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Chaos Theory: New Sidestories show The Secret World's innovative side
When I talked about 10 of the most compelling missions in The Secret World last time, I purposefully left out the new Sidestories mission packs. One reason is that I've already spoken a bit about Further Analysis; the other is that the third and latest pack was slated to arrive soon and I intended to talk about all of them together. As it turns out, it actually released the same day that Chaos Theory did! Since then, I've had the chance to dive in and experience some of those missions. As usual, I was not disappointed. Besides providing the expected interesting new characters and great stories, The Last Pagan highlighted something else: TSW continues to be innovative!
Chaos Theory: Ten compelling Secret World missions
One thing that The Secret World does extremely well is story. Few would argue that point: It's compelling, surprising, even chill-inducing, packing enough emotional punches to leave you stunned on occasion but always eager for more, which is what makes doing missions in TSW so much more enjoyable than many other MMOs. And it isn't just the overarching main story line, either. All the missions spread throughout the zones, from investigation to sabotage to even the piddliest of little side missions, tie into the story in some fashion. So missing a mission means you might miss some tantalizing tidbit. Fortunately, you needn't be a completionist to have a drive to seek out and experience every single mission. Instead of being faced with the usual desire to just move on ahead once you've "out-leveled" a zone, you literally scour to make sure you don't leave any task undone lest you miss out on any of the story. Now that said, there are some missions that are just jaw-dropping for one reason or another, ones that stop your heart or tear at it. All missions have merit, but some are just so amazing you wish you could do them for the first time over and over. There's even a grieving period when you know you can never relive that initial rush! Here are just a few of the missions that I'd personally recommend that all players experience (with as few spoilers as possible).
The Secret World adds a new set of side missions
Are you ready for more Tokyo action in The Secret World? A sextet of side missions is now available for owners of the Issue #9 content, kicking off with a bank heist and moving on to handle rockabilly gangs, surveillance cameras, and a Flappy nest. It's a full dose of sabotage, investigation, and the usual joy of finding supernatural creatures and beating them down with your own supernatural powers. So what do you get for all of these antics? A free Deep Mystery Box, which is nice, but you also get the Lorenzian Fabricator, which allows you to move to Tokyo from anywhere in the world. That's quite useful if you've got places to be and problems to solve elsewhere. This update also allows players access to the new Efficiency and Proficiency skills to improve AEGIS mastery, so owners of the game's most recent major update will want to hop on board and start exploring the new missions.
The Secret World announces Sidestories: The Last Pagan mission pack
The summer content drought for The Secret World is almost at an end, as Game Director Joel Bylos announced today that the game will be releasing a new mission pack "in the next couple of weeks." Sidestories: The Last Pagan will contain six additional missions to the game, including two investigation quests. These missions will all be located in or around Tokyo, and when all six are completed, they will reward the players with a teleport to Tokyo from anywhere else in the game. Bylos said that the team is also making improvements to the AEGIS system with two new skills and installing an on-screen notifications system to facilitate communication between the game and the player. It also looks as though TSW will be selling emotes, hairstyles, and makeup unlocks in the store as well as adding them as mission rewards. Past the sidestories pack will be Issues #10 and #11, the latter of which will contain a unification of the raiding experience.
Funcom's revenues decrease in Q2
Funcom has released its second-quarter financial results for the year, and it's not a glowing success story. Revenue dropped roughly $600,000 compared to Q1, a drop attributed to weaker in-game item sales over the quarter. Despite this, the report indicates that the company remains on-track as a whole, with the overall pattern of expenses not significantly changed. All of the major MMOs in the studio's portfolio are stated to be cash-flow positive, which is good news for fans. While the company launched several marketing attempts to draw more players into its titles, The Secret World was the most successful at bringing in more players via its most recent major update. The company projects good results for LEGO Minifigures Online when it releases in October. Interested players can look at the full report, which is less overwhelmingly positive than might be ideal but hardly paints a picture of doom.
The Daily Grind: What's the most challenging MMO you've played?
I've played my fair share of challenging MMOs over the years. From obtuse interfaces to steep learning curves to tough-as-nails combat, the myth of MMOs being nonstop faceroll games has been disproven time and again. However, if I had to pick the single most challenging title, it would be The Secret World, hands-down. Nothing about The Secret World comes easy. The combat has you struggling sometimes against standard mobs, the game's many systems are complex and non-intuitive, the story isn't spelled out for you, and some of the quests tax my brain far more than my reflexes. Don't get me wrong; I love TSW to its core, but it's stupid hard at times, so much so that it's kept me from seriously pursuing an alt. What would you say is the most challenging MMO that you've ever played? 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!
Get exalted with the Lorewalkers in an hour or less
This article was originally posted October 5, 2012 by Michael Sacco. With Mists of Pandaria winding down, it's a good time to wrap up some of your lingering goals this expansion. If you've yet to hit exalted with the Lorewalkers, we're here to help. When I first walked into Lorewalker Cho's sanctum at 90, I peered around for Lorewalkers daily quests and saw that they all seemed to involve archaeology in some way. My DK did not have archaeology up to any meaningful skill level. I sighed deeply at the cheap, neat-looking Disc of the Red Flying Cloud and walked away, until I heard from a little bird that getting Lorewalker rep was a lot easier than I thought. All you really need to do to get exalted with the Lorewalkers is read each of the lore objects located throughout Pandaria; you can see a list of them (like The Seven Burdens of Shaohao) in your Exploration Achievements tab, under Pandaria. When you read all of the objects for each "story," you get an item to bring to Lorewalker Cho, who presents you with a sort of play about the story you collected, and you get a ton of reputation (thousands). The best part? You can collect them all in an hour or less with 310 flying and a map to help you out.
World of Warcraft adds the Alliance motorcycle after all
In a twist that will stun everyone who is easily stunned, it turns out that the Alliance chopper is indeed being added to World of Warcraft with the arrival of Warlords of Draenor. Those of you who watched Azeroth Choppers from start to finish might have been surprised at the whole idea of only one bike design seeing implementation, but odds are you (and pretty much everyone else) saw this coming. Worth noting, however, is that the chopper will cost money and will be available only to Alliance players. By contrast, the Horde chopper will be given away for free to players who log in before September 30th. Since it will not be possible for the opposite faction to ride a given chopper, this does mean that the Alliance version will end up being something of a gold sink for Alliance-only players. But, hey, you're getting it in the game; isn't that the important part?
Chaos Theory: The value of The Secret World's DLCs, part 2
Last week we began our exploration of the value of The Secret World's DLCs by looking at the cost of the additional content relative to those who subscribe, those who don't, and those who are lifetime member grandmasters. But money isn't everything to everyone. As noted previously, value is a subjective judgment determined by whatever factors are most important to the individual making the assessment. So making the call on value will depend on which category/categories are used in the judging process. With that in mind, this week we're going to delve into the content aspect of the various DLCs. Specifically, we'll look at quantity, quality, and type of content in each issue and sidestories pack. Other key factors that are of equal -- if not paramount -- importance to some players are whether or not the additional pack is necessary to further TSW's story (who wants to miss some important tidbit?) and how fun playing through it actually is.
Defiance drops patch 2.1 on Monday
Ready to roll out into more Defiance content? You'll have to wait... until the weekend is over. Patch 2.1, Alter EGO, is going live on July 14th, bringing a new mission and two new factions into the game. The new mission helps keep the game's lore humming along and should provide plenty of interesting revelations, as players investigate the apparently resurrected Karl Von Bach and his newfound desire to just give EGO implants to whoever wants them. Meanwhile, the two new factions are the Tarr Family and the Defiant Few; the latter faction is headed by Camden Pace and promises big rewards to anyone who aids her goals. Players are also promised a new mission line and a new arkbreak in the coming weeks. If that's just what you've been waiting for, load up your gun and get ready to roll out when Monday comes around. [Thanks to Gaius Cavadus for the tip!]
Chaos Theory: The Secret World anniversary celebration, take two!
It's that time of year again: time to celebrate another anniversary in The Secret World! And that means taking on world bosses, soaking up oodles of AP, and collecting lore, clothes, and (the best part) pets. Yep, definitely sounds like a party. The birthday bash lasts through July 17th, but the double AP portion of it ends on the 11th, so if you have new builds you want to test and you like the feel of all that AP popping up every few steps, now is the time to get into the game. If you attended last year's Guardians of Gaia celebration, you're no doubt familiar with the set up of the event; you may have even completed everything. If not, you now have the chance to catch up on everything, including collecting all the lore and pets. On top of that, there are new goodies to collect this time around. There's even a new achievement involving all the pets! Here are some tips and tricks for getting the most out of TSW's second anniversary celebration.
The Secret World releases new Love & Loathing mission pack
A new mission pack has hit the item store in The Secret World and you're all invited to check it out. Sidestories: Love & Loathing is now available for 960 Funcom points. This mission pack arrives just in time for The Secret World's second anniversary today and it features five missions that dive deeper into the story of Kaidan. Speaking of that anniversary, Funcom is gifting players with double AP and various other bonuses through July 11th! Take note that you'll need to own Issue #9: The Black Signal and have access to Tokyo to play the Sidestories: Love & Loathing content.
Chaos Theory: The Secret World's Tokyo barrier
Blue Mountain: On the road through The Secret World adventures, this was the zone that would make or break many players. It's the point when you had to really start crafting your decks more carefully and applying synergies. Not all who felt the blow of this particular skill check powered through, making it a barrier to continuing on to Egypt and Transylvania as well as completing the story mission. Well, now there's a new barrier in town: Tokyo. As much as I had looked forward to the Issue #9 content, and as much as I am enjoying the content now that it is here, I have to admit that Tokyo is the granddaddy of barriers. Not only are there barriers to getting to the content, but there are some to enjoying it once you get there too. And any one of them might cause players to give up on Tokyo and The Secret World before experiencing the whole update. So to help folks avoid smashing into any barriers unexpectedly and leaving bruises, let me give you the scoop on what lies ahead.
World of Warcraft player hits 90 without leaving Pandaren starting zone
The curious saga of World of Warcraft player Doubleagent has hit its pinnacle (for now) as the faction-neutral Pandaren character has maxed out his level at 90 this weekend. But why is this such a big deal, you ask? He did it without picking a faction, staying in the Pandaren starting zone, and mostly by picking herbs at 20-30 XP a pop. You can read more about Doubleagent's journey to 90 in this unique way over at the official forums, and be sure to check out WoW Insider's interview with him from earlier this year.
The Secret World ARG fails to fund
The Secret World's spin-off alternate reality game, The Black Watchmen, failed to meet its crowdfunding goal of $100,000 this week. As a result, all donations will be refunded and the team will hand out in-game outfits for its supporters. The team hasn't said die yet, stating: "We are working hard to find alternative solutions for funding this great project and we hope we will be able to count on you in our future endeavours." Currently, the team is doing a post-mortem and considering its next steps. Some of the possible options for future funding that the team is looking at include a Kickstarter campaign and a publisher. The Black Watchman was intended to be a long-running persistent ARG based in The Secret World universe.
Issue 9 of The Secret World is live
Tokyo has been squatting like a gargoyle on the horizon of The Secret World since its launch nearly two years ago. Now, it's time for players to get into it. Issue 9 has just gone live, bringing with it the addition of the Tokyo playfield along with new missions, new monsters, and new revelations for the overarching story. But really, would you expect any less from the source of the Filth infestation? Players will explore Tokyo starting at the same subway junction that set off the game's story, moving from there into the city proper. Once in the city, they'll be dealing with Orochi, Filth zombies, an oni infestation, and plenty of ghosts clustering about. If you want to know a little more about the content before you jump in, you can check out our tour of Tokyo from yesterday.
Chaos Theory: Touring Tokyo with TSW's Joel Bylos
It's Tokyo time! That's right, an end to the wait is finally upon us. Come Wednesday, everyone who buys Issue #9 The Black Signal for The Secret World and has acquired The Council's Seal will be able to cross the threshold into Tokyo. Like you, I've been dying to get in and check out this new zone, the first new area introduced to the horror game since launch. Thanks to a special tour with Game Director Joel Bylos and Communications Manager Tor Egil Andersen, I was able to preview the first of the three Tokyo zones so I could share that experience with you. We not only explored the city itself, but we completed one of the new -- and might I add, really spooky -- missions and utilized the new AEGIS system. So, how is it? Let me just say, it's worth the wait! And not just for the creepy homages to the Illuminati handler, Kirsten Geary.
Funcom planning to launch TSW's Tokyo this Wednesday
Grab your passports! The Secret World fans will finally get to step into Tokyo this week. Creative Director Joel Bylos has told Massively that barring any hiccups, plans are to release Issue #9 The Black Signal on Wednesday, June 4th, 2014. Even with hiccups, the expansion is expected this week. Tokyo, the first new zone to be introduced to TSW, is so large that it will be spread out over three issues, breaking the city into two parts (Issues #9 and #10) and the Orochi Headquarters building (Issue #11). There are plenty of new mobs, new NPCs, new cut scenes, and new missions throughout the zone. Want to hear more? Keep your eyes peeled for Massively's full hands-on experience in Tokyo.
The Daily Grind: How would you balance MMO PvP factions?
Earlier this week, Blizzard announced voluntary free faction changes for a single World of Warcraft server, presumably as a test for fixing the factional imbalances on that server and the many other servers and server-amalgams that currently exist. As a player on a PvP cluster dominated heavily by the side I am not on, I do welcome the studio's attempt to fix the problem, but I can't help wishing there were a less kludgy way. I know a lot of players prefer three-way to two-way faction PvP in the belief that the two weaker sides at any given time will band together to defeat the larger one. I also remember older MMOs either locking overpopulated factions or offering huge bonuses to the losers to boost their abilities and morale. But maybe we can do better. What do you think -- how would you balance MMO factions? Are two-sided factional wars just doomed from the start? And would you use a carrot or a stick to incentivize player-driven balance? 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!
Faction, race, and World of Warcraft
Would it be World of Warcraft without the Horde and Alliance? Even if they don't need to be in direct conflict, do they need to be for it to be the Warcraft setting? It's certainly been argued in the past, both that the factions are absolutely necessary and that they are not. I've personally argued in the past that, whether or not the game has factions, it shouldn't prevent people from playing with their friends, but the counter argument must be considered - if I can play with my friends on the Horde side, and vice versa, what purpose do factions serve? So let's actually ask that question, then - what purpose do factions serve in World of Warcraft? We can break down the purpose of the faction divide as follows, at least in terms of intent. Factions exist in World of Warcraft because at its heart, the setting was born in the original RTS. The factions help keep this flavor alive. Factions allow for PvP content to be more channeled and to have team-building potential built right in. Horde players fight Alliance players, and vice versa. In the Warcraft setting, you always know who the enemy is. Factions allow for more variety of experience. The quests differ - sometimes vastly so - and there can be elements at every point of the game that make use of the distinction between the factions. There could be more arguments for factional divide - for instance, it's very hard to imagine a WoW where orcs and draenei were on the same faction - but let's discuss how these three work, or if they work.
