MMO Updates

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• City of Heroes anniversary letter features fun facts, videos
• TERA EU head start begins today, US to follow tomorrow
• Redeem your EVE Fanfest code for DUST 514 beta access
• Turbine extends LotRO anniversary festival
• Get into the Neverwinter beta by pre-ordering Torchlight II
• Guild Wars 2 sells out of digital editions
• The Daily Grind: Have you ever facerolled MMO content?
• Realms Online introduces the Lamai
• Iris Online opens the Lost Temple of Atlantis
• The Summoner's Guidebook: Improving our skillshot dodging skills
• DC Universe Online producer's letter explores the future of PvP
• TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address
• The Guild Counsel: When do you trust the new guy?
• Matt Miller reflects on eight years of City of Heroes, hands out free respecs
• Ask Massively: This hat has ruined everything edition
• Pachter says rumored Nexon buyout of EA 'cannot happen'
• Conquer Online expansion includes new pirate class

City of Heroes anniversary letter features fun facts, videos Posted: 27 Apr 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Video, City of Heroes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Anniversary City of Heroes devs are ramping up the PR push to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the game this week. The latest missive comes courtesy of executive producer Brian Clayton, who drops a few fun facts as well as a brief address to the game's faithful. Some of the more interesting numbers include 43 million characters created, 500,000 accounts at level 50, 300,000 super groups, and "over 15,000 costume pieces which can be used to create over 10 trecedillion (10^42) costumes." Head past the break for the full text of Clayton's letter as well as a couple of before-and-after videos. [Source: Paragon Studios press release] Continue reading City of Heroes anniversary letter features fun facts, videos City of Heroes anniversary letter features fun facts, videos originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

TERA EU head start begins today, US to follow tomorrow Posted: 27 Apr 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, TERA It's head start weekend for western TERA fans, and it's been a long time coming. The game, which originally launched in Korea in January of 2011, is finally coming to North America and Europe (on May 1st and May 3rd, respectively). Beginning today, European pre-order players can jump into the game's head start period and enjoy all of TERA's content through level 38. The North American head start kicks off tomorrow, April 28th, and it also features a level 38 cap. Players can create a maximum of eight characters per server, while any characters made during last week's early character creation and open beta events will carry over to the head start period. [Source: Frogster press release] TERA EU head start begins today, US to follow tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Redeem your EVE Fanfest code for DUST 514 beta access Posted: 27 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, DUST 514, Sandbox CCP is being rather selective with its invites to DUST 514's ongoing beta test. That said, if you attended Fanfest 2012 last month, you can now redeem a closed beta voucher code and get on with the sci-fi sandbox fragging. You'll need one of the code cards given out at Fanfest, and you'll need to enter the numbers on the new redeem page at the DUST 514 website. Once you've done so, you'll be placed in a queue to receive your actual beta code via email. CCP says it will begin sending out said codes "very soon, hopefully as early as the week of May 7, 2012." Redeem your EVE Fanfest code for DUST 514 beta access originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: EVE website

Turbine extends LotRO anniversary festival Posted: 27 Apr 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Anniversary Still working feverishly on your Eriador Cartographile title? Take heart (and take a breather), because Turbine has just announced that it is extending Lord of the Rings Online's fifth anniversary festival. This weekend was originally slated to be the end of beer brawling and mass firework displays, but now the tomfoolery will continue through May 9th. If you're a festival newb and in need of some direction, A Casual Stroll to Mordor has a pretty extensive guide to point you on your way. You might also want to check out the LotRO wiki for a complete list of items attainable via the various festival quests and activities. Turbine extends LotRO anniversary festival originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: A Casual Stroll to Mordor

Get into the Neverwinter beta by pre-ordering Torchlight II Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-play, Promotions, Neverwinter Synergy and cross-promotion is what makes the corporate world go 'round, so try not to boggle too much as you read the following sentences. Perfect World and Runic Games have teamed up to give you a unique way to access the Neverwinter beta. All you need to do is to pre-order Torchlight II. The closed beta access comes with a couple provisions. You'll have to specifically pre-order through Perfect Worlds to get beta access, as a Steam pre-order won't reap the same results. Also, it's important to note that Runic Games says that the "exact date of [beta] access will vary." Runic Games is a subsidiary of Perfect Worlds, which also owns Cryptic Studios. We found ourselves incredibly impressed with Neverwinter after getting our hands on it at PAX East, so it's great to have a guaranteed path into the beta. Make sure to read up on our impressions of this upcoming title from Cryptic. [Thanks to Jay for the tip!] Get into the Neverwinter beta by pre-ordering Torchlight II originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Torchlight II pre-order page

Guild Wars 2 sells out of digital editions Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, in-game, Guild Wars 2 With Guild Wars 2's beta weekend event poised to start today, many procrastinating players may be rushing to the official site to prepurchase their copy of the game and secure a spot in the beta. Those who do so, however, will be in for a rude awakening, as both the standard and deluxe digital versions of Guild Wars 2 are listed as "sold out" on the site for North America. While it may seem head-scratching that a company can sell out of a digital product, ArenaNet says that this was done to ensure enough server capacity for the event. The good news is that GameStop and Best Buy are still accepting prepurchase orders, and it looks as though ArenaNet will resume taking orders through the website once the beta weekend is underway: We limit sales to ensure we have enough capacity for our customers. We're likely to have capacity available after the initial crunch at the start of the weekend. Players who purchase when we're able to resume digital sales at buy.guildwars2.com will still be able to play for the remainder of the weekend. [Thanks to FlyinBuddha for the tip!] Guild Wars 2 sells out of digital editions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Facebook notice, Prepurchase page

The Daily Grind: Have you ever facerolled MMO content? Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Dungeons I've recently returned to World of Warcraft and was surprised to find a much more complex game than when I left (contrary to popular lore in our comments). Several of the classes have been revamped mechanically to be far more interesting and layered, and new dungeon encounters are frequently among the best in the industry. At endgame, anyway. I realize that outside of heroics and raids and PvP, WoW (like many MMOs) aims for accessible simplicity, which is nice when you're just happily grinding away or teaming up with weekend warriors not looking for a stressful challenge. One of my mates even bragged about facerolling his way through the dungeon finder, and I had to wonder, do people really do that? Even if content is easy, I still try to play it "right." I'll still make sure I know how to play my character, probably because I'm terrified of being that person in a PUG -- you know, the one who makes people hate PUGs. But I have to admit that the idea of honestly just punching whatever buttons just to see if we'll still win has its own amusing charm (and a strange level of challenge too). Have you ever facerolled MMO content, literally or figuratively? 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: Have you ever facerolled MMO content? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Image source

Realms Online introduces the Lamai Posted: 26 Apr 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Races Adding a new race to a factional PvP game is always a dicey proposition with regard to faction balance, but Realms Online is taking a measured approach with its newest race. The diminutive Lamai have just been added, and they aren't beholden to any single faction -- they can join any realm and play as any class. That flexibility is meant to reflect their nature as an ancient race that left the planet ages ago. Of course, there's also the problem that if you're enticed by the new race, you'll have to start all over from the first level. As a promotion to help players interested in playing a Lamai, GameSamba is offering a sale on experience boosts in the game's shop. It's 25% off of level 30 scrolls, and 10 XP boosters for the price of eight. Not a bad deal if you want to level a new character, whether it's a lamai or something else. [Source: GameSamba press release] Realms Online introduces the Lamai originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Iris Online opens the Lost Temple of Atlantis Posted: 26 Apr 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons Iris Online players are in for a treat today because it's patch day. And not just the small sort of patch with a bunch of bugfixes, either -- this is the big kind, the kind that opens up new areas and expands the level cap. In fact, it's exactly that kind, as today's update opens four new zones and the Lost Temple of Atlantis for player exploration. The temple is meant as the most challenging dungeon in the game and contains a variety of treasures for players braving its depths. Beyond the temple, the new zones give players new chances to strike back and liberate the land from the Sahar, complete with new quests to enjoy. Those new quests will also help as players head for the new level cap of 75, but if that alone isn't enough, the development team is doubling all EXP and SXP rates until April 29th. Players can also earn special treasure boxes for a limited time, a little extra boost for enjoying the game's new content. [Source: gPotato press release] Gallery: Iris Online Screenshots Iris Online opens the Lost Temple of Atlantis originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Summoner's Guidebook: Improving our skillshot dodging skills Posted: 26 Apr 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook Although the term "skillshot" was a new word for me when I started playing League of Legends, the concept of avoidable attacks is something that is very intuitive for even novice gamers. Skillshot is just a fancy term that roughly means "dodgable attack" in MOBA games. Although the official terminology sometimes differentiates between ground-targeted AoE and true skillshots (which are generally projectiles or groups of projectiles), that distinction is not really necessary for us. If it can be evaded, we'll call it a skillshot. Dodging skillshots is something that is fairly easy to develop skill for. It takes only a little bit of mental effort to dramatically improve your ability to evade them. It's also a skill that can always be improved with practice. We can always react to them faster or predict them more reliably. This makes it a good area to improve on because we can always get better. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Improving our skillshot dodging skills The Summoner's Guidebook: Improving our skillshot dodging skills originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

DC Universe Online producer's letter explores the future of PvP Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, DC Universe Online Another month is on its way out, and that means it's time for another DC Universe Online monthly producer's letter. This one is particularly special, though, because it's the first official producer's letter written by the game's new producer, Larry Liberty. Liberty takes a moment to introduce himself as a 16-year veteran of the industry who has worked on title such as Fallout: New Vegas, The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2, and Tony Hawk 4. The remainder of the letter pertains almost entirely to PvP and some of the recent changes made to it. One of the major changes is that the studio has "basically reduced the ceiling on how much damage output a crit can deliver," claiming that the team wants "to reduce the importance of luck and the importance of a good virtual dice roll in combat, and increase the importance of skill." Liberty then goes on to explain the team's philosophy behind the changes, stating that "the overarching goal for [the studio's] PvP system changes is to emphasize intelligent tactics and skillful play over lucky die rolls and raw stats." The post is rounded out by a list of some of the PvP features that are planned for game updates 13 and 14, showing players what they can expect for the future of DCUO's PvP. For the full, tasty details, go check out the full post at the game's official site. DC Universe Online producer's letter explores the future of PvP originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: DC Universe Online -- April Producer's Letter

TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Launches, News items, Races, TERA TERA's launch is just around the corner, and if you're not excited yet, En Masse Entertainment is going to throw as much new stuff at you as possible to get you psyched up. That starts with a developer journal by Senior Producer Brian Knox, who talks about the road to launch and the growth of the studio. As you'd expect of a producer bringing a game to market, he's quite excited to see what players will do with the game once it's live. Not interested? Perhaps you'll be more interested to know that the studio has extended the inaugural subscription rate deal; have an active subscription to the game by May 31st and you'll wind up with long-term discounts on the subscription price. Or perhaps you'd rather kick back and watch the final installment of the race videos, this one highlighting the familiar human race. It's a variety of updates to keep your energy up for the launch next Tuesday, assuming it wasn't up already. Continue reading TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Brian Knox on the road to launch, Inaugural subscription pricing extended, Race video series: humans

The Guild Counsel: When do you trust the new guy? Posted: 26 Apr 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous When you're running a guild, there are lots of clear, right and wrong, cut and dried issues to take on. It might not be easy to carry them out, but it's pretty easy to know what the right decision is. There are some, however, that aren't so clear, and it's hard to even gauge which variables might help reveal the best solution. One of those naggingly difficult areas is knowing when to put your trust in a new member. A good recruitment policy will help filter out bad matches, but at what point do you know that a new member really is a good fit with the guild and can be trusted? As much as I'd like to just say "you'll know it when you see it" and leave it at that, I'd like to touch on a few areas that might come into play as you evaluate new members. Read on for a few ideas in this week's Guild Counsel, and add yours to the discussion below! Continue reading The Guild Counsel: When do you trust the new guy? The Guild Counsel: When do you trust the new guy? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Matt Miller reflects on eight years of City of Heroes, hands out free respecs Posted: 26 Apr 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Anniversary Eight years is an eternity for an MMO, and Lead Designer Matt Miller is exceedingly proud that City of Heroes has flown the distance. "I love the community that City of Heroes has built, and watching it over eight years ebb and flow with new voices being added to replace departed ones, and those voices being welcomed with open arms instead of open hostility that they might find elsewhere," he writes in an anniversary address. Miller reflects on a few of the highlights of the journey for him, from his getting hired on to the team in 2003 to the insanity of the head start to the beginning of a bug hunting tradition among the playerbase. He also uses this address to promote the near future of the game, including Issues 23 and 24. As part of the anniversary celebration, Paragon Studios has handed out a free respec token to each character in the game (the tokens do not stack with other respec tokens, however). Don't miss out on our own Massively celebration of the milestone, as our own Eliot Lefebvre has shared his thoughts on what this anniversary means for the game. Matt Miller reflects on eight years of City of Heroes, hands out free respecs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Anniversary Letter, Respec notice

Ask Massively: This hat has ruined everything edition Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Humor, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous I was having trouble coming up with a topic for this week's header, so I tried writing down a bunch of different topics on pieces of paper and sticking them in a hat. Then I put the hat on. Now I still don't know what to write for this week's header, and I have an ugly hat on my head. Plus, little bits of paper are jammed against my head, and it's itchy. I knew this would be a problem starting with the bowler hat. This week's Ask Massively will go on despite my itchy scalp and ugly hat. And in this edition, I'm talking about potential Eastern games for a player looking for new games and beta invitations. If you'd like to have a question answered in a future installment of the column, send it to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity. Continue reading Ask Massively: This hat has ruined everything edition Ask Massively: This hat has ruined everything edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pachter says rumored Nexon buyout of EA 'cannot happen' Posted: 26 Apr 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Rumors, Miscellaneous Forbes reported on a rumored takeover of Electronic Arts by Nexon earlier this morning. The magazine noted that EA shares spiked following a supposed bid by the Korean gaming giant. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter weighed in on the rumors at GamesIndustry.biz, saying that the deal "cannot happen." He guesstimates that EA will balk at any such deal because "Nexon couldn't pull off a stock-for-stock deal [...] and would have difficulty financing an all-cash deal to make EA shareholders happy." Pachter floats a few numbers in his analysis, and he also notes that EA CEO John Riccitiello isn't likely to cede control of the company to anyone outside of EA management. Pachter says rumored Nexon buyout of EA 'cannot happen' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Conquer Online expansion includes new pirate class Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Mobile You might recall that Conquer Online made the jump from free-to-play PC MMO to iPad action RPG last December. Today NetDragon has announced the title's first expansion, called Invasion of Pirates. Unsurprisingly the content drop features a new Pirate class. You can see a video of it in action after the break. The class wields pistols and rapiers, and NetDragon describes the resulting gameplay as the "most fiery, action-packed combat" in Conquer Online. The expansion pack is currently free if you download Conquer Online HD in the iPad App Store. [Source: NetDragon press release] Continue reading Conquer Online expansion includes new pirate class Conquer Online expansion includes new pirate class originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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