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SWTOR suffers from the Rakghoul plague again
Last week, we began to see the warnings from Alderaan of wild beasts attacking random citizens in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Today, Massively has discovered that it is in fact a new outbreak of the Rakghoul plague that hit Tatooine nearly two years ago. Addalar Hyland, the director of Galactic Solutions Industries, confirms these reports after sending multiple teams to investigate the attacks. Governments of both the Empire and the Republic are asking citizens to be wary when traveling as the plague is highly contagious. Based on the image above, we discovered that it could be spreading off the origin planet of Alderaan and might have made it to the Imperial fleet. If you have skills that might assist in ridding the galaxy of this lethal plague, we urge you to watch this video below then report to the nearest GSI representative immediately.
Aion's medical professionals are on the scene to keep you healthy
Even though you might spend most of your time in Aion being healed by magical sources, the hard-working medical professionals of Atreia are still out there and keeping a close eye on your health. Did you know that cold weather is the fifth most common cause of death among Daevas, making it ten thousandth overall? If not, you may wish to stop by one of Atreia's many free clinics for a careful health examination. From now until January 29th, all Daevas may stop by one of the medical camps set up through the world for special benefits. Doctors provide potions and scrolls to players at level 10+, whilst the rotating nurses will provide players with a variety of buffs to improve their performance in battle. So are you keeping a solid watch on your health? Stop by one of the medical camps now, and ask the doctors if consuming large quantities of potion is right for you.
LotRO players put on Winterstock 2014
A new player event is coming to Lord of the Rings Online this month: Winterstock! To fit the season, Winterstock will take place at the frigid (yet welcoming) Thorin's Gate on the Landroval server from January 17th through the 20th. The four-day event will showcase 19 bands playing in one-hour blocks during the afternoons and evenings for entertainment and amusement. Winterstock could be seen as the counterpart to summer's Weatherstock, which has been going on for years now. The event is hosted by the Lonely Mountain Band and is available to all. A full schedule of the band times is up on the LOTRO Players site.
Win some Gil and more in Final Fantasy XI's latest Mog Bonanza
Are you the gambling type? Does the chance of winning oodles of cash or special items in a lottery thrill and excite you? Then hold on to your helms -- Final Fantasy XI's Mog Bonanza has returned! Until January 23, 2014, at 3:00 a.m. EST, players can purchase Mog Bonanza marbles (up to 10 per character) and inscribe five numbers on each in hopes of winning various prizes, from Gil to a Kraken Club to a Chocobo suit. The cost of each marble is 1,111 Gil, and winning numbers will be announced February 13th at 3:00 a.m EST. For a complete run-down of the rules and a full list of possible prizes, visit the official site.
Star Trek Online creates a gingerbread colony for the holidays
Not since Aunt Beru's blue milk has science fiction looked this tasty! Star Trek Online's mischevious Q is creating a gingerbread colony for the game's annual Winter Wonderland event. As part of the event, players will be shrunk down to defend the colony from snowmen by flinging snowballs and firing snow guns at them (which, if you think about it, is kind of like flinging body parts at the enemy). Toss in ice and yetis, and you have the strangest Star Trek episode ever. And yes, I'm including the one with Data and the masks. What was that about? Participants in the event can get special prizes and recipes, including a starship. Q's Winter Wonderland will be in the game from December 5th through January 16th of next year.
The Secret World offers Golden Weekend for the holiday
If you've got a lot of extra time to game this long holiday weekend, The Secret World has a special event that will keep you busy. Starting Thanksgiving Day and lasting through Monday, December 2nd, players will be able to rack up double Ability Points, collect a 30% bonus on all purchased Funcom Points, and earn a free month's membership for every recruited friend who buys the game. Additionally, players can once again enjoy the Gilded Rage event complete with the roaming giant golden golem loot pinata and the opportunity to grab the semi-exclusive golden tux at a 90% discount. [Source: Funcom newsletter]
World of Warcraft gives thanks with Pilgrim's Bounty
It's finally that wonderful time of year when Alliance and Horde alike come together (not with each other, of course) to, for some reason, give thanks for their continued existence in a world that seems perpetually on the brink of catastrophic destruction. World of Warcraft's in-game Pilgrim's Bounty event is going on now and will continue until December 2nd and, much like its real-world counterpart, it's mostly about food. Cooking daily quests make up a good deal of the event's activities, and it's only during Pilgrim's Bounty that players can acquire the recipes for seasonal dishes such as pumpkin pie and slow-roasted turkey. No seasonal event would be complete without some unique items and achievements to go with it, of course, and Pilgrim's Bounty has that covered too. Players can bring some old-world flair to their characters' wardrobes by gathering an outfit of pilgrim's clothing, and there are nine achievements for players to complete over the course of the event. Completing all nine achievements will unlock the Pilgrim meta-achievement, which grants the cute and potentially delicious plump turkey companion pet. For all the details on Pilgrim's Harvest, head on over to the World of Warcraft official site.
Dota 2 gets new heroes, crafting, and Diretide
Last week, the folks at Valve apologized to the Dota 2 community for silently skipping the game's Halloween-themed Diretide event. In the apology, the Dota team promised that Diretide would go live with the next big update, which they hinted would include a bunch of other features the community would be happy to see. Today, Valve announced the update, titled Three Spirits. And true to the Dota team's word, it's a big one. It includes two new heroes in the form of Earth Spirit and Ember Spirit (counterparts to the existing Storm Spirit), an in-game coaching mechanic that enables teams and individuals to improve their play, and a crafting and socketing system that provides for customizing existing items or combining unneeded ones to make something better and more useful. The patch also brings a new showcase view of matches, a lane-picker, colorblind mode, new training missions and more. Oh, and yes, Diretide is coming; the event runs from November 14th to November 28th. Check out the full patch notes on the official Three Spirits site.
Lightning strikes Final Fantasy XIV on Thursday
It's been previewed, it's been discussed, and now it's starting. From Thursday onward, Lightning of Final Fantasy XIII will be arriving in Final Fantasy XIV, offering characters a set of cosmetic armor and weapons straight out of the former game. If you've been wondering exactly how the crossover is going to make any sort of sense with the lore of either game, that's when you can start finding out one way or the other. The full series of quests will be released in stages; the second quest in the chain will be added on November 16th, the third on the 18th, and the final quest on the 20th. All of the quests will be available until December 9th, with a repeat engagement already scheduled for February of next year when Lightning Returns launches in North America. It's also worth noting that everyone who clears the first quest will be able to unlock a special hairstyle when patch 2.1 arrives, so lovers of cosmetic equipment and hairdos alike will want to be in the game on Thursday.
Valve responds to fan outrage at Dota 2's missing Diretide
Halloween events might just seem like a trivial little thing to you, but they are serious business in Dota 2. Valve didn't turn on the game's Diretide event this year, and the resulting fan outrage could probably be bottled up and used to start fires. So what in the world happened? A week or so out from Halloween proper, the company has finally addressed the controversy in a new blog post explaining why the event failed to materialize. In short: The team was working on a major update that was meant to be ready around Halloween, so the assumption was that it would be easier just to launch that. Then it got delayed, and there was no time to stop working on that and start working on Diretide. Once the time came and the event was still missing, what happened was more or less a matter of figuring out how to fix it rather than simply stating that the company was aware. It looks as if the game's next update will contain a somewhat belated Diretide, which may not fix the problem but will at least help ameliorate lingering hurt feelings.
RIFT and Defiance throw in-game promotions
Trion is in the middle of a special promotion that's giving a serious boost to both RIFT and Defiance players in-game. In RIFT all players are receiving 20% boosts to all types of XP and currency gained, and this bonus is stackable with other boosts. Trion's also selling 160% XP potions and raid 1 rings in the store. Over on Defiance's side, players are enjoying 25% boosts to loot, XP, and weapon skill. Epic mod hoards have also made their way to the store. These promotions will continue through Friday, November 1st. Trion is throwing this "PC Gaming Week" to celebrate RIFT's return to Steam.
The Tattered Notebook: Navigating EQII's Nights of the Dead
Halloween is by far my favorite holiday, and EverQuest II is easily one of my favorite games of all time. So when the two combine, it's a match made in heaven. But just like the game itself, the Nights of the Dead live event has so much to it and so much to do that it is easy to become overwhelmed. Cue The Tattered Notebook! I know what it's like to want to participate fully in an event but not know where to start. And now with so many more new players (thanks in large part to the Heroic Characters), it's not even a matter of finding the little changes to this year's event. Let's be honest: Even those of us who have taken part previously can't remember every detail from year to year, especially when more is added each holiday season! So today I'm going to provide a guide to introduce you to all things Nights of the Dead.
It's storytime as Halloween event hits The Secret World
If you'd like to take a break from beating back the Filth in Agartha, take a trip to Solomon Island and delve into The Secret World's new Halloween events. What better place to celebrate this spooky holiday than the island covered in ominous fog and where pumpkins eternally decorate homes as well as try to kill you with chainsaws? In addition to the return of The Cat God (the chain of missions where players can visit ancient Stonehenge), players can participate in the new series based on various urban legends around the island. Those who gather all 10 stories by completing all the new missions will be rewarded with an in-game book of the full collection that can be enjoyed long after the holiday is done. Of course, there are rewards awaiting adventurers other than just a tome of stories; various Halloween-themed goodies are available from loot, quest rewards, and even the item shop. Many items are exclusive to the holiday, however, so if you want to get your bee-blessed hands on them, you have to get in before the event ends on November 8th!
APB Reloaded brings Fright Club and Certain Death to San Paro
While almost every game has some kind of Halloween celebration this time of year, only APB: Reloaded has nabbed the talents of the Scottish metal band Certain Death to add to the ambiance of this holiday update. The band picked three songs to add to APB's soundtrack, which the guitarist Steedo said "would fit the game as well as the new Halloween update." The Halloween shenanigans include new in-game content and challenges including Fright Club, the temporary relocation of the popular Fight Club mode to an abandoned asylum filled with ghoulish gang members. Starting today, players can also get a new Punk pack, complete with devil or bat wings, witch and wizard hats, pumpkin and bat glow-in-the-dark weapon themes, and a scoped version of the new primary weapon, the STAC 10 (Somatic Tactical Assault Carbine). The holiday-themed festivities run until November 6th, 2013. [Source: GamersFirst press release]
Aion opens Halloween-themed Nightmare Circus dungeon
Did you enjoy the novelty and rewards of Aion's double run of Shugo Kingdom Adventures, the limited-time instance that offered some pretty nifty rewards to those who chose wisely? If so, you might be glad to hear that Aion has introduced a new version themed for the holiday: Nightmare Circus. As before, only special skills can be used within the instance and only Daevas level 30 and above can enter. This time, however, instead of becoming a Shugo, players will be transformed into a bear-like Khum'gom. Even more power can be obtained if players transform into a Nightmare Circus Harlequin using an item available via quest and in the store. Also, anywhere from two to six players can participate. The instance consists of three stages, and rewards can include exclusive costumes and wings, dyes, consumables, manastones, and much more. For a full accounting of all the possible prizes and a breakdown of each stage, check out the official announcement. But if you want to get in on the event, you'd better hurry -- the Nightmare Circus is in town for only two weeks and packs up November 6th, 2013.
Chaos Theory: Follow the Filth as TSW's Whispering Tide Event moves on
Remember when we mentioned that The Secret World's latest event would be a long-term one? Well, we weren't fooling; it's been a month, and The Whispering Tide Event is just now hitting its fourth phase. So what does that mean for us? It means that the slow plod towards Tokyo is showing progress, just not nearly as quickly as excited TSW fans may like. If you've already been in-game, you've noticed that the latest two phases have been very similar to the first two. In fact, they follow the same pattern: start with powering up a generator using crafting materials then move into an instance to clear out the filth. However, even though they are similar and some phases are moving slowly, there's a chance folks might miss out. And if there's one thing I don't want to see, it's others missing out! To prevent that and to keep my fellow TSW fans from floundering in the dark, here's phase two of The Whispering Tide Event guide, with tips and tricks for grabbing the lore, getting the goodies, and even preparing for forthcoming phases.
Neverwinter announces Coins of Waukeen event
Starting today, Neverwinter players will see a brand new event that could earn them as much as 256,000 Rough Astral Diamonds and a slew of fashion items, dyes, and weapon transmutes. The Coins of Waukeen event runs in game from today at 1 p.m. EDT to October 24 at 1 p.m. EDT. Players must defend the Forgotten Realms to keep merchants and trade routes safe by killing monsters and collecting Waukeen's Coin Purses to trade in for the above-mentioned valuable prizes. Check out the official announcement for more information.
TERA's newest update brings Halloween event, box refinements, and achievements
Halloween is almost here, if you count half a month away as "almost," and TERA is ready to go with its Halloween event starting on October 17th. That means opening up both a low-level and high-level dungeon as well as adding new ways to earn candy for everyone. It also adds new achievements... along with 182 other new achievements added in the same patch, more rewards for clearing achievements, and improvements to the achievement UI. Yes, there's more to this patch than just pumpkins and ghosts. The update also has changed the loot distribution of strongboxes, both in terms of what's in the boxes and where you can pick them up. Older types have been retired, and new types have been added with a somewhat smoother distribution of items. Add to that some class balance updates and an assortment of bugfixes, and there's plenty for all TERA players to be happy about aside from the upcoming event. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Dark Age of Camelot celebrates 12 years of RvR madness
It's time to break out your party hats, Dark Age of Camelot fans. Today, Mythic Entertainment's seminal RvR-focused title turns 12 years old, and that can only mean one thing: bonuses for everyone! To celebrate the game's 12th anniversary, Mythic is giving players a smorgasbord of experience point, bounty point, and realm point bonuses. The official post also notes that there's plenty more birthday celebration goodness to come. And what would a game anniversary be without some heartfelt retrospectives from the developers? Members of the Dark Age of Camelot team, including Mythic Co-Founder Rob Denton, Senior Producer Colin Hicks, and many more all weigh in on the life of DAOC, from its humble beginnings in the ancient era of 2001 to its rise as an influential powerhouse of the MMO industry. So if you're not too busy wreaking havoc upon your enemies on the battlefield, why not head on over to the official site to take a trip down memory lane? Just click on through the link below and enjoy the reminiscence.
Earn free tanks during World of Tanks: Xbox 360 beta event weekend
World of Tanks is sounding the siren's call for the Xbox 360 edition, tossing out special rewards for those who participate in the beta this weekend. There are three events occurring simultaneously on the beta server from Saturday, October 12th, through Sunday, October 13th, and all of them dangle goodies for participants. Players can earn an M22 Locust Tier III premium tank by completing 50 matches in this time span, and a Ram II Tier V premium tank will be given to everyone who engages this weekend as long as 10,000 players log in simultaneously. Wargaming is also handing out XP bonuses for the first win on ever tank a player owns and 2,500 gold for use during the beta process. An Xbox Live Gold account is needed to join in with this beta. [Source: Wargaming press release]
