In Warhammers not to distance future, we’re going to be looking at some pretty significant changes in the ORvR zones. The news from UK Gamesday in Birmingham yesterday was pretty sweeping, with a lot of stuff laid out. For more detail, please check War Aura and Bruglir’s Blog for the writeups. It’s worth noting that this will be the 2nd time that Mythic have changed the mechanism for controlling the ORvR zones since launch. For me it’s far too early to pass any comment on it. I need more time to get my head around it all. Yes Mythic, you finally delivered the meat in my sandwich.
Of course it will not be perfect when it’s rolled out, since things like this always need tweaking, but this new change will have been designed to get people out into open field ORvR, which is where the game is at its strongest. No one wants to spend all day just playing wack a mole on a keep door.
You have to give Mythic credit, if something doesn’t work, then they have always been willing to shake it up. The New Frontiers in DOAC, was such a change and that was a far greater upheaval than this.
Now the one thing that I was uncomfortable about, was the online shop. After the denials over the previous months, about not going F2P, this seems like the opening gambit in such a move, or a move along the lines of D&Ds, Subscribers and F2Pers.
It’s like F2P by stealth, whereby the shop mechanism is rolled out and tested, then bit by bit more of the game becomes available in this manner. At the moment we will be getting the vanity items this way and of course Mythic will be selling their Down Loadable Contect (RvR Packs) with the same tool. Before long I wouldn’t be surprised if access to Tiers wasn’t parcelled off in such a manner. Tier 1 F2P, with Tier 2,3 and 4 being £5 each for example, all from the online shop. Nothing too expensive of course, all little micro transactions!
If we do go down this road, it does make me question where the game is going. There is undoubtably a loss of status when you go F2P and has to be deemed a step down from the top table of MMO’s. It’s kind of like saying our content can’t survive within its original model, which WoW and EvE somehow seem to make work.
It will be very interesting to see where we are in 1 years time. If I was pragmatic about it, then if that’s whats needed then so be it, but once you open Pandora’s books, it can’t be closed.
The question is, which is the real shake up?
With a bit of luck, I will hopefully get to look at the changes outlined yesterday later on this week, but my most pressing concern is getting my games machine back up and running. Ho Hum.
Yeah vanity pets are fine, but with them coming with buffs will make them necessary if it gives your opponents an advantage.
100% in agreement. Either they are vanity or they aren’t. If you get a buff, not matter how minor then they aren’t vanity only.
Mythic will argue that they need to be slightly attractive in terms of buffs to help in the sale, but it’s a rocky road.
[...] Skar gives Mythic props for their willingness to change things, but is dubious about the direction micro-transactions may take WAR. [...]