MMO Updates

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• The Stream Team: Dungeon Tours visits Vanguard's High Elves
• Shroud of the Avatar raises $3 million in crowdfunding and prepares for Release 2
• WRUP: Can't tell you what this bird is edition
• The Daily Grind: Are there games you miss but still don't play?
• Storyboard: Being who you aren't
• MMObility: Innogames' Fabio Lo Zito details Tribal Wars 2
• Betawatch: January 11 - 17, 2014
• Cryptic toughening up Star Trek Online's Undine
• Landmark producer video teases upcoming updates
• Hi-Rez adds Geb, new arena map to SMITE
• Bungie really wants you invested in Destiny
• Pantheon reveals the Cleric
• The Stream Team: Instantly adventuring in RIFT
• Another stretch goal hit for The Repopulation, another short story chapter posted
• World of Warcraft to award instant level 90 characters with Warlords of Draenor pre-purchase
• WildStar to reduce character breast size
• Tamriel Infinium: What to do in The Elder Scrolls Online besides PvP

The Stream Team: Dungeon Tours visits Vanguard's High Elves Posted: 18 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Vanguard, Free-to-Play, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team Dungeon Tours is slowly sweeping across Vanguard's European-esque continent of Thestra. After last week's stop with the Vulmane, Massively's MJ moves on to adventure through the starter dungeon for the High Elves of Leth Nurae. The city of Leth Nurae itself imbues all who enter with peace, but Arcanium lies just outside of the city limits and those blissful feelings don't follow those who venture there. If you haven't visited Arcanium, a dungeon for levels seven through 12, now is your chance. Join us live at 12:00 p.m. to to see what secrets hide within. Game: Vanguard Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Saturday, January 18th, 2014 Time: 12:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Dungeon Tours visits Vanguard's High Elves The Stream Team: Dungeon Tours visits Vanguard's High Elves originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Shroud of the Avatar raises $3 million in crowdfunding and prepares for Release 2 Posted: 18 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Patches, Free-to-Play, Crowdfunding, Shroud of the Avatar Shroud of the Avatar has hit a significant fundraising milestone and is throwing a party to celebrate. Richard Garriott announced that the title has crossed the $3 million mark and he will be hosting a late-night video hangout on Thursday, January 23rd to mark the occasion. In other Shroud of the Avatar news, the game will roll out Release 2 next week for select backers. Details of the release will be, erm, released on Wednesday the 22nd. If you haven't backed the game and want to experience Release 2, it will cost you $45. Portalarium also showed off the Founder Edelmann Village Waterfront Cabana, founder starter weapons, and the incredible cooking pot of prosperity. Shroud of the Avatar raises $3 million in crowdfunding and prepares for Release 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Jan 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Update of the Avatar

WRUP: Can't tell you what this bird is edition Posted: 18 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Sorrow weighs heavy upon my bosom, dear readers, because I cannot tell you about this bird. When I discussed my original idea for this installment of WRUP with Bree -- I like to keep her abreast of my thought process -- she immediately declared that I was not allowed to use its name in the title or body of this work. As a result, the supple curves that originally market this installment of the feature have now sagged into nothingness. We'll do our best to bounce back, however. This week's installment still features the Massively staff's plans for the weekend to nip any confusion in the bud, and you are more than welcome to leave your own plans down in the comments. So while I can't name the bird or discuss its fantastically fluffy chest, I'm sure that your own enjoyment will remain firmly supported as you run down our planned diversions. Continue reading WRUP: Can't tell you what this bird is edition WRUP: Can't tell you what this bird is edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Jan 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Are there games you miss but still don't play? Posted: 18 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous I don't really play Final Fantasy XI these days. I miss it, though -- quite a bit, even. It was my first MMO, and while a lot of its feel shines through in Final Fantasy XIV, it's not quite the same. But I don't really have the time to play it even by its lonesome, let alone with multiple other games already on my agenda, so it's not on my playlist, even though I still get the periodic urge to throw caution to the wind and dive right back in. There are games we want to play but can't (such as City of Heroes, in my case) and games we want to play and do, but we don't talk much about the games we want to play but still don't. Are there games you miss but still don't play? Are they previous favorites you grew out of, places with lots of emotional memories that don't hold up to reality, or really fun games that just get edged out by games you find even more fun? 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: Are there games you miss but still don't play? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Jan 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Storyboard: Being who you aren't Posted: 17 Jan 2014 07:00 PM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous There is, as I have discussed, a group of roleplayers for whom the game is the thing. If the game doesn't allow you to be a moisture farmer, then why would you want to pretend to be a moisture farmer? Similarly, if you're not actually a master of the marketplace or sitting on huge assets in the game, why would you want to pretend that you are? I am not one of those people. I'm playing a financial wizard partly because I am not a financial wizard. And it's not that I don't love games where that's a viable option, but that's a different discussion. However, this does raise the question of how you can pretend to portray something you aren't intimately familiar with. If I'm playing a doctor, I'm going to run into the simple problem that I'm not a doctor in real life (full-time writers rarely receive extensive medical training). All of roleplaying is some degree of pretending to be something you're not, but how do you do so when it's something that's a bit harder to fake? Continue reading Storyboard: Being who you aren't Storyboard: Being who you aren't originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMObility: Innogames' Fabio Lo Zito details Tribal Wars 2 Posted: 17 Jan 2014 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Game Mechanics, Interviews, PvP, War, Free-to-Play, Browser, MMORTS, MMObility Tribal Wars 2 is the successor to Innogames' oldest title, Tribal Wars. The original is (to put it gently) ugly as sin, but that has never stopped it from being one of the most popular titles the German publisher produced. As a matter of fact, 2013 was the biggest year for the original game... after a decade in existence! You might have heard of some of the other titles in the Innogames lineup or watched an advertisement for two of its largest games, Grepolis and Forge of Empires. So how does Tribal Wars 2 compare to these other games? First of all, it offers much of the same intense gameplay as the publisher's other, larger titles. Grepolis is sort of the spiritual successor to Tribal Wars and features water-based gameplay that makes ships and deities an integral part of play. Grepolis also offers a more wide-ranging playerbase, thanks to television advertising that helped to pull in more casual players. Tribal Wars is much more hardcore, and Tribal Wars 2 will be no different. It will look a heck of a lot prettier than its earlier sibling, though! I sat down with Fabio Lo Zito of Innogames to talk about the changes. Continue reading MMObility: Innogames' Fabio Lo Zito details Tribal Wars 2 MMObility: Innogames' Fabio Lo Zito details Tribal Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Betawatch: January 11 - 17, 2014 Posted: 17 Jan 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, MMO Industry, News Items, Betawatch, Miscellaneous Good news to those of you who have been waiting for ArcheAge for what seems like forever (because it has been): The game is in testing! Not open beta testing, no. Or closed beta. In fact, it's really just the most rudimentary stage of alpha testing. But that's something, right? It's at least more than anyone had expected. Not many new betas kicked off this week, but War Thunder did expand its expansion testing with new vehicles and maps, and Hearthstone's development team took the time to say that fewer card changes will be made in the upcoming open beta. WildStar, meanwhile, shrank a little. After a fashion. Anything else? Well, we do have our usual list of games in testing past the break, and we've got a bit more in the Testing Notes this time around. As always, feel free to let us know down in the comments if a game managed to add in a cash shop without our noticing. Continue reading Betawatch: January 11 - 17, 2014 Betawatch: January 11 - 17, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cryptic toughening up Star Trek Online's Undine Posted: 17 Jan 2014 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Lore, MMO Industry, News Items, PvE, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play Cryptic is tweaking Star Trek Online's Undine, otherwise known as species 8472. You might recall from Star Trek: Voyager that the Undine were powerful enough to give the Borg fits, so Cryptic has "decided to go back and make them a little bit smarter, a little bit faster, and a little bit tougher." The latest STO dev blog, penned by systems designer Jeff Hamilton, has all the details. Cryptic toughening up Star Trek Online's Undine originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev blog

Landmark producer video teases upcoming updates Posted: 17 Jan 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox SOE has released another EverQuest Next Landmark video producer's letter. The two-and-a-half-minute clip features producer Terry Michaels, who says that alpha is just around the corner. He also plugs the recent claim-focused livestream -- which Massively's own MJ live-blogged for your perusing pleasure. Finally, there's some new fiction in the works along with some community questions and answers and a contest geared toward EverQuest vets. Oh, and Michaels also says to keep your eyes peeled for a new dev diary focused exclusively on Landmark's mysterious crafting system. We've embedded the producer letter video after the break. Continue reading Landmark producer video teases upcoming updates Landmark producer video teases upcoming updates originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube

Hi-Rez adds Geb, new arena map to SMITE Posted: 17 Jan 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA Hey SMITE fans! Hi-Rez has released a new god called Geb. Geb is the god of earth, who "pummels his opponents as a guardian," according the latest reveal vid. In case you're wondering, Geb's passive ability is called Hard as Rock, which causes opponents' crits to only do a percentage of damage instead of the usual 100 percent. Hi-Rez has also introduced a new arena map and an alternate game mode with this patch. Click past the cut to see Geb's video and hit the links below for the full patch notes. Continue reading Hi-Rez adds Geb, new arena map to SMITE Hi-Rez adds Geb, new arena map to SMITE originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Patch notes

Bungie really wants you invested in Destiny Posted: 17 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, MMOFPS, Destiny How does a game get stuck to you -- or you to it? Bungie thinks it's all about getting players invested with broader experiences and a living community. In a recent podcast, Investment Lead Tyson Green said that Destiny is aiming to stick around: "Investment is not about experience points, [and] it's not about item drops; it's about having an enduring attachment to a game and to a community so that that community can exist and thrive. If you unlock new abilities and you give people different weapons that are balanced but different, then those are valid rewards that don't change the game or ruin the game but [...] broaden the game, [...] give people more interesting opportunities, and give people more varied experiences." These varied experiences, according to Green, include rewarding players for actions outside of the norm and encouraging social gameplay. Bungie hopes that you'll play the game not out of obligation but because you are invested in Destiny and its community. Bungie really wants you invested in Destiny originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Bungie podcastPolygon

Pantheon reveals the Cleric Posted: 17 Jan 2014 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Crowdfunding, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen Pantheon is still in the early stages of its Kickstarter campaign rollercoaster and has revealed its first (non-stretch goal) class: the Cleric. According to the announcement post, the Cleric is a battle priest who's big on doing nice things for good folks while smashing bad folks with blunt instruments. The Cleric uses divine spells to heal friends and harm foes backed up with his or her trusty warhammer or flail and a lot of heavy armor. It looks as though players will have an option to eschew this mode and spec as a lightly armored spellcaster or an astral Paladin. One of the most interesting aspect of the Cleric is his or her choice in deity. That choice won't be merely for roleplaying purposes but will influence which spells and abilities will be granted to the Cleric. Pantheon reveals the Cleric originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Introducing the Cleric

The Stream Team: Instantly adventuring in RIFT Posted: 17 Jan 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, PvE, Free-to-Play, RIFT, Livestream, The Stream Team Does this ever happen to you? You're in the mood for an adventure, but you just don't have the time to sit around and wait for one to happen? Wait no more with RIFT's Instant Adventure! Pop this queue in your microwave on high for 45 seconds and you'll have a piping hot adventure ready in no time. Just watch how Massively's Jasmine instantly adventures her way through Telara live at 3:00 p.m. EST! Results may vary, void where prohibited, see store for details. Game: RIFT Host: Jasmine Hruschak Date: Thursday, January 16th, 2014 Time: 3:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Instantly adventuring in RIFT The Stream Team: Instantly adventuring in RIFT originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Another stretch goal hit for The Repopulation, another short story chapter posted Posted: 17 Jan 2014 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Lore, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, The Repopulation The second Kickstarter for The Repopulation is humming along at a decent clip at this point. It's already met its target goal, and now it's just a matter of smashing down stretch goals. The latest mark has funded the addition of calprate mounts to the game; they're the vaguely deer-goat-thing displayed in the header image, for the record. Except that one doesn't have a player-shaped bit of cargo on its back. Baby steps. In addition to looking forward future stretch goals, the team is also posting chapters of a short story to the official website. Chapter 4 of "Evening Star" is available to read now, detailing more of the world and feel of The Repopulation for existing backers and potential future backers. Or just people in need of a science fiction story to read on a Friday afternoon -- they're welcome as well. Another stretch goal hit for The Repopulation, another short story chapter posted originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Calprates Incoming, Source: Evening Star, Chapter 4

World of Warcraft to award instant level 90 characters with Warlords of Draenor pre-purchase Posted: 17 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, News Items, Subscription It's easy to kind of get stuck in the pre-expansion doldrums in World of Warcraft right now. Yes, you really want to have one more character up at the level cap, but you can't bear the thought of leveling any more. So what are you going to do? Well... you could just pre-purchase the expansion and get your instant level 90 character immediately, thereby saving you any more work leveling through the expansion and letting you just catch up a bit before its launch. All right, you can't do all of that right now, but the development team has confirmed that digitally pre-purchasing the expansion will give you your instant 90... instantly. No word yet on launch dates, but players can opt in for the beta testing right now via the Battle.net account management page. The company is also testing the idea of adding in the level 90 boost to the game's store, allowing you to bring as many characters as you want up to the cap without any fuss. World of Warcraft to award instant level 90 characters with Warlords of Draenor pre-purchase originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Warlords of Draenor Scouting ReportVia: WoW Insider

WildStar to reduce character breast size Posted: 17 Jan 2014 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Patches, WildStar, Subscription Citing feedback from testers and others, WildStar developers will be reducing the breast size for Exile, Cassian, and Aurin characters in an upcoming beta patch. The change to bust sizes will bring the characters into a more reasonable proportion. As of right now, all players will receive the same body models per race and gender, although Design Producer Stephen Frost hinted that body shape sliders could be a post-launch feature. Chua will also get a character creation screen change in the form of underpants. WildStar to reduce character breast size originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMORPG.com

Tamriel Infinium: What to do in The Elder Scrolls Online besides PvP Posted: 17 Jan 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, New Titles, PvE, Opinion, Dungeons, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription, MMORPG, Tamriel Infinium As a part of my series of articles that explain some of the core features of The Elder Scrolls Online, I want to talk about what most people would consider obvious activities in the MMOs, but because of the way ZeniMax has advertised the game up to this point, many casual followers have come to believe that ESO will not have much in the way of PvE activities. Of course, players will level up via PvE, but beyond that, is there anything to do? What about group activities while you're leveling up? Are there endgame group activities? Is there raiding? Although I like PvP, much of my focus in MMOs is PvE-related. I enjoy story, exploration, and group activities. Save for the group activities, that's what The Elder Scrolls is to me. Exploring every ruin and cave or finding a hidden cult or hearing the NPCs talk about how they each took arrows to their knees defines the series for me. I don't think I could call a game Elder Scrolls without attaching defining PvE moments. I believe the developers at ZeniMax understand this, which is why they have hired some amazing voice actors to the game and why much of the website advertising revolves around the lore of the game. But is it enough to tell us what the game is about, and will ZeniMax finally show us? Continue reading Tamriel Infinium: What to do in The Elder Scrolls Online besides PvP Tamriel Infinium: What to do in The Elder Scrolls Online besides PvP originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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