| The Mog Log Extra: Unboxing the Final Fantasy XIV collector's editions Posted: 25 Aug 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Culture, Launches, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log I barely ever buy the collector's edition of any game. That's not to say I don't like the idea, but it's hard to justify the increased cost for the same game, especially when the included bonuses aren't all that good in the first place (I don't know who decided that collector boxes should come with statues that add $100 onto the box price, but I don't like that person). The original Final Fantasy XIV collector's edition, however, was one of the games on which I spent the extra money. Not just for the heck of it, but because of early access, which was tied to the special edition back in the day. So when Square-Enix sent us a review copy of the new collector's edition, I knew that there was only one thing to be done: I needed to offer an unboxing review of this new edition. Continue reading The Mog Log Extra: Unboxing the Final Fantasy XIV collector's editions  The Mog Log Extra: Unboxing the Final Fantasy XIV collector's editions originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Aug 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: That warm pink glow Posted: 25 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Screenshots, Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars 2, One Shots, Humor, RIFT, Miscellaneous Dragons are many things in MMOs: fierce, ultimate, overplayed, gold-loving, air travel, and full of hot air. But reader Kim saw something else, something almost tender when she went up against this big fella in Guild Wars 2. "This is my favorite game because I can battle dragons," Kim writes. "Of all the dragons, the Shatterer is my favorite. Who could resist that warm pink glow? Besides, it looks like he only has eyes for me!" Imminent death is A-OK as long as it has a comforting, flirtacious glow about it. I learn something new every week from One Shots. What other lessons will I add to my brain-unit from the rest of these pictures? There's only one way to find out! Continue reading One Shots: That warm pink glow One Shots: That warm pink glow originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Aug 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Which class is the best healer? Posted: 25 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Classes, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous I don't always play a healer, but when I do, I must have the best. And when I consider the best, it's a healer that can spit out heal-over-times with machine gun-like speed. That's why I particularly loved the Druid in World of Warcraft and the Warden in RIFT. It's so dang satisfying to stack up HoTs and see my healing outpace the incoming damage. Of course, my tastes in healing aren't everyone's tastes, and I'm no expert raid healer or anything. For those who love to play combat medic, which class do you think is the best healer? Or, barring "best," which one do you simply prefer?  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: Which class is the best healer? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Aug 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Darkfall working on better chat interface and AI upgrades Posted: 24 Aug 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Patches, Previews, Dev Diaries, Subscription Darkfall is making the most of the hot summer months as the team is scrambling to finish up a few projects and keep tabs on the Asian version in testing. In a recent update letter, everyone's favorite snack chips-slash-developer Tasos Flambouras relays a list of what the team has been working on. Among the projects listed is a new chat interface, more functional clan vault logs, AI upgrades for mobs, a new Skirmisher school, and role balance. The patch to deliver some of these changes should be coming in the next month. "We're also supporting our Korean partner with the Korean and Japanese versions of Darkfall Unholy Wars," Flambouras writes. "We believe that the game has already benefited and will keep benefiting from this cooperation in the form of feedback we get, feature requests, optimizations, additional content as well as from the new perspective of a different market." [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Darkfall working on better chat interface and AI upgrades originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Aug 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Wings Over Atreia: No Aion block party for you! Posted: 24 Aug 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Events (In-Game), MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Wings Over Atreia Batten down the hatches and prepare yourselves for a storm, my friends, because I have a rant that's just waiting to burst forth! I know, I know -- it's hard to believe I am that riled up over anything in Aion. After all, I've managed a grand total of only four rants in more than three years. But I am! I am downright annoyed. Ironically, this rant also comes right when I was going to give you all the heads-up on an Aion job opportunity. It's not exactly what I'd call the best timing for NCsoft to make a blunder, but it is what it is. So what is "it" exactly? You know that big summer event block party that was advertised as going until September 4th? Well, I hope you got what you wanted out of it because the bartenders have packed up and gone home. That's right: The event ended two weeks earlier than announced. Not only did this seriously put a damper on my personal Atreian adventuring plans for the next couple of weeks, but it seriously screwed with my event guide for this week's Wings Over Atreia (no point now, right?). Even worse, "it" is the fact that Aion outright said one thing but did another. And that, my friends, just chaps my hide, ruffles my feathers, and gets my goat. The whole things leaves a sour taste in my mouth and gives the game's credibility a big fat black eye. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: No Aion block party for you! Wings Over Atreia: No Aion block party for you! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Aug 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Make My MMO: Crowdfunding August 11 - 24, 2013 Posted: 24 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Make My MMO Just when you think it will be a quiet couple of weeks on the crowdfunding scene... it isn't. Crowdfunding hopefuls seem to be following the advice of The Gambler this week: Know when to hold them, when to fold them, when to walk away, and even when to run! The funded crowd is holding steady with only a few bits of news, but two projects are on the brink of folding as they are both far short of their goals. Legends of Firestorm, on the other hand, didn't just walk away -- it high-tailed it out of Kickstarter without a word of explanation. In the meantime, two new projects ( StarCraft Universe and Enspira Online) have joined the scene. Check out the details right here. Continue reading Make My MMO: Crowdfunding August 11 - 24, 2013 Make My MMO: Crowdfunding August 11 - 24, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Aug 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Blizzard ending World of Warcraft trading card game Posted: 24 Aug 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, News Items, Trading Card Games, Miscellaneous, MMORPG Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the World of Warcraft trading card game's recently released Timewalkers: Reign of Fire expansion will be the final new set brought to the series. Timewalkers has the distinction of including every previously released rare loot card, but will mark the end of new production for the World of Warcraft TCG. Blizzard thanked its players in the announcement, noting: You made ripping open booster packs, discovering the wonders they held, and then building decks and taking them into battle a truly awesome experience. Fans of card games and Blizzard can take solace in the fact that Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, is currently cruising through closed beta and should launch later this year. Blizzard ending World of Warcraft trading card game originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Aug 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: Error 3102, please try to read this FFXIV column at a later time Posted: 24 Aug 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log I'm writing this column on Tuesday morning, with the last Final Fantasy XIV beta test a happy memory for me and many other people. Specifically, all of the people for whom the last beta test did not amount to strings of numerical errors over and over. On the podcast I mentioned that this affected a substantial number of people, something like 10% of the playerbase. I have no way of knowing how accurate that number is, and none of us does; someone estimated 20,000 people, which I suspect to be far fewer than 10% of the players, but the fact is that we don't know. Exact numbers aren't important; what does matter is that this was a pretty big problem for an event that for all intents and purposes was not a beta. I've gone back and forth debating this with some people, but the fact is that the fourth testing period wasn't a test. And these sorts of problems cannot be cropping up today, the early access day and practical launch for a lot of hopeful players. Continue reading The Mog Log: Error 3102, please try to read this FFXIV column at a later time The Mog Log: Error 3102, please try to read this FFXIV column at a later time originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Aug 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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