Overly Positive

Today, Warhammer Online‘s 1.3 patch becomes fully live with the introduction of Land of the Dead, a zone based upon Warhammer’s Tomb Kings with an Egyptian slant.

If you don’t know the skinny, here’s the bullet point play-by-play:

-Constantly Flipping Control: The zone has a mechanism wherein control is determined by resource allocation. Each side gathers resources by participating in WAR’s normal RvR gameplay. When one side gets the resources needed, they control Land of the Dead unfettered for 30 minutes. Then the resource allocation begins again, with the “losing” realm picking up where they left off and the “winning” realm starting at zero.

-Invaded Instances: The aforementioned control determines a couple things – first, whether or not you respawn in the zone, and second, whether you can invade instances currently occupied by the opposing realm. If you contorl the zone, you can do both, which means if zone control flips away from you while you are in the Tomb of the Vulture Lord dungeon, you’d better be prepared to deal with enemy players.

-Dynamic PQ’s and Encounters: Action RPG is what Encounters Strike Team lead Gabe Amatangelo says was the inspiration for Land of the Dead. From dodging mist and locusts, to traps that require a bit of good timing to get past, to the ability to redirect invading players to trash and hazards, there’s a bit of an Indiana Jones element to the whole zone that makes the experience active.

Overall, Land of the Dead will no doubt be a worthy addition to WAR. No MMO doesn’t add content, so with this being WAR’s first major content addition since the release of the game, all eyes are on it to make sure that it does the job it’s supposed to do, which is revitalize the game for current players and attract former players back. Personally, I’ve played the zone and the dungeon, and both are really fun and engaging. While many people are weary of what WAR has been struggling with since release, I encourage people to give this patch and new content a try. The control mechanics and new quests are different than anything they’ve had before, and focus on smaller groups means less of the zerginess that has plagued WAR’s signature version of PvP.

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