The fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online is facing a profound upheaval three months after its release. After the launch of arenas or battlegrounds, those who had chosen to ignore TESO later discussed them openly. Now, it seems only a matter of time before at least the arenas arrive. Battlegrounds are also on the radar.
In a podcast with fans of “The Quest”, the Creative Director Paul Sage seemingly spoke off the cuff, revealing some plans and ideas one would expect more from a “The Road ahead” letter by Matt Firor or at least from a formal press release by Zenimax.
Amidst the excitement about the announced introduction of the Champion system, a statement almost gets overshadowed, which is quite important for some players. Sage confirms that players “can definitely expect arenas in the not too distant future.”
For Quakecon, a 3-on-3 map has been prepared and it has already received a lot of applause at E3. However, the most important thing is that regardless of what new content is introduced, whether battlegrounds or arenas, it should not negatively affect Cyrodiil. It must not become emptier.
The question of whether there will be different rewards in arenas compared to the PvP zone Cyrodiil has already been considered, but Sage did not reveal more.
Imperial City should bring life back to Cyrodiil
For Cyrodiil, the team is working on the major PvP dungeon, the Imperial City. Here too, Sage only reveals that players will fight for the right to own this city.
Observers assume that the Imperial City will resemble the PvP dungeon “Darkness Falls” in the MMO Dark Age of Camelot in its function and structure. Each realm had access to the catacombs and was rewarded with particularly tasty drops and opponents. When dominance in PvP shifted, a different realm would gain access, leading to a PvP spectacle among astonished mobs.
Not a word from Sage regarding the console release
Mein MMO states: “Not too distant future” is still vague. We expect further information on this at Quakecon in Dallas. Most of the revelations Sage freely shared in the interview with fans were likely planned for that event.
It will be exciting to see what surprises the guys at Zenimax have in store for the prominently manned panels. One thing is for sure: It is an exciting time for TESO fans or even for former or future players who keep an eye on the game. At the moment, the later The Elder Scrolls Online seems to be taking shape and defining itself. Surely, they always have the console release for Playstation 4 and Xbox One in mind. However, Sage provided no new info regarding this sensitive topic, remaining silent on it.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The F2P transition of the MMO shooter Defiance for PS3 and Xbox 360, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed indefinitely.
After careful consideration and thorough review, Trion Worlds has decided to delay the planned transition to a free-to-play system for consoles a bit further. The reason for this is stability issues on the console platforms that they did not want to impose on new players.
Some elements have been reintroduced into the MMO as part of the crossover with the TV series “Defiance.” Unfortunately, the last version of the game has affected performance. Trion Worlds is now working intensively and with the highest priority on the stability issues. They look forward to welcoming a crowd of new players to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and want to provide them with a stable experience without performance issues.
We have already reported on the transition of the MMO shooter system in a previous article. The creators of Defiance sought some tips from the developers of Rift, who are also working under the umbrella of Trion Worlds on their free-to-play game.
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In Camelot Unchained, the spiritual successor to the PvP classic Dark Age of Camelot, the stats system has now been introduced. And it is surprisingly retro.
Inspired by Pen and Paper
Inspired by Pen and Paper games and a lovely “earlier time”, the concept of the system becomes clear. Unlike modern MMOs, where everything can be customized in character creation, except for anything that affects gameplay, Camelot Unchained will allow for disastrous skill builds even at character creation. The player receives some points to invest in attributes.
Lead developer Marc Jacobs sees it as the players’ freedom to intentionally gimp themselves. And anyone who insists on running around with a weak and sickly tank can certainly do so and bear the consequences. However, unlike MMOs from earlier generations, there will be respec options available.
Stats Increase with Use
The stats in Camelot Unchained intentionally diverge in several ways from the current MMO standard. The concept papers state clearly: “Does not conform to today’s standard -> Good!” There will be stats like “Weight” that make it easier to shove opponents and harder to be shoved yourself. Furthermore, values will determine hearing and vision capabilities.
Additionally, they want to break free from an XP system where a character magically gathers points to then make a career leap by using a “thing” to suddenly distribute the accrued points in attributes they might not have even trained. Therefore, in Camelot Unchained, values will increase through use. Moreover, points in individual attributes won’t make the character “directly” stronger, but rather allow access to new items and abilities.
By the way, with items – similar to the early Dark Age of Camelot – there will simply be no stats. This is to avoid stats inflation.
My MMO believes: Even if Camelot Unchained is something that will only be explored in more depth in 2015/2016, several interesting concepts are already identifiable that seemed a bit out of fashion. However, such a path can help distinguish itself from the mass of MMOs.
Since Camelot Unchained has a clear target audience (former Dark Age of Camelot players), it will be very interesting to see if Jacobs can excite the fans, many of whom reminisce fondly about their time in DAOC but have likely outgrown the typical MMO power gamer age. Therefore, systems that prevent grinding fit well into the concept. The stats system, as unusual as it may seem, certainly makes sense and could provide an interesting variation.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In an interview, H1Z1 developer Jimmy Whisenhunt discussed some aspects of the gameplay, especially the combat system in the zombie MMO, which is set to be released in early access. While weapons should provide an advantage, they should not make the player immortal. Even a machine gun does not protect against taking a deadly arrow.
In the interview with the YouTuber itmeJP, who was fortunate enough to be invited to the SOE headquarters, Jimmy Whisenhunt, Senior Game Designer at H1Z1, shared some of the game philosophies behind the upcoming zombie MMO H1Z1. Since he is primarily responsible for the combat mechanics, the discussion included weapons and how powerful they make the player.
He was asked whether there would be a weapon, like the rocket launcher, that would be so powerful it could decide any fight right from the start. The short answer: “No.” The longer answer: Even with a bow, players should have the chance to win against an opponent with a machine gun. A lot of emphasis is placed on making combat “skill-based” and focusing on how skillfully one approaches an opponent. More like in a “deathmatch.”
No amount of skill can help against a lucky shot
The goal is to ensure that H1Z1 has a high “skill ceiling” so that truly good players can significantly benefit from their skills. However, this does not make them invulnerable. Even the best players might take an arrow from a blind spot to the head, and then no amount of skill will help.
The combat system is given high priority, which means that other aspects are being sidelined at least for the start. There will likely be a relatively simple character creation, similar to Planetside 2. Whisenhunt, as a combat expert, provides a rational justification: “You are faced with the choice of whether to introduce an option or to bring 50 additional weapons into the game.” For him, there is no question how to decide in this matter.
H1Z1 is ready for reddit
Otherwise, SOE aims to remain flexible in their design ideas and adapt to players’ behaviors. So far, according to Whisenhunt, players have never played a game as they had previously imagined. Therefore, it is not very useful to make plans. That is why they are prepared to come up with something when, for instance, a Zerg forms, and a clan of players roams the server together, ruining the experience for everyone else. “We can’t wait to see what a Reddit community or any other group does with the game,” Whisenhunt said.
H1Z1 is currently set to release in early access. Access will be paid initially, but will be free upon release. A date is still not known.
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The eagerly awaited expansion for Blizzard’s free online card game Hearthstone, Curse of Naxxramas, will likely not be released this week.
A simple forum post by community manager Arathil has dampened the hopes of impatient fans for an early release: “We are still on track to release Naxxramas in July, but not on Tuesday.” Since Tuesday is traditionally the maintenance day for the US server (Wednesday in Europe), it is assumed that there will be no access to the Arachnid Quarter of Naxxramas this week, the first of the five wings.
Possible release times then: Next Wednesday, July 23, or the following Wednesday, July 30. Even then, Hearthstone would technically still be “in July,” albeit just barely.
At the moment, it is also said that the special card back that players receive for being particularly successful in the heroic version of Naxxramas is also expected to be revealed before the dread necropolis appears. This means there will be a warning beforehand. A sign to watch out for, so to speak. Unfortunately, Naxxramas will not materialize out of nowhere and lure with undead hordes. As much as players would love such surprise releases – and the actual Hearthstone originally appeared quite unexpectedly back then – it seems that this will not be the case for Hearthstone’s first expansion.
To help you pass the time until the release of Naxxramas (and so that you don’t start tearing apart half the forum like Hearthstone fans did after Arathil’s announcement), we recommend our three articles about the expansion.
What do Hearthstone players say? May you always have good cards? May you never encounter a Miracle Rogue in the dark? Last-minute update 8:00 AM: It has been confirmed on the Spanish Twitter account for Hearthstone that Naxxramas is still coming in July, but not this week.
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In the free fantasy MMO Lord of the Rings Online, the producer has addressed the fans in an open letter and revealed plans for the rest of the year. The new class Beorning is set to be introduced this year but will start at level 1 instead of level 50.
Further changes to the plans are also on the way: The level cap will not be raised for the time being, and a new system for legendary weapons will make its way into the game.
Aaron Campbell has some changes in store for the recently upset fans. He states in an open letter to the fans that they want to listen to player feedback and therefore plan to change some things for the second half of the year.
Thus, contrary to previous statements, the level cap will not be raised again this year. It will remain at level 100, which was reached with Update 14. The fans have made it clear that they prefer to invest more time in the development of gear rather than in additional levels. This feedback has been taken to heart and will be implemented.
In this context, Turbine plans a new system for the progression of legendary weapons. At level 100, it will be possible to further upgrade a legendary item. The current values will be frozen and stored. The item will continue to gain experience (even through later level increases). It will no longer need to be painstakingly taken apart and reassembled. Here, they want to fulfill an earlier promise and provide players with legendary weapons that truly grow with them.
In addition, the planned class of Beorning will launch this year. Originally, the shape-shifters were supposed to start at level 50, right in the action. This has now changed, and they will start at level 1 and also offer Beornings their own “starting experience”, probably referring to a starting area.
The next update will continue the epic story that will lead to the battle at the gates of Gondor. Next, the Haradrim will come, the feared corsairs from Tolkien’s world. They will face the undead oathsbreakers led by Aragorn. For the players, the journey later this year will take them to Pelagir.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The free-to-play tank MMO World of Tanks is currently testing patch 9.2. It introduces strongholds, which are intended to deepen the gameplay experience of aspiring generals.
Patch 9.2 is all about strongholds, which Wargaming seems to be feverishly working on and is therefore asking as many tank generals as possible to help with testing. The stronghold mode is a kind of guild housing, but you can also lay waste to the strongholds of other clans, similar to the Warplots in the recently released MMO WildStar.
On the test server, every player, not just the commander, will be able to create a stronghold. Wargaming hopes for a larger amount of feedback from this. You no longer have to be in a clan of at least 20 people to try your hand at being a stronghold constructor.
Additionally, the patch will rework many tank models to adjust balance, and some maps will be reviewed again. Some tanks will even receive a whole new coat of paint and will soon shine in an HD model.
In a video preview on YouTube, EiKarrRamba presents the changes that patch 9.2 brings in detail.
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Transformers Universe, a mix of MOBA and shooter, is in Open Beta. First images of the gameplay have appeared and initial reviews are not very promising.
The US site mmobomb has extensively covered the gameplay of Transformers Universe. The game is currently in Open Beta, developed by the browser game specialist Jagex, and apparently has some issues.
According to the first impressions, the gameplay is reportedly not very polished. The 4v4 matches are consistently decided early on. It primarily focuses on team play. Whether Autobot or Decepticon, whoever loses the first battle respawns gradually, trickles back to the action, and is always outnumbered in future fights. A “snowball” effect is noticeable, as an initial advantage or disadvantage becomes increasingly pronounced. Additionally, while the models of the Autobots and Decepticons are well designed, the environment graphics still look somewhat generic.
Advancement also feels quite grindy at the moment, in the early Open Beta; it mostly involves earning enough points through as many matches as possible to unlock more bots or certain upgrades. The term “browser game” is somewhat problematic as well. Downloading the client saves some waiting time and thus becomes a mandatory task.
However, for fans of the genre and especially Transformers, there is a glimmer of hope: the bots indeed vary in their roles as tank, DPS or healer. There is a rich selection and the shootouts look quite appealing and action-packed.
Mein MMO says: After a first second-hand look at an early gameplay video, it is naturally unfair to pass judgment on a game—even if it should only be a mere dipstick. However, Transformers Universe seems unlikely to attract “core gamers”—for MOBA veterans, there are high-profile and well-developed alternatives like League of Legends, Dota 2, and numerous other games. Perhaps Transformers Universe can still do justice to the huge license in a later stage of development. Unfortunately, it does not currently appear to be a title for the premier league.
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The sandbox MMO “The Valley” will enter the first phase of Alpha on July 20.
The team at Fairytale Distillery is based in Munich and has taken on an almost impossible task as a small indie studio: they want to develop an MMO. While many of their indie colleagues are trying to create manageable platformers or high-concept games, the idea of an “MMO” is considered wildly ambitious. However, the sandbox MMO is making great progress and has some clever ideas in the works. They aim to focus on both cooperation and open-world PvP, periodically reset the servers, and reduce grinding per day to a manageable level through an EXP limit.
Even large international MMO sites have taken notice of the game, regularly reporting on it, and it appears that a fan base for the sandbox MMO has already formed in Russia and Poland.
Development is progressing well, having secured significant funding from the Free State of Bavaria. On July 20, the next significant milestone will be reached as “The Valley” enters the first phase of a Closed Alpha.
The team wants to select some testers from the more than a thousand applicants, and then open “The Valley” for visits only for a few hours a week. It is not too late to apply for the last spots in the Alpha.
In Guild Wars 2, players are returning to their US roots and introducing an All-Star voting system to select the best PvP players for Gamescom in Cologne. Eligible to vote: the fans.
All-Star voting is an annual tradition in the four major sports in the USA. Fans can vote for the players they want to see in a special All-Star game. The event often has a festive atmosphere over several days with all the glam, glory, and pathos, where the sport often takes a backseat and fun, watching, and being seen take center stage. But for the players, it is a huge deal and an honor they look back on fondly after their careers.
Guild Wars 2 is now utilizing such an All-Star voting to excite players for their PvP event at Gamescom in Cologne, for which they have been heavily promoting for several weeks. Players have until Thursday morning at 8:59 AM to cast their ballots. They can choose from numerous elite PvP players who have passed the preliminary selection by ArenaNet. Local fans can vote for 5 players each from a pool of 32, consisting of Europeans and North Americans. A delegation of Chinese participants will be chosen by the local publisher Khong Zong.
The exclusive armor set.
The actual tournament at Gamescom, which could also turn into a kind of national competition, will take place from August 14 to 17 and will be streamed on Twitch.
The winner will receive a legendary weapon, an exclusive armor set, and a special finishing move. The real kicker: ArenaNet will cover expenses and flight for the chosen representative to Cologne. This may not seem so appealing for German players, but for players from other countries, it’s a great opportunity to come to good ole Europe.
As a regular mortal, one currently has no chance of winning the prizes, but according to Guild Wars 2, they will also be made available to other players later.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
There is new information on how Blizzard envisions flying in the World of Warcraft expansion Warlords of Draenor. Apparently, they plan to introduce it only in patch 6.1 and tie it to a requirement that is still unclear.
Flying in World of Warcraft is a sensitive topic at the beginning of every expansion. This time, there was even talk of completely eliminating it. This is because it constantly brings new problems for the developers. Those who can fly out of any situation will not experience the same thrill as a pedestrian. Additionally, jump puzzles become impossible, and open PvP suffers significantly when players have enough space in the air to avoid each other. Especially in the leveling area, players lose sight of the beauty of the world when they fly brazenly over the painstakingly created landscape. For Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard will need to come up with something new.
At the beginning of the expansion, with patch 6.0, there will be no possibility of flying in Draenor, not even at the maximum level of 100. Flying will be integrated into the game only with patch 6.1 – likely after 2 months. This feels appropriate to the developers at Blizzard.
However, it is said that Blizzard is still uncertain about the conditions tied to flying: “Maybe it will be gold, maybe some sort of epic quest, or something quite simple.” They want to keep their options open at Blizzard to potentially change plans even shortly after the release. Blizzard employee and community manager Micah Wipple, better known by his forum nickname Bashiok, addressed such an inquiry in the official World of Warcraft forum.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The first major WildStar patch has been on the live servers for almost two weeks now, and it’s time to evaluate this mini-expansion and take a closer look at the overall endgame of Carbine’s MMORPG.
The Endgame – Adventures, Dungeons, and Lots of Death
For the last three weeks, I’ve been happily battling through the adventures and dungeons in veteran mode, desperately trying to keep my group members alive. Sometimes I succeeded. While the adventures are still nearly all doable, and even as a newbie, one could easily achieve a gold rating if at least the other four group members know what they are doing, it’s quite different in dungeons. With my Esper, I felt relatively secure; I could easily heal all adventures and – depending on the tank’s equipment – also bring out damage abilities at times to speed things up. But in dungeons? No chance!
The dungeons play on a completely different level, and before almost every boss fight, you are forced to adjust and adapt your abilities. What sounds annoying when reading about it is surprisingly fun in practice. There isn’t just one immutable build that works effectively everywhere. Since distributing ability points is free, there are no annoying costs involved.
But be warned: You should not attempt your first experiences with random groups, as the majority of players there know very well what they are doing and only have eyes for the gold reward, which is usually no longer achievable after a death. I really like this system, even though it does force you to organize a group of friends to truly enjoy these contents – at least for the first few rounds.
Unfortunately, especially the veteran adventures also have some negative points. The choices are good and enhance the game feel because no visit feels the same as the previous one if you wish, but here lies the problem: Some routes are just completely unfair or poorly balanced. In the adventure “The Malgrave Trail,” for example, some of the selectable routes can directly lead to failure and ruin the gold medal because you cannot prevent something negative from happening – completely independent of how good the group is. In “Crimelords of Whitevale,” it is also not advisable to deviate from the “most popular” path, as the adventure often tends to stall – even after the patch, there is still room for improvement here.
PvP – Battlegrounds: Short, Snappy, and Brutal
I also took a detailed look at the PvP as a healer – and it was immensely fun. The two battlegrounds never last longer than half an hour and provide fun for many, many matches. I especially like that the equipment seems to make only a small difference and the individual player’s skill is what really matters – those who master their class better tend to emerge victorious.
However, there are the most weaknesses of the game to be lamented in PvP: Bots make many battlegrounds unsafe and run through the map on predetermined paths. It even becomes so absurd that these bots from both teams meet at specific points and beat each other up. Occasionally, real players from both teams sit peacefully on the sidelines and place bets on which bot will win.
But the PvP values in WildStar also need urgent adjustments! The attributes “PvP Offensive” and “PvP Defensive” do have the desired effect; however, they are also gained far too easily. You only need 3 PvP items to reach the limit of these attributes – after that, their usefulness drops significantly. Currently, a pure PvP set is not the most effective, but a mix of PvP and PvE gear, which ultimately gives raiders and dungeon runners the better starting chances. That is absurd and fortunately, this will be addressed in the next major patch.
The Rotting Refuge – The Story Moves Forward, At Least a Bit…
The story of Drusera, the Eldan, and the Transmutation was unfortunately not brought to a satisfactory conclusion during the main game – too many questions remained unanswered, and this was supposed to change with the new zone. Did it succeed? No.
Don’t get me wrong, the new zone in WildStar is great and at least from the perspective of the Exiles, there is much new lore (especially for the Mordesh), and some riddles are solved – but definitely too little. After facing off against the monstrous Globellum and having helped the friendly Pell, you can finally enter the “public dungeon,” which, to put it harshly, is nothing more than a larger linear level with elite opponents. Although there are a few terminals in between that reveal interesting details of the story, in the end, you feel just as unsatisfied as you did with the last area. The big revelations are missing.
However, this is just a minor negative point, as overall the zone is excellently made. Serious and funny quests balance each other out, and especially the Drusera soundtrack, which plays during the building event, brings me to the brink of tears every time. The atmosphere is wonderful, and the area is exceedingly coherent – unfortunately, it is also not very long. If patches like this actually come monthly, then that is more than one could ever dream of!
Of Phoenixes and Trolls
Two new daily missions have also found their way into the game, which are fundamentally different from the two “Daily Areas” as they require nearly 20 players to tackle.
The first quest is relatively straightforward – you just need to send a big bird back into the sky, and it requires no tactics at all. The good old “Tank&Spank” works wonderfully here, and even with just one tank and one healer, it can be done easily.
It’s different with the second task, “Guardians of the Grove”: Here, a central point must be protected while enemies attack from all directions – a good group with at least 4 tanks, 4 healers, and 12 damage dealers is essential. In the style of well-known “Tower Defense” games, the battle group can also build various towers that assist in the endeavor. You can choose between offensive (which deal damage) or defensive (which slow down enemies) towers. However, if one wants to achieve a silver or gold medal in the event, they must forgo the towers and build “special” towers that have no use in combat but increase loot at the end if they survive.
Unfortunately, currently all players can place these towers, regardless of who starts the event, making gold and silver medals almost impossible to achieve, as particularly unfriendly players from the opposing faction can simply place defensive towers and ruin the 30-minute event for the opposing faction – it remains to be hoped that measures will be taken against this kind of trolling and that hard account penalties will be imposed.
The Northern Wastes – More Dailies, But Unfortunately Without Love
Unfortunately, I was most disappointed by the northern wastes, the new “daily quest area” in WildStar. On one hand, it’s great that an old starting area is progressing in the story and now populated by new enemies, but on the other hand, the implementation feels a bit lackluster when I compare the zone with others. The missions there are all designed for solo players, which I generally appreciate – as I usually undertake these tasks anyway when waiting for someone or something.
While the quests themselves are engaging on the island and fun, it seems that they have neglected the whole “surroundings” a bit. In the wastes, there are only three measly challenges, and they all only involve “kill as many of them as you can!”, while in the blood-red hinterlands, there was a larger selection and more enjoyable variations. Even a big event like “Aggregor” is nowhere to be found here. Particularly negative is that some of the daily missions do not even grant reputation for the faction – why is that? Did no one notice this beforehand?
Bug Fixes – A Wash and Polish, Please!
WildStar had very few bugs at launch, but a few minor issues were bothersome: Some VIPs had no effect at all, and some abilities were bugged. Particularly frustrating was that certain professions could not reach their full potential because some recipes simply weren’t implemented in the game yet.
In summary, however, one can say: Most errors have been fixed, and the performance of the game is better. Although I made no changes, I now have an average of around 10 more FPS, even in particularly demanding areas. The only frustrating thing is that the patch also introduced some new bugs: Particularly twinks are upset that some quests in the low-level areas can no longer be completed and must be skipped – a hotfix for these tasks is still pending.
Conclusion – Great Endgame, Great Patch, and a Little Doubt
The endgame is tremendously fun, and the patch has introduced the new daily area and the two 20-person missions, providing even more activities, most of which are pure joy. However, there’s a slight aftertaste because the new areas could largely have been tested during the closed beta of the game; whether we can really call this a “major content patch” or merely “adding already promised content” depends on whether one is pro or con WildStar.
Unfortunately, the patch does not lead to a reassessment of our initial rating, because a few small details have still disappointed me significantly. However, there is also no reduction in the rating because I am again complaining at a high level and still log into WildStar just as much as in the previous weeks.
The patch is solid and enjoyable – more of it, but perhaps a little more thorough testing!
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Every now and then an English-speaking Hearthstone site releases Power Rankings. They ask top players who they think dominates the meta-game. In June, the month before Naxx, that was by far the Rogue.
Americans love Power Rankings, tables, and statistics. Liquidhearth periodically asks some of the best Hearthstone players for their opinion: Who is currently sweeping the tiles of the board with whom, who is the counter to which deck, what is trendy, what is on the decline. In June, leading by far: The Rogue. 88% of the surveyed players named it as the strongest class in Blizzard’s free card game Hearthstone.
The Rogue is currently played in two variations in the meta. As a Miracle Rogue, it relies on a combination of cheap damage and card effects that quickly bring more cards from its deck into its hand. The popularity of the Rogue is surely aided by the fact that the most popular counter to the Miracle Rogue is another Rogue deck: The Backspace Rogue focuses even more on card draw effects and speed.
In second place is the Druid as a solid all-rounder with a deck for all occasions, while the Warlock takes Bronze, allowing connoisseurs to utilize elaborate and spectacular combinations.
In general, the surveyed pro players believe that the Rogue will remain dominant in July until the introduction of Naxxramas brings new cards into the Hearthstone meta-game to shake things up significantly.
At the bottom of the Power Rankings is the Priest, even though the exceptional player Amaz managed to reach the finals with a Priest deck at the Dreamhack, eliminating several Miracle Rogues along the way. The first class card for the Priest in Naxx has been well received by liquidhearth and is seen as a first step to strengthen the Priest’s position. Hearthstone and the metagame have a lot in store with Naxxramas, which will also present new challenges for Hearthstone veterans. What will the meta-game look like in July and August?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
It is likely to become significantly louder about the double package of SOE, Everquest Next and Landmark in the coming months. Both games are slowly entering a hot phase.
The two sister projects Landmark and Everquest Next are both apparently making great progress. While Landmark (a sandbox open-world builder) is already in closed beta with new patches continually being released that drive the game forward, important announcements for Everquest Next are expected at SOE Live, a convention by Sony Online Entertainment. The developers have teased fans in one of the recent reports on Everquest Next that significant new features are on the way for SOE Live in mid-August. Above all, there is excitement about surprising players with something that has not yet been mentioned.
While the biggest optimists are speculating that this could even mean a release date, others suggest that perhaps an alpha phase for late December/early January might be announced in mid-August.
Emergent AI of Everquest Next could advance the genre
Most fans who are watching Everquest Next are eager to see how the “Emergent AI” develops. It is intended to control dynamic events where the mobs react to player behavior, successes, and failures, making the world feel even more alive than in Guild Wars 2. While most fans are focused on the sandbox and world-building options of Landmark, interest in Everquest Next has so far mainly been on the ability to change and destroy the world.
A destructible environment would elevate gameplay in combat to a level not yet seen in the genre. Creative solutions for mob encounters would become possible. The “Emergent AI” could have a similarly significant impact on the genre since new aspects could always be derived from content once introduced.
MMOs from the last generation like World of Warcraft are struggling significantly with their raids becoming monotonous in repetition and challenge players with achievements or increased difficulty to defeat enemies multiple times, but in different ways. Current MMOs like WildStar rely on a dynamic raid where bosses appear in various variations week to week.
Whether there will be more information about the Emergent AI at SOE Live will be one of the most exciting questions of the event. Otherwise, unless the early access of H1Z1 has started by then, everything will revolve around that.
Some SOE fans expect a release of Everquest Next no earlier than mid/late 2015, some even mention 2016.
And what’s happening with Landmark?
The free-to-play Landmark could enter an open beta as early as August, after SOE Live, in a kind of “soft launch”. So far, nothing “official” is known about this. Observers expect that it will happen this year, and a date will be announced at SOE Live.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, TESO, an interview has revealed more details about the upcoming change in the endgame, the veteran ranks. The game will move in the direction of Everquest or Everquest 2 and introduce a champion system. Veterans will become champions. Additionally, TESO’s Creative Director has confirmed that PvP arenas will be introduced.
In an audio interview with “The Quest,” TESO Creative Director Paul Sage has provided insights into the future plans for The Elder Scrolls Online. Everyone expected it to be quiet until QuakeCon at the end of next week.
The new champion system of The Elder Scrolls Online at a glance
A champion system will replace the current veteran system. It is planned for Update 4 (around September) or for Update 5 (October/November). Here are the details of the champion system:
Players will constantly earn champion points after reaching level 50
These points can be invested in passive abilities and will lead to a percentage increase in game-relevant stats such as critical hit chance
Champion points will be collected account-wide and can be invested in any character on the account, but they only count for that character
There will be a respec system
A “rested” bonus will be introduced, functioning like “Rested” bonuses in other games, allowing players to earn significantly more champion points when starting after a longer break
Already collected veteran points will be converted into champion points (as confirmed by the German Community Manager Kai Schober, who commented on Sage’s interview in the forum)
The champion rating will introduce a form of “gear score” to TESO – players will be able to see whether they are equipped for content or not
The champion rating will be calculated based on collected champion points and the quality of the gear
New items will be introduced, categorized by “seasons” – items from Season 8 will be stronger and harder to obtain than those from Season 7
In Update 4, the Dragonfalls Arena (4-player PvE instance) will come to Kargstein
For Update 4 (September), Sage also announces what the last addition for Kargstein will be. The Dragonfalls Arena will pit players against waves of monsters. It will be designed for a full group of players. There will be an announcer who cheers or insults the players. According to Sage, the arena is expected to be quite tricky. There will also be a leaderboard.
Future expansions are planned that will provide players with the same gameplay experience as the original 1-50 zones for leveling. However, these zones will emphasize “exploration” more. A demand that has been repeatedly voiced by fans of the Elder Scrolls single-player series.
PvP arenas are likely coming soon
Sage also comments on possible PvP arenas. They were brought up when a 3vs3 arena appeared at events, which was supposedly developed solely for these occasions to give spectators a quick look at TESO’s PvP gameplay.
The community’s response was so positive that they are now actively considering how to integrate arenas into the game without degrading Cyrodiil in any way: “Arenas are something you can definitely expect in the not-so-distant future.”
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
ArcheAge, an MMO with sandbox elements and Korean roots, will enter closed beta next Thursday. We had the opportunity for an interview with Scott Hartsman, CEO of Trion Worlds and Executive Producer of ArcheAge.
Before WildStar was released, the developers at Carbine spoke about wanting to attract former World of Warcraft players to the game. The Elder Scrolls Online has clearly targeted fans of Skyrim and other single-player RPGs. Who is their target audience? What MMOs or other games has a typical ArcheAge player already played?
Great question! ArcheAge targets players who long for a more open and free MMO experience. At its core, it is a sandbox, with theme park elements at the reception as an introduction. Imagine the satisfying depth of Ultima Online or Star Wars Galaxies, with the intricate crafting system and the ability to own a piece of the landscape. Add to that the intrigue, PvP, and piracy of EVE Online, and a customized class system like Rift.[quote_box_right]Jake Song is the Korean developer of ArcheAge and previously worked on Lineage. XLGAMES is the company developing ArcheAge in Korea.[/quote_box_right]
This combination is something I have always wanted to see in a fantasy world. Since we first heard that Jake Song was planning something like this for today’s times, we have been looking forward to it. And we are very glad that we can work with XLGAMES on this game.
Do you believe that MMO players long for a sandbox MMO? And what do you think is the reason for ArcheAge’s popularity in Europe and North America?
I think it is exactly this longing. While there have been some solid sandbox games, hardly any have been of AAA quality and set against such an incredibly beautiful world. We as an industry have been focused in the last generation on developing ever more polished theme parks. Those were fun too. But their numbers have far exceeded those of the sandboxes. As ArcheAge is now received, we can see that there definitely is a large number of people who have longed for such a sandbox game.
It seems that there are two major player groups in ArcheAge that might have conflicts with each other. Some place a high value on PvP. Others are builders and want to create something in the environment. Could it not be that there will always be disharmony between these two groups if one wants to gank and lead large battles, while the others want to be traders, settlers, craftsmen, or builders? How should these two groups coexist in the game?
When players are indirectly competing with each other or are involved in a direct conflict, this disharmony is precisely the element that makes many sandbox games interesting and adds spice to them. What we also find is that even people who initially have no interest in PvP gradually become interested because of their environment and contacts in the game. They want to help their friends and guilds. Everyone wants their own team to win.
But for the true purists who are not interested in PvP at all, there are places in the world where they are completely safe to contribute from a distance.
I have to ask this. You had this meeting with XLGAMES some time ago, where it was decided that ArcheAge would start in the West with 1.2. Did everyone agree? What do you imagine such a meeting looks like? Is there a big conference table, 5 on one side, 5 on the other side, and everyone is dead serious? What was the atmosphere like?
Hahaha, it wasn’t like in the movies. Both sides were very thoughtful about whether it would be possible to go live with 1.2 without delaying the whole process too much. But both teams wanted to make it happen if at all possible. I would describe the atmosphere as cautious contemplation with a touch of euphoria about the possibilities.
Will there be a German localization and if so, when?
Yep! There will be, it will come during the beta tests. We will announce in the next weeks approximately when to expect it during the beta tests. The first translations during the beta will still be quite rough. The closer we get to release, the finer and more elegant the translations will become.
In the first step, we rewrite the original text and translate everything into English first to have a common basis for the other languages. This is important because we make changes on a completely fictional level. This is much more than a mere translation.
Once everyone is satisfied with the changes and rewrites, we will translate it in parallel into German and French. We will ensure that everything fits into the UI to ensure the AAA polish we expect. We have the ambitious goal of launching with a refined and finished localization at release.
How important is the German-speaking market for ArcheAge?
The German market is extremely important to us. Important enough to have a data center nearby, a dedicated localization, and its own servers.
Recently, there have been some issues with Rift in Germany. The German Facebook page for Rift has not been updated since around September 2013 and was only merged with the English Facebook page a few weeks ago. Will there be any form of German community management or a German Facebook page? Will there be opportunities for German-speaking players to talk with the developers? Anything to make them feel cared for?
We are always trying to grow and improve. In a very short time we have gone from a company with just one MMO to one with four MMOs. A company covering PC and two consoles, having its own platform and ten new distribution partners – with players from almost every country in the world!
There are still areas where we want to improve. And to achieve that, we have centralized communication in our forums. We provide complete customer service in all supported languages. With the best response time among all MMO companies, as our research indicates.
Many ports of Asian MMORPGs to the West suffer from endless wait times for an update or patch. We often lag behind the original version by months. Could this also become a problem for ArcheAge?
XLGAMES are quite fantastic in this regard. They want to help us keep our version as up-to-date as possible. There will be some delays, mainly due to the amount of work we need to invest, but our territories are very important to XLGAMES. And both sides want to do everything possible to keep the NA/EU version as current as possible.
Many people were quite happy when they heard that Trion Worlds would publish and implement ArcheAge for the Western audience. How much influence do you have over the direction in which the game develops?
Thank you! We regularly work with the XLGAMES teams, and their head of ArcheAge has assured us multiple times that they value our input and want to support us. Honestly: We learn just as much (if not more) about their market and design ideas as they do about ours.
Could there be a “European” path for ArcheAge in the future, if things do not go as desired in Korea?
Our version already has some “western” adjustments when compared to the original version as it is played in Korea or China. Especially in the balancing of the trading system or in the labor points. Some of the largest changes concern microtransactions. Trends in the West and East differ significantly in this regard. XLGAMES has helped us a lot to implement our ideas.
You have been in the gaming industry for nearly 30 years now. Is technology now at a point where you can develop the games you have always dreamed of?
Yes, and we will be able to go even further. When I first had anything to do with virtual worlds or adventure games taking place within these worlds, it was about anchoring that life-changing feeling of being somewhere else, with other real people and doing things you could never do in real life. Then as now, it is all about creating that feeling.
Was it a more creative job back then to work with the imagination of the players?
Text-based worlds were easier on one hand to spark the imagination. Everything was in the words, just like in a book. With the state of graphics and audio technology today, it takes much more work to create that feeling. But at the same time, we have made tremendous advances in gameplay and technology.
Even today there are exciting areas that we can explore. We want to reach that great, ideal goal of placing someone in a different place, in an epic, imaginative world. The journey will go into virtual reality and beyond. One thing I am sure of: The next 30 years will be even more exciting! It will be fantastic.
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In the livestream, the developers of the Free-to-Play MMORPG “Star Wars: The Old Republic” revealed many new details about the upcoming “Galactic Stronghold” update and gave us a closer look at the player housing located on the homeworld of the Republic: Coruscant.
Although the stream repeated a lot of information that was already known, we summarize the most important points here:
The best part for role-players: The housing can be made accessible to both factions. Want to corrupt a Jedi and do it in the comfort of your own home? No problem!
Some mysteries regarding the prestige system have also been unveiled. Once a player stronghold has over 1000 prestige, it can be displayed on the public list – the higher the prestige of your stronghold, the higher it ranks on this list. This score is calculated based on the completeness of the stronghold and is multiplied by the number of decorations. Subscribers receive a doubling of the total value, which is why only paying players will likely be found at the top of the prestige list.
Access to the strongholds is simply organized – either you make them public or distribute access through three types of keys: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. While gold keys are only accessible to the owning player and their alts, silver keys can be distributed to everyone – these players will then have invite and kick rights. Owners of the bronze key can only visit the corresponding stronghold. By the way, the keys are completely free of charge.
At the same time, the developers of Star Wars: The Old Republic also answered questions, here is a summary of the most interesting statements: Players at level 16 should already be able to afford their own home, even though not all rooms are yet unlocked.
The dwellings also count as rest zones (just like cantinas), and a lot of comfort items can be purchased to save the trip to the fleet, such as a guild bank, a mailbox, the auction house, or even a character customization station.
Unlocked mounts and speeders can be displayed as decoration in your house – perfect for showing off and admiring!
Of course, you can teleport to your own home from anywhere, and from there you have four travel options: back to the last point, to your own spaceship, to the fleet, or to the planet where your stronghold is located. This significantly increases the number of recall options and massively shortens travel paths – although these weren’t very long to begin with.
You can find a complete list of all statements here on dulfy.net – unfortunately currently only in English. And if you missed the first livestream of the “Living in the Galaxy” series, you can catch up here: Star Wars: The Old Republic – Introduction to Housing.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the latest dev blog about the upcoming zombie MMO H1Z1 (affectionately referred to by some as Hizzy), the work of Ryan Favale is highlighted, who primarily focuses on the dynamic weather of H1Z1.
The most important thing seems to be ensuring that everyone experiences the same weather and that everyone plays under the same sun. Otherwise, cheaters could play in the foggiest mist in the brightest light because the sun shines on their client while other players’ visibility shrinks to arm’s length.
It is also important to the developers to translate the weather conditions into the game as realistically and diversely as possible. Different rain clouds pour out different forms of rain. Fog forms, snow comes, snow melts, snow goes – and a dream of Favale would be to integrate twisters and blizzards into the game that would actually influence the gameplay and not just contribute to the atmosphere. If it were up to him, players would forget what weather is currently outside their door and focus much more on the weather in H1Z1.
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For Early Access, Favale already promises a basic weather system, especially with rain they are already quite advanced, at the moment he is mainly working on the snow effects. After the release, his work will then focus on continuously integrating new weather conditions into the game, as long as they allow for an environment where players can have fun.
In addition to the dev blog, another video pre-alpha footage was also released yesterday. Jericho, a well-known YouTuber, was invited to H1Z1, and he runs and fights for 15 minutes to save his life, trying to eliminate other players in a way that he can later claim it was an absolute accident.
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In the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, the third update for August will introduce armor dyeing, guild symbols, and new campaigns. However, an important change in the trading system is also coming.
With the beautiful video and all the colorful hues, it’s easy to lose sight of what the players can expect in August. On one hand, the PvP campaigns will be drastically shortened from 90 days to just 5 to 30 days; on the other hand, the trading system will change, with a new method introduced for players to sell their goods.
Guilds will be able to bid on an “Auctioneer”. According to the latest information, 122 of them will be available. The auction will take place “blindly”. This means the guild does not know how much has already been bid on the auctioneers. It will likely work in such a way that the guilds will anonymously bid a certain sum of gold. If they are one of the 122 highest-bidding guilds, they will be assigned an auctioneer. This will replace the “Guild Kiosk,” which was originally discussed. At least this “general” bidding seems to be more logical than having 122 auctioneers with hidden price tags on the big toe, which could be bid on solo.
Through the auctioneers, members of “Auction-Winning” guilds can sell goods to non-guild members at physical locations – so perhaps it will be a kind of auction house that is introduced through the back door.
The absence of an auction house in The Elder Scrolls Online was welcomed by some players before the release, as it would promote communication among players and increase the value of guilds. However, in practice, the system has proven to be impractical because it requires more effort and concentration than many are willing to give. Especially since the interface is not exactly intuitive and looks like a spreadsheet.
Other aspects of the trading system were almost ignored. The possibility for guilds to set up vendors in fortresses they occupy to sell goods was hardly utilized. In everyday life, the guild stores, with their confusing menus and opaque price comparisons, turned out to be too unwieldy and unattractive for a generation of MMO players who are used to an auction house like in World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, or nearly every other modern MMO.
In Star Trek Online, you command an entire ship crew, in Star Wars: The Old Republic a retinue of companions, and even in Neverwinter, the entourage is omnipresent. Now World of Warcraft and Rift are catching up. What is behind this new trend?
One does not save the world alone
When we think of The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, we often see the small moments. Luke Skywalker, cut off from his life, in the swamp with Yoda or on the ice planet Hoth. We see Frodo, Samwise, and Gollum lonely on the way to Mount Doom. The heroes are alone in these moments, amongst themselves and facing an overwhelming force. Forced into isolation, they grow beyond themselves. They have no one to rely on but themselves.
But there are quite different situations in both worlds. Aragorn leads a huge army into battle. The free peoples unite. Countless figures, races, and groups play a role in the fight against Sauron. The world cannot be saved alone. It is necessary to gather companions, form alliances, recruit specialists for specific tasks. Luke does not fly solo against the Death Star; a colorful array of exotics and aliens has gathered around him – symbolizing a multitude of cultures standing against a rigid and uniformed empire. It doesn’t take much imagination to see parallels in history.
NPC Companions in MMOs: Much potential, sobering reality?
Even heroes in MMOs need companions. Usually, these are other players. But everyone wants to be the hero. The gang rarely obeys. And aside from that: Who wants to play the cook on a spaceship? Or one of 4000 riders from Rohan?
But how silly would it actually be to be a spaceship captain without any crew? Or a commander riding against the armies of Mordor amidst great clamor, with no one following him?
So you give players companions to highlight them, to mark their special role in the world. But are they more than just brainless companions or figures in a display case?
The loyal weapon brother: With or without personality, mostly without
Let’s talk about the first form of NPCs in the game: the classic “companions” or “pets,” the weapon brothers, mercenaries, companions, familiar animals, demons, and similar. Most are silent, often a bit loyal-dull, rarely graced with personality.
NPCs as weapon brothers are well established in the genre. Whether you command an entire away team in Star Trek Online or send your wolf, succubus, or imp against the enemy as a hunter or warlock in World of Warcraft. And this is true for the player in Neverwinter or Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Of course, SW:TOR goes a step further and allows interaction with the NPCs. A rarity in the genre. They are also important outside of combat. Crafting runs through them, and a real story develops between the player and their followers. This is not well developed in Star Trek Online; the officers remain faceless and gain only contours in the minds of the players.
And let’s not kid ourselves: This is pretty much the case across the genre. The “companions” or “pets” are useful in combat, but otherwise hardly more than glorified pets.
Judgment: Still a lot of room for improvement, Star Wars as a notable exception
Well, in terms of NPC control, there is truly still a lot of room for improvement. Much more than a “loyal” pet that either works or doesn’t, NPCs in this form are rare. They evoke emotions only if they get stuck somewhere, unintentionally pull enemies, or simply do not engage in combat despite repeated shouts. Only Star Wars: The Old Republic stands out here. Other games like Guild Wars 2 rely on companions joining the player for a short time but remain outside of control to support the feeling of a living world.
Conclusion: In this area, individual NPC companions, the genre should better take inspiration from Star Wars: The Old Republic or, better yet, the “The Witcher” single-player series – or from Dragon Age or the numerous other single-player RPGs that value a dense atmosphere. MMOs are also in a difficult position here. Interaction should ideally occur between players, not between players and their NPCs. Companions have hardly developed in recent years. Instead, the trend comes from another direction.
WoW and Rift learn from Star Trek Online: My army as a display case
Indeed, Star Trek Online has done pioneering work here. And that, while it is otherwise an MMO that runs more under the “Far Off” category: a game for Trekkies that no one has on their radar when it comes to “innovative game concepts.” One thinks of Guild Wars 2 with its dynamic events and the personal story. But Star Trek Online is a pioneer in that display case model that is now spreading and has reached the first league with World of Warcraft.
This concept relies little on “storytelling” in the world until now, making the NPCs pictures in a Panini album or figures in a display case. In a type of browser game, separate from the actual game flow, the captain in Star Trek Online can collect crew members who have different races, traits, and ranks. These display case figures are then regularly taken out to send them on text-based missions in a type of mini-game. A strategic component comes into play when choosing: The stubborn and rebellious Klingon as security officer will be better suited for combat missions than a Ferengi cook. The cook will perform better in a patience task.
The feeling of commanding an entire ship of specialists occurs only in the player’s mind in Star Trek Online. Because more than a profile picture and a few lines of text about the “Duty Officers,” the crew members, there is hardly to learn.
This model is not only appealing for roleplay reasons for World of Warcraft or Rift. Because you don’t start – and this is where it gets clever – with a full Panini album, a whole roster of followers, but have to fill the individual compartments. Thus, World of Warcraft and also Rift will integrate the servants as a reward for quests or rare drops. In WoW, you will also be able to equip the companions. And as every MMO player knows: The more rare things there are to collect, the longer you spend in a game. Especially if a full roster of followers will pay off – as in World of Warcraft, where they unlock crafting, likely bring achievements again, and certainly have other benefits in store.
Conclusion: The question will be whether Blizzard can turn the followers into more than just a “design element”: another thing to collect and display in showcases like mounts, non-combat pets, titles, or costumes. Blizzard has achieved great success with this tactic. One would hardly do justice to the roleplay template, the great epics, with such treatment.
In Star Trek Online, the appeal of the ship’s crew lies in the fact that as a player, you childishly invent stories for each character in your team. If Rift and World of Warcraft can do something similar and maybe a bit more, this new trend could find many fans and imitators. Just as the housing construction fever, which is currently raging, could soon lead to a companion epidemic.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
