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The Daily Grind: What are your plans for MMO Halloween?

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events (In-Game), Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Did you wake up this morning and forget it's Halloween? Or were you already dressed in your costume the night before just so that you could get a jump start on the day's activities? Either way, let us be the first to welcome you to this special day of the year -- especially for MMOs.

Most every online RPG celebrates the season with quirky scares, eerie delights, and the celebration of the macabre. Massively attempted to round up all of the official events for you, and even that guide is just scratching the surface of possibilities for today.

So what are your plans for MMO Halloween, and what are you going dressed up as?

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 are your plans for MMO Halloween? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively Speaking Episode 222: Trick or treat!

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasts, MMO Industry, News Items, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Wizard101, Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, World of Tanks, Miscellaneous

Never accuse us here at Massively of being prejudiced against dinosaurs. We love them. Sure, they're scaly, bitey lizard/bird/demon monstrosities, but they do make great mounts and steaks. Oh, and MMOs. We desperately need more dinos in our MMOs, which is why we applaud Wizard101 for doing so this week.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

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Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 222: Trick or treat!

Massively Speaking Episode 222: Trick or treat! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallen Earth and APB: Reloaded go trick-or-treating

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Fallen Earth, Events (In-Game), Free-to-Play, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Promotions, Post-Apocalyptic

GamersFirst is bringing scary back to two of its biggest titles for Halloween. The publisher announced special events and seasonal sales for APB: Reloaded and Fallen Earth, some of which are happening at this very moment.

Players in APB can get a preview of the upcoming Asylum District as they go there to compete in the Fright Club. A costume contest is scheduled for October 31st as well, and GMs will be present to lead a grand parade through the streets. Finally, the pumpkin-happy devs are throwing another Pumpkin Head Customization Contest with even better prizes than last year.

In the vast wasteland of Fallen Earth, survivors are encouraged to go trick-or-treating with the devs for exclusive items. The location of said trick-or-treating will be hinted at in chat. Fallen Earth is also selling its cosmetic gear for half off starting tomorrow.

Fallen Earth and APB: Reloaded go trick-or-treating originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flameseeker Chronicles: The good, the mad, and the Lunatic

Elisabeth Cardy — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles, Guides, Dungeons

Things have been getting spookier and spookier around the land of Tyria. If you're a Guild Wars 2 player, I sincerely hope for your own sake that you've been able to get some time in-game in the last few days. A lot has been going on -- there've been scavenger hunts, dark tales unfolding, spectral energy levels rising, maddening races up clock towers, and so much more!

Have you been missing out? Trying to decide how best to spend your precious holiday time in-game? Let's take a look at some of the big changes that have been creeping in with the shadow of the Mad King.

Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: The good, the mad, and the Lunatic

Flameseeker Chronicles: The good, the mad, and the Lunatic originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch Nathan Fillion, Wil Wheaton, and Felicia Day play Firefall

MJ Guthrie — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Video, Events (Real-World), New Titles, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Firefall

You can't beat getting some Halloween treats without having to go out in the rain knocking on doors. It's no trick -- Red 5 Studios is giving out plenty of goodies to FireFall fans this week. First up is hours of video featuring famous gamer stars checking out the upcoming shooter.

Last week, the studio livestreamed FireFall Fest, an event depicting a number of celebrities -- Nathan Fillion, Wil Wheaton, and Felicia Day, to name just a few -- playing FireFall along with the community. But even if you missed an episode or two, Red 5 has saved the recordings for your viewing pleasure. Check out the highlight reels of day one and day six after the break, then head to the official site for links to watch the full two-plus-hour videos for each day.

FireFall is also offering fans a special Halloween patch. Along with spooky masks and other appropriate decor, beta players will find new monsters to kill and new abilities to use. For a full list of all of the Halloween goodies, head to the patch notes.

Continue reading Watch Nathan Fillion, Wil Wheaton, and Felicia Day play Firefall

Watch Nathan Fillion, Wil Wheaton, and Felicia Day play Firefall originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guild Wars 2 preparing a Halloween surprise for tomorrow

Justin Olivetti — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Guild Wars 2

Is it a "surprise" when you know it's coming? Perhaps it's a convenient surprise that's considerate of your busy schedule. In any case, Guild Wars 2's Halloween event is building up to a big moment that happens... tomorrow. The dev team posted a heads-up for gamers to be in a certain location at a certain time on Sunday:

Act 2 of the Guild Wars 2 Halloween event is live -- enjoy the festivities! DO NOT MISS Act 3 of Shadow of the Mad King which kicks off at the lion statue in Lion's Arch at [3:00 p.m. EDT] on Sunday, Oct 28 with a very special, one-time only surprise!

Will this be a trick or a treat -- or both! -- from the Mad King Thorn? We'll just have to wait and see with the rest of you until it happens.

Guild Wars 2 preparing a Halloween surprise for tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Halloween around the virtual world

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events (In-Game), Promotions, Guides, Miscellaneous

Spooks and specters, ghouls and ghosts, festivals and frippery -- it must be Halloween season once again in MMOs! For a variety of reasons, Halloween gives blanket permission to studios to go nuts with typically the best in-game holiday of the year. I figure it's because MMO players are already in the spirit of wearing costumes, getting "treats" from corpses, and exploring all manner of creepy areas. Toss in a few pumpkins and see if you can squeeze in an homage to the Slender Man, and you're golden.

So whether or not you're young enough to trick-or-treat without shame, you most certainly can enjoy the eerie atmosphere that impish game developers create. Here's a quick roundup of several in-game Halloween events happening right now around the virtual world.

Continue reading Halloween around the virtual world

Halloween around the virtual world originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DDO unearths upgraded Endless Dead festival

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Events (In-Game), Free-to-Play

Don't be surprised that the Endless Dead are back in Dungeons and Dragons Online; after all, they're endless. We should be grateful that they bother coming only once a year instead of crashing weddings all summer. Turbine's added several improvements to its Halloween event and is excited to show you a good (and spooky) time.

The festival, which begins tomorrow and runs through November 4th, includes a special instance, cool prizes, and plenty of undead bad guys coming up for another round with your sword-and-shield. The team has increased the size of the monsters, added items like night black coffee (mmm), and dangled the possibility of accessing the Summoning Chamber, a special instance created for the event.

Get a bloody eyeful of the scares to come in the gallery below!

Gallery: DDO Endless Night 2012

DDO unearths upgraded Endless Dead festival originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA revs up Masquerade Mayhem event

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Events (In-Game), TERA

Creepy and kooky, mysterious and ooky, that's TERA's Masquerade Mayhem in a nutshell. The game's first Halloween event kicks off today with a huge assortment of activities, events, and prizes to behold.

Players will be treated to free gifts just for logging in, although it'll take some blood, sweat, and fears to earn the special costumes and mount during this event. A giant pumpkin ghost named Gourdo is haunting the various towns, and players can earn goodies by slinging pies at him. How do you get pies? From killing pie-toting mobs, of course.

En Masse also has a themed dungeon for players to investigate, but don't forget to take a break on the 30th to partake in the Masquerade Ball. You can get a pie-full of Masquerade Mayhem event in the official video after the break!

Continue reading TERA revs up Masquerade Mayhem event

TERA revs up Masquerade Mayhem event originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guild Wars 2: Shadow of the Mad King begins today [Updated]

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Patches, Guild Wars 2, Humor

The Mad King Thorn is back and he's more loony than ever! Guild Wars 2 unleashes the Mad King today in its first big update for the game. ArenaNet said that this update includes a mind-blowing 80 new pieces of content that revolve around a four-act story running from October 22nd through the 31st.

In addition to the new story, the Shadow of the Mad King update includes trick or treating, special crafting recipes, decorations across the world, mini-dungeons, achievements, and themed events.

The Mad King was a crowd favorite in the original Guild Wars, so there's certainly high expectations to see what he'll be doing this time around.

[Update: The team will be hosting a livestream devoted to the update today at 4:30 p.m. EDT.]

Guild Wars 2: Shadow of the Mad King begins today [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vanguard patch ushers in the Festival of the Grim Harvest

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Patches, News Items, Vanguard, Free-to-Play

It's that time again -- the time when every game world finds a way to celebrate something like Halloween. Of course, in a world where the dead actually do wander the world on a regular basis, the festivities take on a slightly different tone. Vanguard, for example, has ushered in the Festival of the Grim Harvest, an event celebrating the time of year when the veil between the world of the living and dead grows thin and all manner of hauntings take place.

Players looking to take part in the festival can offer their assistance to the mourning widower Jett Helond or investigate the mounting undead presence surrounding New Targonor. There are also returning enemies from previous festivals and new themed items in the Marketplace. Last but not least, the patch ushers in some performance and optimization improvements for the game client. Vanguard players can check the full notes for more details and a few welcome bugfixes.

Vanguard patch ushers in the Festival of the Grim Harvest originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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