captains
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The Road to Mordor: Six reasons why Captains rock
On an inconspicuous yet powerful ring, there is an inscription about "one class to rule them all." This class, clearly, is the Captain. There is no room for dispute, debate, or cross looks with this; the Captain is the best class in Lord of the Rings Online. So say I. So say we all. I've been playing my Cappy since 2008, and she's weathered a long break from the game, a server transfer, and 85 levels of me literally throwing her to the wolves. In all of that, she has not once let me down. She's so terrific, in fact, that it makes alting in this game a nightmare for me, since none of the other classes feel as good in comparison. Yes, I love the Captain and I am unashamed to announce that. As I've done with the Minstrel and the Lore-master, I will back up my appreciation of this class with a few reasons why they rock so very, very hard.
LotRO's Captains get buffed in Riders of Rohan
Turbine's Riders of Rohan dev diary parade continues, as today the studio previewed some of the changes coming for Lord of the Rings Online's Captains this fall. The hybrid class will see several upgraded versions of existing skills on the path to level 85 as well as a new out-of-combat rez at level 40. New skills that the Captain will be receiving include Improved Valiant Strike, which now comes with a Fellowship-wide HoT; Improved War-cry, which adds a damage bonus on top of a faster attack speed; and Inspiring Blade of Elendil, which will hit harder, help with power regeneration more, and allow Captains to buff other skills when used in a chain. System Designer Erika Ng said that the team is also working to make skills and legacies useful to all trait-lines for the class. One of the new legacies that added with Riders of Rohan will increase the duration of battle states and defeat responses so that Captains have a longer period of time to fire off reaction skills.
Google dives deep to bring underwater photos of the Great Barrier Reef this September
Your next trip to the Great Barrier Reef could be from the comfort of your home now that Google's partnered with Catlin SeaView Survey, the University of Queensland's Global Change Institute and the Underwater Earth organization to document this amazing ecosystem. Equipped with a special underwater camera capable of withstanding depths of 328 feet, the survey aims to photograph 50,000 shots in 360-degree panoramic view and incorporate them into Google Earth and Google Maps. Dubbed "Google SeaView," it seeks to open opportunities for increased conservation as well as a free look for wanna-be world travelers who can't afford a plane ticket down under. As an added perk, the collected data may also be used to help future ship captains navigate through the treachery of the intricate coral highways. Check past the break for more info on the survey and plenty of footage teeming with aquatic wildlife.
Lord of the Rings Online offers a new design diary on the Captain
Oh Captain, our Captain, your fearful balancing is done. Well, not quite, but there is a new round of balancing and changes incoming for the captain in Lord of the Rings Online. The release of Rise of Isengard will see a new slew of balance updates, with the chief ones outlined in the new development diary for players to examine. The class presents a unique challenge, as it's one of the most hybrid classes in the entire game, capable of performing a variety of roles as well as providing excellent all-around buffs. As the diary explains, the one aspect of the class that development didn't want to touch was the all-around buffing utility, which properly needed to remain something that the class could access regardless of focus. Instead, the biggest changes to the class come in the Leader of Men trait line, with the Captain's tanking and defensive capabilities being significantly improved for just that purpose. Along with some quality-of-life buffs, it should be a good time to be a Captain once the game's newest expansion touches down.
Cryptic Studios devs explain ground combat in Star Trek Online
Ask Cryptic is a regular Q&A series from Cryptic Studios that addresses player questions on Star Trek Online and Champions Online. While previous Q&A's answered a random set of questions posed by the fans, the latest Ask Cryptic for Star Trek Online is a bit more focused on one topic: ground combat. Unlike other sci-fi MMOs both on the market and in development, Star Trek Online will have those ill-fated away teams from the Star Trek IP. While things didn't always go smoothly on all those away missions in the shows and films, it could make for some fun gameplay. We're hoping so at least, and what the STO devs have explained about away teams gives us a better idea of what to expect.
Mines of Moria Patch 3 coming tomorrow
The third patch to LotRO's Mines of Moria is being prepared for release tomorrow, but there's not too much to get excited about on the short patch notes. One of the bugs that will be fixed is pretty extreme though -- see if you can pick which one!Release Notes Captain The following issues have been resolved when Master of War is traited. Escort NPCs will no longer attack you when using "Noble Mark". Noble Mark will no longer generate 40 times the intended threat. Yes, I said 40 TIMES. Volume 2, Book 3 Chapter 9 Thili should now be responsive to all players and advance after defeating the Orcs at the Bridge of Khazad-Dum. You can now get out.Misc The odd triangles on male elves wearing Lorien armor have been addressed. A few Captains seem to be unhappy about the change to Master of War and its relation to Noble Mark, questioning its viability post-patch, but others are wisely waiting to see how it will actually apply; there's still a lot of room for it to be good without generating 40 times as much threat as intended. We'll find out when the patch goes live, at 6AM Eastern on Thursday, January 22nd.
