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MechWarrior Online previews BattleMech upgrades and pilot skill trees

Matt Daniel — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, MechWarrior Online

A couple of days ago, Piranha Games -- the studio behind the upcoming MechWarrior Online -- gave us a look at the role-based warfare and character progression we can expect from the robot-fighting title. As we reported last week, players in MWO will fall into of four roles: scout, assault, defense, or command. Today's update on the game's official site gives us a closer look at the various ways that players can earn XP and on what they can spend it. For instance, every 'Mech will have an upgrade tree, which is divided into tiers. Players must spend experience in order to purchase all of the upgrades on a given tier before they are able to access the subsequent tier.

To get a look at the various abilities and skill trees through which players will be progressing when they finally find themselves in the cockpit, just click on through the link below to the official MechWarrior Online site.

MechWarrior Online previews BattleMech upgrades and pilot skill trees originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Behind the Mask: The choice of team support

Patrick Mackey — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Behind the Mask

Last week's Behind the Mask covered Champions Online's super team support solo monster, the Mind, but I thought it would be prudent to cover the other ways a player can support a team. Some of this will tread existing ground, as I've already talked about the Mind and Grimoire archetypes in previous editions, and both have one of the four team support options.

I'll be covering the Mind's passive in more detail, taking a brief look again at the Grimoire's passive as well as covering the other two options, Seraphim and Medical Nanites. While we don't have a Celestial archetype just yet, it is only a matter of time before Cryptic adds one, so this will give a bit of a preview for what a Celestial healer plays like.

Continue reading Behind the Mask: The choice of team support

Behind the Mask: The choice of team support originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Caravan security missions marching to Final Fantasy XIV

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Previews, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

The list of features being added to Final Fantasy XIV in patch 1.19 just keeps growing. Not only will players be able to ride on the back of a chocobo, but a new set of missions for caravan defense will let players beat marauding fiends away from those selfsame yellow birds. And there are even Grand Company seals to be obtained in the exchange, which just sweetens the deal for players investing time and effort into the system.

Each of the Grand Companies will have a different caravan to protect and will enlist the aid of full members in ensuring the caravan's safety during its march from an aetheryte camp to one of the nearby hamlets. Monsters will attack the caravan in turn, sometimes driving off birds and sometimes outright damaging the cargo, and it will be up to players to feed, calm, and protect the chocobos laden with supplies. Once the caravan arrives at its destination, players will receive seals based on how much cargo actually made it to its objective -- a chance to earn more currency and get some nice experience out of the event.

Caravan security missions marching to Final Fantasy XIV originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Behind the Mask: The best defense isn't a good offense

Patrick Mackey — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Behind the Mask

Blocking is one of the elements that separates Champions Online from just another MMO. Along with combat movement, blocking turns CO from another game of "1, 2, then 4 until dead" into a dynamic action experience.

Blocking reduces incoming damage by a ton, even with no investment in upgrading it. It also gives you sizable energy boosts for every attack you block, which gives you comeback potential. Many players block only charged attacks, and even more simply never block. While it's important to block charged attacks, blocking isn't just for the few times when those happen.

Continue reading Behind the Mask: The best defense isn't a good offense

Behind the Mask: The best defense isn't a good offense originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyperspace Beacon: Find your focus

Larry Everett — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, New titles, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon

Thanks to the new advanced class page on the Star Wars: The Old Republic website and MMORPG.com's interview with Georg Zoeller, we now know quite a bit about the skill tree breakdown of each advanced class. However, over the next few weeks, I want to take a look at a few of the classes and read between the lines of text. Several abilities are listed for each class, but how do they fit together? What does the complete package look like?

The Jedi Knight looks to be one of the most popular classes to play. After all, what kid growing up didn't have a fantasy of wielding a lightsaber just like Luke Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi? I'd like to give a general overview of the advanced class abilities and collate a comprehensive list of the announced abilities. Follow me beyond the cut to see how these puzzle-pieces fit together in SWTOR.

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Hyperspace Beacon: Find your focus originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Behind the Mask: The numbers are coming

Patrick Mackey — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, PvE, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Behind the Mask

Last week threw a bit of a wrench in my plans. I intended to interview a very prominent member of the Champions Online community for this column, but I was sidelined by the flu and some dental work. This delay means that things must be pushed back and shuffled around while some old ideas will come to the fore.

This week, I decided to cover a controversial topic: Inertial Dampening Field. However, IDF affects player survivability in a very particular way, and in my 40-plus weeks of writing about Champions, I've neglected to cover one basic thing: how defense actually works. If you don't know how defense, dodge, and linear damage reduction work in tandem, it's hard to understand just how powerful IDF can be.

I think this week's column would be very valuable to a lot of players, but it is pretty complicated, and the math involved will throw a lot of people off. I'll cover the nitty-gritty math and the rules of thumb, but if you're casual, this is going to be hard to swallow. Like my guide on gear (and the more recent forum post), this is one of those things most people will have to read a few times. As a side advantage, much of this information can be transferred to Star Trek Online, since it uses similar defense mechanics. If you don't want to worry too much about the specifics, hit the jump and scroll to the bottom, where I'll sum up all the essentials.

Continue reading Behind the Mask: The numbers are coming

Behind the Mask: The numbers are coming originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Questionable freshness

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game mechanics, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

We've been on a bit of a kick for new players lately, and that's not by coincidence. Sure, City of Heroes has a well-established playerbase by this point, but it's not like the game is exactly hostile to new players. And while I wanted to do another session of questions and answers, I wanted to wait until I had a good crop of questions that pertain to the newer crowd -- players less familiar with the game or with a given archetype, players who are interested in learning more but unable to find a cogent resource amidst scattered threads on the forums and one-off references in posts.

Let's face it, after nearly seven years, a lot of us don't need or want references to these things any longer. We don't need someone explaining to us about Enhancement Diversification or why someone other than the healer asks what you need for a wakie when you die. A newer player might have no idea about these things, though, and so we're mixing up the format a bit here. Let's get back to basics and look at some questions that might seem simple if you know the answer -- but don't tend to get answered if you don't.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Questionable freshness originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday Livestream: Eskil Steenberg's LOVE

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Events, in-game, Massively Meta, MMOFPS, Love

Hey everyone, it's your favorite day -- Friday! The weekend is fast approaching, so let's kick it off by checking out a brand-new game!

This week's topic of the livestream is LOVE, the single-man MMO created by Eskil Steenberg. LOVE is a surreal fantasy where players fortify their settlements against waves of hostile computer-controlled tribes. However, LOVE doesn't stop the players at creating just fortifications alone! Players can terraform the environment, lay down power lines to defensive weaponry, construct buildings, and more!

So please, ~~hit the play button above to watch the livestream~~ narrated by Seraphina Brennan, or double-click the video to be taken to our Livestream page, where you can chat with other Massively users in real time, talk with Sera, and learn more about LOVE or the MMO industry at large!

Update: Thanks everyone for coming! The stream may be over, but you can catch a re-run of it by pressing the play button above! Enjoy!

Friday Livestream: Eskil Steenberg's LOVE originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Siren server breaks 2,000 Aht Urhgan defenses on Final Fantasy XI

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Culture, Events, in-game, PvE, Consoles

The city of Al Zahbi, the jewel of the East, is besieged on all sides. Her enemies build their reinforcements, storm through the outlying regions, and then beset their rage upon the walls of the city itself. But there is one hardened group of adventurers who will not let them pass -- who will not let the city fall. The Siren server.

Congratulations to the Siren server of Final Fantasy XI for having over 2,000 successful defenses of Al Zahbi without losing the city once! Yes, that's right, Siren is undefeated when it comes to stopping the hordes of beastmen from tearing the city apart. In fact, out of all of FFXI's 32 servers, they are the only undefeated server.

This also means that Siren has never lost the city in over three years of gameplay. Al Zahbi was released in the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion pack, which arrived to all territories in 2006. So cheers to you, Siren, for three years and 2,000 defenses of Al Zahbi. Keep that Astral Candescence safe!

Siren server breaks 2,000 Aht Urhgan defenses on Final Fantasy XI originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tabula Rasa's shutdown salute schedule

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, PvE, Tabula Rasa

Listen up, soldiers! We're going to post this once and only once, so I want all eyes and ears on this blog post! Do you get me!?

*Waits to hear the chorus of "We get you, sir!" coming from the computer monitor.*

We have gotten word from AFS High Command that the Bane are preparing for an all out attack against the Allied Free Sentients in Tabula Rasa. This will be the single largest troop movement that the battlefields have seen to date. This is why all soldiers are being asked to fortify all AFS bases in preparation of an attack on Saturday at 8 PM GMT for the Centarus (EU) server and again at 8 PM CST for the Hydra server.

These attacks will be lead by the infamous Neph, cousin race to the benevolent Eloh. Neph are the most intelligent commanders that the Bane has to throw against us, but we will fight them back!

The attacks are expected to last until midnight GMT and midnight CST. If we are unsuccessful with our defense, and should we be overrun, then we will make sure that their victory will cost them everything! The Penumbra Division has been ordered to ready the last resort weapon and only fire it should we still be under attack at midnight. If we're going down, we're taking them, and the server, with us!

Hoo-rah, soldiers!

Tabula Rasa's shutdown salute schedule originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champions Online answers on shapeshifting and defense systems

Kyle Horner — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, New titles, News items, Champions Online

Defense, defense, defense. This week's bout of questions followed succinctly by answers moves through the ins and outs of how Champions Online's defense mechanics work. While this isn't 100% brand new information, it's quite thorough. Also discussed are the specifics about tweaking powers, like making a one-off electric AoE into a toggle ability that you don't have to worry constantly tapping in combat. However, the downside is that it gains a recharge.

Another subject addressed was the matter of whether or not Cryptic plans to have shapeshifting powers -- something of a hot topic in the forums. The answer was not at launch, but the team most definitely wants to do it. Simply put -- and we know this isn't the first time you've heard this -- they want to do it right, and give shapeshifting the right amount of time and budget.

Champions Online answers on shapeshifting and defense systems originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:00:00 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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Age of Conan's defense system detailed

Kyle Horner — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Age of Conan, Game mechanics, News items

Everyone is familiar with the tried-and-true combat systems found in just about every MMO to date, although more games are becoming the exception as time goes on. Age of Conan happens to be one of those exceptions and with its very active directional combat system comes some new ways to manage your defenses during the heat of battle.

Funcom has gone and made an informative overview of all the different ways to 'defend thy self' in their upcoming Hyborian online adventure. It's a good thing they have too, because there is a lot to consider when keeping your head firmly attached to your body in this game.

Continue reading Age of Conan's defense system detailed

Age of Conan's defense system detailed originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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