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Soloing through SWTOR's Shadow of Revan
Some people question how you can be a solo player in an MMO. To be honest, I, too, question how someone can do the whole game solo, but I do understand the desire to experience the game at your own pace. I believe the creators of Star Wars: The Old Republic understand this, too. Game director James Ohlen said that the biggest thing players wanted was the continuation of Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2. Although part of the SWTOR story did continue the Revan and Exile stories, a lot of players haven't even touched on that storyline. In a multiplayer game, it's hard sometimes to experience the story solo with all the group-only material. However, Shadow of Revan creates an amazing opportunity for the solo MMO player to really experience the full story it has to offer. Fair warning: I will not spoil major plot points for the expansion, but I will reveal some key characters in order to talk you through this leveling experience.
World of Warcraft's patch 5.4 launches tomorrow
Tomorrow's patch for World of Warcraft will not bring about the end of the Horde. It will, however, mark a crucial turning point in the conflict between the Alliance and the Horde when both sides storm the walls of Orgrimmar to take down Warchief Garrosh Hellscream. It remains to be seen just what will happen after tomorrow's patch, but as the preview video past the break shows, things won't be the same after the walls come down. Not that the patch is just about laying siege to the Orcish home city. It also introduces flexible raiding modes to allow groups of any size to tackle raid content as well as the Proving Grounds, which are solo instances that test your tanking, healing, or DPS skills. There are also currency conversions and new items to be obtained, helpfully explained in a small FAQ on our sister site. Do what you need to do today, and get ready to storm the walls tomorrow.
The Nexus Telegraph: Talking tasks with WildStar's PvE
At a glance, there are far fewer problems when dealing with PvE content compared to PvP content. WildStar's PvE options are a bit better established, and besides, all you need to do is provide the enemies and a reason to fight them. It's not as if you have to deal with all of the differences that you find in PvP, after all. Toss out some dungeons, give players a daily hub, and everything will work out perfectly, right? The answer is no. Not even a little bit. Just as you need a variety of different things in PvP to serve a multitude of playstyles, you need a variety of different opportunities for PvE players. It's still a header that covers a broad field of different playstyles and preferences, and that means there are a lot of different things that the game needs to offer. Bearing in mind that we're talking about the level cap here, let's take a look at what areas the game needs to support.
The Nexus Telegraph: What WildStar isn't revealing
We now know about the last two races coming to WildStar. We don't yet know about the last two classes, but that's pretty much assured for release in the near future. (I'm betting on PAX Prime, based on nothing more than speculation.) In fact, we're getting plenty of interesting and deep reveals... as well as a few things that the developers aren't talking about, things that are mentioned in passing and then allowed to just go unaddressed. Some of this doesn't really matter one way or the other, but there are some places where these unreveals are pretty worrisome. I'm not sure how much of this comes down to limited time for reveals and how much is actually shady, but in lieu of more information, I think some questions should be asked about why we've heard nothing regarding some stuff that, logically, should have gotten its own day in the revelation sunlight.
Leaderboard: Go it alone vs. go it together
A lot of modern games don't really require you to have someone along with you at all times. Star Wars: The Old Republic gives you a companion for your leveling adventures, but there's no need to have a real person with you when completing the game's solo content. World of Warcraft is tuned so that everyone can level through quests solo, even if sometimes you make it through by healing yourself until monsters give up and die of boredom. It's a welcome change from logging on, finding out your friends are offline, and giving up for the evening. But let's say you have a friend who will play alongside you if you want. On the one hand, you can suddenly make your life much easier by pairing up to tackle content designed for just one, doubling what you can accomplish. On the other hand, there are always quests that become more frustrating with two people after the same objectives, even when those two people are ostensibly working together. Plus, working alone means never having to stop for five minutes because your partner has to put a squalling baby to bed. Given the choice, would you rather be grouped up or solo when taking on content that allows for soloing?
Preview RIFT's Chronicles of Telara solo instance content on the PTS
RIFT's patch 1.5 is just on the horizon, and to prepare for the patch's release, Trion Worlds has introduced solo dungeons to the game's public test server. This instanced content, known as Chronicles of Telara, provides quick gameplay for players who are craving a little bit of dungeon-flavored action but who don't have the time to gather a group and trudge through the trials and tribulations of a five-man instance. After the cut, we have a pair of videos showing off the Chronicles of Telara: Hammerknell solo instance. The first video, from ZAM's Nepabrite, takes players on a quick tour of the Dwarven fortress, complete with running commentary. The second video, from Torrac of the guild Result on the Immerwacht server, is devoid of any such commentary and simply allows players to follow along through the entirety of the instance. To feast your eyes upon both of the above, just slip on past the cut.
The Anvil of Crom: An exclusive preview of Dead Man's Hand
Welcome to a special edition of The Anvil of Crom. It's not often that I give up the captain's chair on this here column (in fact, today is the first time, if you want to get technical about it). In the interests of bringing you fine folk an exclusive Savage Coast of Turan content preview, though, it seemed like the prudent thing to do. Today's installment will give you a first look at Dead Man's Hand, and no, I'm not talking about the unfortunate Xbox title that I once purchased in the hopes of playing Red Dead Redemption six years prior to Red Dead Redemption. No, this Dead Man's Hand is a new single-player instance in Age of Conan, and it's debuting shortly with all the rest of AoC's movie tie-in adventure pack content. Head past the cut to join me in discovering what Funcom has to say about its latest dungeon endeavor (and oh yeah, I've got some exclusive screens and concept art for you as well). %Gallery-9836%
The Mog Log: Nothing changes when you leve
Apparently, my not-really strategy of promising a column on a given topic in the following week has ensured that we're kept in a steady stream of interesting Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI news, just enough that my plans for the following week are derailed. It does make the "next week" sentence a bit useless, but I'm not really complaining. So while I was going to talk about timing, this week we're talking about guildleves instead because Naoki Yoshida certainly wants to talk about the changes being made to guildleves. I talked a while back about the place that guildleves have in the game's overall scheme of content -- namely, that they serve the role of effective repeatable content that fills in the gaps between memorable content. The funny thing is, for all the talk in both the producer's letter and the subsequent outline of changes about what will be altered, I don't think the real change is coming down on our end. I think it's just a change in production values.
The Anvil of Crom: Your guide to the Refuge of the Apostate
Wow, I've completely forgotten how to play my Demo. Due to recent adventures in Bear Shaman land, my level 80 Age of Conan characters have been collecting quite a bit of dust. I haven't really missed them yet, either, as the Shaman is a heck of a lot more enjoyable than I expected. That said, he's only 35, and therefore he's out of the running when it comes to showing me through the new Refuge of the Apostate dungeon content that Funcom released a few days back. Join me after the cut as I get reacquainted with spamming shockstrike and running around with various succubi pets and a severe outbreak of particle effects. I might even be persuaded to offer up a proper guide for the new dungeon (and some review commentary) as well.
The Mog Log: Let's talk about EXP, baby
If there was one thing I always hated about Final Fantasy XI, it was the leveling process. Not the grouping for levels, which was fun and often a good distraction from the monotony of camping and grinding. (It was obnoxious trying to level Dragoon, sure, but that was excellent motivation to spend more time as a healer.) No, it was something much simpler -- the actual speed of the level-to-level process, or more accurately, the earth-shattering lag between levels that only increased as you got higher. Both Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI are on the horns of an experience change, with the former having happened and the latter still to be seen as of this writing (I'm working fairly far ahead, so watch the patch drop this week). Seeing as how leveling is kind of a big deal until you've reached the level cap in everything, the changes are worth examining for what they add to the game and for whether or not the changes are actually worthwhile and useful.
The Anvil of Crom: Sex, violence, and the solo gamer
OK, those of you who clicked on this week's issue of The Anvil of Crom hoping to read a sordid expose filled with tawdry, titillating screenshots from Funcom's M-rated Age of Conan MMO might be disappointed. I know, I know, a headline like that is a dastardly writer trick. Blame it on the fact that I happened across an old Natalie Wood film with a catchy title while scrounging about for this week's topic. At any rate, I will be mentioning violence, as it's hard to talk about Age of Conan without it. Hopefully that will earn your forgiveness. Really though, I'm itching to spend a bit of virtual ink on the solo gamer, particularly as he or she relates to Funcom's sword and sorcery epic, so join me after the cut for a look at how the lone wolf fares in Hyboria.
Wings Over Atreia: Going steady with Kromede's Trial
Last week, I bared my soul and shared my first date with my favorite mid-level Aion instance, Kromede's Trial. OK, so maybe it is the only mid-level solo instance, but that doesn't diminish the fact that I enjoyed it immensely -- enough to return over and over and over again. Not even the lure of rifting changes could pull me away... although the second I hit level 45 and cannot enter the instance, I am off to Morheim! Until that moment, I am enjoying a combination of full-clears for armor and XP and quick runs just for the weapon. So what about this instance hooked me enough to manage four different runs in one day during the reactivation celebration (while the lockout timer was reduced to four hours)? A steadily filled experience bar, a consistently filled cube, and the promise of a gold weapon after completing one repeatable quest 20 times, not to mention a growing collection of corrupt judge's armor pieces and a chance at Kaliga's key for a fabled weapon are why I simply can't say no. All this without having to deal with the inconvenience of forming a group, and all my other Aion goals can be met while the instance is on cool-down. What more could a girl want? Peek past the cut to watch this love affair unfold as I continue to court Kromede's Trial. Enjoy a screenshot gallery as well!
The Mog Log: The worrying future of Final Fantasy XI
There's a growing unease in the Final Fantasy XI community. It's one of those subtle things that no one is willing to outright talk about, but it's still there, just beneath the surface of a surprising number of discussions. And it's a bit unusual for an MMO, because it's not fear or anxiousness about something being broken from the last update or an upcoming update. No, it's more about the question of whether the upcoming updates will be the last, or if there will even be any changes that could break something. There is an elephant in the room with a big number fourteen on its side, and while few fans of the game are upset that Final Fantasy XIV is coming... well, it raises no shortage of questions about the future of the game we're already playing. And it's not new. People were saying as far back as the leadup to the July update that something was rotten in the state of Jeuno. But when coupled with the promise that Final Fantasy XI isn't over... well, there's an excellent article that almost every fan needs to read on Allakhazam, summarizing what no small number of fans have been thinking. Where are we actually going to be when the dust clears?
EverQuest II's 'Elements of Corruption' update is live
Sony Online Entertainment has rolled out a significant amount of new content for EverQuest II. The title's Game Update 51 -- "Elements of Corruption" -- is now live, bringing with it some major changes to the Lavastorm zone. There's new solo content and quest lines, including level 80 solo quests, as well as mount paths and (additional) teleporters. Elements of Corruption goes far beyond the Lavastorm revamp though. Among the host of new features and content additions are the Ward of Elements two-group raid instances, a threat meter, and appearance slots. Have a look at the complete run-down of Elements of Corruption on the EQ II site to see what's new in the game, and for a closer look you can also flip through our Lavastorm dev tour.%Gallery-47248%
LotRO devs reveal Angmar revamp plans for Book 12
The yellow sun slipped beneath the rim of the encircling hills, and the land was shrouded in shadow. In the dim half-light, two figures could be seen, walking north along a dusty road. They made no attempt at stealth. The pair could be seen for miles in every direction, but if this troubled either of them, they made no sign. Amlug: If this is another boar quest.... MadeOfLions: It won't be. Angmar was the realm of the Witch-king, and that means Evil. While most MMO companies make simple announcements about zone revamps, the Lord of the Rings Online devs have decided to go with charts, graphs and fictional accounts harshing their own work. What it all boils down to is this: the high end adventuring zone Angmar didn't get the dev loved it needed before the game launched. The devs are going to fix that in the Book 12 patch.
