Welcome back to No So Massively, where every Monday we round up the highlights from the past week in the world of MOBAs, roguelikes, MMOTCGs, and other games that aren't quite MMOs.

• Shroud of the Avatar got a nice big update for the holidays as Release 13, um, released. The development team also rolled out the game's plans through early 2015, so you know there's stuff in the pipeline.
• World of Tanks rolled update 9.5 onto the live servers. It includes British tanks and a new map! Who doesn't love those things?
• After some worries regarding its future, TUG has confirmed that more investment capital is secured, thus placing fan concerns about the future of the project to rest for a little while.
• Marvel Heroes goes just a little bit crazy for Venom and all of his hastily added brain-eating ways. It's like the 90s Spider-books all over again.
• Some holiday or another took place over the week. One of the big ones. Halloween, maybe? We weren't paying close attention.

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World of Warcraft's Choose My Adventure is coming to a close and Massively's Mike Foster is trying to get as much out of it as possible before the new month begins. Join him tonight as he storms a couple of battlegrounds, completes a few quests, and takes advantage of his brand-new garrison buildings. It's the last hurrah for Warlords of Draenor as a CMA subject!

Tune in at 7:00 p.m. EST for all the action.

Game: World of Warcraft
Host: Mike Foster
Date: Monday, December 29th, 2014
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST

Enjoy our Stream Team video below.

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Over this past weekend, Santa Claus had the opportunity to visit the in-the-making Gloria Victis and delight testers. In the newest pre-alpha patch, Santa appeared on Stoneholm Island and regaled listeners with his... rather unusual adventures.

The patch also implemented a new gathering system, animations for said gathering, added in a few new locations, and buffed bow-and-arrow attacks.

The team also had a special message for the game's supporters: "Thanks to all of you who put your trust in ourselves. You gave us the chance to continuously create the project of our dreams. You are our everyday Santa Clauses and support the Gloria Victis developing in any possible way."

[Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!]

If Spiderman is just a wee bit too clean cut for you, you might enjoy Marvel Heroes' newest playable villain instead. Venom, the dark antithesis to the colorful web crawler, has recently joined the ranks. Of course, that means Massively's MJ has got to check him out in all his symbiote glory. And part of that glory is using ichor as a resource builder, which just happens to drain his health in order to power up his skills. That means MJ could actually cause her own deathblow if she's not careful! Join us live at 5:00 p.m. to see the dark side of Spidey powers (and if MJ can survive her new powers).

Game: Marvel Heroes
Host: MJ Guthrie
Date: Monday, December 29th, 2014
Time: 5:00 p.m. EST

Enjoy our Stream Team video below.

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There's a long way to go before City of Titans reaches the superheroic heights of its spiritual forebears, but the team is eager nonetheless to show that progress is being made. That's why it's putting on a 12 Days of Devmas series, kicking off with the revelation of the fully socketed body model that the team is using for testing purposes.

"Odo's an artist's model we're using while we continue to develop the base body mesh," the team posted. "He lets us continue work on the rest of the game while we develop the sliders and other parts that make the characters super. Of course, you'll notice he still has every joint that the final character will have. Fingers and all. He's the digital version of a wooden artist's mannequin, with all the flexibility of our real model."

In successive posts of the series, Odo is shown with various weapons including a slide rule and keytar.

[Thanks to Bryan for the tip!]

Last month, Massively wrote a short article about research on the relationship between shyness and online game friendships. The topic is of interest to me not just because of the MMO connection but because I myself am someone who used to identify myself as shy but believe online games help me cope with and surmount it. Games are what I rely on to help myself meet new people as cultural and language barriers prevent me, an American, from making strong attachments in Japan, the country where I live and work.

In preparing for this two-part article, I spoke to the research paper's lead author, Dr. Rachel Kowert, who helpfully provided me with a reader's digest version of recent research in this subfield of psychology. Tomorrow, we'll tackle our interview with Dr. Kowert herself, but today, we'll have a look at the research to bring us all up to speed.

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With all the cool stuff we heard about Final Fantasy XIV's first expansion, it's easy to forget that we also heard a bunch of stuff about the last patch of the current patch cycle. I think that's kind of intentional, not just because the expansion is a bit more eye-catching, but because things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. 2.5 is titled "Before the Fall," the Heavensward trailer does not predict sunny times for Ishgard, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what happens next.

There's no actual release date for 2.5 just yet, although I imagine it's fairly soon, especially given the two-part structure and the proximity of the proposed expansion launch. So let's talk about what we know so far to look forward to before everything comes crashing down. (I'm betting around the end of January, although I'll admit to being a bit less anxious than I was with 2.4's release.)

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We haven't seen a lot of Phantasy Star Online 2 pictures in these here parts, probably because the game isn't in these here parts (and may never be). Still, it's great to be tantalized by this rocking dragon vs. elemental forces screenshot. I think it could be used as a template for a new line of awesome Trapper Keepers.

"It's a pretty sweet shot of me shooting a dragon in the face with lightning -- and it doesn't get much cooler than that!" reader Sean said. I concur.

Want to be featured in a future edition of One Shots? Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. Look ma, we brought back One Shots!

I recently installed VoiceAttack, and while I played Elite: Dangerous for a couple of weeks without it, I'm not sure how I managed! VA is basically a third-party app that translates commands spoken through your microphone into various key presses.

For a flight sim like E:D, it's invaluable since it allows me to keep both hands on my HOTAS setup while simultaneously managing other ship systems. It's also pretty immersive in a far-future sci-fi setting like Elite's, because who wouldn't want to talk to a spaceship and have it follow your commands? What about you, Massively readers? What game add-ons can you no longer live without?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post.

Inbound indie sandbox The Repopulation dived into its last alpha phase this week, dropping its NDA for testers and landing on Steam in early access form.

At Massively, we discussed our end-of-the-year awards, selected our favorite content of the year, gave out a ribbon for the best MMO soundtrack, and made our list of MMOs to get excited about next year.

Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories, and may you many happy holidays. Week in Review will see you next year.

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Massively's Mike Foster has been having a grand old time with this month's World of Warcraft-focused Choose My Adventure. Tonight, he ventures into the dungeon finder to check out Warlords of Draenor's new group content, as was requested by voters in last week's polls. Tune in at 7:00 p.m. EST to see his shadow priest in action.

Game: World of Warcraft
Host: Mike Foster
Date: Sunday, December 28th, 2014
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST

Enjoy our Stream Team video below.

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If stated plans are any indication, Shroud of the Avatar is in for a busy first few months of the new year. In a recent newsletter, the team recapped the "flexible" schedule for the game's early 2015 updates.

January's Release 14 will expand zone connections, add in the Shardfall biome, begin testing on a new version of Unity, and add things like player banks, an encumbrance system, and in-game pledge rewards. February's Release 15 has its eye on several new mainland areas including the Necropolis, more magic spells, housing fees, dyeable outfits, teachable emotes, and crafting skills. Finally, March's Release 16 is going to add Steam achievements, a cover system in combat, and localization.

The team also released one of the backer rewards, a cover version of the classic Ultima Stones theme by the band The Space Bards, and you can listen to it after the break!

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E-sports should totally be a part of the Olympics. Or so said former Blizzard CCO Rob Pardo in a BBC interview.

"Video games are well positioned to be a spectator sport," Pardo said. "There's a very good argument for e-sports being in the Olympics. I think the way that you look at e-sports is that it's a very competitive skillset and you look at these professional gamers and the reflexes are lightning quick and they're having to make very quick decisions on the fly."

Pardo conceded that championing e-sports in Olympics might come down to the age-old argument of whether a sport must include physical activity or simply skill-based competition.

One of these days I'll get back to writing Star Citizen-flavored words in this space. Right now, though, Elite: Dangerous is a thing that I've been playing, and please ya'll, put down your pitchforks.

It is possible -- and even healthy -- to like and support both of these titles. This is not space Capulets vs. space Montagues but rather the beginnings of a new sci-fi sandbox age. Elite's not quite where I would like it to be at this early hour, but it's still a fine piece of work that's salvaged a thoroughly regrettable MMO year.

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Out of all of the reality-bending game mechanics that we deal with in MMOs on a regular basis, I'd have to say that my immersion is the most broken when I jump from fantastic heights and walk away with nary a crushed spine to show for it. And this particular diving board in Guild Wars 2 that's like 300 feet above the water? Yeah, diving goggles aren't going to help you with squat. But jump anyway!

Reader Mike took the plunge: "While playing my Norn Warrior, I found something I never saw before. Just above one of the waypoints in Lion's Arch is a diving platform! The kind people at ArenaNet even had goggles and a swimsuit for you to put on before you take that massive dive into the cold waters below. It was so funny I just had to send it to you."

Want to be featured in a future edition of One Shots? Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. Look ma, we brought back One Shots!

I just finished reading all of the entries on the Elite: Dangerous GalNet news page. It's a sort of in-character feed service that keeps pilots up to date with lore and associated happenings around the Milky Way in the year 3300.

The lore doesn't impact my gameplay at all, but it's kinda fun to peruse the headlines while docked at an in-game station in between trade runs. What about you, Massively readers? Are you keeping abreast of the lore in your current MMO? Why or why not?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

This week in MMO crowdfunding news, The Repopulation dropped its NDA and thrust itself firmly into the middle of Steam's Early Access conga line. This was a pretty big deal, given how the game is channeling a certain late great sci-fi sandbox and given how many people responded with their alpha tester opinions in the announcement thread.

Some other stuff happened, too. Christmas, for one thing. But, really, this week was all about TR when it comes to crowdfund happenings. If you simply must know what else was up, click past the cut for our roundup.

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The most recent addition to Marvel Heroes' roster, Venom, isn't merely a Spider-Man reskin. Gazillion put some thought into making this 43rd playable character unique as it uses its symbiote power to do nasty things to nasty people.

Gazillion said that it wanted to go "all out" on Venom's looks and animations. Venom also has an interesting resource builder. "Unique to Venom, ichor serves as his primary resource, replacing spirit entirely, and accumulates as Venom uses powers that drain his own health – representing the host's constant battle with the symbiote," said Systems Designer Michael May.

You can check Venom's trailer out after the break!

[Source: Gazillion press release]

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So what does the inside of Black Desert's cash shop actually look like? Sure, the exact contents aren't going to matter to players who hate having cash shops at all or the players who were going to play the game no matter what, but a good implementation or a bad one could have an impact. Hence a new post on Steparu walking through the options available and giving a loose idea of how the pricing breaks down.

With a $50 budget, some options were simply out of reach on the shop, specifically the limited edition mount armor. A handful of limited-time packs with boosts are already in-place in game, alongside the usual options of dyes, inventory expansions, and makeovers. The cash shop also contains exclusive hairstyles and under-armor options. Check out the full piece for a more comprehensive glance inside of the game's real-money marketplace.

"Here's my Guild Wars 2 Necromancer haunting the countryside of Divinity's Reach, bleeding and poisoning souls to fuel his demonic rituals and Necromancing zealotry," Russel announced, as if that was the sort of thing that you can say in polite society.

Actually, as a fellow Necro, I have to say that I agree with looking the part. You got to have a skulls motif; there's no way around it. Way to commit to the role!

Want to be featured in a future edition of One Shots? Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. Look ma, we brought back One Shots!