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The Daily Grind: Would you play a pacifist character if it were compelling?
I don't know what got my mind on this train of thought the other day, but I got a little incensed that MMO developers constantly equate "hero" with "mass murder of hundreds of sentients," not to mention the fact that as a character, I'm more or less pushed into being a weapon. Yes, I can kill to protect and save, but the killing wears on the virtual soul after a while. My mind then turned to the prospect of being a pacifist in these combat-oriented worlds. Sure, there are always people who go far out of their way to figure out paths to leveling without killing, but what if the game made fighting optional rather than mandatory? I'm not talking about just sitting in a hovel crafting but solving quests through deduction, puzzle-solving, diplomacy, and sheer moxie. How cool would it be to be a mage whose spellbook was full of utility spells instead of fireballs and could use those to help NPCs? Would you play a pacifist character if the game made it compelling enough? 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!
Tattered Notebook: There's too much to do in EverQuest II!
For this latest Tattered Notebook, I'd already planned -- and in fact was in the middle of -- writing impressions of Scars of the Awakened, EverQuest II's most recent meaty update. I've collected a slew of notes taken from the adventurer and crafter questlines, including some tips and time-saving tricks. But amidst all that intense update research (I gladly sacrifice myself for you guys!), I got distracted. And no, it wasn't by a shiny! You see, although the land of Cobalt Scar opened up just over a month ago, I've been pulled away and unable to complete everything I want to in that zone. Why? Because in that same time, there have been multiple city festivals, a round of Moonlight Enchantments (with new quests and brand-new housing items that were a must have), a double XP weekend that just begged for some serious crafting advancement, a commissioned housing project to complete, personal houses to decorate, old quests to finally finish up... and that was just to start! As the guilt for not finishing the entirety of GU66 settled in, friends who weren't as high-level as I wanted to play together in areas they had access to, which coincidentally did not include the latest update. So off I ran through older zones and dungeons with lower-leveled friends. Needless to say, my in-game adventures of late have stretched all over the map of Norrath. Sounds busy, no? It was during all this that I had to finally lay my delusions of finishing everything I have planned before EverQuest Next to rest; there's just too much to do in EQII!
Choose My Adventure: Cruisin' with the gang in City of Heroes
You've experienced it, right? That magic moment on any trip of significant length when you've been living and breathing the locale long enough that the place starts to feel more familiar and you settle in, that time when you feel less like a tourist and more like a local. After the last few weeks traveling with you all, I have hit that moment in City of Heroes. While I still may not be able to tell one inspiration from another by sight, I can find my way around the 'hood and know the skyline when zipping about -- well, at least in Atlas Park. Oh, and I found a Mexican restaurant! It's almost like a second home now. It was upon reaching this comfort zone that City of Heroes got better for me; this past week has been more fun than the previous ones during this Choose My Adventure road trip. (And yes, I'd even call the torture of the expansive character creation fun. Exhausting, but fun!) What transpired this week? Buckle up and step on the gas to see.%Gallery-155409%
Double XP coming to EverQuest II this weekend
Citizens of Norrath, mark your calendars! Bonus experience is coming to EverQuest II this weekend and you'll want to be sure to avail yourself of what the EQII website calls a "true double XP promotion (+100% XP)." The bonus applies to adventure, tradeskill, and alternate advancement experience, so don't leave your crafter alts or level-locked and AA-starved characters out in the cold. Double XP starts at 12:01 a.m. PDT on Friday, July 29th and runs through 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, July 31st. It's also good across all the game servers including the free-to-play EQII Extended shard and French, German, and Japanese realms.
Uncharted Waters Online heads to open beta
Starting on October 1st, eager players will be able to jump into the open beta waters of Uncharted Waters Online. If you are a fan of Pirates of the Burning Sea, then you have an idea of what to expect with UWO. The game has a long history, stemming all the way back to a 1991 Nintendo title. This version is imported from Korea, where the game has enjoyed three years of hosting happy pirates. If you're an options player, then you'll more-than-likely enjoy UWO. While you can always fall back on combat or adventuring for your pirating needs, you can also explore and discover new areas and items, craft goods to sell, or become a trader. Of course, with job names like treasure hunter, master explorer, guerrilla or folklorist, you will have many other options to explore. The game also has a rich PvP system and weather that can actually hinder your adventuring. There will be a pre-load client available on September 29th for those of us who can't wait to get back to the stormy seas!
TUAW's Daily App: Undercroft
Undercroft is an iPhone RPG that's reminiscent of the old Elder Scrolls games; it's turn based, and seen from a first-person perspective (even though you actually play a party of adventurers). This is strictly fantasy fare, and it doesn't do a lot that's new. For the first few quests, you're fighting rats and spiders, and you'll need to level up, deal with loot, and do lots and lots of exploring and quest completing before getting anywhere. But as traditional as it is, it's actually a lot of fun, and the retro format translates well to the iPhone's touchscreen. We've seen elsewhere that the iPhone can do next-gen games, but it's nice to see older forms like this finding a tidy home on the App Store. And what the heck, ... it won't cost you anything. The game is sponsored by developer Jagex's Runescape at the moment, so you can download and play the whole thing for free. With that news in the equation, there's really no reason not to try this one out. Make a party, go kill some monsters, and see if it doesn't take you right back to a much simpler fantasy RPG time.
Breakfast Topic: Weekend Rantings
It's Monday morning and you're back in the real world after a hard weekend of raiding, questing and PvPing. What better way to spend your time at work than by ranting about your weekend? Whether you spent the entire weekend repeatedly wiping on the same instance, you didn't make your goal of level 40 thanks to being ganked, or you couldn't play WoW at all, let's let it all out.Personally, I was playing some low-level battlegrounds and it was a really frustrating experience. The team was filled with players who had rolled Horde "because Horde always wins BGs", not realising that players still have to work for the win. After playing a couple of matches and logging off in frustration, I came back later only to find people who were even worse. No amount of helpful explanation or guidance worked, and the Alliance must have been laughing their heads off.
