Free-to-Play

One of the bonuses of having Pirate101 set in the same world as Wizard101 is that the former can benefit from some of the latter's layout. KingsIsle has launched a big expansion for the game that includes some old favorites for veteran players, starting by sending pirate captains to the familiar land of Marleybone. Players will be investigating a war zone they helped inadvertently create while working up through another 15 levels of experience.

The update also adds the new region of Aquila, a new Bazaar system for players to trade goods, and a new tutorial to help players get accustomed to the game. There are also new bosses and transport systems to give players more to do while they sail across the oceans. Last but not least, new companions are scattered through the added regions, and old companions are learning some new tricks. Pirate101 players can log in and start enjoying the update immediately.

Star Wars: The Old Republic senior producer Bruce Maclean has posted a summer development roadmap on BioWare's official game forums. The update outlines the 2.2 and 2.3 patches, with the former tentatively scheduled for June 11th and the latter penciled in for August 6th.

The first patch will feature additional guild XP bonuses based on membership numbers (up to a maximum 10% boost), the ability for crafters to make underworld gear, and Nightmare Mode for Terror From Beyond (along with new gear drops).

The second patch will feature "significant graphical upgrades," a new daily area, a new recurring event, and new flashpoints.

Were you hanging on the edge of your seat after watching the first episode of Marvel Heroes' Chronicles of Doom last week? Hope you haven't fallen to your doo...mise because the second installment is now available.

The episode tracks the sinister Victor von Doom as he makes a devil's deal with Dorammu to gain power and YouTube likes. The Chronicles of Doom is a four-part motion comic series written by Marvel's Brian Michael Bendis, and it can be seen as the prequel to the game itself.

Watch episode 2 after the jump!

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Trion Worlds Lead Game Designer Bill Fisher has announced that RIFT won't be allowing raiders to use item store tokens to boost ultra-rare currency gains.

In a forum thread titled RIFT is officially pay-to-win, Fisher addressed the concern over the upcoming item shop's impact in the raiding game. The specific beef was with item store tokens that offered a substantial boost to all currency gained in the game over a period of time. Trion has since nerfed the token's potency (from 100% currency bonus to 80%) as well as removed the ability to gain extra Frozen Eclipse Stones from it.

Fisher explained that he decided to remove the token effect because he felt it was crossing the line of what is and is not acceptable from a cash shop. "I don't want you to have the perception that to take part in that section of the game you are going to be forced into buying something," Fisher wrote. "RIFT doesn't win the race by trying to be exploitative of any given group -- yes, it has to make money to continue getting updates, and I know everyone out there understands that."

If you have heard the news about RuneScape 3, you fall into one of two camps. You're either really excited and cannot wait for this new version of one of your favorite games or you really don't see what the fuss is all about. It's possible there is a third category for those who are interested but have played the game only once or twice. I easily fall into the first category, and I think the announcement of RuneScape 3 isn't important because it represents a new version of a long-running and very successful browser-based title; it's important because it will represent a massive shift in mobile technology and in how people perceive MMO gaming on a mobile device.

So many people seem to think that tablet or smartphone gaming is different from gaming on any other device. It is different in the way we interact with the game, in the way that we actually hold the tablet or touch the screen, but the device itself is just a smaller version of the ever-familiar PC, the personal computer. RuneScape 3 could prove that a tablet or smartphone is just as good as any other delivery system -- and in many ways, it might be superior.

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While still technically beta, Neverwinter joined the rank and file of MMOverse three weeks ago with a soft launch. Since then, the game has experienced its share of issues, bugs, and exploits. To address those, as well as give players a heads-up on what's incoming, Lead Producer Andy Velasquez shared the fantasy game's first State of the Game address.

Velasquez jumped right into discussing the bugs and exploits that have affected the game since open beta started and outlined the fixes that were implemented to squash them. He went on to talk about the top issues that the team was working on currently and then reveal what players can expect to see in the next few weeks. A Public Test Shard is coming to Neverwinter (to hopefully catch bugs and exploits before going live), as is new endgame raid PvE/PvP content called Gauntlgrym. Other new content includes updates in the Foundry and new companions, zones, mounts, mechanics, Paragon Paths, and a new "ranged" class.

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.

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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!]

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]

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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]

Even as a mere mortal, Billy Batson stood up to injustice. And now, thanks to the powers granted him by the ancient wizard Shazam, Billy can turn into a mighty lightning-infused warrior to fight against injustice, evil... and whatever opponents happen to queue against him! Joining the pool of available champions in Turbine's upcoming MOBA Infinite Crisis, the superhero formerly known as Captain Marvel (name officially changed to Shazam in 2010) hails from the Prime Universe and brings the power of lightning front-and-center as a melee enforcer.

Want to catch of glimpse of Shazam's powers and abilities like Speed of Mercury, Power of Zeus, Lightning Field, and Mystic Power/Defense? Then watch the champion reveal video after the break.

[Source: Turbine press release]

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So funny story: In planning out in advance what I wanted to talk about in this biweekly Neverwinter column, I had selected something that recently caught my eye about the game and made me happy. That something was the Neverwinter Gateway, a web portal that allows out-of-game players the ability to fiddle with their character sheets, auctions, professions, guilds, and mail. I thought -- and I still do -- that this was a nifty service that deserved a day in the sun.

As I was getting set to write that column, Neverwinter's economy exploded and then imploded over the course of a weekend, thanks to a nasty exploit that involved, yup, the Gateway. Suddenly my topic had to shift from "isn't this a neat tool?" to "check out what the tools are doing with this tool." Seeing the economy effectively destroyed in a matter of hours and how Cryptic Studios dealt with this PR nightmare might be old news at this point, but it's definitely worthy of reflection, analysis, and speculation as to how trust can be rebuilt in this fledgling title.

Let's get cracking -- we have a lot of ground to cover!

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If you follow Star Wars: The Old Republic at all (and judging by the response to our tip line, you do!), you've heard the hullabaloo involving crystals and account bans going on right now. It appears some players have found they can bypass the fee necessary to unlock crystals account-wide in the Collection UI by spawning multiple crystals and using the Legacy system to trade those crystals to alts. As a result, a number of accounts have received temporary bans for exploiting. However, a number of players also claim they were caught in the cross-fire just for having a large number of legitimate crystals in their inventory, not realizing that was considered an exploit.

BioWare has issued a statement that it is aware of the situation and is actively investigating and that more information will be posted when it is available. In regard to the deleted and locked threads involving the issue, BioWare also reminded players that posts discussing exploits or action taken against accounts is not permitted on the forums.

[Thanks to all who sent in tips!]

I don't know if SOE has any plans to capitalize on the wave of Superman hype sweeping the nerdosphere on account of Zack Snyder's upcoming Man of Steel film. The firm's DC Universe Online title features the big blue boy scout rather prominently, of course, and the timing seems right if there aren't a bunch of legal stumbling blocks.

SOE has done movie tie-ins with an MMO before, way back in 2005 when its Rage of the Wookiees expansion added a bunch of Episode III-themed content to Star Wars Galaxies. Last summer, though, the firm didn't really acknowledge Christopher Nolan's final Batman film in DCUO, so it may not be in the cards for Supes either.

Regardless of what actually happens, would you like to see appropriate movie tie-in content in certain MMOs? Or do you prefer to keep the properties separate?

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!