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Runes of Magic weekend event psyches players up for Chapter V

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Patches, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic

Runes of Magic is counting down the days until its next major update, Chapter V: Fires of Shadowforge, and Frogster is throwing five exciting events to pep up its playerbase during the wait. The Big Five, as the company is calling it, is currently at the halfway mark as its third event that will take place over the holiday weekend.

From May 25th through May 29th, Runes of Magic players can visit the Helping Hands in one of several locations in the game to get an incredible buff. This two-hour buff will boost experience, talent point, and rare loot gain for all who accept it. Players can receive the buff once a day for the duration of the event.

The highlight of Chapter V is most definitely the addition of a pair of new classes: the Champion and the Warlock. Also coming with Chapter V are the playable Shadowforge Dwarves, a new starter zone, and additional high-level instances. The update will release on June 12th.

Runes of Magic weekend event psyches players up for Chapter V originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: Hero spotlights and Diablo III confirms PvP arenas in 2012

Brendan Drain — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Video, Game mechanics, New titles, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III

This week, League of Legends revealed plans to buff support tanks in the Varus patch and change several ability power items. Riot also plans to buff Master Yi and nerf Ryze's ability to tank and deal damage at the same time. Dota 2 released an updated user interface designed to take all the pain out of using the courier, and Bloodline Champions revealed its massive $10,000 DreamHack Summer 2012 tournament.

Diablo III revealed the Witch Doctor this week, giving Diablo II necromancer fans a peek at the closest replacement they'll get in the upcoming title. Blizzard's Jay Wilson also confirmed that PvP arenas will be released long before the end of the year. Heroes of Newerth released its new support hero Ellonia, an ice mage whose abilities focus around a stacking slow debuff. Rise of Immortals released a new immortal spotlight video on popular area-effect damage-dealer Netheurgist and encouraged players to start guilds with a contest to win 1,000 prestige points for every guild member.

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Not So Massively: Hero spotlights and Diablo III confirms PvP arenas in 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Rebalancing EVE's ships

Brendan Drain — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Sandbox

Recently we heard the glorious news that CCP will be overhauling EVE Online's entire roster of tech 1 ships as part of the Inferno expansion. The overhaul will start with changes to the skill requirements for destroyers and battlecruisers and culminate in the complete removal of ship tiers and the introduction of new structured ship lines. Countless new ship types have been released since EVE launched in 2003, but there has never really been a unifying design policy on ship skills and combat roles. Now, eight years down the line, adding new ships has become a struggle in avoiding making older ones obsolete. Drastic change is needed, and when the Inferno expansion hits, that's exactly what we'll get.

When a new EVE player is ready to get into something larger than a frigate, he's currently faced with the choice of training for a destroyer or skipping it and heading straight to cruisers. Similarly, players often skip from cruisers straight to slow, bulky battleships even though battlecruisers are probably the most effective ship class for new pilots. A new system is on the way this summer, one that aims to fix this problem by introducing new racial versions of the destroyer and battlecruiser skills that must be trained on the way to bigger ships. This change should make training progression much clearer for new pilots and is just the tip of the iceberg of awesome plans in the works for the summer expansion.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I examine EVE Online's upcoming ship revamp and tell you how you may be able to get free skillpoints when the patch goes live.

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EVE Evolved: Rebalancing EVE's ships originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIFT devs on Russian revolution, improved itemization, and solo success

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Patches, RIFT

RIFT Live Producer Hal Hanlin and Systems Producer Adam Gershowitz were flagged down by fansite Magelo to tackle a grab bag of various questions about the game, including the process of injecting this title into the hearts of the Russian populace. According to Hanlin, the Russian release of RIFT was "very smooth," and he credits Trion Worlds' partner in the region, GFI, with assisting in that.

Even as itemization improvements continue to roll into RIFT, the devs state that they're constantly monitoring damage output. For the next patch, Warriors will see a buff to their DPS as attack power will be tweaked to boost the pain.

Hanlin promises that "soloable content is very important to us" and pointed at the success of Instant Adventures and the Chronicles of Telara as proof that Trion has responded to the desire for such content in the game.

The devs touch on small details from the recent patch and their vision for expert dungeons as well.

RIFT devs on Russian revolution, improved itemization, and solo success originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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League of Legends prepares for Fizz patch

Brendan Drain — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA

All this week, Riot Games has been releasing snippets of information on upcoming League of Legends champion Fizz, the Tidal Trickster. Fizz's mechanics preview gave a first glimpse into the sea monster's skills, including his ability to dodge attacks with his trident and to call a shark to eat the target enemy. A new art spotlight video gave us our first look at the champion and showed off both his signature trident weapon and one mean-looking shark. Today Riot published a patch preview video for the upcoming Fizz patch, detailing all the other changes coming with the update.

Ranged carry champions are the focus of rebalancing efforts in the coming patch, with Caitlyn, Kog'maw and Graves being nerfed and Corki, Miss Fortune and Tristana due for buffs. With tournament season approaching, Riot is being careful to make these changes very minor to avoid upsetting current lane balance. Sona's auras are being nerfed a little, which isn't a surprise as Sona's usually the obvious choice for support. The season two summoner spell changes we discussed earlier in the week will also be going live with this patch, along with revamped mastery trees. Skip past the cut to watch the full video in HD.

Continue reading League of Legends prepares for Fizz patch

League of Legends prepares for Fizz patch originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Enter at Your Own Rift: Happy half-birthday, RIFT!

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Interviews, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift

It's hard to believe -- but amazing nevertheless -- that RIFT is almost a half-year old. Six months ago, hundreds of thousands of gamers rushed through the gates to become the first to explore Telara, included me, and we were introduced to what's become one of the most dominating MMOs of the year.

Following this smooth release (and it was smooth), Trion Worlds set a remarkable standard for itself by pumping out meaty content updates at a steady, rapid pace and marketing RIFT out the wazoo. We've already witnessed two live events, numerous subscription specials, the addition of a ginormous raid, and my not having hit 50 yet -- to my eternal embarrassment. Of course, there have been bumps in the road as well: a lackluster initial world event, a segment of disgruntled players and opponents, and the looming specter of several heavy-hitting MMOs waiting in the wings.

But for right here and right now, this is Trion's time, and the company is taking advantage of this half-year milestone to light the fireworks and lay out the good china in celebration. We got on the phone with Scott Hartsman and his Justice League to talk about what the studio has up its sleeves for this event -- and what's next for this rapidly expanding title.

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Enter at Your Own Rift: Happy half-birthday, RIFT! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist uncovers Shadowbane: Your journeys

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, PvP, Shadowbane, The Game Archaeologist

Every time I tackle a new game for this column, I keep rediscovering a key truth: that there are the bare facts of an MMO that you can research and process, and there are the memories and experiences that transcend the features bullet points on the back of the box. It's always terrific to see players come out of the woodwork and say things like, "You know what really made this game special...?"

Shadowbane is proving an interesting case study as well. Because it flew so very low on my personal radar during the entirety of its operation, I naturally assumed it wasn't that good for the few souls who did play it. It turns out that I was wrong, considering just how many testimonies we've had from people who admit that if you could get past the graphical limitations and technical issues, there was a helluva game experience waiting for you.

So to follow up from last week's interview with a blogger, this week we're going to hear from Massively readers who took the time to send in their favorite memories of Shadowbane so that they could be preserved in the hallowed Game Archaeologist vaults. Let's do it!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist uncovers Shadowbane: Your journeys

The Game Archaeologist uncovers Shadowbane: Your journeys originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XIV expands details on the battle system

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

While Final Fantasy XIV doesn't go out of its way to be massively accessible, Square-Enix is clearly making a conscious effort to avoid confusion wherever possible. The official player site has been steadily receiving updates about how game systems work and what's going on behind the scenes, with the newest update discussing Battle Regimens and incapacitating body parts in combat. The systems had never been discussed in-depth before, but they now offer players a chance to understand exactly what each system entails.

Battle Regimens are distantly similar in theory to the skillchains that ruled Final Fantasy XI's combat, but they have many differences in practice. Rather than being a chained deployment of specific skills, chains of general ability types will both buff the party and debuff the enemy party. Body parts, meanwhile, are targeted and damaged by certain weaponskills, with a helpful chart explaining what skills target what and which types of monsters can be affected. While it doesn't reveal the full details of Final Fantasy XIV's combat, it should provide players with an excellent place to start understanding the system.

Final Fantasy XIV expands details on the battle system originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor

This past week in LotRO's been a bit like riding river rapids: There's been a lot of rapid ups-and-downs, violent lurches to avoid dangerous objects, and a whole lot of noise that's drowning out the calmer waters ahead. For every piece of good news and positive word-of-mouth, there's been a lot of unfortunate bumps, such as server queues, dynamic layers, mouthy trolls and Codemaster's launch delay. However, I believe it's all going to settle down in a couple more weeks, and LotRO will emerge the better for it.

So if this is your first week in Lord of the Rings Online, welcome! Find a great kinship, take time to smell the flowers, and hunt some orc for me.

Today I'd like to take a look at one of the unsung heroes of the recent content patch -- the ability to create and use plugins (also called mods and addons) to enhance your user interface. While the system is still in beta and has a rough-around-the-edges feel to it, it's already shown great potential, particularly though the creativity that mod designers are pouring into it. While there are only a small number of plugins available as of right now and Turbine has yet to expand the scope of these Lua scripts beyond constrained limits, it's not too early to beef up your UI with these spiffy additions. Read on, free peoples of Middle-internet!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins

The Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champions Online dev diary brings good tidings to meleers

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Classes, Champions Online

In a world of guns, atomic blasters, telekinetic blows and eye lasers, the superhero who relies on getting up close and personal with fists or weapons becomes the underdog. Ever since launch, melee heroes in Champions Online have struggled with the disadvantage -- perceived or real -- of having to close the gap to an enemy and wail away, as well as generally feeling Superman-levels of powerful while doing it.

Enter Matt "Akinos" Danuser, who jumps on the stage for the latest Champions Dev Diary. Six months after launch, Matt and the team spent a lot of time reworking the melee power set, with the simple yet encouraging motto of "Make it fun, make it competitive, and make it fun."

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Champions Online dev diary brings good tidings to meleers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Random acts of awesome

Krystalle Voecks — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

We've all probably had it happen. You're out fighting and someone runs past. Fwoom! Perhaps you're sitting peacefully, waiting for your party to catch up and zing! The next thing you know, there's an aura around your character as you gain a buff. Sometimes it happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to say thanks - or even figure out how the heck it got there in the first place. Other times, you'll all be standing around and someone will just randomly start buffing others for something to do.

This morning we thought we'd ask - have you ever been on either end of a drive-by buffing? If you're the buff-ee, do you try to say thanks, or do you just keep on trucking? If you're the buff-er, do you expect thanks? Or are you just having fun making other people's day a little bit better? Has anyone's run-by buffing helped turn the tide for you? Add your thoughts, stories, and other related whatnots in the comments below!

The Daily Grind: Random acts of awesome originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online balancing effort aims to return ships to proper roles

James Egan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Forums, Game mechanics, Patches

Has it ever seemed ridiculous that in the setting of EVE Online, where technology has opened up the vast potential of the galaxy, there are still aspects of being a capsuleer that are completely ghetto? The ship and capsule technologies in EVE enable you to traverse solar systems in mere seconds, unleash hails of destruction that vaporize space stations, and provides immortality through cloning... but you have to stow prostitutes, slaves, marines, and livestock in a single cargo hold? Sloshing around in there with your fuel, no less.

While the commingling of your livestock with the military forces you've rescued is hardly ranked as a critical issue in the game, not having enough room in your cargo bay for jump drive fuel is. Today's Apocrypha 1.5 release made significant changes to ships capable of using jump drives. We knew this was in the works but CCP Games didn't reveal any of the details until yesterday's dev blog from CCP Abathur titled "Regular or Unleaded?".

Continue reading EVE Online balancing effort aims to return ships to proper roles

EVE Online balancing effort aims to return ships to proper roles originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Cycle of Change...

Tim Dale — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Patches, Opinion

Logging into Guild Wars for the weekly guild night this Tuesday saw a bit of an unwelcome surprise; the personal fallout of the latest in a very long line of skill balancing patches. As a Mesmer, I'd generally done quite well out of these in recent months; a somewhat less popular class than most, they had seen quite a bit of improvement over a number of months, but this latest patch saw 'Visions of Regret' and 'Cry of Pain', two very potent skills I use almost all the time, significantly reined in.

Of course the initial reaction was one of personal indignation, coupled with envy at the perceived winners of this round of adjustments. It isn't fair! A moment of reflection however and I began to consider more than just my own side of the thing, and perhaps for the improvement of the wider game, the changes to these specific skills might indeed have been warranted, and in any event, those imposing the changes were sure to have far more data at their disposal, and a view of a much larger picture than me.

Balance is something all MMOs seek for themselves and their players, and yet very few achieve a state of equilibrium, in which all players share equal potential, equal possibility and equal enjoyment. Can the cycle of buffs and nerfs ever please everyone, or is an continual procession of patches a sign of life and vibrancy that the single player off-line game lacks?

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A Cycle of Change... originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buffs and nerfs put into perspective in CoX

Adrian Bott — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Classes, Patches

Nobody likes nerfs. Well, that's not entirely true; if we're honest, there can sometimes be a touch of schadenfreude involved in watching the smug and overpowered get nerfed, just like with any other come-uppance. But nerfs in general are unpopular and tend to stand out in the collective memory, eclipsing positive changes.

City of Heroes is no exception. The recent (and long-expected) nerfs to Energy Melee are bringing the usual complaints out: the devs are nerf-happy, why don't they just buff the others instead of nerfing us, here come the nerfs again, et cetera.

We're grateful to Tempest_56 of the CoX forums for tackling this attitude head-on, and making a thorough list of what's actually been changed in the last few issues. Since Issue 11, the positive changes to powers greatly outnumber the negative ones. It's been a long time since Enhancement Diversification and the Global Defence Nerf. When you put things into perspective, they are actually looking pretty good right now.

Buffs and nerfs put into perspective in CoX originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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