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EVE Evolved: Fitting Minmatar cruisers for PvP in Retribution
Ever since EVE Online's PvP-focused Retribution expansion landed last month, I've spent most of my play time hunting for kills in cheap PvP cruisers and loving every moment of it. The standard tech 1 cruisers used to be underpowered ships that new players used as a stepping stone into more capable battlecruisers or tech 2 cruisers, but Retribution buffed them to ridiculous proportions. Every tech 1 cruiser was given extra module slots and stats, and the low-tier cruisers were buffed up to the same level as the highest-tier hulls. Believe it or not, these cheap ships that new players can comfortably fly with just a week of skill training have become competitive PvP ships. In the first two editions of this ship fitting series, I put together new ship setups for each of the Amarr and Gallente tech 1 cruisers. This week, I've been zipping about the universe at high speed in the Minmatar cruisers and putting together effective ship setups that can take down some huge prey. The Stabber has been transformed into a competent miniature Vagabond that can keep enemies at arm's length and nibble them to death, and the tanky Rupture remains a highly effective close-range brawler. The Bellicose now excels in an anti-tackler role, and the Scythe is a throwaway remote repair platform that uses speed to stay safe on the battlefield. In this week's EVE Evolved, I give PvP setups for the four recently revamped Minmatar tech 1 cruisers.
The Perfect Ten: Unusual MMO weapons
Swords. Staffs. Maces. Spears. Wands. Bows. Crossbows. Double-crossbows. Hammers. Wolverine claws. Daggers. Axes. Deadly? Yes. Fashionable? Not so much. I mean, really. A two-handed sword is so 1299. Now, a deep dish Chicago-style pizza with the works flung into an enemy's gullet -- that's progressive thinking! Because I'm deeply bored with the usual suspects in most MMO armories, I wanted to spend a day praising devs who said, "Screw it. We're going weird, and we're not going to regret it, even when our bosses call us into their offices demanding why such lunacy ended up in a professional game." So forget everything you think you know about weapons because your pitiful armament has yet to scratch the surface of the wild, wild universe of things that can be used to kill you in game. This Perfect Ten column is sponsored by Grizzly Bear Rocket Launchers, Ltd. after the jump.
Holier than thou: Divine Souls adds the Priest
It figures that in a game called Divine Souls, sooner or later the team would include clergy. Outspark's action RPG has expanded its class roster to include the Priest, who's an interesting mix of lethal intent and compassionate healing. The Priest is equipped with a deadly Soul Scythe, with which he culls the heathens as he works his way through the land. That's not all he brings to battle; the Priest is also well-versed in healing, lightning and poison magics. Outspark's Philip Yun hopes that the Priest will be embraced by the playerbase: "We've designed Divine Souls from the beginning to offer the most action-packed and exciting combat gameplay available online. We're constantly working to improve our games and offer players more exciting characters, weapons and other premium content. The Priest class will be especially compelling for players who want to try a different edge to our PvP battles." Hit the jump to see Divine Souls' Priest in action!
Vindictus' Evie offers a-mage-ing moves
Evie is not content to summon a wicked-looking golem to fight for her side, no! Details are coming to light that Evie, the recently introduced mage character in Nexon's free-to-play hack-and-slasher, Vindictus, will be bringing even more pain through additional magical means. Equipped with a staff at earlier stages, she will change to rather wicked-looking battle-scythes later in the game. Furthermore, one of her most insane attacks at low level is the Firebolt attack, which will not only grant high damage, but will add a knockback effect, if it remains true to the original version. To add to this wee, juicy tidbit of information, we understand that the key to Evie's survival is a five-layer shield, which gives her the ability to resist most attacks without major loss of hitpoints or mana. Considering the majority of MMO mages tend to be high-DPS glass cannons, Evie's ability to shield without major mana or health drain is likely welcome news for those who prefer crazy-damage casters but hate spending time studying floor textures while waiting for a rez. In all, the game is still in beta, so these details may well change before launch -- but it sounds pretty awesome to us so far.
Death Jr. and the preorder stylus of doom
Of all the preorder stylus bonuses we've seen, Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom's is easily the best. Konami has been encouraging gamers to reserve its 3D platformer with promises of a miniaturized scythe that doubles as a stylus. The preorder perk also comes with a plastic holder that clips the oversized pen to you DS Lite. Though it makes for a great novelty item to enjoy with your game, the scythe also serves as a grim reminder that death is always close. Try as we might to avoid it, our end is always waiting, ready to steal our life's work -- or waste in some cases -- like a thief in the night. It doesn't seem like much of a bonus when you think about it like that, does it?Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom won't appear on store shelves until May 22nd, but some online shops are already sending the preorder styli out. Head past the post break for CAG forumer Asgardian's photos of the Death Jr. stylus he received early. [Via CAG]
POWER Watch fan controller with LCD gauges
Racing fans everywhere will surely appreciate the new "POWER Watch" fan controller from Japanese manufacturer Scythe, which displays all of your PC's vital signs on a large, tachometer-like LCD, and which would perfectly complement your NASCAR-branded desktop from Cisnet. Besides letting you tweak fan speeds and constantly monitor your machine's health, the POWER Watch also includes Powered USB capabilities, a few connectivity ports and a handful of memory card slots, which actually seem to be more of a necessity when you consider how this monster will hog all of your free drive bays.
