| Blizzard already talking about post-Pandaria WoW expansions Posted: 23 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, MMO industry, News items So World of Warcraft is getting a new expansion. Old news, right? Mists of Pandaria, kung-fu pandas, yada yada. Well, not so fast. CVG is reporting that Blizzard has officially confirmed expansion number five, and COO Paul Sams told the site that the dev team already has plans for several more expansions after that. Details are sketchy, of course, but it sounds like WoW is pretty far removed from the state of decline that recent sub losses seemed to indicate. The first post- Pandaria expansion is currently "an idea, a general framework," and Sams says that Blizzard's Chris Metzen has already pitched WoW's sixth expansion and he's "pretty geeked up about it. They already know what they're going to be doing for multiple expansions ahead."  Blizzard already talking about post-Pandaria WoW expansions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Blade & Soul nearing commercial release, adding Summoner class Posted: 23 Mar 2012 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Blade & Soul NCsoft is loath to talk about its Blade & Soul martial arts MMORPG here in the West, so we have to rely on third-party fansites and Chinese/Korean translations for most of our info. The latest such comes courtesy of MMO Culture, and it features an interview from a recent Tencent Games media event with a couple of newsworthy notables. First up is the fact that upcoming Korean and Chinese Blade & Soul beta phases will feature the new Summoner class. Not much is known in terms of class specifics yet, but the site says that it boasts an "easier" and "more relaxed" playstyle than other classes. The interview also touches on Blade & Soul's business model and its impending release. Despite the fact that NCsoft titles like Aion and Lineage II have recently committed to free-to-play in North America, the firm isn't talking about any particular Blade & Soul payment model just yet. Finally, MMO Culture reports that Blade & Soul "is currently near the end of the development phase for commercial release," and given the lack of info on a Western client, we expect said release to be exclusive to the Chinese and Korean markets for now. Blade & Soul nearing commercial release, adding Summoner class originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| PlanetSide 2's Higby talks resource costs, business models, and more on Reddit Posted: 23 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, PlanetSide 2, Sandbox Aside from the big GDC demo earlier this month, mass information dumps regarding PlanetSide 2 have been few and far between. Thankfully, creative director Matt Higby took to Reddit yesterday for an AMA (ask me anything) session that brought a few interesting nuggets to light. If you're one of the game's hardcore faithful, the talk was more confirmation than revelation, but for casual or newly interested fans, there's a lot of stuff to digest. Among the more interesting bits were the fact that PS2 will use PunkBuster, and the fact that all of the game's classes and vehicles will be available from the get-go. Higby also touched on resource costs for vehicles as well as the fact that the devs want "to create the game first and then build the business model that best services the game, rather than trying to conform the game to some particular business or membership model." If Reddit's sprawling threads and needle-in-a-haystack nested replies aren't your cup of tea, PlanetSide Universe has collected most of the relevant info on its own discussion boards. PlanetSide 2's Higby talks resource costs, business models, and more on Reddit originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Runes of Magic Chapter 5 features new race, two new classes Posted: 23 Mar 2012 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Dungeons Frogster is prepping for the next chapter in its Runes of Magic saga, and the company says it's going to be a doozy. Chapter 5 is called Fires of Shadowforge, and not only will it bring the requisite new zones, dungeons, and quests, but players will also have access to a new race and two new classes. The Shadowforge Dwarves have been hidden beneath the ground of Taborea for some time now, perfecting their dark arts and blacksmithing skills, as well as founding a kingdom in the continent's network of caves. Thus far Frogster is remaining coy about the gameplay associated with the new race and the two new arcane-based classes (the Sorcerer and the Champion), but the company says it will publish skill info and other details in the coming weeks. [Source: Frogster press release] Runes of Magic Chapter 5 features new race, two new classes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Atlantica Online clocks its millionth player Posted: 23 Mar 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Atlantica Online After a big push for players to rope in their friends, Nexon is finally able to announce that Atlantica Online has reached the one million player mark -- and there's no looking back from here. The millionth player was DevilsRuler of Sikyon, and he or she will receive a million NX (item shop currency) and a title that comes with a substantial attack and XP boost. As if a million people to have picked up Atlantica Online wasn't enough, Nexon is boasting a few other impressive stats. To date, over 2.2 million characters have been created, 1.6 million "friend pairs" created, and 18,866 homes built. To celebrate this substantial milestone, Nexon is hosting Atlantica Day on Saturday, March 25th. Players who log in between 5:00 and 5:10 p.m. EDT will be granted a "Time's Witness" title that can be triggered for an attack power and defense buff. [Source: Nexon press release] Atlantica Online clocks its millionth player originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| CCP shifts gears from DUST to EVE at Fanfest 2012 Posted: 23 Mar 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, DUST 514, Sandbox Day one of EVE Online's 2012 Fanfest is in the books, and it was quite the interesting spectacle from CCP's perch at the top of the world. As expected, yesterday's juicy news centered on DUST 514, and we learned a bit about merc quarters, skills, and objectives. The devs also talked about DUST's battlefield resupply mechanics (which are somewhat unique for a shooter since every bullet, weapon, and vehicle must be produced before it can be airlifted to the front lines). We also got to see the first real footage of EVE/ DUST integration courtesy of a live orbital strike coordinated between a ground trooper and a capsuleer. Today looks just as interesting, and the focus will be shifting to EVE as CCP talks up the state of the game's economy, factional warfare, and a variety of other topics. As you're probably aware, you can catch all of this via our dedicated EVETV Livestream channel, and we'll have more info and analysis for you as the weekend rolls on. CCP shifts gears from DUST to EVE at Fanfest 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: What would make you cancel a pre-order? Posted: 23 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous These days, MMO pre-orders are commonplace. They're used to allow early access to the game so you can grab that Legolas or Lord Stark name before anyone else. Throwing your money down is a risk we must take in order to secure that early status, and the developers usually mix in some extra goodies to sweeten the deal. But sometimes we get word of a before-the-bell game mechanic or design implementation that ruins the game for us and makes us cancel the pre-order on the spot without giving the game a chance to speak for itself when we've finally gotten our hands on it. So let's get specific here. What could a game developer do to ruin a game for you before it launches? And have you ever canceled a pre-order? Why or why not?  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 would make you cancel a pre-order? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The MMO Report: Aztec pandas make no sense edition Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, Video, Culture, Game mechanics, Interviews, Lore, Opinion, Races, Humor, The MMO Report, Dungeons Morgan Webb dethrones Casey this week on The MMO Report, having made the journey to Anaheim to interview Blizzard's reps about World of Warcraft's upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. J. Allen Brack and Tom Chilton focus on the philosophy of this expansion and its shift from previous expansions' ominous tone to a more playful theme of adventure, exploration, and oh yeah, the war between the Alliance and the Horde. The pair also highlight changes to underdeveloped zones, pet battles, repurposed classic dungeons, phased farms (actual farms!), and solutions to the faction grind problem. Most interestingly, they tell Morgan that Pandaren came first... and the Asian motif followed. After all, they joke, it just wouldn't have made sense to put Pandaren in Aztec ruins. Get your panda on in the full video behind the break! Continue reading The MMO Report: Aztec pandas make no sense edition The MMO Report: Aztec pandas make no sense edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Guild Counsel: Are you ready to lead a guild? Posted: 22 Mar 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous The Guild Counsel has explored lots of tips and advice that make running a guild more enjoyable and (hopefully!) more successful. But I'm constantly amazed at the number of players I meet in MMOs who would probably make great leaders and would probably enjoy it but don't give it a try. Making the leap from player to guild leader can be both tempting and daunting, and unfortunately, there's no easy way to tell who will make a good leader and who won't. Plenty of us have come across people who really should not have taken on the guild leader role, but for every bad guild leader, there are probably dozens of good people who could become great leaders if they chose to make the leap. Granted, there are many who are firmly set on staying away from the role, and that's understandable, but this week's column is devoted to those who are considering stepping forward to lead but aren't sure if they have what it takes. Are you ready to run a guild? Let's find out! Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Are you ready to lead a guild? The Guild Counsel: Are you ready to lead a guild? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Aion lays out the details for the upcoming server changes Posted: 22 Mar 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, News items, Free-to-play Before a storm, you secure your home. Before a job interview, you clean yourself up nicely. Before a conversion to free-to-play, you make sure your servers are ready to go. That last one is on the agenda for NCsoft, which is making some server changes and merges prior to Aion's transition to free-to-play starting on April 11th. Players affected by this can take a look at a new official FAQ to clarify any and all questions about what's going down on March 28th. The short version is that most individual character data will remain untouched, but players with conflicting names will be given a random string of letters and numbers and a free name-change ticket. Players who wind up with Asmodeans and Elyseans on the same server will also be given the option to change to an appropriate race or transfer the offending characters to another server to adhere to the one-faction-per-server rule. If you've got more detailed questions, of course, the FAQ has more detailed answers. Aion lays out the details for the upcoming server changes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WildStar Wednesday highlights the deadly denizens of planet Nexus Posted: 22 Mar 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, WildStar WildStar's planet Nexus is a wild, untamed place full of various flora and fauna. It just so happens that a good chunk of said flora and fauna wants to eat your face. Thankfully, the fine folks over at Carbine Studios have decided to give players a leg-up on the competition by providing them with a bit of insight on some of the savage creatures they'll encounter in the dark corners of the planet. The spotlight today is on three species of things-you-don't-want-to-meet-in-a-dark-alley. First off, we have masses of sentient fungus known as rootbrutes, and if their name doesn't tell you everything you need to know about 'em, then we're not sure how to help you. If that's not enough to make you think twice about your next vacay to planet Nexus, maybe the Girrok will give you pause. These huge, stocky quadripeds are known to rip boulders from the earth for a rousing game of bowling, except players are their pins. To top it all off, we have the "barely sentient" Skeech. Despite their near complete lack of intellect, the Skeech are apparently accomplished cooks... of people. So if a Skeech says it wants to have you for dinner, it doesn't mean a dinner party. WildStar Wednesday highlights the deadly denizens of planet Nexus originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| World of Warcraft is the new Match.com Posted: 22 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Humor, Miscellaneous Are you single? Do you want to be a little bit less single? Are your friends telling you that you should stop spending so much time talking with them online and more time looking for dates? Well, according to a recent infographic, your friends might be completely off-base. Onlineuniversity.net put together a graphic comparing World of Warcraft to the popular dating site Match.com, and the results come out pretty firmly in favor of blood elves. So how does it look? According to the graphic, World of Warcraft has more than 10 times as many people involved as Match.com, and people sink more time into online gaming than any online dating site. There's also a number of factors that suggest slaughtering virtual trolls as a better way to bond than a cup of coffee. So while it's still probably bad form to hit on your raid leader between pulls, maybe you're not entirely off the mark. Unless she's married. World of Warcraft is the new Match.com originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Ask Massively: Misunderstandings about our robot overlords edition Posted: 22 Mar 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous As I personally have no real reservations about the impending destruction of human society by perfect killer robots, I thought I'd take the opportunity to dispel certain misunderstandings about living under the thumb of mechanical overseers. Specifically, I'd like to dispel the idea that we'll be living. Robots wouldn't be sending us to work in mines; they can build machines to do that faster than our frail organic bodies. Not to mention that those machines would whine a lot less. So don't worry! You won't be toiling for a monolithic AI for years; you'll just be obliterated or used as organic building material. Doesn't that make things better? In unrelated news, it's time for this week's installment of Ask Massively, which focuses on the question of raw, unfettered action. If you've got a question you'd like to see in a future installment of the column, mail it along to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments below. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity. Continue reading Ask Massively: Misunderstandings about our robot overlords edition Ask Massively: Misunderstandings about our robot overlords edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Now you don't see him: Meet PlanetSide 2's Infiltrator Posted: 22 Mar 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Classes, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 He's the boogeyman whom battle-hardened soldiers fear and the guy whom Batman consults with on a daily basis. He's the Infiltrator, PlanetSide 2's sneaky assassin, and he won't stop coming for you until you are dead. Unless he gets lost. Planets are big. SOE revealed the Infiltrator today as the game's stealth-user and long-distance sniper. Using advanced technology and camouflage systems, the Infiltrator can get to places that no other class can -- and do a lot of damage once there. Interestingly enough, while the Infiltrator lacks heavy armor, SOE does claim that the class' tactical advantages will prove to be just as protective as a titanium suit. Infiltrators can use both sniper and scout rifles as well as pistols for close-quarter combat. The sniper rifle boasts the best range, while the scout rifle is better for mobile assault missions. It will, of course, be up to the player to decide whichever is the best to use in which situation. Now you don't see him: Meet PlanetSide 2's Infiltrator originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| A tour of the twisted mind of RIFT's Maelforge the Flame Sire Posted: 22 Mar 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lore, News items, RIFT RIFT players are only a short time away from being able to delve into the depths of the Infernal Dawn raid, where they will be able to confront one of the most destructive of the dragon-gods, Maelforge the Flame Sire. To prepare players to face off against the great fire dragon of the Blood Storm, Trion Worlds has released a new lore snippet that reveals his history, his motivations... Oh, and the fact that he's absolutely, positively batshit insane. We're talking burn-people-to-death-then-resurrect-them-and-burn-them-again insane. Seriously guys, we can't stress this enough. But hey, if you still wanna go up against a guy who devours worlds and murders gods for funsies, be our guests. Just don't say we didn't warn you. While you attempt to justify the madness of actually trying to kill such a beast, click on past the cut and check out the full lore piece. Continue reading A tour of the twisted mind of RIFT's Maelforge the Flame Sire A tour of the twisted mind of RIFT's Maelforge the Flame Sire originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Charge into battle with Lime Odyssey's Warrior class Posted: 22 Mar 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, News items, Free-to-play  Aeria Games' latest free-to-play title, Lime Odyssey, is gearing itself up for closed beta, and to get players hyped up for the impending test, the studio has released a slew of new information about the Warrior battle class. Fans of the genre should know exactly what to expect: heavy armor, big weapons, and lots of bloodlust. Warriors can specialize in one of two trees: Attack or Defense. Both trees do exactly what it says on the tin. The Attack tree focuses on brute force and unrelenting offense with abilities that allow the Warrior to cleave, smash, and otherwise brutalize anything that stands between him and his goals. On the flip-side, the Defense tree turns the Warrior into a vigilant protector who can put himself in harm's way to protect his allies. If you want more details on the various classes available in Lime Odyssey (and get in on the closed beta), just head on over to the game's official site. [Source: Aeria Games press release] Charge into battle with Lime Odyssey's Warrior class originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Lord of the Rings Online's Spring Festival rescheduled Posted: 22 Mar 2012 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play Spring is beginning to... well, spring, and for denizens of Middle-earth, that generally means the Spring Festival is just around the corner. This year, however, there's been a small adjustment to the schedule. Since Lord of the Rings Online's fifth anniversary is coming up in April, the Spring Festival is being pushed back until after the anniversary celebrations have concluded. While we don't have an official start date for the festival, Casual Stroll to Mordor points out that the game's anniversary is April 24th; those celebrations will likely take place the week of said anniversary. Therefore, we should probably expect the Spring Festival to kick off sometime in May. As CSTM also notes, this may help bridge the rather sizeable gap between the Spring, Summer, and Fall Festivals as well, so maybe a little schedule-shifting isn't so bad. Lord of the Rings Online's Spring Festival rescheduled originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Leave your legacy with Star Wars: The Old Republic's newest dev dispatch video Posted: 22 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dev Diaries  Star Wars: The Old Republic's patch 1.2 is slowly creeping over the horizon, and that means players are one step closer to getting to try out the next steps in the game's Legacy progression system for themselves. In light of this, BioWare has released a new video highlighting the inner workings of the Legacy system to give players a look at what exactly they can expect. Here's a recap for the uninitiated: The Legacy system unlocks after a character completes chapter one of the storyline, and from that point on that character will gain Legacy experience in addition to the normal combat experience. Progressing through the Legacy system will unlock a variety of spiffy treats -- such as special skills, new class-race combinations, account-bound gear, and more -- for all characters on a player's account. Obviously the benefits are greatest for altoholics (whoo!), but even one-character players will be able to benefit from the new abilities and other unlocks. Of course, you don't have to take our word for it; the full developer dispatch video can be seen just past the cut. Continue reading Leave your legacy with Star Wars: The Old Republic's newest dev dispatch video Leave your legacy with Star Wars: The Old Republic's newest dev dispatch video originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ts plans to appoint an administrator with the intention of salvaging at least a small part of its 600 UK stores.
