Most RvR zones on all servers have quickly become vacant wastelands of unfulfilled potential because of Scenarios, which are short, instanced games of combat that can be accessed anywhere at anytime. Defeating opposing players grants Renown that can be used to purchase new gear, and players have quickly caught on to the fact that they can gain more Renown in a fifteen-minute Scenario than traveling the globe for an hour in search of a fight. I can only hope that this changes with time. Scenarios are fun, but combat was designed around group-battles with heavy-duty healers standing behind walls of immovable warriors, not capturing flags.

The layouts of the realms are partially to blame as well. From the rolling hills of Norsca to the clawing spires of the Shadowlands, the world is an amazing place to explore, but only the winding roads of the Greenskins vs. Dwarves areas feel like chaotic battlegrounds. Elsewhere, opposing factions are purposely kept segregated with mountains and canyons, making contact rare outside of the occasional crossroad. It doesn’t make sense when you consider that players on Core servers are invulnerable outside of RvR zones, and the brave souls of Open RvR servers expect a little ganking now and then.

While RvR combat needs some tweaking, questing doesn’t get much better than this. Quest objectives are clearly marked on the map so that you don’t have to wander aimlessly or spam the chat channels with help requests. Even better are the 1-1 drop ratios. Gone are the days of killing fifty wolves for one measly paw. What were they doing with rare axes and no feet anyway? If you’re feeling social, repeatable Public Quests are everywhere. You can jump in at any time and even hop between Public Quests of equal level to build influence for unique rewards. With so many options, WAR is very close to being a grindless MMO.

Thanks to the Tome of Knowledge, WAR is also one of the very few MMOs that allow players to choose their paths to greatness. The Tome is a book waiting to be written by your adventures, with every action bearing the potential to add an entry and grant rewards. Some entries, like killing 25 Dwarves are easy to uncover, while others are shrouded in mystery. Want to know how I got my stylish cape? Figure it out for yourself. Working from the Tome alone, you could endeavor to complete every Public Quest, discover every hidden lair, or be the best damn killer of spiders the world has ever seen. Just because everyone else is raiding doesn’t mean that you have to.

If raiding is your thing, EA Mythic has guild-building down to a science. Instead of the glorified chat rooms that pass for guilds in other MMOs, the guilds of WAR encourage teamwork and participation. As members gain XP and Renown, so does the guild, gaining access to battle standards, vaults, meeting taverns, and even the ability to claim a keep in RvR zones. If you’re not in a guild, even the capital cities gain ranks from you participation. New vendors, quests, dungeons, and places to explore are popping up all the time. In fact, the capitals are so massive that I suspect you could get all the way to Rank 40 without ever stepping foot outside.

After looking back at all these factors, it’s obvious to me that even when it faltered, Mythic poured every ounce of its soul into WAR. Then I look at the crafting and think, “Why did they bother?” Apothecary and Talisman Making, supplemented by four gathering skills, are the only trades offered. There are no recipes to collect, so keeping a journal in real life might be a good idea. Even then, different combinations of ingredients will make items with the same effects but different names, so they don’t stack. With the cultivation skill, two of the same seeds can grow into entirely different plants. It’s easily the weakest part of the design.

WAR isn’t perfect, as evidenced by my daily bug report, but no MMO at launch can be inspected as a final product. You have to look at it as a framework for the patches and content to come, and just two weeks out, it has already set the new standard for questing with Public Quests, the Tome of Knowledge, and near-complete lack of grinding. WAR has me hooked for the next few months. That I know for sure. With an overhaul of the crafting system and a few tweaks to RvR, we’ll start talking years.

Questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you