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[Hyperspace Beacon: Gameplay mechanics -- twisted and evil]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/25/hyperspace-beacon-gameplay-mechanics-twisted-and-evil/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/25/hyperspace-beacon-gameplay-mechanics-twisted-and-evil/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/25/hyperspace-beacon-gameplay-mechanics-twisted-and-evil/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

As I'm writing this, it's Sunday, and I've just finished talking to Gary Gannon and Mike B of Gamebreaker.tv. Although I had planned to talk about character creation in this week's Hyperspace Beacon because it's been such a hot topic for other games, I realized that I may have been wrong in a couple of my statements regarding the originality of Star Wars: The Old Republic's mechanics. In comments on Mos Eisley Radio, I've said that combat mechanics in SWTOR are very similar to what you'd find in most MMOs. I believe I am going to have to take those statements back, if slightly. During the conversation with Gamebreaker, it occurred to me that even though the mechanics are familiar to most MMO players, they aren't exactly structured the way most MMOs build them.

This prompted me to take a closer look at other mechanics we have been told about that differ from those in other MMOs. Is crafting different? How about other combat systems? I agree that there is an air of familiarity to all these mechanics. Why do they feel familiar? How are they different? Follow me after the break to explore these questions.

Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Gameplay mechanics -- twisted and evil

MassivelyHyperspace Beacon: Gameplay mechanics -- twisted and evil originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>action-barBioWareclassescraftingcrew-skillsEAElectronic-Artsenergy-barsfeaturedGame-MechanicsLucasArtsmanaOpinonrumorrumorsStar-Warsstar-wars-the-old-republicstoryswtorthe-old-republictorTue, 25 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Lost Pages of Taborea: A peek behind the fountain rune]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/27/lost-pages-of-taborea-a-peek-behind-the-fountain-rune/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/27/lost-pages-of-taborea-a-peek-behind-the-fountain-rune/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/27/lost-pages-of-taborea-a-peek-behind-the-fountain-rune/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Runes of Magic's fountain rune is one of many slottable runes that fall outside the standard attribute boosters. Its job is simple: It increases the rate at which you regenerate mana points. It doesn't fill up one of the six statistic slots that are burned onto an item. It gets plugged into one of up to four slots that are found randomly or drilled on accessories. It's also a great eater of time and resources to tier it in the arcane transmutor.

I've been testing a tier 4 fountain rune on two of my characters that are different levels in order to see the difference in output. If you look on the Runes of Magic Database, you'll see it says a fountain 4 adds +22 MP recovery rate. Those who use the addon StatRating will see the same figure. Now I know that the numbers that equipment and runes show are not indicative of what you actually get. I also know that StatRating is there to tell you the actual numbers you get for any stat, but 22 for a tier 4 rune sounded like a lot. It doesn't really tell you how that number is applied, but I think of mana regen in terms of ticks. If a tier 4 fountain gave +22 mana per tick, and we can upgrade it to tier 10, and we can stack different tiers on five different accessories... there's just no way that number can mean that, can it? This week I found my own answers to what the fountain rune gives you. I also share some thoughts on using -- or not using -- the fountain rune.

Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: A peek behind the fountain rune

MassivelyLost Pages of Taborea: A peek behind the fountain rune originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>datafountainfountain-runefrogsterfrogster-americafrogster-interactivejeremy-strattonlost-pages-of-taboreamanamana-per-tickmana-regenmana-regenerationromrune-slotrunesrunes-of-magicrunewakerrunewaker-entertainmentSCIENCEticktick-not-the-bugMon, 27 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lost Pages of Taborea: Spam heal is the enemy of strategy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/08/lost-pages-of-taborea-spam-heal-is-the-enemy-of-strategy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/08/lost-pages-of-taborea-spam-heal-is-the-enemy-of-strategy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/08/lost-pages-of-taborea-spam-heal-is-the-enemy-of-strategy/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Last week, I spoke a bit about whether Runes of Magic was too easy or not. In that article I harken back to the mana strike that players held to remove part of a patch that added a percentage-to-cost modifier on all spells for all classes. This week I wanted to flit around the same subjects, but from the viewpoint of healing and strategy.

I want my readers to be well-versed in RoM 101. Just like I set out to do with my community guide for new and old players, I want to educate players today on the fine art of button-mashing. Let's start by covering what spam healing -- or spamming any skill -- is, and why it's not always fun. I'll put this into the context of dungeon-running, cover some fun strategy that results from not being able to spam heal, and give my opinion on how well (or not-so-well) all this works in RoM.

Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: Spam heal is the enemy of strategy

MassivelyLost Pages of Taborea: Spam heal is the enemy of strategy originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boss-fightsbossesbutton-mashingdungeondungeonsfeaturedfrogsterfrogster-americafrogster-interactivehealinghealsinstanceinstancesmanamana-poolmana-regenpriestpriest-spellspriest-strateyromrunes-of-magicrunewakerrunewaker-entertainmentskill-spammingspamspam-healspammingstrategyMon, 08 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lost Pages of Taborea: Mana strike]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/23/lost-pages-of-taborea-mana-strike/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/23/lost-pages-of-taborea-mana-strike/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/23/lost-pages-of-taborea-mana-strike/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

When In the Depths of the Forest went live in Runes of Magic there were cheers heard across Taborea, but players soon protested. Along with all of the new content, Runkewaker also added a nerf in the form of increased mana costs for many of the skills in RoM. On top of the existing base mana costs for skills, a percentage modifier was added that significantly increased the cost to use skills as you leveled up.

Many players were unhappy with the skills being balanced in this way and went as far as staging cross-server in-game strikes in Varanas' Central Plaza until something was done. Only a few days after the patch went live, a new hotfix was applied to RoM which removed the balancing act completely. Tony Tang, the Vice President of Business Development at Runewaker, issued a statement to announce the removal of the balance, but he also clarified that the company was confident a change would need to be made to address the issue of the game becoming less challenging.

In this week's article I want to take a closer look at why many players were upset and point out why I think the balance may be for the better.

Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: Mana strike

MassivelyLost Pages of Taborea: Mana strike originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>balanceclass-balancefeaturedfrogsterfrogster-americafrogster-interactivegame-mechanicslost-pages-of-taboreamanamana-poolnerfromrunes-of-magicrunewakerrunewaker-entertainmentskillstony-tangMon, 23 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Dawntide releases latest beta patch notes]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/19/dawntide-releases-latest-beta-patch-notes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/19/dawntide-releases-latest-beta-patch-notes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/19/dawntide-releases-latest-beta-patch-notes/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


Dawntide, the ambitious sandbox title from Working as Intended, has released the patch notes for version 3.0.5, which also happens to be the very latest build of the world of Cieve. The title is currently in extended beta testing, and the client is being updated fairly frequently, as evidenced by a mere six days elapsing between the last two patches.

This week's changes include a major reworking of resource locations throughout the game world, various boat bug fixes including physics and dropped passenger issues, and changes to hit points, mana, and endurance. "[We've] rebalanced hit points, mana, and endurance. All attributes now contribute towards at least one of the these, and you will always have a minimum of 20 of each, even if your attributes are reduced to zero," writes WAI's Wiz on the game's official website.

Check out the full patch notes here.

MassivelyDawntide releases latest beta patch notes originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3.0.5betaboatsdawntideendurancehit-pointsmanaopen-betapatchresourcessandboxwizworking-asSat, 19 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Do you play the same class in every MMO?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-play-the-same-class-in-every-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-play-the-same-class-in-every-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-play-the-same-class-in-every-mmo/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

They might sometimes have different names, but most MMOs share traits recognised as specific classes. Warriors, for example, are hardcore tanks able to take and deal a lot of damage. Priests are healers who can bring back the dead while Mages are squishy but able to devastate if you don't get in and down them fast. So, readers, I want to know if you stick to a certain class across many MMOs? If you don't, why not? Tell us in the usual way by dropping a comment in the box.

Personally I usually play casters like Druids and Mages simply because my visual disability means I like to stand and pew pew to my heart's content rather than tanking or chasing mobs. Plus I really like the light show that goes with a really good incantation. However, during the last Aion Closed Beta Test, I rolled a Warrior just to see what it was like and had a heck of a lot of fun not dying for a change. I still prefer casters though, what about you?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you play the same class in every MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionaion-betaaion-the-tower-of-eternityaion-tower-of-eternitycastersclasseselementalsmagesmagicmanapetsthe-daily-grindwarriorsFri, 17 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A holiday gift from Age of Conan]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/a-holiday-gift-from-age-of-conan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/a-holiday-gift-from-age-of-conan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/a-holiday-gift-from-age-of-conan/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Massively has mentioned that Age of Conan is giving away in-game items all month as part of a seasonal contest they're running. But the latest Age of Conan newsletter let us know that everyone's received a free gift automatically, as of December 18th.

Funcom's given all players a new virtual item -- the Kosalan talisman of clarity. It boosts stamina and mana for its wearer, with a faster rate of regeneration for those traits. While it's not as über as the items obtainable at higher levels, it's not bad for a freebie. Age of Conan players can claim the Kosalan talisman by simply typing "/claim" in-game.
Warhammer Online Coverage Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!

MassivelyA holiday gift from Age of Conan originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocfuncomholidayholiday-eventholiday-eventsholidaysmananewsletterstaminatalismanvirtual-itemFri, 19 Dec 2008 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MMO MMOnkey: Comparing active attack and auto attack]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/mmo-mmonkey-comparing-active-attack-and-auto-attack/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/mmo-mmonkey-comparing-active-attack-and-auto-attack/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/mmo-mmonkey-comparing-active-attack-and-auto-attack/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

In the opening sentence of a previous column I compared Age of Conan's active style of combat in which the player must instigate every attack with a keypress to the auto-attack combat common to most MMOs. I characterized auto attack as a go-make-a-cup-of-coffee type of combat which, as one commenter pointed out, was a bit of hyperbole designed to accentuate the difference between active and auto attack but which offended several other people who thought their combat skills were being denigrated.

The earlier column had nothing to do with styles of combat but all the combat-related comments got me thinking about some of the differences between active and auto attack. The two types of combat appear to have few, if any, important differences for the experienced player at the operational level (deployment of unit or squads in raids) or the strategic level (player-controlled access to important game resources as in EVE Online, Dark Age of Camelot and possibly Warhammer Online). When we look at game mechanics and individual unit tactics, however, important and potentially interesting differences begin to emerge.

Continue reading MMO MMOnkey: Comparing active attack and auto attack

MassivelyMMO MMOnkey: Comparing active attack and auto attack originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>active-attackauto-attackcombatcombo-attackfeaturedgame-mechanicsjoystiqfeaturesmanameleeshieldsstaminatacticsThu, 10 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Atlantica updates with new gameplay video]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/01/atlantica-updates-with-new-gameplay-video/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/01/atlantica-updates-with-new-gameplay-video/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/01/atlantica-updates-with-new-gameplay-video/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


While we've talked about the upcoming turn-based strategy MMO Atlantica before, we haven't been able to see what actual gameplay looks like until now. The good folks at NDOORS have provided a 30-second gameplay trailer, and it looks right in line with what you'd hope for in a title like this.

We'll bring you as much coverage as possible as the game nears its closed beta in July, and we'll be on the front lines at launch. Just pray that we'll have enough mana to cast that final First Impressions spell, or the human race is doomed! Check out the Gallery for screens of the game, and the gameplay video after the jump.

Gallery: Atlantica Online



Thanks, Katrina!

Continue reading Atlantica updates with new gameplay video

MassivelyAtlantica updates with new gameplay video originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>atlanticafeaturedgameplay-videomanandoorsturn-basedvideoTue, 01 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EST