I think the secret is out by now – I’m totally sold on Warhammer Online.  I have been for quite some time really, simply based on the fact that Mythic was developing it and I had such a blast in DAoC.  Yes I know there are other MMOs coming that break into new genres, have micro-transactions, etc. etc.  Yeah yeah…we can get back to all the industry changing and ground breaking stuff tomorrow.  For now, let me revel in a solid fantasy title with some great world RvR in it!!  Waaaagh! 

So PAX  just finished up this past weekend, and for those of you lucky enough to attend, I’ll be pulling out my voodoo dolls tonight just to spite you!  But I may wait long enough for all the write ups and videos to appear.  One such “impressions” article by Raelimar is already up over on the Only-War forums.  I enjoyed the entire piece, and completely agree on the graphics and UI as I stated in my prior post on the subject.  But I especially enjoyed his take on the various careers (and he played most of them).  I only got to play four of the careers at GenCon, so I was interested to see what he thought the others were like, and also to compare my impressions to his.  Finally – I haven’t completely decided whether to go Order or Destruction.  Both sides have an appeal to me, so as of now I’m still wide open. 

So without further ado, my impressions of his impressions of the overall impression (Keep in mind he played with much higher level characters than I did at GenCon):

Hammerer:  This is a class I did not get to play at GenCon.  Haven’t been that excited about it based on what I’ve read to date, and this impression didn’t do anything to change that (as it was his least favorite class).

Runepriest:  This was the first career I got to play at GenCon, and it fits the role I’ve traditionally played in MMOs – a cleric/priest/healing type.  Coupled with being a dwarf, it seemed like a very natural fit for me.  I enjoyed the Runepriest, and defintely healed much more in our RvR scenario than I did melee or ranged dps.  But I concur with his writeup – yes every class can fight, but don’t expect the Runepriest to top the damage meter charts.  I think I did 12k healing compared to 1k damage.  It just made much more sense for me to continually buff and heal my group and let them slaughter.  That’s one of the reasons I really don’t want to play a Runepriest – I’d like to break my own mold and play a real damage dealer.  I can remember what some of the heavy hitters in DAoC rvr could do, and I always envied their ability to cause mass destruction (and rake in realm points).

Engineer:  I never played this career, but I did get to watch a dev playing one for about ten minutes or so.  What I took notice of the most was the use of the turrent, and how much damage it could do.  It sounds, from the write-up, to be overpowered at the moment, so it may be changed before release.  I just know that in DAoC rvr, bringing death from range could be a real advantage.  I expect the Engineer to be a very popular class on the Order side of things.

Ironbreaker:  I’ve never been a tank kind of guy, so I don’t ever look too closely at tanks or tank information.  From his writeup, Raelimar really didn’t either.  I can’t say it better than him, so here it is:

Oh. My. Freaking. God.   I’ve never experienced tanking like this in any game, let alone a PvP-based MMO. The defensive capabilities of this career are mind-boggling, I can’t even begin to describe it. DAoC fans will be happy to know that Mythic has brought back the “Guard” ability, which splits damage between you and a targeted ally. Then there’s of course “Taunt”, which by itself is probably the most powerful defensive ability since the fabled-Bubble Hearth-but without the crap. Ironbreakers also have “Stances”, which I haven’t heard talked about. One of them increases Morale gain for your group, the other increases your defense. I’m sure there will be others, but I only saw those two. This is the first time in the history of MMOs, for me, where I’ve felt like tanking is as significant as healing in PvP, if not moreso.

I still don’t think this will sway me into being an Ironbreaker, but boy I sure wouldn’t mind being teamed up with one for protection.

Choppa:  Probably not a career I’d look at heavily if I go Destruction, and it certainly wasn’t Raelimar’s cup of tea either.  I want to believe that melee dps will have a chance in Warhammer’s rvr, I really do.  I just haven’t seen enough of it in action for myself to know for sure.  I keep thinking that somehow the melee dps folks will get rooted or stunned and blasted into oblivion before they can do much.  Maybe I’m just having bad DAoC flashbacks.  So for now, I’m not really considering this career although it may prove to be more viable than I’m giving it credit for.

Squig Herder:   O.k. I’m not a pet class person either.  I just don’t like managing pets and animals and summoned spirits from the nether regions.  Too much baggage.  I just want the focus of dealing with my character.  That said, I’ve probably missed out on some fun times by not trying pet classes, but such is the price of having a bias.  It sounds like there’s some decent ranged damage to be had, but you had better know how to utilize your different squigs (I’m sure former WoW locks and hunters will have no problem) or you could be in real trouble.  In any event, this would not be the Greenskin career that I’d choose.

Black Orc:  as I said, I’m not a tank.  The impressions I read about this career didn’t do anything to change that.  But apparently if you like to kick people in the nuts this may be the career for you.

Shaman:  This career is definitely in the top five that pique my interest.  If I do decide to play a healer/support role, this one would definitley lure me towards playing Destruction.  It sounds like he saw much more offensive capability with the shaman than he did with the Runepriest, if you compare the two impressions.  Again, I’m being drawn to the idea of being more of a huge damage dealer/nuker for WoW, so that aspect of the Shaman is really enticing.

Bright Wizard:  Yes this seems to be the career that epitomizes what I’ve been saying I want.  Pure, carnal, damage!!  Lots of people at PAX and GenCon seemed to agree as it gets played a lot.  I’ll definitely take a look at it, but it just seems a little vanilla to me for some reason.  Maybe because I’ve seen a lot of videos with it, or write ups about it, or because it seems a bit of a one-trick-pony (FIRE!).  But there’s no denying this is a heavy damage dealer, so if I go Destruction, I’m keeping well away from the guys in red.

Magus:  Ranged DPS for Chaos, that match for the Bright Wizard.  I know jack about the Magus really, except that I’ve seen them flying around on their disc.  Sounds like this career can go nuke for nuke with the Bright Wizard, and is potentially tougher to bring down in a fight.  If I go Destruction, I’ll definitely have to research this class more.

Zealot:  Probably the one class (before Elf/Dark Elf info was released) that piqued my interest the most.  It was one I made a point to play with at GenCon doing some PvE, and I think I got up to level 5.  I loved it at the lower levels, and reading Raelimar’s impressions, it just solidifies my thinking that this will be an awesome class and probably pretty popular.

Hands down, my favorite class not just in this game, but in any MMO from UO to date. We’ve all heard Mythic talk about how casters will be able to hold their own in melee, and I’m sure that like me, you’ve smiled politely while thinking to yourself “BS.” However, 5 minutes into playing my level 21 Zealot, I had an epiphany – they’re not just capable of holding their own in melee. They’re bloody freaking good at it. I’m not talking about taking hits on the chin, ripping your opponents to shreds. That’s far too simplistic. Zealots, on the other hand, are one of the most beautifully innovative and complex careers in recent memory.

I love the idea of the laying down the rituals, dotting, debuffing, and essentially melting faces before people can really even get to you.  Definitely the front runner of careers pulling me toward Destruction. 

I would comment more on the announced Elven classes, but it’s late and I don’t have all that at my fingertips.  That said, I’m pretty excited about the Elven Archmage.  The way they describe that career in the Leipzig videos, it just sounds like it will be one of the best healer/support (ranged dps??) classes out there.  I can’t wait to get some hands on time playing that career.  I think there may still be an Elf ranged dps class to be announced, so I can’t wait to see what that might be.

Finally, my personal “Top 5 Classes that Most Interest Me (atm!)” list:

1.  Zealot

2.  Archmage

3.  Shaman

4.  Runepriest

5.  Magus/Bright Wizard

If by some chance Warhammer ends up sucking, or I end up not liking it and quitting, you can all remind me of these fan-boi articles and throw tomatoes at me while I eat my words.  :p