Dragons-Call
Latest
WoW Archivist: WoW's 20 greatest non-legendary weapons
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Wrathion has kept us quite busy since the Horde and Alliance landed on Pandaria's shores. Many players assumed that all this work wouldn't lead to mere metagems alone, but a legendary weapon as well at the end of our service. Given that all (most*) prior legendary items were weapons, the assumption was reasonable. As it turns out, Wrathion will reward us with orange-grade cloaks rather than stabby bits of metal. Some players have been disappointed by this revelation, and let's face it: legendary weapons are absolutely the most cherished and coveted items in the game. However, legendary weapons don't have the market cornered on awesome. The game includes thousands of non-legendary weapons and some of them have earned the love of players despite the color of their font. Let's look at what I think are the top 20 non-legendary weapons from WoW's long history.
Rise and Shiny: Dragon's Call
When I play a game like Dragon's Call by GameDP, I am reminded of a riff on that old meme: "In Russia, game plays you." If you do what I do and explore almost any MMO or MMO-like game you can, you often find yourself joining in to play games that really boggle your mind and challenge your perception of what an MMO should be like. Dragon's Call is one of those games. Now, look, I'm up on all of the latest trends, even the ones that are super-fringe and crazy-bad; these are the trends that really interest me the most because they eventually filter into the West quietly but effectively. One of these trends is putting out games that are essentially nothing more than a button pushing contest. I've talked about the Chinese market before and how it is absolutely filled with browser-based MMOs, some of them lasting for only a few months until they are shut down. The crowd plays as hard as it can, hopes to get ranked highly, and then moves on to the next game. It's so odd. Dragon's Call has to come from this sort of design mindset, if not from China directly. The good news is that many games from the East are phenomenal, and just like the market in the West, the Eastern market offers a smaller percentage of good games versus bad -- but the good titles are really good. Unfortunately, Dragon's Call is not one of the good ones.
Rise and Shiny: Akaneiro: Demon Hunters
We're not all of us perfect. We all make mistakes, right? I did last week when I didn't vet my choice for Rise and Shiny and picked Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, a single-player game with optional co-op, a game that is not only not finished but still on Kickstarter. I'm not sure how I did it, but I think it had something to do with an email I received that talked about how good the game was. In my desperation to find something new and original to play, I grabbed this one and ran with it. American McGee's studio, Spicy Horse Games, is behind the project, so that's another reason to get excited. Luckily, the game has many great features and could, one day, feature an MMO-like option. It's also a good choice for those who enjoy games like Drakensang Online or Diablo. But there are some less exciting aspects to the game too, so you know I'll be covering those.
Dragon's Call joins Aeria Now catalogue
Last time we heard from Dragon's Call was way back in October of 2009, when we were just getting our hands on the first details of the game. Over the past year-and-change, the browser-based fantasy MMORPG has made its way into the hands of Aeria Games. It's now available in Aeria's Aeria Now stable of browser-based games. Dragon's Call features a story told through Flash-animated cutscenes and drops players into the role of one of three classes (Warrior, Mage, or Assassin) and sends them on a series of "thousands of captivating quests." PvP battles are also offered alongside the storyline quests for those of you with a bit more bloodlust. No matter which route players take, they will have the opportunity to level up their characters' skills and upgrade their equipment to customize their characters as it suits them. To give the game a whirl, head over to the official site.
Bunny hop through our Easter holiday roundup
As Massively readers everywhere recover from the second-greatest candy holiday of the year, many MMOs have also enticed players with virtual sweetness. Easter may not be the most popular of in-game holidays, but there's something very MMO-ish with "collecting" eggs and hunting down giant, man-eating rabbits wherever they trod. Even future MMOs like TERA are eager to get their own virtual bunny event up and running. Take a gander through our Easter holiday roundup, and let us know what your favorite in-game event is! Final Fantasy XI: An Egg-hunter Is Hatched "Initial eggs" are eggs of avian persuasion that have been inscribed with a single letter of the alphabet. During the Egg Hunt, adventurers can receive a random initial egg from the festival moogles once every Vana'dielian day. Collecting and forming certain combinations of initial eggs will garner you event egg-sclusive prizes. World of Warcraft: Noblegarden 2010 Noblegarden will run this year from Sunday, April 4 (this Sunday) through Sunday, April 11. If you've never done Noblegarden before or only done its fairly low-key, pre-2009 version, it helps to know that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement that rewards the 310% speed Violet Proto-Drake.
A first look at Dragon's Call
Dragon's Call is the upcoming free-to-play, browser-based MMO from EverDream Studio. Lean Smith, game director and chief designer, recently spoke with Warcry and had plenty of news for fans looking forward to the game. Dragon's Call is a fantasy themed game set in Stilland, a world of magic, dragons, and orcs. Players can choose from three familiar classes: Warrior, Mage, or Assassin, and set out to do battle in support of Duke Teddis, Cold Wind Commander. Smith promises more to be introduced in the future, and is also very excited about the PvP side of the game. "Faction War, Clan War and further systems... words can't express how awesome they are." PvP will also feature "Group battle systems" of 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3.Dragon's Call is free-to-play, but will be hopping aboard the microtransaction bandwagon. "...you can buy in-game advantage tools to save your time and play more efficiently. [...] We haven't made the final decision on price, but the average cost is affordable for everyone." The game's first closed beta is scheduled for November, and beta keys are available at the official site.
