Welcome to the Warhammer Online Grab Bag, where your friendly neighborhood community manager will answer the most popular, and most interesting, questions in a new regular feature. Many things aren't yet certain, so try to be patient with us. Trust me - we're as eager as you are to see the features finalized, so that we can hear what you've got to say.
A: Free. If there are any elements of click-to-move, it will be in addition to the free movement, not instead of it. For example, I am told that your avatar will auto-face the target on ability use, not on targeting. There may be other examples, but we need to be very cautious to avoid putting in things that could be exploited in the RVR game, however helpful they might be in PVE.
Can every race create both male and female characters or are certain races limited to one gender?
A: I am sorry to say that Greenskins don't have females, because they are born of mushroom spores from outer space. I happen to think that some of the Goblins LOOK like girls, and my Greenskin army character will therefore be a Goblin.
Man, I love my job. I got paid to truthfully answer a question using the words "mushroom spores from outer space."
A: Most of your questions can be answered by a post on the WAR Herald called "Beta Defined."
I'll update that link whenever there are new developments, like changes in dates (so far, we remain entirely on track!) and pre-order information.
Guild beta signups will be after the new year.
The newsletter is not a guaranteed beta slot, but it IS your best chance at being chosen randomly during the summer. Then again, if you're reading this... you're probably reading the newsletter. And this answer just got weirdly meta.
A: We're only doing so for now… and beta hasn't started yet, so you're not missing anything. We have to have agreements in place for the different countries, and we're working on them now. As a matter of fact, my boss is out of the office and took his passport with him, working on this very issue for you.
A: From Designer Steve: "The actual armor that will be available to you will have Tier and career requirements, and will have very distinctive looks. In addition, we are looking at some other fun visual goodies to make your character more distinct, but we're going to keep that under the hat for now. ;-)"
A: Yes, although you will be able to control the display on your own client.
A: We are actively trying to minimize downtime, and have it for MOST circumstances be measured in seconds, not minutes. The actual times are not at all set, and won't be until we've done lots of beta testing with real people.
A: We don't know yet. We're shooting for around ten characters per server. The actual number depends on all kinds of stuff that we won't know until Summer 2007.
So many great questions this month... that I couldn't answer. Some I couldn't answer because we haven't finished implementing the economy. Some I couldn't answer because Evil Steve the Marketing King is holding all the human stuff for a dramatic announcement. And some I couldn't answer with a clear conscience because I JUST answered them last month, and repeats this early in the game is laaaaaaaaame. The WAR FAQ is your friend! Well, admittedly not YOUR friend, because if you're reading this you're the kind of person who actually checks FAQs before sending email. But you probably have a friend who needs to be gently, lovingly herded to the various websites. Here is your shepherd's crook. Here is a bell for your friend. Herd forth and prosper.
See you next month!
