season four
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'Apex Legends' celebrates its first year with a new melee-focused hero (updated)
It's been almost a year since EA and Respawn shocked gamers by following up the Titanfall games with a new free-to-play battle royale shooter. Now, the team has revealed that for its first anniversary Apex Legends will add a new hero, Forge, and launch season four of gameplay and content add-ons. For existing players, there are some special "year one" login gifts, plus people who play between February 4th and 11th can nab 10k XP for their first match of the day, every day. The new hero Forge appears to add some melee abilities to the mix, with "Shatter Gauntlets" that he can use to beat up opponents. According to his backstory, the character is a "five time hyperfighting federation champion" who joins the game with some corporate sponsorship attached. According to people who've poked around for leaks, some of the abilities they're anticipating make him seem a lot like Doomfist, the similarly-augmented hero-with-a-big-arm from Overwatch. Update: Scratch that. It appears the "Forge" hero was a fake-out, who was unceremoniously dispatched by the real new hero for season four in a "Stories from the Outlands" video released today. Leaks indicate that the new character is Revenant, and all we know for sure is that they're very deadly.
Hearthstone season four card back unveiled
Hearthstone's fourth official season kicked off yesterday, and with it came the promise of another new card back for those able to reach rank 20. The Dread Necropolis is an obvious nod to the coming Curse of Naxxramas adventure pack, which could be out as early as this month. While the task might seem like a tall order if you're new, just remember, you're not penalized for losing prior to rank 20, making the journey far less painful than it could be. Brave adventurers might recall Naxxramas as the lich Kel'thuzad's floating abode in Wrath of the Lich King. The card back boasts an appropriate motif, complete with bones and the raid's signature purple and green color scheme.
Captain's Log: Dining with the devs
Captain's Log, Stardate 65075.4... Hello, computer (and players)! Ahhh, the good 'ol developers! You follow them on twitter, you read every one of their forum posts, and you even stalk them in-game. But you know what? Developers are just like us, a fellow human being, right? Wrong! Developers are the key to the future, the hands that create our dreams, the molders that shape our gameplay. Okay, okay -- I'm going a bit overboard, but you have to admit, they are pretty dang cool! Luckily for us Star Trek Online players, the devs that are working on the game, as well as all of the other projects in development at Cryptic, are very transparent. More often that not, they let us know what they are working on and look to the community to see what we think about particular ideas -- we truly get to help influence what makes it into the game. Aside from posting in the forums, many of them also participate with the community by guest starring on podcasts and meeting up with players when they can. As I broke the news to you all last week, I was privileged to host a Dine with the Devs event that coincided with a visit of some of the STO devs to this year's San Diego Comic-Con. While this was not associated with Massively, I figured all of you would like to know what happened and what was said. So, without further ado, it's time to recap the event and fill you all in on the super-secret meeting minutes! Ensign, warp 10! Let's boldly go where most of you were not able to go...
Captain's Log: The reverse slingshot effect
Captain's Log, Stardate 65056.3... Hello, computer (and players)! The slingshot effect is a maneuver, shown throughout the Star Trek franchise, which allowed starships to move back through the time continuum. By traveling at a high warp factor towards a star with a large gravitational pull, the ship would whip around it and time travel. While this seemed to only exist within the realms of the IP, it looks as though Star Trek Online's Executive Producer Dan Stahl took us on a reverse slingshot course, giving us a glimpse into the future of the game. Before we returned to the original timeline, he made sure to write up everything we saw along the way for those who couldn't make the trip. In layman's terms, for those of you who missed the news earlier this week, July's Engineering Report has been released. While this is a monthly publication that contains the development pipeline for STO, including some items that have been featured in past issues, there are always a few bullet points added that seem to spark a healthy amount of debate -- one of these includes the ability to auction off your in-game Emblems, a form of currency, for C-Store points that have been paid for with real money. For information on this, including a response from Cryptic's PR department, and more, read ahead past the jump for this week's Captain's Log entry. Ensign, warp 10! Let's pull a slingshot maneuver of our own...
Star Trek Online posts the latest Engineering Report
With the launch of Season Four now behind the developers at Star Trek Online, the team is now focusing on what lies ahead for its Captains. The latest Engineering Report, a monthly forum post that is released and written by Executive Producer Dan Stahl, foreshadows some upcoming content that we will see soon™ and commits to the eradicating of bugs that recently came to life. There are even some new additions that are sure to bring some "healthy" discussions to the Cryptic forums. Between now and Season Five, we will see the introduction of the Duty Officer system, STF revamps, new gear sets, more Klingon updates, and the advancement of the Borg into Federation space. While it has been said that Season Five will most likely not be released until 2012, players can look forward to seeing major updates for fleets, a rework of how exploration works, more in-game species, and the introduction of fleet starbases. Make sure to take a look at the full report, as well as this week's upcoming Captain's Log entry, to read about these and other updates coming to a starship near you.
Captain's Log: Season Four launch recap
Captain's Log, Stardate 65037.1... Hello, computer (and players)! As I mentioned in last week's Captain's Log entry, Season Four: Crossfire is now alive and kicking on Star Trek Online's Holodeck server. Based on past experiences with major content and code pushes, I feel that this was the smoothest to date with virtually no server issues or overload. While there have been a few snags along the way with some bugs making it past Cryptic's "white-glove" QA process, the update was a success and players are having more fun than ever before. As discussed in one of my past log entries, Season Four was to bring many updates to the game, including the acclaimed ground combat 2.0 system, which would make it an even better Trek experience -- in all honestly, Cryptic delivered. STO is more active than ever and the fleet that I am in is having multiple newbies sign up each day; it is an exciting time to be a player and your weekly columnist. What I would like to do this week is revisit what I let you know was coming to the game and let you know some of my thoughts on them now that I have been experiencing them for myself. Ensign, warp 12! Oh yeah, we are taking this to a whole new level...
Captain's Log: Hailing frequencies were, are, and will be open
Captain's Log, Stardate 65018.1... Hello, computer (and players)! While we have all been out and about gallivanting across the galaxy, the development team for Star Trek Online has been busy working on getting Season Four: Crossfire from Tribble test server to the Holodeck live sever, and it looks like the mission was a success as it was finally patched into the game this morning. In between all the bug-squashing, feedback-gathering, and sleepless nights, Executive Producer Dan Stahl found time to sit down and answer some of his players' burning questions about the future of STO. Toward the end of every month, a Cryptic Community Manager creates a new thread in the forums where players can submit questions. While it seems that the policy is "no question is too out there," only a select few are chosen and personally responded to. Whether you are interested in the future of Klingons, wondering when Starfleet Academy will make its debut, or curious to learn if the Romulans will become a playable faction, this month's Ask Cryptic is sure to leave you wanting more. While Dan seems to jump from topic to topic, I thought it would be handy if I put it all together for you in this week's Captain's Log entry. Ensign, warp 11! Yeah, that's right! This is for all the readers who thought we couldn't even go warp 10...
Captain's Log: The Gospel of Tribble
Captain's Log, Stardate 64959.3... Hello, compu... what the... shields up, red alert! Brace for impact! A giant Tribble is on the loose, and its name is Season Four. That's right -- the Star Trek Online public test server, Tribble, sometimes nicknamed the Trouble with Tribble, has finally reopened with the major update that we have all been waiting for. This build was first pushed last Friday but was taken down moments later due to a "major database error." The show-stopping kinks have been worked out now, so it is time to get to testing out all of the new content I have been writing about for the past couple of months. If you have not seen the release notes for this build, there are dozens of updates that will be altering the way you have come to play the game. Not sure what to test? That is what I am here for. The goal of this week's Captain's Log is to provide you a checklist on what to hit up once you patch your game and get on your test toon. Also, if you have never installed the test server, now is a great time -- Cryptic will soon be announcing a Tribble Test Weekend, during which you can log in and receive an exclusive item on the live server just for helping test. Ensign, warp 10! Let's share some text from the word of Tribble...
Captain's Log: Back to the future
Captain's Log, Stardate 64884.1... Hello, computer (and players)! Guess what's back? That's right! Hailing frequencies are now reopened -- Captain's Log is no longer on hiatus. Over the past few weeks, there has been some great news released about the Star Trek Online universe: the winner of the Design the Next Enterprise Contest was announced, the May Ask Cryptic was released, the dev team revealed the 500-day veteran rewards, and the Featured Episode reruns began. While everyone has had his or her own opinions on these stories, there is one piece of news that everyone can agree on: the awesomesauceness of the latest Engineering Report. As first announced earlier this week, Executive Producer Dan Stahl dropped his latest report, which describes the updates to the game coming in Season Four. As usual, aside from the imminent new content, Dan foreshadows the future for us. Captain's Log is no stranger to talking about the future of the game, so I am excited to share some more details about the upcoming updates with you. Since Season Four is right around the corner and I believe it will be the "game changing update this game has needed since launch," let's get on to this week's Log entry. Ensign, warp 10! Let's talk about Season 4 and beyond...
Fourth season begins for 2 Out Rally baseball MMO
Despite the scorn that sports MMOs receive in some quarters, there are a few of them out there. One of those rare beasts is 2 Out Rally, a free-to-play baseball sim that gives players the opportunity to micro-manage a team of major leaguers as both a top-ranked talent scout and a team owner. Gameplay involves creating, training, and developing ballplayers, as well as negotiating with other 2 Out Rally gamers to fill out your roster. 2 Out Rally's fourth season begins Friday, February 18th, and brings with it an increase in team ownership opportunities as well as higher levels of challenge. Season four will continue with a tradition established in season three by allowing players to write for The Scoop, the league's fictional newspaper that adds a layer of immersion and atmosphere to the game. You can learn more about the game, and start planning your pursuit of the pennant, at the 2 Out Rally website.
Arena season 4 over, season 5 to begin December 17th
Gnorog on the EU forums posted notice a while ago that Season 4 is over. That means that all arena teams and ratings have been cleared, and arena charter NPCs have been disabled.Your arena points will stay with you until you reach level 71 however.But the end of Season 4 isn't the news.Season 5 will begin on December 17th for those players that have reached level 80. That's just a few days away. For those that haven't, the skirmish brackets of 71-75 and 76-80 are available. The time is now to start organizing your arena teams and get them in gear for the upcoming events.With all the changes in Wrath the next arena season promises to be interesting. Here's to bigger and better weapons! /cheers
Season 4 does not begin June 17th
There has been a rumor going around for a few days that arena season 4 will begin on June 17th. I actually heard this in Alterac Valley this weekend when I was plowing through the place with a few friends and tanking Drek and two of his generals.While lots of folks wish it was different, season 4 will not be starting on the 17th. Drysc said as much today in a blue post, and went on to reiterate that they will still be giving a two week notice of any upcoming season.Personally, I expect season 4 to start sometime in late July or early August. That gives it about four months of activity until the supposed release of Wrath of the Lich King in November. But even the release of WotLK in November is unconfirmed, and that's just my guess which is no better than any rumor you hear in a battleground. The only official word will come from Blizzard, which we'll have carried here as soon as we hear it.
Blood Sport: Tips and Tricks
PvP in its purest form is a beautiful thing. Amanda Dean, always obsessed with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat brings you news you can use in the Arena. When last seen, former Blood Sport columnist V'Ming Chew had defeated a pack of angry Gnome Warlocks and had decided to take up retirement in a lovely chateau overlooking the Ring of Trials in Nagrand. So thanks to the new point requirements for Battleground gear in Arena Season Four, many people who are not as familiar with the arena will be forced to queue up. When I first started playing arenas, I didn't see it as tremendously different from battlegrounds. After several hard-learned lessons I found that I had to be much more flexible. I've also picked up a few tricks along the way. You have to count on all of your opponents using every tool available. If you're not already doing these things, give some of them a shot.
The end of queue dodging
Drysc updated his post on the official forums regarding Season Four Arena changes. It looks like Blizzard is working to put an end to queue dodging and thereby stifle the practice of win trading. Drysc quoted the revised arena rules, "If a team does not enter an arena match that is starting they will lose points equal to the amount that would have been deducted if they had played and lost." With this augmentation, players will no longer be able selectively battle only teams that have agreed to a loss. Since the Arenas began, there have been many underhanded methods players have used to inflate their ratings and gain access to the latest and greatest gear. Blizzard continues to intervene in order to fix the flawed system. Season four will include a few more changes to make things fair: "If a character's personal rating is more than 150 points below the team rating, they will earn points based on their personal rating instead of the team rating." "If the average personal rating of the players queuing for a game is more than 150 points below the team's rating, the team will be queued against an opponent matching or similar to the average personal rating." These changes have been implemented to make point and team selling practices less lucrative. With these changes combined with personal rating requirements, it seems the developers really are interested in making people earn their keep as PvPers. This leads me to wonder what they will think up next. Whatever it is, we'll keep you posted.
[1.Local]: The week in reader perspectives
[1.Local] serves up a smattering of reader comments from the past week, from the sublime to the ridiculous.Our readers are pretty cool. Oh sure, WoW Insider gets a fair share of senseless rants, immature finger-pointing and off-topic flaming in the comments area. But if you've never taken the time to dip into the reader comments, you might find you're missing something pretty special. It's not the Barrens in here. You'll discover a growing community of readers that looks forward to spending their day together, chatting and debating the latest issues in the World of Warcraft. Sometimes it's silly, sometimes it's serious, sometimes it's controversial – but I have to hand it to you, readers, it's always engaging.This week, readers pulled up a chair to a number of engaging conversations, from writing their own WoW-ku to analyzing their reactions to PvP Season 4 gear changes or to "subliminal" images in machinima. In the shadow of the coming expansion, many readers seem to be focused on rediscovering the joy of playing for the sake of playing – avoiding slogging through raiding or dailies as a dull, joyless chore. [1.Local] surveys a slice of all of it. As always, be sure to dive into the comments area of each thread and add your own thoughts – unlike your mama, we like us some hot, fresh backtalk.
Holy Paladin! A 3,000 team/personal rating
While many people enjoy Arena play, for both fun and gear, some teams really stand out from the crowd. DonLolo z Wladem, a 2v2 team from Burning Legion EU has topped the arena charts with a 3,000 team rating. Not only does this team have no need to worry about rating requirements for Season four gear, but they will have plenty of arena points to spend once it is released. This rating yields 1,140 points per week at the 2v2 level. The team is led by Noksil a Human Paladin. Noksil is the first player to reach a 3,000 personal rating. The build for this mighty combatant consists of 44 points in holy and 17 points in Protection. This build reflects the versatility of hybrid classes in DPS and healing. The team roster also contains two Subtly Rogues: Mnius with a personal rating of 2,883 and Tatus; who carries a rating of 1965 for the 15 games he's completed this season on the team. Congratulations DonLolo z Wladem. Welcome to the Arena Hall of Fame.
Forum post of the day: Keep your E-sport out of the Battlegrounds
Drysc's announcement of new gear requirements for season four has not been entirely well received. Doorf of Maelstrom is downright upset with the addition of arena point requirements to battleground honor gear. In a thread entitled "Keep your E-sport out of the Battlegrounds" feels that this new mechanic is unfair and forces people to play in the arena in order to truly enjoy the battlegrounds. Several posters, like Evennia of Feathermoon agree that arena and battleground are separate PvP systems. The forums have many threads today expressing outrage at this change. Dottie of Sargeras believes that this change will be the subject of a lawsuit since it is limiting people's access further to certain aspects of the game. This is an extreme extension of the argument that all players should have access to all game content. Still others, such as Oded of Draenor are once again calling for a separation between traditional WoW and the arena Esport. Don't get me wrong, I love to play in the arenas, but I agree that the arena and battlegrounds should be treated as separate systems. I suppose the change could be an attempt to refocus folks on their PvE goals. By making battlegrounds less fun and requiring arena participation, many casual PvP players may pursue the PvE environment.
