major-patches
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Path of Exile plans a massive PvP update for patch 1.3
Path of Exile focuses each of its major updates around a certain element of play, and the next patch is no exception. For the 1.3 update, the development team is focusing on massively expanding and improving PvP. The patch will contain new challenge leagues (one of which is shown off in a video just past the cut), new items, and a passive skill tree improvement, but that's small time compared to the huge changes coming for PvP fans. Tournaments and PvP seasons are both being introduced, with the first season containing an alternate art item as a prize. There's also a new PvP master being added to the game, allowing you to clear your daily quests via PvP. Last but most certainly not least, players will have the option of creating PvP-only characters that start out at level 28, although they'll still have to hunt down their equipment on other characters. It's a big update, and it's currently scheduled to hit the live servers for the game on December 12th.
Exclusive: Grand Chase unveils Season 5 update trailer
Grand Chase is kicking off its fifth season, and it's doing so via a series of big updates. There's a lot to the update, too, enough that it's got a trailer just past the break showing off all sorts of new features like dodging, new maps, and dungeon records. The game is also introducing the new Character Separation feature to kick things off, which sounds a bit painful but isn't meant to be at all. In essence, players who had unlocked and equipped all of the game's 19 characters would have to cart around a lot of gear in a single shared inventory based on who was being played at any given time. This new update divides up characters and allows you to store their items and equipment separately, a real boon for any prolific players. Check out the trailer and the full release just past the break.
The Elder Scrolls Online's releases Craglorn patch notes, Shadow Knight guide
The Elder Scrolls Online hasn't sent its first major patch to the live servers just yet, but you don't need to wait much longer to get an idea of what the patch contains. In fact, you don't need to wait at all; the patch notes for patch 1.1 are available now thanks to Dulfy, outlining the many changes taking place. The big centerpieces are the addition of Craglorn and trials; the former is a zone designed for four Veteran Rank 10+ characters, while the latter are two 12-person runs. Beyond that, the patch contains a number of changes to class and weapon skill lines as well as several adjustments to the Alliance War systems. Players can also benefit from an increase of Veteran Ranks to 12 and the doubling of veteran XP from killing monsters. There's a massive list of updates and bug fixes, as well, so avid adventurers of Tamriel would be well-served by looking at the full list of patch changes before everything goes live. [Update: The studio released today the first of its new series on player builds. First up is the Shadow Knight.]
Neverwinter launching Curse of Icewind Dale on May 13th
If you're ready to have some chill adventures in Neverwinter, you'd better be ready on May 13th. That's when the Curse of Icewind Dale module will launch for players, bringing with it two new adventure zones, a new open PvP region, and new factions for players to fight over. Also a new Hunter Ranger Paragon path, but that really only affects Hunter Rangers, which as infographics show make up only half of the characters in the game. But why are you going to Icewind Dale? What's so important? If only there were some sort of lore trailer past the break that will give a concise explanation of exactly what's going down in the region and why players are taking part, as well as outline the factions fighting over the valuable Black Ice. That would be very convenient, wouldn't it? Perhaps you should click past the break to check out that exact trailer, then.
World of Tanks unleashes update 8.8 with new tanks and new tech trees [Updated]
Do you think that World of Tanks doesn't offer you a high enough volume of tanks? Have you found yourself driving around in a tank shooting at other tanks whilst thinking, "I guess there are tanks here, but not really a whole world of them?" Then maybe what you were really waiting for was the newest update to the game, update 8.8, which adds a branch of Soviet medium tanks for tiers 6 through 8. There are also significant changes to the German tech tree to enhance and reclassify several tanks. Wait, did you want an update to World of Tanks that was not quite so tank-focused? Well, the new update will also include a new battlefield arena, Tundra, so you can see tanks shoot one another somewhere new. The update is due for release on September 11th in Europe and September 12th in the US, but you can get a small preview from the video just past the cut. (Here's a hint: tanks shoot each other.) [Update: Update 8.8 has been pushed to North American release on September 18.] [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Take a tour through the new daily hub of Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Czerka Corporation in Star Wars: The Old Republic isn't evil, just amoral and motivated by ill-considered greed. And sometimes, yes, that does mean that a facility goes completely rogue and outside help needs to be called in to try and salvage the situation. That's what happened on CZ-198, and if you're wondering what sort of daily tasks will be necessary to retake the facility, you can take a gander at the full rundown of the daily quests for the zone right now. The zone has four daily quests as well as a weekly component that includes both of the new flashpoints run on any difficulty. If the promise of earning credits isn't enough to get you into the daily routine, you've also got the requisite selection of rewards, including two new sets of adaptive armor and a new customization for HK-51. Even when its facilities get overrun and require large-scale intervention by paramilitary strike teams, Czerka Corporation makes your life better.
The Daily Grind: Do you set aside evenings for special game events?
Sometimes something special happens in a game. A new expansion launches. A major patch drops. A beta starts. Whatever the case, whether it's in Final Fantasy XIV or Ultima Online, it seems to be the sort of thing that calls for a little celebration. You take some time off from your usual activities. You get takeout. You try to make sure that whatever's starting tonight, you're there on the front row to enjoy it. Or maybe you don't. Maybe you just make a point of popping in whenever and you don't worry about deviating from your normal routines for something as silly as an in-game moment. Let us know either way! Do you set aside evenings for special game events? Or do you think the very idea is ridiculous? If you've set aside evenings in the past, either alone or with friends, what did you do to celebrate? 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!
The Daily Grind: What game do you still hope will be revitalized?
I do not play Warhammer Online any longer, but it holds a special place in my heart. I greatly enjoyed playing the game when it was selected for Choose My Adventure back in the day, and I still hold out hope that the game will emerge from its slow stagnancy to be some sort of WAAAGH-based phoenix. The odds of that happening are low, but I'd love to see it happen just the same. Games have a life cycle, and after a certain point, even the most beloved online title slips into a maintenance mode. But we all have titles that we'd love to see get updates once again, allowing us to relive the glory days. This isn't about games that had been shut down; this is about games that are still running but are no longer at the forefront of the gaming zeitgeist. So what game do you still hope will be revitalized, even if you don't expect it to happen? Would you like to see Ultima Online get another day in the sun, or do you just hope that Champions Online will get a big expansion and some development love? 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!
TERA launches The Argon Queen patch, complete with events
Are you ready to face new challenges in TERA? Challenges like the new battlegrounds, new raids, and new max-level dungeons? Then you'll be happy to know that the game's latest patch, titled The Argon Queen, has brought all of these to the table. Players can now queue for instanced PvP at the level cap, square off against dangerous foes in raid groups, and test their mettle against three new top-tier instances. This coincides nicely with the addition of new tanking skills and mechanics for Warriors and Lancers. Of course, players will need to be in full fighting trim to face off against the eponymous Argon Queen, and that means everyone needs to be up to the level cap. To facilitate this, all characters will be receiving special buff items via item claim to increase experience earned and damage dealt for an hour. These rewards will go out once per day until the Argon Queen arrives on the scene. Instance drop rates are also improved for random group matchups, encouraging players to get out and gear up... you know, if the trailer for the update just past the cut didn't get you in that mood anyway.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: City of Heroes' Issue 24 is coming
When I first started doing my "next time on A Mild-Mannered Reporter" routine, I knew that there would be a problem -- namely, that every so often I would find out some news that makes my preview incorrect. In this case, it was the preview of Issue 24 that dropped on the same day my column came out, which meant I couldn't write about it then. But I can write about it now, so that's good. I'll freely admit that even as a fan of City of Heroes, I hadn't been super-azzed about Issue 24. It wasn't that I thought it would be awful; it just hadn't really roped me in. But now that all of the features are laid out in front of us, I find that it's actually looking a lot more interesting. There's some cool stuff here, and in what may be the most welcome news, it's stuff focused on a variety of the game's elements.
TERA shows off new skills for Lancers and Warriors
Are you a Lancer in TERA who's tired of standing in place while Warriors gracefully dance about? Are you a Warrior in TERA who's tired of dodging everything when some attacks are just easier to block through? Are you just a person who likes to watch videos of new class abilities? All three groups will be happy with the newest TERA video, which shows off the two new Lancer abilities and three new Warrior abilities debuting in the game's next major patch. Lancers gain Backstep, which does more or less exactly what it sounds like, and Wallop, which hits the ground hard and knocks over your enemy. Warriors gain Cross Parry, which functions as a block; Smoke Flanker, which teleports the Warrior behind the enemy and hits back; and Reaping Slash, a spiraling attack that knocks down your target. Click on past the break to see all of the skills in action in this short video.
The Daily Grind: Do you find post-launch games intimidating to start playing?
When a game launches, it's usually fairly small in scope. That doesn't mean it's simple, but it does mean that there's a fairly limited amount of stuff from level 1 on upward. But when a game has been out for a couple of years, odds are good that the game has undergone several major patches, with more sidequests and options added to the game from start to finish. On the one hand, this is great; a player starting in RIFT or Star Trek Online or EverQuest now has many more options than he or she did back when the game first launched. But it also means that instead of absorbing a few new features at a time, you need to absorb huge new chunks of the game at once. Do you find it intimidating to start playing a game that's been out for a while? Or do you look forward to exploring the nature of a more mature and refined game? 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!
E3 2012: A chat with Final Fantasy XIV's Naoki Yoshida
Final Fantasy XIV's major upgrade had been announced well before this year's E3, but this was its first public showing. While many of the major changes were only appreciable by long-term fans of the game, what was there was massive, ranging from major changes to the interface to several dazzling new areas. It was a lot to take in, and needless to say, we had some questions. Luckily for everyone, executive producer Naoki Yoshida was on hand to answer some of those questions and discuss the game's pending update. Previous interviews with Yoshida have indicated that the version 2.0 update should begin alpha testing in late September, with a beta to follow not long after. He's also stressing the fact that version 2.0 is a major change for the game, almost an entirely new game in many respects, and while the live game has seen the fruits of a great deal of work there's still more to be done. As Yoshida put it, the game is an MMORPG, but it's an RPG before that, and a Final Fantasy game even before that.
Perpetuum rolling out Gamma Frontier tomorrow
Home is where you hang your hat, but in Perpetuum, home is also where you ensure that your mining operations remain stable with the aid of several high-powered turrets. The next major update to the game, Gamma Frontier, is all about making sure that your home is the best it can be. Player corporations will be able to make use of the game's new Modular Private Colony system, setting up static buildings and defenses for large-scale industrial operations, helped by the addition of 24 new teraformable islands. Obviously, player-run structures are a pretty big deal all by themselves, but the update also includes a new rendering engine for land and sky textures. There's also a new public test server available so that players can take the measure of future updates before they go live. If you're a longtime fan of the mech-based game, you can tide yourself over a little longer by taking a look through the several new screenshots of the update below. [Source: Avatar Creations press release] %Gallery-156617%
Runes of Magic shows off the new Champion and Warlock
New classes are always exciting. In a game with an established set of abilities and character options, the chance to take a different option helps keep the game engaging and surprising. That's no doubt part of the rationale behind Runes of Magic's two new classes, the Champion and the Warlock. But they're also meant to show off the ingenuity and cleverness of the Dwarves, and in a new preview of these two classes, it becomes clear just how much both will bring to the table. The Warlock is an arcane caster who has delved into the knowledge of the Shadowforge Dwarves, allowing him to act as either a damage dealer or a support character as the situation warrants. Champions are masters of pseudo-mystical forge techniques, with the Champion ultimately being capable of transforming into a special Runic Robot form for increased damage and durability. There are only a few more weeks until the game's next major update, and then players will get to try out the new hybrid classes for themselves.
Star Trek Online posts Ask Cryptic answers for each day of May
Converting a game from a subscription model is hard work. That's the theme throughout the latest installment of Star Trek Online's regular Ask Cryptic feature: The reason that the game has gone for so long without major batches of new content is that the team has been wholly focused on switching models. But there's more coming to the game in the near future, starting with the major Season 6 patch hitting the test server soon. The coming patch will feature new ground and space missions similar to STFs without being quite the same sort of content. The update will also feature a new Fleet Advancement system, which will give player groups a chance to improve themselves and acquire new bonuses. Star Trek Online players will be well-served by taking a look at the full list of answers, which go into further detail about upcoming systems and planned additions for the next patch and beyond.
Final Fantasy XIV launches patch 1.22
Feel as if the last major Final Fantasy XIV patch just had too much to absorb at once? Well, you're going to be a bit stuck today if that's the case because patch 1.22 has just gone live and brought with it another host of improvements, updates, and changes. The good news is that this patch doesn't contain the same number of system changes as the previous patch, but that's because of the sheer amount of new content included. The patch adds another four ranks to the Grand Companies, another set of quests, the new Garuda battle, the first of the hamlet defense points, and more besides. Players will also be able to obtain new items from crafting, gathering, and victory in the Garuda fight, and they'll be able to see the first hints of what will happen to the world as the era draws to a close. Servers are expected to be back online later tonight, and players will no doubt have plenty to explore once they can log in again. [Thanks to Alex for the tip!]
RIFT opens the Ember Isle to players with a new trailer
It's time to head off for an island adventure in RIFT. The heavily anticipated patch 1.6 has hit the servers, and that means players will be off to the brand-new Ember Isle, a massive zone that's stated to be twice the size of anything else. But that's not the only thing coming along with the patch -- there are new zone events, a new set of Planar Attunements, new group content (both a dungeon and a raid), and a new warfront mode. Not quite enough to pique your interest? Then take a look at the trailer just past the cut, which gives an overview of the lore driving players to explore the island. There's more to the story than simply "the spot where the Kelari used to live," and the trailer shows it off in all its glory. Take a look past the break to watch it, perhaps while you fire up the game's launcher and get down to the brass tacks of updating. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
Final Fantasy XIV previewing beastman strongholds and UI improvements
Fans of Final Fantasy XIV are eagerly anticipating the arrival of patch 1.19, which promises to bring no shortage of improvements to the game's mechanics and content. The previews of the patch are still ongoing, and the latest round covers both the changes coming to the game's UI and the upcoming strongholds for the beast tribes. Strongholds are described as challenging content for groups of adventurers, requiring a party to fight through guards to reach a central notorious monster, with the first preview covering the amalj'aa compound known as Zahar'ak. The UI changes include the long-requested feature to make aetheryte, retainer bells, and similar environmental objects directly targetable. But that's the least of the improvements that include a UI lock feature, several adjustments to text colors to help indicate item quality and rank, and an auto-compare feature for equipment bought from vendors or retainers. While there's still no word on exactly when FFXIV players can look forward to the update going live, all signs point to "soon" for the latest major update.
Gamescom 2011: More details on RIFT's patch 1.5
RIFT hasn't been out for all that long, but the game is already rapidly approaching its fifth major patch since launch. A recent demonstration at Gamescom reveals more of what will be coming along with the patch, which promises more options for endgame players as well as for players without a great deal of time. For the former group, the game is adding a new Planar Achievement System that will give players points to spend in unique supplemental skill trees, adding some fine-tuning and character customization. For the latter group of players who don't have time to delve into large-scale group content, solo instances will be added, with one or two players easily able to clear the area depending on equipment. Hammerknell will be one of the first sorts of this dungeon, allowing players a chance to see more of the game as a whole. Higher-end players aren't forgotten, however, with a new Master Mode added to give dungeons extra sting and rewards. It looks like patch 1.5 will be a good time for all RIFT fans, whatever their level of commitment to the game.
