Why did Warhmmer Online "fail"?

[Winfrid]

Released too early, lots of bugs, RvR was added at the last minute and was terrible compared to what everyone was expecting/hoping (2nd coming of DAoC)
Saying that, I did like the game (mainly due to my Black Orc, ya gits) but just wasn't good enough to be worth paying for

 

[Weaver]

It hasn't really failed. It's just WoW has done really well, so all other MMO's subscription base pale in comparison.

You mean the MMO episode where he predicts a bunch of stuff that's already happened?
I got really angry at that episode...

 

[ward.]

Too many servers at release left the good guys sides undermanned which created ridiculously long line ups, when they consolidated servers it made everyone think the game was dying and people jumped ship.
Awkward level progression (sometimes people just have 8 hours of their life to burn off and want to spend it reaching level 60) also played a part.

 

[Keava]

Simple. It wasn't finished when it was released and first months are crucial to whenever a MMO will live or start decaying fast. The game was filled with bugs, RvR was not working, Zone control was not working, Keep fights were boring because they were not worth the effort and no one ever defended them, there was no PvE content other than tank and spank monster grind, Public Quests were unimpressive since they did not evolve above "kill 100 weak mobs ->kill 50 stronger mobs - > kill 10 strong mobs -> kill 1 very strong mob", and PvP has serious balance issues mainly with all the crowd control knock-backs that sent you flying across the map and into the lava without you being able to do a thing about it.

 

[thiosk]

Omigod you mean theres a game out there where I can roll a elf/human/orc/dwarf analog and level up as a warrior/sorcerer/healer/rogue analog AGAIN?

Please, where do I sign up for more of that.

 

[iLikeHippos]

Easy. People got sick of the shit game. Isn't that quite obvious?
I mean, I left WoW because AYE got sick of the game. Not because it was so awesome and can't be questioned the least bit of being boring.

See where I'm getting at?

 

[Nomanslander]

Well, let's see.

-The selling point of the game was PvP, and if you don't know, the majority of online MMO gamers usually prefer PvE in which category WAR only offered a big fat goose egg.

-Warhammer was a very watered down version of WoW, all the depth and sophistication of WoW's RPG elements was completely missing in this game.

-There was so many RvR lakes that the populace of the server was always spread too thin, and since the games main feature was RvR, it was a giant disappointment.

-The classes were balanced around completely being dependent on each other, and here Mythic really screwed up because almost all gamers usually prefer being independent. In WoW no class is really dependent on any one else, some classes although do better on their own. In WAR it was completely paper/rock/scissors, if you were a Zealot there was no way in hell you could beat a Witchhunter, unlike a shadow priest vs a rogue in WoW, there for you always had to run in a group.

-Once you found RvR, every battle turned into a Zerg, I mean as awesome as 40 vs 40 might sounds on paper, it all just turns into a clusterfuck and after 10 mins you end up preferring small skirmishes instead of being stun locked and gang raped by 20 Marauders all at once...0o

 

[Tourette]

End game was boring and the level design was quite linear. Apart from that I quite liked the game but quit due to the boredom at endgame. That was some time ago as I placed at launch so i have no idea how the game is now.

 

[rokudan]

Broken classes that were never fixed.

 

[mjw1988]

there was no PvE content other than tank and spank monster grind, Public Quests were unimpressive since they did not evolve above "kill 100 weak mobs ->kill 50 stronger mobs - > kill 10 strong mobs -> kill 1 very strong mob",

This^^
Also what ward said aswell- too many people fell for the "OMG I CAN BE EVIL AND HAVE SPIKES ON MY ARMOR" mentality and 2/3 of the population went and played Destruction and left order with not nearly enough players to make the game work correctly.
The open RvR was almost impossible for order and was far too easy for destruction, this meant that players from both sides gave up for differing reasons.
The balance between order and destruction was remedied a little bit with a recent patch but the game is already dead with only 2 servers remaining for europe.

 

[Aitruis]

One of the biggest problems was it wasn't as stable or had as many stable features as WoW.

Here's the thing. Every MMO goes through a "birthing pains" period. It's rather unavoidable. Game is released, and players and devs alike find holes, come up with new features as they're needed, so on and so forth.

Any one who, like myself, was around for WoW's original release knows it went through the same thing. The mere mention of it on the forums starts a cacophony of "back in the day" trolls. But people stuck around and pushed through it, because there wasn't much else around in the MMO market.

The difference with WAR, especially being in the exact same genre as WoW, is people didn't have to wait through that initial period. Why stick around for an MMO to get on it's feet when there's a perfectly stable, already established MMO already on your shelf.

It's unfortunate, and I would have liked to have seen WAR do well, as I really enjoy the lore, and enjoyed the less cartoonish graphics, but sadly it's extremely hard for a new MMO to stand against an already established competitor.

 

[Eiseth]

I wouldn't say it failed that bad. I mean, it's still around, so it most likely still make money. And the population is quite balanced right not, it's even growing! \o/

 

[SimuLord]

Might I suggest you watch Extra Credits? You will find your answer there.

Everyone just goes back to WoW.

Indeed, Daniel Floyd and friends hit on this very topic and nailed the answer down pretty firmly.

 

[Thoric485]

Because at it's base it's the same gameplay, but ALOT more lore and PvP centered which could've drawn a heeefty amount of disgruntled WoW players. Sadly it lacked the polish to become WoW's equal.

 

[Levitas1234]

No end game content, waste of time game for a wow player to switch.

 

[Jandau]

It failed to beat WoW, which is something it tried.

It kinda failed at launch, with limited endgame content, cut classes, non-existant crafting, poor balance both between classes and in population between Order and Destruction. Overall, it was a watered down version of Dark Age of Camelot that didn't do justice to its source material and tried to emulate WoW too much.

However, since then endgame content has been implemented, classes have been balanced, but classes were put back in, crafting has been repaired to a degree and the population has stabilized. Overall, the game has found its niche and from the last official reports it was turning a profit.

So no, it didn't fail. If you're looking for something kinda like WoW but with more PvP (especially the open world kind), you might find a home there.

 

[acosn]

Being bored of WoW, I've been snooping around for odd games to try, so I tried out the Warhammer demo. I remember it coming out and people saying it was a pretty solid game, but it never really took off. I've been having tons of fun with it, and it reminds me of my first days playing WoW.

So what were the issues that made people unsub? I looked at wikipedia and it said at one point they had 800k subs, but now its down to 300k. What happened?

It was too much like WoW.

The refinements it boasted just were not enough to justify switching over, especially when it lacked the fine-tuning WoW enjoyed like (marginally) balanced classes and the years invested.

Plus they utterly botched server population balancing and the whole thing where the community on server "X" I liked a heck of a lot more than Warhammer's server "Y". Right around when I hit the second tier of zones in Warhammer it dawned on me- I could be playing WoW.

So I went and played WoW instead.

 

[MNRA]

As a story buff and RP nut, for me it failed due to the fact that I felt EVERY single mission was about the damn war. This is alright in theory, I mean if the mother of all wars is going on it's going to preoccupy some people. But there was no exploration. No JOY in looking at the different locations for me. Because every single location was another setting in which the war was fought. There was no WoW-like amazement at running up a mountain and finding a random NPC that you'd think "Huh? I wonder what this guy is doing here".

That, and the fact that every single mission (at least the DE campaign that I played) was basically "Rargh, we are evil and we fight wars and scheme! Now go out and fight and scheme for our amusement!".

I love WH. I have played the miniature games and seeped myself in the lore since 2nd/3rd ed. of them. But the MMO failed to deliver.

 

[tofulove]

Being bored of WoW, I've been snooping around for odd games to try, so I tried out the Warhammer demo. I remember it coming out and people saying it was a pretty solid game, but it never really took off. I've been having tons of fun with it, and it reminds me of my first days playing WoW.

So what were the issues that made people unsub? I looked at wikipedia and it said at one point they had 800k subs, but now its down to 300k. What happened?

i played it before cata came out, the problem no end game(at the time i played it). and many servers became pretty one sided in balance. playing the underdog is fun for awhile, but when there at your city gates, it limits your options.