saylah
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Top 10 tips for Allods Online
Saylah from the Mystic Worlds blog is one of the many enthusiastic closed beta testers for Allods Online, and is making the most of her experience by learning as much about the game as she can. She's on her eighth character, having rerolled several times to learn the classes, and has provided a great rundown of the game so far, including the extremely useful "Top Tips for Playing Allods." Her list of ways to better enjoy your time in Allods runs the gamut from very general (take time to smell the roses -- explore the world) to the very specific (what gear kits to buy and where to buy them.) If you are a current closed beta participant and have not read through this list yet, you definitely want to. Even if you aren't in the game yet, Saylah's post is a nice starting point for anyone considering playing -- it gives a good feel for the game overall and is worth bookmarking for the day you venture into Allods.
The Daily Grind: When does RMT cross the line?
This question was posed yesterday by Saylah at the Mystic Worlds blog, and we couldn't help but wonder the same ourselves. When RMT or micro-transactions are first introduced as a business model for a game, the claim is always that these items for sale are not detrimental to the actual gameplay itself. They're cosmetic, or they aid your character with convenience items like extra bag space or a faster mount. But as Saylah points out, Runes of Magic has introduced crafting items to their Item Shop recently. This allows players to purchase bundles of resources for crafting, which gives an advantage towards things like guild castles. "My first reaction is to suspect that the massive grind in this area is intentional to encourage the purchase of the resources now available in the Item Shop," she says. So what do you feel is going too far in RMT purchases? Is selling crafting resources too much, or would you only raise an eyebrow at the sale of overpowered weapons in an RMT shop? With the popularity of micro-transactions, do you think developers will edge closer and closer to that line to see what they can get away with? Let us know your thoughts!
One Shots: There's a naked person in my house
I admit, I couldn't resist holding on to this One Shots for posting with today's launch of Runes of Magic. That said, this is undoubtedly one of the funnier stories we've heard from a player to date, and this time we're even kind of involved in it. Curious? Here's the story to go with today's One Shots, courtesy of Saylah, who runs the Mystic Worlds blog. She writes: This is a shot from Runes of Magic. I'd shared my house number on my blog and in game chat for people to visit my crafting workshop which you also featured on Massively. A couple of days later I went inside to put away some items and found a player naked and chillin' in the living room. We had a good laugh about it and he hung around for a while to chat. I left while he decided to say and "house-sit". Several other players visited while I was out and he acted as the naked host. The experience was very funny.If you're playing Runes of Magic and would like to show off your own personal space or adventures, we'd love to see some screens! Just email them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and your story. We'll post it here and give you the credit for sending it in.%Gallery-9798%
Don't use public crafting stations, learn to craft from home
Last time we checked in with Saylah from Mystic Worlds, she was off enjoying the free to play MMO Runes of Magic. Her goal was to perfect her home crafting station, allowing her to turn her house into a small store to sell items to the people she met in her travels.Well, it looks like her home crafting shop has been completed and is now ready for public consumption. As an added bonus, she's posted on her blog some good tips for how to put together your own workshop for just a couple bucks a month. Plus, if you want a closer look, you can check out her home inside of Runes of Magic and get some ideas from the things she's already put together.Her full post is available over at her blog, Mystic Worlds, and it's a pretty good read for anyone who's interested in crafting in RoM.
Real money trade as a convenience to players
Whenever real money trade is mentioned, or the dreaded term "item shop" is brought up, we all seem to get a little twitchy and afraid. Games that were supported by item shops use to denote which games had little content and poor quality, but times are swiftly changing. Games like Runes of Magic, Wizard 101, Mabinogi, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine and others are changing the face of the free to play market and item shop transactions as they begin to combine quality with affordability. Yet, the stigma of the item shop remains in our culture.Saylah at Mystic Worlds has put together a well-written argument in favor of the item shop and RMT system. Instead of looking at it like getting ahead of the players who are "playing the game properly," look at it as customizable service for the user. Item shops should provide convenience for players who are looking to make some of the boring parts of the game move a little faster so the game can fit in their personal timeframe.If any of this sounds interesting, check out her full article as she lays down her opinion and then applies it to her current MMO, Runes of Magic.
