Welcome back to the killing fields. Look at the fresh bodies, still smoking! Oh, how I love Sorcerers! No, the bodies were not wizards – mostly. They were harvested by the Dark Elves, servants of Khaine and the Witch King. Their prowess on the battlefield is incredible but there have been… accidents. Sometimes, you’ll find a Sorcerer on these fields brought here through his own hatred. It consumes you, you know.

Another week has passed and that means it’s time for another edition of Upon the Pyre! Today, we’re going to look at one of the most fun, and most deadly, classes in the game. As many of you may know, my main character is a Sorcerer. Yes, he’s a guy and, yes, you could barely tell through the first few ranks.

When I loaded up the character creation screen for the first time, I’ll admit that I was still undecided. I’d been following the game for some time and there were things that appealed to me about every class. I’d been reading the Malus Darkblade novels though, so I was leaning towards the Dark Elf race.

The one thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to make the same mistake I made in WoW. There, I rolled an “easy” class first, to learn the ropes. I played a warrior, when my inner magician cried out for a mage. So, looking through the Dark Elf classes, I decided to satiate that inner voice and create a Sorcerer.

It’s been a lot of fun and I’d encourage anyone to give the class a try. So, in this article, we’ll be looking at what the Sorcerer is, what it is not, and why, oh why, is it so much fun.

…Click here to read more

I’m breaking from my usual format today to address a pervasive issue that’s arisen on the Internet recently. I’m not exempt from this issue, but I feel that it’s important that we all have a full understanding of what we’re witnessing.

It’s something that every game company does. It sells games. It makes money. It gets people excited. I’m talking about hype. It’s a natural move, of course. When a game company spends thousands of man-hours creating a product, they want people to get interested in it. They want them to spread the word so that everyone and their brother goes out and invests in their product.

Mythic was the hands-down champion for hype over the past couple years. They pumped WAR up so much that Mark Jacobs had to come out and quell the storm, stating that they don’t expect to beat WoW. Looking at their subscription numbers and box sales, it looks like the hype paid off. With 1.2 million boxes sold and 800,000 subscribers, they did the right thing.

Didn’t they?

…Click here to read more

Oh, hello there. Welcome back. I trust the journey from life to death wasn’t too…hard on you? Never, no, not for you. Don’t mind me; the fires have been tended to. For the moment, I am the Watcher. Look, over there. Two warriors, slaying blood; one for Khaine and one for honor. Yes, they are still among the living, but just watch as they pulse in the masses on their enemies, their fel blades bringing me new patrons of fire. Yes…watch them: the servants of death.

As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Mark Jacobs came out with his State of the Game address recently. It was filled with lots of juicy tidbits that have many of us salivating at the mouth. Probably the biggest portion of the announcement was that two of the cut classes will be returning back to the game: the Black Guard (Destruction) and the Knight of the Blazing Sun (Empire).

This is exciting news, indeed. When Mythic made the announcement that they were making class and city cuts before launch, players were upset. Even though some of the content had never even seen beta, people still felt jipped. I’ll admit, I was among them. I wasn’t a beta tester even, I was just one of the many who’d looked at the class pages early on, daydreaming of munching on that tasty carrot they dangled in front of my face. I’d long known I wanted to play a Black Guard (and a Choppa, for that matter), so when they took it away, I was let down. I’m sure a plethora of others on Order’s side felt the same way about the KotBS.

And now they’re coming back within the next two months.

I’m left to wonder though, is this truly a good idea?

…Click here to read more

Welcome back, my dear friends, to the realm of ruin. Each week, we walk the many paths of death, marked by my beautiful burning pyres and yet you return. It seems you have a dark side. Today, let us look upon the weary dead. Their fires burn dimly, sleepily, but they shall never die out. Not so long as hosts like you and I remain. No, theirs is the calm before the storm; they lie in wait, readying themselves to rise once more to harvest more bodies for my fiery fields.

It’s Monday again, folks, and that means another week in review with your resident Sorcerer! It’s been a long week, and I haven’t had a lot of time to play, but I was lucky enough to get a few spare hours yesterday. I was happy to get back in game and ready to rank up.

I’ve been sitting at rank 18 for a little while but haven’t really thought much on it. I’ve spent a lot of time in scenarios over the coupe weeks, building up my renown. If you’ve kept track of scenario XP at all, then I’m sure you’ve noticed that returns can vary a lot. Compared to questing, it’s a pretty inefficient way to level up a character. I didn’t really mind though because I was having fun.

Then I checked out my guild’s roster. As it turns out, people that I’d been keeping up with decided to go all Mighty Mouse on me and level all the way into the mid-30s. And I was still 18. After seeing that, I knew that I needed to buckle down if I didn’t want to stay behind the curve.

Little did I know what was in store.

…Click here to read more

an Empire keep ripe for the taking

Welcome back to the burning grounds. I’ll advise you to watch your step today; broken bodies still litter the ground. There was a battle here of late. Many casualties, but such are the joys of our line of work, no? Ah, the dead fought with such ferocity over something as small as a keep–a rise of stone–and but a pebble in the wake of years. And yet in battle they persisted, each earning their own fiery death bed. Look through the hazy veil between life and death and you may still see them, lining the walls of their castle, stark defenders of things destined to fail. The proud and the waiting. Soon, such keeps will make the biggest pyres of all.

Another week has passed, and hopefully we’ve all ranked up our miniskirts and graduated to full blown armor. Except for on the weekends when you just have to let loose (just kidding, Khaine; no need for murder now). As we gain rank and influence, we’re drawn to silhouettes against the horizon; vast buildings rising from the lands like the clawed fingers of Death itself. Keeps. All in all, these masterfully crafted buildings mark the culmination of each tier of play. They’re important to every player, but only one faction can control them at a time, which makes them a hotbed of open-world RvR. They also include PvE, as players must defeat randomly spawning guard mobs, champion level defenders, and, ultimately, the Keep Lord.

When a guild hits rank 15, they’re able to claim a keep for their own and proudly display their heraldry for all to see. Attaining a keep is no small task, and holding it poses an even greater challenge. At all hours, the opposing faction plots to remove your hold from power, ousting you from your crowning achievement and giving them access to the goodies held inside. It’s in your interest to take a keep and to hold it; however, doing so may be harder than you think.

…Click here to read more

Over the past week, the internet has been awash in reviews for our new favorite game, Warhammer Online. As one would imagine, there’s been a lot of great commentary and some negativity as well. In my readings, it seems like one of the biggest complaints people have is against the PvE content in the game.

Many reviewers are disappointed in the non-RvR content. Some people classify questing as “more of the same” or sub-par compared to other games on the market right now. Personally, I don’t quite understand these positions or the comparisons being made. Maybe there’s something I’m missing because I would tend to disagree with these assessments. As a matter of fact, I’d venture to say that open-world PvE far surpasses games like WoW.

Read on to find out why.

…Click here to read more

Welcome back, friends. Today, we contemplate a pyre that burns brightly in the forefront of our minds. The pyre I speak of is the death bed of battle. Look now, even the flames burn with a bloody red hue. Gaze deeply into the flames and you will find the strategies of warriors great and small. Examine, friends, and find the tricks that will lead you to glory.

Warhammer Online is based around war. The idea of Realm vs. Realm is centralized around large scale PvP combat. Like many grand things, however, the success of the group is dependent on the actions of each player. If you want to succeed, you have to know how to perform your role well and to use anything and everything to your advantage. I’m no RvR guru, but I’ve learned a few tactics that will help you and your fellow combatants survive long enough to wipe out your opponents and scrape together those victory points.

Let’s have a look at some of the keys to success in both scenarios and open-world RvR.

…Click here to read more

Welcome back, friends. The funeral pyres burn brightly tonight. I’ve stoked them extra hot to prepare for our little visit. Today, we’re going to visit a pyre that’s been fueled with your own fervor. It’s quite the hot spot of emotion, if the truth is to be told. And, would you like to know the truly enjoyable part? The victim isn’t even dead yet. If you listen closely, you can still hear its anguished cry…or should I say cluck?

Today, ladies and gentleman, we’re tackling the recent changes to the chicken mechanic and Open-RvR servers. The original conception of Warhammer Online was based around the Core rule-set. Open-RvR servers actually became an option only recently. Players wanted this rule-set for many reasons, and Mythic listened. Unfortunately, they’ve been pretty unsure of how work with their anti-ganking mechanism: the Coward’s Reward, a.k.a. the Chaos Chicken. They’ve gone back and forth with how they’re going to implement it on Open servers. In its current iteration, it breaks the game.

Are you interested in rolling on an Open-RvR server? There are some things that you need to know before making your final decision.

Join us after the cut to find out more.

…Click here to read more

 

day one: the day of launch

Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to the very first edition of Upon the Pyre! I’ll be your host on our weekly ride through the recesses of my mind. Have no fear! Even though we’ll traverse dangerous terrain, paths of fire, and brave the horrors of WAR, we’ll always come out safely on the other side.

Hopefully.

So, where is it that we shall go today? There’s one pyre in particular, far off in the distance. If you squint, you can make out its glimmer on the horizon. Today we look forward to Day One: the day of launch.

…Click here to read more