Warmonger is a free to play mmorpg game brought to us by developers JoyImpact. inspired heavily by the studious previous effort, Crush Online, Warmonger retains all of the classically inspired charm of Crush, while enjoying a slew of new, and revitalizing features. From massive PvP battles, to the expansion of guild territory, to the ability to customize and fully control your own siege fort, Warmonger has made a clear effort to not only increase the potential of it’s end game, but to in fact focus on it.
Back in the Crush Online days, one of the biggest complaints from gamers was the lack of end game content. Warmonger has dealt with this issue readily – supplying gamers with massive fort sieges, and the opportunity to expand one’s own territory holdings upon a succesful fight. This system of battle, or war simulator – if you will, is something that has been rarely seen in an online PvP game, and is nothing short of revolutionary. For years now, mmos have played around with the idea of persistence, and with allowing player actions to really make a difference in the game world – and for years, many have failed. It would appear, however, that Warmonger is poised to take a real run at this lofty objective. Whether or not they succeed, however… Only time will tell.
Thankfully, time is something that any Warmonger player will undoubtedly need to have. One word aptly describes Warmonger’s PvE mechanics, and that would be: GRIND. Upon beginning your journey in Warmonger, you may be faced with a dilemma. Wait a second, you might say to yourself. Isn’t this a PvP game? And it’s a fair question to ask. In Warmonger, the price of entry to any real combat, is, of course, gear. But how might I acquire this gear, you ask? Well, you GRIND for it, of course! Hour after hour after hour of your Warmonger experience will be spent grinding, mob after mob, dungeon after dungeon. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Many games of this nature require a serious grind, and for many, its big part of the enjoyment – that, and this coupled with the fact that with some hardcore play you could be PvP viable (not, however, wildly successful) in just over a weeks time, allows for Warmonger to be perfect for anyone who is into the journey, as much as the destination.
Now for the elephant in the room. Is is Pay to Win? Short answer: No. The long answer, however, can get a bit more complicated. With a cash shop boasting more than just cosmetics, it did not come as a surprise to this writer to learn than many of the reviews left of steam, as well as on other similar gaming sites, are simultaneously focused on this cash shop – and are in fact negative. This scrutiny over the cash shop is understandable, but is, in this case I believe, unjustified. Unjustified due to one simple thing – accessibility. While the cash shop does indeed exist, the currency that you are able to purchase and spend can also be obtained by simply playing the game. It was stated by the developers that you could farm up over 9000 jewels in one day easily. To put that into perspective, 2000 jewels costs 10$.
Warmonger, while still deep in early access and with many features yet to be implemented, is a unique and thought provoking game in a genre that is not widely enough explored by the current industry. To take control of territory, to defeat your enemies in battle, to become the king… And all in a fully persistent world, are features that many mmo gamers have been on the lookout for for years. Warmonger, with a little luck and a lot of hard work, could become something fantastic, and is not something to miss out on if you are a fan of the genre. Don’t led the negative reviews scare you off, this game has the potential to really be something special, and with the staggering price tag of free, just about everyone should give this title a look.
