Virtual World News
Wings Over Atreia: Class builds -- Cleric
July 11, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Classes, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia, Guides
Welcome to Build-a-Cleric. While some Daevas are content to just play with what they get from drops or quests, a number actually want to outfit their characters the best they can. Even if leveling too quickly to worry about uber gear thanks to mentoring and an easier grind, it is never a bad idea to keep an eye on endgame. And with the plethora of manastones, armor sets, weapons, and stigmas available -- not to mention advice, both solicited and unsolicited -- it can be a daunting task to maximize your potential. So to help you wade through the possibilities, Wings Over Atreia will be exploring each class individually and highlighting popular and effective builds. With any luck, some advance knowledge will help you make informed decisions and avoid the catastrophes of expending all of your energies in obtaining the wrong gear for your needs. Nothing shouts broke like having to re-socket entire sets or enchant new ones!
Roll up your sleeves and explore various builds for Aion's Cleric class after the cut.
Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Class builds -- Cleric
Wings Over Atreia: Class builds -- Cleric originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
One Shots: Welcome to character week!
July 11, 2011
Filed under: Super-hero, Galleries, Screenshots, One Shots, Champions Online
Setsujinneko is the product of excessive dabbling in Champions Online's remarkably robust character creator. She's a flat-chested, gun-toting, naked, furry catgirl - and she's one of the less out-there characters I've made in the game! (Others include a tattooed demon-like little girl with super strength that fights in her skivvies, the "creator" of Setsujinneko who turned herself into a part-wolf anthromorph and fights with a tech-bow, and a magician lady cursed into the form of a bipedal jackal with goat legs and bull horns.)We've taken a look at all of your accessories over the past weeks on One Shots: weapons, armor, mounts, and pets, but now it's time to turn the spotlight on the star of the show. We want to see you -- well, your character. Snap a screenshot of your favorite character in your favorite MMO. Let us know about him or her by sending the screenshot, your name, and some information about the character to oneshots@massively.com, and we'll feature it here on One Shots!
Though she looks superficially cute, I tend to think of her as a hard-nosed, humorless mercenary who only takes advantage of her preternatural feline reflexes and flexibility -- as well as the tech provided by the aforementioned wolf-girl -- to more easily attain what she wants. And what she wants, naturally, is moolah. She's also genre-savvy and makes sure to side herself with whomever is most likely to make it out of a given encounter alive, and with their freedoms intact.
I absolutely love the fact that the game gives me the ability to create such outrageously outlandish character designs -- the kind of stuff you'd never, ever see in an actual comic book (or anything, really) because it's just too niche or unmarketable. I hope to see plenty of MMOs in the future follow suit -- maybe not quite as ridiculously variable, but at least giving me the options I need to create characters that no developer would risk having as a major part of the story.
One Shots: Welcome to character week! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Comparing EVE's PLEX and PvP to RoM's
July 11, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Lost Pages of Taborea
A couple of interesting blocks fell into place this week that fit well with a look at how EVE and RoM allow money to circulate through the economies, and how PvP works in conjunction with it. While there's no contest as to which MMO has the more robust economy, there are still similarities that fit the pay-to-progress comment Mr. Simon Ludgate made in a recent Gamasutra article.
Swarming around the above topics is the question of how much it costs to stay competitive in RoM, which I've also been working on. What does Gamasutra's article have to do with RoM, how much does it cost to be competitive and how are economies similar in these two MMOs? You can also read my memorandum to all EVE PvPers. Set your jump-point past the break to see.
Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: Comparing EVE's PLEX and PvP to RoM's
Lost Pages of Taborea: Comparing EVE's PLEX and PvP to RoM's originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Who wants to go kill some afflicted?
July 11, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Flameseeker Chronicles
Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist. Anyway, the first round of Winds of Change content dropped Thursday night, so the Guild Wars community is abuzz with talk of the new content, costumes, and enemies in Cantha.
Several members of our guild were sitting around playing the "What do you wanna do? Eh, I dunno, what do you wanna do?" game when Winds of Change arrived, so we were all pretty much free. Six of us bolted for Kaineng Center, partied up, jumped on vent, and took off.
We were in for a bit of a surprise. You see, most of us have been playing for a very long time and are pretty comfortable with normal-mode content. We threw in a couple of hero monks, loaded up some standard builds, and off we went. We were treating it like a casual exploration thing, heading out to see what was out there.
Whoops. The Live Team has been working overtime, I see. We slunk back to town to lick our wounds and tried again, this time with more (relative) success. So how was it? Follow along after the jump and let's take a look!
Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Who wants to go kill some afflicted?
Flameseeker Chronicles: Who wants to go kill some afflicted? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Check out the Luvinia Online closed beta with our key giveaway!
July 11, 2011
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-play, Giveaways
Outspark has shared 1,000 beta keys with us, so head to our giveaway page to claim one for yourself. Then Log in to your Outspark account, or click on the "Sign Up" button on the right side of the top toolbar to create a new account. Enter your beta key, download the Luvinia client, and you're on your way to monster-killing and bug-hunting!
Enjoy the game, and thanks to the Outspark team for providing the keys!
Check out the Luvinia Online closed beta with our key giveaway! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Final Fantasy XIV previews the newest instanced dungeon
July 11, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Lore, Patches, Previews, Endgame, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV
As with the earlier preview, the dungeon is hinted to have both Imperial forces and more primal ones working in concert to make the twisting passages more dangerous for adventurers. The Darkhold is the higher-level of the two dungeons, aimed at parties of eight at rank 40 and up. Final Fantasy XIV players should glance at the lore-filled preview as well as the video teaser, embedded just past the cut.
Continue reading Final Fantasy XIV previews the newest instanced dungeon
Final Fantasy XIV previews the newest instanced dungeon originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Battle of the Immortals Titan update coming this Wednesday
July 11, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Battle of the Immortals
The patch will hit the live servers on Wednesday, July 13th, and in case your anticipation isn't quite where it should be, PWE has just released a new Titan trailer to further whet your appetite. The one-minute clip is packed with in-game footage that includes glimpses of the new instances as well as some spiffy shots of the soul gear that's coming soon to every class.
You'll also see some boss fights, including a brief look at the god-king Kronos. Sound good? Well, what are you waiting for? Check out the clip after the cut!
Continue reading Battle of the Immortals Titan update coming this Wednesday
Battle of the Immortals Titan update coming this Wednesday originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
RIFT's offers limited-time subscription discounts
July 11, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, RIFT, Promotions
By committing to three, six or 12-month subscriptions, players can enjoy RIFT for a substantially lower monthly cost than the standard $14.99 fee. The three-month option comes out to be $12.29 per month, the six-month is $10.29, and the annual option is $8.99.
It's interesting to note that these prices are close to those set by Trion for pre-order founders. A player using founder's pricing can pay $59.94 for a six-month subscription while a Summer of Savings customer will shell out $61.74 for the same service.
As with founder's pricing, players can lock in these discounted rates -- as long as they stay subscribed to the game. The small print informs us that if a promotional subscriber discontinues service and then re-ups later on, he or she will have to revert to standard pricing.
RIFT's offers limited-time subscription discounts originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Daily Grind: When do NDAs get counterproductive?
July 10, 2011
Filed under: Expansions, Launches, Patches, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Legal, Miscellaneous
NDAs are an important part of keeping a company's secrets, well, secret. Unfortunately, they can also sometimes stymie useful discussion about a game's future. So when do you think an NDA has been more harmful than helpful? Has it been for an update or expansion where the leaks started too early for an NDA to matter? A neat new feature that would have built more excitement if more people had talked about it? Or do you feel like NDAs are always beneficial to the development process?
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: When do NDAs get counterproductive? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Global Chat: Of developer decisions and player perception
July 10, 2011
Filed under: Opinion, Massively meta, Global Chat, Miscellaneous
This week's Massively reader discussion covered all sorts of topics, but game developer drama and sandbox-style games were high on the list. As usual, we've chosen a few of our favorite comments from our reader base to share with you, so follow along after the jump to see what our readers had to say on this week's Global Chat.
Continue reading Global Chat: Of developer decisions and player perception
Global Chat: Of developer decisions and player perception originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Jump to page:
509