Once upon a time (OK, a few weeks ago), I was playing an ARAM as Diana. I had a fairly bad score (I'm passive and don't chase kills), and we lost. One of my teammates blamed me, claiming my item build was awful. It was largely because I didn't build Rabadon's Deathcap.

Deathcap is one of the perennial caster items in League of Legends. Not only does it give an enormous amount of ability power, but it also increases all of your ability power (including what it grants) by a whopping 30%. This seems so ridiculously powerful! Even though it's expensive, 30% increase in AP is such a huge boost to damage that it can't be beaten.

Is this really the case, though? In Summoner's Rift, I completely agree that Deathcap is a great item. In Twisted Treeline, Wooglet's Witchcap (the replacement item for Deathcap) is also incredible. However, in Dominion and ARAM, the fast-paced action and frequent conflicts change the nature of the wizard hats considerably.

Have you ever wanted to battle for galactic glory on the moon? Now you can thanks to Champions Online's Forum Malvanum alert. The new content just went live, and Cryptic says that player heroes will need to "defeat some of the the most dangerous monsters and gladiators from around the universe" in order to become champions of the Lunar Games.

"The Lunar Games include ten rounds of enemies, with some variation in each run," according to Cryptic's announcement post. "Heroes who complete the first five rounds are guaranteed a prize as worthy competitors. More rewards will be granted by Tateklys for defeating the time-limited sixth through tenth rounds, including a climactic final fight with Firewing himself, reigning champion of the Games. Rewards include costume pieces, resources and more."

[Thanks Matixzun!]

BioWare has followed up on the recent Legacy system/crystal banning brouhaha that resulted in the temporary banning of some players from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Community manager Eric Musco says that less than 150 people were incorrectly flagged, and if you're one of those folks you should have already received a message from customer service.

"If you have not had your suspension reversed and you feel this was in error, please contact accountdisputes@swtor.com and they will be able to look into the issue further," Musco writes.

[Thanks Olorunsegun Adewumi!]

Looking forward to having some nostalgic adventures with Ultima Forever when it releases this summer? Then you might enjoy a trip behind the scenes of development with Ken Hartsook, a software engineer working on the title at Mythic. Hartsook is the subject of a new video detailing some of the programming challenges associated with bringing Ultima Forever to the iOS family of devices as well as his favorite parts of the game as it approaches launch.

According to Hartsook, one of the biggest challenges was finding a control scheme that worked for tablets and smartphones, which meant deviating substantially from classic control models. He also discusses the tilesets in the game and his experience playing a Fighter in the test version of the game. So if your iPad is ready and waiting for a chance to take the jump into Britannia, check out the full interview just past the break.

If you found yourself impressed when you watched the four-minute cinematic opening for Neverwinter, then address all kudos and praise to Plastic Wax Studios. The company has previously focused on console titles, although it recently stated that it is branching out to provide cinematics for MMOs and mobile titles as well.

Executive Vice President Dane Maddams touts the studio's high fidelity and skill when it comes to these trailers: "We aimed to really push technology and art to compelling and cutting edge realism with our recent release of the Director's Cut cinematic for Perfect World's Neverwinter. The cinematics were carefully designed to enhance the story in a never seen before narrative and build anticipation for the title to new heights."

If you haven't watched the Neverwinter cinematic yet, you can do so after the jump.

[Source: Plastic Wax Studios press release]

Neowiz is probably best known to western MMO fans as the publisher behind BLESS, one of those gorgeous big-budget Korean imports that seems to land on our shores once or twice per year. The firm is working on another title called Black Sheep Online, though, and if the gameplay vids and screenshots on display at Steparu.com are any indication, the new title might be worth watching.

The game allows for different limb-focused hit boxes (so targeting arms and legs is a viable strategy), and it also features destructible environments including breakable dungeon walls. Steparu reports that Black Sheep boasts action-style combat and some sort of grappling system. You can check out a gameplay video after the cut, then head to Steparu.com for the full report.

I'm a Red Sox fan, and if there's ever a team that can exemplify the ups and downs of running a guild, it's the Red Sox. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the team, and yet they're near the top of the standings, only a game and a half behind the Team that Shall Not be Named. Managing a guild is also very often about handling the peaks and valleys of day to day life. It's as if the whole guild were manic depressive: You need to downplay the peaks and minimize the valleys.

We've looked at the valleys quite a bit in this column because valleys represent a more urgent problem, but in this week's Guild Counsel, let's look at how to handle the peaks.

Ragnarok Online 2: Legend of the Second has been given the keys to Europe, as Gravity Europe announced that the free-to-play title is now available to play across the continent. The game comes with a new English translation, and promises to be "easier to dive into" than the original Ragnarok Online.

Gravity Managing Director Yves Bléhaut said of the launch, "For us, Ragnarok Online 2 represents a major step in the life of a brand with as high a profile as Ragnarok. First and foremost, hosting so many players on two continents simultaneously represents a technical challenge for both us and our American partner, and it's also a major editorial step as two versions of Ragnarok will coexist: RO1 for purists, and one more accessible to the general public, RO2."

Ragnarok Online 2 has been rolling out worldwide over the past few months. Gravity Europe is offering two different goodie packs through "specialized media" to promote the launch.

[Source: Gravity Europe press release]

We hope you like metaphors because Bungie is bringing a whopper of one to you through the magic of a Destiny official trailer. The trailer is framed by a father reading to his son The Law of the Jungle at bedtime, mentioning wolves and packs in such a way that we totally aren't thinking of The Hangover whatsoever.

Of course, there's a bit of the game setting in there too, with masked, cloaked soldiers pulling out big guns and showing the enemy the business. The trailer concludes by stating that there will be a worldwide gameplay reveal for Destiny at E3 on June 10th.

Check out the savage trailer after the jump and let us know what jungle animal guides you in space!

In spite of its recent layoffs (or maybe because of them), Trion Worlds is plunging ahead with its Defiance promotions. Not only will Syfy be showing a six-episode Defiance-the-show marathon and recap special on Monday (that's May 27th from 4 to 11 p.m.), but Defiance-the-game will be on sale on Steam and available freely from today through Sunday to brand-new players. Players will also nab a second crack at the game's early episodic content, which starred the series' lead characters. Quoth the press release,

Gamers who have yet to explore the open world shooter can try it on PC for free on Steam from May 23rd at 10:00 a.m. PDT [1:00 p.m. EDT] to May 26th at 1:00 p.m. PDT [4:00 p.m. EDT]. [See below for update on times.] Steam is also offering a weekend long sale on Defiance for those whose thirst for alien technology and open world action isn't satisfied by the trial. Both the Standard Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition will be 30% off. In addition, Steam will also be running a sale on "Bits," the in-game currency for Defiance, during which customers will get more "Bits" for their money.

The studio notes that other retailers will feature independent sales but did not specifically say which ones.

[Source: Trion press release]

[Update #1: Readers are reporting that the free weekend on Steam is still not active. The times quoted here are exactly what the press release said, and they have come and gone. We've contacted Trion for clarification and will keep you posted when we actually know more.]
[Update #2: Trion's PR says it's aware of the problem on Steam and is trying to get to the bottom of it now.]
[Update #3: Trion says the new go-live time is now 4 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. EDT) today!]