MMO Updates

MMO Updates


Black Gold's Chinese business model built on loot locks

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT

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Black Gold's Chinese business model built on loot locks
Black Gold Online, Snail Games' steampunk followup to Age of Wushu, has announced the business model for its upcoming Chinese release. It's not subscription-based, but it's not traditional free-to-play or buy-to-play, either. What exactly is it, then?

The only word that springs to mind is strange, since the model relies on some sort of inventory- and loot-locking system. According to MMO Culture, the game automatically locks your loot on an hourly basis. Some looted items will actually be looted and available in your inventory, while others will be locked. To unlock them, you'll need to purchase in-game gold using real-life cash.

There's also an RNG element which may result in unlock discounts or possibly freely unlockable items. You can see a Chinese-language video of the business model in action after the break.

Continue reading Black Gold's Chinese business model built on loot locks

MassivelyBlack Gold's Chinese business model built on loot locks originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Molten Games picks up NCsoft funding, former Blizzard and SOE execs

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 09:00 AM PDT

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Molten Games picks up NCsoft funding, former Blizzard and SOE execs
NCSoft and Molten Games want you to know about... Molten Games. What is Molten Games? It's a new San Diego-based company that says it's "focused on breaking free from the traditional developer/publisher relationship and putting gameplay first and foremost."

That's nice, we hear some of you saying, but why should you care? According to Molten, you should care for two reasons. Number one, the firm has secured a multi-million dollar investment nest egg from NCSoft. Reason number two, or more accurately, reasons two, three, and four, are team members Paul Della Bitta, former global head of e-sports and community at Blizzard, Jungwon Hahn, former head of Blizzard's Korean office, and Blaine Smith, former senior producer at SOE and a veteran of Relic's Company of Heroes and Dawn of War franchises.

So, there you go. Molten says it will release information pertaining to its first online game "at a later date."

[Source: Molten press release]

MassivelyMolten Games picks up NCsoft funding, former Blizzard and SOE execs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Free for All: Recapping the first three Mabinogi: Iria Saga chapters

    Posted: 24 Jul 2013 08:00 AM PDT

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    Mabinogi screenshot
    If you want some epic scale in your MMO, you really should be playing along with the Mabinogi Saga Iria content. It's a twelve-parter (currently on chapter four) and I've been enjoying it alongside Mabinogi Community Manager Sabina, live every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. EDT on our livestream page. Unfortunately, most of the content is instanced and story-driven so Sabina cannot jump in with me to kill mobs and gain glory, but it's been fun to have her there to take questions from the chat room and to answer many of my own questions.

    But, what is the Saga Iria? Well, it's complicated. I have to admit that I do not have all the answers, and I hope to remain in the dark for a while. Stories are more fun when you don't know the ending. Still, I'm going to recap what I know so far, and share my live videos with you in case you missed them before! Also, be sure to tune in to our exclusive trailer releases! We will show you the next chapter trailer before anyone else!

    Spoiler alert: There are videos and short walkthroughs past the cut, so if you do not want to know what happens or have not played through some of these older chapters, don't read on. Please note that my hour-long livestreams are usually not long enough to fit in an entire chapter, as well, so you might miss some of the action on the tail-end.

    Continue reading Free for All: Recapping the first three Mabinogi: Iria Saga chapters

    MassivelyFree for All: Recapping the first three Mabinogi: Iria Saga chapters originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Vendetta Online now compatible with Oculus Rift

      Posted: 24 Jul 2013 07:00 AM PDT

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      Vendetta Online now compatible with Oculus Rift
      Guild Software has announced the debut of Oculus Rift compatibility with Vendetta Online, the company's long-running space-based MMORPG. While genre heavyweights like EVE Online and Star Citizen are experimenting with Rift, Vendetta "marks the first time a live MMORPG has officially released support" for the virtual reality tech, according to a Guild press release.

      Vendetta's Rift release coincides with a significant graphics update which brings more detailed planets and procedural nebulas to the game.

      Vendetta's space trading and real-time combat gameplay is available on a huge variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and OUYA. "For the moment, [Rift] support is limited to the Windows version of our game, but we intend to expand this to other platforms with device compatibility," said Guild founder and creative director John Bergman.

      [Source: Vendetta press release]

      MassivelyVendetta Online now compatible with Oculus Rift originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Daily Grind: What out-of-the-way secrets have you found?

        Posted: 24 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT

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        The Daily Grind What outoftheway secrets have you found
        We all know that the cardinal rule of exploration in any video game is to check under every waterfall for a secret passage. That's a given. But true exploration shouldn't stop with a wet dip and a slow-motion hair flip as we emerge sparkling into the sun. Developers have been hiding funny or interesting little secrets in out-of-the-way spots for years -- and MMOs are a prime example of this.

        I recently read a piece on Warhammer Online that reminded me how the developers used to watch beta testers do all sorts of acrobatics to get to hard-to-reach locations in the game. Instead of stopping them from doing so, the devs put special bosses or other secrets in these locations to reward exploration.

        I'm sure you've discovered many secrets when you've gone off the beaten path in MMOs. I, for one, would love to hear about them. Share, please?

        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!

        MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What out-of-the-way secrets have you found? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Star Conflict adds a fleet of tier five ships

          Posted: 23 Jul 2013 06:00 PM PDT

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          Star Conflict a go for open beta patch 09
          While it soft launched on Steam a while back, Star Conflict is still in technical beta, awaiting a technical kiss from a technical prince to become an officially released game. The strategic space sim hasn't been biding its time doing nothing, however; Star Conflict just released patch 0.9.0, and with it, a new tier of ships.

          Players can check out the new tier five ships, which include 27 fun varieties and complementing implants. All ships are less expensive and will be easier to visually customize now, with cheaper prices for decals and colors.

          Other improvements rolled out in patch 0.9.0 include a redesigned weapons system, a better PvE menu, new hangers, and a cool PvE mission that challenges pilots to attack a pirate space station and rescue a few scientists.

          MassivelyStar Conflict adds a fleet of tier five ships originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Jukebox Heroes: TUG and crowdsourcing soundtracks

          Posted: 23 Jul 2013 05:00 PM PDT

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          Jukebox Heroes TUG and crowdsourcing soundtracks
          While I'm still reasonably wary of Kickstarter and the pie-in-the-sky promises that have come out of these fundraisers, I can't deny that there have been potentially exciting ideas out there, especially in the field of MMO music.

          For starters, we might one day see Anthymn, a fantasy MMO completely based around music. It's a notion so breathtakingly cool that I fear it might never see the light of day while thousands of been-there-killed-that titles trudge into existence. But talking with the creators of that game really drove home the fact that music is such an integral part of our lives and can hold a similar place of honor in our virtual worlds.

          And then there's TUG, another quirky Kickstarter prodigy, which demonstrated how music and sounds can be used as social glue to pull people together. It showed us this with a wordless video that got its point across perfectly. Now TUG's devs are throwing out a different idea concerning music: Why not outsource some of the game's soundtrack... to the fans themselves?

          Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: TUG and crowdsourcing soundtracks

          MassivelyJukebox Heroes: TUG and crowdsourcing soundtracks originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            The Soapbox: A new mode of interaction

            Posted: 23 Jul 2013 04:00 PM PDT

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            Guild Wars 2
            Video games are, by definition, an interactive medium. The entire point of playing a video game is that you get to explore the world, talk to the characters, slay the monsters, and reap the rewards. And you do all this with a keyboard and mouse or controller or futuristic headset or whatever. Players are in charge; players create their own experience.

            Every video game ever released hinges on player interaction to tell its story. Without the player, a game's inhabitants are meaningless pixels guarding empty checkpoints, staggering through the woods with a groan, or walking in endless circles selling bread.

            In order for a game to function, players must be able to interact with it. The only question is how.

            Continue reading The Soapbox: A new mode of interaction

            MassivelyThe Soapbox: A new mode of interaction originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Check out a day in the life of a KingsIsle artist

              Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:30 PM PDT

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              Check out a day in the life of a KingsIsle artist
              What's it like to be an artist working on one of the more visually imaginative MMOs out there? Just ask Melissa Preston, the art lead for Pirate101 who wrote an article looking at what a typical day entails in her job.

              She says that one of her favorite parts of the day is reviewing the art book to see progress being made: "All of the pieces have to work together to tell a story and they need to be believable in the same world."

              Much of Preston's job is coordinating between departments and her own team to make sure that everything syncs up. She also provides a few pieces of concept art with explanation as to the stories behind each. It's an interesting job that doesn't always get the spotlight in the way that other developer positions do, so check it out and learn a thing or two about what artists do for MMOs!

              MassivelyCheck out a day in the life of a KingsIsle artist originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR PvP rant 2013

              Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:00 PM PDT

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              Hyperspace Beacon SWTOR PvP rant 2013
              I will not pretend that I see the whole picture. All I can see is the situation presented to me. And from my perspective, PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic is broken. This decision doesn't come lightly. I don't believe that I'm making a hyperbolic statement, either. The flaws within SWTOR PvP exceed and trample on the positive parts of the PvP game. Despite being one of the most balanced and fun parts of the game in December of 2011, changes to the system have caused this part of the game to become less and less fun over time.

              What happened? If PvP used to be enjoyable and now it's just a drag, what changed? The unfortunate answer to that question isn't a simple one. We can't point to one action or one flaw that broke the system that everyone used to enjoy. I went so far as to say that the team at BioWare needs to stop working on PvP because it's taking the team away from expanding on the things that actually work. In fact, PvP changes ruined high-end PvE for some classes like Shadow/Assassin tanks. From my perspective, the team working on PvP is focused on the wrong aspects of the game. I will break it down the best I can.

              Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR PvP rant 2013

              MassivelyHyperspace Beacon: SWTOR PvP rant 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                Star Trek Online ships veteran rewards to Romulans

                Posted: 23 Jul 2013 02:30 PM PDT

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                Star Trek Online ships veteran rewards to Romulans
                Star Trek Online's veteran reward program is expanding to compensate for the influx of Romulans into the mix. Starting today, Cryptic Studios has added several new Romulan-themed rewards for players who have subscribed for a good amount of time.

                The rewards start at 200 days and go up to 1,000 days. At the lower end are snappy uniforms and a zippy little small craft, while the senior veterans are looking at an exclusive material option to change the skin of their ship. At the top of the reward tier is the powerful Daeinos-class heavy warbird. This ship comes with the option to switch between regenerative and tactical modes, offering a flexible approach to battles.

                The Romulan veteran rewards will roll out on July 25th, and lifetime subscribers will receive all of them regardless of the date on which they purchased the pass.

                MassivelyStar Trek Online ships veteran rewards to Romulans originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                Former Defiance executive producer no longer with Trion [Updated]

                Posted: 23 Jul 2013 02:00 PM PDT

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                Rumor - Defiance executive producer leaves Trion
                Nathan Richardsson no longer works for Trion Worlds, according to an entry on his LinkedIn profile. The MMO industry veteran served as Defiance's VP of Development and its Executive Producer beginning in October, 2012.

                Prior to that, Richardsson was a CCP board member and held various producer jobs on EVE Online from 2002 through 2012.

                The LinkedIn entry lists Richardsson's Trion tenure under the "past" subheading, and it also mentions an ending date of July, 2013. Massively confirmed Richardsson's departure with Trion earlier this afternoon, but the company declined to comment further.

                [Update]: New Defiance executive producer Chris Lena has penned an introductory blog post.

                [Thanks to our tipsters!]

                MassivelyFormer Defiance executive producer no longer with Trion [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                MechWarrior Online launches Sarah's Jenner in honor of 5-year-old cancer victim

                Posted: 23 Jul 2013 01:30 PM PDT

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                Never has a machine been so immune to criticism.
                Five-year-old Sarah Parries loved the Jenner in MechWarrior Online. She and her father would sit and play the game, with Sarah loving the streak SRM variant so that she could lock on and move quickly. Unfortunately, Sarah was a victim of cancer, but her story made an impact on the developers of MechWarrior Online and led to the creation of a new champion 'Mech crafted in her image, the appropriately named Sarah's Jenner.

                Sarah's Jenner will set you back $10, but the team at Piranha Games won't be seeing a nickel of it. Minus sales tax, all of the proceeds from the sale of this 'Mech will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society, supporting others suffering from the same ailment as the girl who inspired this decor. You can take a look at the machine in action just past the break, and if you're an experienced 'Mech pilot you should consider picking up a special machine to honor an unfortunate victim.

                [Source: Piranha Games press release]

                Continue reading MechWarrior Online launches Sarah's Jenner in honor of 5-year-old cancer victim

                MassivelyMechWarrior Online launches Sarah's Jenner in honor of 5-year-old cancer victim originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                Support your candidate in Guild Wars 2's Cutthroat Politics

                Posted: 23 Jul 2013 01:00 PM PDT

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                This is something less than a useful debate regarding policy.
                It's election time in Tyria, and the most important part of political discourse has already gripped fans of Guild Wars 2, as social media lights up with threads supporting one candidate and denigrating the other. But this election will not be won on the basis of whether Ellen Kiel or Evon Gnashblade get more upvotes on Reddit; it will come down to which candidate gets more adventurers to vote in-game. And as it turns out, there are a lot of ways to make sure your vote counts again and again.

                Players will receive one Support Token automatically and can acquire more through dungeons, PvP, and several special bits of content directly tied to the event, including the new Candidate Trials. Turning in a Support Token for one candidate or the other rewards you with a Representation Button, which counts toward several achievements. So get out there to be counted and vote for your preferred candidate with good old-fashioned adventuring.

                MassivelySupport your candidate in Guild Wars 2's Cutthroat Politics originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                Massively exclusive: Hands-on with ArcheAge's Japanese open beta

                Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:00 PM PDT

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                Massively exclusive Handson with ArcheAge's Japanese open beta
                So Japan recently had it's ArcheAge open beta, and the Massively crew was kind enough to allow me to write a bit about my experience. As a close follower of the game and someone who played a little in the closed Korean beta, there is a lot I could write about, but I'm going to try to limit this primarily to Japanese localization and what that may mean for westerners.

                While the game has gotten a lot of coverage for an imported MMO that only recently started western beta recruitment, I feel like some readers have missed important details about AA that I'd like to address. This may build or break hype, but I've thought long and hard about what I'm about to say, and I think it deserves mentioning: ArcheAge is to sandboxes what World of Warcraft was to themeparks.

                Continue reading Massively exclusive: Hands-on with ArcheAge's Japanese open beta

                MassivelyMassively exclusive: Hands-on with ArcheAge's Japanese open beta originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                  Darkness Dawns takes the EverQuest II story to new heights today

                  Posted: 23 Jul 2013 11:00 AM PDT

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                  EQII  embargo Tue  1 pm edt

                  While many eyes are turned toward Las Vegas in anticipation of big reveals next week, EverQuest II fans get to sink their teeth into a meaty update to help them pass the time until the convention. Darkness Dawns, the continuation of the story developed throughout the previous Scars of the Awakened update, hits servers today.

                  What in GU67 could possibly distract players from thoughts of SOE Live? How about four fabled Desert of Flames dungeons retooled for the max-level crowd, a more flexible AA system, new PvP rewards, more tradeskill apprentice items, three new contested god avatars, a special raid arena, improved inventory management (yay for personal depots!), daily objectives, and -- in the words of Producer Holly Longdale -- "one of most epic events in game."

                  Sounds like a bit to take in, doesn't it? And that's just scratching the surface. Thanks to a tour hosted by Longdale, Creative Director Akil Hooper, Lead Designer Kyle Vallee, and Designer Carlos Mora, I was treated to a preview of EQII's newest features and learned a few extra tidbits to pass along as well as the update trailer (which you can see here as well!).

                  Continue reading Darkness Dawns takes the EverQuest II story to new heights today

                  MassivelyDarkness Dawns takes the EverQuest II story to new heights today originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                    MMORPG News

                    MMORPG News


                    World of Tanks: Latest Update Deployed

                    Posted: 24 Jul 2013 03:13 AM PDT

                    Latest Update Deployed

                    Fans of British tanks will want to update World of Tanks as soon as the v8.7 version goes live. Beginning today, July 24th, players in Europe will have access to the latest update, followed by North America tomorrow and Korea on August 1st.

                    General: MMORPG.com Scheduled Downtime Tomorrow

                    Posted: 22 Jul 2013 05:03 PM PDT

                    MMORPG.com Scheduled Downtime Tomorrow

                    MMORPG.com will experience a short downtime beginning tomorrow at 6AM ET. We are moving our datacenter to a new state of the art facility. The downtime is expected to last roughly four hours.

                    MechWarrior Online: Sarah’s Mech Announced for Charity

                    Posted: 23 Jul 2013 02:14 PM PDT

                    Sarah

                    MechWarrior Online players have the chance to make a charitable donation on behalf of one of the game's youngest players, Sarah Marie Alida Parries, a cancer victim. The charity purchase of "Sarah's Mech" will see 100% of proceeds donated to the Canadian Cancer Society in her name. The special mech is $10 and is available through August 20th.

                    Age of Wushu: New Battle Arena Detailed

                    Posted: 23 Jul 2013 02:06 PM PDT

                    New Battle Arena Detailed

                    Snail Games has released a new trailer from the upcoming Age of Wushu expansion, Mount Hua. The trailer features a look at the Youyun Sixteen Prefectures Battle Arena. Interestingly, players will have to figure out what criteria they need to meet in order to join up with the Ming Volunteer Army or the Mongolia Restoration Army. Check out the video for more and then head to the Age of Wushu site.

                    General: Revival - New Sandbox MMO Announced

                    Posted: 23 Jul 2013 01:37 PM PDT

                    Revival - New Sandbox MMO Announced

                    Revival is a new sandbox MMO just announced by IllFonic. According to a new report over at ShogunGamer.com, the team is creating Revival out of a sheer love of the sandbox genre. The team is looking to create an immersive world where every single person has a hand in the way the world plays out.

                    General: The Return

                    Posted: 21 Jul 2013 06:49 PM PDT

                    The Return

                    Everyone's done it: Played a game to death and then moved on only to come back at a later date. In his latest piece, MMORPG.com columnist Matt Miller talks about "The Return" of the prodigal player. See what he's got to say before heading to the comments to tell of your "return" stories.

                    Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Beta 4 Registration Information

                    Posted: 23 Jul 2013 11:10 AM PDT

                    Beta 4 Registration Information

                    Square Enix has announced that registration for Beta 4 for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will close on July 30th. Players who previously applied and obtained access have until that date to register for the fourth beta. Players who took part in previous beta events are automatically included in this beta phase.

                    EverQuest II: The Darkness Dawns Today

                    Posted: 23 Jul 2013 06:19 AM PDT

                    The Darkness Dawns Today

                    The latest in a long string of updates to EverQuest 2, Darkness Dawns, is slated to hit live service today, July 23rd. We were able to attend a tour of Darkness Dawns and have a terrific preview to share. Read on before heading to the comments to talk about it.

                    RaiderZ: EU Service Shutting Down

                    Posted: 23 Jul 2013 09:10 AM PDT

                    EU Service Shutting Down

                    Gameforge has announced that RaiderZ is closing up shop beginning on August 3, 2013. According to the announcement, the game did not achieve the level of success that was anticipated. In addition to the announcement, the team has posted an FAQ for players.

                    Warhammer 40.000: Eternal Crusade: Speculating on the Orks

                    Posted: 21 Jul 2013 06:41 PM PDT

                    Speculating on the Orks

                    In our latest Warhammer University class, we offer some thoughts about the Orks and how important getting them right will be to the success of Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade. See why we think it's so crucial before leaving your thoughts in the comments.

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