MMO Updates

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• The Road to Mordor: But what if I'm three expansions behind?
• WRUP: Addressing concerns regarding Massively One edition
• The Daily Grind: How do you socialize in MMOs?
• Dawn of Fantasy: Siegeworks expansion coming to Steam
• Betawatch: June 8 - 14, 2013
• Storyboard: Roleplaying hasn't gone anywhere
• MMObility: The Chromebook 'All-In-One' project: More games
• ArenaNet teases GW2 Dragon Bash finale event
• Ultima Forever adjusts store prices based on player feedback
• Second Wind: EverQuest II, part one
• E3 2013: DUST 514 and EVE's virtual reality demo
• E3 2013: Taking another look at HEX
• E3 2013: Stealing cabbages in The Elder Scrolls Online
• Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 2 trailer shows new race, planet
• E3 2013: The Division, Ubisoft's MMO shooter
• E3 2013: Chatting with Team WildStar
• Tamriel Infinium: Everyone gets an Elder Scrolls game!
• EU's Age of Wulin offers FAQ and early character creation for closed beta

The Road to Mordor: But what if I'm three expansions behind? Posted: 15 Jun 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Road to Mordor One habit that I'm constantly trying to break myself of is assuming that everyone who reads this column or plays Lord of the Rings Online is going through (or has finished) the most recent content that Turbine's pumped out. Over the past few weeks, I've had discussions with Massively staffers, guildmates, and podcast co-hosts who all have admitted to being way behind the content curve in LotRO, many to the point where catching up to the endgame crowd seems like an insurmountable task. As a particular person asked me, "But what if I'm three expansions behind? Is it even worth paying for all of these expansions and pushing myself to get to Rohan?" This is a valid concern and obviously one that several folks have, so for today's column I want to talk to those of you who aren't level 85. Maybe you haven't even seen the interior of Moria yet, or maybe you have been following the most casual, sporadic path through Middle-earth possible over the years. Maybe the one-expansion-per-year pace is actually pushing you away from the game. Here's what I think will help. Continue reading The Road to Mordor: But what if I'm three expansions behind? The Road to Mordor: But what if I'm three expansions behind? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WRUP: Addressing concerns regarding Massively One edition Posted: 15 Jun 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous I understand that some of our readers are concerned about some of the details regarding Massively One, so let's clear the air. Yes, in order to use Massively One, you do need to connect to the internet at least once an hour or your house and pets will be set on fire. But you should be online all the time anyway, and it's not as if the infrastructure ever suffers problems you can't foresee. Besides, the connection requirement is only for a small amount of personal data to enable features you don't want and never asked for, like preventing you from owning things you buy. For the record, this is not satire. Satire is subtle. Moving along, it's time for this week's installment of WRUP, which can be found past the cut as usual. As always, we'd love to know what you'll be up to over the weekend, so feel free to leave your own plans down in the comment section. Continue reading WRUP: Addressing concerns regarding Massively One edition WRUP: Addressing concerns regarding Massively One edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: How do you socialize in MMOs? Posted: 15 Jun 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous I had a friend once in World of Warcraft who had never taken part in a single dungeon. She knew she wasn't geared very well and hadn't built a very solid character, and she didn't feel like dragging others down. She focused instead on socializing through roleplaying and helping out lower-level players with extra money. That was fun for her, far more so than trying to force herself into the raiding endgame, and it was something she just couldn't do in a single-player environment. For some people, being social in an MMO means doing group content or nothing. For others, being social means putting on a musical performance in Lord of the Rings Online even while you prefer to solo rather than group to clear content. So what about you? How do you like to socialize in MMOs? Is it strictly through content, other activities, or a mixture of both? 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: How do you socialize in MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Dawn of Fantasy: Siegeworks expansion coming to Steam Posted: 14 Jun 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Patches, Free-to-Play, MMORTS Lower the portcullis and man the murder holes -- sieges are coming to Dawn of Fantasy next week! Reverie World Studios announced that it's releasing Siegeworks, the first expansion for the MMORTS, starting next week. The free expansion will be rolled out in three phases. The first chunk of content will be released on June 16th, followed by the expansion's debut on Steam on the 18th. The studio plans a third phase for the 26th that will include delayed features and additional polish. Siegeworks will double the number of towns in the game, add siege engines and units, and present a new pathfinding system. On top of that, players will be able to team up for epic batles via the new guild alliance feature. Dawn of Fantasy: Siegeworks expansion coming to Steam originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Siegeworks announcement

Betawatch: June 8 - 14, 2013 Posted: 14 Jun 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Events (Real-World), News Items, Humor, Betawatch, Miscellaneous The third phase of Final Fantasy XIV's beta has started, so I don't see why you're still here. What? All right, there's the open beta date for World of Warplanes, English beta signups for ArcheAge, a look at the standalone client for DayZ, and the start of closed beta for Soldier Front 2. I guess all of that stuff happened this week. And I guess Neverwinter is running an event before it really launches on the 20th. Oh, and E3 was this week, so of course there was a lot of talk about games that are currently in beta or are heading into open beta in the near future. Plus, we probably still have our full list of betas just past the cut, because that's here most weeks and it's kind of silly to remove it. But really. FFXIV beta. That's the important takeaway, right? Right. Continue reading Betawatch: June 8 - 14, 2013 Betawatch: June 8 - 14, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Storyboard: Roleplaying hasn't gone anywhere Posted: 14 Jun 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous Certain phrases just tend to stick in my craw. For example, the idea that back in the day MMORPGs really supported roleplaying, but now they don't any more. You can't really lose yourself in modern games. You get the idea; I've talked about this before. The calls that roleplaying is dead are quite convincing except for the fact that roleplaying continues and does not appear to be going anywhere. If anything, I'd argue (from anecdotes, so without much scientific merit) that roleplaying populations seem to be expanding, which makes sense, since with more and more people playing games online, more and more of them are going to be totally keen on pretending to be an elf. But I can understand the sentiment because from another perspective it can seem totally on the mark. So I'm going to just go for the simple version and discuss the ways in which things haven't changed all that much after all. Continue reading Storyboard: Roleplaying hasn't gone anywhere Storyboard: Roleplaying hasn't gone anywhere originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMObility: The Chromebook 'All-In-One' project: More games Posted: 14 Jun 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Hands-On, Miscellaneous, MMObility This will be my last week using the new Chromebook Pixel, at least here on Massively. I will continue to look at its techier side of things on my personal blog, just as I did with the original Chromebook All-In-One project. The shorter time frame for this series can be explained by the fact that Chromebooks do admittedly cut out a lot of the browser-based MMOs out there by not allowing the usage of Unity or other plugins. Flash is allowed, but Adobe and other companies' recent disapproval of the use of Flash for mobile platforms came with a reason: It's often hard to run. Once HTML5 becomes more standard thanks to publishers like Jagex, I'll be able to comment more on that. It's also important to note that the Pixel is really just a nicer Samsung model, so you can refer to the older posts as well. I want to encourage everyone who is interested in Chromebooks to check out the Samsung ARM-based Chromebook I talked about last time. It's very inexpensive and quite literally does everything that the Pixel does, albeit on a much smaller screen that is attached to a weaker device that has a much lower build quality. Still, my time with the Pixel has amazed me with a wonderful, touchable screen, but the Pixel has also convinced me that the Samsung should be the flagship device for Chromebook, hopefully kept at the same price range while slowly improving in quality. Now, let's talk about the games. I found a few that run much better on the Pixel's beefier stats, but please refer to my Samsung coverage for 30 MMOs that run on both machines. The following list is especially good for touchscreens. Continue reading MMObility: The Chromebook 'All-In-One' project: More games MMObility: The Chromebook 'All-In-One' project: More games originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

ArenaNet teases GW2 Dragon Bash finale event Posted: 14 Jun 2013 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Events (Real-World), Events (In-Game), MMO Industry, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play ArenaNet has not one, not two, but three website updates that should scratch your stuck-at-work-on-a-Friday-but-thinking-about-Guild-Wars-2 itch. The first is a Dragon Bash video featuring the dev team doing its best Schuster family pinata-destroying imitation. Next we have another video blurb, this time chronicling Dragon Bash shenanigans at Cologne, Germany's RPC 2013 event. The third and final update concerns the Dragon Bash climax coming your way on June 18th. The festival will conclude with a single-player instance called Memories on the Pyre, which you can read about via the source link below. You can see the two videos behind the break. Continue reading ArenaNet teases GW2 Dragon Bash finale event ArenaNet teases GW2 Dragon Bash finale event originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Memories on the Pyre

Ultima Forever adjusts store prices based on player feedback Posted: 14 Jun 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, Free-to-Play, Mobile Mythic's been field testing Ultima Forever in the Canadian iOS market, and the studio now says that it's making significant changes to the in-app pricing based on feedback from players. Most of the changes will swing in the players' favor, including lowered repair costs and cheaper storage space increases. The studio is also considering a one-time buyout fee to get rid of all freemium aspects, although this is not a given. One factor did increase in price, however. The studio raised the cost to loot high-quality chests, as the devs found that once players nabbed the good gear inside, they had less incentive to keep on looting. Producer Carrie Gouskos said that the changes were necessary to keep from souring players' experiences. "You've got to get people to love your game first," she said, going on to remark that when player loyalty is established, revenue will follow. [Thanks to Space Cobra for the tip!] Ultima Forever adjusts store prices based on player feedback originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Joystiq

Second Wind: EverQuest II, part one Posted: 14 Jun 2013 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Second Wind Oh, Norrath. I don't know what it is about you, but for some reason I just can't stay away. I probably fell in love with the setting in the early 2000s, when I took my first (somewhat) serious dive into the original EverQuest. In my eyes, it's the quintessential high-fantasy universe when it comes to MMOs, and every time I'm eyeing my bookcase and I catch sight of my Planes of Power instruction manual, I get this strange urge to have another visit. But for this edition of Second Wind, I figured I'd take a look at the other Norrath instead. Let me tell you something about EverQuest II that I quickly discovered: It is absolutely immense. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's, in many ways, overwhelming. I imagine I could spend 25, 50, even 100 hours with this game and still feel as if I had only dipped my toes into the sea. That aside, I'm still brimming with things I'd like to talk about, so how about joining me after the cut? Continue reading Second Wind: EverQuest II, part one Second Wind: EverQuest II, part one originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

E3 2013: DUST 514 and EVE's virtual reality demo Posted: 14 Jun 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, Previews, PvP, News Items, Opinion, Hands-On, Events (Massively's Coverage), DUST 514, Sandbox, MMORPG To an outsider, CCP Games' focus on EVE Online's player panel, comics, incoming television series about player adventures, and museum induction show just how much the company works to earn its players' respect, which might sound weird for studio running a cutthroat PvP sandbox. But I've always felt as if I made stronger personal attachments through high-stakes PvP than through most other gaming activities. I don't play EVE or its console cousin DUST 514, but after stopping by the CCP booth for my interview and hands-on at E3 yesterday, I feel as if I should be doing more than reading and writing about it. Continue reading E3 2013: DUST 514 and EVE's virtual reality demo E3 2013: DUST 514 and EVE's virtual reality demo originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

E3 2013: Taking another look at HEX Posted: 14 Jun 2013 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, Previews, Trading Card Games, HEX HEX. It's a difficult concept to grasp: a massively multiplayer online trading card game, combining elements of roleplaying goodness and the thrill of building a deck of powerful cards to combat the next evil underlord monster. At this year's E3, Massively sat down with Cory Jones, president of Cryptozoic Studios, to get the skinny on what HEX is all about. Continue reading E3 2013: Taking another look at HEX E3 2013: Taking another look at HEX originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

E3 2013: Stealing cabbages in The Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 14 Jun 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Previews, PvE, Opinion, Hands-On, Roleplaying, Humor, Events (Massively's Coverage), The Elder Scrolls Online I eagerly consumed about 45 minutes of The Elder Scrolls Online during E3 this week. I stayed glued to my keyboard and headphones until the expo hall closed and I was told to clear out. Part of this time was spent interviewing the nearest willing Bethesda employee, and every other second was hauling Orc butt around ESO. My character of choice, an Orc Dragonknight, loaded into the game on the other side of a polygon-rich bridge from an equally polygon-rich town. The Bethesda employee standing nearby mentioned I could go into the town for some guided content the team had prepared. I made a sharp right turn into the stream and killed a deer instead. Continue reading E3 2013: Stealing cabbages in The Elder Scrolls Online E3 2013: Stealing cabbages in The Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 2 trailer shows new race, planet Posted: 14 Jun 2013 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Races SEGA has released a high-def trailer for Phantasy Star Online 2's Episode 2 update. The clip introduces the Duman race, a new planet, and new weapons, too. The trailer runs for a solid four minutes, buy you'll need to bring your mad Japanese language skills if you want to understand the voiceovers and the UI. There's plenty of combat footage on display as well as glimpses of the game's character creation and various environments. Check it out after the cut. Continue reading Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 2 trailer shows new race, planet Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 2 trailer shows new race, planet originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Steparu.com

E3 2013: The Division, Ubisoft's MMO shooter Posted: 14 Jun 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Interviews, New Titles, Previews, Consoles, MMOFPS, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous Ubisoft's claim that its new MMO shooter The Division will have a "persistent world" piqued Massively's collective interest. At E3, we chatted briefly with Game Director Ryan Bernard, who has previously worked on EverQuest, EverQuest 2, and Warhammer Online. I asked what about the game and its persistent nature would appeal to MMO players and was told that actually, the team doesn't plan to make it "too persistent" at all. Each player will have his own little chunk of the world. Everything in that part of the world is persistent for him, and his friends can come over and help him out, kind of like Animal Crossing without the talking tanuki. The developers believe this will allow for a strong single-player experience while still having a visible impact on the player's slice of the world. There are places in the world that are persistent for everyone: the PvP areas. You won't want to travel around them without friends, but unfortunately, Bernard couldn't reveal more. The game is being released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but Ubisoft hasn't ruled out other platforms or cross-platform play just yet. Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 10-13, bringing you all the best news from E3 2013. We're covering everything from WildStar and Elder Scrolls Online and ArcheAge to FFXIV's inbound revamp and TERA's latest update, so stay tuned! E3 2013: The Division, Ubisoft's MMO shooter originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

E3 2013: Chatting with Team WildStar Posted: 14 Jun 2013 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Guilds, Interviews, Previews, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Events (Massively's Coverage), WildStar, Dungeons, Housing, Player-Generated Content Massively returned to the WildStar demos at E3 on Thursday to chat one last time with the team from Carbine. As we noted in yesterday's Q&A article, Carbine had already declared it wasn't making any big announcements at E3. It always intended a low-key presence, sharing a booth hosted by Alienware and offering the same demo gamers are at PAX East, just brought to the west coast. Why Alienware? WildStar runs really great on a laptop. Good news, though: Carbine plans to have a big WildStar presence at Gamescom and PAX, and the team is working on demos that will show new content, new races, and new classes. Continue reading E3 2013: Chatting with Team WildStar E3 2013: Chatting with Team WildStar originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tamriel Infinium: Everyone gets an Elder Scrolls game! Posted: 14 Jun 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Culture, Events (Real-World), New Titles, Opinion, Sandbox, The Elder Scrolls Online, MMORPG, Tamriel Infinium The more convention coverage I read and the more conventions I go to, the more I'm concerned by them. The atmosphere is unlike anything I've ever experienced before, and rubbing shoulders with the developers of some of my favorite games has its perks. But you hardly ever get to the meat of what determines a great game. Amidst the hype and free booze, every game looks and tastes great, but even the greatest games are less filling under those circumstances. Even we observers from home receive only a candy-coated glimpse of what a game really offers. The news pouring in from the The Elder Scrolls Online really exemplifies the layers of fluff that the convention atmosphere can place on a game. Two of our reporters spent time talking to the developers of the next venture into the world of Tamriel, and both stepped away with a very positive experience. Admittedly, I feel the excitement, too. I'm twitching with joy. Our freelancer Andrew's note that he "just didn't realize [he] was starting a quest when [he] talked to [quest givers]" piques my interest. Have we finally found a game that feels like a living world? And quotes from the ESO developers like, "You can pick up a sword and shield if you start as a sorcerer class and become a sword and shield user, and that's fine" have me wondering if we haven't stumbled upon the best mix of sandbox and themepark in an MMO. This week and next, I want to delve deeper into the reports from E3. Do we find some concerns that the developers are trying to gloss over, or is ESO everything we ever wanted from an Elder Scrolls game? Continue reading Tamriel Infinium: Everyone gets an Elder Scrolls game! Tamriel Infinium: Everyone gets an Elder Scrolls game! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EU's Age of Wulin offers FAQ and early character creation for closed beta Posted: 14 Jun 2013 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Age of Wushu The European cousin to Age of Wushu, the martial arts sandbox already released in North America, is finally cracking open its beta doors to let in select players next week. That's right: Age of Wulin starts closed beta on Monday, June 17th. But eligible testers needn't wait until then to make their characters; gPotato has enabled access to the launcher until the evening of the 15th to let players create their avatars and reserve their names. Players should note that CBT characters will be wiped for when beta opens to all. Got other questions about Age of Wulin's upcoming closed beta? If so, gPotato has some answers via its new FAQ. For instance, this closed beta will be short but all players will enjoy full VIP status. Another important item to note is that AoW will not have an NDA; players are welcome to talk about, review, livestream, and share their in-game experiences with others. And for those who haven't yet received a closed beta key, don't worry -- more were sent out today. While checking your email, catch the closed beta trailer after the break. [Thanks to mad283 for the tip!] Continue reading EU's Age of Wulin offers FAQ and early character creation for closed beta EU's Age of Wulin offers FAQ and early character creation for closed beta originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Closed beta FAQ, Character creation announcement

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MMORPG News

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• Guild Wars 2: Mist League Kicks Off TODAY!
• General: Pop Culture in World Building
• Elder Scrolls Online: Talking PVP with Brian Wheeler
• General: Game Vision and Paying for It

Guild Wars 2: Mist League Kicks Off TODAY! Posted: 15 Jun 2013 07:20 AM PDT Join Mist League and MMORPG.com for today's Guild Wars 2 tournament slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. PDT / 2:00 p.m. EDT. We've got all the details in one spot for your handy reference.

General: Pop Culture in World Building Posted: 13 Jun 2013 04:52 PM PDT Pop culture defines much of our daily life, from the music we hear to the TV shows we watch to the games we play. But do games adequately represent pop culture? Find out what we think in today's Fair Game. Head to the comments to continue the discussion.

Elder Scrolls Online: Talking PVP with Brian Wheeler Posted: 14 Jun 2013 09:16 AM PDT At this year's E3, it was announced that Elder Scrolls Online would be coming to the major consoles of Xbox One and PS4 next year, and that the main PC version of the game would be pushed back to Spring 2014 as well. We caught up with PVP Lead Brian Wheeler to talk about all of this, but more importantly, how the Alliance vs. Alliance warfare is coming along.

General: Game Vision and Paying for It Posted: 13 Jun 2013 04:42 PM PDT Today's MMOs seem to fall into one of two categories: Games seeking a long-term audience that require long-term commitment on the part of developers and games seeking to entertain millions for short periods of time that require short bursts of development. In today's Devil's Advocate, we look at the way games seem to be getting developed these days. Read on and then leave your thoughts in the comments.

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