To anyone that's been reading href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=969"
target="_blank">Dalmarus'
Vanguard Chronicles over the past year, the fact that I am a
tried and target="_blank">true
carebear comes as no surprise. For those that are unfamiliar
with my ramblings, let's just say href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdB2lSmzLBk"
target="_blank">The
Powerpuff Girls have more PvP tendencies than I do. From the
early days of getting continually ganked by the local tools in Ultima
Online to
the disturbingly sad PvP in href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/" target="_blank">Vanguard:
Saga of
Heroes, I've at least tried the whole kill-or-be-killed
experience in every game I've played. Only during the early days of href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow" target="_blank">World
of Warcraft
did even a flicker of those PvP yearnings reach my soul, but even a
flea couldn't have gotten warm off that measly flame.



But now that fire has exploded into a raging conflagration within my
soul. Why? Two words: Warhammer
Online.

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/47785" target="_blank"> alt="" src="/image/view/47785/preview"
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Ohhh...
Sparklies!

While I was finishing up the last of the spell lists for our href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/war" target="_blank"> style="font-style: italic;">Warhammer Online
community site, I started noticing an interesting pattern -
all the classes and their corresponding abilities had massive amounts
of counter abilities found in the enemies’ characters. These
built-in counters, along with abilities that last for just a matter of
seconds, drew my initial interest. Rather than just getting the
necessary information for the lists, I finally started to actually play
the game. I didn't find a class that fit my mindset until I happened
upon the violent potential of the href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/42651" target="_blank">Dark
Elf
Sorceress. Just the descriptions of their spells began to
make me giggle like someone discovering the magic of the words, " href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pull_my_finger"
target="_blank">Pull my
finger".



Surely, this alone couldn't have been enough to turn a diehard carebear
into a maniacal sociopath hell-bent on the destruction of all that is
Order, could it? In short, the answer is no, but to say it had little
to do with it is like saying Helen of Troy had little to do with the href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War" target="_blank">Trojan
War.
The real genius in this bizarre transformation is simple - I can
survive longer than a snowball in hell with little skill involved.



For most people (myself included), this would normally be the time I'd
have to instantly relinquish my gamer card, title, and all rights held
therein. Let me beg the court’s indulgence for a moment; you
can bring out the torches and pitchforks later. I have little doubt
that there are a vast and wondrous amount of people that play PvP games
with such skill that href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTDzfGj53E0&feature=related"
target="_blank">Jonathan
"Fatal1ty" Wendel would weep with envy. Unfortunately though,
some of us lesser mortals lack the inclination, reflexes, and/or
hand-eye coordination to be much better at PvP than a slug playing
dodge ball. It could be argued that it's only a lack of trying, but
getting slaughtered before you have even a bare grasp of the situation
leaves little chance to learn. Now before all the other carebears out
there get their href="http://www.vtzlawblog.com/colorful%20pants.jpg"
target="_blank">knickers
in a wad, I'm speaking for myself and myself only... or am I?

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I think they
just blew up my head.

The Dark Elf Sorceress has a wide range of abilities allowing me to lay
the smackdown faster than href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJYJYWp6wQ"
target="_blank">The Rock
in a steel cage match. From a variety of AoE spells, to
multiple DoT spells, she has the ability to not only cause enormous
amounts of damage, but the ability to survive (some) of it as well.
Although I've killed myself more times than I can count with the
Backlash side effect from casting my spells, I've had a lot of fun in
the process. Maybe not as much fun as the PvP master that slaughters
all within their path with the efficiency of a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpaotxQKhas"
target="_blank">John Deere
riding lawn mower, but enough to make me enjoy the game.



So is it the built-in character counters, the destructive power, or the
target="_blank">lure
of something darker that's made me enjoy the game as much as
I have? To be honest, I can't point at any one reason, or even all of
them together. Part of the success (or blame) of luring a
carebear-loving player like myself into the game has to rest on the
shoulders of target="_blank">Mythic
Entertainment. Like it or not, they wear the title of RvR
Granddaddy. Whether other companies want to admit it is a matter of
debate for a different day, but Mythic has been perfecting this
particular form of combat longer than most online entities have been
around. They've spent more time dissecting the ins and outs of PvP
combat than teens [and
some adults!—Ed.] have spent trying to go blind.
That's a lot of PvP.



I still don't consider myself a PvP'er in any sense of the word, but to
deny I've found a distinct joy in slaying the goody-goody types in style="font-style: italic;">Warhammer Online
would be a crime unto itself. For years, gamers have been crying for a
company to actually build an MMOG around PvP. Some have tried, and
their success or failure can be argued until you're blue as the corpse
of an uppity target="_blank">High
Elf Swordmaster encased in ice. Mythic appears to have
accomplished this… and more. Not only have they pleased the
PvP crowd, but if I'm any indication, their number of carebear converts
may be multiplying faster than a field full of rabbits.

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Disclaimer:
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of
the Ten Ton Hammer network or staff.

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