Warhammer Info - Realm vs. Realm (RvR)
The War in WAR
The main focus of Warhammer Online is its massive scale PvP system, more commonly known as RvR (Realm vs. Realm). There are two major alliances at war in Warhammer Online - the forces of Order and the forces of Destruction. The Order alliance is made up of the Empire, High Elves, and Dwarfs. The forces of Destruction are made up of Greenskins, Dark Elves, and the Chaos mutants.
While the various races are allied with one another, the alliances are not very strong - everyone is more or less in it for themselves. Each race has a bitter enemy that they are geographically near forming three distinct battlefronts. The human Empire is at war with Chaos, Dwarfs are at war with the Greenskins, and the High Elves are at war with the Dark Elves.
For much of the game, each race primarilly faces off against its mortal enemy. Travel distance and danger prevents the races from readily traversing the world (although it is possible). Characters of allied races can form groups with one another, allowing for more diverse group setups. Characters of allied races can also create regiments with one another (commonly known as guilds in most MMOs).
The battlefront is continually moving about. Each side can capture zones for their alliance, pushing the battlefront further into enemy territory. After a string of zone captures, the victorious army will eventually reach the enemy's capital city. Victory at the city gates will open the city to sacking and pillaging. A victorious army cannot hold a capital city indefinitely. NPC armies will eventually come to push the invaders out and the war will begin anew.
Prior to Dark Age of Camelot, RvR actually stood for "Railroad vs. Railroad". Gangs of railroad workers would band together and form raid parties and go sack opposing rail companies. Immediately following one of these raids, a rail worker was once quoted as saying, "Lame drops, GG" to which his comrades replied "QQ"...
Ok, maybe I made that one up.
Capturing Zones and RvR Encounters
Each battlefield zone in Warhammer Online is capturable. To capture a zone, your side must accumulate "Victory Points", granted from a variety of sources:
- PvE Quests
- Skirmishes
- Battlefields
- Scanarios
- Spillover Victory Points
PvE Quests are quests that do not directly involve PvP or RvR, but still contribute to the overall war effort. The reward for each PvE quest varies from quest to quest, but one can typically expect money, experience, gear, and a small amount of Victory Points.
Skirmishes are random battles that occur in open field PvP areas. You see an enemy, you kill an enemy. The reward for winning skirmishes is money, experience, items, Renown Points, and a small amount of Victory Points. Keep in mind that although you can gain items and equipment from Skirmishes, you are not directly looting items off of your fallen enemies.
Battlefields are open field battles with an objective, such as capture a tower before your enemies, defend a fort, etc. Although one could show up solo at a battlefield, this battle type is probably best suited for groups of players. Capturing a battlefield earns your side a moderate amount of Victory Points.
Scenarios are instanced RvR encounters and are designed to be "instant action". Each scenario participant is assigned a point value, based off of their strength and RvR prowess. Both factions in the scenario are automatically balanced using these point values, with NPC "Dogs of War" filling in any gaps. A scenario's objectives differ from scenario to scenario. In some scenarios, the two sides will be battling over control of a rare artifact. In another, one side will be rallying to rescue injured NPC allies from the field while the other side attempts to incercept them. There will be over forty different scenarios in WAR at launch. Scenarios provide the largest amount of Victory Points upon their completion.
Spillover Victory Points are Victory Points accumulated from lower tiered zones. Through this, even new characters can contribute to the overall war effort.