endgame-systems
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Destiny previews its endgame systems
The team at Bungie has been talking a lot about Destiny's systems, but there hasn't been a great deal of discussion about the long-term game. What's going to keep players going in the long term? According to a recent interview with the designers, it's raiding. They'll be focused six-person runs that are meant to take a long chunk of time to accomplish, with no matchmaking services to fall back upon -- players will need to clear time, sit down, and get ready to really chew through challenging content. Not into that sort of play? There's also a set of bounties available on a daily basis, aimed at rewarding players for what they're already doing and creating a parallel progression path along that line. There are also daily challenges and Nightfall activities to keep players going. If you're looking forward to the game and want a closer look at what you can get from endgame, hop on over to the full preview. [Thanks to Olorunsegun Adewumi for the tip!]
PAX East 2014: Pre-launch words with WildStar's Jeremy Gaffney
WildStar is being released in about a month and a half. It feels as if it's been forever since the game first revealed its announcement trailer. Now we've finally got a release date in sight, and the last few features for the game are being revealed to the public. It's one of the last chances that we'll have to talk about the game before it releases. On the last day of this year's PAX East, I had a chance to sit down with executive producer Jeremy Gaffney to chat a little bit more about the game before it launches. While the game has gone gold and the discs are being manufactured, the team is still refining and improving the game and plans to do so up until the day of launch. That meant talking about the endgame, the development process, and the changes that have been made already in the most recent stages of beta.
Black Prophecy bringing high-end raids with its next major update
Endgame systems take time to develop properly and even more time to balance. But they're still an important element of any game, which is why Black Prophecy is bringing in a major new set of endgame mechanics with its next major content update. Episode 3: Rise of the Boids will feature new raid missions for large groups of players at the level cap, updating the PvE experience with what the developers promise will be "epic" experiences. Most of the details aren't yet known, as the announcement itself is fairly thin on hard facts, but players will be expected to form groups between eight to ten players in size. The encounters will focus heavily on group mechanics, and if prior experience is any indicator, they should reward players with significant increases in power when completed successfully. If you've gotten a bit tired of Black Prophecy's current PvE endgame, keep your eyes peeled for more details in the coming weeks.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The community and the harsh truths
It's that time again. (Those of you who immediately started in with a Wheel of Morality sketch earn a gold star and are excused for the rest of the day.) With less than a month remaining according to the official timetable for Going Rogue's release, we're taking another look at the community topics of City of Heroes, one that should prove quite rewarding. Literally, even, as some of our highlighted discussions are about prestige, merit points, and what you get off of a Giant Monster's corpse when you kill it. More than anything, if there's a theme to this round's discussions, it's a call for improvements. I've made the occasional joke about how the expansion will bring everything anyone ever wanted into the game, and there's certainly a strong thread of that running through recent discussions as well. After all, we all know there are areas where City of Heroes could be stronger, so perhaps a few side updates aren't wholly remiss? Or maybe I'm just feeling cantankerous this week. Every problem looks like a nail when all you have is a hammer, and so forth. Onward with discussion!
