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RuneScape's mad, mad, mad, Mad May approaches
With the virtual flowers in bloom and the birds and bees merging together to form a hybrid class (beerds), you should expect life and vitality springing forth out of your MMOs this spring. RuneScape is embracing the season by hosting an entire month of prizes called Mad May. Taking place during the titular month, Mad May will dowse subscribers with bonuses and freebies. First up is an extra daily spin on the new Squeal of Fortune game, which offers players a chance to win a variety of prizes every day. Following that is a hefty 5,000 Loyalty Point boost for members. These points may be redeemed for a whole bunch of new items, including emotes and auras. Finally, Jagex will cap off the month by rewarding all subscribers with 250,000 XP on June 1st. In addition to the Mad May bonuses, RuneScape will see the return of Wild Weekends during the month. Details about what the Wild Weekends will entail are forthcoming, as is a special behind-the-scenes look into the game's upcoming projects.
Sony to cut 10,000 jobs and slash bonuses, says Japanese newspaper
There have been some major adjustments at Sony HQ already, but Japanese business sheet Nikkei reckons they're nothing compared to what's on the horizon. It reports that, come an announcement on April 12th, Kaz Hirai will reveal plans to clear out 10,000 jobs by the end of this year -- that's six percent of his workforce. The paper also says that seven execs, including chairman Howard Stringer, could be asked to forgo their bonuses, as the company concedes a $3.2 billion loss for 2011. It's a just a single report and it's entirely possible that none of this will happen, but merely the hint of such austerity could perhaps serve Hirai's interests, even if he ends up being less drastic when Thursday comes around.
Google plugs 14 holes, hands out $47k to security researchers
Every year Google offers a bounty to those that can dig up security flaws in its browser. This year, the company is putting $1 million on the line at CanSecWest. But, before the Mountain View crew can even pack up for the event, it's got to cut checks for $47,000 to four different researchers. The vulnerability bounty hunters found 14 flaws in Chrome that were patched in a update on March 4th. That big payout included three separate $10,000 bonuses for "sustained, extraordinary" contributions to the browser's security. For full details on the bugs and the price paid for each, hit up the source.
EverQuest: Veil of Alaris preorder bonuses announced
EverQuest's 18th expansion, Veil of Alaris, isn't too far off, and Sony Online Entertainment has announced that preorders are now open. The game comes in two flavors: standard and digital collector's edition. The former includes Veil of Alaris and all previous EverQuest expansions along with an exclusive mount, house decoration items (two paintings and a Resplendent Sword Ornamentation) and a traveler's rucksack. The collector's edition includes all of that, plus another exclusive mount, another rucksack, and more paintings and house decoration items than you can shake a stick at. If you preorder before November 14th, the standard edition will run you $39.99 while the collector's edition costs $59.99. After the 14th, however, the collector's edition price goes up to a whopping $89.99, so if you're planning on grabbing it, you better act quickly.
Allods Online gives players a chance to choose their luck
Luck is fickle. One moment you seem to be hitting a 20% chance for a critical hit every other swing, the next you're lucky if you can avoid missing. But Allods Online is giving the playerbase a chance to change its collective luck through pure will. Well, pure will and a helpful dose of popularity. The Choose Your Lucky Moment event has begun, offering everyone a shot at something bigger and better next week. Currently, there's a poll available with a long list of lucky bonuses, such as increased experience gained from quests and better loot from the Astral. The voting runs until Friday, September 9th. Once the votes have all been tallied, the three bonuses with the highest number of votes will be turned on for the next week on both servers, running from September 10th until September 16th. It might not help you with that string of critical hits, but it's the best chance Allods Online players will have to turn their luck around by choice.
Trion extends RIFT half-birthday bonuses because of Hurricane Irene
"Trion, you should extend the birthday celebrations due to Irene," one East Coast player wrote on the forums. "They did," came the next reply. The many, many half-birthday bonuses that came with RIFT's kooky in-game party were set to end tomorrow, September 1st, but are now being extended until September 6th so that players affected by last weekend's hurricane can enjoy it as well. Subscribers are still expected to receive their in-game gifts tomorrow that include bonus potions and a reusable birthday cake. James Nichols delivered the happy news: "We know many of you have been weathering out the storm on the east coast -– so we're keeping the subscriber bonuses turned on an extra week. You now have until September 6th to enjoy all the bonuses to XP, Guild XP, Favor, Prestige, Planarite, and dungeon & raid currencies. Have fun!"
The Daily Grind: What's the most you'd pay for a collector's edition?
So the year's most inescapable MMORPG has officially made it to the pre-order stage. Not only that, but BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic opus has also pulled the curtain back on its collector's edition treasure hoard (which will dent your wallet for the princely sum of $150.00). While both the in-game and real world goodies are quite appealing to Star Wars fans, the price tag is one of the most expensive in the history of MMOs. Today's Daily Grind is all about your reaction to said price tag. Are you going to shell out twice what a normal CE costs for SWTOR? If not, what's the most you'd pay for a collector's edition? 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 Road to Mordor: Digesting E3
Instead of being hit by one huge Lord of the Rings Online bombshell at E3, as some predicted, we were treated to a series of smaller yet gripping reveals that are sure to have a major impact on our gameplay in the future. We assumed that E3 would be all about Rise of Isengard for LotRO, and sure enough, it was. Weeks like this are what we live for as fans. It's crazy to get a glut of information that we're expected to digest all at once, and it's so much fun too. I think Turbine probably has a few more reveals tucked up its sleeve about the expansion -- we still have four months to go, after all -- but this is a good start to the ramping-up period before Isengard releases. So enough dilly-dallying; let's dig into it! What can we make out of all of these revelations? What does the pre-order mean for you? What were the highlights and what were the disappointments? Hit the jump and we'll take you on a legendary ride all the way to the gates of Orthanc itself!
Patch 4.2 PTR: Tier 12 set bonuses
While the tier 12 sets on the patch 4.2 PTR aren't even technically sets yet, their set bonuses were still buried in the game files for observant folks. Blizzard told the truth -- these bonuses are pretty unique and a lot of them seem based thematically on Firelands, designed to fix some raiding spec issues, or both. Check them out below and after the cut! Death knight DPS 2-piece Your Horn of Winter ability also grants you 3 runic power every 5 sec for 2 min. 4-piece Your critical strikes with melee abilities deal 15% additional damage as Fire damage over 4 sec. Death knight tanking 2-piece Your melee attacks cause Burning Blood on your target, which deals 800 Fire damage every 2 for 6 sec and causes your abilities to behave as if you had 2 diseases present on the target. 4-piece Your Dancing Rune Weapon grants 15% additional parry chance.
The Blood Lord has come to Vindictus, and he brings... football
Perhaps you've been enjoying Vindictus but thinking the whole time that something is missing from the game. Something that would really make all of the fantasy action click together for you. Something like, say, footballs. If so, well, we don't know what to tell you except that your dream has come true. Coinciding with the arrival of the Blood Lord is the addition of footballs throughout missions, as well as special football-themed costumes for players to unlock by using the pigskins as a weapon of war. Essentially, defeating bosses with creative use of the football will net players coupons that can be redeemed for football jerseys, which combine with football helmets (available in the cash store) to unlock special bonuses for players. It's certainly apropos of the current playoff season, albeit in a setting where it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Still, if you're looking to meld ferocious fantasy violence with the thrill of kicking the winning field goal, the video past the cut makes it clear that Vindictus has you covered. (Oh, and there's a vampire lord.) %Gallery-114025%
DJ Hero 2 pre-order bonuses offer your choice of turntable totes
Activision has outlined the different incentives which retailers are offering to shore up DJ Hero 2 pre-orders -- however, the variation between these bonuses is about as wide as we've ever seen for a video game.
The Mog Log: Each answer is the end of a question
Welcome to this week's edition of The Mog Log, in which we answer reader questions about Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV while staying as far away from the drama of this past week as possible. Seriously, the sky is not falling here, folks. It seemed like such a nice week overall, too, with lots of great news coming out the whole week long. And for the record, there's also a special announcement at the end of the article, so by all means read through to the end in the unlikely event you normally don't. Roughly ten million people asked or said: "What the heck is the deal with the fatigue system?" I'm really hoping that by the time you're reading this, the full translation has mollified people somewhat regarding the system. But I'm going to write on the assumption that it hasn't, and believe me, it's at the top of the list for things to talk about next week. And it certainly does put a strict limit on what players can do in the game, much like guildleves and their infamous two-day turnaround.
More details on the Final Fantasy XIV collector's edition
We've been treated to a deluge of information about Final Fantasy XIV over the past couple of days, which coincides nicely with the fact that the collector's edition releases in just a little over a month. The obvious bonus to that special edition, of course, is the fact that it releases a week before the standard edition. But there's more inside the box than just an early game disc, and Eorzeapedia has had the chance to take a look closer at some of the contents. The Square-Enix security token included in the box certainly goes a long way to alleviating the price of entry, as it normally costs $10 alone and will work with both Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI (indeed, having both on the same account can provide distinct advantages). Also worth noting are the special documents mailed to players for characters they create -- a physical commemoration of your character, with designs unique to each home nation. Combine that with the travel journal full of concept art, and there are plenty of bonuses even without the early release. (Not that said release isn't excellent.)
Subscribing to both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV gets you bonuses
Players have been wondering for some time if there would be any reason to continue subscribing to Final Fantasy XI after the release of Final Fantasy XIV. Not that the two games are wholly interchangeable, but the audience for both is likely to be similar. Square-Enix seems to have considered this and, as a result, players subscribing to both games will get three bonuses for playing both games. The first is the most significant from a material standpoint -- the base cost of a subscription to Final Fantasy XI will be discounted to $7 a month for an account with both games linked. The other two bonuses are for veterans of the game, but equally appealing. Players with a character already created in FFXI will be able to import their character name to Final Fantasy XIV, with the character name being the given name and the server name as the family name. (So "Jejeune" on the Fairy server would be named Jejeune Fairy.) And as a last carrot, FFXIV characters will receive a special item on creation, the Hermes Shoes. So if you're planning on picking up FFXIV and already play FFXI, now would be the time to link the PlayOnline account.
Rappelz offers player prizes for logging in
There aren't as many new MMOs coming out this year, but there are still plenty of games to compete for your attention over the summer months. The team at Rappelz wants their game to be your choice for the summer, and they've devised a straightforward way to encourage it: an event you enter via logging in. No random prizes, no ornate entries, nothing but the simple procedure of logging into the game's servers for prizes. And it makes sense that it would be called "Login to Win" as a result. Running from July 7th to August 14th, the event will automatically award prizes to each character after you log in for at least an hour a week. If you log in for at least an hour for a certain number of days, you also get additional prizes, and characters who log in for a grand total of 35 hours during the promotion are eligible for a drawing from several nifty presents. It's a great way for Rappelz players to get a little added incentive -- after all, if you were planning on logging in anyway, logging in to win seems straightforward.
The Daily Grind: Should early adoption bonuses be purchasable later?
There's a bit of a kerfluffle going on in the Star Trek Online forums at the moment. Cryptic has announced their plans to bring some items into the C-Store, and while that always triggers a fresh round of unbridled rage, the items in question have brought out even sharper divides in opinion. That's kind of understandable -- they're a laundry list of pre-order bonuses, early-adoption bonuses for lifetime subscriptions, and other bonuses used to entice players into purchasing the game sooner rather than later. Some of the players on the forums are pleased with the change -- they got these items earlier and cheaper, after all, and there's no real harm in letting others purchase them. Others are quite upset that what they had seen as a unique privilege is being distributed freely. There are always players who arrive late to a game and don't necessarily have access to the early bonuses. What do you think about making them purchasable after the fact? Does it discourage you from buying games early, does it cheapen the special qualities, or is it a fair chance for late arrivals to get some cosmetic additions?
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Questions versus answers, no holds barred!
We interrupt your regularly-scheduled guide to playing a spider for a number of questions and answers, and possibly several comic book sound effects! (Okay, it's not exactly "interrupting" anything when I said that it would be here this week, but humor me.) As usual, the community has taken the opportunity to ask me a number of City of Heroes questions, and I have used my magical time-looker-forward tube to find the vast majority of the answers. So with that having been said, let's get into the down and dirty, shall we? Superfan asked: "Massively suspects the game has only 40,000 active subscibers right now?" No, the quick math done by one Massively writer suggested it as a possible figure, based on some generous margins and assuming everyone's subscription is on a one-month-recurring basis as opposed to the plethora of other subscription pricing plans available. The goal was to create a vague idea of how many subscribers on an active basis the game might have at the moment, since we no longer get actual subscription numbers for the game.
Two Worlds 2 pre-order bonus includes unique sword and bonus area
You, like ourselves, may have noticed a gnawing curiosity in Two Worlds 2 growing over the past few months. The sequel does, after all, let you freeze people with lightning bolts. If you're dead set on sating your curiosity, SouthPeak has let us in on a pair of bonuses you would receive if you pre-ordered Two Worlds 2 from GameStop: First is the Luciendar, which you probably already know is "the fabled weapon used to defeat the mighty desert dragon Tang'Raoul." Basically, it's a giant, super-powerful, two-handed sword that you'll be able to access once your character reaches level 15. Second is "the Labyrinth," an exclusive bonus area with its own set of quests that publisher SouthPeak has detailed to a hyper-nerdy extent after the break. %Gallery-92963%
Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer has been dated
Yes, it's true, the first expansion for Age of Conan has been dated. Reports indicate that her father was exceedingly upset and... okay, yeah. Rise of the Godslayer, bringing us to the distinctly oriental lands of Khitai, has gotten an official release date of May 11th, 2010. That means it's only a couple of weeks away for anxious gamers, which is cetainly good news. And there's more good news for new players or returning members, as the expansion will be available by both digital means and boxed copies. The boxes will contain not just the expansion, but the original game, allowing curious new players a chance to start new without doubling their investment. If that's not enough of an incentive, boxed retail versions will include a tamed puma pet which will be unobtainable through other means. Details have not been provided, but the boxes are set to contain other in-game items as well. Age of Conan's development team has been hard at work delivering the best they can with Rise of the Godslayer, and players willl only need to wait a little while longer to see the fruits of their efforts.
Red Dead Redemption videos show off pre-order options
Rockstar sent along videos showcasing each of the Red Dead Redemption pre-orders currently available, and we just can't decide which one to go with -- they all look so good. You can see all three of them over on the game's website. Pre-ordering from Amazon, you'll remember, will get you a Golden Guns pack, pre-ordering the game at GameStop will nab you the fan-selected Deadly Assassin Outfit and ordering the game from Best Buy will get you the War Horse, which you can see in the video above. Wait a minute -- we just decided. We're totally going with the horsie. His name will be Roger and we will hug him and feed him and dodge explosions and shoot bad guys from his back and it will be the awesomest. Roger is the best horse ever. He's tougher than any other horse!
