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Dungeons & Dragons Online launches Update 22
Are you ready to buckle your swash? Has your swash been buckled in anticipation? Do you own a variety of buckles and swashes? Because Dungeons & Dragons Online has just released Update 22 onto the live servers, and that means that Bards will have plenty of buckleswashing to do with the addition of the Swashbuckler enhancement line! Dance, parry, crack horrible puns, and stab at people while still retaining all of the usual song-based mechanics of Bards. It's free for everyone! Update 22 also includes an epic-level upgrade to Three Barrel Cove, perfectly complementing the newly swacklebushing methods of Bards. There are also major improvements to guild levels and guild airships, allowing guilds to hit level 200 while sporting new and improved facilities on new and improved airships. And there's new stuff in the cash shop, too, giving DDO players plenty to do if they ever tire of the interactions of swashes and buckles.
E3 2014: Final Fantasy XIV discusses ninjas and same-sex marriage
The first of two official livestreams for Final Fantasy XIV has just wrapped up at E3. While the stream focused on a variety of questions from the fans, two big points were hit during the discussion. The first was the revelation of a new class slated for introduction in patch 2.4: the Rogue class, which will lead into the Ninja job. This will be a damage-dealing class that dual wields knives and daggers, complete with enhanced movement skills and stealth abilities. Producer Naoki Yoshida also announced that the game's marriage system will allow any two characters to be joined together, regardless of race, nation, or gender. The translated answer explained that in the world of Eorzea, it seemed inappropriate to restrict the system. Players will be given the options of having their characters pledge eternal love or simply eternal friendship, with the possibility of special mounts for the happy couple. Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 10-12, bringing you all the best news from E3 2014. We're covering everything from WildStar and Landmark to Skyforge and H1Z1, so stay tuned!
Elder Scrolls Online spotlights Dragonknight Healer build
Next up in Elder Scrolls Online's player-submitted build column is a look at the so-called "Dragonknight Healer." This build is primarily focused on survivability and support, creating a very durable character that can patch up allies on the fly. "Though her build may be missing some of the advantages of Templar and Sorcerer healing, you give her a call if you need a healer that is sturdy and really hard to kill," player Ville Korpi wrote. The build doesn't come without offensive abilities, as it contains both multi-mob and single-target DPS as the situation warrants. It's not a boss-killing build, but for those who can heal like this, chances are that they'll be invited to groups where others will do the dirty work while this build shines in the support wings.
Darkfall Unholy Wars unveils custom role tutorial
The introduction of custom roles to Darkfall Unholy Wars is going to mean a major shakeup to the way that skills work overall. It's getting patched in today, and if you're not ready for the change yet, you're in luck; a tutorial video has just been released and is embedded just past the cut. If you want to be a master of magic with a two-handed weapon and leather armor? You can make that happen now. As previously revealed, players will be able to select eight role skills, one ultimate skill, and 16 total skills fr their custom arrangement. You can also choose your attribute boosts as well as the requirements of gear -- if you'd like heavy armor to be gated by your Dexterity instead of your Strength, that's a thing you can do. While the tutorial won't explain to you how to make a good built, it will give you the tools to make one properly.
Trove adds the Fae Trickster class
Sparkle sparkle, my butterflies! Trove's alpha program has expanded to include a new class, the Fae Trickster. The new class skews to the magical, with illusion and pixie dust being its primary weapons against foes. The Fae Trickster uses an Ego Blast to attack, Blinks to teleport forward while leaving a clone behind, and shakes its wild thing during a Faerie Dance to bring out additional clones. The Fae Trickster is Trove's third class, and is available in the store for 1050 credits or 5000 source. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
Forsaken World: Blood Harvest adding new class and region next week
Forsaken World has a new content update coming out next week called Blood Harvest that looks to expand the title in several directions. Blood Harvest will introduce the Blood Reaper class, bump up the level cap to 90, and add in the Freedom Islands zone. As with the rest of this game, the update will be free for players to enjoy. Blood Harvest is scheduled to arrive on May 21st. [Source: Perfect World press release]
Darkfall Unholy Wars unveils the new custom roles
You want to do your own thing in Darkfall Unholy Wars, but how are you going to do that? Simple -- you're going to make use of the game's upcoming custom roles to build exactly your sort of character. This represents a fundamental shift to the game's mechanics, and the latest development post on the official site stresses that this first iteration is going to be modified over time. But it's still something novel, and it's a chance to have more control over your character's development. Players will be able to pick out any 9 school skills (with 1 Ultimate skill) and several common skills for a given build, with a grand total of 16 skills from school skills and common skills. Players will also be able to mix and match armor types to create just the right sort of playstyle. Builds can be altered at any point if a character has been out of combat mode for 15 minutes, so you're not locked into one configuration. Check out the official post for more details on the mechanical shift.
Meet Pantheon's god-killer, the WarWizard
Pantheon's move to continue development via a team of all volunteers is producing results, albeit small ones. "We are having great success re-building the team, including the lore and moderator teams," Brad McQuaid posted. "One of my main next goals is to find a Unity programmer who can take over from where the project itself was left." The team posted a new piece of concept art and lore yesterday covering powerful figures known as WarWizards. WarWizards were created by external forces to help battle the god-kings of Terminus. A few talented individuals were chosen to be elevated with the ability to master both magic and weapons. In the Deicide Wars, WarWizards smacked down many god-kings and cemented their legacy in the process. WarWizards have retreated into myth and legend, although the post certainly hints that they might return if Terminus faces another great threat.
TERA brings out the Reaper
Today's patch for TERA is bringing a brand-new class in a pint-sized package: the Reaper. Patch 26.04's star attraction is the new Reaper class, which only becomes available once a player hits level 40 with at least one character (And yes, there's an achievement to be the very first Reaper on any given server. Make us proud, Massively readers!). The Reaper is a leather-wearing, Elin-exclusive class that does mid-range damage with a scythe. It utilizes chains and combos extensively to do its DPS work. The patch also contains the new Reaper starting area of Ashen Hope, a big revamp to the crafting system, a production system, and an update to glyphs and the skills UI. It's a two gig patch, so you'll want to familiarize yourself with all of the ins and outs of the patch notes before you log in.
The Mog Log: Whispers of what comes next for Final Fantasy XIV
When I find myself in times of trouble, friends of mine will comfort me, speaking words of wisdom: "There are more patches coming to Final Fantasy XIV." And it's true! While I'm not as happy with 2.2 as perhaps I would like to be, as odd as that statement sounds, it's not the end of the world. In fact, there's a lot of stuff around the corner that should make me a lot happier. We've heard rumblings about what we'll see at E3 next month, we're hearing discussion of what's next on the docket for patch 2.3, and there are tantalizing hints about what's going to be arriving beyond even that. Some of these are things that I've discussed elsewhere; some I haven't had the opportunity to chat about yet (we only got the live letter announcement on Friday, after all!). So let's go ahead and dive into what's on the horizon for the game.
Swordsman trailer introduces poison cultists and kung fu masters
Tell me, do you prefer poison or ice with your martial arts? Either way, Perfect World has you covered with the upcoming Swordsman. The publisher posted a trailer today highlighting the next three classes in the game. There's the Shaolin, a kung fu master; the Five Venoms, a cultist who idolizes poison in all its forms; and the Zephyr School, a fighter that uses ice control and air defense for the win. You can check out the trailer after the jump to see if any of these are a perfect match for you! [Source: Perfect World press release]
TERA's Reaper class heads to NA servers on May 13th [Updated]
The official Facebook page for TERA has posted an official North American release date for the Reaper class, already live in Japan and Korea, and that date is May 13th. According to fansite TeraToday, the Reaper is a free class available to players who already have a character over level 40; they're shadowy fighters who excel in close- and mid-range combat. We've included the Reaper trailer below. Pew pew slash slash and all that. [Update: The studio has just posted an official website for the new class.]
The Road to Mordor: Birthdays and Beornings in LotRO
This month Lord of the Rings Online will be hitting its seventh anniversary. That's right: Seven years ago, LotRO opened the doors to Middle-earth in a way that we never had before. Some took cheap shots by calling it a World of Warcraft clone, but the less inflammatory and more intelligent in the crowd realized that there was something more to this MMO than a Hobbit-infested Azeroth. We've had ups and downs in LotRO since 2007, but one continuing testimony that I see mentioned on a regular basis is how welcoming and wonderful it is to return to this game. There's something special -- almost magical -- about Turbine's version of Middle-earth that has entranced many players and continues to do so. Heck, in my very first Road to Mordor back in 2010 I tried to articulate why I felt that this game was set apart from the pack in significant ways. Today we have much to discuss about the future of the game, but I want to start with one overriding factor that so much of the game connects to: its sense of cohesiveness. This is not a scattered playground full of discordant toys but a unified world with intricate bonds that we are still exploring.
League of Legends introduces Braum, the Heart of the Freljord
For too long, there's been a hole in the many champions of League of Legends. Braum, the Heart of the Freljord, fills that hole, introducing the first truly impressive moustache to the game and allowing everyone to marvel at every perfectly waxed hair. Oh, and he also serves as a tank support character, which is also a first, but mostly it's about that glorious lip-blanket. Right, you probably want to know a little bit more about what Braum can do. Well, he applies a stacking debuff that stuns enemies with his basic attack, but once the first tap is in place, attacks from allies will also increase the stack count. He also attacks with line-based AoE attacks that snare targets, blocks attacks with his enormous shield, and can dash to his allies to help protect them from further attacks. In short, he's a traditional MMO tank tearing up the League of Legends lanes. And he has a moustache. Did we mention that?
ArcheAge boasts 120 class combinations
Forget MMOs that have a petty eight, 16, or even 23 classes; ArcheAge is strutting about with 120 builds thanks to its mix-and-match class structure. In a new developer diary and video, the team talks about the way classes are set up in the game as well as the crafting options at the player's disposal. Players construct their class by picking three skillsets at levels 1, 5, and 10, with the option to respec for a fee. Skillsets can be leveled up independently, allowing players to invest in far more than three of them, and those skillsets have certain synergies between them. The 10 skillsets in the game are Archery, Auramancy, Battlerage, Defense, Occultism, Shadowplay, Songcraft, Sorcery, Vitalism, and Witchcraft. ArcheAge wants you to know that you have the option to level to the cap entirely through crafting professions if desired. The 21 professions are leveled through a slowly regenerating resource called Labor, and eventually they hit a hard cap until the player chooses a handful for specializations. You can watch the dev video walk you through the intricacies of classes and crafting after the break!
Trove empowers community to pitch biomes and classes
Trion Worlds is empowering the Trove community even further by inviting players to pitch ideas for a new biome and class to be added to the game. A Reddit thread has the details of how this process will unfold. Players will begin by brainstorming ideas for biomes, and after some time, the dev team will pick the best (and top-voted) submissions and allow players to vote on the very best one. Following that, the team will poll players for decorations, dungeon designs, and enemy ideas, and then get the biome into the game within the month. There are also plans for a similar pitching-and-voting process afterward in regard to a new class. On a phone call, Trion told Massively that it's looking to push the crowdsourcing aspect further and further as time goes on. The team is incredibly impressed with what the community has created so far with weapons, hairstyles, dungeons, and hats, and it can't wait to see what comes from this experiment. One thing that the team revealed is the upcoming addition of music blocks: Physical objects that make notes (and even chords) when walked on. We asked if Trion was looking to crowdsource the soundtrack for the game as well, and while the devs said that no players had yet stepped forward, they promised that if some did with great tunes, those would definitely be included into the game proper.
SMITE brings out the Hindu god Kumbhakarna
The Sleeping Giant, Kumbhakarna, is the latest god to enter into SMITE's cage match pantheon. This Hindu god might not be the most nimble or even the most awake, but he has power nevertheless. Kumbhakarna doesn't die when he hits zero hit points; he falls asleep and eventually wakes up at 25% health. He can also throw back enemies, root bad guys with a smash, and... yawn for a mez. You can check out his moves in the god reveal after the break. [Source: Hi-Rez press release]
The Crew's five swappable classes, er, specs
What you call "classes" in other MMOs, The Crew calls "specs." There are five of them and they are swappable on the fly, offering the player control over his or her racing destiny. A new official blog post today details these five specs. Street specs are versatile jack-of-all-trade cars, Dirt specs are great for off-roading, Perf specs sacrifice maneuverability for speed, Raid specs are terrific for exploring rough environments, and Circuit specs are built for top-notch technical racing. If a player has not attained a certain spec yet and a mission requires it, the game will provide a loaner for the duration of the mission.
Breakfast Topic: Talented
With the release of the first set of patch 6.0 patch notes--I'm certain there will be many variants to come--talk is buzzing about all the major changes and adjustments we'll be seeing come Warlords of Draenor. In addition to reading about all this, I've been doing some perusal of the level 100 talents (as they currently stand). In particular, I think all three of the new feral druid talents sound great, though Lunar Inspiration is my favorite just for concept alone. The restoration druid options aren't quite as exciting, in my opinion, though they certainly aren't anything to sneer at. The other classes I play regularly are my frost mage and my retribution paladin, and a few of their talents strike my fancy as well--Comet Storm for the mage and Empowered Seals for the paladin in particular sound fun and useful, respectively. Have you looked over the talents in detail? Some haven't changed much since BlizzCon, but some haven't been documented publicly until now. What do you like? What don't you like? What do you wish were there?
Star Trek Online shows off a revamp to player kits
Kits are your main method for grabbing ground combat abilities in Star Trek Online. You equip a kit and you're good to go. Despite that, they're also rather limited, as there are a limited number of different kit types and each kit of a given type contains a very set number of abilities. Season 9 is thus deploying an extensive overhaul of the kit system, allowing players to build the sorts of kits that they want to use in a more flexible framework. The core of the system is simple. Abilities are split into two categories for each profession: Assault and Strategic for Tactical, Medical and Research for Science, and Fabrication and Mechanic for Engineering. Kits will become frameworks that contain skill bonuses as well as slots to equip abilities, with each slot allowing any skill within a given category. For more details on how the new kits can be acquired and how the flexibility will benefit players, take a look at the full development blog.
