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The Soapbox: The curious case of Vanguard
April 17, 2012

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Vanguard - magic hour duo
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

"Yaaay!"

"FU-- yeah!"

"Finally."

"WOW! This is the best MMO news I have heard in a long time!"

These are just a few of the comments that greeted our recent announcement of Vanguard's upcoming free-to-play conversion. The reactions were overwhelmingly positive, and Sony Online Entertainment's open-world fantasy themepark was lavished with praise by a wide cross-section of Massively readers. This makes me wonder where all these folks have been since the game's launch in early 2007. It's not like Vanguard shut down and is being resurrected, you know? More importantly, I wonder whether free-to-play can actually save the game from the scrap heap of shuttered SOE MMOs.

Continue reading The Soapbox: The curious case of Vanguard

MassivelyThe Soapbox: The curious case of Vanguard originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    SOE trumpets EverQuest's F2P success
    April 17, 2012

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    EverQuest - a living legend
    How's that free-to-play experiment working out for EverQuest? Pretty well, according to Sony Online Entertainment's latest press release. The company has just published a few facts and figures relating to the recent conversion of its long-running fantasy themepark. Some of the more interesting nuggets include a 125% spike in item sales, a 150% uptick in unique log-ins, and over three times as many account registrations when compared to the subscription model.

    SOE has also released a handy video recap for EverQuest newbs. The game has been around since 1999, after all, so have a look at the Living Legend clip after the break to catch up on 13 years of MMO history.

    [Source: SOE press release]

    Continue reading SOE trumpets EverQuest's F2P success

    MassivelySOE trumpets EverQuest's F2P success originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      SWTOR's official website receives a facelift
      April 17, 2012

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      SWTOR: New website
      At approximately 2 a.m. EDT, the Star Wars: The Old Republic website dropped offline for 11 hours to receive a much-needed facelift. The previous site had used the same look for nearly four years, focusing on a pre-launch presentation. But at noon EDT, a fresh new site was revealed to the world.

      According to the SWTOR community team post, this new site, which was rebuilt from the ground up, will provide "the latest game updates in an easy to navigate way." The team expounds on what we should expect from the new site later in the article, "In addition to all of the latest news and information that is released, we're also going to give you much more information about in-game content." The first example of this is the breakdown of each of the 17 flashpoints.

      Although the new site falls back on a more traditional look, the community team assures us that this will help to increase the site's overall functionality and allow for additional features such as guild support, skill trees, character profiles, and more.

      MassivelySWTOR's official website receives a facelift originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Massively Speaking Episode 197: The audio plague
      April 17, 2012

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      SWTOR
      Massively Speaking Episode 197 reviews a big week for MMOs, with several launches, updates, and live events going off all over the place. We had to hit the big red Massively Alarm three times during this time, prompting the MassivelyBusters to jump out of their beds, slide down the pole, and take the NERF-1 out to the scene of the action. Then we farmed spores, molds, and fungi with Elisabeth Cardy.

      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:
      [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
      [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
      [MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
      Listen here on the page:



      Read below the cut for the full show notes.

      Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 197: The audio plague

      MassivelyMassively Speaking Episode 197: The audio plague originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Alganon delays expansion, plans double-XP weekend
        April 17, 2012

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        Alganon
        Citing "unforseen circumstances," the team at QOL has announced that Alganon's Rise of the Ourobani expansion will be delayed until the fourth quarter of this year. "After evaluation of the project, it was decided that more time was needed in order to do some critical bug fixes as well as to spend more time on certain areas and features of the expansion in order to do the best work possible," the devs wrote in the April newsletter.

        Rise of the Ourobani will feature the playable titular race, a brand-new continent to explore, a Warden combat companion, PvP, and flying mounts. To soften the blow of the expansion's delay, QOL has released several sneak peek pictures and videos.

        Even though the expansion is a ways away, players have a reason to log in now, as Alganon is preparing a double-XP weekend from April 20 through the 23rd.

        You can watch Rise of the Ourobani flying mounts in action after the break.

        Continue reading Alganon delays expansion, plans double-XP weekend

        MassivelyAlganon delays expansion, plans double-XP weekend originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Star Wars: The Old Republic hosting a weekend trial while plague expands
        April 17, 2012

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        The Magnificent Seven Physicians? Minus three.
        If you're one of the few souls that hasn't yet tried Star Wars: The Old Republic just yet, this weekend is your next chance. With the Rakghoul Plague racing across the galaxy, BioWare is inviting potential new players to take a look at the game from April 19th at 1:01 a.m. EDT until April 23rd at 3:00 a.m. EDT. As in previous weekend events, players will be able to pick up their trial characters and continue leveling them in the event that they purchase the full game afterward.

        Of course, if you're already in the game, you're probably less concerned about new players and more concerned with the aforementioned plague. Darth Hater has assembled a guide for players including the latest updates to this ongoing world event running until April 24th, which should be more than enough to help players unlock rewards and see all there is to see during the outbreak. Just be prepared -- there are probably going to be a lot of new people over the weekend not fully versed in containment procedures.

        MassivelyStar Wars: The Old Republic hosting a weekend trial while plague expands originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Walk softly and carry a big stick with City of Heroes' new Staff Fighting powerset
        April 17, 2012

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        Screenshot -- City of Heroes
        In the high-fantasy-laden MMO space, staves have long been relegated to the realm of things-for-spellcasters-to-hold-while-finger-wiggling, but what happened to the good ol' days of just bludgeoning the daylights out of someone with a big stick? Well, thanks to City of Heroes, those days are back courtesy of the new Staff Fighting powerset, though there's no word as to whether it will also allow you to walk softly.

        What it will allow you to do, though, is fight in one of three different forms (Body, Mind, or Soul), each of which provides you with a unique stacking buff that can then be consumed to execute the powerful Eye of the Storm and Sky Splitter abilities. The new powerset is available for the Brute, Scrapper, Stalker, and Tanker archetypes, and would-be kung-fu masters can pick it up from the Paragon Market for 800 Paragon Points.

        MassivelyWalk softly and carry a big stick with City of Heroes' new Staff Fighting powerset originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Aion gives Pando Media Booster the boot
        April 17, 2012

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        Pando Dragon Booster still works with the game, but it's not recommended.
        If you've never heard of Pando Media Booster before, then you probably haven't downloaded one of several free-to-play games. It's meant to improve download speeds and speed in streaming clients, but in practical terms it's frequently cited as a resource hog that cripples performance on many computers. Aion was one of the many games that used the program following its transition to free-to-play, complete with the usual complaints, but as of now, the game can be played without the booster.

        As of this afternoon, the game can be downloaded directly from the master NCsoft launcher without using any third-party workarounds. If you had already downloaded and installed the game, you can feel free to safely shut down and uninstall Pando Media Booster without any impact on your gameplay. Considering the horror stories that have periodically circled around the program, Aion players will likely be happy to learn it's no longer associated with the game.

        MassivelyAion gives Pando Media Booster the boot originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Diablo III punches things up with a new Monk video and the end of beta
        April 17, 2012

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        No wolves howling at the moon? What madness.
        Diablo III is still putting together more previews as the game ramps up for its launch on May 15th. The latest reveal is for the Monk, a melee class that takes a very different approach from the already revealed Barbarian. Rather than attacking with massive weapons and overpowering rage, the Monk uses careful combo attacks, swift movements, and inner energy. Unleashing a Monk's spiritual power after a long chain of melee attacks can produce all sorts of effects, from area damage to dashing out of combat quickly.

        This reveal coincides with the announcement that the Diablo III beta will be coming to a close on Tuesday, May 1st. Character information will be wiped at that time, and players will be able to post on the official forums only in the event that they have pre-purchased the game or they have an active account for another Blizzard game. If the Monk reveal makes you anxious to play one and you're in the beta, you'd better get on that quickly or be prepared to wait for launch.

        MassivelyDiablo III punches things up with a new Monk video and the end of beta originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Aion gives Pando Media Booster the boot [Updated]
        April 17, 2012

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        Pando Dragon Booster still works with the game, but it's not recommended.
        If you've never heard of Pando Media Booster before, then you probably haven't downloaded one of several free-to-play games. It's meant to improve download speeds and speed in streaming clients, but in practical terms it's frequently cited as a resource hog that cripples performance on many computers. Aion was one of the many games that used the program following its transition to free-to-play, complete with the usual complaints, but as of now, the game can be played without the booster.

        As of this afternoon, the game can be downloaded directly from the master NCsoft launcher without using any third-party workarounds. If you had already downloaded and installed the game, you can feel free to safely shut down and uninstall Pando Media Booster without any impact on your gameplay. Considering the horror stories that have periodically circled around the program, Aion players will likely be happy to learn it's no longer associated with the game.

        [Update: NCsoft has contact us to clarify that the removal of Pando Media Booster from Aion is only temporary: "We temporarily removed Pando Media Booster so that we can test a variety of server-side adjustments regarding download completion rates and further refine the service we provide our players. We will bring Pando Media Booster back once we've optimized our service to provide the best download rates possible." Sorry for the confusion!]

        MassivelyAion gives Pando Media Booster the boot [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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