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LotRO dev diaries take a look at upcoming Rune-keeper and Hunter changes
With the launch of Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard just a short week away, Turbine is beginning to round out its pre-Isengard dev diaries. Today, we've got a double-whammy for you in the form of some new information on what will become of Rune-keepers and Hunters when the new expansion hits. On the Rune-keeper side of things, the devs have a variety of goals for the class, such as refining the class' trait trees, allowing the class to perform as a "hybrid AoE damage dealer," and buffing the class' AoE healing slightly. Chisels and rifflers will be seeing big changes in order to allow all of them to be used by Rune-keepers of the DPS and healing variety rather than gearing them toward one or the other. As with all other classes, the team is focusing on improving existing skills rather than introducing new ones, and as such the greatest changes are coming to the Rune-keeper's trait lines. Each trait line's four-set bonus is seeing changes to some degree. Meanwhile, in Hunter land, the goals for the class are much more concise. The devs want to give players further incentive to use all three of the available combat stances while performing "general cleanup" on the class. All stance-specific bonuses have been removed from all trait lines and redistributed elsewhere, thereby keeping Hunters from being locked into a specific stance based on their choice of trait line. Hunters will also be granted the ability to dual-wield and to wear medium armor from the get-go, which should help new players immensely. Of course, a variety of Hunter abilities have been improved, and the class is also gaining two new skills to round out its repertoire. For the entire set of changes to both classes, head on over to the dev diaries and soak up all the juicy details. And remember, Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard launches in just a week, so prepare yourselves accordingly.
Sprint axes Premier program, no more annual upgrades for Gold customers
Well, hope as you might that it was untrue, Sprint has killed off its Premier program and is putting an end to annual upgrades for Premier Gold customers. Premier subscribers will still be able to take advantage of the perks provided by their accounts through the end of the year, but once the calendar flips to 2012 you'll be thrown back in with the rest of the riffraff. Gold members, who previously enjoyed discounted handset upgrades every year, will have through the end of 2012 to take advantage of one more subsidized phone. But, after that, they'll be on the same 22 month schedule as everyone else. Sorry folks, dem's da breaks. Check out the FAQ at the source link for more details. [Thanks, Eric]
Sprint changing return policy tomorrow, nixing Premier program at year's end
Sprint's been making mondo policy changes over the last two weeks in the form of increased fees, so what's a few more cuts? We've received tips over the last day or so that suggest the Now Network up to its shenanigans again, making immediate changes to its return policy and soon putting the kibosh on its Premier program. Effective tomorrow, Sprint's trimming its return period from 30 days to 14 and the risk-free trial offer -- which ultimately allows you to walk away from your service within a month without being charged a penny -- is vanishing into thin air. Reaching out for confirmation from a carrier spokesperson, we were told: "Beginning Sept. 16, Sprint is updating its return policy for new lines of service, upgrades, accessories and devices. We will share more details of the new Sprint Satisfaction Guarantee at a later date." This doesn't fully answer our query, of course, but it at least confirms that the return policy will fall victim to a few adjustments on Friday. We also began receiving tips today foretelling the upcoming demise of the Sprint Premier program -- the company's two-tiered VIP program that offers annual upgrades and other perks. Premier members will apparently be notified as early as tomorrow (or as late as October) that they have until year's end to cash in on their remaining benefits. The only reasoning given: "to help us focus on the areas that customers value the most, such as unlimited data plans." Interpret that how you will, but ginormous things are going down in Overland Park, and we haven't even heard the wondrous news about the carrier's "Strategy Update" yet. Unless, of course, it's all tied together somehow... [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Protect Isengard with the new LotRO Guardian dev diary
It's time for another Lord of the Rings Online developer diary, and this time around the Guardian is up to bat. So what's in store for the plate-wearing, shield-toting class come Rise of Isengard? Well, of course Turbine realizes that many Guardians are tanks first and foremost, and it will ensure that Guardians are able to continue tanking with the best of them. On top of that, however, some passes are being made to increase Guardian DPS, which Turbine feels is substandard. In order to accomplish this, they will be raising Guardian DPS "in a behind-the-scene fashion." This means that many abilities, such as Guardian's Ward, will simply "do more damage inherently as the Guardian levels up from 65," and Guardians will also be granted some additional damage from their shield abilities thanks to increased Shield Use rating from new Legendary Traits. If you're interested in the finer details, the full list of skill changes can be found in the full dev diary.
The Burglar steals the show in latest Lord of the Rings Online dev diary
All right, all you sneaks and footpads, we've got some news for you. Tim "Raskolnikov" Lang posted a Lord of the Rings Online dev diary today, giving players a look at the changes coming to the Burglar class in the Rise of Isengard expansion. For starters, the Burglar now receives his Melee Offense Rating from Agility rather than Might, putting him more in line with what people expect from the sneaky-sneaky-stabby-stabby character type. Fresh Burglars now begin the game with dual-wield and the ability to equip medium armor, which should make the early levels considerably more enjoyable for new players. The class also has some quality of life changes coming its way as well as a few small adjustments to its traits. Overall, the adjustments seem quite favorable to Middle-earth's pickpockets and thieves, so keep a hand on your purse and watch your back!
The Daily Grind: When have changes overwhelmed you?
Ask most Star Wars Galaxies fans what the problems were with the NGE, and you're likely to get a list that dwarfs most screenplays. But it's hard to argue that one of the major failings was that it was trying to make too many changes to the core of the game in too short a span of time. Even if the changes were good ones -- and many players were of the mind that they weren't -- it was a massive shift in a game without enough time to adapt to all the alterations. Few MMO players would argue that games never need to change, if only to remove parts of the gameplay that are unintentionally broken. But changes that rush on too fast can leave players disoriented, unhappy, and more than a little confused. So when has the pace of change in a game overwhelmed your ability to cope? Was it a major change like World of Warcraft's massive overhaul of the old world, or even something simple but far-reaching like City of Heroes' Enhancement Diversification? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Final Fantasy XIV outlines changes to the enmity systems
Enmity, hate, threat, or whatever term you prefer is a big part of combat in any MMO. It's the principle around which the concept of a tank is based, the idea that you can have one person responsible for drawing the attention of monsters. And in Final Fantasy XIV, the process of holding that enmity was complex, lacked an indicator, and was generally difficult to gauge. As part of patch 1.18's major battle system overhaul, the functions of enmity are being changed, streamlined, and improved to make tanking more straightforward for all players. Monsters will be gaining a new indicator for enmity, allowing each player to effectively judge whether or not to hold back on attacking based on enmity. Similarly, the process of accumulating, holding, and dispelling enmity will be significantly streamlined. Final Fantasy XIV players fond of taking on the tanking role will want to take a look at the breakdown, which promises to make threat that much easier to hold on to.
The Daily Grind: Are you just a little bitter?
You know that nursing a grudge never helped anyone, that the best thing you can do is let go of things that frustrate you. But at the same time, there are a lot of things to be bitter about when it comes to MMOs. And even though we try to let the little things go or let go of old grievances, it can still be difficult for, say, a former Star Wars Galaxies player to suppress a nervous twitch whenever the NGE gets mentioned. City of Heroes PvP fans, Allods Online players burned by the cash shop, World of Warcraft alumni who can pinpoint the exact moment that the game jumped the shark. Whatever it might be, you probably have something that you're still bitter about, even long after it's ceased to be a pressing or urgent issue. So what are you bitter over? What grudge have you held on to even though you know it'd be better to just let it go? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions, but today we're just a little worried about you. It's not healthy to harp on what are really small issues, so after you've vented about your bitterness in today's Daily Grind, maybe it's time to let it go.
LotRO PvMP changes proposed
As we reported a couple of weeks back, the fine folks over at Turbine have been working on some tweaks to Lord of the Rings Online's PvMP system. Not content, of course, to let those goody-goody Free Peoples grab all of the attention, Kelsen popped in on the forums today to post the proposed changes to the various Creep classes available to players. DocHoliday's MMO Saloon has an excellent summary of the changes, which include everything from cooldown reductions, damage tweaks, survivability adjustments, and more, all in order to bring the Creeps better into balance with their Freep counterparts. If you're looking for more specific information rather than a brief summary, the original posts are all available on LotRO's Creep forums.
WoW Moviewatch: Nica the Herbalist - Changes
Nica the Herbalist - Changes is the first full-length movie from Aedonix and Raven. This duo is just getting started in machinima, publishing their movies on YouTube under the name The Raven Bristow. The video shows a lot of promise and effort. They clearly scripted out the movie and put a lot of time into learning how to animate WoW characters in machinima. The voice track was challenged, however, and the dialogue was a little muddied. Improving the vocals would go far in improving the film. There's definitely talent and potential here. I especially liked the use of the Azeroth outhouse as a TARDIS. I hadn't seen that gag before, and I felt it was absolutely brilliant. That bit alone was enough to make me send the video to a few friends. Despite several bright moments, though, I think the script could have used a little tightening. It's important in machinima to have a strong narrative whose plot points almost leap out from the screen and punch the viewer. I think stronger narrative conflicts would have helped hold audience attention, letting payoffs like the TARDIS stand as stronger punch lines. Overall, this video was a lot of fun. I sincerely hope The Raven Bristow keeps creating videos, honing their craft, and improving their skills. There's a whole lot of potential here, and I'd like to see it realized. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Patch 4.1 PTR Warrior changes
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host. It wouldn't be a patch without warrior changes, and patch 4.1 is nothing if it isn't a patch. What are the really big standouts from an initial overview pass of the changes? Rallying Cry is a new ability that seems to work like Last Stand for the entire party or raid. Colossus Smash now only lowers armor by 70% for 6 seconds, down from 100%. Intercept stun is reduced to 1 second. In addition, Juggernaut will no longer increase the stun duration of Charge. Whirlwind will now reduce its cooldown by 6 seconds if it strikes four or more targets. Several arms abilities have had their damage increased, from Mortal Strike (175% weapon damage) to Overpower (145% weapon damage) to the talented Improved Slam (increases slam damage by 20/40%, up from 10/20%). These are most likely intended to compensate arms for losing Colossus Smash's armor penetration, indicating that nerf was aimed at fury DPS. Finally, Improved Hamstring will now also reduce the global cooldown on Hamstring by half a second for 1 point and a full second for two. Less stunning for warriors and more snaring seems to be the order of the day.
AT&T tweaking messaging plans, killing some upgrade discounts, raising fees and MicroCell pricing
How on Earth have Verizon and AT&T both decided to kill off their upgrade discount programs within a few days of each other? Hard to say, but we've gotten a little peek at some new policies designed to "streamline" things that are apparently coming into effect next Sunday, January 23rd -- and very few (if any) of them are going to bring a smile to your face. Here's the gist: There'll be a new text package of 1,000 messages for $10 with overage at 10 cents apiece. This compares to 5 cents at the 1,500 / $15 level and 10 cents at the 200 / $5 level. Speaking of those other text packages, they're going away. Both the 200 and 1,500 text plans are goners. Obviously, if you're already on them, you shouldn't be affected -- you just won't be able to select them for new plans or changes anymore. Early upgrade pricing on new iPhones -- the standard subsidized price plus $200 -- will only be available six months into an existing iPhone activation. $50 and $100 discounts on top of subsidized pricing for upgrading customers -- similar to Verizon's recently-killed New Every Two program -- are going away. If you're currently eligible, you'll still be eligible to take advantage through July 23rd of this year. Family plan add-a-line activation is increasing $10 to $36. International voice roaming prices are changing in 117 countries. That's a lot of countries! We're assuming most of those rates are going up, not down, though we don't have details at this point. Calling to Canada is going from 29 cents per minute to 39 cents. The 3G MicroCell is increasing in price from $149.99 to $199.99, which seems like a really bizarre move to us -- hard to say what the motivation is there. Certain "pre-selected" customers will still receive special discount offers for it in the mail, though. Check out full details on the changes in the gallery below. [Thanks, anonymous tipster] %Gallery-114713%
Champions Online previews the new Archetype system
When Champions Online first announced that it was joining the ranks of other games offering a no-subscription option, it included a mention that free members would be locked into archetypes. Archetypes were described in broad strokes as a chance for players to develop along the lines of famous heroes from comics, with a locked progression path but the same basic power level. While the development team hasn't yet expounded on what the precise archetypes will be, it has put together a short description about the differences players can expect between the normal free-form heroes and the coming archetype heroes. As it turns out, archetypes will end up with slightly fewer overall powers than freeform heroes but with the same general power level. The preview explains the split as being one of versatility -- freeform heroes will be able to take many roles, but archetype heroes will perform one role well and that's it. If you're one of the players looking forward to trying Champions Online as free-to-play, or if you're just interested in the new build system, take a look at the full rundown and keep your eyes peeled for the coming details on the archetypes themselves.
The Daily Grind: What changes were you worried about that turned out fine?
Whenever a new feature is put into a game, there's a portion of the playerbase crying foul before it even hits the test server, and not without cause. Nearly every fan crying out that this change will cause huge problems has evidence, both anecdotal and otherwise, that will be pointed to as an obvious reason why the change is a bad idea. The developers listen, nod quietly, and push it live anyway. And as it turns out, the sky remains where it is, cats and dogs do not begin living together, and the hysteria is remarkably contained. To claim that we don't all have our pet causes is ridiculous -- we all have certain things that we know will break the game beyond a shadow of a doubt. But sometimes these game-breaking changes go live after all, and as it turns out they aren't actually such a big deal. So when have you been frightened of a major game change that turned out to not be all that important? Was it a class redesign, a major mechanical change, or an apparent simplification that wound up making the game more fun to play in the end? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's The Daily Grind!
Dan Stahl highlights more of Star Trek Online's future direction
Star Trek Online's Dan Stahl has been fairly vocal since he took the executive producer post at the beginning of last month. We had our own chance to speak with him recently, where he discussed everything from the then-upcoming Season 2 content to the rumors about the game adopting a free-to-play model. His most recent interview at ZAM covers several of the same pieces of territory, but as one would expect with the time elapsed and the release of Season 2, there are several new pieces of information within. The weekly episodes are one of the major points of discussion, with the first one premiering in late August. Stahl discusses the episodes focusing around the Deferi, a race with ties to both the Federation and the Klingons, but not explicitly allied with either. He also discusses plans for an overhaul to exploration, likening the current system to "a small box where you fly around and go through random doors," something that the team is planning on changing for Season 3. The full interview is well worth a read for what it contains -- nothing earth-shattering, but more signs that Star Trek Online's direction is getting progressively stronger.
The Daily Grind: What game would you change from the beginning?
Let's say for a moment that you have a time machine. Now, before you immediately start making plans to buy stocks and get President Kennedy to wear a helmet, it's a very specialized time machine. It will work exactly once, and bring you back to the development stage before a game has launched. You can't change the team or the studio, but you can have complete conceptual control over the game from the earliest testing until it finally goes live. With that in mind, what game would you pick? Would you go back to a game that's been canceled to see if better development early on could save it? Would you try and tweak something in your favorite game that always altered you? Would you try and make an older game more compatible with future design? Or would you go for a game that you never cared for and try to make it better?
Monato Esprit switches to a traditional free-to-play model
Although we're not yet finished with 2010, it seems to have developed a pattern of games going free-to-play. Add Monato Espirit to that list, as the game has recently moved from its own rather unique model for payments to a more traditional setup. Conversions of the sort usually come with mixed excitement and trepidation from the community, but it looks as if the response has been fairly uniform in its positivity, as the game's prior model was at once more open and more restrictive. Under the old model, the game used purchasable MetaTix as its main currency -- it eschewed NPC vendors and gold drops in favor of tradable MetaTix to fuel the economy. The changed experience offers a far more traditional setup with in-game money and an in-game cash shop to facilitate microtransactions. While new business models are always interesting, it would appear this one wasn't tremendously beloved by Monato Espirit's players, meaning that the game's shift has been welcomed with open arms. [Thanks to Alex for the tip! ]
Blizzard unveils groundswell of new information on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
If you play MMOs, you have some relationship to World of Warcraft. You may not be actively playing it, but odds are good you're watching out of the corner of your eye, especially with a new expansion on the way that promises to severely change the face of the game. Blizzard recently took the opportunity to hold a small press event in which they revealed several pieces of lore and gameplay information, and a great deal of it is fairly far-reaching -- especially as much of what's been announced includes scrapped plans. The "Path of the Titans" system? Scrapped, and replaced with an overhaul of the Inscription glyph system. Guild talents? Scrapped, with the benefits added automatically instead of allowing guild officers to specialize a given guild. Forcing 25-man progression to be locked together? Scrapped, after a fashion, as a raid lockout can be "split" into ten-person groups and can more easily be swapped. There's a lot of information, but we're not going to attempt to duplicate the excellent coverage of our sister site WoW.com -- instead, those curious should take a look at their roundup post, and the category with links to more in-depth analysis of each announcement.
Rising labor costs in China may lead to pricier electronics, manufacturing relocation
You might recall that Foxconn, faced with the searing spotlight of the world's attention on its working conditions, recently announced not one but two wage increases for its employees, which is now looking like part of a larger trend in China toward higher pay. The city of Beijing has said it'll be raising its minimum wage by 20 percent, to 960 Yuan ($140) a month, and is expected to be followed by others. The New York Times pins this on numerous factors, including growing competition for workers, state authorities insisting on higher standards, and a national policy effort to ease the gap between rich and poor. All good news, you might think, but these worker-friendly measures are taking their toll on manufacturing costs, and now there's talk of companies relocating production to cheaper locales. Vietnam, India and Indonesia are the prime suspects for taking production duties away from China, with some companies also apparently contemplating shifting to poorer regions within the nation. These changes are unlikely to perturb high-end electronics manufacturing in the short term, due to its more sophisticated infrastructure and supply chain, but the end consumer might still feel their effect in the form of higher prices. Inflation within China and a projected increase in its currency value are likely to drive up the cost of exports, so we'd advise buying what you need sooner rather than later. [Thanks, Daniel]
Wrath of the Lich King Retrospective: Naxxramas
With the final content patch of this expansion on our doorstep and Cataclysm following close behind, we'll be taking the next several weeks to look back on Wrath of the Lich King and everything that made it what it is, for better or for worse, in WotLK Retrospective. When people talk about raiding in Wrath of the Lich King, a lot of the complaints often boil down to Naxxramas. It was out too long before a new tier of raid content, the fights were too dumbed down from the original raid's difficulty and it was too easy. It was an unimaginative way for Blizzard to cut corners and save time developing Wrath. While I'm personally critical of Naxxramas as a raid instance in its current implementation, let's look at these points and discuss their validity. Naxxramas was out too long before a new tier of raid content. This one's pretty subjective, but we can consider two factors. First, Naxx went live with Wrath's release in November 2008, alongside Malygos (Eye of Eternity) and Sartharion (Obsidian Sanctum). Malygos' itemization was half a tier superior to that of Naxx itself, so that items that dropped in the 10-man version of Eye of Eternity were equivalent to those that dropped in 25-man Naxx. Malygos-25 drops were superior to anything that dropped in Naxxramas off anyone but Kel'Thuzad himself. So while we could say that this entire tier of raiding lasted from launch until the release of Ulduar in April 2009, it's unfair to single out Naxxramas as the sole offender. Furthermore, Trial of the Crusader launched in August 2009, meaning that Ulduar's duration as the top tier of raiding was only a month shorter than that of Naxxramas/EoE/OS. Are we really arguing that the 20 bosses of those combined three raids had so much less raiding potential that an extra month or so wasn't at least subjectively justifiable?
