Events (In-Game)

Just because it's a tough and gritty world in Age of Conan doesn't mean folks don't know how to celebrate. In fact, Funcom has announced fitting festivities for the fifth anniversary of this fierce fantasy world. Each day for five days starting Thursday, May 23rd, a new epic boss will begin roaming the lands of Hyboria, and each day that a boss remains unconquered it will increase its level of brutality. On the flip side, the chance for epic rewards for defeating one also increases by the day. All players, regardless, of level can join in the fight to take these monsters down, and everyone will have a chance at the rewards.

As anniversary gifts, all players will receive a one-week pass to Khitai as well as other items that can be claimed from the item shop. Members will receive a double item store discount throughout the five-day event as well as a special gift.

Starting tomorrow, membership will include account-wide double xp items, 200 bonus points per month, and a bonus AA point for every level (granted retroactively). Interested in becoming a member? Funcom is also offering a special deal through May 30th granting 50% more time with multi-month subscriptions.

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Dota 2 celebrated the incredible sales of its world championship interactive compendium with free gifts for all players; the compendium has now sold over 266,000 units, raising the prize fund in The International to over $2,000,000 US. Third-person MOBA SMITE has recently entered the competitive tournament scene with two new weekly $1,000 tournaments. Rise of Immortals also announced its first competitive tournament since the Battle For Graxia update and revealed details of its hilariously-named ranged centaur character Murderhoof.

League of Legends revealed the new custom item set feature coming in Patch 3.7 and published a new champion spotlight video on classic ranged carry Ashe. Guardians of Middle-Earth also released its latest paid DLC character, The Mouth of Sauron, based on a character who was originally cut from the cinematic release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Diablo III celebrated the first anniversary of its release on May 15th with anniversary livestreams and a magic-find bonus for all players. The latest patch also raised the increments in which money can be sold on the Real Money Auction House to ten million in response to massive oversupply. Path of Exile revealed details of its upcoming Patch 0.1.1.0 that will add new party loot options and other features, and Star Citizen showed off its new website with a special e-commerce section in which players can buy ships for cash.

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The big baddie of Guild Wars 2's recent living story has been called out. He's Canach, a renegade who thinks that that the answer to every urban planning problem is "more monsters." The Sylvari is behind a plot to use the creatures of Southsun to free settlers from the grasp of the Consortium.

A showdown with Canach is set to happen when the next chapter of the game's living story rolls out on May 28. The update, titled Last Stand at Southsun, will contain a solo dungeon where players will go mano-a-planto with Canach. ArenaNet says that those who defeat Canach will then open up new group content to tackle.

Other changes on deck include a zone-stomping monster and plenty of changes to world-vs.-world content. Southsun living story events, achievements, and rewards will be available until June 11th.

Lately, there have been a number of topics all vying for my attention here in Tattered Notebook. In a couple of instances, some of them got a little rough and started pushing the others around to try for a better place in line. Yet all the while, EverQuest II's Moonlight Enchantments has been patiently waiting. So as a reward (we do like to reward good behavior here!), that quiet little topic is getting the spotlight in a special bonus edition. And the timing couldn't be more perfect!

You see, initially this guide was just going to focus on speed to help you get through that short two-day event that comes but once a month on the 20th and 21st in EQII. Now, however, we get to delve into the changes and new things coming to the Enchanted Grottoes, from even more housing items (yes, that's on top of the new additions in March) to two new repeatable quests to earn the tokens to buy the items. And with this month's festival right around the corner, having a game plan ready to get the most out of those two days will benefit new and old players alike.

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Who says we can't get what we want? I wanted the Shugo Kingdom Adventure event to return to Aion, and I'm getting my wish. Booyah! No, really, it's true: Starting after maintenance on May 22nd, Daevas who've flown over level 50 will again be able to journey for a limited time to the long lost vaults of the Shugo Kingdom in search of great and glorious treasure. And by treasure, I mean a trove of chests filled with AP items, Stormwing armor pieces and weapons, or even rare sets of wings. Of course what you get depends on how many keys you have and a little luck, so there's no harm in starting your sacrifices to Aion's RNG gods now.

Did you miss out on the event last time but are looking forward to it this go around? Or maybe you need a refresher because the trauma of not getting that one item caused you to block all knowledge of the zone from your mind? Either way, this edition of Wings Over Atreia will give you a heads up on what to expect. And as an added bonus, Associate Producer Sean Orlikowski shared his tips and tricks for making the most of your Shugo Kingdom Adventures.

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The Gree starship Grey Secant is returning to Star Wars: The Old Republic's planet Ilum. BioWare's website has updated with all the details on the event's return engagement, which starts May 21st and runs through the 28th.

Players can earn reputation, rare armor, vehicles, and pets, and BioWare says that "this is a great time for players at level 45-plus to jump into the event before the event returns at level 55 in the future." More info is available via the Relics of the Gree event blog.

Hitting the big 1-0 is certainly a cause for celebration. So how does Conquer Online top its free trip to China offered last year? With a trailer that offers a unique look at the last 10 years and turns attention towards the future. That, and a number of festivities lasting through mid-June that span events, bonuses, and gifts galore. Oh, did we mention another trip to China? This time the trip goes to the supreme champion of the first World Fighting League, a contest open to all new and veteran players spanning all 10 versions of CO.

Launched in 2003, the oriental fantasy game boasting plenty of kung-fu elements has continually added new content over the years, including pirates and more PvP-based activities. This year will see even more expansions, from a new character (the mysterious Kung Fu Master) to a new massive cross-server PvP battle, the Kingdom War. To accommodate new players, Conquer Online has opened two new servers and is giving away special Starter's Packs to aid the newcomers. Veterans have not been forgotten; they'll receive a gift when logging into their original servers.

Want a glimpse at what the future holds for Conquer Online? You'll have to get through the first half of the video to see the preview. Check it out after the cut.

[Source: TQ Digital press release]

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Do you remember what you were doing eight years ago? Nexon does. It was introducing the 2-D fantasy MMORPG game MapleStory to North America. Since then, the game has grown with plenty of content from new characters (like Kanna and Hayato) to extensive character customization options.

To celebrate this eighth anniversary, Maplestory is holding a number of events for players to enjoy, including daily eighth anniversary coin giveaways to all players level 10 and above, and special XP bonus events and hot-days throughout the month. Special celebration boxes containing in-game items will also drop off defeated mobs.

As for going into the ninth year, NA Producer Teddy Kim stated, "We have a dedicated and engaged group of players, and we appreciate the loyalty and passion they have for MapleStory. We are committed to continuing to deliver the best content to our players to keep the adventures rolling."

[Source: Nexon America press release]

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You may be familiar with Wargaming through the development studio's wildly successful game World of Tanks, but did you know that the company has been around for 15 years and has developed almost a dozen other games?

To help celebrate this special 15th anniversary, Wargaming has announced a global World of Tanks tournament that will see winning teams from Europe, North America, Russia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, China, Vietnam, and more represent their regions with an all-expense-paid trip to the World of Tanks studio in Minsk, Belarus.

The tournament will be a traditional 7 v 7 format and will run from May until the end of June. Check out the Wargaming site for more info.

MUD May has been a blast so far, but I won't lie to you and say that I hope to even make a dent in the decades-old history of many of these titles. I decided instead to use some examples from my favorite MUDs that I have come across over the last couple of years. It's admittedly been a challenge to think about what to cover. Do I cover the communities? The in-game mechanics? The publishers?

This week I decided to attempt to kill several birds with a handful of stones (and questions) and snagged Simutronics Producer Eric Latham for an video interview. Simutronics has been in the business for 26 years, and the publisher makes my favorite MUD, Gemstone IV. Latham has been with the company for 15 of those years! Technically I am using the interview and video as part of my Rise and Shiny series, but the questions and answers are more relevant to the general topic of MUDs. You might see it now as well as later, but it will hopefully provide some insight into the world of making MUDs.

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Did you miss ArenaNet's Southsun Cove developer livestream? Do you have a spare 27 minutes and 31 seconds? If you answered yes to both of those questions, you can head to the Guild Wars 2 Twitch page and watch the replay. Even if you didn't answer yes to both of those questions, you can still watch the replay, and yes, I am attempting to fill out what is otherwise an extremely cut-and-dried news post.

Let's see, what else? ANet's Scott McGough and Leah Rivera are the developers on record, and there's plenty of gameplay footage and commentary packed into the half-hour block.

Want to be a part of EVE Online's 11th annual Alliance Tournament that starts on July 20th, 2013, but not from the cockpit of your ship? You can apply to be one of the PvP commentators who will discuss the tourney, tactics, and teams involved live on air with developers as well as providing commentary on matches as they unfold. Yes, live means you'll actually be in Iceland for this gig! Qualifications include having a valid passport, being over 21, having a sharp wit, and being well-versed in PvP. Full details for the application process are available on the official site.

If you'd prefer to participate in the battles themselves, note that there will be a few changes to the tourney from years past. To start, Alliance Tournament XI will run over only three weekends, not four. Second, qualifying rounds and group stages have been replaced by double elimination from the get go. Next, from the second weekend onward, two ship types will be banned from the match by team captains. And finally, to fly with an alliance you had to have been a member since downtime this morning. Dev blogs covering all the rules, the broadcast schedule, and sign-up details will be coming soon.

[Update: CCP has been busy today! The official site has now also been updated with a dev blog announcing that dual character training will ship with the Odyssey expansion next month.]

I'm not against BioWare making money, and to be completely honest, I'm not upset about the company making money on many of these items. Perhaps through my own misunderstanding, I feel a bit cheated with the update. Let me break down the Update 2.1 items for us. I'll point out the good and the bad, and maybe you will understand my perspective, even if you don't agree.

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