By Garrett Fuller

One of the biggest components of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is the ability to raid and sack your opponent's capital city. Do not think of this in small terms. Development Manager Mike Stone and Deputy Director of Content Mark Davis were on hand to give us a look at the living cities that Warhammer will have as part of each faction in the game. These cities grow, change, and allow players a living environment to interact with their favorite Warhammer characters. Mike really wanted to stress that the city was not just a bank, auction house, and quest hub. There is much more for players to explore.

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We got a great look at Altdorf the Empire capital city for those unfamiliar with the intellectual property. Altdorf has loads of places for players to explore. They also have hangings in the public market and a theater that puts on plays. The content of the plays actually changes as raids and Realm vs Realm events impact the city. There are docks, Karl Franz's palace, and the Bright Wizard College for players to explore.

Like any great fantasy adventure there are loads of things to find in Altdorf's taverns. There are several taverns throughout the city and this is where players will find the quests, auctions, trainers, and crafters. Everything is centralized at the tavern and there are several in the city so players do not have to go back to one place all the time. There are also quests and public quests to be found around the taverns which can help players get to know the city and fight some ugly monsters. Design Manager Paul Barnett did hint at a Chaos Demon popping up in the city and wreaking havoc. For Nurgle fans Paul mentioned it is a Great Unclean One.

Altdorf also has its fair share of dungeons. There are three instanced dungeons per city and players will have plenty of content to discover. In Altdorf there are The Sewers, The Crypts of Sigmar, and The Warp Stone Tunnels. Looks like Skaven will be making an appearance within the game and players will have their hands full fighting it out with the giant rats.

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Mike and Mark gave us a fantastic look at Karl Franz palace. The art team really pulled no punches here and the stained glass windows are amazing. As a player raiding the city you will get the chance to bring Karl Franz down so to speak. He is the Emperor after all.

A little tip to players in the future, in the combat with Karl Franz you'll also have to look out for that vicious griffin he rides.

So how does your insane raid get to fight Karl Franz? Well it certainly is not easy. Players must fight their way through five levels of city raid. There are two sub- bosses in Altdorf for players to take out. One is the head of the Bright Wizard College. The other sub boss is linked to the Temple of Sigmar. Once these too power houses are taken down players can advance to the next phase and try to fight the Emperor himself.

Aside from these sub-bosses and kings, special characters will show up in cities from time to time. Felix and Gotrek show up every now and then in the Screaming Cat Tavern. Not only will they give players quests and updates to their Tome of Knowledge, but as a Destruction player you can fight them when raiding the city. Being the famous heroes they are, expect them to drop some serious loot if you win.

Cities will also have player statues in the fighting quarters. Players who have the top renown score in each class will get their name on a statue. The player who has the top renown score overall will also get a statue. Best part of these statues is that raiding players who sack a city can knock them down and destroy them.

Many players have been asking what happens to a city's economy if it gets raided and captured. The city will eventually build itself back up and kick the invaders out. In the mean time a black market for trade goods and auctions will open up to the losing side. The black market may have some higher prices and cause the losing players a headache for a while, but Mike explained it is nothing too expensive and will eventually right itself.

We did get a chance to also see the Chaos Inevitable City. This place is pure Warhammer fun with demons and warriors wandering around sacrificing victims and causing well…chaos. There is a section of the city devoted to each Chaos God, so Khorne, Nurgle, and Slaanesh fans will be very happy. The city has a huge gladiator arena and a chaos giant on hand which players can release as part of the raid. Mike pointed out that there are also instances for the chaos city. We got a look into the Nurgle Dungeon with loads of Nurglings and Plaguebearers running around. Mike also explained that there will be a Khorne dungeon as well. The sub-bosses can be found in the Arena and Monolith areas for players to battle and eventually unlock the leader and try to capture the city.

Overall, Warhammer Online has cities that live and breath in the game. Players will get to their respective capitals early on to explore the loads of content offered. The city raids will be further explained in the RvR article. For now, we were happy to see how much thought is going into these great areas and the fact that you can still burn them to the ground. Hopefully the city siege features in the game will make for the best end game an MMO can have and give players hours of fun besides just grinding for loot.

Will pillaging a city and watching it burn really be as fun as it sounds? Keep checking back with Ten Ton Hammer as we find out and be sure to stop by our forums to learn more.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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