| The Road to Mordor: The truth behind weapon damage types Posted: 14 Apr 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Game mechanics, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor, Guides Part of the allure of Lord of the Rings Online is its surprising depth and complexity, particularly for those who like to get the best performance out of their characters. Part of the frustration of LotRO is its obtuse or absent explanations behind the many systems in the game. One of these systems remained on the outer edges of my attention span until one day I gave it my full focus. This was the field of weapon damage types, a subject I was vaguely aware of yet assumed I didn't have to know much about it to get along in the game. After some examination, I realized that while you don't need to understand weapon damage types to have an enjoyable play experience, it does affect the game in a small but important way. So if you've ever wondered what "Beleriand" or "Westernesse" in your weapon tooltip was all about, today's column is here to help you navigate the somewhat confusing area of damage types. Continue reading The Road to Mordor: The truth behind weapon damage types  The Road to Mordor: The truth behind weapon damage types originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WRUP: In recollection of Yuri Gagarin edition Posted: 14 Apr 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Thursday evening was Yuri's Night, an evening celebrating the flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first human being in space. Our younger readers may not realize this, but outer space is a dangerous place that people used to dream about, and human beings developed a great deal of technology to explore that dangerous frontier. Then someone realized that it was much easier to develop technology to show videos of cats jumping into boxes on portable phones. But as a big fan of the space program and humanity's efforts to expand beyond our planet, I like to honor Mr. Gagarin for his brave flight into the unknown. This week's WRUP, however, has nothing to do with the unknown. It does have a bit to do with space, depending on what games the Massively staffers are playing over the weekend. And it also talks about when a game is dying, which really doesn't have any ties to the header once again. Still, bravely venture past the break and let us know what you'll be up to in the comments. Continue reading WRUP: In recollection of Yuri Gagarin edition WRUP: In recollection of Yuri Gagarin edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Should MMOs bestow account rewards based on character power? Posted: 14 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Patches, PvE, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Promotions, Miscellaneous A few months ago, we asked whether you prefer studios to assign vet rewards and similar bonuses to your accounts or your characters. But we've never asked whether you think games should grant out-of-game rewards to players whose accounts have characters of a certain level of power, and that's because it's so rare. In fact, I can't think of a game that's done so other than Star Wars: The Old Republic, which stunned just about everyone this week by announcing a free month of playtime to players who just so happened to have reached level 50, a plan amended yesterday to require instead a certain tier of legacy experience. Cynical readers suggest that such a move panders to those most likely to leave (thus affecting subscription tallies) and betrays the loyalty of day-one veterans who play several lowbie characters rather than focus their attention on a single toon. After all, why should it matter how far your characters have progressed when you're paying the same monthly sub as everyone else? What do you think -- do you want to see other studios dole out playtime and other rewards based on your character's level or gear or other arbitrary measurements of success and achievement?  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: Should MMOs bestow account rewards based on character power? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Storyboard: To say nothing of cute shoes Posted: 13 Apr 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous Just as in real life, player characters in MMOs have more than one set of clothing for different situations. Sure, I don't divide my actual clothes up in usual MMO categories ("well, those are my PvP pants"), but I have things I wear around the house that I wouldn't wear out in public or when attending a funeral, for instance. But even that doesn't compare to a high-level roleplaying character, who has not only PvP gear and PvE gear and solo gear tand the like but also funeral gear and casual gear and so forth. It's all the joy of assembling a real wardrobe alongside the joy of stat comparisons. Roleplaying outfits are universally important. Even if your character is in a game without visible gear (such as City of Heroes), you probably have different outfits for different circumstances (civilian clothes, for instance). But there's an art to putting together a good roleplaying ensemble, and it's not just as simple as equipping the same equipment you wore 10 levels ago and calling it a day. You want to create a distinct impression, and that takes a little more doing. So how do you assemble a good roleplaying outfit? Continue reading Storyboard: To say nothing of cute shoes Storyboard: To say nothing of cute shoes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: April 7 - 13, 2012 Posted: 13 Apr 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous Betawatch bids farewell to Tribes: Ascend this week; it's officially launched and shiny, and even better, it's F2P, so go get your pew on! If you're that one guy who just doesn't dig jetpacks, maybe try a free beta key for UFO Online, currently still in closed beta. Meanwhile, fantasy MMO heavyweights Guild Wars 2 and TERA have been ramping up their beta hype with sneak-peeks, open beta plans, and pre-purchase kickoffs. If you're more into vampires, you'll be pleased to learn that Dark Legends has also rolled out to Android phones and Chrome. And finally, we've gotten another update from the Glitch folks about that game's impending housing revamp. Enjoy the full Betawatch roundup! Continue reading Betawatch: April 7 - 13, 2012 Betawatch: April 7 - 13, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SWTOR extends free game time promotion beyond level 50 characters Posted: 13 Apr 2012 05:30 PM PDT |
| Discover the origins of New Eden and the Melding in Firefall's opening cinematic Posted: 13 Apr 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Lore, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS  Last weekend we gave you a look at Red 5 Studios' upcoming MMOFPS, Firefall, and all of its glorious shooter action. What we didn't really take a look at, however, is the lore of the game. After all, why is everyone running around in crazy armor and shooting everyone else? And why is the last bastion of humankind on the planet a Brazilian island resort? The studio intends to answer some of these questions with today's release of the game's introductory cinematic. And man, is it heavy. From the looks of things, humanity decided it was about time to try its luck with faster-than-light travel and failed miserably, causing a gargantuan starship to come crashing into the Earth... right on top of Brazil. But wait! If the starship crashed on Brazil, then why is it still around? Because the starship's wreckage, and the energy field it generates, is the only thing currently keeping the Melding at bay, leaving the surrounding area as the only currently inhabitable site on Earth. Could have been worse, I say; at least Brazil's pretty even after the apocalypse. Continue reading Discover the origins of New Eden and the Melding in Firefall's opening cinematic Discover the origins of New Eden and the Melding in Firefall's opening cinematic originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Firing Line: Firefall, Defiance, John Romero, and more Posted: 13 Apr 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Video, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, DUST 514, The Firing Line, Defiance Dude, there was a ton of big shooter news this week! I mean, this isn't terribly unusual, particularly since the genre is expanding at a rapid rate, but when I've got to cut interesting items out of this column for length reasons, you know it's been an eventful few days. Join me after the break for a recap on everything from Firefall to Defiance to John Romero and beyond. Continue reading The Firing Line: Firefall, Defiance, John Romero, and more The Firing Line: Firefall, Defiance, John Romero, and more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Fallen Earth dev blog details Haven revamp Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Dev Diaries It's been a month or so since we've heard from the folks working on Fallen Earth. Today, that news drought ends courtesy of a dev blog by one Ninjanomics. The update is all about the changes in store for the town of Haven. Given the fact that the town is one of the more prominent features of the Northfields area, and given that it "had a confusing layout, was cruelly prohibitive to framerate, and didn't well reflect the serenity of the Lightbearers as a faction," the devs thought it was time for an extreme makeover. Ninjanomics (also known as GamersFirst's art ninja) walks us through the rebuild process and details both the stylistic and the layout changes to the town. The original design had "no logical flow to speak of," which led G1 artists to divide Haven into two sections: the town proper and a grove area. As a result, the new Haven experience is markedly smoother for weary wasteland wanderers and fans of Fallen Earth's free-to-play sandpark ambiance. Fallen Earth dev blog details Haven revamp originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Win a Wizard101 rare mount package from Massively! Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Contests, Free-to-play, Wizard101, Giveaways, Family If you haven't had a chance to make your purchase in Wizard101's Mount-a-Palooza sale going on right now, fear not! We're giving you a chance to get the five rarest mounts in the game in one set, all for free! KingsIsle Entertainment was kind enough to send us 25 codes for these rare mount sets, which we'll be giving away through our Twitter page, our Facebook page, and a random drawing. Each rare mount set contains: Swift Gryphon, Bone Dragon, Great Hornocerous (2 person), Nightmare, and Blood Raven (2-person). For a chance at your own set, simply send an email to shawn@massively.com with the subject line " Gimme My Wizard101 Mount Code!" before Sunday, April 15th, at 8 p.m. EDT. On Monday, we'll present 15 random winners their very own code. Be sure to copy and paste those exact words into the subject line of your email, or it won't get filtered properly. The remaining 10 codes will be randomly released on our Twitter and/or Facebook pages throughout this entire weekend, so keep your eyes open! Also be sure to check past the cut below for images of three of the mounts in the package. Continue reading Win a Wizard101 rare mount package from Massively! Win a Wizard101 rare mount package from Massively! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Aion adds map-drawing functionality, smiley-faces ensue Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play Much has been written about Aion's humongous 3.0 patch (and there's much more to come courtesy of Massively's Wings Over Atreia column). One thing that hasn't gotten a lot of attention, though, is the game's new cartography feature. In a nutshell, NCsoft's new update lets players draw on Aion's in-game map in four different colors, the better to plan out PvP attacks, strategize for PvE, or even show a newb exactly where to go. What's that? This isn't some ground-breaking new MMO feature, you say? Well, you're right. It's pretty cool, though, and we'll also point out that unlike the similar functionality in Guild Wars and third-party World of Warcraft mods, your Atreian cartographic masterworks may be saved, loaded, and passed around amongst members of your group, legion (which is Aion-speak for guild), or alliance. Aion adds map-drawing functionality, smiley-faces ensue originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Champions Online's On Alert launches, we interview Rob Overmeyer Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Interviews, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews, Champions Online There's been a big buzz for the latest update to Champions Online. The entire game is undergoing a significant overhaul for the newest expansion, On Alert, which has just gone live today. The developers are adding in talent trees for player heroes as well as a dramatic overhaul of the way equipment works. We sat down with Rob Overmeyer, executive producer for Champions, and asked him a few questions about the update and what it will mean for Millennium City's superhero population. Naturally, he had a lot to say! Continue reading Champions Online's On Alert launches, we interview Rob Overmeyer Champions Online's On Alert launches, we interview Rob Overmeyer originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Some Assembly Required: Can Darkfall and The Repopulation end the sandbox drought? Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Darkfall, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Some Assembly Required, Sandbox It's not often that we use this space for news recaps. Generally MJ and I have a particular topic (or game) in mind for Some Assembly Required's biweekly rotation. This time, though, I figured we should highlight some of the recent goings-on with a couple of pertinent sandbox titles simply because Massively news posts don't offer enough space to expound on anything other than the basics. Join me after the break, then, for a rundown on what's new with Darkfall and The Repopulation. Continue reading Some Assembly Required: Can Darkfall and The Repopulation end the sandbox drought? Some Assembly Required: Can Darkfall and The Repopulation end the sandbox drought? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| En Masse Entertainment wraps up TERA closed beta weekends Posted: 13 Apr 2012 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, News items, TERA  The fifth and final TERA closed beta weekend went out with a bang last weekend, heralding the beginning of the final steps toward the game's May launch. But before En Masse Entertainment opens the floodgates of open beta testing, it has decided to release some interesting details and statistics regarding the closed beta test weekends. For instance, over the course of the closed beta weekends, players formed 90,000 parties and over 3,600 guilds in order to hunt down and destroy over 7.6 billion monsters. In the process, they earned a total of over 14.5 billion gold, collected 20 million items, and bit the dust almost 2 million times. Castanics reigned surpreme as the most commonly chosen race (with Humans and High Elves not far behind), while the most popular class was the Warrior, followed closely by Sorcerer and Slayer. Of course, players can expect to blow these numbers out of the water when open beta begins on April 19th. [Source: En Masse Entertainment press release] En Masse Entertainment wraps up TERA closed beta weekends originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SWTOR shuts down servers for most of the day for emergency maintenance [Updated] Posted: 13 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Bugs, Patches, Star Wars: The Old Republic According to the official Star Wars: The Old Republic Twitter feed, all servers will be offline until about 7 p.m. EDT following an emergency maintenance. Yesterday, Update 1.2: Legacy dropped to live servers with next to no hiccups. But this morning, BioWare brought down the servers for a very minor patch. In fact, the patch notes contain only two lines. However, several players began claiming that they were unable to access their characters when the servers were restored at about 9 a.m. EDT. Other players reported quest givers and even the new guild bank were missing. At approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT, BioWare shut down the servers for emergency maintenance, explaining the situation on the forums as follows: During last night's maintenance, some areas of the game were reverted to pre-Game Update 1.2 status. Some areas were 'missing' and characters that were in those areas would be unavailable. We took the live servers offline at approx 9:30AM CDT (Austin time).
Our server and deployment teams are now working to rebuild assets for the live servers, but this is unfortunately not a quick process. We currently estimate that our downtime could be up to eight hours, but that time may be extended. Look for updates on this article if the maintenance time happens to be extended or if more information surfaces. [Update: BioWare has informed us that it will compensate everyone with a day of game time because of these issues.]SWTOR shuts down servers for most of the day for emergency maintenance [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Browser plugins like Flash and Java have always had their fair share of critics, but the clamor against them seems to be getting increasingly louder. Many of these critics no longer seem content with merely criticizing them, and instead want such plugins to be dispensed with at the earliest. Well, they now have a reason to pop the celebratory bubbly as Mozilla is working on incorporating a click-to-play mechanism for plugins in future versions of its flagship browser.
