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Hallowtide begins in ArcheAge today
Trion Worlds will update ArcheAge's western servers today with a new patch reverently named Version 1.2 Build 4.13. Notably, it ushers in Hallowtide, ArcheAge's autumn event, which runs until November 4th, when the Conquest of Auroria patch launches. Today's update also includes several gameplay and bug fixes, including bugs relating to trial account chat. The studio has promised a full reveal of Hallowtide later today. In other ArcheAge news, numerous players and Massively readers report that the free subscription time promised by Trion in compensation for launch issues is not properly triggering on their accounts. [Thanks, dirtyklingon.]
ArcheAge jumps into Raptr's 10 most-played games in September
ArcheAge is seeing its debut month popularity reflected in Raptr's own tracking, as the digital service saw the MMO rise 25 spots as it transitioned from beta to launch. "Based on current trends, ArcheAge has a good chance of remaining in the top 10 in October," the company predicted. Other MMOs in Raptr's top 20 include World of Warcraft holding strong at #2 as well as Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2, Warframe, and Star Wars: The Old Republic vying for spots #12 through #15.
The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best fishing?
I've always liked fishing in MMOs. Funnily enough I don't care for meatspace fishing all that much, but sitting on a virtual dock reeling in catch after catch never gets old. ArcheAge has taken my appreciation for MMO fishing to a whole other level, though. I'm still fairly newbish at it, but I did land my first successful sport catch the other day, and it's a ton of fun to go cruising around the ocean looking for telltale flocks of birds before chumming up the water and settling in for a lengthy battle with a sturgeon. What about you, MMO fishing connoisseurs? Which game does it best? 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!
One Shots: Hello, autumn
House Stark once told me that "pumpkin spice is coming," and lo and behold, it is here. Autumn is in full swing, at least in the northern hemisphere, and with it come colorful leaves, scary decorations, and trips to the apple orchard. Today we have several great fall-themed pictures from players to share, starting with this seasonal shot from reader Becca. "Here my character Tendryl in RIFT gets in the spooky spirit. Falling orange leaves, a storm on the horizon, creepy mask... oh, and a FREAKING SCYTHE! I think she nailed it," she writes. Do you agree? Join us as we go crunching through the leaves in the rest of this week's player-submitted screenshots!
Working As Intended: But I already have that game
Back in 2001, I desperately wanted out of EverQuest. I hated the gameplay. I hated the community. I loved my guildies, but I hated what our guild was becoming, consumed by a grindy rat race so different from our roots in Ultima Online. When Dark Age of Camelot offered a way out, I took it, dragging as many guildies as I could along with me to a game where PvP and territory control, not camp checks and plane raids, ruled the day. Some of them didn't come with us, and I couldn't understand why they wouldn't jump at the chance to start fresh, to be rid of a self-destructive community and gear grind. What was wrong with them, I wondered, that they'd stay in some old thing rather than play the new shiny? Dozens upon dozens of MMOs later, I finally understand: They already had that game.
ArcheAge's northern continent opens November 4
Trion has announced that ArcheAge's Auroria continent will officially launch on November 4th. The northern landmass features six additional zones, four of which will be claimable by guilds. Trion also notes that "30 percent more housing space will be available to players throughout these four claimable zones." A new dungeon is also included, as is a farm wagon and a submarine. Full details are yours on the official ArcheAge website.
The Daily Grind: Do you spend time on facial customization?
ArcheAge has a lot of options for avatar facial customization. This is cool, but I wonder how many people actually use it. My guess is that few players look at their avatar's face after character creation, and fewer still notice the fine details on other avatar faces. Maybe it's just me, though. How about it, Massively readers? Do you spend any time on facial customization in the MMOs that offer it? 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!
Global Chat: Going negative
It's hard to be positive as a blogger, I'd say. It's not only really easy to get whipped up into a writing lather when you're upset about something, but negativity sells as well, at least in the short-term. People love a good rant, especially when it mirrors their line of thinking and doesn't bash a game they like. Even I, though I try to stay positive as a rule, have fallen into such patterns. This week in Global Chat, we're going to see more negativity than normal -- or perhaps, more critical analysis with vivid metaphors. That doesn't mean it's all downers nor mindless emotional wordsplosions. But I thought it was fascinating how these stories caught my eye over the past couple of weeks of MMO blog reading.
Last Week on Massively: Revisiting Revan
This post originally appeared on Massively from Editor-in-Chief Brianna Royce. At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO story last week, you've come to the right post This week, BioWare officially announced Star Wars: The Old Republic's Shadows of Revan expansion, complete with reduced grind, fast-track bonuses for story-minded players, and a major overhaul of the game's class specialization system. For those who'd like to catch up on Revan-related lore, Massively's SWTOR expert Larry Everett has chronicled the relevant in-game quests. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories.
One Shots: Hitchhorsing
I'm learning new things about ArcheAge every day. For example, did you know that you can hitch a ride on a mount in that game? Jef even informs me that you can do so uninvited, although the driver may shove you off along the way. That's pretty cool, even if it lends itself to a very specific new form of griefing. Reader Sean demonstrates how one poor horse can handle two riders in our lead screenshot: "The picture is of my main, Kadrassius, and my wife's main, Keziah, as they take a ride through Marianople. I really liked this scene with the way the characters react when the horse rears up. Now I just need to get barding for my horse." Now if we can only get a college fraternity to all pile on the same beast of burden, then we'd be making progress in this industry!
The Daily Grind: What long term MMO goals are you working toward?
I've resigned myself to getting a fishing boat in ArcheAge round about 2017. That's OK, because there's a lot of other stuff to do in the game and I'm having fun with it, but good grief does 250 gilda stars and two thunderstruck logs seem impossible at this point. That boat is my goal, though, so I'm going to stick it out. What about you, Massively readers? What long terms goals are you working toward in your favorite MMO? 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!
Lost Continent: Carebearing your way through ArcheAge
ArcheAge is, in part, an open PvP MMORPG. "In part" is the key phrase there, and I've had a few people ask me if it's possible to play XL's sprawling sandpark opus without getting ganked or otherwise forced into an ill-fitting playstyle. Not only is it possible, but PvE has made up the overwhelming majority of my gameplay for the past month.
Trion responds to ArcheAge's 10 percent patron discount controversy
Things are never dull in the ArcheAge community. The latest brouhaha, as exemplified by this 100-page (as of press time) threadnaught, has to do with the fact that patron account holders haven't received the 10 percent cash shop discount that was promised pre-release. Massively contacted Trion to see if it could shed some light on the controversy as well detail any steps it's taking to provide patrons with one of their perks. Click past the cut to view the firm's response.
Jukebox Heroes: ArcheAge's soundtrack
ArcheAge is well-known for being one of the more beautiful MMO game worlds out there, but does its music stack up in comparison? The answer to that is a little yes and a little no. I got ahold of it several months ago, well before I was even paying attention to this game or its strong following. I felt that it was decent: pretty in spots, but short and not significantly better or worse than a lot of fantasy scores out there. It's certainly an Asian-style soundtrack with similarities to the Final Fantasy series and TERA. The score was composed by Music Director DaMeAte and reportedly garnered a few awards over in Korea. Good for it, I say! Let me present to you six of the best offerings from this album and let you make up your own mind as to whether they exceed or disappoint expectations.
Trion explains why ArcheAge uses Hackshield
Ever since ArcheAge's launch, Massively has been deluged with queries about Trion's use of Hackshield, an anti-cheating toolkit created by Korean company AhnLab, Inc. Western gamers aren't traditionally fond of such security programs; as of the time of this writing, even Hackshield's meager entry under AhnLab's English Wikipedia entry has been vandalized, presumably by disgruntled internet denizens. ArcheAge's Hackshield implementation recently provoked one Redditor to issue an open letter essentially accusing Trion of illegally and secretively installing a third-party rootkit on every computer that runs Glyph. We spoke to Trion about the legalities and efficacies of the program. Specifically, we asked about five topics: Whether the program is being installed without permission, Whether it is legal to install it in in this way around the globe, Whether it is causing technical problems for users as claimed, Whether it is fully uninstalling when ArcheAge/Glyph are uninstalled, And whether it actually works, given weekend reports about exploits.
Last Week on Massively: ArcheAge's two million
This post originally appeared on Massively from Editor-in-Chief Brianna Royce. At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO story last week, you've come to the right post This week, ArcheAge seemed glad to see its rocky launch in the rear-view mirror, boasting of two million registrations and 21 servers. Meanwhile, Trion nerfed chat for lowbies to counter chat spam and hinted that the Auroria continent, live in Korea already, will soon be en route to western players. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories.
The Daily Grind: Do you deal with publisher shenanigans for a game you love?
I love ArcheAge. It's basically rekindled my passion for MMOs, and despite its design flaws and a godawful business model, it's easily my favorite genre title in quite some time. That said, Trion's acting like it's never done this before. The company's customer service is flat out terrible, as the only response I've received to a ticket filed on September 25th has been a form letter asking me if I still require service. And I won't even get into the botting and exploiting issues that remain unresolved and that bode ill for the future of the game's player-driven economy. All that said, I'm in a bind because there's no other MMO like ArcheAge, so I can either quit or I can deal with Trion's indifference. What about you, Massively readers? Do you put up with similar shenanigans because you love your game, or do you vote with your wallet and take your business elsewhere? 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!
Here's some of the exploiting currently happening in ArcheAge
How's Trion's war against ArcheAge botters, exploiters, and cheaters currently going? Not so well if a recently released player video is an accurate barometer. A YouTuber named EraChanZ published a four-minute clip showing players abusing a teleport exploit to appear inside of a specialty workbench before crafting their trade packs and teleporting out again, presumably to deliver the packs far quicker than usual and make a lot of gold in the process. Click past the cut to watch the full clip.
One Shots: No airbags at 125 kph
So here's what I'm always wondering: Why do all science fiction worlds and technology look far, far more dangerous than anything we have in the present? Star Wars is horrible in this regard. Lightsabers should be lopping off users' appendages left and right, even if they have the so-called "Force." Walkways without handrails over bottomless pits are commonplace in space stations. And their trash compactors are full of metal-devouring monsters, whereas mine has but the faint odor of eggshells. Anyway, reader Joe's picture of his jaunt accross Tatooine in Star Wars: The Old Republic on a speeder made me muse about the safety issues of operating what is essentially a rocket-powered flying motorcycle in the middle of a canyon of jagged rock. Ain't no airbag on that thing that's going to save you when you dink into a wall, my friend. Safety issues are but the start of our journey through this week in player-submitted MMO screenshots!
The Daily Grind: Have you ever enjoyed a grind despite the grind?
I've been fishing my ass off in ArcheAge. You kinda have to if you want to make a virtual career out of it, because it takes a while -- and a lot of clicking -- to get your fishing skill from newb to 10,000 and thus to the real meat of the system. This is clearly a grind, and ordinarily I loathe MMO grinds. For whatever reason, though, I'm really enjoying this process. What about you, Massively readers? Have you ever found yourself enjoying a grindy activity even though you hate grinding? 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!
