MMO Updates

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• Perfect Ten: My favorite MMO April Fools' pranks of all time
• WRUP: What is it about bobbleheads
• The Daily Grind: How have you gotten outside of your gaming comfort zone lately?
• Betawatch: March 29 - April 4, 2014
• See players take down WildStar's Forgemaster Trogun
• PlanetSide 2 video takes you into the thick of the war
• WoW's Warlords of Draenor alpha patch notes are huge
• Transformers Universe shows off Catapult and Shellshock
• Funcom yanks mankini costume from The Secret World
• SOE Live 2014 begins registration, offers early bird deals
• The Stream Team: Returning to my Exile roots in WildStar
• Ask Massively: What happened to open-world MMOs?
• SWTOR 'make good' double XP weekend starts April 11

Perfect Ten: My favorite MMO April Fools' pranks of all time Posted: 05 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EverQuest II, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, Events (Real-World), Events (In-Game), Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, RuneScape, Guild Wars 2, Humor, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous, Neverwinter There are two types of people on April 1st: those who are annoyed and indifferent to the tomfoolery going on all around them, and those who gleefully embrace the zany antics and baldfaced lies. For the record, I am of the latter crowd. I love April Fools' Day and the humor and creativity that it inspires. While this day is by no means contained to our neck of the woods, MMOs have a long-running streak of trying to pull the wool over our eyes. I think a good goof has to have several qualities to make it truly memorable. It needs to be original. It needs to be actually amusing, whether or not you "fell for it." And it needs to tweak our expectations and understanding of how MMOs work. Sometimes there are even important ideas that emerge from these jokes that could, indeed, make these titles better. So let's go through my favorite MMO April Fools pranks of all time, as catalogued by yours truly! Continue reading Perfect Ten: My favorite MMO April Fools' pranks of all time Perfect Ten: My favorite MMO April Fools' pranks of all time originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WRUP: What is it about bobbleheads Posted: 05 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Welcome back to Massively's What Are You Playing, the game where we tell you what we're playing this weekend and you tell us how bobbleheads make people with unusually fat heads really sad. Or just fly around in circles in Rata Sum giggling and photobombing screenshots. Whichever works. Continue reading WRUP: What is it about bobbleheads WRUP: What is it about bobbleheads originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Apr 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: How have you gotten outside of your gaming comfort zone lately? Posted: 05 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous I think that one of the secrets to avoiding the "routine rut" as you age is to constantly be challenging yourself to try new things and get outside of the comfortable bubble you build for yourself. As a nester who likes his routine, this is a difficult thing for me to do but I try to do it nevertheless. In 2014, I made it one of my resolutions to get outside of my comfort zone as a gamer and continually try new things instead of going down the same-old paths as I always do. So I'm trying new classes. I'm playing ugly characters. I am giving crafting, PvP, and even roleplaying a go. I'm diving headfirst into sandboxes and plucking away at older titles that have eluded my attention for years. Sometimes this is very frustrating and reminds me of why I like what I do, but once in a while I make a pleasant discovery and grow a bit more as a person and as a gamer. So how have you gotten outside of your gaming comfort zone lately? What have you discovered? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind! The Daily Grind: How have you gotten outside of your gaming comfort zone lately? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Apr 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Betawatch: March 29 - April 4, 2014 Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Launches, MMO Industry, News Items, Betawatch, Miscellaneous The Elder Scrolls Online officially launched today (actually, it launched yesterday, and early!), so we bid it a fond farewell from the pages of Betawatch. What else is new in the world of MMO beta testing? World of Warcraft kicked off the alpha for Warlords of Draenor. Final Fantasy XIV entered its second closed beta on the PS4. Black Desert moved its second closed beta to April 22nd. Icarus Online's open beta begins on April 16th. ARCHLORD 2 announced preregistration for its April closed beta testing. Epic Space was greenlit on Steam. The complete Betawatch roundup awaits. Continue reading Betawatch: March 29 - April 4, 2014 Betawatch: March 29 - April 4, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

See players take down WildStar's Forgemaster Trogun Posted: 04 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Video, WildStar, Dungeons, Subscription If there's one thing that MMOs have taught us, it's that blacksmiths are eternally on the verge of snapping and becoming supervillains. It was true in many fantasy titles, and it's true in WildStar, where Forgemaster Trogun dominates as the final boss of the Ruins of Kel Voreth dungeon. Bog Otter survived his encounter with Trogun in the beta to bring us back a 13-minute boss fight full of tricky telegraphs, giant hammers, and oh so much fire. Give it a watch after the jump and see if you can't figure out a strategy or two that might work when you come up against this dastardly fiend in the live game. Continue reading See players take down WildStar's Forgemaster Trogun See players take down WildStar's Forgemaster Trogun originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Bog Otter

PlanetSide 2 video takes you into the thick of the war Posted: 04 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 SOE has posted a new episode of its PlanetSide 2 War Correspondant series, this time showing a battle in the Indar and Amerish zones. Presented as a faux news report shot on locale, the video showcases some of the brutal ambushes and sieges that the game has to offer. You can check out the full report after the jump! Continue reading PlanetSide 2 video takes you into the thick of the war PlanetSide 2 video takes you into the thick of the war originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW's Warlords of Draenor alpha patch notes are huge Posted: 04 Apr 2014 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Subscription Blizzard has released today a massive dev blog with preliminary annotated patch notes for the Warlords of Draenor alpha test, which itself was just officially announced yesterday. The big additions relate to garrisons, stat squish and balancing, talents and Draenor perks, racial traits, crowd control, and yet another major healing revamp. Nearly every class in the game has a hefty entry outlining which skills are being changed and which are being deleted from the game entirely. Sounds as if returning players might be needing that newbie tutorial for Draenor after all. Have a look at your class changes and let us know whether you think you're getting buffed, nerfed, or just set up for another cataclysmic reset of the game's combat meta. WoW's Warlords of Draenor alpha patch notes are huge originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Patch notes

Transformers Universe shows off Catapult and Shellshock Posted: 04 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Transformers Universe, MOBA Two new warriors are being shown off by Transformers Universe today. First on the list is Catapult, an Autobot sniper with a penchant for long-ranged abilities. Catapult's core arsenal depends upon her long-range sniper rifle and electro-cloud launcher, but she also carries a shotgun for backup in close-range combat. She also heals nearby Autobots slightly each time she manages to take a Decepticon off-line, making her ranged support that much more helpful to her allies in the fray. On the other side of the coin is Shellshock, a massive Decepticon warrior covered in heavy armor and wielding a pair of cannons and an axe. His two cannons focus on dealing shield damage or spark damage, while his axe allows him to carve up and knock down nearby enemies. Shellshock also heals nearby allies when he downs an opponent, making this behemoth a force to be reckoned with in closer engagements. To see a glimpse of both characters in action, check out the videos past the break. [Source: Jagex press release] Continue reading Transformers Universe shows off Catapult and Shellshock Transformers Universe shows off Catapult and Shellshock originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Funcom yanks mankini costume from The Secret World Posted: 04 Apr 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi, The Secret World, Humor, Buy-to-Play Players who logged in this week to The Secret World might have noticed that there was a new male costume option in the game store: a neon green mankini that covered very, very little. However, those who purchased said mankini discovered the costume gone today, as Funcom pulled the April Fools' Day outfits from characters' dressing rooms, refunded the points spent on them, and gave each previous owner a free mystery box. While there was no explanation as to why the outfit was removed, Funcom apologized for the handling of the joke on the forums: "You may or may not be aware, but the mankini was removed. Anyone that purchased the item has been refunded points and has received a mystery box for the inconvenience. However, if you had purchased points in order to buy the mankini, you can contact customer service for a refund of those points. We're terribly sorry for the trouble, folks. Our CS staff will be happy to help." Funcom yanks mankini costume from The Secret World originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Official forums

SOE Live 2014 begins registration, offers early bird deals Posted: 04 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: EverQuest, EverQuest II, PlanetSide, Events (Real-World), DC Universe Online, EverQuest Next, Miscellaneous, PlanetSide 2, Dragon's Prophet The registration for this summer's SOE Live is now open for business! The convention, which will take place from August 14th through 17th in Las Vegas, will feature panels, parties, contests, and more. If you register before May 12th, you'll be eligible for the early bird deal of $129 for the premium pass. Evening passes are $99, day passes are $49, and kids under 12 may attend the convention for free. There are also options to pay more for a Sunday brunch with the developers and reserve an entire table for a group. SOE will mail badges to folks who register by May 12th and has made a deal with Planet Hollywood Hotel to offer discounted room rates. Call Send SMS Add to Skype You'll need Skype CreditFree via Skype SOE Live 2014 begins registration, offers early bird deals originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: SOE Live registration, SOE Live pricing

The Stream Team: Returning to my Exile roots in WildStar Posted: 04 Apr 2014 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Video, Livestream, WildStar, The Stream Team She couldn't hack it: Masssively's MJ just wasn't cut out to be Dominion, so during this WildStar beta weekend, she's returning to her Exile roots. She'll be bounding across Nexus with a spring in her step, searching for adventure on her Esper and hoping to right the wrongs of the universe (read: Dominion). Join us live at 3:15 p.m. to start your beta weekend off with a bounce... er, a bang! Game: WildStar Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Friday, April 4th, 2014 Time: 3:15 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Returning to my Exile roots in WildStar The Stream Team: Returning to my Exile roots in WildStar originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ask Massively: What happened to open-world MMOs? Posted: 04 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous, Sandbox A reader named Gabe emailed Massively last year with two questions (I'm getting through all the emails -- I am!). I'll address the second one eventually, but let's do the first one today because it's something I love to talk about: open-world MMOs. What happened to "open world" MMOs? I grew up with giant world MMOs where you would almost never see a load screen. I remember spending countless hours running from end to end of continents exploring and trying to see what I could find. You would run into a city instead of loading a city. I don't feel I am a part of a "world" anymore. After World of Warcraft, I played The Secret World, Star Trek Online, Neverwinter, and a few other closed-world MMOs, and it just pisses me off because I feel as if I am playing a single-player game with multiplayer options instead of a world I am a part of. I think we've got two separate issues here: One's about the literal meaning of open world, and the other's about the feel. Continue reading Ask Massively: What happened to open-world MMOs? Ask Massively: What happened to open-world MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SWTOR 'make good' double XP weekend starts April 11 Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic BioWare is hosting what it calls a "make good" double XP weekend in Star Wars: The Old Republic starting on April 11th. Community manager Eric Musco posted the details yesterday on the game's official forums, where he explained that the event is intended as a goodwill gesture due to the problems some players experienced with double XP in the Kuat Drive Yards flashpoint. [Thanks Dengar!] SWTOR 'make good' double XP weekend starts April 11 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: SWTOR forums

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MMORPG News

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• General: Planets³ Reaches Funding Goal
• Ghost Recon: Phantoms: New Phantoms Dev Vlogs Detail The Journey
• PlanetSide 2: Indar and Amerish Shine in Latest War Correspondent Video
• Transformers Universe: Catapult & Shellshock Revealed in New Trailers
• General: SOE Live Registration Begins
• Lightbringers: Saviors of Raia: Fun & Balanced But Repetitive
• EVE Online: VR Dogfighting IN SPACE
• Landmark: A Touch of Free-to-Play Hubris
• Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Phase 2 for PS4 Beta Begins
• Elder Scrolls Online: Launch Day Arrives with New Cinematic Trailer

General: Planets³ Reaches Funding Goal Posted: 05 Apr 2014 05:05 AM PDT The Planets³ team has announced that its KickStarter funding initiative was successful in reaching the initial $250,000 goal. Planets³ is a hybrid RPG, building, dungeon crawler experience driven by story and character development.

Ghost Recon: Phantoms: New Phantoms Dev Vlogs Detail The Journey Posted: 04 Apr 2014 03:06 PM PDT As Ghost Recon Online has started its evolution into Ghost Recon: Phantoms, the development team has posted a pair of developer video diaries to outline the process of change. The series will go into further detail about all of the forthcoming changes and will last for eight episodes.

PlanetSide 2: Indar and Amerish Shine in Latest War Correspondent Video Posted: 04 Apr 2014 02:58 PM PDT War Correspondent #7 has been posted by the PlanetSide 2 team. The series follows select groups of players and explores war torn locations throughout the PlanetSide 2 world. This time, the team takes a look at the contested Indar and Amerish zones.

Transformers Universe: Catapult & Shellshock Revealed in New Trailers Posted: 04 Apr 2014 02:56 PM PDT Fans of Transformers Universe will want to check out a pair of new trailers that show off new characters from the forthcoming Jagex title. Both Catapult and Shellshock get the video treatment. Check them out and let us know what you think!

General: SOE Live Registration Begins Posted: 04 Apr 2014 02:53 PM PDT Sony Online Entertainment has announced that registrations for its wildly popular fan convention, SOE Live, are now open. The annual event is slated to take place from August 14-17, 2014 at the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lightbringers: Saviors of Raia: Fun & Balanced But Repetitive Posted: 02 Apr 2014 06:10 PM PDT Lightbringers by Frima Studios is an RPG that's playable through your browser on the web, through the Facebook interface and now, on the iOS as well as Android platforms. I played it on the iOS platform on an iPad3. It will not run on the iPad2 or the iPad Mini (same processor as the iPad2, smaller screen). Frima is well aware of the demands of the game as the first tip you see when you boot up the game is to shut down all other apps and use WiFi instead of 3-G.

EVE Online: VR Dogfighting IN SPACE Posted: 02 Apr 2014 05:51 PM PDT I'll admit that I have a peculiar fascination with the EVE franchise, even though I've yet to partake in anything related to EVE Online first-hand. There's something decidedly hardcore about CCP Games' flagship title that speaks to me, and although Dust 514 didn't turn out so excitingly, the spinoff certainly still piqued my interest.

Landmark: A Touch of Free-to-Play Hubris Posted: 04 Apr 2014 08:45 AM PDT Sony Online Entertainment's (SOE) Director of Development for the Everquest franchise, Dave Georgeson, talked to IGN about the free-to-play model. While he says there's "nothing wrong" with subscriptions, he now says "free-to-play is the way that gamers should want their MMOs to be, and the reason I think that is that if we don't do a really good job and we don't entertain the player, we don't make a dime."

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Phase 2 for PS4 Beta Begins Posted: 04 Apr 2014 08:56 AM PDT Square Enix has announced that the second phase of the closed beta for the PlayStation 4 version of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is now live and players can join in to help bring the game to full release polish.

Elder Scrolls Online: Launch Day Arrives with New Cinematic Trailer Posted: 04 Apr 2014 08:17 AM PDT Zenimax and Bethesda are heralding today's official release of the much-anticipated Elder Scrolls Online with a brand new cinematic trailer. If you have yet to get a chance to play, perhaps the trailer will whet your appetite for the time when you can. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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