MOBA

Looking for a beefy enforcer who can dominate close-range combat in Infinite Crisis? Look no further than Gaslight Joker, the newest champion spotlighted in Turbine's ongoing DC-centric MOBA video reveals.

Turbine says its laughing butcher can throw hams at enemies with the Shower of Filth skill, sending them running in fear and debuffing them for good measure. The video touches on a number of other Gaslight Joker skills, too, both passive and active, and it shows off a good bit of Infinite Crisis gameplay footage in the process. See for yourself after the cut.

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"Imagine an experience with the action of Street Fighter inside a story and land like World of Warcraft, all blended into a fast-paced Call of Duty style arena." That's how 8 Bit Studios describes its newest MOBA Kickstarter project entitled Skara: The Blade Remains.

Skara looks to be high on the action with combat based on actual attack directions and multiplayer combos. This Kickstarter campaign has just begun, but offers some exciting rewards, including a digital copy of the game as low as the £15 tier.

Check out the project page and the informative video -- featuring some pretty sweet dev facial hair -- just after the jump.

[Thanks to Alex for the tip!]

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Instead of just rolling out a wall of text to discuss the changes and updates hitting League of Legends in the 3.7 patch, Riot Games offers players a video preview to get a glimpse of what's to come. And among the goodies is one of the most player-requested features -- Custom Item Sets.

Want to create a specific set of items, tailored to individual champions and/or maps before you get into a match and the fighting begins? Or how about just browse through the entire item shop on PVP.net just to see what's available? Both will be possible with the new Custom Item Sets feature. Initially, these custom builds will be stored on players' local machines only, but the devs plan on adding server-side storage in the future.

The video also discusses some balance changes to the champions Rumble, Twisted Fate, Caitlyn, and Nunu. Check out the specifics after the break.

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I'm always looking for things to teach players in the Summoner's Guidebook. We have, however, covered a lot of the low hanging fruit in one way or another. In League of Legends, and virtually every other asymmetric competitive game, matchup knowledge comprises the huge bulk of information that is truly useful to read about. This week was originally going to be a counter-Ryze guide, but then I decided to cover a broader topic to help reach more people.

I don't really like discussing specific character matchups largely because the character you're using matters almost as much as your opponent's. What does Ryze do against Kassadin in lane, for instance? The answer is not a whole lot if the Kassadin is decent. I could write a counter-Kassadin guide, but a lot of it wouldn't be usable by Ryze. Instead, this week we'll discuss how to think about the opponent's kit and develop a strategy to win on your own (or at least survive).

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"Dawngate is a new MOBA, built from the ground up to look and feel familiar while offering a whole new way to experience MOBA gameplay." These are the opening words of a new website for Dawngate, developed by Waystone Games and published by EA.

Joystiq notes that the Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube links on the site are either inactive or private, leading us to believe that this game wasn't exactly meant to be public knowledge just yet. There is also speculation that Waystone Games is a dev studio reborn from the ashes of Dead Space 3's Visceral Games, which dissolved last year.

You can register for the upcoming beta through your EA Origin account.

Thus far I've sat out the whole MOBA craze. I don't have a good reason, really, other than all of the rest of the games on my plate coupled with a lack of time to play them. Lately I'm getting more and more intrigued, though, and I've been nosing around websites and forum communities to see which title might make a good starting point.

SMITE looks promising, and I'm a big fan of Hi-Rez thanks mostly to all the fun I had in Global Agenda. Infinite Crisis looks cool, too, though admittedly that's because I'm an incurable fan of the IP. And of course there's League of Legends, HoN, and the other big dogs. What say you, Massively MOBA players? Do you recommend a particular MOBA for newbs?

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!

Ready for the latest SMITE character reveal? Isis is here, and Hi-Rez has published a blog post and a gameplay video heralding her arrival. The Goddess of Magic is a sceptre-wielding mage -- no surprise there -- who relies on her Funeral Rites passive ability and spiffy attacks like Wing Gust and Spirit Ball.

Hi-Rez has also tweaked SMITE's level system in the latest patch. God leveling earns you worshippers after every victory, which in turn translate to God Rank for a given avatar. The devs have also changed the old player level to something called Beta level. If you reach Beta level 30 prior to SMITE's official release, you'll get a free Ymir Cocadeamon skin. There's more info on all the changes at the SMITE website, and don't forget the Isis trailer after the cut.

[Thanks Don!]

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Diablo III was hit with yet another exploit this week as players discovered a way to duplicate gold via a bug in the auction house. Blizzard responded by shutting down the auction house but did not perform a server rollback to reverse the damage. Star Citizen clarified its stance on the lifetime insurance available to veteran backers amidst debate over whether it gives early adopters an unfair advantage over other players. Path of Exile also released a new Letters of Wraeclast lore feature in its latest update, and MechWarrior Online's update 15 added a new Misery mech.

Dota 2 began preparations for its biggest world championship tournament yet with the release of a new Interactive Compendium that players can use to stay up to date with the matches. Rise of Immortals has now officially launched its Battle For Graxia revamp, and Infinite Crisis officially entered closed beta this week with the release of new champion The Joker. Finally, Smashmuck Champions released its hilarious new community-designed champion that's half platypus and half unicorn.

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In case you didn't notice, the title of this week's column is a question. It's not because I know the answer; it's because I've been thinking a lot about it lately and don't have a really good answer.

Assassins are in a strange state when it comes to teamfights. In League of Legends, there's a period when teams tend to group up to fight over objectives. This marks the midgame in Summoner's Rift, it happens after altars unlock in Twisted Treeline, and it occurs anytime both teams know where the other team is on the Crystal Scar. We've discussed teamfights a lot already, but what is troubling is the presence of assassins in these fights. Assassins are best when they're able to jump in and kill an unprepared target, ideally before a teamfight starts. Once that's done, their team can jump in with a numbers advantage and take the objective or wipe out the enemy.

When both teams are grouped up ahead of time, assassins lose a lot of their might. Assassins can't kill without exposing themselves to heavy risk, which makes them a liability to their team until they jump in. After they jump in, they're still likely to be the first ones to get focused down.

What do we do about this? What's the solution? I don't have a clear answer -- but I can still share my observations.

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Turbine's Infinite Crisis is launching into closed beta today, and to help celebrate, the team has released a new Champion Profile to spotlight The Joker's involvement in the highly anticipated DC Comics-based MOBA.

We've seen everyone from Cesar Romero to Heath Ledger play the part of The Joker, but that evil grin is always there to remind us of just how warped this character really is. In the game, The Joker is equipped with explosive dolls and boxing glove-adorned rocket launchers to keep you on your toes.

Be sure to check out the highlight video featuring The Joker just after the jump, and sign up for closed beta if you haven't already.

[Source: Warner Brothers press release]

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Misery loves company, they say (look it up), but will people actually go seeking it? Piranha Games hopes players will, as it has introduced the Misery 85-ton 'mech into MechWarrior Online. The metal beast has an armament that includes plenty of lasers, a Gauss rifle, and an SRM-6 (again, look it up).

The new update goes beyond the debut of the Misery. There are four additional trial 'mechs to test out, color customization for Hero 'mechs, and a crazy Buccaneer premium pattern.

Read up on our preview of Update 15 and don't miss out on the video showing off the Misery in action after the jump!

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This week is packed with MOBA news as almost every major title released a new patch. Infinite Crisis introduced new champions Poison Ivy and Gaslight Catwoman and announced that the game's closed beta will start in two days' time on May 8th. SMITE introduced new Norse god Fenrir the Unbound, and League of Legends released a champion spotlight on new Ice Witch champion Lissandra. Dota 2 also released new hero Elder Titan based on the original DotA hero Tauren Chieftain, and Heroes of Newerth released several months of balance changes at once in its colossal version 3.1 update.

Star Citizen celebrated hitting $9 million US in its ongoing crowdfunding campaign, and to celebrate, developers controversially gave all current backers free lifetime insurance on their ships. The title's success has also spurred EVE Online developer CCP Games to show off its own virtual reality dogfighter called EVR that uses the upcoming Oculus Rift headset.

Diablo III's first anniversary is just over a week away; details of any celebrations haven't yet been released. Developers confirmed that the PlayStation 4 version will not be getting mouse and keyboard support and that the PC version won't be getting support for analog controllers. For those of you up for some oldschool dungeon-crawling, Diablo II also announced that its ladder will be reset on May 14th this week and all players will start the game fresh again.

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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today released two new character videos for the upcoming DC Comics-based MOBA Infinite Crisis, and we've got 'em both for your eyeballs. First we have Gaslight Catwoman, a stealthy assassin who sneaks around and teleports to finish off enemies when they least expect it. She has the passive ability to deal more damage to already-injured foes. She also launches her claws in a cone-shaped attack! MeOW!

Next we have Poison Ivy, who's all about protecting the environment. Her passive ability creates a healing ring for every sixth spell she casts; she can also cast Deadly Flora, an area-of-effect spell that heals teammates and damages foes at the same time. Bammo!

You can sign up for the closed beta at the official site, but hurry because it's due to start on May 8th, right around the corner. Click past the cut to check out the videos.

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Last fall, Zynga acquired the small mid-core, multi-platform game developer A Bit Lucky with the aim of expanding into that market. Today, the fruit of that team's labors is unveiled: Zynga announced the new 3v3 free-to-play MOBA Solstice Arena.

Solstice Arena, which is playable on mobile devices, breaks away from the tethers of the PC and hopes to introduce new players to the MOBA genre. The game offers fast matches that average only 10 minutes and three game modes to make it fun for new and experienced players alike (solo vs. A.I., co-op vs. A.I. and player vs. player) and . Heroes will earn experience as they play and have the option to progress along one of three ability upgrade paths, unlocking various ability upgrades. Solstice Arena also offers customization via skins and armor.

Want to catch your first glimpse of the game? Check out the trailer after the cut.

[Source: Zynga press release]

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Many of you already know what ARAM is -- it's a phenomenon that is hardly exclusive to League of Legends, and even in MOBAs where there isn't a map built for it, ARAM matches are played. Before the 3.6 patch, I tended to play ARAM matches either before or after my normal play sessions. I typically played a couple of games of Classic or Dominion, with a game or two of ARAM either before or after. As I've mentioned in the past, I enjoy ARAM as a way to unwind and practice without stress.

Patch 3.6 changed this by removing the Proving Grounds, replacing it with the Howling Abyss, and making ARAM a dedicated gametype with its own matchmaking. Now I play probably twice as many games as before, typically 8 to 10 ARAM games with no other matches. As it turns out, even I'm vulnerable to casual fun. The 3.6 patch also added in quite a few cool features that make ARAM much, much better than the pick-up custom games. I think that it's a great addition to League of Legends, especially for those who aren't particularly hardcore.

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