MMO Updates

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• The Road to Mordor: Six wonders of the newbie world
• WRUP: Larry will be staring at chest hair edition
• The Daily Grind: Do you game on a Mac?
• BioWare kicks off Star Wars: The Old Republic Q&A Fridays
• Storyboard: Over, done, finished, finito
• Diablo III will see you in hell... mode
• Betawatch: February 4 - 10, 2012
• Fallen Earth's Global Territory Control creates a singular faction to rule them all
• Final Fantasy XIV previews its revamp to food and medicine
• Darkfall specializes magic schools, replaces death with limbo system
• LotRO's buried treasure resurfaces in a new dev diary
• Full SWTOR-themed hip hop album released
• The Firing Line: Controller wars edition

The Road to Mordor: Six wonders of the newbie world Posted: 11 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor As I reported last week, I've recently rerolled as a Hobbit Minstrel in an effort to refresh my attitude toward the game, to get a different perspective, and to continue my series in which I go through all of the single-player quests in the game. It's been, in a word, smashing. Having been away from the tamer lands of Eriador for so long, I had forgotten the charm and serenity that these lowbie areas exude. Plus, it's always fun leveling up a brand-new character, since there are plenty of goals and ways to develop your character that your level-capped toons have long since surpassed. As I've been plugging away at Bree-land quests, I began to make a mental list of exactly what's so special about the low-level game in Lord of the Rings Online. The mental list became an actual one, and after a period of milling and refining, I've baked it into a nice loaf of observations to share with you. Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Six wonders of the newbie world The Road to Mordor: Six wonders of the newbie world originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WRUP: Larry will be staring at chest hair edition Posted: 11 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Massively columnist Larry Everett has informed me that despite having sent in a different response for this week's WRUP, he will spend this weekend staring at chest hair. Why will he be staring at chest hair? I don't know, exactly. Perhaps he's captured by the primal energy it offers, the sense of a fundamental connection with mankind's somewhat savage roots. Perhaps he just really doesn't feel like logging into a game. Whatever the reason, he dared me to share this with the world, and now I'm doing precisely that. Where were we? Oh, right, WRUP. This week's edition is... well, like every other edition, with the Massively staffers letting you all know what they'll be up to over the weekend. We're also talking about the maximum fee we'd pay for a subscription to an MMO. So jump on past the break to check out our gaming plans, then let us know yours down in the comments! Continue reading WRUP: Larry will be staring at chest hair edition WRUP: Larry will be staring at chest hair edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Image Source

The Daily Grind: Do you game on a Mac? Posted: 11 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Mac, Humor, Miscellaneous War. War never changes... the platform war, that is. But even those of us who game from the comfort of decked-out PCs can feel sorry for our Mac brethren when one of the Apple MMO offerings, already in short supply, goes dark. That's exactly what's happening to the Mac version of classic EverQuest: SOE is sunsetting the single Mac server due to low population and ancient code. Apple gamers must get a PC or sample one of the other Mac-friendly MMOs like Warhammer Online, Fallen Earth, Ryzom, or Free Realms. So today we ask: Do you play MMOs on a Mac, and if so, which games? And is it really as bad as PC-loyalists like to think? 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: Do you game on a Mac? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

BioWare kicks off Star Wars: The Old Republic Q&A Fridays Posted: 10 Feb 2012 07:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Patches, Previews, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Community Q&A When BioWare first announced the addition of a regular community Q&A feature for Star Wars: The Old Republic, the team stated that each session would answer about 10 questions. However, the first installment has gone up with a grand total of 15 and answers more questions about the Legacy system. Patch 1.2 will bring in the first set of rewards, allowing players to combine races and classes in new ways, but the company promises there will be more enhancements and expansions for future patches. In fact, the next major patch is will bring several requested features. A new same-faction Warzone, the Hue to Chest feature, Medium and Heavy social armor, and guild banks are all on the table for the update. For players more concerned with the immediate state of the game, there are also answers about the best ways to submit feedback and how the team prioritizes which bugs to fix. It's certainly a good place to kick off the series, and community members should find something to be pleased with in the answers. BioWare kicks off Star Wars: The Old Republic Q&A Fridays originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Community Q&A

Storyboard: Over, done, finished, finito Posted: 10 Feb 2012 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous The best stories have an ending. And if you want to tell a decent story in a roleplaying format, you're going to need some sort of an ending eventually. The problem is that most endings have a pretty strict sense of finality to them, and really ending your roleplaying kind of implies that your character is riding off into the sunset and possibly sipping martinis. (Depending on the game, they may be space martinis. Lots of things are possible.) So you want to end the story without ending your character's story on a whole. That's a good approach and one that can be handled. But it's also one that's a bit easier said than done, hence my devoting an entire column to it. So let's talk about creating a satisfying ending that manages to wrap up a story without subsequently wrapping up every aspect of your character. Continue reading Storyboard: Over, done, finished, finito Storyboard: Over, done, finished, finito originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Diablo III will see you in hell... mode Posted: 10 Feb 2012 05:30 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, Video, News items, PvE, Dungeons If you were among the players put out because Diablo III seems too pretty to be hardcore, you'll be happy to know that Blizzard hopes to re-earn your love, not with art but with gameplay. The company has released a video in which key DIII devs talk up the game's nightmare, hell, and inferno difficulty modes. They promise a veritable ass-kicking complete with hours of wiping and mounting repair costs. Quoth the devs: "Normal mode was pretty casual. It's very fun -- you're one-clicking and you're having laughs. Once you get into Nightmare mode, it starts turning into all business. [...] The game really starts [...] at Nightmare. [...] The way the game is tuned right now, people have no idea what they're getting themselves into." Perhaps not coincidentally, the Battle.net World of Warcraft blog is now daring gamers to join a community-driven Iron Man WoW Challenge. Participants eschew luxuries like buffs, talents, and grouping and charge into the world to see just how high they can level. Death, of course, means game over for the hardest of the hardcore. The Diablo III vid is embedded just behind the break! Continue reading Diablo III will see you in hell... mode Diablo III will see you in hell... mode originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Gamefront, Battle.net Blog

Betawatch: February 4 - 10, 2012 Posted: 10 Feb 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous Mmgame USA's Rise of Dragonian Era joins our closed beta list this week. The F2P sandpark title is aiming for a March launch, but prizes (including cash and video cards) await those who give the beta a spin this weekend. Massively also secured codes for Seven Souls Online's beta, which begins on February 15th. Finally, we're keeping an eye on the ongoing TERA sneak-peeks and beta events. If you preordered, you should be able to participate starting today. Read on for the complete Betawatch roundup! Continue reading Betawatch: February 4 - 10, 2012 Betawatch: February 4 - 10, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fallen Earth's Global Territory Control creates a singular faction to rule them all Posted: 10 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Previews, PvP, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox The GamersFirst crew is back with a closer look at one of the exciting PvP features that's being created for Fallen Earth: Global Territory Control. The idea behind GTC is that the devs wanted a comprehensive system that would track faction dominance in PvP across the entire game world. Global Territory Control takes in data from Conflict Towns, Faction Control Points, and open PvP areas, crunches the stats, and spits out a single point rating that shows how well (or forehead-slappingly bad) each of the game's six factions is doing. The new system will go into place for the entire game except for Sector 1, and you'll have to be level-appropriate for the zone to contribute to your faction's GTC score. If a faction earns enough points, then an insanely nice buff is handed out as a reward -- but only one faction can have it at any time. The buff increases the speed of crafting and harvesting and also improves the gain of random AP, Death Toll, faction points, and XP. This system is still being prepped for a future update. Fallen Earth's Global Territory Control creates a singular faction to rule them all originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Fallen Earth dev blog

Final Fantasy XIV previews its revamp to food and medicine Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV Final Fantasy XIV's foods and medicines have always been a major part of the game -- after all, both Culinarians and Alchemists focus on producing precisely those items. Unfortunately, the items have been awkward to make, unwieldy to use, and frequently unclear in their effects. That's why the game's next major patch is bringing along a major overhaul to the system, giving the two categories of item clear roles and more transparent effects. While the full list of item changes is not unveiled in the preview, the general philosophy is laid out in detail. Food items provide long-term buffs (including a small experience gain) with lesser overall values and a very short cooldown between uses. Medicines, on the other hand, provide a short-term buff with a long cooldown, but the buff is significantly larger. These changes will also tie into a revamp of several recipes to account for ingredient locations and overall synthesis difficulty. It's something to look forward to in the game's next major patch, and it promises to make your character's eating habits much easier to manage. Final Fantasy XIV previews its revamp to food and medicine originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Revamping food & medicine preview

Darkfall specializes magic schools, replaces death with limbo system Posted: 10 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Game mechanics, PvP, Dev Diaries Aventurine continues its trek toward Darkfall's game revamp, aka Darkfall 2.0, and in a new producer letter, Tasos Flambouras drops a few interesting info nuggets to tide loyal players over until the job is done. He states that the team is retuning each of the game's eight schools of magic so that each one feels more unique and focused. For example, air magic will be specialized to do more damage in close quarters against fewer targets, while fire magic will excel at long-distance AoE attacks. The team also thinks it has figured out this pesky "death" problem by coming up with a more interesting limbo system. The way it works is that when players are taken down, they have a choice between either respawning back at a bind stone or waiting for a timer to count down to zero and initiate a respawn on the spot. If players opt to endure the limbo period, they can re-equip their characters from their bank boxes. Aventurine continues to hire on new team members for the project, including a designer who will facilitate communication between devs and the community. Darkfall specializes magic schools, replaces death with limbo system originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Feb 10th update letter

LotRO's buried treasure resurfaces in a new dev diary Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries Deep under the soil of Middle-earth are riches galore, and only the Dwarves know where to dig. Fortunately for players, the Dwarves are totally fine with interlopers coming along to try their luck at finding a bit of buried treasure -- and they've even made an event out of it. While we previously saw a test run of the Buried Treasure event in Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine's put forth a dev diary that indicates we should be seeing more of it fairly soon. The event challenges players to flock to a treasure field, grab some picks, and get diggin' for booty. There's a strategy behind it that utilizes trained animals and dowsing sticks to find the best goods, although treasure hunters can just start digging randomly as well. The treasure will vary in size and quality, ranging from special mounts and cosmetic gear to more picks and barter tokens. While players can earn picks in-game through a repeatable quest, Turbine will also be selling them through the LotRO store for those who want to speed up their winnings. The dev diary posted several pictures of the nifty rewards that can be mined and states that the event is "seasonally agnostic," coming and going at various times during the year. LotRO's buried treasure resurfaces in a new dev diary originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev Diary

Full SWTOR-themed hip hop album released Posted: 10 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Fan art, Star Wars: The Old Republic If the one thing missing from your life has been music to show the world how much you love Star Wars: The Old Republic, rejoice! Your wait has come to an end. Richie Branson, who put out his first SWTOR-themed song late last year, has released Cold Republic Episode I: The Empire Likes Rap, which has the peculiar honor of being the world's first SWTOR mixtape. Are you a Hutt Ball phenomenon? Are you hot like a pot on the stove that's boilin'? Does it take more than seven men to kill you 'cause you're a tank -- and can you, in point of fact, take that to the bank? This might be just the thing for you! It's worth noting that the characters represented in the album also tip holo dancers hundred thousand credit bills and stick their missiles in all the ladies' exhaust ports. Your mileage will definitely vary. Full SWTOR-themed hip hop album released originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Richie Branson's site

The Firing Line: Controller wars edition Posted: 10 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, PlanetSide, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Opinion, Free-to-play, Consoles, MMOFPS, DUST 514, PlanetSide 2, Sandbox Welcome back to The Firing Line, shooter fans. Some interesting stuff went down this week, much of it related to DUST 514. Even if you're not partial to what some have dubbed "the controller wars," there's still plenty of online shooter news for you to peruse after the cut. Join me on the other side for a glimpse of Hawken, Firefall, and my PlanetSide character! Continue reading The Firing Line: Controller wars edition The Firing Line: Controller wars edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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