Warhammer Online: Twisting Tower Scenario Preview (WAR)

As a feature of the ongoing Bitter Rivals event, Warhammer Online has released a new scenario - the Twisting Tower! While this scenario will eventually be just a tier 4 scenario, for a short time it is available to everyone. The tower sits deep in the Chaos Wastes and has a similar, somewhat off-kilter feel as other chaos zones and scenarios. It is an 18v18 scenario - a good number for massive mayhem. This is a fun, engaging scenario that will test the limits of even the best RvR enthusiasts.

The Twisting Tower is similar to Khaine's Embrace and Highpass Cemetery in that it is a hybrid rules scenario. It is a combination of King of the Hill and Murderball. There are two points to capture: The Loft, and the Atrium. The tower is designed vertically, the Loft is above the Atrium, and the Oculus of Change spawns above both of them. There are spiraling staircases that will take you up to each level, inside and outside of the tower.

When your faction controls both points, the Oculus of Change will spawn. This murderball gives the holder the ability to deal extra damage, but makes them a tempting target, granting double XP. It will also trigger an event that will change everyone in the tower into something else - bears and other animals are common. Then the tower will be purged by fire, killing everyone within.

Each side begins on a island separate from the main battleground. There are two launchpads, one that will take you to the top of the tower, and one that will take you to the bottom. The one that takes you to the top is the most useful once the Oculus has spawned - it takes you directly to the room where it will be. If you're looking to join the main fight, you're better off taking the other pad, as it is a very long run from the top of the tower to the nearest capture point.

The scenario itself is full of chokepoints that occur on the staircases and in the doorways. This, and the high number of players in the scenario, makes it heaven for AoE classes, and somewhat difficult for others. You'll want to familiarize yourself with the landscape so that you can avoid the inevitable clustering that will happen on any of the main staircases. The game can stagnate if either faction is unable to break the stalemate and capture the second point. Also, communication is important in this scenario. If you want your team to get the Oculus - which has the highest point generation potential - then you should have people waiting at the top to grab it when it spawns. Make sure to pay attention to the text on-screen in order to avoid being transformed or blasted to smithereens.

The tower is not a terrifically designed scenario. It is extremely confusing to those who have not played before, and is a little hard to navigate even if you do know. That being said, it is not unpleasant when you get the hang of it, but that takes a little longer than it should. On top of that, the scenario is buggy. Often enough to be annoying, the launchpads that are supposed to take you to the main battle arena will instead launch you into the swirling maelstrom beneath the tower. There are also lag issues and other bugs that can get you stuck. The events surrounding the Oculus of Change are confusing as well - it is difficult to tell (if you are not immediately in the area) whether or not you will be transformed into something else, or simply blown into oblivion.

That being said, the tower can be fun if everything goes according to plan. Aside from the steep learning curve, there are no unfixable problems with the scenario itself. Once it rests rightfully in its Tier 4 place, it is likely that Mythic will have had time to fix these issues, and the scenario will be as fun and entertaining as all the others.

A more in depth guide of this scenario will be available in the future. Subscribe to the MMO channel RSS feed to be kept up to date. You might also want to read some of these other WAR scenario guides to learn about them and see the kind of detail we put into our scenario guides here at Bright Hub:

Warhammer Online RvR Guide: Nordenwatch scenario

Warhammer Online RvR Guide: Mourkain Temple

Warhammer Online RvR Guide: Stonetroll Crossing

It remains to be seen if the Twisting Tower scenario will be changed after the current Live Event when it becomes a Tier 4 scenario only. We will include that type of information in the upcoming guide.