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Allods Online previews patch 3.0.4, spills new server details
Allods Online is constantly on the move, and as such, the team recently announced that the next update will be coming soon to the game. In addition to a brand-new North American server, patch 3.0.4 will witness significant changes to the mentoring and questing systems. Mentoring came with the previous update and is still being fine-tuned. With 3.0.4, mentors will be limited to 10 apprentices per character. Apprentices can be dismissed if a player is over the 10 limit and wants to add a new one. The dev team also announced a mentor/apprentice quest line that will give rewards to both. These quests can be accessed starting at level 10 and completed once per five levels beyond that. Patch 3.0.4 will also include more improvements to questing. The quest tracker and find quest feature are slated to become more intuitive, and the automove ability has been expanded to allow the system to run players through multiple zones in one go. The devs examined the quest flow as well and adjusted it to make it smoother in certain areas. The new server announced yesterday will be called Avilon and was created in response to a larger-than-expected influx of players onto the single North American shard. Players will not be able to transfer existing characters to Avilon, as the devs want to keep the server fresh and fair for those who roll there.
Allods Online announces patch 3.0.4, new North American server
Allods Online players are probably still busy playing with their new toys from the recent patches, such as the new Dead City raid and the Bard class, but gPotato has plenty more tricks up its sleeve. In a new post on the game's official site, the studio has announced Allods' next major update, patch 3.0.4. Information on the new update is scarce at the moment, but the post promises that "previews... of some of the new content and mechanics [players will] be able to experience in the new update" will be cropping up over the next few weeks on the official site. A few of these features include "changes to the mentor system and autorun, the Psionicist and Paladin reworks, new Allods to explore... and more." But that's not all that this new update is bringing with it. North American players are in for an extra treat in the form of a brand-new server. That's right, in addition to all the fancy new features that 3.0.4 is bringing to the game, NA players will be able to start on a fresh, clean server. This is somewhat odd, considering that the game recently merged two of its servers into one. The studio claims that it will "go into more details about the server and what to expect in the first preview which will arrive tomorrow." While you wait on more juicy information, though, just head on over to the Allods official site to give the full post a read.
Help a newbie with RIFT's upcoming mentoring system
RIFT fans are surely excited about the game's upcoming patch 1.9, which will bring a number of new features, such as the three-way conquest PvP mode, to the popular fantasy title. The mentoring system allows players to scale their levels down so they can play with lower-level teammates while still receiving XP and rewards comparable to their true levels. Trion Worlds has designed the system to be easy to use: If you want to drop your level to match someone else's, simply invite that player to a party, right-click on his character's portrait, and voila. In addition, if you join a random instant adventure group, you will automatically be lowered to the appropriate level. And remember, you do continue to gain level-appropriate rewards and XP even when your level has been lowered by the mentor system. For instance, if your character is level 45 but you're mentored down to say, level 30 to play with a friend, you'll continue to gain XP suitable for a level 45 character, and you'll always be rewarded with the appropriate variety of sourcestone. For the full details on the game's upcoming mentoring system, head on over to the RIFT official site.
Allods Online releases Astral Storm update
Wakey wakey, Allods Online players -- the Astral Storm update is here! Patch 3.0.2 was released to North American and European servers today hosting a wide variety of anticipated additions and changes to the game. These include a mentor system, pets that can loot for you, more PvP content, and an overhaul of alchemy. GPotato also nerfed its own free-to-play penalties in the update, as it removed Tep's Curse and Holy Charms from the game in order to protect players' gear. Dying will no longer cause player items to be cursed, which means that the charms are no longer needed as well. To celebrate the release of Astral Storm, gPotato brought back the tropical Atoll for three weeks. Catch up on all of the 3.0.2 goodness on Allods' special minisite devoted to the patch. [Source: gPotato press release]
Allods Online prepares players for patch 3.0.2 with a new mini-site
Allods Online's mascots are back for another humorous video, as Troll and Crab try their hands (claws) at making potions. It doesn't quite go as expected, but it's hard to blame Crab for what happens (he's just an earnest little guy). This is all to promote the game's newest update, patch 3.0.2, which promises to be a savory concoction for players to quaff. Over the weekend, gPotato opened up a new mini-site to promote the update and has since posted several new articles highlighting the changes. Some of patch 3.0.2's big selling points include a revamp of the Alchemy profession, the ability for pets to do the looting, a neat-sounding mentor system, a new skirmish called The Deserted Farm, a free-for-all treasure hunting space, a new raid boss, and better questing. Before you head over to see all of the patch changes, make sure to catch up on the latest episode of Troll and Crab after the break! [Thanks to Alex for the tip!]
Allods Online's patch 3.0.2 bringing mentor system, new Astral space
Allods Online's astral space is about to get just a little bit bigger thanks to the game's recently announced patch 3.0.2. The title's publisher, gPotato, announced today that the game's May content update will be bringing "a host of fixes and tweaks alongside some significant new features, including a new mentoring system and a new sector of astral space dedicated to free-for-all treasure hunting." The game's mentoring system allows experienced, high-level players to impart their wisdom and knowledge upon new characters of the same faction and archetype. The system is managed entirely through the game's mentor interface, which also helps to match prospective apprentices with a mentor. Mentors can receive a number of rewards, including gold and marks of diligence, depending on the amount of time the mentor spends with his apprentice. The update is also unveiling a new area of astral space wherein players will compete in a free-for-all battle for randomly spawning treasure, but be warned: The more players are in the zone, the higher the chance that a demon will show up to try to wreck your day. Players will have a limited amount of time to contend with opposing players and marauding demons and to gather the most loot possible before time's up. To get a sneak peek at these shiny new features, just head on past the cut and have a look at the update's official trailer. [Source: gPotato press release]
Editorial examines MMO mentoring, community dynamics
A wise man once described current-gen MMOs as "playing alone together." OK, truthfully I don't know who said that, nor do I know if he is particularly wise, but it resonated (and it's also applicable to a new editorial at Gamasutra that focuses on improving the community aspects of our favorite genre). The piece looks at several current games -- including Final Fantasy XIV, RIFT, and Dungeons and Dragons Online -- and analyzes how they both succeed and fail at bringing players together. Particular attention is paid to mentoring systems, though EverQuest II's is omitted. What ultimately emerges from the lengthy read is a portrait of a challenging issue that has its roots in both operational and design considerations, and while the piece doesn't offer any particular solution, it does provide quite a lot of food for thought.
Wings Over Atreia: Mentors, schmentors
Ahhh, the unadulterated bliss of traipsing about the promised land of milk and honey -- otherwise known as Atreia post 2.5. The siren call of the Empyrean Crucible, the plink of new tokens in the cube, the sounds of laughter as Daevas play with their newest cuddly little companions... what's that, you say? It is not all fluffy kittens and rainbows and sparkle ponies? *Gasp* How can that be?! Last week, we touched on a number of the additions and improvements brought to Aion with the latest patch, Empyrean Calling. However, after the novelty of the the new features had worn off a bit, the negative impact of some of these improvements became apparent; no matter how much is put into a system, there will always be pros and cons. Such can be said of the new mentoring system. Even while adding more to the gameplay of some, this system is taking away from it for others. Some were heard to be cursing mentoring from day one. Additionally, I venture to raise some concerns about long-term consequences that may not be considered in the rush to take advantage of the short-term gains. Sure, there are the benefits, but nothing comes without a cost. Nothing. So what could be so bad about mentoring in Aion? Slip past the cut and I'll fill you in.
Aion patch 2.5 goes live, free trial program introduced
It's time to spread your wings and take to the skies once again as Aion's patch 2.5 (which we were fortunate enough to personally explore not long ago) goes live today. The new update from NCsoft introduces two new areas of content: the new Esoterrace instance and the Empyrean Crucible. Players will be conquering both of these new areas in style with the addition of stunning graphical updates and new character customization options. New skills and PvP gear will help players to triumph over their enemies with finesse, while the new mentor system allows low-level players to get a helping hand from their elders. If you're not a current Aion player but you're still dying to take these new features for a spin, then you're in luck -- NCsoft is celebrating the new update by introducing a free trial program. Players in the program will be able to jump into the world of Atreia for 10 days and experience 20 levels' worth of content, all for free. You can choose your side and join the battle at the Aion official site.
Massively Exclusive: Aion mentoring guide
Aion's 2.5 patch is on final approach, and in fact the new content and game systems made a smooth landing on NCsoft's test server just last week. One of those new systems allows high-level players to mentor their low-level counterparts, and today Massively has teamed with NCsoft to present you with an exclusive guide to the new functionality. In a nutshell, low-level players will receive XP and unrestricted loot drops while the high-level mentor earns token rewards that go toward the purchase of high-end gear. One of the complaints consistently leveled against Aion over the first two years of its North American life has centered on the game's steep leveling curve. When coupled with the new quests introduced in previous updates, the mentoring system looks to provide a quick and easy path to the cap for young Daevas as well as an excuse for Aion geezers to wax nostalgic about how much harder it was way back when. Join us after the cut for the skinny on Aion's mentoring mechanics.
Aion 2.5 on PTS today, new class skills video released
Aion's 2.5 patch is right around the corner, and today marks the update's official debut on NCsoft's North American player test server (PTS). The patch, otherwise known as Empyrean Calling, brings several new game features to the denizens of Atreia including a mentor system, expanded character customization options, a graphics engine update, new legion features, pet interaction, and new PvE instances. To celebrate the milestone, NCsoft has released a new trailer that shows off some new class skills that are also coming with 2.5. Sixteen different skills, two for each of Aion's classes, are shown in action as well as via textual descriptions. Have a look at the trailer after the cut, and don't forget to head to the PTS to get an early glimpse of all the updates.
The Tattered Notebook: Free level 90? Heck yeah!
I'm a bit late to the party, but I want to throw my two coppers into the discussion on the level 90 winback suggestion that Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson made recently. In a recent forum thread, he tossed out the idea of EverQuest II's offering level-capped characters to new players who purchased Destiny of Velious. After a fairly robust discussion, he pulled it off the table, but I actually think it should still be an option. Before you make fists of fury at the screen, hear me out! In this week's Tattered Notebook, I'm going to look at why this promotion is needed and suggest a way that it actually could work for everyone's benefit.
