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City of Heroes heading for San Diego Comic Con
It's understandable that a lot of people might be in convention overload at the moment -- after all, E3 is just now wrapping up with all the information that entails. But for City of Heroes fans, the next big convention is still around the corner. San Diego Comic Con 2011 is taking place at the end of July, and Paragon Studios will be showing off on the show floor, celebrating both the game's four-color roots and the latest developments in gameplay. While the team has given several presentations in recent conventions, this year the game will have a booth on the show floor from July 21st to July 24th, giving players a chance to stop by and talk about the game with both developers and community managers. And if that's not enough, the team will also be giving away a new costume card, transforming characters into the Mk-VI Victoria assassin droid. City of Heroes players should keep their eyes peeled for more news of a meet-and-greet to accompany the gathering.
Fishing changes on the way to Final Fantasy XI
There are certain constants in Final Fantasy XI that every veteran of the game knows, whether or not they were intended by the development team. It's a known fact, for instance, that you need an extra character to serve as a storage mule. You need to farm if you want money. And fishing is well-known for both being all but required for making money and being frequently boring and frustrating. But that last constant looks to be poised for changing, with the newest fishing changes promising a cleaner and easier experience while trawling Vana'diel's waters. The first welcome change will give players a more detailed set of information when fishing rather than a simple generic message that you've snagged something. The second, however, will be even more helpful for fishers -- a message informing you of exactly what you've hooked if your skill level surpasses the level required for the fish. Both changes go hand-in-hand with a general revamp and improvement of the fishing code to make fishing easier for Final Fantasy XI's anglers to enjoy, while at the same time cutting down on the often unwanted botting that plagues fishing holes.
WoW player makes her way to 85 without quest or kill experience
Tired of the same old same old in your favorite MMO? Looking for something else to do? Well, if you're one of a particular breed of players, you might try out setting some self-imposed limitations on your leveling. In World of Warcraft, several players have tried their hands at different methods. Gutrot from the EU leveled to 70 wearing only a loincloth. Gweryc decided to run his hunter as a melee-only character. Noor the Pacifist then decided to level his character to 70 by not killing any mobs at all, and he only did quests that involved non-violent criteria (like FedEx quests). Now we hear that another player has upped the alternative-leveling ante by not questing at all. Everbloom, level 85 Night Elf Restoration Druid from the Feathermoon server, leveled all the way to 85 by grinding exploration and gathering experience! While Everbloom's armory profile shows that the character entered one five-man dungeon at some point, there is only one completed quest -- and Everbloom explained that one was a fluke. Apparently Blizzard blindsided her by granting a quest completion for simply reading an Argent Tournament invitation letter -- even without having a quest for it. Everbloom additionally managed to level to 85 while only dying 25 times in total (once to falling), making this crazy stunt an even more impressive feat. If you'd like to read more about it directly from the source, head over to the World of Warcraft forums and check out Feathermoon's leveling thread. It's certainly worth a look if you've ever thought about trying some form of self-imposed limitation leveling in your MMO of choice.
Choose My Adventure: I've been digging on the homestead...
All the live long day! Sing it with me now... There really is something to be said for creating your own world. How many of you gamers out there have just ached for a MMO game in which you could truly affect the world instead of rolling along on a predestined path that is the same for everyone? As I delve deeper into Xsyon, that is what I find -- a world where my actions have real meaning. A world where we can change not only the political and economic landscapes but the literal landscape. For Choose My Adventure this week, you, the Massively readers, decided that I shall work on my architecture skills and place a homestead (thereby allowing me to terraform). This really highlights some of the most unique features of the game. Although I dove into these new tasks with gusto, I now know why olden-day manual laborers sang songs during their work -- there is serious need of brain stimulation during long, monotonous labor. And building a new world from the ground up is seriously a long and slow process. If nothing else, Xsyon is not a game for the instant-gratification crowd. Which is all the better, in my opinion. For a deeper look at terraforming, crafting, and general life in the Tahoe Basin, build a bridge over the cut and check out where our adventures led this week.
CCP hides valuable information within QR code
Being a bit devious and underhanded in EVE Online is pretty much the basic standard of interaction. CCP's flagship game has built itself a reputation of rewarding the clever and the analytical, but the developers themselves have only occasionally taken part in the antics themselves. The development team has gone a step further this time, however, posting a bit of valuable information for fans... in the form of a QR code, with no further hints for players. Players with smartphones and other QR readers have already deciphered the meaning of the square, which promises a fan gathering at PAX East in Boston. There will be developers, drinks, and an event exclusive, but players will be required to mail their first and last names as well as their character names to paxeast2011@ccpgames.com in order to attend. It promises to be a fun time for EVE Online fans -- and while it's a bit of a sneaky way of making the announcement, really, it's par for the course. [Thanks to Prime Synergy for the tip!]
Arcane Brilliance: Professions for Cataclysm mages
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Except last week, when the holidays aggroed us. But rest easy, we managed to sheep the holidays, so now we can all go ahead and nuke down the rest of the year. As long as nobody breaks it early, our sheep shouldn't expire on the holidays for about 12 more months, give or take. So you're a mage. You have a job, and that job is taking something that was previously intact and converting it into much smaller, bloodier, often frozen chunks of that same thing. You manufacture shattered mobs, and you take pride in your work. But you may also have a side project or two. Maybe you thought to yourself, "Self, perhaps when we aren't making warlocks explode, maybe we should spend our time sewing trousers. Or baking cupcakes. Or making necklaces." Well, your self is right. You should be using your downtime in between vicious warlock kills to learn a side trade. They offer bonuses in the form of cool gear, extra money, and bonus stats, plus a bit of catharsis to help you decompress form all that murder. But which professions should you choose? That's easy: anything but mining. What's that? You'd like a bit more detail? Oh, fine.
Gold Capped: The downside of hoarding
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen aims to show you how to make money on the auction house, and Insider Trader, which is all about professions. For Gold Capped's inside line on making money in-game, check in here every Thursday, and email Basil with your comments, questions or hate mail! In the beginning of an expansion, a lot of people tend to hoard goods for later. A herbalist friend of mine gathered his heart out for the first two days of Cataclysm and managed to produce something like 50 stacks of herbs. His plan for it was to use some of it on maxing out alchemy and then hold onto the rest so he could level inscription at some future point. We started talking, and it became apparent that he was aware that the price of herbs was high and would likely be much lower in a couple of weeks. This is not unique. Most people who end up with enough gatherable materials that they have to decide what to do with apparently default to hoarding it for future use instead of using it immediately or selling it -- even if they know that the value of their mats will be lower by the time they use it.
NCsoft hypes Aion double crafting XP and holiday events
Happy Solorius Festival, Daevas! Yes, the Atreian equivalent of Christmas is back, and you can join the ongoing Aion celebration through January 5th. You'll find new quests in both Sanctum and Pandaemonium, as well as rewards that include decorative hats, gift bundles, and buff consumables. Mid-winter and New Year's marks the Year of the Ribbit celebration, and festivities include even more quests and rewards (including new ribbit outfit pieces). The party starts December 22nd and lasts through January 12th. Finally, NCsoft is turning on the double XP spigot again, this time in honor of Atreia's crafters. Friday, December 17th through Monday, December 20th is a prime time for catching up on any artisan activities you may have been neglecting, as double XP for crafting, essence-tapping, and aether-tapping will be in full effect.
Choose My Adventure: Time management and the AFK game
Welcome back to Massively's Choose My Adventure. As I'm gearing up for the fifth week of my excursion through Darkfall and the lands of Agon, I've settled into something of a groove based on my own personal playstyle and the schedules of folks that I've met in the game. Aventurine's sandbox is a game that sucks you in in a number of different ways. It's a game that you can (and really should) play a lot, and it's not a game that I'd recommend to folks who are dabblers and game-hoppers or those who have a ton of additional demands on their free time. This isn't solely because of the skill grind, either, but also because of the large degree of freedom a player has to choose his own goals, path, and endgame. Ultimately, Darkfall is a pretty large middle finger in the face of the popular notion that MMORPGs are casual games. In fact, Aventurine said as much several months ago, and this attitude informs just about every aspect of Agon. Though some might consider this a negative, I've thus far found it to be quite a bit of fun as well as a refreshing change from the vast majority of the disposable MMOs I've played over the past half decade. Join me after the cut for a look at time management in Agon as well as my weekly recap. %Gallery-110478%
TOR video talks crew skills and PvP
Ready for another look at crew skills and PvP in BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic? If so, G4TV has you covered in the form of a five-minute video featuring Daniel Erickson and extensive in-game footage. Erickson explains the gathering, crafting, and mission components that make up crew skills (which is basically BioWare's catch-all term for traditional MMO crafting). "Missions are something very different, and for missions to make sense, you have to understand the base concept of crew skills, which is that you are not the one doing this stuff. Your companion characters are the ones who are going hands-on and doing the crafting," Erickson says. In terms of TOR's PvP implementation, Erickson illustrates BioWare's goal of making the mechanic appropriately contextual to the Star Wars universe (as opposed to the kill-everything-moving-just-because mentality common to many PvP systems). He describes everything from slicing terminals to seeing turrets move in real time, painting a picture of an immersive PvP experience that makes sense within the framework of the license. Finally, Erickson talks a bit about the recently announced race/class combos, including the Sith pureblood. Check out the video after the cut, or at G4TV.
TERA crafting and gathering videos sighted
En Masse Entertainment and Bluehole Studio have made action combat the focus of TERA's marketing campaign, and for the most part, that's all we've heard about over the past several months (well, that and how much some people are turned off by bikini armor). At long last, a bit of information about TERA's crafting and gathering mechanics (yes it has them!) has surfaced. The news takes the form of a player-written guide over at TERAfans, and it features a run-down on resources, professions, and raw materials. As it turns out, players can opt to pursue alchemy, armor and weaponsmithing, carpentry, or tailoring and leatherworking professions. The article also features two in-game videos showing the mechanics in action. Jump the cut for some footage of a player gathering ore and crystal as well as the crafting of a low-level staff. Keep in mind that this info hails from the Korean beta client and so is subject to change.
BioWare reveals The Old Republic crew skill details
Curious about crafting in BioWare's upcoming Star Wars MMORPG? We are too. We're so curious in fact, that we're bringing you not one but two crafting-centric stories today. In addition to our exclusive dev interview, BioWare has also updated its official The Old Republic website with a hefty dose of info on crew skills. In a nutshell, your hero character will have the ability to assign crafting, gathering, and even mission skills to various NPC crew members. While you're out saving the galaxy, chasing attractive Twi'leks, or whatever it is that heroes do these days, your faithful companions will be doing all the grunt work involved in keeping you competitive when it comes to crafting. Gathering skills include bioanalysis, scavenging, and slicing, while crafting skills break down into armormech, artifice, and biochem categories. Last but not least, mission skills feature diplomacy and treasure hunting. That's not all either, as the web page features a few tantalizing question marks indicating further skill reveals in the future. We'll tell our astromechs and slicers to keep a sharp lookout, and in the meantime, you can view the crew skills video after the cut.
Newest Final Fantasy XIV dispatch clarifies the value of stats
Final Fantasy XIV players have been facing something of an issue when it comes to the game's statistics and its playstyle. It's not hard to guess at what three of the six physical stats do, but the three more magic-oriented stats have been a bit of a mystery, and the effect that any of the stats have on activities such as gathering or crafting has been even less clear. Fortunately for players, Square-Enix's renewed commitment to player communication has led to the most recent dispatch on the official site covering exactly what each stat does, what each one costs to raise, and how many points you can expect to spread between stats at the level cap. Aside from simply clarifying the effect that each stat has on combat, the latest article goes into depth on which disciplines make the heaviest use of which stat. All three gathering classes, for instance, use one of the mental stats and one of the physical stats, while crafting classes use different stats depending upon the tool utilized. Players who are working their way through Final Fantasy XIV would be well-served to take a look at the full article and start considering how they want their stats arranged, especially considering that reassigning them only takes a little extra effort on the player's part.
A crafting and harvesting primer for Final Fantasy XIV
Crafting and harvesting in Final Fantasy XIV is a bit more involved than players have come to expect from the genre. Of course, that's kind of a given for a game in which crafting and gathering classes make up more than half of the options for players. Like with any other game, crafting and harvesting are optional rather than mandatory -- but in this case, fighting monsters with spells and weapons is also optional, with the non-combat classes also being fully capable of reaching the level cap without ever attacking anything. While the systems for gathering materials and for crafting an item aren't as in-depth and ability-specific as the combat system, they're still far more involved than the now-standard practice of clicking a glowing resource node and waiting for a moment. Both involve minigames which require some attention and thought during play. Click on past the cut for a quick primer on working with Final Fantasy XIV's less violent classes.
More information on Final Fantasy XIV's crafters and harvesters
With the beta testing in full swing and the release date just around the corner, you might think that Final Fantasy XIV fans would have all the information that they need. Of course, anyone highly anticipating the game would be quick to point out the exact opposite, eagerly looking for any more details about the game, especially with so much left to know about the various Disciplines. A recent article on Famitsu (translated by the helpful team at FFXIVCore) sheds new light on some of the less flashy disciplines -- not those of War or Magic, but the Hand and the Land, gathering and crafting. The new article gives more details on Harvesters (which may be dubbed Botanists in the official translation), Goldsmiths, Armourers (possibly due to lose the British spelling), Woodworkers, and Fishermen. Each class has a small writeup explaining their tasks and talents, such as the rapport that Harvesters enjoy with plants or the equipment-enhancing talents of Goldsmiths. Take a look at the article for a clearer picture of the plethora of non-combat activities that come along with Final Fantasy XIV -- even if many of the noncombatants will be well served by having a few combat-ready escorts.
15 Minutes of Fame: Setting an Incredibles standard for guild meetups
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft personalities of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. It's not uncommon anymore for guilds to hold regular, real-life meetups. Even entire house party weekends aren't too far off the radar among groups who really relish the game and one another's company. But the bar set by <The Incredibles> of Boulderfist (US-A) is simply ... Well, it wouldn't be stretching things for the sake of a play on words to say the IncrediCon event has set the bar incredibly high. There's not a detail of these gatherings that's not related to World of Warcraft: picnics, banquets, over-the-top publicity posters, hotel welcome packages, game-themed menus -- even custom-designed, WoW-themed beer labels. (Talk about tossing one back with the guildies ...) The pièce de resistance of each year's event, however, is clearly The Increddy, a golden statuette (à la Oscars) awarded to a guild volunteer or leader for service to the five-year-old group. We'll be featuring the Increddy and the dizzying array of other items created for Incredicon-related fun in next week's World of Warcrafts (previously planned for yesterday, but bumped so we could serve up some WoW-inspired menus for your Fourth of July celebration). This week, we talked to Increddy crafter and guild officer Theraven, pulling together our conversations into a Q&A-style look at the incredible Incredicon meetups.
Auctioneering in Cataclysm
We've all been soaking up all the newly released Cataclysm info from this morning. I was so busy drooling (and hammering) on my keyboard about the hunter changes that I only got around to thinking about the profession and guild changes after my fourth coffee. Here's what we know: All professions seem to have a new cap of 525. You will be able to learn the next level of crafting skills at level 75. Well, alchemy works that way, and I assume that at least the other crafting skills will be the same level. No word on gathering skills yet. Guild perks are programmed into the client and have been data-mined; however, the more complex leveling system has been abandoned. No precise writeup about how guilds gain perks, but I hear they still work for experience.
An analysis of all the food and drink in WoW
Not long ago, a friend of mine from college asked me to resurrect his WoW account so he could get back into the game before Cataclysm comes out. The first week that he was back, he messaged me quite frequently with various questions about trends in raiding and PvP at level 80. I answered his questions without much thought until one afternoon, he sent me a different type of message. "Did you notice there is nothing but meat in WoW?" My thoughts stumbled over the question for a moment before he continued. "There is meat, fish and fruit, but no vegetables." (My friend became vegan since the last time he played WoW -- thus his sudden epiphany.) He then proceeded to tell me about a quest in Teldrassil where you gather spider meat for a kabob recipe. He said something along the lines of, "They're on a big freakin' tree, full of plants and they're eating spiders! Spiders!" I'll admit, he had a good point. Curious, I decided to start looking over the types of food in WoW to see just exactly what Azerothians eat.
Wings Over Atreia: Greed is Good
The world of Atreia can be a bit unforgiving to the uninitiated, particularly when it comes to providing for your Daeva's economic well-being. Gear costs kinah, Aion's currency, and new skills cost even more kinah. Attaining level 40 last week set my sorcerer back over 800 thousand smackers. Granted, I got some nifty new death-dealing skills for my trouble, but I also parted with nearly all my net worth. What's that you say? You want to advance your crafting and gathering skills beyond the newb tier? Yep, you guessed it, get ready to shell out some more kinah. In fact, skilling up a single crafting discipline to the mastery level will cost you between 2 and 2.5 million kinah, not including the cost of the materials needed to craft the work orders. Gathering is similarly expensive, though it doesn't require materials like crafting, only level tier purchases. Finally, there is the Soul Healer, that bank account black hole that has sucked many millions of mah money into the nether regions of NCSoft's server nebula, for, every time I die in PvE, it's off to see the Soul Healer to regain a bit of lost experience. As of level 40, my average trip to this big-hat buffoon costs between 40 and 50 thousand kinah. Last week, after a particularly unfortunate pickup group, I wracked up a 300 thousand kinah Soul Healing bill. Fly past the cut for some Aion kinah-making strategies.
Go out and steal oil in Planet Calypso's 10.1 update
In a move to make our virtual lives eerily more like our real ones, the First Planet Company has re-opened the oil pumping station on Planet Calypso with patch 10.1, offering all players the chance to make a quick profit by grabbing oil from the pump -- if you can make it out alive, of course.The pumping station is not only in the middle of the wasteland, but it's also surrounded by angry NPCs (the wastelanders) and it's right in the middle of an open PvP area. Sure, you can make a tidy profit by grabbing oil from the station, but you have to be efficient and sneaky about it. Otherwise, you'll just end up with a bullet in your back and your blood mixed with the oil.
