Warhammer Online is turning one

I really, really wanted to love Warhammer Online.

After years of nothing but World of Warcraft, I was ready for a change. Age of Conan failed to live up to expectations for me, and for a lot of other people. WAR, I thought, would be different. For one thing, it had witch hunters, possibly the coolest character concept I've yet seen in an MMO (who doesn't love those hats and pistols?).

I got caught up in the pre-release hype. I got into open beta and immediately fell in love with Public Quests, the Tome of Knowledge, and the open world Realm vs Realm PvP. And, I'll admit, I even developed a bit of a gamer girl crush on Mythic's Paul Barnett, with his hyperkinetic enthusiasm for the game and his British accent.

I may no longer play Warhammer Online but, for the thousands who do, Mythic is cooking up a big celebration for their MMORPG's one year anniversary.

The party starts on August 31st with a new live event called The Wild Hunt and continues throughout September with special weekend-only scenarios, a month-long 20% Experience/Renown bonus, special in-game items such as exploding stout (!), veteran rewards, and more.

The Wild Hunt live event will take place from August 31st - September 7th and will pit the forces of Order and Destruction against each other in a new instanced dungeon called The Hunter's Vale. Six-player groups of all Ranks will be able to enter the Vale through the Elf RvR areas, accomplish Wild Hunt tasks, and win rewards - including a cloak that will turn you into a stag with the speed of a mount!

Following the Wild Hunt live event, special weekend-only events are planned with special versions of the Mourkain Temple (September 11-14), Gates of Ekrund (September 18-21) and Temple of Isha (September 25-28) scenarios.