Warhammer Online Review: Is It Worth Playing?

Warhammer Online is an MMORPG based on the popular Warhammer Fantasy setting. The game was originally released in 2008 but was shut down in 2013 due to the licensing agreement with Games Workshop ending.

Thankfully you can still play the game in 2022 on the Return to Reckoning private server. New content is even released regularly on the server, along with regular patches and bug fixes.

In this review, we will take a look at the game and determine whether or not it is worth playing.

Gameplay

Warhammer Online is set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe, which is a grim and dark world. The forces of Order and Chaos are in a constant struggle for domination. Players can choose to side with either faction, and each has its own unique races and classes.

The classes are unique to the two factions and even race-locked, so for example, if you want to play as a Choppa you will need to be an Orc, and only Dwarves can be Runepriests. Each race has a tank class, a healer, a melee DPS, and a ranged DPS class.

The PvE gameplay is very quest-driven, and most of the quests are fetch quests or kill quests.

The combat in Warhammer Online is fast-paced and action-packed for a tab-target system. It is very similar to World of Warcraft’s combat system.

The game also features a unique Public Quest system. Public Quests are open to all players, and anyone can join in and contribute to the quest. The rewards are given out based on how much contribution each player has made. These Public Quests are great for gearing up and breaking up the monotony of leveling.

One of the main features of Warhammer Online is the Realm vs Realm (RvR) system. This pits players against each other in large-scale battles, and there are a lot of different objectives to complete. RvR is a lot of fun, and it is one of the most unique aspects of Warhammer Online, and one of the key reasons that players keep coming back to this MMO.

Warhammer Online is still one of the best PvP MMOs available at the moment and is well worth trying just for some quick PvP action.

PvP happens both in the open world as well as in PvP or in instanced battlegrounds.

Graphics

The graphics in Warhammer Online are definitely not the best by today’s standards. However, they are still good enough and do not take away from the gameplay experience. They are also heavily stylized, similar to World of Warcraft’s graphics, but with a bit less polish, which helps to give Warhammer Online its own unique look and feel.

Sound

The soundtrack for Warhammer Online was composed by Brad Derrick, who is now the composer for The Elder Scrolls Online at Bethesda. The soundtrack is excellent and sets the tone perfectly in this very grim fantasy setting.

Population

For a private server, the population in Warhammer Online (Return to Reckoning) is doing very well. There are hundreds and sometimes thousands of players playing the game at all times. The community is large enough to make it easy to always find a group, at least at higher levels.

You can head over to the Return to Reckoning website to see the server’s current player numbers.

Is Warhammer Online Free-to-play?

Since Warhammer Online is now a private server run by volunteers, it is completely free-to-play. There are no subscription fees, and all of the game’s content is available to everyone.

Is Warhammer Online Pay-to-win?

No, Warhammer Online is not pay-to-win. There are no items or gear that give players an unfair advantage over others. The game is completely free from any pay-to-win elements.

Conclusion

Overall, Warhammer Online is a great MMORPG with a lot to offer. The game has decent graphics, an excellent combat system, and a unique RvR system. If you are looking for a new PvP-centric MMORPG to play, then Warhammer Online is definitely worth checking out. Thanks for reading!

Have you played Warhammer Online before? What did you think of it? Let us know in the comments below!