Just in time for the new patch of the free MOBA Smite, we have managed to secure some keys for you again. Because we know you by now, we are giving away a total of 6 keys this time: 3 for the new goddess Bellona and 3 more for Scylla’s “Daisy Despair” skin.
Bellona – An entire arsenal of pain
The latest goddess in Smite comes from the Pantheon of the Romans and is the counterpart to the Greek Athena. Unlike her divine counterpart, Bellona is not very interested in strategies and tactics – as long as there is a good fight.
Each of her abilities activates a different weapon that she uses until she leaves the fight or activates another ability. With a two-handed sword, round shield, warhammer, and whip, it seems that most weapon types are covered. If that’s not enough, she simply impales her enemies with a war flag that empowers allies. By the way, she comes as a complete package with her alternate appearance “Battle Maiden”.
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She is a wild warrior and that with body and soul – perhaps just the right thing for you?
Daisy Despair – The terror from the depths becomes even more terrifying
As if Scylla with her four tentacle dogs was not already a nightmare for many people (unless you’re from Japan…), she has been given another skin. After the rather cute “Little Red Riding Hood”, the gruesome “Daisy Despair” skin follows, in which the dogs are replaced by creepy sock puppets.
Even the little girl herself is unlikely to win the award for the friendliest smile of 2015 with her stitched cheeks, unhealthy skin color, and the sinister gleam in her eyes. Don’t you want to wreak havoc on the battlefields with Scylla and show all enemies what real nightmares are made of?
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Has Bellona turned your head with her scourge whip? Should Daisy Despair-Scylla haunt under your bed from now on? Leave a comment under this post, tell us which of the two keys you want to win and why you deserve it! We will select 6 winners from the most creative ideas at the end of the giveaway. The deadline for participation is March 2, 2015, at 8 PM. Multiple entries will be excluded from the giveaway. Good luck!
The giveaway is closed!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Diablo 3 , the “Corrupted Ashbringer,” a cult weapon from World of Warcraft, was spotted in patch 2.2.0.
As reported by 2p.com, players discovered the following weapon on the test server in the latest version of Diablo 3:
At Blizzard, they congratulated the finders first and then explained that they also held a “Design a Legendary” project within the team, parallel to that of the fans. The result that the developers came up with from the project was indeed the Ashbringer. Even though it doesn’t appear in the patch notes, they want to balance it and therefore ask for feedback.
The “Corrupted Ashbringer” can summon up to 5 skeletons in Diablo 3. When the fifth one appears, the “Corrupted Ashbringer” transforms for a short time into the “Ashbringer” and deals massive Holy damage.
In World of Warcraft, the Ashbringer was a weapon closely associated with the Scarlet Crusade. To this day, many legends surround this “Legendary” in WoW.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, the change to the Companion App results in a short-term boost in mood. Only users of Windows Phone are left empty-handed. The Companion App does not work for them.
In the video, our friends from ProNDC demonstrate how this works:
http://youtu.be/HXx6c-xkG6w
Small Change – Big Impact
The change is an example of a small “quality of life” improvement that makes a significant difference in practice. This is certainly influenced by the fact that the inventory system in Destiny, with “logging in and out” and “sending items around” and “putting in the vault” and “logging in again”, especially since there were always loading screens, does not meet today’s standards. Especially in an action MMO that is so fluid and organic in its shooter segments, it felt like a foreign body. It was as if the developers did not expect players to want to play more than one character. A change was overdue. Players are now realizing how annoying the previous system was.
They here and Windows Phone users don’t really like the patch.
Aside from the automatic rifles affected by the balance patch, Windows Phone owners are currently left out in the cold. There is no official Companion App for WP, much to their dismay. While there are apps (like Destiny Stats) that have managed to replicate everything almost as well as the official app, or even better: direct access to the game is not possible with these apps.
In the team shooter Evolve there was a brief glimpse of a new map in the official Twitch stream.
On Friday around midnight our time, an official Twitch stream by the Evolve developers from Turtle Rock Studios took place. There, they presented the load of balance changes that will affect the monsters and hunters of Shear in the first balance patch.
As reddit users excitedly pointed out, there was also briefly a “new map” shown in the stream, at least the announcement of it. At the beginning of the stream, a glimpse could be caught. Thanks to the internet, this doesn’t get lost but remains with us as a screenshot:
On reddit, there is already discussion about what such a “city” environment could mean: Perhaps less wildlife and more of a “Godzilla attacks Tokyo” vibe.
Even beforehand, the developers of Evolve stated that new maps and game modes would be coming. Both will – in contrast to hunters and monsters – be available for free to everyone.
Here’s the link to the stream, around 3:55 you can see the announcement screen of the new map:
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In World of Warcraft the fiery steed, the Cindermane Charger, has now found its purpose: It will be the new “Recruit-a-Friend” mount.
The “Cindermane Charger” (elegantly translated into English as Cindermane Charger), a fiery hellsteed created by Ragnaros, has been driving dataminers crazy for half a year: The thing has been in the database since last September, but no one really knew what Blizzard was planning with it. Now it is clear: The fiery mount will be the new Recruit-a-Friend mount. Players can get it if they infect a friend with the WoW virus, and that friend gets infected enough to buy and subscribe to the game. You can find the details on the Blizzard page.
For the steed to take to the skies, the recruiting player must be in Cataclysm or other “older” areas. Draenor is still a no-fly zone.
If you want to get started right away, you might want to be a little patient until at least the RAF page is up to date.
The whole “Recruit-a-Friend” program is a bit of a thing with Blizzard, as Blizzardwatch slightly mockingly writes. In the past, it was often used as the “Recruit-a-Second-Account” program, especially when WoW is on sale somewhere; such a thing comes in handy. Then the Cindermane Charger is about as expensive as one of the cash shop mounts.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
There wasn’t much new information. They are satisfied with the overall progression and balance. They have already addressed the biggest issues (bosses scale unfavorably with more players) and look calmly towards the future.
Most of the time, they explained decisions from the past: They removed the currencies from heroic dungeon rewards because it led players to farm dungeons that were too easy for them. They took out the titles for server-first kills because more than 25 players would have been involved in such a kill across all attempts. But only those who were actually present during the kill were rewarded. That was unfair.
So everything seems to be fine in WoW, based on the Q&A session.
Blizzard wants to fill content gaps with raids
One topic is not exactly a point of pride: The 13 months content drought between the end of Mists of Pandaria, with the last raid “Siege of Ogrimmar”, and the start of Warlords of Draenor.
“13 months were way too long,” they say. In Warlords of Draenor there will be as many raid tiers as necessary to prevent such a gap. A large raid tier could last 6 or 7 months, but 13 is way too much.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the team shooter Evolve, the developers presented details of the first balance patch late Friday evening.
Just yesterday, the first patch for Xbox One was released, which was supposed to put an end to the annoying loss of progression. The first major balance patch will really affect Evolve, shaking the foundations of the team shooter for the first time. The developers from Turtle Rock already presented an initial version of the changes on Friday evening. The patch notes are not set in stone yet, but written in pencil as a working basis, which will still be worked on. We have translated them for you into German.
The intended changes (preliminary patch notes) for Evolve
Changes for the Monsters
For the monster Kraken, the patch should ensure that it reacts more predictably to harpoons, stasis grenades, and tranquilizer darts. They should now force it to the ground.
The monster Wraith will be significantly weakened, especially the speed bonuses her abilities bring will be greatly reduced.
Changes for the Hunters
For all Trappers, when the patch goes live: The trapping dome makes no noise anymore. Until now, it was too easy for monsters to escape at the first perceivable sound.
The assault character Markov loses 20% damage from his mines, and they will also be weakened in other ways.
Hyde, on the other hand, receives a stronger minigun and his grenades cause higher damage, although they will also be changed in their effectiveness.
The rocket launcher of the assault character Parnell is said to hit better while jumping and using the jetpack.
The harpoon trap of the trapper Maggie takes one second longer to arm.
Griffin can now track monsters up to 60 meters away with Sound Spike and even locate them if they are cloaked, provided they are within a range of 15 meters around him.
The rocket launcher of Bucket will deal 11% more damage.
The rail cannon of Cabot will cause 30% less damage and will take 25% longer to reload.
For Val, the med cannon will now heal in a shorter time and consume significantly more ammunition. Her tranquilizer darts will now also affect Goliath and the Kraken for 10 seconds.
And Caira’s acceleration field will have a 15-second longer cooldown.
In the Star Trek MMO “Star Trek Online“, fans and developers mourn together for the “Mr. Spock” actor Leonard Nimoy. Fans are calling for a virtual memorial in the game.
As reported by massivelyop, the death of actor Leonard Nimoy touches and concerns fans as well as the developers of the MMO Star Trek Online. In condolences, players emphasize the important role Nimoy has played in their lives.
One player suggests that the developers should design a cross-faction mission that gives a dignified conclusion to Spock’s life in the Star Trek universe. Others desire a memorial outside the Vulcan space dock.
The developers honor in a letter the life and work of Leonard Nimoy, which goes far beyond the Star Trek universe. In the letter, they express their gratitude for his help in introducing the MMO to a wide audience in 2009.
At this hour, players are gathering on Vulcan in Star Trek Online to hold a memorial service. One of the massivelyop readers has provided an image of this memorial service, which we have included as a title image.
And so we can only say in farewell: Live long and prosper.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The next Nightfall Strike is supposed to lead to Devil’s Lair on Sepkis-Prime on Tuesday, he says. It will be a normal run: no Triple-Burn, no No-Burn, just a normal Single-Burn. Arc Burn is supposed to be active, along with Lightswitch and Angry. In the heroic Weekly, Lightswitch is supposed to be the variable modifier.
Meanwhile, the Prophet feels a bit hurt in his pride because the thing with the heavy ammo Syntheses didn’t work out. He says Bungie has manipulated Xur here, removed the Syntheses. In return, there was an exotic helmet engram. This came with the patch and was not accounted for in his calculations.
This inventory is what he predicted for today – almost exactly what happened.
What other predictions are there in Destiny?
Even though he was right four times now, it remains true: Everything is without guarantee. From Bungie itself, there is still no statement on what they think about someone spilling state secrets 5 days in advance: Probably not too cool. Although there isn’t much more concrete from him. He has scheduled further PvP events for March and also set an Iron Banner for a few weeks and made some pretty vague statements about Xur’s inventory. If you would like, you can read what is known in these two articles:
In this week’s more or less edition of “Mein-MMO asks”, we want to address a topic that most of you have probably experienced yourselves. The question is simply…
Do you give MMOs a second chance?
The expectations for a new MMO are often high. Typically so high that they cannot be met at all. While you might be frustrated with larger bugs in the first month, you can comfort yourself with the fact that the first month is basically “free”. If nothing changes in the first weeks, despite the developers’ assurances, you soon turn your back on your beloved MMO.
I often think to myself “I’ll check back in a year, maybe it will be good then”. But… do you really do that? In my life so far, I have seen a lot of MMOs, including not only well-known representatives like WoW, SWTOR and WildStar, but also some oddities, such as Scarlet Blade (and nobody can give me those 90 minutes back…).
My Castanic Cortyn. Who wouldn’t miss her? But…
Aside from SWTOR, I have not granted any game a second chance. Although I had some of the most beautiful RP in TERA and the best housing in WildStar, I have not looked at either game since my first subscription cancellation. I cannot say for sure why this is. I miss my Castanic and I also long for the Granok tavern “Die Erstbeste”. Nevertheless, this urge is not strong enough to give these games a second chance and reinstall them. Why that is? Only the Nether knows.
And with that, I want to pass the question directly to you: Do you grant MMOs a second chance? Or is it similar to me; once the fire is extinguished, it usually stays out. Let us know in the comments, we will discuss eagerly!
“Die Erstbeste” in WildStar. Will my tavern ever reopen?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard’s online team shooter Overwatch piques curiosity about the next hero, a former weightlifter.
In games that are still so early in development, like Blizzard’s Overwatch, it’s always a bit strange when new heroes are announced. Most players haven’t yet interacted with the strange existing roster. There are still many unknowns: outside of the talking monkey Winston, many likely still remember him from the trailer. But few know what the Asian archer is called or what the guy in the grim reaper outfit is like at such an early stage.
This doesn’t stop Blizzard from mysteriously announcing the next hero with a former weightlifter. In a shadow cut, he is advertised on the cover of a fictional sports magazine – along with various tips for muscle building.
The new MMO Crowfall has reached its first Kickstarter goal of $800,000 in just a few days and is now announcing the first stretch goals.
Surely, the industry connections from the founders’ long careers have helped: It is rare for an MMO to receive such media buzz, regardless of the studio behind it. And for a small development studio, it was already a sensation: Crowfall was featured on all major US gaming sites as well as international ones. It was promoted as a mix of EVE Online and Game of Thrones. While other games like ArcheAge or Skyforge have not received such a media frenzy (so far) and are only present on MMO gaming sites, Crowfall was different: the new ideas sounded too convincing and interesting.
In doing so, they are using Kickstarter but have clearly stated that they do not want to be dependent on it: They could finance themselves differently, but they do not want that; instead, they want to remain independent and develop for their target audience.
The developers’ wish was granted, within two and a half days they had reached the crowdfunding goal of $800,000. 7 backers jumped in for $10,000 each.
The first two stretch goals for an over-funding have already been announced. If they reach one million dollars, there will be female centaurs and improved particle effects, and at 1.3 million, they will add horses for the characters. Maybe Crowfall will be one of those Kickstarter hits that continually announce and achieve new stretch goals. What the game is about, we will introduce to you in these two articles:
Xur, the Agent of the Nine, appears in Destiny on Friday, February 27th. What exotic weapons and armor does he offer this time, and does he have Heavy Ammo Syntheses with him?
It’s Friday again. The week went by surprisingly quickly in Destiny. Amid all the leaks, “prophecies”, the actual patch that came Wednesday, and the app feature that was just gifted yesterday, Bungie’s MMO shooter is picking up pace again after the beginning and middle of February seemed to lose some momentum.
Xur’s Decryption? Of Predictions and Leaks
Once again, this week revolved around everyone’s favorite faceplant, Mr. Xur. It was always thought to be impossible to find out what he would have. Until someone actually managed it last Friday and predicted the inventory correctly. This user is considered by some to be “the true Xur” or at least a “Xur interpreter”, “Xuradamus”, or “the Xur whisperer”.
He has already predicted what Xur should have for today, but he later also limited this: After the patch on Tuesday, it could be anything. Before that, it was supposedly the Universal Remote and the Heart of Praxic Fire. We don’t know.
What does Xur have for Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans in Destiny this week? What weapon does he sell?
Xur sells the shotgun “The Universal Remote” this week. This is convenient: The shotguns were heavily buffed in PvE with patch 1.1.1, and with them, this Glimmer farm spot is easily achievable.
For Hunters, he has the DLC helm “ATS/8 Arachnoid (2* 44/47).” He has never offered this before.
He charges Titans 13 strange coins for the gloves “No Backup Plans (89/96)“.
From Warlocks, he wants 13 strange coins; in return, they receive “The Heart of Praxic Fire (129/139).” This chest armor has never been offered before and Warlocks have been longing for it for ages.
Additionally, Xur sells an exotic helm engram this week and NO heavy ammo syntheses. At least here the Japanese Xuradamus was wrong.
The fantasy MMORPG Guild Wars 2 will change some game mechanics for the planned expansion “Heart of Thorns” to allow more freedom in designing boss encounters.
“Defiance” is the resilience that bosses exhibit against crowd control abilities in GW2. ArenaNet intends to redesign this system for the expansion “Heart of Thorns” so that a second bar will be displayed under the boss’s health bar, symbolizing their “Defiance” and filling up gradually (so to speak, a Defiance-o-meter). Several players must coordinate and simultaneously use control abilities to empty this bar. This way, they will deplete the bar. Additional abilities will then have the desired CC effect.
This system allows GW2 developers greater freedom in designing boss encounters. A blog post describes the fight against a flying Wyvern, where CC abilities must be coordinated to prevent the fluttering beast from taking off and quickly bringing it back down to earth.
Fire Demon Wyvern Requires Design Tricks
Overall, the Wyvern seems to be a true fire demon and an interesting champion encounter. In the second part of the blog entry, the developers describe the processes needed to prevent both the server and the players’ PCs from overheating amidst all the fire-spitting. The Wyvern is designed so that players can recognize from its model when it is about to spit fire: A spectacular glow should move over its belly, into its chest, and finally into its throat – a sure sign that a fiery hell is about to rain down on the players. A napalm-like effect is promised.
My MMO says: Defiance sounds quite similar to the system in WildStar. There, too, good coordination of CC abilities is needed in boss encounters to break through the opponents’ defenses and then actually stun them or interrupt an attack. Since GW2 currently has weaknesses with bosses (the combat often feels spammy and zerg-like due to the lack of a Holy Trinity), every step that enables more boss mechanics is initially positive. Or how do you see it?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Blizzard’s online card game Hearthstone , data miners have found hints about the next expansion.
In a recent small patch in Hearthstone, data miners from “Hearthhead” found hints that the next expansion could be quite classic, going into Blackrock and mainly focusing on the ancient raid “Molten Core”.
This would likely be an “adventure” where players fight against NPC bosses for cards – just like in Naxxramas. They have also found hints that the next card back could revolve around “Ragnaros”. Additionally, there are strings indicating that they want to celebrate the first anniversary of Hearthstone with an in-game event “golden”.
The MMO shooter Destiny simplifies access to the Vault, the place where Guardians store their armor and weapons. This can be done via an app or the Bungie website.
Most Guardians probably envisioned news about the Vault differently. And it would have been much simpler to write: “Bungie is making the Vault bigger,” but life is not a wish concert, and what Bungie is bringing now is likely to please many.
Instead of a larger Vault, Bungie has made the “Companion App” for Destiny more useful. You can access it via Android, iOS, or simply through the Bungie website. With this app, you can now access your Vault anytime, take out items, equip them directly, or store them – and this can also be done across characters.
Things you can now do in Destiny
Players should be able to get the missing shard to upgrade a weapon. They will be able to withdraw 30 strange coins via mobile banking to pay Judas Xurschariot. Or they can unpack a fusion rifle in the middle of a strike when they notice: “Hey, now a fusion rifle – would be great!” Or one can yell at some Christmas freshers in the Nightfall that they should summon the weapons correlating with the burn from the Vault.
It is also possible to split stacks of items and transfer individual items from them.
The step to the Second Screen
In practice, it is kind of a “Second Screen” that makes switching to twinks unnecessary. The phone or tablet serves as an additional ease while gaming – or one can reorganize the inventory of their Guardians during a bus ride to counteract the disgusting feeling that arises when a golden item appears among a row of purple items.
The initial reaction of the Guardians to the expansion is mostly positive. The change came unexpectedly.
By the way: There is a small glimmer of hope that you will soon be able to read the news that you actually wanted to read about the Vault in the Weekly Update: It is said that the wishes of the Guardians to have the Vault grow are being heard. And they are willing to talk about it. But this has already been known for a few months.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny, further prophecies from the Japanese user have come true: March sees the arrival of the Inferno mode.
All good things come in threes: A Japanese Destiny player can actually see into the future, at least over a period of 10 days. Last Friday, he got everything right with Xur, then he accurately predicted the weekly Nightfall strike (Valus Ta’aurc No-Burn) and now he is right again.
As Bungie announces in the Weekly Update, the “Inferno” mode will be available in Destiny starting March 3rd. This is a special variant of the Crucible, which is supposed to be rougher, more bare-bones, without frills, somehow harder and more authentic. One might say it’s a hipster Crucible.
On March 3rd, the Control mode of Inferno will start first. Bungie provides the details:
There will be no radar in the Inferno mode.
The scoring will be simplified as much as possible. It will focus only on the direct mission objectives and on killing enemies.
It will go significantly faster to capture a control point.
Heavy ammo will play a lesser role, there will only be heavy ammo once in each match.
The Inferno Control mode starts with these new maps:
The Anomaly
Firebase Delphi
Twilight Gap
Rusted Lands
Shores of Time
Blind Watch
Asylum
The Burning Shrine
The Cauldron
Pantheon
What other prophecies are there?
For March, the Japanese user has, by the way, made further prophecies, which concern other variants of the Inferno and the Iron Banner and also about Xur. He, however, makes no guarantees, as the patch could mess everything up in between. If everything goes according to plan, there should be an Iron Banner starting March 17, an Inferno conflict starting March 31, and another Iron Banner and Inferno in the Salvage mode in April.
Although the main focus of ArenaNet is now on the expansion “Heart of Thorns“, the developers of Guild Wars 2 are still diligently working on small improvements to enhance the daily life of players in Tyria.
Starting March 10, players can look forward to extensive new camera settings.
What can be adjusted now?
My roleplayer’s heart naturally beats faster for the “First-Person Camera”. Those who wish can now slip directly into the skin of their avatar and be much closer to the action of battles and taverns. This may be less suitable for PvP – unless one is looking for that special kick (in case of doubt, from their regular group).
Anyone wanting even more on their screen can also significantly enlarge or decrease the “Field of View”. Especially players who previously suffered from motion sickness may find that reducing the field of view allows for a noticeably more comfortable gaming experience. Overview junkies will of course turn the dial all the way up to spot enemies from all angles.
Over the shoulder, to the head, through the tree!
Moreover, a whole lot of fine adjustments can be made. The position of the camera can be adjusted using vertical and horizontal sliders so that it looks right over one shoulder of the hero.
If you just want to enjoy the (quite beautiful) landscapes of Tyria and take some impressive screenshots, you can now also decide that objects such as trees and walls no longer block the camera. This can also be extremely helpful when exploring jumping puzzles!
Basically, the camera now always focuses on the character’s head, which will require an adjustment for particularly small and notably large characters. However, the corresponding option can be disabled.
These changes will benefit not only players but also the creative members of the machinima scene.
Source: Press release ArenaNet
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the god MMO Skyforge, the first beta phase now has a start date. On March 11, the first closed beta phase for the West is set to begin. Those who do not receive an invite can purchase access through a founder’s pack.
Skyforge is planned to become a free-to-play game later on. Like other free-to-play MMOs, they still aim to make money during the early beta phase. For those who are unlucky with an invite to the beta, direct access to the first week-long beta phase can be purchased through a founder’s pack. The prices for the “smallest” founder’s pack are relatively affordable compared to similar games in the past: just under 18 Euros is what they are asking, and for that, you already get closed beta access in the smallest founder’s pack.
Those who are skeptical and possess the rare virtue of patience can simply wait for a later phase, as invitations usually increase during that time, or they can conventionally twiddle their thumbs until the release. The pack is also available in extended and ultimate – with these the premium player status is extended, and the goodies increase. Here you can compare the benefits of the packs.
The first beta phase of Skyforge is set to start on March 11 and will last for one week. They are also providing a trailer:
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The wait is over: The mystery of the countdown on the official Crowfall site has been revealed in the form of a Kickstarter campaign. Additionally, Artcraft Entertainment completes the final puzzle piece and specifies the planned features.
The mysterious timer on the official Crowfall site has reached its conclusion and has also kicked off a Kickstarter campaign. Since the game aims to be released without a publisher, Artcraft Entertainment is seeking financial support from fans for the development of the game.
The studio was founded by Shadowbane creator J. Todd Coleman and Gordon Walton, who has been involved in many different MMO projects. To realize the visions of Crowfall, at least $800,000 is needed within the next 29 days. However, the chances are looking very good so far: The community has obviously opened their wallets and has donated over $650,000 within 2 days.
In the past, only bits and pieces of gameplay information about Crowfall were revealed. The developers kept us in the dark regarding detailed gameplay content and their connections. But now, with the launch of the campaign, things have become concrete and the final puzzle piece has found its place. I have completed the puzzle and would like to introduce you to the special features:
Strategy meets MMO
[pullquote]It’s like Game of Thrones meets Eve Online[/pullquote]
“It’s like Game of Thrones meets Eve Online“, as J Todd Coleman and Gordon Walton label their fantasy MMORPG. Crowfall is not intended to be a standard off-the-shelf game. The developers consciously break genre-specific standards and norms. Coleman describes it as a mix of MMO and strategy game. With the challenge of combining the two different genres in mind, the minds behind Crowfall developed a unique concept.
The different worlds in Crowfall feature unique maps, rules, and victory conditions. Each world is different. Players can join guilds, factions, or noble houses to gain control of the world. Characters created should remain permanent. The worlds and campaigns, however, will decay. The developers call this whole process the “Throne War Simulator,” which differs in three fundamental elements: The Time. The Destruction. The Power.
The Time
Good news upfront: You can keep your created character forever, unlike the worlds where you wreak havoc. The various realms are referred to as “Campaign Worlds” and will decay after a certain period. Typically, it takes between 1 to 3 months until decay occurs, or the worlds end when the victory conditions are met. Each of these campaigns has its own cycle in the form of different phases that are traversed. These phases represent the four seasons:
Phase 1: Spring
In spring, the adventure practically begins. Players emerge from the ether onto the map and must first orient themselves. Everything is destroyed, ruins of past kingdoms can be found everywhere, and the map is covered in fog. This phase is primarily used to become familiar with the local conditions.
Phase 2: Summer
In summer, things finally pick up speed, and the first battles ignite. Resources become scarcer, and many players thirst for power and wealth. It’s now about protecting the resources you’ve plundered. Additionally, “The Hunger” comes into play.
Phase 3: Autumn
In autumn, things really heat up: The resource scarcity and the increasingly powerful monsters and opponents intensify the situation. Here, it will show who has developed best from the plundered resources. Also, battles will move from the fields to the built cities and castles. It’s time for siege battles, as well as preparing for the cold winter.
Phase 4: Winter
In winter, it’s a final sprint with little food. Alliances will be broken, kingdoms will become more powerful, and the smaller realms will rise up. Always keeping the goal in sight to achieve victory.
Phase 5: The Fall
Here, it will be decided who emerges as the victor from the battles and can claim the campaign for themselves. In a decisive battle, it’s about victory or defeat and the destruction of the entire world. Afterwards, the heroes will return home and dive into the next adventure.
The Hunger
The Crowfall universe is circular and consists of various inner circles. “The Hunger” is the driving force at the center of the universe. What this entity is and where it comes from remains unclear. What is factual is that “The Hunger” possesses intelligence and spreads like a veil over the campaign worlds, leading to total destruction. As if that were not enough, “The Hunger” also causes a form of “mutation” among the beings in the campaign worlds. Over time, the creatures of the worlds mutate into bestial monsters.
The Destruction
Destruction plays an essential role in Crowfall. After the time has elapsed or the campaign goal has been reached, each campaign world decays. Concurrently, new worlds with new objectives are created. This allows all players to start a new campaign at any time and under equal conditions. This is supported by a special engine.
Voxel Farm technology aims to enhance the gameplay experience
The beginning of each campaign is like the first round of Civilization: Players are thrust into a harsh environment surrounded by the fog of war. The worlds are full of deadly monsters, ghostly ruins, and abandoned quarries. Added to this is the most dangerous predator of all, the other players. Next, resources are gathered to build massive fortresses and craft weapons. The climax of each campaign is the decisive battle over victory and defeat, where the phrase “let the chips fly” can be taken literally. Therefore, the developers consciously chose voxel farm technology.
The basic principle is similar to that of Minecraft, as all materials can be created or extracted in blocks. Crowfall aims to exploit both advantages of the technology to the fullest. For example, you can blow holes in walls or dig tunnels underneath castle walls – even entire landscapes can be destroyed in this way. Thus, Crowfall reaches a new level of intensity.
Additionally, voxel technology plays a special role in world generation. This means that players fight in a procedurally generated world automatically created by an algorithm. Mountains, forests, valleys, rivers, and even entire continents are generated autonomously. As a result, each campaign takes place in a unique and individually designed world by the algorithm.
The Power
In the Crowfall universe, there are exactly two types of worlds: on the one hand, the so-called “Campaign Worlds,” which will perish over time, and on the other hand, the “Eternal Kingdoms.” These serve as a kind of base from where you plan new raids and boast about your conquests. One could also call it the housing area in Crowfall. However, the catch with the eternal kingdoms is a different one: They are completely managed by the player community.
As the monarch of a province, you can distribute your land among other players as you wish. You decide whether to rule your realm as a benevolent ruler or instill fear and terror as a tyrant. However, there are no resources in the eternal kingdoms. For that, you must enter the campaign worlds.
Different worlds, different rules
In Crowfall, unique means truly unique. Each of the worlds not only differs in level design but also in the requirements and conditions of the individual campaigns. Each campaign has its own rules, which might look something like this:
– What races and classes are allowed for the campaign?
– How long does the campaign last?
– What does the match-up look like? Guild vs. guild? Free-for-all?
– What resources can be harvested? In what quantity are they available?
– Are items destroyed upon death? Can I loot other players?
The Character System
In addition to the innovations in gameplay mechanics, they have also come up with something for the characters. During character creation, we first choose a base archetype. Each archetype reflects a central role and playstyle. For example, certain archetypes are very effective in combat situations, while others excel in crafting and resource management.
Once we choose our basic class, such as a warrior, we can then assign various advantages (such as “Eagle Eye”, which improves archery skills) and disadvantages (such as “Heart Weakness”, which weakens stamina). Be careful with assigning handicaps: If we boost our skills in one area, skills in another area will decrease.
Throughout the game, we can equip our heroes differently thanks to the extensive crafting system. Additionally, we can choose between three different disciplines. These are subclasses for our base archetype. We can also create multiple heroes and send them to different fronts.
Monetization Model
The completion of Crowfall’s core module is planned for the end of 2016, of course with the prerequisite that the Kickstarter campaign is successful – which we can be sure of. Until then, several alpha and beta tests will take place. The earliest alpha launch is not expected until the summer of 2016. You can currently purchase access through Kickstarter, and those who pay $60 can already participate in the first beta. Despite being Buy-2-Play, Artcraft Entertainment relies on an in-game shop as well as a “VIP membership.” However, the shop is said to not offer any gameplay advantages, according to the FAQ.
For more information, you can visit the Kickstarter page for Crowfall and check out our previous specials on the MMO that is set to provide a new experience:
