Warhammer Online - Staff Impressions

As I dropped by the Mythic booth to check out Warhammer Online, I saw many impressive posters showing off some different races—orc, high elf, dwarf, and dark elf. Pictures were taken of these, of course. But what is Warhammer Online? Despite knowing a bit about the very deep and fascinating universe of Warhammer, I didn’t really know much about the actual game prior to heading in and asking for a tour to find out what it’s all about. Here’s a short description about what this game (newly in development) is, so you aren’t as clueless as I was to start. A good idea before moving onto the events that transpired.

Warhammer Online Concept Art

Set in the Warhammer universe, Warhammer Online comes to the scene bringing its in-depth lore and atmosphere into the MMORPG world. It pits the Human (Empire), Dwarfs, and High-Elves against the Orcs, Goblins, and Dark-Elves, and the mysterious Chaos realm in a constant struggle for power, wealth, and ownership of the world.

Warhammer Online tries to be accurate to its table top version. Three realms will be in a constant struggle. A large sprawling battlefield will allow mass amounts of players to run free to defend their homeland and attack their enemies in glorious PvP battle, but that won’t be the only form of PvP in Warhammer Online. There will also be skirmishes (low number of players), scenarios (even-sided battlefields), and campaigns (intense Warhammer style PvP). Warhammer Online will pull from Mythic’s successful Dark Age of Camelot’s RvR (Realm vs. Realm) system but add more unique twists that cater towards the Warhammer universe. So what was first?

Warhammer Online Booth

Jeremy Dale, Lead Animator of Mythic Entertainment, stepped up to the plate and asked how much I knew about it. What I got was something quite similar to the summary which I have just provided. Next up was an explanation of their character- select screen, where I was told that they were working on greenbacks (orcs) and dwarves first, intending to cover the rest at a later time. Although many people have remarked that the graphics are similar to World of Warcraft, it was explained that this was because Warhammer has been around for so long, and thus many fantasy elements would have drawn inspiration from it. Their goal is to create and follow the styles already established. I think it looks very nice, personally. The animation was solid, and the models were well-detailed and interesting. After picking a race, one is presented with various options, ranging from various fighters, mage, and ranged classes. Onto the action, we go.