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Neverwinter shows off the Scourge Warlock for Tyranny of Dragons
Do you want to fight some dragons? The next expansion to Neverwinter is all about fighting dragons, hence the title Tyranny of Dragons. Would you prefer to do so whilst conjuring up forbidden and evil magic from beyond to help smite your foes and empower your party? Then the Scourge Warlock is right up your alley. You can check the new class out in the trailer just past the break. Scourge Warlocks are casters who can summon a Soul Puppet from the beyond, using their magical prowess to leech health and empower allies while leaving enemies as shambling shells. They also have access to a new paragon path, Hellbringer, which... well, it doesn't summon bunnies and stomach rubs. Take a look at the official development blog for a clearer picture of what these casters are capable of, and watch the trailer to see the class in action before Tyranny of Dragons goes live on August 14th. [Source: Cryptic Studios press release]
Chaos Theory: The Secret World anniversary celebration, take two!
It's that time of year again: time to celebrate another anniversary in The Secret World! And that means taking on world bosses, soaking up oodles of AP, and collecting lore, clothes, and (the best part) pets. Yep, definitely sounds like a party. The birthday bash lasts through July 17th, but the double AP portion of it ends on the 11th, so if you have new builds you want to test and you like the feel of all that AP popping up every few steps, now is the time to get into the game. If you attended last year's Guardians of Gaia celebration, you're no doubt familiar with the set up of the event; you may have even completed everything. If not, you now have the chance to catch up on everything, including collecting all the lore and pets. On top of that, there are new goodies to collect this time around. There's even a new achievement involving all the pets! Here are some tips and tricks for getting the most out of TSW's second anniversary celebration.
Choose My Adventure: Adventuring in ArcheAge
Although ArcheAge has many different things to do, you decided that Massively's MJ should continue her adventures with quests, so that's what she's been doing. After showing off her favorite spot in game and brilliantly demonstrating death by jellyfish, she's been running to and fro delivering notes, assembling statues, and killing whatever vermin are bothering the locals. And there's certainly no lack of vermin! During those questing adventures MJ has come across a dungeon, and she's looking forward to taking you inside. Hopefully she'll find other in-game companions to enter with her as well, else she'll surely experience death in a new and spectacular way! If she's alone, will you still have her enter? Join us live at 7:00 p.m. to decide her fate live! And don't forget to participate in the next vote to decide which crafting profession MJ should pursue next week. Game: ArcheAge Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Wednesday, July 9th, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below.
Chaos Theory: The Secret World's Tokyo barrier
Blue Mountain: On the road through The Secret World adventures, this was the zone that would make or break many players. It's the point when you had to really start crafting your decks more carefully and applying synergies. Not all who felt the blow of this particular skill check powered through, making it a barrier to continuing on to Egypt and Transylvania as well as completing the story mission. Well, now there's a new barrier in town: Tokyo. As much as I had looked forward to the Issue #9 content, and as much as I am enjoying the content now that it is here, I have to admit that Tokyo is the granddaddy of barriers. Not only are there barriers to getting to the content, but there are some to enjoying it once you get there too. And any one of them might cause players to give up on Tokyo and The Secret World before experiencing the whole update. So to help folks avoid smashing into any barriers unexpectedly and leaving bruises, let me give you the scoop on what lies ahead.
Trials of Ascension pushing to fund playable dragons
Trials of Ascension has launched a "Release the Dragons" campaign to encourage backers to chip in a little extra so that playable dragons will be added to the game. The game just crossed the $50,000 crowdfunding barrier, and the team promises that if it reaches $60,000, it will add in the draconic characters. By donating funds during this campaign, players can recieve extra goodies such as a high-rez dragon poster and special dragon tail designs. According to the official disclaimer, playable dragons will be a truly hardcore choice: "There will be no harder race to play in ToA than the dragon. You will be challenged at every turn. You will die. A lot. Seriously. Chances of your dragon character making it to adulthood will be near zero. This is by design so don't bother whining about it. If after reading this warning, you still want to try, by all means read on but understand we cannot be held responsible for broken keyboards or debts payable to your swear jar." [Thanks to Android for the tip!]
Chaos Theory: Touring Tokyo with TSW's Joel Bylos
It's Tokyo time! That's right, an end to the wait is finally upon us. Come Wednesday, everyone who buys Issue #9 The Black Signal for The Secret World and has acquired The Council's Seal will be able to cross the threshold into Tokyo. Like you, I've been dying to get in and check out this new zone, the first new area introduced to the horror game since launch. Thanks to a special tour with Game Director Joel Bylos and Communications Manager Tor Egil Andersen, I was able to preview the first of the three Tokyo zones so I could share that experience with you. We not only explored the city itself, but we completed one of the new -- and might I add, really spooky -- missions and utilized the new AEGIS system. So, how is it? Let me just say, it's worth the wait! And not just for the creepy homages to the Illuminati handler, Kirsten Geary.
Meet NASA's commercial space capsule contenders
Sure, the Dragon V2 is the latest (and greatest) spacecraft from SpaceX, but it's not the only capsule that may one day schlep astronauts to the International Space Station. In fact, Elon Musk's firm is just one of three private outfits currently competing in a NASA program for commercial launches with their own vehicles. We've surveyed the space capsule landscape and have whipped up a primer on the future crafts that may wind up taking humans to space.
Chaos Theory: The Secret World's Whispering Tide and Tokyo
Let's hear it for the encore! If you missed any step of the The Secret World's first long-term (and by long, I mean like The Great Wall of China long) event, you've been granted a second chance. Before The Whispering Tide rolls out for good and Tokyo finally arrives, all phases of the event will be temporarily available for players to experience. Starting last week with the gathering phases and moving to the instanced phases this week, players have the opportunity to snag missing lore and check off achievements, ultimately earning the crowning piece of the bee suit: the helm. This was definitely a smart move on Funcom's part. With this latest act, the studio shows more consideration for TSW's players and fosters an increase in goodwill, something the company certainly needs after such a long wait for Issue #9 and the more recent April Fools' Day mankini debacle. Sadly, a few easily preventable missteps marred what could have been a purely positive move.
SOE compensates players for All Access issues
Acknowledging that the recent switchover to the new All Access program has been "frustrating," SOE announced today that it will be compensating its playerbase for these issues. The studio will be handing out 50 replay badges to DCUO players, adding an additional week to seven-day Landmark closed beta keys, and triggering double XP weekends for Dragon's Prophet, EverQuest, EverQuest II, and PlanetSide 2. "The implementation of this new membership plan across SOE's game portfolio has been one of the most complicated updates to our billing system to date," SOE apologized in a post. "As fellow gamers, we know that this has been frustrating and we sincerely regret any inconvenience this has caused."
Dragon's Prophet EU introduces the Column of the Prophet content update
Dragon's Prophet has announced the release of the Column of the Prophet content update today. This new challenge features a tower that reaches 100 stories into the sky with monsters that increase in difficulty with each level of the tower. Three sources can be called upon to aid your character whether solo or in a group: a medic, Skyhammer guards, or a war dragon. Right now, this update is only for European players of the game handled by Infernum, not SOE. A North American update schedule has not been announced. [Source: Infernum press release]
Chaos Theory: Sidestories lead The Secret World in the right direction
Let me just start by saying that the fact that I have not completed all four of The Secret World's new investigation missions in the recently released Sidestories: Further Analysis does not in anyway diminish the awesomeness of the pack. You don't have to do them all -- or even do them at all -- to appreciate this new content. That's because the beauty of these new missions goes beyond the actual investigative content; it's the fact that it is additional content! If there is one thing that TSW fans have been clamoring for, it's more content, especially content that tosses players deeper into the world and expounds on the story. (The popularity of last Halloween's Spooky Stories of Solomon Island quests sure proved that!) So even those who would rather stab their eye repeatedly with their mouse instead of puzzling out an investigation mission should be fistpumping this new development. With this new type of content release, Funcom has hit on an idea that can satisfy nearly everyone! And that certainly bodes well for the future of the game.
RIFT sends players back in time to fight dragons
Set your time machines back 1,500 years, RIFT players, because Patch 2.6.1 is flinging Ascended heroes into the past to help round up a few rowdy dragons. The patch, which landed today, opens up a new Tier 3 raid called Bindings of Blood. In this raid, players are experiencing the binding of the dragons from a first-hand perspective, and in so doing they actually change the "present" history of their personal game. Trion Worlds told us on the phone that the 20-person raid contains four portals to four instances, each with its own mini-boss, dragon, and unique theme. The instances are on separate lockout timers, and currently two are open with two more scheduled for next month. The bosses are reworked versions of Greenscale, Akylios, Laethys, and Maelforge, and will drop best-in-slot gear and weapons.
Chaos Theory: Funcom flubbed it with The Secret World's mankinigate
I'd rather be focused on the four new investigation missions that just launched in The Secret World, even though I need much more time to complete them all, or yammering on about Tokyo coming next month (did you catch that in the director's letter?). But as the fates would have it, Funcom did something else this past week that has nabbed attention and necessitates a little scrutiny. Mankinigate. Last week during the notable first of April shenanigans, The Secret World poked fun at the fact that female outfits in games (including TSW) are stereotypically skimpy while males get adventuring gear. The item store offered the "Gender Equality" clothing pack: full scuba gear for females and a mankini for males. As hideous as I think the mankini is, I appreciated this obvious jab at stereotypes, not to mention the fact that Funcom listened to players who've requested revealing attire for their male avatars. But then with no real explanation given at the time, the makinis were yanked not only from the store but from players' inventories as well.
Red's 6K-capable Scarlet Dragon camera goes on sale for a mere $14,500
Don't despair that you'll have to buy both Red's Scarlet camera and its Dragon upgrade just to get 6K video capture at a semi-reasonable price. The company has announced that the ready-made Scarlet Dragon body will go on sale tomorrow for a relatively affordable $14,500. It should ship once Red catches up on Dragon upgrade orders, or around June. You may not be recording many projects at full resolution, however. Red did squeeze in 6K (after concerns that it wouldn't make the cut), but you'll only get it at 12FPS when shooting full frame -- you'll have to drop to 'just' 5K to get speed worthy of movies and TV. Company chief Jarred Land hints that the Scarlet Dragon should be faster in widescreen mode, though, so you might not have to shell out for the higher-end Epic Dragon to produce a sharp-looking masterpiece.
Chaos Theory: Grand plans for The Secret World's Black Watchmen ARG
Last week we revealed that a new persistent alternate reality game is in the works from Human Equation, the studio that brought us the pre-launch and End of Days ARGs for The Secret World. But that little introduction is just a drop in the bucket compared to what the company has planned for the community. Human Equation has bought the license to operate the Black Watchmen IP from Funcom, and that means TSW players, fans, and puzzle-enthusiasts have much more in store for them than they realize. Although a major premise behind an ARG is figuring out clues and discovering information over time, I sat down and chatted with Andrea Doyon, the chief innovation officer (aka puppet master) for the ARG to bring you the scoop on those very plans. Check out all the details in this exclusive interview, including future job possibilities, and get a peek at two never-before-seen pieces of concept art.
Chaos Theory: A guide to finishing off the Filth in TSW's Whispering Tide event
When The Secret World puts on a long-term event, it certainly doesn't skimp on the long part! The Whispering Tide commenced way back in September 2013 and just last month moved into the final phase. During that time, players have unlocked portals, collected lore, and fought the Filth, all with the ultimate goal of opening Tokyo at the end. And while the time of Issue #9 is is almost at hand, it isn't yet here. The best way to hurry it along is to see this event through to completion and eradicate the Filth in this final stage. If you've missed any of the preceding phases, now is the perfect time to jump in and add your efforts to the cause -- not just for speeding up the release of Tokyo but for collecting all the loot and goodies for yourself as well! With this phase players have the chance to rake in all the slivers and fragments needed to purchase the available event loot (sadly, the past lore pieces are one thing that cannot be gotten). Even if you are just starting now, there are still numerous tendrils protruding from the portal, giving you plenty of time to get in on the action. And this guide is going to walk you through it.
Dragon's Prophet patch adds arenas, evolution, and compendium
Three is a good number, especially when it comes to the number of big new features in a patch. If you want triple your patching value, then head over to Dragon's Prophet, where the team added three significant systems this past week. First on the docket for the patch are dragon arenas, where players can form a team of three dragons to fight others' teams. Next is the new evolution system, which allows for dragons to learn an additional skill. Finally, the compendium compiles all of the information and statistics related to dragons captured and those still untamed. The patch contains plenty of bug fixes and tweaks, so give the notes a read for the full scoop.
Chaos Theory: Every game needs a Gatekeeper like The Secret World
It finally happened. I've been playing The Secret World since launch, wading through lots of lore, wracking my brains on investigations missions, collecting clothes, and soaking up the amazing atmosphere, among other things. But there is one activity that I have successfully dodged participating in that entire time until the moment came when I could no longer justify evading it. I'm talking about the Gatekeeper. For those who aren't familiar with TSW's Gatekeeper, here' the scoop: He's the giant golden golem that stands between you and the PvE endgame. He's the feature that all players who want to participate in the hardest mode of dungeons and acquire the best purple PvE gear must prove themselves against before being allowed to move their play to that next level. Consequently, he prevents those who are completely unprepared for that level of challenge from getting in over their heads and dragging down their groups in the process. Golden boy is a powerful (and merciless) teacher who can humble those not ready for the fight as well as those who are by really testing their knowledge about the game's combat system and forcing all to face up to their inadequacies. So I finally faced this Agarthan nemesis, and he was all I expected him to be. And yes, I was initially schooled. But I did end up laying the smack down on him, learning a few important things in the process. And one of the top lessons? I think every single game should have a Gatekeeper!
Chaos Theory: Why TSW's quest art thrills me to no end
Every Secret World fan has his or her own list of reasons why the game feels special and unique. Perhaps it's the investigation missions, the contemporary setting, the flexible character builds, the dark subject matter, the well-done voice acting, the creepy tone, the immense pile of lore, or the sheer fun that is the dressing room. Steadily climbing to the top of my own list is an aspect that I haven't seen mentioned much at all: the quest art. Is that the best terminology for it? I don't know what else to call it. What I'm talking about here are the images that often pop up through quests, from photographs to journal entries. These pieces of art aren't just sprinkled in here or there; they are so dang prolific that I've devoted an entire screenshot folder to holding them. Once you start really noticing them, it's hard not to marvel at all of the work that was done to put them in the game. So excuse me this week as I go on about why quest art is seriously terrific and terribly underrated. I may even share a favorite or 27 of them along the way.
Chaos Theory: Controversy swirls around The Secret World's new Mystery Boxes
Although neither the most recent recent patch notes nor the January Game Director letter mentions it, something happened in The Secret World recently that might, if you believe the cries of some, portend the beginning of the end for the horror-filled game. What powerful behemoth will be responsible for slaying TSW and grinding it into the ground? No, not the Økokrim; this time, it's the mighty Mystery box. Players logging in since January 30th have been met with a launchpad announcement heralding the introduction of the new Mystery Box to the item store. And while some players are up in arms about the significance of this addition, I'm going to tell you why it's no big deal.