In the fantasy MMORPG Skyforge , friends will soon be able to play together despite prestige differences – they want to make this possible with a scaling system.
Recently in the chat in Skyforge, I heard: “You can invite your friend to the friends list, but you will never be able to play together.” A bitter but true statement so far. Because Skyforge only “theoretically” has no level system; in practice, the prestige value serves as a level. It determines which activities are offered to players in Skyforge at which difficulty levels.
And if friends start a few weeks later or simply play less, then both players may go through the same instances, but at significantly different difficulty levels.
Team Allods has recognized the problem and promises relief – with a kind of “mentor” system. This will allow players with significant prestige differences to group together and tackle an instance. The weaker team members will then be “upscaled”, the difficulty will be set to “normal”, and players will receive rewards according to their actual levels. The scaling will be limited to adventures in the modes squad, team, battles, and invasions – so nothing to do with the larger endgame contents.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , the new maximum level of the expansion “The Taken King” is known. Additionally, there is information about the fate of the legendary weapons and armor – and the voice of the Ghost is being replaced.
Last week in the Weekly Update, it was announced, that a new reveal story for the expansion “The Taken King” is coming soon. We wondered which major US site would get it: IGN or Game Informer. “Game Informer” has it. The problem is: it is the largest gaming print magazine in the world. So the story will soon be available in its entirety in 14 pages at US kiosks, not online.
The new level cap will be level 40
However, we are already getting some information: The new level cap with “The Taken King” is supposed to rise to 40. They are likely to part ways with the current Light level and introduce an “experience points level.” This means: You reach level 40 entirely through your own effort and are not dependent on cheap drops.
Bungie no longer liked the idea that players’ levels depend on factors outside their control.
Additionally, the new loot system is supposed to take more into account what players already have: This should allow players to more frequently receive items they still need, with more variety for which slot the item is for, frequent power increases, and fewer “duplicate” items.
Bye, bye Fatebringer.
Legendary items from year 1 will NOT be able to reach new maximum stats
Legendary armor pieces and weapons from the first year of Destiny will NOT reach the new maximum stats of the expansion. Players can continue to use legendary weapons and armor pieces, but they will not upgrade their stats like they can now in “House of Wolves.” Therefore, they will soon be surpassed by new items, and the Guardians would then leave them behind, it is said.
New items coming with The Taken King will feature new perks, but also higher stats such as increased damage values for weapons.
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The current legendary items from the first year in Destiny would still help players in the first hours before they are replaced. Bungie has already announced that they will replace some currently popular weapons with new, similar versions.
Additionally, the quality levels of items are now supposed to play a new role with The Taken King: In white, green, blue, purple, they are now supposed to make a “significant and meaningful difference.”
Will be re-synchronized.
New voice for the Ghost
And as the last new information that has been made public: The Ghost will receive a new voice. They are letting go of Peter Dinklage (known as Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones). The new Ghost will be voiced by Nolan North.
He will not only voice the new dialogues in “The Taken King,” but they will also have all dialogues, monologues, and quotes of the Ghost re-voiced by North. Peter Dinklage will no longer be heard in the game. Nolan North is known for being the voice from Uncharted or Assassins Creed.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Fernando, the self-proclaimed knight. Helps every maiden in distress.
In line with Gamescom, taking place this week in Cologne, HiRez Studios stated that they have been working on a new game for over a year. It will be called “Paladins, Champions of the Realm” and promises to be an interesting, tactical team shooter with a fantasy setting.
What exactly do you do in Paladins?
That’s a pretty good question. So far, we know that it is a team shooter from a first-person perspective, and you can access various characters, each with different abilities. Within a single match, characters can improve, gain more attribute points, and become stronger through collectible card decks. At first glance, it seems to be a shooter with MOBA elements and collectible cards – an interesting mix that will probably have to survive practical testing.
It looks a bit like Overwatch…
Cassie looks like the typical huntress.
Paladins will likely have to endure some comparisons with Overwatch – at least until more is known about the game. At least the quirky character design is quite similar to the upcoming Blizzard title. However, since HiRez has already proven with SMITE that they can give even rather rigid ancient gods interesting personalities, we should wait for the first gameplay scenes. As for me, I have already fallen in love with Skye and Cassie. Many elements, such as the strengthening card decks or variable abilities, could give the game its own distinctive flair.
What sets Paladins apart from Overwatch will likely be seen at Gamescom, as attendees of the fair can already test an early version.
Those who want can already sign up for the closed beta.
IGN USA has already played, recorded, and uploaded a complete match:
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As Microsoft announced at Gamescom, the dinosaur survival MMO “Ark Survival Evolved” will be available on Xbox One this winter.
This is a surprise. At Gamescom, Microsoft has been holding a large presentation on Xbox One since 4 PM. Mainly, it focuses on games that have little to do with the MMO genre.
But surprisingly, the current survival MMO surprise hit “Ark Survival Evolved” also made an appearance. The game is supposed to be released first on consoles, specifically on “Xbox One”, in a “Game Preview” this winter.
Ark Survival Evolved is currently still in Early Access on Steam, a release for Xbox One and Playstation 4 is planned, but actually, such a thing is only possible with the official release in mid-2016. However, Microsoft has announced an “Early Access” option, apparently identifying Ark Survival as an appropriate candidate. It will be interesting to see how Ark Survival Evolved performs on Xbox One. So far, it has been notorious for causing difficulties even for powerful PCs.
We will continue to follow this story and report back when there is more news.
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Some players were concerned about the state of the Free2Play MMORPG Rift and feared the worst. The community manager has now eased those concerns.
Community Concerns
In the official Rift forum, Community Manager Ocho addressed the worries of some players. They feared that Rift was struggling, developers were being pulled away, and the game would gradually phase out.
Nothing of the sort, says Ocho. The team behind Rift has grown over the last year and a half, and even now they are still looking for new people. Most of the revenue from Rift flows right back into the development of new content, and therefore Rift is “in no danger whatsoever”.
Rift soaring high. No worries necessary, says the Community Manager.
But other questions were also addressed: The “reuse of old content” is not a sign of a lack of resources, but simply necessary to make certain areas of the game attractive again. What good are outdated zones where no one lingers anymore?
Particularly the current Patch 3.3 clearly shows how much is currently changing in Rift: The introduction of a new saga that will conclude in August is a clear indication that the game is doing well. Moreover, there are rumors of a new class that is soon to be revealed. So, Rift will be around for a while longer.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , the one-eyed quest giver Petra Venj has prepared 6 bounties for Titan, Hunter, and Warlock. We will reveal how to complete them.
This week, Petra Venj has three bounties of each type available. With “House of Wolves,” two different kinds of bounties have come to the Reef. Both can be found with Petra Venj, the friendly cyborg cyclops next door.
The bounties for the Queen proceed as follows, where a Guardian accepts them from Petra Venj, then heads to the location where a specific public event starts. They may have to wait a while, announced by “A wolf pack is on the hunt.” Then they must defeat the chief of this event squad to receive an Aether Key, which they can use to open Aether chests.
We have listed the 6 bounties for the week of August 4th to August 11th with video guides from our friend Nexxoss here.
The three Queen’s bounties for the week of August 4th
Pirsis, the Pallas Curse
Pirsis the Pallas Curse is located on Earth in the Rift.
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The three Desired bounties from Petra Venj for the week of August 4th in Destiny
Without all this public event baggage, the Desired bounties in Destiny proceed simply. Here, it’s just about finding and eliminating the target.
Wolf High Servitor
Another highlight of the German localization gives the Wolf High Servitor its German name “Wolf Hohe Servitor.” He is in the Temple of Crota on the Moon.
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And the last bounty this week, “The Silent Rippers,” can be found in the Cosmodrome on Earth – specifically here in the subzone Cave. This is the annoying bounty that you have to do three times.
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Just a few days ago, Bashiok announced that he is leaving Blizzard and will no longer be the Community Manager of World of Warcraft. Now we know about his new workplace …
Exchange of Known People
From now on with Rowsdower. Bashiok works at NCSoft.
Just as Stephan Frost, the former human figurehead of WildStar, has switched to Blizzard, the opposite is now also true. The former Community Manager of World of Warcraft, Micah Whipple, better known as Bashiok, had his last working day at Blizzard on July 31 after nearly 12 years. Yesterday, a tweet revealed where he will be working in the future: at NCSoft as the new Senior Content Manager! Maybe he can succeed in saving WildStar from its long-standing negative spiral. Just the fact of his switch already gives the game some plus points in the community.
Bashiok was for a long time the voice of Blizzard as Community Manager and has even been immortalized in some places in the game. For example, a rare mob in Gorgrond bears his name and the toy “Spirit of Bashiok” is modeled after him and his forum avatar.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Daybreak is currently working hard on the upcoming MMORPG Everquest Next and aims to develop the game together with the community.
From the very beginning, the developers made it clear that they would strive for an open development for Everquest Next. This means that they will talk a lot about the individual systems and involve the community in decision-making processes. Additionally, they want to incorporate interesting buildings and structures created by the players of the sandbox MMO Landmark into Everquest Next.
Create structures for Everquest Next
Now Daybreak has announced another competition. They are looking for buildings for the human race of the Halasians. This is a Viking-like people living far in the north of the country. Accordingly, their buildings are wooden huts filled with furs and trophies, or large halls where they toast their ancestors with mead. One can imagine this somewhat like the buildings in the role-playing game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Daybreak also published a Style Guide in the official forum that approximately illustrates how they envision the buildings in the settlement of Halas.
Now the community is called upon. In Landmark, buildings are to be created for the Halasians according to the Style Guide. The best of these will then be incorporated into the MMORPG Everquest Next. It is important to ensure that the culture of the Halasians is well reflected. If you are active in Landmark and enjoy building complex structures, then try your hand at creating a building for Halas. Who knows, maybe you will find your Halas house in the game upon the release of Everquest Next. This way, you will be directly involved in the creation process of the new MMORPG and can be proud to have contributed a part to its development.
https://youtu.be/570m1OLao-k
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the superhero MMO DC Universe Online (PC, PS3, PS4), Episode 15 is coming this week.
Paying members can dive into Episode 15 “The Bombshells Paradox”/”Corrupted Zamaron” in DC Universe Online starting this Wednesday, August 5th. Non-members will be able to access it one week later on August 12th, if they purchase Episode 15 from the shop. We have outlined the contents of Episode 15 in this article.
The current content update is a change in the rhythm of DC Universe Online. Instead of a large patch that comes once a quarter, there will now be smaller episodes that are released monthly. They will cost $4. At DC Universe Online, there is hope that players will buy all episodes to gain access to the complete gear sets and all story elements.
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In the MMO shooter Destiny the new ID starts on Tuesday, August 4th. Then the reset occurs. The weekly Nightfall strike will be redefined, the Prison of Elders will be reevaluated, Variks will receive new weapons and armor. Completed challenges will give rewards again.
There are still 41 days until the world of Destiny will be turned upside down: Then Oryx, the Taken, three new subclasses, a bunch of fresh weapons, armor, a 6-Guardian raid, new strikes, all that good stuff. This week should also be exciting: Gamescom is approaching, Bungie will be there, and reveals are expected. Festivities are ahead.
Today is just an ordinary Tuesday in the Tower, the Guardians got up this morning, the Titan polished his armor, the Hunter sharpened his knives, and the Warlock blew up the coffee machine with some space magic. They are waiting for 11:00 AM, when they will learn what challenges await in Destiny this week. At 11:00 AM, the August Iron Banner and the week in Trials of Osiris will also end.
The weekly Nightfall strike against Sepiks Prime
In the Nightfall, Guardians face Sepiks Prime or Sepiks Primus, if you prefer Latin. Modifiers are Angry, Switching Lights, and Brawler. So it’s a No-Burn or a Melee-Burn.
The weekly heroic strike brings a reunion with Taniks
In the heroic strike, there will be another reunion with Taniks, the DLC-2 strike boss. The modifier is Specialist. This means special weapons deal increased damage.
All about the Prison of Elders in Destiny in the week of August 4th
Meet Urrox and take him down
In the 32-tier version of the Prison of Elders, players will find Urrox and his hordes. He has mainly Hive and Cabal surrounding him. He himself will wait for the Guardians of Destiny in the fifth wave.
Hive/Trickle – Ability cooldowns are extended
Cabal/Small Arms – primary weapons deal more damage
Cabal/Exposure – Guardians’ shields are enhanced, but do not regenerate
Hive – Arc Burn
Hive – Solar Burn
Say hello to Qodron
The Vex boss Qodron earned a reputation as a villain during his first appearance in the DLC House of Wolves in Destiny. He was considered the meanest boss in the Prison of Elders, perhaps second only to Skolas. However, Bungie took some of his bite away with an early patch. We explained the strategy for Qodron in the Prison of Elders here.
Vex/Catapult – Grenade cooldowns are reduced
Vex – Void Burn
Fallen/Brawler – Guardians deal more damage in melee
Vex/Small Arms – primary weapon damage is doubled
Vex/Trickle – Ability cooldowns increased
At 35 as every week: the Kell of Kells, the Sultan of Swings – Skolas
In the 35 Prison, Skolas is present as every week. Since the burns were removed from the rotation here, it has become a lengthy but fairer fight against him and his hordes. This week he has these two modifiers: Small Arms and Switching Lights.
The 5 waves to him remain the same.
Hive – Exposure/Brawler – Guardians’ shields are enhanced, but do not regenerate/melee damage of Guardians is increased
Vex – Ground/Airborne – Guardians deal increased damage in the air, but also take more damage there
Cabal – Catapult/Arc Burn – grenade cooldown is lowered, Arc damage significantly increased, even for enemies
Fallen – Specialist/Juggler – special weapons deal double damage, enemies do not drop ammo for the weapon they were defeated with
Fallen – Trickle/Small Arms – abilities have an increased cooldown, damage dealt with primary weapons is increased
What does Variks have?
Variks is selling the Pulse Rifle (chance to stun Fallen Captains) and leg armor for the three Guardians this week.
The shoes have:
for Hunters 142 DIS and are aimed at Fallen in the Prison of Elders
for Warlocks 140 INT, they are aimed at Cabal in the Prison of Elders
for Titans 78 DIS, 76 STR, they are also aimed at Cabal
Tips, Tricks, Guides – Do you have anything?
During the day, we will present videos of interesting runs right here. Usually, this leads to multiple Nightfall runs. The narrator oddly often has a Swiss accent.
Nexxoss takes on Sepiks Prime: Arc weapons on deck like Fatebringer, to get through the shields of the Captains. The Nightfall is explained step-by-step so that players can follow their thoughts.
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And here is a solo run without voice-over. The Warlock apologizes: Sorry that it takes so long and that I used the weapon that shall not be named so often, but without a burn it is really tough: We understand, Guardian!
The online shooter Star Wars Battlefront has released a teaser trailer for the new flight mode before Gamescom.
Who needs lightsabers?
Electronic Arts has now shown a short but spectacular teaser trailer for a new aerial combat mode. The new mode is reportedly called “Fighter Squadron”. The mode will be fully revealed at Gamescom in Cologne. But even what can be seen in the trailer already, well, it looks impressive. And those sirens – somehow everything is better with sirens!
The streamer Trick2g, known from League of Legends, ended an anniversary stream with a staged SWAT attack. Twitch has no understanding for such things.
SWAT teams are special intervention units of the American police. “Swatting” is an extremely unpleasant phenomenon where this unit is called under false pretenses to arrest a streamer live on camera. Since the police believe there is an armed hostage taker or another extremely dangerous person in the house they storm, each time a highly explosive situation arises, and it’s a traumatic experience for those involved.
The streamer Trick2g has now staged a “fake-Swat” on himself. At the end of an anniversary stream for 800,000 followers, he had two acquaintances “attack” him, shouting “Police!”, overwhelming him, and taking him away in handcuffs.
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The streaming service Twitch subsequently banned him for an indefinite period and did not want to comment to US media due to company policy.
Trick2g’s manager gave ample interviews and described the fake-swat as “entertainment” and “comedy.” The reaction from Twitch is a sign of all that is going wrong in the USA and why the country is doing so poorly. They fear addressing controversial issues. It is clearly recognizable that it was a joke, some might be too oversensitive.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Some new images have appeared for Heroes of the Storm, clearly indicating who the next hero will be: the Monk from Diablo 3.
Close Combat Action with the Monk
The next hero, the Monk, will likely be announced at Gamescom.
The fact that the Monk will eventually come to Heroes of the Storm was known a while ago, but now there are concrete indications that this moment will be very soon. For a short time, the Korean trailer for the Monk was already seen, but it was quickly taken offline. A few screenshots have already been taken and are circulating on the internet, which we certainly do not want to withhold from you. The new hero is seen giving Diablo a proper kick and sending him back to the underworld. The Monk would be the fourth hero of the “Eternal Conflict” after Johanna, the Butcher, and Leoric. Thus, the Diablo3 event is likely coming to an end.
It is expected that new details about the Monk will be announced later this week, because what date would be better suited than Gamescom?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, Bungie selects a video each week that they want to particularly honor. We add our own favorites.
Bungie’s Video of the Week has charm and evokes nostalgia: “This is how the first raid went,” it says. The costumes are creative and the jump sequence is obviously entertaining. The piece was submitted during the Year One contest. Here, Bungie aims to highlight not only the same 5 major content creators, streamers, and YouTubers but also to showcase other forms of fan art. Charming improvisation, well done.
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As a second video, Bungie features this 1-vs-3 in Trials of Osiris. It is apparently a very good player against three … not so good ones. Quite entertaining.
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One of our favorites is this video from a reader that reached us. A classic Crucible montage from one of you, of course, earns sympathy points with us:
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In Diablo 3, an exploit was found on the test server that nearly ruined the next season.
Exploits on test servers are a sensitive matter, and it hasn’t always turned out well for Diablo 3. As YouTuber Rhykker recounts, in earlier seasons, small groups of players discovered an exploit on the test server, kept it secret, and then used it at the start of the new season in Diablo 3 to gain a huge advantage in the rankings.
Just such an exploit was found this time again, but it was reported and then neutralized by Blizzard.
http://youtu.be/F6XvbnqgS2U
With the exploit, it was possible to complete a level 1 rift, but it was counted as if one had defeated the boss of a “Greater Rift” at the highest possible level. This worked by clicking the portals at the right time, tricking the game into thinking one was completing a high Greater Rift, while in reality, one was only in a smaller, normal rift. One beat on a weakling but was rewarded with a position on the leaderboard as if one had slain a titan.
On the test server, a guild of players exploited this bug extensively to draw Blizzard’s attention. This allowed the players of the guild to complete rifts that were well above level 100. However, it always only displayed “99”; apparently, the Diablo 3 system cannot represent three-digit rifts.
The bug underlying the exploit has been known as the “Double Rift Exploit” for some time. However, with the elimination of the Realm of Trials, the bug only gained this significance with Season 4 on the test server.
The YouTuber strongly advises against going exploit hunting on the live server, as that could lead to trouble and bans; however, the test server is made exactly for such purposes – if one reports it.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the free-to-play action MMORPG Neverwinter , there is extreme pride in the new expansion and they are raving about it.
The advertising machinery of Neverwinter has been running for weeks, constantly revealing new details about the “Strongholds,” the guild fortresses. They will find their way into the PC version of Neverwinter on August 11, and the developers just can’t stop talking about how great it will be.
There will be a kind of housing in Neverwinter – just with guilds and dragons
It is said to be three times larger than the largest zone so far, as they revealed to US sites on a press tour – and further expansion is planned.
In fact, this “expansion” seems to be the keyword. Numerous buildings exist, which can be upgraded to up to 20 rank levels, and then buffs can be selected. Players can gather resources, clear enemy camps around the fortress in Neverwinter and thus create living space, everything contributes to the fortress growing and thriving.
Everything is grounded in the Dungeons&Dragons lore, as Neverwinter ensures to pay attention to it; early rulebooks already contain hints about land ownership in the pen&paper world.
Dragons’ Greed – new PvE event
As an example of the new type of gameplay, they mention the 40-player PvE event “Dragons’ Greed.” Here, several dragons have settled in the area and must be defeated. However, it does not go as simply as the guild moving from dragon to dragon and happily slaughtering them, because as soon as the dragon brood gets wind that one of their comrades has been killed in unfair combat, the rest will quickly disappear.
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The guild must therefore split up and attack several dragons simultaneously if they want to secure some of the best rewards in the game.
Guild Wars must take place amicably – the PvP
Many players associate fortress battles between guilds with surprise night attacks. The opponent attacks when no one is there to defend. Such a thing will not happen in Neverwinter: Here, guilds must agree to fight each other.
In the fantasy MMORPG Lord of the Rings Online, the list of servers that will continue to operate has been announced today. The remaining servers will be closed as part of a server consolidation. No new characters can be created on these servers.
Germany retains 2 servers in Lord of the Rings Online
This is probably quite good news for German players: Gwaihir was marked as a DE server. Belegar as a DE-RP server, Sirannon is a French server, Laurelin is intended for English-speaking roleplayers, and Evernight is a standard EN server. So, it affects the French roleplayers, not the German speakers. The other Europeans are a bit surprised that only one single English-speaking “normal” server remains. However, whether the two RP-marked servers in Europe will keep their designation is still uncertain.
The five “surviving” US servers will be Arkenstone, Crikkenhollow, Landroval, Gladden, and Brandywine.
German HdRO servers Maiar, Morthind, Vanyar, and Anduin close their doors in 2016
No new characters can be created on the remaining servers immediately. These include the 4 German servers: Maiar, Morthond, Vanyar, and Anduin. They will be closed.
If you are playing on one of the 4 servers: No reason to panic, the entire process will take several months. A server transfer will only be necessary starting in 2016, then the old worlds will no longer be accessible.
Being a good player in Heroes of the Storm is not so easy. It is helpful when a professional explains the crucial gameplay scenes and points out mistakes.
Easy to learn, hard to master
Recognizing mistakes is often not so easy – learning from them is even harder.
As with almost all games from Blizzard, the beginner-friendly principle also applies to Heroes of the Storm: Easy to learn, hard to master. However, making the transition from an “acceptable” to a “good” player is not so easy without external help. It is very useful that some top players take the time to analyze professional games and show us mere mortals what the crucial plays, positioning, and decision-making errors of a match were. One of these players runs the Youtube account Fan Heroes of the Storm and analyzes a final match between the teams Cloud9 and TempoStorm, where he himself participates as Abathur.
He goes very detailed into the decisive 4 minutes of gameplay in his 20-minute analysis and shows even for newcomers how important the right positioning and the lightning-fast reaction to team commands are. At a high level, it can be recognized that not only kills count, but also the usage of ultimates. And how important it is to create minion waves to split the opponents’ attention.
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Anyone who has previously denied the tactical depth of Heroes of the Storm may have been enlightened by this video or at least received some suggestions for their own maneuvers to perform better in the Nexus.
If you have no idea about Blizzard’s MOBA yet, you should also take a look at our beginner’s guide.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
This gliding panda is an example of the Chinese version of ArcheAge; it is slowly moving into a phase without wipes and is supposed to be “faster” than the original Korean version of the game.
As Chinese players are even hungrier content locusts than elsewhere, XLGames wants to ensure that new content is provided quickly as well. On August 6, the phase without wipes begins. Here is a trailer that kicks off the pre-open beta phase.
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Has World of Warcraft not only shaped the MMO genre but also destroyed it? Is the MMO market essentially not an MMO market at all, but just a market for World of Warcraft, just as the MOBA market essentially belongs only to League of Legends?
Rob Pardo, former Chief Creative Officer at Blizzard, stated during the Games-First event in Helsinki, Finland, that more and more developers were avoiding the term “MMO” and there is a specific reason for that: they shun the comparison with WoW.
Rob Pardo worked at Blizzard until 2014, leading the “Game Design” department.
When World of Warcraft was released in 2004 and its immense success was evident, many other studios wanted to ride that wave. However, no other MMORPG could truly match the success of WoW. While some were successful in their own right, most were not.
Over time, developers realized that it was not such a good idea to design a game that is very similar to WoW. Therefore, this type of game is currently evolving. However, the term “MMO” has become associated with World of Warcraft and has been shaped by the game, so they are distancing themselves more and more from it.
Publishers shunned the comparison with WoW and the expectations that come with it when announcing they were developing an MMO. Even the WoW of 10 years ago would be outmatched by today’s WoW, because it has so much more content. Today, anyone claiming to be an MMO is not only competing with the WoW of 2005 and 5 years of development time, but they are competing with the WoW of 2015 and 15 years of development time.
MMOs that no longer want to be called that
According to Pardo, many studios are developing online games where players interact in a persistent game world, but they shun the term MMO. Pardo cites Destiny as an example. It is obviously an MMO, although with gameplay that is quite different from WoW. However, the developers avoided the MMO term. This can serve as a good example of how today, while creating online games with persistent worlds, they are slowly working to eliminate the term “MMO” to distance themselves from it.
Destiny is packed with MMO elements. Nevertheless, the developers call it a “Shared-World Shooter.”
This is the only way to avoid comparisons with World of Warcraft, and publishers have recognized this as well. Examples of games that had trouble attracting enough players due to the term “MMO” include Star Wars: The Old Republic and WildStar.
It has simply become extremely difficult to establish oneself in a genre when a single game defines the genre. This is the case in the MOBA genre, for example. Even software giant Valve finds it challenging to compete with League of Legends. A new, attractive genre is often seen as a “new market.” However, the game that establishes and legitimizes this genre makes it difficult for newcomers to compete.
At Blizzard, however, they still believe in the MMO market. They did not cancel the mammoth project Titan because they lost faith in the genre, but because they were surprised at how long-term the success of WoW would be. No one had anticipated that even 10 years after release, WoW would still have so many subscribers.
They thought they could slowly pull developers away from WoW to work on Titan. But that was not the case.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
