Warhammer Woe

I'm not a PvP fan.  Let me be clear about this fact.  I don't PvP in any game except for Warhammer Online.  For whatever reason, WAR made player versus player gaming feasible for me.  I did try this form of play in Warcraft.  But that game's emphasis on it's arena system was a clear move to inhibit casual players.  Warhammer Online with it's fantastic warband system was perfect for hardcore and casual gamers alike.

And I do emphasize "Was".

Because with the latest patch update, the factor that made casual playing easier is gone.  Instead of finding more ways to open up the RvR system, the developers locked it down further.  They took away the influence aspect toward zone lockdowns.  I didn't mind when the PvE requirements or Scenario requirements were jettisoned.  However those changes made the game dependent on large groups to hold objectives and gain skirmish points.  Clearly, on unbalanced servers, this made it harder for the smaller faction to win anything.  The long awaited 1.4 patch was an effort to rebalance the problems.  But it has only accelerated the zerg factor.

Another problem that cropped up, previously only seen during city sieges, was closed, alliance guild only warbands.  Because the changes require a more pointed offense toward claiming keeps and keep sieges most players will now only undertake this with their guild and affiliated guilds.  The few times I've logged on since the patch change, I check the war update option, go to the highest populated area then check for open warbands.  There are none.  Believe me they are in existence and clearly trying to gain objectives, but they are private.  These warbands use private channels and rarely update stray groups and players as to what they are doing in game.  Many use the argument that you can gain more experience through ganking.  That can be true, but it really only works if you are on the underdog faction.  As a destruction player that is a rare occurrence on my server.

So now with less ways to gain renown experience (no rr points for objectives or keep sieges now), practically no way to join a warband (unless a casual one opens up), gaining those extra levels to 100 is a grind.  My Sorceress was at RR66 and I was looking forward to end cap.  But now with 34 slow levels ahead of me, I'm throwing in the towel.  I cry uncle.  Already I'm seeing an even more ridiculous imbalance between players who are closer to 100 end cap and new players to Tier 4.  There is just no way on this green earth a player below RR60 can make a dent in this game.  The old arguments of skill bridging that big of a gap in levels just doesn't work anymore.

Warhammer Online is now no longer casual friendly.  The new patch dearly needed a new tier to separate the post RR80 players from the lower levels.  But I don't think this will ever happen.  The game is on a skeleton crew development wise as it is.  And I don't see EA infusing more cash into this game.  Its a shame really.