Bitter Rivals Event Review - Lore, Quests and Rewards in Warhammer Online (WAR)

Bitter Rivals Event Review - Lore, Quests and Rewards in Warhammer Online (WAR)
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Introduction

Warhammer Online has implemented a number of live events to herald the arrival of new content, the most recent of which being the Bitter Rivals event, which ended on Tuesday. This event focused on the conflict between dwarfs and greenskins, and the most significant piece of new content was the implementation of two new character careers – the slayer for the dwarf army, and the choppa for the greenskin army.

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Lore

In Warhammer lore, dwarfs and greenskins are ancient enemies, and the event focused a great deal on this competition. The event was largely a build up to the arrival of the two new classes. The slayer is a dwarf who has lost his honor and takes an oath to die in honorable battle against a worthy foe. Much like viking warriors of old, slayers want more than anything to die in battle. Choppas are greenskins that are even more bloodcrazed and wild than the average ork; filled with bloodlust and rage, these warriors take waaagh! to a whole new level.

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Bitter Rivals

Bitter Rivals Quests

The key part of the Bitter Rivals event itself was the addition of eleven event-specific quests through which you could gain influence rewards and earn special loot, including the ability to unlock slayers and choppas one week early. These quests focused mostly on RvR conflict, but there were also PvE quests, travel/exploration quests, and several fun or silly quests, including one that required you to /swear at every enemy career! Though players not interested in RvR may have found the quest line somewhat tedious, it was a fairly well rounded list, with something for all players types. Most importantly, the quest line could be done at any level.

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A Choppa

Rewards

There were several rewards available to players who managed to complete in whole or in part the Bitter Rivals quest line. The first reward was a Bitter Brew, which granted a unique event-based title. This was followed by an item that would allow you to build another unique item, a siege engine that related to the Bitter Rivals event – an Axe Hewer assembly kit for order and Stinky Troll bait for destruction. In addition to these rewards there were opportunities to earn other titles ranging from funny to awesome. These included the title ‘Pie-assassin’ for killing someone with a tentacle pie, and ‘Seriously Bitter’ for completing all the quests.

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The Twisting Tower

The Twisting Tower

Much of the new content revolved around the addition of a new scenario, the Twisting Tower. During the event it was available in all tiers, but will eventually reside in Tier 4. This scenario is a hybrid of King of the Hill and Murderball, revolving around an object called the Oculus of Change. The battle itself takes place around - you guessed it - a tower with twisting staircases leading up and down. There were several quests that could be pursued within the tower that related to the Bitter Rivals event. While the scenario was buggy and somewhat lacking in many areas, it was a good opportunity for the developers to get feedback from the players on the zone before it went live.

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A slayer and a choppa

The Slayer and the Choppa

Of course, the big payoff for the Bitter Rivals event was the addition of two new careers, the slayer and the choppa. These paired careers filled out the original line-up for the Warhammer Online armies. Now each army has an even number of careers and is equally represented - for the most part - in all MMO archetypes. Both classes are melee DPS careers and have a unique look and playstyle to them. They focus on high damage at the sake of defense. Only players completing a large portion of the Bitter Rivals event will be able to play them right off, but they will be available to all players very soon.

Reflections

The most important part about this event was that it was all of the new content was available – within reason – to players of any rank. Worldwide events in other MMOs are often aimed at drawing in hardcore or max level players with new exclusively end-game content and quests or events that are hard to accomplish without achieving the top level of gear and rank. Bitter Rivals had fun, engaging quests for players of all levels and preferences and this speaks well of Mythic and any further content it might release in a similar way.

Be sure to check our MMO RSS feed for more information on the Bitter Rivals content as it becomes available. Class guides on the slayer and choppa will be posted in the near future as well.

Also, take a look at our Warhammer Online: Twisting Tower Scenario Preview and these class previews of the slayer and the choppa.

Warhammer Online: Bitter Rivals - The Dwarf Slayer!

Warhammer Online: Bitter Rivals - The Orc Choppa!