| Rise and Shiny revisit: Pandora Saga Posted: 17 Nov 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Video, Culture, Game Mechanics, Interviews, PvP, Opinion, War, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Humor, Rise and Shiny, Livestream It's been a while since I looked at Pandora Saga. It's been almost three years, actually. I decided to check it out again because, well, that's what this column is all about. OK, it's about revisiting games and introducing you to new titles through the eyes of a brand-newbie, but you get the point. After all this time, it was possible that the game had changed so much that it would be as if I were a brand-new player again. And in many ways, this revisit was experienced through the eyes of a newbie, but even still, I felt as if the game had not changed as much as I expected. It's a game that's great for PvP fans but might not be so great for fans of, you know, not PvP. I have no problems with fighting other players. But a game that isn't fun until after levels and levels and levels of grinding? That I have a problem with. Continue reading Rise and Shiny revisit: Pandora Saga  Rise and Shiny revisit: Pandora Saga originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 17 Nov 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Sleep-deprived corgis Posted: 17 Nov 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Screenshots, EverQuest, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, One Shots, The Secret World, RIFT, Miscellaneous Extra Life, a fundraising marathon by gamers to help sick kids, recently concluded, and several MMOs featured events to support the effort. Reader Paul was part of one of these events in RIFT, although it quickly took a turn for the surreal. "This picture is from the corgi run that took place in the last hour of Trion's event," he wrote. "Basically we were all turned into corgis (and occasionally sheep too), and we took a mini-tour around the world of Telara. Sadly my computer was not able to render everyone there, and many more people were present than my picture shows. I enjoyed myself a lot during all 25 hours and would recommend that people don't hesitate to take part in next years." Now it's sleepy-time for Paul, but that doesn't mean that you can't stay up a few extra minutes to see what lies behind the curtain of secrecy in this week's column! Continue reading One Shots: Sleep-deprived corgis One Shots: Sleep-deprived corgis originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 17 Nov 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you want to build or play content more? Posted: 17 Nov 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Crafting Imagine an MMO where you had the power to both create and consume content in equal measure. Now wake up, because you were dreaming and I'm doing a Daily Grind here. But while you're here, let's talk about EverQuest Next Landmark. Those I've talked to who are on board the Landmark train (woo! woo!) seem to be divided as to what they want to get out of the experience. There are those who just want to sit around building and making content, and there are those who would much prefer to explore and see what others are up to. It made me think of The Sims, and how there's the two sides of the title: the building and the virtual life simulator. I prefer the building more there, but some are definitely in the other camp. So if you're given a choice, would you want to either build or play content in an MMO?  Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!The Daily Grind: Do you want to build or play content more? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 17 Nov 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Wings Over Atreia: Inspiration from Aion's latest PvP tourney Posted: 16 Nov 2013 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Events (In-Game), PvP, Free-to-Play, Wings Over Atreia, Player-Generated Content There's always room for improvement, right? No matter the subject, be it your personal skills, group tactics, or your favorite game in general, all things can be bettered. That's just a part of being in an imperfect world. Aion is no different. And through a recent convergence of events, I've come up with a couple of ways NCsoft can make this PvPvE game even better (and help with player retention, too!). What precipitated my inspiration? The first thing was a comment from another player that really stuck with me; he lamented that Aion really comes into its own at the endgame. I say "lamented" here because this player was saddened that his friends couldn't make it through to the highest levels in order to experience what he considered the best aspects of the game with him. The second catalyst was Kahrun's 1v1 PvP tournament held yesterday, an event I was privileged to witness from a special vantage point. While watching the matches play out between various max-level toons, I realized exactly how Aion could capture that PvP experience and offer a taste of it to any player. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Inspiration from Aion's latest PvP tourney Wings Over Atreia: Inspiration from Aion's latest PvP tourney originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 16 Nov 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 3 - 16, 2013 Posted: 16 Nov 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Make My MMO A quiet fortnight in the land of crowdfunding these past two weeks have not been. In fact, with the popularity of this funding model, it may never be quiet again. The past two weeks have had their share of campaigns starting, campaigns closing, and campaigns obliterating goals and funding records alike. Three new prospective games have popped on the radar (including one for those with impeccable manners!), and one has disappeared. But even that game isn't gone for good; although pledges had climbed to over $86K, Trials of Ascension canceled its campaign in order to "regroup, rework, and return." Another title, City of Titans, is taking its place among the fully funded crowd. And there there is Star Citizen, which proved that a single fortnight can't go by without the game's gathering another million or two. All that information and more can be found here in Make My MMO! Continue reading Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 3 - 16, 2013 Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 3 - 16, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 16 Nov 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Video previews Helm's Deep trait changes in LotRO Posted: 16 Nov 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Previews, Free-to-Play Seeing isn't always believing; it's also understanding! Just because you know about the big class revamp that's coming with Lord of the Rings Online's Helm's Deep expansion next week doesn't mean you've wrapped your head around it completely. After all, a whole new game experience is just that: new. Luckily for us, Layanor at MMO Reporter offers a visual walkthrough of the new traits. Although the video focuses on the Hunter class, players can get an idea of the various functions available with the system. Prepare yourself for Helm's Deep with the trait preview video below and The Road to Mordor's guide to what you need to know. Continue reading Video previews Helm's Deep trait changes in LotRO Video previews Helm's Deep trait changes in LotRO originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 16 Nov 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| State of Decay's first expansion coming Black Friday Posted: 16 Nov 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Horror, Trailers, Video, Expansions, MMO Industry, Consoles, Sandbox, Buy-to-Play The zombie-riffic survival game State of Decay, just recently available to PC players in the Steam library, is getting its first ever DLC expansion in time for a Black Friday shopping spree. Undead Labs has announced that Breakdown will go on sale November 29th for $6.99 on both Steam and XBLA. Players who purchase the expansion can expect more difficulty along with new achievements and new weapons as they dive into new playable survivors. This expansion also promises less story and more survival; sounds a little bit like Black Friday, no? Check out the action in the new Breakdown trailer below. Continue reading State of Decay's first expansion coming Black Friday State of Decay's first expansion coming Black Friday originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 16 Nov 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: Everything but the endgame in Final Fantasy XIV's 2.1 Posted: 16 Nov 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Patches, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log, Housing, Subscription I can't promise to anyone that this column will not mostly be about housing. I'd like to, but I just can't make that promise. Yes, it's time to analyze Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming patch 2.1 with an eye toward something other than the various direct endgame changes. Truth be told, I think all of these features will still have a pretty big impact on the endgame landscape, but they're not going to have the direct impact of new dungeons or the like. They're going to add money, they're going to offer story, and they're going to offer a place to congregate. Worth noting is that the Lightning event currently running in Final Fantasy XIV is running until December 9th. Does that mean that patch 2.1 is dropping then? I can't say that for sure, but it would make a certain amount of logical sense. So let's turn our eyes to the patch and start speculating. Continue reading The Mog Log: Everything but the endgame in Final Fantasy XIV's 2.1 The Mog Log: Everything but the endgame in Final Fantasy XIV's 2.1 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 16 Nov 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Building a foundation in the Neverwinter Foundry Posted: 16 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Massively Meta, Hands-On, Choose My Adventure, Livestream, Neverwinter, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content Player-generated content draws many players into multiplayer games. And if you have not seen the Foundry for Neverwinter, then you need to watch this stream. Join us at 1:00 p.m. EST as Massively's Larry Everett continues building the Choose My Adventure questline that Massively readers have helped create. Game: Neverwinter Host: Larry Everett Date: Saturday, November 16th, 2013 Time: 1:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Building a foundation in the Neverwinter Foundry The Stream Team: Building a foundation in the Neverwinter Foundry originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 16 Nov 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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