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| Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning | 
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| From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
List Price: $49.99
Buy New: $18.94
You Save: $31.05 (62%)
New (40) Used (9) from $17.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  133 reviews
Sales Rank: 531
Format: Dvd-rom
Platform: Windows Xp
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Edition: Standard
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 15656
Model: 014633156560
UPC: 014633156560
EAN: 0014633156560
ASIN: B000TD3IA2
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Undertake a wide variety of PvE quest types related to an army's war efforts, | | • | Based on Games Workshop's popular Warhammer fantasy world. Dominated by force of arms and magic, this world provides a rich setting for hundreds of thousands of players to experience the epic nature of war and the glory of battle. | | • | Join one of six Armies and fight for the Armies of Order (Dwarf, High Elf and Empire) or the Armies of Destruction (Greenskin, Dark Elf, or Chaos). Wage war across three unique battlefronts. | | • | Next generation Realm vs. Realm game system integrating both PvP combat and PvE quests on the same map in support of the greater war. | | • | Engage in four levels of RvR combat |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
War is everywhere. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will immerse you in a world of perpetual conflict for years to come. Experience the glory of Realm vs. Realm! Declare your allegiance and join hundreds of thousands of mighty heroes on the battlefields of Warhammer. Enter a grim fantasy world where the armies of Order and Destruction collide to determine the fate of nations. Invade enemy lands, besiege imposing fortresses, and sack sprawling capital cities for the glory of your Realm. The Age of Reckoning has begun.
Amazon.com
War is Everywhere War is everywhere in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR), the new fantasy MMORPG from Mythic Entertainment, the creators of Dark Age of Camelot. WAR features next generation Realm vs. Realm gameplay that will immerse you in a world of perpetual conflict for years to come. Experience the glory of Realm vs. Realm! Declare your allegiance and join hundreds of thousands of mighty heroes on the battlefields of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning to experience the epic nature of war. Enter a grim fantasy world where the armies of Order (Dwarfs, High Elves, and Empire) and Destruction (Greenskins, Dark Elves, and Chaos) collide to determine the fate of nations. Invade enemy lands, besiege imposing fortresses, and sack sprawling capital cities for the glory of your Realm. Wield devastating magic and deadly weapons, battle monstrous creatures, and join your brothers-in-arms in epic Public Quests. Climb the Bastion Stair, carry your Guild Banner into battle, and unlock the secrets of the Tome of Knowledge as you travel the world. Sharpen your blade and prepare to unleash your inner mutation-the Age of Reckoning has begun and WAR IS EVERYWHERE! 
| Key Features
- Realm vs. Realm (RvR) gameplay means you will never fight alone, but as part of an army of allied players sworn to defend your homeland and conquer enemy Realms. Your every action-every quest completed, every battle fought-contributes to the war effort and can turn the tide of battle, bringing victory to your Realm!
- Experience the camaraderie of fighting side-by-side with allied players against otherwise insurmountable odds in groundbreaking Public Quests. These cooperative PvE encounters unfold across multiple stages and allow solo players to experience the glory of RvR.
- Embark on the endless quest to complete the Tome of Knowledge and unlock Warhammer lore, detailed monster information, new abilities and rewards, and major story plotlines. The Tome is also the story of your life in the game, tracking your achievements to share and compare with others.
- Explore massive Living Cities that become more or less prosperous based on a Realm's overall performance in the ongoing war. Navigate a maze of twisting streets, visit the local tavern, explore a dark under-city, and meet colorful personalities in a city full of adventure.
- Advanced guild features give unprecedented control to leaders and members, and make guilds an integral part of the war efforts. Guilds can create unique heraldry, capture and claim keeps, and earn Guild Tactics as they grow in power along with their members.
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Pick your favorite character.
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Battle to the end against rivals.
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Wander through vivid environments.
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| The Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning servers will go live on September 18th, 2008.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 128 more reviews...
 WoW killer- No, but it is better in many respects. September 16, 2008
140 out of 151 found this review helpful
This review is of Beta and of the first 2 days of release, there are some fine reviews further down and I suggest you check them out!
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Let me start out this review saying I am addicted to MMO's.I was in beta for Ultima Onlina, Everquest, Anarchy Online, SWG and WoW. I then went on to play each MMO for several hundred hours if not days. I played WoW for at least 20-40 hours per week for 4 years. My characters averaged 40 days played. That being said (not to brag but to say I know WoW), here is my review of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.
If there were any times that you played an MMO and thought that, something was missing... I am sure that the folks over at Mythic Entertainment thought the very same things. As the torchbearers for RVR or Realm vs Realm battle they understand how to do an MMO right from the beginning. What Mythic did was to build a game where the player vs player was not an afterthought to keep high levels occupied, instead it IS the game. After you are slightly acquainted with the interface you are then thrown head-long into battle. War is all around and they mean it. This game is about fantasy WAR and not about phat lewt, (although there is that sorta, more on this later).
Another feature that is built in is the amazing Tome of Knowledge. If you ever downloaded addons for WoW for use as a record keeper then you will know how this feature works. The really cool part is that this tome is utilized as a bragging tool and it also unlocks character titles. It keeps a record of the number of mob x you have slain, the number of sales to merchants and so on. You'll have to see it to completely get the power of this tool.
Another great feature is the open group system. Being I am almost 40 years old and have 2 kids of my own, the last thing I want to do is log in and be begging for groups with pre-teen jerks angry at the world because some girl turned them down for a date...etc. How the open group system works is there are areas you may be running through and need to kill "X" monster. Well just run into that area and do a group lookup. You will see who is there what step they are on and bam! you can join them. You don't even need to talk to them "omg roxx0rz!".... As long as you participate in the quest and don't just stand there then you'll get the quest done. Which leads me to the final cool feature;
Public Quests (PQ);
Public quests are there to help you complete quests that require a group. Basically same as the open group system except that these quests have several stages and you did not have to have this quest before you came to the area. You can join in at any point in the chain and depending on how much you contribute to the final boss section then the better the loot and experience. So you could walk away with a healing potion or the Sword of 10000 truths. Whatever you get it WILL be usable by you! That's a huge difference from WoW.
So why all the WoW comparison? Many people will say that this is WoW 2.0. I will have to disagree with that. Let me explain it this way. If you are into playing first person shooters. And say, you are looking over the barrel of your gun. Is Gears of War a Wolfenstein 3D ripoff? Well that viewpoint (looking over the barrel), comes directly from one of the first 3D shooters ever (Wolfenstein 3D). Mythic has the same sort of complaint against it. "It is trying to be like WoW too much". To be honest WoW took alot from Dark Ages of Camelot which was the MMO pre-wow. The look of the orcs comes directly from Games Workshop which is where Warhammer comes from. If you are playing an MMO would you rather the players playing not have an idea how to play or would you rather everyone could play pretty well on their own. Being that mostly everyone coming to Warhammer has played an MMO before it is a benefit to everyone that Warhammer has a "similar feel" to all other MMO's that predate it.
The game allows for massive customization of your character. You can customize it internally. Meaning you can get abilities and skills that are more about power on the field of battle and less about the glowing codpiece of doom. The graphics are at this time (just after release) moderate and do use DirectX 10 to some extent. They are scheduling to allow people with ubermachines to ramp the setting up soon. Just realize though when you get 200 people on the field fighting, you may not wish to be able to count the nose hairs on each player, instead blast them first and count nose hairs later.
I am beginning to get the feeling this this is a much more mature players game and less for the kids to show off in. It's like that Nivia for Men commercial, " they got to see me, I got to attract them somehow". Being there isn't a huge glowing customizable look it may be off-putting to some that feel they NEED to have a glowing sword. The artwork in this game is amazingly real and very beautiful.
Final thoughts, the look of this game is one of realism and is very close to what tabletop Warhammer players would find appealing. You can play greenskins that are crude and really fun to play, or be a serious Von Helsing type character that looks like a swashbuckling hero. Either way you should have no problem finding something you like among the 20 classes.
Hope to meet you ingame!
Exactly what I needed September 24, 2008
37 out of 39 found this review helpful
Mythic knows how to run a successful MMO. They make the big, hard decisions. When class balancing and fun was at stake, they cut four classes in order to both balance the races, but also because the classes weren't up to snuff. And when all six capital cities were being problematic, they took out four of them and will release them as free content later.
Coming from Dark Age of Camelot, a game that unbearably belongs to the first generation of MMOs, Mythic decided to take the Warhammer lore and craft a game that they know best: realm versus realm. Warhammer Online (WAR) takes everything they tested, tried and made work from DAoC and pushed it forward into a new generation. Writing this review is tricky, because on the surface WAR is like most MMOs out there. But it's the details and the small things that make it something completely different.
Let's start with the way the game is set up. From the beginning, PvP is important as one of the first quests you receive will be to complete a scenario. In this way, WAR emphasizes its committment to more than PvE. In fact, a PvP'r could spend his or her time entirely PvPing and level all the way to the endgame. It helps that scenarios are constantly running and chances are you'll be in one before you know it.
The distinction, though, is that if you don't really care much about PvP, there are other opportunities. Firstly, literally hundreds of quests are out there, each with rewards that are specific to your class, meaning you won't be doing a quest for a nice axe that you, a healer, can never use. The zones begin as approximately 80% PvE content, 20% PvP. As you continue through the zones and into different tiers, that percentage will change, but there will always be PvE content.
One complaint I hear all the time is "I don't like PvP," which usually means...I don't like to be ganked by people twenty levels higher than me when doing a quest. Don't blame you, which is why the PvP system in 90% of the WAR servers is perfect. PvP only occurs on your terms, by entering a designated zone. Stay out of those zones and you won't have to worry about that pesky Bright Wizard. What about balancing in the zones? I don't want a level 40 PvP'r heading into a level 1 zone and laying waste to everyone. Don't worry, if someone enters a PvP zone too low for them, they are turned into a chicken.
Then there are the dungeons, all made to be completed by a small group and not some bloated raid. And with each dungeon being split into wings that should take 1-2ish hours to complete and having armor sets, there's plenty of fun content to be had.
But that's not all. Spread throughout the entire game are approximately 300 (according to developers) Public Quests (PQs). These PQs are areas within each zone that are open to everyone of your side to participate in. No matter whether you're grouping with someone or not, you'll contribute to the various stages of these areas (stages that range from killing a number of things, fighting a boss like a dragon or destroying urns) and, when the PQ is over you roll on a loot bag. What makes this work even better is that each loot bag will have a piece of equpiment that your class can use, guaranteed.
Additionally, there's a bar that tracks your story chapter's PQ progress and awards you three different items (usually a potion or talisman, followed by equipment and then a weapon) as you progress through three tiers.
Awards abound at every turn, even in PvP as you are tracked separately by your PvP level. At certain levels, or renown ranks as they're called, you'll have access to not only powerful equipment but also renown skills that will help you in both PvP and PvE. But let's not stop here; each of the race pairings have zones that are grouped into tiers, with tier four being the high content. Each zone has PvP areas with towers and, as you progress into tier two and beyond, keeps. Both sides (Destruction and Order) can take over a keep and, if your guild is high enough in rank (more on that later), you can capture a keep in your name.
But keeps are also treated like PQ areas, being populated by NPCs and a very strong leader that also supplies equipment. Fighting into a keep can turn into epic encounters, with siege weapons, rams to break down the keep's walls, boiling oil for the defenders to pour onto wouldbe attackers, places for ranged attackers to unleash devastating spells and arrows...it's quite a rush to be involved in one, especially as both sides start to get more aggressive, calling in reinforcements to help.
And as the game progresses, these types of battles become more common. Which is a huge difference from the elephant in the room, World of Warcraft. WoW crafts a similar structure, with two side duking it out...but it was never meant to be a truly PvP-centered game in the way WAR is. From the very beginning, you are immersed in this warfare, from the very first level all the way to the end and beyond.
And all of this is before you get into how many bars/levels there are to tackle. Sure, the game is capped at level 40 at launch, but that's not taking into consideration that each chapter of PQs has a bar with loot associated to it or that there's 80 renown ranks that will take a lot of PvPing to hit, or that your guild actually levels up to 40 based not on how many members you have in your guild but on their accomplishments, a system that benefits both small and large guilds. Guild ranks are actually important as they provide you with a ton of abilities, from being able to carry benefit-providing standards to having a guild vault to access to guild auctions, crafting vendors, quick flight paths to the dungeons, the ability to take keeps, etc.
There's just so much here, so many shinies to grab your attention. And it's all tied into the Tome of Knowledge, a large compendium that tracks everything you do from quests to accomplishments to titles, etc. It's so indepth that you have to wonder how Mythic pulled it off. And pulled it off, they did. WAR is a monumentous game that feels as relevant and genre-shifting as WoW did when it came.
So, there you have it. A very rambling review that didn't even touch on half of what the game has to offer (did you really want to be here for another century?), but will have to remain incomplete. Because, here's the thing. Even when you strip away all the little details, the leveling and all of that junk that I spent forever typing about, what we find is...this game is fun. And diverse. And it's just what I wanted and needed from a MMO.
A Better Comparision with World of Warcraft WOTLK September 17, 2008
35 out of 41 found this review helpful
Note: You will not understand this review unless you have played World of Warcraft (WOW) and know the game well.
Updated: Dec 2, 08
------------------ Graphics ------------------
Graphics are beautiful, colorful skies and atmosphere, though more realistic earthly colors than WoW. You can color your own gear with dyes. Character creation has many different hairstyles (braids, free flowing, locks, short cut, bald, ponytail, bifurcated) and effects (ie glowing eyes, tattoos, scars).
------------------ Game Mechanics ------------------
PVP:
Enter BGs from LV 1-40 anywhere, anytime through a button on your menu. After the BG, you will resume whatever you did before you left for the BG. You gain EXP, $, and titles for PVPing in battlegrounds. You can PVP your way to LV 40 without PVE-ing. Every 10 levels (tier) you will PVP in completely different BGs. So you can't play the same BG again unless you are in that tier (ie WSG only accessible from LV 1-10). If you are low level, WAR will level you up for the BG temporarily (ie from LV 4 to LV 8). If you are 10 levels above a person you're trying to gank, you will be turned into a chicken (ie Unlike WOW, a LV 70 can gank your LV 10 arse forever).
Public Quests: Random PQs go on in all zones. Just enter the scene and fight. No raid OR party needed. If you participated enough, you will get extra bonus points on your /random roll and have a higher chance to win loot.
Leveling: Built-in Quest Helper mod directs you to quest destinations on minimap. Keyboard mapping, NPC trainers, Buying/selling, AH, and movement is similar to WOW with a low learning curve. However, WAR is laggy, requires polishing, and melee/spell actions are not as instant as WOW.
Server types:
Open RvR (Realm vs Realm) meaning PVP - very little safe spots like WOW's PVP.
RP (Role play) - Serious reputation, do not take lightly. Much more intense RP than WoW's RP servers.
Core (normal servers) - Predetermined PVP areas like WOW.
------------------ Story ------------------
Warhammer has 25 years of history, since the 1980s. The history is very well developed and linear. You can read your own history and lore as it develops while you participate in quests (menu option -"Tome"). This is similar to WOW's "Achievements" system.
------------------ Music ------------------
There is very little music. Most sounds are ambient, background noises, yelling.
------------------ Raiding ------------------
I have heard that there are instances, but I don't know enough to comment.
------------------ Social/Guild ------------------
No lack in player base, however there is a dearth of public chatting overall. Most chatting is within the guild. Guilds gain exp points and level up as the players in the guild level. Guild taxes allow you to tax your guild members on all their loot a % amount.
------------------ Opinion ------------------
If you enjoy PVP, buy the game. WAR has many, many opportunities dedicated to PVP in many different BGs. WAR has more PVP opportunities and BGs that are unique and exciting. Also, WAR is fair unlike WOW and its disadvantages to one side, most notably the Horde and AV, and also with the new Strand of the Ancients where Alliance has a slight advantage to the game.
Great game. Give it a try. September 17, 2008
33 out of 38 found this review helpful
This really is a great game. At first I thought I would hate it, but it grows on you fast.
Ignore all the negative things you have heard about it. The graphics aren't bad, they were locked on low during beta. This game doesn't need a super computer to play. It isn't a copy of WoW. There aren't many bugs and it is having a pretty good launch.
So what is good about the game? This game is about RvR combat (good vs bad). Starting at level 1 you can pvp and get experience from it. You don't have to level to 70 then spend 6 months raiding for gear just to pvp. The classes are very well balanced. The fights take longer then 5 seconds. Leveling can be done many ways including pvp. This is player vs player combat at it's finest.
Don't want to jump into pvp at the beginning? There are lots of quest and a great story line. Want to solo? You can do that easily. Want to group? There are public quest where you will learn to group, get great gear, experience and meet some new friends. Are you a casual player? This is the game for you. You don't have to devote you life to it.
In no way do I mean to put down other mmorpg's. They are great as well. Warhammer has enough of "other games" built in to please the masses, but has fresh new gameplay to make you want more.
Does this game look like WoW. Yes, but it is totally different. In Warhammer you are either Destruction or Empire and there for one reason, you are at WAR.
Best Game Ever or Game of the Year? You decide! September 22, 2008
25 out of 32 found this review helpful
"Warhammer is to PvP as Warcraft is to PvE."
That sentence should sum it up sufficiently for a lot of you. But I'll elaborate:
Warcraft took over the market not by doing anything radically new and special, but by taking common fun elements from a lot of other games and packaging them together with a good interface and a solid game engine. The really special thing about WOW was that there was nothing special to complain about, provided what you wanted was a PvE game -- players fighting the environment (monsters, quests, computer controlled bad guys in general).
Warhammer is taking almost exactly the same approach, but where WOW focused almost exclusively on PvE, WAR is focusing heavily on PvP -- players fighting other players.
There is nothing radically special about Warhammer as a game engine. It's not going to knock your socks off. The graphics are a small step up from WOW but still clearly aimed with "mass appeal" in mind (where "mass appeal" means "runs on 4 year old computers"). The design elements are things you will recognize from other PvP games. But like Warcraft, it takes these pre-existing elements and packages them together very nicely in a game that lacks the major flaws of its predecessors.
So to rephrase my first sentence a bit, World of Warcraft brought PvE to the masses. Warhammer Online is bringing them PvP.
And I think they're ready for it.
Warcraft whet your whistle with battlegrounds but Blizzard has never really understood the potential place of PvP in a game. Here we are, what, 4 years into WOW's lifespan and there are only 4 battlegrounds? And some Arenas you can run across in the space of 15 seconds? They toyed around with open world PvP, but nothing serious. And yet despite these limitations, a lot of WOW players spend a lot of hours playing battlegrounds, Arenas and looking for an excuse to get into open world PvP. People who are into online gaming generally expect to be able to engage in battle with other online gamers and WOW's failure to deliver on this has always baffled me. A lot of players want more PvP.
Warhammer gives you more. You can literally create a level 1 character, plop down into the world and immediately, without moving, queue for a PvP battleground ("scenario"). In your first 11 levels you have 3 different battlegrounds to choose from. Your next 11 levels will open up 3 more and I'm not sure how many open after that (I haven't gotten there yet!). You may find yourself engaging in meaningful world PvP ("RvR" -- Realm vs Realm) within your first day of gameplay. You certainly will if that's your aim.
However, they didn't completely abandon PvE. The only thing I think you'll see missing compared to WOW are the breadth and depth of "epic endgame PvE raids" -- WOW's bread and butter, the semi-mandatory "honey, hold all my calls, I'm going into a dungeon for 2 hours" gameplay that WOW made into its core. In Warhammer you'll still find ample numbers of regular quests and even some dungeons if you want to take a breather from PvP, but you're not meant to spend 2 hours locked into a dungeon fighting a computer. They've also done an interesting thing called "Public Quests" and "Open Groups" but I'll let you read up on that elsewhere.
Long story short, I won't say that Warhammer is a "WOW killer" because frankly they're going after different audiences. However, anyone playing World of Warcraft for the PvP element is wasting their time. Warhammer Online is the holy grail of PvP gameplay.
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