End-of-Days-events
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Chaos Theory: The Secret World's events deserve encores
Two, four, six, eight, No more Mayan Zombie hate! The end had finally come. No, not of the world -- of the in-game event that was celebrating the end of days in The Secret World. For just over two weeks, folks got to enjoy special missions, collect special loot, purchase special costumes, and even fight special mobs. But once the end came, the opportunity was lost forever. You see, the End of Days was a singular affair commemorating one particular real-world happening. As such, it was a bit of a once-in-a-lifetime deal. That particular happening -- the end of the Mayan calendar -- will never repeat, so it makes sense that TSW's event shouldn't either, right? Wrong. While I fully concur that events should not go on forever or be so frequent that they lose their special nature and the excitement that comes with being a part of them, I do not agree that The Secret World should have any one-time-only events. Like any successful performance, events should be granted encores. Instead of these events being once-in-a-lifetime, I propose that events should be once-in-a-long-time. Anything else actually hurts the game. Here's why.
The Secret World granting contest reward to all participating players
When Funcom brought The Secret World back online this morning, there was a twist in the announcement of the contest winners on the launchpad: Every player who participated in the End of Days special event will be granted the contest rewards! Instead of the top 1,000 players receiving the unique "Hero of Ages" title and the top 100 getting the Hatchling pet, every character who took part in the event will collect both. Note: The miniature bug pet is delivered to the character and not to the item store claim area. The devs are taking this route because players found a way to "exploit the mechanics and reach impossible amounts of points which in turn alters the rankings to unrealistic results." [Source: TSW launcher notes]
Bylos's bunker life, the End of Days, and other Secret World news
Last we heard from Joel Bylos, creative director for The Secret World, he had locked himself away in his bunker and hunkered down for the end of the world. But don't think that means we've seen the last of him! In fact, Bylos continued his end of days video log from within that fortified haven. How well did he actually cope being sequestered away from the world with only Zoe, the two-dimensional bunker-mate? Watch and see for yourself in the final video after the break. In other news, Bylos also hosted a livestream party today in London's Crusades nightclub and answered questions from fans. We scooped up a few bits of news amid the din of revelers. First, the dev team is currently working on Black Ops, special dynamic PvP events that occur out in the world. In relation to that, Bylos revealed that there won't be multi-faction cabals because the team will be stepping up factional conflict; one way they will do this is by adding PvP XP. Outside of PvP, puzzle raids are also in the works for groups of players to solve together. Next, according to Bylos, folks are "guaranteed to see Venice before Tokyo, but it is not a new zone." In response to queries about player housing, Bylos answered that the team has to see where it falls on the list of priorities after things settle down with the new payment model. And last but not least, the special End of Days events will run through January 7th. So hop on in and enjoy a world overrun by Mayan zombies!
The Secret World creative director releases second End of Days video log
Tomorrow is that fateful day -- the one that has whipped The Secret World's creative director Joel Bylos into a frenzy. Will the apocalypse really be ushered in? Bylos certainly thinks so. And according to the video log, it's a good thing we caught up with Bylos yesterday to check up on him because he has now taken up residence in his bunker. In this latest End of Days chronicle and director's letter, Bylos issues goodbyes and an open invitation to his refuge from Armageddon before heading out for some last-minute preparations. Does anyone join him? To find out, watch the video after the break. And be sure to join Massively in a special End of Days livestream broadcast of The Secret World on Friday, December 21st @ 6:00 p.m. EST (assuming the world doesn't end before that, of course!). [Source: Funcom press release]
The Secret World Issue #5 is live
With the end of the world hitting the planet on Friday, The Secret World's fifth monthly update could obviously only be enjoyed if it hit servers before then, right? So good news -- Issue #5 is live right now! So you can right hop in and help one of Solomon Island's denizens avoid meeting her end with bad hair and find out what really happened to Tyler Freeborn. Along with the usual assortment of new missions and investigations, this update adds a third auxiliary weapon (the quantum bracers), allows players to assign inventory items to hotkeys, opens a new nightclub in London, and makes all investigation missions repeatable. Want to see what's in store come Friday when the End of Days special event starts? Get a glimpse of the Harbingers themselves in the Issue #5 preview video after the cut.
