| Bridging the gap between casual and pro at the Chicago Dota 2 Winter Open Posted: 31 Dec 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Events (Real-World), Interviews, MMO Industry, PvP, Free-to-Play, Massively Meta, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, MOBA At Ignite Gaming Lounge in Chicago, Illinois, the crowd is losing its mind. It's grand finals of the Chicago Dota 2 Winter Open, a two-day, double-elimination, 16-team throwdown, and for some reason someone has just picked Meepo. For those of you who aren't in the Dota 2 loop, suffice to say that Meepo isn't a standard hero pick for a tournament. Picking Meepo in a match with $1,000 on the line is a lot like jumping out of a plane and wishing for a parachute -- an incredible, amazing story if it works and an embarrassing, painful death if it doesn't, with the odds heavily on the latter. The announcers, broadcasting the match simultaneously on Dota TV ( Dota 2's in-game spectating client) and Twitch, are dumbfounded. The chat channels are exploding. And as everyone witnesses the Meepo gamble pay off in the most incredible way, the excitement only expands and intensifies. But perhaps what's most special about this Meepo pick, about this final game between two local teams that have bested challenger after challenger, is not the risky strategy or the money on the line. What's special is that anyone is watching it at all. Continue reading Bridging the gap between casual and pro at the Chicago Dota 2 Winter Open  Bridging the gap between casual and pro at the Chicago Dota 2 Winter Open originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 Dec 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| McQuaid tweets teaser pic for his mystery MMO Posted: 31 Dec 2013 07:00 AM PST |
| The Daily Grind: What are your gaming resolutions for 2014? Posted: 31 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Finally, 2013 is almost over. It feels like it went on for, like, a dozen months. And that means we all have a chance to look back at the past year, assess what we've done, and ask ourselves how we can make the next year even better. At least in terms of gaming; we can't really help you on the usual string of resolutions meant to make you a better person that wind up discarded by 8:00 p.m. on January 2nd. Maybe you spent most of 2013 hopping through games and want to settle down more firmly this year. Maybe you want 2014 to be the year that you finally give World of Warcraft or EVE Online a decent shot at catching your interest. Heck, maybe your major resolution is figuring out how you're going to balance four or five different games at the same time. So what are your gaming resolutions for 2014?  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 are your gaming resolutions for 2014? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 Dec 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Not So Massively: Diablo III's Nephalem Rifts, PoE season six, and Firefall's ex-CEO comes under fire Posted: 30 Dec 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Video, Culture, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, PvE, Casual, Dev Diaries, Miscellaneous, Not So Massively, Sandbox, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Firefall, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Path of Exile There's just one day left to sign up to Star Citizen's Next Great Starship game modding competition, and 198 teams have signed up to compete. Following the recent delay of the dogfighting module, players who missed the livestream got an early peek at the delayed and buggy combat gameplay when the full video was uploaded to YouTube this week. League of Legends was hit with its own scary bug this week that appears to make players on the other team teleport across the map toward you. Blizzard has now confirmed that the Nephalem Rifts feature coming to Diablo III will now be exclusive to Reaper of Souls expansion holders rather than the free update accompanying the game. Path of Exile developer Grinding Gear Games announced that its sixth race season will begin on January 10th, and players have recently discovered some odd stats spawning on fishing pole items originally thought to be worthless. And Firefall's ex-CEO Mark Kern defended himself on Twitter this week, stating that he wasn't fired but instead resigned after losing his status as CEO. Developers working under Mark have been writing about their discontentment with his command style this week on Glassdor and Reddit. Continue reading Not So Massively: Diablo III's Nephalem Rifts, PoE season six, and Firefall's ex-CEO comes under fire Not So Massively: Diablo III's Nephalem Rifts, PoE season six, and Firefall's ex-CEO comes under fire originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Dec 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Exploring the wilds of Allods Online Posted: 30 Dec 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, PvE, Free-to-Play, Massively Meta, Hands-On, Choose My Adventure, Allods Online, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team, Subscription, MMORPG Last week's Choose My Adventure votes are in, and the community has elected to send Massively's Mike Foster on the path of exploration in Allods Online. In tonight's stream, Mike will be looking carefully at Allods's art design, checking out as many zones as he can at a low level, and talking with viewers about how Allods differs from other fantasy titles. The action starts at 7:00 p.m. EST. Game: Allods Online Host: Mike Foster Date: Monday, December 30th, 2013 Time: 7:00 P.M. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Exploring the wilds of Allods Online The Stream Team: Exploring the wilds of Allods Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Dec 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's year in review Posted: 30 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), Expansions, Patches, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Captain's Log We've reached the end of 2013 and once again it's time to take a look back at the past year in Star Trek Online to see what has been successful and what missed the mark. I have to say that this year has been the most active that the game has seen since its launch almost four years ago. There's a lot to cover, so I'll just get right to it. A new mission, a new ship, and a familiar voice The game's third anniversary saw a new featured episode accompany the usual Q-instigated frivolity. The mission called Temporal Ambassador included the familiar voice of actress Denise Crosby, whose character, Tasha Yar from Star Trek: The Next Generation, was brought back along with the long-awaited Ambassador Class ship. The ship became the mission reward, continuing Star Trek Online's tradition of providing players with a new vessel during the game's anniversary event. While many of us had hoped that Crosby might be heard again as her other character, the Romulan Tal Shiar Operative Sela, I don't think many of us were truly expecting what was to come. Continue reading Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's year in review Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's year in review originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Dec 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Playing Istaria with dev team members Posted: 30 Dec 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Patches, Free-to-Play, Races, Livestream, Anniversaries, The Stream Team, Buy-to-Play It's the 10th anniversary of Istaria, the classic MMORPG that allows players to play as dragons! Massively's Beau Hindman is going to dive in with members of the developer team to check out some of the new content and to revisit the old! Game: Istaria Host: Beau Hindman Date: Monday, December 30th, 2013 Time: 4:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Playing Istaria with dev team members The Stream Team: Playing Istaria with dev team members originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Dec 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Lunia goes offline on January 1st Posted: 30 Dec 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sunsets, MMORPG It's been a rough year for MMOs, with several high profile titles going dark over the last 12 months. Unfortunately, it looks as though 2013 has a last-minute casualty to add to the pile in the form of Lunia, the free-to-play action-arcade RPG from All-M. According to an update on the game's official Facebook page, Lunia will be taken down permanently on January 1st, 2014. The game's website is also set to be disabled on the same date. Fans of Lunia can still share memories via the Lunia Facebook page, which will remain open even after the game's servers power down. [Thanks to Mehighlow for the tip!] Lunia goes offline on January 1st originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Dec 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Chaos Theory: Cramming your Krampus in before TSW's holidays end Posted: 30 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Events (In-Game), Opinion, Chaos Theory, Buy-to-Play Christmas 2013 -- it's quite a different experience in The Secret World than in other MMORPGs. Instead of offering some colorful cutesy characters based on the jolliest aspects of the season, TSW's festivities draw on the darkest parts of our lore to bring you a Christmas devil, a demoness, and undead Mayans. The only carol you hear is a twisted Jingle Bells whispered in the hellish Niflheim dimension, though wave after wave of horny Hel jokes fill the air. But even with all the differences, one thing is definitely the same: the stress of running around trying to get things done in time! As much as I am grateful that a form of last year's End of Days event has returned ( I did ask for it after all), the fact that there are three events -- A Mother of a Season, Ever-Ending Days, and Whispering Tide -- happening simultaneously is a bit overwhelming. Add the whole real-life part of the holiday season to the evil RNG, and I am truly scrambling to complete my holiday wish list of pets, achievements, and apparel. I am even struggling to get the lore. (And you know that makes for a very unhappy MJ!) Luckily, the holiday events don't end until January 2nd, so I am going to make a push to finish up as much as I can. If you happen to be in the same boat, here are a few hints to help wrap it all up. If, however, you are one of those people who got everything done early, feel free to skip to the end where I have penned a more appropriate take on a holiday favorite in honor of the season. Hopefully it will become a new cherished tradition! Continue reading Chaos Theory: Cramming your Krampus in before TSW's holidays end Chaos Theory: Cramming your Krampus in before TSW's holidays end originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Dec 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Designing Star Citizen's MISC Freelancer Posted: 30 Dec 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play Last December, Star Citizen showed off the prototype for the MISC Freelancer ship, a transport vessel with a community-approved design. Now, virtual pilots can take a slideshow stroll through the artistic development process that has gone into taking this ship from concept to final product over the past year. Check out the early renderings and the newest images while following along with the written narrative where developers discuss everything from basic features (like cargo hold placement and weaponry) to the minute details of interior decorations (like the style of seats installed). With 33 panels of images in this Work In Progress update, it's almost like getting a personal tour of the ship. Designing Star Citizen's MISC Freelancer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Dec 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This is an apparent first for Steam
A money saving plan for bachelors
Nothing is out of bounds
A Mantle patch is coming, but bug stomping takes top priority
