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Dragonica's New Origin expansion launches today
Today's a big day for Dragonica fans, as the two-year-old title is gearing up to launch its New Origin - Rise of the Drakan expansion this afternoon. A new press release from Gala Networks Europe tells us that the patch is the biggest in the game's history and includes a new race, new dungeons, new mounts, a fellowship party system, and a level cap increase. As the title suggests, the new race is the Drakan, and it's unlocked once players reach level 20. There are two new Drakan classes, the Amazonian and the Shaman, and both of them are playable to the new level cap (80). Once you've obtained your spiffy new Drakan warrior and explored the new Drakan town of Kareuza, you'll probably want to partake of the game's new dungeon system. Parties are now able to brave the depths of Dragonica's dungeons with eight players (up from the previous four), and the expansion introduces a couple of new instances in the form of the Akia Cave and Black Claw Nest. More info is available on the game's official website. [Source: Gala Networks Europe press release]
Pre-registrations open for Age of Wulin closed beta
Age of Wulin's English-language beta test is quite a ways off, but that hasn't stopped gPotato and Gala Networks Europe from allowing interested players to pre-register. The martial arts MMORPG's Chinese closed beta starts next month, but European and American players won't get to toodle around in the game's version of ancient China until sometime in 2012. Signing up at the official site will enter you into a closed beta lottery, with the main prize being a European CBT key. Players who register prior to October 1st will also be eligible to win one of five Age of Wulin t-shirts. The game itself is something of a departure from conventional themepark titles, and we've told you previously about its interesting skill setup and non-combat gameplay options. Age of Wulin also features more than 130 square kilometers of explorable space, eight combat schools, 17 life professions, and upwards of 20,000 quests and NPCs. Head to the official site to learn more and pre-register for next year's closed beta, and check out the latest game trailer after the cut.
Dragonica expansion bringing new race, class, and mountable pets
There's a new Dragonica expansion in the works, and gPotato and Gala Networks Europe have issued a new press release outlining a few details from the upcoming New Origin patch. The expansion launches this September, and looks to be the largest content update in Dragonica's history. What's the big deal? For starters, the patch will bring about a new playable race and mountable pets. Strangely, today's press release doesn't mention the new race by name, and instead says that it will "arrive with an entirely new player class" that uses summoning magic in some form, and "differ[s] significantly from [the] classes currently available." As for the new mount system, gPotato says that players may use their existing pets and may also deploy the mounts during battle. The expansion will include new pets as well, and we'll bring you more on all the New Origin content in the near future.
Allods Online launches new Renaissance patch, reincarnation system
Allods Online has just published its first content update since officially launching earlier this year. The Renaissance patch delivers a lot of new stuff, and it's a good thing too since Allods recently surpassed 3.5 million registered players. Those players now have a unique endgame feature to look forward to in the form of the reincarnation system, which allows players to re-roll while keeping their main character. The main becomes what's known as an Ascendant, while the new character (called an Incarnation) inherits certain abilities from the main. Both characters share gold, mounts, potions, and other items, and the reincarnation mechanic "offers the most powerful players in Sarnaut the opportunity to become even more unstoppable," according to the latest Allods press release. That's not all there is to Renaissance, though. Allods players will want to explore new zones like the Twilight Isle and the Cave of Tka-Rik, and there's also a new astral layer in store for spacefaring characters. Last but not least, there's the Happy Hours and Happy Days event, and though it doesn't feature the Fonz or Richie Cunningham, it does bring some nice XP bonuses at least once per month on every Allods server. You can learn more about Renaissance at the official Allods website, and don't forget to head past the cut for the new Renaissance trailer.
gPotato players pitch in to help Japan relief effort
While March's earthquake and tsunami in Japan is no longer in the headlines, relief and recovery efforts go on -- and will continue for some time to come. Gamers have been generous in answering the call to help by their favorite MMOs, and today we've received word that gPotato players have donated €22,151 to help with the Red Cross' relief efforts. This hefty sum was raised through the sale of special in-game items created in response to the disaster. These items appeared in Rappelz, Flyff, Castle of Heroes and Terra Militaris. Players who purchased one of these items between March 25th and April 30th saw their money go entirely to the Red Cross. This was a part of a global effort by Gala Networks that ultimately raised over €50,000. Gala Networks Europe CEO Hyun Hur has a few words for those who participated: "We're hugely proud of the amount our players have raised for the Irish Red Cross and that our community is so kind-hearted."
Tell us what you like about Aika Online, and win a video card courtesy of Massively and Gala-Net!
This video card is an uncivilized beast. Minutes within entering my home, it had the audacity not only to spill packing peanuts everywhere from the box it came in, but also to steal my Aika Online snuggie! It's a good thing we're giving this video card away in celebration of Aika's latest expansion, Ashes of Betrayal! Otherwise, it would be a bitter battle to retrieve my Aika snuggie. Darn video card already bit me twice with its two nasty fans! So, please, help a Sera out and win this video card. I'd like it out of my house before it realizes where my secret stash of cookies is. Details are after the break, so please, come along and enter this contest! No! Bad video card! Stop biting the futon!
Allods Online set to enter open beta on February 16th
Allods Online surprised us last November, seeming to come out of nowhere and offering an extensive, polished game even in beta. The game has been cycling through several rounds of closed beta since then, adding more content with each round and allowing beta testers to further explore their world. Fans of the game who didn't manage to score a closed beta key during that time have something to be happy about today: open beta for Allods Online in Europe and North America will begin next Tuesday, February 16th. Not only that, but all characters created during the open beta will not be deleted. If you're curious about the game, check out our previous coverage and prepare yourself for the awesomeness the right way. [Thanks Kane!]
Rappelz to upgrade to Epic VI, "Solus Aurum"
Rappelz players will rejoice to know that their game will be receiving a brand new update in the tradition of their "epic" patches known as Epic VI: Solus Aurum. Solus will be adding a brand new dungeon based on Egyptian mythology, an area created specifically for selling goods to other players (finally), the ability to create larger bags, and three new pets to have fight at your side.The shining jewel of the update, the dungeon known as "The Sanctuary," is home to a tribe of people with glittering golden eyes. This tribe, formerly persecuted and hunted for their eyes, fled to a corner of the world to hide. To defend their way of life, they built the Sanctuary and its great guardian, Aurumis. Overtime, however, the people forgot about the outside world, choosing to believe all outside their walls were enemies. Now they attack on sight, offering no remorse for any who walk into their sacred halls.For all of the information on Rappelz's new addition, check out their update specific website.
Rappelz to get major content update next month
When we last talked about Rappelz, the game's developers were working on an enormous localization overhaul for the Arabic market. This new version was successfully launched last month, and with that milestone under their belts, it seems that the development team has had time to work on some new content. Gala Networks Europe has issued a press release heralding a "major content update" for the French and German versions of Rappelz to be available in May.The update is called Navis Lamia, and will feature a new dungeon of the same name. Expect Scooby-Doo-esque antics as you explore a cursed missionary ship and contend with its zombie crew. One of the other major updates in the patch will be a revamping of the existing Trainee Island -- updating newbie areas is an ever-popular idea among MMO developers, and usually yields positive results. At this point, we're not sure whether the Navis Lamia patch will be exclusive to the French and German Rappelz for a period of time. The English website has made no mention of it as yet, so we might just have to sit tight for further information.
Rappelz reaches 50,000 European users in under a month
Warcry brings us the news that Rappelz, made by the fine folks at Gala Networks (who also made Flyff), has attracted over 50,000 active users in the less-than-one month since the game has debuted French and German versions. Two new servers have opened to accommodate the influx of new accounts: the French Kentauros, and the German Bastet, both named after in-game creatures.To further celebrate the success of the launch, Gala has increased the experience gain to 1.5 until March 18th. Rappelz's gameplay features a system by which you may capture and tame creatures to fight alongside you in combat. Hmm. Do we also gotta catch 'em all? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I choose you!
