Dev Diary - Wouldn't it Be Cool...

“You know what would be cool…?†For some reason these seemingly innocent words, when uttered from my mouth, cause hand-wringing or glares from our schedulers here at Mythic. Despite that, I can’t help myself! I’m Mark Davis, and as one of the producers on the Warhammer project I get to use that phrase to your benefit! I’d like to share with you a few of my favorite “Wouldn’t it be cool if†moments that I’ve had a hand in creating.



What’s in the box?
Witch Hunters are a mysterious and imposing lot. Their methods, while effective, are often dark and secretive. Take, for example, Witch Hunter Drauwulf who hunts down heretics in the village of Bohsenfels deep in the dark forests of Ostland. After completing several tasks for him, he entrusts me to carry a “special box†to an associate of his down the road. But first, I must track down a unique beast in the forest and place its paw into the box. Next, and this he makes very clear, I am under NO circumstances to open the box once I’ve put the paw in. Now, why did he have to go and tell me that? OF COURSE I have to open the box now! Who wouldn’t be tempted to open the box? So, playing this quest for the first time I thought "You know what would be cool? If, when you attempt to open the box, something horrible happens!†Oh yeah, this is Warhammer after all! It’s a grim and perilous world of adventure and by opening the box you’ll pay the consequences. Opening the box unleashes a horrible essence which in 10 minutes will kill you. You only have that long to deliver the box to its intended recipient to have a chance at surviving. I hope you have your mount handy!


You won’t open the box, will you?

Who you calling a Heretic?
It’s not just the forces of order who must respect Witch Hunters, even the forces of Destruction recognize the danger they pose. Deep in the forests of Reikland, the Witch Hunters led by Edvard Kohl have established a temporary headquarters near the Reikguard castle. In order to continue forward toward Altdorf and ultimate victory, the forces of Destruction must crush them beneath their boots. So, playing this for the first couple of times I thought, “You know what would be cool? If Edvard would do what any normal Witch Hunter might do when faced with a Heretic – put them to the stake and judge themâ€! So, during the final stage of the Public Quest, Edvard Kohl will declare one of the attacking players a Heretic and they will be placed upon the stake and only the quick reflexes of a healer will save them from paying the ultimate price. Now that’s cool!


Ouch, hope my healer isn’t AFK...

Witching Night
One of the many things I do is working out a plan for our live events. Just recently we all had time to look up from our computer screens to realize that Halloween was right around the corner and we’d like to provide some fun stuff to celebrate the occasion! So, you know what would be cool? How about a sneak peak at what we’re prepping for the Halloween season - known as “Witching Night†in the Warhammer universe when the divisions between the living and the dead grow thin, and the power of Shyish, the Purple Wind of Magic, waxes. Evil cults, witches, and necromancers use this time to their advantage, easily raising the dead and calling upon them to spread wickedness across the land.

I love those moments in Public Quests when, on the final stage, the enormous boss monster stomps into the area and the final, epic conclusion begins to draw near. What will that boss do? Will he cast a nasty DOT? Perhaps he’ll throw us all back into the aggressive monsters waiting along the fringes? It’s a great adrenalin rush! Also equally, if not more so, are those moments in RvR when you’re attacking the keep doors while the enemy pours down boiling oil, siege weapons are firing on both sides, and any moment you’ll storm into the Keep where the final outcome will be decided! You know what would be cool? What if we combine the two? In the skirmish areas around the entire world during the Halloween holiday, there will be boss monsters lurking for players to kill. They’ll have cool loot on them, of course, so players from both sides will want to take them down. I’m sure Order and Destruction will play nicely with each other and share equally with each other for the spoils of the fight – yeah right! What else would you expect from a Warhammer holiday? Trick-or-treating? Nah! Beating people over the head? Oh yeah!


I’m sure he’ just “misunderstood.â€

In addition to the awesome conflict happening out in the RvR areas, we’ve got some unique encounters cooked up for anyone wanting to do some PvE Monster slaying. I don’t want to spoil all of the amazing stuff we’ve got planned, but rest assured that it’ll be “cool,†rewarding, and very Warhammer.

hanks for playing WAR, I’ll look for you out there on the battlefield!

~Mark “Wouldn’t it be cool†Davis

NOTE:If you can't see the images PM me.