MMO Updates |
- Massively Exclusive: Jade Dynasty Regenesis preview
- WildStar unveils the Esper again
- Fiesta Online's sixth anniversary celebration includes disco
- Life is Feudal is offering a look at the gameplay via livestream Friday
- SMITE video shows off revised He Bo, God of the Yellow River
- City of Steam: Arkadia offers first screenshots and update
- Age of Wushu releases the Ultimate Scrolls
- ArcheAge wins big at Korea Game Awards
- World of Warplanes takes off into official launch
- The Daily Grind: What pre-orders were totally worth it?
- Jukebox Heroes: Ultima X Odyssey's soundtrack
- Spacetime debuts Battle Command strategy MMO
- The Stream Team: Launching into EQII's Tears of Veeshan
- Get Guild Wars 2 for 30 bucks and give to charity at the same time
- Here are a couple more EverQuest Next Landmark videos
- Trion hints at 3.0 in RIFT state of the game letter
- Surprise! DCUO Game Update 31 is going live today
- OMFG: It's a PlanetSide 2 optimization patch
- Camelot Unchained dev blog talks leprechauns
- Star Trek Online Season 8: The Sphere energizes today
- Former EVE Online GM talks abusive players
- Lord of the Rings Online 'currently testing' level boost feature
- Starr Long explains Shroud of the Avatar's combat, crafting, and magic
- Hands-on with Darkfall's Japanese open beta
- The Soapbox: Instant leveling and the whining fringe
- Lord of the Rings Online offers up the Helm's Deep soundtrack
- Blizzard updates World of Warcraft recruit-a-friend program
- Star Citizen breaks $27 million
- Lightning strikes Final Fantasy XIV on Thursday
- Flameseeker Chronicles: How Guild Wars 2 can step up its roleplaying game
- Dungeons & Dragons Online launches Game Update 20
- Marvel Heroes brings Asgard in with update 2.0
- Hyperspace Beacon: Putting SWTOR PvP on the right track
| Massively Exclusive: Jade Dynasty Regenesis preview Posted: 13 Nov 2013 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Lore, Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play, Jade Dynasty, Dev Diaries  Called Regenesis, the expansion will greatly grow Jade Dynasty's portfolio, including a new Etherkin race, a pair of additional classes, graphics updates, alliance bases, and a reworked beginner experience. You can get all of the details for Regenesis straight from Perfect World's mouth, including the lore, after the break. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Jade Dynasty Regenesis preview
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| WildStar unveils the Esper again Posted: 13 Nov 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, WildStar, Subscription, Buy-to-Play  The Esper isn't just about creating various telekinetic blades to slice apart foes from afar, of course -- the class can also heal, crowd control, and even move around quickly through various mental abilities. It's a good thing, too, since the class is also limited to light armor and doesn't do well under pressure from a concentrated physical assault. Take a look at the new video past the cut for a better picture of this mental dynamo in action, complete with that golden armor buff you've seen from several screenshots in the past. Continue reading WildStar unveils the Esper again
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| Fiesta Online's sixth anniversary celebration includes disco Posted: 13 Nov 2013 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Events (In-Game), News Items, Free-to-Play, Anniversaries  [Source: gamigo press release] Continue reading Fiesta Online's sixth anniversary celebration includes disco
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| Life is Feudal is offering a look at the gameplay via livestream Friday Posted: 13 Nov 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Livestream, Sandbox, Crowdfunding  The address for the stream will be announced later, but those who miss it can take note of the game's official YouTube channel in order to watch it afterwards. [Thanks to Kuroi for the tip!]
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| SMITE video shows off revised He Bo, God of the Yellow River Posted: 13 Nov 2013 07:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA  Besides the revised god, today's update includes other changes as well, including a semi-transparent mini-map that players can control the opacity of, a new view mode that allows players to follow the action of their teammates even after death, and improvements to the league and god screens as well as the match lobby. For more on this update, check out the official notes. And to hear the lore behind the god He Bo and see a demonstration of his skills, watch the video below. [Source: Hi-Rez press release] Continue reading SMITE video shows off revised He Bo, God of the Yellow River
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| City of Steam: Arkadia offers first screenshots and update Posted: 13 Nov 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Browser, City of Steam, Steampunk  Since it bought back the rights to publish City of Steam in English, Mechanist Games has been toiling away at getting the re-christened Arkadia ready for its re-launch. To give players a peek at how things are changing in more than name only, the devs have released a few screenshots showing off the burning house in the Delton intro. Also included in this week's update was news that forum avatars and titles will be restored on the new forums and that CoS: Arkadia would be available as an all-browser gaming experience or via a easy-to-download micro-client that's "just megabytes."
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| Age of Wushu releases the Ultimate Scrolls Posted: 13 Nov 2013 06:45 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Trailers, Video, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Age of Wushu  The crux of the expansion are the teachings of the Helianthus Codex and the Star Vortex, offering players new paths to wisdom. Players can also take part in the new Forbidden Instances deep within each school and explore a new morality-based PvP system, forcing players to determine not only if they will fight but why they will fight. The patch is out today, and you can take a look at the trailer just past the cut. Continue reading Age of Wushu releases the Ultimate Scrolls
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| ArcheAge wins big at Korea Game Awards Posted: 13 Nov 2013 06:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items, ArcheAge  Not only did Jake Song's sandpark take home awards in two categories through the show (planning and scenario, graphics), it also took home the big prize of the night as the best game in show. It's good news to see for fans, especially in light of some rumbling that the game hasn't been doing as well in Korea as initially expected. Congratulations to XLGAMES, and here's hoping that the award-winning game comes over to these shores sooner rather than later. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
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| World of Warplanes takes off into official launch Posted: 13 Nov 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Launches, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, World of Warplanes  If you already play World of Tanks on a regular basis, the new title hopes to entice you with the new unified account system for both games, allowing you to enjoy some premium bonuses in both titles rather than just in the one. While there's no direct integration between the two (your plane can't fly in and strafe some tanks, for examples) it's still an incentive to get players into the same cockpit that 4.5 million beta testers sat in. So take to the skies, would-be pilots! Then shoot everything else up there that moves, including ducks. Especially ducks. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
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| The Daily Grind: What pre-orders were totally worth it? Posted: 13 Nov 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  EverQuest Next Landmark has its Founder's Packs now available, with all sorts of shinies including alpha access, beta head-starts, gear, inventory, and coveted forum titles. Forum titles, people! That's how the peons know that you're their better! Anyway, we were talking about what package might be worth it, and that led our staff into reminiscing about previous pre-orders. Some, of course, were a complete waste of money, but others delivered the goods quite admirably. So in retrospect, what pre-orders were totally worth buying?  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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| Jukebox Heroes: Ultima X Odyssey's soundtrack Posted: 12 Nov 2013 07:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Ultima Online, Jukebox Heroes, Music  However, since UXO was far enough along in development, it's one of those cancelled MMOs that has an actual soundtrack (just like Project Copernicus, which I talked about a few weeks ago). Composer Chris Field completed and recorded an album for the game in 2003, and although it was never released, it was distributed into the wild for free, and certain portions of the soundtrack were repurposed for the game Lord of Ultima. I have to say that it's a good (possibly even great) score, and it's a shame it didn't get to be in an MMO for us gamers to appreciate. That doesn't mean we can't have a listen right now and speculate on what players in parallel universes might be enjoying right now, yes? Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Ultima X Odyssey's soundtrack
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| Spacetime debuts Battle Command strategy MMO Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Launches, New Titles, War, Free-to-Play, Mobile, MMORTS  Unlike Spacetime's previous games, Battle Command skews away from an RPG and toward a city-building RTS. Players will develop a futuristic base, pump out an army, and fight both the computer and other players in offensive and defensive campaigns. Alliances can be forged as well, linking players together in economic and militaristic support. The free-to-play title is currently available on Google Play.
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| The Stream Team: Launching into EQII's Tears of Veeshan Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, EverQuest II, Expansions, Free-to-Play, Livestream, The Stream Team  Game: EverQuest II Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Tuesday, November 12th, 2013 Time: 9:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Launching into EQII's Tears of Veeshan
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| Get Guild Wars 2 for 30 bucks and give to charity at the same time Posted: 12 Nov 2013 05:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  Better hurry up, though. The site's ticker says the current deals expire in just under 18 hours. [Thanks burnhaus!]
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| Here are a couple more EverQuest Next Landmark videos Posted: 12 Nov 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox  The second clip is a teaser trailer of sorts that shows off various in-game vistas as well as some of the game's construction and crafting possibilities. [Source: SOE press release] Continue reading Here are a couple more EverQuest Next Landmark videos
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| Trion hints at 3.0 in RIFT state of the game letter Posted: 12 Nov 2013 04:45 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, RIFT  RIFT players may in fact be getting some new goodies before the game's next expansion. "Why wait for an expansion pack to release a new crafting profession," Daglar asks. "Why wait to introduce new souls for each of the callings? Why wait to start introducing the story of 3.0?" There are no concrete details as of now, but Fisher says to expect more "as time goes on."
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| Surprise! DCUO Game Update 31 is going live today Posted: 12 Nov 2013 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, DC Universe Online  The update contains extensive art tweaks in preparation for the upcoming PlayStation 4 launch, as well as a smoother pre-30 leveling curve. SOE reduced the amount of experience required between levels eight and 29, and it says that "players within this range may log in and find their level increased." [Thanks William!]
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| OMFG: It's a PlanetSide 2 optimization patch Posted: 12 Nov 2013 04:15 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2  OMFG includes "optimized UI, physics, sound, player processing, rendering code, and more." Put another way, you should experience significantly improved performance while you're fragging it up all over Auraxis. In fact, SOE says that frame rate gains will top 30 percent in some cases. [Source: SOE press release]
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| Camelot Unchained dev blog talks leprechauns Posted: 12 Nov 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained, MMORPG  The post also included a collection of concept art for the new race showing off possible hair styles and jewelry; the Luchorpan appear to be quite fond of beards and gold.
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| Star Trek Online Season 8: The Sphere energizes today Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Patches, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play  Season 8's storyline challenges players to explore a Dyson Sphere that could be pivotal in the politics of the galaxy. The sizable update contains a new adventure zone, a reworked Federation tutorial, a new reputation track, a battlezone, queued events, curved hallways, and more goodies for fleets. For a limited time, Cryptic is giving players a free Solanae Tribble to celebrate the new season. Massively's been to the sphere and back to bring you the trailer and an in-depth preview of Season 8, so consider it your captain's duty to check those out.
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| Former EVE Online GM talks abusive players Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: EVE Online, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, PvE, MMORPG  Wyand's main point, though perhaps a bit too easy to misconstrue, is that being a jerk in most games is not against the rules. There is a big difference between threatening someone's life and hurting someone's feelings when it comes to enforcing chat violations or actioning players, and those who choose to offer up personal information about themselves must be aware that certain unsavory individuals will be happy to use it as a weapon at the first available opportunity. The full post is worth a read and includes some real-life examples of complaints Wyand received while manning CCP's support desk. It's worth noting, of course, that every game company has its own set of rules when it comes to harassment; what brings down the banhammer in RIFT might not even be a blip on the radar of a World of Warcraft GM.
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| Lord of the Rings Online 'currently testing' level boost feature Posted: 12 Nov 2013 02:45 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, News Items, Free-to-Play, Rumors  If you're a Lord of the Rings Online fan, you may have heard the rumor that Turbine is considering a feature that would allow players to boost a character to level 50 in exchange for Turbine Points, the game's real-money currency. Well, the rumor appears to be true. We've received confirmation from a Turbine rep stating that level boosting "is a feature that's been requested repeatedly since going free-to-play, and it's something [Turbine is] currently testing." That's all we know so far, but we'll be sure to keep you posted as new information turns up.
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| Starr Long explains Shroud of the Avatar's combat, crafting, and magic Posted: 12 Nov 2013 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Shroud of the Avatar, Buy-to-Play  You'll find everything from damage types to base stats to active and innate skills in this particular post. You'll also find info about Shroud's two experience types (crafting and adventuring) as well as its magic skill trees.
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| Hands-on with Darkfall's Japanese open beta Posted: 12 Nov 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Darkfall, Culture, Game Mechanics, Guilds, Previews, PvP, Opinion, Hands-On, First Impressions, Sandbox  And I loved Darkfall Online. Aside from Aventurine's little, ah, "delays," Darkfall was always a lot of fun for me, even though the guild I joined was established years before I met its members. However, when I moved to Japan, I was region-locked out of the game and unable to check out the revamped Dark Fall: Unholy Wars until recently when the Asian open beta began. I've done my best to keep up to date on the game, but reading information and playing the game are two different things. This was not so much a welcome home for me as it was a returning to my hometown after a few years to find that the buildings and local language have changed. That may sound negative to some people, and it could be, but for me, it was an adventure, which has always been something DF offers me that other games struggle to match. Continue reading Hands-on with Darkfall's Japanese open beta
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| The Soapbox: Instant leveling and the whining fringe Posted: 12 Nov 2013 01:30 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, EVE Online, EverQuest II, Business Models, Events (Real-World), Expansions, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), TERA, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous, Sandbox, Subscription, MMORPG  While you'll still face 10 levels of Warlords of Draenor questing, killing, and fetching if you opt to take the insta-level, the feature has re-ignited the argument among MMO fans as to whether offering players a maxed-out character somehow violates the core rules of the MMO genre. Should developers really provide high-level characters just to get/keep players in the game? The short answer, of course, is "duh." Here's the long answer. Continue reading The Soapbox: Instant leveling and the whining fringe
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| Lord of the Rings Online offers up the Helm's Deep soundtrack Posted: 12 Nov 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, News Items, Free-to-Play, Music  Yes, you can now listen to the entire soundtrack from wherever, although you won't be able to download the tracks for obvious reasons. The music is the same orchestral score that players have come to expect from the game, with an atmosphere of desperate conflict and impending violence. It's the sort of thing that's very well-suited to a protracted siege and a last stand against Mordor, in other words. Even if you're not a fan of Lord of the Rings Online you can enjoy the soundtrack.
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| Blizzard updates World of Warcraft recruit-a-friend program Posted: 12 Nov 2013 12:30 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Video, PvP, News Items, PvE, Promotions, Subscription, MMORPG  Linked players receive bonus experience when playing together and can instantly teleport to one another. Additionally, the recruited player can grant the veteran player extra levels. If the friend you recruit purchases WoW and pays for 30 days of game time, you get a month free. If the friend pays for two months of game time, you'll be granted your choice of one of the recruit-a-friend mounts or pets. All previous recruit-a-friend mounts are present, along with a brand-new emerald hippogryph. Check out the new RAF mount and a tutorial on how the system works after the break. Continue reading Blizzard updates World of Warcraft recruit-a-friend program
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| Star Citizen breaks $27 million Posted: 12 Nov 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, PvE, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play  Roberts also announced the next stretch goal; at $29 million, Cloud Imperium will add more resources to the single player campaign such as an epic opening battle and more animations.
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| Lightning strikes Final Fantasy XIV on Thursday Posted: 12 Nov 2013 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), News Items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, Subscription  The full series of quests will be released in stages; the second quest in the chain will be added on November 16th, the third on the 18th, and the final quest on the 20th. All of the quests will be available until December 9th, with a repeat engagement already scheduled for February of next year when Lightning Returns launches in North America. It's also worth noting that everyone who clears the first quest will be able to unlock a special hairstyle when patch 2.1 arrives, so lovers of cosmetic equipment and hairdos alike will want to be in the game on Thursday.
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: How Guild Wars 2 can step up its roleplaying game Posted: 12 Nov 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Roleplaying, Flameseeker Chronicles, Buy-to-Play  Sadly, I've never found Guild Wars 2 to be the most welcoming MMO for RP, mostly because none of the above can really be expressed well through gameplay. There's a lot of emphasis on epic stories and your character influencing the world and being a hero, but because GW2 is such a combat-focused game, it's hard not to feel as though my characters are too busy being epic to have lives outside of tireless badassery. That confuses me because so much of what ArenaNet wants to do ostensibly revolves around making the game world seem more alive, and I can't think of a better way to accomplish that than by giving players the tools to help create that feeling for ourselves. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: How Guild Wars 2 can step up its roleplaying game
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| Dungeons & Dragons Online launches Game Update 20 Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play  These changes coincide with alterations to the amount of experience needed to level characters on their second lives, making it easier to hit 20 after reincarnation. There are also new quests and alterations to the quest experience rewards, changed so that longer quests are no longer less proportionally rewarding than shorter ones. Plus there are plenty of changes to Enhancements, a new Enhancement tree for Sorcerers and Wizards... you'd probably better just read through the patch notes. There's a lot going on. Too much? You can take a look at our preview of the update to help guide you.
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| Marvel Heroes brings Asgard in with update 2.0 Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Marvel Heroes  Yes, the next major installment for Marvel Heroes is here now, and it's focusing on all of the Norse goodies you would imagine. That means new items, new enemies, new areas, and the Trickster himself as a playable character. You can log in right now to start adventuring across the Bifrost Bridge into Asgard proper, but if you're at work or something similar, you can ease the wait by taking a look at the new trailer past the break. Continue reading Marvel Heroes brings Asgard in with update 2.0
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| Hyperspace Beacon: Putting SWTOR PvP on the right track Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Expansions, Patches, PvP, Endgame, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon, MMORPG  I argued that PvP in SWTOR is broken. A couple of Advanced Classes excel while the others are just filler or fodder. Even if there were balance in the classes, BioWare does little to encourage the competitive player. In July, I gave a mid-term report card for SWTOR based on Dr. Richard Bartle's assessment of the different types of MMO gamers. As you might guess, SWTOR failed miserably in the "killer" category. As I talked to my friend, we came to the conclusion that SWTOR is a PvE game with a side of PvP. However, given some of the additions coming later this year, I think our Star Wars MMO might raise itself above the F grade I gave it a few months ago. Today, marks the start of Season One PvP, and in less than a month Galactic Starfighter launches. Both of these additions mark significant changes to the perception of game through the eyes of a "killer." Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Putting SWTOR PvP on the right track
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