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[WoW player makes her way to 85 without quest or kill experience]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/wow-player-makes-her-way-to-85-without-quest-or-kill-experience/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/wow-player-makes-her-way-to-85-without-quest-or-kill-experience/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/wow-player-makes-her-way-to-85-without-quest-or-kill-experience/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Tired of the same old same old in your favorite MMO? Looking for something else to do? Well, if you're one of a particular breed of players, you might try out setting some self-imposed limitations on your leveling. In World of Warcraft, several players have tried their hands at different methods. Gutrot from the EU leveled to 70 wearing only a loincloth. Gweryc decided to run his hunter as a melee-only character. Noor the Pacifist then decided to level his character to 70 by not killing any mobs at all, and he only did quests that involved non-violent criteria (like FedEx quests).

Now we hear that another player has upped the alternative-leveling ante by not questing at all. Everbloom, level 85 Night Elf Restoration Druid from the Feathermoon server, leveled all the way to 85 by grinding exploration and gathering experience! While Everbloom's armory profile shows that the character entered one five-man dungeon at some point, there is only one completed quest -- and Everbloom explained that one was a fluke. Apparently Blizzard blindsided her by granting a quest completion for simply reading an Argent Tournament invitation letter -- even without having a quest for it. Everbloom additionally managed to level to 85 while only dying 25 times in total (once to falling), making this crazy stunt an even more impressive feat.

If you'd like to read more about it directly from the source, head over to the World of Warcraft forums and check out Feathermoon's leveling thread. It's certainly worth a look if you've ever thought about trying some form of self-imposed limitation leveling in your MMO of choice.

MassivelyWoW player makes her way to 85 without quest or kill experience originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alternative-levelingblizzardblizzard-entertainmentdruideverbloomgatheringgrinding-gatheringgrinding-tradeskillsnight-elfself-imposed-limitationstradeskillsworld-of-warcraftwowMon, 11 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST<![CDATA[One Shots: When worlds collide]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/06/one-shots-when-worlds-collide/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/06/one-shots-when-worlds-collide/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/06/one-shots-when-worlds-collide/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

One of the fun things in playing just about any Cryptic Studios game is the crazy things you can do in the character generator. While this is obviously more the case in Champions Online, there is apparently still fun to be had in Star Trek Online's character generator as well, as we see from today's MMO mashup sent in to us by Miqe I. He writes in to tell us more about this odd melding of worlds: "I was thinking... Is it possible to create a Night Elf in Star Trek Online? I only spent maybe a half an hour and came pretty close." We admit, a Night Elf Mohawk vs. Klingon cage match could be fun too.

Have you managed to do something strange in the character creator in your favorite game? We love to see silly screenshots of all the fun things out there in the MMOgscape, and readers help us find so many of them! All you have to do to take part in One Shots is to email your screenshot to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description of the image. We'll post it out here and give you the credit.

Gallery: One Shots: Gallery II

MassivelyOne Shots: When worlds collide originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 May 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>crypticcryptic-studiosmiqe-inight-elfone-shotsscreenshotscreenshotssillystar-trek-onlinestoworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 06 May 2010 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Night Elf druid cat forms to be revealed today]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/04/night-elf-druid-cat-forms-to-be-revealed-today/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/04/night-elf-druid-cat-forms-to-be-revealed-today/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/04/night-elf-druid-cat-forms-to-be-revealed-today/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Night Elf druids around the world, attend! News comes from our sister site WoW.com that blue Zarhym has posted that your new-look cat forms will be revealed at some point today. WoW.com guesstimates by his use of 'later in the day' this could be mid-afternoon PST (eg after my bedtime). The Night Elf cat forms is the last of four reveals for the new-look druid skins. So far we have seen the Night Elf and Tauren bear forms and the lion-like Tauren cat forms.

But does this druid love mean something more? Is it just a much needed graphical update or could it tie in with the as-of-yet-unannounced WoW expansion? This is the druid-centric one which many fans, including myself, hope will be themed around the Emerald Dream. We don't know but either way I actually like my cat form so I'm quite excited to see what the new skins are going to look like. Keep your eye on the druid in development page in the meantime.

MassivelyNight Elf druid cat forms to be revealed today originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>new-druid-skinsnight-elfnight-elf-druidnight-elf-druid-cat-formpatch-3.2world-of-warcraftwow.comzarhymThu, 04 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Lady Sylvanas' model updated]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/24/lady-sylvanus-model-updated/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/24/lady-sylvanus-model-updated/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/24/lady-sylvanus-model-updated/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


In one of the more unexpected moves in World of Warcraft's upcoming expansion Wrath of the Lich King, Lady Sylvanas, leader of the Forsaken, has finally gotten a new look. Lore purists have argued about why she was modeled on the Night Elf model when Sylvanas was originally one of the High Elves. (Thus her look should have more closely resembled Blood Elves from the Burning Crusade expansion) There's now an equally loud contingent who are complaining that Sylvanas' new look is perhaps a little too... valley elf.

To see things for ourselves, we jumped into the Wrath of the Lich King beta and went through the Lady's Necklace quest arc that triggers off her singing Lament of the Highborne. We were curious as to just how the new model would play out in this player favorite arc. If you've never seen the event, are curious about how it looks with the new model, or just like to listen to the song -- join us after the break for an updated look at Sylvanas' Lament!

Continue reading Lady Sylvanas' model updated

MassivelyLady Sylvanas' model updated originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardblood-elfforsakenhigh-elfhigh-elveslady-sylvanaslamentlament-of-the-highbornelorenew-modelnight-elfquest-arcsylvanassylvanaw-windrunnervideoworld-of-warcraftwowwrath-of-the-lich-kingSun, 24 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[One Shots: The run to Darnassus]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/26/one-shots-the-run-to-darnassus/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/26/one-shots-the-run-to-darnassus/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/26/one-shots-the-run-to-darnassus/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The first look in a new world is often one of the deciding factors for anyone playing an MMO. Let's face it; if we weren't interested in looking into different virtual worlds and MMOs, we wouldn't have a column named One Shots that shows them off. We like to look and explore -- for some, that's the main reason to even play MMOs! So when a game designer builds a lovely vista into a starting area, with the sunlight glowing through in just the right way, we appreciate it. Today's screenshot from World of Warcraft is all about one of those moments. As Gordon tells us:

So I rolled up a Night-Elf Druid, which is something I hadn't done since Beta. Running on the way to Darnassus I stopped to admire this lovely sunsetting through the trees.

While I rolled Horde, I have always thought that Darnassus was a lovely place. Too bad they have that grumpy Druid hanging around there to sully the area up.

Do you have any screenshots of interesting starting areas, or just great atmospheric effects in the games you play? Perhaps you love to explore and can show us things we've never seen before in familiar games? If so, we want to see some screens from you! Just send them to us at oneshots@massively.com! They could be featured next!

Gallery: One Shots

MassivelyOne Shots: The run to Darnassus originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activision-blizzardblizzarddarnassusnight-elfworld-of-warcraftwowTue, 26 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[WRUP: Last days of January edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/wrup-last-days-of-january-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/wrup-last-days-of-january-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/wrup-last-days-of-january-edition/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Can you believe January is almost already over? Time flies, as they say, when you're playing MMOs. Wait-- that's what they say, isn't it?

This weekend, I'm going to be playing lots of Burnout Paradise, which actually has a lot of MMO qualities. The online gameplay is exquisite, and Criterion did a great job of tracking everything (and I mean everything) you do, and even then displaying that information to the people you're playing against. Before a race, it'll say things like "toucansamurai has 40 online takedowns," and the in-game narration will even taunt you to try and battle against certain players. Very awesome. It doesn't have a persistent world, per se (although many of the things you destroy do remain destroyed, I guess, even if other players don't see them that way), so it's not really an MMO in the strictest sense of the word. But for a racing game, it does a lot of online things just right.

And of course, like everyone else, I find myself drawn back yet again to World of Warcraft. My Night Elf Hunter isn't leveling itself, unfortunately. What aRe yoU Playing this weekend in the world of MMOs?

Previously on WRUP...

MassivelyWRUP: Last days of January edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>burnout-paradisehunterlevelingmassivelynight-elfwhat-are-you-playingworld-of-warcraftwrupFri, 25 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[So, why DO you play opposite your gender?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/29/so-why-do-you-play-opposite-your-gender/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/29/so-why-do-you-play-opposite-your-gender/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/29/so-why-do-you-play-opposite-your-gender/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It's a tired cliché at this point: asking a man why he plays his favorite MMO as a female character, and getting the response 'I'd rather look at a chick than a dude'. But there's both so much more to this question and so much less that it bears a glance.

First of all, where is it written that one must play their own gender? Is anyone asking 'Why don't you play as a human instead of an Orc/Night Elf/Undead/Hottentot?' MMOs (and many videogames in general) have the distinct attribute of genderless play; there is no specific, inherent strength to either sex. Why not take advantage of that?

Continue reading So, why DO you play opposite your gender?

MassivelySo, why DO you play opposite your gender? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>genderhottentotmassivelynight-elforcundeadThu, 29 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Mr. T and William Shatner appear in WoW commercials [Updated]]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/20/mr-t-and-william-shatner-appear-in-wow-commercials/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/20/mr-t-and-william-shatner-appear-in-wow-commercials/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/20/mr-t-and-william-shatner-appear-in-wow-commercials/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


William Shatner and Mr. T are appearing in two new World of Warcraft TV commercials. All Blizzard needs is the Hoff and it'll have the holy trinity of cheese!

This is without a doubt one of the most awesome things we've yet reported. Mr. T talks about his "Night Elf Mohawk." William Shatner players a Shaman and wears a goofy looking robe. It's exactly as funny as you'd expect, and it will be broadcast nationally soon. Blizzard announced that Verne Troyer -- aka "Minime" -- will be recording a commercial as well.

World of Warcraft players have already been littering guild chat with "I pity the fool who specs survival on his Hunter!" and taking screenshots of their characters screaming "KHAAAAAAN!" at the sky. So it goes without saying that these commercials will probably go over quite well.

[EDIT: We have the videos here for your viewing pleasure! Shatner is above, and Mr. T is just behind the jump.]

Continue reading Mr. T and William Shatner appear in WoW commercials [Updated]

MassivelyMr. T and William Shatner appear in WoW commercials [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardbreakingcaptain-kirkcommercialsjames-t-kirkminimemohawkmr-tnight-elfshamantvverne-troyervideowilliam-shatnerworld-of-warcraftTue, 20 Nov 2007 14:57:00 EST