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Destiny combines arms in the Crucible this weekend
The next two community events for Bungie's Destiny will start this weekend. We had names for the two events before, Combined Arms and The Queen's Wrath, and now we have dates and descriptions for them as well. The Combined Arms event is an "all out war on a massive scale" in the Crucible multiplayer section. Players form fireteams of up to six, driving across the map and making use of increased heavy weapon ammo drops. The event starts today and lasts through the weekend. Next up is The Queen's Wrath, a set of bounty missions that begin on Tuesday, September 23 and runs through Monday, October 6. By completing the mission, players earn unique rare and legendary gear. The following two Destiny events are September's Salvage mission and October's Iron Banner mission. This week's Vault of Glass quest was first conquered roughly 11 hours after it opened. Bungie opted to double its well-broadcasted shooter's public events for players to encounter while patrolling areas in the game. [Image: Bungie]
This weekend's Destiny event goes 3-vs-3 in the Crucible
Bungie's freshly-launched Destiny is more than just a first-person shooter, it's an MMO-like game with planned community events for players to pepper with bullets. The developer unveiled the next set of missions in a blog today, starting with the 3-vs-3 Crucible event, Salvage. The playlist spans this weekend and has players fighting to "claim and salvage relics on small to medium sized maps." Players earn Crucible reputation, marks and gear by taking other teams of three on in the mode. Then starting on September 16, the Vault of Glass level 26 raid opens. Set in a mysterious area beneath Venus, players take on "your greatest challenge yet," which happens to be long division for us. Vault of Glass champions receive raid set gear and ascendant materials. The last three sets of challenges are without description at the moment. Two of them, Combined Arms and Queen's Wrath, are planned for September, with the Iron Banner event set for October. These online events are playable as long as Destiny's servers are stable, which are in good shape as of our initial State of Service update. [Image: Bungie]
A reflective festival launches for Guild Wars
You might have heard about a game named Guild Wars 2 that's coming out in just a little more than a week. And that's all well and good, but what does this mean for the original Guild Wars? Shall old acquaintance be forgot? Will the game be forgotten altogether? Whatever happens next, you'll want to refresh your memories about the game before its sequel comes out, and that's the focus of the Wayfarer's Reverie running until August 30th. Players will have special festival quests to undertake, highlighting the memories and experiences of player journeys through each storyline. These questgivers can be found in each of the four major cities from the four expansions. That's not all that players can expect, however. Special drops will also be in effect for the whole of the event, and there will be several NPCs scattered through the cities to share recollections of the game's history. Guild Wars players should check out the event -- it's not a prelude to the end but the prelude to a new beginning.
TERA rolls out the Chronoscroll system and an upcoming event
Maybe you're a poor college student with plenty of time to play TERA but not a lot of cash to spend out of the game. Or maybe you're a man of means with plenty of cash to spend but little time to farm gold. Whichever category is closer to you, you'll find something to like in TERA's new Chronoscrolls system, which allows players to buy scrolls of subscription time and trade them for in-game gold. The system works fairly transparently: Chronoscrolls can be purchased for real-world cash and then placed on the auction block, and a scroll thus purchased can be redeemed for extra subscription time. That means that players with piles of in-game gold can get plenty of free time to play the game. And if you're wondering why you'd like to spend that money, there is an event taking place starting on Friday, June 29th, in which players will hunt down reptilian egg thieves for special rewards. So you've got some motivation. [Thanks to Dengar for the tips!]
RIFT asks its community to test raids
Do you like RIFT? Do you like raiding? Do you like to test raids in RIFT? Well, then, your ship may very well have come in. The team at Trion Worlds is looking to get some solid raid testing going, giving players a chance to see the next tier of raiding before it goes live. So the call is going out to guilds that have demolished the current endgame, and the best of the best will be pitted against the newest challenges on the horizon. To be eligible, guilds must have at least 20 members able to participate in two hours of raiding two nights per week; they must also currently be at 11/11 in Hammerknell. Candidates are also expected to have mature members capable of responsible feedback, since they are going to be testing new and possibly buggy combat. If you think your guild qualifies, have your guild leader (which may be you) respond to the call. And be prepared to blow through everything in minutes once it goes live -- that's always the risk.
The Daily Grind: Do you attend fan-created events in game?
Guild Wars has Wintersday, Lord of the Rings Online has the Spring Festival ... heck, many MMOs have at least one developer-created party per year, often more. Those aren't the only ones, though. Enthusiastic fans love to get involved and create events to celebrate milestones, support charities, or just have fun and blast through content as a big group. Large or small, these sorts of events are everywhere. What we want to know today is whether or not you participate in them? If the community is promoting a party in your game of choice, do you add it to your calendar and make sure to stop by? Are there deciding factors that help you decide whether you'll attend or not, factors like event size, level of organization, or potential prizes and loot? Hit the comment button and let us know! 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!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Community, contests, and minion apocalypse
This week's Flameseeker Chronicles is a bit of a departure. Rather than compiling a guide or a wrap-up of the latest news or content, we're going to sit back, relax, and have a little bit of fun. The timing couldn't be better: We're in a post-convention lull for Guild Wars 2, Winds of Change part two has arrived and been played through, and Halloween events aren't here quite yet. It's a chance to take a bit of a breather, so this week I'm focusing on some community events and a little extra. Jump past the cut and let's get started!
Lucent Heart open beta starts next week
Current MMO mainstay got you down? Lucent Heart's North American open beta is almost here, the better to facilitate your massively multiplayer infidelity by adding yet another title to the stack of need-to-play icons on your desktop. June 21st is the big day, and Gamania is hosting a "no wipe" beta. That doesn't mean you won't be dying during the beta but rather that you'll get to keep your characters and progression when the service goes live. Lucent Heart's open beta will also feature Q&A sessions with the game staff and GMs, community competitions including Grand Prix races and battle of the sexes events, and numerous opportunities to fight off invading monster hordes. You can see the full event schedule at the official website, and don't forget to sign up for the open beta while you're at it. For more on Lucent Heart, see our first impressions as well as our coverage from this year's E3.
Star Wars: The Old Republic lists 2011 event appearances
Are you ready for the Star Wars: The Old Republic Hyperdrive or Bust World Tour 2011? OK, that might not be an official thing (and seriously, wouldn't you love a t-shirt with that on it?), but BioWare has announced the community events that TOR will be attending this year. So if you're willing to make the journey and eager to get some face-time with both the game and the developers, here's where you can make it happen: E3 in Los Angeles, CA (June 7-9) San Diego Comic-Con, CA (July 21-24) Gamescom in Cologne, Germany (August 17-21) PAX Prime in Seattle, WA (August 26-28) Eurogamer Expo in London, UK (September 22-25) New York Comic Con (October 13-16) Paris Games Week (October 21-25) DreamHack in Jönköping, Sweden (November 24-27) You can read all of the details of The Old Republic's worldwide journey on the Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Events page.
LEGO Universe builds community via community building
The fun of playing with LEGO sets is only half in the assembly -- a lot of the enjoyment comes with showing off what you've created to others, no matter your age. It's an element that LEGO Universe has taken to heart, as a recent release talks about the community events the game has run thus far and the plans for more events in the future. Each month of the game's operation has been based around a core theme for community events and challenges, giving players unified goals to work toward. March is the Battle Month, with the final event taking place this weekend in the Battle for Nimbus Station. Players who successfully face off against 29 waves of enemies will be in the running to win a variety of in-game prizes as well as some real-world LEGO sets. The Creation Lab has also been a major area of development, allowing user-generated content to come front and center in the community. Even if you're not currently playing LEGO Universe, you can take part in some of the contests and get your own buildings in the game -- sharing what you've built with everyone even if it's not made out of plastic bricks.
SWTOR fans gather in droves for PAX East
Although I doubt it has Blue Milk, the Times Irish Bar does have a nice cold beer, or at least the Star Wars: The Old Republic fans hope so when they visit during PAX East. The event hasn't even started, but you can almost hear Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes tuning up now for the SWTOR Community Cantina. What is the SWTOR Community Cantina, you ask? I'm surprised you don't know. Fansites, Massively, and just plain-old SWTOR fans have decided that one gathering just wasn't enough for a game as epic as SWTOR. Do any of these names seems familiar to you -- Pete, Dover, Orionark, Musco, Samm, Brooks, Zach, Lordhammer, Vall, Lethality, Kathy, and Roxanne? Maybe you're more familiar with the fansites they represent: Darth Hater, TOROcast, Mos Eisley Radio, TORSyndicate, AskAJedi, and Corellian Run Radio. If you're just dying to meet any of these people or are a fan of Star Wars: The Old Republic, come to Boston's Times Irish Bar during PAX East on March 11th at 7:00 p.m. EST for the SWTOR Community Cantina. While you're there, you can give me a high-five, too. We can party like it's 4,000 BBY!
Waging WAR: Battle for Badlands season 3 finale
With so many awesome things happening for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning lately, with the Verminous Horde expansion, the new store, patch 1.4 and all the rest, Greg has decided to turn his all-seeing eye sideways, to a land called the Badlands, and take Waging WAR along to explore a community-driven event that has been held there for nearly a year now with great success. Since launch, WAR has enjoyed a great community. With every great community, a great event is inevitable. I've been around the block since WAR was released and have experienced the game on several different servers. I originally rolled my first character, a Swordmaster named Xiimmel, on Iron Rock. Later, I rolled an Archmage named Feiyen on Dark Crag, who I eventually moved back to Iron Rock where she was renamed Veeo. I never did get a chance to explore Phoenix Throne, which was collapsed along with Dark Crag some time ago. Recently, I joined the Badlands community on the side of Destruction with a variety of new characters, and the community there has been good to me so far. Part of that experience the last few weeks has been the opportunity to participate in a community-driven phenomenon known as the Battle for Badlands. Since this is all quite new to me, I decided to do a community spotlight on the event in today's Waging WAR. Read on past the cut where I play 6Qs and deliver the details about the Battle for Badlands while I try to answer your 5Ws and maybe an H.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Tis the season to party in Guild Wars
Yarrr! Yesterday was Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day, and as always ArenaNet stepped up to the plate with a fun event. The Talk Like a Pirate event arrived last Friday, along with a mysterious poem that may or may not mean anything. At any rate, it's keeping a lot of fans busy trying to figure it out. This event heralds the start of what I call the Guild Wars party season. The pirate event is followed shortly thereafter by the Halloween event, then the Thanksgiving event, then Wintersday. In between are various community events as players and guilds throw parties to celebrate various holidays and milestones, and it's generally a few straight months of reveling. Each type of event -- both community-created and developer-created -- has its own ups, downs, and quirks. Follow along as I take a look at what they are.
Fallen Earth boss-killing event in the works
Think your wasteland clone is tough enough to stand toe to toe with a giant mutated fungus named Deathspore? If so, put your money where your mouth is and join Fallen Earth fansite Broken Future for a series of community boss take-downs. Currently scheduled for Thursday, July 15th at 11pm eastern, the party will leave from Jimbo's Cracked Egg in Needle Eye in search of adventure, excitement, and (hopefully) coming home alive. "Bring your combat gear and prepare for a night of fun. If the event goes well, I have a little surprise in store for everyone at the end. So hope to see you all there and take care," says Broken Future's Jkillz in a post on the official Fallen Earth forums. Check out the news posting for all the details.
Hands-on: Blur (single player)
click to enlarge Bizarre Creations is known for its racing expertise, honed in the great Project Gotham Racing series, and their latest title, Blur, is no exception. The arcade sensibilities of Bizarre's own Geometry Wars and the underrated (I said it!) The Club add a few new colors to the mix, but the driving is as solid as ever -- as you'll know if you've been playing the multiplayer beta. The real key to Blur, though, is the much-discussed social features. Bizarre has more or less perfected console racing over all of its past iterations, and so when we were invited to Activision HQ last week to check out Blur's single-player components, the focus wasn't so much on the how of racing, but the why. %Gallery-92682%
Free Realms begins job sampling week for free players
Last week we spoke to Laralyn McWilliams, the creative director for Free Realms, and she had a lot to say about upcoming changes and additions to the game. The most important change she mentioned was to the job system: "...as of early November, free player characters that are newly created will be able to play any job (Ninja, Chef, Postman, Kart Driver, Demo Derby Driver, Brawler, Miner, Soccer Star, Archer, Wizard, Medic, Blacksmith, Warrior) in Free Realms up to level five for free." The Free Realms team will usher in the new availability of these jobs by holding a community job sampling event this week, running Monday through Friday. Twice each day, they'll be hanging out by a specific job trainer to spend some time with the players and answer questions to familiarize you with the newly available jobs. The full list of jobs they'll be covering, as well as locations and times, can be found on the site.
Destination Games talking 1.5 already, glee!
What's the best cure for the "post-patch blues?" Why, an early preview of features from the next patch, of course! The Destination Games crew knows what was ailing me, and delivered in the Weekend Wrapup posted earlier today. Featured is a new concept new to Tabula Rasa known as "PvP Safe Regions" -- areas where beleaguered soldiers can seek respite after death from their belligerent clan war foes. This should put an end to the practice of camping hospitals for good, or at least we hope so.Also mentioned was the Blind Race event we told you about over the weekend and a recap of a new squad-based fighting tournament called "Mid-week Massacre" (sharing the Friday Night Fight guys' affinity for well-placed alliteration), which you can found out about on the omni-present Planet TR forums. All in all, not a bad week for Tabula Rasa players. Oh, and did anybody else notice the... interesting new 3-month veteran award depicted above? Classy.
Community Events in the EU
The EU site, which always seems to be better at keeping up with community news, has recently started a Community Events page. Players will be able to submit community events information that will be featured on the Blizzard web site. This seems like a great idea to me, highlighting community events in a single, easy to find place is much better than having them spread out across the general noise of the forums. So, EU players, get submitting!
