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Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2 Bazaar of the Four Winds patch primer
In continuing with its two-week content release cadence, ArenaNet is set to launch the Bazaar of the Four Winds patch today in Guild Wars 2. Yesterday, we teased the new features, but today I want to talk more in-depth about my experiences during the preview event this past weekend. The Bazaar of the Four Winds features a ridiculously beautiful zone called the Labyrinthine Cliffs, where players can trade wares with some unusual and shady vendors. The Zephyrites have docked their floating airship, the Zephyr Sanctum, and seek terrestrial supplies from the land-dwelling inhabitants. Sun, moon, and lightning adepts are scattered around the new area and are eager to teach players special movement powers, which are locked inside sky crystals. These movement skills will allow players to reach special areas in a vertical scavenger hunt and compete with each other in a race called the Sanctum Sprint.
How do you like your armor sets?
It's been a long, long time since the days of Magister, Dreadmist and Devout. With each expansion, we've seen the release of new tier sets of armor -- but the design style has changed a little from the days of old. There was a pretty interesting thread over on the EU forums regarding tier sets and their progression over the years, pointing out that earlier armor sets were far more visually distinctive and iconic, something that seems to have waned with each successful armor set. The original poster suggested that perhaps the transmog feature has made the artists and devs unwilling to push the boundaries of dazzling creation. This prompted several responses to the thread by Community representative Vaneras that shed some light on how armor design is looked at.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Revamping rewards in Guild Wars 2
ArenaNet has improved the reward systems in Guild Wars 2 this year by adding new features such as world vs. world skill trees, laurel and guild merit vendors, and better loot for world boss encounters. However, many players still feel that there should be more tangible incentives urging them to log in each day and engage in the content that they enjoy. Fortunately, Colin Johanson agrees and has taken to the forums several times to tease an upcoming reward revamp for all areas of the game. This redesign involves adding rewards for hitting certain thresholds of achievement points, creating more uses for blue and green items, and making fighting champion-level creatures more worthwhile. This month, we should expect to hear more about ArenaNet's plans for the second half of 2013, akin to the road map laid out back in January. While we wait for the official word, check out the video edition of the Flameseeker Chronicles for some loot-themed speculation.
Flameseeker Chronicles: The history of weapon and armor skins in Guild Wars 2
The Sky Pirates of Tyria game update for Guild Wars 2 launches today, and if you haven't checked out our video preview, there's no time like the present to catch up. Along with a smattering of in-game activities for players to experience, ArenaNet has added three new armor skins to the gem store. The Aetherblade armor sets will be the first light, medium, and heavy skins to hit the gem store since the game's launch last August, and unlike town clothing, these steampunk-themed items can be worn in combat. Many fans will also appreciate that this new gear is available for direct purchase and not offered as a rare drop from a gambling chest. Guild Wars 2 players realize that ArenaNet needs the financial support of its gem store to sustain the game for years to come. But there has been a rash of negative feedback lately whenever a new weapon skin is offered as a rare drop from a gem store purchase. Whether we like it or not, however, randomizing the contents of a product has been proven to increase profits since the days of baseball cards. In this week's video edition of the Flameseeker Chronicles, I dissect the weapon and armor skin offerings in Guild Wars 2 since launch and analyze the various methods ArenaNet has used to distribute them. Have the gem store weapons been distributed most often through random loot boxes, direct purchases, or through in-game activities? Let's investigate.
ASUS teases upcoming mechanical ROG 'Armor Keyboard' for gamers
ASUS' ROG presentation here at Computex wasn't all meaty graphic powerhouses -- it also displayed a new mechanical keyboard for discerning typists gamers, albeit underneath a piece of black cloth. We were told that the temporarily named "Armor Keyboard" wasn't quite ready to show off its design just yet, but when it comes out towards the end of Q3 this year it will, surprisingly, boast the title of ASUS' first in-house-designed mechanical gaming keyboard. As you'd expect, this backlit device will feature "ultra-responsive" mechanical key switches, as well as dedicated media and programmable hot keys located along the periphery. We'll be keeping an eye out for more information about it later this year, naturally. Richard Lai contributed to this report. %Gallery-190232%
Is it time to remove all transmog restrictions?
I think an experience along these lines is pretty common for WoW transmog enthusiasts: "Fantastic, I finally got the Talon of the Phoenix! I'm gonna transmog it to... wait. I'm using an axe for raiding." Or maybe this one: "Yes! This is an amazing upgrade! ...Oh I can't transmog a two-handed weapon into a main and off-hand, so I have to redo my outfit." I use weapons as examples because they often have the most limited transmog options, despite the fact that Blizzard did lift a lot of their restrictions in patch 5.2. Polearms and staves can be transmogged into each other. One-handed maces, axes, and swords can be transmogged into each other. Two-handed maces, axes, and swords can be transmogged into each other. But two-handed axes, swords, and maces cannot be transmogged into staves or polearms. Fist weapons cannot be transmogged into one-handed swords, axes, or maces. In one view, the limitations make sense. As a druid, I can use staves, polearms, and two-handed maces. I cannot use two-handed axes or swords. If there were no restrictions, I could transmog my healing staff into a sword and be a resto druid with a sword. That seems odd to me. Then again, I can be a resto druid with a staff transmogged to a polearm, but I cannot be a resto druid with a staff transmogged into a two-handed mace, even though I can equip both those weapons.
Hyperspace Beacon: Examining the gear of SWTOR 2.0
The developers at BioWare turned a corner when they redesigned the commendation system for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Most players seem to welcome the simplicity and practicality of the new system coming with 2.0. Reducing the number of comms players have to track allows players to focus on playing the game and not on managing currency. Unfortunately, the gear progression is a bit more like separating M&Ms, making you wonder why there are more yellows than blues and whether there's really a difference between dark brown and light brown. Not to mention that SWTOR proves once again that MMO designers have no idea how to make a decent helmet. PvP gear also has me wondering what returning players are going to think about having to regrind again so soon after a major change with Update 1.6.
EVE Evolved: New Ancillary Armor Repairers aren't up to the task
EVE Online's Retribution 1.1 patch went live this week, overhauling armour tanking and rebalancing some ships that traditionally fit armour tanks. Last week I looked at why people usually choose passive buffer tanks for PvP over active tanks and how the Ancillary Shield Boosters changed all that by giving shield users a huge free burst tank that can often outperform a front-loaded buffer tank. The new Ancillary Armor Repairers look similarly amazing on paper with their ability to consume nanite repair paste to triple repair output, but how do they stack up against their shield-based counterparts? Now that the patch is out and I've finally got my hands on the Ancillary Armor Repairers, I'm not sure they're any good. They're limited to one per ship even though most active armour tanking ships use dual or triple repairer setups, and they can run for only eight repair cycles before running out of paste. They're also only 68.75% more effective than tech 2 repairers and still require the same amount of capacitor. Ancillary Shield Boosters may provide a slightly smaller 63.33% repair boost over tech 2 boosters, but they can cycle at double the rate of Ancillary Armor Repairers and don't require any capacitor. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at what makes Ancillary Shield Boosters a strong contender in PvP and show that the new Ancillary Armor Repairers just aren't up to the task.
EVE Evolved: Retribution 1.1 and armour tanking
While MMO characters typically fall into specialised tank, healer, and damage-dealing roles, most ships in EVE Online are a combination of all three. Fitting a ship for PvP is a careful balancing act between survivability and damage, as it doesn't matter how much damage you can deal if you don't stay alive long enough to apply it. Active tanking setups that focus on repairing damage have unfortunately seen very limited use in PvP, being effective only in solo fights and very small-scale gang warfare. In most fights, a passive buffer tank that just maximises effective hitpoints will last longer than any active setup. The Inferno expansion helped to solve this problem with its new Ancillary Shield Boosters that consume cap booster charges for a huge burst of shield hitpoints. Tuesday's Retribution 1.1 patch now aims to level the playing field for armour users with the introduction of new Ancillary Armor Repairers and a series of balance changes to armour plates, rigs, and standard repairers. The patch should hopefully give gank battlecruisers and tech 2 cruisers the speed they need to compete in PvP and may even make some interesting active armour tanking setups viable. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the role of tanking in PvP today and the tanking changes coming in Tuesday's Retribution 1.1 patch.
The Daily Grind: Which game has the worst armor clipping?
Armor clipping really unsettles me because there's few ways that a game can show me how hollow and fake my characters are than by having my shoulder gear slice through my neck with no repercussions. Now, I can't imagine how difficult it is for the art team and animators to create such a wide variety of armor while keeping it all from crashing through each other. Factor in weapons that are strapped on and flowing cloaks, and it has to be a nightmare to get right. But you know what? They have to get it right. They just have to. Otherwise I wake up in the middle of my sleep with night terrors. So now that I have that rant out of my system, which game do you find has the worst armor clipping? Tell me now that I may avoid 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!
Hyperspace Beacon: Givin' SWTOR props
All MMOs could use improvements, but that doesn't negate what they have done right. And despite the negativity, SWTOR is doing well. In fact, in a recent forum post Systems Designer Damion Schubert said that the free-to-play push was working quite well: "The success of the market (and it has been quite successful) has given us the time and resources to do some ambitious things on Makeb and plan some very ambitious things beyond." Without even looking at the specific numbers, I can tell that the Cartel Market cash shop is working really well because of the sheer number of items I see on the Galactic Trade Network (auction house). As much as I hate to admit it, if the Cartel Market does well, so does the rest of the game. I also see other hints that BioWare might be changing up its game a little bit. Direct discussion with the community appears to be on the rise, and BioWare has also admitted and is attempting to properly fix its mistakes. In the wake of Stephen Reid's departure, direct communication had become lax, and besides Ilum, I don't remember BioWare ever truly admitting to mistakes. Let's take a look at a few of the changes BioWare has already made this year. Maybe it will give us a clue as to where SWTOR is going in the near future.
The Perfect Ten: Why MMO armor is completely ridiculous
This is probably a rant best saved for another day, but I want to know when it became completely acceptable not to demand that MMO studios explain the building blocks of their game universes. The devs know that we'll just draw on tropes (usually fantasy) to fill in the gap, so most of the explanations they give for in-game reasoning have to do with a weak backstory of a class instead of why, say, a liquid potion binds together bones and allows you resurrect completely after being chopped into 60 pieces. I get why tropes are depended on so much, but in my opinion, they rob these games of the potential to be more immersive and lifelike. Pretty much most elements of MMO games break down even when you apply the game's own internal logic (what little has been revealed) to it. Chief among these borked elements? Armor. MMO armor just doesn't make sense, nor does it hold up to even a light level of scrutiny. Today we're going to cast aside the "it's just fantasy, go with it" excuses to investigate why your gear is completely ridiculous from a common sense standpoint. Heck, I wasn't even breathing hard by the time I counted to 10 on this one.
Hyperspace Beacon: My top five wishes for SWTOR roleplay
A few weeks back, I was nostalgically asked, "Remember those days when talking about Star Wars: The Old Republic was all about speculation?" Those days might be long gone now, but the beginning of a new year always prompts a resurgence of dreams of the year to come. And although I still love playing SWTOR, I believe there are many areas that could use some touching up. I attended a fantastic roleplay event this past Saturday on The Ebon Hawk server. It was just a social event, but there were added touches like prizes and an in-character scavenger hunt. As a member of the planning crew, I took a look back at what could make an event like this better. The execution of the event could be tightened up, but there are several potential additions to the game itself that would have improved the festivities. This prompted me to think about what improvements could make roleplay better in general. So here it is: my top five wishes for roleplay in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Should transmogrification limits be lifted?
I love transmogrification -- it seems like every week I have a new arrangement of armor. But there are limits to what I can and can't do with this feature, limits that simply can't be worked around. As a rogue, I'm limited to leather items -- and there aren't a ton of really fashionable leather items out there. Some of the best sets I've seen and craved have been druid tier, or druid restricted PvP items. As for weapons, as an assassination rogue, I'm limited to daggers. I can't use any other weapon in that particular spec choice, and that's frustrating. We had a brief hint earlier this week that we might see some changes to transmogrification limits in future patches. Nothing set in stone of course, but the thought of being able to transmogrify weapons with similar animation styles is a pretty cool one. A sword and a dagger are fairly similar in animation style, right? Well ... maybe not so much. Still, it's nice to see that they are considering stretching the limits of transmogrification as far as weapon choices go. But is that enough?
Patch 5.1: Upgrading your gear with valor
What do you do with thousands of Valor points when you already have all the gear that you can buy from the Valor vendors? Coming in with patch 5.1, one of the cool things is the ability to upgrade your own gear. In previous expansions, we'd reach a point where we'd have tons of Valor or Justice points and nothing to buy. Head on over to visit the local ethereals in the major capital cities and look for the item upgrade NPC. The process for upgrading items is simple. Drag the item you wish to upgrade over to the item slot, then hit the upgrade button. Only items that are 458 ilvl or higher can be upgraded. Blue quality items can be upgraded once for an 8 item level increase for 1500 Justice or Honor points. Epic quality items can be upgraded twice with a 4 item level increase per upgrade for 750 Valor or Conquest points. Once an item is upgraded, there's no way to get them refunded. Choose them wisely! If you're not sure what to upgrade first, I would suggest focusing on your weapons and trinkets. For most classes, you should notice a slight increase in your character's performance. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
The Daily Grind: How much time and effort do you spend on your character's appearance?
Guild Wars 2 has an interesting way of handling dyes, with a pool of colors that you can alter at any time that propagates to all of your present and future equipment. It also makes me stop dead in the middle of my leveling and spend about an hour trying out color combinations and then start over when I got a new chestpiece and a nice new pale green dye -- something that I will no doubt do all over again as soon as I replace the existing chestpiece. This isn't unusual. I spend a lot of money in Guild Wars on dyes and mixing them for just the right look. I've spent huge chunks of time in Star Wars: The Old Republic hunting for just the right modifiable pieces of armor. These are times spent looking for things that look the way I want, not actually spent playing the game or improving my character in any other way. But what about you? How much time and effort do you spend on your character's appearance? Is it a major part of the game for you, or just something that you barely consider? 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!
Allods Online crafting professions set to merge in Patch 3.05
Crafting professions in Allods Online are getting quite a revamp with Patch 3.05 at the end of this month. Following in the footsteps of the Alchemy changes, all professions will be merged with their appropriate gathering counterparts to make for a more self-sufficient process. According to the dev notes, "the skill of their new merged profession will be based on the highest of the two that are being combined." Other changes made to crafting with this patch include simplified profession leveling progression, an improved crafting interface, tool upgrades, crafted armor, and more. The point of the crafting changes revolves around the idea of making armor that is more easily obtained for those players who put time into crafting and adventuring. Patch 3.05 is set to release on October 30th.
Tier 14 Armor Previews available
Yesterday afternoon, Blizzard CM Kaivax posted the Tier 14 armor previews on Battle.net. Kaivax clarified that the item level of Tier 14 gear would be 496, putting it 7 levels ahead of the reputation-based epics, which sit at 489. It's streets ahead of the 463 and occasional 476 gear which has been datamined from normal and heroic dungeons so far. I'm really not convinced that players who want to raid at a decent gear level won't have to grind out endless reputations, but that's a grumble for another day! If you head over to the previews on battle.net, you can see every class's set. What do you think? I'm... well, I have mixed opinions. I don't want to moan or rain on Blizzard's parade, but this shoulder size arms race is getting way out of hand! I can't help looking at the mage set and thinking "man, if a mage Blinked in that, he'd fall over!" Priests seem to have similar issues, coupled with what appears to be a pope hat, which I guess is fitting. The warlock set is cool, but it looks more like a DK set to me. Warriors are going to have to spend some time on the bench press to carry their shoulders around, and those tennis ball size beads are going to be a bother when monks are rolling. On the good sides, though, the druid set is really great, I love the mask! And, as someone who's switching raiding mains for mists, I'm really relieved that I like the shaman set. I'm not completely sold on the mask, but the firebird look works for me, even if my dwarf shaman might have to have a trip to the barber so her red hair doesn't clash! Naturally, all this is just my opinion, purely subjective, rather than any objective assertion. What do you think? What would you rate "wow!" and what gets a "what the...?" Are you a fan of the giant shoulders? It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
RIFT reveals the second new soul for Storm Legion, the Tempest
Warriors in RIFT are usually all about hitting things with weapons. Sure, they drop in some variety, but the focus of the class has always been a strong set of swords or axes or whatever. And the newest soul revealed for the upcoming Storm Legion expansion continues the trend if you assume that "lightning" qualifies as a weapon. The Tempest has been unveiled and promises to bring strong electrical powers and massive thunderstorms ripped from the Plane of Air into the Warrior's hands. Tempests are versatile, able to attack from long range or channel lightning into a short-range destructive burst. They also possess illusory tricks to help evade defeat in the event that heavy armor isn't protection enough. Despite this, they're probably the least adept of all the Warrior souls at wielding non-lightning weapons, which means that another soul is necessary to provide hard-hitting weapon talents. Take a look at the introductory lore and early screenshots on the official reveal page, and keep your eyes peeled for the final two souls as the expansion nears release. [Thanks to Brad for the tip!]
New ArcheAge video shows new styles for next closed beta
XLGAMES has been showing off more and more of ArcheAge's goodies in preparation for the games' upcoming fifth closed beta test. After a story teaser trailer and a video introduction to new areas last week, it's time to see some of the shiny in store for your characters! This newest video highlights some of the new armors and weapons available in CBT5. Each gorgeous armor piece and weapon is shown in fine detail, presumably to make people not in the closed beta even more jealous than they already were. Check out the video after the cut for some very snazzy outfits accompanied by a brief interlude in a room with a sleeping woman and half-naked man.
