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Here's a Black Desert FAQ as K-OBT approaches
Steparu has long been the best source for Westerners interested in Korean fantasy sandbox Black Desert. Now, he's offering his expertise in the form of a FAQ/AMA post as the title's open beta approaches. Topics covered include playing the Korean OBT (it requires a Korean cell phone or I-pin Online identification), the Western release timeframe (originally 2015 and now possibly slipping to 2016), and several gameplay-specific issues.
Black Desert rolls into open beta on December 17th
We still don't know hard details on when Black Desert will be coming to the US, but it's not going to happen before the game launches in its native Korea. The game is entering open beta testing in Korea on December 17th, so it means we're that much closer to any launch date information. It will be free-to-play with a cash shop, and it appears to be launching with just four playable gender-locked classes; adding additional classes this late in testing seems unlikely. Steparu also has a preview of suspected cash shop items, which include cosmetic armor sets, dyes, skill point reset items for both players and their mounts, and similar fare. It's about what you would expect, in other words. You can get a sense of the game by checking out the trailer just past the break, showing off some of the variety in the character creator as well as the game's fast-paced combat.
Wizard101 and Pirate101 rack up 50 million players combined
The Spiral, KingsIsle's online universe, is one of the most underrated success stories in the MMO genre. After six years of operation, Wizard101 (and its spin-off Pirate101) have tallied up over 50 million lifetime players (that's total players ever). The big numbers don't stop there, either. These two games have seen more than 1.46 trillion gold earned, 2.1 billion quests completed, and 3 million player homes inhabited. One pet-happy player even collected 4,986 companions and thus earned a place in the history books. To celebrate the milestone, KingsIsle is giving away a free monolith housing item in both Wizard101 and Pirate 101. You can check out more crazy numbers in the infographic after the break.
Black Desert posts new screenshots ahead of open beta
The Korean open beta for upcoming sandbox Black Desert arrives next month, and Daum has refreshed the game's website with a ton of new screenshots. They've got lady archers wearing garters, a knight with spiked hair, a castle siege, a leprechaun with a basket of herbs, a strangely sweaty ranger, a butt shot of a girl, a butt shot of a pack horse, sunsets, fishing, and murder -- so it's pretty much everything you'd expect from a Korean sandbox MMORPG. Enjoy!
Global Chat: Gamers Secret Santa
One of the yearly traditions in the blogosphere that I always look forward to is Stargrace's Annual Gamers Secret Santa. Currently in its sixth year, Gamers Secret Santa accepts any and all who want to sign up to be a part of a gift exchange. You'll end up sending a gift ($20 maximum) to someone and will receive a gift from another person during the month of December. There's even a digital exchange for more remote locations. It's always a blast to see what gifts I end up getting (and they are always geeky), and I wanted to encourage others to be a part of this. You'll need to sign up by December 1st if you do, however! It's grown every year, but this year I'm giving a bit of Massively publicity, so let's see if we can make this the biggest year ever! Another blogger-driven Christmas initiative is Syl's Blogosphere Xmas Countdown, during which she's assigning various blogs a day to write about the theme of positive gaming and community. Keep an eye on MMO Gypsy to see this advent countdown progress!
Black Desert's Korean launch lands in December
A new announcement on the official Black Desert website confirms that the sandbox MMO will launch before the end of the year. Beta is expected to launch in the next few weeks. That's the Korean beta, of course. No details on a western launch have been given. Last summer, we learned that Daum would be publishing the game in the west. We've embedded the G-Star 2014 Black Desert trailer and all of the new screenshots -- there's a ton, and they're gorgeous -- below.
Lost Continent: Lucking into a breezy ArcheAge bungalow
My ArcheAge avatar is pretty fortunate. Last Friday night he became the proud owner of a breezy bungalow, which is that big bamboo marine house that you've probably seen in screenshots, videos, and the like. The bungalow's blueprint costs a whopping 300 gilda stars -- i.e., no small amount for a guildless guy like me who mostly duos his way through Haranya. I'd managed to save 250 of the character-bound gilda by doing various dailies over the past several weeks, but I had a few days to go before I'd finally be able to afford the plans. How did I come up with the balance ahead of schedule, not to mention the boat load of materials required to actually build the house? That's an interesting story, and it's another example of how ArcheAge's mechanics are a necessary breath of fresh air in a stale genre.
Revival launches its site, aims to sell houses for cash
Revival has just opened the doors to its official site, and it's a sandbox online game with skill-based progression. Or it will be, at least. Contrary to what you would expect from that description in the first sentence, though, there is not a Kickstarter to link to. Instead, the game is planning to help fund itself by selling houses. In-game houses. For real-world cash, right upfront, before the game is out and in the live world. According to the official site, the rationale is that real estate in the game world is limited, and rather than have generic housing templates, every house has pre-determined architecture and layout to properly fit with the world as a whole. You will also be able to buy ships and take part in sailing, again for real-world money. It's the designer's alternative to ever running any sort of Kickstarter or other crowdfunding campaign; whether or not it seems like a sound investment is up to the potential players. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Final Fantasy XIV's Yoshida on housing, test servers, and post-Fanfest
Final Fantasy XIV has had a busy year, and it looks to be having a busy next year to boot. The game's first expansion is in the works and planned for a release in spring of 2015, along with another major patch to cap off the game's current patch cycle. And director/producer Naoki Yoshida continues steering the ship, working what I can only assume is a 200-hour week. I had a chance to ask a few questions of Yoshida around the time of the first two fanfests of the year (the final one is scheduled for December in Tokyo), ranging from housing questions to the promise of public test servers to how hard it will be to establish an Eternal Bond. Jump on past the break to read the full interview!
ArcheAge's Auroria launches today
ArcheAge is scheduled to launch a big new update today on its North American servers. How big? Well, you can get a pretty solid idea just from the patch notes. The game is adding four new zones to be conquered and claimed by players, complete with space to build castles and houses once the claims have been made. There's also a new dungeon being added to the game, giving players uninterested in the land rush something to do with their time. New recipes have also been added for high-end weapons requiring Gilda Dust to craft. Vehicle stats have seen a rebalancing in an effort to make sure that no single vehicle is the unquestioned best in every field at all times; the vehicles retain unique abilities, but their performance is identical. Check out the full patch notes on the official site and start downloading as soon as you can since this patch is a big one. [Thanks to Robert for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: Do you actually use your MMO house?
Every time I go off on a tear about how Star Wars Galaxies' and Ultima Online's houses were so amazing for merchants and traders because of player vendors, one of you always snaps me back to reality: "That's great, Bree, but most MMOs don't have vendors. Most MMOs don't give houses a point at all." Some of them have tried -- WildStar's homes can provide buffs, Lord of the Rings Online's provide teleports and cheap materials, and lots of games offer safe resource harvesting of one form or another in your home or plot or instance. But most MMO housing boils down to mini-sandboxes where you can build and decorate, so I can understand why MMO gamers might just go play Minecraft or The Sims or another offline game where they can build and decorate in peace and without the interference of grinds and cash shops. Still, I always decorate my houses and do my best to make use of them when I get them; I like the sense of ownership I feel over that tiny piece of pixelated land. What about you -- do you actually use your MMO houses? 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!
ArcheAge's northern continent opens November 4
Trion has announced that ArcheAge's Auroria continent will officially launch on November 4th. The northern landmass features six additional zones, four of which will be claimable by guilds. Trion also notes that "30 percent more housing space will be available to players throughout these four claimable zones." A new dungeon is also included, as is a farm wagon and a submarine. Full details are yours on the official ArcheAge website.
See a takedown of a Black Desert boss
The folks over at 2P.com have been eating up the Black Desert Online Korean beta, but an encounter with a PvE boss left one writer staring at a death screen over and over again. And so, naturally, he took it upon himself to record his struggles, 12-minute fight, and eventual victory in defeating this mob. "The bosses in [Black Desert Online], it seems, are very keen to do as much damage to you as possible, dealing a lot of knock back and a handful of stun effects only if you do not use your dodges properly," the writer advises. You can watch the full takedown after the break. [Thanks to Jeff for the tip!]
Check out Dragon's Prophet's newest zone, Thadrea
Thadrea, the newest zone for Dragon's Prophet, is coming soon, and if these previews are any indication, it will be a land of both beauty and challenges. And also -- spoilers -- dragons. "Your journey will take you to some of the most exciting places you will ever see," the team posted today. "This place is full of history, and there are many ancient sights to behold." You can check out this "ancient land" in the gallery below and in a video after the break.
Guild Wars 2 requests input on guild halls
ArenaNet Design Director Chris Whiteside has given a glimmer of hope to Guild Wars 2 fans hungry for more and better private spaces in the game. Earlier this week, he posed a broad question to the community about how it'd like to see guild halls implemented -- assuming, of course, they are ever to be implemented. ArenaNet has previously stated that it'd like to include guild halls but wasn't actively working on them. Whiteside isn't making any promises either, but it's likely a big hint all the same. Personal housing was rumored prior to 2012's launch but has since been ostensibly supplanted by weakly upgradeable home instances. Guild Wars 2's elder sibling, Guild Wars, featured decadent instanced guild halls with both PvP and PvE accoutrements. Massively's Anatoli Ingram wrote about housing mechanics in the two games earlier this year.
A look at the last test session for Black Desert
Black Desert had its last beta event recently, and if you're not in the Korean beta, you can only watch and wait from the sidelines. So how was it? Steparu has a full review and discussion of the experience available now, and while it's not perfect, it seems to be hitting the notes it's aiming for. There are also plenty of videos if you would prefer to watch and evaluate for yourself; we've embedded a bit of gameplay past the cut. According to the review, the game's biggest weaknesses are the enchanting system (which is a good system but hard to gain access to and unbalancing for endgame PvP) and the endgame PvE content (which is largely absent). The review praises graphics, customization, side activities, and the overall feel of combat. Check it out if you're looking for an opinion on the game before it launches, and keep your eyes peeled for more details as it approaches localization for the US post-launch.
ArcheAge's Auroria continent is on the way
Although players can see the continent of Auroria on the map in ArcheAge, they can't access it. All that, however, is about to change: Junkies Nation reports that Trion says the third continent will unlock within the next couple of weeks, rather than months, before the release of Patch 1.7. The 1.7 patch itself has no ETA; it's currently being translated. The opening of Auroria will usher in not only new adventures but more land for player homes and farms. The exact date will be announced soon so that guilds can prepare for castles, and the release time will be region-specific. Trion also confirms that fishing tournaments are coming, that the 10-man Dahuta raid is purposefully being held back but may release with Auroria, and that there's no ETA on new races. Additionally, for those who prefer to keep all their games organized on Steam, Trion is working on getting the game back on that platform. For more details, check out the report on Junkies Nation.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV and the housing mess, part 2
Wait, part 2? When was part 1 a thing? January, my friends. And while I had prayed for sun, I planned for rain, and that turned out to be a wise move. What happened in the end was unpleasant but entirely unsurprising, as Final Fantasy XIV's second implementation of housing went little better than the first. In the interests of full disclosure, yes, I am one of the vanishingly small number of people with an in-game house at the moment. I work at home and happened to have both the money and the time to grab myself a place to live in-game. That doesn't mean the system is anything remotely approaching good or even acceptable, which is why I want to spend this week talking about the mess that has been made and what, if anything, can be done to correct this fact. Housing in Final Fantasy XIV is a sore spot right now, and that's a problem, especially when it doesn't have to be.
World of Warcraft offers up another Garrison preview
It's been quite some time since the first official preview of Garrisons for Warlords of Draenor, so you could be forgiven for thinking that a second part wasn't coming. But it has finally surfaced on the official site, talking about the various sized plots in your World of Warcraft Garrison and the buildings that you can construct. As you upgrade your Garrison, you get more and more spaces for buildings in three different sizes: small, medium, and large, each of which provide different benefits. Small buildings (and a few special buildings that are not upgraded and can be quested for) allow you to set up profession workspaces in your Garrison. Medium buildings offer a variety of resource additions, ranging from the ability to trap animals for leather to picking up special dungeon quests, and large buildings offer unique tricks like transporting between distant points or training special mounts or even riding your own siege engine. Take a look at the full preview for more details of how the buildings break down and where players can acquire the better blueprints.
MapleStory 2 shows off its housing system
MapleStory 2 is not going to make your character live on the streets. Probably not, anyway; the new video on housing makes it appear that space is limited for buying and building a house or a room, but players will have the option of doing either. Yes, there's housing, and the video just past the break shows it off in all its glory, even if the narration will be a bit difficult to follow for the non-Korean-speaking members of our audience. While open-world plots are rather expensive, rooms can also be purchased for characters to use, offering many of the same benefits. Some decorations are purely cosmetic, while others offer a function; the video shows off using a cabinet for storage and a mannequin for quickly changing to a new gear set. There's also the option to quickly teleport back to your home as necessary once you own one. Check out the full video past the break for a clearer picture of the housing setup.
