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[The Secret World answers community questions about the Illuminati]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/16/the-secret-world-answers-community-questions-about-the-illuminat/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/16/the-secret-world-answers-community-questions-about-the-illuminat/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/16/the-secret-world-answers-community-questions-about-the-illuminat/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

I'd love to tell you what you're shooting at, but you don't have the clearance. I also would love to tell you if bullets hurt it or not.
Do you have questions about the Illuminati? Of course you do -- that's sort of their whole method of operation. But when it comes to The Secret World, some of those questions got answered via yesterday's community question-and-answer session on Facebook. While you'll have to Like the page in order to view all of the answers, you're rewarded for doing so with a breadth of facts about the secretive power-mongers and hoarders of secrets.

Among the first questions was the simple one of how the Illuminati aren't in control of everything in the game world if their operatives have infiltrated the highest level of government; as it happens, with the world exploding and lighting up with the supernatural, the Illuminati are too concerned with working overtime to keep things under wraps to try to take total control. The answers also reinforce the idea that the Illuminati crave power and competence above all, up to the organization's willingness to discard lesser members for valuable information. You can take a peek at the full set of answer on Facebook, but keep in mind that you're going to need to Like the page first.

MassivelyThe Secret World answers community questions about the Illuminati originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>backstorycommunityfactionsfuncomilluminatilorenewspreviewsq-and-aquestionsquestions-and-answerssecret-societiessocietiesthe-secret-worldtswupdatesMon, 16 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Choose My Adventure: Sailing to port]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/08/choose-my-adventure-sailing-to-port/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/08/choose-my-adventure-sailing-to-port/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/08/choose-my-adventure-sailing-to-port/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This week is my last entry in Choose My Adventure. After sailing the high seas for the past few weeks, my ship is returning to port, and I'll be turning the column over to our own Eliot Lefebvre. But even though I won't be writing about Pirates of the Burning Sea, I will continue to play it. There's a lot that I didn't get to see, and I'm particularly curious about the endgame, which seems to be where PotBS really shines.

It was a bit of a bumpy ride due to the downtime from the attacks on Sony Online Entertainment, but as I wrap up my column, I'll give a rundown of my impressions of PotBS and touch on a few of my future plans in the game.

Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Sailing to port

MassivelyChoose My Adventure: Sailing to port originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>choose-my-adventurecmafeaturedfree-to-playpiratesPirates-of-the-Burning-Seaport-governorpotbsship-combatsocietiessoeSony-Online-EntertainmentWed, 08 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Choose My Adventure: High society]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/04/choose-my-adventure-high-society/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/04/choose-my-adventure-high-society/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/04/choose-my-adventure-high-society/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

With my busy week last week on the road (school vacation) and now the interrupted service to all Sony Online Entertainment games, I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to jump in and play Pirates of the Burning Sea.

I did, however, continue my adventures a bit as Arienne Sauvage, Woman of Incredible Wealth and Taste (OK, so incredible isn't really in the title, but in my mind, it's definitely there!). I also started up a British Freetrader on one of my other Station accounts (two-boxing finally pays off!).

But the real question is, did I turn on my PvP flag? Read on for that answer as well as a closer look at societies and your choices if you decide to upgrade your free-to-play account.

Continue reading Choose My Adventure: High society

MassivelyChoose My Adventure: High society originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 May 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The much-heralded 100th Asheron's Call update has finally arrived! In addition to new areas and monsters, it notably adds in the highly anticipated faction system, with three distinct societies that players can join. There are also two new towns which may be captured in PvP. The society that controls a town will have access to the Black Market, which sells special items unavailable anywhere else.

A new tier of loot has been added -- mostly for levels 150 and up -- which includes armor sets for players above level 180 and items used in crafting new spells. Yep, there are new spells -- a whole level of them in fact! Level 8 spells may either be researched in the traditional way, or learned via combination of certain item drops from the new tier.

The complete release notes, including details on how to acquire items in the new loot tier, are available at Turbine's AC website. This is a huge update (accompanied, of course, by the August event), and it's a great time to feel proud that you're among the special few playing Asheron's Call today.

MassivelyAsheron's Call's 100th update is live and kicking originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>100100th-updateacasherons-callbreakingfaction-systemsfactionsitemslandlevel-8level-8-spellspatchpvpresearchsocietiesspellsturbineupdateWed, 27 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Gen Con 08: Turbine tells us what's in store for AC, Part 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/gen-con-08-turbine-tells-us-whats-in-store-for-ac-part-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/gen-con-08-turbine-tells-us-whats-in-store-for-ac-part-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/gen-con-08-turbine-tells-us-whats-in-store-for-ac-part-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Given that the game has been around for so long, do you see this addition of modern MMO features as something that the player base is really clamoring for, or are you sort of scaling that against what other games have right now?

Really, it's what the players are asking for. That's one of the things we pride ourselves on: listening to the players. Feedback and player concerns are very important to us.

Continue reading Gen Con 08: Turbine tells us what's in store for AC, Part 2

MassivelyGen Con 08: Turbine tells us what's in store for AC, Part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>100th-patch100th-updateacaiandy-cataldoartificial-intelligenceasherons-callcommunity-managerexpansionfactionsgen-congen-con-2008gen-con-indygencongencon-2008gencon-indyindianapolisinterviewpatchpvpquest-trackingquestssocietiesturbineupdateTue, 19 Aug 2008 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Gen Con 08: Turbine tells us what's in store for Asheron's Call]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/gen-con-08-turbine-tells-us-whats-in-store-for-asherons-call/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/gen-con-08-turbine-tells-us-whats-in-store-for-asherons-call/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/gen-con-08-turbine-tells-us-whats-in-store-for-asherons-call/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

At Gen Con, we spoke with Turbine's Andy Cataldo, the Community Manager for Asheron's Call, about the future of this historic game. Cataldo told us a lot about AC's epic 100th update. The update is coming within the next few weeks, and it's a doozy. According to Cataldo, AC players will get a whole new faction system, three land areas to battle over, tons of new loot and spells, and various other improvements to the game, particularly to enemy AI.

In addition to working its regular monthly event and patch schedule, Turbine is attempting to respond to player demand for a variety of new features in the 100th and all future updates. Particular emphasis is being placed on adding features common in modern MMOs, such as a quest tracking menu. AC has been around for almost ten years, so it has some catching up to do!

Learn more about Turbine's big push to modernize the game, add lots of new content, and more in the interview after the break.

Continue reading Gen Con 08: Turbine tells us what's in store for Asheron's Call

MassivelyGen Con 08: Turbine tells us what's in store for Asheron's Call originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>100100th-updateacaiandy-cataldoartificial-intelligenceasherons-callcommunity-managerexpansionfactionsfeaturedgen-congen-con-2008gen-con-indygencongencon-2008gencon-indyindianapolisinterviewjoystiq-featuresmassively-featurespatchpvpquest-trackingquestssocietiesturbineupdateTue, 19 Aug 2008 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Society system planned in 100th Asheron's Call content update]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/society-system-planned-in-100th-asheron-s-call-content-update/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/society-system-planned-in-100th-asheron-s-call-content-update/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/society-system-planned-in-100th-asheron-s-call-content-update/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Early Asheron's Call adopters are quite accustomed to the epic storylines that unfolded in the world. Some endless sojourns taken through Asheron's Call are still legendary among players. It's a beloved game, and it will celebrate its 10 year anniversary next year. It's great to see the game reach a milestone in content updates, and the 100th content update is due out in the coming weeks. Since early-June, speculation and player expectations on what the update would include has run rampant, and now a factional system has been revealed!

During the Grael story arc AC players were able to choose sides but the depth was superficial, there was no lasting impact on gameplay. With the new society system a depth exists, there is meaning and choices will matter. Players can choose from one of three societies: The Radiant Blood, The Celestial Hand, and The Eldrytch Web. You can speak to a Society recruited in Hebian-to, Cragstone or Zaikhal, and level 180 is required to join a Society. Membership doesn't come easy, players will undertake tasks to further their reputation in their chosen Society. The higher the rank the better the rewards like pulls from Level 8 loot chests and unique armor.

MassivelySociety system planned in 100th Asheron's Call content update originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>acac-100thac-100th-patchac-societyasherons-callpatchsocietiessociety-systemthe-celestial-handthe-eldrytch-webthe-radiant-bloodturbineturbine-entertainmentThu, 17 Jul 2008 19:30:00 EST