The player vs. player (PvP) in Warhammer Online is something that reminds me of the old WoW days. You know, way back when the struggle wasn’t over arena gear and arena titles. Back when the players would line up, all different levels, and compete in a virtual tug of war in Hillsbrad. There was nothing to earn and no real reason to be there. Along came the battlegrounds and arenas, and PvP in World of Warcraft became all about the honor, gear, and arena ranks. What Warhammer does great is bring everything together in one massive RvR package. Every quest you complete, every scenario you win, and every keep you smash through and capture all play a role in your character’s, your guild’s, and your realm’s progression through the game. I must add that there is nothing as chaotic and fun as trying to storm a keep with a large group of players inside defending.

The Tome of Knowledge feature in Warhammer Online has recently sent Blizzard into a fury to implement something similar into their game. The tome allows you to track everything that your character has done. Kill twenty five boars and you get a popup with an experience reward. There are literally thousands of possible tome unlocks and trying to complete some of the more challenging could keep someone busy for months. Multiple unlocks include titles, and these range from the silly to the really silly. Mythic does a great job of adding their own sense of humor and keeping it Warhammer related. Even though the Tome of Knowledge is not Mythic’s own idea, the way they implemented it into the game is definitely unique. It’s a giant leap ahead of Blizzard’s upcoming achievement system. The tome is not simply about unlocks and rewards; it tells your characters story, where you have been and what you have done.

There are many other features in Warhammer Online that can’t be compared to World of Warcraft, simply because they are unique to WAR:

• Class trainers are able to train up any class in the game
• A character can queue up for a scenario from anywhere with the scenario button.
• Players have a small circular guide around their characters showing group members.
• Flagging yourself for RvR in a lower tiered zone will make your character become a chicken with one health point.
• Players automatically receive new storage bags as they level up and quest items are automatically stored in a separate bag.
• Players can fully edit their User Interface (UI) and customize it to their preference.

The differences definitely exceed the similarities and I have not ran into anything yet in Warhammer that makes me wish it was more like World of Warcraft.

Mythic Entertainment did the impossible with Warhammer Online: it made me go from a skeptic to a rabid fan in a matter of hours. It is what I have been waiting for in a MMORPG for a long time. It takes all of the best parts of other MMOs, adds a crazy Warhammer twist, improves it in a unique Mythic way, and rolls it up into a big ball of MMO goodness. The only question you should be asking yourself is how you are going to pass the time from now until September 18th. WAR is coming!