WAR: Zealot OPVP compilation now on youtube!

Some time ago, I made a Zealot PVP movie using all the footage I have collected. I finally got around to splitting it into youtube-sized chunks and fixing it so that youtube didn't eat my audio. So here it is, the last days of my Zealot before his death.

Part 1 : Early exploration (solo)

• BW + BW + SM
• WP → Engi
• SM
• BW
• Engi

Part 2 : Getting comfy (solo/duo)

• WH duel
• (Zealot + Sorc) WH + Engi
• (Zealot + Sorc) Engi + WH + SM
• (Zealot + Sorc) WP + Engi + WH
• evading SM + WL
• stalking the zerg
• WH + IB
• IB

Part 3 : Learning to pick fights (solo)

• Engi
• BW
• scouting, stalking the zerg, hunting stragglers

Part 4 : Waterfall battle (solo)

• IB + WL + AM + IB + rezzes

Part 5 : Double trouble (solo/duo)

• (Zealot + Sorc) Engi + WH
• (Zealot + Sorc) KoTBS + Engi
• Slayer + AM
• ninja stealth hiding in tree
• (Zealot + Sorc) SW + KotBS + Engi + AM + WH + SM + SW + WH
• SM

Part 6 : Baiting for fights before zone lock, getting a little more than we asked for & sweet victory (duo)

• fishing WL + WL + KotBS
• fishing WL + WL (2nd attempt)
• (Zealot + Sorc) BW → BW → BW + WH → SM + SW → BW + WL + WH + RP + Slayer

Part 7 : We just want to PVP, not PVE (duo/trio)

• (Zealot + Chosen) WP + AM + SW + BW → KotBS + RP
• (Zealot + Chosen + Sorc) SW + RP + SM + WP + KotBS

Part 8 : Against the odds (solo)

• BW + IB + WP → + WL + WP + WH
• WH → BW + WL + WP → WH
• AM + BW

Part 9 : Gear, spec & outtakes

Challenge to WAR designers: can you incentivize ORVR such that it encourages fights like the ones I found in these videos?

WAR: Zealot changes on the horizon?

May 2010 Producer's Letter: In patch 1.3.6, we want to make further improvements upon the Zealot and Runepriest careers. We wanted to give options to the healers that train a mastery path for a delivery method rather than a playstyle. When thinking of changes, we kept coming back to one thing: “HARBINGER OF DOOM” (BIG FOR EFFECT). I can already tell the Zealots are cringing and thinking, “What is that crazy person doing to my Harbinger?” The meat of the change is that Harbinger of Doom becomes an active toggle. You start in “healing mode” by default and by activating the toggle you switch to “damage mode”. This will allow Zealots to pick a Mastery path for the type of abilities that they want, without being forced to then pick again between damage and healing. While the actual effect of the toggle is still being discussed, we are leaning towards flipping magic to healing and vice versa to achieve this goal. Some of you are probably saying, “What about Runepriests? I didn’t hear him say anything about Runepriest!” The plan is to mirror this ability on the Runepriest career as well."

Did someone just say Zealot changes?

No way! That's the first time anything significant has been mentioned for the Zealot since the release of the game. Is the Harbinger of DOOM finally going to live up to its name? Will the Zealot finally play like the official class description? Will the Zealot finally be more than a gimpy wannabe Shaman? Can the Zealot excel at something other than being a boring healbot? Will the Zealot class finally be interesting? Gee golly giggity gosh darn wow!

But then again, considering Mythic's track record, I'm not holding my breath. I wish they'd ask all the unsubscribed RR 70+ Zealots why we stopped playing our class (or the game for that matter).

Fantasy Earth Zero: broken targeting kills game

As I mentioned in my last Fantasy Earth Zero (FEZ) post, it has a sloppy FPS-esque point-and-shoot system. Having such a targeting system makes the game sensitive to a variety of issues. Most important of all: lag. In FEZ, I constantly feel like I'm shooting at ghosts of the past. I shoot at my targets, expecting them to be where they appear to be, but in reality that's only where they USED to be. I often see my attack animations pass right through my targets' bodies. I can probably snipe a rabbit in Global Agenda (with its bullet travel delay) or even in America's Army (with its pseudo-realistic breathing cycles and rifle/bullet physics) more easily than trying to hit a group of people with a ranged AOE in FEZ.

Trying to hit targets in FEZ is like trying to play wack-a-mole with a soggy and crooked stick. Observe how the server blatantly ignores my attacks even though my game client clearly shows them hitting my targets (I'm firing an AOE snare "web"):



For completeness, I'll post the videos I made for how to get into PVP. First video shows the elements involved in a PVP battle:



Second video shows that getting into a battle is as easy has opening the map and selecting a territory to fight for:



And finally, my girlfriend shows me the huge boobs the game gave her toon:



I will no longer be playing FEZ. I cannot tolerate the broken "FPS-wannabe" targeting/lag issue when there's the fast-paced, action-packed, super-slick and polished Global Agenda as an alternative. It's simply unacceptable for a 4-year old game. What's ironic to me is that FEZ's differentiating aim-and-shoot system is the keystone of its failure.