MMO Updates

MMO Updates


Blizzard LFM: eSports Director needed for Blizzard All-Stars

Posted: 18 Sep 2013 10:00 AM PDT

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Blizzard LFM  eSports Director needed for Blizzard AllStars
When I say Blizzard, you say MOBA! OK, chances are that's not the first thing you think of -- or even the fifth. That's understandable; it's been a long time since any news has come out about Blizzard All-Stars. In fact, the last we heard was just that the game was in "active development," and that was back in January! What's changed since then?

While the official site has nothing new to offer, 2P.com found a recruitment listing for a director to handle Blizzard's entire eSports program. This listing specifically mentions the upcoming MOBA, showing that the game has not been completely abandoned. This should give fans some hope that the game might still see the light of day sometime. And perhaps when director is found, we'll hear even more news on the progress of the game.

[Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]

MassivelyBlizzard LFM: eSports Director needed for Blizzard All-Stars originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Sep 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WTFast service aims to slay lag

Posted: 18 Sep 2013 09:00 AM PDT

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WTFast service aims to slay lagWhen playing MMOs, there is one common beast that players dread facing no matter the game: the lag monster. One very ill-timed spike can leave a player vulnerable to attack in PvP and turn near victory into defeat or cause a missed heal or cure that cascades into a massive wipe. After getting the best internet connection in your area and upgrading to the best PC you can, what's left for a player to do? WTFast suggests using a global private network connection established for gamers only.

The WTFast service claims to improve game speed and reduce disconnects, response deviation, and lag by connecting players to game servers via Gamers Private Network (GPN), a private global data network/highway optimized for online games. The video after the break explains the premise behind the program. Can it work? If you want to find out for yourself, WTFast offers a free 30-day limited trial on the official site along with a detailed list of all the supported games.

[Source: WTFast press release]

Continue reading WTFast service aims to slay lag

MassivelyWTFast service aims to slay lag originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Sep 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Dragon's Prophet launch-day roundup

    Posted: 18 Sep 2013 08:00 AM PDT

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    Dragon's Prophet launchday roundup
    If you love dragons, chances are you've heard about Dragon's Prophet. You might have even been soaring the skies on the back of your own scaly companion already. If you haven't, there's no time like the present to get in and experience this dragon-centric title for yourself; Dragon's Prophet officially joins the ranks of launched games today.

    Of course, as much as you'd like to delve in right now you might be prevented from doing so by pesky things like work and responsibilities. That's OK -- we've got you covered if you've got to wait. We've got plenty of videos (even SUPER METAL ones), interviews, impressions pieces, and screenshots here to give you your dragon fix and tide you over until you can. You can even watch a livestreamed dev tour through the newest dungeons or a catch today's launch-day livestream at 3:00 p.m. EDT on Massively TV.

    Continue reading Dragon's Prophet launch-day roundup

    MassivelyDragon's Prophet launch-day roundup originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Sep 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      RIFT China closing in November

      Posted: 18 Sep 2013 07:00 AM PDT

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      RIFT closing in China
      According to a translation at MMO Culture, Shanda Games will be shutting down RIFT China on November 15, 2013.

      After an unsuccessful push to keep the pay-to-play model alive in China, Shanda cryptically cites "several reasons" as the purpose behind the closure. RIFT's Korean version has fared no better, closing on April 25th of this year, and recent studio closures in San Diego and Europe worry fans of the fantasy MMO.

      MassivelyRIFT China closing in November originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Sep 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      The Daily Grind: What older game deserves a graphical update?

      Posted: 18 Sep 2013 06:00 AM PDT

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      The Daily Grind What older game deserves a graphical update
      It doesn't happen often, but when classic MMOs are treated to a graphical overhaul, it feels like a cause for celebration. A couple of weeks ago we heard that Anarchy Online's long-in-development new graphics engine had started beta testing, and not so long ago RuneScape jazzed up its looks with a new iteration. It remains to be seen whether a spiffy visual overhaul will extend the life of the game and/or draw more players into the game, but it's exciting no matter what.

      Fans of older MMOs always seem to be clamoring for improved graphics, so let's make that the topic for today's discussion. What older game deserves a graphical update? Would you go back and play it if it got one?

      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 older game deserves a graphical update? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Sep 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Pirate101 begins testing on Mac client

        Posted: 17 Sep 2013 07:00 PM PDT

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        There are jokes to be made but I leave them for others to make.
        A life of adventure on the high seas is the sort of thing that appeals to everyone, even people who choose to buy a Macintosh instead of a Windows computer. That's why Pirate101 is adapting the game to a native Mac client, with the test realm version of the client available now. Players will be able to download and install the game at their leisure, although the new client is not currently hooked up to the live servers.

        There's no need to sign up for the testing, but not everyone is eligible. Active members and players who have made at least $6 worth of purchases in the last 30 days may download and try the new client; free-to-play players may not. Still, it's easy to become eligible if you really want to jump into some Mac-based piracy, so you can free your computer from having to run at least one game via Boot Camp.

        MassivelyPirate101 begins testing on Mac client originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Massively Exclusive: Reloaded Games' CEO explains APB's layoffs

        Posted: 17 Sep 2013 06:00 PM PDT

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        APB
        Massively reported earlier today the unfortunate news of layoffs at Reloaded Games' APB: Reloaded. New producer Joseph "Linus" Willmon, whom you might remember as formerly having been on the Fallen Earth crew, explained to players that at least five APB staffers had been let go but that development would continue on as planned.

        That's hard news for any community to take, but apparently players have reason to be hopeful all the same. "It's a little more complicated than just layoffs," Bjorn Book-Larsson explained to me during a phone call this afternoon. Book-Larsson is the CEO of Reloaded, part of GamersFirst's assortment of MMO studios. He told me that the layoffs are part of a restructuring that's seen not just layoffs but the movement of developers between the APB and Fallen Earth teams, the latter of which has been given significant autonomy in terms of how it manages its resources.

        Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Reloaded Games' CEO explains APB's layoffs

        MassivelyMassively Exclusive: Reloaded Games' CEO explains APB's layoffs originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Monitor your profits with Star Trek Online's newest mine project

          Posted: 17 Sep 2013 05:00 PM PDT

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          This is much better than the abacus-and-notebook system we had before.
          Dilithium mining is serious business in Star Trek Online. It's what makes a good portion of the game's economy run, after all. So how can you make sure that you're getting the most out of your mine? Well, you probably could put together a spreadsheet... or you could take part in the game's next special fleet project for the fleet dilithium mines, available from September 19th until October 3rd.

          Fleets that successfully complete this project will have a variety of monitors, consoles, and displays added throughout the mining station, thus giving the environment the air of a futuristic space facility that has bothered to invest in a few wall displays. As with previous special projects, this one will be available only for a limited time, so your fleet will want to jump on this quickly if it seems right for you -- although those displays don't actually offer any real tracking benefits, so you still might want that spreadsheet.

          MassivelyMonitor your profits with Star Trek Online's newest mine project originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Star Citizen's salvaging career unveiled

          Posted: 17 Sep 2013 04:30 PM PDT

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          Star Citizen's salvaging career unveiledDon't look now, but there's some more, ahem, feature creep coming to Star Citizen. OK, not really, but Cloud Imperium has announced the $21 million stretch goal, and it is "a major gameplay feature we have been hoping to include," according to Chris Roberts' latest letter from the chairman. The feature is salvage, and "salvage isn't an aside: It's a career with its own mechanic, story tie-ins, and universe-shaping endgames."

          The dev team has also released some new concept art of a female explorer avatar, and Roberts also takes a moment to outline the options for continuing the fundraising campaign beyond the original fully-funded mark. "The more funds we can raise in the pre-launch phase, the more we can invest in additional content and perhaps more importantly we can apply greater numbers of resources to the various tasks to ensure we deliver the full functionality sooner rather than later," he explains.

          There's currently a poll at the end of the letter that offers three options for crowdfunding continuation. As of press time, 88% of the 13,000 respondents have voted to continue crowdfunding extra features and development milestones.

          MassivelyStar Citizen's salvaging career unveiled originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Charging into the epic story of Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep

          Posted: 17 Sep 2013 04:00 PM PDT

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          Charging into the epic story of Lord of the Rings Online Helm's Deep
          It might not be anything as shocking (and, erm, incredibly slow) as hypothetical Ent play, but the epic story of Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep promises to be a grand experience to match or exceed what we've experienced before. Three new books with about 12 chapters apiece await those who dive into the expansion and charge into western Rohan.

          While the epic story has always been a mixture of Turbine's storytelling creations and Tolkien's canonical events, Helm's Deep will hew a lot more closely to the books than ever before. This is the penultimate part of The Two Towers, and the dev team wants to do it right.

          That's not to say you won't get to see your favorite secondary characters, so fret not if you're looking for more inspiration for that Nona/Horn romance novel you've been writing. It's just that they'll be taking a backseat to the major players -- and a few surprises -- as events lead us to the titular fortress and the most important battle in the game to date.

          Continue reading Charging into the epic story of Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep

          MassivelyCharging into the epic story of Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            Flameseeker Chronicles: Ain't no party like a Guild Wars 2 party 'cause a GW2 party don't stop

            Posted: 17 Sep 2013 03:00 PM PDT

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            What up guys, I'm standing beneath a giant lazer.
            There's something in the water, and it's rising. Word travels along the shore of Sparkfly Fen in terrified whispers, and the names of the beast that stalks the Splintered Coast are on every tongue:

            Tequila the Sunrise. Taco the Soft Shell. Loot Piñata.

            At the very least, poor Tequatl the Sunless will hopefully be shedding the last nickname with the upcoming Tequatl Rising content patch for Guild Wars 2. That one's kind of mean; the others are just affectionate. You know, as affectionate as we can be toward an undead servant of Zhaitan bent on subjugating all life.

            ArenaNet previewed the new and improved Tequatl fight mechanics at PAX Prime, but apart from that (and the new LFG tool and the new World vs. World mechanics), this latest GW2 release seems a little bit...quiet. I'm OK with that. In fact, it may be exactly what we need.

            Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Ain't no party like a Guild Wars 2 party 'cause a GW2 party don't stop

            MassivelyFlameseeker Chronicles: Ain't no party like a Guild Wars 2 party 'cause a GW2 party don't stop originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              LotRO's Guardians to get off-tank build

              Posted: 17 Sep 2013 02:00 PM PDT

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              LotRO's Guardians to get offtank build
              What's on deck for Lord of the Rings Online's Guardians once the expansion hits in November? A new class dev diary reveals how the heavy metal fighters are being reworked from the ground up, including a brand-new trait line for an off-tank build.

              The new trait line is Fighter of Shadow, and it uses a marking mechanic to tag mobs for future proc buffs and heals. Guardians who pursue the Fighter of Shadow will become effective off-tanks, able to block with two-handed weapons and throw out more AoE attacks than the other two builds.

              That's not to say that the other two trait lines, focusing on tanking and DPS respectively, aren't seeing some work done. The tanking Guardian will get a stacking buff that can provide mitigation to himself or his fellowship, and the DPS Guardian will become a master of bleeds.

              MassivelyLotRO's Guardians to get off-tank build originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Massively Speaking Episode 264: Change never changes

              Posted: 17 Sep 2013 01:00 PM PDT

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              Massively Speaking Episode 264
              Change. Change never changes. Except when it does and everyone freaks the heck out because why should there be change in our ever-evolving virtual worlds? On the podcast this week, Bree and Justin attempt to make sense of the chaos that is a new warchief, a "free" expansion, a shift in content delivery, and more.

              Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

              Get the podcast:
              [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
              [MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
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              Listen here on the page:



              Read below the cut for the full show notes.

              Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 264: Change never changes

              MassivelyMassively Speaking Episode 264: Change never changes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                Diablo III shutting down auction houses next March

                Posted: 17 Sep 2013 12:25 PM PDT

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                Diablo III to shut down auction house next March
                The Diablo III auction houses are being prepped for demolition next year. Blizzard announced that it will be taking down both the gold and real-money auction houses on March 18, 2014, stating that "they ultimately undermine Diablo's core gameplay."

                The studio is giving a heads-up now so that players have enough time to prepare for the change, although specific details regarding the shutdown process are still forthcoming. This announcement comes as Blizzard has been making noise about an improved "Loot 2.0" system to put more of an emphasis on killing monsters for one's gear.

                The auction houses will come down at the same time, and after they do, players will be able to trade with each other only through the trade window. You can watch the developers explain their reasoning behind this decision after the jump.

                Continue reading Diablo III shutting down auction houses next March

                MassivelyDiablo III shutting down auction houses next March originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                APB: Reloaded loses more staff, teases upcoming threat changes

                Posted: 17 Sep 2013 12:00 PM PDT

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                APB Reloaded loses more staff, teases upcoming threat changes
                As announced in the game's official forums last night, APB: Reloaded said goodbye to at least five members of the development team, including Jericho, Quinzel, Jotunblut, Revoemag, and Farfletched. This brings Joseph "Linus" Willmon up as the game's new producer.

                To help alleviate the impending concern from fans of the resurrected shooter MMO, Linus points out some new content coming down the pipe, including threat changes that will allow friends with varying threat levels to play together, and another hopeful cure to the lag and performance issues.

                Look for more information on the staff changes and upcoming content in an interview we have with GamersFirst this afternoon.

                [Thanks to everyone who tipped us on this!]

                MassivelyAPB: Reloaded loses more staff, teases upcoming threat changes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                Hyperspace Beacon: Exploring Oricon in SWTOR (Exploricon?)

                Posted: 17 Sep 2013 11:00 AM PDT

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                Hyperspace Beacon Exploring Oricon in SWTOR Exploricon
                Star Wars: The Old Republic announced a few weeks back that Update 2.4: Dread War would introduce players to not only arena PvP but also two new operations and a daily quest area by way of the planet Oricon. The next update has been sitting on the public test server for a bit over a week now, but unfortunately thanks to lag issues, I've barely been able to spend any time there. But now most of the lag seems to have disappeared, and I can give you my take on the new daily area and the story that goes along with it.

                Warning: I will spoil a lot of the story that leads up to Oricon!

                Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Exploring Oricon in SWTOR (Exploricon?)

                MassivelyHyperspace Beacon: Exploring Oricon in SWTOR (Exploricon?) originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                  MMORPG News

                  MMORPG News


                  Dragon's Prophet: Worldwide Launch Day Arrives

                  Posted: 18 Sep 2013 06:46 AM PDT

                  Worldwide Launch Day Arrives

                  Dragon's Prophet has finally reached its official worldwide launch day. Both Sony Online Entertainment's and Infernum's version of the game is available to play for free and with significant improvements over the beta client version.

                  Guild Wars 2: Blackgate Server Manages First Tequatl Kill

                  Posted: 18 Sep 2013 06:39 AM PDT

                  Blackgate Server Manages First Tequatl Kill

                  Scant hours after the release of the latest Guild Wars 2 update, Tequatl Rising, the first server to beat the reborn dragon has been named: Blackgate. Check the image for proof.

                  Dragon's Prophet: Crystalline Dragon Giveaway!

                  Posted: 16 Sep 2013 08:20 PM PDT

                  Crystalline Dragon Giveaway!

                  MMORPG.com has partnered with SOE to give out Crystalline Dragon codes for Dragon's Prophet. Grab a key now while supplies last!

                  General: My Time with Hearthstone

                  Posted: 15 Sep 2013 05:10 PM PDT

                  My Time with Hearthstone

                  Hearthstone is Blizzard's latest addition to its stable of games, a trading-card game to boot. In his latest column, Matt Miller talks about his experiences in Hearthstone. See what he's got to say to see if you agree and then head to the comments to chat.

                  MechWarrior Online: Launch Day Arrives

                  Posted: 17 Sep 2013 01:48 PM PDT

                  Launch Day Arrives

                  MechWarrior Online has hit a seminal day in its development thanks to today's launch. To celebrate the occasion, Creative Director Bryan Ekman has posted a letter on the official site to detail some of what players can expect and much more.

                  Diablo 3: Real Money & Gold Auction Houses to Be Removed

                  Posted: 17 Sep 2013 12:35 PM PDT

                  Real Money & Gold Auction Houses to Be Removed

                  Blizzard has announced that it will be removing the gold and real-money auction houses from Diablo 3. According to a post on Battle.Net's D3 site, the implementation of Loot 2.0 should eliminate the need for players to have to rely on the auction house to be 'successful' in the game and give them the opportunity to find their own gear.

                  Elder Scrolls Online: Crafting Must Meet Big Expectations

                  Posted: 15 Sep 2013 05:02 PM PDT

                  Crafting Must Meet Big Expectations

                  Crafting is an essential part of the MMO experience for many players and no game is under a bigger onus to "do it right" than Elder Scrolls Online. We take a look at what has been revealed so far with regard to crafting in our latest ESO column. See what we have to say before letting us know what you expect from the crafting system in the comments.

                  General: Addon

                  Posted: 16 Sep 2013 04:34 PM PDT

                  Addon

                  In our weekly comic, artist Blaz Klaric brings us his irreverent look into the foibles of the MMO worlds we love, and love to hate. Check out "Addon" and then leave us your thoughts in the comments.

                  Guild Wars 2: Tequatl the Sunless Returns

                  Posted: 17 Sep 2013 07:44 AM PDT

                  Tequatl the Sunless Returns

                  ArenaNet has sent word that the latest Guild Wars 2 update, Tequatl Rising, has gone live. In addition, the team has provided a great new video walkthrough that gives players a sense of who Tequatl has become in this new incarnation.

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