Live Warhammer Online Q&A today

By Robert Purchese Published 3 February, 2009

With Paul Barnett from 5.30pm GMT.

Warhammer Online creative director Paul Barnett will be answering your questions live on Eurogamer from 5.30pm GMT this Thursday.

As with all our live interviews you'll be able to pop your questions to him via a moderator, and Barnett's responses will appear magically on the same page. You can start submitting questions an hour before kick-off.

Barnett will be outlining a tricky year ahead for Warhammer Online. Mythic remains aggressive, and recently unveiled a very meaty series of updates to roll out from March.

These re-introduce the cut Dwarf Slayer and Orc Choppa classes, as well as open a Land of the Dead zone where players can delve deep into the Tomb Kings dungeon.

This, we're told, will be immense; a spiritual successor to Darkness Falls from Dark Age of Camelot, where all three factions contested control of and access to the riches contained within. And, once ownership changed hands, lingering dungeon-delvers would clash violently with the influx of opposing revellers.

And that will be the tip of the "live expansion" iceberg for 2009, apparently.

Join us from 5.30pm GMT on Thursday to find out about that, amongst other things, and how Mythic plans to re-claim the wave of deserters.

Head over to our Warhammer Online gamepage to get up to speed.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DFawkes #1 3 years ago

    I've only just started playing, so look forward to asking a few things and not being horribly misquoted this time. I even promise to be nice, I quite like WAR so far.

  • Fleisch #2 3 years ago

    I'd like to know when they plan to sort out the PvE and the sensation of emptyness to the zones now most people have levelled...

  • Orange #3 3 years ago

    I wonder how much of the original design they regret, there were some fundamental errors in making the game so WoW like with two factions, WoW style combat and the look of the game.

  • stepneg #4 3 years ago

    Where's the free trial? I would love to try it but after the abortion that was Conan I'm not laying down cash for a boxed copy.

  • sneetch #5 3 years ago

    @Orange
    I wonder how much of the original design they regret, there were some fundamental errors in making the game so WoW like with two factions, WoW style combat and the look of the game.

    I doubt you'd get many people to agree that those are errors.

    There are two factions because that makes sense in Warhammer (Order vs. Destruction) and there were always problems with faction balance with DaoCs three faction system (as any Hibernian player could tell you).

    The combat is about as different to WoW as you can get with ability based combat in a MMO (nearly all MMOs work like that, pretty much) with several clear improvements over WoW: the rapid health regeneration out of combat so you're not sitting and eating for 20-30 seconds or nagging your healer for heals during PVP, the fact that you respawn back at a friendly camp unflagged for RVR rather than corpse run to find a dozen rogues camping your corpse when you're killed in PVP, the fact that healers can do something other than just heal in RVR, just some examples.

    The game looks strongly like Warhammer rather than WoW (with over 25 years of design work Warhammer has a very distinctive style), although it does have elves and orcs and dwarfs so yeah, superficially similar.

  • Orange #6 3 years ago

    Two factions does not make sense in Warhammer, its always been a multi-factional world. Dwarves fighting alongside Elves? Orcs and Chaos? Not in Warhammer.

    Neither is the look in the game similar to the Warhammer style which was for the longest period a lot darker and grittier than what is in the game.

    Also you are wrong about the healers, certainly in the first few months when I played the overwhelming bulk was healing. I mixed in a lot more offensive work into my Resto-specced Shaman in WoW even than on my Rune Priest in WAR. Most scenarios and RVR ultimately boiled down to who had the best healing, just like WoW. Although really my big complaint there is not the importance of healing, which is a useful mechanic, but the lack of combos and the use of just the same old push button, wait for cast to finish, push next button.

  • DFawkes #7 3 years ago

    I feel the 2 factions thing works perfectly. I read the graphic novel before playing, and the motivations of the faction leaders to do such makes sense. I agree that Orks and Chaos makes less sense, and even in the graphic novel it's more of a case that the Dark Elves manipulated the Orks to work towards a common cause as Chaos, but it still makes sense. Though the 2 capital cities thing is less easily defendable.

  • Slabbathepave #8 3 years ago

    @DFawkes

    Which graphic novel is that and where can i grab a copy? Really getting into WAR and Warhammer in general....the whole thing is new to me and i find myself very interested in the lore.

    The sense of humour is right up my alley.

  • DFawkes #9 3 years ago

    The one with the Collectors Edition, I'm not sure if it's available seperately (actually, a quick google says it is on Mythics US store <a href="http://www.mythicstore.com/index.asp?PageActio n=VIEWPROD&ProdID=49"> here</a href>;). It's called Prelude to War, if you want to keep any eye out on Ebay.

    I always recommend the Warhammer Army Books too if you want to know a specific races story, they always have interesting bits and pieces about the races history. I'm not even into the tabletop game much, but I still get some of the Army Books for the lore.

  • Notez #10 3 years ago

    @sneetch
    There are two factions because that makes sense in Warhammer (Order vs. Destruction) and there were always problems with faction balance with DaoCs three faction system (as any Hibernian player could tell you).
    Any Hibernian enchanter player...? :)

    There were many good points about a three realm system when it worked and Darkness Falls was pretty sweet when it opened. Almost makes me want to fish my copy of WAR out of the trash can.

  • mikeck #11 3 years ago

    Firstly to correct the article, the Dwarf Slayer was never cut from the game, the Dwarf Hammerer was, and a much more welcome addition the Slayer will be too!! I'm looking forward to resting my engineer for a while in order to try my hand at melee dps with a character style I really like the look of.

    "I'd like to know when they plan to sort out the PvE and the sensation of emptyness to the zones now most people have levelled... "

    Agree, needs asking. I rerolled to Order and have pretty much levelled my Engineer through scenarios, and oRvR only (whereas with my Herder I mainly levelled through the quests and PvE, and some scenarios) and have only now started to try and incorporate more questing into my game, as I get further into T3 I'm finding it very empty, and as much as I want to try all the new PQ's (especially the advanced reward ones) I can't as there's barely any people around, although I'm on a very active server (well, especially in the oRvR) it is starting to get lonely at times in the PvE. I really want to make more of an effort with the PvE but I'm slowly giving up on it entirely.


    Edited by 1 at 04/02/09 @ 09:40

  • Wellytopp #12 3 years ago

    What happened to the Halflings? dirty little scrotes that they are,... Ask Barnett that, NPC's refer to them in game, where are they?..

  • actionfitz #13 3 years ago

    "As with all our live interviews you'll be able to pop your questions to him via a moderator".

    and if the Craig Morrison interview is anything to go by... dont bother asking any questions that are remotley critical as you wont see them.

    Now that little rant is out of the way, Im actually looking forward to this one - paul barnett is actually quite entertaining and his game is in allot better shape that AoC ever has been. I stopped playing, but still quite like WAR. hope the new classes provide the much needed variety in mellee dps roles. I played Witchelf and Chosen... left due to frustration at getting constantly ounted into lava in the only T3 scenario that ever had players... fucking tor anroc, fucking iron breakers, fucking gingerbastardcasters....
    /cry
    hehe.

  • Slabbathepave #14 3 years ago

    They probably should try and do something about the server populations. I havent played long but i havent been able to do a single Public Quest yet. Not one. I try and often times i grind the easy first part out alone but as soon as they need groups thats it. A real shame because WAR has the potential to be great and for that reason alone i am sticking with it i think. It does so many things well and differently that it deserves more attention.

    Amen.

  • Yoghurt_Pot #15 3 years ago

    Wars RVR is pale in comparrison to Daoc. Global cooldown timer, lack of reactionary styles or queue system, empty rvr. Warbands that just farm BO's for gold bags. Hell ive even seen warbands head in opposite directions to AVOID each other so they can just farm towers.
    I think they dumbed down the combat too much to capture the WoW fans and then wrath was released...

    The major gripe though was the complete lack of region chat - even when it was implemented it was hardly ever used. Made me feel like i was playing a single player game with no community whatsoever.
    Edited by 1 at 04/02/09 @ 15:42

  • mikeck #16 3 years ago

    "Warbands that just farm BO's for gold bags."

    Hmmm, this isn't the case...you don't get loot rolls for the BO's just the keeps (unless it's different in Tier 4).

  • DFawkes #17 3 years ago

    I do love Public Groups, all naturally flowing together with like-minded people. I even got a group on the RP server that RPed, which was daunting considering I'm a High Elf White Lion and the only lore I know is all Undead stuff. Thank goodness for the Tome of Knowledge :)

  • spimmy #18 3 years ago

    Super Censoring Hero will be doing more Censorship to any questions asked!

  • Hypercube #19 3 years ago

    I'm in the low level areas now, started an Order alt, and it's busy all the time. Just done an hour's RvR as soon as I logged in, Order warband vs CHaos warband, and it was a blast.

    PQs are still a little empty, but usually an open group pops up pretty often.

    I'm having a lot more fun with it now than when it started, that's for sure.

  • Eraysor #20 3 years ago

    I have to ask, what servers are you guys on to have a decent number of players, ad what times do you play? I can never find anyone >_<

    Also, while I agree WAR probably shouldn't have been designed to so closely resemble WoW, I'm sure Warhammer was a massive influence on Warcraft before WoW ever existed.
    Edited by 1 at 05/02/09 @ 10:59

  • DFawkes #21 3 years ago

    I'm on Burlok, at about 8pm-10pm every night since I bought it. Admittedly it's never bustling in Tier 1, but make a public party and you'll get a t least a few people that'll unite for a bit of RvR or PQing. I even finally managed the House of Arkanoth, which felt great after that bloody boss killed me every other time I've tried.

    It's never bus, but it's usually on par with my experieces of the same level areas of WoW (Earthen Ring Teldrassil) and LOTRO (Evernight Archet & Shire). Not sure how it is past level 12 though.

  • Eraysor #22 3 years ago

    Thanks DFawkes.

  • DFawkes #23 3 years ago

    There's an XP bonus on Burlok too, which hopefully keeps at least some new people and re-rollers wanting to join Burlok in particular. The Victory Points meter is always on the move, at least.

  • MikeP #24 3 years ago

    I think T1 is the emptiest because it's just so quick to speed through it, so the population is very transitory.

    T2 and T3 on Burlok are pretty busy, I normally don't have problems finding a full Warband for some RvR any night of the week. Quite common to have a full night of 20-30vs20-30 as you fight over RvR objectives.

    PQs are definitely quieter than when the game launched, I think because they shifted the balance of incentives towards RvR - for example, influence based items with good stats, better Renown and XP for RvR fighting.

    As for T4 - well, it's busy. We actually crashed the T4 zones a few times trying to do a fortress siege before they patched in a player cap to prevent that. Best estimate I can give, on the fort sieges there were probably 500 players in total in the same fort.

    Can't comment much on scenarios, as generally I avoid them - I just don't like the idea of a Swords & Sorcery version of Halo multiplayer all that much. There's plenty to do without ever touching a scenario. They can help if you want to level fast, however.
    Edited by 1 at 05/02/09 @ 12:40

  • iokthemonkey #25 3 years ago

    It's gone back 30 minutes?

    Did he sleep in?

  • Entity #26 3 years ago

    I was going to give a damn, but...
    Killzone 2 Woo!!!

  • Snafzg #27 3 years ago

    So... how do we sign into this chat?