1.2.1 shenanigans!

So, we've had the test notes up for patch 1.2.1 for a while, and I thought I'd throw out my 2cents about them.

First off, I have to say the AoE fix couldn't of come sooner. The army of Bright Wizards and Engineers out there have left me, and many others, finding it hard to force ourselves into oRvR on a regular basis. While this wasn't a bad thing in WoW, the PvE encounters do need a lot of work to make up for it. Hence, I've found my Choppa just to be more worthwhile playing. I tend to run with a Liminent: Mercy up and even though that bumps me to about 8k HP, the 40% soft cap to resists that was forced upon us still leaves me dying more often than not in a few seconds.

Keep upgrading I personally can't wait for. One thing I really, REALLY want to see along with this though is visual upgrades so you can tell at a glance what level a keep is. Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC henceforth) was brilliant in this regard. You could take out a few groups, run by a keep and tell at a glance what level the thing was just by the size of walls and what level guards were there. Door HP upgrades do seem a bit lackluster though, as you can only double the amount they have. Sure its a short timer on it to actually upgrade them, but having them naturally get stronger as your keep does would be nice too. Its a shame they didn't code in destructible walls though when they made the game. They had done it in DAoC in New Frontiers, why not in a brand new game fresh at launch?

Some of the upgrades do look rather interesting though, like the Altars and specialty guards that will cast spells. Tank walls at the inner door will be much more likely to happen, rather than the current ramp block. The skulls that you need to get to fire off an Altar though I'm a bit vague on. Do they get destroyed when you log out? How many skulls can I carry at a time? Do I get one for every Order I kill, or do we get them randomed out through the whole warband? Can I trade them if thats the case? And are we talking a HUGE amount of damage, so that small numbers of defenders can withstand a much larger attacking force, or is it percentage based?

The oil immunity potions that will be coming out with the new "ordinance" currency are quite tempting to get as well. Quite often I find myself moving in closer so I can hit the oil with DoTs and instant cast spells, hoping to damage it enough to force the person using it to repair and save the MDPS some health, and me AP for healing and rezzing them in situations where we can't take it out. Of course, even though I have 100 range on many of my spells, it still seems that I can't stand back as far as the RDPS can to hit said oil. This innevitably leaves me standing in the oil myself.

Thats just the stuff I personally think is going to be most worthwhile, mainly because siege weapons beyond rams and oil are essentially useless. Maybe being able to use the single target ones on doors, although for a lot less damage than a ram hits for, would be a good boost for them. Possibly give me an aerial view when I'm on the AoE ones too, so I know exactly where its going to hit, rather than guessing. Not saying let me see where people are precisely, but give me a little map so I can figure out where it is a little better. If you hit someone, maybe let you see where they are moving to for a couple of seconds afterwards, or even just if it hits them and they stay in range.

Whatever happens, bring on the patch. I can't wait to be out there, kicking ass, taking names, and becoming a feared and respected Zealot, rather than just a renown farm for the Order AoE zerg.