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Alrighty! I've been asked to talk more about why I am so excited about Warhammer Online. I think that I can achieve that in this post, so for now I will try and accomplish killing two birds with one big heavy stone. I'm seeing more and more comparisons between the two games. Some of them are spot on but others are way off base. I feel it's prudent to clarify a few things for some people who may either not understand or be confused about the clear differences between these two games. It's important to try and put all bias aside and drop the personal feelings about which is a "better"game. They are both great games. Objectivity is key when explaining the similarities and differences. Warhammer is not WoW. WoW is not Warhammer. Each game follows a very clear path.

Similarities

Graphics: Both games look similar in that they have adopted a high fantasy "cartoon" look. While Warhammer steps slightly beyond the pure cartoon look and introduces some grunge you would have to be blind to say that they don't look similar. This is the part where most people bring up the infamous supposed and perhaps never existing lawsuit filed by Games Workshop against Blizzard. All things aside you can't deny the similarities. For your viewing pleasure, I present a few screenshots I found here that clearly show the differences. Please keep in mind that WoW is obviously older than WAR and that these are not my screenshots.

I think Penny Arcade says it best.

Races: This one is a given. Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, Goblins. See previous regarding speculation.

Two Factions/Lore: WoW has the Horde/Alliance and WAR has Order/Destruction. This is a huge similarity and in many cases it relates a lot to the lore of the game. In the Warcraft lore and in previous Warcraft games it has always been about this huge fight between the Horde and the Alliance. It's always boiled down to their never ending struggle. Other enemies have been introduced and both sides have teamed up but at the end of the day it's still the Horde and the Alliance. Warhammer is very similar (the MMO at least... I'm not sure about the tabletop stuff.) There are these two factions and they want nothing more than to rip each other to shreds.

Quests and PvE: It's a MMORPG. Both games will have PvE and quests. (See latter Differences for Quest explanation)

Talent Trees: Recently Warhammer Online introduced a very popular character development style that WoW itself decided to use back in the day. Talent trees and character customization through choices is something both games share. Right now WAR's system is still under heavy development and we've only recently heard about it in the "whats new"podcast (embedded below) it's still necessary to mention that both games share in a similar idea.

Raids: Both WoW and WAR have Raids. (See latter differences)

PvP: Yes, both games have PvP. BUT...