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Massively's video preview of Guild Wars 2's Bazaar of the Four Winds
The Bazaar of the Four Winds content update for Guild Wars 2 will hit live servers tomorrow, and players will have a plethora of new activities and areas to explore. In addition to wandering through a new area called the Labyrinthine Cliffs, the denizens of Tyria can engage in a competitive obstacle course race, the aptly named Belcher's Bluff drinking game, a crystalline scavenger hunt, and Skyhammer, an asura-themed PvP map. The achievement system is also undergoing a major overhaul with a flashy new UI and a brand-spanking-new reward system, which will shower gifts upon the game's most dedicated players. Take a hop past the cut to witness all of the changes in our video preview of the Bazaar of the Four Winds.
ArenaNet details Guild Wars 2 account rewards
Guild Wars 2 might not be seeing an expansion in the near future (or ever), but ArenaNet has some other goodies in store for fans of the MMORPG. The studio's latest dev blog outlines new account achievement rewards for Guild Wars 2 players. It works like this: Every time you complete an achievement, you earn achievement points. As your points score rises, you unlock new rewards for your account. Rewards so far include exclusive armor and weapon skins, permanent experience bonuses, raw currency, utility items, titles, and more. The new achievements system is accompanied by a revamped UI panel designed to make it easier for players to track achievements and see where they stand. Oh, and the whole thing is retroactive, so achievements already completed will count towards your score total. Account rewards are set to go live with the next Guild Wars 2 release.
Guild Wars 2 announces the Bazaar of the Four Winds
After four hours of tantalizing speculation, Guild Wars 2 has officially announced the game's next major update, the Bazaar of the Four Winds. Once again, there's something coming in from the sky, but this time it's not a group of pirates that seek to murder you and take all your stuff; it's a group of traders and merchants on the Zephyr Sanctum, bringing a new air of excitement to the normal proceedings of the eponymous bazaar. In a more practical sense, the update offers three new minigames (with one sticking around as a permanent addition), a reward system for account achievements, and a new PvP map. The improved achievement UI should help getting those rewards a bit easier, while the addition of Build and Repair Mastery in WvW should help out players more prone to smashing one another with weapons. So get ready for drinking, racing, exploration, and trading when the update touches down a week from today.
Complete your For the Alliance achievement before patch 5.4
Last week, with the help of a great group of folks, I was able to complete the For the Alliance! achievement on my priest. But wait... Garrosh won't be around for much longer. I logged onto the PTR to visit Grommash Hold to see who's inside. Spoilers: It's empty. Well, there are a few of the standard NPCs around, including the Archaeology trainer, but there's no warchief to be found. Not unexpected. At this point in the storyline, Garrosh is being the ultimate butt and everyone's pretty distracted. What does this mean for Alliance looking to complete the For the Alliance! achievement if there's no Garrosh? Sure, there will be a new leader to kill, but we really can't guess when the achievement will be updated once patch 5.4 hits. If you can gather a group before then, do so! It's unfortunate that Orgrimmar can't be cross-realmed -- this part of the achievement must be completed with people from your server. To avoid being caught and overrun, arrange the raid via social media or within your guild. Word spreads quickly when these runs go public. Good luck!
Patch 5.4 PTR: Crazy Cat Lady/Man title added
When the Crazy for Cats achievement was discovered on the PTR, the first thing players asked for was a title to go along with it. Namely, something to do with being a Crazy Cat Person. Good news! We got what we asked for: The Crazy Cat Lady and the Crazy Cat Man were both added as titles in the latest patch 5.4 PTR build. Keep in mind that you need 20 out of the 24 cats listed under the achievement. Overall, the achievement doesn't seem too difficult for a battle pet collector to earn, especially since one-third of the cats on the list are purchasable via NPCs. A few felines on the list are harder to come by, including the Nightsaber Cub and Spectral Tiger Cub from the TCG, and the Spectral Cub awarded to players participating in the Shanghai 2012 Battle.net World Championship. I'm crossing my fingers for the title off the bat when the patch drops!
Guide to the Midsummer Fire Festival 2013
The Midsummer Fire Festival will run from Friday, June 21 to Friday, July 5 this year. As always, check your ingame calendar to determine the exact start and stop times for your server. While there aren't actually a lot of achievements associated with the Festival (the meta consists of only six), three of them require serious travel time, and one also requires a set of dangerous trips to enemy capitals. For the trouble, Alliance players are awarded the Flame Warden title, and Horde players Flame Keeper. If you're starting from scratch, this is definitely one of the more work-intensive holidays necessary for the completion of What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been. However, even a fresh character can afford to get all the rewards from holiday vendors if you're diligent about hitting all the holiday's fires, quests, and dailies. The basics of the holiday involve "honoring" or "desecrating" a series of fires across Azeroth and Outland. For convenience, we've listed all of the fires on each continent in a specific direction so you can reach them as efficiently as possible. This year, Blizzard has updated the holiday boss' loot list with ilevel 480 cloaks and weapons and added a set of fires to Pandaria, but there aren't that many; you'll only have an additional 7 fires to honor and one to desecrate on the continent.
Achievements, unlocked: Microsoft details Xbox One's 'challenge' system
Microsoft's Cierra McDonald has outlined plans for the Xbox One's overhauled achievements system, detailing new in-game "challenges" that promote community collaboration. Xbox One challenges are time-limited tasks displayed alongside achievements in a player's profile. Unlike achievements, challenges do not award GamerScore. Challenges, however, have the ability to track progress across multiple games and among all Xbox Live members, allowing developers to implement community-based goals. The Xbox 360 currently offers a similar service with Avatar FameStar. McDonald outlines a possible implementation: "Imagine, for example, a game releases a headshot weekend challenge that requires players to cumulatively headshot 1 million baddies in a 3 day period. And every person who participates and meets the challenge's goals gets the unlock on his or her achievement history and reaps its reward." Achievements, meanwhile, are not bound by time constraints, and are still unlocked via individual player progress. Promising players "more tangible benefits" for their in-game progress, McDonald notes that Xbox One achievements may now unlock "digital artwork, new maps, unlockable characters, and temporary stat boosts," along with other bonuses. McDonald revealed that Xbox One video and music apps can also use achievements to reward players with "sneak peek content, early access, or subscription extensions." Note, however, that you can't use app achievements to pad out your Gamerscore – points are only awarded for achievements earned in games.
Path of Exile's next update adding Challenges and more
Grinding Gear Games has published a humongous post detailing Path of Exile's 0.11.0 patch. The content drop is currently scheduled for Wednesday, June 5th, and it looks to include a number of tweaks and rebalances designed to improve your dungeon-crawling gameplay experience. Among the noteworthy adds are a set of "very difficult goals" called Challenges that look to be some sort of precursor to a full-fledged achievement system. Grinding Gear says it isn't quite ready for proper achievements just yet, but you can think of Challenges as a sort of experiment to see how they might affect PoE's gameplay. There's much more to the update, of course, but you'll need to click through to the game's official website to read it all.
Xbox One can update Achievements in response to player behavior
The Xbox One's connection to the cloud can alter a game's Achievements in response to player behavior, Microsoft has revealed at its ongoing unveiling event in Redmond. Dan Greenawalt, Creative Director at Forza developer Turn 10 Studios, cited the "I took an arrow to the knee" meme as an example of how game makers might hinge their extrinsic rewards on post-launch reactions. The meme began with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, in which droves of melancholic guards told the same story about an old injury. To extrapolate from Greenawalt's comment, it seems Microsoft is keen to further distance itself from the idea of the game as a static disc. Xbox 360 games had their Achievement lists extended with significant title updates and downloadable expansions, but the Xbox One is expected to update the rewards list more fluidly. Game creators may use Achievements to encourage comical or topical behavior, or use them to educate players if they're missing certain features or secrets.
Patch 5.3 PTR: Battle on the High Seas overview
One of my favorite scenarios to this day is Unga Ingoo. It's not because it has any major lore significance, some major story reveal that was shocking or inspired. It's not because it had any kind of meaningful impact on what we're doing right now, or on the leveling experience itself. No, the reason I love Unga Ingoo is because ships, ropes, and beating up pirates are all ridiculously fun things. Even more so when the pirates are monkey pirates. In patch 5.3, we're getting four new scenarios -- three of which are interesting from a lore perspective, and one of which, Battle on the High Seas, is just a rollicking good time. There aren't any lore reveals. There's nothing in the scenario to further the story of patch 5.3, or lead into patch 5.4. The only thing Battle on the High Seas offers is the opportunity to smack the heck out of the opposite fashion in true swashbuckling style ... and honestly, that's more than enough reason to do it as far as I'm concerned! Please note that this is being written from the Horde perspective of the scenario. I'm assuming that the Alliance side is much the same, just with a role-reversal involved. Please note: This post contains spoilers for patch 5.3 content.
Crysis 3 multiplayer DLC emerges via achievements listing
A new achievements listing suggests Crysis 3 is suiting up for multiplayer DLC. Posted on the typically reliable Xbox 360 Achievements, the listing indicates a 250G pack featuring four maps called Creek, Crossing, Ascent, and Coastline, and two modes called Frenzy and Team Possession. The mention of a flag points to Team Possession being a CTF variant. The DLC apparently also has a new weapon: the boat oar. We mainly wanted to mention it because the associated achievement is called 'Totally Oarsome.' EA hasn't announced any upcoming DLC for Crysis 3, although developer Crytek previously indicated it had "big plans" for post-launch content. We've reached out to EA for more info.
Google Play Games leaks out, will feature matchmaking and achievements
The Android answer to Apple's Game Center app on iOS will be Google Play Games, according to information obtained by Android Police from a Play Services APK teardown. The service will bring lobbies and invites for matchmaking, in-game chat, cloud game saves, achievements and leaderboards to the platform for developers to make use of. The APK Android Police pulled apart is a file package primarily used to update Android apps, so this update was riddled with code that indicated what features would be coming to the platform down the road, but aren't accessible just yet. There is certainly a good chance Google Play Games will be fully unveiled at Google's I/O event next week in San Francisco.
Patch 5.3 PTR: Collectors' achievements galore
Wowhead's Perculia has been as busy as ever cataloging the new achievements currently on the patch 5.3 PTR, putting together a comprehensive guide over at Wowhead. Do head over to check that out, but we're going to pull some of the more exciting ones out, with a focus on pets and mounts. WoW Insider also recently covered the new Gorgeous title, which comes from completing all the achievements in the new battleground, Deepwind Gorge. First up, for completing Raiding with Leashes II: Attunement Edition, collecting all 10 of the new pets which have been dropped into the old raids listed on the achievement, players are awarded yet another pet, Tito's Basket! In the same vein of pet-related achievements awarding yet more pets, the Brutal Pet Brawler achievement awards a Stunted Direhorn. Lastly, in the pet battles category, there's an achievement called The Longest Day, which, when you look at the tooltip, you'll realise is aptly named. Carrying out that mammoth task will award you a Marked Flawless Battle Stone, which can be used to boost any pet to Rare quality. What's more, mount collectors rejoice, because there's a new benchmark, 200 mounts, for which Mount Parade awards yet another mount, the Armored Dragonhawk, in blue for the Alliance and a fetching red for the Horde.
The OverAchiever: Guide to Children's Week 2013
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, the children are our future, and oh, how we hate them. In the aggregate, Children's Week is one of the most entertaining annual holidays. Dragging a small child with you around Azeroth's grand vistas and dangerous places is surprisingly fun ("I want to go to the Dark Portal." "Sure, why not?"), and it's a fairly immersive reminder that the planet's constant wars have almost certainly left a large population of orphans for each faction to rear. Also, getting a pet or the aptly-named Curmudgeon's Payoff is pretty cool too. But. (You knew the "but" was coming.) Unfortunately for all of you poor sods who still don't have School of Hard Knocks, that achievement still exists. I hated it so much that it was the sole remaining achievement between me and What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been for a year. With account-wide achievements, you no longer have to do it on multiple characters (and the whole system was worth it if for no other reason than that), but you'll still need it on one. Sorry, folks. Anyway, Children's Week 2013 runs from April 29 to May 6, and, as always, the achievements and the meta For The Children are part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been.
Google APK source code offers glimpse of possible Android game framework
Android may be improving its reputation as a gaming platform, but there isn't a consistent, official service that can tie everything together -- Google has no parallel to Xbox Live or Game Center. That might be changing, if Android Police's snooping around the Google Play Services component of the MyGlass app is any indication. A seemingly innocuous "games" folder includes what appears to be a Google Play Services gaming framework: achievements, in-game chats, rankings and invitation-capable multiplayer lurk inside. None of these are accessible to regular users, though, so it's unclear whether the references represent a glimpse into an upcoming gaming strategy or just an instance of developers leaving in code that's normally destined for the scrap heap. We're hoping there are some proper answers at Google I/O.
Vendetta Online now available on the iPad
Vendetta Online was officially released for the PC back in 2004 -- it's a space combat-based massively multiplayer online game that has been updated and developed almost constantly since it first went online in 2002. A few years ago, the game went mobile on Windows tablets, and today, Vendetta Online has made its way over to iOS. It's now available for the iPad. There are a few interesting things about this one. First of all, unlike the great Galaxy on Fire 2, which also features space-based combat and trading, Vendetta Online is a real MMO, which means you'll see hundreds if not thousands of other players flying around the game's universe with you. Vendetta's been updated many, many times over the years, and all of the core game's features have made it over to the iPad, along with iOS-specific features like achievements on Game Center. There's also cross-platform integration, so you can play on iPad alongside players also playing on Windows, Mac, and Linux. And finally, because this is a full MMO, it requires an extra cost to keep the servers going. Buying the app for just 99 cents gets you a month of service for free, but the app will cost another dollar per month after that. $12 a year isn't bad at all for a subscription (WoW still charges more than that per month), but it may be more than most iOS gamers are willing to pay. Still, Vendetta Online is a classic title at this point with a dedicated audience, and it's nice to finally have it available and running on the iPad.
15 easy (and not so easy) achievements to work on while leveling
If you've played WoW for more than a half hour or so, chances are you've noticed the game's achievement system, which rewards you with (meaningless) points and sometimes more tangible rewards (like unique tabards or special titles) for doing certain things in the game. You'll find you get achievements for leveling, achievements for completing quests, achievements for picking up gold, achievements for leveling professions, there's even an achievement for visiting the barber's shop. We've gathered some achievements that are a bit more out of the way, but all of which you can either pick up or work on while you're leveling. They aren't all easy, but none of them require you to be level 90 and epiced out. So if you're leveling but are interested in upping your achievement game, give these a try. We've ranked them in what we think of as order of difficulty. If nothing else, they're a distraction from the leveling grind! 1. Duel-icious All you have to do here is duel another player and win. Any player -- even if they're much lower level than you are -- will do. We recommend asking a friend to duel with you, but you can request duels from anyone. Just remember to be polite about it rather than just going around challenging everyone in an area to duels!
This is what the Xbox 360 Achievement sound looks like
Whenever you hear that "boop-boop" drop-chime of Achievement on the Xbox 360, picture this floating, green jellyfish-like image, because that's what it looks like. This is according to design company Born of Sound, which makes noises into "sound-forms," or physical art.
Borderlands 2 for Mac gets a multiplayer update
Borderlands 2 arrived on the Mac late last year, but unfortunately the publisher, Aspyr Media, wasn't able to get the multiplayer working in time for the release. Today the company has released a patch that enables multiplayer co-op through Game Center, along with leaderboards and achievements. Aspyr has also made five different content packs available through in-app purchase, so you can pick up new items, new levels and the Mechromancer class as well. To celebrate the game's update, Aspyr has put the title on sale at 50 percent off for a limited time, so you can grab it for just US$29.99 right now. It's a shame this content wasn't available at launch, but better late than never, and having the game available at such a low price puts us in a pretty forgiving mood anyway.
The OverAchiever: Time zones, battle pets, and an achievement you probably don't know about
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, Allison desperately wishes to return to the days of "server time." Confession: This article was originally going to be about achievements you could get from unexpected places, because I thought it would be cool to run a column on the areas you pass by a lot without necessarily realizing there are points there for the taking. I'd worked all the way up to Wanderers, Dreamers, and You, which I've been meaning to do for a while but never got around to ... and then I hit a giant road block. Why? This achievement was one of those unintentionally affected by changes in patch 5.1 that altered event times for a lot of servers. Most players will probably remember when the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza disappeared for a few months while Blizzard tried to figure out a way to square it with Cross-Realm Zones. The Fishing Extravaganza returned alongside a new system that standardized most event times across servers in an effort to simplify what was happening and when. The Wanderer's Festival was one of the affected events. After spending hours trying to track down and confirm the event time schedule for servers across the European, North American, and Oceanic servers, I decided it probably merits an article all to itself because the Wowhead thread is a giant rat's nest of conflicting and outdated information. Also, it's not enough to be there while the festival is actually happening, and if you don't get there early, you probably won't have a shot at a battle pet you can't get anywhere else. I am not too proud to admit I need help with this one.
