order
A Wonderful Start to a Day, Dante
The Dance, Legionaire Destruction
Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold, N. Patterson
The Forgotten King, C. McDowell The Legends and Lore section of the WAR Herald is only as good as the community can make it! Check out the stories from the Armies of Order and Destruction, and let us know how many mugs of ale each tale is worth. (Votes do not immediately display.) Think you can do better? Submit your own! Submit your WAR Story >> | | | | | | | | |  
| | | | | | | | 
 |  | | | "MMOs are nothing without the players. It is my belief that if players are able to effectively communicate, then the MMO will thrive. The Community Systems team is really striving to create the functionality needed to make a living, breathing community in our game." Developer Profile >> |  | 
| | | "Whereas another person might spend their days at work thinking about how best they can expedite an order or shipment, I spend many hours thinking how best to mutate a zealot’s face into the most painful and disturbing configuration possible." Developer Profile >> | | | | | | | | | 
| The WAR Beta may be closed until December but there is still chance to get in when it reopens with all new content and RvR mayhem! Each month we'll randomly select 20 names from the newsletter subscriber database for entry into the Beta Test.* If you are a current Warhammer newsletter subscriber, then you're automatically entered into the drawing every month. If you are not yet a newsletter subscriber, visit betacenter.eamythic.com to register for the Beta and subscribe to the monthly newsletter. November Winners: | M. Hammer/North America | J. Arndt/Europe | | K. Bridgman/North America | A. Guerin/Europe | | B. Rademacher/North America | J. Yothanan/Europe | | W. Hoover/North America | J. Bunyan/Europe | | B. Harding/North America | D. Selby/Europe | | M. Grindle/North America | B. Epsley/Europe | | K. Spotts/North America | R. Mermoz/Europe | | N. Zmia/North America | A. Spoerry/Europe | | K. Collins/New Zealand | B. Carbin/Australia | | T. Abrahams/Australia | P. Fraser/Australia | | | | | | | | | | 
| This month, decorate your desktop with more images of WAR. | | | |
|  |  |  | |
|
| | | | |  | | Each month we’ll be shining the spotlight on WAR fan sites that exemplify what we consider to be the best in WAR community spirit. 
Warhammer Vault is celebrating its first anniversary of covering Warhammer Online news and providing some of our community members a place to call home. As a thank you and well wishes for many more years of working together we have provided them with some exclusive screenshots. You can check them out and the rest of the site here! 
WAR-RvR recently got a new coat of WAR Paint in order to provide you with as much news and content as they can throw at you. Check out the new look and stop by the message boards while you’re at it! Is your fan site doing something cool, informative, or fun? Let us know by sending an email to war-community@mythic.ea.com and you could be featured in the next community spotlight. Download the WAR
Fan Site kit. | |  |
| | 
|
| Defender of Ulthuan An epic struggle engulfs the land of the high elves. 
The high elves have long been the protectors of the Warhammer World, and their homeland of Ulthuan is known for the powerful magic that surrounds it. At the heart of Ulthuan lies a magical vortex, and the mages who created it remain trapped in a space out of time, endlessly working the spell that keeps the world from becoming a seething Realm of Chaos.
When Ulthuan comes under attack from the forces of Chaos and dark elves led by the Witch King and the hag sorceress, Morathi, the high elves must hold firm or face disastrous consequences.
In Defenders of Ulthuan Graham McNeill tells the epic tale of the struggle between good and evil.
You can read a sample chapter of Defenders of Ulthuan for free on the Black Library website. | | |
|  |
| Warhammer: Forge of War #5
Cover A 
Cover B
Warhammer: Forge of War
#5 (of 5)
Written By
Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton Illustrated by Rahsan Ekedal Colored by Rob Ruffolo Warhammer: Forge of War features exclusive new screens and artwork from Warhammer Online. For a special sneak preview of Warhammer: Forge of War #5, click here. Visit www.boom-studios.com to order, or call 1-800-COMICS to find your nearest comic book shop! | | |
|  | | | |
| | 
| | | | |
| | | | Stay tuned for more information
about our upcoming 2008 show schedule! | |
|  |
| More news and information about the Elves, including: New Dark Elf Career
Revealed New Career Profile Zone Overview – Ellryion Plus, some exciting new
announcements and more
details about RvR and
Careers, as well as
exclusive screens, concept
art, videos, and more! | | | | | | | | |
|
|  | * Beta test participation is subject to the signing of a beta test agreement.
If you prefer to no longer receive the Warhammer MMO newsletter,
please login to your account to edit your profile for this mailing list. Attn: Customer Support, EA Mythic, 4035 Ridge Top Road, Suite 800, Fairfax, VA 22030 U.S.A. 'Warhammer' ©/™ and/or ® GW Ltd. Newsletter © 2007 Electronic Arts Inc. All Rights Reserved.
EA and the EA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the
U.S. and/or other countries.All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
Legal Information Privacy Policy Terms of Service | | | | |
|
Portrait of a Goblin
Lord of Tzeench
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Drive by Squig Herder
No comments:
Post a Comment