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Darkfall market exploit leads to rollback
The bad news: Unscrupulous players found and abused an exploit of Darkfall's market this past week. The worse news: Because of this, Aventurine had to roll back inventories to last Thursday, May 22nd. "With the help of the community we have discovered that there was some exploiting of our market feature at the end of last week," Aventurine posted on Facebook today. "We immediately deactivated the market to fix this issue and we identified those who had been actively exploiting it. We are in the process of permanently banning these players for their actions, as their behavior is inconsistent with the values we've set for the Darkfall Unholy Wars community." The silver lining to all of this, apart from a hopefully fixed exploit, is that the studio is granting three days of additional game time to all accounts on June 1st.
Darkfall's economy patch is live, role-focused livestream at 1:00 p.m. EDT
Aventurine has released Darkfall's latest patch, and it introduces a number of tweaks to the fantasy PvP sandbox's economy. The devs have added high-yield harvesting nodes "in order to promote more active harvesting activities," according to the patch notes. Said nodes will always be full as long as only one player is harvesting, and they also drop new rares instead of essences, which allows players to skip the rare essence conversion step. New (and more expensive) rare tools are now available for crafting, and new basic materials have been added as well. Darkfall devs are also hosting a livestream today at 1:00 p.m. EDT to answer questions on the game's custom roles revamp. [Thanks Jane!]
Here are a bunch of interesting Darkfall stats
Have you ever wondered who Darkfall's top gankers are and how many gankees they've ganked? How about Agonian market activity? Would you like to know how many items have been traded or whether there's more demand for iron ore, cotton, or timber? These and other burning Darkfall questions are answered in a series of infographics recently released by Aventurine. There's even one for PvE featuring lifetime mob kills on both the NA and EU servers. [Thanks Jane!]
Darkfall details Crafting Orders
If you're a particularly skilled crafter in Darkfall, you might be interested to hear more about the new Crafting Order system that allows you to create items for other players who place an order and provide you with needed materials. This changes crafting to a profession, "rather than something that everyone has to do," according to a post on the official forums. "Orders are anonymous and are processed in the order they were placed (first come - first served)," the post from Community Lead Unuldur states. "Crafting an order will provide a player with the same amount of skillup and prowess as if crafting the same item for themselves." This weekend also marks a special occasion to celebrate the upcoming prowess points respec with a Double Dye Drop Rate event and 2000 free prowess points for anyone with an active account as of May 31. Check out the official threads linked below for more info. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Darkfall Unholy Wars unveils the new custom roles
You want to do your own thing in Darkfall Unholy Wars, but how are you going to do that? Simple -- you're going to make use of the game's upcoming custom roles to build exactly your sort of character. This represents a fundamental shift to the game's mechanics, and the latest development post on the official site stresses that this first iteration is going to be modified over time. But it's still something novel, and it's a chance to have more control over your character's development. Players will be able to pick out any 9 school skills (with 1 Ultimate skill) and several common skills for a given build, with a grand total of 16 skills from school skills and common skills. Players will also be able to mix and match armor types to create just the right sort of playstyle. Builds can be altered at any point if a character has been out of combat mode for 15 minutes, so you're not locked into one configuration. Check out the official post for more details on the mechanical shift.
Rust, H1Z1, and the emerging 'survival MMO' genre
I'm naked and alone again, but that's OK. After having to level up in other games a million times, deal with boring tutorials, repeatedly turn in quests that add no value to my play time, and then watch as my guild slowly bleeds members to the next MMO asking us to repeat the whole ordeal, "naked and alone" is actually nice. Well, maybe just the naked part. And that, my friends, is the horror-survival/post-apocalypse genre. I love MMOs, but recent themeparks and building games have left me wanting something a bit more dangerous but still not a pointless murderfest. For the most part, these games are less about levels and quests and more about finding items to make sure you don't die. Hunger meters, diseases, and limited supplies in a world filled with enemies who loot you certainly feels like a good throwback to classic RPGs mixed with the multiplayer I've been craving since Asheron's Call first hooked me on MMORPGs. But community-wise, these games have seemed more like lobby shooters than MMOs, which for a long time made me hesitate to try them. If you've been finding yourself in the same situation, hopefully my little plunge into this bloody genre will give you some ideas of what to expect.
Play Darkfall for free from May 1 to May 5
Aventurine is throwing an extended Darkfall birthday party from May 1st to May 5th, so if you've ever wanted to try the fantasy combat simulator sans its monthly subscription fee, now's your chance! The devs are also doubling prowess rewards for the duration of the event, and there's even talk of "dynamic happenings" including a treasure hunt and GM-controlled monsters. Darkfall's latest patch is also live. Click through to the notes if you fancy reading about new armor dyes, the mentor system, and more. [Thanks Jane!]
Darkfall getting armor dyes
Darkfall players are no strangers to dying, but now at least they'll get to look good doing it. Aventurine is adding armor dyes to its fantasy PvP MMO, and while we don't know a lot of specifics just yet, we do know that green and gold are both options thanks to a couple of newly released screenshots. Will some dye colors be rarer than others? Will dyes be craftable and applicable to existing armor pieces? Will someone make a Mahirim-only Pink Panther clan with matching uniform requirements? Time will tell. [Thanks Dengar!]
Darkfall clarifies vision to get 'back on track'
Aventurine admitted today that it has faltered on its core vision for Darkfall due to "compromises" but is rededicating itself to restoring its focus. "We are committed to our original vision of a politically and economically driven sandbox PvP MMO where risk dictates the reward, leading to meaningful massive battles," the studio posted. As such, Aventurine revealed that it will be introducing mix-and-match custom roles, rebalancing the economy, adding in siege engines, and conjuring a quest system to beef up the new player experience. On the way out are timed events and "the purpose of safe zones."
Darkfall's territory control update has arrived
Greek indie dev Aventurine has just announced that the much-foreshadowed territory control update for PvP sandbox Darkfall: Unholy Wars arrives today. The studio hopes to draw upon its "sandbox PvP and massive-battles heritage" for the update, which allows players to claim, hold, and control "areas of influence" and tax each other into oblivion -- just in time for tax day in the US! Enjoy the patch notes on the official site and the new trailer below. [Source: Aventurine press release]
Next Darkfall patch to introduce Areas of Influence
A new patch is coming to Darkfall next week that is said to bring new features tied to territory control that offer special bonuses and more visual indicators of that control. The Aventurine team has been teasing the Areas of Influence feature for a few days on its Facebook page, but next week's patch will put it in the game. The Area of Influence is an expanded bit of land that's attached to each capturable control point. These areas show up on the map and offer a set of stackable buffs to the clan members and allies that control the area. Read through the forum post for complete info on the addition. [Thanks for the tip, Dengar!]
Darkfall's getting PvE dailies, and no, it's not April Fools' Day yet
From the things-I-never-thought-I'd-type category, here's a story about Darkfall adding PvE dailies. Aventurine calls them feats in keeping with the PvP title's Unholy Wars progression system, and "there are several personal PvE daily feats that require specific monsters to be killed in order to be completed." The firm is also adding weekly feats, which, like the dailies, will reward prowess and occasional material rewards like raw resources. [Thanks Dengar!]
Darkfall discounts six-month sub, updates weather effects
Aventurine has announced its March Darkfall update, and with it a new promotion tied to the PvP MMORPG's six-month subscription plan. The update features more realistic weather effects. Snowfall and rain will now affect Agon's landscapes as well as buildings, mobs, and player characters. The devs have also added a new clan market system which facilitates goods exchanges within clans and enables the creation of city-based trading hubs. The six-month sub promotion costs $49.95, which amounts to 45 percent off the usual monthly fee. Finally, Aventurine wants you to know about Darkfall's other recent updates which include a new chat system, duels, and the Sinspire Cathedral epic dungeon. To get a better look at the new weather effects, click past the cut and watch the video. [Source: Aventurine press release]
Darkfall to add clan markets and realistic weather effects
If you haven't had enough snow this winter, you'll be able to get some more in Darkfall Unholy Wars! The PvP sandbox's upcoming patch is introducing realistic rain and snow weather effects. Snow will soon be dusting buildings, trees, ships, and the ground, significantly altering the visual landscape. Suddenly, those stark white mounts will no longer be such a liability! The update also includes a new way for clans and alliances to do business amongst themselves in the form of clan markets. The clan markets have individual permission settings, so business can be restricted to individuals (when clan-only), allies, non-enemies, or everyone. As an added benefit, clan markets won't have any courier fees or taxes, at least for the time being. These structures can be built within any clan holding, be it a a city or a hamlet, and trade can commence between all locations. Markets can be damaged to the point of deactivation or lost if holdings change owners. The patch is due out next week. Check out more details about these features and other fixes in the patch notes, and watch as snow covers the landscape and ships alike in the weather video below. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Jukebox Heroes: Top 40 MMO themes, #20-11
We're growing ever closer to my top picks for MMO theme songs, but we're not quite at the end yet. This week we are on to the third part of our Top 40 MMO main themes countdown. To repeat my self-imposed rules for this list: I limited myself to just one theme from a particular title, even if there were multiple themes in a game. Entries had to be a main theme or the closest equivalent of that; they had to be from MMOs, not from MOBAs; and I had to divorce my weighting of the track itself from the popularity of and my experience with that game. So there were no points added or subtracted based on my love of the game. I'm counting down the best music, period. If you missed earlier parts of this series, check out themes #40-31 and #30-21. Otherwise, hit that continue button and get listening already!
Some Assembly Required: An anniversary look at Darkfall's fifth year
Gimme five! Five years that is, in honor of Darkfall's anniversary. This week the PvP-centric sandbox celebrated its fifth year of bringing murder, mayhem, and fun to friends and foes alike in the brutal world of Agon. And while it may seem as though you could pretty much sum up the entirety of Darkfall's last 12 months in two words (Unholy Wars) and call it a day, there's actually been much more to the game than just the reboot's long-awaited release. In fact, that was only the beginning. The game has continued to expand and develop even after the initial launch of Unholy Wars, shaping it into the experience that it is today. That's precisely what we're here to toast together -- the ups and down of 52 weeks in Aventurine's hardcore sandbox. Be sure to leave your favorite memories from the past year in Agon before you go!
New Darkfall patch features Chaos Primalist, village requisition
Today's Darkfall patch is a significant one since it brings major changes via village requisitioning and the new Chaos Primalist school. Chaos Primalists "specialize in disrupting, relocating, and general face-melting," according to Aventurine's patch notes. You can read up on the school's ability descriptions on the official Darkfall website. While you're there, you might also want to look through the forum thread that explains the new requisition mechanics in more detail.
Darkfall runs one-week promotion
Darkfall really wants you to be playing it and is willing to make a few major concessions to pave the way for both new and returning players to join the fold. The subscription PvP MMO is running a February promotion aimed at, well, everyone. Lapsed players will find that Aventurine has reactivated their accounts for a week, new players can pick up the game for 75% off, and current players can pick up a six-month subscription for 45% off. This promotion will go through February 13th. Aventurine also posted a note saying that lapsed accounts three months or older will require a support ticket to dig those characters out of storage. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Darkfall adds weather effects, duel system
Darkfall's sporting a new patch this week, and no, I'm not talking about one of those old-school iron-on things that your mom put on your jacket when you were a kid. This patch contains performance tweaks, new environments, a duel system, and the new weather effects system. Aventurine says that "74 new environments have been added all around Agon." The update post on Darkfall's official website -- viewable via the links below -- contains a full list of fixes and changes.
Ask Massively: Giveaways, zombies, and capturing the spirit of Ultima Online
This week in Ask Massively, we're answering questions about eerily quiet games, giveaways, and capturing the spirit of classic sandboxes and The Walking Dead. Holden asked, "Why has Perpetuum dropped off the map? I never hear about it anymore. The only time I even remember it is when I am doing searches for (more) robot/mech desktop wallpapers. Once monoclegate blew over, it was as if Perpetuum fell of the face of the earth, but it seems that it is still around from glancing at the website." This was such a good question that we went digging for an answer before we even added it to Ask Massively. It had been a long time since we'd reported on Perpetuum because it had been a long time since Perpetuum had made a big splash in the news. Readers speculated that the game's playerbase has shrunk over the last two years, but in fact over the winter holiday, developer Avatar Creations posted a dev blog detailing plans for a newbie tutorial island intended to bolster the new player population. Hopefully Holden and other fans of the game will enjoy this "island of noobs" (Avatar's words, not mine!).
