Nearly a week ago, restless and discontented voices were silenced with a gift package in The Elder Scrolls Online. On one hand, Matt Firor brought five free days for every player with an active subscription.
However, much more important for the peace of the realm was a long list of announced improvements and expansions that are set to gradually find their way into the fantasy MMORPG over the coming months and years. In our special, we take a closer look at the list.
I confess: I was overwhelmed by the list. While we were piecing together the news about the five free days, Dawid, who was working with me on the news, kept discovering new points on the list that excited him: There are new raids planned, the thief quest is coming, and so on. It was too much to comprehend all at once.
Additionally, new topics constantly pushed in, but today, nearly a week since “THE LIST” (by Matt “Grisham” Firor) has been among the people, it is time to take a closer look at the most important points.
Hey, take your hand out of my underwear drawer!
A legal system where theft and killing of NPCs (non-player characters) have consequences if you get caught.
This is the point at which most people have clicked their tongues. A clear commitment to the single-player series with an embedded moral gray zone.
The MMORPG ArcheAge brings a similar system. Players accumulate penalty points, can be tracked down and arrested by other players, must answer to a jury, and ultimately serve their sentence.
Many players have resented TESO for the absence of a punishment system. On the other hand: How exactly should it work? Will it then be possible to kill innocent NPCs? For that, they would first have to be introduced.
And will the chronically kleptomaniacal TESO players cope with not peeking into other people’s underwear drawers? Will Zenimax go a step further and prohibit the quick reading of 200 tomes in four seconds while casually looting and eyeing skill points?
Anticipation: High. The system simply belongs in TESO. It will be exciting to see how it will be implemented.
When will this come? I think relatively late. This is a typical “nice-to-have” feature that will require a lot of work. Maybe with a first expansion? The best time for such a feature would be at the launch of the strategically important console release of TESO (which will play on its own server and not with the PC gamers, who otherwise would have too much of an advantage.)
Cosmetic fans, pay attention
Dyeing and tinting of armor
A small thing at first glance, but important to many players. Especially because the rather “realistic” color choices currently look like gray in gray in ochre gray – like a rainy November day. A splash of color here and there would be nice. Purists, however, will roll their eyes. Should the spectacle slide into bright Asian colors, the path to costumes in the in-game shop would not be far. Next, players would be running around with Khajiit masks and thinking they are Catmen! Wait, I think I saw one of those recently…
Anticipation: Low for some, but for those who spend six hours in the character editor, it could hardly be higher. It just doesn’t fit the grim atmosphere in TESO. However, Zenimax has so far proven to have a pretty good hand and could limit themselves to subtle colors.
How do new guilds fit into the game?
Story and quests for the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood
A major point of criticism from the “This is not like Skyrim” faction. While the Fighter’s Guild and the Mage Guild made it into the game, the Thieves and the Dark Brotherhood did not. Even an MMO player with little connection to the Elder Scrolls series would concede that the storylines of the Mage and Fighter guilds represent highlights in the game.
Great stories could surely arise around the Dark Brotherhood. The only question is: How should this work? Do you want to start them at level 10? Then the content would be unattractive for a large number of players who by then would already be strolling in veteran ranks? Or do you introduce them directly at the end level? Then newcomers would have to wait a long time.
Anticipation: For newcomers (keyword: console version), this could be a great thing; for veterans, not necessarily. Except as a high-level version or if the guilds become quest givers in new adventure zones: then it would surely be a great idea that many would appreciate.
When will this come: Maybe with one of the next zones? Or only with a possible expansion? Maybe Firor will surprise us here and pull some members of the Dark Brotherhood out of his Santa Claus hat for the next adventure zone. The assassins and thieves surely won’t sneak into the game just like that. You will definitely hear some fanfare.
Spell weaving! Sounds complicated? It is!
Weaving spells
Spell weaving was the first thing that raised questions: “Is it really what I imagine?” And the answer was a wise nod. Spells that a player can assemble themselves are an interesting concept in an MMO, especially in one that proudly boasts such a large kit of skills from which a player can customize their character.
If spell weaving comes, it will surely happen within strict parameters, similar to how it was with glyphs in World of Warcraft. If certain aspects of a spell are too good (a flame strike without range but with eightfold damage, like a Three-Finger-Fire-Deathpunch), it ruins the already fragile balance.
Perhaps one could change a color or slightly modify something. A major overhaul of the game’s balance will not be allowed.
Anticipation: Probably too high. But we are happy to be pleasantly surprised by Zenimax.
The return of Darkness Falls?
PvP dungeon in the Imperial City
Here I can shine with my Dark Age of Camelot expertise, because this idea comes from the old-timer. A PvP dungeon!
Memories awaken: PvP Dungeons in DAOC
In DAOC, it was a particularly tasty dungeon that offered rich loot. It was only open to the realm that was currently ahead in PvP. The realm then had access to the dungeon for a certain period of time, could undertake a realm-wide action to send the resident arch-villains to the other side, and fill their pockets.
It was roughly like storming a department store during a winter clearance sale, only everyone was armed and it wasn’t about fur coats but about loot being carried out. Well, at C&A, a thousand-eyed demon monster that sucks the souls of the fallen isn’t usually slain… On the other hand, I haven’t been to a C&A in a long time.
Moreover, the PvP dungeon was a great place to level up; the exp was increased.
A particular joy was when the realm changed that occupied the PvP dungeon. Then it was like a spring cleaning. A new army stormed into the PvP dungeon after the triumph over some castle and killed mobs alongside enemy players until Darkness Falls belonged to them alone. Such a sweeping action was possible because only those who still had access to the PvP dungeon could respawn directly on site. The rest found themselves at a graveyard outside.
This also set off a constant circulation in the PvP area, because when 200 people from the currently dominant realm were in the PvP dungeon, they couldn’t defend their fortresses…
Anticipation: Probably too low at the moment. This was a huge deal in DAOC, gave everyone a goal, and breathed new life into the game. The exp was good, it was a “server-wide” event, and the slaughter after each change was a lot of fun for the whole family.
When will this come? Probably the first time Firor thinks the game needs a gameplay boost. End of the year? Around Christmas maybe?
Things that are simply due now
This was of course not the entire list; it will be completed by a whole host of changes that players would have wished for at release.
Better facial animations of NPCs
This is urgently needed and has been noted as the big weakness in the presentation since beta. Unfortunately, such things typically take a long time…
Migration of the European mega server to our European data center.
The European servers somewhere in America (probably in Maryland) have indeed angered many German players because the impression was given before the release that the servers would be located in Frankfurt. Well, at least most had assumed that if there was already a European server, it would also be in Europe.
There is no date for the move yet, but every week, one of the officials reaffirms that it is really high on the priority list and that they will definitely do it as soon as things calm down regarding bugs, bots, and gold sellers.
When will this come? Soon. I think by the end of May, this should be settled.
[doptoggle title=”Otherwise, there are still numerous improvements on the list that we will show you here….” icon=3 activeicon=4]
A system that allows players in groups to see each other even if they are in different phases.
Personal adjustment of the field of view
Two new veteran dungeons: Crypt of Hearts and City of Ash
New region in Kargstein with a new trial: the Serpent
Improved ways to pick up items in the world
Horse racing
Dragonstar Arena – similar to trials, but for up to four players
Improvements in fishing
Improvements in the crafting system
Improved group search
New guild features: changes to the user interface of the guild store, customizable guild emblems, tabards, and guild kiosks – guild stores that are accessible to everyone and available to the highest bidding guild.
Automatically leveling dungeons that adapt to the level of your group leader.
Achievements for repeating dungeons
[/doptoggle]
What do you think? What are you most excited about from the long list of things? Let us know in the survey! Or do you have something else in mind? Then share it in the comments!
Diese Umfrage ist geschlossen.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Do you remember your first time logging in around level 20 in Module 2 Shadowmantle and Sergeant Knox in the Protector’s Enclave gave you the quest to visit a priest who told you about artifacts? These powerful items have since become a staple of the online role-playing game Neverwinter and will of course play a role again in the upcoming expansion Curse of Icewind Dale!
But now comes the big “but”: You can only use them if you have played at least two characters at level 60 and they have already enjoyed a trip to Caer-Konig.
Phew!
Those who prefer to play only one character to experience all the adventures in Neverwinter will probably gulp now! Of course, the new artifacts have super duper abilities like:
Teleporting to the enemy as a rogue
Blocking 50% damage as a guardian
but you still have to crack the nut! If you’re still ready to snatch the Drow from House Xorlarrin the artifacts at the last moment, talk to Jarlaxle in Caer-Konig next week so the adventure can begin!
And now the big question?
How many characters do you have at max level in Neverwinter?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
After giving you all a little break from my columns, you now get to enjoy (or suffer through?) reading the third part of the “Nerdhobbies” series.
You have already heard a lot from me about “Role-Playing in MMOs“, but this hobby obviously goes further:
Even outside the server worlds of SW:TOR or WoW, you can engage in role-playing, and often the experiences here are even more interesting, as there is no strictly predefined world, but you must rely entirely on your imagination – and on the “small” rule sets.
We are talking about “Pen&Paper” role-playing, which appropriately gets its name because you need nothing more than paper, a pencil, and a few dice to get started. In the following, I will try to make this type of role-playing appealing to you and provide a brief description.
Pen&Paper Introduction
Well, regarding the needed items, I may have held back a little. You also need 3-4 players, or a person to lead the game unless you wish to do it yourself. The game master can be imagined as a storyteller: They provide the framework for the story, incorporate tasks, rewards, and enemies into the narrative, ensure that the rules are followed, and take on the role of all NPCs – meaning any character not portrayed by a player.
Basically, there is only one rule for Pen&Paper: The game master is always right. Regardless of what any rulebook says, no matter what the dice result shows: In case of doubt, the game master is God and can override everything.
All others take on the role of a character – either the game master creates a character with each person individually, ensuring everything fits together, or the master creates their own selection of characters. Especially when trying to engage new players, it is advisable to provide them with ready-made characters so they can jump straight into the action. The creation of such characters generally follows the same principles as that of a role-playing character in an online game.
What exactly your “hero” can do is recorded on the character sheet, which most will already know from MMOs: Each character has attributes like “Strength”, “Stamina”, and “Willpower”. Pen&Paper goes even further into detail here, as there is a unique attribute for almost every possible action: picking locks, tracking, lying, or sneaking, almost everything is represented by a value.
What is the exact process?
Every game night is essentially an interactive story. The players decide what they want to do with their character, like visiting a tavern, breaking in somewhere, or simply living their everyday life. Dialogues are conducted by the players, who either converse with each other or with the NPCs via the game master.
Of course, players might also try to follow the game master’s storyline – but here too, there is a golden rule: If you give players option A, B, and C, they will choose E – the guiding person often has a tough job, which is why one should be lenient with “fresh” game masters.
The Power of the Dice
The character’s attributes come into play whenever a significant action is taken. A simple example: Halgrim the dwarf wants to try to pick a lock. The game master sets a difficulty value of 25. Halgrim has a picking locks value of 12 on his character sheet. Now Halgrim must use a D20 (a 20-sided die). He rolls a 15, which is then added to his value of 12 in picking locks, resulting in a total of 27.
Since 27 is above the difficulty of 25, the attempt is successful, and the lock opens, allowing the players to explore whatever lies behind the door.
Such and similar actions are often decided in all game areas through the use of a die, meaning there is always a certain element of chance determining success and failure – or the all-encompassing power of the game master.
Who is this for?
Pen&Paper in the world of WildStar? Anything is possible!
In Pen&Paper, there are hardly any limits, except for one’s imagination. Since there is a specific rule set for almost every major fantasy world, any taste can be catered to. Whether Warcraft, Star Wars, or “Vampire – The Masquerade”, the possible game worlds are limitless, as one can also play any other world with relatively little effort. For example, with the “Pathfinder” rule set, you could also represent a world like that of TERA or WildStar.
Thanks to the internet, it is even possible to hold a game session completely over Skype if the respective friends are not nearby – online dice programs make that and much more possible. Numerous rule sets for beginners are available for free on the internet, or “beginner kits” with pre-made characters and a short adventure can be tried out.
So let your imagination run wild, grab a few raid buddies, and start your own Pen&Paper campaign! And believe me: What seems difficult and cumbersome at the beginning will become an addiction after just a few game nights, as you increasingly identify with your character.
The RPC 2014: A Day Among Nerds – Just Like You and Me!
If you have nothing planned for the upcoming weekend and live within reach of Cologne, you should treat yourself to two days of abstinence from the computer and visit the annual “Role Play Convention” at the Cologne Exhibition Center. Both Saturday and Sunday, you can experience and try out news from the realm of “Role-Playing”: This includes table-top games, LARP, Pen&Paper, board games, and also a lot of cosplayers will be present. Of course, computer games also fall under this theme, and one or another manufacturer will also be represented with a booth and PCs for testing.
Moreover, there is also a large area for the medieval market, and the “gamer musician” Jan Hegenberg (“The Horde Runs”) will again hold a concert.
If you prefer something a bit macabre, it should be noted that the “Zombie Walk” will also take place in Cologne at the same time, which also moves through the RPC. More than 1000 people will dress up as zombies and pilgrimage around the cathedral.
You can view the RPC program booklet here to get an overview of the countless activities.
The tickets can usually still be bought on short notice on-site, so spontaneous visitors also get a chance to see everything.
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What is one of the favorite pastimes in The Sims 3? Certainly playing around with the building mode to make your own lots even more individual and beautiful in design. One of the tasks of Senior Art Director Chris Robinson and the Environment Team is exactly that, but for the online role-playing game World of Warcraft. Currently, the work on the next expansion Warlords of Dreanor is still in full swing – and yet there was some time for an exclusive insight into the creation of landscapes in the MMORPG.
What is particularly exciting is the screenshot to the right of this text. You might be asking yourselves what’s so special about it – after all, you can hardly see anything!? But that’s exactly the point: Will the night in WoW finally be dark, gloomy, mysterious, and give you goosebumps? Unfortunately, the question cannot be answered precisely yet, as the developers have remained relatively tight-lipped about this since last year:
If it does come back at some point in the future, it wouldn’t be as dark as some of you have suggested through screenshots (pitch black, or very close to pitch black) because it’s very important to see mobs in dark environments, though.
Therefore, it may well be that the region itself is simply very gloomy – but it is already a great idea, isn’t it? The desire for dark nights flares up again and again – and the excuse that you wouldn’t see anything at night just cannot be accepted… What are the wonderful lanterns for anyway? 😉
More on the topic of landscape design in World of Warcraft can be found in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll4LAoeox9U
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Today, Carbine has let another Aurin out of the bag: The open beta for WildStar starts in 2 days, on May 8! And as if that weren’t reason enough to celebrate, from that day on, you can also test the German version of the game – at least a pre-release version, which will of course continue to be refined until the release in 3 weeks.
The level cap for all non-closed beta players will also be raised to 30, which means that you can leave Nexus and also explore the areas of “Beyond” – basically the asteroid belt around the planet. In addition, the last ability slot will be unlocked, allowing you to get a comprehensive impression of the chosen class.
For all undecided players who have not yet decided for or against WildStar, the open beta offers a good opportunity to get your own impression of the SciFi-fantasy MMO: Adventures, dungeons, and the extensive housing are just waiting to be tested by you.
The open beta ends on May 19, so you have 11 days to take a look at Nexus – make use of it!
Update regarding name reservation (Source: Newsletter):
If you pre-order WildStar, you can leave even more distinct marks on Nexus by reserving a character name and a guild name before the official launch. This means your desired name is safer than an infochron in the Rastalocks of a Draken.
The name reservation page is only available from May 13 to May 23. So visit the page as soon as possible, as the motto for name reservations is “First come, first served.” We have also set up a FAQ section there where you can find answers to all your questions (which names are allowed, on which servers they are stored, etc.).
07.05.2014: Update regarding the client (Source: Twitter):
You can now also prepare for the open beta and start downloading with #WildStar!
When passionate WoW gamers talk to others about their favorite MMORPG, the common argument used is “World of Warcraft has the most players!” So far, it seemed that this was indeed the case on the surface. But how does the following headline fit in, which is currently circulating on the internet: Dota 2 reportedly has 7.86 million users who play the MOBA regularly – and that’s more than WoW?!
Shock… Breathlessness… Silence… and then reflection. As a passionate Wow player, I immediately ask myself:
What kind of comparison is this?
Dota 2 is a completely different game with a different mechanic, from another genre. In short: This is a comparison of apples and oranges from the start! And: Not only are the 7.6 million Wow players paying fees, while anyone can play Dota 2 – the MOBA doesn’t even earn as much through microtransactions (e.g. pets, mounts, etc.) as Blizzard! According to a market study by SuperData Research, Blizzard is among the top earners in additional paid services in the MMO genre. In 2013, they generated $213 million from it (besides, for example,
Dota 2 doesn’t even appear on this list. It may now be that 200,000 more players are playing Dota 2 compared to Wow – but the comparison is still severely flawed! The player numbers are hopefully going to increase significantly with the release of the next expansion Warlords of Draenor. But considering how many players Blizzard has kept engaged over the years, that’s quite an achievement.
Now all Wow fans can sit back with a slightly bruised ego and relax with a pat on the back: World of Warcraftis, despite all the doomsaying, still not dead!!!
PS: This article is of course not against Dota 2! But this had to be clarified!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Woah, what an information flood, right? There is only one week left until the next expansion for the online role-playing game Neverwinteris released and the news is just overflowing. First, here is a brief overview of the topics we have already covered:
And now we can introduce you to the new bosses in more detail today.
Shamans of the Reghed Barbarian Bear Tribe
You should especially beware of the Shamans of the Reghed Barbarian Bear Tribe. Their primal magic is enhanced by the effect of the Black Ice, which makes them annoying enemies. They will not only keep you busy from a distance with their “Wrath of Winter” attack, but also summon a spirit companion for support, which will remain until the bitter end – unless you kill it or the Shaman itself. As if that wasn’t enough, the Shamans can make their allies immune to damage and buff themselves.
Spellcasters of the Dwarves
Also in terms of magic, the Spellcasters of the Dwarves are skilled, who belong to the Battlehammer clan. Their powerful arcane magic attacks and meteors will fly towards you like projectiles – so caution is advised! Furthermore, they can empower their allies by making them resistant to control effects.
Remorhaz
Things will get a little warmer under your backside thanks to the Remorhaz . But they hide in the deep snow, waiting for unsuspecting adventurers to snack on them as a dessert. Before that, however, they will be grilled with a heat wave to make them tasty. When the Remorhaz get really mad, they spit bile your way – very disgusting and very corrosive!
Blood Singers of the Ice Trolls
Just as hot and explosive are the Blood Singers of the Ice Trolls, the wildest representatives of their kind. Their great preference is to let their opponents slowly and painfully bleed out – yum! They are supported by their powerful totems, so be careful if one appears next to you.
Yeti Marauders
Less sensitive are the Yeti Marauders, who appear more cuddly – aside from their nasty look and large horns! But well, they probably just want to play with you when the Yetis charge at you and grab at you with their big claws. 😉 However, you should rather cover your ears when that terrifying scream echoes through Icewind Dale – don’t let you end up running around like startled chickens!
Akar Kassell
And who is still missing? That’s right! The powerful wizard Akar Kassell!
He is still comfortably settled in his witch’s house in Kelvin’s Cairn and thinks nothing can happen to him, but soon you will surely knock on his door… and not necessarily for coffee and strawberry cake! And what can this good man do?
Corrupted Projectiles will shoot at you.
Three slowly approaching Spheres of bundled Black Ice corruption will affect you, causing damage and stunning you.
A Shard of Black Ice will erupt, exploding into many small Black Ice spheres.
If nothing works anymore, his Black Ice Golem will come to the rescue, but beware, if you destroy him, he will explode!
You should rather leave the Enslaved Observers alive, because if you release their shackles, they will assist you in fighting Akar.
Now that sounds really exciting! Especially the boss fight with Akar could be really thrilling. Let’s just hope that the enemies are genuinely a challenge and won’t just be blown away by a breeze…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahct7XV_exY
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Do you know the site Kickstarter? Through this American internet platform, creative minds who lack the necessary funds to finance their dreams can collect donations. It does not necessarily have to be about MMOs; all possibilities are open. Everything has been included, from music albums to nutrition projects.
The condition is: promises must be kept. In the past, there have been recurring problems, but so far the legal situation has been somewhat vague. What was clear, however, is that those who do not complete their projects will not receive donations. But what happens when the project is completed, but some aspects are not met?
In the case of Ed Nash and his company Altius Management, it was about missing rewards for the supporters. Instead of the targeted $15,000, a whopping $25,146 was raised. As a thank you, the developers of the online card game Asylum promised the donors exclusive card decks and artworks with autographs – but did not keep their promise.
But Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson took up the matter and is now suing Ed Nash and his company for damages and the assumption of legal costs.
Consumers need to be aware that crowdfunding is not without risks. This lawsuit is meant to send a clear message to everyone who asks the public for money: The state of Washington does not tolerate theft via crowdfunding. The Attorney General’s office will sue those responsible who do not play by the rules.
The outcome of the proceedings is still open, but we can be curious – as this would clearly be a precedent in matters of Kickstarter.
[intense_testimonies]
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[intense_testimony_text]Have you ever donated to a project there? Did everything go to your satisfaction? Were you disappointed? Do you think nothing of it? Personally, I think the idea of Kickstarter is fundamentally great – but whether our society is really ready for such a large project is unfortunately another question. :/[/intense_testimony_text]
[intense_testimony_author image=”https://images.mein-mmo.de/magazin/medien/2014/01/Logo-022.png”][/intense_testimony_author]
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Once upon a time, there was a little ranger whose favorite task was to roam the vastness of the world of Neverwinteralways in search of a new adventure. But one thing made her sad: she had only one paragon path. She wanted to be more than just a vigilant ranger! Eventually, when she no longer believed, she met a good fairy. She granted her one wish—and voilà, thus the Scout tree was born.
Probably the developers of Neverwinter will explain the emergence of the second paragon path for Vigilant Rangers better – but the end will be the same: hopefully a satisfied smile on the faces of the players. Given the repertoire of skills, that is probably to be expected:
As a Scout, your great strength is the knowledge of hunting, survival, and your leadership skills.
Flexibly switch between ranged and melee combat.
Use your support skills like self and group healing to secure your survival and that of your group.
In emergencies, escape into invisibility and return with massive damage.
Keep multiple enemies at bay with new crowd control abilities.
Provide your tank with an aggro boost.
Use your new Daily power “Blade’s Scar” to leap onto your enemy and apply a debuff.
In short: you will be a true survivor, whether you’re out alone or in a group. So, are you intrigued? Then test the new paragon path directly on May 13, when the new expansion Curse of Icewind Dale goes live.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In our first interview about The Elder Scrolls Online, we have the currently most successful PvP player in the active campaign of the EU server Auriel’s Bow, Pryda, as our guest. And he does not hold back, but speaks his mind.
We talk to him about the hunt against his old guild to level 50, about the dupe exploit, the balancing, the problems of the game, and what it feels like to send whole enemy armies to the afterlife all on your own. And at the end, Pryda reveals five tricks so we can also get our act together in PvP.
Maybe not every player is familiar with the name Pryda. But shortly after the release, a video circulated of a sorcerer who reached the “natural” maximum level of 50 in just one day with AE farming, while many others only reached level 14 in the same time – including the writer of these lines. Who was that sorcerer? Pryda.
He streamed his way to the top on Twitch. A loyal following enjoyed watching a master at work. His Twitch channel now has almost 900,000 views. And he repeatedly sparks controversy.
Recently, Pryda made headlines again. He is the star in the video we recently had about “AE Nerf”. There, he blasts 50 enemies into the air with two friends. In the currently most active campaign Auriel’s Bow, he is clearly in first place with his sorcerer.
The Hunt for Level 50
Pryda, you were one of the first to reach level 50 with that kind of AE farming, right?
Hi, I didn’t get to be the first level 50. The guild Wargaming, in which I was before, sabotaged us and sent people to our spots to leech EXP while their main team rushed to 50 as fast as possible. And this same guild also provided Jack Shelton as the first VR10. So, in a way, I consider myself and my leveling partner Smellfeit the first legitimate VR10s.
When did you start planning for this sprint to level 50?
The idea for a rush to level 50 came to me while I was still in the guild that later sabotaged us. I had already pulled off a leveling rush in Aion and Guild Wars 2 and now in ESO. When I joined my current guild VoTF just before the release, Smellfeit was instantly interested in the idea of doing this. So, we ended up in a sort of competition with the guild I just left.
Two weeks before the release, we had devised a detailed route. The plan was to grind mobs in public dungeons. However, the developers nerfed that a week before the release, so we had to go back to the drawing board and back to the test server. We needed to come up with something new. It then became clear that grinding the mobs outside of dungeons was very effective. It took about two days to compile the right grind spots.
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And how long did it take you to reach veteran rank 10?
Four days and six hours to reach VR10.
How did you prepare for the launch of The Elder Scrolls Online? Did you read a lot about the game in forums or just play the beta extensively?
I played the beta weekends a lot, both the closed and the “public” beta weekends. My goal was to become number one on the leaderboard even back then. I didn’t play much on the test server, I might have accumulated a /played of 5 or 7 days. They simply didn’t let enough people in. There were almost no EU players. Luckily, there were guilds like Best in Slot, MH, or ER. The rest were players who had no clue that you could reach level 50 in 15 hours or that you could get to VR10 in four days.
Are you a fan of theorycrafting? How do you choose your build and decide what you still need to change?
Well, I’m not a “fan” of theorycrafting. I know a few guys who are really obsessed with numbers and stats. Those are the people I would consider as theorycrafting “fans”. But I keep myself updated on how everything works, how my gear should look, and what the next meta game will be. I did that in Guild Wars 2 when I was still with Red Guard.
[doptoggle title=”Editorial Note on the Terms Theorycraft and Meta-Game…” icon=3 activeicon=4]
With Theorycrafting, one means an intensive theoretical engagement with the numbers behind a game. With “Meta-Game”, one refers to playing at the highest level, considering all personal abilities as well as typical strategies of the opponents encountered.
[/doptoggle]
The Vampire Needed to be Nerfed
In recent weeks, there have been two major topics on Reddit and also on our website. The first one was about the overly strong vampires. And the second was about the AE cap of 6 players. What do you think about these issues?
The cost reduction for the vampire’s ultimate and also problems with mist form should have been fixed a long time ago. The developers lost a lot of players because they took it lightly. The debate about the AE cap first revealed how the game functions. Most people had no clue that the cap had already been in place the whole time. They also knew nothing about the various API changes just before the release. PvP was sold to us as “like in DAOC”, without AE caps. But the AE cap was already in the game months before ESO was released.
Most players do not understand what the problem with the AE cap is and confuse it with broken abilities like the vampire ultimate, which is simply too strong.
To clarify: The vampire’s ultimate is far too powerful and needs to be fixed immediately. However, this has nothing to do with the AE cap.
[doptoggle title=”Ed. Note on the Topics AE-Cap, API Changes, and the Vampire…” icon=3 activeicon=4]
AE-Cap: Many hardcore PvPers assumed before the release that area-effect abilities would affect all targets in a given area simultaneously, as it was once in the MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot, which many hardcore PvPers still consider the “ideal” PvP game; the AE cap means that an area-effect ability now only affects a maximum of 6 players in that area, which has far-reaching effects on the meta-game, and is currently hotly debated.
API Changes: These concern changes that prevent add-ons from sending all data to the player, complicating the information analysis required for theorycrafting in other games.
Vampire: Due to a combination of cost-reducing abilities, the vampire is currently able to keep their ultimate active continuously or even have several running at once, more on that here.
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The Problem with the AE Cap and Why It Could Turn The Elder Scrolls Online into a Zerg Fest
Do you also believe that The Elder Scrolls Online could turn into the Zerg Fest that some see Guild Wars 2 as?
Speaking of which, Atropos wrote on Tamriel Foundry: A limitation of AE abilities to only 6 players will lead to more Zergs. As soon as everyone realizes that standing simply behind a Zerg leader is the best way to play, it will turn into a zerg just like in Guild Wars 2. If you can only hit 6 targets with an AE ability and you cast it into 30 players, you will hit randomly 6 targets. The damage dissipates.
Ambitious, yet not optimally playing PvP guilds will suffer the most during the zerg. Optimized guilds will always find some way around it, whether it be through better strategies or theorycrafting.
Ultimately, the game is simply poorly optimized. The AE cap is based on a hardware problem. The servers would lag otherwise. Even the new zone Craglorn is way too easy if players use abilities like Negate Magic correctly.
[doptoggle title=”Ed Note on the Terms Zerg and Negate-Magic…” icon=3 activeicon=4]
Zerg: A large mass of players that runs together tightly, swarming and sometimes uncoordinated.
Negate Magic is a sorcerer’s ability that banishes all magic in a large area; currently, the ability mistakenly still affects all targets in the area, which is set to be changed with the next patch.
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Zenimax needs to understand that a raid doesn’t become hard just by cramming packs of 10,000 mobs into a 12-man raid. And if they simply nerf Negate Magic with an AE cap to prevent one sorcerer from stunning a huge number of mobs at once, it still won’t change anything. Guilds will just pack in more sorcerers. They would just need to change the abilities and mechanics of NPCs to increase the difficulty of raids. We will see, but right now, I think: One can facetank everything in Craglorn easily if they exploit abilities like Negate Magic or Barriers. We have already completed a lot of the 12-player trials in Craglorn with four or eight players.
Do you think the vampire nerf will fix some problems and still keep vampires strong enough to be attractive for players?
The nerf is justified and appropriate. Vampires have killed PvP and set off an endless loop of bad behavior, including for me. The moment you see a vampire simply wiping out you and your faction, you start thinking about how to get even by using their methods against them, and then you end up catching some innocent guys too… It never stops.
They will now start fixing some passive abilities, which is very good. I just wish they would give someone in mist form an HP display. I have read that some guys think that with the nerf, Zenimax is making vampires too weak and completely taking them down. It will change NOTHING at all, they probably haven’t even noticed that you lose your vampire stage at every loading screen.
Why No One Wants to Listen to the Emperor
It must feel great to be the emperor, right? Could you tell us what benefits come with being emperor?
Yeah, I think… it’s alright. As emperor and a vampire, you can win 1vX even against opponents who are decent. That is otherwise nearly impossible.
How powerful are you with your character, actually?
I am currently at 4,600 health points, have 2,700 magicka and 2,000 stamina with the epic buff food.
Do people look up to you? Are you leading the alliance, or do you mostly play solo?
I don’t lead anyone. People don’t care who the emperor is, what he says, and whether he is right. Being emperor is just a self-buff at the moment, good if we ignore the HP buff for those around you. When I started playing, I thought: “Oh god, I must become emperor! And when I am, it will be my duty to provide my entire alliance with buffs…”
I would love it if it really meant that an emperor would buff the people around them. That would make way more sense than just getting stronger yourself. And the option to choose to be visible on the map with a special icon or not – that would also be logical.
Most of the time, I run around Cyrodiil with a few friends. Or with a few guys who ask during my stream. Or I’m just solo. I’ve done a lot of guild raids but they’re all jumping to WildStar now, so we stopped raiding more than a week ago.
Many people in other factions talk about you, how does that feel?
(smiles) I don’t mind when people talk about me. I always chuckle when someone pretends to know who I am or what my life is like. I have a few guys who tell me who is flipping out, raging, and getting offensive. It always gives me great pleasure to find those guys and kill them.
How strong should one individual be in this game? In relation to a few average players? How many of them should a perfectly playing emperor be able to take out on his own?
The game is not skill-based. You can’t do much against too many enemies. People think a level 16 has no chance against a VR10. That’s partly true because level 16s have almost no health points. But still, they hit like a sledgehammer. And if Zenimax now adjusts the scaling system, lower-level players will deal even more damage.
The emperor should not play in some kind of god mode. He should empower the players around him with buffs and benefit the entire alliance. A really well-played emperor should be able to take out 4 properly played guys. But there are so many issues in the game that it is almost impossible to survive against a multitude of opponents as long as they play at least decently. There are issues with combat animations, and the UI prevents a real competition between the players. The UI issues stem from the recent changes in the API system.
Why the Dupe Exploit Does Not Affect the Endgame
The dupe exploit is still a hot topic for many players. Do you think that the PvP players at the top of the food chain obtained their gear honestly, or does the game now have a stain on it?
[doptoggle title=”Ed Note on the Dupe Exploit…” icon=3 activeicon=4]
Through a dupe exploit, it was possible for a while to create legendary crafting materials out of thin air; some saw this as endangering the stability of the game for years and feared that players could simply cheat their way to the best gear.
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The people who complain that the dupe ruined the in-game economy – well. You don’t even need gold in this game. You can easily farm the raw materials to level up your gear in a few dungeons. I don’t know a single elite player who has used the dupe. However, I have a few friends who became rich from farming rare armor motif books. They currently have around two million gold.
When I reached VR10, I had 4,000 gold and a horse. I never had more than 100,000 gold but still managed to finish my gear within a week. I really don’t see any advantage in duping items in the game. And if it’s true that some guys got away with it and weren’t banned, I don’t see how that could harm the game somehow.
What do you think about PvE in The Elder Scrolls Online? You must have spent an immense amount of time in Cyrodiil. Are you looking forward to Craglorn with your guild mates or friends?
Well, it was really annoying getting to VR10. We had to log out hundreds of times to clear a bugged quest. Sometimes we relogged thinking it was something buggy, but we just had to wait for a scripted scene to pass. I have never read any quest text in an MMO, so I can’t judge whether the story is good or enjoyable.
Oh yeah, I’ve always wanted to tell people who like to read quest texts and care about the storyline: I’ve never heard someone like me tell you how to play, that you should stop reading the quest texts, and so on. So please, please stop telling us that we aren’t playing the game “properly”. Everyone should be able to play the way they want. If you enjoy taking your time, then great. People who skip content have likely seen most of it in the beta already. Or they simply find that aspect of the game unenjoyable.
[doptoggle title=”Ed Note on the last paragraph…” icon=3 activeicon=4]
The level rush to 50 that took the world by storm obviously not only caused excitement but also prompted comments from many accusing such players of having no life or not enjoying the game, to which Pryda responds in his answer.
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Do you believe that your campaign, Auriel’s Bow, is currently the strongest campaign? Or is it at least balanced? Do you also look at other campaigns, seeing what’s going on there, or are you just guesting? Did you land in Auriel’s Bow just because it was the first at the top of the list?
Yes, Auriel’s Bow is at least the campaign with the most activity. That’s certainly because it’s at the top. It is somewhat balanced, but not really. Sometimes the Ebonheart Pact completely wrecks the Aldmeri Dominion and the Daggerfall Covenant. But right now, as I’m writing this answer, the Aldmeri Dominion completely controls the whole map. I also don’t understand that campaign…
I think the guesting system undermines the pride of a faction within a campaign, so to speak, the server, and leads to such crazy situations as we have right now. Zenimax should also simply delete empty campaigns.
Five PvP Tips from Someone Who Really Knows
Could you give a total noob in Cyrodiil five tips on where to start to get into PvP? Someone who knows PvP in other games but struggles to understand The Elder Scrolls Online. Should they first get decent gear, or collect as many skyshards as possible, or engage in theorycrafting or focus on skill builds? What do you think?
The most important thing is: Don’t go into PvP until VR1. At VR1, you can already do well, you don’t need to rush to VR10.
Get more health points. I see far too many players with 2,000 health. It takes an optimized VR10 player two seconds to take them down. But it’s a whole different ball game to play against a guy with 3,000 health. You can obtain the same stats as a VR10 player even at VR1. Just put all your skill points (which can be reset) into health points, and then use glyphs to add enough magicka to your gear.
If you die to guards or other players, you can port to any keep held by your faction. So if you need a port, just jump into the guards. However, if you die to slaughterfish (i.e., drown) or normal PvE mobs, there’s no free port of choice, and you’ll just be teleported to a nearby spawn point.
Too many players just run away and don’t even try to fight back. The time, magicka, and health points that people like me spend killing guys like you can make it easier for other players to kill me later.
Never buy items in the bags of NPCs. Save your alliance points to buy PvP rings. Rings and necklaces are the only items that can’t be upgraded through crafting. So start saving for epic rings. You can get everything else through the rewards you receive in the mail. Then you can just upgrade them from green to legendary. And Voilá!
Thank you for the interview, Pryda!
The interview was conducted in English. We made every effort to translate accurately, but not everything is always transferable 1:1. We will provide the original text of the interview shortly.
[doptoggle title=”As promised, the original source of the interview in English…” icon=3 activeicon=4]
1. Pryda, you were one the first guys who dinged 50 with some sort of AE-Farming, right? When did you start planning this run for Level-50? And how long did it take you to get to VR 10?
Hi! I didn’t get the first level 50. My previous guild griefed us by sending people to leech experience off ours mobs while their main team was still rushing. This same guild shared account for the first VR10 so I kinda consider me and Smellfeit (my leveling partner) as first VR10.
I had the idea in my past guild to do a leveling rush, like I usually do on many games (Aion, GW2 and lastly ESO). When I joined VoTF before the release, Smellfeit was interested in the idea and it was a sort of competition with the guild I just left.
We planned the entire thing 2 weeks before the release and the plan was grinding in Public Dungeons. They nerfed this grind one week before the release, so we went back to PTS and found that grinding mobs outside dungeons was really effective. Took us like two days to figure the grind spots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSPWzsTAVhg&hd=1).
4 days 6hours to VR10.
2. Did you prepare for the Launch of The Elder Scrolls Online? Like did you read a-lot about it or just played the Beta extensively?
I played the beta week-ends a lot, closed and “public” ones and was aiming for the rank #1 on leaderboard at this time also. I didn’t really play a lot on the Private Test Server, like 5 or 7 days of /played. They didn’t invite enough people on it and it was empty of EU players. Thank god they had guilds like Best in Slot, MH or ER because the rest was filled of players that had no clue you could get 50 in 15hours or VR10 in 4 days.
3. Are you a fan of theorycrafting? How do you decide, which built to run and what to change?
I’m not a theorycrafting “fan”, I know some people that are really crazy about numbers and they are the kind of guy that are consider as fans. I’m still keeping myself informed about how everything works, how I should gear and what will be the next meta in the game like I did on Guildwars 2 with Red Guard for instance.
4. In the last couple of weeks there were two big controversies on reddit and on our website too. First regarding the overpowered vampires and the second one regarding the AE-Cap of 6 people. What do you think about those issues? Do you think TESO could end a zerg-fest like some people claim GW2 to be?
Vampirism ultimate cost reduction and mist form should have been hotfixed long time ago. They lost a lot of players being so slacky about it. The AoE cap just revealed how the game works, people had no clue that it was already in the game and the entire API changes right before the release is the cause. PvP was promoted as a DAoC like, without AoE caps but in fact they were already in the game months before the release.
Lot of players seem to not understand the issue of non AoE cap and mix it up with broken mechanics like Vampire ultimate. To be clear, Vampire ultimate is a broken ability that needed to be fixed, it’s irrelevant to the AoE cap issue.
Like Atropos wrote on Tamriel Foundry, AoE cap will just lead to more zergs. Once everyone will figure that stacking on one leader is the most effective way to play (6 targets caps, if you AoE on 30 guys you’ll randomly hit 6 all the time), the game will be a GuildWars 2 zerg like. It will affect mostly non-optimized guilds, because such guilds will always find workarounds with better strategies or theorycraft.
The game is finally poorly optimized, this AoE cap is an hardware issue with servers lagging. It might also be an issue with their new PvE content, Craglorn which is really easy if you use spells like Negate Magic. Zenimax needs to understand that having 10000mobs packs in a 12man raid doesn’t make it hard. Nerfing Negate Magic aoe cap to prevent the stun of this entire mobs pack won’t make it harder either, it will just lead to guilds using more Sorcerers. Instead, they could just tweaks spells and mechanics from NPCs to make it hard. We’ll see, but I am pretty sure that you can facetank everything in Craglorn and abuse spells like Negate Magic, Barriers etc. We actually did a lot of this content with 4 and 8 players in trials.
4b. Do you think the Vamp-Nerf will fix some of the issues and let vampires still be viable?
The Vamp nerf is good and legitimate. It was really killing the PvP and was an infinite loop of bad manners, me included. The second you see a Vampire killing your faction, you want to punish him by doing the same thing. It never ends.
They’re going to fix passives which is really good. I just hoped they would give an HP bar to someone using mist form. I read some people saying that they killed Vampires. It won’t change ANYTHING for them, they probably didn’t even notice that you were losing your vampirism stage on each loading screen.
5. It must feel good to be the King, right? Could you tell us something about the perks of being the emperor? Do people look up to you? Do you lead an alliance or are you playing mostly solo? How much power to you wield as an actual player? People in other alliances tend to talk a lot about you, how does that feel?
Yeah I guess it’s ok. Being Emperor, without vampirism, allows you to do 1vX against multiple decent players, which is nearly impossible without it.
I’m currently at 4,6Khp, 2,7k Magicka & 2K+ stamina with epic food buff.
I’m not leading people because they don’t really care about who is Emperor and what he says and they’re right. Being Emperor is just a selfish buff at the moment (the HP buff for everyone apart). When I started this game, I was like “oh god I must be Emperor and if I am, I’ll have a duty to be online to provide buffs to my alliance”… I’d love that Zenimax actually provide buffs around you if you are Emperor, it would make more sense than the actual perks. An Icon on the map that you can activate or not would be fine to lead people with it.
I mostly run with friends, some guys that ask on my stream or solo. I did a lot of guild raids but my guild is going on Wildstar so we stopped raiding more than a week ago.
I don’t really mind people talking about me, it always makes me laugh that some guys pretend to know who you are and how your life is going 🙂 I have few people telling me who’s getting mad and insulting me and it’s always a pleasure to find them and kill them.
6. How strong do you think should one person be in this game against some average Joe’s? How many people should a perfectly played emperor could take on his own?
This game is not skilled based. You can’t do much against multiple targets. Players tend to think that a level 16 can’t do shit against a VR10: that is true because they have almost no HP. However, they still hit like a truck. With their upcoming changes on scaling system, they will hit even harder 🙂
Like I said, being Emperor shouldn’t be a god mod. It should provide buffs and be useful for your alliance. A really well played character should be able to take on 4 decent guys, but there are so many issues in the game that it’s nearly impossible (against decent players, again). The lack of good animations and UI system with the recent API changes prevents real competition in the game.
7. The dupe-exploit continues to be a big question for a lot of people. Do you think people on the upper-end of PvP earned their gear on their own or is there a stain on gear in this game after all?
People crying over the dupe that ruined the economy are fun. You don’t even need golds in this game, you can farm the mats to upgrade your gear really easily in some dungeons. I don’t know a single high level player that used the dupe system. I have some friends however that farmed motifs books that are currently standing with 2m golds. I finished my VR10 rush with 4k golds and a light horse. I never had more than 100k golds but still finished my gear in a week. I can’t see any benefits of duping items, and if some people didn’t get ban I don’t see how that could be harmful to the game.
8. What’s your take on PvE in The Elder Scrolls Online? You must have spent an awful amount of time in Cyrodiil, are you looking forward to going to Craiglorn with your guildies or friends?
The VR10 rush was a pain. We relogged like 100 times to fix quests. Sometimes we even relogged when we just had to wait for a cutscene to end. I never read quests in MMOs so I can’t tell if the lore is good or enjoyable.
By the way, I want to tell something to people actually enjoying lore and reading quests: I’ve never heard someone like me dictate to others how to play, that you shouldn’t do quests and so on. So please, refrain from telling us that we’re not playing the game as intended. One should be able to play the way he likes. If you enjoy taking your time, that’s fine. If you skip content most likely have seen everything in past betas or are not interested in this type of content.
9. Do you think Auriel’s Bow is the strongest campaign as of yet? Or at least a balanced one? Do you look after another campaign and have guested somewhere – or was Auriel’s Bow the first one on the list all the way like for most of us?
Auriel’s Bow is the most active cause of alphabetical order. It’s somehow balanced but not that much. Sometimes EP is completely raping AD and DC, when I’m writing this answer AD completely overtook our map. I don’t really understand this campaign, I think that the guesting system is harmful to server pride and that may lead to situations like this. Zenimax should also remove some empty campaigns.
10. Could you give a total Cyrdoiil-noob five good tips, where to start getting into PvP. Like – if someone knows what PvP is in other games, but struggles to get a grip on TESO PvP. Does he have to get the gear first or get a lot of skyshards or should he theorycraft some built, what do you think?
The most important: you should avoid PvP before leveling 50. You can perform really well at VR1, you don’t have to rush to VR10.
Get more HP, I see too many players with 2k HP which is a 2seconds kill for an optimized VR10 player while playing against a 3K HP player is painful. You can almost have the same stats as a VR10 player even if you are VR1. Just put all your attribute points (you can reset them) to HP then balance your magicka on your gear using glyphs of magicka.
If you suicide on guards or players, you can port to any keep your faction currently holds even if you can’t usually teleport to it. It won’t work if you suicide in slaughterfishes or PvE mobs, if you do so you’ll get insta teleport to your spawn.
Too many players are running and not even fighting. The time and magicka/hp we lose if you defend yourself might help someone else to kill us.
Never buy chest items from NPC, keep your Alliance Points to buy PvP rings. Jewelry is the only thing you can’t upgrade with crafting, so start saving for epic rings. You can drop everything else with the mailing reward, and upgrade it from green to legendary.
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMORPG Guild Wars 2, there is currently a mood of crisis. The reason for this is not an invasion by dark forces, nor are Scarlett Dornstrauch or various ice dragons to blame this time, but the problems are self-made.
Everything could have turned out so well for ArenaNet. In April, a major feature patch was on the agenda for Guild Wars 2. Moreover, they are currently in the process of tapping into the huge Chinese market, but complaints about the recently introduced mega-servers are increasing.
Guild Wars 2 is looking for a boost
Although things have been a bit quieter around GW 2 in recent months and further competition is on the way with some high-profile MMORPG debuts, the game remains an attractive title.
According to Google Trends, a barometer of public sentiment, Guild Wars 2 is still clearly ahead of competing titles like Star Wars: The Old Republic or Final Fantasy XIV, at least in Germany. But times are getting tougher. World of Warcraft has been distant in the last 90 days, and the hype triggered by the release of The Elder Scrolls Online makes the small leap of the April update of GW2 look insignificant.
The mega-servers dominate the official forum
Of course, Guild Wars 2 could have used a boost in April as well, but the positive effect that was hoped for from the feature patch seems to have evaporated now. Yes, worse still, it has been replaced by a negative sentiment. For the patch brought many cosmetic changes as well as the mega-servers. The concept did not resonate well with many players. We have already reported on the problems.
In the forum post, numerous players complain that they have communication difficulties with their often French or English-speaking teammates. In addition, the zones are overcrowded, the general climate has become more hostile, and guilds and friends now have problems finding each other.
This discussion prompts reflection. Are the complaints exaggerated or justified?
What bothers the members represented there the most is ArenaNet’s silence on the issues. Aside from a soothing statement that they will address the problems and are still fine-tuning, little has been heard from the operators.
However, players who speak positively about the mega-servers and praise their cross-cultural effect across language barriers should not be overlooked here. But the voices seem to be in the minority in this thread at least. In contrast, reports from players who speak of empty friend lists and openly harbor thoughts of leaving are increasing.
Whether this is just a storm in a teacup or whether the consequences of the mega-server will have lasting negative effects on the game in Germany remains uncertain at the moment. Especially since the China expansion is on the horizon and Guild Wars 2 seems to be focusing on other, larger markets, many players are left with the impression that ArenaNet is neglecting or merely ignoring the problems the mega-server brings to Europe.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At Sony Online Entertainment’s Landmark, players are seen as creative agents. In a beautifully crafted video, the developer of Everquest, Everquest II, and Everquest Next now pays tribute to its creative fans.
The video appeals to the viewer’s sense of wonder. They are amazed as they follow the development of buildings. “We provide you with a tool and you continuously surprise us,” is the message of the video.
This has left the developers astonished at what players can create with a few blocks and some voxels. Viewers are also left wide-eyed as simple towers transform into magical structures or as a collection of a few houses eventually grows into a vibrant city.
Raider is now Twix and Everquest Next Landmark is now just Landmark
Landmark was previously known as Everquest Next Landmark and was intended to serve as a kind of sandbox editor to allow players to create buildings and landscapes that would later be featured in Everquest Next.
However, Landmark has now outgrown its beginnings and is set to surpass the appeal of the actual parent project Everquest Next. The developer Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), under its President and guiding spirit John Smedley, is undergoing a significant image transformation.
Smedley believes that conventional MMORPG models, where designers give players something to do, are doomed to fail in the long run, as players rush through the content faster than designers can produce it. Therefore, Smedley is convinced that players should create the world and adventures for each other. With Landmark, SOE is on the right path to make this possible for players.
Enjoy the beautiful video with the wonderful sense of wonder. What could be possible in this new and beautiful world?
http://youtu.be/P2dI8wy0W_8
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMO shooter Defiance is transitioning from a Buy2Play to a Free2Play game. Tips can be obtained from the colleagues at Rift, who work under the same roof.
Defiance is not only an MMO shooter, but also a TV series on the American Syfy channel, from which we owe several Stargate spin-offs, Battlestar Galactica, or Warehouse 13. With the launch of the second season of Defiance, they want to bring the related shooter to peak performance. Hence, a switch to a Free2Play system was a logical choice.
Free2Play transition aims to attract players
In an interview with the English-speaking gaming site mmorpg.com, the reasons behind the transition were discussed. The shift to a Free2Play system is expected to bring an influx of new players.
This will also enhance the gaming experience: Defiance is a game that thrives on the hustle and bustle of a lively map and only reaches peak performance when many players are in close proximity.
Bill Fisher from Rift and his team have drawn inspiration for switching from a pay model to a Free2Play model. This is fitting, as both titles operate under the umbrella of Trion Worlds, who have another hot MMO title in ArcheAge.
A common difficulty during a transition is always how to handle players who have already purchased and paid for the game. For them, nothing changes at first. They can keep all the items they bought from the shop and receive one month under special conditions, as if they had paid for a premium status for one month. Instead of continuing to release DLCs, they also want to follow the example of Rift regarding content supply and release larger content patches at regular intervals.
The transition to Free2Play will take place on June 4 for PC, on July 15 for PS3, and at yet unknown date for Xbox 360. A release of the game for PS4 and Xbox One is currently not planned, but also not ruled out.
In “VS the World”, Darion competes against random opponents in a Best-of-Three mode in the online card game Hearthstone to find out who is better: the world or he.
Game 1 from 00:50 Game 2 from 11:55 Game 3 from 19:34
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Today is a historic day in the life of our website. Today is actually the first day we can give away something at all. And what are we throwing into the crowd? Not coffee mugs or candy (they could end up injuring someone), but 100 beta keys for the SF MMORPG WildStar. They were kindly provided to us by Carbine.
We at mein-mmo have reported on WildStar many times and are ourselves enthusiastic beta players. Here are our most important articles about WildStar:
In WildStar: World of Warcraft 2.0 we provide a general overview of the game and highlight the parallels to a certain World of Warcraft. Heard of it?
In preparation for our housing special, Cortyn spent 100 hours setting up her space home. Here she tells you what she thinks of the feature. Little hint: She finds it nerve-wrackingly great.
In the raid special we take a look at the structure of the hardcore raids in WildStar.
And in these 10 points we tried to convince you just last week to definitely check out the WildStar beta.
Hey, who would have thought that it would be us who could make this possible for you. Okay, okay. I know what you are thinking. “Just shut up and give us the free stuff!” Alright.
Here you can snag the key:
UPDATE: The keys are now all gone! We wish all players a lot of fun in this beta.
The codes are valid from Friday, May 2, at 4:00 PM CEST, to Monday, May 5, at 8:59 AM CEST.
http://youtu.be/ukb7oOCkhJw
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Do you remember our announcements about the four new souls for the online role-playing game Rift? After a long silence regarding Patch 2.7 “Blood Band“, the release date is finally set: On Wednesday, the
May 7, 2014
the next milestone in Rift goes online!
But what can you expect in the update?
The most important thing: Four new souls! Healing warriors will no longer be a problem, just like tanking mages! You can find out more in our two news articles about the souls for Warriors and Clerics, as well as for Mages and Rogues. To maintain some lore, appropriate new soul quests will also be implemented to explain the story and origin behind these profound changes.
But the user interface is also in the sights of the developers! In addition to the ability to set text colors individually, the following windows have also been revised:
Crafting
Quests
Macros
Wardrobe
Achievements
Not immediately available, but relatively soon, there will be new raids – with the goal of binding Laethys and Flamejaw. If you can’t succeed, Telara is doomed! Of course, the PvP players among you won’t be forgotten. The new battleground “Green Scale Warfront” promises exciting 15 vs 15 battles in the fight for the flag. Did you miss securing a mount during the first Hellbug event? Just in time for the start of the second season of Defiance, the creepy little crawlers will return to plague Rift!
Do you prefer a more romantic vibe and dream of riding a white unicorn through Telara and sprinkling fairy dust on the bad guys with your wand? This wish can come true at the Unicorn Festival. In addition to a big party, it will be your task to help a small cute unicorn foal… Awwww!
Celebrations are also in order at the big Summer Festival – and if you enjoy more than just lounging in the sun, you can also participate in treasure hunts, secure companions, and complete numerous quests.
Well, a lot is coming our way in Rift!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The month of May has begun, the release of the third expansion Curse of Icewind Dale is approaching and the developers of Neverwinter are literally bursting with announcements! Our previous topics were the new factions and mercenary contracts and a preview of the new campaigns and leaderboards. Today it’s again about the Black Ice Armor, but rather visually:
How will the cool steel adorn you?
The Dwarven artisan Baerick Hammerstone has likely become one of the VIPs among the population of Caer-König since his discovery of the possibilities of Black Ice. Since he began shaping the massive, glass-like substance into armors and weapons, he has become extremely popular among the war heroes of Neverwinter. The great advantage: The more pieces you own, the greater your resistance against the corrupted magic and damage of Black Ice! To become even stronger, you should regularly reforge your armor and weapons with their main material to give you a short power boost!
But it is well known that not only the inner values or stats count in an MMO, but also the appearance!
Let’s start with the two-handed weapon fighter: The shoulders are very stylish, aren’t they?
The Vigilant Ranger, on the other hand, is rather simple, but chic:
The Trickster Rogue impresses with his large weapons:
The Tactical Mage really makes an impression, doesn’t he?
Do you also wonder if the Faith Cleric doesn’t hurt himself on the upper spikes of the boots?
The shield of the Protective Fighter is simply eye-catching:
What do you think of the armors? Which one do you like best – or do you not like any of them?
Oh yes, one last tip: Remember, tonight the double XP weekend begins in Neverwinter!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Wouldn’t that be something?! Far above the rooftops of the world a small apartment and the possibility to observe the city’s hustle and bustle at any time? The Sky Palace in Star Wars: The Old Republic makes it possible! Make yourselves comfortable in the skyscraper on Nar Shaddaa. But be warned, your surroundings are not necessarily the safest, as the cityscape of the Smuggler’s Moon is ruled by the underworld.
There you will find numerous affordable strongholds for both factions, which you can customize and expand in many ways – even with balconies and staircases! But such luxury comes at a price! Your own 5-room apartment in the Sky Palace costs a cool 4,000,000 credits. Yes, you read that right: Four million! But if it turns out only half as nice as in the following video, the investment is definitely worth it, right?
If you want to know how to get this apartment without plundering your fortune, read on after watching below:
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Well done for continuing to read! 😀 Now for the tip: Every player who subscribed to SWTOR by May 12, 2014 will receive their own luxurious Nar Shaddaa-Sky Palace with five rooms at their disposal. If you are still subscribed on August 19, you can even experience the new expansion Galactic Strongholds before anyone else! On top of that, you receive the character title “The Bold” and a Subteroth mini-pet.
Of course, this isn’t the end of the tips, as if you want to level a character quickly for the next addon, you should take advantage of the Double XP Weekend
from May 2 at 8 PM to May 5 at 9 AM
! As always, you get 100% more experience points for killing monsters and completing quests! For this, you will also receive the adorable little MT-4T Astromech Droid as a mini-pet for free. Perhaps you already know that Star Wars Day is coming soon – and the little droid is a thank you to all players. However, you don’t have to be a subscriber to get this companion. Just log in and collect it from your mailbox!
And I promise, the last tip: Also in Neverwinter you will receive double XP this coming weekend!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On May 1st, the lead developer of Zenimax’s fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, Matt Firor, commented on the current state of the game. He reassures players with five free days and reveals some insights. What is planned for the future of TESO?
Many players have expressed their frustration over the numerous maintenance work in recent weeks. Zenimax now aims to counter the players’ frustration with 5 Free Days. Further highlights in Firor’s report can be found in his outlook for the future. Plans include the introduction of a long-missing penalty system that characterized single-player games, as well as further improvements specifically in group play. Some additional instances are also planned along with “Quality-of-Life” enhancements.
The look at the present and the near future of TESO
Lead developer Matt Firor already reached out to fans a week ago and apparently, they want to make this a tradition. In the second letter to fans, Firor dives right into the thick of things and addresses the current status.
At the moment, according to Firor, they are working diligently to combat bots, curb gold sellers, and mitigate quest bugs. They are still relying on the help of the players and ask for further feedback.
In the near future, the Kargstein Update will provide a first big boost of new content that is currently undergoing testing on the test server. An announcement regarding when the patch will go live for players is expected soon.
Firor faces negative criticism from the press and players
Firor addresses some negative reports from the press and feedback from players later in the letter.
[pull_quote_center]ESO evokes strong emotions in players – both positive and negative.[/pull_quote_center]
For a successful game, it is important to listen to all kinds of criticism, no matter if it comes from the press or players. Zenimax has made it a point to take this to heart. Firor promises the community to take every criticism to heart to make the game a little better week by week.
The future plans for The Elder Scrolls Online
For the long-term future of The Elder Scrolls Online, Firor and Zenimax have set quite a few goals. Here is a list of planned features for the rest of 2014 and beyond.
In addition to bug fixes, the fight against black market gold farmers, and adjustments to game balance, we have a long list of features and updates we are working on and want to integrate into the game in 2014 and beyond. Below is a brief overview of what to expect. For most of these features, we do not yet know in which update we will include them, but they are currently in development:
A system that allows players in groups to see each other even if they are in different phases.
A legal system where theft and killing NPCs (non-player characters) have consequences if you are caught.
Migration of the European megaserver to our European data center.
Personal customization of the field of view.
Dyeing and coloring of armor.
Two new veteran dungeons: Crypt of Hearts and City of Ash.
New region in Kargstein with a new trial: the Serpent.
Improved ways to collect items in the world.
Story and quests for the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood.
Spell weaving.
Horse racing.
Dragonstar Arena – similar to Trials, but for up to four players.
Improvements to fishing.
Improvements to the crafting system.
Improved group search.
Better facial animations for NPCs.
New guild features: changes to the guild store user interface, customizable guild emblems, capes, and guild kiosks – guild stores that are accessible to all and available to the highest bidding guild.
Automatically leveling dungeons that adjust to the level of your group leader.
What do you think of the changes coming to The Elder Scrolls Online? Are you looking forward to them? Do you have any favorites? And what about the five free days? Is that enough for you?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The upcoming MMORPG highlight Black Desert from Pearl Abyss is not only a true eye-catcher and an action-packed spectacle, but also pursues innovative approaches in terms of content. The game designers have not overlooked that sandbox features are increasingly gaining popularity in online role-playing games.
Black Desert from Korea leaves local gamers in awe and craving more. Whether the game will ever find its way to Europe is currently unclear. Given the images, videos, and positive reports from the closed beta, one has to say: That would be great!
The trailer above gives us first insights into the so-called “Mounted Combat”.
Some will immediately recognize parallels to The Lord of the Rings Online after the first scenes. It already looks a bit more spectacular here, doesn’t it? As is already known, the player can rely on a special skill line in mounted combat; the features surrounding the mounts go beyond mere combat, as you will also be able to breed and train them.
Moreover, other interesting videos of the AAA MMORPG Black Desert have also been released in recent months. Here is a selection:
The character customization leaves little to be desired:
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