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Alganon patches Phase III PvP update
Destruction, terror, and mayhem came to Alganon this past November with the arrival of the game's first PvP patch. This week, the free-to-play fantasy MMORPG is tweaking the functionality with Phase III of its planned PvP rollout which includes a couple of noteworthy additions. First up is the new tower mechanic. In a nutshell, the towers are PvP-enabled zones that automatically flag players for conflict five seconds after they've entered. Temporary promotions will be in effect for characters from levels 10 to 49, and statistics and action levels will be raised to level 50 for the duration of a player's time in the tower zone. The towers can also be captured, which brings bonuses to every member of your faction in the zone. The Quest devs have also added local and world defense chat channels to facilitate battlefield communication. Finally, the new patch has also increased the renown level cap to 10 and there is new PvP gear for sale at various capital city quartermaster NPCs. Read all the details on Alganon's 2.5.2 patch at the official website.
Waging WAR: RvR packs, the "wait and see" edition
This week Waging WAR rides the double rainbow of gameplay customization via downloadable content and takes a cursory glance at the RvR packs being teased by the folks behind the development of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Let's follow along and see what Greg can unleash this time. It is difficult to talk about the future of WAR right now. Not because it doesn't have a future, but because the availability of information regarding it is not exactly easy to find. Actually, information on the future of WAR is all but non-existent, surrounded by controversy on all sides, and steeped in rumor, speculation, assumption and misinformation. The best I can put together is that we, as players, can look forward to some sort of set of three different "RvR Packs" allowing us to "customize" our gameplay experience moving forward. The packs have been called "Power," "Progression," and "Personality." What exactly each contains is a mystery, although the few talking points I was able to find regarding these RvR packs are speculatively disappointing at best. Although Carrie, Andy, and anyone else involved with the Mythic development team have said time and time again that they are not discussing moving toward the free-to-play business model, what they're proposing with these customization packs looks suspiciously like the item shop established by Turbine, implemented in Dungeons & Dragons Online and soon in Lord of the Rings Online as well. V.I.P. membership, anyone? Although concrete information is scarce and difficult to find, let's take a look at the most commonly referenced points of interest after the break.
Warhammer Online's RvR pack announced
Mention "Skaven" to your average Warhammer Online player, and you'll be treated to an almost instant recitation of all the reasons why the race ought to be playable. It appears that players might be due to get that wish -- as well as a few more wishes -- with the announcement of the RvR pack for the game. Although we only have the broadest strokes of an outline for the pack, it promises to expand the game's core focus of PvP with an increase in the renown ranks to 100. Executive Producer Carrie Gouskos has confirmed the involvement of the Skaven, although she's stated that they'll not be playable directly from level 1. How the integration will take place is unclear, as are most of the fine details, although the pack will clearly be a big change for the game's overall structure. The pack is also meant to move away from the "huge expansion" model that's common in the MMO genre, with the company presumably moving to several smaller expansions on a quicker timetable. It's good news for Warhammer Online players to see what's coming around the bend, especially if players can run about sowing chaos as ravenous rat-men.
