MMO Updates |
- Holier than thou: Divine Souls adds the Priest
- Prius Online open beta starts today
- Eden Eternal's closed beta kicks off -- and we've got keys! Keys! Keys!
- Funcom profiles Age of Conan's Forgotten City and The Breach solo instances
- The Daily Grind: Does steampunk taint fantasy MMOs?
- WoW-a-thon for Dragon*Con MMO track staffer
- Champions Online kicks off its new weekly comic series
- Newest producer's letter for City of Heroes talks about updating old content
- EverQuest II releases the Children of War!
- Massively Speaking Episode 150
- Choose My Adventure: Dirty fightin' and treasure huntin'
- One Shots: You meddling kids!
- Rumor: TERA Korean servers merging [Updated]
- Free for All: Which came first, the grind or the grinding?
- A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Consumerism at its finest
- ArcheAge PvP, dungeoneering discussed
- Enter at Your Own Rift: Rethinking server transfers
- Earthrise goes on sale, looks ahead to expansion [Updated]
| Holier than thou: Divine Souls adds the Priest Posted: 02 Jun 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Free-to-play, Divine Soul  The Priest is equipped with a deadly Soul Scythe, with which he culls the heathens as he works his way through the land. That's not all he brings to battle; the Priest is also well-versed in healing, lightning and poison magics. Outspark's Philip Yun hopes that the Priest will be embraced by the playerbase: "We've designed Divine Souls from the beginning to offer the most action-packed and exciting combat gameplay available online. We're constantly working to improve our games and offer players more exciting characters, weapons and other premium content. The Priest class will be especially compelling for players who want to try a different edge to our PvP battles." Hit the jump to see Divine Souls' Priest in action! Continue reading Holier than thou: Divine Souls adds the Priest
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| Prius Online open beta starts today Posted: 02 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  New dungeons are coming too, as are the bounty system and the ability to summon Gigas at level 30. Explorer types will be happy to note the lifting of various regional access restrictions, and PvP fiends can check out the two new unions in the Coliseum Battle System as well as take part in week-long guild battles. You can learn more about Prius, and download the client, via the official website. Be sure and check out our in-depth coverage from this year's GDC as well.
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| Eden Eternal's closed beta kicks off -- and we've got keys! Keys! Keys! Posted: 02 Jun 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Contests, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Giveaways  As of today, the colorful MMO has moved into closed beta, and Aeria Games is celebrating by throwing a party to end all parties. Beta participants will enjoy exclusive rewards depending on how far they progress in the beta. These rewards include titles, a spiffy hat, and a magical alpaca pet. There will also be a host of daily events and ongoing contests in the Eden Eternal closed beta. Of course, there's no reason making that pouty face if you didn't get in already -- we're here to help you out! Massively has 10,000 beta keys for the taking, so if you're interested all you have to do is snag one on our giveaway page, then sign up and redeem it on Eden Eternal's beta page! Demand for the beta is strong; just a few days ago we reported that Eden Eternal already had racked up over 100,000 applicants looking to give this game a go. You can check out several new screenshots below and a trailer highlighting the player towns feature after the jump! Continue reading Eden Eternal's closed beta kicks off -- and we've got keys! Keys! Keys!
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| Funcom profiles Age of Conan's Forgotten City and The Breach solo instances Posted: 02 Jun 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  Said content comes in the form of two new solo dungeons located in the lands of Khitai. Both instances are repeatable and designed to scale to a player's level (between 40 and 80), providing an alternative to the Tarantia Villas 40 to 80 experience that formerly filled in the gaps in AoC's mid-level curve. Funcom has told us that the new instances -- The Breach and The Forgotten City -- will be freely available to subscribers and available to Unrated F2P players for a small fee. Join us after the break for Funcom's take on the game mechanics, the storylines, and the locations themselves. While you're at it, check out the new dungeon images in our Age of Conan gallery below. Continue reading Funcom profiles Age of Conan's Forgotten City and The Breach solo instances
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| The Daily Grind: Does steampunk taint fantasy MMOs? Posted: 02 Jun 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  I've heard this argument before, in many other places: World of Warcraft, RIFT, Warhammer Online, and Allods Online (to cite a few examples) all have elements of steampunk in an otherwise straight-forward fantasy setting, and some folks just don't care for it. Steampunk, to them, represents a jarring juxtaposition between the old and (semi-)new, and even suggests that the world is becoming outdated even as we play it. So I'm curious today to know what you think. Yes, you, the person with the mismatching socks -- do you think steampunk elements taint fantasy MMOs, or can they coexist peacefully?  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!
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| WoW-a-thon for Dragon*Con MMO track staffer Posted: 01 Jun 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, News items, Miscellaneous  Many people, when they think of online gaming, think of 13-year-olds on Xbox Live shouting expletives and teabagging your freshly killed corpse, but those of us who have spent enough time in the community know that there's much more to it than just that. Kevin Stallard, of Dragon*Con MMO track fame, is setting out to prove just that. Kevin's close friend and Dragon*Con staffer Jay Sturrock was recently diagnosed with cancer, and anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer or known someone who has can tell you that treatment is not only emotionally exhausting, but financially taxing as well. With this in mind, Kevin is looking to put his World of Warcraft habit to a good cause. On July 9th, Kevin will be holding a 24-hour "WoW-a-thon" at Battle & Brew Gaming Pub in Marietta, GA. Throughout the course of this gaming marathon, Kevin invites fellow gamers to join him either at the pub or in Azeroth and, if they're able, to pledge some money toward covering Jay's medical bills from the treatment. Can't make it to the event itself but still want to help? No problem, just keep an eye on the official event page where PayPal information will soon be posted. We wish Kevin and Jay the best and hope the Massively community will pitch in for this noble cause.
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| Champions Online kicks off its new weekly comic series Posted: 01 Jun 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Champions Online  Similar in format to the featured episodes of Star Trek Online, the first series is titled Aftershocks and kicks off with an UNTIL base going dark. The first installment should take about half an hour to play through, with further installments coming in subsequent weeks to finish out the story. Champions Online players can start enjoying this ongoing arc with any character over level 11 and are encouraged to visit the official page for more information on the new format.
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| Newest producer's letter for City of Heroes talks about updating old content Posted: 01 Jun 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, News items, Virtual worlds  The usual rationale for fewer updates is the amount of work involved in updating this content, but the letter explains in more detail that it's not enough for content just to be old. In order to be ripe for a reworking, the task force or zone has to be underutilized to begin with, which gives a good reason for development to try to revitalize the content. City of Heroes players will be happy to note that the letter also promises revamps coming to the early leveling areas in the near future -- while it doesn't specify the details, more information will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
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| EverQuest II releases the Children of War! Posted: 01 Jun 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, EverQuest II, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  Hot on the heels of EverQuest II's Destiny of Velious expansion, Sony Online Entertainment has launched the 60th major update to the game: Children of War. As we reported yesterday, the massive patch continues the story of Rallos Zek as he commands an army of giants that threatens Velious and perhaps all of Norrath. In celebration of Update 60's launch, the team has uploaded a new trailer that outlines the latest EQII gameplay features, including four new dungeons, four new raids, two new heritage quests, and new battleground Velious maps. Check out the trailer after the cut, then jump over to the official EverQuest II website site for all the latest information on Game Update 60: Children of War! Continue reading EverQuest II releases the Children of War!
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| Massively Speaking Episode 150 Posted: 01 Jun 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, Opinion, Massively meta, Humor, Massively Speaking, Livestream  The topics this week include Perfect World's acquisition of Cryptic Studios, GamersFirst's collaboration with Fallen Earth, Fallout Online's rocky future, CCP's new in-game currency and item shop, Chinese prisoners forced to play WoW, and Square Enix's newest MMO, yet to be officially announced. Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to shawn@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes.  Massively Speaking is the official podcast of Massively.com. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Shawn Schuster and Community Manager Rubi Bayer, Massively Speaking takes on the week's biggest news and dev interviews with plenty of opinion, rants, and laughs thrown in for good measure. Join us every Wednesday afternoon to listen in and see what we'll say next!Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 150
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Choose My Adventure: Dirty fightin' and treasure huntin' Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Polls, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Opinion, Free-to-play, Choose My Adventure  I also popped over to Treasure Aisle, the in-game cash shop. I had some Station Cash burning a hole in my pirate chest, and since I had so much fun on my last treasure hunt, I decided to purchase a new map case and try my luck once more at finding the giant red X. In this week's Choose My Adventure, I'll tell you how my respec went and whether I found any treasure. In addition, I'll give you a sneak peek at some new bling for my pirate ship! Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Dirty fightin' and treasure huntin'
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| Posted: 01 Jun 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Free-to-play, One Shots, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Miscellaneous  A lot of hard work went into this van from the cartoon Scooby Doo. I haven't seen another one like it -- just A-Team vans -- and it usually gets complimented.We know there are a lot of great mounts out there, but we've got to admit that an honest-to-goodness Mystery Machine is pretty awesome. Think you've got something even cooler from another game? Prove it by sending a screenshot to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game, then tell us a little about what your awesome ride is and how you came by it. We'll show it off here on One Shots for everyone to admire!
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| Rumor: TERA Korean servers merging [Updated] Posted: 01 Jun 2011 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Rumors, TERA  Despite more upbeat news of fresh content in the offing, the merges come amid reports of lower-than-expected financial performance according to publisher NHN Korea. TERA launched in Korea last February and is gearing up for a Japanese beta on July 1st. No North American or European beta dates have been announced. [Update]: TERA's main Korean website does provide both official confirmation of server merges as well as time projections.
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| Free for All: Which came first, the grind or the grinding? Posted: 01 Jun 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Real life, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-play, Free for All, Miscellaneous  Exploring for hours and driving a car into mailboxes over and over really shouldn't count as grinding though, should it? Grinding is, in my opinion, defined by the repetition of the exact same action (or close to it) for a long time, usually in the pursuit of a single goal. The thing is, the grind has been around since the dawn of graphical MMOs. Hasn't it? But what started the grind? Was the desire for grind already there? Is the playerbase just better-suited for grinding? Click past the cut and let's chat about it. Grab some tea. Continue reading Free for All: Which came first, the grind or the grinding?
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Consumerism at its finest Posted: 01 Jun 2011 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Opinion, Humor, A Mild-Mannered Reporter  It's nice to see that the art department at Paragon Studios is putting a little more emphasis on launching specific theme packs for character costumes -- if you don't have any characters to use the concept, you can pass, but if you do, it's money well-spent. At the same time, I have to admit that I'd like to continue branching pretty far afield from the traditional superhero genre just to keep producing new packs. And hey, that's worth a column, especially as my head fills with visions of new costume pieces with steam and rivets. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Consumerism at its finest
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| ArcheAge PvP, dungeoneering discussed Posted: 01 Jun 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, ArcheAge  In addition to investigating interface, character customization, and world changes, AAportal notes that it was able to send a full team of level 20 characters delving into the deeps of one of ArcheAge's dungeons. Explorers will be pleased to know that the dungeon was a labyrinthine experience that left the adventurers unsure as to whether or not they'd managed to see it all. Also on the discussion table is world PvP, and here AAportal reports that player skill trumps zergs quite handily. The game's physics apparently play a big role as well, and the article illustrates the differences between a knock-back ability in World of Warcraft (which happens the same way every time regardless of terrain) and an ArcheAge knock-back that is affected by the character's surroundings. Finally, the article concludes that ArcheAge is not a very solo-friendly game as it currently stands, with coordinated groups required for premium content like ship battles and dungeons runs. Check out all the details at AAportal.net.
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: Rethinking server transfers Posted: 01 Jun 2011 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift  But any time things like free transfers and server mergers are brought up, the immediate conclusion is that it's a sign that a game is losing players, and as a result, is failing. Free transfers are usually only seen as an act of desperation, and they usually come on the heels of drastic server mergers, as we've seen in games like Vanguard, Warhammer Online, and Age of Conan. But if a game is believed (by the masses) to be doing OK, transfers are seen as a service that comes with a price, as in games like World of Warcraft or EverQuest II. So how do we interpret the news of free weekly transfers in RIFT? Read on for a look at why it's actually great for the game and why they're more than just a shrewd marketing campaign. Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Rethinking server transfers
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| Earthrise goes on sale, looks ahead to expansion [Updated] Posted: 01 Jun 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Expansions, Earthrise, Promotions  Even bigger than that is the news of Earthrise's first free expansion: Territorial Warfare. This content update promises to double the size of the current game world and will let players take over territory, build bases, and fight against opposing forces. These bases can even provide players with resources to further expand their power. The price drop and expansion will apply to European boxed copies as well. The boxed versions also include a map and poster. Masthead Studios has been pursuing aggressive updates and fixes to the game as of late, and with the expansion there should be plenty of additional content for players to enjoy. [Updated: Changed the price to reflect US sales price.]
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