Endgame

For a veteran Star Trek Online player, it can be very easy to get mired in the game's seemingly soulless endgame. From restricted (time-gated) play to lackluster PvP to grinding strategic task force missions and dailies, sometimes it's difficult to find reason to log in at all, let alone on someone else's schedule.

There are always a few options, however. Of course, these ideas aren't going to be everyone's cup of raktajino, but they're a start, and I want to take some time to discuss two possibilities that may help to provide a distraction while we all wait for fleet starbases, Tholians, and Ferasan (the new cat-like species to be released for the Klingon faction).

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Massively's got so many cosmetic-gear gurus and sandbox aficionados on staff that sometimes I suspect no amount of character customization and housing and achievements and titles would ever be enough for us. We'd do just about anything for more ways to distinguish our characters in an MMO.

But what about raiding for cosmetic gear? Enter OpenRaid, a World of Warcraft website that helps players organize cross-server PvE dungeon raids and premade PvP teams for the express purpose of acquiring achievements and gear to transmogrify (i.e., map the skin of something cool onto something with good stats). While I'd hope that needing to run large-scale endgame content for gorgeous weapon skins isn't going to become commonplace in future MMOs, it's still fascinating to see roleplay-oriented players playing content they wouldn't normally touch, just to collect a dress.

So how far would you go -- or have you gone -- to get your hands on a sweet piece of cosmetic gear, title, or achievement?

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!

I've recently returned to World of Warcraft and was surprised to find a much more complex game than when I left (contrary to popular lore in our comments). Several of the classes have been revamped mechanically to be far more interesting and layered, and new dungeon encounters are frequently among the best in the industry.

At endgame, anyway. I realize that outside of heroics and raids and PvP, WoW (like many MMOs) aims for accessible simplicity, which is nice when you're just happily grinding away or teaming up with weekend warriors not looking for a stressful challenge. One of my mates even bragged about facerolling his way through the dungeon finder, and I had to wonder, do people really do that? Even if content is easy, I still try to play it "right." I'll still make sure I know how to play my character, probably because I'm terrified of being that person in a PUG -- you know, the one who makes people hate PUGs. But I have to admit that the idea of honestly just punching whatever buttons just to see if we'll still win has its own amusing charm (and a strange level of challenge too).

Have you ever facerolled MMO content, literally or figuratively?

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!

The primals are among the greatest forces within Eorzea, something that Final Fantasy XIV players are no doubt acutely aware of after the clash with Ifrit. The second primal battle is coming, pitting players against Garuda, deity of the Ixali. That means another pitched battle against a superior foe in the Howling Eye, a battle which the official site has just recently previewed with a video of the fight in hard mode and a video preview of the new weapon rewards.

According to the lore, the Ixali revere Garuda as the Empress of Birds, a soaring deity who maintains an appetite for the flesh of land-dwelling creatures. She is the incarnate strength of the bird-men as well as a source of great terror. But just as with Ifrit, players who defeat her can expect to have a variety of fantastic weapons, as illustrated in the video just past the break. Just be careful -- if you aren't on the ball when you fight her, you could find yourself completely blown away.

[Thanks to Alex for the tip!]

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When I returned to World of Warcraft a few weeks ago, my more hardcore guildies were in a rush to show me the newest sights and latest dungeons. I don't blame them; they didn't want to run regular dungeons when they could be doing the shiniest heroic content and most cutting-edge encounters. But in modern WoW, one thing stood between us and that instant gratification: item level.

Because I'd taken breaks from the game, my max-level Shaman had fallen behind in power as the seasons wore on. And that official item level stamped on her gear was more than just a marker that I wasn't elite; it literally gated the dungeons unless I sacrificed rewards (counterproductive) or got a bunch of new gear fast. It didn't take but a weekend or two to catch up, but it was still an annoyance that slowed everyone down, especially since my guildies were overpowered enough that a few more points on my gear weren't going to make or break our success. And while I understand that item level is a useful shorthand for judging your readiness for content, it's a bit disheartening to realize that gamers are being encouraged by the game to see each other only as a numerical gearscore.

What do you think -- should items and item levels gate dungeons and other content?

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!

If you're playing RIFT, odds are good you're looking forward to the next major content update -- and if you're also a raider, so much the better. But it's one thing to read about all of the neat things that will be going on in a new raid and another thing entirely to actually see them. That's why the community team is hosting an official livestream of the new Infernal Dawn raid that's getting released this week.

The run will begin at 11:30 a.m. PDT, moving through the entirety of the raid and showing off all of the bosses without spoiling the fights themselves. The community team will also be explaining the lore behind the area and the bosses and answering community questions when possible. So if you've got the time around noon tomorrow to check it out, head over to the game's Facebook page and get ready for a guided tour of the newest raid.

[Source: Trion Worlds press release]

This coming Tuesday, EverQuest II will launch Game Update 63, and with it comes a bevy of dragons, new content, a level cap increase, and much more. Recently, EQII Producer Holly "Windstalker" Longdale and Game Designer Carlos "Gninja" Mora took the time to talk about the update and lead a tour of the new zones. Read on for a closer look at the Withered Lands and Skyshrine!

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Last week I received a bit of feedback regarding the state of Rivera's desk. I withheld taking pictures of the interior of the office space for fear of inadvertently capturing information that I wasn't free to share. Happily, though, Rivera himself decided to tweet a few photos of the ships and Trek paraphernalia that graced our visit to his office. Yes, it also included a picture of what I had described in my last column as a "funky purple monster." Apparently my comic book naiveté has kept me from recognizing what Rivera informed me is The Maxx.

Sorry, but it will always be that funky purple monster to me.

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The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars.

Guild Wars 2 is on the way (when it's ready), and classic Guild Wars players probably understand that soon they'll be competing with a younger sibling -- a smarter, more attractive one who's sure to get more of mom's attention. And while we're sure that some of the more stalwart Guild Wars 2 fans are also Guild Wars players, not all veterans of the first edition are dedicated to licking up every drop of sequel info squeezed out of blogs, conventions, and betas. Those veterans might just be wondering, what exactly can Guild Wars 2 offer them, other than Hall of Monuments tie-ins? What's changed? What's the same? What will they love, what will they hate, and what could possibly make them jump ship to the new hotness?

The first and most important thing you must know is that yes, you can jump in Guild Wars 2! Seriously, though, jumping is more than just a thing you do with your spacebar when you're bored; it's a symbol of boundlessness. Guild Wars 2 itself is trying to jump a lot higher than its elder brother, and probably the essential difference between the games is that feeling that the walls have come down and gravity is letting loose. That alone should urge classic players to take a peek, but if that's not enough for you, fire up your Jeremy Soule soundtracks (yes, he's onboard for an encore!) and read on...

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As the Star Wars: The Old Republic guild leaders lined up to get a taste of the Lost Island flashpoint, I was at BioWare studios getting my hands dirty with deeper PvE and PvP content as well as speaking with developers like Combat Designer Georg Zoeller, Lead Writer Daniel Erickson, Art Director Jeff Dobson, and Lead Designer Emmanuel Lusinchi. However, the best part was at the end of the day when I was able to speak one-on-one with Creative Director James Ohlen.

Ohlen touches nearly every aspect of the game's development. It was important to me to find out why this game is as popular as it is and what BioWare was going to do to retain its current playerbase. The first stop was the latest game update, which should hit test servers really soon.

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Goodness, I hope you have heard that Star Wars: The Old Republic is releasing a new patch soon. It's been jokingly dubbed the "Jesus Patch" because it's supposed to contain everything, and incidentally, it may "save" the game. Many critics have written off the game because developers missed some essential MMO ingredients when it launched. Despite that, SWTOR currently stands as the fastest-growing MMO ever and retains the second largest subscription base, according to Electronic Arts' investor calls.

During the recent Guild Summit, while the guild leaders and fan site press were shuttled off, the press made its way to BioWare studios to try out the new content in Update 1.2. Each member was given his or her station to tool around with. Immediately, I noticed that the two Bounty Hunters in the character selection screen wore armor I had never seen before: Black Hole armor and War Hero armor. We were about to step into the new flashpoint called the Lost Island as well as the new Novare Coast warzone.

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EVE Online is unique among MMOs, and nowhere is this more evident than in the political struggles that take place every day in New Eden. Just this weekend, I spent long hours negotiating the surrender of a friend's wormhole starbase with an Elysian Empire diplomat, only to have his CEO overrule the decision because he wanted to get the killmail for blowing the starbase up. For EVE's more ambitious political machinists, perhaps the greatest challenge of all is to be part of the democratically elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM).

The council functions as an advisory board to CCP and a mechanism through which players can get their views and ideas across to developers. Last year's CSM was instrumental in forcing CCP's hand and making the company refocus development on EVE Online. With this year's ambitious plans to revamp all ships and forms of PvP, and DUST 514 due for a summer release, the stakes for this year's council are even higher. Voting is now underway to select the team of players who will represent the EVE playerbase to CCP for the coming year.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I round up all of this year's candidates to help you choose whom to vote for.

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This week on The MMO Report, Casey caps off his Trion Worlds tour by chatting up RIFT's Adam Gershowitz and Adam Hetenyi. Backed by enormous screens showing off the game's flashiest scenes, the two Adams discuss RIFT's upcoming 1.8 patch, giving previews of the goodies that will tempt hardcore endgamers in the Infernal Dawn raid (pro tip: Do not invite Maelforge to your birthday party). The pair also discuss the game's new skills -- fishing, trapping, and survival -- before teasing what players can look forward to after 1.8 has come and gone.

The full HD video is behind the cut!

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When patch 1.21 goes live for Final Fantasy XIV on Friday, it brings along with it two new instanced raids. The first one, Cutter's Cry, sounds like it won't be a fun time for your character in the first place; after all, it's on the road between Thanalan and Mor Dhona, which isn't going to be a pleasant route. The fact that a powerful chimera was once known to be within the cave only makes things worse. And while a group of adventurers supposedly defeated the beast some 30 years ago, the beast has been heard within the depths again...

The dungeon is meant to be an extremely challenging encounter for players at level 45 and up, and the preview video shows off several characters in full Job regalia tackling its challenges. There are the beasts you'd expect to find within a cave in Thanalan, of course, including the requisite antlings and peistes. And of course, there's something worse waiting at the end -- but you can take a look at the video and see that for yourself.

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Yesterday, the Star Wars: The Old Republic guild summit gave players a good idea of what to expect from patch 1.2. But just hearing about things like the new Legacy features and upcoming Operations isn't enough for everyone, which is no doubt part of the reason the development team has put together a trailer for all of the new features. And while the new Operation, Flashpoint, and Warzone might be the most immediately interesting, there's a lot more on display in the trailer.

In fact, the trailer shows off more of the cross-race options for new characters that can be unlocked via the Legacy system as well as the upcoming appearance modification and UI customization that the patch will add. There's also a preview of new minipets, the promise of new daily missions on Corellia, and several other tweaks to improve the game. But why take our word for it when you can jump on down and watch the video for yourself?

[Source: BioWare press release]

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