| Rise and Shiny: Revisiting EverQuest at level 65 Posted: 09 Jun 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Video, EverQuest, Culture, Game Mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Casual, Rise and Shiny, Livestream, Sandbox EverQuest is one of those titles that just won't go away. I mean that in the best possible way, of course. After 15 years and 19 (yes, 19!) expansions, it's possible that I could be writing about this game a decade from now. And why not? I just spent a month covering MUDs, some of them 20 years old, so why couldn't a game with such a rich history and loyal playerbase as EverQuest's stick around, well, forever? I started playing around 2000 or 2001. I didn't catch on to it as much as my wife and soon was back in Ultima Online and later titles like City of Heroes. I have always kept up with EverQuest while still feeling a bit left behind because I didn't stay with it from the beginning. I am so jealous of a player who has actively played any game for 15 years. The character he or she has built has a wonderful story to tell! Well, I decided this week was time to finally try to get back into EverQuest. What I found wasn't really surprising because I had kept up with the game's developments and played here and there, but the community and the gameplay definitely caught me off guard. Continue reading Rise and Shiny: Revisiting EverQuest at level 65  Rise and Shiny: Revisiting EverQuest at level 65 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: March beneath the raptor's wings Posted: 09 Jun 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Screenshots, Star Trek Online, Vanguard, Guild Wars 2, One Shots, Humor, DC Universe Online, Miscellaneous Man, it's downright shadowy underneath the raptor's wings! Reader Draxos is kicking off our player screenshot exhibition this week with an interestingly lit picture from Star Trek Online's new expansion. "This picture is of my new Romulan character inside a Romulan space station that was having a few ... issues," Draxos wrote in. "When the lights suddenly go out in a space station, you become thankful for the brightness outside the window because then at least there is some chance of seeing what may now be lurking within the darkness. Although you could say that my Reman crew members are the true ones to be fearful of in the dark." Couldn't you use the Borg's head as a flashlight? That's what I would do. Join us for more shadowy flights into dangerous worlds of characters who do not exist in today's One Shots! Continue reading One Shots: March beneath the raptor's wings One Shots: March beneath the raptor's wings originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you subscribe for loyalty bonuses? Posted: 09 Jun 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business Models, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Subscription Just because a game labels itself free-to-play doesn't mean that it lacks the option to subscribe. In fact, many so-called F2P titles offer a hybrid business model that seeks to attract the bees with the free honey and convince them to eventually rent out a spot on the honeycomb. As a frugal eagle, I don't like to subscribe if I can help it. Yet once in a while I do, either to support the game or (far more likely) to nab some of those sweet loyalty bonuses that subscribers get. Whether it's extra currency, boosts, cosmetic items, or that fancy forum title that makes me the envy of absolutely no one, subscription has its perks. So do you subscribe to an MMO to enjoy those extra frills? Are you eager to see what the next round of veteran rewards will give to you?  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 subscribe for loyalty bonuses? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively Exclusive: Aion 4.0 videos showcase new classes and skills Posted: 08 Jun 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Aion, Classes, Expansions, Free-to-Play The clock is ticking down, and the wait for Aion 4.0 is almost over. But eager Daevas don't have to sit and twiddle their wings until June 26th to see the new classes in action; NCsoft offered Massively a sneak peek with a new trailer depicting the Gunslinger toting guns galore (from pistols to aethercannons) and the Songweaver, who packs a mean treble clef and can heal mana. If you want to blast holes in your opponents or turn them into dancing penguins, this is the video for you. Not interested in a new class? Then how about getting a gander at the new skills coming to the tried and true classes! There's something new for everyone as Daevas advance up to level 65. Take a look at those skills in the second video beyond the break. [Source: NCsoft press release] Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Aion 4.0 videos showcase new classes and skills Massively Exclusive: Aion 4.0 videos showcase new classes and skills originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Tattered Notebook: There's too much to do in EverQuest II! Posted: 08 Jun 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Economy, Game Mechanics, Lore, Opinion, Roleplaying, The Tattered Notebook, Dungeons, Crafting, Housing, Player-Generated Content For this latest Tattered Notebook, I'd already planned -- and in fact was in the middle of -- writing impressions of Scars of the Awakened, EverQuest II's most recent meaty update. I've collected a slew of notes taken from the adventurer and crafter questlines, including some tips and time-saving tricks. But amidst all that intense update research (I gladly sacrifice myself for you guys!), I got distracted. And no, it wasn't by a shiny! You see, although the land of Cobalt Scar opened up just over a month ago, I've been pulled away and unable to complete everything I want to in that zone. Why? Because in that same time, there have been multiple city festivals, a round of Moonlight Enchantments (with new quests and brand-new housing items that were a must have), a double XP weekend that just begged for some serious crafting advancement, a commissioned housing project to complete, personal houses to decorate, old quests to finally finish up... and that was just to start! As the guilt for not finishing the entirety of GU66 settled in, friends who weren't as high-level as I wanted to play together in areas they had access to, which coincidentally did not include the latest update. So off I ran through older zones and dungeons with lower-leveled friends. Needless to say, my in-game adventures of late have stretched all over the map of Norrath. Sounds busy, no? It was during all this that I had to finally lay my delusions of finishing everything I have planned before EverQuest Next to rest; there's just too much to do in EQII! Continue reading Tattered Notebook: There's too much to do in EverQuest II! Tattered Notebook: There's too much to do in EverQuest II! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: Summing up Final Fantasy XIV beta phase 1 and 2 Posted: 08 Jun 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Lore, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log, Subscription Whenever I try to summarize what it is I find so special about Final Fantasy XIV, I find myself at a loss. It's not just the game mechanics, it's not just the setting, and it's not just a history of roleplaying that's stretched for the entirety of the game's history. So trying to summarize the first two beta phases is going to be difficult. I've hit all of the major points of the beta already, both the points of divergence and the points of similarity from my big tour back in February. But there are little dribs and drabs here and there that I haven't yet touched upon, things that I feel are relevant to the beta test of Final Fantasy XIV even if they don't fit into an individual column. So this is the conclusion. This time next week, we'll be awash in E3 news, so there's no finer time to wrap up my beta musings than now. Continue reading The Mog Log: Summing up Final Fantasy XIV beta phase 1 and 2 The Mog Log: Summing up Final Fantasy XIV beta phase 1 and 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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