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Not So Massively: Diablo III's Monster Power system and LoL's World Championships

Brendan Drain — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, New Titles, Patches, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Firefall

This week Riot Games revealed details of the League of Legends $2,000,000 World Championship that's just two weeks away. Dota 2 celebrated its own world champions with a new blog post dedicated to the Aegis of Champions plaque given to this year's winners of The International. Upcoming console MOBA Guardians of Middle-earth showed off its PAX 2012 recap video this week, and Heroes of Newerth revealed its new hero, Solstice, who transforms during the night.

Torchlight II continues to dominate the game charts this week with impressive sales on Steam and even more impressive Metacritic scores. Upcoming free-to-play action RPG Path of Exile took another big step toward release this week with the addition of voice acting to quests. And Blizzard revealed details on Diablo III's next big patch, discussing increased legendary drop rates and the new Monster Power system that will let players customise their own difficulty levels.

Upcoming FPS Firefall revealed its impressive plans for Dynamic Events this week, with both local events and global invasions on the menu. Finally, Blacklight: Retribution followed last week's sniper montage contest with details of a new sniper-focused map and a new sniper rifle that would make Counterstrike players cry.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Diablo III's Monster Power system and LoL's World Championships

Not So Massively: Diablo III's Monster Power system and LoL's World Championships originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Building a Diablo III Wizard to solo Inferno difficulty

Brendan Drain — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Classes, Game Mechanics, Patches, Endgame, PvE, Guides, Diablo III

With patch 1.04's new paragon level system, there's been a definite increase in the number of people getting back to playing Diablo III. Every class was buffed in the patch, and only a small handful of skills and items were nerfed, leaving everyone to pore over the skill windows and come up with new builds. Barbarians definitely made it out of the patch in the best shape, with huge buffs to Bash and Rend, buffs to two-handed weapons, and a whole host of new legendary weapons to aim for. Wizards, on the other hand, weren't so lucky.

For all the buffs described in the 1.04 wizard preview devblog, not much has really changed. The Energy Twister nerf backfired hilariously, and all of the underpowered spells and runes that were buffed are still pretty useless. Energy Armor is still a mandatory skill, most Wizards are still running Critical Mass builds, and the new legendaries aimed at Wizards don't seem to make any sense from an itemisation standpoint. So how should you build a solo Wizard in 1.04?

In this guide, I detail three highly effective Wizard builds and give tips on gearing for each of them following patch 1.04.

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Building a Diablo III Wizard to solo Inferno difficulty originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: D3 patch 1.0.4, LoL nerfs, and Firefall e-sports

Brendan Drain — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Video, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Firefall

This week, Firefall developer Red 5 Studios revealed its impressive new suite of tools for scoutcasters and competitive gaming fans as part of its eSports Toolkit. Information on Diablo III's upcoming patch 1.0.4 was also released this week, detailing difficulty decreases for elite monsters, the long-awaited legendary item update, and some big changes for players stuck in the magic find grind. Path of Exile celebrated the first anniversary of its first closed beta release this week as it edges closer to open beta.

In the land of MOBAs, League of Legends revealed that some big buffs are on the way for Garen and Katarina and explained the recent hotfix that nerfed new champion Zyra. Dota 2 experienced some controversy this week when players discovered that a player-submitted weapon design had been lifted from MMO Aion. S2 Games released a new Heroes of Newerth development diary delving into new hero Rally and giving a look behind the scenes of the game's creation.

Continue reading Not So Massively: D3 patch 1.0.4, LoL nerfs, and Firefall e-sports

Not So Massively: D3 patch 1.0.4, LoL nerfs, and Firefall e-sports originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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League of Legends nerfs Rumble, buffs Urgot and Cho'Gath

Brendan Drain — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA, League of Legends

In addition to getting a new champion every few weeks, League of Legends is continually updated with balance changes and gameplay tweaks based on player feedback. Yesterday Riot Games released its early August patch preview, detailing incoming champion nerfs and buffs in addition to big changes for the player-mediated banning tribunal. Players who are punished by the tribunal will now be emailed a reform card showing the case made against them and highlighting the exact behaviours they need to improve to avoid further bans.

Following a bugfix to Rumble's Flamespitter ability in the Jayce patch, his damage suddenly increased. Rumble's Danger Zone passive and Flamespitter abilities will have their damage reduced to compensate for the increase. The previous patch also gave Urgot some heavy nerfs that went a little bit too far, and in the next patch, some of those nerfs are being reverted. Classic champion Cho'Gath will also get a number of tweaks to remove random cast time delays and make him more fun to play.

Skip past the cut to watch the full patch preview video in HD.

Continue reading League of Legends nerfs Rumble, buffs Urgot and Cho'Gath

League of Legends nerfs Rumble, buffs Urgot and Cho'Gath originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 Jul 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: League of Legends' balance patch and more

Brendan Drain — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III

It's been a big week for League of Legends, with a major balance update and new champion Zyra being released. Sona, Malzahar, and Xin Zhao received major buffs, while Evelynn and Twitch were both completely reworked as part of a plan to balance persistent stealth. Dota 2 released new hero Templar Assassin and revealed a limited edition microtransaction key that is needed to open a rare chest. Heroes of Newerth also released its own new hero this week, a ranged damage-dealer called Prophet, who thrives on teamwork.

Blizzard revealed a few details on Diablo III's upcoming legendary item buffs, and players manually recreated the game's Diamond Gates of Heaven area in Minecraft. Path of Exile continued to show its impressive character customisation options in its latest Build of the Week video and offered a sneak peek at the new passive skill tree layout. Finally, the Torchlight II crew announced that it will be at PAX Prime at the end of August and will be running a Torchlight cosplay contest while there.

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Not So Massively: League of Legends' balance patch and more originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall video gives a sneak peek at Assault changes

Elisabeth Cardy — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Firefall

Firefall's Assault battleframe will be evolving this summer. The dev team has a stated goal of increasing the skill ceiling of all the battleframes, so Assault will be oriented more to precise attacks and positioning. With fewer hitpoints and increased speed, Assault will be one of the quickest battleframes in the game. This puts more focus on mobility and agile short- and mid-range gameplay. The battleframe's AoE will also be toned down, meaning more abilities will require aiming and include less splash damage to put more emphasis, again, on skillful play.

These changes will come as part of what's being touted as "the biggest patch in Firefall history," which players are told to expect "later this summer." Skip below the cut to see the new and improved Assault battleframe in action!

Continue reading Firefall video gives a sneak peek at Assault changes

Firefall video gives a sneak peek at Assault changes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: LoL's Jayce patch and D3's endgame woes

Brendan Drain — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Patches, PvP, Endgame, News Items, Free-to-Play, Not So Massively, Dungeons, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III

Blizzard admitted that Diablo III lacks a long-term endgame this week and explored five options to nerf players who swap to magic find gear before the final blow on an elite or boss. Upcoming free-to-play action RPG Path of Exile explored its own plans for a long-term endgame in a new video looking into its map system. Blacklight: Retribution also officially released on Steam this week, giving players a free Portal weapon tag in-game.

League of Legends released details of the balance patch that accompanies new hybrid melee and ranged champion Jayce this week. The patch will nerf global ultimates and is set to bring some big gameplay changes for Orianna, Nunu, and LeBlanc. Dota 2 released classic heroes Dsruptor and Undying this week as competitive tournament The Defense gets underway. Heroes of Newerth launched its massive Game HoN contest this week, giving away hundreds of dollars' worth of alt avatars to anyone who plays 25 matches before this coming Friday.

Continue reading Not So Massively: LoL's Jayce patch and D3's endgame woes

Not So Massively: LoL's Jayce patch and D3's endgame woes originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: Competitive gaming, D3 patch 1.03, and more

Brendan Drain — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Firefall

MOBAs have been concentrating on competitive gameplay this week. Dota 2 launched a new pay-per-view tournament scheme with the $10,000 competitive tournament The Defense. Heroes of Newerth released its new competitive game mode, Lock Pick, which adds another layer of metagame to the competitive scene. Bloodline Champions followed its latest competitive tournament with the release of its new tank bloodline, Sentinel, and League of Legends announced an exclusive tournament for Greek players as part of the Greek client launch celebrations.

Diablo III released patch 1.03 this week, heavily nerfing attack speed on items but at the same time balancing the damage in inferno mode. The South Korean FTC ordered Blizzard to accept requests for refunds, and Blizzard confirmed the world first completion of inferno difficulty in hardcore mode. Path of Exile released a video spotlight on a player's innovative melee witch build, and Firefall announced its new Mobile Gaming Unit -- a massive LAN center bus that will be touring the US starting next week.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Competitive gaming, D3 patch 1.03, and more

Not So Massively: Competitive gaming, D3 patch 1.03, and more originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Guild Counsel: Nerfed to heck - now what?

Karen Bryan — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Classes, Game Mechanics, Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous

You can run the best guild, have the smoothest guild atmosphere, and progress like a champion but still end up losing members through no fault of your own. Why? Nerfed classes.

Classes are a double-edged sword because on one hand, they allow people to feel needed and unique. I tank, you heal, Bobby does DPS, and the group is a lot weaker if one of us is missing. On the other hand, class balance is rarely achieved, so there's always that red-headed stepchild class that no one really needs, the one who feels like the proverbial fifth wheel.

If you're a guild leader whose member has suddenly gone from "OP" to "nerfed to oblivion," then what, if anything, should you do? Let's take a look in this week's Guild Counsel.

Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Nerfed to heck - now what?

The Guild Counsel: Nerfed to heck - now what? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: LoL database hack and Diablo III updates

Brendan Drain — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III

Diablo III has been taking on player feedback this week with the announcement of item drop rate and gameplay changes coming in the upcoming 1.0.3 patch. In a hotfix this week, Tyreal's damage was nerfed to stop players from using him to farm risk-free, and several easy gold-farming spots were heavily nerfed in an effort to curb botting. Path of Exile is also taking notice of player feedback to Diablo III, releasing new multiplayer loot reservation and public game systems.

Dota 2 announced that a limited number of tickets to watch its upcoming tournament The International will go on sale tomorrow for $49.99 each. Heroes of Newerth revealed its new tanky melee initiator Ravenor, and Rise of Immortals released new immortal Kreed along with some much-needed gameplay overhauls. League of Legends' European password database was hacked this week; Riot Games reccomends that all players reset their passwords. The Draven patch also went live this week, adding the new champion to the game and bringing nerfs for Ahri, Darius, Graves and Urgot. Finally, we got our first taste of upcoming MOBA Guardians of Middle Earth's gameplay at E3.

Continue reading Not So Massively: LoL database hack and Diablo III updates

Not So Massively: LoL database hack and Diablo III updates originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: Hero spotlights and Diablo III confirms PvP arenas in 2012

Brendan Drain — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Video, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III

This week, League of Legends revealed plans to buff support tanks in the Varus patch and change several ability power items. Riot also plans to buff Master Yi and nerf Ryze's ability to tank and deal damage at the same time. Dota 2 released an updated user interface designed to take all the pain out of using the courier, and Bloodline Champions revealed its massive $10,000 DreamHack Summer 2012 tournament.

Diablo III revealed the Witch Doctor this week, giving Diablo II necromancer fans a peek at the closest replacement they'll get in the upcoming title. Blizzard's Jay Wilson also confirmed that PvP arenas will be released long before the end of the year. Heroes of Newerth released its new support hero Ellonia, an ice mage whose abilities focus around a stacking slow debuff. Rise of Immortals released a new immortal spotlight video on popular area-effect damage-dealer Netheurgist and encouraged players to start guilds with a contest to win 1,000 prestige points for every guild member.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Hero spotlights and Diablo III confirms PvP arenas in 2012

Not So Massively: Hero spotlights and Diablo III confirms PvP arenas in 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SWTOR devs attempt to balance the Force through nerfs

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Classes, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Community Q&A

It's Friday, Friday, and even Jedi got to get down with Friday... which also means a new community Q&A sent across the holonet to players eager for a glimpse of Star Wars: The Old Republic's future. However, the devs have asked that questions focus more on current features in the game, as in many cases they cannot give firm details about what's coming up in SWTOR.

Today's topics begin with a discussion about why some advanced classes, such as Commandos and Mercenaries, lack an interrupt. This wasn't an oversight, the devs revealed, but "a purposefully designed weakness in their ability arsenal" to keep them balanced in the game -- especially in PvP.

"Balance" was an answer to another issue as well, specifically the nerfs to some of the healing specs. Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller realized that folks were going to rail against it, but the team thought it was necessary: "I know trying to 'sell' a downwards adjustment (AKA nerf) to anyone affected is like selling the need for a tax increase to people. When you are on the receiving end of it, you're not going to be happy about it."

Other questions revolved around rage timers, looping the game's music, cross-faction communication within the same guild, and legacy system specifics.

SWTOR devs attempt to balance the Force through nerfs originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Rebalancing EVE's ships

Brendan Drain — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Sandbox

Recently we heard the glorious news that CCP will be overhauling EVE Online's entire roster of tech 1 ships as part of the Inferno expansion. The overhaul will start with changes to the skill requirements for destroyers and battlecruisers and culminate in the complete removal of ship tiers and the introduction of new structured ship lines. Countless new ship types have been released since EVE launched in 2003, but there has never really been a unifying design policy on ship skills and combat roles. Now, eight years down the line, adding new ships has become a struggle in avoiding making older ones obsolete. Drastic change is needed, and when the Inferno expansion hits, that's exactly what we'll get.

When a new EVE player is ready to get into something larger than a frigate, he's currently faced with the choice of training for a destroyer or skipping it and heading straight to cruisers. Similarly, players often skip from cruisers straight to slow, bulky battleships even though battlecruisers are probably the most effective ship class for new pilots. A new system is on the way this summer, one that aims to fix this problem by introducing new racial versions of the destroyer and battlecruiser skills that must be trained on the way to bigger ships. This change should make training progression much clearer for new pilots and is just the tip of the iceberg of awesome plans in the works for the summer expansion.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I examine EVE Online's upcoming ship revamp and tell you how you may be able to get free skillpoints when the patch goes live.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Rebalancing EVE's ships

EVE Evolved: Rebalancing EVE's ships originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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League of Legends talks nerfs and reveals Lulu, the Fae Sorceress

Brendan Drain — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, MOBA, League of Legends

If you can't quite get your daily dose of adorableness with Teemo or Annie, you'll definitely want to pick up League of Legends' next champion, Lulu, the Fae Sorceress. Riot Games revealed Lulu this week with a stunning art spotlight and followed up with a full gameplay reveal and a patch preview video. Lulu is the first true support champion that's been added in quite some time, with abilities that shield and buff allies while slowing enemies. All of Lulu's abilities center around her adorable little faerie companion, Pix, who fires energy bolts at the targets of all her attacks and can be commanded to shield allies or follow enemies to grant vision.

Lulu's introduction patch will be arriving with a whole host of balance changes and gameplay tweaks. Ramus will have his effectiveness as a rapidly ganking jungler nerfed with a reduction in his base damage and armour. Shaco's early-game ganking potential has been found to be a bit too strong, while his late game potential is lacking. He'll be rebalanced to make him scale better into the late game. Jax was dying far too easily in teamfights, so developers have swapped the damage and ability power from the active part of his ultimate for additional armour and magic resist. Lifesteal items are also on the chopping block, with the goal of making damage harder to regenerate in a lane.

Skip past the cut to watch the full patch preview video in HD.

Continue reading League of Legends talks nerfs and reveals Lulu, the Fae Sorceress

League of Legends talks nerfs and reveals Lulu, the Fae Sorceress originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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League of Legends reveals Nautilus, announces Sona nerf

Brendan Drain — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA, League of Legends

Riot Games adds a new champion to League of Legends' growing roster every few weeks to keep the game fresh, and this week Riot revealed the game's next champion Nautilus, the Titan of the Depths. Nautilus is a tank with a unique initiation ability: He throws his massive anchor toward a target, and then drags himself toward the anchor. His abilities encourage spreading damage around during team fights, with his passive adding bonus damage to his first attack against a champion every twelve seconds and immobilising them slightly. A shield ability and area-effect damage spells make Nautilus a dangerous tank to be near during team fights.

A number of gameplay and balance changes will be coming in the Nautilus patch. Shen is getting a complete ability set retuning to make him scale better to late game, and let him function better as as tank. It's been a long time coming, but unsurprisingly LoL's dominant support champion Sona is due for a few nerfs in the upcoming patch. The mana regenerated by Soraka's Infuse will be increased but she'll no longer be able to cast it on herself to essentially have limitless mana. Nerfs are also on the way for Vladimir, aimed at decreasing his early game presence without disrupting his fun gameplay. Check out the full patch preview video after the cut for more details.

Continue reading League of Legends reveals Nautilus, announces Sona nerf

League of Legends reveals Nautilus, announces Sona nerf originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO Update 5.1 shoots Saruman in the knee

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Free-to-Play

Lord of the Rings Online is bringing its servers down today to apply Update 5.1 across the board. While it's certainly not a content patch like its predecessor, it does have a sizable number of fixes and tweaks that should improve quality of (game) life for all.

Some of the changes include eliminating dyes from lootboxes, a nerf to Minstrel codas, many tweaks to the Tower of Orthanc raid, the option to timestamp chat messages, and small improvements to the treasure hunt. The devs have also posted an updated list of known issues for the game.

As always, it's worth going through the patch notes to try to find the funny asides. In this update? "Addressed a number of typos. Probably added some new ones."

LotRO Update 5.1 shoots Saruman in the knee originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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League of Legends to introduce big changes with the Ahri patch

Brendan Drain — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Game Mechanics, Free-to-Play, MOBA

Riot Games has revealed that the long-awaited League of Legends champion Ahri the Nine Tailed Fox will be coming in the very next patch. In addition to heralding the arrival of the new champion, the Ahri patch will introduce some major gameplay changes. In a new patch preview video, lead champion designer Morello and spotlight announcer Phreak discuss the biggest balance and gameplay changes coming in the next patch.

Twisted Fate's attack range will be increased, and he'll now be able to manually pick a target for his attack once he locks a card. This should prevent cards hitting the wrong target and make him better able to harass in a lane without leaving himself exposed. Tryndamere receives a much-needed nerf to his self-heal as he tends to have a full rage bar when he's doing well in a lane and the heal ends up being much too powerful. The "perseverence" mastery in the utility tree is being removed and replaced with an old "strength of spirit" mastery that converts maximum mana into bonus health regeneration. With the removal of dodge runes, Phreak and Morello also discuss some new ones being added to make the game a bit more interesting.

Skip past the cut to watch the full patch preview video, and stay tuned to our weekly Not So Massively column every Monday for more LoL news and updates.

Continue reading League of Legends to introduce big changes with the Ahri patch

League of Legends to introduce big changes with the Ahri patch originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Everything there is to know about Crucible

Brendan Drain — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, EVE Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Dev Diaries, Sandbox

This summer's lackluster Incarna expansion and the ensuing microtransaction drama took a massive toll on EVE Online's player community and development staff. Players were quitting in droves, and CCP eventually had to lay off 20% of its staff worldwide. Two years of half-implemented expansions, broken features, and "first steps" that were never iterated on left players begging for a content-heavy expansion like Apocrypha or those released in EVE's early years. EVE is known for being practically a new game every six months, but since the blockbuster Apocrypha expansion, daily life in New Eden hasn't changed much at all.

To pull things back from the brink, CCP refocused development on EVE Online and gave developers a free pass to work on hundreds of small features and improvements. The company began flooding us with details on new ships, graphical updates, new gameplay mechanics, and desperately needed balance tweaks, and we loved every bit of it. Although it's mostly small features and gameplay tweaks, the Crucible expansion feels like a genuine rebirth for EVE Online. The types of changes made show that CCP knows exactly what players want from EVE and that the company is now willing to deliver it. With CCP's renewed focus on internet spaceships, the Crucible expansion feels like the start of a new era in the sandbox.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I pull together everything there is to know about the Crucible expansion that went live this week, from its turbulent origins to the awesome features and PvP updates it contains.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Everything there is to know about Crucible

EVE Evolved: Everything there is to know about Crucible originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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League of Legends prepares for Fizz patch

Brendan Drain — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA

All this week, Riot Games has been releasing snippets of information on upcoming League of Legends champion Fizz, the Tidal Trickster. Fizz's mechanics preview gave a first glimpse into the sea monster's skills, including his ability to dodge attacks with his trident and to call a shark to eat the target enemy. A new art spotlight video gave us our first look at the champion and showed off both his signature trident weapon and one mean-looking shark. Today Riot published a patch preview video for the upcoming Fizz patch, detailing all the other changes coming with the update.

Ranged carry champions are the focus of rebalancing efforts in the coming patch, with Caitlyn, Kog'maw and Graves being nerfed and Corki, Miss Fortune and Tristana due for buffs. With tournament season approaching, Riot is being careful to make these changes very minor to avoid upsetting current lane balance. Sona's auras are being nerfed a little, which isn't a surprise as Sona's usually the obvious choice for support. The season two summoner spell changes we discussed earlier in the week will also be going live with this patch, along with revamped mastery trees. Skip past the cut to watch the full video in HD.

Continue reading League of Legends prepares for Fizz patch

League of Legends prepares for Fizz patch originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Latest EVE dev video talks ship balance and features coming this winter

Brendan Drain — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, EVE Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox

Several weeks ago, EVE Online developer CCP Games restructured its company and announced a new laser focus on in-space features for EVE Online. Since then we've seen an absolute deluge of news updates and devblogs on features due for release in the winter expansion. In the first two of CCP's new In Development video series, CCP Guard explored the art department and showed off the new nebula effects, EVE's sharpened shadows and the new tier 3 battlecruisers.

In the latest In Development video, Guard talks to the EVE feature teams about the absolutely massive list of balance changes and features coming with the winter expansion. CCP Soundwave admits that developers have "probably done more rebalancing in the past month than we have in the past two years," before rattling off an impressive list of changes and new features.

Skip past the cut for a brief summary of the changes and to watch the video in HD.

Continue reading Latest EVE dev video talks ship balance and features coming this winter

Latest EVE dev video talks ship balance and features coming this winter originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE capital ship balancing coming this winter

Jef Reahard — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox

The lovefest between CCP and its disgruntled playerbase continues, this time in the form of a new blog entry heralding the impending balance of capital ships.

The proliferation of supercapital ships has been roundly criticized in various EVE Online discourses over the years, and CCP feels the time is right to begin addressing the stagnant fleet fights that often result when hundreds of hard-to-kill megaships are clogging the space lanes.

So what's the ~~nerf~~ solution? According to CCP Tallest, the devs plan to make supercapitals "a little bit weaker, but not gut them completely. We're doing a simple 20% reduction in shield, armor, and hull hitpoints on both supercarriers and titans." Tallest goes on to outline a few more details including planned changes for dreadnoughts, sub-capitals, and the oft-employed logoff exploit. "We are changing the logoff mechanics in such a way that as long as your enemies are actively engaged in fighting you, logging off is not going to save your ship."

EVE capital ship balancing coming this winter originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Looking forward to the winter expansion

Brendan Drain — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Culture, Expansions, MMO Industry, PvP, PvE, Opinion, EVE Evolved

Since EVE Online's release in 2003, CCP Games has been the center of one of the most interesting success stories in the games industry. Produced by a tiny indie development studio on a frozen volcanic rock, EVE was the perfect example of how to do things right. The game's publishing deal with Simon & Schuster allowed CCP to buy back the rights to the game several months after its initial release. With no publisher taking a cut of the profits, CCP ploughed subscriptions back into the game's development and grew the development team organically. As a one-game company, CCP worked closely with players to make EVE the best game possible for its loyal playerbase.

In a recent letter to the players, CCP CEO Hilmar laments that somewhere along the line, things changed for the worse. The CCP of today bears little resemblance to the "little indie studio that could" of 2003, not just housing over 600 employees in offices around the world but also developing upcoming MMOs DUST 514 and World of Darkness. Resources are spread thin, and EVE Online has suffered for it. Last month I looked back at the blockbuster Apocrypha expansion and asked why every expansion since then has cut down on the in-space development players want. Hilmar's letter and its accompanying devblog answered that question this week with a solid plan for iteration on flying in space features during the winter development period.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look forward to the winter expansion and explain why each of the issues being tackled in the coming expansion is a big deal to players.

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EVE Evolved: Looking forward to the winter expansion originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wings Over Atreia: Anticipaaaaaaaaaaaation

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST

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

You know the feeling -- you learn about some upcoming goodness and you want it. Or do you crave it? You can fall anywhere along the spectrum of anticipation, provoked by things you just look forward to all the way to things that make you squeal in schoolgirl giddiness at the mere thought! It's a game in and of itself. Such is the way of Aion updates, which tantalize and tease players for quite some time before going live (and even longer if you can translate the original Korean patch notes yourself!). Not yet having a release date for updates is not dampening the anticipation of many Daevas but rather is fueling it instead.

So what brought about my musings on this topic? I squealed! More specifically, an announcement this week that put me right into the giddy mode: Winter is coming! George R.R. Martin's fifth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series will release in July. Now, while my fangirliness in its supreme is reserved for this outstanding literature, I also have things that I am looking forward to in game. However, there are those who have a virtual heart attack when new goodies for Aion are announced; I have one legionmate who will only re-sub when update 2.5 rolls around and brings with it all the little bells and whistles he is pining for. It is quite interesting to listen as he randomly pops into Ventrilo to trumpet the greatness of this upcoming gaming salvation, then disappears again into the night.

So what about 2.5 has my legionmate so excitable... and excited? Skip-to-my-lou past the cut to take a look at some of the upcoming features.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Anticipaaaaaaaaaaaation

Wings Over Atreia: Anticipaaaaaaaaaaaation originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist and the NeverEnding Quest: The highlights

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Culture, The Game Archaeologist

To many veteran MMO players, the opening horns of EverQuest's score are enough to trigger vivid memories, violent hallucinations, and an unstoppable desire to leap through the computer screen to return to Norrath. It all depends, of course, on which MMO you first cut your teeth, and while many gamers would claim titles like World of Warcraft as their first, there is a large contingent who will confess that EQ was their first MMO lover.

In fact, before WoW came on the scene in 2004, EverQuest was the gold standard of MMOs for a half-decade -- it was insanely popular, perfectly addictive, and absolutely revolutionary. It was a giant that roamed the virtual lands of those days, a giant that continues to forge new grounds well over a decade from its inception.

It was 1995 when John Smedley realized the potential for online gaming and roped in Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover to start putting together an online RPG for SOE. What began as a small project ballooned into a crazy endeavor as the growing team created a monster RPG the likes the world had never seen before -- a game that would forever shape the MMO genre.

This month, the Game Archaeologist is going after one of the biggest treasures of recorded history as we unearth the secrets to EverQuest's popularity, legacy, and longevity. The first step on our journey is to look at some of the highlights that made EQ what it is today.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist and the NeverEnding Quest: The highlights

The Game Archaeologist and the NeverEnding Quest: The highlights originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Anvil of Crom: Of stealth nerfs and feature removal

Jef Reahard — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Age of Conan, PvP, Opinion, The Anvil of Crom

Sigh.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the spectacularly epic fail that Funcom pushed to the live servers last week. If you subscribe to any sort of yin/yang theory, whether it be balance in the Force or simply the law of averages, you had to expect some sort of mini-debacle, given the amount of good news flowing from the Age of Conan developers regarding new content as of late.

In case you haven't heard, last week Funcom decided to remove the ability to PvP in the Underhalls and White Sands portion of Tortage. If this isn't enough to irritate you in and of itself, how does the fact that the nerf "managed to sneak itself into [an] update" grab you? While my initial thought on the stealth removal was basically an eye-roll at the thought of more PvP-focused whining, upon further reflection it occurred to me that in this case said whining is entirely justified.

Turn the page for pigs flying, honest politicians, and yours truly taking up for PvPers.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Of stealth nerfs and feature removal

The Anvil of Crom: Of stealth nerfs and feature removal originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: The impossible task of balancing PvP

Greg Waller — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, Opinion, Humor, The Soapbox

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

PvP in MMO games often comes with a whole slew of ill-defined requirements for balance. As impossible as such a thing is, we often hear the mating calls of noobies everywhere, sounding out their ineptitude with words like "overpowered" or "nerf." Those same types of players can often be found asking questions like, "What is the best class?" as if by some chance, they'll cheat the very system of balance they yearn for when they cry about every defeat they suffer at the hands of class X. In that respect, I can't blame them, either. Oftentimes I've found myself looking for a channel through which to vent my frustration or expressing my nerd-rage by disconnecting altogether. But you won't see me trolling forums, stating that one class has more power than another. I might take part in discussions of parity -- maybe. I can probably even be found taking part in debates of factional equality -- sure, in a theoretical sense, why not?

But realistically speaking, balance in PvP is just an ideal. It is little more than a philosophical illusion to be debated but never fully realized.

Follow along after the break as I discuss the sheer absurdity of balance in a PvP game.

Continue reading The Soapbox: The impossible task of balancing PvP

The Soapbox: The impossible task of balancing PvP originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lost Pages of Taborea: Mana strike

Jeremy Stratton — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Free-to-Play, Runes of Magic, Lost Pages of Taborea

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

Lost 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.

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Wasteland Diaries: Combat fatigue

Edward Marshall — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fallen Earth, PvP, Endgame, Opinion, MMOFPS, Wasteland Diaries, Post-Apocalyptic

Fallen Earth has the best crafting system I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Fallen Earth's PvE is not too shabby either. And I actually enjoyed the game's PvP for a time until the end. I can't really say that Fallen Earth's PvP is bad, but it has several fatal flaws. And these flaws have caused the vast majority of the endgame PvP crowd to move on.

In this post I will examine what I think these flaws are. This is just my opinion, but my experience PvPing on all levels extensively lends my opinion at least a shred of credibility. The fact is: PvP in Fallen Earth is at an all-time low. There is hardly any real penalty for dying in the game, so why are there so few people partaking? There are several reasons that nobody PvPs in Fallen Earth, and the death penalty is not one of them. After the cut I will analyze the most common reasons for not PvPing. I will try to represent the facts of the matter, but like most of my critical articles, this one will be smothered in opinion.

Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: Combat fatigue

Wasteland Diaries: Combat fatigue originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DDO Update 5: Massively's interview with Fernando Paiz

Rubi Bayer — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Dungeons and Dragons Online, Interviews, Patches, News Items

Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 5 has been out for a while now, and it came on the scene to mixed reviews. Some players were unhappy about the combat changes, bugs here and there caused problems, and there were a couple of hotfixes in the first few days.

The new adventure pack and guild renown system balanced it out nicely, though. In spite of continued glitches they were viewed overall as a great addition to the game. We were curious about several aspects of the update and what Turbine has planned for the immediate future, so we posed a few questions to Executive Producer Fernando Paiz.

Follow along after the jump to see what he had to say about DDO's Update 5.

Continue reading DDO Update 5: Massively's interview with Fernando Paiz

DDO Update 5: Massively's interview with Fernando Paiz originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are you an MMO stereotype?

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

While stereotypes can be both offensive and unfair, depending on the situation, they can also be spot-on accurate. After all, stereotypes come from somewhere, whether it's a good place or New Jersey. Gamers seem to accumulate a great deal of stereotypes, perhaps more than any other hobby out there. Enjoy the hyperbole sandwich, it's the chef's special.

According to all reports, we are a legion of unwashed, relationship-phobic nerds living in our parents' basements who converse entirely in binary. And, according to most educated news reports, we're also one frustrating session of Call of Duty away from snapping and taking out a Wal-Mart with a heavily modified Nerf gatling gun.

So here's where the painful admission begins and the healing can finally take place. Do you actually fit into a MMO gamer stereotype? Are you a poor typist who communicates in barely legible gibberish? Have you missed work and family outings to pull an eight-hour raid? Is your gaming space littered with cans of Red Bull and the greasy wrappings of Hot Pockets? Have you never spoken to a member of the opposite sex in real life who isn't a parent? Have you -- and this is vital to admit, people -- have you ever used MMO lingo in your daily conversations without even realizing it?

Are you a MMO stereotype? It's okay. You're among friends who would never, ever point and laugh.

The Daily Grind: Are you an MMO stereotype? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP changes deep safe spot nerf due to player feedback

Brendan Drain — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Exploits, Game Mechanics

On Wednesday, we brought you the news of CCP's plans to nerf deep safe spots in EVE Online. Deep safe spots are bookmarks far outside the outer boundaries of a solar system. Being several hundred AU from the nearest celestial body, ships in a deep safe spot are far outside normal scanning range. The spots have been created using a variety of exploits over the years, and with Tyrannis on the way they're headed for a nerf. The announcement of the change was met by strong opposition from some players on the official EVE forums, not about the nerf itself but the planned implemention.

On May 18th, all ships and objects over 10AU further from the system's star than the outer-most planet were scheduled to be deleted. Any ships or items inadvertently left there would be gone and any pilots logged off in these locations would log in to find themselves without a ship. In response to player feedback, CCP have decided to rethink their plan to delete objects in deep safe spots. These objects will instead be moved to the outer edge of the solar system. In the new announcement, CCP took the time to clarify what objects will be moved with a handy diagram. The announcement was rounded off with some interesting statistics, showing that there are currently about 345 ships without pilots abandoned at deep safe spots across EVE. As these ships will eventually be moved to within normal probing distance, some lucky players may find them unexpectedly.

CCP changes deep safe spot nerf due to player feedback originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What do you do when your character goes south?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Classes, Culture, Game Mechanics, Patches, Opinion, The Daily Grind

It doesn't always happen, but it always can happen. One day you're running a happy catch-and-release playstyle with your Beastmaster in Final Fantasy XI, and then a patch comes that completely destroys the concept behind releasing your pet before a kill. You're tanking as a Frost Death Knight in World of Warcraft, and then you catch wind of the changes in 4.0. Your Invulnerable Tanker in City of Heroes is as untouchable as Superman, and then along comes a patch that coats everything in a light Kryptonite glaze.

You haven't just had your balance adjusted -- the entire way you play your character has been gutted and left lying on the ground as a warning to others. If you're lucky, you've never been on the receiving end, but the question remains: what do you do next? Do you start over with a different class? Leave the game gracefully (or less than gracefully, depending on temperment)? Or do you go with the approach that this is the class you came in with and you are sticking with it, by gum? As a bonus, have you experienced this firsthand, or are you lucky enough to have been spared?

The Daily Grind: What do you do when your character goes south? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deep safe spot nerf coming to EVE Online

Brendan Drain — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, PvP

Any EVE Online player that's spent time in nullsec or lowsec will know the importance of safe spots. By creating a bookmark while in warp, you can warp to areas of space several AU from any celestial objects. Although other players can still see your ship on the directional scanner, they'll need to narrow down your location with combat scanner probes to warp in on top of you. You can be stay relatively safe from hostile players by continually warping between multiple safe spots, an old and intended part of EVE's tactical gameplay. The creation of deep safe spots several hundred AU from the nearest celestial object, however, has never been an intended game mechanic. Over the years, several different bugs and oversights have allowed players to create them. Unfortunately for players that have been using deep safe spots, this particular tactical tool is going to change when Tyrannis hits on May 18th.

Continue reading Deep safe spot nerf coming to EVE Online

Deep safe spot nerf coming to EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champions Online dev diary brings good tidings to meleers

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Classes, Champions Online

In a world of guns, atomic blasters, telekinetic blows and eye lasers, the superhero who relies on getting up close and personal with fists or weapons becomes the underdog. Ever since launch, melee heroes in Champions Online have struggled with the disadvantage -- perceived or real -- of having to close the gap to an enemy and wail away, as well as generally feeling Superman-levels of powerful while doing it.

Enter Matt "Akinos" Danuser, who jumps on the stage for the latest Champions Dev Diary. Six months after launch, Matt and the team spent a lot of time reworking the melee power set, with the simple yet encouraging motto of "Make it fun, make it competitive, and make it fun."

Continue reading Champions Online dev diary brings good tidings to meleers

Champions Online dev diary brings good tidings to meleers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How consistency softens the grind

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game Mechanics, Opinion

"Grind" is on the verge of becoming what "nerf" already is -- a word thrown around so frequently and with such broad possible meaning that it's essentially meaningless. After all, the word now gets used for any part of a game the player finds boring and repetitive, rather than the process of repeating something over and over. It's the latter meaning that Kill Ten Rats discusses with an intersting thesis -- we don't mind a grind so much as we mind one we can't advance without breaks.

Using the Guild Wars Wintersday redux as an example, the point is made that the holiday events are a straight-up grind -- but they're a constant one that you can pick up and start with no downtime, then stop whenever you want. Lord of the Rings Online and World of Warcraft have both taken the same approach with Skirmishes and the Dungeon Finder, taking the slow march to being ready for an instance out of the equation.

It's an interesting idea, that what we really dislike aren't the grinds but being stuck unable to make much progress in them. If you tend to think that grinds are the worst thing in MMOs today, it might be an opportunity to re-examine that stance.

How consistency softens the grind originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cheating, exploits, and the game-mechanics behind the nerf

Tateru Nino — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Classes, Culture, Exploits, Game Mechanics, Opinion

Nerfs are something that you don't want to happen. Leastways you don't want them to happen to you. One day, you're striding through the MMOG like a god, defeating mobs, collecting loot and punishing the wicked in PvP. The next day you feel like you're fighting with a nerf-bat covered in goose-feathers.

Nerfs are best known in MMOGs but also happen in assorted multi-player (and occasionally single-player) games. Nerfs usually (though not always) come about for good reasons, though. Partly it's because few people are actually sure when cheating is happening. Even if they're the ones doing it. Really.

Continue reading Cheating, exploits, and the game-mechanics behind the nerf

Cheating, exploits, and the game-mechanics behind the nerf originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online balancing effort aims to return ships to proper roles

James Egan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Forums, Game Mechanics, Patches

Has it ever seemed ridiculous that in the setting of EVE Online, where technology has opened up the vast potential of the galaxy, there are still aspects of being a capsuleer that are completely ghetto? The ship and capsule technologies in EVE enable you to traverse solar systems in mere seconds, unleash hails of destruction that vaporize space stations, and provides immortality through cloning... but you have to stow prostitutes, slaves, marines, and livestock in a single cargo hold? Sloshing around in there with your fuel, no less.

While the commingling of your livestock with the military forces you've rescued is hardly ranked as a critical issue in the game, not having enough room in your cargo bay for jump drive fuel is. Today's Apocrypha 1.5 release made significant changes to ships capable of using jump drives. We knew this was in the works but CCP Games didn't reveal any of the details until yesterday's dev blog from CCP Abathur titled "Regular or Unleaded?".

Continue reading EVE Online balancing effort aims to return ships to proper roles

EVE Online balancing effort aims to return ships to proper roles originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Cycle of Change...

Tim Dale — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Patches, Opinion

Logging into Guild Wars for the weekly guild night this Tuesday saw a bit of an unwelcome surprise; the personal fallout of the latest in a very long line of skill balancing patches. As a Mesmer, I'd generally done quite well out of these in recent months; a somewhat less popular class than most, they had seen quite a bit of improvement over a number of months, but this latest patch saw 'Visions of Regret' and 'Cry of Pain', two very potent skills I use almost all the time, significantly reined in.

Of course the initial reaction was one of personal indignation, coupled with envy at the perceived winners of this round of adjustments. It isn't fair! A moment of reflection however and I began to consider more than just my own side of the thing, and perhaps for the improvement of the wider game, the changes to these specific skills might indeed have been warranted, and in any event, those imposing the changes were sure to have far more data at their disposal, and a view of a much larger picture than me.

Balance is something all MMOs seek for themselves and their players, and yet very few achieve a state of equilibrium, in which all players share equal potential, equal possibility and equal enjoyment. Can the cycle of buffs and nerfs ever please everyone, or is an continual procession of patches a sign of life and vibrancy that the single player off-line game lacks?

Continue reading A Cycle of Change...

A Cycle of Change... originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Froech's last EQII Producer's Letter addresses item procs in TSO

William Dobson — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Patches, News Items

As we found out earlier, Bruce "Froech" Ferguson is no longer the producer for EverQuest II. Before he left though, he penned one last Producer's Letter to the community to discuss some changes to item procs that will be coming with Game Update 52. It seems that items from The Shadow Odyssey that proc damage were getting a little out of hand, and a few nerfs will be applied to keep things under control.

There are two main changes that will be made: firstly, critical damage will be removed from an item's base proc; secondly, the values of procs will not be subject to most modifications any more, meaning that generic bonuses will not make the procs bigger. Ferguson says that if these things are fixed, then items can be introduced later with intentionally large procs without fear of them growing too big through the aforementioned mechanics. In relation to these changes, some Predator spells will also be adjusted.

Aside from item proc issues, the letter still does not tell us where Froech will be headed next, apart from confirming that he will remain in the SOE family.

Froech's last EQII Producer's Letter addresses item procs in TSO originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 May 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online extended Thursday downtime to bring numerous fixes to game

James Egan — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Forums, Game Mechanics, Patches, Server downtime

CCP Games has announced that EVE Online will be patched to Apocrypha 1.2 on Thursday, May 14, and will require extended server downtime. Downtime is expected to last from 05:00 GMT to 12:00 GMT. The game's official forums will be unavailable for at least part of the downtime, CCP states.

The sheer number of changes being made to EVE Online with this patch -- some minor, others major -- is beyond the scope of this post. However, there are a few significant aspects of Apocrypha 1.2 we'd like to point out for our readers:

Continue reading EVE Online extended Thursday downtime to bring numerous fixes to game

EVE Online extended Thursday downtime to bring numerous fixes to game originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 13 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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