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PSA: Dungeon Defenders is free on Xbox Live
Those itching to cast spells, hack away at enemies and level up will be happy to learn that co-op action RPG Dungeon Defenders is free on Xbox Live for Gold subscribers through the end of the month, March 31. The Trendy Entertainment-developed tower defense game took the place of Civilization Revolution in this month's Games with Gold program offerings, first launching on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in October 2011 and receiving four DLC packs in the time since. Microsoft's Phil Spencer recently addressed concerns related to the Games with Gold program and the comparisons to Sony's PlayStation Plus program that it frequently receives. Spencer said the business for Microsoft's two-free-games-per-month service is "fundamentally different" from PS Plus, and stressed that players are able to keep the free games they download after their Xbox Live premium subscriptions run out. Trendy Entertainment announced a sequel to Dungeon Defenders in March 2013, which is still scheduled to launch this spring, according to the game's website. The developer also revealed cross-platform online shooter Monster Madness Online in December. [Image: Trendy Entertainment]
Watch the fury of Diablo III's Crusader in action
With all of the fun that players seem to be having with the recent Diablo III pre-expansion patch, it might be easy to forget that there's still more to come with Reaper of Souls -- including a new class, the Crusader. Blizzard hasn't forgotten, of course, and the studio posted a new video today to spotlight the class' mechanics, lore, and visual flair. On paper the Crusader sounds like a near-invincible melee class, but how does it look in action? Check out the video after the break and you tell us.
Diablo III welcomes you to the Blood Marsh
Blood Marsh: That doesn't sound too inviting, does it? But it does sound like something that would fit right in with Diablo III's cheery locales. It probably crushed the interview when it applied to be a zone in the game. Diablo III has a fetid and murky blog post today spotlighting the Blood Marsh region from the upcoming Reaper of Souls expansion. According to Blizzard, the Blood Marsh is "a massive, swampy stretch of land, split by rivers and tributaries often utilized for passage and trade." The theme of "blood," both the red substance and lineage, is integral to the zone's story. Adventurers in the region will discover signs of an ancient civilization, battle creatures like the bogans and blood golems, and unlock the mysteries of the Ruins of Corvus.
Diablo III's Loot 2.0 patch tweaks difficulty, drops, and more
Blizzard unleashed its Loot 2.0 patch on Diablo III denizens today. Joystiq reports on a "heavy reworking" of the fantasy dungeon crawler's loot system as well as the addition of "Smart Drop" functionality that increases the likelihood of useful class-specific baubles. DIII's difficulty has also been overhauled, with a dynamic system standing in for the previous Nightmare, Hell, and Inferno challenge levels. There are more changes, too, including social functionality and of course plenty of character and mob tweaks.
Diablo III's Paragon 2.0 just might be going live today
Although there is no official word on Diablo III's site, Senior Producer Alex Mayberry tweeted that patch 2.0.1 will be going live today. The major feature of this patch, also known as Paragon 2.0, is that it adds more end-game character advancement and replayability with the updated Paragon leveling system. The changes include removing the level cap for earning Paragon experience, making Paragon levels account-wide, and allowing players the freedom to allocate Paragon Points however they want within the category (defense, offense, core, or utility) that each specific level's point is awarded. Catch more details about Paragon 2.0 on the official site. [Thanks to Wesley for the tip!]
Diablo III upgrading Paragon endgame system
Level-capped players will have a "Paragon 2.0" system to look forward to when Diablo III: Reaper of Souls releases. Blizzard outlined three major changes yesterday that will affect the endgame progression system. First, there will be no level cap for Paragon levels. Second, Paragon levels will be shared account-wide, with all normal characters sharing levels and all heroic characters doing the same between them. Third, players will get new Paragon points to spend in four categories: core, offense, defense, and utility. When the expansion goes live, players will receive their new Paragon levels based on the sum of the accumulated Paragon experience on each account. Hardcore heroes who died at 60 will also contribute to this XP pool. Players without the expansion will transition to Paragon XP at level 60, while players with Reaper of Souls will do so after hitting level 70.
Diablo III works on new community tools
Getting together with a buddy to slay the forces of Hell should be a lot easier when Diablo III: Reaper of Souls comes out, as Blizzard is adding in a couple of new social tools for the expansion. The first tool is the addition of clans, Diablo III's version of guilds. Anyone can form a clan, although a player may be part of only one clan at a time. Clans are limited to 120 members and will be searchable with a clan finder feature. Then there will be communities, which are larger and more casual social circles within the game for like-minded players. Unlike clans, communities can support unlimited members, and players can be part of more than one at a time. Communities and clans will be supported by a new interface in the game that includes messages of the day and achievement notices.
Here's what's in D3's Reaper of Souls CE
Want to give Blizzard more money? Now you can thanks to the Reaper of Souls collector's edition. Diablo III's expansion drops on March 25, and while the devs have mentioned the retail-exclusive CE box before, today's post marks the first time you can actually lay eyes upon the wonderment.
Creepy children go rogue(like) at school on Steam tomorrow
Classes start for action RPG Our Darker Purpose on Steam tomorrow at 9AM PT – and then they're immediately canceled because all of the teachers have disappeared and the school is overrun with terrifying monsters. Indie studio Avidly Wild Games Kickstarted Our Darker Purpose to the tune of $40,000 in June and pushed it through the dark, convoluted passages of Steam Greenlight in October. Our Darker Purpose has a cartoonish, Tim Burton art style and is inspired by The Binding of Isaac, A Link to the Past and Diablo – it's a roguelike with permanent twists. "Each playthrough features a unique set of procedurally generated levels," Avidly Wild says. "Death is permanent, but your accomplishments earn you resources to buy lessons and upgrades in the afterlife ... and your education lasts forever. Every game teaches you more about the Edgewood Home for Lost Children, the disappearance of the adults, and the darker purpose of the Administrators." We always knew there was something up with our school administrators.
The Soapbox: The Raid Finder ruined raiding
I don't typically limit myself to ranting about only one game at a time, but I decided to make an exception this week and speak out against World of Warcraft's Raid Finder mechanic. I was running a small and modestly successful raiding guild when this system was introduced, and my team definitely felt the onslaught of this guild-destroying game mechanic first hand. Raid Finder, commonly dubbed LFR by the cool kids in Orgrimmar, is a system that demolishes the competency barrier that stands in the way of freshly level-capped characters and normal raiding content. The system allows players to join a random raiding group in order to tackle a nerfed version of a normal raid and exists mainly to maximise inclusion in the game's best PvE endgame content. LFR was quite popular among casual players that were usually passed up when it came to raiding group formation, but it didn't offer much progress to seasoned raiders. The gear gained had lower stats than its corresponding normal raid counterpart, but the LFR tier simply didn't need the co-ordination required of a group tackling regular raids. A void was created somewhere in between the casual masses who could benefit from the LFR mechanic and the hardcore raiders that simply did not need help with progression. My casual raiding guild was caught in the middle and ultimately met its demise at the hands of LFR, which simultaneously depleted the PUG pool and gave our members another way to see the endgame content they wanted without putting in virtual blood, sweat, and tears.
The Game Archaeologist: A brief history of roguelikes
As with adventure games, it appears as though the mobile market has triggered a resurgence in the popularity of roguelikes with both developers and players. I've been stumbling over them left and right for a while now (I'm quite fond of FTL, which takes the roguelike into space), and every time I can't help but think of how this genre is almost the antithesis of an MMO. Instead of persistent worlds rich in lore, roguelikes favor randomized dungeon crawls with little or no story. Instead of immortal characters that grow with a player over months and years, roguelikes feature permadeath around every corner. Yet there's love for both in many gamers' hearts and perhaps even a few similarities that help to transcend differences. I find roguelikes fascinating because they are so hardcore, they yank me out of my comfy little leveling bubble, and they force me to use my brains for something more than figuring out whether it's time to use the "2" key once more. So what the heck, let's take a quick trip through roguelikes this week and see where -- if at all -- they connect with MMOs.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is expected to begin pre-downloading in January
While Diablo III: Reaper of Souls isn't due to come out until March 25th, players should be able to pre-download the expansion some time this month. On the Diablo III forums, Community Manager Stephany Johnson confirmed that Blizzard is trying to get data to customers in January: "The exact date that the predownload will start is still TBD, but we're targeting this month if all goes well. Note: this download will begin automatically (meaning, you shouldn't need to do anything special)." Johnson went on to say that if players don't pre-download, they'll get the same data when they patch up to 2.0.1. While Blizzard typically makes some features available once its pre-expansion patches go live, the meat of Reaper of Souls -- the new class, the new act, and adventure mode -- won't be playable until March 25th.
Battle.net beefs up parental controls
Kiddies will find it tougher to spend money in Blizzard's games, as the studio is expanding its parental controls to include locks on in-game purchases. Blizzard is notifying relevant users of this change via email and on the forums. Starting January 7th, any Battle.net account with parental controls enabled will automatically prevent users from spending money in World of Warcraft's cash shop, Hearthstone's cash shop, or Diablo III's soon-to-be-closed real-money auction house. Account users will be able to enable those purchases by logging into their account and changing the settings.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls coming March 25th, 2014
Get out your checkbooks (are those still used?) if you're a Diablo III fan because Blizzard has put a street date on Reaper of Souls: March 25th, 2014. This release date is for the PC and Mac only, with the PlayStation 4 release date to be announced later. Even though you won't be able to play the expansion for three months, you can pay for it today. That's so considerate of the studio, isn't it? Those who pre-purchase Reaper of Souls have the choice of three editions. The standard edition is $39.99 and the digital deluxe version (with extra goodies like a spectral hound minion) is $59.99. Alternatively, you can try to snag one of the collector's editions (with extra extra goodies) for $79.99 at select retail stores. The expansion includes a new act, the Crusader character, the Loot 2.0 system, more class skills, new modes, and more.
Massively Giveaway: Inferno Legend VIP bundle
If you ever wanted to play the bad guys in Diablo instead of the good guys, then Gamebox's Inferno Legend might just be for you. The isometric, turn-based action-MMO launched its open beta yesterday and allows gamers to play as everything from evil faeries to samurai because why not? So let's get some free stuff to go with our evil faeries. Gamebox has given Massively a slew of VIP keys for a bundle of free items in Inferno legend, including 150 Diamonds, 20,000 Gold, 200 Power of Faith, 200 Power of Lineage, 100 Wickedness (*wink*), and an exclusive pair of shoes called Pilgrim's Trail, which when equipped increase the character's speed based on his or her level. The bundle also includes beta access. To apply your key to your account, login to your Gamebox account or create a new one, click "code," input your gift code, and then click "claim." This is a worldwide giveaway open to everyone everywhere (yay!). The keys are set to work right now and will last until we run out. Enjoy!
Free for All: MMORPGs for your new console
Consoles and MMOs do not have the stand-offish relationship that they used to have. In fact, there are so many different MMOs to choose from on consoles that it's seriously tempting to pick up one of the new ones -- the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 -- even though I wasn't planning on it for a long, long time. I enjoy using a controller with MMOs so much that I plan on covering the subject more in the future. So let's get to the list of MMOs that are currently on consoles or that will be coming out on consoles in the near(ish) future. Massively's own Mike Foster put together a fantastic list last summer, but I thought I would update and pass it on. After all, the new consoles are officially here... so be sure to reference the list when you need a new MMO to play on your shiny new console!
Azeroth and beyond: Nine years of World of Warcraft
In 1999, Blizzard Entertainment was well on its way to becoming something of a titan in the PC gaming space. Riding high on hits like Diablo, Warcraft II, and the barely-a-year-old StarCraft, Blizzard had established itself as a purveyor of quirky, well-made, and entertaining games mostly of the RTS variety. However, something else was brewing behind closed doors at Blizzard's Irvine campus. While sequels to Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo were all in development (and hotly anticipated), the company had also quietly started work on a brand-new massively-multiplayer online game set in one of the studio's existing game universes. That game, of course, was World of Warcraft. And nine years ago tomorrow, it completely changed the face of MMO gaming.
Blizzard to launch Diablo III's Reaper of Souls closed beta before the end of the year
Blizzard Entertainment's friends and family beta of Diablo III's Reaper of Souls expansion is officially underway with invites going out to, well, friends and family of Blizzard employees. However, Blizzard is extending the beta pool by about 3,000 players; this time around the company plans to send invites to a few "valued media contacts and key members of the Blizzard community" in addition to the normal employee keys. Invites are already going out, so keep an eye on your inbox if you feel as though you fit the description. If you don't, take solace in the fact that Blizzard has confirmed that closed beta proper will launch before year's end and that while invites will be limited, they will be sent to a wider range of Diablo players. The beta will include all expansion content minus the final boss. None of the betas appears to be protected by NDA, meaning streams, videos, screenshots, and spoilers will soon be available across the web.
Diablo III's lead designer says offline mode was 'wrong', reaffirms online requirement
If you've been holding out hope that Blizzard would cave in and offer an offline mode on the PC for Diablo III with its Reaper of Souls expansion, don't hold your breath. A recent dev interview really put the kibosh on that idea: Lead designer Kevin Martens stated pretty clearly that dividing the community into online and offline groups is not now, nor will it be, in the cards. When asked about the offline mode in Diablo II, he pointed out that the community back then was very unhappy about that division and added: "That was the wrong choice to allow people to play offline, and we still stand by that. And we think Internet access is widespread. If someone has no Internet access, then yeah, Diablo III is not the game for them." In the interview, Martens and Art Director Christian Lichtner also talked about the direction of Diablo's III and the game's economy sans auction house -- notably, that stockpiling items before the change won't give much of an advantage because the post 2.0 patch economy will be full of new items that can be acquired only through play.
Take a look at Diablo III running on the PlayStation 4
Have you enjoyed being able to play Diablo III on a console? Do you want to be able to get even more monster-stomping fun on what amounts to even more console? Are you ready to take to the comments to explain that a next-gen console is not, strictly speaking, more console? Do you just like watching footage of heavily armored knights making monsters explode? If any of the above applies to you, then yes, we've got the video for you past the cut. So what's the video? Diablo III's expansion running on the PlayStation 4 -- specifically, the Crusader class wading through monsters the way one might normally wade through knee-high mud and making various demons explode into bloody body parts. So pretty much exactly what you'd expect, only more so. If you don't fall into any of the categories listed above but still want to see that, well, good news; The break's right down there.
