Massively

The Daily Grind: Do you like need vs. greed loot distribution?

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

MMO gaming: It's all about the loot.

OK, maybe not all about it, but there sure is a lot of thought and angst devoted to the items that fall from various AI-creature piñatas -- who got the best stuff, who didn't get any stuff, and how it's not fair that he got better stuff than you did.

Different games may offer different methods of loot distribution, like a round-robin option or Guild Wars' pre-assigned drops, but need before greed is still a long-standing and familiar method. So what do you think? Does the system, which relies largely on players rolling fairly, still work well, or has its time passed?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Do you like need vs. greed loot distribution? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wings Over Atreia: Boss world tour -- Eltnen

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Wings Over Atreia, Guides

They're big! They're bad! They're da boss(es)! And they've got your loot!

That's right: Lurking about all corners of Aion, powerful monsters beckon (lure?) Daevas with promises of tantalizing loot and illustrious glory. Who doesn't like the rush of downing a powerful foe or nabbing a coveted item?

Previous tours of Heiron and Inggison scouted out said monsters and offered some tips as to who was worth fighting and who should be avoided when hunting alone. Those lands focused on higher-level players. However, with double XP weekends throughout January, there will undoubtedly be an influx of players in the lower levels. What better time to take stock of the bosses available to this crowd?

This week, Wings Over Atreia takes a tour of Eltnen to expose the available bosses to treasure-hungry Daevas. Be warned, though: The opportunity to take on these behemoths may be short-lived during a time of double XP, especially when combined with mentoring. So before you move on to bigger, brighter lands, take a moment to stop and smell the roses -- or kill the bosses, as it were.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Boss world tour -- Eltnen

Wings Over Atreia: Boss world tour -- Eltnen originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fallen Earth's newest patch aimed at improving a life of crafting

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Crafting

Crafting has always been one of the major elements of Fallen Earth, and with good cause, really: you're in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and you can't just buy all your supplies down at the S-Mart. But that doesn't mean crafting is all roses and happy thoughts; some items are far rarer than necessary and others present in useless abundance. It's ripe for some revisions, and that's exactly what the game's newest patch, set for release on October 4th, is meant to address.

Several recipes have been streamlined, with unnecessary parts removed from the equation to make a crafter's life easier. At the same time, craftable items are being removed from merchant inventories, encouraging players to seek out other players or assemble the items themselves. If you're feeling a bit leery of the changes, though, fret not -- you still have a couple of days left to stock up on materials.

Fallen Earth's newest patch aimed at improving a life of crafting originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What rewards aren't worth the effort?

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

A gauntlet of fiendish bosses. Horrible traps and puzzles solved in an instanced format, with no chance for other parties to help you. A collection of dangerous encounters and perilous chances with your characters, in which a single death would mean undoing hours of work. All of that work for... a cosmetic helm?

While Final Fantasy XI has some brutally difficult bosses, they drop powerful rewards. But even then, sometimes you might look at the rewards they drop versus the slightly weaker rewards available elsewhere and decide that the effort is just too much. It's not that the rewards are bad; it's that the rewards don't match up to the strategy and careful play required to have a chance.

So when have you run into rewards that don't feel like they're worth the effort it would take to obtain them? Is it a matter of too much time or too much challenge for too little benefit?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What rewards aren't worth the effort? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wings Over Atreia: Drop -n- shop

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

Hot topic! Hot topic! Fresh outta the community oven!

In a much-hyped announcement a while back, NCsoft proclaimed that drop rates in Aion were being significantly increased in the 2.1 patch. The company even employed a certain wide-eyed Shugo named Victor to outline his experiments and prove that drops now rained from the skies.

For a while, there was much rejoicing in the lands of Atreia. *cue Monty Python soundtrack* Oh, there were some naysayers who cried that an end to the economy as we knew it was at hand (not totally incorrect), but for the most part, Elyos and Asmodians alike flocked back to Aion with the promise of more wealth and gold loot. I even found that my bags could not hold everything that dropped during Taloc's Hollow runs, forcing me to to delete items in order to pick more up.

Alas -- that was then, and this is now. The pendulum has quietly swung back the other way to the what-exactly-does-a-loot-drop-look-like side. From personal experience, I can attest that getting drops now is about like pulling Stormwing's teeth... with only your bare hands and maybe some dental floss. The change is obvious, so why all the hush-hush? Currently it feels like a classic bait and switch: Market an enticing feature loudly to get players then remove it with equal secrecy and stealth. And to top that off, there are murmurs that the devs plan to implement changes that put a halt to the popular selling of loot rights. Aw, don't kick us while we are down!

Make sure you aren't on cool-down and zone past the cut to explore this bane of many a Daeva's life (drop rates) as well as the practice of selling loot rights within Aion.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Drop -n- shop

Wings Over Atreia: Drop -n- shop originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Final Fantasy XI talks drop rates and fishing woes

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Game mechanics, Patches, News items, Consoles

Drops in any MMO are sometimes a frustrating business. You can kill an enemy for its head, a clearly visible part of its body, and yet no head is dropped when it dies. You can kill a boss dozens of times before you finally get its weapon, even though that weapon is visible each time. And in Final Fantasy XI, you can fight an Ironclad Triturator without getting any sort of iron plates, despite the fact that he's both visually and eponymously covered in them. But as the latest round of questions and answers states, that's a temporary problem -- the February mini-version update will fix this oddity.

That's not the only change forthcoming, naturally, and one of the other issues addressed is the sometimes frustrating art of fishing. Rusty equipment is going to stop eating up the potentially expensive bait in the February update, and directions for fishing will be changed to provide more useful information for players. Take a look at the full rundown for more information about what's coming with Final Fantasy XI's upcoming mini-patch, with promises of a more comprehensive schedule in the near future.

Final Fantasy XI talks drop rates and fishing woes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wasteland Diaries: Serendipity tour

Edward Marshall — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, MMOFPS, Wasteland Diaries, Post-Apocalyptic, Guides

There are three new serendipity drops in Fallen Earth, one per sector. While few have been found, even fewer have been reported. The old serendipity mobs usually spawn in the same general vicinity, making them easier to harvest. That almost takes the luck factor right out of the equation. But the new mobs can spawn in different locations, possibly even at random. This adds a bit more chance to these encounters and makes them a bit more, well... serendipitous.

The old serendipity mobs in Fallen Earth have been around for quite a while now, and it's entirely possible that some of them remain to be found. Many that aren't publicly acknowledged could still be closely guarded secrets only known to certain clans or persons. But I have gathered a good deal of information on the mobs and their locations, and I would like to give you a tour of the serendipity encounters that I was able to dig up. After the cut, we will start in the southern edge of Sector 1 and work our way to Deadfall. Follow along!

Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: Serendipity tour

Wasteland Diaries: Serendipity tour originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What do you think of random loot?

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Humor

Random loot has existed in games pretty much since the first game that featured some sort of loot, and for good reason. It's not exactly a conceptual leap to assume that Ingvar the Plunderer from World of Warcraft might have a powerful axe, seeing as he swings an axe around to great effect while you fight him. And of course, when you get a random drop, you feel a rush of reward. That's discounting, of course, the many times that you don't win the roll for the drop, or the drop simply doesn't happen to be among the loot dropped for that particular run. Anyone who has done the same content time and again in hopes of a drop that hasn't come will no doubt gladly relay horror stories.

At the best of times, random rewards make you feel like you managed to break the system and get an advantage. At the worst of times, random rewards make you feel like they've robbed you of something for no good reason. It's a topic that gets brought up every so often, and it merits another go: How do you feel about random loot? Do you think it's a good system? A bad system that's a necessary evil? Or do you prefer a system akin to Guild Wars', in which most rewards are purchased or crafted rather than dropped?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What do you think of random loot? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: When have you gotten dramatic?

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Humor

Nobody likes drama in an MMO. We might enjoy pretending to have drama, but actual explosions and confrontations between players aren't anyone's idea of a good time. After all, most of us get enough of that every day at work or school. And while a small portion of a game's playerbase will throw a tantrum any time the world doesn't bow and scrape to their whims, for the most part, players understand that no one wants to play nanny. Everyone behaves like mature adults.

But there comes a time when you don't. It's a simple human frailty that sooner or later, the stars will align and you will throw a world-class tantrum about how someone else got the Ultimate Orb of Perfect Energy. All of us have done it, and odds are most of us will wind up doing it again. So when have you lost your composure and started some epic drama? Do you feel bad about it in hindsight?

The Daily Grind: When have you gotten dramatic? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Mog Log: The trial of Chains of Promathia, part 2

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Expansions, Game mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, The Mog Log

It's just as well that there haven't been any huge revelations of late regarding Final Fantasy XIV (aside from the lovely new character creation video), because we're knee-deep in the trial of the second Final Fantasy XI expansion and we've got no room for anything else. After last week's examination, which included excellent discussion and some really interesting viewpoints from the community (seriously, guys, pat yourselves on the back), we're going to dive back into the meat of the trial and try to determine the worth of Chains of Promathia via examining everything there is to examine. And that's a lot, I tell you.

Last time, we examined the use of level caps and the lack of new jobs in the expansion. The former looked awful at a glance, but upon closer examination had some notable positives. The latter was... well, it was just plain a keenly-felt omission. This week we're going to dive into what's considered by many to be the biggest part of the expansion -- something so overwhelming that its repercussions are felt to this day. No serious discussion of the expansion would be complete without this most celebrated element.

Continue reading The Mog Log: The trial of Chains of Promathia, part 2

The Mog Log: The trial of Chains of Promathia, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

A look at the big changes in Global Agenda's 1.3 patch

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, Global Agenda

The team over at Hi-Rez Studios may have bitten off just a touch more than they could chew with the 1.3 patch for Global Agenda. It's not that the patch is bad, just that they turned out to not quite be able to push some of the originally promised features through at the same time as the main patch. Of course, considering all of the stuff that is in the newest patch, that almost seems less like a drawback and more like an act of mercy. The advertised open zones and 64-person PvP Warzone will be slightly delayed, which only leaves...

...well, it leaves a whole lot of changes, starting with the massive overhauls to weapons and armor that bring the game closer in line with common genre conventions. The previous system has entirely been discarded, and replaced with four grades of quality for weapons and armor: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Epic. All grades can be obtained from vendors in exchange for credits (for common weapons), Mercenary tokens (for rare and epic weapons), or Conquest tokens (for epic special weapons). The weapons also have a chance to drop during PvE missions, with the weapons getting correspondingly stronger as the mission gets more difficult.

Continue reading A look at the big changes in Global Agenda's 1.3 patch

A look at the big changes in Global Agenda's 1.3 patch originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 May 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gameplay on parade in newest Battle of the Immortals video diary

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Game mechanics, Previews, Free-to-play, Battle of the Immortals

It's a big day for Battle of the Immortals, as the open beta has finally started on the most recent Perfect World Entertainment game. Closed beta was quite successful, with the development team rolling out requested features like improved access to the high-end Soul Gear and improved keybinding (complete with standard WASD movement schemes). To celebrate the occasion, and to give players who haven't been following the game too closely an idea of why they might want to start, the game has released its fourth video developer diary today, this time focusing on the content found within the game.

Jon Belliss, Product Manager for the game, focuses on the game's dungeons, starting off with one dubbed Knight's Jail. Everything from gameplay to rewards gets covered, complete with a semi-snarky reference that "you can complete it in ten to fifteen minutes, as long as you have a group that isn't full of idiots." He goes on to discuss the later Dragon Emperor Catacombs, which can switch between a low-level "easy mode" and a more rewarding "normal mode," and Spectre Island even beyond that. Take a look past the cut for the full diary, and keep your eyes open for more news on the open beta for Battle of the Immortals.

Continue reading Gameplay on parade in newest Battle of the Immortals video diary

Gameplay on parade in newest Battle of the Immortals video diary originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 May 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: When has an MMO bolstered your spirits?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

We've all had those days. You're sitting in traffic for hours on your way to work, you have a huge pile of things to do when you get there, you stub your toe and scrape up your arm. Even when you get home, the house is a mess and you're exhausted. Then you log in to your favorite game, and you agree to do something more or less out of a sense of boredom... and lo and behold, everything suddenly goes perfectly for you. Everything you want drops, you enjoy yourself, and you log off with a sense that the day wasn't all that bad after all. Right when you needed a shot of good luck, you get it.

Many of us use MMOs as stress releases, but when has one actually helped turn what was a boring to bad day into a good one? When has playing the game made you feel happy, renewed, and inspired? Was it a series of lucky drops, or finally managing to finish a difficult quest, or even just getting sympathy from your fellow players when everything went wrong? What sticks out in your memory when you think of dark days a game has brightened?

The Daily Grind: When has an MMO bolstered your spirits? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Professor: Epic drops have epic literary origins

Samuel Axon — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Academic

The conventional game mechanics of today's WoW-like MMORPGs are thousands of years old -- at least dating back to the Ancient Greeks. That's the thesis of Classics professor Roger Travis of the University of Connecticut in an article he wrote for The Escapist, called "Achilles Phat Lewtz."

He compared the excitement he experienced when gaining a rare drop in The Lord of the Rings Online to similar instances in Greek poet Homer's epic war story The Iliad. He also located examples of quests, guilds, character classes, grinding and boss fights in Homer's work. Check out the article; it's insightful and entertaining.

Travis also runs his own blog on the subject of relating games and ancient literary epics called "Living Epic: Video Games in the Ancient World." The various posts there are substantial and fascinating. Give it a look-over.

Professor: Epic drops have epic literary origins originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Terra Nova looks back (and forward) at the Diku legacy

Samuel Axon — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Warhammer Online, MUDs

EverQuest, World of Warcraft, The Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online and many other MMOs all have one important thing in common. Well, okay; they have a lot of things in common -- like about 85% or more of their gameplay mechanics. But the main thing -- indeed, the reason why they have so much in common -- is that they are all descendants of a kind of text MUD game called Diku.

Acknowledging that, virtual worlds blog Terra Nova published a "State of the Diku" article for the year 2008. The article was written by Timothy Burke. It's mostly a dispassionate look at game design -- serious business. Burke starts out questioning the purpose of "vendor trash" drops (or grey items as they're generally known in many popular contemporary MMOs). Then he analyzes the public quests of Warhammer Online, viewing them as a positive variation on traditional Diku design.

If you're into thnking critically about MMO design, it's worth checking out. We take for granted the fact that most of today's MMOs are based on the Diku formula; maybe that means we're clinging to old ideas that don't make a lot of sense in today's world.

Terra Nova looks back (and forward) at the Diku legacy originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

My loots, let me show you them

Chris Chester — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:32:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Endgame, Mythos, Casual

After another night spent raiding and ultimately losing the roll for some highly sought-after piece of gear for the umpteenth time, have you ever stopped and asked yourself, "Isn't there a better way they could do this?" The answer, if Stropp of Stropp's World is to be believed, may have been found by those crazy folks at Flagship Studios. Mythos, their new Diablo-killer, will be using a loot system that guarantees all players will be rewarded for their contributions to a battle. Upon slaying a foe, each player will have a separate loot screen from which they can pick up their reward. There's no rolling, no ninjaing, and (god willing) no whining.

Stropp himself wonders whether this sort of system could be adopted by other mainstream MMOs as a way to eliminate all the drama that normally surrounds the whole looting process. To me the issue seems fairly straight-forward. In a more casual game like Mythos, where the gear is really secondary to the experience, a loot system that equitably distributes loot is the easiest way to keep gamers geared and happy. But when it comes to more serious MMOs like WoW or EQ2, the gear is really an end to itself. If ever player got an epic every time they did a raid encounter, people would have finished out the content months ago. Still, it's an interest thought that'll get you thinking about how future MMOs could improve the process.

My loots, let me show you them originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Extra Legends of Norrath drops, new cards this weekend

Samuel Axon — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Events, in-game, News items, Trading card games

SOE is promoting its new-ish Legends of Norrath online card game with the not-cleverly-named "Legends of Norrath Promo Weekend." The event begins at 2:00 PM PST this Friday (November 30th) and ends at 11:59 PM PST on Sunday (December 2nd).

Players of the game both new and old will "enjoy an increased rate of card pack drops." Additionally, two nice new cards called "Laricel the Gatekeeper" and "Skyshield Maiden" will be obtainable only this weekend. So if you're a hardcore collector in the game, you'd better get to playin'!

If you're not already familiar with Legends of Norrath, it's a trading card game playable inside EverQuest and EverQuest II as well as on its own through the Station portal. Players can receive special drops in both games that add cool new cards to their decks. Think of the card game in Final Fantasy VIII, only, y'know ... less lame.

Extra Legends of Norrath drops, new cards this weekend originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments