MMO Updates

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• The Game Archaeologist: Is Turbine working on Asheron's Call 3?
• The Stream Team: Returning to Vanguard's Thestran dungeons
• WRUP: Collectible card job edition
• The Daily Grind: What's the silliest thing you've witnessed in PvP?
• Betawatch: February 15 - 21, 2014
• RIFT announces account-wide premium mounts
• The Stream Team: The Secret World's First Nightmare (dungeon)
• Here's an Elite: Dangerous alpha preview
• Looking for Guild: In preparation for Wildstar
• Star Citizen tops $39 million, eyes procedural planets and atmospheric combat
• Camelot Unchained's internal testing 'successful' so far
• Tamriel Infinium: Roleplaying in spite of The Elder Scrolls Online
• See World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor in action
• Storyboard: Manipulative tricks
• MMObility: A newbie's look at the fantastic Therian Saga

The Game Archaeologist: Is Turbine working on Asheron's Call 3? Posted: 22 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Asheron's Call, Opinion, The Game Archaeologist If you look at the list of major MMO studios, it seems as though many of them have something new in the works or recently launched a title. Sequels and sandboxes are the trendy topics of the time, garnering attention and enthusiasm from the community. And then there's Turbine. As a fan of the "powered by fans" studio and an avid player of Lord of the Rings Online, I have always kept my eye on these Bostonians. While Turbine helped lead the charge on free-to-play adaptations and has kept DDO and LotRO hopping with expansions, its last major MMO launch was 2008. The only known new game that's in the works over there is the Infinite Crisis MOBA. Or is it? What if there's another project that's being kept on the down-low, one that could be a comeback attempt to propel Turbine back into the community spotlight? What if Turbine is working on Asheron's Call 3? I have scant proof that this is so but plenty of suspicion and speculation as to why it may be the case. Plus, the possibility stirs the imagination. Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: Is Turbine working on Asheron's Call 3? The Game Archaeologist: Is Turbine working on Asheron's Call 3? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Returning to Vanguard's Thestran dungeons Posted: 22 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Vanguard, Free-to-Play, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team The trek through all of Vanguard's dungeons is a long one that spans the vast terrain of multiple continents. Thankfully, Vault of Heroes near Helgarad in Thestra has two low-level dungeons close together for players to enjoy: Cave of the Urugog and Vault of the Heroes. During the next Dungeon Tours, Massively's MJ intends to show off both of these, if not a third; if things go really well, she might even make it to Rift Seekers Torrent. Join us live at 11:00 a.m. to be a part of this latest dungeon diving expedition in Telon. Game: Vanguard Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Saturday, February 22st, 2014 Time: 11:00 a.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Returning to Vanguard's Thestran dungeons The Stream Team: Returning to Vanguard's Thestran dungeons originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Feb 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WRUP: Collectible card job edition Posted: 22 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous My wife has been getting super into collectible card games lately, so I've designed the world's first collectible card job. You perform thankless tasks that you hate for several hours, and then bad things happen if you don't have enough cards to avoid them. So after four hours of shuffling and meticulously cleaning off all your cards and aligning them in a perfect pile... oh, no. You didn't earn enough cards. Now you lose all of your cards and I take your television. I think it'll be a real winner. If you want to work another few rounds, you might be able to keep your pets. Or you could just skip on ahead to WRUP, which is the usual assortment of Massively staff members planning for the weekend. As always, let us know what you'll be up to down in the comments below. Continue reading WRUP: Collectible card job edition WRUP: Collectible card job edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Feb 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What's the silliest thing you've witnessed in PvP? Posted: 22 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, PvP, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Humor, Miscellaneous PvP is not generally thought of as something that can be silly. It's serious. It's competitive. It's engaging. And sometimes, it's also something that involves a team running out on to the field wearing holiday equipment and hiding until the other team finds them. I've run several PvP nights with my current Final Fantasy XIV free company, and while some of them are serious matches, by the end of the night we're usually just having whatever fun we can think of. That's not even counting unintentional hilarity, like avoiding death by running in circles around a column for a minute (that happened) or watching a healer in high-end PvP gear do nothing for most of the match before soloing an entire enemy team (also happened). And sometimes it's even in your favor, like when you're running a battleground in World of Warcraft and the other team barely even manages to capture one objective. So what's the silliest thing you've witnessed in PvP? 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's the silliest thing you've witnessed in PvP? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Feb 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Betawatch: February 15 - 21, 2014 Posted: 21 Feb 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, MMO Industry, News Items, Betawatch, Miscellaneous After an NDA that lasted so long it seemed poised to continue until a month after launch, The Elder Scrolls Online has finally dropped its NDA for testers, giving everyone who's played in a previous test a chance to sound off about the game. If you'd like to figure out the overall feel for the game based on that aggregate, enjoy wading through comments. Elsewhere in the MMO testing space, Holy Blade Online entered open beta (with what appears to be a cash shop); Therian Saga did likewise. Eclipse War Online hasn't actually opened up its beta yet, but the first round of closed testing is slated to start next week. What else? Oh, right, there's also the usual list of games in testing past the break. As always, let us know if there's a game whose testing phase (or the shift of same) has slipped past our notice somehow. Continue reading Betawatch: February 15 - 21, 2014 Betawatch: February 15 - 21, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

RIFT announces account-wide premium mounts Posted: 21 Feb 2014 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, RIFT Mount aficionados of Telara have reason to celebrate, as Trion Worlds has announced that RIFT's premium mounts are available account-wide. Now, all of a player's premium mounts will be available to every character on his account, regardless of which character acquired the mount in the first place. Trion has also announced that all premium mounts will be 25 percent off in the game's shop from today, February 21st, until February 23rd. For the full list of account-wide mounts, plus some notes on other features introduced in the game's latest patch, check out the full post on RIFT's official site. RIFT announces account-wide premium mounts originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: RIFT -- Premium Mounts Going Account-wide

The Stream Team: The Secret World's First Nightmare (dungeon) Posted: 21 Feb 2014 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Video, The Secret World, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team, Buy-to-Play The time has come for Massively's MJ to face the nightmares... dungeons that is! After dispatching the Gatekeeper, she's all set to delve into the hardest Secret World dungeons. Luckily for her, she has an experienced team dragging... er, leading her in. Just how different is Nightmare mode compared to Elite? Join us live at 7:00 p.m. to see as MJ visits her first ever Nightmare dungeon, Polaris. Game: The Secret World Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Friday, February 21st, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: The Secret World's First Nightmare (dungeon) The Stream Team: The Secret World's First Nightmare (dungeon) originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Here's an Elite: Dangerous alpha preview Posted: 21 Feb 2014 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Elite: Dangerous If you're curious about the Elite: Dangerous alpha but don't have an extra £200 lying about, Rock, Paper Shotgun's preview article is likely the next best thing. The first impressions are largely positive, though they're gleaned from a tiny slice of Frontier's sprawling procedurally generated space sandbox. The alpha is basically a linear series of combat missions, see. So you'll have to content yourself with voluminous amounts of prose devoted largely to the game's aesthetic. That said, the article does conclude that "sci-fi dogfighting this good is a rare treat." Here's an Elite: Dangerous alpha preview originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: RPS

Looking for Guild: In preparation for Wildstar Posted: 21 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Guilds, Miscellaneous, Looking for Guild So I guess people are pretty excited about WildStar. Once again, all entries for this LFG column consist entirely of players looking for a guild in the upcoming WildStar, and they may just have the right idea. If you're a guild leader looking to populate your guild with the smartest and possibly best-looking readers of the best MMO blogsite in the universe, you've come to the right place. Follow along after the jump for the complete list of players looking to catch the early guild train in WildStar. Continue reading Looking for Guild: In preparation for Wildstar Looking for Guild: In preparation for Wildstar originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Star Citizen tops $39 million, eyes procedural planets and atmospheric combat Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play Star Citizen's no longer hitting million-dollar crowdfunding milestones every other day, but the fledgling space sim sandbox is still making quite a lot of money. Creator Chris Roberts took to the game's official website to celebrate its $39 million take earlier today. This latest stretch goal achievement unlocks a new user-chosen star system. More importantly, Roberts announced that the next stretch goal will allow Cloud Imperium to expand the game's vision to include procedurally generated planets, ground exploration, and atmospheric combat. It's worth noting that these are far-future initiatives, though, and that the next immediate stretch goal is to fund a procedural R&D team as opposed to a concrete system. Star Citizen tops $39 million, eyes procedural planets and atmospheric combat originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: 39 million

Camelot Unchained's internal testing 'successful' so far Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, PvP, Dev Diaries, Camelot Unchained Camelot Unchained Producer Tyler Rockwell wrote a letter to the community today saying that internal testing on the MMO is going well and that the team is ready to work toward its second milestone. "We had a very successful start to internal testing," Rockwell reported. He mentioned that while Camelot Unchained's internal testing has taken place with small groups in limited environments, at one point the team had worked up to 286 players fighting in an area. With the game's first development milestone reached, Rockwell said that the team is now focused on hitting the second one. This includes work on the Depths dungeon and the Giants race. The project will also continue to refine the technical aspect: "Moving forward over the next month we'll be focusing on continued server and client performance and stability. We hope to continue adding art to the client and recently added some simple combat. The big goal is even larger numbers of people in testing with a continued frame rate of 60fps." Camelot Unchained's internal testing 'successful' so far originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Producer letter

Tamriel Infinium: Roleplaying in spite of The Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 21 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Culture, Game Mechanics, Lore, New Titles, Opinion, Roleplaying, The Elder Scrolls Online, MMORPG, Tamriel Infinium From the moment I stepped into my first MMORPG ever, I was interested in playing a character, not just some avatar of myself on the screen. I followed the Ultima universe enough to create a believable character in that world, though I didn't play as long as I would have liked. However, my second MMO, Star Wars Galaxies, made roleplay really easy. With a bushel of emotes, character animations, and activities not directly based on combat, Sony's Star Wars MMO solidified my definition of what it meant to play an MMO. Of course, after that, the new MMOs -- with too few exceptions -- stopped lending themselves to quality roleplay thanks to the World of Warcraft design model. The change in scenery didn't stop roleplayers from forming amazing communities. In spite of mechanical issues and linear questlines, the Lord of the Rings Online roleplay community thrives. Rumor has it that WoW's roleplay community actually does something besides dancing on mailboxes in Goldshire. I don't think I have to tell you how difficult it is to roleplay in Star Wars: The Old Republic, but I do it anyway. My friends and I are considering jumping into The Elder Scrolls Online not just to play the game but to attempt to roleplay in it as well. It makes us wonder whether we'll be encouraged by the game to roleplay the way we like to or will have to roleplay in spite of the game. Continue reading Tamriel Infinium: Roleplaying in spite of The Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Infinium: Roleplaying in spite of The Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

See World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor in action Posted: 21 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, Video, Expansions, Subscription We've got not one, not two, but three preview videos of World of Warcraft's upcoming expansion, Warlords of Draenor, for you Azeroth fanatics to watch today. MMO-Champion posted the videos today from a Blizzard press tour in Korea. The three videos take you on a journey with an Orc Warrior being boosted to level 90 on the Timeless Isle and a tour through several different zones in the expansion including Shadowmoon Valley. The videos have a few interesting details to gleam, including new talents, new grass animations, a toggle for the new character models, and improved map navigation. Give them a watch after the break and let us know what you think! Continue reading See World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor in action See World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor in action originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMO-Champion Via: WoW Insider

Storyboard: Manipulative tricks Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous Playing a manipulative character is kind of a minefield because you wind up falling into one of two traps. The first possibility is that you wind up not being very good at it because you aren't very manipulative. This isn't a mark against you, as none of the hallmarks of manipulation is thought of as a positive trait, but it does make your portrayal somewhat suspect. On the other hand, maybe you're great at manipulating the people around you, which starts to blur the lines between players and characters and raises some uncomfortable questions all around. So that's not fun either. Not that any of this tends to dissuade people; we love watching manipulative people, and the idea of playing one is appealing. It's a chance to make everyone dance to your tune, after all, even if it's just for a little while. So let's take a look at how you can play a manipulative character to the fullest without hurt feelings or informed traits. Continue reading Storyboard: Manipulative tricks Storyboard: Manipulative tricks originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMObility: A newbie's look at the fantastic Therian Saga Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Screenshots, Video, Economy, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Previews, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Hands-On, Casual, Roleplaying, Miscellaneous, MMObility, Sandbox, Crafting I'm tired today. I was up too late playing The Therian Saga, a new browser-based MMO by Studio Virtus. It's a seemingly simple game and might even appear to be easier than it is, but I have found these last several hours of play to be more immersive and satisfying than much of what I have played over the last several months. Essentially, the game is an in-depth representational game, meaning that most of the time you will spend your time giving commands and watching -- or waiting for long periods -- for the commands to work out. Think of the gameplay sort of like Words With Friends with some real-time combat. No, you won't be spelling against your enemies, but the pace is definitely casual with optional, faster combat. Continue reading MMObility: A newbie's look at the fantastic Therian Saga MMObility: A newbie's look at the fantastic Therian Saga originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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MMORPG News

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• World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Launch Party: Interview with Victor Kislyi & Matt Booty
• WildStar: Legend of Kel Voreth
• Marvel Heroes: Training Day Update Arrives
• Bless: Beta Days 1 & 2 Detailed with Game Play Videos
• EverQuest Next: Landmark: Need a Grappling Hook? Enter & Win!
• World of the Living Dead: Stress Test Ends, Live Service Begins
• ArcheAge: Trion Returns from Korea & XLGames Visit
• WildStar: Stormtalon's Lair: The Birth of a Corrupted God
• World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Videos Surface After Preview Event
• Rift: Premium Mounts Going Account Wide
• PlanetSide 2: Amerish Revamp Completed
• Diablo 3: Paragon 2.0 Revealed
• General: ESO vs Wildstar: NDA Free Edition
• Eldevin: Amazingly Good Stuff in a Browser MMO
• Dark Souls II: A Peek Inside a Wonderful Wicked World

World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Launch Party: Interview with Victor Kislyi & Matt Booty Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:54 PM PST This week marked the launch of mega-multiplayer hit World of Tanks on Xbox 360. At an event held in downtown San Francisco, we sat down for a chat with two of the main players behind the launch and asked them about appealing to a console audience, Wargaming's growing pains, and the pitfalls of meteoric success.

WildStar: Legend of Kel Voreth Posted: 21 Feb 2014 03:09 PM PST Nestled in the bottom corner of Auroria lies the Ruins of Kel Voreth, one of WildStar's earliest dungeons. Besides being a place for the slaughter, this Osun stronghold contains a hefty amount of hidden lore. As part of his ongoing adventure through Nexus, Gareth Harmer reveals more about this barbaric race and their ties to the mysterious Eldan.

Marvel Heroes: Training Day Update Arrives Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:33 PM PST Gazillion Entertainment has announced the release of the latest update to Marvel Heroes Online. With "Training Day", players now have access to a special holodeck that features a gauntlet-style survival mode to help players hone their battle skills. In addition, both Daredevil and Human Torch have been spruced up in both look and play. Lastly, important changes were made to items, crafting and loot.

Bless: Beta Days 1 & 2 Detailed with Game Play Videos Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:26 PM PST The Steparu.com team has posted a pair of massive previews of the Bless Online Closed Beta. The articles not only feature insightful comments about what the writer has experienced, but also, and most significantly a ton of great game play videos to show off the look and feel of the forthcoming title.

EverQuest Next: Landmark: Need a Grappling Hook? Enter & Win! Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:36 PM PST Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it will be giving away twenty-five prime EverQuest Next: Landmark grappling hooks during the forthcoming weekend. All fans need to do is enter to win. The grappling hook will only be usable during the EQNL alpha test.

World of the Living Dead: Stress Test Ends, Live Service Begins Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST Zombie killers take note! The launch day for World of the Living Dead has arrived and 10,000,000 zombies have been unleashed on Los Angeles County, California. To celebrate today's launch, Ballardia has released a new trailer and a pair of blog posts to help ease players into the game and to get them excited for what is in store.

ArcheAge: Trion Returns from Korea & XLGames Visit Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:16 PM PST Trion Worlds has updated the ArcheAge site with a new blog post that details the team's trip to Korea to visit XLGames, developers of the forthcoming MMO. The two teams spent time discussing the game and efforts to bring a quality Westernized version of ArcheAge to this side of the Pacific. In addition, this little tidbit dropped during the discussion of free-form play: You can be a Sky Pirate.

WildStar: Stormtalon's Lair: The Birth of a Corrupted God Posted: 20 Feb 2014 02:53 PM PST At the end of the valley we discover a pier like wooden structure which clearly extends deep into a cave. A swirling blue mist covers the cave entrance and if you continue, you are given the standard Dungeon Difficulty options: Normal, Veteran and Rally the Instance Level popup. You have discovered a Dungeon entrance and need to decide how you will enter.

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Videos Surface After Preview Event Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:09 PM PST Blizzard has taken the World of Warcraft show on the world in both Korea and Europe. As a result some new information, including a trio of game play videos, has surface to give players a great look at some of the new features, content, character models and more that can be found in the forthcoming Warlords of Draenor expansion due out later this year.

Rift: Premium Mounts Going Account Wide Posted: 21 Feb 2014 01:51 PM PST Trion Worlds has announced that all of Rift's premium mounts will now be available to all characters on a player's account. To celebrate the big change, all Rift mounts will be on sale from today through February 23rd at a hefty 25% off.

PlanetSide 2: Amerish Revamp Completed Posted: 21 Feb 2014 01:39 PM PST Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the PlanetSide 2 revamp of Amerish is now complete. Players fighting on Amerish will see lots of big improvements, including new base layouts and implementation of the Lattice System. "The Lattice System has been implemented, which includes repositioning of outposts and roads to optimize map flow."

Diablo 3: Paragon 2.0 Revealed Posted: 21 Feb 2014 01:32 PM PST The Diablo III website has been updated with a new blog post that lays out in great detail how the Paragon system will change when the Reaper of Souls expansion goes live next month. Alterations in the Paragon system will be available to all players whether or not the expansion is purchased.

General: ESO vs Wildstar: NDA Free Edition Posted: 20 Feb 2014 03:49 PM PST Welcome back to Player Versus Player, your bi-weekly foray into the world of MMO debate! This was a week of free speech and strong opinions. Zenimax finally saw released the NDA keeping Elder Scrolls Online fans silent and the internet has erupted is review. Our authors are free to speak their minds, we're back for a revisit. Which game will win the day: Wildstar or Elder Scrolls Online?

Eldevin: Amazingly Good Stuff in a Browser MMO Posted: 20 Feb 2014 03:22 PM PST When Bill Murphy asked if I would review Eldevin by Hunted Cow, I first took a quick look at the website. I read the words "Story Driven" and was sold. I expected a slow casual romp and told him so. He agreed. So Sylvene was born in Eldevin.

Dark Souls II: A Peek Inside a Wonderful Wicked World Posted: 20 Feb 2014 03:39 PM PST Earlier this week we were given the opportunity to play Dark Souls 2, From Software's upcoming sequel to the critically acclaimed Dark Souls. For those unfamiliar with Dark Souls it is a fantasy 3rd person RPG with a punishing learning curve based on trial and error. In today's 3 hour preview session of Dark Souls 2 I died more than 50 times, several of which were in the tutorial zone.

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