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The Summoner's Guidebook: Upping my kill-death ratio

Patrick Mackey — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook

Those of you who have been reading WRUP know that I've been playing a lot of Kassadin lately. He's an assassin with a very high skill cap, and he's ridiculously powerful in Dominion. Kassadin is also kind of hard to play. He has a lot of strange mechanics, and his powerful tricks are somewhat unintuitive. Recently, I had a small epiphany that dramatically improved my skill. This improvement improved more than just my Kassadin game; it boosted my overall skill level with every champion in League of Legends.

Before I made this development, I was performing terribly. I ended up playing a lot of bot matches because I felt my execution with Kassadin was really awful, and every time I went back to PvP games, I felt more and more behind. Suddenly, after a string of bad decisions cost me a match, I realized something I was doing wrong and went on to begin dominating. I went from getting focused down early every fight to utterly demolishing teams and causing enemy players to second-guess fighting me 1v1 even with both of us full on life. What's the secret, you ask? I'd like to tell you, so read on!

Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Upping my kill-death ratio

The Summoner's Guidebook: Upping my kill-death ratio originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spirit Tales introduces the Lunar Fox and Maned Dragon tribes

Matt Daniel — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, News items, Free-to-play, Races

If you are allergic to stupefyingly adorable things, you may want to look away now. If you're not, you may be interested in KoramGame's upcoming free-to-play title Spirit Tales. Fans of fluffy wittle animal-people with eyes the size of some small galaxies will find themselves right at home with the two newly announced tribes, the Lunar Fox tribe and the Maned Dragon tribe.

Each tribe has its own unique classes available to it; the Maned Dragon tribe sticks to tradition with the mainstays of Warrior (which plays the role of defender) and Archer (which supplies ranged DPS), while the Lunar Fox tribe bring some magic and cunning (and lots of DPS) to the table with the Sorcerer and Assassin classes. The full details on each tribe and its respective classes can be found over at the official Spirit Tales forums.

Spirit Tales introduces the Lunar Fox and Maned Dragon tribes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now you don't see him: Meet PlanetSide 2's Infiltrator

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Classes, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2

He's the boogeyman whom battle-hardened soldiers fear and the guy whom Batman consults with on a daily basis. He's the Infiltrator, PlanetSide 2's sneaky assassin, and he won't stop coming for you until you are dead. Unless he gets lost. Planets are big.

SOE revealed the Infiltrator today as the game's stealth-user and long-distance sniper. Using advanced technology and camouflage systems, the Infiltrator can get to places that no other class can -- and do a lot of damage once there. Interestingly enough, while the Infiltrator lacks heavy armor, SOE does claim that the class' tactical advantages will prove to be just as protective as a titanium suit.

Infiltrators can use both sniper and scout rifles as well as pistols for close-quarter combat. The sniper rifle boasts the best range, while the scout rifle is better for mobile assault missions. It will, of course, be up to the player to decide whichever is the best to use in which situation.

Now you don't see him: Meet PlanetSide 2's Infiltrator originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wakfu open beta starts January 4th

Jef Reahard — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play

Ankama and Square-Enix have announced that Wakfu's open beta will begin on January 4th. The date will also mark the release of content update 0.311, which will bring a new achievement tracking tool and the Srams Shadow class to the game. The Shadow is an assassin archetype who comes complete with invisibility mechanics and the ability to dish out considerable melee damage.

The devs will also be wiping the servers for the open beta phase, but contest, promotional items, and holiday event items will persist through the reset. Ankama is also temporarily removing two classes (the Ecaflip and the Rogue) for further balancing. Look for the Rogue and its rival Masqueraider to make their return shortly after Wakfu's February launch.

[Thanks to AterNox for the tip!]

Wakfu open beta starts January 4th originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SWTOR: So you want to play a Sith Inquisitor

Matt Daniel — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, Guilds, Launches, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic

OK, enough of these goody-goody Jedi, all right? It's time to come to the Dark Side of Star Wars: The Old Republic, where the Sith Inquisitor reigns supreme. The Inquisitor fills a variety of roles within the ranks of the Empire, from healing to ranged DPS to melee DPS to tanking. There's an option for any playstyle, which makes the Inquisitor a great character for the indecisive among us. Also, you get Force Lightning, so that's pretty cool.

On your journey as a Sith Inquisitor, you begin as a slave who has recently discovered his (or her) Force-sensitivity. As you arrive at the Sith Academy on the red planet of Korriban, you're faced with a simple choice: Become Sith -- or die.

Continue reading SWTOR: So you want to play a Sith Inquisitor

SWTOR: So you want to play a Sith Inquisitor originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively Exclusive: WindSlayer 2 dev diary looks at melee classes

Matt Daniel — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, News items, Dev Diaries

Last week, Ignited Games announced the upcoming 2-D side-scroller WindSlayer 2. This week, the title is back for more with a new developer diary that looks at the game's melee classes. Those who prefer to go wading into battle on the front lines will have three choices: the valiant Warrior, the dexterous Rogue, or the enlightened Monk.

For the full details on each of these classes, head on past the cut for the full dev diary. And once you're done, don't forget to head on over to the game's official site (linked below) to register for a shot at a spot in the closed beta test.

Continue reading Massively Exclusive: WindSlayer 2 dev diary looks at melee classes

Massively Exclusive: WindSlayer 2 dev diary looks at melee classes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blade & Soul beta videos show more Assassin footage, dungeon combat

Jef Reahard — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Blade & Soul, Dungeons

Blade & Soul's closed beta phases are a tough ticket for American game journalists, but luckily many of the Korean testers have been capturing their experiences and uploading the videos to YouTube.

MMO Culture has collected a few of these choice morsels, and there is a range of gameplay on display including more Assassin class combos and abilities (this time in a game context instead of a promotional clip) as well as quite a bit of dungeon-crawling footage.

The videos, which you can view after the cut, show a mixture of solo and group play in a couple of different environments. While most of the clips are around 10 minutes in length (or under), there's quite a lot to take in if you're unfamiliar with the martial arts MMO. Blade & Soul is being developed by NCsoft and is currently undergoing its second Korean closed beta test. The company has yet to announce plans to market the title in Europe or America.

Continue reading Blade & Soul beta videos show more Assassin footage, dungeon combat

Blade & Soul beta videos show more Assassin footage, dungeon combat originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blade & Soul Assassin abilities on display in new video

Jef Reahard — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Blade & Soul

Say what you will about NCsoft's mysterious Blade & Soul import, but it certainly brings its share of eye candy to the table. MMO Culture has posted a new video featuring the martial arts MMORPG, and the clip centers on the nimble Assassin class and its deadly array of combos and fighting abilities.

The video runs under two minutes and is basically a series of one-on-one combat vignettes. If your Korean language skills are up to the task, you might be able to decipher the various intertitles and subtitles that accompany the presentation. If not, you can still get a feel for how the class is going to play thanks to the footage, which you can view in its entirety after the cut.

Continue reading Blade & Soul Assassin abilities on display in new video

Blade & Soul Assassin abilities on display in new video originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist uncovers Shadowbane: Talking with Josef Hall and Todd Coleman, part 1

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, PvP, Massively Interviews, The Game Archaeologist

After a couple of weeks of talking with players about their favorite experiences in Shadowbane, I decided it was high time to flip the discussion from those who played it to those who made it.

Today we're going to kick off a two-part interview with the makers of Shadowbane, Josef Hall and Todd Coleman. It's interesting to realize that while MMOs come and go, many developers remain in the industry, moving between projects in surprising ways. In this case, both Hall and Coleman went from the brutal lands of cutthroat PvP to a colorful kids title: Wizard101. It's hard to imagine two MMOs being more different, but that goes to show you that developers, like gamers, don't always like being pigeonholed into specific roles. The duo were extremely eager to talk about Shadowbane, as you'll see from this interview. Buckle up -- you're in for a treat!

The Game Archaeologist: Can you introduce yourself to us and explain how you became involved with Shadowbane?

Josef Hall: I'm Josef Hall, co-founder of Wolfpack Studios, the creator of Shadowbane. Currently, I'm the Vice President of Development at KingsIsle Entertainment, creator of Wizard101.

Todd Coleman: And I'm Todd Coleman, co-founder of Wolfpack. I'm currently the VP of Production and Creative for KingsIsle. Josef and I still work together; we were the two first people brought in start the dev studio for KingsIsle here in Austin.

Hall: In fact, Wizard101 was our idea, which is a bit odd, given that we were also the first two people to come up with the core idea behind Shadowbane.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist uncovers Shadowbane: Talking with Josef Hall and Todd Coleman, part 1

The Game Archaeologist uncovers Shadowbane: Talking with Josef Hall and Todd Coleman, part 1 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist jacks into The Matrix Online: Jamming with Ben 'Rarebit' Chamberlain

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, The Matrix Online, The Game Archaeologist

When we started into The Matrix Online month last week on The Game Archaeologist, one of the comments caught my eye. Massively reader stealthrider wrote:

Please, please do a tribute to Rarebit. MxO was his baby, and no one took its death worse than he.

He did everything for that game, much of it single-handedly. Everything from playing the canon characters and co-writing the story to fixing hundreds of bugs and even creating a new zone from scratch. Not to mention developing and implementing the story missions, new items, the RP item vendors, and pretty much everything else in MxO's final couple of years. He even implemented and moderated a player-created minigame as part of the official story.

He retired from game development in the months before MxO's shutdown. He was that dedicated to this game that he couldn't work on anything else afterward.

He's a god among developers, and he is as sorely missed as the game itself.

I think this sums up how many Matrix Online vets feel about Ben "Rarebit" Chamberlain. So instead of a mere tribute, we drove the MassivelyMobile over to Chamberlain's house (read: send a polite email request), and he graciously said he'd be glad to reminisce with us. So hit that jump to find out the last word on MxO from the dev who held it together!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist jacks into The Matrix Online: Jamming with Ben 'Rarebit' Chamberlain

The Game Archaeologist jacks into The Matrix Online: Jamming with Ben 'Rarebit' Chamberlain originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 May 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Enter at Your Own Rift: Zero-sum game

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift

Ever since I started following RIFT, I've been entranced by the wide-open -- but not limitless -- class system. After all, the virtual world and everything populating it is only half the game; the other half resides in the avatar that sticks with you while you explore it all. Many MMOs have interesting ways of letting you build and grow your character, but sooner or later they come to a point where there's little more to be done other than incrementally increasing your stats by gaining better gear.

Not so with RIFT, as even a level 50 can drop a few coins to shape a completely new build from scratch. No longer are we bound to a rigidly defined creation; we are free to experiment, tinker, and try out these roles to our hearts' content.

With RIFT's soul system, there are a few ground rules that everyone learns early in the game. You can have up to three souls in your archetype active at any one time; you can only spend as many points in a build as you have in levels (such as 10 points at level 10); and you'll end up with 66 points at level 50, which means that you'll at least dabble in a second soul tree with every build. And while you can certainly spread soul points across all three trees, today I wanted to look at the benefits of a zero-point soul, the "third wheel," if you will, of builds.

Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Zero-sum game

Enter at Your Own Rift: Zero-sum game originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guild Wars 2 designers discuss the last three Guild Wars 2 professions

Rubi Bayer — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, News items, Guild Wars 2

Are the Mesmer and Assassin returning to Guild Wars 2 or not? Speculation on these two professions has been ongoing and enthusiastic among Guild Wars fans, and designers Eric Flannum and Jon Peters added a hefty dose of fuel to the fire in their interview with Eurogamer today.

The two didn't offer a definitive answer on these two classes but hinted that the Mesmer profession might not be returning exactly as we know it. Jon Peters commented that "people who enjoy that playstyle will be happy," but didn't offer further clarification. Eric Flannum did confirm that we have one more light armor class and two more medium armor classes -- what those are remain to be seen, hopefully very soon.

Check out the full interview at Eurogamer.

Guild Wars 2 designers discuss the last three Guild Wars 2 professions originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forsaken World's assassin slices and dices

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Previews, Free-to-play

"By the time you see one," Perfect World Entertainment promises, "it's already too late." Of course when you do see one of Forsaken World's assassins, your last thought may be, "Where are all your clothes, girl?"

The assassin is the focus of Forsaken World's latest class spotlight, and if you're thinking "rogue" right now, you're not too far off the mark. This class, playable only by Human and Kindred characters, certainly seems to embody many of the typical qualities of a MMO rogue, from dual-wielding to stealth attacks to working off a combo points system. However, they do get a few interesting abilities, such as being able to run down fleeing opponents with as much mercy as you might expect from an assassin.

The class spotlight also lists a few of the assassin's skills-in-progress, which include a brief increase to run speed, the ability to enter and remain in stealth even while in combat, and transferring a slow effect from yourself to your enemy. You can read the full rundown over at Forsaken World.

Forsaken World's assassin slices and dices originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamescom 2010: BioWare reveals 10 new advanced classes for TOR

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Previews, Star Wars: The Old Republic

We've known for a while now that Star Wars: The Old Republic is planning to offer players two different specializations for each class, but up until now we've only heard of a couple of them. Today at Gamescom, however, BioWare unloaded the names and loose descriptions of ten advanced classes. The best part? No Bothans died for this information.

Darth Hater reports that imperial agent characters will have the choice between specializing as snipers (long-range DPS) or operatives (who use stealth and short-range weapons to get up close and personal). If a bounty hunter is more to your liking, then the choice between a powertech and a mercenary should get your imagination racing. Over on the Republic side, troopers will sign up for either commando or vanguard training. Commandos are the tanking line, although we don't know much about vanguards yet. SWTOR-Station spied a Zabrak trooper at the BioWare booth, indicating another possible race for the class.

Force-users are also in store for powerful upgrades. The villainous Sith inquisitors choose their path between a more Force-happy sorcerer or the twin lightsaber-using assassin. Their counterpart, the Jedi consular, has a similar decision to make: that of a shadow, who can use double-bladed lightsabers, or a wizard, who uses a single lightsaber but can heal. Are Star Wars fans ready for wizards and sorcerers in their MMO? Somehow, we think so.

Gamescom 2010: BioWare reveals 10 new advanced classes for TOR originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Assassin's perch

Krystalle Voecks — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Age of Conan, One Shots

With so many headed to the rich new lands of Khitai in Age of Conan's recent expansion, Rise of the Godslayer, what's an assassin in the old world to do? Well, if you're Conumdrum from the Wiccana server, finding a good perch and waiting for an unsuspecting fool to wander past might seem like a good idea. He writes in: "A lone assassin sits high on the Black Temple in Khemi, watching over the empty streets as everyone heads to Khitai." We suspect he got tired of waiting and eventually joined everyone adventuring in the new lands. More people to kill there, after all!

One Shots relies on great reader screenshot submissions, so if you're playing a game that doesn't get love as much as you might like, please take a moment and send us some of your favorite screenshots. Just email them in to oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post them up here and give you the nod for sending them along!

Gallery: One Shots: Gallery II

One Shots: Assassin's perch originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Soul of the Ultimate Nation sees the spreading Shadow

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Trailers, Classes, Patches, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Soul of the Ultimate Nation

It might seem like everything is all fine and dandy in Soul of the Ultimate Nation, but there's a shadow on the horizon. More specifically, there's Shadow, the newest character added to the game. A combination of dark sorcery and assassin skills form Shadow's potent, solo-friendly skillset, something the game's development team had been hinting at since the beginning of the year. But that's hardly all that's new in the game, which has expanded the high-level content as well.

Player characters over level 100 have access to nearly two hundred added quests, as well as new high-level areas in Helron's Castle. Neville's Swamp and Bronze Moon City, as well as the area conquest for the aforementioned castle, are all open. To cap off the experience, players have access to the fourth village in Soul of the Ultimate Nation, giving high-end players a spot where they can congregate with one another. Rather than forcing you to just read the text, however, we have both a set of preview images in our gallery, and two trailers for the update embedded past the cut.

Gallery: S.U.N.: Shadows Fall

Continue reading Soul of the Ultimate Nation sees the spreading Shadow

Soul of the Ultimate Nation sees the spreading Shadow originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Celebrate the summer in Perfect World International

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Perfect World International, Patches, Free-to-play

Grab your beach towels, slather on the sunscreen, and slip on a pair of shades, for the summer is upon us! Just because we love MMOs doesn't mean we can neglect healthy seasonal traditions. Perfect World International is excited about the summer as well, and is ushering in an ocean's worth of new content for players to dive into a month early.

If a makeover is your thing this season, then you'll be thrilled to know that you can finally switch between the Demon and Sage paths with a new conversion feature. Maybe you want to see what it's like to be a good girl or a bad boy, for once. The neglected Tideborn players won't be left out of the beach party, either -- they can now acquire Demon and Sage skills, as well as a few other new skills for the Assassin and Psychic classes.

Grab a few pals for a quick game of "Kill the Nien Beast," as the grumpy Gus returns for another swipe at Archosaur. This Public Quest was so popular during the spring that it just had to come back for round two. Finally, for the remainder of the month of May, catch a wave at the Double XP Event -- hang ten with double XP, double Spirit and double items!

Continue reading Celebrate the summer in Perfect World International

Celebrate the summer in Perfect World International originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Anvil of Crom: Class selection guide

Jef Reahard — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Classes, Opinion, The Anvil of Crom

Welcome, my barbaric friends, to The Anvil of Crom. Last week we kicked around the difficult dilemma of server selections for my return to Age of Conan, and with that out of the way we can delve into some of the class choices available in Funcom's version of Hyboria. Given that I'm currently playing two rangers (one on Wiccana, one on Cimmeria), this column will ultimately focus heavily on those experiences. I'll also toss in the occasional comment on assassins (my launch day character and now an alt) as well as how my rangers fare against all twelve classes.

Age of Conan is a unique title in many ways, but none are more readily apparent than the melee combat system and the newish take on traditional MMORPG class roles. If you're new to the game or newly returned, chances are you're having a bit of a time deciding which class is right for you. If you pick one based on prior genre experience, you may find some surprises in store. Hit the link below for some basic class breakdowns as well as my reasons for going ranger.

Page 2 of 3 >>

The Anvil of Crom: Class selection guide originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Angels Online expansion introduces new class

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Expansions, News items, Free-to-play, Angels Online

Angels Online, the free-to-play MMO from IGG.com, has released its latest expansion and with it a new class for players to enjoy.

The Assassin Alliance in Eden has been in hiding, but with the new expansion comes the Floating Island, the place that appears to have served as a shelter for the alliance. With its appearance, the Assassins are pushed into the spotlight and have become an available player class: "With the Evil Lyceum gaining in power, the fate of the holy land in danger, the Assassin Alliance was forced to come out of hiding and confront the rising power of evil."

The assassin's strengths, weaknesses, and attributes are going to be familiar to most MMO players, so they'll be a welcome addition to the game. Assassins in Angels Online are quick, sneaky, and deadly with a pair of daggers. They enjoy some pretty devastating class-specific skills such as "Shadow Blade", "Avatar" and "Assault", as well as the highest agility in the game and the ability to enhance their weapons with debuffs.

More information on the new class is available at Angels Online.

Angels Online expansion introduces new class originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perfect World International gets a brand new expansion pack, "Rising Tide"

Seraphina Brennan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Perfect World International, Expansions, Patches, News items

If you're a Perfect World International player, then it's time to visit the seas and flirt with mermaids! The game has recently unveiled their next expansion, Rising Tide, and it's set to unlock the mysteries of the depths. But who needs mystery when you're getting a brand new race and public quests?

As the seas of the game have become corrupted by dark forces, the remaining members of the newest player race, the Tideborn, have turned to the land to request assistance in their fight. Tideborn players will find themselves accessing two new classes -- the Assassin and the Psychic -- to utilize in their fight against the darkness. (Yes, we hear you snickering, Dead Alewives fans.)

Continue reading Perfect World International gets a brand new expansion pack, "Rising Tide"

Perfect World International gets a brand new expansion pack, "Rising Tide" originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A retrospective of Aion's first month (part 2)

Brooke Pilley — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Massively Hands-on

Continue reading A retrospective of Aion's first month (part 2)

A retrospective of Aion's first month (part 2) originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aion Abyss rankings show assassins like it on top (Korean)

Brooke Pilley — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Classes, News items

We stumbled upon this interesting Aion chart that shows off the current Abyss rankings on the top five Korean servers. There are a few things you should know before drawing any absolute conclusions. First, the list only ranks players by their total Abyss Points (AP) and doesn't factor in many of the variables associated with AP gain (e.g., solo, group, PvE, PvP, exploit, etc.). Also, it doesn't necessarily reflect class imbalance issues (power or population), but we're sure that's the conclusion most people will jump to.

After tallying up the class numbers, you can see that Assassins seem to be dominating the Abyss rankings, while Spiritmasters are at the bottom. Of the top 100, 48 are Assassins and 2 are Spiritmasters. With three classes tied for second and a few others not far behind, at least that seems quite balanced in terms of class spread. Exploitation is also mentioned in this thread and there appears to be one blatant case of it in the rankings (i.e., the level 30 Ranger with the top rank for his server). PvP games inevitably result in lists like this and it will be interesting to see how things pan out on the North American servers when Aion launches later this month.

Want to know more about Aion? NCsoft invites you into the world of Atreia where the Elyos and the Asmodians fight each other and the evil Balaur for control of the shattered planet. Check out out all our coverage of this highly anticipated MMO!

Aion Abyss rankings show assassins like it on top (Korean) originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guild Wars' August update targets underpowered skills

William Dobson — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Classes, Game mechanics, Patches

While there wasn't a proper skills update last month in Guild Wars, the one prior to that did a lot to improve underpowered skills for the Ritualist and Paragon professions. For August's update, which is now live, the Arenanet dev team opted to continue their assault on weak abilities. Some of the more significant changes made were:

Assassins have had their area-of-effect damage options increased
Improvements were made to Rangers pets (for PvE only)
Dervishes had their survivability improved somewhat
The Elementalists Air Magic line was made more useful for PvE, and Earth Magic was given more offense options for PvP

Check out the latest Guild Wars Developer Update to get all the details on August's PvE and PvP balances, or see the patch notes in their entirety here.

Guild Wars' August update targets underpowered skills originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What are SWTOR's three final classes? part 2

Kyle Horner — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Continue reading What are SWTOR's three final classes? part 2

What are SWTOR's three final classes? part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Delving into the archetypes and specialty classes of Aion

Brooke Pilley — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Classes, News items

The folks over at Ten Ton Hammer have been cranking out a number of features that examine the various class archetypes and specialty classes of Aion. So far, they've produced two game guides showcasing the Priest and Mage archetypes and had four interviews with NCsoft discussing the Gladiator, Templar, Ranger, and Assassin specialty classes.

When creating a character in Aion, you must initially choose one of four available archetypes. Anyone who has played a fantasy MMO or RPG in the past decade or so will find them quite familiar. They are the Warrior, Scout, Priest, and Mage.

Once you reach level 9, you're sent on a quest to discover your true identity and ascend to daevahood. The quest is like Red Bull - it gives you wings. At this point you must choose a specialty class defined by your original archetype. Warriors become Gladiators or Templars. Scouts become Rangers or Assassins. Priests become Clerics or Chanters. Mages become Sorcerers(esses) or Spiritmasters.

By our count, TTH has covered half the archetypes and specialty classes so far, so keep your eyes peeled for the second half coming soon. We'll also bring you our own impressions of these classes when beta permits. So far, we've been limited to testing some pretty low level characters.

Delving into the archetypes and specialty classes of Aion originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warrior Epic goes into closed beta... again

Seraphina Brennan — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-play, Warrior Epic

The Possibility Space powered MMO Warrior Epic is about to open the doors to their closed beta later this month, offering players to visit their website and press the register button to apply for a chance to play the game.

And if anyone's deja vu sensors are going off, you are indeed correct -- this is Warrior Epic's second closed beta. The change is the addition True Games Interactive, the brand new publisher backing Warrior Epic. The game has seen some changes since we last looked at it, like the removal of the Dreadnought and Vanisher classes, the addition of an Archer, and some name changing for the old Zambrano. Although, the Dreadnought's face is still lurking on the website (he's the background), so perhaps our tanky friend is just waiting in the wings for some action.

The free-to-play title is also sporting a brand new eye-candy filled website, featuring new screenshots, concept art, and desktop backgrounds for the Warrior Epic faithful. We're interested to see how Warrior Epic has evolved from our first impressions on the game last year, and will be keeping up with any new developments with this title.

Warrior Epic goes into closed beta... again originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Beware the black cat

Krystalle Voecks — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Age of Conan, One Shots

We've seen ninja kittens before, but never Assassin pets! But sure enough, we opened up our mailbox and found this screenshot of Age of Conan sent in to us by Rasos. Attached to the screenshot was the following note: Here's a shot of my assassin, Rasos, in Age of Conan, taking a break on the rooftops of Khemi with his best feline friend. We know it's a bit off the beaten path, but it's certainly very cute!

Do you have a screenshot of your favorite pet? Or perhaps you just happen to have a pet that nobody would expect? Whatever your game, reason, or rationale, we want to see your screenshots! Send them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with a quick note on whatever you'd like to tell us about it.

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Beware the black cat originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Age of Conan patch notes for the 17th of July

William Dobson — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Bugs, Patches

The next weekly update for Age of Conan has been deployed, and while it's not the PvP patch, there are a number of things to be happy about this time around. Along with the expected patch notes, Funcom decided to post their reasoning behind the bigger changes in the patch, something which they hope to do every week from now on. After the break, we've made a shortlist of some of the more interesting changes, and due to popular demand we've also included the entire patch notes for your perusal.

Continue reading Age of Conan patch notes for the 17th of July

Age of Conan patch notes for the 17th of July originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch notes available for AoC's 10th of July update

William Dobson — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Bugs, Classes, Patches, Quests

The next major patch hits Age of Conan's live servers today. The patch notes are lengthy, chocked full of details on all of the quest, item, UI and NPC fixes that made it in. Necromancers, Dark Templars and Heralds of Xotli took the lion's share of class tweaks, although Priests of Mitra, Rangers, Assassins and Barbarians also had some smaller changes.

Female characters received some fixes to the way they swing their weapons, and had their other combat animations corrected. Among the quest amendments, the "Obtaining the Noble Arena Key" fix stands out, hopefully allowing the poor people who could not enter the Arena in the Arsman's Tavern to finally complete their quests.

As good as all of this progress is, we're going to sound like a broken record by mentioning the big PvP update again -- can we pretty please have it next patch? You can take a look at what we do have for now in the full patch notes.

Patch notes available for AoC's 10th of July update originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guild Wars skill update: The nerfing of Shadow Form

Shawn Schuster — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Forums, Game mechanics, Professions, PvE

The ups and downs of the Assassin skill Shadow Form has been quite the topic of debate lately in Guild Wars. Back in May, the skill had its duration increased which made it the perfect skill for ecto farming builds in the Underworld. The inevitable progression from there evolved into ecto and shard prices dropping dramatically from the over-farming of all the big farm spots. However, in the June 2nd skill update, Shadow Form had quite a change. Now, the caster does 50% less damage while Shadow Form is active on them. Not only that, but the Mindblade Spectres in the Underworld have received Hex Breaker to help combat the hex-based farming builds that have always been so popular in this area.

Now the question is, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing? Of course, if you're one of the people who farmed ecto with your A/E Chaos Planes farmer, you might not be very excited by this update. We've found that generally, most players do welcome this change though. Not only for the projected rise in ecto prices (making them worth obtaining the old way, and selling on the market again), but also to give a bit of credibility back to the Assassins who enjoyed their class for what it was before they became easy money-makers.

Guild Wars skill update: The nerfing of Shadow Form originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Undocumented changes for AoC 26th of June patch

William Dobson — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Bugs, Classes, Game mechanics, Patches

In keeping with tradition, Age of Conan players have found some changes that did not make it on to the official patch notes for today's update. The community's findings have been compiled into one handy forum thread, and here are some of the more significant items on the list (although the thread will likely have more added to it later on):

Barbarian talent "Cyclone of Razors" has had its damage lowered from 28% to 10% at 5 points.
Necromancers can no longer send pets to attack while hidden.
Assassin ability "From the Darkness" animation changed and damage after charge reduced by up to 70%.
Rangers mez shot seems to not be working properly.
Dark Templar's magic damage coefficient is bugged.
A bug with casting from your mount, a feature reintroduced today on the official notes. Casters can begin casting a spell while standing still on their mount, and are then free to run around while casting it without interruption, leading to easy kiting.
Still to be verified: Variety of loot from epic Kheshatta bosses increased, and new blues dropping.

Undocumented changes for AoC 26th of June patch originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on in PvP with Age of Conan's mages

Kyle Horner — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Age of Conan, New titles, Massively Hands-on

Players interested in running around Age of Conan casting magic left and right will be happy to know that in the world of Hyboria mages are quite impressive.

Some players will be slightly unhappy to hear that there is no straight-up archetypical magic user in AoC. There is no class that basically shoots fireballs while standing around like a glass window just waiting to be shattered into a million little pieces.

That doesn't mean certain classes couldn't be tweaked to play similarly to a more traditional MMO magic caster, but for better or worse you're going to have to use pets when you play a magic class in AoC. Well, unless you're planning on being a Herald of Xolti -- in that scenario you'll be using lots of demonic strength and magic.

Gallery: Age of Conan Mages

Continue reading Hands-on in PvP with Age of Conan's mages

Hands-on in PvP with Age of Conan's mages originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twelve trails of blood in Age of Conan

Kyle Horner — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Classes

Over the years of its development cycle Age of Conan has seen a lot of class changes and mergers. After all this time Funcom has settled on providing players with four archetypes that each have three classes to pick from, resulting in a total of 12 classes. Each class in AoC has a specific set of skills, but none are fully pigeonholed into any singular role. We've gone ahead and created an easy-to-navigate list of the archetypes and classes offered. Funcom has released more information for some classes than others, but at this point each one is pretty clear in the role they'll play in Age of Conan come May 20th.

Twelve trails of blood in Age of Conan >>>>>

Gallery: Twelve trails of blood in Age of Conan

Twelve trails of blood in Age of Conan originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Preview Age of Conan's city of Kheshatta

William Dobson — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Age of Conan, Lore, Previews

RPGVault has gotten their hands on a mysterious letter from an assassin, apparently a henchman of Thoth-Amon, who has been assigned the weighty task of murdering the priest of Ibis -- also known as Kalanthes. The assassin is stationed in the city of Kheshatta to do his master's bidding, and from his letter, it seems that he's a little worried about rumors of a new hero that is on Kalanthes' side and might make his job even harder.

Luckily, he wasn't so worried that he couldn't snap a few screenshots to send along with his letter. Age of Conan's city of Kheshatta is surrounded by unforgiving desert, and the city itself houses a mass of sinister-looking spires, with a significantly taller tower in the middle. We already know that it's the place to be if you're a lion, but it looks like there's some fun to be had for the rest of us too, with blood being spilt inside the city walls in one of the included screens. Have a look at the rest of the screenshots and the full letter, but don't wait around for any further correspondance -- we have a feeling this is the last we'll hear from Khalid ibn Rashid.

Preview Age of Conan's city of Kheshatta originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2 Aion character classes video

Akela Talamasca — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Video, Aion, Classes, New titles, Previews, News items, Opinion

NCsoft's upcoming MMO Aion sure looks nice, doesn't it? Wired has posted a mini-preview of two of its character classes, the Assassin and Sorcerer. There's nothing revolutionary about these videos, but it's amazing how the right soundtrack can add so much to a simple video. Try watching them for the first time without sound enabled, and see if they're still interesting.

Aion is scheduled to be released this year on an unannounced date.

2 Aion character classes video originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Age of Conan's Assassin class is stealthy, badass

Samuel Axon — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Classes, Interviews, New titles, News items

Ten Ton Hammer has published the fourth in its series of "class interviews" with Funcom. Previously it spoke with the Age of Conan devs about the Dark Templar, the Guardian, and the Conqueror. This time it's the Assassin.

You can read the interview for all the details, but the gist of it is: Asassins use stealth and quick bursts of high damage melee attacks in tandem with poison and debuffs to fell opponents quickly. As a counter-balance to their extraordinary offensive capabilities, they are very weak in terms of defenses. They wear thin silk armor because it allows them to move freely and silently.

So the class is about 90% the same as the Rogue class in games like World of Warcraft. Unfortunately, "Assassins do it from behind" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Check out our Age of Conan interview and video footage, and our gallery of new artwork!

Age of Conan's Assassin class is stealthy, badass originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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