Warhammer Online: Realm combat explained

Tuesday 28 November 2006
Warhammer Online: Age or Reckoning developer Mythic, the creator of cult MMO Dark Age of Camelot, has shed new light on the Warhammer-inspired massively multiplayer RPG's exciting big feature: realm versus realm gameplay. Mythic has confirmed that you'll be able to play entirely within player versus player RvR-based action, without losing out on special items and experience.

WAR's gamer-friendly design ensures the RvR combat - ranging from small encounters to huge conflicts - will be accessible and smart to all players, in contrast to the intimidating emphasis that player versus player action has in other MMOs, such as World of Warcraft.

There're four game types - skirmishes, battlefields, scenarios and campaigns - and each will offer a different experience. Plus, as a newbie, your quests will introduce you to the world of RvR, posing tasks such as merely joining in with an existing RvR event, or a mission to hunt down and kill a specific human-controlled enemy.

Above: Siege towers and rock 'lobbas' feature in the orcs' armoury

Skirmishes are simply an encounter between you and an opponent or group of opponents. Battlefields are larger fights (although you could still be hugely outnumbered) where you'll be battling over a landmark or resource that can benefit your entire realm (ie, orcs, dwarves, elves, etc). Scenarios are auto-balanced versions of battlefields, with non-playable characters filling in the gaps if needed.

Campaign action, though, is what has us most interested. This will see you as part of a giant army of fellow fighters, roaming the world and taking on your sworn enemies (RvR takes place between greenskins and dwarves, for instance, or high elf and dark elf; not dwarves and dark elf).

Successful campaigns can see you ransacking an enemy's capital city - think the horde dancing on the ruins of Ironforge in WoW. The possibilities are exciting and will certainly give Warhammer Online an effective weapon against WoW's all-conquering success.