| ArenaNet's Mike Zadorojny reflects on one year of Guild Wars 2 and its 'absurd' content pace Posted: 28 Aug 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Interviews, Guild Wars 2, Anniversaries, Buy-to-Play Birthdays are great for a number of reasons. There's the cake, the gathering of friends, some jubilant cake-chomping, and even the ability to get violent with anyone who goes near your stack of gift-wrapped loot. If something doesn't go as planned, feel free to cry if you want to. Fun aside, these anniversaries also serve as a great time for reflection. Guild Wars 2 officially turns one today, so ArenaNet Lead Content Designer Mike Zadorojny spoke with us in San Francisco about the challenges the team faced in the first year and how it opened the doors for the living world and future content. Continue reading ArenaNet's Mike Zadorojny reflects on one year of Guild Wars 2 and its 'absurd' content pace  ArenaNet's Mike Zadorojny reflects on one year of Guild Wars 2 and its 'absurd' content pace originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Choose My Adventure: The loser's circle Posted: 28 Aug 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Polls, Aion, Contests, Culture, Opinion, Champions Online, DC Universe Online, Choose My Adventure, Allods Online, Defiance, Neverwinter, Age of Wushu None of the games you are about to read about is a bad game. Don't let the title of the article fool you; these are all great games, but so far none of them has won a poll during a Choose My Adventure run. What is Choose My Adventure? Well, you wonderful readers will pick the MMORPG for me. and over the next several weeks you will also vote on what I will do in the game, which faction I will pick, which class I will have to roll, and so on. It all depends on the game -- and you. So you and I have some work to do. It will be a long road but hopefully a scenic one. With your help, I will be able to keep up the tradition of putting a Massively writer through six weeks of joy, frustration, pain, and loot. A lot of loot.The list of losers is potentially long, but I decided to keep it relatively short and sweet. If you see your favorite game on the list, go tell the game's community. Get out the vote! Or have some fun torturing me! I normally go with indie or games that do not normally get much coverage, but these losers just begged me for a chance at winning CMA. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: The loser's circle Choose My Adventure: The loser's circle originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Fix for FFXIV's server load woes includes suspending sales Posted: 28 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, MMO Industry, News Items, Final Fantasy XIV At what was meant to be a happy and joyous time, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn's birth was beset by complications -- namely that it was too popular for servers to handle. Players trying to get into the reboot are suffering through significantly long waits, if they are able to make it in at all. In order to fix this issue, Square Enix has announced that the capacity of its data centers throughout Japan, North America, and Europe will be increased. As a temporary stopgap measure to keep the problem from getting worse and allow current players a chance to actually play, all digital sales of A Realm Reborn are suspended. [Thanks to omedon666 and Bartillo for the tips!] Fix for FFXIV's server load woes includes suspending sales originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Guild Wars 2's first birthday by the numbers: 3.5M sold, 460K peak concurrent Posted: 28 Aug 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, Guild Wars 2, Events (Massively's Coverage), Anniversaries, Buy-to-Play Today Guild Wars 2 celebrates the first anniversary of its official launch day. On the one hand, it's hard to believe it's been a year already. On the other hand, the game has seen so many changes and content updates that my adventures in Tyria today don't resemble what they were like this time last year. According to the anniversary blog post just released by ArenaNet's president, Mike O'Brien, my experience is exactly what the team is aiming for: "I think the real mark of a success of an online world is how that world grows and evolves, and the extent to which players can take the world and make it their own," he writes. In addition to the blog post, ArenaNet has released a fancy infographic, announced a special anniversary bash, and answered a few of our questions via press conference. Read on! Continue reading Guild Wars 2's first birthday by the numbers: 3.5M sold, 460K peak concurrent Guild Wars 2's first birthday by the numbers: 3.5M sold, 460K peak concurrent originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you beta so you won't be a day one noob? Posted: 28 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous There are plenty of reasons for wanting to get in on a beta. Probably the most common reason is a dying curiosity to play the game right the heck now. But lately I've started to wonder if there's another group of beta wanna-bes: the people who don't want to get left behind in the rush out of the gate on day one. In an age when you can know practically everything about an MMO before it launches thanks to beta miners and plenty of people use this information to get as fast of a start as possible, there could be anxiety that while your friends have just dinged level 20 in the first hour, you're still trying to figure out how to use the UI. To put it bluntly, do you beta so you won't be a day one noob? Does a beta help you find your "game legs" so that you'll feel more confident at launch?  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 beta so you won't be a day one noob? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SOE publishes panel schedule for PAX and Dragon Con Posted: 27 Aug 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: EverQuest, EverQuest II, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items, Events (Massively's Coverage), EverQuest Next  Going to PAX or DragonCon this weekend? Excited for news about the EverQuest franchise or SOE's other MMORPGs? You should check out the firm's convention schedule, then, because there's a little something for everyone. Whether you're hungry for EverQuest Next tidbits, you're looking to break into the game industry, or you're wanting to brush up on your online gaming history, SOE has a developer panel with your name on it. And of course don't forget to check in with Massively through the weekend and on into next week as our on-site staffers bring you the best DragonCon and PAX scoops!  Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 30th to September 2nd, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2013. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, The Elder Scrolls Online, EverQuest Next, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!SOE publishes panel schedule for PAX and Dragon Con originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Jukebox Heroes: Age of Wushu's soundtrack Posted: 27 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Opinion, Sandbox, Jukebox Heroes, Age of Wushu, Music You're probably not going to catch me in Age of Wushu any time soon. I mean, don't get me wrong, kidnapping and castration are definitely the innovative features we as an MMO community have been begging for, but "PvP sandbox" is like spraying a game with anti-Justin repellent. But I will gladly listen to Age of Wushu's soundtrack because it is simply wonderful. I was really just expecting very generic Chinese music -- you know, the kind you might hear as muzak in your local take-out restaurant. Instead, this is a score worthy of a movie adjacent to Jet Li's presence. Perhaps that's why he's shilling for this game. I couldn't track down the composer for this, so if any of you know, drop me a line and I'll make sure to give you credit. What I do know is that it was a great pleasure to listen through this entire score, and picking out just six tracks to highlight proved a challenging task. Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Age of Wushu's soundtrack Jukebox Heroes: Age of Wushu's soundtrack originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hyperspace Beacon: Winning at SWTOR's free-to-play Posted: 27 Aug 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Culture, Economy, Game Mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guides, Hyperspace Beacon, Crafting, MMORPG Disclaimer: This guide is not for everyone. If you already have a preconceived notion that the free-to-play model in Star Wars: The Old Republic does not work and that you will never play it, then this guide won't be of much use to you. If you feel that free-to-play players deserve the same benefits and ease of gameplay that subscribers do, then this guide is not for you either. And lastly, if you do not have a lot of time to dedicate to one MMO, then SWTOR's F2P model will not work for you. I have been skeptical of SWTOR's F2P model myself. I continue to despise the leveling process when a player has to start from scratch at level 1 and then attempt to level up a brand-new free character. However, I have a guildie who had existing characters at max level when he quit playing many months back. He recently returned to the game as a preferred member, and in the two months since his return, he has every unlock and about 3 million credits not in escrow, and he PvPs without buying a weekly pass with Cartel Coins. When I asked him how he did it, he jokingly replied, "Masochism." But then when he realized that I was seriously curious, he began to break down some of his methods and why they work for him. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Winning at SWTOR's free-to-play Hyperspace Beacon: Winning at SWTOR's free-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: Who watches Guild Wars 2's watchknights? Posted: 27 Aug 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Lore, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles, Buy-to-Play A few weeks ago, I covered a few possibilities for the direction of the Guild Wars 2 patch that was known at the time as The Queen's Speech, now revealed to actually be Clockwork Chaos. The majority of it didn't pan out, which is to be expected when engaging in wild mass guessing; I'll be a little disappointed if ArenaNet has really decided to retcon the hints it previously set up around the Great Collapse, but we know that the Crown Pavilion Arena will probably be revisited at some point and there's always a chance for things to go wrong in lots of different ways. The plus side is that Scarlet Briar is exactly the kind of villain GW2 has been hurting for, and her presence on the playing field is opening up all kinds of potential directions for the plot. Behind the cut are spoilers for this chapter of the living story as well as Scott McGough's short story What Scarlet Saw. Join me in the depths of hopeless nerditude and let's discuss the new lore elements this release has introduced! Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Who watches Guild Wars 2's watchknights? Flameseeker Chronicles: Who watches Guild Wars 2's watchknights? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively's Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn launch impressions Posted: 27 Aug 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Launches, Opinion, Hands-On, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV I failed to save Final Fantasy XIV. Back in November, the launch version of the game had its final event. I was there, fighting against the forces that would ultimately bring Dalamud crashing down upon Eorzea, but all those efforts were for nothing. And I knew it. All veteran players knew that this was a losing fight, that Eorzea could not be saved. The moon fell, destruction rained down upon the land... and the launch version of the game was no more. Now, nine months later, the MMO is relaunching to an unenviable task. Final Fantasy XIV doesn't just have to be a good game; it has be such a good game that its original launch is no longer under discussion. It has to turn itself from a punchline into a praiseworthy title. The end result, much like the launch version, is a game that's not going to be for everyone, but it's going to be just right for a lot of people who might never have expected it. Continue reading Massively's Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn launch impressions Massively's Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn launch impressions originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Bethesda pushing for Elder Scrolls Online without Xbox Live Gold fees Posted: 27 Aug 2013 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription, MMORPG If you want to play online games on Microsoft's Xbox One console, you'll need to pony up the cash required for an Xbox Live Gold subscription. This small sticking point means that free-to-play games aren't necessarily free-to-play (a point lamented by Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi) and that subscription-based games like The Elder Scrolls Online will have their sub cost increased by the monthly cost of Gold. Bethesda's Pete Hines is aware that Xbox One players may not necessarily want to eat a $14.99 per-month subscription fee in addition to the fees associated with Xbox Live Gold, revealing that work is going on behind the scenes to make TESO exempt from the Gold requirement. We have been in talks with Microsoft about that very thing, and seeing whether or not there's any room to change their minds about that for folks who are only playing The Elder Scrolls Online and don't want to pay for an Xbox Live Gold subscription just to play The Elder Scrolls Online. The answer right now is that's the way it works, but it's something that we're aware of and we keep pushing on to see if there's something that can be done. Though we've seen no explicit information on whether a PS Plus subscription will be required for PS4 Elder Scrolls Online players, Sony has previously mentioned that Plus requirements will be "the publisher's decision." Bethesda pushing for Elder Scrolls Online without Xbox Live Gold fees originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Black Gold: Introducing the Buvont Posted: 27 Aug 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Lore, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Steampunk, MMORPG, Black Gold Snail Games today released a video and blog post centered on the Buvont, marking the first in-depth exploration of any of Black Gold Online's races. A group of science-loving humans, the Buvont live peacefully with Black Gold's dwarves and are responsible for the militarization of steam technology. Accordingly, Isenhorst (one of the two competing Black Gold kingdoms) is considered to be under the thumb of the Buvont dynasty. Buvont can take on the role of Inquisitor, Mystic, or Tech Adept and dress in the neo-Victorian style. You can learn more about this race by checking out the reveal video after the break. Continue reading Black Gold: Introducing the Buvont Black Gold: Introducing the Buvont originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Let the console wars begin
An ultra-portable mouse for Ultrabooks
Slumping PC sales or not, Gigabyte is gunning for a personal record
