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The Road to Mordor: The truth behind weapon damage types

Justin Olivetti — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST

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

Part of the allure of Lord of the Rings Online is its surprising depth and complexity, particularly for those who like to get the best performance out of their characters. Part of the frustration of LotRO is its obtuse or absent explanations behind the many systems in the game.

One of these systems remained on the outer edges of my attention span until one day I gave it my full focus. This was the field of weapon damage types, a subject I was vaguely aware of yet assumed I didn't have to know much about it to get along in the game. After some examination, I realized that while you don't need to understand weapon damage types to have an enjoyable play experience, it does affect the game in a small but important way.

So if you've ever wondered what "Beleriand" or "Westernesse" in your weapon tooltip was all about, today's column is here to help you navigate the somewhat confusing area of damage types.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: The truth behind weapon damage types

The Road to Mordor: The truth behind weapon damage types originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Setting the universe on fire

Brendan Drain — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, Opinion, EVE Evolved, DUST 514, Sandbox

This week CCP Games announced the name and focus of EVE Online's upcoming summer expansion. The Inferno expansion aims to re-invigorate PvP with some long overdue gameplay changes. CONCORD-sanctioned wars will be iterated on for the first time in half a decade, and faction warfare will hopefully be getting the updates it should have received in 2008. Following on from the success of the Crucible expansion with its hundreds of small features and gameplay changes, Inferno will also contain dozens of small gameplay changes, usability fixes, and minor improvements.

We'll hear more about DUST 514 in the coming months as CCP reveals more concrete details of the game's link to EVE Online and the motivations behind planet-bound wars. Incarna fans will apparently also see some movement, with Team Avatar focusing on avatar-based updates for this release. While Inferno is a rather uninspired name and coincidentally would make three of the last four expansions start with the word "in," the expansion's content is genuinely exciting. Fundamental changes are coming to EVE's PvP mechanics for the first time in several years. CCP hasn't revealed the exact changes, but that hasn't stopped players from speculating on what might be heading their way.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I speculate on the changes coming in the upcoming Inferno expansion and what changes I think might be coming to EVE's PvP.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Setting the universe on fire

EVE Evolved: Setting the universe on fire originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Perfect Ten: Excuses for ditching a dungeon run (from least to most insane)

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Humor, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous, Dungeons

I never knew I suffered from narcolepsy before I started playing MMOs, but it only took a few late-night dungeon-runs before I started to experience extremely rapid transitions between being an active member of my team and snoring somewhere in the vicinity of the WASD keys.

I'm not saying that all dungeons are boring or anything, but rather that when you start one, you've kind of committed to seeing it through (unless you're the jerk who always teams up with me through the LFG tool). Unfortunately, that means you're locked into an unknowable span of time during which narcolepsy, hunger, and brilliant flashes of insight about how to cure Chronic Giggling Syndrome (CGS) can strike. What can you do? Usually, nothing other than to suffer through the slow plodding of your four other ball-and-chains and start burning small sacrifices to your deity of choice in hopes that this run will end soon.

Or you can pull out an excuse and get out of Dodge. I'm not saying you should use these every night -- you will build up a very negative reputation, quickly, if you do so -- but sometimes you just need an escape hatch so you can go sleep, eat or call the CGS laboratories in Albuquerque. That's what I'm here to help you with today by providing 10 tested excuses to ditching that disastrous dungeon run and getting on with your life.

Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Excuses for ditching a dungeon run (from least to most insane)

The Perfect Ten: Excuses for ditching a dungeon run (from least to most insane) originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mark Jacobs elaborates on departure from EA Mythic

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous

It's been a couple of years since Mark Jacobs abruptly left -- or perhaps was let go -- from EA Mythic, but curiosity around the split persists in the MMO industry. Yesterday, Jacobs opened up about the event that occurred after EA's acquisition of Mythic and BioWare.

Long story short: The merge brought about changes, and Jacobs wasn't on board with them. "They made a decision on a direction they wanted to go and obviously, as we put out in our joint statement, that wasn't a direction that had a role for me, or at least the role that I wanted. It really is as simple as that. Or at least publicly. Whatever went on behind the scenes, whatever we talked about, I have no intention of sharing that," he said.

Jacobs insists that EA has been kind to him in the subsequent years. "One thing I'll say publicly about EA, they have been very good in what they've said post-departure regarding me. Similarly I've been good about what I've said about them post departure."

He has since gone on to form a new company to create social and mobile games. In an ironic twist, Jacobs says that the idea for getting into the social gaming market took root while he was at Mythic, but he left before acting on that notion.

Mark Jacobs elaborates on departure from EA Mythic originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alter-Ego: Five favorite Fire tank powers

Krystalle Voecks — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Classes, Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, DC Universe Online, Alter-Ego

I'll admit it: Of all the powers I've played with in DC Universe Online thus far, the Fire and Ice powersets are undoubtedly my two personal favorites. Normally I'm not so much the tanking type, but there's something about these two trees that just satisfies the comic book nerd in me. I grew up watching my favorite heroes taking on incredible odds, being beaten down, and triumphing at the end of the day. However, as in any MMO involving endgame raiding, no man is an island. While I might enjoy standing toe-to-toe with the bad guys, if I don't have a good group behind me, there's only so much I can do before I'm spending quality time with the defeat button.

This is where I have to note that specific endgame "builds" don't appear to be quite as easy to create in DC Universe Online as they are in other games such as World of Warcraft. As DCUO is still in its infancy, there are many players who are working hard on theorycrafting statistics. This means that there simply aren't any 100%-perfect cookie-cutter builds everyone adheres to as yet. Still, there are some power choices that seem to be fairly popular for Fire tanks in this early stage, which is what we'll be taking a look at this week.

Continue reading Alter-Ego: Five favorite Fire tank powers

Alter-Ego: Five favorite Fire tank powers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Disabled man uses Evony to call for help during house fire

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, News items, Free-to-play, MMORTS, Miscellaneous

If a toaster caught on fire in your kitchen, it would be a small matter for most of us to put it out. Not so much for Bob Chambers, a 51-year-old Indiana man suffering from Muscular Dystrophy. While playing Evony, a Facebook MMO, in his living room, Chambers noticed the smoke but was powerless to put it out, get to the phone or flee the house.

So instead, Chambers asked his fellow Evony players for help, who in turn called the police and fire department to save the man. Initially, the 911 dispatcher wasn't sure whether the call was a joke or not, but he contacted the proper authorities anyway. The fire was quickly put out and Chambers kept from harm.

Chambers' wife used to dislike Evony, but now she has a different perspective on her husband's hobby: "I hated this game because he doesn't pay attention to me or anything else in the house. Now I've got to bite my tongue because it saved his life quite possibly."

[Via Kotaku]

Disabled man uses Evony to call for help during house fire originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life competitor Blue Mars drops PC development for Apple's iOS

Justin Olivetti — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Blue Mars, Virtual worlds, Miscellaneous

If you were hoping that Blue Mars was going to rise to directly challenge Second Life's virtual world dominance, you may be in for disappointment today. In a letter to Avatar Reality's fans, CEO Jim Sink announced that the company is restructuring and dropping Blue Mars' PC development to focus solely on Apple's iOS. As a result, Blue Mars is now Blue Mars Mobile.

"With over 50 million new tablet devices projected to reach consumers this year along with tens of millions of iPhones and iPod Touch devices, the market for Blue Mars Mobile is a massive opportunity for our company and our customers. We already have a functioning alpha in house and we aim to release the first builds of Blue Mars on iOS next month," Sink said. Sink also announced that a number of Avatar Reality employees, including himself, have been let go from the company.

Unfortunately for PC users, Avatar Reality is limiting development to mere bug fixes for the forseeable future. While the company will not charge users of the PC client, there will also be no technical support for the user client.

Second Life competitor Blue Mars drops PC development for Apple's iOS originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vindictus gives characters a moment around the campfire

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Vindictus

The focus that Nexon has pushed with Vindictus has been one of non-stop, no-holds-barred action. While that's not a bad thing in any sense, it does lead one to wonder if there will be anything but the non-stop slaughter to deal with. As it turns out, there will be a feature in the game not just allowing players a brief rest, but actually encouraging one -- the campfire. Long known as a place where adventurers can congregate and rest, campfires can be built mid-dungeon and provide not just a chance to stop and chat, but also offer vital services.

Obtained from an NPC early in the game, campfire kits and books allow players to put a campfire together, giving them small buffs that increase the longer they sit by the fire. The fire improves attack, defense, and health regeneration, with greater bonuses coming the longer you enjoy its warming presence. It also offers a more subtle benefit to players by allowing the repair of any damaged items. Although you can only assemble one per dungeon and gain no protection while sitting at the fire, it seems that Vindictus has built in a mechanic to encourage the party to sit down and chat for a minute or two before resuming the charnel-house slaughter.

Gallery: Vindictus campfire preview

Vindictus gives characters a moment around the campfire originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Die in a fire: A look at Rift's pyromancers

Justin Olivetti — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Previews, RIFT

In the hearts of many gamers, it seems, is a deep and abiding love of fire. Disturbing, perhaps, but understandable. Almost everything is better with fire, after all -- and Rift's creators acknowledge this as they revealed their flame-happy pyromancer. Their motto is as poignant as it is simple: "I say fire is a weapon, a friend, a state of mind, and that the bold man and the craven burn just as fast."

The pyromancer has a singular purpose: destruction, and lots of it. Almost all of his spells are bent to unleashing wave after wave of blasts, flame and immolation until the pyromancer's enemies are smoldering wrecks. Following the long-range glass cannon playbook, the pyromancer is deadliest from afar, but quite vulnerable if an enemy closes the distance to melee. Fortunately, some of his skills help to keep mobs from getting close.

From chunks of magma, to classic fireballs, to fire-breathing attacks, the pyromancer is perfect for players who want to watch the world burn and be the ones who live to tell the tale. We're sure to hear more about this explosive class as the release date nears.

Die in a fire: A look at Rift's pyromancers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An update on revealed power sets at the Champions Online site

William Dobson — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Champions Online

When the Champions Online official site unveiled the full Electricity power set a week ago, they promised that further sets would be revealed over the coming days. They made true with that promise and we're here to round up what's been shown thus far:

The Electricity set, where the revealing-spree began
The Fire set, which excels at damage-over-time and area-of-effect damage
Power Armor, a set that centers on toggling the various weapons on your suit of armor -- check out the Power Armor trailer to get an idea of how it works
The Force power set, which allows for powerful knockbacks and protective force fields

In addition to previewing the abilities for these sets, Cryptic and IGN also put out a trailer that looks at a bunch of melee powers (and as a bonus, Teleporting) in action. There should be more reveals on the way and we'll probably do another round-up when there's a decent swag of new ones. In the meantime, you can see all the outed powers at the new Power Sets section of the Champions Online site.

An update on revealed power sets at the Champions Online site originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champions Online dev Brian Urbanek discusses combat mechanics

William Dobson — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, Champions Online

The folks at Champions Online Daily News recently interviewed Brian Urbanek, who works with combat and related systems on Champions Online. The interview is full of juicy information regarding various aspects of the game's combat mechanics, and how the developers have sought to make Champions different from other MMOs in this particular area. The idea of a long fight meaning increasingly diminished resources was thrown out in the early stages of development, before Urbanek had arrived at the team. There will be a lot of strategy in using build-up attacks "that create energy so that during the combat players can moderate their own actions to their own advantage."

As well as this, each power set will have a unique secondary mechanic that advanced players will be able to use to gain an edge in combat. Using the fire set as an example, Urbanek explained that ambient heat sources could be absorbed by this type of character, providing self-heals and a constant feeding of energy for bigger attacks. The heat sources will be made by the player themselves, by lighting up an enemy or the environment. Urbanek also gave a detailed description of how an electricity character's secondary mechanic would work. For that and more, be sure to check out the rest of the interview.

Champions Online dev Brian Urbanek discusses combat mechanics originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Lifers raise funds for Australian fire victims

Tateru Nino — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, News items, Second Life, Virtual worlds

One of the defining characteristics that is often remarked on about Second Life users is their generosity. Not that they're necessarily a soft-touch, but they're kind in often unexpected ways and tend to be strong supporters and organizers of charity efforts.

Fires are still burning out of control in the state of Victoria, in South-Eastern Australia. Thousands have lost their homes. Some areas are inaccessible for searchers, but a little under 200 people are known to be dead so far, and thousands have lost everything, and are in need of food, clothing, shelter, and medical care.

A number of Second Life users and content-creators are pitching in to raise funds for the relief effort.

Continue reading Second Lifers raise funds for Australian fire victims

Second Lifers raise funds for Australian fire victims originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Only you can prevent Guild Wars fires

Elizabeth Harper — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, Guild Wars, One Shots

Regina sends us this striking forest fire shot from Sacnoth Valley in Guild Wars: Eye of the North. And the Sacnoth Inferno isn't just a pretty piece of scenery: Regina points out that these trees do cause Burning. Our question: can you put this fire out, or do these fires literally burn forever?

We're looking for One Shots submissions and hereby challenge you, good readers, to send in your screenshots and stories! Were you there when Morpheus walked among us in The Matrix Online? Do you have screens of when Luclin came in EverQuest? Were you around for the opening of the Dark Portal in WoW? Send your screenshots to oneshots@massively.com and you could find your shot and story featured here for all to see!

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Only you can prevent Guild Wars fires originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The illusion of Second Life government

Adam Holisky — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Second Life, Politics, Virtual worlds

Tateru Nino's recent post about F.I.R.E., an organization claiming to be Second Life's first political party, reminded me of a blog I wrote in 2005 about Second Life's de facto political parties. It's well worth the read, if only for the humor factor, but the gist of the article was basically that several political parties are starting to informally emerge in the arena of ideas. In today's article I would like to discuss two of the most passionate and vocal de facto parties whose debate rages on even today...

The Nation Party - Those who believe that Second Life is a "world," a "nation," or a "country," and should be treated as such which includes the formation of a government.

The Platform Party - Those who believe that Second Life is client-server software owned and operated by a private company and should be treated as such.

What should be an obvious and quick debate can actually become quite sticky, especially when the definitions of terms like "world" and "government" can vary from formal to casual usage, and when the legitimacy of a term's usage may vary with scope. It becomes even more confusing when the nature of Second Life itself creates an illusion that resembles something profoundly familiar to us for which we have deeply-held, preexisting expectations.

Continue reading The illusion of Second Life government

The illusion of Second Life government originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life politics ... on FIRE

Tateru Nino — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Second Life, Politics

We got a press release from a group named F.I.R.E. It's kind of odd, really - as they claim to be Second Life's first political party (they're not, in fact. While Second Life has no governmental or political structure, there are various small private governments that have political parties of their own). Reading through the press release we get the feeling that they're more of a lobby group of sorts, which makes them one among many.

If I'd gotten this on or around the first day of April, everything would be crystal clear. As it is - even as someone who lives and works in Second Life every day - I'm not having a whole lot of luck making much sense of what this is all about. The full release after the fold.

Continue reading Second Life politics ... on FIRE

Second Life politics ... on FIRE originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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