Wednesday, January 18, 2017

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MMO News

SMITE Season 4 Livestream Patch Recap

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 03:42 PM PST

Hirez Studios has just revealed plans for SMITE Season 4 in a massive 3 hour livestream! Here’s our quick (as quick as it’s possible to be) recap of the changes along with images of all the new incoming skins!

SMITE-Season4-Skadi-Doge
Skin, Cosmetic Notes, and UI:
1. Skadi’s New Doge Skin has a voicepack featuring both Skadi and Doge. It’s ridiculous.
2. Vulcan’s new army themed skin features a truly legendary voice pack. It’s amazing.
3. Rare skins getting recolor versions in an upcoming chest. Be mad.
4. Number of Gods to Rank X will gain you rewards including global emotes and recall effects. Free of Charge.
5. Stars appear around your god loading screen when earning worshippers beyond Rank X. One player will currently unlock 40 stars when this goes live (assumed to be insane number).
6. T-Screen is back but without the graphs. Combat log instead.
7. Swarm Sentry Ah Muzen Cab skin concept art teased.

Season 4 Ranked Notes
Season split into 3 splits. Spring, Summer, and Fall (just like pro-league). Matches Season Ticket.

Goal: Get people back into ranked. Ranked MMR values are hard reset for start of season 4. Soft resets at the splits. Want you to advance to your MMR division quickly. Gold 1 starting cap no longer in place. "Couple divisions below, not a couple of tiers." Hit 100 TP, you automatically move to the next rank. Extra TP will carry over. You have a few chances to prevent demotion. In draft, time is shared with teammates. If you pick/ban with extra time, the time carries over to the next player.

Pause Vote has been added. Soon as team approves of pause, the game will pause for 1 minute. You only get 1 pause per game per team. Can vote to unpause early if you're ready.

Masters is now the highest rank without cap. Grand Masters still exists but only features the top 25 players of the World! Rewards will be the same, but the top 25 get additional rewards including Gem Rewards.

Low population servers may roll over into another region to fill low queue times.

Season Ticket 2017 – Ticket counts for the full year despite the splits. Rewards are split specific. Can unlock something immediately for buying the ticket.

Worshiper Booster – Can activate as gift to boost team worshipper gain (x2 boost)! Only earned by events for now.
Nevercake Announcer Pack

SMITE-Season4-Clash-2
New Clash Map Arrives – new jungle boss has a targeted strike, a poison ground AOE spray

SMITE-Season4-Conquest-Map-Layout
Balance Changes Conquest –
1. New Start
2. Game Starts at 1:30
3. Minions Spawn at 0:00
4. Entire Jungle Spawns at 0:30
What it means: Instead of just invade, there are many new dynamic choices to how a competitive team might start. Key is to get to lane as early as possible and then decide what to do from there.

Kill Bounty Changes Incoming

Minion/Jungle Changes
Exp/Gold rates around the map have changed. Minion waves give slightly less experience while jungle gives more. Hope to remove importance of mid-lane with changes.

Cyclops Rogue – New Buff (Purple Buff) – Provides Protection Reduction Debuff Aura

Elder Elemental Added – Contestable Experience Camp and About as Difficult to Kill as a Cyclops Camp. Still Despawn when Fire Giant Spawns.

Oracle Harpies – If you kill both of them, you drop an uncounterable ward at the gold fury. Harder to kill than mid-harpies.

SMITE-Season4-Portal-Demon
Portal Demon – Gold Fury level difficulty. Summons portal on map that leads from your base to the portal. Spawns at 10 minutes. Respawn timer at 5. Gold for whole team. Play tests have seen it used often as a comeback mechanic.

Gold Fury – Starting gold boosted to 190. Base Health reduced but health per minute increased.

Consumable Updates
Ritual – New Consumable item that is like a super strong relic. Only usable after level 10. One use per purchase. 750 gold item.

Flickering Ritual – Combat Blink 55 units.
Rallying Ritual – Teleport to God after 4 second channel (can be interrupted and ritual is lost).
Revealing Ritual – Entire team gains vision of all enemy gods on map, as well as enemy wards within 70 units of the user for five seconds.
Frenzy Ritual – Frenzy but gives attack speed (20%) and damage output (25%) for 10 seconds.

Chalices – A health, mana, and wards version. 300 gold each. Each has 3 stacks, and refreshes when you return to base. No resell mechanic.
1. Chalice of Healing – Health 250 over 25 seconds, per use.
2. Chalice of Wards – Normal wards, place up to 2 wards.
3. Chalice of Mana – Mana over 25 seconds, per use.

Potions of Might – Duration increased to 5m.

Relic Changes
Relics are now upgradable but cost gold. Must be done at base. You still get your relic for free at level 1 and level 10. Removed: Frenzy and Scout

Aegis Amulet – Upgrade decreases from 160 to 130s.
Blink Amulet – Upgrade decreases cooldown.
Cursed Ankh – Previously known as curse. No longer slows, but healing reduction duration increased to 10s. Upgrade reduces healing from 50% to 65% and duration from 10s to 15s.
Hand of the Gods – Cooldown reduced by 30s if you kill a jungle mob with it. Deals no damage to jungle bosses (portal demon included). Upgrade allows you to stun all enemy gods in range.
Heavenly Wings – Cleanses slow upon activation but doesn't provide immunity to further slows. Upgrade makes allies immune to auto attack slow.
Magic Shell – Base Protections reduced from 45 to 30. Damage Mitigation from 15% down to 5%. Upgrades to 45 Prot and 10% damage mitigation.
Meditation Cloak – Same as now. Upgraded gives allies 45 MP5 and 15 HP5 for 30s.
Phantom Veil – New Visual FX and Audio. Removes Basic Attack Slow Immunity. Now Applies 40% CC reduction and immunity to knockups to allies affected by it. Upgrade increases duration from 5s to 10s.
Purification Beads – Same as was. Upgrade reduces cooldown from 160s to 130s.
Shield of Thorns – Damage Reflect increased from 40% to 50%. Can be upgraded for 5s duration to 8s duration and cooldown reduction from 120s to 100s.
Sundering Spear – Updated audio cue. Protection and Attack Speed Debuffs removed, now increases damage taken by target by 30% for 5s. Can be upgraded for damage increase from 40+14 per level to 60+20 per level and cooldown decrease from 120s to 100s.
Teleport Glyph – Cooldown increased to 200s. Upgrade reduces cooldown from 200s-160s.
Horrific Emblem – Item slows gods within 55 units by 40% and reduces their attack speed by 25% for 5s. Cooldown 150s. Upgrade decreases cooldown to 120s.
Bracer of Undoing – When you take damage, it stores the damage for 3 seconds, then you can reverse said damage. Resets ability cooldown from 3s from all abilities and restores 50% health and mana lost in last 3s. Upgrade increase recent damage window from 3s to 5s. Healing can be countered by anti-healing.

Item Updates
Penetration added to more items to increase diversity of builds. New auras for support players and new utility options.

Starter Changes

Bumba's Mask – Significant changes. Removes gold splitting, cost reduced (500 gold, you can get two starter items!), but increased damage. MP5 removed. Added 50 health and mana. True damage on basic attacks and increased ability bonus damage on jungle camps. 4 more gold and 25 mana bonus per jungle camp kill.

Death's Toll – Losses power but increased health and passive heal.

Rangda's Mask – Aggressive cousin of Bumba's. Rewards aggressive ganking and roaming. +5MP5. Passive – each time you get an assist, you gain a stack. 2 for kill. At 8 stacks this item provides 7% movement speed, 10% cooldown reduction. At 16 stacks, provides 15 penetration, 10% movement speed, 15% cooldown.
Sands of Time – Starter Item for mages and guardians. Mana and cooldown focused starter item. 1 additional MP5 per 10% of your missing mana. 10% cooldown. +20 magic power. 5 MP5.

Bluestone Pendant – New Passive – Buffs all abilities after stacks are consumed for 3s instead of only one ability. But MP5 removed.

Vampiric Shroud – Added 4% magical lifesteal

Watchers Gift – Passive increased health restoration from 7-12 and mana to 7-10. Gold for assists from 4 to 5. 5 HP5 removed. Added 5 physical and magical protection.

Magical Items
Arching Goal is to buff magical lifesteal. Hard to see in itemized list but goal is for making it relevant. No longer will be bought only for their passives.

Physical Items

Penetration cost primarily going up this season. Defensive combo items seem cheaper but strong items have had their stats reduced slightly as well. Ramp up defense faster but perhaps lower late game.

SMITE-Season4-Vulcan-Army-5

Overall item changes are extremely overwhelming and worth reading into on your own in the official patch notes. Suffice it to say, everything you knew about SMITE builds is about to be turned on its head!

God Changes

Aprhodite Buff – Base health increased and back-off scaling up.
Apollo – So Beautiful damage reduction removed. Across the sky cooldown increased at all ranks to 110s.
Bakasura Buff – Regurgitate slow increased. Slow duration 4s instead of only being applied to area of activation. Cone Attack Duration from 5s to 6s.
Chang'e Buff – Jade Rabbit Speed buffed to 3.5x Player's Speed. Moonlight Waltz Set-up now instant. Moonflower Dance heal scaling decreased but damage scaling increased.
Chronos Nerf – Base Movement Speed increased by 5. Accelerate no longer provides immunity to basic attack movement penalty. Cooldown decreased by 2s.
Erlang Shen Minor Nerf – Pin no longer cripples
Freya Nerf – Valyrie's Discretion base damage reduced at starting levels.
Guan Yu – Conviction base healing reduced as well as boosted healing. Warrior's Will mana cost reduced, slow reduced, and boosted slow reduced. Cavalry Charge base damage increased at all ranks.
Hel Buff (if played well) – Base Health increased by 35.
1. Decay/Restoration passes through hit targets and explodes at max range or upon hitting a wall. Light Stance no longer deals damage or hits enemies. If Hel successfully lands healing stance, it heals her as well.
2. Repulse/Inspire – Light Stance heals smaller amounts per 1s.
3. Switch Stances – MP5 now applies to both stances and decreased at all levels. Light Stance now provides additional magic and physical protections.
Hercules Buff –
1. Strength from Pain (new) Hercules gains 5 physical power + 1 multiplied by your level, stacking up to three times and lasting 5s.
2. Earthbreaker mana cost decreased slightly at all levels.
3. Mitigate Wounds (new) Instant heal plus heal over time. Herc gains bonus magic and physical protections for the duration as well! Mana cost now 60 at all ranks.
Hun Bats – Overhead Smash scaling buffed. Somersault slow decreased.
Jing Wei NERF – Health Scaling nerfed. Movement speed reduced 5 seconds. Rapid Reincarnation duration reduced by 1s. Agility no longer provides basic attack movement penalty. Mana cost reduced scaling from 75 down to 55.
Khepri – Solar Flare base damage increased. Scarab's Blessing cooldown increased by 20s.
Medusa Buff – Lacerate increased base damage and healing reduction to 50% at all ranks. Petrify damage increased on turned away targets to 75% of total.
Ne Zha Buff – Increased cooldown on universal ring toss. Flaming spear cooldown reduced scaling to end-game. Armillary Sash Cooldown reduced to 14s at all ranks.
Nike Nerf – To Victory bonus power reduced by 2% at all ranks. Rend physical power scaling reduced. Sentinel of Zeus power nerfed.
Nu Wa – Clay Soldiers now deal magic damage.
Ra – Solar blessing base healing decreased. Magicl power scaling per tick decreased. Now provides mag and phys protections to allies inside of ability.
Rama Nerf – Rolling Assault 11s cooldown at all ranks.
Serqet Buff – Catalyst health chunk boosted 5% for 2 and 3 poisons.
Skadi Buff – Base Movement speed boosted. Rune of the Hunt basic attack damage reduced at all levels. Permafrost movement speed boosted from 25% to 40%.
Sol – Disparate fatalis effect removed. Movement speed increased on the ability.
Sun Wukong Buff – Undefeated Body health threshold upped. No longer grants critical strike chance. Now provides 10 physical power per level + 2 physical power. Somersault Cloud damage buffed.
Susano Buff – Wind Siphon scaling increased by 25% to 60%. Typhoon deals more bonus damage the longer it charges, maxing out at 100 damage at all ranks.
Sylvanus – Verdant Growth provides protection reductions on enemy gods for 5s. Wisps base healing reduced, magic power scaling reduced.
Terra Nerf – Force of Nature base damage increased at later levels. Monolith base healing reduced per tick. Terra's Blessing decreased base healing at late game.
Thoth Buff? – Evade and Punish stuns enemies at all ranks. Glyph of Pain increased ally basic attack damage scaling bonus. Ultimate base damage and scaling reduced.

January 31st intended date patch 4.1 goes live on public server.

SMITE Patch Livestream Gallery

The post SMITE Season 4 Livestream Patch Recap appeared first on MMOHuts.

Endless Space 2 – First Early Access Update Impressions

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 11:09 AM PST

Endless Space 2 Early Access has been out for a few months now and already it has gained much acclaim. The initial launch of Early Access proved to be quite fun, and a roadmap to release has been provided. It consists of several major updates, the first of which has been made available. With Update One comes many improvements, as well as a long list of major changes that helps expand the game closer to the vision that AMPLITUDE has for the full game. In this article, I’ll be jumping into Update One, going over the major changes and improvements, and giving my opinion on it all.

Major Changes

There are many changes in this update, with the introduction of a new major faction, the United Empire, being the biggest. Along with this new major faction, there has been three minor factions added. Other notables are the implementation of the Marketplace and Era Four of the technology tree. With the way the game is being released, it almost feels like this update, rather than being a continuation of development, is a free DLC or even expansion. The changes made to the game are certainly on that tier.

Endless Space 2 - First Early Access Update Impressions

Regal and larger than life, decked out with weaponry.

My favorite feature of the update is, as you may guess, the United Empire. The lore for the faction really appeals to me. I’ve always enjoyed the blind loyalty that totalitarian factions, such as the Caldari in EVE or the Terran Republic in Planetside, espouse. Of course, living in such a society would be hell, but the lore they provide is interesting. However, what makes this faction truly interesting to me is that it is, so far, the only human faction.

Endless Space 2 - First Early Access Update Impressions

4th Era tech is mind bendingly advanced.

The next major change is the inclusion of the 4th Tech Era. As you might imagine, that is quite the game changer. Perhaps more-so than the United Empire. The 4th era does a lot to improve the quality of the game. More content means more fun, right? When I first played Endless Space 2 Early Access, I wasn’t so sure about making the game available with a limited technology range. But it proved to be quite fun with just three Eras, and I now find myself coming back to the game more frequently than I would have otherwise. I never really quit an Endless game, coming back to it time and time again, but these updates are fantastic incentives to dive head-first right back into the game.

Endless Space 2 - First Early Access Update Impressions

The marketplace, should you utilize it correctly, can bring a lot of strategy to your game.


 

The last major change I want to discuss is the Marketplace. This is not too much different than the Marketplace in Endless Legend. As I mentioned in my original article on Endless Space 2, AMPLITUDE seems to really be keen on taking the fantastic features present in Endless Legend and making them work within Endless Space. Why reinvent the wheel when you already have fully designed features in another successful game, right? Needless to say, I love the utility that the Marketplace gives you.

Minor Changes and fixes

There’s a lot of minor changes and fixes added with Update 1 – too many to list. I have a link to the change log in the ‘conclusion’ portion of the article if you want to read through them all. The ones I’m most interested in are the ability to raze and pillage systems, the increase of max turn limit, and – because of lore and setting – the addition of the Eusocial Minor Culture and the switching of the Deuyivan minor faction from the Scavenger culture to the Eusocial culture. Of course, there’s tons of other neat things under the ‘minor changes’ and ‘fixes’ category, but it would essentially read like a change log, which I’ve already mentioned.

United Empire

As for the specifics of the faction, it has a couple of affinities and three traits. The affinities are Emperor’s Will, which gives a +0.1 Influence bonus per Construction spent. There is also the Raian, which is what the Empire’s people call themselves, bonus. This bonus gives a nice Influence boost and their political opinion is that of an Industrialist. The three faction traits are Diligent Workers, Expansionist I, and Patriots II. They’re all self-explanatory in what they benefit, but my personal favorite is Patriots II which gives you a large 25% bonus to the maximum manpower of the faction.

Endless Space 2 - First Early Access Update Impressions

This intro is like a mixture of Soviet Era propaganda and Starship Trooper, 'Do you want to know more?'

The lore of the faction is quite interesting, and in my opinion, it has the best starting intro from the Endless series yet. It’s like an animated propaganda poster, slapped on the wall of a run-down toxic factory. It truly drives home the idealism that faction has, versus the reality of its existence. And because it’s a human faction, I feel more attached to it than I do the others. Especially considering our own current reality.

Endless Space 2 - First Early Access Update Impressions

But, as you can see, not everything is as good as the Emperor would have you believe.

The overall design of the faction resembles something between American patriotism, Soviet Era Russian drive, and Chinese Communist focus, all with a dash of British Imperialism to bind it together. When I first learned of the faction, I instantly wanted to learn more about its lore to figure out how a Monarchy manages to exist in an intergalactic era. Of course, the faction existed in Endless Space 1, but I never paid it much attention. This time around, AMPLITUDE has really made it enticing. Depending on what the future factions bring, the United Empire may become my go-to faction for Endless Space 2.

The Fourth Era

The fourth technology era has been added, and it brings a bunch of nifty stuff. The 4th era technology tree for the United Empire will be my focus. If you check the gallery, you can see screenshots of descriptions for most of the technology. The 4th era seems to focus on truly mind-bending advancements. They all have a bit of a parody-like back story that matches the United Empire quite well, too. Of the technology, my favorite has to be "War as a Hobby" with the flavor text for it describing the use of advanced androids and communication to allow anyone with a bit of free time to participate in war. It’s an interesting concept, to say the least.

I feel this certainly comes from the "American" part of the United Empire equation.

Minor Factions

There are a few minor factions included with Update 1. The Z’vali are my favorite from a lore perspective. They invented what is essentially Sword Art Online full-dive technology well before they ventured into the stars. The amoeba is interesting because of its origin and the fact that they’re super-intelligent amoeba. The last minor faction addition is the Pilgrims, which are those not content with the totalitarian and all-encompassing nature of the United Empire. The Pilgrims are my favorite from a game play perspective, especially if you’re playing the United Empire.

Endless Space 2 - First Early Access Update Impressions

Of course new quests await to flesh out the lore further.

Conclusion

The first update for the Endless Space 2 Early Access has been a huge success. There are too many additions, changes, and fixes for me to go over them all, unfortunately. But you can find the detailed list here. Like I said, the United Empire was my favorite addition in this update, and it’s got me waiting at the edge of my seat for the next faction to be added to the game. If you haven’t already, jump back into Endless Space 2 and experience this update for yourself. You’ll regret it if you don’t!

Endless Space 2 Update 1 Gallery

The post Endless Space 2 – First Early Access Update Impressions appeared first on MMOHuts.

RuneScape Dev Diary 5: Smithing 101

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:27 AM PST

RuneScape devs give you a rundown of things you need to know to succeed at mining and smithing.

The post RuneScape Dev Diary 5: Smithing 101 appeared first on MMOHuts.

Dropzone Early Access Trailer

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:24 AM PST

Dropzone is heading to Steam Early Access this February! It’s unique fast-paced moba action is not to be missed.

The post Dropzone Early Access Trailer appeared first on MMOHuts.

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Alpha 2 Wrap-Up

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:18 AM PST

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS showcases a series of gameplay shots and streaming from their alpha 2 test. Learn more about the alpha 2 test in the link below.

The post PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Alpha 2 Wrap-Up appeared first on MMOHuts.
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