The rumor mill for the SF-MMO Star Trek Online is bubbling – and apparently, colleague Neelix is cooking there. Because the expansion is said to lead into the Delta Quadrant, on Voyager territory. It brings new ships, new equipment, a higher level cap, and is supposed to be planned for October.
It is said to have happened at the Comic Con in Las Vegas – that famous Comic Con, where the nerds from The Big Bang Theory regularly pilgrimage. Fans were invited to a special developer panel for STO and were probably told, under the seal of confidentiality, some details about the new expansion. However, these details are now leaking out.
On reddit it is that time again and someone spills the beans – the information should be enjoyed about as much as a glass of Klingon bloodwine on an empty stomach – with utmost caution.
The new expansion is rumored to be called “Delta Rising” and will increase the maximum level to 60. It is already planned for October. There will be new ships (Tier 6 this time) and new equipment (Mark XIV). An “Alternative Advancement” system is supposed to come, providing another way to become stronger in the game and improve oneself, which will be enabled for captains through new skill trees. A new class of bridge officers is also intended to be integrated into the game. The trip to the Delta Quadrant will also bring new races into focus, including the Kazon, the Ocampa, and the Talaxians.
From the original crew of Voyager, they have been able to enlist Tuvok and Ensign Kim, or rather their actors as voice actors.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At the end of last week, the second major content patch for WildStar was released. “Sabotage” offers players of the sci-fi MMO a new 15v15 battleground, new equipment, bug fixes, and balancing improvements. Shortly after the patch went live, there was also news about the future of the game.
Today, on Tuesday, the “Guilds” patch hits the servers of The Elder Scrolls Online. The third major content update, with the catchy name 1.3.3, brings not only some bug fixes and minor balance improvements but also a lot of significant changes.
The planet exploration game No Man’s Sky will also be released for PC. This was confirmed by the managing director of the developer Hello Games in an interview with the English magazine EDGE. Sean Murray stated that the studio had aimed for a PC version from the beginning, but would first release the game for PlayStation 4.
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The free fantasy MMO Lord of the Rings Online has made it to university curriculum. At Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, an English seminar is dealing with it.
“Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative” – this is the name of a new course at Vanderbilt University. In the course, the MMO is not simply going to be played – contrary to rumors, humanities scholars at the university also do something else. Instead, the course intends to explore what happens to Tolkien’s material when it serves as the basis for an MMO. Students will engage with the changes in narrative pace and structure: How does the material need to function in an MMO, compared to The Lord of the Rings as a film or book?
In the accompanying text to the seminar, the university states that today, MMOs must be viewed as part of our narrative culture due to their economic significance, and one must engage with this if one wants to keep up with the times. Vanderbilt sees itself in a pioneering role here. The MMOs have changed our narrative culture, the way we experience and share stories. In doing so, classic romantic and fantasy materials served as their foundation.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Last weekend, our tester Schuhmann had the opportunity to try out the sandbox MMO “ArcheAge” in beta.
Warning, opinion: This report reflects the subjective impressions of our tester Schuhmann from the first 23 levels in ArcheAge. This is neither a review nor any objective report. We are aware that it is too early for general statements about the game. The text refers only to the first 10-15 hours in the game, the so-called “Early Game”, specifically in the Free2Play experience, without spending money on the game, without a “Founder” or “Patron” status.
Negatives upfront: ArcheAge is not much of a theme park
The early game in ArcheAge is nothing special, at least. It has to be put bluntly. After many previews of the game, you expect “something different”, a new flavor, something that excites you. But you get “exactly the same thing”.
The combat system is a decent tab+hotkey affair. I haven’t spotted any telegraphs, and the mobs in the early game had no abilities (at least none notable, one spat poison and one was a ranged fighter… but, coming straight from WildStar, that’s not worth mentioning). This means you fight through the kill quests with the same key combinations, play your course, and don’t need to pay attention to your surroundings or the enemies. The quests are, to put it bluntly, uninspired.
World and storyline have some quirky elements: were-sharks or a few sunbathing tourists in a hot spring. That’s well done and has a certain irritation effect. The presentation of the game is otherwise “solid” to “okay”, I would say, rather subdued and unobtrusive; functional and nice.
The much-praised class system did not convince me during the first 23 levels (that’s how far I got over the weekend). While you can assemble your class and choose 3 from 10 skill lines and the combination class has its own name, I had so few skill points in beta that very little was possible. Maybe it will open up later.
The item system is poorly designed. Sometimes you get 3 items to choose from in quests and pick what fits your playstyle, while in other quests you immediately receive 3 armor pieces at once. I didn’t notice random drops or any selection in the first 23 levels. The weight of items is supposed to shift to crafting, or so they say. Good and well, but as a Free2Play player, you unfortunately have no proper access to that.
Glimmer of hope: Innovations and good ideas
Some things ArcheAge does differently, and that is commendable. In quests, you have the option to hand them in early for less reward. However, you can also “overachieve” them and receive a bit more experience for it. I thought that was a nice idea.
Also, that you can “breed” the mount yourself, gaining experience over time and having armor slots available, is one of the few early “aha, this might be good” experiences during my weekend excursion.
A nice moment as well: the glider, the flying mount of ArcheAge, and when you first swing off a mountain with it for paragliding.
Big problems: Griefplay, the chat, the atmosphere
What becomes apparent early on in ArcheAge: the game attracts a certain clientele of players – at least it did in beta. There were already reports in forums where the “special” beta community was discussed and ridiculed. On Massively, they even created a thread to discuss whether the community is really as horrible as they hear. Sort of. The barren land chat in WoW was worse, but not by much.
The game shows that not the same players gather here as in The Elder Scrolls Online or WildStar, in their betas. The tone is rough. I have found for myself: When I enter a game and the first thing I read are any “Alt+F4” “tips” or – … let’s say – a slang that you wouldn’t exactly want to use in public, I find it difficult. If players behave like that with their guilds, that’s their business. In a public chat, I find it inappropriate – somewhat like public urination or when a guy sits next to me on the subway and rests his head on my shoulder. Since I have read about this phenomenon everywhere, I assume it is not restricted to the server and the area where I played.
What do people talk about in an MMO chat? About all other MMOs
It’s not constantly the case that people are shouting at each other, putting each other down, or showing off. But it probably stands out more in ArcheAge because of the faction-wide chat when they do. In the last MMOs I’ve played, it was different. Particularly in Final Fantasy XIV, I always feel I have to be ashamed when I enter a room without showering the other players with three lines of polite phrases. In ArcheAge, bots are discussed (which will surely ruin ArcheAge, as heard in chat). They’re talking about Asia F2P, which must be quite unknown here. Hacker forums are recommended; everyone apparently has played 15 “failed” F2P games in the last year and comments on them extensively. The majority loudly dreams of becoming a great pirate to crush and subjugate everyone else. Guild recruiters lure with a free round at the guild hall… (that’s exactly the slang I mean).
About events and the good sides of griefplay
The possibilities for griefplay are already evident in the early phase. With the bulky pets and mounts, you can block access (Yay! Collision detection!), which will surely cause trouble. There is – as before – a day system: You can snatch the “mob” from another player. The most annoying part was a type of “event” where you had to kill 25 creatures as a raid group. However, two groups were simultaneously involved, stealing each other’s mobs, so no one could complete the event. And since the event was time-dependent, it meant that several hours would pass until the next attempt. You can imagine how well that goes over. What shocked me in this regard: When the event ended, half of all players murmured “Oh God, again” – that seems to happen more often – not a good sign.
The “griefplay”, or whatever you want to call it, is an important part of a sandbox. That’s clear. You can steal opponents’ painstakingly grown trees and plants, milk the livestock of strangers, and later you wait for others to ambush them. In a sandbox, it’s about lying, cheating, and messing around. Totally clear. But it also attracts a certain clientele of players, at least in beta. That’s actually logical. I must have forgotten that for a moment.
And what’s now with the sandbox?
This may be my biggest disappointment of recent days: Everything that would make ArcheAge special lies behind a paygate and is associated with “Patron” status. For all the “interesting” things in the game, you need labor points and a “Patron” status, which you have to buy for real money already in beta.
Only then can you properly grow anything and buy access to the sandbox elements of the game. Otherwise, it often means “That’s not possible for free accounts” or the labor points are simply used up. You only regenerate those as a “freebie” when you are in the game and then at a rather slow and constant rate, while the consumption increases with each level. Without labor points, you cannot disassemble items; you cannot harvest resources; you can’t even open the small cash boxes that mobs sometimes drop. Time and again, I found myself pausing in the game, going to the desktop to do something else while ArcheAge kept running in the background, spitting out the damn labor points until I could continue with what I actually wanted to do. I know a system like that from browser games and… well, if I liked those, I’d probably write for my-browsergame.de.
This clearly means for me: “Pay – even in beta – your money, otherwise you will see a maximum of 50% of the game here”. My problem is: These 50% that I see, the theme park elements, simply do not justify, especially in a beta, the price for the rest. It’s like someone gives me a rotten bun and says: “Well, was it tasty, or? If you pay me something, you’ll also get the meat with it.” Wouldn’t it be smarter to show me the tasty burger first and have me pay for a crispy bun? Or even better: Just let me take a bite and then decide if I like it?
The game’s attractions, the sandbox elements, the crafting system are clear to me because I’ve read about them. But I can’t experience them in beta. Nothing in the first levels indicates that this will ever come. Instead, it’s just reports from the late game and from Korea as a promise that “it will be different and good”.
Conclusion: Beta weekend in ArcheAge to level 23 and left disappointed
What’s left is a sobering experience with ArcheAge – at least in the early game. If I hadn’t heard about the game, I would hardly see why I should continue playing the MMO and not some other.
However, since I have heard of ArcheAge and know the advantages of the game, I will continue playing the beta and hope that it picks up in the mid-game and end-game. But I think: Trion Worlds is not doing itself any favors with this type of beta.
[pullquote]With the Free2Play experience, I think you spoil the appetite for the game.[/pullquote]
Those who wanted to enter the game before had to do so through founder packages and had the “Patron” status. They could get an early glimpse into the crafting, farming, trading, and housing aspects of the game. That’s surely a completely different experience. As a Free2Play “theme park” game, ArcheAge is, in my eyes, nothing, at least in the early game.
Anyone who intends to familiarize themselves with the game should probably consider getting a founder account. With the Free2Play experience, they spoil their appetite for the game, in my eyes.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the Free2Play MMO shooter Planetside 2, there is a large content update available starting today. The new patch brings, in addition to bug fixes and minor adjustments, a fresh achievement element to the game with the “Directives”.
The “Directives” introduce a new progression system to Planetside 2 that is not just for show but also grants players access to exclusive Auraxium prestige weapons and allows them some decorative items. Well, it is excellent for boasting and showing off.
The system is meant to provide new players guidance and recommendations on which direction they can take and what goals they should aim for, while experienced players simply have a lot to do.
The “Directive” achievements have various rank levels, with the lowest being Bronze and the highest being Auraxium. As you fight your way through the individual ranks of an achievement, you unlock rewards and also something to show off. The ranks must be completed individually with each character, while some rewards count account-wide.
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Since last night, the new patch for The Elder Scrolls Online, TESO, is live on the US server; European players will get it only today.
Once again, Americans are being used as guinea pigs for us European players. They have had the 1.3.3 patch since last night, and as this is a major content patch, problems have predictably arisen. A thread on the topic in the English-speaking subreddit for TESO cleverly quoted Murphy’s Law with, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”
Not all achievements are displayed, and there are also problems with accessing the guild bank
The new armor dyeing is linked to achievements. Some of these achievements were newly introduced with the patch and should actually be credited retroactively to players. However, this is not functioning properly. Issues arise: players do not have the achievements they should have, and therefore also do not have the correct colors. Zenimax is working on it and provides a current list of the status here.
The second problem is due to the new guild ranks. Players are complaining that they can no longer access the guild bank, regardless of their rank. This issue particularly affects guilds whose guild leader is inactive. These were rather isolated cases until the evening, but then they multiplied. Eventually, Zenimax decided to temporarily disable all guild functions. It is still unknown what impact this will have and whether European guilds will be affected as well.
Problems since the server migration
A major topic once again is lags and delays – since the migration of the European mega server from Austin, Texas, to Frankfurt am Main, some are struggling. Social media is filled with complaints from TESO players: gameplay frequently stutters and there are small rollbacks. Other players cannot log in at all and have not been able to play for days. Zenimax advises to reset the graphic settings and to write a ticket to support. There seems to be no universal solution for this.
Undocumented changes in the patch: There is a two-week campaign in The Elder Scrolls Online after all
Contrary to what was originally intended, Zenimax has decided to introduce a medium-length campaign after all. One of the 7-day campaigns has been turned into a 14-day one. Now campaigns of 5, 7, 14, and 30 days are active. There are two 5-day campaigns, divided into veteran and non-veteran.
According to reddit, the patch also brought other undocumented changes for The Elder Scrolls Online. For instance, the “fishing achievements” for the starter zones are now reportedly fixed, invites pop up in the middle of the screen, and silently replaced old with new map icons for public dungeons, trials, and delves.
Update 11:00 AM: The patch is now also live for us; the maintenance was fairly quick. Zenimax has also temporarily disabled the guild functions in Europe. The technicians of The Elder Scrolls Online have identified the cause of the problem and are working on a fix. Once that is settled, the guild ranks should be reverted to their status before the update. Good news in the end: On the US server, the colors are well received. Apparently, the level of detail of the system is convincing: it offers a lot of possibilities to experiment and create the perfect look.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the Arachnid quarter, you face Maexxna, a “large spider” and the third boss in this wing. She must return 2 enemy minions from the field to the hand each turn due to her hero ability, which is both a curse and a blessing for players. I tried to exploit this by relying on many minions with “Charge” and healing effects. With Alexstrasza or Leeroy Jenkins, the fight would probably have been a bit easier, but unfortunately, I do not have those two cards.
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Blizzard announces that on August 14th, it wants to reveal the release date of Warlords of Draenor. The next expansion of their MMO flagship World of Warcraft is highly anticipated.
On August 14th in Los Angeles, it should be time. Then they want to reveal when it will finally be back to Draenor, at least to the past of a parallel world (regardless, it’s complicated). In addition, they will present one of Blizzard’s renowned cinematic trailers, which are universally acclaimed.
Furthermore, at WoW, they are pulling out all the stops. But there’s no reason for heightened panic. In the real world, those are not Thrall, Proudmoore, and Vol’jin, but Chris Metzen, Mike Morhaime, and Ion Hazzikostas. Developers and specialists known from interviews or under their aliases in the WoW forums and not as heads of a pillaging army.
After the cinematic trailer, there should also be an opportunity for a developer interview. The interview will likely frame a major announcement with a show and the ever-popular bullet-point graphics.
By the way, the whole thing takes place parallel to the Gamescom in Cologne, where a live stream should be broadcasted. This happens around 6:30 PM our time, while the Hollywood stars in Los Angeles are still asleep, as it is just after 9 AM there. Blizzard seems to be indeed aiming for Cologne.
Hardcore fans can already pack their bags and travel to L.A. Because the early bird gets the worm, and they can attend the announcement. The first visitors will also receive a Warlords of Draenor beta key.
Mein MMO says: This can only happen at World of Warcraft, that even the announcement of an announcement delights the fans, and it becomes the most important news of the day, at least in the MMO and gaming sector.
We don’t want to bother you much with speculation about the release date. We actually guessed September/October from the beginning and haven’t bored anyone with “Oh my God, it could come as early as June” rumors, because … hand on heart, it’s Blizzard. They are not exactly known for staying ahead of schedule. But since a few things shifted in the beta, it could indeed slide to November. But well, we don’t need to speculate much longer. It’s soon enough.
The first reactions from the beta are unfortunately a bit mixed. The spark does not seem to have jumped over to the journalists testing it. The big new feature is missing so far, and some are disappointed with the Garrison. But many fans are also looking forward to returning home, to Azeroth. The content drought has certainly lasted long enough. The last patch in WoW that brought something new, “The Siege of Orgrimmar,” was released almost a year ago.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the god MMO Skyforge, the class system has now been explained in more detail. Apparently, the free class system was inspired by MOBAs like League of Legends, where players are not locked into a single class.
Recently, a detailed press release from Team Allods was published, which shed light on the class system in Skyforge. They indicated that the decision to abandon rigid classes was inspired by the MOBA trend. Today, it is no longer up-to-date for players to be fixed on a single class. In MOBAs, they can change their heroes and thus their playstyle from match to match. This is what they also want to represent in Skyforge.
Classes fall under a three-tier hierarchy: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
The Team Allods also revealed that the classes in Skyforge are not equal. Players start as one of only three “Basic” classes. As they continue to play, they unlock “Intermediate” classes and finally “Advanced” classes.
The three “Basic” classes are Lightbinder (a healer), Paladin (a tank), and Cyromancer (a DPS). After that, there are supposed to be five “Intermediate” classes and five “Advanced” classes. The press release does not specify how this will be distributed. So far, besides these three basic classes, only two others are known, which were also fixed in the press release: The Gunner (Ranged DPS) has been classified as “Advanced” and the Berserker (Melee DPS) as an “Intermediate” class.
To quote Team Allods: “The class-switching system is designed so that upon the first switch, the new class is developed to the same extent as the previous class. This is possible because the main attributes are linked to the character and not to the class.”
From 10 to 13 classes at launch?
My MMO states: A three-tier hierarchy among the classes is something new. Final Fantasy XIV has a two-tier hierarchy. There, the “Jobs” serve as prestige classes starting from the mid-game and unite two basic classes.
The class system in Skyforge will depend on the extent to which “skills” from one class can also be utilized by the other classes. So: Is my Cyromancer stronger if I have also unlocked and developed the Berserker? Since Skyforge will not have a “level” system, but rather operates on the Ascension Atlas as a kind of huge skill map, where classes are developed gradually and also on two levels, the whole concept is relatively hard to imagine. And since only five classes have been introduced so far, it seems some time away before the system becomes experiential. At Gamescom in Cologne, further classes are to be introduced, and there will be a possibility to test Skyforge. Hopefully, we will know more in a few weeks.
It is definitely interesting that the press release now assumes 13 classes: 3 basic, 5 intermediate, 5 advanced. So far, only 10 classes for release have been mentioned.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The eSports management platform “Battlefly” has now released statistics on the top 10 most popular eSports games for 2013. Even though MMOs have recently started to discover the eSports field for themselves, MOBAs remain dominant, with the top spots far ahead.
The first two games on the list are reserved for “League of Legends” and DOTA 2 – both games are also at the forefront on raptr or Twitch. At the moment, MOBAs are on top. Following them are two outliers, Fifa and Pokemon 2, whose success is due to their exceptional status in their respective genres. In positions 5 to 9, you find the usual suspects: renowned shooter franchises like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Counterstrike. The former champion Starcraft 2 has aged a bit and is in 6th place, while the Street Fighter series is in 8th place.
The only one that is at least “a bit MMO” is the lagging World of Tanks trundling to the finish, although a fan base has formed around it in Eastern Europe.
Even without MMOs, the number of eSports tournaments in North America is steadily increasing. This year, estimates suggest there will be nearly 48,000 tournaments held in North America. In 2011, there were still 8,809 tournaments. Perhaps Hearthstone will also appear in the list for 2014, as it is gaining popularity in eSports.
Other MMOs like World of Warcraft have often toyed with the idea of an “eSports” tournament, but want to regulate it internally through specific tournament and arena formats, which apparently never quite worked out.
Apparently, most existing MMOs with their advantages through items, different skill trees, and frequent balance changes are not suitable for eSports. Especially since combat systems are often not skill-based. Also, WildStar, with a skill-based combat system, does not seem to attract eSports players or competitive PvPers in droves. Recently, it was announced that due to a lack of interest, they want to reduce the endgame PvP, the war bases, from 40 players per team to 30.
What do you think? Can the item and character progression of an MMO be reconciled with the equal opportunities of eSports? Or does every MMO that looks towards eSports handicap itself too much?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The survival MMO H1Z1 from Sony Online Entertainment has been on the verge of launching into Early Access for months. Fan interest peaked in April and May, but is now fading.
The MMO H1Z1 has been heavily discussed by the press and by SOE itself several times. It was supposed to enter Early Access in May. Then in June, it was said it would be by July at the latest. Dates kept coming up. Dates kept being pushed back. Now we are in August and still no date is announced. The “soon” or “very soon” remains unchanged.
The problem here: When it is officially stated that “it starts in June,” any small detail later is enough to stir new rumors in the press. Every time some online retailer lists a date for the game, it’s seen as the new major information. But even the concern “Now I’ve heard a release date!” that many chased in June seems to be out of fashion by now. Fans appear a bit burned out. Interest is simmering on low flame.
SOE suffers from these “misfires.” Google Trends, a sentiment barometer based on search queries, clearly shows how hard it is to keep interest in H1Z1 simmering after a peak already in April and May:
SOE was not satisfied with the version they had for the planned Early Access release date. The game, it was said later, did not meet player expectations, not even for an Early Alpha. Therefore, they decided to first implement all “minimal” features into the game, so as not to scare away players who expected more from H1Z1 with the Early Access.
In less than two weeks, SOE Live, the in-house convention of Sony Online Entertainment – similar to BlizzCon – will start. Various “keynotes” and “panels” for H1Z1 are planned. On Friday afternoon, August 15, a H1Z1 keynote panel is scheduled.
Then would be a good time and place to announce an Early Access. SOE has stated that they would notify a week before the Early Access starts when it would be ready. For the game and its fans, we can only hope that a start into Early Access will be announced during SOE Live for late August. Otherwise, fan interest could fall even further. And unlike zombies, there is no guarantee that it will come back.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Blizzard’s free card game Hearthstone, new wings of the terror necropolis Naxxramas open every week. This brings new cards into the game. On Tuesday night at 11:59 PM, the Military Wing opens, and it has some attractive new cards in store.
As usual, there is a new card for each boss kill on normal, and one legendary for completing the whole quarter. Additionally, the Warlock and Shaman have their class challenges waiting for them in the Military Quarter. They will also be rewarded with cards.
Once again minions with Deathrattle, but this time with negative consequences for the player
Dancing Swords This 4/4 minion for 3 mana is available after defeating Razuvious. 4/4 for 3 mana is strong stats; however, the minion comes with a built-in catch. As a deathrattle, the opponent can draw a card from their deck. Hence, the Dancing Swords give the opponent a tempo advantage upon their demise. A double-edged sword, so to speak. However, it could fit well in aggro decks.
Spectral Knight A 4/6 minion for 5 mana that cannot be targeted by hero powers or spells. You get it after a successful visit with Gothik the Harvester. The Spectral Knight is considered extremely strong by some experts, as he can excel against spell-heavy decks like Miracle Rogue or Mage variations. Some sort of Faerie Dragon on steroids, without its susceptibility to AOE. Many believe that due to the numerous new Naxx minions, the focus in the meta-game will shift towards decks with many minions – like Zoo. Thus, the Spectral Knight could be weaker than it appears at first glance. He is a great card if the opponent has nothing on the board. However, the meta-game is currently shifting in a direction where he will almost always have something on the board. Nevertheless, a strong card.
Deathlord A 2/8 minion with Taunt for 3 mana. His deathrattle allows the opponent to bring a card from their deck into play. The card is significantly stronger than any other taunter for 3 mana. Normally, you would have a Bear with 3/3 or similar cards here. 2/8 and Taunt is amazing. However, the downside is heavy. The deathrattle could, if the opponent has a removal, lead to a strong enemy minion entering play early. Since the trend is moving away from such “Maxi” decks, the card could become extremely strong. If the opponent can play an 8-mana+ minion after killing a Deathlord, you quickly find yourself at the other end of a card sequence that appears on YouTube under “lolololol” and is set to K-Pop. Stat-wise, it’s still an incredibly strong card.
And here comes your boss
Baron Rivendare A 1/7 minion for 4 mana that doubles the deathrattles of your own minions. Definitely not an Arena card, but only useful in Constructed and then only for specific decks. The cards presented here from the Military Quarter should not be seen together with Rivendare. Cards like Bloodhooves, Loot Hoarder, Leper Gnome, and the usual rubbish are much more welcome. You can really get value for 4 mana here. The stats are weak, and the card could just be gradually overwhelmed without anything happening for 4 mana. In some decks and situations, it may be as valuable as the Auctioneer, but decks must be built around it.
The card is available after successfully completing the Military Quarter on normal.
The class cards of the Military Quarter: Warlock and Shaman
Reincarnation – A Shaman spell for 2 mana. It destroys a creature and brings it back with full health. A strong, situational card, but it also needs the right combination to shine.
Voidcaller A Warlock minion with 3/4 for 4 mana, which has a deathrattle that summons a random minion from your hand to the battlefield. The stats are below average for 4 mana. The card is really only worthwhile in a Demon deck, and those are currently played very little. If the meta in Hearthstone changes, the card could become more attractive. At the moment, rather weak.
It is still unclear whom Warlocks and Shamans need to defeat with a fixed deck to receive the cards.
If you want to inform yourself now about what tricks the bosses in the Military Wing have in store, we recommend you this link.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the free fantasy MMO Rift, Patch 2.8 is coming on Wednesday, which is set to prepare for the next expansion.
Trion Worlds teases with a short banner the Pre-Expansion Patch 2.8 for Rift. While nothing official is currently announced, they only state that more information will be released soon. However, from previous statements, it’s known that Patch 2.8 will address issues with the auction house that have been frustrating players for a long time. Additionally, the patch, known as “Awakening Madness,” will prepare for the expansion “Nightmare Tides”. So there might already be a first new dungeon.
The expansion “Nightmare Tides” will delve into the planar realm of water, but this water is not the source of life; rather, it is more like the resting place of unspeakable, ancient creatures with a few too many tentacles, akin to H.P. Lovecraft.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
This week, a new wing in Naxxramas will open in Blizzard’s free online card game Hearthstone. This time, the military wing awaits brave adventurers.
Familiar faces await Hearthstone players in the military wing. Instructor Razuvious, Gothik the Harvester, and the Four Horsemen are the opponents. From a leak, some of their abilities were known weeks before the official release of Naxxramas. Dataminers at hearthpwn uncovered further cards. We were correct in our assumptions about the last two wings. However, the abilities of the bosses are not officially known.
Razuvious, Gothik the Harvester, and the Four Horsemen – What do they have?
Instructor Razuvious – Like in the original World of Warcraft raid, Razuvious is a trick boss. He has a weapon card, a massive runeblade (5/2), that deals double damage to the player and costs only 3 mana. In heroic mode, the blade even has (10/2) for the same price. If Razuvious gets an open field on the player in normal mode, 10 damage will come down (in heroic mode even 20) and the matter is quickly settled.
Razuvious enters the battle with two 0/7 minions, his students. The player will be able to take control of them using a mind control crystal. Apparently, he also has some buff cards with which he can strengthen his students. The fight will likely revolve around having enough taunt minions up so that Razuvious finds a more rewarding target than the player, preferably the controlled students. As a hero power, Razuvious deals 3 damage for 2 mana, in HC 4 damage for 1 mana.
Gothik the Harvester – Gothik the Harvester has 3 special minion cards: For 1 mana he summons a 2/2 minion, for 3 a 3/4, for 6 mana a 5/6 minion. These minions leave behind a 0-attack minion with a health value of 2, 4, or 6 after they die. These ghostly minions deal 1 damage to the player at the start of each round.
So, he should find a way to give them some taunt, boost their attack points, or regularly clear the board. As a hero power, Gothik can draw a card for 2 mana. In HC mode, he gets a card and a mana crystal for 1 mana. In HC, his minion cards also become stronger.
The Four Horsemen – The Four Horsemen are represented by Baron Rivendare. He starts the game with three minions, the other horsemen, who have 1/7 and have the ability to make their hero immune. Rivendare himself has only 7 HP, then 14 in HC. He has weapons and cards that become more powerful when one or all of the horsemen have died. Additionally, he plays a “buff” that gives all minions and weapons +1/+1. In HC, the horsemen start with 2/7 and the other cards are expected to be stronger.
With the Four Horsemen, it will likely be about evenly reducing the health of the horsemen so that they can be taken out with one blow and burst the Baron himself within a few rounds before he gets any stupid ideas.
As a hero power, Rivendare can draw 2 cards for 5 mana.
The three Hearthstone bosses from the military wing once again represent their counterparts in Naxxramas. The last wing opened – with much fanfare – on Tuesday night at 23:59. So far, no official time has been announced for the release of the military wing. Blizzard has been struggling with transaction issues since last week.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the SF-MMO WildStar, the third content patch has appeared on the test server. After the second patch addressed the PvP issues of the game, the third will fully focus on PvE again.
It introduces a new story zone and revamps mob abilities across the world. A new 20-man raid and a 5-man instance are also available on the test server.
The third content patch clearly follows in the footsteps of the first. Again, it will revolve around the mysterious plague “The Stain.” Therefore, the patch is named “Defile” or “The Corruption.”
The story of the presumed ghost girl Drusera continues in the new story zone “The Eastern Tomb.” The Drusera missions form a common thread throughout WildStar and are what one would call in other games an “epic quest.”
5-man Instance for “Beginners” in the World of WildStar Instances
The new 5-man dungeon “The Ultimate Proto-Games” is a kind of game show hosted by the green capitalists of Protostar.
Soon you will surely find out if we survived the Ultimate Proto-Games.
According to information from a stream a few weeks ago, this new 5-man instance will also feature a mode that turns it into a kind of “beginner” dungeon. So far, switching from questing to the world of instances has been quite harsh. The two dungeons awaiting players at level 20 confront dungeon newcomers with the harsh realities of group play in WildStar. It has been a rude awakening for some.
With the “Tutorial” dungeon, they hope to soften this culture shock. However, the instance is currently only playable on the test server in the level 50 mode.
It is also not yet clear whether the “Tutorial” mode or the level 50 version will even make it into content patch #3. According to a dataminer, the “Ultimate Proto-Games” are only intended for the fourth content drop.
20-man Raid Harder or Easier than the Gen-Archives?
Very little is currently known about the new 20-man raid. It will not go live with this drop yet, as it simply is not ready. Carbine seems to have already pushed the raid “Augmentor 20” onto the test server just to gather feedback.
It is unclear whether the new raid will be easier than the Gen-Archives or harder than the current 40-man raid. The topic of “raid difficulty” in WildStar is a sensitive one. With the newly surfaced 20-man raid, Carbine could adjust things or not – that will reveal itself in the coming weeks and months.
By the way, the raid is planned for content drop #6 in the “potential” timeline, so not until the end of the year.
Many Balance Changes and New Quotes for the Taxi Driver
Content drop #3 does not only kick off at the end and pile ice cream scoops into an already full cup, but also aims to change quite a bit about the experience up to that point. So, mobs across the board will receive new abilities. The Technologist (a sort of futuristic drink brewer and consumables crafter) will be revamped – and the taxi driver will finally get new quotes. The old ones have become dull. The taxi driver in WildStar is a chattering robot modeled after a New York cab driver.
As is typical for Carbine, the patch notes are the size of a small-town telephone book. You can find them in the sources. Finally, we recommend taking a look at the new zone, compiled by wildstar-arkship.de:
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A talented fan has created two atmospheric trailers for the fantasy MMO Guild Wars 2. In his opinion, GW2 has a potential to engage the masses that is not tapped into by the official marketing.
Guild Wars 2 places great importance on storytelling, atmosphere, and compelling narratives. Gee Kim, a fan of the game and, as it turns out, an extremely talented video artist, found that ArenaNet’s marketing did not do justice to the game. Additionally, he wanted to try his hand at video creation.
Therefore, he sat down and created an “epic trailer” for the first season of the Living World, which received enthusiastic reactions from fans. After the site “Kotaku” took notice and reported on it, Kim released a second trailer.
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A gag that was winking at feminism has now been removed from Hearthstone. It has been replaced with a more neutral joke.
The sexism issue somehow does not let Blizzard go.
Just a few weeks ago, they received fan criticism for not valuing prominent female characters enough and giving them too little to do in the storylines. Blizzard responded with an open letter, vowed to improve, and promised to pay more attention to these themes in the future.
Furthermore, the discussion around Hearthstone tournaments that exclude female players caused negative PR. Even though Blizzard immediately countered, they probably want to play it safe now. The creators of Hearthstone seem to have noticed that a small joke about the card “Baron Rivendare” could come across as unfortunate in light of recent events. Although the card is not yet in the game, it will be released next week. The card text has already been read by data miners and has now been changed.
Originally, the card description of the Baron was supposed to read: “Lady Blaumeux is a little hurt that they don’t call themselves The Four Horsepeople.” Translated roughly: Lady Blaumeux is a little upset that they do not call themselves the four riders.
The “Four Riders” in Naxxramas, which Baron Rivendare leads, are a reference to the four apocalyptic riders from the Bible. In English, they are called “Four Horsemen” – and the “men” is what upset Lady Blaumeux, as she does not see herself represented grammatically in that.
The new card text for Baron Rivendare removes any reference to this theme and replaces the jest with an internal World of Warcraft reference regarding the death mines, which are said to be a more interesting workplace for the riders because there are better perks.
Mein MMO says: A harmless jest against the “genderization” of the language, one might think. Whether anyone would really have gotten upset about it is anyone’s guess. The fans are discussing not the flavor text of the Baron Rivendare card but rather the effects of his special effect (double deathrattle of each of your minions) on the meta-game.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The zombie survival MMO “H1Z1” is set to launch with four different types of zombies. This is revealed in a new developer blog that focuses on the design of zombies. Additionally, new playable characters and high-end gear are discussed.
H1Z1 is still awaiting its Early Access launch. A series of developer blogs continuously reveal more details about the game. While recent blogs have focused on weather effects, spawn points, or building design, Matt Broome is tackling the core of the game, the zombies. He is a professional graphic artist and has worked for Marvel, DC, and renowned film studios before moving into the gaming industry and joining Sony Online Entertainment.
Brawler and Creeper – different zombies with strengths and weaknesses
In the blog, he reveals that he is currently working on the hairstyle of the zombie species “Bob”, the second type of zombie in H1Z1, following the normal, relatively slow zombies that can be seen all over the streams and videos. The name “Bob” was actually given by fans. After “Bob”, a “Brawler” is next, which is a particularly large and strong zombie that takes care of everything in its way – like a zombified wrestler, so to speak. By the way, this one doesn’t have a name yet. Broome is asking for suggestions via Twitter.
After the slow primordial zombie, Bob, and the Brawler, there will also be “traditional” zombies introduced to the game, in advanced stages of decay. At launch, the plan is to have four different races in the game that will differ in their appearance and movements. Thus, the normal, slow zombies are intended to be the foundation of H1Z1, but there will also be faster zombie types, stronger ones, and the so-called “Creepers”, which can only crawl along the ground because they lack legs.
Loot alert in H1Z1: Shotgun, sniper rifle, and special ops gear
Broome also provides insight into the arsenal that will be available to players. He enjoys designing equipment used by special forces, like SWAT teams: night vision devices, bullet-proof vests, he is a fan of all that.
By the way: A day prior, Broome’s colleague, game designer and weapon fan Jimmy Whisenhunt, leaked a shotgun and a sniper rifle on Twitter. So there will be more than just a bow and arrow in H1Z1.
Not only in zombies is there choice, but also in characters
Broome also gives a small insight into the selection of playable characters. So far, only the male type is known, which the team affectionately named “Ivan”. They plan to introduce new variants soon. Female models are at the very top of the design list and enjoy top priority.
In the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, TESO, players will enjoy the next content patch early Tuesday morning. 1.3.3. is known internally as the “Guild” patch, but it also brings the new campaigns.
The patch 1.3. has been on the test server for a while and is scheduled to go live Tuesday morning with the regular maintenance. It is the third major update for TESO. In addition to numerous fixes and minor balance improvements, the following major changes are coming to Tamriel:
Armor dyeing is new to the game. The individual colors will be tied to in-game achievements. For example, if someone has been a vampire once, they can dye their armor in a specific shade of black. We have extensively presented the new color system in an article.
New campaigns are coming to Cyrodiil and the old ones are closing. Instead of the previous 10 campaigns, of which 9 run for 90 days, there will now be 5 campaigns with a duration of 5 to 30 days. The two shortest campaigns will also be differentiated between veteran and non-veteran players. Detailed information about the changed campaigns can be found here.
The weapon swapping should occur faster from now on. Changes have been made to the animation and the cache. From the public test server, it is known that these changes are significant: weapon swapping happens noticeably faster, and the flow of combat is no longer slowed down.
And that’s why 1.3. is also referred to internally as “Guild-a-palooza”
Managing a guild should become easier. This introduces 10 guild ranks, with which a guild leader can fine-tune the hierarchy within their guild. Specific rights can be assigned to individual ranks.
Guild heraldry and tabards are coming. Once a guild has at least 10 members, the guild leader can decide on the symbols that players will wear on their also newly introduced tabards. There are over 250 colors, 63 backgrounds, and 136 actual symbols. This enables guilds to present themselves as a unit externally.
Guild auctioneer expands trading opportunities. Guilds also gain the ability to bid on an auctioneer, who will then offer the goods from the guild shop to non-guild members as well.
The patch will carry the version number 1.3.3. and is expected to be between 5.5 and 6.5 gigabytes in size.
In the sandbox MMO ArcheAge, there are communication issues. Are German servers coming or not?
Trion Worlds CEO Scott Hartsman confirmed in an interview with our magazine a few weeks ago how important the German market is for his company. Therefore, alongside a nearby data center, there will also be a dedicated localization and dedicated servers for Germany. Contrary to this statement, however, streams and the official forum have excluded language-specific servers.
Just a few days ago, a community manager confirmed again that they are not planning “language-specific servers”. The forum post has since been deleted, but the confusion remains: one says this, and others say that. What should we make of this?
We have once again inquired at Trion Worlds and asked for clarification on this question. We received the following response:
We confirmed German as a language, and that we will have servers in the EU. People can set the language to whatever they choose. We expect that we’ll note which servers will be recommended so people can find each other by language, once we get a way to do that.
This translates to mean that there will be German as a language option, and there will also be servers located in Europe. Players will be free to choose their language. Currently, Trion Worlds expects to recommend servers for specific languages once they find a way to do so.
My MMO thinks: For us, this means that German servers are coming, even though the commitment now sounds much looser than in the interview with us. Regarding formalities: Other MMOs don’t do it differently either.
You can also play on an English server in WoW with a German client and only speak German. The only thing that really makes the English server “English” is that it has an [EN] label behind it. If the German servers are marked in some form with [DE] or [GER], they are German servers in our view. What else should they do? Portraits of Merkel on every tree? Craftable bratwurst?
The now looser wording: “once they have found a way to do so” – sounds strange, and the communication issues are irritating. There is a difference between recommending a server “somewhere” or doing so officially in the client selection. Perhaps ArcheAge wants to wait and see how the response of the German players is in the beta to decide how exactly to make the recommendation.
Update: After the announcement of the servers, everything now indicates that there will be no servers labeled by languages at launch. Therefore, this matter is settled for now.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
