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Neverwinter shows off new Black Ice armor sets
Neverwinter's Curse of Icewind Dale is two weeks away, and the team at Cryptic hopes to whip up interest by showing off the new armor sets coming with the update. Module 3 will allow players to forge this new type of armor from black ice, a special material that they'll be picking up from quests and adventuring. There are two different types of sets that each class can make from it, Corrupted and Purified Black Ice armor, each with its own stat builds and the ability to be powered up for a limited time. The armor not only looks all cool and jaggedy but it will help protect characters from the new black ice damage that's also coming in the new area. The studio posted pictures of the armor sets for each one of the classes, a few of which you can check out after the break.
Perfect World Entertainment announces Dawn of the Immortals
Perfect World Entertainment is expanding its catalog of games and heading off of your desktop. While the company already runs several free-to-play games, thus far almost all of them have been shackled to your home computer. Dawn of the Immortals is not; instead, it's shackled to your tablet or your phone. That's right, it's a 3D mobile action MMO for both Android and iOS devices, albeit one not currently available for beta testing. At this point there's very little hard information about the game available -- a 15-second trailer past the break, the promise of both major mobile platforms, and the opportunity to sign up for a mailing list. Signing up for that list will also net you a little in-game doodad, which is probably nice, and it will also prepare you for when the game finally does head into the beta arena.
Marvel Heroes makes visible the Invisible Woman
Marvel Heroes today revealed new playable character Invisible Woman, though I suppose we'll have to just take the studio's word for it since, you know, she can turn invisible. Sue Storm is the latest member of the Fantastic Four to be added to the roster and joins her brother, Johnny Storm the Human Torch, and Thing in Marvel Heroes. Able to bend light surrounding her to create force fields for both defensive and offensive use, she is informally known as the most powerful member due to the limitless potential of her powers. Gazillion has provided Massively's readers with a special code for a mystery gift in the game: RUNE3. It expires Saturday morning at 2:59 a.m. EST, so if you want some mystery, use it quickly. The studio also announced the start of Rune Week, an event that implements brand-new rune types and doubles rune drop rates across the game. [Source: Gazillion press release]
Neverwinter previews post-60 advancement plans
You've hit the level cap in Neverwinter. You are officially as hardcore as you can ever be, and that brings a smile to your face. But it also makes you kind of wistful. After all, there are still so many roaming bags of experience points vicious monsters to fight, and all of the experience from those is going to waste. But that's going to change when Module 3 comes out and all of your otherwise unnecessary XP turns into sweet, delicious piles of extra loot. When Module 3 goes live, characters will continue accumulating experience as before when they hit level 60. Once they accumulate 250,000 XP, the character will be rewarded with a special pack that can contain extra Power Points, Enchants, account-bound XP Scrolls, and other useful goodies. The Power Points can only be used to add a total of 20 points to your character's Power Tree, but it still means that hitting 60 doesn't mean the end of your character growth. So go out, slay, and enjoy a little bit of extra potency as a result.
The Daily Grind: Has an MMO ever sparked your interest in its IP?
IP-based MMOs are a big draw, as games like Star Wars: The Old Republic, Lord of the Rings Online, DC Universe Online and even World of Warcraft have shown us. Clearly these IP-based games have brought pre-existing fans of said IPs into the MMO fold. Does that work in reverse, though? It's working in my case, as my current addiction to Marvel Heroes has caused me to purchase a few X-Men comic books. What about you, Massively readers? Has an IP-based MMO ever sparked your interest in an IP? 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: Who's your favorite Marvel Heroes hero?
I'm having a hard time picking a main character in Marvel Heroes. I started out with Storm, then F2P guilt intervened so I ponied up for Nightcrawler. Then I got a free Spider-man as a result of Gazillion's 10-month anniversary promotional shindig which only added to my indecision. It's a good problem to have, though, and I guess for now I'll go with Nightcrawler because, well, teleporting. What about you, Marvel Heroes players? Who's your favorite and why? 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!
Marvel Heroes kicks off Big Ten Week
Ten months ago, Marvel Heroes launched. Most games would save their big celebrations for a year or half a year or something else, but Marvel Heroes is celebrating the not-quite-a-year mark with the Big Ten Week. And what's coming back for this week? Well... everything. Every big holiday rush up to this point is coming back in one way or another, with the festivities lasting until Friday, May 2nd. Did you enjoy the whole bonus loot rotation from the Don't Fear the Reaper event? That's back. What about the St. Patrick's Day rewards? Yes, those too, with legendary recipes and the Luck of the Draw promotion (buy a hero and get another random hero for free, buy a costume and get another random costume for free). Winter holiday gifts, Lunar New Year gifts... it's an explosion of celebrations. If that's the sort of upgrade you like to see, you can check out the full list of repeats on the official announcement. And if you're looking for a free random hero this weekend, apply the code RNDMHRO to your account. More free things!
Leaderboard: Do you need to spend money to enjoy Marvel Heroes?
I think I might play me some Marvel Heroes. Which is somewhat odd since I'm neither a Diablo nor a Marvel fan. It's not that I have anything against the latter, it's just that I've always read Batman comics and nothing but, so my knowledge of the Marvel-verse is restricted to The Avengers flick and Bryan Singer's old X-Men films. Anyway, Gazillion's game is of course free-to-play and I'm installing it via Steam as I type. My question for you, though, is should I spring for any of the cash shop bundles or should I just take what the devs are giving away? Which route did you go, and was it the right decision? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Neverwinter will make players choose between mercenaries
When Icewind Dale arrives with Neverwinter's Module 3, players will have a difficult decision to make: whether to join up with the Ten-Towners or the Arcane Brotherhood. In a new post, Cryptic explains that these two groups are at conflict with each other in the effort to collect the precious Black Ice. Ten-Towners want the Ice for profit and for those who have lived in the north, while the Arcane Brotherhood desires the substance to increase its members' knowledge. Once a group is chosen, that faction will deliver daily contracts that the player can take up. By repeating the dailies, players can earn enough Black Ice to create a new armor set. Players shouldn't fret too much about their choice, as their allegiance can change on a daily basis with no penalty. Cryptic will also be introducing account shared banks with the module to help pass items between characters with ease. Module 3 arrives on May 13th.
Marvel Heroes prepping for big patch, Big Ten weekend
Gazillion has collected player votes regarding Marvel Heroes' top 10 game events from the last 10 months and is bringing back all of them this weekend. Whether you're partial to the game's Christmas, Easter, or Valentine's events or you prefer the Buy-One, Get-One promotion for heroes, they'll each be available starting Friday morning. Marvel Heroes' latest patch will also be debuting at that time. It's bringing with it a new hero -- Invisible Woman -- as well as Squirrel Girl and Black Widow updates and a complete powers pass. Read all about it on the official MH forums. [Thanks Steve!]
Neverwinter launching Curse of Icewind Dale on May 13th
If you're ready to have some chill adventures in Neverwinter, you'd better be ready on May 13th. That's when the Curse of Icewind Dale module will launch for players, bringing with it two new adventure zones, a new open PvP region, and new factions for players to fight over. Also a new Hunter Ranger Paragon path, but that really only affects Hunter Rangers, which as infographics show make up only half of the characters in the game. But why are you going to Icewind Dale? What's so important? If only there were some sort of lore trailer past the break that will give a concise explanation of exactly what's going down in the region and why players are taking part, as well as outline the factions fighting over the valuable Black Ice. That would be very convenient, wouldn't it? Perhaps you should click past the break to check out that exact trailer, then.
The full scoop on Marvel Heroes' team-ups
Massively: Last week Marvel Heroes added a new feature to the game in the form of "team-ups." While we know the basics of this new system, we wanted to go into more detail. To help us with this, Gazillion Community Manager Ryan Collins sat down to answer a few questions. So Ryan, let's strip away the game-specific terminology: Are team-up heroes NPC companions? Pets? If you had to compare them to another game's features, what would it be to help us understand what they're like? Ryan Collins: Team-ups would be most similar to companions or hirelings. Like Diablo II's hirelings, team-up heroes have their own gear (with four brand-new item types just for them) that allow you to customize your team-up's stats. Some team-up items even convey bonuses to your hero directly. Team-ups also have a power tree that allows you to customize the way they function, the powers they use, and the passive bonuses they have. The first choice you get to make with your team-up is how they behave, for which there are three "modes."
Marvel Heroes now featuring Team-Ups
Gazillion has unveiled a new Team-Ups feature for Marvel Heroes. You can now recruit a few of your favorite heroes to battle by your side, according to the game's latest website update. Current Team-Up possibilities include Spider-man, Falcon, Firestar, and Magik. More heroes will be added "in the weeks, months, and years ahead," Gazillion says. Team-Up heroes have "their own unique set of skills and abilities," as well as a few other specifics that you can learn about by reading the FAQ. [Thanks Sounder!]
Neverwinter spoofs game-within-a-game
Neverwinter has jumped the gun on April Fools' Day with its "preview" of Respen's Marvelous Game. The idea is that Neverwinter will add a game-within-a-game, allowing characters in the MMO to sit down and engage in some good ol' fashion tabletop D&D: "Respen's Marvelous Game takes place atop a table, with your character being transformed into a miniature statuette. This new event will challenge you on a whole new level. Now you will know what it is like to be on the other side of a tabletop game!" Of course, this is just a joke. Or is it? Cryptic teased the possibility of earning a green slime companion and said that it will be revealing more details tomorrow.
Marvel Heroes adds Dr. Strange and Shuri
Marvel Heroes' roster has grown by two characters over this past weekend (sort of). Dr. Strange, the "Sorcerer Supreme," is now available in the game as is a gender-bending costume for the Black Panther that will make him Shuri, the first female to take on that character. The game is also running a "buy a hero, get a hero" promotion that lasts until the end of Monday. Through this, the purchase of any hero (other than Dr. Strange) will give the player a second, random hero (other than Dr. Strange) for free. If the player gets a duplicate of a hero he or she already owns, the bonus will then be a token to upgrade that hero's ultimate power. You can check out the Dr. Strange trailer after the jump!
Neverwinter releases post-Shadowmantle infographic
So how is Neverwinter doing these days? The game's been a little quiet since the launch of Shadowmantle. But it looks as if it's doing fairly well, judging by a brand-new infographic, which is embedded just past the cut. More than 2 million new characters have been created since the launch of Shadowmantle, with Hunter Rangers turning up as the most popular new character and Devoted Clerics as the least. Beyond that, over 3 million characters have died in PvP matches and a combined total of 405 years' worth of experience has been gained. If you can't get enough of numbers about games, go ahead and jump past the cut to see exactly how the game has been doing since its last update. On a numerical level, it seems pretty solid. [Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release]
Marvel Heroes doesn't fear the reaper
Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor does Iron Man or the Thing or Squirrel Girl. Phoenix is probably on a first-name basis with the reaper at this point. And Marvel Heroes doesn't want you to fear the reaper either, as the game is running a special event dubbed Don't Fear The Reaper. No, the event will not involve Romeo and Juliet being together in eternity, but it will instead feature increased rewards from a variety of challenges while also offering increased experience and item find rates. X-Defense, Terminals, Midtown, and Holo-Sims will all feature enhanced rewards on a rotation schedule from now until April 1st. The bonus reward changes every few hours, giving you reason to change what you're doing, and the entire game will benefit from improved experience gain and item find rates while the event is running. Check out the announcement for the exact schedule of rewards so you can be ready to fly -- which might not be all that different from normal, come to think of it.
Marvel Heroes promises a weekend of luck and legends
March 17th is St. Patrick's Day, and that means it's time for everyone to get lucky. Especially players of Marvel Heroes, since the game is running its Lucky & Legendary Weekend in celebration. And what does that boil down to? Why, it means you have a lot of options to get lucky with legendary items in (potentially) legendary ways. You might need to get a bit lucky to get everything you want, though. The biggest element of the weekend event is crafting the legendary Pot of Gold, crafted with dropped pieces of rainbows that can be found during the event. There's also a new random costume case that allows for a chance at all sorts of different outfits for your heroes and a game-wide reworking of drops to be more festive for the duration of the weekend. So if you feel like staying up all night to get lucky in the game, you've at least got some convenient reasons for doing so.
Neverwinter's Icewind Dale PvP factions detailed
Neverwinter's forthcoming Curse of Icewind Dale module will introduce two factions to the free-to-play fantasy MMO. Players will receive contracts from either the Ten-Towners or the Arcane Brotherhood and will subsequently be sent to collect black ice and fight monsters on behalf of their factional choice. In the process, adventurers will encounter players from the opposing faction in what Cryptic says is "a more developed PvP progression path for players who are seeking an alternative to the standard PvE content in Neverwinter." Cryptic's latest website update refers to Neverwinter's PvP as "open-world," and you can read more details via the links below.
Perfect World enjoys a profitable 2013
Perfect World Entertainment is celebrating this week as the most recent financial reports show a revenue increase of 11% for last year, thanks to forward-thinking initiatives aimed at investments in other companies and a focus on mobile gaming for the future. Most impressive was the Q4 results showing a net profit growth from RMB86.4 million to RMB209.8 million ($34 million), according to a report at Gamesindustry.biz. All of this, of course, is on the heels of DotA 2's upcoming release in China and Neverwinter's Chinese release later this year which both may play a part in even further growth for 2014.
