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SMITE brings out Ullr right before official release
The official launch of SMITE is just a few days away -- March 25th, to be specific. But there's still time to work in one more deity to the game's overall lineup. The last pre-launch patch has added Ullr, the Glorious One, a hunter capable of working in both melee and ranged combat with equal damage. Using his ultimate ability swaps stances, letting him attack with greater speed from range or steal life with his melee hits. Swapping between ranged and melee stances also shifts how Ullr's abilities work. Ranged mode allows him to fire a column of damage or use a targeted AoE along with a buff to physical damage. Melee mode, however, swaps abilities to a ranged attack, a leap to a target location, and a movement speed buff. The patch has also updated the physical models of several gods, meaning that when the game goes live next week, it'll be in the best state possible... and with one more god to play.
Transformers Universe opens up first-come, first-served beta signups
Do you want to be in the first wave of Transformers Universe testing? Then go sign up right now. No, don't finish reading the rest of this article, sign up right this moment. The first beta event is apparently taking place this weekend, March 15th and 16th, and invitations are being handed out according to the highly advanced metric of "the first people who ask for it get it." So go sign up, we'll be here when you get back. If you don't get in, you can still entertain yourself with two new character reveals past the cut. Front-Line is a big old hulk of an Autobot warrior with twin axes, a chaingun, and a massive hammer for use against the Decepticons. Conduit, meanwhile, takes care of the Deception medical needs while also providing fire support with his ranged rifle. You can take a look at both videos embedded just past the break. [Source: Jagex press release]
No new class, no new race, no problem
This is one of those title says it all posts, but I'll elaborate: the fact that there is neither a new class nor a new race in Warlords of Draenor isn't a problem. First up, there's the obvious fact that we're getting redesigns for the eight original races plus draenei and blood elves. In terms of art design, that's an incredible amount of work, far more than designing one or even two new races. Racial abilities for each race are also being redesigned, meaning each will play differently. Moreover, by not introducing a new race or class, we don't need to have a starter zone designed for them, meaning that content design can focus on content for the 90 to 100 player, especially since thanks to the level 90 boost, it can be assumed that anyone who picks up Warlords and wants to play it can. As has been said elsewhere, new races and classes are not content in and of themselves. They consume time and development resources to create them, and often they have content associated with them, and that content is usually only playable when you create one of them (although the monk did not actually get that treatment - save for one location in Pandaria that offered monk only quests, as a kind of home base, monks didn't see the death knight starter zone style experience) but by themselves a new race or class is just a different way to experience content. This is not to say they are not important. New classes offer new gameplay options, new abilities and spells, and sometimes new roles for players who did not enjoy, say, tanking or healing on previous classes. But I think it's fair to say that World of Warcraft doesn't need the added complexity of three new specializations to balance right now. There's going to be a lot of work needed to balance out new spells and abilities, adjust item levels, change the way healing works while ensuring it does still work, implement entirely new gameplay like garrisons without also figuring out how to keep another class in the mix with the other 34 specializations we already have. Similarly, while I mourn for my alliance ogre paladin and horde arakkoa druid, do we need two more groups of racials to balance out?
Black Gold's Skycaller class designed for crowd control, support
If you're a fan of crowd control classes, chances are good that you'll like Black Gold Online's new Skycaller class. An update on the steampunk MMO's website says that the newly announced archetype is "capable of high-level single-target crowd control abilities plus excellent support." The Skycaller also boasts "long-range area attacks with light damage but crippling effects." Skycallers wear light armor, and they can be played by either the Kosh or Yutonian races. Snail has also provided a description of the class's special moves as well as a bit of lore, all of which you can read via the links below.
RIFT's Arbiter and Physician are incoming
Patch 2.7 is delivering a bundle of four new souls to RIFT, and that means that every calling will be able to play every role in the game. The support Cleric soul (Oracle) and the healing Warrior soul (Liberator) have already been revealed, but what will Rogues and Mages get? The details were in the most recent livestream: Rogues get Physician as a specific healing soul, while Mages will be able to tank with the addition of the Arbiter soul. According to the most recent development livestream, a great deal of internal testing is being done to ensure that all four new souls remain functional and competitive, even though they're being added before an expansion. Players can keep their eyes peeled for later in the week when the Physician and Arbiter both get revealed ahead of their test realm implementation. These four souls will be purchasable as a bundle, although no announcements on price have yet been made.
Massively Exclusive: RIFT reveals the Oracle soul
Tomorrow, Trion Worlds is set to reveal another of RIFT's planned new souls, the Oracle, but Massively has an exclusive preview and lore piece for you today. Arriving in RIFT's 2.7 upcoming patch, the Oracle is a Cleric soul that allows the equipper to buff and debuff large groups using water and death magic. Oracles arrive from a dark future where their mastery-level support skills have forestalled the annihilation of Telara. Gifted with powers of Water and Death, these versatile casters can lift entire raids to triumph with a repertoire of powerful boons, shields, heals, buffs, and curses. As a group member, they're indispensable. As an enemy, they're impossible to ignore. We've got another screenie and the official background story for the Oracle tucked after the cut. Read on!
SMITE dredges Scylla from the depths
It's always the seemingly innocent ones. At a glance, SMITE's Scylla looks just like a pleasant little girl. It's only when you get into battle with her that she starts summoning her wolf-headed tentacles and you realize how inhuman she really is. Of course, you could also take Scylla for a spin yourself and learn to utilize her unassuming appearance and her varied snaring tactics to avoid being on the receiving end of a wolf-headed tentacle beatdown. Scylla's passive ability improves her magical power for each max rank ability as well as an additional effect on max rank abilities. Her skills allow her to snare targets, spawn sentry locations and teleport to them, and transform into a lethally powerful form with massive attack power for one attack. You can jump past the break to see Scylla's abilities in action and watch some of her most useful options in group play.
RIFT previews its new soul, the Liberator
The new souls being added to RIFT in the game's 2.7 patch are meant to allow every class to perform every single role in the game. So how will that even work? What will Warriors with heals really look like? You could wait until tomorrow to find out on the official site... or you could take a look at MMORPG.com's preview of the new soul, the Liberator, along with a small sample of its associated lore. Liberators aren't meant to be passive healers; the soul specializes in wading into the fray while sporting excellent group and area heals. In other words, it's still very much a Warrior occupation, but the focus is less upon hurting things and more upon using the energy of combat to help others recover. While the full explanation of the soul's specific abilities will be up tomorrow, you can still get a taste of the lore and concept by looking at the preview.
Meltdown and Duststorm roll out into Transformers Universe
The first two soldiers in Transformers Universe have been revealed, along with a glimpse of how the game will actually play. Meltdown and Duststorm are the new entrants, with Meltdown representing the Autobots and Duststorm arriving with the Decepticons. Meltdown is a medical sort of 'bot, not dissimilar from Ratchet, sporting heavy weaponry along with a specialized repair beam for team support. He can repel enemies, fortify himself while attacking, and boost allies after a quick shot of repairs. By contrast, Duststorm is something of a vampiric sniper. She sports long-range weapons that can leave bombs, stun targets, or tear through shields, absorbing the energy of enemies that she demolishes. In desperate situations, she can also accelerate projectiles in close-range engagements to take out approaching foes. Check out the videos for both robots just past the break, showing off their skills in action as well as a glimpse of the game's battlefields. [Source: Jagex press release]
Tamriel Infinium: Building the best DPS class in The Elder Scrolls Online
Commenters and gamers around the internet have wondered aloud whether it's really true that any class can play any role in the Elder Scrolls Online. Developers have said that with a simple weapon swap, we can instantly change the group dynamic. Being a hard-nosed MMOer, I admit I thought that was a stretch. We've seen the pseudo-roleswaps in Guild Wars 2, but based on the videos that I've seen of both GW2 and ESO, the latter defines the roles even more stringently. If you're a tank in ESO, you will take the brunt of the damage and you will keep aggro off other players. As a healer, you'll find your job will be to keep others' health points from reaching zero. And DPS will be required to drop enemy health points to zero as fast as possible. That's the reality. So is it actually possible for any class to play any role, as the developers claim? I might enjoy talking about builds and what works for different playstyles, but math is far from fun for me. Fortunately, I have friends for whom theorycrafting is their calling. I wrestled down Calls1gn, a top-tier raider formerly of Memories of Xendor. I sat him in front of a skill calculator for ESO and made him create some amazing, yet viable, builds in some obscure classes to prove once and for all whether the class system is as flexible as ZeniMax claims.
SMITE blazes a trail with Agni
The latest addition to SMITE's roster of deities is a real hothead. He's a firebrand. He is literally on fire. What we're getting at is that he's a god of fire. Agni, a deity of the Hindu faith, has been brought on board as a mage with a variety of flame-based abilities, allowing him to unleash major fire-based damage across a battlefield. Agni's core gameplay revolves around ticking damage and interplay between his abilities. His first ability, Noxious Fumes, allows him to place a damage-over-time field on the ground, which he can ignite with any of his other abilities. He also gains a buff to set enemies ablaze with his spells after landing several normal attacks. With a combination of mobility, area effects, and steady burns, he seems the sort to play if you enjoy laying a burning field of destruction... but perhaps you should check the video past the cut to be sure. [Source: Hi-Rez Studios press release]
Black Gold shows off the Geomancer
Do you like healing people? Do you like drawing strength from the land? Do you hate pants? Then Black Gold's Geomancer might just be for you. (You might have access to pants in the game, though.) The Geomancer is meant purely as a support class, focused on healing and supporting team members. While the class is weak in one-on-one combat, it excels at supporting a group and healing injuries. Many Geomancer abilities pull double-duty as they both harm nearby enemies and heal and buff nearby allies. In lore terms, the class was originally unknown to the Kosh despite their knowledge of magic, as working with Earth was problematic and required a great deal of practice. Only the great mage Damerhyn was successful, leading to the order of Geomancers that will be available to Yutonian and Kosh players in the game. For more details, take a look at the official preview page.
Pantheon Kickstarter updated with info on two stretch goal races
Brad McQuaid and Visionary Realms have updated the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen Kickstarter project. The latest post dives deeper into the lore behind the T'Jinn and the Vrilaska, both races that will be included with the game should it reach a stretch goal of $2.5 million. For reference, Pantheon is currently sitting at $382,298 raised of its $800,000 funding goal with nine days remaining. For what it's worth, the T'Jinn are magic beings composed of arcane particles who were previously bound into servitude by mages but earned freedom thanks to the efforts of a goddess. The Vrilaska are reptilian humanoids of great agility and strength who were among the first to arrive in Terminus. The Kickstarter campaign for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen ends February 22nd, 2014. [Thanks to Josh for the tip]
Pantheon summons the spirit of the Shaman class
Each new day brings new information on Brad McQuaid's Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen in addition to pushing the game's Kickstarter campaign slightly closer to its February 22nd funding deadline. Today's update covers the Shaman, a healer/debuffer/support class that utilizes the spirits to enhance the power of his group while weakening enemies. The Shaman has two specializations from which to choose. Ritualist enables the Shaman to dance and chant in order to summon spirits that can be commanded to action, while Spirit Warden gives the Shaman the ability to buff teammates with the power of his spirit. Shaman players can choose between Ogre or Dwarf; more options may be made available if the game reaches one of several stretch goals that involve adding new races. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is currently at $365,667 raised of its $800,000 funding goal with 10 days remaining.
Pantheon talks 'The Gnome,' 12 days remain on Kickstarter campaign
Mysterious, diminutive creatures that love magic are standard fare for fantasy MMOs, and Brad McQuaid's Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is no exception. Visionary Realms, which is attempting to raise $800,000 via Kickstarter to develop Pantheon, has posted an update diving deeper into the game's race of tiny "secretive sorcerers." Originating from the world of Aruska, gnomes are creatures whose mastery of magic has made them "one of the more proficient crafters of magical items and allowed them to unlock the arcane potential of even the most mundane of items." According to the lore, Pantheon's gnomes are slightly antisocial creatures with a penchant for hoarding who destroyed their magical troves after a conflict with a tribe of humans. The locations of the new troves are unknown, even to the gnomes left behind. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has raised $360,000 of its $800,000 funding goal with 12 days remaining. Gnomes (and halflings) will only be added if Pantheon reaches $2,000,000 in funding, which at this point is starting to look like a serious long shot.
Pantheon reveals class/race combos
If you're pulling for Pantheon, then you might be daydreaming about what class/race combination you'd want to play if the game is made. Visionary Realms hears you (it's inside of your head), and it released a chart showing the classes available for each race. Some of Pantheon's races are at an obvious disadvantage when it comes to the total number of available classes at the moment, as Humans have six while Dwarves and Ogres have three apiece. However, Ogres do get an exclusive class -- the Shaman -- and can use that to boost self-esteem if needed. The Kickstarter project also revealed a new stretch goal: the Halfling race. Halflings will be added to the game alongside Gnomes if Pantheon races $2 million or more. [Thanks to Josh for the tip!]
Star Wars: The Old Republic highlights the strengths of strike fighters
With all of the other ship classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic's latest addition, you can be forgiven for thinking that Galactic Starfighter kind of gives the eponymous fighters short shrift. After all, gunships can snipe with railguns, scouts are darting and disabling beasts, and bombers are tanks with wings. What can the strike fighter do that all of its contemporaries can't? Oh, right. It can eat other ships alive by blowing past shields and ripping enemy hulls apart. The new development blog highlighting the strike fighter discusses how strike fighters are generally the targets of all the other defensive mechanisms -- sure, a gunship can snipe things, but if it gets caught within weapons range of a strike fighter, it's in big trouble. The strike fighter might not have the speed of the scout or the armor of gunships and bombers, but it's maneuverable, nimble, and built for dogfighting. Check out the full development blog for more details on the lynchpin of the fighter squadrons.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen unveils the Rogue class
Everyone knows that it's not truly a fantasy MMORPG without a stealth class, and Brad McQuaid's brainchild Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is no exception. In a post on the game's Kickstarter page today, the devs revealed that the latest class to join Pantheon's roster is the Rogue, everyone's favorite dagger-wielding, backstabbing shadowstepper. In Pantheon, Rogues will fill the roles of DPS and debuffer and notably will have the ability to disarm traps or even "alter the trigger so they fire on enemies only." In addition, Rogues looking for a bit more focus can specialize as an Assassin or a Planestalker. The Assassin is exactly what it sounds like: stab things, poison things, and generally make things more dead. Planestalkers, on the other hand, are described as Rogues "that have exposed themselves to the planar energies emanating from Terminus." The post notes that by doing so, they have "given up much oftheir influence on the physical plain," but in exchange, they can see and sever a creature's "magical connections," which can cause "ill effects" such as lowering a target's damage or hampering its spellcasting, so it would seem that they tend toward the debuffer end of the spectrum. If you want the full details on Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen and its latest class, just head on over to the game's official Kickstarter page.
Community Blog Topic Results: New WoW classes
Our latest Community Blog Topic asked you to pitch a new World of Warcraft class. Many commenters suggested that WoW did not need another class, but that misses the point. Several classes with very detailed designs were blogged and commented about. I've only excerpted a few here, so follow the links to see the full descriptions. AedanBlounsø at SnobGoblin describes the bard class in full detail, including specs like the Heartmender: Primary Abilities Song of Hope - Restores an allys health and increase their damage done Unearthly Affection - Convinces an enemy to redirect their attack to another ally. Pure of Heart - Melee attacks against the Heartmender causes an aura of protection to slow the attacking enemy while healing the Heartmender. Hymn of Heresy - Waves of mystical energy emerge from the Heartmender, causing allies to increase their critical strike rating while damaging enemies. Arrows of the Soul - Heartmenders convert agility to intellect.
Pantheon interview offers glimpse of economy, housing, and more
With the imminent shut down of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes on the horizon, eyes are turning to the upcoming Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen project spearheaded by one of the earlier fantasy game's creators. Brad McQuaid, first known for his work on the original EverQuest, is looking to fill the niche for old-school games that focus on group content and slow progression. How much will Pantheon fit the bill as the go-to game for all those old-school gamers looking for a challenging new home? Before the weekend announcement caught everyone off-guard, we nabbed McQuaid and Director of Development Salim Grant to find out a few more details about the game and its economy (no bind-on-pickup!), crafting, housing, and classes and races.
