Q. I love the influence system and can't wait for the incoming RvR influence system. Will these work the exact same way? Will there be any differences?
A. Influence for Open RVR is earned by fighting in Open RVR areas. You will be notified that you’ve entered these areas when you see the Influence bar appear on your User Interface. You can then click the bar to open up your Tome of Knowledge and look at all of the information relevant to that Open RvR Area. Influence is gained by killing enemy players or attacking/defending objectives including keeps and Battlefield Objectives. Similar to how influence is gained in Chapter Influence, each player kill will be worth a set amount that will be split among the attackers. There are three rewards to choose from per Tier per pairing. So in any Tier, you can gain three rewards per pairing for a total of nine rewards to choose from.
Q. Will oRvR start having a much bigger impact for zone locking rather than requiring massive scenario grinding to finish flipping it/locking it?
A. We have a number of initiatives in the works to tweak ORVR. Among those is a way to help make zone control more intuitive and rewarding. Keep an eye on the Herald for more information as it becomes available!
Q. Will you ever be able to go back and complete the influence oRvR bars for lower tiers? I know some ToK nuts will go mad if they can't.
A. Technically, you can. You might have to be in chicken form to do so, though. <grin>
Q. Will the statues take after our armor? Or just the main look of that tier?
A. Statues will take on the basic look of the class and gender of the player, but will not reflect actual armor or other stats. It display the player’s name and rank within the leaderboards, though!
Q. How often will the player statues change, and if I siege a city with those statues am I able to do something mean to them?
A. The statues should change weekly, and in contested cities, invaders can destroy the statues. The statues will respawn occasionally, giving multiple players the opportunity to destroy them.
Q. Will the easy Public quests provide the same amount of influence as a regular public quest?
A. Any Easy PQ stage after stage one will provide less “stage up” Influence than other PQs. Otherwise, the Public Quest monsters and objectives give the same Influence they always have.
Q. You say that the Easy PQs are designed for 1-3 players. Are these 3 players designed to be a Tank, Healer and DPS Archetype, or can any mixture complete them?
A. In general, any 3 players should be able to complete a PQ with good team work. That’s the goal. Depending on which 3 classes are present, players may have to rely more heavily on good strategy and team work with certain groups that do not have an ‘ideal’ group makeup.
Q. Can you comment on the general difficulty of the dungeons such as Bilerot Burrow and Bloodwrought Enclave? As it stands now, it seems as though the outcome of the fight is way too dependent on the gear of the tank rather than player skill.
Written by Gary Astelford, Content Developer
The Dungeons of the Sacellum
The Sacellum consists of three wings, with level ranges between 13 and 20.
Entrance Location
The Sacellum Dungeons can be accessed via gates within the walls that ring the main platform of the Inevitable City's arena. Beware the arena's combatants as they spar to the death upon the arena floor, for they have not a care for who falls beneath their gore-clotted blades.
"Only a few brave or foolish souls dare to go through those gates and then come back out again alive. Maybe you've seen the entrances, boring into the walls of the arena in the Inevitable City? That's the Sacellum, where blood is spilled for its own sake.
"You can't hear the screams of agony or the growls of hunger from outside; they're drowned out by the noise of the brutal ballet within the arena itself. If you dare to go through those doorways, don't go in alone … and be prepared to die if you do."
-- Khar Halfsight, Marauder
Theme
The dungeons beneath the Sacellum provide succor to would-be gladiators willing to shed blood in the name of Chaos. Amidst these bloodthirsty warriors are the holding pits, where fearsome creatures are starved in preparation for their bouts in the arena above.
"The nightmares never end in that place … in the Sacellum! Oh, gods! I can't close my eyes for fear of the beasts I've seen! Of the things I've done! I'm haunted! Eternally vexed!"
-- Anonymous Broken Gladiator
Altdorf Sewers
The Altdorf Sewers consist of three wings, with level ranges between 13 and 20.
Entrance Location
Many secret paths and doorways lead into the foul sewers beneath Altdorf. Some can be found in the cellars of the city's buildings, while others are accessible to anyone willing to brave the miasma emanating from an open grate on one of the city's narrow streets.
"There's plenty 'o things to worry about down in them tunnels. Sewage, and rats, and worse. I could tell ya tales that'd make ya go pale in the face … that is, if ya believed me. It's either a fool or a wise man who'll listen to yarns about rat men without crackin' a grin. I wonder, which one are you?
"There ain't many with the stomach to go down into the sewers and do what needs doin'. Most of us Jacks don't last more'n a month, if that. I've seen a lot of good lads killed in horrible ways. Some of 'em just vanish, and ain't never seen again. It's the ones we find, though, what keep me awake at night. There ain't no one what deserves to die like that."
-- Klause Gherhardt, Sewer Jack
Theme
The sewers beneath Altdorf symbolize the horror of knowing what goes on outside of your sight, beneath your very feet. Things best left undiscovered wallow in the polluted depths, fed by the waste and refuse that constantly drains down from the city above. But for madmen, mutants, and fools seeking fame, ignorance is bliss.
"Look 'ere! I found this rock! Green 'n beautiful, ain't it? You think it's a emerald, maybe? Maybe a jade?"
--Merrill, Beggar and One-Time Scavenger
Bilerot Burrows
The Bilerot Burrows are suitable for a group of six level 40 characters.
Entrance Location
Search north of the Monolith, near the city's lowest point. The gate will remain closed if the Inevitable City has not advanced sufficiently to unleash the unclean things that dwell within the Bilerot Burrows.
"It is as if the city has a sickly, distended belly, and we are being slowly digested within its plague-ridden bowels. If the pulsing walls of this fleshy prison are not enough, there are beasts of horrific disposition wandering these reeking, gut-like passages.
"I cannot help but think that the Inevitable City is really alive, and we have been consigned to its entrails for eternity."
-- Vilmir Scarslogh, Scholar of Chaos
Theme
Grandfather Nurgle craves control of the Inevitable City, just as the other Dark Gods do. Though control of the sprawling metropolis eludes him, the Lord of Pestilence is the undisputed master of its festering innards. The Bilerot Burrows are but one symptom of a more serious plague which, frighteningly, shows no sign of a cure.
"One fleshy little human! Still gots some life left in him! See? He's cryin' just a little! Poor, poor human, don't cry. We's goin' home now, down to the Burrows. I gots some friends for you to meet!"
-- Nameless Plaguebearer
Sigmar's Crypts
Sigmar's Crypts are suitable for a group of six level 40 characters.
Entrance Location
Search the depths of the Temple of Sigmar, and Sigmar's Crypts will open up to you.
"It is a sad irony that the greatest evils often dwell beneath the holiest sanctuaries. So it is with Sigmar's Crypts, which has long been the final resting place of Heldenhammer's most dedicated devotees. Have we willingly chosen to ignore this malignancy? Or have we overlooked it in our zeal? I care not. I only wish to see the Matzenbachs rooted out and destroyed by any means necessary.
"To do any less would be an affront to our god."
-- Claudia Moore, Witch Hunter
Theme
Innocence can be taken by force. It can also be lost or sold. Those who bargain away their souls for power and prestige represent the worst in all of us. They are below contempt, and they should be shown no mercy. Their evil is plain and egregious, and it spreads like a sickness. Such is the state of Sigmar's Crypts.
"I don't know where they went, I swear. Seraphine said she had a plan to pull down the biggest score yet! I know she's a mad woman, and I've told her as much myself. There's no way in Shallya's sweet sanctuary she was going to convince me to go on another one of her sprees. I like living too much."
-- Darius Spiegel, Dilettante
You can redeem any Open RvR Influence rewards that you have earned by speaking to the Rally Master in the warcamp for the specific Tier and Pairing you have completed.
Herald Review
Game Update 1.1
http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=506
How to paint Your Grumlok Miniature
http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=475
Dev Diary – The Realm War Site
http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=463
A Guide to Total World Domination
http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=457
City Dungeon Itemization
http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=497
The 2009 MMO Calendar is Now on Sale – Proceeds Benefit St. Jude!
It's our pleasure at Mythic Entertainment to once again provide our support for this coming year's MMO Calendar. The calendar is put together by the great people at www.mmocalendar.com with the help of our fellow MMO studios and developers.
100% of the proceeds go to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, helping to fight for children's lives.
To order, and for details about their contest (with prizes that include free play time for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning), visit: www.mmocalendar.com
Lore Is Back!
If you have a story about your character that you’d like to share with the Warhammer Community, send it in! We’ll be publishing your lore weekly right here on the Herald. Send your submissions to war-community@ea.com Be sure to put LORE-Order or LORE-Destruction in the Subject, and include the title of the story and your character name and server if you’d like recognition. By submitting a story, you give us the rights to post it publicly. We can’t wait to read your tales!
Warhammer Online Holiday Giveaway!
To celebrate the holiday season, Massive Gamer has teamed up with EA and Mythic to give away 30 Warhammer Online holiday bundles. Entries will be accepted until the end of December, then 30 lucky winners will be drawn at random to receive a bundle. For more information, check out massivegamer.com.
