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EVE Evolved: How to fit the Enyo and Ishkur

Brendan Drain — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST

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

When tech 2 ships were first introduced to EVE Online, the first models off the production line were interceptors and assault ships. Interceptors served as agile tacklers with unmatched speed and maneuverability, while assault ships provided a slower but tankier option. Each race's assault ship had a bonus to its racial resistances, making it an incredible tank against certain damage types. This made it great for ninja-ratting in nullsec or tackling larger ships of a particular race. When subsequently released ships were also given this racial resistance bonus, the assault frigate lost part of what made it so useful. Players have begged for an assault ship buff for years, and in Crucible, it finally arrived.

The Gallente Ishkur and Enyo have always been capable PvE ships for speed-running low-level missions or ninja-ratting in nullsec, but with Crucible, they've become absolute monsters in both PvE and PvP. With the maneuverability and signature radius of a frigate but more tank and damage output than a tech 1 cruiser, both ships are incredibly fun to fly. Drone users will probably prefer the Ishkur, but the Enyo's raw damage output and buffer tank are truly terrifying.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I offer PvE and PvP setups for the Gallente Ishkur and Enyo to help you get the most out of these incredible revamped ships.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: How to fit the Enyo and Ishkur

EVE Evolved: How to fit the Enyo and Ishkur originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively Exclusive: World of Warplanes producer talks mechanics

Jef Reahard — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Historical, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Warplanes

Wargaming.net is working overtime of late, and how could it not? The company is responsible for three separate MMORPGs, beginning with 2011's successful World of Tanks and ending with the recently announced World of Battleships. Sandwiched in the middle is World of Warplanes, an ambitious aerial arcade shooter married to traditional MMO progression mechanics. The game is currently in closed alpha testing and looks to be on track for a 2012 release.

This week saw the release of the game's first advancement tree, and we took the opportunity to ask producer Anton Sitnikov a series of questions covering everything from game mechanics to player perceptions regarding the pay-to-win stigma.

Continue reading Massively Exclusive: World of Warplanes producer talks mechanics

Massively Exclusive: World of Warplanes producer talks mechanics originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DOFUS introduces Rogue and Masqueraider classes

Jef Reahard — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Dofus, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play

Class-based fantasy games aren't unusual these days; in fact, they're the standard. It's rare that such a title has more than a handful of classes, though. Then there's DOFUS. The six-year-old free-to-play title recently added Masqueraiders and Rogues, bringing the game's class total to a whopping 14.

Rogues function a bit differently than the rascally backstabbers you may be used to from other games. Rogues effectively dictate actions on the battlefield through the use of bombs and walls, which direct enemy movements and function as a form of crowd control.

Masqueraiders take their power from a variety of wearable masks, which allow the player to adopt several fighting styles. Three masks types are available: the cowardly mask (ranged damage), the psychopath mask (close combat damage), and the classic mask (crowd control). Finally, Masqueraiders can also avail themselves of several buff-type spells including plastron, tororuga, and trance. Head to the official DOFUS website for all the details.

DOFUS introduces Rogue and Masqueraider classes originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott Hartsman wraps up the sixth beta event for RIFT

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, PvP, News items, RIFT

With the open beta less than a week away, now is the time for Trion Worlds to step up and address the lingering issues RIFT has before it starts being available for general consumption. Fortunately for the development team, it's a task it's proven quite accomplished at, and the newest wrap-up for the sixth event proves that there's still a lot going on behind the scenes. Scott Hartsman takes the opportunity in the last pre-open beta wrap-up to discuss PvP in the open world, damage tuning, and the difference in raid sizes for endgame content.

As Hartsman puts it, some of the anti-PvP measures put into place will be removed on PvP servers, meaning weaker guards around hubs and destroyable wardstones. Damage levels seem to be in a fairly good place across the board from the development perspective, but they're something that will be watched closely during the open event. Hartsman also touches more on the late-game rift content and what it will mean for the game's balance and the availability of content. RIFT players should take a gander at the full rundown and get ready for the open beta starting on Tuesday next week.

Scott Hartsman wraps up the sixth beta event for RIFT originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log: Durability is counterintuitive

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Professions, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

I hadn't really understood the people complaining about repair costs in Final Fantasy XIV until I started running into the same problem they had. Oh, certainly, I knew what they were saying, but I wasn't able to replicate the problem and couldn't really speak to it as a result. In a way, that meant I was actually kind of glad when I started noticing that repairing my Iron Falchion was costing far more money than leves were bringing in. (Mostly I was suddenly wondering how I would continue playing a class I adored, but that's a different discussion.)

Repairs and item durability aren't flashy parts of the game, but they are pretty vital, since trying to work in all red gear is going to severely hamper your efforts. Now that I've experimented a bit more with durability and figured out more of how the cost is calculated, it seemed prudent to share what I know so that other players can help keep their gear in top condition. After all, you don't want to be walking around with the little Gear Damage icon unless you absolutely can't avoid it.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Durability is counterintuitive

The Mog Log: Durability is counterintuitive originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Feb 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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Warhammer Online details plans for buffing turrets and daemons

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Previews, Warhammer Online, News items

Pets of any kind can pose some issues in games. On the one hand, you want both temporary and permanent pets to provide a utility; on the other hand, you don't want someone crippled without the pet. Warhammer Online has a number of classes that use both permanent and temporary companions, and as part of the next update for the game, the team is working on making the engineer's turrets and the magus's daemons more useful for players in combat.

Both daemons and turrets will now scale with the owner's stats, allowing their growth to keep better pace with more powerful characters. Equally important, however, is the new stacking buff that both types will receive when the engineer or magus remains near their pet. The buff will increase damage gradually while the player remains nearby, up to a 20% buff to damage output. Take a look at the full details from the development team in this small preview, a welcome promised bone for Warhammer Online players.

Warhammer Online details plans for buffing turrets and daemons originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA berserker interview, part two

Jef Reahard — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, New titles, News items, TERA

TERA, the upcoming action fantasy MMORPG from En Masse Entertainment and Bluehole Studio, is looking to put a fresh spin on both genre combat and the traditional healer/tank/damage dynamic. One way the designers are attempting to do this is through individual classes that play a bit differently from what you might expect. Take the berserker for instance. Rather than opting for your standard meat shield, Bluehole has given the class significant DPS capabilities as well.

En Masse's Brian Knox and and Scott James Magner recently chatted about the berserker's unique features in part two of a lengthy interview with ZAM.com. "You want to be a target as a Berserker, but you also want to be targeting. And that's not a word we use a lot for this game. We talk about action and the way we play, but you are a destination for damage, just as you are an output of damage going the other direction," Magner says.

Check out the new interview segment, as well as the previous installment, at ZAM.com.

TERA berserker interview, part two originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: How realistic do you like your games?

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Virtual worlds

In real life, if you've not noticed, we don't have hit points. Getting stabbed by a sword once is pretty much crippling if not outright fatal. Fall too far and you don't suffer some uniform amount of damage across your whole body -- you frequently wind up breaking your legs or your spine, and it can be a slow and painful recovery process if you ever recover. We can't wander through the world without ever bothering to eat, drink, or sleep, and when you get shot to death, there will not be a fresh clone waiting to get you back into the action. In the interests of being polite, we'll not even mention the usual lack of other important facilities.

We accept that there's going to be some degree of unreal mechanics in a video game, of course, but that doesn't mean that some of us don't want the game to stick fairly close to the real world. By the same token, though, some of us take the Mystery Science Theater 3000 mantra to heart -- it's just a game, and it's not all that important if it makes real-world sense in sticky parts. Where do you fall on the scale? Do you like your games fairly realistic, fairly unrealistic, or do you not care so long as the game itself is still fun?

The Daily Grind: How realistic do you like your games? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting out in Vana'diel: See no evil, hear no evil, smell... no evil?

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Game mechanics, Guides, Leveling, Tips and tricks, Grouping, Consoles

Hola mi amigos! Hoy es la dia de Vana'diel! *clears throat* Ahem, sorry about that. Hello adventurers, and welcome to another edition of Starting out in Vana'diel! Today's topic is actually one that I find quite cool about Final Fantasy XI, especially when you compare it to other MMOs. It's the mechanic that puts the fear of Promathia into every adventurer's step.

Today's column is all about the different monster aggro types -- yes, there are different types. You want to find out more? Come, follow me, and let's find out more!

Continue reading Starting out in Vana'diel: See no evil, hear no evil, smell... no evil?

Starting out in Vana'diel: See no evil, hear no evil, smell... no evil? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analogy explains PvP basics in EVE Online

James Egan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, PvP, Tips and tricks

PvP in EVE Online can take a while to become effective at, and there are a number of factors a player must consider -- both in terms of ship fittings and tactics used -- when engaging opponents. Speed, range, damage types, active tanking vs. passive tanking, when to engage and when to evade, are but a few things that need to be taken into account.

Given this complexity, there are players in the game who've recognized that there's a real need for PvP instruction in the game and offer services to that end. Agony Unleashed stands as EVE's premier PvP school, regularly offering courses that show players how to use a given type of ship to its deadliest potential. Baka Lakadaka, of Agony Unleashed, has written a piece for EVE Tribune called "A Tale of Three Waterpistols" that could be useful to a newer player trying to get a handle on PvP in EVE. Check out his article for a look at how tracking, speed, and optimal range are interrelated in EVE, through the easily-understood analogy between children (of different sizes) shooting waterpistols at one another, and the relative strengths and limitations of different ship types.

Analogy explains PvP basics in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vanguard Game Update 6 goes live, adds free trial/newbie area

Samuel Axon — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, Vanguard

One thousand. That's how many bug fixes are in Vanguard's sixth game update, which has now gone live. In addition to the fixes, there's a new newbie area for levels one through ten called the Isle of Dawn. Word is that it will eventually serve as a free trial setting. For now, though, it's just an easy place to get a new character started.

SOE also redid character models, offering new customization options and making some changes that lower the models' system performance hit. You can keep your old look if you want, though.

The most controversial changes are a whole slew of class damage adjustments. SOE looked at every single class in the game and adjusted its damage output to ensure "that each lands in their correct place in the spectrum of classes." The details of all those changes are buried in the patch notes. Did you get nerfed or buffed? Read up to find out.

Vanguard Game Update 6 goes live, adds free trial/newbie area originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallen Earth's hit and damage system explained

Shawn Schuster — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, New titles, Academic, Education

Let's face it, we love to kill stuff in our games. It doesn't even have to be a multiplayer game where we kill each other; we just like to kill stuff, period. In this regard, when a new MMO releases, we're always curious about the combat system. Age of Conan's combat system seems to be a big hit among players, which adds so much to the overall game experience.

So when we hear about the hit and damage system in Fallen Earth, and how it will work within the game, we're even more excited about this upcoming Icarus Studios title. Apparently, as we already know, there will be a first-person and third-person view mode, but these will also change while in aim mode. It sounds to us that the whole aiming process will be handled much as is done in Tabula Rasa, except not as much of the automatic or "sticky" aiming. There's also a good discussion on weapon types and weapon damage in this article, some of which gets fairly specific when it comes to what damage these weapon types will do exactly. The rest of the damage system seems fairly straightforward, with defense skills, attributes, resistances, mutations and special items all playing a role in how protected you will be from the various weapon damage.

Fallen Earth's hit and damage system explained originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Impossible!

Elizabeth Harper — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Guild Wars, One Shots

Guild Wars photographer Paul sends in this screenshot which seems to have been taken purely to prove a point. You see, one of Paul's friends said it was impossible to do more than 280 damage to any foe. But as you can see above (click on the image for a larger version), in a delightful display of fiery carnage, each of the beasties in this shot is taking 574 damage. Mystery solved!

One Shots lives on a steady diet of your screenshots! Snapped a good screenshot lately? Tired of seeing the same old games featured? Send us shots from your favorite game! It's easy to participate -- just send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com.

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Impossible! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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