Secret Cloud Game Journal

Star Wars: The Old Republic - First impressions

2011-11-16T18:43:00.013-06:00

Although the beta weekend (Nov. 11th - 13th) seemed incredibly short due to a busy schedule I was still able to play every class on both factions and get a general grasp as to what to expect come launch in December. Here is a brief breakdown sharing my initial impressions on SWTOR. Alas, I realize this is breaking the NDA but SWTOR leak sites have existed for a few months so I do not feel that my silence is necessary. To add to that fact, my opinions are positive & this article will only go towards promoting the game in a positive light & therefore I feel just in my cause. Note: article contains spoilers.

First off, even though anti-aliasing was disabled for this beta the graphics were still exceptional & they gave a relatively clear picture as to how they will look at launch once the edges are further smoothed with AA enabled. The only place the disabled AA was really noticeable was on the edges of shadows and on certain armor textures or NPC's. Beyond that everything looked really great. I believe that Bioware has really listened to the feedback from the community initially criticizing the stylized, childlike graphics that were shared in the initial development stages of SWTOR. Many (including myself) did not like the Clone Wars feel that the early graphics exhibited and it seems that although not fully realistic, they have changed drastically from the first images that I had seen. There is certainly a larger sense of realism with the characters and NPC's than I had expected. The environments were lush & detailed, with great care taken in regards to plant-life and the overall settings.

The animations and particle effects were second to none. On all classes I really felt great control over my characters and everything seemed fluid. However, although a cool feature, it was quite awkward how your characters torso would rotate towards your target because in certain situations such as running away from your target your characters torso would rotate in an impossible fashion (envision turning a G.I. Joe action figures torso the opposite direction). It just looked really odd and a bit too flexible in some situations.

As you can see though, I am knit-picking. There really wasn't much to complain about as overall I was blown away by everything that I witnessed. Even the performance was really great on my rig (GTX 570, Quad-core PC with a measly 3gb of RAM). I experienced no crashes and very little, if any lag at all. There was no rubber-banding or anything of the sorts for me. Regarding my fps they fluctuated between 30-100 fps with the lowest I saw in an extremely populated area at a peak time dipping down to 15 fps. Overall the performance as a whole was really great. I intend boosting my RAM for launch as well so that may assist in tweaking it even a bit further during the most strenuous of times but that is yet to be seen.

As promised, SWTOR has a stronger focus on storyline than previous MMO's and it was evident from the beginning. SWTOR features the classic Bioware choice system allowing you to guide your characters future by choices you make. I feel that they have executed this really well and I found myself actually reading and deciphering every word spoken to me because it wasn't simply a matter of just accepting quests and carrying out the tasks but rather it was fueled by important choices that directed my characters progression towards the Light Side or Dark Side. If you do not pay attention to what is said to you then you might make a wrong choice when selecting your response thus resulting in Dark or Light Side points. From what I understand these points will be used for items that require certain levels of these points. So if you want to be using a certain Light Side only device or weapon, etc. you will want to make Light Side choices as often as possible. Sometimes this can be tricky but with a basic understanding of the Jedi or Sith code you should fair well in making the correct choices. Admittedly I was caught off-guard at times thinking that I was making a Light Side choice which would actually accrue Dark Side points. Upon reflection after the fact the distribution in these scenarios always made sense. After this happened a few times I began reading even more in-depth and really digesting what was presented to me to make the right choices to gain the points that my particular character was after. My impression was that this meta-game is not only fun but an interesting change from previous MMO's. This style of gameplay further engages players into their storylines and provides a bit of a challenge within even the simple task of accepting quests and making choices through dialogue. I really think this system was implemented well and I commend Bioware for this innovative system.

Coming into this beta I was certain that I had made my decision to roll with the Sith Empire at launch but mid-way through my opinions changed due to choices being made on the Dark Side. I was playing on a Sith Warrior and I was attempting to be as sinister as possible to accrue Dark Side points. As the story progressed I constantly found myself cringing at the decisions I was making to ensure that I could stay within character and rack up the Dark Side points. This storyline will certainly not disappoint those that want to roleplay the epitome of evil. Of course one could also gain Light Side points even when on a Sith Empire character by not being as dirty as the character that I was playing, but my goal with this character was to truly embody the next "Darth Vader" and with that, choices had to be made as harshly as possible. It was when I was faced with the choice of murdering a young child in front of his Father to turn the child to the Dark Side that I could no longer continue. Of course I killed the Father and told the child that it was for his own good and I received a nice chunk of Dark Side points for this cruel act but it just didn't feel right. I felt dirty. I felt evil. I felt like Darth Vader. This just goes to show that Bioware has really worked on these storylines. To feel emotions from my actions in a video game is rare. Yet this situation really hit the mark. At this time I decided that I could not carry on. Even though I tried my hardest to deviate and be as evil as I could it just didn't sit right with me. I knew right then that I would have to roll with the Republic faction aiming for the Light Side at launch.

The character creator was more expansive than I thought it would be. It gave the choice of multiple races, body types and various other features that I did not expect. Although it does not compete with the choices in a character creator like City of Heroes or Aion it still far exceeds most creators in other modern MMO's. I felt there were enough choices to create quite a lot of variation in the community and I am glad that it does not allow such ridiculous creations as Aion's character creator. For all classes I was able to customize a character that suited my tastes and this is a good thing. I was also surprised to see an option to create an overweight character. I can't really think of any other character creators that allow this choice and surprisingly I saw quite a lot of "Fat Jedi's" due to this, which was quite amusing.

I could probably write forever about my experiences during this weekend beta test but I will sum it up by saying that the game was surprisingly good. I feel zero remorse for placing an order for the physical Collector's Edition as I am 100% sure that Bioware has created a successful MMO. Not only is the Star Wars universe something that already has a massive fan base but the game was executed extremely well. I have still not participated in PvP and I have no clue what the endgame is like but I can say with certainty that regardless of those elements the solo, story-driven play itself will allow for countless hours of fun. If PvP and endgame is done as well then that is just icing on the cake.

In closing, I truly believe that the force is strong in Bioware and I must say that the execution of their first MMO experience is sure to set the bar high for game developers in the MMO market for years to come. I eagerly await the games launch and I am thankful for the opportunity to have seen what is to come in December.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

2011-11-09T12:23:00.001-06:00

Due to an extremely busy schedule I should probably avoid downloading this...but I can't resist.

Might be nice to check out, even if briefly, what I am to expect come December. Luckily I was able to forecast the demand and I ordered the physical Collector's Edition as soon as it was available for sale. Copies were sold out within the first few weeks and unfortunately people are now reselling them on eBay for $400+.

As they say, the early Jawa gets the scrap metal.

Can't wait to receive all of these goods:

Perfect Circle Arcane Mage PvP Sessions ~ 70-79 battlegrounds

2011-08-19T03:50:00.001-06:00

Unloading everything accumulated from the hard drive in the past two years starting with this very long series of Perfect Circle Arcane Mage videos. This footage features my human mage "Mystero" who was leveling from 70-79 in battlegrounds. In total I think the series is over an hour long of straight-up mage player versus player action mostly against higher leveled players. There is a lot of flag capturing, flag returns, 1 vs. 1, 1 vs. 2, and 1 vs. 3. Contained in the footage is also a lot of hidden surprises. This is the ultimate PvP unload.

The band A Perfect Circle was affiliated with many old school PvP videos from the early days of World of Warcraft and therefore I initially wanted to use three songs of theirs for the first Mage video. I realized quickly that I had a lot more footage than I previously suspected and decided to just keep using the bands songs. Not only did it fit with the Perfect Circle theme but music by this band aligns quite well with any PvP footage you place it to.

Here is the quote from the video description on the youtube series for the Perfect Circle Sessions 1-5:

I called this series "Perfect Circle" because my first ever PvP video was a Mage video that was uploaded in 2007. I always wanted to come full circle to create a new PvP video in 2011 with that same mage. Hologram has come full circle and is now featured in this video as a Human Mage named Mystero. Here you find the secrets of the magic oval. "The Perfect Circle of Magi". Techniques of trickery and wizardry for your success as an arcane mage.

This is actually the same mage from my first ever level 39 mage video uploaded in 2007. Back then he was a Blood Elf mage located on Emerald Dream server. Considering I already had higher level Alliance characters on Tichondrius server (80 Rogue, 80 Druid, 80 Death Knight) I actually decided to change factions for my Blood Elf Mage "Hologram" for all of his rare enchants, gold, cool mounts amongst other benefits. He was my oldest character and therefore I transferred him to join my Alliance characters and share his World of Warcraft history of collectables.

Perfect Circle 1:

Perfect Circle 2:

Perfect Circle 3:

Perfect Circle 4:

Perfect Circle 5:

Bionic Commando: Rearmed

2011-04-28T05:29:00.026-06:00

Over the course of the past few days I have been playing the remake of Bionic Commando (Rearmed) for the PC. I picked this title up from Steam last January during Mid-week Madness for the very low price of $4.99. Capcom released this updated version in 2008 & it is based on their popular 1987 arcade classic.

I remember playing the old version when it became available on the NES in 1988. This was one year after the title was coming off of a very successful year as Capcom's first arcade title. I was ten years old & at that time the simple prospect of having a bionic, grappling hook for an arm and swinging off of shit while fighting robots was the best concept ever.

This new version Rearmed comes packed with updated graphics as well as more depth in terms of customization. For example, I don't recall having near as many item slots for upgrading armor, weapons, etc. in the old NES version. Despite the added depth one of the best features is that this new rendition stayed true to the roots & retains the trademark, side-scrolling gameplay from the old school NES version. This includes the mini-levels that encompass the Shoot em' up style of gameplay. These decisions connect old players with the nostalgia of playing the original version as children even though the adventure is in fact, entirely new. This is also a definite contributing factor as to why this side-scroller has a respectable metascore of 86. I am having a lot of fun traversing this tricky little game full of puzzles & often times, death being narrowly avoided by a well-timed grappling hook. Rearmed is not to be mistaken with the other updated 3-D version which was also released by Capcom one year after Rearmed. That 2009 version shares an identical title with the original, simply called "Bionic Commando" but it only resembles the original in terms of concept. That version is an entirely updated 3-D game & is not similar at all in regards to gameplay when compared to the original arcade, the NES version or "Rearmed" which does in fact retain a lot of the old school controls & gameplay. One year after Rearmed was released, the 3-D version was released for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 & Microsoft Windows but for the most part received mediocre reviews. The more I play Rearmed the more I can actually see myself purchasing the new 3-D adventure as well despite the low scores. Even though the 3-D version has a metascore sitting at 69 I think I will just wait until the title goes on sale, at which point swinging around in 3-D will be worth every penny.

I think one of the reasons this game has a cult status with 80's kids is that not only was the gameplay addictive in the 1988 release but the storyline was actually entertaining & in fact quite controversial. The Japanese Famicon version had the enemy bearing the Nazi Swastika, which was later changed for the North American NES release to the new, friendlier Avian symbol. The fact remains though, you are indeed fighting the Nazi regime! Coincidentally the Japanese were allied with the Germans alongside the Italians in World War II. It didn't hurt that this game was also released at what some would call the peak of Arnold Schwarzeneggers' career. In fact, his hit movie "Commando" was released two years prior to the original game & "The Terminator" was actually released in 1984, three years prior to the video game. If you were to combine the Terminator with Commando what would you get? Bionic Commando, why of course!! The game had some major changes when it was localized to North America from the original version released in Japan. However, the characters remained the same for the most part with the occasional logo switch & name change.

The following two quotes from Wikipedia nicely outlines the general controversy over Bionic Commando's backstory:

"One of the most prominent differences involves the ultimate antagonist of the game, who is meant to be a revived Adolf Hitler in the Japanese version (hence the title). For the English version, the character was renamed "Master-D", but his likeness to Hitler was unchanged. There is a notably gory ending sequence in which Hitler's face explodes, which was kept intact in the English version."

"The new version - Bionic Commando Rearmed borrows its plot largely from the Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game. In keeping with the North American release of that version, the references to the Nazi party found in the original Japanese title are not featured in Rearmed. However, as is the case in the original, the final boss of the game still clearly resembles Adolf Hitler, and is referred to as "The Leader".

As for the actual concept of swinging off of rafters with your arm, if you watch this old trailer for the movie Commando you will even see one stunt at 01:35 seconds where Arnold travels from a mall balcony on to the top of an elevator utilizing something that looks similar to the grappling hook from the Bionic Commando game. So it is easy to see where some of the modern influence was coming from without question. Regardless, as a massive fan of these action movies being released at the time (Predator, The Running Man, Conan the Barbarian, Total Recall) I naturally gravitated towards this video game as a young child & it didn't disappoint. Thankfully, neither does the remake!

I would definitely recommend this game to anyone but I would specifically aim my recommendation towards an older player that has experienced the first release back in the NES days. Though the game is probably quite nice as a first experience to a new player I think that connecting to the game through childhood has given this title a niche in my heart. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug! As well as a constant challenge this game also carries an odd sense of humor that keeps you guessing at each turn. The dialect alone is so outlandish that you burst out in laughter on occasion. Check out this recent screenshot - "What?! A dwarf straddling a huge metal...thing!"

Keep your eyes peeled for this title during Steam holidays sales. I was able to snatch it at a discounted price and I have noticed that select titles seem to repeat sales on Steam. Perhaps this title will go down again in the near future, so when it does make sure that you have your grappling hook ready to snatch this title and swing into some old school action. (Oh yes I did!)

The GM (Garthim-Master) & First Person Mario

2011-03-26T23:57:00.017-06:00

Besides the occasional one hour gaming session on Steam I have not been playing any video games at all due to the fact that I am hard at work developing a musical project with an artist called "The Garthim-Master (The GM)". I do have a boxed copy of WoW: Cataclysm still sitting on my shelf unopened and I do intend activating at some point to check out the new landscape after the earth quake that forever changed Azeroth. Another few motivators in resubscribing to WoW for one month is that I need to sample the Shadowmeld sound effect for a song and I am also now using the mobile authenticator using my wife's iPod Touch, so it will be cool to have my new corehound pup on all of my characters.

Join me on Steam:
Secret Cloud Steam Account

By the way, check out this awesomeness:

Farewell Ghost

2011-02-24T14:41:00.017-06:00

Included below is my final video from the Rift beta events. The spec is slightly different than FILTHY DIRTY ROGUE pt.1 in the fact that I switched out Blade Dancer for Marksman. I really missed Side Steps from the Blade Dancer tree when dealing with melee Warriors or other Assassins but I also loved having the ability to use a few ranged abilities when other players attempted to kite me or run away. I also loved the ability to flee much better using the combination of the Marksman ability On the Double as well as the Riftstalker 0 point commitment ability Shadow Shift. By the end of the final beta my spec changed again & I removed Marksman as it made sense to go back to Riftstalker as my secondary soul for the improved survivability and the fact that I could close distance on kiters and runners much more effectively with access to many more teleports in the tree. This also gave me back Side Steps as Blade Dancer became my 0 point commitment third soul.

This will be the last video from the Dwarf known as Ghost as I did not acquire the name at launch & I also decided to roll Defiant for a change. I wanted everything to be a new experience and considering that my guild & I saw all the way up to level 42 on Guardian side during beta we made the decision to switch over to Defiant for a totally new experience at launch.

I might still release a new Rift PvP video someday but I barely have time for the game at the moment and although it is the only MMO I am currently subscribed to I just can't dedicate the time that it takes to keep up with the pack these days.

-Ghost (The one & only)

Beta #5 & the infamous PvP video.

2011-01-22T01:54:00.008-06:00

Received my email earlier tonight & I am now all patched up & ready to go for beta #5. If you weren't aware, my beta character is named "Ghost" & I play the Guardian side as a Dwarf Assassin on the Lotham PvP server.

The PvP is sure to be fierce with the level cap raised to 30 & access to a new shared contested zone called Scarlet Gorge. If that wasn't enough I believe I might have even more competition than the average player due to my recent PvP video "FILTHY DIRTY ROGUE" from beta #4. The video had received nearly 10,000 views within three days after I posted it & resulted in over 36 pages of discussion on the official forums in these respective threads:

Thread #1:
FILTHY DIRTY ROGUE - Assassin World PvP / Warfronts

Thread #2:
Melee rogues are capable

To top all of that off...I have been receiving multiple private messages on both youtube & on the official forums with threats from various players that want to test my skills. Here are just a few of my favorite messages:

"U suck nub - We will hunt you down weak ganker, hide and cry bitch, your time will come."

"So, I'm coming for you with like 4-5 of my hardcore pvp friends, what name u will choose and server. We saw you are really skilled and we need to hunt and train on you on our times in Rift. This will be nice because even if you dont tell us we will find out easy, people talk allot and names will be easy to trak. We will record real PVP movie with you and people will enjoy, and know your real skill. Be afraid not to join a pvp server or else you will just be a laugh"

I have been having quite the laugh on the account of these messages so keep them coming! It isn't all bad though, through all of the hate emails there has also been a generous amount of love from the community. I have received a lot of praise regarding the video & I have received an overwhelming amount of questions regarding rogues, my Assassin build / rotations & about the game Rift in general.

I am sure I will be quite the hunted Dwarf on Lotham but knowing this is only going to make playing the game & creating FILTHY DIRTY ROGUE pt.2 all the more satisfying. Will you fight alongside me or will you possibly end up another victim featured in my next PvP video? See you all on the battlefields.

Also, to anybody reading this article without a VIP beta code you have come to the proper place. Alongside the beta email I also received another email that gave me a code that allows 25 VIP activations! Once applied to your account you are guaranteed access to ALL of the remaining scheduled beta events.

The code is first-come, first-served!
EZQN-EMQL-JYG6-JMCW-GDXT

To Apply the VIP Code:

Go to https://account.RIFTgame.com to login or create a new account.
Click "Apply Code" on the left-hand navigation bar and enter your VIP key.
You're done! You will automatically be invited into the remaining beta events.

Rift - Planes of Telara - Beta #4 - FILTHY DIRTY ROGUE - Assassin World PvP & Warfronts

2011-01-17T22:04:00.004-06:00

Well, I finished a new PvP video featuring my Dwarf Assassin "Ghost". All of the footage was recorded in Rift closed beta event #4.

I was driven to finish this video sooner than later because of a comment I read on the forums that has been gaining a lot of steam (over 29 pages with most people agreeing). Well, after my experiences in beta #4 on my melee rogue I disagreed with it and felt obligated to finish this video off as soon as I got some free time. Here is the quote from the forums:

"I've said it before and I'll say it again and again until they're properly looked at (squeaky wheel gets the grease approach). Melee rogues are beyond broken.

Combat in pvp as a melee rogue boils down to doing a stun starter that lasts 4 seconds, some builders and a finisher that maybe drop a target to 2/3rds health if you're lucky, maybe another 4 second stun if you've specced that far into the assassin tree, some energy regen, maybe a builder, maybe a finisher. When all is said and done after the cc is expended and all their cool downs are blown, usually the enemy is at about half health and destroys them in a few hits or kites them to their doom. Melee rogues just don't have the dps output to do much of anything that any other class can't do way better. Sure they have stealth, but with their current weakness about all its good for is ninja-ing flags since getting the jump on someone doesnt really give any advantage when they immediately fizzle out on damage."

Everybody is entitled to their opinon but I think that quote is full of exaggeration. I don't think we have it as easy as some of the other classes but melee rogues aren't "beyond broken" by any means & I think my video does a good job at proving that.

FILTHY DIRTY ROGUE!

After clicking play be sure to change the quality from 360p to 720p HD in the bottom right of the video. The video at higher quality will be much more enjoyable.

You can also watch a much larger version if you wish directly off of the youtube page: www.youtube.com/playerversusplayer

Added 143 screenshots from beta #4 to my growing Rift gallery

2011-01-16T07:18:00.001-06:00

Adding these 143 screenshots took quite some time as I had to sort through the over 500+ that I took during beta #4 because of how beautiful Gloamwood & Stonefield were (damn you Trion!).

Anyways, with this mass upload the Rift screenshot gallery from beta #1,2,3 & 4 is now at 236 files.

Check out the entire gallery here:
http://www.secretcloud.com/visual/th...s.php?album=12

Be sure to come back as I will be uploading an assassin/blade dancer/riftstalker world & warfront PvP video in the next few days as well!

Kind of hard to choose but here are some examples of my favorite shots from beta #4:

RIFT beta #4 - Warfronts

2011-01-08T02:27:00.002-06:00

I am a little bit late on this post considering beta #4 is already under way. I have already been playing in some Warfronts and I have to say...I am blown away!!! I am having an absolute blast & not only that but I have noticed a major performance increase with this beta event. I am so glad I pre-ordered & I am looking forward to playing as much as I can this weekend. Definitely check back for more screenshots & quite possibly a new Warfronts PvP video after this beta comes to an end!

RIFT pre-order (I made the plunge)

2011-01-05T22:19:00.003-06:00

Well, the deal is sealed:

There are still a few more beta events to go but I have enjoyed myself enough to dive right in & pre-order the boxed Collector's Edition from EB Games. For more information on this visit the following link:
https://www.riftgame.com/en/products/

Rift beta #3 - Exclusive screenshots

2011-01-05T02:11:00.003-06:00

As promised I have added an additional 50 new screenshots from beta #3 to my RIFT gallery. Due to the fact that I dedicated most of my time in beta #3 developing my Dwarf Assassin/Blade Dancer/Riftstalker all of the screenshots reflect my experiences from the Guardian perspective.

Check out all 50 of the new screenshots (as well as previous screenshots from beta #1 & 2):

http://www.secretcloud.com/visual/thumbnails.php?album=12

Here are some of my favorite screenshots from beta #3:

Rift beta #3 - "Enter the Rift"

2010-12-28T09:13:00.002-06:00

The next beta event will be starting today! Of course we are patched and ready to go! Be sure to check back in the New Year for more RIFT screenshots! If this is your first time visiting be sure to check our archives for previous RIFT related exclusives!

RIFT Beta PvP Duels - Recorded in closed beta #1 & 2

2010-12-27T00:56:00.002-06:00

Here is a video featuring a collection of duels that I participated in during the first two RIFT closed beta events. Take it for what you will, I was just getting a feel for the game and testing out the various classes/souls.

Watch it in HD at: www.youtube.com/playerversusplayer

My characters that appear in this video:
Ghost - Male Dwarf Blade Dancer / Assassin
Sprite - Female Eth Elementalist / Dominator
Jesus - Male Eth Sentinel / Warden
Smash - Male - Bahmi Champion / Void Knight
Anxient - Male - Kelari Nightblade / Assassin

Recorded using Fraps with the Nvidia GTX 260 video card, quad core cpu rated at 2.3 mhz, 1680x1050, ultra settings but with shadows turned off in most clips.

RIFT closed beta #1 & 2 - Exclusive screenshots

2010-12-24T08:34:00.025-06:00

Now that the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) has been lifted in regards to the RIFT beta events I will be sharing some of my experiences from both the Defiant & Guardian perspectives. I will begin with an array of screenshots captured during my adventures while I take the time over the next few days to sort through the over 170 gb of video footage that I recorded. I expect to make a few different videos out of the footage but for the time being while I am working on that here are a few of my favorite screenshots from my experiences during the first two beta events:

To view all 43 screenshots go here: http://www.secretcloud.com/visual/thumbnails.php?album=12

Here are some of my personal favorites from beta #1 & 2:

RIFT beta #2 - "Guardians of the Vigil"

2010-12-15T01:57:00.008-06:00

I had a lot of fun during the first RIFT beta event which occurred two weeks ago & I am looking forward to testing the Guardian faction this upcoming weekend. During the first beta I tested out four different classes/soul combinations all past level 10. I also tested out some crafting as well as a bit of PvP in the form of duels. This weekend I will be focusing on testing a few other soul combinations as well as possibly experiencing some raid content. Check out the amazing class/soul system at: www.riftgame.com

RIFT VIP Beta key

2010-12-01T22:23:00.009-06:00

The MMO industry has been somewhat stagnant lately for me. Yes there are a lot of things going on with nearly every game (Warhammer RvR packs, World of Warcraft Cataclysm Expansion, etc.) but none of which really excites me....'TIL NOW! Sure, I might still test out rolling a Worgen Warrior in Cataclysm (I have an unopened copy of the expansion sitting on my shelf awaiting my return) & I may even try out the Skaven in Warhammer Online...heck, I might even be tempted to check out what is new in Aion or Age of Conan but in the long run none of these games truly peak my interest compared with the thought of testing out an entirely new title by the name of RIFT, developed by a relatively unknown company named TRION. Get ready for that to change in the coming months though. I have been watching the game RIFT for quite some time now. In fact I have been watching it ever since it was called "Heroes of Telara". The reason is mainly due to the vast array of class selections that peak my interest (read: drooling) and the incredible looking "Souls" system. I enjoyed multi-classing in DDO where I made a Fighter/Barbarian which was quite fun but with RIFT you can go the extra mile and splash in a third "Soul" leaving the possibilities quite broad in terms of player customization. Needless to say I have watched this games development for quite some time and over the last few weeks when beta was announced I have been scouring the internet in hopes of finding a RIFT VIP beta key. There were two keys available for the closed beta. One was the RIFT "chance" beta key and the other was the RIFT VIP beta key. When applied to your account the RIFT "chance" key gives you a chance that you will be invited to one or possibly a few of the events. The RIFT VIP beta key guarantees that you will be invited to participate in ALL of the beta events with the first to be held this upcoming Friday, December 3rd, 2010. This first beta test will allow beta testers to experience levels 1-20 and also includes some nice perks for completing some in-game requirements including the chance at winning a very nice NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 video card.

Acquiring a "chance" key took me a little bit of googling & was quickly applied to my account. Afterall, a chance at beta is a lot better then no chance at beta. So began my hunt for a VIP key to ensure that I would be included in all of the beta events. After becoming an active member of the RIFT forums to my surprise I was offered a VIP key sent to my private message box within a few days of posting & creating a few connections. Incredible! Somehow I have slyly made my way into ALL beta events and I couldn't be more excited.

So here I am currently downloading the client & I simply cannot wait to test out RIFT two days from this post. In my opinion & many others this game is currently the industries hidden gem RIFT is a hidden gem (Massively) & I will be there from the beginning assisting in it's development to launch.

I will be sure to update my blog in the coming weeks with bits of information. As you know when beta testing you are required to sign a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) so I will obviously have to keep my tongue sealed on certain things so that I don't have my privileges revoked but I will do my best to share things that do not break my agreement.

PvP videos Old & New

2010-11-10T12:48:00.001-06:00

I have been a fan of PvP for many years now & have created many videos outlining my trials & tribulations engaging in combat with other people across the world. To me it has become a new-age version of multiplayer chess where a collection of minds compete using the tool sets provided to them. Sure some would say that a chess game is completely fair from the start where each player has the exact artillery to offend & defend with versus as an MMO which would have advantages & disadvantages due to gear & class imbalances. I loosely defend my comparison by saying that on the launch day of any MMO everybody starts out of the gate with choices that can either cripple or advance them to success. To put it in perspective, if you joined a chess match halfway through the game I can assure you that a fair portion of your army would be defeated & that it would be your responsibility to outsmart your opponent against all odds. Also, a majority of your opponents are not constantly progressing either. Picture a million chess tables where players are constantly joining late or getting up & leaving the table while their opponents continue playing. So although PvP is typically an imbalanced game I offer that each player has the opportunity to compete if they are willing to figure out how & why others are successful. Though I can enjoy PvE experiences quite a bit I tend to spend most of my time in the MMO world participating in PvP due to the unpredictable nature of playing against real human beings & I thought I would drop off all of my past videos here. Though I have been involved with the PvP systems in many MMO games I have created most of my videos during my experiences in World of Warcraft as their PvP system has always provided countless hours of fun. I did however create one Warhammer Online video which you can see below. You can find the full collection of my gaming videos at my youtube channel: www.youtube.com/playerversusplayer

Be sure to watch in HD either from this page or as larger HD videos directly from the youtube channel. For this blog entry I will start with my newest video & progress down to my older videos:

"Knight of the Living Dead" lvl 70-79 World of Warcraft Battlegrounds (Wotlk)
featuring Nightkeeper - Blood Spec Death Knight

"Feral Shifter" lvl 30-39 World of Warcraft Battlegrounds (Wotlk)
featuring Anxient - Feral Spec Cat Druid

"Master Assassin" Tier 2 Warhammer Online Scenarios & World PvP
featuring Acid - Skirmish Spec Shadow Warrior

"Deadly Vending Machine" lvl 70 World of Warcraft Battlegrounds (Burning Crusade)
featuring Hologram - Arcane/Fire Spec Mage

"Soul of Fire" lvl 30-39 World of Warcraft Battlegrounds (Burning Crusade)
featuring Hologram - Fire Spec Mage

The Laws of the Jungle (PvP servers VS. PvE servers)

2010-07-24T14:19:00.007-06:00

The following article was taken from a gaming forum where the poster credited these words to an old thread from yet another gaming forum from several years back. Basically I am saying that the original writer remains a mystery. I definitely agree with many of the points regarding the differences of PvE servers vs. PvP servers & felt that this great post should be documented for future generations. Enjoy!

"This is going to be long, opinionated, and blunt, but I've been reading a few too many posts from people who don't seem to understand what it is that they got themselves into and are attempting to "carebear" the game to suit their particular idea of what "fair" PvP is. This is coming from a long-time PvP player, but by no means am I claiming to be an expert on game design or marketing. I'm just a hardcore player who understands what real PvP is. Take my words for what they are or ignore them.

Now then, who I am: I started my gaming life by playing text only MUDs (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD ) in the 90s and played UO as my first graphical MUD. I played EQ1 on Rallos Zek back when it was EQ's only "red" server. I played Star Wars Galaxies pvp as a per CU Jedi and lost my character forever when he died. I played L2 on and off for a while until Eq2 pvp caught my attention. I was mediocre at best, hardly a feared PKer, but I learned to survive and enjoyed what I played, no matter if I was outmatched or not. I understood what I was playing.

So let's get this started with the fundamental laws of the jungle.

Law of the Jungle #1: You are going to die.

There's no getting out of it. You did not come here to be safe. You were safe before. Now, those strawberry fields of treasure and experience are crawling with cutthroats who know where you used to go, what you used to do, what you used to seek there, and how to use this knowledge to catch you and inflict death on you. They aren't going to wait for you to get ready. They aren't going to play fair. They aren't going to care if a particular move or tactic is too devastating if they catch you with it. Your only way around it is to learn them- learn where they are, learn what they're after, learn what they're going to do, and prepare yourself ahead of time. And no matter how well-prepared you are for what's out there- you are still going to die. There is no way out of Law #1. Whether it's at the hands of someone at the top picking you off just because you're there, whether it's a group of players lower than you who gang up and tear you apart, whether it's an even-con, similar class who just happens to get that last shot in before you, whether it's some punk who sucker-punches you right after a tough fight, or whether it's someone whom you thought had no chance in hell who happens to get lucky, you're going to be killed. If this bothers you, you made a mistake.

Law of the Jungle #2: This isn't a PvE server

You can't play the same game you played when they weren't after you. The skill and tactics that were good enough before because of its effectiveness against the mindless MOBs isn't worth squat- you have to outfit yourself with your most dreaded foes in mind being actual players who are out to kill you. You can't just trot over to your favorite hunting grounds to knock out that quest anymore and hope for the best. They know that those spots attract people who still think that they're playing the same game, and they will be waiting for you. (See Law #1) You have to forget everything you learned on the PvE servers, and be prepared to learn it all over again. There are new rules for how to get a level. There are new rules for where to hunt, and there are new rules for which routes to take through the lands. If it's something that many people used to do or where many people used to go, it is now bait that will lead many people to their deaths. If you thought that you were going to play the same route you played before on PvE except that you can kill people now, you made a mistake.

Law of the Jungle #3: Cover your rear

All players have advantages in certain situations. If you find yourself in one of these situations and you aren't the player in question, see Law #1. So, such-and-such can take you down solo if they get the jump on you, if all they do is X and Y? Well, yes. That's what they do, and you were there. The essence of pvp is that all players have advantages and weaknesses, and the way you overcome these weaknesses is by grouping with someone who can complement them. You're not here to run around solo and have a fair, balanced even 1v1 match against everyone you meet. That's not PvP, that's dueling. Running around alone isn't something you have the right to do. This is not, nor should it be, a game where you always stand a fair chance. There's more to PvP than who has what nuke or how many hitpoints or what dps rate is. PvP is about knowing everything you can do and how it works, not just what numbers popped up when you fought mobs before. If you can't fight them, learn how to. If you can't learn and expect others to change everything around to suit you, you made a mistake. Learn, Adapt, and Grow; if you can't do that then you're not cut out for this.

Law of the Jungle #4: Success is measured by survival

Any idiot can PK another, that doesn't make them skilled. Your skill isn't determined by how many people of what level you can take on. And the little punk who ran away, or avoided you altogether, he's not a coward, he's smart. Just because you pvp someone doesn't mean you have the right to kill them. You have to earn that kill. If they get away, they survived. If they fight back too hard and you're outmatched, sticking around and letting them have you isn't brave or honorable, it's stupid. Make them earn it! If you can get away, you deserved to. If you can't out-damage them because they are jumping around and dodging your attacks, it's not unfair- they're just thinking ahead of you. Don't lower your defenses just because you think that extra bit of dps that you used to get against mobs is going to turn the tide- because you're thinking in terms of a kill you haven't earned yet and not thinking with survival in mind. It takes time, patience, and smarts to figure out all the little tricks, tactics, and moves that help you survive in PvP. It's not about killing- it's about depriving your enemy of the kill. If this isn't your primary thought when planning every last detail of your character , see Law #1. You aren't a good PvPer because of who you fight and which fights you win, you are a good PvPer depending on your overall level of preparation and how many times you can count that that preparation saves your rear.

Law of the Jungle #5: You are never going to be a God

Too many people have those cute little adolescent fantasies about being a powerful, unstoppable killing machine with the title of "Overlord" while wielding the shiniest, largest and most phallic weapon in the universe and laying out every single foe you happen to encounter through sheer invincibility. It ain't gonna happen- ever. (See Law #1) PvP isn't for people who like to play single-player games in godmode. You didn't come here to be godlike, you came here to embrace mortality. You aren't just here to kill other players- you came here to give them permission to kill you, to utilize advantages over you, to take advantage of your weaknesses, to leave you broken and bleeding while they dance on your corpse. If you came here planning on becoming the all-powerful king of the hill that no one can topple, you made a mistake. Coming here means the players are going to be after you more than ever. You will never be safe again. The safe servers are still where you left them.

Law of the Jungle #6: It's still just a game

Playing on a PvP server doesn't take supreme courage or large testicles. It doesn't take an iron will, or an asbestos stomach. It doesn't make you a man. You're still a geek just like the rest of us, it's just a lot more difficult. If it's too hard, too frustrating, too unfair, too immature, too cutthroat, too inconvenient, or if you're just not that good at it or if you think that so-and-so shouldn't be doing such-and-such because it "ruins" your fun, then it's not for you. You're here if you enjoy what you're playing. PvP is what it is. It's MEAN. And if someone PKs you and dances on your corpse while you are on your way to turn in a quest, or whatever else it may be that spoiled your plans, well, you either suck it up and keep playing or you're on the wrong server. It's only "griefing" if you let it give you grief. If you can't laugh it off, you're the problem. If you're not having fun, you made a mistake. There is no shame in playing on the PvE servers if that is more your cup of tea, we're all here to play games, and the game you play isn't a reflection on your status as a human being. However, PvP is a different game. If you could go live in a beach house with central air and a plasma-screen TV for the same price, why would you move into a shack with no plumbing or power and complain about the leak in the roof? You have to want to live in this shack. Don't expect them to turn it into a Carebear resort, they've already built those for you. (PvE servers)

There is only one thing that should be on your mind when you think about all the problems with PvP. The final, and truest Law of the Jungle:

Law of the Jungle #7:

You can't spell slaughter without laughter."

World of Warcraft Battleground Bots

2010-06-24T22:43:00.005-06:00

World of Warcraft Battleground Bots - How to identify bots & how they affect stealth classes:

direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU6ntX7Dar4

We created this video to outline the current state of World of Warcraft Battlegrounds. Bots have bypassed the Warden system in place by WoW and are running rampant. It seems that people don't seem to understand just how complex bots have become so in this video I give some key identifiers to help you know the difference between a bot and a real player. I also outline how some of the bots that auto-follow teammates can severely affect the gameplay of stealth classes. I hope this video convinces the community to understand just how bad the problem is right now & urges the developers at Blizzard to take this issue seriously. Personally I don't enjoy investing time in developing characters while being passed in levels by botting software. On top of that, half of my battlegrounds don't feel like an MMO experience anymore. They are more like a mix of humans versus bots. If I want PvE in Warcraft there are far more challenging experiences available compared to these repetitious, predictable BG bots. I play the Battlegrounds for PvP and this is not what the current state of World of Warcraft is offering in Battlegrounds.

Feel free to read the thread that I had started on the official forums:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=24702152833&sid=1
(23 pages of discussion - 443 posts)

Unfortunately after 23 pages of discussion from a concerned community Blizzard decided to lock the thread with no comment or explanation. In my opinion this was a sad day in the gaming world because this somewhat proves to the community that they would rather sweep the evidence under the carpet instead of face the problem directly. The conversation was positive & held many creative suggestions to assist Blizzard in the fight but instead of addressing the 23 page (443 posts) thread they locked it with no explanation. This leaves me under the impression that Blizzard is no longer concerned with the fight for gaming integrity because after everything is said and done these botters are paying a subscription fee. So it is either a financial decision to allow these gaming practices or they simply just don't know how to battle the problem anymore.

In these modern times these botting/exploiting issues are a very common problem in the MMO gaming world & I am really praying that a company steps up to the plate and truly battles these issues vigorously & relentlessly. The lackluster approach to this issue by major gaming companies is making the trend more and more common. With no repercussions in sight I am noticing that the "if you can't beat them, join them" mentality in regards to botting & exploiting is spreading at an uncontrollable rate.

Return to WAR: 10-day trial on Shadow Warrior

2010-03-07T05:18:00.048-06:00

After having been absent from Warhammer Online for a year I decided I would take up Mythic's offer on a 10-day trial. With this trial you are able to return to your previous account and continue where you left off. My goal was to not only investigate new content as well as Mythic's claims in regards to upgraded performance but I also wanted to get an inside look on class balance, particularly in reference to my beloved main class, the Shadow Warrior.

Performance

I did notice slight improvements to performance but I am going to be blunt, the game still severely lacks when you immerse yourself in large-scale RvR keep sieges. As any Warhammer Online player knows, the performance at launch during large battles was dreadful and it still is. Even on my Nvidia GTX 260 with a quad-core machine I am having mass lag when taking keeps. The strange thing is that with the same amount of people (approximately 40 Order) we could capture battle objectives with zero lag. I say the same amount of people because Destro rarely is there to actually defend keeps anymore so it becomes a strictly pve experience but once you get up into the closed corridors on the main floor where the keep lord resides the lag kicks in. On the plus side, a lot of old bugs have indeed been squashed. On the Order side our main city Altdorf was in shambles at launch and was very choppy and I kid you not, I even found a cat in sleeping position sliding all through the streets one day. At certain locations in Altdorf glitches would occasionally even crash my computer to desktop. A lot has changed since launch though, I found moving through the city much more smooth and this was also the case in many other zones. On the flip side, many bugs still exist. To list a few, keep doors still bug out frequently, scenario queues occasionally bug out and you have to log out to ensure you are queued properly, certain class abilities do not work or still have incorrect tooltips, crash to desktop, etc. The list goes on with both smaller, annoying bugs to large, game-breaking bugs. Even the bugs that seem would be easy fixes have not been dealt with for extended periods of time as if they are actually unsure how to fix them. It is almost as if a lot of the developers on the Mythic team are inexperienced as they struggle time and time again with making edits. Sometimes I question whether or not the developers truly understand the coding of their own game.

Servers

I was saddened to find out that my chosen server at launch Dark Crag, which became the most heavily populated Open RvR server in North America was now closed! In fact, out of the mass amount of servers they began with only four remain and they are ALL core servers. The remaining four are Iron Rock, Badlands, Volkmar & Gorfang.

Luckily Mythic allows you to transfer your characters for free to any of the four remaining servers with a fairly easy process done on the Mythic master account page.

I decided to join Iron Rock & found that due to the server mergers the population still seems very large. Mythic has made changes to the scenarios and they pop very frequently in Tier 4. At peak times I found that scenarios can pop anywhere from instantly to within two minutes. Late in the evening I still found them active within every 10 minutes. The same times unfortunately do not apply to Tier 2 & 3 though. I found a few people complaining one day that they had not seen a Tier 2 scenario pop for over two hours around 11pm at night. Considering scenarios are one of the only ways to get through Tier 2 & 3 without killing yourself from the monotony of doing quests it is quite hard getting past those stages of the game for any new player or a returning player that has re-rolled.

If that wasn't bad enough news, due to Mythic's new endless trial a new problem has arisen that many previous World of Warcraft players were already familiar with from the days of old. Tier 1 TWINKS!!! You heard me....the infamous twinking community that was finally shunned in World of Warcraft with the addition to battleground experience points have now found a new home in Warhammer Online. Due to the fact that you can not level beyond rank 10 on an endless trial there is now a brooding community of max level characters in Warhammer that now buy up all of the rank 10 and below rare & epic weapons/gear for inflated, ridiculous prices and they send them to their "twink endless trial account". Thus creating supremely overpowered rank 10 characters that camp the Tier 1 scenarios demolishing any new players who might actually be testing out the game for the first time. Nice oversight Mythic! It doesn't surprise me though, Mythic has made bad decisions since launch and developing a system where twinking is possible is just another step backwards for this company. Even Blizzard had the gall to step up and eliminate twinking from their game once and for all after several years of abuse so what does Mythic do? They delete the Open RvR servers and then they give the griefers a comfortable home in Tier 1 to welcome any new players that might be testing out the game. There is nothing like testing out a game just to get one-shot repeatedly by a scenario filled with twinks. I am sure this new system is going to ensure a lot of new subscriptions (Can you smell the sarcasm?).

Itemization

A large part of a Massive Multiplayer game involves a hobby I like to call "Digital Barbie". Investing a lot of time into an MMO takes the true grit of a genuine gamer and at the end of the day we have epic loot to show-off how awesome we are. We all know there is nothing like getting your wife or husbands attention to say "Hey, look at the new fat loot I just got, doesn't it look great on my character?" just to have them reply "I never knew I was marrying a nerd". All jokes aside, being rewarded with epic, sparkling new gear that replaces your old equipment gives a real sense of accomplishment and is an excellent meta-game that all MMO's share due to the game structure.

Unfortunately Mythic doesn't understand just how important that aspect of the game is for many. I recall leveling up and acquiring new bows or armor just to equip them and notice that the item had the exact same model as my old piece of gear.I realize that to some extent all MMO's have this issue but not as drastically as I have seen in Warhammer Online. Sometimes I would upgrade my bow, sword or any other piece of equipment up to four times in a row over the course of ten levels and see the same model every single time. As I neared endgame I stopped expecting new models and was surprised when I put on a new piece of gear and actually saw the difference on my character.

To make matters worse, at launch many complained that the stats for their gear and weapons didn't make any sense at all. Occasionally we would even see the opposition gear drop for our faction. If you were unlucky enough to find those items they could not be converted to your faction and therefore could not be equipped. I remember hearing somebody rant in general chat one day about how they had spent four hours in a dungeon and killed a raid boss only to have it drop a piece of gear usable by the other faction only. Back to the matter at hand though, even though I did not witness any pieces of the opposition gear drop this time around, the itemization has not improved. Sure it is easier to obtain (acquiring various tokens from scenarios & keep sieges which can be traded in for gear) but the question is...do you want to obtain it? For example, my Shadow Warrior was wearing a piece of gear which only required RR 33. When I dinged RR 41 I was ready to equip a new, upgraded piece of RvR gear until I realized that it had reduced stats from the old piece of gear. How does that make any sense? Eight RR levels higher and the replacement gear is actually worse. I spoke with my guild about this and apparently all classes have similar issues. Whether the stats are worse or just not relevant for their build or even their class it is common across the board that itemization in this game was rushed and executed very sloppily. From what I saw during this return, they have not taken any time to work on this issue.

Class Balance from a Shadow Warrior perspective

As for class balance, Mythic has consistently shown that the development team has no real clue what they are doing with each patch. Every time new patch notes have been announced the Warhammer community has been baffled by mind-blowing nerfs for underpowered classes, buffs for overpowered classes & various other ridiculous changes. That isn't all though, alongside each patch has come new bugs & the reappearance of old bugs. When I envision the Mythic office I can't help but picture a thousand monkeys sitting at desks with Commodore 64's. Firing nearly all of them didn't seem to help either.

As for the class that I painstakingly took to end-game in hopes that one day the developers would listen to the community I have to say that almost nothing has changed. Shadow Warriors (SW) may possibly be the worst class I have ever played in any MMO and that is saying quite a lot considering I have dabbled in nearly every MMO created. Since launch I have wondered how Mythic validates this class as a viable aspect to any team. Our dps is the weakest out of all the dps classes and our survivability isn't any better. They have no escape mechanics, extremely low dps (damage per second), and to top it all off their cc (crowd control) is bypassed too easily. They have one tactic that effects their parties crit rate but is that all they can really contribute? Playing on my Shadow Warrior I couldn't help but think that they should either have more dps or more team mechanics/escape abilities to become remotely viable. Since launch I continued telling myself all the way to rank 40 that it would get better and if we were not a viable class the developer team would work on us and bring us up to par.

Nonetheless, the Shadow Warrior remains widely regarded as one of the weakest classes in the game. A few trolls may not agree, but the majority of the Shadow Warrior player base, not too mention many players of other careers, appear to feel this way. Considering the general opinions of the players and the statements of the game's developers, for the purpose of this post, let's assume that the SW needs to be improved to match their mirror career. Discussions about this career always seem to be plagued by a select few players vehemently disagreeing but without any explanation why, beyond the typical rant about festering arrow which is unjust as I will outline below.

General issues

SW damage capabilities are unimpressive. The idea seems to be that we sacrifice the last edge of damage that a WE or BW might have in exchange for versatility, but this versatility is rarely applicable. Outside of the occasional Festering Arrow with its three augmentative self-buffs, the SW can do little to threaten an equal opponent compared to what other DPS classes are capable of.

Arrow flight times effectively add to the already long cast times of bow attacks. When shooting from maximum range (generally around 100ft), the time between the arrow being launched and hitting its target can be upwards of two seconds. Not only does this hinder damage output and burst reliability, it also frequently renders the attacks futile because the target may become invalid (dying, moving, healed to full etc.) before the arrow lands. In fact, more often than not the target becomes invalid rendering your cast time wasted as the arrow never fires even though you sat immobile for 2-3 seconds.

The SW appears to be the only career in the game without an escape mechanism or a level of survivability that compensates for the lack of one.

Our Rank 4 Morale abilities are poor. Two of them are channeled but deal no more damage than what other careers get as instant attacks. Another is half direct damage and half dot. The last is a melee attack. Also, the mastery trees are outlined in such a way that there is no good spec which can get a M4 mastery ability because it isn't worth the things you'll have to sacrifice.

The stance mechanic is a restriction, and with the exception of Assault Stance's strength conversion, the stance bonuses do not make up for the fact that we can at any given time not use half of our abilities. Also, with a 5s cooldown on stance switching, changing stances in combat is impractical. This is a problem because many of our utility abilities are stance-specific. It is also possible to become stanceless by accidentally clicking the stance twice (this is not uncommon in laggy situations) and thus rendered completely useless for 5 seconds as virtually all of our abilities require a stance to use. The only other class in the game that uses a stance system (Marauder) does not have the ability to become stanceless by accidentally double clicking so why does the Shadow Warrior?

As we know, Shadow Warriors are High Elves which is just another kick in the groin becauase the High Elf racial tactics are unbelievably poor and never worth using.

We are forced to fight with one single-handed weapon at all times. Bows have one-handed DPS, and we use a single one-handed sword for melee. Our ability damage values do not compensate for this, and the lack of the +10% innate parry bonus from dual-wield is a concern as well.

There is an overall conceptual problem with the hybrid class idea. Since a SW can only ever do one thing at a time, forcing us to perform sub-par at each thing makes us sub-par at all times. Also, there is poor synergy with our tactics as they generally only affect one aspect of the class, and are in fact sometimes detrimental to other elements (see Expert Skirmisher).

The class seems to have been designed in a hurry. We have duplicate skill icons (Exploit Weakness and Whirling Pin), duplicate skill names (two abilities named Steady Aim), unfinished mechanics (Vengeance) and other signs of insufficient design effort.

Tree-specific concerns

Scout

Outside of the every-two-minutes buffed Festering Arrow, a Scout SW does very poor damage. This is a combination of low ability damage, long cast times, long arrow flight times and few tactics that augment the damage output.

The AoE capabilities of this tree are very poor as we have only two AoE abilities (Flame Arrow and Glass Arrow) neither of which are much good. Part of the problem appears to be that the total damage of these abilities have been divided into direct damage and splash damage components, so when the splash damage is what you want, the damage is lacking. These AoE attacks also have less range than other Scout attacks, negating some of the advantage of long range.

The direct damage abilities are unimpressive as well. Festering Arrow is good, but the rest is barely worth using. Eagle Eye, unlike its mirror SH ability, does not get its cast time halved and is nearly worthless. Rapid Fire is decent, but only because it's the Scout SW's only way of dealing damage immediately without the cast+flight delay. It hits for under 200 even on the squishiest targets, and easily for less than 100 on a tank. This is quite funny because the SH ability does upwards to 3x that amount of damage for the exact same ability all the meanwhile they have a Squig pet harassing & adding extra damage at the same time. Also, Eagle Eye is the only Scout attack without a cooldown & that is only the case if you purchase and then use the tactic from the scout tree.

Many feel that Scout Stance's range boost is not enough. 10% is very little, and we have no abilities with a range greater than 100ft. Several other careers have 150ft abilities and/or tactics that increase the range of whole trees by 50%. Considering that the Shadow Warrior is the archery class, the lack of range advantage is peculiar. We go into Scout stance for a +10% bonus to range and still have the shortest range of the ranged classes in Warhammer...because once again that makes a lot of sense.

The Scout SW's saving grace is the big Festering Arrow crit. It's the only thing people seem to notice, and some have in fact claimed that the class needs to be nerfed because of it. Since some are still unaware of the specifics of this process, let me explain that it's more than just an attack that crits for up to 4k. First of all, the 4k crit is only possible for extremely well-geared SWs; the "normal" SWs usually crit for 3200-3500 on non-tanks, and considerably less on tanks or anyone who has stacked toughness. To get this crit, it takes the 3s-cast Festering Arrow as well as three short-duration, long-cooldown buffs: Vengeance of Nagarythe, Steady Aim, and the Morale 2 Unshakeable Focus (6s duration, +100% damage). The last two abilities must be activated after the arrow is launched and before it lands. It is literally impossible to do this if you're not at long range, and it still takes a good deal of precision. Under high-stress circumstances such as large-scale ORvR, fortresses and city fights, it is simply not possible due to how poorly the engine handles performance.

Scout attacks are very slow and laborious to use. We have to stand still and we have to struggle with range and line of sight with abilities that have up to 3s cast and 1-2s flight time. It's very, very common for a target to become invalid in the time between an ability is activated and the arrow lands, in one of several ways:

1) The target leaves range or line of sight. With up to five seconds between successfully executed attacks, it leaves plenty of room and time to evade the SW, and often the flow of battle itself will render a shot useless.

2) The target dies before the shot lands. This happens very often, and with a string of bad luck, the SW can go for a long time without dealing any significant damage as he repeatedly goes through the slow process of firing a high-damage attack only to see the target taken down before it lands.

3) The target is healed. Since a Scout SW deals damage in spaced-out chunks, it's incredibly easy to heal through. The time to land a Festering Arrow from maximum range is upwards of five seconds.

4) Abilities with long cast times are easy to interrupt, and the SW is very obvious when he arches his back, lifts his bow into the air and slowly pulls back the string. If you're not left alone while attacking a target, the above problems only become worse. As a light-armored DPS class, you are rarely left alone.

Assault

We lack many of the tools that make MDPS careers work. We have no CC removal, no Charge! and no way of fetching an opponent or catching them save for our single snare ability which has a cast time, a long cooldown and most importantly, is not available in Assault Stance. We do not have an armor debuff that works in melee or is any good without a heavy Scout spec for that matter, and we can neither dual-wield nor use great weapons.

Very few tactics help melee damage. Expert Skirmisher (+25% damage if the target is within 45ft, -20% if they are not) is required in order to do respectable damage, but it makes us very weak at range, removing much of the hybrid essence of the class. We do not have a +160 strength tactic, no reliable +crit tactic, no +50% crit damage tactic and no flanking bonus. We don't have a pet that we can choose not to use for an extra +25% damage. We only have Sinister Assault and Wrist Slash, both of which boost only a single skill, and the latter is generally not considered worth using.

Our standard melee attack, the only one without a cooldown, is Grim Slash. The damage is quite low. Compared to something like Razor Strike, and combined with the fact that we normally have less strength and less damage boosts from tactics, the Assault SW's damage output is very low.

Skirmish

Skirmish is the SW's mobile, medium-range line. It's the least common spec and is often viewed as nothing but a secondary supplement to a main Scout or Assault spec. It provides Shadow Sting, arguably the best skill the SW has, but not much else.

We do not have the +50% range tactic that our mirror has, leaving us at a 65ft range max, and the designers seem to want us to limit ourselves even further to 45ft with tactics like Expert Skirmisher and Charge Forth (which have been bugged since launch and do not work together, though this is rumored to have been fixed on the PTS). 45ft is a suicidally short range for a DPS class that lacks the core MDPS survivability skills, and is in fact so short that another melee player can often move towards you and disable you faster than you can avoid it.

Our Skirmish abilities lack any form of burst damage. They all have cast times, except for the dots, making them universally worse than melee attacks for the purpose of dealing quick damage. Flanking Shot has a 10s cooldown, and positional attacks are even harder to use from range since you can't easily circle around to an opponent's back. Our 13-point ability Barrage is nearly identical to the free R40 attack Lileath's Arrow, and both have issues with targeting and terrain. It's also extremely difficult to use frontal cone attacks while kiting.

Skirmish Stance is so poor that even Skirmish-specced SWs use Assault Stance for its armor bonus. The ~20% physical mitigation that our light armor affords us just doesn't work at such a close range without the tools given to WHs and WEs, and the 5% crit bonus is an insignificant damage boost.

Non-tree abilities

Vengeance of Nagarythe seems to have been a planned class mechanic that wasn't fully developed. The 15s duration on a 2m cooldown is pitiful, and it really limits the usefulness of the "when vengeful" effects that some of our abilities have.

Whirling Pin, our sole method of survivability besides our standard detaunt, can be parried and blocked. Roots are not very effective in the first place, and this will rarely save your life because 98% of the time it doesn't work...and if it does you more than likely have a DoT on your target which will break it anyways. Considering that Whirling Pin is based off of strength you have to be specced Assault for this to have any effect at all on most classes which makes it absolutely useless as an escape mechanic for scout & skirmisher.

Hunter's Fervor is nearly useless as an AP management tool. You don't start to regenerate AP until like two seconds after you've stopped using abilities, so this is largely worthless. It barely covers its own 25AP cost.

Steady Aim is useless. It has a chance to improve the possibility of a crit at the cost of adding 1.5 seconds to all cast times which makes this ability more of a debuff than a buff.

As for our Morale abilities, our rank 3 morale "Instill Fear" is supposed to serve as another escape mechanic staggering all opponents around you for a short period but during my trial I never staggered one single opponent during the entire course of my return. In fact, it didn't do anything except waste my morale and ensure my death. Our rank 1 morale "Point Blank" is our knock back ability and though it can be effective when it works I noticed that it simply would not knock back Choppa's which are a class that when they get in range can kill you in two hits. Our rank 2 morale ability gives us a substantial increase to our damage but for such a short amount of time (6 seconds) that it largely goes to waste trying to trigger it and then a festering arrow which due to the problems with cast time & arrow travel times does not actually complete as your target is now out of line of sight, out of range or dead. So the 6 seconds of a substantial damage boost and all of your accumulated morale is wasted on this ability more often than not.

The importance of joining a guild

On the plus side my brother also returned to his Arch Mage just prior to me and he had joined a guild of friendly players. I was invited to the guild and found doing scenarios as a premade kept my Shadow Warrior a lot safer and overall made the game much more enjoyable. When you are talking in vent and joking around even the mindless duty of riding the zerg train doing keep sieges and battle objectives can be fun. The difference between playing solo & playing alongside a group of other friendly gamers is like night & day. Warhammer Online was created as a team game and it comes across quite clear when running around solo.

Conclusion

If anyone out there is considering Returning to WAR I would highly recommend you find an active guild. If your main character was a Shadow Warrior or Magus I would recommend re-rolling as these two classes fall short on multiple levels. Most of the other classes seem to have their pluses and minuses though occasionally one class will seem much worse than it's mirror which can be frustrating for a lot of people who have dedicated so much time in a character that doesn't compete with the oppositions mirror. Rest assured though, if you are anything other than a Shadow Warrior or Magus your class is still manageable and if you feel weak just remind yourself that there are other classes much worse off. A couple classes are still overpowered and if you played Warhammer Online at launch you already know who the culprits are. I am not going to direct people to those classes though, I feel you should roll something that interests you outside of the two most widely known as "weak" classes that I listed above. Overall, Warhammer Online has some excellent elements and can be enjoyable when you play with the right attitude.

The unfortunate thing is that class balance is a major issue for quite a few classes and even worse for the unfortunate people that rolled the weakest classes in the game and placed hope in Mythic's ability to adjust the game and balance the classes over time. It didn't happen and we have to face the fact that Warhammer Online is now in maintenance mode and no further major balancing will be done. I say this because of the fact that they fired the lead designer Mark Jacobs when Mythic joined companies with Bioware and they removed a lot of the other developers that were around at launch. In my eyes this is a good thing but I can imagine the new team assigned to this game is more than likely baffled by the jumbled code that the game was founded on and it will be a learning curve for them to actually sort out all of the problems...which I don't think they are willing to invest the time on. The games code is probably a mess and changing one thing always seems to break another. We can only hope that the masters from Bioware who created such titles as Mass Effect & Dragon's Age as well as many other amazing titles from the past does not allow Mythic to touch the upcoming Bioware game "Star Wars: The Old Republic".