The rock band Cage The Elephant now has the coolest Playstation 4 bundle with the MMO Destiny in the history of mankind.
Cage The Elephant may be known to video game fans through their song “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” from the first Borderlands. Right now, the guys are on tour and received a gift from Red Bull that will make every Destiny fan’s eyes light up.
A “Steel Case,” which – as dualshockers writes – could also probably fit thick tour equipment, contains a white Playstation 4, a controller, a copy of Destiny, and some cans of Red Bull, so the band can make it through the session on stage and the gaming binge on the PS4. But the really impressive part is the inside of the steel case, where the Destiny logo is astonishingly displayed.
Us ordinary mortals can only hope that somewhere out there is a Destiny case with our name on it. But probably… not.
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Gamification is a new trend where companies use reward systems and comparison models from computer and video games to motivate employees.
Maybe some of you are familiar with the play and later film “Glengarry Glen Ross”. A competition is announced among real estate agents: The first gets a car, the second a knife set, and the last one gets fired. In ancient Rome, it was quite similar for gladiators – just with lions.
Work, work.
Even earlier, in the analog world, corporations rewarded their employees with bonuses, “Salesperson of the Month” plaques, and similar incentives to motivate them for better performance. One could perhaps buy a bicycle with their success points at the company or save for a cruise. Now, clever managers, like Michael Ameling at SAP, have discovered the computer game culture and are transferring the ways in which players are motivated and rewarded for special achievements to the structures of their companies.
On high score tables, players – pardon, employees can see where they stand performance-wise. Some companies even use interactive world maps, as an article on n24.de shows.
However, the results of this gaming motivation, as mentioned in the article on n24.de, are also culturally different. Not every country reacts the same; different models are needed: In Germany, a pure points system would quickly become boring. Here, it would need to be about something meaningful, like a meeting with the CEO. In India, however, employees proudly show their badges and budges for special achievements and wear them on their T-shirts.
One thing has changed compared to earlier times: Gamification is supposed to reward only positive behavior and not punish negative behavior. So, if you believe the corporations, you don’t have to worry about the last on the leaderboard being eaten by lions. At least not yet.
As a small comment from us: Especially MMOs are now struggling to find methods to motivate their players. The first developers are already starting to treat players like employees, involving them in the game’s development, letting them create content and test games. And here, they are also learning from the industry and starting to pay players. Perhaps we will soon not only see a “Gamification” of business corporations but also a “Businessfication” of games? On the other hand – maybe we have already had that with bots, gold sellers, and eBay account sales.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Brawler’s Guild in World of Warcraft will be adjusted to level 100 with the Pre-Patch 6.02 for Warlords of Draenor, but no new bosses are coming.
The Brawler’s Guild in World of Warcraft – equipped with many references to “Fight Club” – is an extremely skill-intensive activity for solo players in WoW. The opponents have special abilities, and sequences must be memorized, and tricks applied to overcome the challenges within a tight time limit.
With Warlords of Draenor, player level and strength will increase, so it would be silly to leave the Brawler’s Guild as it is. Therefore, Blizz outlines some changes in a Dev Blog that will go live in World of Warcraft with the Pre-Patch 6.02, which is expected in two weeks:
The old achievements will become heroic feats and can no longer be obtained again. Instead, new ones are coming. (Yes, that means the AV points for this will be lost too, as always)
The fights will be scaled to level 100.
There will be some changes in balancing, with Bruce now becoming a rank-5 boss.
The ring rewards will be stronger and should also be attractive for level 100 with 6.02.
Progress will be spread over 8 ranks again.
However, at least for the foreseeable future, there will not be new bosses or challenges for the Brawler’s Guild. However, you can take Meatball with you to your Garrison after defeating him. That’s something too. And maybe something will happen in the Brawler’s Guild during the patch cycle.
For those who have no idea at all what the Brawler’s Guild is, we have selected a video, but a) you probably need to know how the boss mechanics work to understand how incredibly difficult everything is and b) should turn the sound off:
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The Sparrow in the luxury MMO Destiny can be used for certain stunts and tricks. A video shows the creativity of the Sparrow boarders.
The Sparrow in Destiny, a kind of hover bike and the preferred means of transportation for the Guardians, has already triggered clear associations with Star Wars in the live action trailer. This thing is simply iconic. And according to lore, it can reach speeds of up to 220 kilometers per hour and rests in its owner’s jumpship when not in use. The status symbols of a Guardian aren’t too shabby: My spaceship, my Sparrow, my exotic fusion rifle.
Many Destiny players think, when they sit on the machine, probably not of Star Wars or bling-bling, but rather of Tony Hawk and other legends of the half-pipe. In a video, a particularly creative Sparrow boarder presents his best tricks and stunts. This surely belongs to the cooler things one can do to pass time in Destiny, don’t you think?
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ArcheAge, the Korean sandbox adventure, has recently launched turbulently. This makes it a good time to take a closer look at the latest developments surrounding the free-to-play MMO. Even better, it helps when a representative joins the conversation. We had the opportunity for an interview with Victoria Voss, the producer of ArcheAge.
Whether it will become a long-term success is still uncertain. One thing is for sure: a hell of a lot of people are currently following the game, and it’s not due to any marketing tricks; there’s no Pied Piper of Hamelin luring with music. No, people want to explore the sandbox, and who knows? Maybe some will settle here and carve out their own path?
ArcheAge – Light at the End of the Tunnel
People are constantly saying that MMORPGs are running out of steam – the market is apparently oversaturated. But isn’t ArcheAge the online role-playing game that is currently making headlines?
Especially the endlessly long queues at the beginning show, although they were extremely annoying, that players are yearning for something new and that the genre is not coming to an end.
According to Trion Worlds, ArcheAge is 10 times more popular than expected. The extreme hype surrounding a Korean MMO has not escaped us either. Yes, it’s downright puzzling to us. We wanted to know from Victoria whether the age of classical theme park MMOs is actually over and if players are looking for a completely new gameplay experience. Unfortunately, she didn’t reveal whether that is truly the case. But Victoria provides her own reasons for thinking that it is being so well received.
“In ArcheAge, you can do what you want”
The unique aspect of ArcheAge is clearly the diversity that she explicitly emphasizes. During the conversation, it quickly becomes clear that she is not just selling a product, but that she is also a passionate player herself.
“I spend most of my time with farming. I enjoy creating things and supporting my guildies. But I also enjoy sailing the ocean and protecting others during a traderun on a ship.” Then she takes a breath and adds dryly, “or also finding other players to steal their stuff. Maybe I have a few entries in my criminal record.” In ArcheAge, you even have to fear the authorities. Here I wanted to know more and jumped in with a seemingly incredulous, “How can you even?”
After she had to laugh about it herself, she somewhat qualified her statement: “I’m not really good at killing other people. But you know, it’s fun to be able to do multiple things at the same level.” Referencing our interview with Scott Hartsmann, she praised the unique dynamics that even pure PvE players suddenly started to enjoy the PvP in ArcheAge: “It brings a certain thrill to the game without frustrating people too much.”
The game has a crafting focus, but there’s still so much more to do in the open world, including PvP or questing. However, there’s no pressure involved. Players are given the choice of how they want to spend their time. She illustrates this with a personal anecdote: “My husband prefers PvE and kills monsters, while I am addicted to crafting.” The two of them can thus play an MMO together because it “supports multiple play styles.”
ArcheAge is a game supported by the community
To steer the interview in a new direction, I directed the conversation towards the community, which also impresses us at Mein MMO. There have been truly many comments about ArcheAge in the past weeks, lively discussions, and guilds supporting us with insider information. We haven’t experienced that in any MMO before.
This didn’t just happen by chance but is largely due to the game design of the MMORPG.
In ArcheAge, players significantly shape the world – from territorial wars to a justice system to a player-driven economy and housing in the open world. I asked whether she doesn’t find it remarkable that players are suddenly interacting with each other so much. Most games in recent times have taken a different path, moving more towards a model where players play together but more superficially – for example, through automated grouping functions.
“The current trend in the gaming segment suggests that you can suddenly land in space from some location and be part of a group. Then you do something together that is fun, and that is cool. But there can also be another side where players really engage with each other, communicate, work on a solution, and not just run alongside each other. In ArcheAge, we particularly observe this in building areas. There are neighborhoods where people talk a lot and farm together. In PvP zones, they even help each other by warning about nearby “bad” players. And they consider going against them together.”
Such situations characterized MMORPGs in the past and made them so appealing. That is currently widespread in ArcheAge and something that characterizes this sandbox game and sets it apart from others. Even though ArcheAge is not perfect, it gives hope for the future. So one can still build on player-driven features, provided they are well thought out.
“We are surprised by player behavior”
No, the subtitle does not refer to the free-to-play community, which is said to have a questionable reputation. Admittedly, ArcheAge can be rough.
Overall, what surprises Victoria the most is the behavior of players concerning what is currently happening on the high seas. They knew, of course, what the harpoons on the ships could do. However, they never dreamed that many groups would board enemy ships with harpoons to pull them all the way to land. And all just to have a party on the conquered ship. More than a horrified “Really?” crossed my mind. “Yes, that is truly unexpected, we now call them the Land Party Boats.” Give players tools in hand, and unexpected things happen.
When Victoria spoke about regional differences and mentioned that there are not only different play styles between Korea and the West but also within Europe and America, I was interested in details. Unfortunately, I only got a small insight that it is fun to observe the player behavior from some countries. Some focus more on crafting, while others fully commit to PvP. And the American servers are progresstechnically ahead of the European ones. However, the Black Pearl, the most powerful ship in the game, has still not been completed by anyone.
It had a bumpy start…
As amusing or quirky as player behavior may sometimes be, it must be said that the launch was unfortunate from a technical point of view. As mentioned at the beginning, the start – and that is a mild way of putting it – was suboptimal. Excruciatingly long queues, issues with VIP status, barely any leftover building spaces, and much more.
Even before the launch, a community outcry caused a lot of commotion. We remember: There were changes in the shop and in the work points, which were heavily criticized. If it had remained that way, high spenders could have gained a significant advantage – even over subscribers. They probably took that back due to the criticism. The situation has noticeably relaxed since then. When I asked whether further changes were planned, Victoria replied: “We are still looking at the situation with ArcheAge, but I think we are quite happy with how it is currently. There seems to be a good balance regarding the work points.”
They had to play around with the work points a bit. Players should get to know the system to see how it influences gameplay. For players in the West, this mechanism is unfamiliar, which is why many statements from the community were initially negatively inclined.
When asked about the long queues, Victoria said, “It’s really interesting to plan how many servers you want to have ready for launch. It’s a big question of balance.” After all, many numbers play a role, whether registered players or similar indicators. From the beginning, they kept 4 servers as a backup, but the number of players far exceeded expectations. For example, many players from Russia also joined the servers. That was not anticipated.
ArcheAge is not suitable for server merges
There are now 21 servers worldwide, and Trion will continue to monitor player numbers and queues to see if further adjustments are needed. However, more servers are unlikely, as they want to avoid having to reduce the number of servers at some point. When asked about an emergency plan for empty servers in the future: “We have already seen server mergers in other regions, and we have talked with XLGames about various tools to prevent this.” That would be the absolute last resort, as ArcheAge is not really suitable for that. No one likes to lose the house they have worked hard for. Those who want to switch servers will be able to do so with server transfers in the future. She advises new players to settle on the new servers. There is still plenty of land available to place a farm or house.
Generally, most technical problems have now been resolved and the queues have become more manageable. It’s running more smoothly. What about the coming weeks?
The Future: Auroria is Coming Soon, Expected to Solve Building Problems
“The next big update will be Auroria.” Honestly, that felt a bit vague to me – wouldn’t it to you? Believe me, I’ve tried to find out the date and even promised, “I might not tell anyone (except for the readers on Mein MMO).”
She still mentioned a few more details in closing:
It won’t take long, just a little while, they will announce it in time (probably in a few weeks).
Trion wants to ensure that enough guilds reach the end game level. Otherwise, there is too great a risk that a single guild secures all castles on Auroria. That would ruin the fun of the game.
The new continent Auroria will open at different times in Europe and America, each during primetime.
Trion expects that the problems with the limited building areas on the most popular servers will resolve with Auroria, as many will typically move to the new areas. Some will also lose interest in housing over time, which is why they ask for patience.
“When it’s done, it’s done” is the motto for content updates. There is no fixed schedule. The reasons for this lie in localization.
Costumes, pets, and other items are coming soon in the item shop, e.g., for Halloween and winter.
Along with XLGames, they are planning events, and there will be a preview around Halloween.
Thank you to Victoria Voss from Trion Worlds for the nice interview.
Trion is also developing a new game. Unfortunately, she couldn’t reveal more. However, it didn’t sound like a new MMORPG.
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While Blizzard’s free card game Hearthstone proves to be an eSports hit, World of Warcraft struggles to score in this area. Could live-streamed raids change that?
An article on PCGamesN addresses the eSports imbalance between Blizzard’s two games, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft. While 50,000 viewers followed the European qualifiers for Hearthstone from home over the weekend, and the tension among fans in the venue was palpable, the WoW arena tournament happening right next door failed to impress.
This is also the view of Kim Phan, the head of eSports at Blizzard: “Yes, the three-on-three in the arena is quite difficult to watch at the moment. And that is an area we will be looking at,” she says.
Hearthstone developed with eSports in mind – WoW not
Hearthstone has always been designed with the concept of eSports in the background and is now exploding in this area. In contrast, World of Warcraft was conceived long before eSports became such a big deal and was never intended to be an experience that viewers could enjoy.
With Warlords of Draenor, they aim to remove some obstacles for eSports, but some issues are hard to avoid.
Therefore, Phan is considering exploring new paths and also looking at alternatives to arenas: “There are a lot of things in World of Warcraft that people want to watch. We have had good experiences with raids. Some suggest battlegrounds. Ultimately, an eSport is created when people want to watch it. We will take a close look at how we can improve that in World of Warcraft.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO Destiny, there has been a lot of commotion around the loot caves in recent weeks. Now, PC players can enjoy the full experience of farming loot in Destiny for hours with a simulator.
The treasure cave in Destiny was open, closed, a new one was found, and it will surely close again soon. There has been a discussion about how Bungie wants Destiny to be played and how fans want to play Destiny. The “treasure cave,” one can agree, is not exactly super fun, but effective, and players just love it when tons of green, blue, and purple stuff is lying on the ground, waiting to be picked up.
Some (including Bungie now) say that it was a design flaw in Destiny not to celebrate great loot like in other games. While the sparkle of the loot cave after extensive shooting sessions gives exactly this kick.
Anyway. A developer has taken the fun of creating a “loot cave” simulator, so to speak, Destiny in a nutshell. A video of it is available below. If you want to see how the loot cave in Destiny is or if you will miss it soon, this simulator will make you happy.
We also have links to the original loot cave and its imitators for you:
In the MMO shooter Destiny, a player was able to see game content that is supposedly already in the game but not yet accessible due to a bug. Some fans find this quite amusing, as they think that Destiny is too light compared to Bungie’s grand claims.
It is not entirely clear what caused it. It was probably the Toad Attack. They couldn’t handle it, despite announcing to completely withdraw, and resumed their activities. They launched a DDOS attack on the Destiny servers and set a lot in motion. However, that was only about the sixth most important news about Destiny that turbulent weekend.
Spoiler Alert: This post contains information about the content of upcoming DLCs and even speculations about profound story developments towards the end.
The two new DLCs do not bring any new planets to Destiny
Whether it was because of that or not: A player suddenly had no access to Destiny. He was virtually “outside the world”, stuck on the Destiny login screen and could not access the individual contents because he did not meet the requirements. However, he could already recognize some missions, strikes, and even two raids that were associated with the announced DLCs “The Dark Below” and “House of Wolves”. They were supposed to come later, and their content was still a mystery. The way the player could see these contents but not enter them reminded fans of the Destiny beta. It was the same there.
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Is this in the DLCs “The Dark Below” and “House of Wolves”?
“The Dark Below” is slated to be the first expansion for Destiny in December. As can be seen, the expansion includes three story missions, two strikes, and one raid. “House of Wolves” (is expected to arrive in early 2015) brings three story missions, one strike, and one raid. Additionally, there is a new mode called “Skirmish”, which is supposed to work in a way that players receive greater rewards for a winning streak. However, all content is currently found on the known planets. Some had hoped that Bungie would significantly expand the universe with the upcoming DLCs. While it is not impossible that they will still do that, there are no indications for it.
These are the missions in detail:
The Dark Below
Old Russia, Earth Level 18 Story – The Veil Lifted Root out the Hive beneath the Cosmodrome and discover a long-hidden secret of the Golden Age.
Old Russia, Earth Level 18 Story – The Seeding Investigate the return of ancient Hive Wizards, preparing for Crota’s reign.
Ocean of Storms, Moon Level 20 Story – The Wakening Stop the Hive from summoning Crota and consuming our worlds.
Old Russia, Earth Level 10 Strike – The Jovian Complex A new Hive brood gathers its strength beneath the Cosmodrome. Find their master and purge them all.
Meridian Bay, Mars Level 20 Strike – The Hypogeum The resurrection of the Black Garden has begun. Stop the Vex before the Garden’s heart beats again.
Ocean of Storms, Moon Level 28 Raid – Crota’s End He waits in the dark below.
House Of Wolves
Old Russia, Earth Level 20 Story – Gone to Ground Find a Wolves Baron and his conspirators who have betrayed the Queen and are hiding in the Cosmodrome.
Ishstar Sink, Venus Level 20 Story – Wolves’ Harvest Track down the Queen’s traitorous Wolves and recover what they’ve stolen from the Awoken.
Ishtar Sink, Venus Level 22 Story – The Citadel Ascend to the top of the Vex stronghold on Venus and assassinate the Wolves’ Kell.
Ocean of Storms, Moon Level 14 Strike – Moon Strike [probably just a placeholder name] No description
The Reef, Asteroid Belt Level 28 Raid – Reef Raid [also probably a placeholder] No description
Players are frustrated that so much is missing in Destiny
The idea that the two expansions with their contents are clear and even already in the game comes at a rather unfortunate time. Many players, YouTubers (and also some media) are currently accusing Bungie of intentionally equipping Destiny with too little content so that they can sell their expansions later.
On reddit, there is a huge thread, that shows how little of the originally announced game actually went live with Destiny. There is a lack of story, atmosphere, everything. Thus, some see Destiny as a watered-down deceptive package and not the full package that was promised. The impression arises that as much meat as possible was cut from the main game to have enough content for the expansions later. This impression is further reinforced by the repeated appearances of videos showing completed areas in the world, that are already complete but still sealed.
The brother of the queen plays a key role in the originally intended plot.
On the other hand, it is also possible that Destiny decided relatively shortly before the release to steer the story of the game in a different direction and cut several twists and plot turns from the game. This is supported, in the opinion of some reddit users, by the departure of Bungie’s writers. There are indications that it was originally intended to question the role of the mysterious Traveler more critically, after all, he brought the darkness with him. Whether this will happen in a future DLC or whether a creative decision was made for a different direction is still uncertain at the moment. The story seems to consist only of allusions currently.
According to Bungie, DLCs are not yet finished, work is ongoing
Update 21:50: There is now an official statement from Bungie regarding the incidents described here. They say they are currently working on completing the DLCs. The contents found here are merely placeholders and names (which could still change). They will inform players about the contents of the DLCs as soon as they are ready. In this context, they confirm that the first DLC for Destiny “The Dark Below” is on schedule and is set to be released in December.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The fantasy MMO Guild Wars 2 is further aiming to establish itself as a serious eSport game. And so they are tackling typical issues that come with such a competitive mentality, such as players insulting and flaming each other.
Guild Wars 2 takes eSports very seriously. There is no doubt about that. Even though the previous efforts have yet to really attract the interest of Twitch viewers, ArenaNet is firmly determined to establish Guild Wars 2 as an eSports game. They likely see themselves at an advantage compared to other MMORPGs due to the comparatively low influence of equipment on character strength and the skill-based nature of the game.
The hordes of MOBA players, the currently trending eSports trend, would probably love to have every MMORPG in their ranks or at least a part of it. They would be desperately needed fresh blood, while the core player base of MMORPGs is getting older. These theories are at least read quite often and seem to be plausible and supported by the numbers. In the coming years, some MMORPGs will probably notice trends that aim to attract players more from League of Legends or DOTA 2 rather than World of Warcraft or Star Wars: The Old Republic as it was in previous years.
Josh Davis has been appointed as the “Competitive Events Manager” and already announced another huge tournament in China, where a prize of $50,000 is at stake and where, right before Nikolaustag, the best teams from Europe, China, and North America are to compete in a tournament for the world championship. A similar tournament was organized for Gamescom in Cologne and here, in addition to local players, top players from China and North America were flown in – despite the effort, the battles didn’t really get much attention on Twitch.
They also have their own streaming show that deals with this specific form of PvP, presents the mode extensively at conventions, and actually does everything to make it clear: Guild Wars 2 is the eSports MMORPG. As mentioned: Currently, the success in terms of viewers is still lacking. But apparently, they are willing to wait for it.
Here is a recent presentation of Guild Wars 2 at the EGX in London, clearly showing that they aim to introduce MOBA players to MMORPGs.
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In the official forum of Guild Wars 2, Josh Davis was confronted with a typical problem of eSport games: top players are ambitious, the competition among themselves is fierce, nerves are frayed, insults and flames fly back and forth within a team and also between competing teams.
A stream between two teams was recently posted in the GW2 forum. It is no longer viewable, but from the comments, it is clear that things got quite heated.
On the second page, Josh Davis made it clear that such behavior will not be tolerated under his supervision. Like Riot recently threatened players with penalties up to exclusion from eSports, if they behave “toxic”. This could probably be most aptly translated as “like an ass”.
Pro gamers must behave professionally soon
Davis presents his post as a “friendly reminder”, but makes no doubt that he intends to take strong action against such behavior. A corresponding code of conduct is planned.
In recent weeks, Riot has stood out for regulating the sometimes severe behavior of their pro gamers, to elevate eSports in League of Legends to a new level. Even top League of Legends players are now threatened with exclusion if they cannot keep themselves in check.
Understandably: After all, these players set an example, stand in the spotlight and their behavior reflects back on the game. Those who want to be treated like a pro and celebrated should probably get used to the idea of behaving professionally.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The SF-MMO WildStar is transitioning from separate worlds to Mega-Servers. The date is not yet finalized, but it looks like mid-October.
Over the weekend, WildStar posted a major “State of the Game” update from Mike Donatelli, who talked about the future of WildStar, which has not looked so bright in recent weeks. Carbine hopes that the transition to Mega-Servers will make the world of Nexus feel more vibrant again.
At the moment, there is still no exact timeframe for the transition. Now the Director of Operations at WildStar, Cougar, has stated that they are still on schedule. Originally, they spoke of three to six weeks. Currently, it looks like they might just meet this timeline. The Mega-Servers are currently in a testing phase, and there may still be delays, hence there is no exact date yet.
However, the Mega-Servers are not tied to the 3rd content drop (which is scheduled for early November). Cougar’s announcement suggests that the Mega-Servers could go live around mid-October and thus six weeks after the announcement in early September.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The South Korean sandbox MMO Black Desert is set to come to the West and breathe new life into the struggling MMORPG market. We present it in a preview and highlight classes, gameplay, housing, sandbox, and PvP.
Currently, the third phase of the closed beta of Black Desert is running in Korea. The first detailed insights are also appearing in the West. The game feels like the currently popular Korean MMO ArcheAge, albeit with significantly better graphics and an action combat system similar to Tera.
2015, 2016 marks the Asian invasion; MMORPGs need fresh ideas
After 2014 experienced a resurgence of the Western market with The Elder Scrolls Online and WildStar, MMO experts predict a strong influence from Asian MMORPGs in the coming years, which could revitalize the market with sandbox elements. The upcoming Western AAA projects – like Everquest Next – are also heading in this direction.
Alongside the ArcheAge released in September and the somewhat aged Blade and Soul, which is supposed to come to the West in 2015, fresh games like Black Desert and Bless Online have set their sights on our market.
Black Desert is likely the hottest contender at the moment. Currently, the MMORPG is in the third closed beta in Korea, and the first tests in Europe are expected to begin in early 2015, with the game set to release in 2016. It’s high time we introduce you to Black Desert in more detail. We will take a current video from mmobomb from the Closed Beta as a reference.
Unusual for the West: Race and Gender Lock
In character creation, players encounter a first surprise: the “classes” available have a set race and gender. The “Berserker” variant of Black Desert, an offensive warrior wielding two weapons, is only available as a male giant, hence the class is called Giant. Currently, 4 classes are playable in Korea, with four more to come.
Even though the classes, decidedly unusual for us, are rigidly fixed on race and gender, Black Desert features an extensive character creator. When it was presented in a video a few months ago, it made people’s mouths water here. It really did look fantastic. And it single-handedly ensured that Black Desert appeared on many mental maps for the first time and lodged itself there.
The eight classes of Black Desert
The four classes already playable in Korea are:
The Ranger, a female archer.
http://youtu.be/aHeWXntYWi0
The Warrior, a classic male tank with sword and shield.
http://youtu.be/6KVw4Efd2l0
Sorcerer, a magician who is agile and shines with damage spells from a distance.
http://youtu.be/yoFWgRM8Q3E
And the Giant, a large berserker as melee DPS with two oversized axes.
http://youtu.be/LDLxj2xxK5c
The four additional classes that are yet to come are:
Tamer, a “tamer” who relies on a sword and her animal companions. So a pet class.
The Wizard, a male wizard, somewhat akin to Gandalf with a staff and focusing on AE spells.
Valkyrie, the Valkyrie, serving as a counterpart to the male tank, the women focus more on support skills.
And the Blader, another melee DPS variant that fights with more finesse and elegance than the brute Giant.
Gameplay: Quests are rather dull, sandbox elements dominate
One of the few criticisms noted in the video is the quests, which seem generically dull to us in the West. However, this criticism has been a recurring theme in the history of Asian MMOs in the West. ArcheAge and Tera struggle with this as well. And also sandbox games usually don’t shine with intricate stories and exciting quests; the content is provided by the players for each other.
So it seems, according to the video, that in Black Desert, a frequently used alternative is to skip quests and instead grind mobs. Since every character primarily focuses on AE, this is quite practical.
In the long run, Black Desert is more of a sandbox PvP game with strong crafting elements. A description that also applies to ArcheAge. Guilds could occupy fortresses, players might go hunting for others, and a karma system is implemented.
Through the crafting system, it generally tends to be that each player sets their own goals and aims to pursue their chosen goal Y on day X by completing step Z. While in Western MMOs, it tends to be a fixed progression path from zone A to B, questing until the maximum level and then diving into the item spiral. This won’t be the case in Black Desert. As in ArcheAge, the path to the best gear goes through crafting and sandbox elements.
Combat System: Really Good, But Potion Heavy
The combat system is one of the highlights of Black Desert. It is entirely free, not tab-based. The attacks are fluid. You can feel the weight behind each attack (this is somewhat of a holy grail among combat system fans).
However, combat in Black Desert, as is common in Asian MMOs, is also “flashy,” with blood splatter and a shaking screen, making it seem restless and exaggerated. Western players might need to get used to this.
In Black Desert, there are no healers. Healing potions are on a five-second timer. The game practically encourages players to become potion junkies, which can be quite annoying sometimes.
The combo-based combat system becomes more appealing as players unlock skills with increasing experience in combat, allowing for fresh combinations. Black Desert mimics the combat system of modern Asian MMOs, where the goal is to string together spectacular combos. It has a bit of a Street Fighter feel.
Crafting: Now It Gets Interesting
The crafting system is complex like in ArcheAge. There are also some parallels to the sandbox MMO. However, the traderuns in Black Desert do not have to be taken on directly, but players can hire NPCs for that. These also take care of resource gathering. Since these characters do not (like now in World of Warcraft or Rift) only exist in some sort of mini-game, but instead are really visible in the world and follow their daily routines, the game feels lively and interesting in the cities.
As in ArcheAge, crafting capacity is regulated by a kind of “energy” system. In Black Desert, players will also not be able to craft until they drop, but are limited to specific energy boundaries, similar to a browser game.
Gossip and a Roof Over Your Head
Black Desert introduces a sort of “gossip” system. This allows players to improve their relationship with individual NPCs in a mini-game, leading to discounts or unlocking quests. The mini-game involves integrating the individual NPCs into a social matrix, enabling them to obtain information about others that interest them.
Housing plays a key role in Black Desert. Not only do you need specific furniture in your house to advance in crafting, but you can also build huts for NPCs under your command.
Things like crafting, housing, and mini-games are still relatively difficult to describe and thus make appealing to readers because they don’t translate well into a three-minute video like the combat system does. But ArcheAge or even the long-lasting Eve Online show that MMO fans appreciate a deep and immersive crafting system and honor it with loyalty.
How to Traverse the World: Mounts, Parkour, and Low Doors
The game differentiates itself from current MMO representatives by taking mounts and world navigation seriously. While in other MMORPGs doors symbolize access to instances, in Black Desert they can be opened and walked through. In fact, larger characters even crouch.
The world is walkable, explorable, and climbable. There’s a sort of parkour system allowing players to scale a city. Above all, the graphics are revolutionary. It rains, puddles form, the hero wades through it, and clothes get wet – a tremendous leap from what we know and see today.
Also, Black Desert answers the mount question differently than its competitors. Mounts cannot simply be stored in a magical bag after use but must be returned to a stable or picked up on-site. They can also level up and be equipped with gear. Mounted combat is also expected to come. There’s also talk of naval combat, though we haven’t seen that yet.
Black Desert Could Hit the Mark, But Will Still Require Compromises
My MMO states: Black Desert sounds almost too good to be true at the moment, like the logical symbiosis of two games. Many are bothered by Tera’s lack of depth. ArcheAge lacks a more dynamic combat system and a “wow” effect in graphics for some. If Black Desert can hit the mark here, the future could indeed be very Asian.
However, Black Desert should hurry. One and a half years is a long time. If delays occur during the port, as with other MMOs, the enthusiasm and anticipation felt by many may turn into frustration.
In principle, many MMO veterans yearn for a sandbox game, for an experience that is different from World of Warcraft and its epigones. Currently, there are only a few sandbox alternatives on the MMORPG market, and those offered are often either old or aimed at the indie niche. A modern triple-A game could be a hit here, as long as it hurries with the porting and doesn’t just offer a pretty façade but also proves its depth.
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Whether local players are willing to make compromises is still open. In the video about character creation, many were indeed astonished at first with open mouths at the possibilities. However, they waved it off when they heard about the gender lock: many were not willing to accept this compromise. Because for many MMO players, such signals trigger memories of many cheap Asian grinders that quickly burn players out and leave them frustrated. For Black Desert, it will be about convincing Westerners that it has nothing to do with certain notorious Eastern imports.
But this is not a one-way street. Although the publisher of Black Desert, Daum, has assured that it will respond to the peculiarities of the Western market, Western players will have to make compromises if they truly yearn for something new.
As much as it has long been clear that Black Desert will not be a World of Warcraft with a Chinese coat of paint or some clone, it aims to offer players a new experience. Whether they are ready for that and whether Black Desert can truly deliver it, time will tell.
Black Desert is set to enter a beta phase in Europe in early 2015, with release expected in 2016.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the beta of Warlords of Draenor, the expansion for the MMO World of Warcraft, a new mount has appeared that seems to be intended as a reward for the Recruit-a-Friend program.
In the past, there were rockets, today there are Flame Steeds. The resourceful data miners from mmo-champion have struck gold again. They discovered images of a Flame Steed, which – as the item description says – “was created personally by Ragnaros for the daughter he never had.”
A Recruit-a-Friend program works like this: One player invites a friend via email to try out this thing called World of Warcraft. If the recipient of the message accepts and subscribes, Blizzard can welcome a new player and the recruiter can look forward to Warlords of Draenor with Flame Fury.
And yes – the first party poopers are saying that it’s just a flame reskin of the Hearthsteed mount. Here’s the Charger in action:
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In the MMO shooter Destiny, an exotic weapon has emerged that dominates the Crucible. The fusion rifle Vex Mythoclast counts as a primary weapon despite its class and packs a serious punch. It comes from the hard mode of the raid, the Vault of Glass, from the final boss Atheon.
Many MMOs struggle with the issue of having weapons in PvP that are too strong in PvE. Recently, WildStar faced this problem. World of Warcraft has been working for years to separate the game modes so that PvE gear is not too strong in the arena and PvP players cannot assert themselves in raids and dungeons with their items. Now, this problem also occurs in Destiny.
Interestingly, shooter games often attract a community that values fairness. Matches should be decided by skill. The new fusion rifle seems to make the owner play in God mode with instant kills activated. Normally, such things are regulated by a system that equalizes items in PvP. However, the best weapon in Destiny bypasses this balance.
The probably best weapon in Destiny combines advantages of fusion and scout rifles
In Destiny, a fusion rifle that drops from the final boss Atheon in the Vault of Glass on hard mode threatens to kill the balance in PvP. This is the exotic fusion rifle “Vex Mythoclast.” Normally, fusion rifles in Destiny are only special weapons, known as secondary weapons. However, exotic items sometimes break the rules set in the game, and that also applies to the Vex Mythoclast. This weapon counts as a primary weapon and causes significant damage.
As eurogamer.net analyzes, the probably best weapon in Destiny is a cross between a fusion rifle and a scout rifle that does as much damage as a special weapon without carrying the disadvantages of that category: It doesn’t rely on special ammunition, nor does it suffer from a slow rate of fire.
Since just this week, the first attempts in hard mode of “The Vault of Glass” have been made, the weapon is not yet widespread. Perhaps half a dozen of these killing machines might be in circulation at the moment, rather fewer.
Vex Mythoclast drops from Atheon in the Vault of Glass on “hard”
The Vex Mythoclast is not always dropped by the boss – that would be too brutal – but only as a rare reward. The effects of the weapon can be seen in a PvP video: Here, a player dominates the Crucible so hard that enemies leave the match in droves. With just a few shots, he takes down opponent after opponent, only a Bladedancer sometimes manages to catch him in close combat.
The weapon and the drop were introduced by a lucky finder on reddit, and another player posted the link to the total dominance in the Crucible. One can be sure that the topic will be hotly discussed in the coming hours and days. A magazine is already speculating,that only the Suros Regime, an exotic auto rifle, could match with the Mythoclast – ironically, it was available during the weekend at Xur.
A nerf of the Vex Mythoclast is expected. However, this might take some time. At the moment, too few players have the weapon.
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You can check out the weapon more closely here . The profile of the type who makes shish kebabs out of opponents in the video can be found at bungie.net. And whatever else we have to say about Destiny, you can find at mein-mmo.de on the topic page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
There are very few games that make me feel both so happy and so sad at the same time as WildStar has in recent months. I don’t particularly like myself for my view of “the glass is half empty”, but I find it hard to shake this feeling off. The game has been in a downward spiral since its launch, the end of which I simply cannot see.
The recent changes: Easier raid access, faster progress
Raiding guilds are struggling with a lack of newcomers. This is supposed to improve with less grind and the megaserver.
The prevailing motto of the developers “The devs are listening” led to more or less prompt responses to the biggest complaints. While they continue to maintain the actual difficulty of the raids, access to these contents has been significantly eased. Parts of the questline that felt particularly “grindy” have been simplified so that latecomers can also participate in the raids faster (to then complain about their difficulty in the forum).
Another change is the availability of VIP and skill points, which could previously only be painstakingly acquired through ancestral gems that could only be obtained in very limited amounts – this gave characters who played from the very beginning a significant advantage, especially in PvP. With the new system, all characters – at least theoretically – can unleash their full potential within a week.
All this unfortunately does not disguise the fact that quite a bit is not working smoothly.
WildStar: A rocket in free fall
I praised WildStar in review back then for many positive aspects (and still do today), but it seems that the target audience is simply much smaller than expected.
All the players who longed for the “hardcore” raids of the past seem to have disappeared, or – which is much more likely – are simply not as “hardcore” as the often glorified past when you still experimented for 4 evenings a week around Chromaggus in the Blackwing Lair.
What went wrong?
I believe one can state without much opposition that a lot went wrong with WildStar. There were virtually no advertising campaigns for the game, or they were so cleverly hidden that no one noticed them. While all promises made at the launch of the game were kept, like many MMOs before, WildStar also suffered from countless teething problems like bugs and balancing issues that simply ruined certain aspects of the game.
No two months after the release, it was announced that the original plan for monthly content patches could not be kept and that they did not want to commit to any fixed dates – sad, considering that the contents of Content Drop 1 and 2 were mostly playable during beta. Certain inconsistencies in PvP (such as the uselessness of healers for a long time) drove many players away, and whether they will return is questionable.
The future: What could happen?
In the near future, we can expect megaservers, a rescue measure to consolidate declining player numbers, so that content such as instances and raids can still be experienced. While this is good for most players, it is rather detrimental to role-players, as I have already adequately mentioned. I sadly doubt that megaservers will be the comprehensive salvation that Carbine hopes for. Pessimistically, this looks like a clear case of “too little, too late” to me.
WildStar as a F2P game?
A long-term solution would be the transition to the free-to-play model, as many other games have done. Such a switch has, for example, saved TERA and SW:TOR from certain doom and turned them back into worthwhile projects with rising player numbers. At the same time, such a change is, of course, associated with a severe loss of prestige, as the transition is generally seen as a “death certificate” for an MMORPG.
If the developers were to take such a step, a new form of the in-game shop would inevitably be added. Possible offerings could include various exclusive housing items or potions that allow for faster experience gain. Account services such as additional character slots, name changes, or special costumes could also be conceivable, similar to what GuildWars 2 (and many others) does.
What is good and will stay good?
My favorite aspect of the game has only improved since day one – the housing is still fantastic, extensive, and the possibilities are virtually endless. No matter what one wants to realize, whether gloomy, silly, sublime, or kitschy, in Nexus, everyone can realize their own dream. The already rather relaxed maximum limits for items will be significantly raised in the upcoming patch, so one can let their creativity run wild even more than before.
The second major point is the fantastic combat system. Even after three months, I still enjoy the PvE aspects of the game, mostly due to the challenging telegraph system – although a few new enemy types with new attack patterns would be beneficial for the game.
What worries me: The developers
One thing that makes me very sad is the fact that you still see the developers cheerfully smiling in their livestreams. Perhaps I’m just imagining it, but I try to put myself in their shoes: They have worked for nearly eight years on WildStar, and the game received excellent reviews – and then the hype dies within a few weeks.
And yet they keep in close contact with the fans, answer many questions, and hold the “Nexus Report” weekly – even when only 500 people worldwide are watching the livestream. And yet they smile. I wouldn’t know how I would feel if years of work, which one is so convinced of and which was promising in every respect, failed as WildStar has. I can only hope that the people behind the smile feel the same way, that they remain optimistic about the future, and continue to hold on to their vision of WildStar – because the game is great; it just lacks players. So paradoxical as that sounds.
WildStar is an excellent game with a target audience that has simply become too small over the years. The upcoming months will show whether Carbine remains true to this small player core and continues to deliver what they promised or whether they will bow and make WildStar more mainstream, inevitably drowning it in the homogenized mass of today’s MMO variety. Regardless of what they do, someone will disapprove.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the Sandpark MMO ArcheAge , the island Freedich, in German Freienich, has a special status. Guilds have already settled here and hope to gain a dominant position, but not all servers see their plans succeed.
The Island Freedich in ArcheAge
“What should I do on the island Freienich?”, many might wonder, as they finish the main story quest in ArcheAge and suddenly have to row out into the Arkadian Sea around level 30, 35 to look for an island of which they know nothing but its name. ArcheAge is indeed a sandbox and has some surprises in store.
The island Freedich plays a special role in ArcheAge. It lies in the Arkadian Sea, in a sort of “Bermuda” triangle between the West, East, and the yet-closed Northern continent. Freedich is not the pirate island. That one is in the same area but in the northwest; rather, it is a type of “battlefield,” “freeport,” outpost, fulfilling several design functions.
For example, on it resides Captain Ragnorga, one of the pirate bosses needed for the Black Pearl, there is a Gilda Star merchant, quest NPCs for nautical adventures, and destructible containers with rewards. The island is worthwhile as a zone for merchants, adventurers, and sailors. Surrounding it are three smaller ports that serve as a stopping point for the three factions in ArcheAge (yes, pirates are their own faction) – there is even the possibility to teleport there.
Sounds like a cool dynamic, everyone has the same chance at everything, right? Exactly that is the problem. Because on the island, some houses can be built. As a result, some guilds have gained a permanent advantage that others see as unfair.
Freedich as a Popular Residential Island
At the release of ArcheAge, when many average players still had to familiarize themselves with the basic principles, Freedich was already the coveted target of several top guilds and early starters. Because the tricky part: Houses can be built on the remote island. Not very many, perhaps room for a dozen houses, but they do exist.
So guilds had set a goal during the head start of ArcheAge to take possession of Freienich, this strategically important island. After they placed their houses on the island, they were able to use the recall spell at any time to get there and occupy a lucrative trade route far from the hustle and bustle: Freedich is worthwhile for both the West and the East as a hub for goods through the Gild Star merchant.
On some servers, a guild has taken over the entire island
As can be read on reddit, a strange situation has arisen. On some servers, a killer guild has spread here, controlling trade and ambushing and robbing players who want to exchange their trade pack there. These guilds have positioned a lookout on the island, who gives the signal to log out. Then heavily armed robbers rush out from island houses and rob the group that set out for the trade run.
The nasty thing about it, as one user complains on reddit, is that there is no counterplay against this advantage. It now simply exists for eternity: One guild has all the houses there. That will never change and is an unfair strategic advantage that some have gained purely by chance because they were logged in during the tumultuous head start time, while the rest was stuck in the queue of death.
In the video, you see Freedich as a target for a low-level trade run that is worthwhile through the Gild Star merchant.
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With 1.7, the spook ends – the camping of the campers already helps
On other servers, however, the situation looks different: Here, although a guild has secured all the houses on Freedich, it has messed up its relationship with the rest of the server through its behavior. The other guilds did not find that cool at all and are now camping the houses of the island guild, ruining their fun.
No matter how it is going on the individual servers. With patch 1.7, the spook ends: All houses on Freedich will be closed, and the advantage will no longer exist. However, when the patch, which is currently live in Korea, will come to Europe is not known.
What do you think? Have you been to Freedich, do you have your little house in ArcheAge there? Or are you even tougher and hanging out on the pirate island?
Here is another video that shows Freedich as an ideal place for guild ganks and slaughter:
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In the MMO shooter Destiny, new super farming spots for engrams appear every day. A player has now found a spot in the Rocketyard that promises plenty of loot.
Since Bungie closed the best-known farming spots in Destiny a few days ago, a real race has emerged over who gets to hold the title of “Destiny’s next super farming spot.” We already introduced you the day before yesterday with the Rocketyard, the so-called treasure cave 2.0, which presented itself as an early favorite for the crown in impressive form. But it is certainly not the only candidate for the crown. Other spots also offer lucrative loot and a remarkably fast spawn timer. No one needs to worry that the spots – like in a model search – would suffer from malnutrition. They all seem to be plump and fat.
The “Red Loot Box” spot requires spectacular continuous fire in Destiny
Now another spot has appeared on reddit, referred to by the finder as the “Red Loot Box” spot, practically a place of the red loot box.
This insider tip is also located in the Rocketyard on Earth. The great thing here: there are two mob accesses open, allowing the loot to rush in. First – as with other spots – the area needs to be cleared, meaning pesky remaining spawns need to be eliminated, then you simply stand on the red light box and do it like in the video. Turn left, shoot, look straight ahead, shoot, and eventually collect the loot.
You should probably hurry. These spots are threatened with extinction. By Tuesday morning, they could be a thing of the past in Destiny. Perhaps Bungie will also put a sign on this spot with the red loot box that says “Please do not loot – monsters want to sleep in peace” on it.
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In the MMO shooter Destiny the highest items, the exotic weapons and armor, should be collected. Dismantling them into parts is not worthwhile. They only yield as much as a legendary item, even if they are fully upgraded.
What to do with Used Exotics?
The exotic items in Destiny are coveted. They are stylish, have unique names, are hard to obtain, and pack a punch. However, each Guardian can only carry one exotic weapon and one exotic armor piece. So if there’s a new chest piece, the exotic helmet might have to leave the astral body. And when the karma gods provide a new golden gun, the used gun goes back into the inventory.
Some Guardians wonder: What do I get if I dismantle the exotic items? After all, a legendary weapon yields more than a rare one when I salvage it. And what happens if the item is fully upgraded? Do upgraded exotic weapons and armor yield more than unused Exotics?
The Curiosity is the Exotic’s Doom: What do you get when you dismantle an exotic item in Destiny?
In the English-speaking forum reddit, several Guardians have already made the sacrifice and parted ways with one of their exotic items. The results are disappointing.
Dismantling an exotic item in Destiny yields just as much or little as salvaging a legendary item. This also applies to fully upgraded Exotics.The time and energy invested in them does not translate to better returns when dismantling. Only slightly more Glimmer than a Legendary is brought in by the Exotic. It’s not worth it in Destiny to dismantle the coveted items.
Destiny’s Most Decadent Question: What to do with surplus exotic items?
As stated in the last letter from Bungie, exotic items should really be strong and special and ignite the collecting frenzy of the players. Every Guardian should strive to acquire all exotic items.
Currently, you can get jewels in SMITE completely for free, which otherwise can only be purchased with real money, and until 30.09 you can earn 50 of these gems every day.
For this Sunday, the developers from HI-REZ have come up with something special, as you can grab three times the amount of jewels.
To add the gems to your game account, you just need to win a few games on Sunday – for the first victory of the day, you get a whopping 75 jewels, and for all subsequent first victories (in the other game modes) you get 15 each, making a total of 150 jewels.
Anyone who has been playing diligently since the start of the promotion two weeks ago has been able to earn a total of 800 jewels – which would have cost 12 euros in the shop.
Smite is a free-to-play MOBA where gods from mythology serve as templates for the characters. This extraordinary setting and the action-packed gameplay from a third-person perspective, which resembles more of an MMO, are the pillars of success. The popularity that can be gleaned from gaming trends like Raptr continues to grow. We at Mein MMO have taken a closer look at the MOBA and recently published a review of SMITE.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Kate Welch was a UI designer at the fantasy MMO Guild Wars 2 and somewhat of a spokesperson for the stream show “Point of Interest”. A few weeks ago, she left ArenaNet and now has quite a bit to say to the fans.
It’s not about the business
Kate Welch has left ArenaNet and is now sharing a lot on her mind in a YouTube video. Those hoping for some dirty laundry to be aired will be disappointed. Welch left on good terms, and her words are mostly directed at the players. There were apparently many things she had to endure over the years that she now wants to clarify. Understandably, this is the case for anyone transitioning from a public job, where they had to endure some criticism, back to a private life.
The frequent accusation that the developers are only in it for the money is not true, according to Welch. The people working in the video game industry are there because they love games and want to make players’ lives better. At least, that’s how they started.
Especially in Seattle, there are employers like Microsoft and Amazon who pay significantly more for exactly the same work. And those jobs require the same skills as those in the video game industry. Therefore, Welch asks everyone to consider amidst all the criticism: “Anyone who works here could earn more elsewhere.”
And how it is about the business
In the second point, she sees the individual employees more as cogs in a machine. And the mere talent of an individual doesn’t always play a role. Much lies simply outside of the individual’s control. In some weeks, it’s about increasing customer acquisition, and then everything revolves only around that.
So fans should please refrain from saying things like to a designer: “That icon looks terrible, I could have done better!”
The developer is not always truly responsible for that. The industry is saturated; anyone who lands a job has outperformed many others along the way and already has some skills. Fans might indeed sometimes be able to do it better, but in reality, it doesn’t play as big a role as one believes from the outside. It is still a business once you are in it, and it follows its own laws. It’s hard for an individual to really make a difference.
Welch advises developers to be more transparent
Welch has one more tip for the developers: they should strive for transparency. That is simply the trend today, and the companies that practice it have had great success.
Perhaps a little jab at her former employer ArenaNet. The community of Guild Wars 2 has been calling on ArenaNet for more transparency for some time now. You can enjoy Kate Welch’s video in English in full length afterwards.
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The tank MMO World of Tanks is launching patch 9.3, bringing new light tanks into the game and introducing stricter penalties for players who shine through unauthorized absence.
World of Tanks aims for world domination. It’s coming to more and more systems, conquering more markets, and is now operating on land (World of Tanks), in the air (World of Warplanes), and at sea (World of Warships). Additionally, it’s making waves on Twitch. But that can only happen if players feel comfortable and continuously receive new toys.
With patch 9.3, Wargaming is introducing a series of new light tanks in World of Tanks. What one typically refers to as light in the tank world. These are the models:
Along with some balance changes and the general beautification of tanks (in HD!), there is also an expansion of the map “Murowanka” in World of Tanks from 800×800 to 1000×1000. In the game mode “Fortress”, players can now act as a mercenary, a player without a clan. This idea was probably borrowed from WildStar, as there was something similar planned with the unfortunate Warplots.
