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If you've already purchased the very expensive Legacy Pack for Star Trek Online's first expansion, there's good news to be had -- you just got more for your $125 investment. For one thing, you've got access to a new ship, the Haakona Advanced Warbird, an assault craft capable of separating into two units for maximum versatility. For another, you've got a set of uniforms based off of the Romulan outfits from the original series, if you want to really hit that "legacy" button as hard as you can.

Whether or not this entices you to drop some additional money, the latest development blog on the official site details the bonuses for slotting Romulan refit consoles together in Legacy of Romulus. These include buffs to turn rate, energy weapons, and defensive systems based on speed. The net result is that owners of both refit and retrofit versions of these vessels can access a new playstyle for the class, a new trick to surprise opponents of the Romulans. Which is apropos.

Guild Wars 2's The Secret of Southsun patch has released today, bringing with it new quests, a crab toss mini-game, traps in WvW and more.

This patch is part of the on-going content updates that ArenaNet has brought to the popular MMO since launch, including the ongoing Flame & Frost content. Word of an expansion pack came out during the NCsoft earnings call earlier this week, although nothing has been officially confirmed from ArenaNet.

Check out new screenshots from The Secret of Southsun in the gallery below, and read up on the patch at the official site.

Break time's over! Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get back to work building our latest Choose My Adventure. The first order of business is to establish the framework for the rest of our Darkfall Unholy Wars (mis)adventures.

Of course, we can't just build willy-nilly; we need to follow a plan. And as with any major construction project, we couldn't really move forward until said plan was OKed by the planning commission. So while we waited for the foundation to set, we sought approval for which type of structure to base our continuing adventures on. And as is wont to happen with committees, there was trouble coming to a consensus; even though the proposed models were all pretty similar, disagreement arose as to which to pick.

However, after some debate (one proposal won by only one vote!), we finally got the go ahead: The final word was to build a Mahirim Deadeye. I'm on it, boss!

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From tanks to planes and now ships, Wargaming is definitely known for the exquisite detail of its WWII-period vehicles. And today the company released new screenshots and renderings showing off that detail in the battleships of the upcoming naval MMO World of Warships.

While the screenshots show a variety of vessels, the renderings draw attention to the USS New Mexico, a battleship that served the US Navy for decades and was a force to be reckoned with during World War II. Get a glimpse of some of the giant warships setting sail in WoWS in the gallery below.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Sci-fi MMO EVE Online has seen phenomenal success recently, from breaking through the 500,000 subscriber boundary to successfully relaunching in China. The game officially turned ten years old today, and CCP celebrated the occasion with events and gifts for all current subcribers. The part-jovian Gnosis battlecruiser was given to every subscribed account at midnight last night and can be claimed before the end of the month, and players logging in yesterday or today will have found a whole slew of bonus gifts.

EVE smashed its previous Peak Concurrent User total during the festivities by a clear margin, replacing 2011's record of 63,170 with a new figure of 65,303 players logged in simultaneously. Part of the reason for the record was the huge number of player-run events taking place that evening, such as the ever-popular Flight of a Thousand Rifters. The event saw almost 2,500 players join together to take down player Marlona Sky's expensive supercarrier. Most of the participants were in small frigates like Rifters and ended up being easy prey when a nullsec sniper Loki fleet turned up. The event was nevertheless a massive success and huge fun for those involved. Continue reading for a gallery of screenshots from the event and video footage from player Scott Manley.

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Come next week, denizens of Middle-earth will have five new areas to explore and adventure in; Lord of the Rings Online launches Update 11: Treachery of the White Hand on Monday, May 13th. The epic story will continue in Wildermore, the remote area of Eastern Rohan, where players will attempt to restore the region from the icy destruction brought by the stone giant Núrzum.

The journey will take players through Writhendowns, The Fallows, Whitshaws, High Knolls, and Balewood where they will face Uruk-hai threats, marauding Warbands, violent Huorns, and Wood-trolls in an effort to protect the people and fight against growing evil and corruption.

Update 11 also includes a mounted combat revamp, daily Silver Hobbit Presents for logging in, and improved VIP benefits including an improved bonus experience system. The Wildermore Quest pack is free to VIPs. Check out the adventure that awaits in the gallery below.
[Source: Turbine press release]

Despite the name of the game, Dragon's Prophet does not exclusively feature dragons and prophets thereof. It also has lands for all of that to occupy. The Wynnadia zone even has houses and people living there, providing a rich background for all prophet- and dragon-related antics. It's a pleasant zone filled with rolling hills, farming communities, undead monstrosities clawing their way up from the depths, and charming beaches.

Wait, do we need to go back to that middle one?

Once in game, players will be tasked with exploring the Accursed Tower and the Nameless Keep, full of dark secrets and alluring treasure. But it's not all monster-stomping day, as the zone is also home to the cities of Zarland and Lilia, with the former composed mainly of outcasts and refugees and the latter serving as an impressive naval stronghold. While we're assured that there's danger in the zone, all of the pictures in the gallery below look more inviting than deadly.

[Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]

CCP Games has just announced at this weekend's EVE Fanfest that the wait for DUST 514 will soon be over: DUST 514 is launching on May 14th.

The free-to-play PlayStation 3 shooter is built to connect with CCP's sci-fi MMORPG sandbox, EVE Online; players in one game can directly influence the players in the other.

"Gamers can look forward to an ever-progressing game, built on the experience CCP has gathered over the past decade, as new features and upgrades are rolled out for years to come," declares the press release posted today. Massively published a hands-on with the game in January.

[Source: CCP press release]

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Continent of the Ninth Seal is preparing to unleash a raid to end all raids tomorrow. Webzen is marketing Bardiel Seal as an "extreme dungeon" that will send innocent players to their doom as they fight three new raid bosses: Molleck, Creios, and the Rebecca twins.

Despite the raid designation, Bardiel Seal only requires four level-62 players to tackle. If the bosses are downed, the game will reward the victors with some of the best armor to hit C9 yet. The fourth and final boss of the dungeon will be patched in next month.

To celebrate the release of Bardiel Seal, Webzen is handing out a reward package for returning players. Get a first look at the dungeon in the gallery and trailer below!

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As Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn takes shape, so does its website. Square-Enix has updated the official site with scads of new screenshots for many of the game's jobs and professions. We've saved you the time it would take to comb through the entire site hunting each of these down by compiling all of them in one handy-dandy gallery. Behold!

EverQuest's Shadow of Fear just launched; it's the update and second part to the Rain of Fear expansion that released in November. Yes, you read that right: This is the old-school MMO's 19th expansion. If that's not impressive enough for, the list of content that comes with the patch should hold over vets for a long time. If you're level 100, you'll be able to enjoy new zones and content and brand-new mechanics.

The essence of fear is literally raining down in the form of crystalline shards. While players fight to restore balance, an ancient city has been resurrected with no explanation. Mysteries? New content? New spells, items, missions, raids quests, and storylines to discover? Yeah, we wanted in on that. We hung out with producer Thom Terrazas, lead designer Jonathan Caraker, assistant lead designer Julie Burness, and assistant lead game designer and Douglas Cronkhite for a video tour of the new update. Read on to hear what we thought and catch the brand-new trailer too.

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I have to admit, I felt a combination of excitement and fear when I was tasked with covering the newest RaiderZ expansion, Broken Silence, because I knew that I would be challenged in a few ways. First, I had to get used to the game again. I've played it off and on and have enjoyed it until around level 10, but I am no expert. I had already experienced the fantastic non-instanced combat that the game is known for, but I still had a long way to go. Second, I knew that the game would physically punish me. After years of playing games, painting, and drawing, I can easily be forced to soak my forearms in icy water after a session of action-based gaming. Lastly, I knew I would be given a higher-level character and needed to get used to how that particular character performed. The brilliant thing about action-based games is that the person behind the keyboard matters as much as amazing armor or incredible spells. I'd have to sharpen up.

I logged into my character and discovered just how fun this game still is.

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With Neverwinter's open beta right around the corner, now is the time to get a good feel for this game world. Cryptic's released a new video and screenshots on a new region called Rothe Valley. It's a peaceful farming community that's come under attack by evil Drow who have enslaved the people. The spider-queen Lolth is behind it all, and players who want to help out the farmers will be entering her dark domain for a counter-attack.

Get your first look at Rothe Valley in the gallery below and in the video after the jump.

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I remember playing and disliking Champions Online when it first came out. My wife and I had the same reaction when we both thought it looked funky and played oddly. It was as though the game was attempting to be some sort of kitschy '60s-inspired comic book game, so it was hard to take it seriously. It just wasn't that much fun. Granted, that was a long time ago, and since then the title has changed hands, been patched up, and been smoothed over. I've played it off and on since my first experience but always felt it lacked... something.

I knew I needed to give it a second chance, and what better avenue to do it in than this very column? I've been really diving into it over the past few weeks, and I've discovered that the game is actually really good. And really fun. And that it looks good! I streamed it live just to double check, and sure enough, the game holds up well and made me so happy that I continued to try it out. I even subscribed! (Will wonders never cease?) So today, I want to tackle the game from a fresh, newbier perspective than the one taken in our weekly superhero column, A Mild-Mannered Reporter, where Eliot has been chronicling the playerbase's frustration with the game's content-update shortcomings.

Be sure to check out the embedded livestream later in the article. It really shows off how fun the game can be, as well as covers some of its finer details.

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