The big news was that we can freely post videos now! (Translation: help hype the game for free.) Although, you know, there were videos already on YouTube ... here's one I noticed that had me (Soul) playing the Shadow Warrior - totally dropping motherfluffers.
I don't record videos, but I can geekily preview the game for you.
WHAT IS WOH?
A lot of people are talking about the game as a 'MOBA' (Massively Online Battle Arena), which is technically true but the game plays nothing like League of Legends or other games that involve fighting magic towers and slaying waves of mindless tribbles.
It is a lobby game with instanced PvP -- if you liked to queue up for battlegrounds and scenarios in other games, that's all this game is. I'm sure some people may find that notion repellent, but I think it's a beautiful thing.
COMBAT
Standard MMO controls. WASD movement, 1-5 hotkeys, click & tab targeting. It's much like Warhammer Online, but with even more up-tempo, fun, fast-paced fighting. There are no energy bars to eyeball, rage meters to manage or magic globes to fill up as you fight.
I found it all felt very fluid and visceral. The Shadow Warrior is a sharpshooter that excels at continually firing an endless supply of arrows while wheeling away from oncoming enemies, the Goblin Shaman is an adorably diabolical little group-healing fiend, the Orc is a berserk monster that sprints around like an ax-wielding Hulk on crack.
All players have a standard health pool (around ~1000 hit points, give or take a crit) and the time-to-kill isn't too short nor too long. Also, respawn times were usually very quick, allowing everyone to get back into the fight and killing stuff.
It's also a really great feature that you can switch Heroes mid-game when you respawn. Does your team need more healing? Great, pick your favorite and play him. Does the other team have a bloodcrazed Slayer with a hard-on for your Sorceress? Hop on an Archer and shoot his throat out.
There's been a decent balance amongst the different characters so far, although some of them are obviously more niche support classes that contribute in ways other just raw DPS. Several still need work, but there aren't UberHeroes that walk around 2-shotting people, begging to be nerfed.
The other big tweak was the fact that the fights all involve three (3) teams. This really adds a tactical element that 2-sided fights can't provide, and it is put to effect really well the way the maps are laid out and the scores are tallied. More often than not the games were very close and very dynamic.
The 3-way fighting forces you to keep your head on a swivel, you have to be constantly aware of your teammates, your surroundings, the score, the position and make-up of both teams, etc. Players with that sort of keen situational awareness and adaptability are rewarded with victory, morons who run between 2 groups of angry gun-toting, fire-throwing bad guys are going to die and lose.
THE MAPS
There's only been 2 maps in play so far (although I've seen a different graveyard-looking map in one of EA's teaser videos). I don't have any major gripes about either, although I thought the Arena could have a twist added to it to seem more purposeful.
- The Arena
If that sounds a bit thin, there is a definite strategy to it -- running between two other groups and allowing them to quickly pincer you to death is something you have to avoid at all costs. Thus you do have an important objective - pay attention to what both the other groups are doing at all times. And kill them.
There is a raised platform in the center of the map and some other objects meant for teams to tactically break line-of-sight: roots twisting into the air, pillars, rotting daemon skulls, statues conveniently placed in corners.
More could be done with this map (there are really brief buffs awarded by picking up randomly-spawned power-ups, something that could be expanded upon) but the core concept is fun: be as deadly as possible without allowing your asses to be flanked by both teams.
Ranged characters had an advantage here using the open spaces to rain hell on their enemies, but a strong melee train group here could excel.
- Mourkain Temple
This instance revolves around raising your team's colors at one of the 3 flag locations which then allows you to claim the artifact within the Temple. The artifact grants you a steady stream of points and you also gain points for kills based on each flag you have up.
It's interesting to see the different ways this is played already. I've been in groups with guys demanding that we immediately cap 2 flags before doing anything else. I swear by capping 1 flag and rushing the artifact as soon as humanly possible. Some guys want to run off on their own and capture all the flags by himself, like some brain-damaged Rambo.
It's your call on how you want to play it, the good thing is that the games are usually very tight, tactical and filled with fighting. My beef with flag-capturing games is the awful downtime where players have to waste time running around from point to point and waiting like you're in line at the DMV. The flags here are all nearby, flip in a matter of seconds and, if you're in my group, you only need one!
Mourkain is more friendly to melee characters than the Arena due to the in-your-face proximity of the map and lack of big open lanes to kite in. But ranged classes are still very viable and vicious as my arrows will attest.
VISUALS
There's been some tweaking here in the last patch, going from a much rougher, brightly pastel game to a bit more polished, darker-looking game. It's definitely not an eye-popping extravaganza, but it has its charm, especially if you're a Warhammer / fantasy fanboy.
You can get a better look at the characters and animations for yourself in HD in some of those YouTube videos. There's still some work to be done in a lot of places with effect animations, like the Fire Cage root is a very basic glowy white basket around your feet, and the Marauder's root is currently... that same white fire basket.
I personally dig Warhammer's character designs. While the maps themselves aren't rendered really horribly, the settings leave a lot to be desired.
PROGRESSION / CASH SHOP
This is the crux that will keep people playing or drive us away. As it stands now, they've just unlocked the Tactics for us - passive abilities that add things like 100 extra health or slim chances to snare, crit or drain life from foes. You can slot up to 4 different Tactics together in loadouts you save in your profile. You can then switch between up to 4 different loadouts at the start of each match.
Currently, we've been unlocking either a Tactic or a new loadout slot with each new level we gain playing the game. (I believe I'm level 30 now with 3 full loadouts and and 2/3 of the tactics unlocked). This may change completely as something that needs to be unlocked via the Cash Shop or some other route, it hasn't been confirmed / finalized.
There are different appearance skins that you can use for the Heroes, these seem destined to be store-bought unlocks that may or not hinge on level and achievements.
There's also a very good chance that there will be several Heroes that need to be unlocked by hitting a certain level or by giving Mythic money.
If you're interested in playing, sign up for the beta. Perhaps I'll see you on the killing fields.
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