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Phase 2 of the Sandstorm hits Global Agenda today
After a great deal of testing, Global Agenda players can look forward to a treat today -- the second phase of the immense Sandstorm update is going live. Part of a large-scale update that rewrites several core components of the game, the first phase was rolled out about two months ago, and this continuation drops in most of the features left out of the first. The largest addition is the persistent PvE zone in the Sonoran Desert, designed for players between levels 5 to 15. The desert will allow players to take a series of missions from area NPCs to help advance a story arc, learning more about the Desert Dweller and Recursive Colony factions as they gain both loot and experience. Players can also look forward to the addition of consumable items and the option to salvage unwanted pieces of equipment for parts, something that plays well with the updated systems that came into play during the first phase of the patch. There are also new defense raids for players past level 30 to take part in, standing tall in a difficult battle against Recursive Colony attacks. And even with the recent shift in business models for Global Agenda, the Sandstorm update is remaining free for all current and future players -- a welcome addition to the game that should provide several points of interest, as well as set the stage for future expansions to the game.
Persistent zones appear on EQII's test server
EQ2Wire draws some interesting conclusions from last week's Test Update Notes on Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II. The long-running fantasy MMORPG appears to be waffling on whether or not players should level rapidly. Last weekend marked a double XP smorgasbord, but now comes word of new persistent zones on the game's test servers. These zones include many instances in the Desert of Flames and Kingdom of Sky sections of the world of Norrath, and making them persistent will prevent players from zoning in and out for a fresh set of mobs. "This is the type of change that makes players the most negative about a game, these "yank the rug out from under you" changes which only serve to make players feel that their time is being intentionally wasted to maintain an artificial leveling pace. It only emphasizes the treadmill characteristic that all MMOs have, but usually try to conceal," writes EQ2Wire's Feldon. Check out the original article for more commentary, as well as the full patch notes.
