MMO Updates

Funcom teases Age of Conan Secrets of the Dragon's Spine trailer
New ArcheAge gameplay clips showcase crafting, questing, and undead
The Nexus Telegraph: Putting the war in WildStar
The Stream Team: Over the cliff edition, January 14 - 20, 2013
DUST 514 open beta starts January 22nd
The Daily Grind: Do you support 'westernizing' Asian MMO imports?
MMO Week in Review: Free-to-play vs. buy-to-play
EVE Evolved: Fitting Caldari cruisers for PvP in Retribution
GamersFirst offers exclusive deals to cafe owners and resellers

Funcom teases Age of Conan Secrets of the Dragon's Spine trailer

Posted: 14 Jan 2013 09:00 AM PST

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Dungeons

Age of Conan - Secrets of the Dragon's Spine desert

Funcom released Age of Conan's Secrets of the Dragon's Spine content update last week, and the company wants to make sure you haven't forgotten about it already. The friendly reminder comes courtesy of a new trailer that shows off plenty of gorgeous Stygian desert fly-through shots as well as brief glimpses of new mobs and subterranean locales.

The adventure pack is targeted at high-level AoC players and boasts a new dungeon called The Sepulcher of the Wyrm. View the video in its entirety after the cut.

[Source: Funcom press release]

Continue reading Funcom teases Age of Conan Secrets of the Dragon's Spine trailer

Funcom teases Age of Conan Secrets of the Dragon's Spine trailer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New ArcheAge gameplay clips showcase crafting, questing, and undead

Posted: 14 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Game mechanics, New titles, News items, PvE, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Crafting

ArcheAge videos offer glimpses of crafting, questing, and undead

ArcheAge is launching in Korea this week, and Steparu has been spending a lot of time in the game's open beta exploring crafting, trading, questing, and even running afoul of pirates and farming bots. Questing appears to be the fastest way to level through XLGAMES' new sandpark, but plenty of XP can also be gained by tradeskilling, mining, farming, exploration, and more. Speaking of tradeskills, players have multiple chances to crit on their equipment when crafting, which can raise the quality of the resulting item or its level. Even equipped armor can be reforged and upgraded.

As usual, Steparu also provides readers with a number of video highlight clips. Check out some battles with the undead in the dark of night and take a look at upgrading your armor through crafting in the clips after the break.

Continue reading New ArcheAge gameplay clips showcase crafting, questing, and undead

New ArcheAge gameplay clips showcase crafting, questing, and undead originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Steparu.com

The Nexus Telegraph: Putting the war in WildStar

Posted: 14 Jan 2013 07:00 AM PST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, Opinion, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph

Apparently dogs don't fare well against psychic weaponry. The more you know, right?

It's no mystery that WildStar is going to feature combat. This column derives its name from one of the combat features we already know about, so you know it's not going to be a game where all conflicts are resolved with hugs and ice cream. People come at you with weapons, and as another person with weapons, you will have a duty to ensure that they do not draw another breath. Possibly it will even be your pleasure to do so.

Scratch that -- hopefully it will be your pleasure to do so. The last thing anyone wants is a game with combat that bores you to tears, since you're going to be tasked with slaughtering all manner of critters and ne'er-do-wells as you play. What we know about WildStar's combat at the moment can fit comfortably into a manila folder, but I'd like to talk a little bit about some of the potential mechanics and what we might derive from the very limited previews.

Continue reading The Nexus Telegraph: Putting the war in WildStar

The Nexus Telegraph: Putting the war in WildStar originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Stream Team: Over the cliff edition, January 14 - 20, 2013

Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST

Filed under: Polls, Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team

You went right over the edge at full tilt, like a speeding locomotive with dreams of flying. Oh, you knew it was coming. You knew it was bound to happen, most likely sooner than later. You already envisioned that plunge over the cliff.

What? No, not that cliff. For shame, trying to bring politics on the hallowed ground of The Stream Team. I was talking about your favorite Massively TV hosts veering off the path and plummeting (at times to their deaths) into the depths below, just as I did it this past week in the Icy Keep! We like to say it is on purpose, but... yeah.

Have you seen your favorite livestreamers pull a "whoops" or Leeroy Jenkins lately? If not, you'd better join in this week to catch all the new blunders. And you certainly don't want to miss out on the special treats -- an all new Massively livestreamer and a game of pin the quote on the streamer!

Continue reading The Stream Team: Over the cliff edition, January 14 - 20, 2013

The Stream Team: Over the cliff edition, January 14 - 20, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DUST 514 open beta starts January 22nd

Posted: 14 Jan 2013 05:30 AM PST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, DUST 514, Sandbox

Last week CCP took a big step toward DUST 514's official launch by merging the game's closed beta test environment into EVE Online's live Tranquility server. The next milestone is open beta, which the company says will begin on January 22nd.

"With no further character resets, every shot, every battle, and every contract now counts," according to a CCP press release. DUST marks the first time that games from two different genres have been into a single online experience as well as the first time that titles from a console platform and the PC have co-existed in real time.

[Source: CCP press release]

DUST 514 open beta starts January 22nd originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you support 'westernizing' Asian MMO imports?

Posted: 14 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Lineage 2, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, The Daily Grind, TERA, ArcheAge

I'm a big fan of Korean MMOs. I don't know why, exactly, other than I'm partial to the unquantifiable exoticness on display in games like ArcheAge, Aion, TERA, Lineage II, and others.

Unfortunately from my perspective, the powers-that-be in the MMO industry usually decide that Korean MMOs must be "westernized" before they debut in America, and while the term means different things to different games, it usually involves monkeying with the progression curve, rewriting quests that depend on cultural context, etc.

I'd just as soon play Korean MMOs exactly as they were originally designed (albeit with a quality English text translation). How about you, Massively folk? Assuming you like eastern MMOs, would you prefer a straight-up language translation or do you support "westernizing" a game to make it more palatable to American or European audiences?

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: Do you support 'westernizing' Asian MMO imports? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMO Week in Review: Free-to-play vs. buy-to-play

Posted: 13 Jan 2013 05:00 PM PST

Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous

At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post.

This week, En Masse declared plans to take action MMO TERA down the free-to-play path beginning in February. Players and haters are absorbing the news with a mixture of terror and glee. Perhaps they ought to take heart in Funcom's announcement that The Secret World's change in business model last month boosted total sales by 30%. Of course, glad tidings for the beleaguered title are tempered by simultaneous cost reductions and studio closures, so maybe TERA shouldn't be celebrating just yet.

Want more of this week's top MMO stories? Hit the break!

Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Free-to-play vs. buy-to-play

MMO Week in Review: Free-to-play vs. buy-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Jan 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Fitting Caldari cruisers for PvP in Retribution

Posted: 13 Jan 2013 03:00 PM PST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, News items, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Guides, Sandbox

EVE Online's recent Retribution expansion brought forth a massive PvP revival aimed at new players and veterans alike. The new bounty hunting and flagging mechanics have added huge incentives to PvP and given industrialists a way to get revenge without getting their hands dirty. New players are also finding PvP a lot easier to get into thanks to changes to faction warfare and a complete revamp of all the tech 1 cruisers.

For the past few weeks, I've been exploring each race's tech 1 cruisers and coming up with new setups you can use in PvP. I've looked at the incredible damage output of the Gallente ships, the impressive tank on the Amarr cruisers, and the still-unmatched speed of Minmatar vessels. In this week's final part of the guide series, I look at the impressive and underrated Caldari cruisers. All of the fittings in this guide series are aimed at older players with at least six months' worth of skill training under their belts, but new players can use them too by swapping all of the tech 2 modules for tech 1 versions.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I give PvP setups for the Caldari Caracal, Moa, Blackbird, and Osprey.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Fitting Caldari cruisers for PvP in Retribution

EVE Evolved: Fitting Caldari cruisers for PvP in Retribution originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GamersFirst offers exclusive deals to cafe owners and resellers

Posted: 13 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST

Filed under: Fallen Earth, Business models, MMO industry, All Points Bulletin, Miscellaneous

GamersFirst is looking to make headway in two important markets: internet resellers and gaming cafés. To do so, the company set up a merchant center to offer a partnership with business owners to help promote and sell goods for APB and Fallen Earth.

Café owners are tempted to feature these titles more prominently in exchange for a premium service. This service may, but not necessarily has to, include exclusive items, 20% more XP earned, 20% more loot earned, and login preference.

Internet resellers also have good incentive to pimp GamersFirst products, especially as the company makes the point that they can set their price once game codes are purchased. Some of the things that can be sold include monthly subscriptions, in-game items, exclusive items, player currency, and exclusive packages.

[Thanks to Hutch for the tip!]

GamersFirst offers exclusive deals to cafe owners and resellers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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