Playing as Elena the Bright Wizard
Finally, the RvR mode that we played was called a 'Scenario'. These are instanced and can be triggered once you enter a location by simply clicking on an icon on the screen that throws you into the scenario queue where others players are waiting for the action to begin. Whilst the sides are being balanced you can go about your business participating in PvE quests, visiting traders, or exploring the universe until the scenario is ready. You're then warped to a starting point where you and your team-mates battle against the opposition to fulfill a set objective.We played a 'scenario' as Elena the Bright Wizard. The map was the called Reikland Hills, an unsurprising hilly area, with plenty of rocks ideal for gaining a vantage point to unleash devastating spells on enemies, and with trees that make good cover from the large open spaces where the majority of the fighting was taking place. Our objective was to try and control zones marked by flags that were dotted around the map. The action is totally point-based and it the first team to 500 points wins the battle. In this case, you get points for killing the opposition and keeping control of the zones
This involved reaching a flag, clicking on it and waiting 10 seconds until the zone changes to your realm's colour and then attempting to defend it; or if you like, you can head off to try and gain more zones
Click for larger image
Click for larger imageEven with just 20 players on each side we noticed that everyone just went off doing their own thing so it was hard to organize tactics and quite frustrating watching 10 dark elves come charging over the hill toward you only to look around to discover that you're the only person defending a zone. Nevertheless, we were playing with a bunch of press so the likelihood is they were busily writing down notes or exploring the map rather than taking pride in their realm - it was after all only a 2 hour play-test. However, we could see from this play session just how passionate players will probably be when it comes to realm success. We were fiercely competitive and downright annoyed that others didn't seem to want to win as much as us. We're sure that this gang mentality and pride will kick in 'big time' once the WAR gates are opened.
We also played High Elf versus Dark Elf in 'capture the flag', which you'll be familiar with if you've played a lot of first person shooters online. This involves heading to your opponent's base, stealing the flag and then legging it back to your base, all whilst you defend your flag from the opposition. It's nothing ground-breaking, but when realm pride is at stake, there should be some hotly fought battles.
