Narrated Video Explains the RvR System

EA Mythic Senior Designer Josh Drescher, who we interviewed recently, explains the Realm vs. Realm combat system in this narrated video. As a fun mechanic that I've always had a helluva time trying to spit out in an article, this seems like the most clever of ideas.

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Thanks for posting that, lepidus.

Personally, I am really excited to see that lowbie RvR will have an effect on the campaign as a whole. It should lead to a lot better support between high and low levels, and give people an incentive to have low levels in their guild.

Truly an excellent vid. This game is getting more and more exciting! Any word on when it will go live? Or even when it'll go BETA? *drools in anticipation*

taken from http://www.warhammerherald.com , here

"Beta Defined"

Originally posted 7/14/06

Here are some handy definitions of what the different phases of beta are. I also provide, for the first time, some extremely vague and tentative dates. Some of you have already won betas, and to spare you the whole "having to read" thing, you are listed as "Early Spring 2007." In theory and indeed in schedule, it may be sooner than that - but I am a bitter, cranky, old community weenie who has been through many betas, and I no longer believe in anything I can't grasp in my withered talons.

EDITED, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9th, 2006. Clarifications, mostly, but one fairly giant change relating to my not totally understanding the implications of us becoming EA Mythic. All of my dates are still listed as they were on 7/14/06.

Alpha: What began in July. I made the grievous error of calling it a very early beta, for which I am terminally sorry. I will regret that until I die. Alpha does not have anyone playing who does not draw a paycheck from Mythic.

Double Secret Beta: That is just beyond alpha, and includes people who draw paychecks from Mythic and selected partners. STARTS: Summer 2006

First Stage of Closed Beta (Beta 1): What we are in now. Sometimes called "Friends and Family," somewhat inaccurately, this is a stage where there is actually a game, but it is not usually very complete or even stable for that matter. People who don't work here are in this stage, but usually fewer than a hundred, and they are nearly all such old, old friends that they are often mistaken for employees. STARTS: Fall 2006

EDITED TO ADD, 11/9/06: Tragically, when I originally wrote this document in mid-July '06, I was still learning the EA ropes. I defined "First Closed" with the old Mythic way, because we were a pretty small company. Now, with thousands of employees around the world, this phase of beta is "EA Employee Only." Double Secret Beta is EA Mythic Studio Only. In this first closed phase, we begin including people outside our studio, but bound by the employee NDA.

Beta 1.7, After Things Stop Going Boom Every Day: This is the stage you'll start seeing community testers. People who have tested for Mythic for years, or have been otherwise recommended to us as quality volunteer testers, are starting to be included. There is usually a restriction on how many people get in at this point, and often perfectly wonderful people are left out. STARTS: TENTATIVE DATE: Early 2007

Beta 2: Still closed and covered under NDA, invitees include prize winners, guilds that win the guild contest, and some members of the print and web media - usually the ones we have relationships with. People who work at GW retail shops are getting in here, and we've got some plans for existing Dark Age of Camelot players to be invited to check out their new sibling. There will be up to a thousand people by the end of Beta 2. STARTS: TENTATIVE DATE: Early Spring 2007

Beta 3: Closed, NDA. This is where Lady Luck will wave her wand. We will be choosing randomly from the giant pool of people who are subscribed to our newsletter. This phase will have thousands of people invited, possibly as many as ten thousand. STARTS: TENTATIVE DATE: Summer 2007

Final Beta: No NDA. Because there is no NDA, people often refer to this as "open beta." But I wanted to be really clear with you guys - we are not planning the kind of open beta where everyone with internet access can download the game and hop in. That's nutty. Right now, we are tentatively considering having everyone who pre-orders the game invited to this phase of beta. This phase will also invite winners from our big media promotions. STARTS: TENTATIVE DATE: Summer 2007

so we can assume that if things go more or less according to this "schedule", the game should be released somewhere in early fall.

regarding the video, he says that if your realm gains enough victory points you will be able to gain control of the battlefront, but what for? what does one get from it? even more points to spill over into the other battlefronts? also, there is only 4 zones pretty much? that *looks* kind of small. i hope these zones are enormous in size with plenty of stuff to do.

oh and does anyone else think that the world map looks a little too alike to the real world map?

Let me try to address these points to the best of my ability:

guitar:
regarding the video, he says that if your realm gains enough victory points you will be able to gain control of the battlefront, but what for? what does one get from it? even more points to spill over into the other battlefronts?

Winning realm points in PvP will spill over to the other, higher battlefronts and eventually help to shape the point situation in the final battlefront of each racial pairing. The final battlefront, as mentioned, determines whether an army has the ability to push through the neutral zone, into their enemy capital's territory, and finally break in to the capital city itself. This is like an endgame raid, but PvP, and will give all kinds of loot. After a city is sacked and returned to its initial owners the final battlefront will reset.

Aside from that, PvP will be just as viable a route to levels and gear as PvE, and will be lots of fun.

Also, there is only 4 zones pretty much? that *looks* kind of small. i hope these zones are enormous in size with plenty of stuff to do.

There are 9 zones per racial pairing, or 11 if you count the capital city and its surrounding zone as separate - 4 Orc zones, 4 Dwarf zones, and 1 Neutral zone. Orcs and Dwarves will be able to go into each others' zones for PvP and RvR. It seems like some parts will be off limits to enemy races but maybe they are just off-limits for enemies to initiate PvP in, like the "Green" zones in WoW PvP servers.

There are also going to be three separate racial pairings at launch. You are free to go to any of them and you will find level-appropriate content in each. So there will be 27 (or 33) zones at launch.

And I don't know how accurate this is since I can't remember my source, but each zone is supposed to be ~3x larger than the Barrens, which was WoW's biggest zone afaik, and chock full of content. For example there will be 40+ battlegrounds at launch compared to the handful WoW has 2 years in the making, plus open-world PvP content a la East Plaguelands (but with more variety) in every zone, from level 1.

oh and does anyone else think that the world map looks a little too alike to the real world map?

This is part of the Warhammer setting and makes sense given the general nature of the IP. Everything in Warhammer is more or less analogous to real world history, it's just all jumbled together and fantasified.

i understand that this is just for the dwarves and greenskins, but it's not like you can just freely go into empire lands as a dwarf and start questing there, now is it?

I'll answer this one :)

guitar:
i understand that this is just for the dwarves and greenskins, but it's not like you can just freely go into empire lands as a dwarf and start questing there, now is it?

From my understanding, you will be able to cross over into the other racial areas, as I undestand there will be links between the zones, ala Flight Paths in WoW.

guitar:
i understand that this is just for the dwarves and greenskins, but it's not like you can just freely go into empire lands as a dwarf and start questing there, now is it?

Actually I think that you basically can. I mean, you will probably need to clear your starter quests, but they have said that it will be possible to head over to whatever race's lands you want from the beginning.

what i meant about my earlier remark about the battlefronts, is that even though you control the battlefront, you don't really affect much of the game other than the possibility of opening the enemy city to a raid. now if they made it that once you secure a battlefront you could move into your enemy's zone and go around freely killing anybody, plundering the land, even perhaps ransacking the enemy village and getting loot from it, now that would make sense. of course this would not last long, and as soon as the enemy gains enough RVR points to push back on the battlefront, such opportunities will cease.

eh, i guess a man can dream =(

Isn't that exactly what the raid is?

PsionicFox:

From my understanding, you will be able to cross over into the other racial areas, as I undestand there will be links between the zones, ala Flight Paths in WoW.

In the Black Fire Pass map there is clearly a gate to the human lands. Which would mean they are probably directly connected and you can just walk between the two.

Shintuk:
Isn't that exactly what the raid is?

right, but that is only for the capital city. and sure you might be able to run around enemy territory, but unless its in the RvR zone, you won't be able to openly attack them.

There are definitely going to be all kinds of things to sack and destroy in all the zones- these are the battlegrounds, objectives in open world areas that players of opposing factions will fight over (not to be confused with WoW BGs, instanced PvP is called a scenario in WAR). There will probably be villages to destroy in RvR areas, although I am sure there will be some safe place for people to collect quests and trade in every zone.

i think that the sacking will be a good idea. imagine orcs killing dwarfs with their own rune-encrusted weapons.

saheton:
i think that the sacking will be a good idea. imagine orcs killing dwarfs with their own rune-encrusted weapons.

I'll crust my weapon with your runes. Or maybe I'll crust your runes with my weapons. Or something like that.

Basically, I'm going to kill Dwarves, is what I'm trying to say here.

Although I think your post raises an interesting question - will players of a race be able to sack their enemy race's city and take gear that might look a bit more fitting on their enemy?