Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Behind the Mask: High speed, low drag]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/11/behind-the-mask-high-speed-low-drag/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/11/behind-the-mask-high-speed-low-drag/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/11/behind-the-mask-high-speed-low-drag/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It's not like Champions Online is the first MMORPG with travel powers. Back in the ancient days of Ultima Online, we had things like boats and teleporting spells. Getting a mobility boost to get from point A to point B is nothing unique or special.

CO has something a little different, though. Travel powers are as much a thing of individual expression as they are a transportation method. Sure, there's something to be said for riding a semi-transparent sparkling blue horse, but when you can wrap yourself in a shroud of blue fire and streak through the skies, it says a little more about your character. There's a reason I think people who still go AFK to ride griffons from zone to zone are chumps. Hopping over buildings to get to your next quest objective or sprinting at ludicrous speed into a group of foes and using the momentum to start up your attacks is the epitome of personal expression.

It's all about what you drive, and my ride is Teleportation.

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MassivelyBehind the Mask: High speed, low drag originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>behind-the-maskchampions-onlinecocrypticcryptic-champions-onlinecryptic-cocryptic-studiosfeaturedflyingkitingmobilitypvepvproleplayingsuper-speedteleportteleportationtraveltravel-powersThu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Behind the Mask: Ritual pets don't suck]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/16/behind-the-mask-ritual-pets-dont-suck/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/16/behind-the-mask-ritual-pets-dont-suck/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/16/behind-the-mask-ritual-pets-dont-suck/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Way back in Champions Online's beta, I looked on at the Sorcery pets with a little bit of disdain. They didn't do as much DPS as a pair of Munitions Bots, and many of them were tied up in annoying ritual circles that you had to constantly stand in. Being required to stand still isn't a huge problem in many MMOs, but Champions has a very fast-paced, mobility-intensive combat system. Melee heroes need to move quickly from enemy to enemy and often have to chase down runners. Ranged characters are best served by kiting during battle to elude melee foes. In this kind of fast-paced world, who has time for a pet that forces you to stick around?

Naturally, I ate my own words a month or two ago when I discovered the Primal ritual. Originally I chose the Primal ritual because his huge AoE Snow Storm was pretty darn good at thinning mobs and gathering aggro. I also really liked that he had a travel-disabling lunge. After my crazy PvP antics at the anniversary event, I also noticed a lot of other goofy things about him. I asked myself the question: Are the other rituals this good?

The answer is no, but for the most part, all of them are worth taking. Unlike most pets in CO, rituals are pretty strong. I'll be pretty sad if the devs change them too much.

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MassivelyBehind the Mask: Ritual pets don't suck originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bayonettabehind-the-maskchampions-onlinecoco-pet-systemco-ritual-petscox-mastermindcrypticcryptic-champions-onlinecryptic-cocryptic-studiosdont-nerf-me-brofeaturedkitingpet-systemritual-summoningThu, 16 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Player vs. Everything: Exploits are fun]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/player-vs-everything-exploits-are-fun/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/player-vs-everything-exploits-are-fun/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/player-vs-everything-exploits-are-fun/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Pretty much everyone knows that "exploit" is a dirty word. An exploit in an MMOG is anything that lets you work outside of the established rules of the game to do something that you couldn't normally do, usually in a way that lets you bypass or defeat content more easily than you're supposed to be able to. Finding a way to jump the fence before Arathi Basin actually starts is an exploit. Purposely glitching trash mobs into walls so that you can walk past them to a raid boss is an exploit. Killing a monster from a position where they're totally unable to hurt you is an exploit. In PvP gameplay, exploits are the kiss of death -- they break the game and make things totally unfun, because one player is cheating at the game.

But is that necessarily the case for PvE gameplay? I'm not so sure. The commonest way to avoid players using exploits to kill monsters is that when a monster decides that a player is jerking it around too much (and is able to damage it without being hurt themselves), the monster just starts evading and goes back to its starting point. It's the virtual NPC equivalent of saying, "Fine, you don't want to play fair? I'm going home." But that mechanic misses an important consideration -- it's kind of fun to find and use ways to exploit mobs.

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MassivelyPlayer vs. Everything: Exploits are fun originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 May 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanbugscheatingcity-of-heroesexploitexploitationexploitsfeaturedgame-designgame-mechanicskitingoblivionplayer-vs-everythingworld-of-warcraftTue, 06 May 2008 10:00:00 EST