MMO Updates

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• Norrathian Notebook: Grading Landmark's first beta week
• There are 5.0952187*10^58 possible character variations in Elder Scrolls Online
• Diablo III's expansion moves 2.7 million first week copies
• Massively's Elder Scrolls Online launch diary: Day four - PvP
• Skyforge shows off the Paladin class
• The Daily Grind: What game do you plan to revisit?
• Pathfinder Online's devs on dynamic escalations and new races
• The Stream Team: Scoping out the land in Landmark
• Here's Age of Wushu's new 'warrior maiden' sect
• Leaderboard: What's your favorite aspect of Elder Scrolls Online so far?
• NCsoft relents on Lineage II's hero coin prices
• Defiance throws an extended anniversary celebration
• Age of Conan introduces new subscription benefits along with a new world boss
• Elder Scrolls Online struggles with downtime and disables guild functionality
• Star Citizen updates backers on progress in March
• Choose My Adventure: The Elder Scrolls Online
• SOE's Georgeson on City of Heroes and the future of EQ

Norrathian Notebook: Grading Landmark's first beta week Posted: 03 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Opinion, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Player-Generated Content, Norrathian Notebook, Landmark Closed beta is now in session! After a couple of days of downtime to prepare for the transition, EQN Landmark moved out of the alpha phase. And now, the first week of this long-awaited beta has concluded. Like most initial weeks, it's been an eventful one; from opening itself to a slew of new players to ditching part of its name to announcing the launch of Player Studio, the voxel-based sandbox has changed and evolved from its previous state. But how exactly is this beta different from alpha? What is new, what has improved, and what still needs improvement? How did Landmark fare during its first week? Norrathian Notebook is here to bring you the game's one-week report card! Continue reading Norrathian Notebook: Grading Landmark's first beta week Norrathian Notebook: Grading Landmark's first beta week originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

There are 5.0952187*10^58 possible character variations in Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 03 Apr 2014 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Game Mechanics, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription On the eve of The Elder Scrolls Online's "official" launch, Bethesda has released an infographic with all kinds of big numbers relating to its new fantasy MMO opus. For example, did you know that you would need to kill 119,050 mud crabs to reach level 50? Or how about the fact that there are 2,235 books filled with 480,000 words in the game? There are over 40 million weapon variations too, as well as some huge number of possible character variations that my math-averse mind can't even read, let alone comprehend. Click past the cut for the full infographic. Continue reading There are 5.0952187*10^58 possible character variations in Elder Scrolls Online There are 5.0952187*10^58 possible character variations in Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Bethesda

Diablo III's expansion moves 2.7 million first week copies Posted: 03 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Expansions, MMO Industry, News Items, Diablo III, Buy-to-Play Reaper of Souls is popular, but is it as popular as Blizzard would like? Diablo III's expansion pack moved 2.7 million copies combined in retail and digital markets, which is well short of the 6.3 million units sold at DIII's 2012 original release. The expansion adds a new story act, a new class, a new game mode, and an increased level cap. Diablo III's expansion moves 2.7 million first week copies originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GI.biz

Massively's Elder Scrolls Online launch diary: Day four - PvP Posted: 03 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, Opinion, Hands-On, First Impressions, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription My fourth day In The Elder Scrolls Online didn't start until well after 3:00 p.m. thanks to the North American megaserver going down in the wee watches of Wednesday morning and remaining down for several hours. When it came back up, the first thing I did was load into Doshia's Lair outside Daggerfall with a pickup group that intended to finish a Fighter's Guild quest called Anchors From the Harbour. Unfortunately none of us could see the others' avatars inside the instance, so after several attempts at reloading and relogging, we abandoned ship. While additional data like this has caused me to reassess my earlier observations about ESO's smooth (pre-)launch, it hasn't affected my overall enjoyment of the game. In fact, ESO would need quite a few more bugs and several more days of downtime to qualify as a "bad" launch. If you disagree, well, I question how many MMO launches you've actually experienced. Continue reading Massively's Elder Scrolls Online launch diary: Day four - PvP Massively's Elder Scrolls Online launch diary: Day four - PvP originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Skyforge shows off the Paladin class Posted: 03 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, New Titles, Skyforge After revealing the Cryomancer a few days ago, the Skyforge team is showing off the second class that was spotlighted during its GDC demo: the Paladin. In addition to the usual fighter abilities you'd find with a Paladin, Skyforge's holy warrior wields a powerful artifact that is used to both inspire allies and threaten enemies. "The Paladin is capable of performing devastating attacks and engage in prolonged battles with abilities such as the Righteous Blow, Seal of Light, Punishing Bolt and Celestial Shield," the forum announcement states. "The Paladin is one who not only inflicts damage on his enemies, but also protects his friends, making him an excellent brother in arms!" [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Skyforge shows off the Paladin class originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Paladin Forum Announcement

The Daily Grind: What game do you plan to revisit? Posted: 03 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Daily Grind, Sandbox, Age of Wushu Snail's recent sect announcements for its upcoming Age of Wushu expansion have rekindled my interest in the fantasy wuxia sandbox. I played it for a good bit at launch but ultimately left due to the steep learning curve, the horribad translation, and other demands on my time. I've often thought of returning to the game, though, as it hits a number of my sweet spots and is utterly unlike anything else in the MMO space. What about you, Massively readers? What's that one MMO you're always keeping tabs on and planning to revisit when you get the chance? 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: What game do you plan to revisit? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pathfinder Online's devs on dynamic escalations and new races Posted: 02 Apr 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, News Items, Community Q&A, Dev Diaries, Pathfinder Online In the latest installment of the Pathfinder Online video blog, Goblinworks PvE designer Bob Settles joins lead designer Lee Hammock to discuss escalations and alternate races. Races are the simpler topic; Hammock explains that the team does plan to expand the available races significantly, noting that races that are flavors of other races are much easier to implement because of shared models. And what about escalations? "Escalation" is the team's fancy term for one of the game's many dynamic, hex-shaped zones that are reserved for monster spawns and can over time, well, escalate and expand to neighboring hexes, ramping up in scale and difficulty with elite bosses. Multiple escalation themes are discussed in the video, including escalations that allow participants to do something other than beat mobs into submission. Enjoy the video below. Continue reading Pathfinder Online's devs on dynamic escalations and new races Pathfinder Online's devs on dynamic escalations and new races originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Pathfinder dev blog

The Stream Team: Scoping out the land in Landmark Posted: 02 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, New Titles, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Livestream, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content, Landmark Have you seen a giant Voxopoly or checker board and played a game or two in Landmark? If not, you're going to see them now! After a week of upgrading tools and gathering resources in closed beta, players have finally been able to put some of their impressive alpha creations down. New players have joined in the onslaught of creativity as well! That means it's time for Massively's MJ to head in and tour some of these pièces de résistance. Join us live at 8:00 p.m. EDT for a look at what's new and to talk about all things Landmark. Game: Landmark Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014 Time: 8:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Scoping out the land in Landmark The Stream Team: Scoping out the land in Landmark originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Here's Age of Wushu's new 'warrior maiden' sect Posted: 02 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Age of Wushu Snail has updated its Age of Wushu website with another new sect preview from the martial sandbox's upcoming Tempest of Strife expansion. Today's reveal is the Palace of Shifting Flowers, which boasts "a balanced set of skills featuring both melee and ranged attacks." The Palace is a group of female-only apostles that Snail calls a "zealous cadre of warrior maidens sworn to seek vengeance from the the men who wronged them." Click past the cut for the class preview trailer, and don't forget that AoW is now available on Steam. Continue reading Here's Age of Wushu's new 'warrior maiden' sect Here's Age of Wushu's new 'warrior maiden' sect originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Leaderboard: What's your favorite aspect of Elder Scrolls Online so far? Posted: 02 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Roleplaying, Leaderboard, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription Judging by the masses of players I see running around in The Elder Scrolls Online, it's a safe bet that many of you are joining me in the game's early access launch. So far I'm having a good time with it, but I'm more interested in what you think. Assuming you're playing and enjoying ESO, what's your favorite aspect of the game thus far? Questing? PvP? Lore? Something else? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard! Continue reading Leaderboard: What's your favorite aspect of Elder Scrolls Online so far? Leaderboard: What's your favorite aspect of Elder Scrolls Online so far? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

NCsoft relents on Lineage II's hero coin prices Posted: 02 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Economy, Patches, Free-to-Play The outrageous -- and expensive -- Lineage II hero coin program is receiving a nerf in favor of the players. NCsoft announced today that it has reduced prices on "top-tier prizes" in the hero coin store by 40% or more. As an example, the Dark Amaranthine Weapon Pack has been reduced from 375,000 hero coins to 100,500 as a result of this change. NCsoft also said that it will be giving players a hand with affording these items: "For those of you who might still be lamenting your inability to afford the reward items of your choice, take heart. We'll be introducing some special promotions both this month and in the future designed to help you increase your hero coin balance." The launch of the hero coin program earlier this year was met with strong resistance and criticism for its exorbitant nature. Hero coins is a bonus currency that is given whenever a player spends real money in the game's store. NCsoft relents on Lineage II's hero coin prices originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Hero coin program update

Defiance throws an extended anniversary celebration Posted: 02 Apr 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), MMOFPS, Defiance, Anniversaries, Buy-to-Play Today is Defiance's one-year anniversary and Trion is pulling out all of the stops to celebrate... twice. Defiance will host a global boost to XP gain, skill gain, and loot drops from Wednesday, April 2nd, at 3:00 p.m. EST through Thursday, April 3rd, at the same time. The studio acknowledged that some people can't play during the week, so this global boost will be re-activated from Friday, April 4th, at 3:00 p.m. EST and continue through Monday, April 7th, at the same time. Defiance throws an extended anniversary celebration originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Anniversary details

Age of Conan introduces new subscription benefits along with a new world boss Posted: 02 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, News Items, Free-to-Play, Promotions, Subscription The latest of Age of Conan's monthly world bosses has arrived in the form of the Thrice Drowned queen. Emerging to terrorize the Thunder River, she will wreak havoc if left unchecked, since anyone who can be drowned three times and still come back for more is no one to be trifled with. Perhaps you'll be so enthusiastic about fighting her that you decide you simply can't miss out on any of the future bosses; if so, there's a subscription offer you might be interested in. Two new rewards are available to players who subscribe for six months or a year at a time; a ring that grants bonus alternate advancement XP and another ring that grants a bonus to PvP and Prowess XP gain. Subscribing for six months nets a version of these rings with a 25% bonus along with an extra two months of subscription time; subscribing for a year nets an extra four months and rings with a 50% bonus. In short, if you want to step up your subscription game, now is the time to do so. Age of Conan introduces new subscription benefits along with a new world boss originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Membership Offer & New World Boss

Elder Scrolls Online struggles with downtime and disables guild functionality Posted: 02 Apr 2014 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guilds, Launches, Patches, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription Smooth, polished, and... offline? Elder Scrolls Online's NA megaserver was down for the better part of today for "inventory-related issues," although these have been addressed and the game is back up and running after over 12 hours of work. The devs pushed out a small patch when the server came back up that fixed various issues, including broken quests that blocked player progression. It also appears that guilds have been neutered for the time being: "All guild functionality has been temporarily disabled. We will notify you when it has been turned back on. When guild functionality is returned, all guild-related tools and functions will be as they were before we turned them off." One bright spot for the day is that the Elder Scrolls Online soundtrack is now available on iTunes. [Update: ZeniMax just announced downtime for the EU megaserver.] Elder Scrolls Online struggles with downtime and disables guild functionality originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Maintenance update, Patch notes, Notice: guild functionality, Soundtrack

Star Citizen updates backers on progress in March Posted: 02 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Previews, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen Eagerly anticipating Star Citizen? Then you'll be happy to see that the latest development update from the team is now live, focusing on the many projects in development for the game. At the top of the list, of course, is the much-anticipated dogfighting module, which has dominated the attention of all departments. The update goes to great lengths to try and show off just what has been the result of the extra time and effort sunk into the module as a whole. The dogfighting HUD has been revised to ensure that a great deal of information is accessible without cluttering the display. There's also been a push to improve the visuals on the ships, making them look more realistic and detailed when in motion. And that's not getting into the other work being done in fields like personal weaponry... but you don't have to take our word for it. Take a look at the March progress update and see for yourself. Star Citizen updates backers on progress in March originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Monthly Report: March 2014

Choose My Adventure: The Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 02 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, New Titles, Opinion, Hands-On, Choose My Adventure, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription The Elder Scrolls Online has launched into its early access period, and I couldn't be more excited for the timing on this new edition of Choose My Adventure. I've always been a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls series, but I didn't have access to this MMO beta for various reasons. As I stated in my last column, I even avoided reading impressions articles here at Massively because I wanted this to be a fresh experience for me. I'm kinda weird like that. But I've purchased the game now and have been enjoying myself this week during early access. Of course, I'm still saving the good stuff for this column, and I don't plan to release my impressions until a future article, but I'll reiterate that I'm very excited about this next month. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: The Elder Scrolls Online Choose My Adventure: The Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE's Georgeson on City of Heroes and the future of EQ Posted: 02 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, City of Heroes, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Interviews, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play IGN has released another snippet of its recent interview with EverQuest franchise lead Dave Georgeson. Earlier today Georgeson talked up his enthusiasm for virtual reality, while this latest cut focuses on EverQuest, EverQuest II, and City of Heroes. Yeah, you read that right, as apparently the late great superhero title was one of Georgeson's personal faves. "Everybody who plays any MMO never wants it to die," he says. "You invest a little bit of your soul in an MMO, you spend a lot of time in it and so on and so forth, so of course you never want one of them to die." As for EQ and EQII, Georgeson says that SOE has "no intention of ever shutting those games down." SOE's Georgeson on City of Heroes and the future of EQ originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: IGN

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