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Path of Exile unveils more of the Hall of the Grandmasters
Is your character in Path of Exile the greatest of all time? Do throngs of people spontaneously assemble around her to sing Eye of the Tiger when she's just walking down the hall to the kitchen? More specifically, did you purchase the Grandmaster Founder Pack for the game? Then you can be immortalized in the Hall of the Grandmasters, a unique map canonizing player characters whilst pitting everyone against these champions. The development team has recently posted screenshots of the map still under development in addition to some planning details. Players will be able to challenge specific hallways within the Hall of the Grandmasters, which pit players against several random grandmasters who must be beaten to continue onward. This allows the developers to continue expanding as more grandmasters are added in the future. Check out the full thread for more details and preview shots of the map under development. The team has also posted two new skill effect microtransactions; the videos showing them in action are below.
Star Trek Online kicks off featured episode reruns
Star Trek Online is going to be in reruns on May 16th, and unlike television shows, this is a good thing. The featured episode reruns allow players to pick up special items that aren't obtainable in the game through any other means, including Breen and Reman bridge officers for Federation and Klingon captains and Lobi crystals for everyone. The event runs from May 16th until May 27th, with each featured episode series (Spectres, Cloaked Intentions, The 2800, and Cold Call) providing a special reward for characters that complete them. Players can also earn 15 Lobi crystals for completing at least one episode per day, making for a total of 180 available for free during the event. So if you haven't gotten the special rewards on a character, you want some crystals, or you just feel like going through some classic Star Trek Online missions, you'll want to jump in on the reruns.
The Daily Grind: Do you like time-limited goodies?
Star Wars: The Old Republic offered a little goodie for players who wanted to commemorate the anniversary of Knights of the Old Republic in the form of a title. If you didn't buy it yesterday... well, it's gone. It was incredibly cheap and freely available for everyone for that day, but that was the only window of opportunity you had. This brings to mind a very different set of questions than time-limited content. A time-limited title or vanity item doesn't actually affect the game when it shows up or leaves since it's just for fun. At the same time, a promotional item that players can't get immediately becomes intensely desirable, and it means that new players are forced out by necessity. So do you like time-limited goodies that have no effect on the game as a whole? Or would you much prefer that vanity items be limited through some other means? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Are you tempted by perks for lifetime subscriptions?
I liked Star Trek Online a great deal during my time with the game, which lasted a few months. I haven't been back since, and I'd really have to re-learn the game if I did go back. Despite this, it's hard not to be at least a little tempted by the latest lifetime subscription deal, since I have to admit that some of the veteran rewards look really cool, even though I'm not actively playing the game at the moment. Silly? Most definitely. But I'm willing to bet that many of us look at a game occasionally which is no longer in our play rotation and have a moment of appreciation for the carrots we're being offered. Some people no doubt look and aren't tempted to go back to a game of yesteryear just for some new perks, but some are. So what about you? Are you ever tempted to pick up a lifetime subscription to a game just because of the added perks offered? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
APB: Reloaded unveils a boatload of new screenshots
Are you excited about the release of the APB: Reloaded retail box? Ambivalent about the release but fond of screenshots? Either way, there's a whole lot of new screenshots from the game to coincide with said release, showing off two of the new maps for the game's new Fight Club battle mode and new SWAT gear for Enforcer players who like to take down crime in style. And heavy armor, which seems practical. There's also a new revelation about the retail pack itself, as it seems that GamersFirst has sweetened the pot slightly. In addition to all of the bonuses listed in our post on the release yesterday, GamersFirst has confirmed that there are extra weapons in the package for those who purchase the pack within the first 30 days. So if you're curious about what you could do on the streets and have the $30 to check it out, now might be the time to do so. %Gallery-141485% %Gallery-141484% %Gallery-141483% %Gallery-115829%
City of Heroes to celebrate 7th year with special anniversary bonus
City of Heroes is approaching its seventh year of operation, and in keeping with tradition, that means it's time to start the celebration early. This year, though, the team is offering players a little extra incentive to stay subscribed during the lead-up to the date itself. Players who maintain an active subscription from February 1st until April 18th will receive a new badge, a new emote, and a brand-new booster pack to help celebrate their service to (or against) the populace of Earth Prime and Praetoria. Becoming available on April 28th to all players with a steady subscription, the most eye-catching reward is the new Vanguard Booster Pack, which unlocks several of the Vanguard costume pieces and features for all characters on a given account. There's also a new badge and concurrent title "The Constant," and a special chest emblem signifying the long road the game has walked. City of Heroes players can take a gander at the official announcement and start looking forward to the full anniversary celebration, which seems to be ramping up early this year.
Bonus item event in Final Fantasy XIV's beta
Final Fantasy XIV's open beta is only going to last until the 19th, which is just a stone's throw away. This would be worse news if not for the fact that the collector's edition of the game will be launching three days after that, meaning that the game's fans will have other things to do shortly thereafter. (The game's detractors don't really need the game to run one way or the other.) But if you'd like to take part in one last hurrah before launch, Square-Enix is hosting a special event on the newly-added Karnak and Narshe servers. All characters created on the special servers before 1:00 p.m. PDT on the 16th will have both the Onion Helm and Asuran Armguards added to their inventory. The former is the bonus for pre-ordering the collector's edition of the game, while the latter is the reward for also owning a copy of Final Fantasy XIII. It's not quite the potpourri of good news revealed from the pre-launch event yesterday, but it promises to still be a nice chance for Final Fantasy XIV beta testers to go out with a bang.
Champions Online unveils plans to celebrate one year since launch
While it was discussed in passing with the last State of the Game address, it's well worth reiterating that Champions Online is going to be a year old in September. With the uncomfortable number of games who've fallen on hard times over the past year, it's well worth celebrating an anniversary in style. And Cryptic Studios plans to do precisely that, with their recently-unveiled anniversary plans running from August 27th to September 6th for all of the game's players. During the duration of the celebration, the Renaissance Center area will be decked out in all the celebratory finery, complete with contact NPCs wandering about. These NPCs will offer characters one gift per day, with more gifts available from defeating enemies in certain areas. Each gift works as a useful consumable item, and on top of those gifts there are new perks to collect and special anniversary costume pieces to collect. Champions Online players should take a look at the full rundown of events and take part in the near future.
