gear-enhancement
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Wings Over Atreia: Socket this
Ooo them's fightin' words! Any time you bring up the subject of manastones, it's like twisting a hot serrated knife in the collective bellies of Aion's community. It isn't the manastones per se, with their little tempting pluses to different stats, but rather it's the actual process of socketing them into gear that brings pain, frustration, and despair to the masses. If you operate under the premise that a game is a form of entertainment to be, oh I dunno... entertaining (dare we hope fun and enjoyable also?), then you have to wonder what exactly transpired to bring about this particular feature. Seriously, who kicked the dev's dog to make him retaliate with a thing like manastone socketing? Despite NCsoft's initial attempt to assure players that manastone socketing isn't that bad (that Shugo obviously works on consignment), the company appeared to about-face by recently offering no-fail supplements in the cash shop for a limited time. While socketing is a repeat headache for many Daevas, this particular move brought the subject (and the whole pay-to-win argument) to the forefront of community discussion. However, what really drew me back into the fray was the fact that I finally got myself a Stormwing armor drop and -- masochist that I seem to be lately -- I actually tried to socket it. I couldn't even get the first one in let alone the other four! Seraphim Lords help me if I have to do another six-slotter! So what's with this game mechanic? Why is it even in Aion? This week, Wings Over Atreia theorizes on the motivation behind this arguably flawed feature and offers some healthier alternatives.
More Age of Wulin closed beta videos revealed
Another day, another set of videos from the Age of Wulin Chinese beta. MMO Culture has the game covered, and today's installment features a bit of commentary on the title's PvP-centric design as well as a brief look at weapon enhancement functionality. Age of Wulin eschews the traditional +1 system of gear upgrading and instead opts for an interesting mechanic that basically boils down to meeting whatever requirements are described when you mouse over a weapon. The stated example involves reaching level 10 in a particular life skill as well as possessing certain inventory items. While we're a bit dubious about the fact that your cooking prowess may relate to your ability to wield a sword, we're also cognizant of the fact that it's an early Chinese beta build, so we're looking forward to seeing the system develop. Head past the cut for a combat video and some clips of Wudang.
