I was in the closed beta briefly, and have been playing the open beta since it started. So far, my observations are:
The game feels very linear. Actually, it doesn't feel linear, it *is* linear. There is a well-defined path from where you start to where you need to go next. Sure, you can travel to the other starting zones, but that's just one more direct path to the last tier.
For a given career, all the gear looks basically the same. This is especially true for the two careers I've played the most--Zealot and Witch Elf. Upgrades look exactly like your old armor.
Regarding variety, some careers are very limited in what kind of gear they use. For instance, Witch Elves dual wield daggers, period. Zealots uses daggers, period. Etc.
There's nothing that really sets one [DPS|tank|healer] career apart from the others. In Wow, shamans have totems, priests have shackles, mages have polymorph, etc. Nothing like that, really, in WAR.
Somewhat related to the above point, Rune Priest (dwarf healing career) and Zealot (Chaos healing career) are functionally equivalent--just the names of spells are different. There are other pairings, too, for instance in the tank careers.
Cultivation is pretty cool, or at least pretty novel. However, it should have been a crafting profession instead of a gathering profession.
Crafting is pretty much non-existent. You have Apothecary and Talisman-making, and that's it. And your characters can't take two gathering professions--you're limited to one crafting and one gathering.
The game seems to be very much *not* dependent on gear, which I suppose is a good thing. But it also takes away the joy of coming across a good find.
Overall I like the game, but it's really only for PvP. If you're not into the PvP in other games, there's really nothing for you in WAR. Being so heavily PvP-based, though, Mythic has made sure all of the classes have a decent survivability.
The pace of the game is very fast--on my healer, just a few seconds of not casting is enough to fully replenish my action points (WAR's version of mana/rage/energy). The fast pace makes the RvR scenarios very chaotic at times. I suppose you could say that WAR is to MMOs what Diablo was to RPGs.
There are a few other things about the game I don't care for, but I think these they will eventually end up tweaking. For instance, the mail system is a pain to use, and there's no auto-loot feature.
Civil disobedience is an illegal act committed in protest of an unjust law.
If you download music because you don't want to pay for it, that is stealing.
If you download music as a statement against the practices of the music industry, that, too, is stealing, but it is also considered civil disobedience.
Digital paper enabling Anoto functionality is created by printing a proprietary pattern of very small dots...A minute portion of the total patter uniquely defines its position in the full pattern, 60,000,000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to an area exceeding that of Europe and Asia combined."
Great. I bet it's copyrighted, and at 60,000,000 square kilometers, I bet pretty much every possible dot configuration is accounted for. Now what do we do when we want to doodle?
...but I kinda agree with the record industry on this one.
I do believe it was intended as a way to keep large discount chains with multiple product lines from pricing the music-only shops out of business.
The music industry is very new-release driven, and if the large chains can afford to price those titles below cost and get the majority of the business, there's now way for the smaller retailers to keep afloat.
Besides, retailers were free to sell below MAP, they just couldn't advertise it.
Any malicious valdalism of/on the net should send the creator to jail for life.
While murderers can get out in 10?
These worms running around today cause billions of dollars of damage.
I'm of the opinion that companies over-state the damage done by these "pranks," much like the software industry does with piracy.
Why is causing billions of dollars in damage while pulling a prank on a pyhsical object not the same as doing so on the Internet?
I bothers me that you would equate an idiotic virus with the damage done on September 11th. I'm sure the families who lost loved-ones that day would disagree with your assessment.
I doubt that whoever coined the phrase "artificial intelligence" and the primitive Japanese who developed the sound "ai" to represent love were in cahoots.
Um, because they're implying that, with all the silly patents being awarded over the past few years, you could probably patent spoons, forks, and knives?
Wow. A well-constructed, well-written, level-headed response... that unfortunately tells us nothing and is essentially useless.
</yoink>
Why are people so eager to write up a derisive, ugly post that they completely ignore the facts? The guy gave several examples as to why Michael's remarks where unfounded.
Next time, read the post. When you're done, count to ten before hitting the "Reply" link. Give it some time to sink in.
However, since we have no proof that you are in fact affiliated in any way with United Devices
</yoink>
Well, you could email him at his distributed.net email address mailto:nugget@distributed.net, where, according to the site, he's listed as the President, and also according to the site, they've joined forces with United Devices.
For my sanity, and the sanity of the rest of the silent majority, it would be nice if people would do at least a little research before jumping up and down screaming.
We all know that infiltration is a "gateway crime." Young kids who partake of such activities will inevitably find themselves drawn to other, more serious, crimes like skateboarding. And crack.
A person who can speak reasonable English and her native language is far more competent at communicating than somebody who just speaks English, period.
Better-equipped, perhaps, but not necessarily more competent. Communication involves much more than speaking the language.
And, in the US, speaking English fluently and clearly is a major component of having good communication skills.
Slashdot Mirror
I was in the closed beta briefly, and have been playing the open beta since it started. So far, my observations are:
Overall I like the game, but it's really only for PvP. If you're not into the PvP in other games, there's really nothing for you in WAR. Being so heavily PvP-based, though, Mythic has made sure all of the classes have a decent survivability.
The pace of the game is very fast--on my healer, just a few seconds of not casting is enough to fully replenish my action points (WAR's version of mana/rage/energy). The fast pace makes the RvR scenarios very chaotic at times. I suppose you could say that WAR is to MMOs what Diablo was to RPGs.
There are a few other things about the game I don't care for, but I think these they will eventually end up tweaking. For instance, the mail system is a pain to use, and there's no auto-loot feature.
Hear, hear! Just what I was thinking.
Except, maybe instead I was thinking of the blow job being AT the computer.
Joe
What do you mean return to the moon? We've never been there.
Joe
And no, this isn't 'civil disobedience.'
Actually, it is. Or at least could be.
Civil disobedience is an illegal act committed in protest of an unjust law.
If you download music because you don't want to pay for it, that is stealing.
If you download music as a statement against the practices of the music industry, that, too, is stealing, but it is also considered civil disobedience.
Joe
Fiscal years are totally up to the company.
Joe
Maybe, instead of reading so many science "jurnols," you should read a dictionary...and a grammar book.
Joe
I wish you could get your friend, Guardian of Than, to visit the Slashdot forums...
Joe
2003-02-26 18:30:58 A New Tool to Help Telemarketers Fight Against Evi (articles,privacy) (rejected)
From their website:
Digital paper enabling Anoto functionality is created by printing a proprietary pattern of very small dots...A minute portion of the total patter uniquely defines its position in the full pattern, 60,000,000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to an area exceeding that of Europe and Asia combined."
Great. I bet it's copyrighted, and at 60,000,000 square kilometers, I bet pretty much every possible dot configuration is accounted for. Now what do we do when we want to doodle?
Joe
...but I kinda agree with the record industry on this one.
I do believe it was intended as a way to keep large discount chains with multiple product lines from pricing the music-only shops out of business.
The music industry is very new-release driven, and if the large chains can afford to price those titles below cost and get the majority of the business, there's now way for the smaller retailers to keep afloat.
Besides, retailers were free to sell below MAP, they just couldn't advertise it.
Joe
They made their money on the sale of the DVD. We shouldn't be forced to submit to even more advertising after we have already payed for the product.
Joe
Top story on Slashdot:
Your Rights Online: UK Parliament to ban DoS Attacks
Earlier on Slashdot:
Your Rights Online: Legalizing Attacks on P2P Networks
Yup, makes me PROUD to be an American, you bet!
Joe
Because hitting someone in the face is assault and, last I heard, is illegal.
Linking to a web page is not (at least not yet).
Um, shouldn't the table alias go *before* the column? 'tard...
Any malicious valdalism of/on the net should send the creator to jail for life.
While murderers can get out in 10?
These worms running around today cause billions of dollars of damage.
I'm of the opinion that companies over-state the damage done by these "pranks," much like the software industry does with piracy.
Why is causing billions of dollars in damage while pulling a prank on a pyhsical object not the same as doing so on the Internet?
I bothers me that you would equate an idiotic virus with the damage done on September 11th. I'm sure the families who lost loved-ones that day would disagree with your assessment.
Joe
I doubt that whoever coined the phrase "artificial intelligence" and the primitive Japanese who developed the sound "ai" to represent love were in cahoots.
Joe
WTF? Why does his site pop up some German pr0n site?
Joe
Um, because they're implying that, with all the silly patents being awarded over the past few years, you could probably patent spoons, forks, and knives?
Joe
um, it's a joke (or, more precisely, a satire). Joe
Wow. A well-constructed, well-written, level-headed response... that unfortunately tells us nothing and is essentially useless.
</yoink>
Why are people so eager to write up a derisive, ugly post that they completely ignore the facts? The guy gave several examples as to why Michael's remarks where unfounded.
Next time, read the post. When you're done, count to ten before hitting the "Reply" link. Give it some time to sink in.
Joe
However, since we have no proof that you are in fact affiliated in any way with United Devices
</yoink>
Well, you could email him at his distributed.net email address mailto:nugget@distributed.net, where, according to the site, he's listed as the President, and also according to the site, they've joined forces with United Devices.
For my sanity, and the sanity of the rest of the silent majority, it would be nice if people would do at least a little research before jumping up and down screaming.
Joe
Christ stop reading comics and learn how to spell.
Joe
We all know that infiltration is a "gateway crime." Young kids who partake of such activities will inevitably find themselves drawn to other, more serious, crimes like skateboarding. And crack.
Joe
Has anyone in Houston gone by the address listed on the web site and checked to see if it really exists?
According to their site, they are located at:
5773 Woodway #304
Houston, TX 77057
A person who can speak reasonable English and her native language is far more competent at communicating than somebody who just speaks English, period.
Better-equipped, perhaps, but not necessarily more competent. Communication involves much more than speaking the language.
And, in the US, speaking English fluently and clearly is a major component of having good communication skills.
Joe