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Runes of Magic Chapter IV launches today
Today's a big day for Runes of Magic fans, as Runewaker and Frogster are launching the long-awaited Chapter IV: Lands of Despair update. The patch brings four new explorable regions to the realm of Taborea, new monsters and dungeons, server-wide battlefields, over 300 new quests, and a level cap increase (to 67). In story terms, Chapter IV introduces Demon Sismon, a new baddie who is fond of trailing disease, pestilence, and various forms of yuck in his wake, and players will need to discover his true motives in order to save Taborea and its citizens. The Chapter IV launch also features a new community event. Frogster is running a sightseeing contest and giving players the chance to win prizes including Logitech gaming mice and in-game items. Check out the new Chapter IV trailer after the cut and head to the official website to download the game!
E3 2011: A look at Runes of Magic's upcoming Redhill Mountains
Runes of Magic is on the floor at E3, and the team behind the game is showing off the goods for the upcoming Lands of Despair expansion. GDC saw a preview of the earliest zone for the new chapter, but E3 is focusing on the new Redhill Mountain zones, spanning from level 65 to 68. Players will be tossed into the center of a war between the Fireboot Dwarves and the rhino-like Kaylo race. And at the center of everything sits the dungeon of Sardo Castle, a font of undead and villainy. The centerpiece of the Redhill Mountains is the Battlefield of Steel, where the Dwarves and Kaylo take part in an ongoing war of aggression that's stretched out for 10 long years. Players will be tasked with investigating both sides of the issue and uncovering the sinister motives behind the conflict, with the true villain waiting at the heart of the Sardo Castle instance. Runes of Magic fans should take a look at the special preview gallery below, showing off the zone and instance in elaborate detail. Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 6-9, bringing you all the best news from E3 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered! %Gallery-125722%
Lost Pages of Taborea: How will Chapter 4's content affect PUGs, gear, and the economy?
In nine agonizing days, the lands will despair as Chapter 4 hits Runes of Magic with all the force of a horde of zombies unleashed upon the TED conference. There'll be zombies, there'll be Dwarves, and oh yeah, there'll be world battlefields. I'm not sure what that last one will entail, but it sounds cool, doesn't it? There's going to be some changes a comin' in RoM when the level cap is raised and new loot is dispersed among high-level players. MMOs can develop ecosystems that only the most in-tune players will be intimately familiar with. While you might be new to the game and happy enough to just quest or dabble in the many features RoM has to offer, there's a posh, red, velvety lounge filled with high-rollers keeping tabs on how new items and stats will trickle down to affect the game. A new level cap means new armor, which means current top gear will be obsolete for said high rollers. Welfare epics will be unleashed on the market, prices will change, and the race for better gear will commence. This week on Lost Pages of Taborea, I want to look at how new content and items will affect the game. How will all the new items affect the economy? How will new dungeons affect pick-up-groups? And will we ever see a Screaming Gargoyle as a pet?
Runes of Magic starts official video podcast [Updated]
Don't change that dial! Frogster is hitting the airwaves with its very first official podcast dedicated to all things Runes of Magic, and you are in danger of being transmogrified into a frog if you ignore it. RoMCast, as it's titled, is hosted by Runes of Magic CMs Mike Kiefer and Matthew Rider. The duo is dedicated to talking about all of the exciting -- and controversial -- subjects surrounding this free-to-play title. The podcast is accepting player questions for possible future discussions. To appeal to as wide of an audience as possible, RoMCast is filmed in English but subtitled in German, Spanish, Polish and French. You can catch the first episode of RoMCast after the jump as Kiefer and Rider talk about the Chapter IV: Lands of Despair update, zombies, the new box version of the game, and the tricky topic of balancing! [Update: Our RoM columnist Jeremy Stratton points out that the U.S. division of Frogster has also recently launched a video cast, this one called RoM Nation. Now RoM fans have double the aural fun!]
Runes of Magic's Lands of Despair opens its borders on June 16th
In less than a month, Runes of Magic adventurers will turn the page and begin a whole new chapter in the game's history. Frogster has announced that Chapter IV: Lands of Despair, the latest content update for Runes of Magic, will go live on June 16th. If the name sounds foreboding, it's for a good reason: A horrible plague is spreading through the land, zombies are making a comeback, and Mad Lords are becoming all the rage. The update also includes a whopping four new zones, two additional dungeons, and an odd rivalry between the Dwarves and Rhinos. It's not too late to catch up on all of the details of this exciting update. Check out our writeup of the lore behind Chapter IV, a preview video of two of the upcoming zones, our thoughts on the new starting zone, and our detailed analysis on all of the changes.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Chapter 4 roundup and speculation
I feel a little bit about RoM like Eliot does about Final Fantasy XI right now. News seems a tad sparse for Runes of Magic this week. We've had a few updates about Chapter 4, which is still on its way; I've recently gotten the RoM event-guild going (in spite of a rocky start); and Frogster gave us a sneak-peek of a major class rebalance. But most everything it still on the horizon. It allows for lots of fun speculation, as new updates always do. Will Dwarves be a playable race? Are Scouts getting nerfed or made even stronger? This week I put together a roundup of Chapter 4 news with a healthy dose of speculation thrown in. As you'll see after the break, we've actually been shown a lot, but no doubt there's even more we haven't seen at all. And that leaves us all with questions.
Runes of Magic's Lands of Despair detailed
Runes of Magic's Chapter IV update is approaching, and as it does so, Frogster is steadily releasing new information to tantalize its fans. Today, the company is appealing to the lore junkies in the crowd, releasing a short story on the actions and motivations of the demon Sismond. The story begins with the demon, disguised as a traveling merchant, as he pays a visit to the Grafu family, whose young daughter Annelia is suffering from a heart condition. His attempts to convince Annelia's father, Lord Grafu, to allow Sismond to implant a rune-forged heart into the girl failed; the Lord opted instead to sacrifice his own life in order to provide Annelia with his own heart. However, when she awoke to her father's fallen body on the floor, it took the demon little convincing to talk her into implanting the rune-forged heart within her father instead. The heart restored the Lord to life, but at the steep cost of his humanity, placing him under the demon's control. His plan set in motion, Sismond set to work manipulating the Dwarves and Rhino people of the region. By sending one of the Dwarves under his sway to murder Lanaik (a noble of the Rhino people of Kalo), the demon incited an all-out war between the two races. Neither side seems to benefit from this war, however, except for Sismond himself, who whisks the bodies of the fallen off to his secret lair for his own insidious purposes. Now it's up to Runes of Magic players to put an end to his schemes and restore life to the Lands of Despair.
Runes of Magic shows off two new zones in preview video
The next major update to Runes of Magic is just around the corner, but despite the subtitle of Lands of Despair, there might be reason to feel a variety of emotions other than despair. After all, the update brings with it a number of new areas, two of which are previewed in a new video posted on the official feed. The Redhill Mountains and the Kingdom of Kalo are up for display, both giving a peek at areas that should feature prominently in the near future. Dwarves are the inhabitants of the Redhill Mountains, and... well, if you're familiar with dwarves, you probably have a good idea of what to expect. The Kingdom of Kalo, on the other hand, comes off as a bit more novel, with its anthropomorphic rhinoceroses and its steampunk gears around alabaster buildings. Runes of Magic players should take a look at the new video to get a sneak peek of both new zones.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Pros and cons of Chapter 4's new starting zone
The Chapter 4 closed beta is well underway, and I finally got in to hack-n-slash my way through it. Actually, I sauntered through it carelessly on a high-level character. The new zone is terrific and very well-made, but I do have some misgivings about it. I started thinking about the implications of the new zone on the rest of Runes of Magic. How is this new area going to be treated by old and new players alike? How will it shape the game? There's a very different vibe I got that I think will affect players differently than previous zones have done. Whether intended or not, some designs have different psychological effects on different players. Some players love Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for its vast, seamless world, one that provides a realistic sense of adventure and life. World of Warcraft offers a large landmass with well-designed endgame raiding. Both of these styles, as well as others, are viewed and treated differently depending on what we as gamers enjoy. Are you wanting to live in the world? Are you wanting to climb the ladder quickly to enjoy raiding or are you wanting to score big as a leader in PvP? You can see my impressions and slightly uneasy feelings about questing and mob placement after the break. I threw in a snazzy high-definition video of the new zone for you to take a look at and share your thoughts on. How might it or might it not impact RoM? If you're so inclined to watch it until the end, I basically babble, stumble over my words, and elaborate on my main points in this article.
Despair not: Frogster promotes RoM Chapter IV closed beta contest
Did you watch Runes of Magic's Chapter IV trailer and instantly start glaring at the calendar that patch day hasn't arrived yet? While we can't make Chapter IV: Lands of Despair arrive any sooner, we can point you to a special contest that may get you a sneak peek at the all of zombie goodness a few weeks early! Frogster is granting closed beta spots to players who can convince the studio that they deserve to be on the front lines of cutting-edge new content. It's fairly simple, too: Just write three sentences as to why you deserve to be part of this beta and email them in to rombeta@frogster-america.com. Runes of Magic's Chapter IV update will be in closed beta from April 6th through April 29th and will have no NDA attached. As you wait to see whether you won the contest or not, why not check out Massively's preview of Lands of Despair? Your eyes will thank you later. %Gallery-116190%
Runes of Magic shows off a teaser trailer for Chapter 4
There's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming Runes of Magic chapter 4, as outlined by our own Jeremy Stratton quite recently. But sometimes, the promise of new systems can't quite stand up to an impressive new set of visuals, and a minute of video can provide plenty of excitement in ways that game mechanics usually can't. The newest trailer for the update, now dubbed Lands of Despair, should do an excellent job of drumming up player enthusiasm. Featuring a slow zoom-in accompanied by a steady and suitably creepy voice-over, the trailer is a step beyond any of the previous trailers the team has put together. The full trailer can be viewed on the game's official YouTube channel, and it provides an impressive cavalcade of imagery both unsettling and dramatic. Runes of Magic players might not have a precise date for the patch just yet, but between the visuals and the system changes, there's plenty to anticipate.
Runes of Magic announces Chapter IV and new mini event
It's almost time for a new stanza in the ongoing saga that is Runes of Magic, and Frogster and Runewaker Entertainment are putting the finishing touches on Chapter IV: Lands of Despair while eyeing an early April release window. The update will bump the level cap to 70 and introduce several new explorable zones, all in service to a storyline that boasts a mighty demon bent on driving the lands of Taborea into chaos. New locales include contaminated forests, poisonous rivers, and more castles than you can shake a stick at. One such battlement belongs to Lord Grafu, and his dungeon boasts a plethora of challenging puzzles and altercations that stand between intrepid adventurers and the plunder contained within. Frogster is also hosting a new in-game event beginning February 25th. Dubbed The Ancient Dreamland, the festivities feature double TP and EP and runs through March 1st. Check out our new Runes of Magic gallery below, and stay tuned for further Chapter IV details. %Gallery-116190%
