endgame
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The Digital Continuum: Omega solo solution
There was a time in my MMO playing when I would spend hours looking for a group in games like Final Fantasy XI. No television was watched and no handheld gaming devices were manipulated during those prolonged waiting periods. I just sat there chatting with whomever I could in-game. Today, I don't think I could see myself doing this even with the aid of a Nintendo DS or a PSP with which to chip away the hours. Hell, I probably couldn't even do this with one of my favorite shows like Lucky Louie or Flight of the Concords.This is why it warms my heart to know that Champions Online will contain not only solo content across every level, but some kind of secret endgame feature called the Omega System. My first reaction upon this revelation was simply, "Wow" I certainly hope that with a title like "The Omega System" Cryptic has a compelling endgame feature planned that will amaze everyone or at the very least please everyone.
Age of Conan's endgame explored
IGN's out of the box impressions on Age of Conan late last month were just its opening salvo in continuing coverage about the game. In an update to those initial impression, Charles Onyett offers up his views on the game's leveling experience. He offers insight into the first 40 levels of the game, as well as a taste of what the post-40 experience currently offers. While he greatly enjoyed the first 20 levels of the game's destiny quest, and found the 20-40 experience rich in quests and content, he's less impressed with the game after that point.Though our own Cameron Sorden has experienced MMO malaise within Age of Conan's first 20 level, Onyett is enthusiastic about the game's rich narrative through the 30s. He especially appreciated the cutscenes used to convey that story, but admits the game's main thread loses cohesion quickly after leaving Tortage. Ultimately his verdict is mixed, saying "overall I'd say the game's worth checking out, though maybe it's best to wait a month or two at this point so more of the issues with higher level content can get worked out."
Massively goes to WAR: Is there any PvE in Warhammer's endgame?
Even at planned events, like our visit to EA Mythic last week, sometimes the most interesting conversations are those that happen naturally. We were in between two presentations last week, waiting for the next Warhammer Online walkthrough and informational talk, and had an unexpected lull. We used the opportunity to essentially ask the question that reader muub put to us way back in the middle of last week.Muub asked, "How much did they work on the PVE aspect of the game? Are there just a couple of end game dungeons to appease the crowd or is it more in depth? Do they have any endgame raid dungeons?" The answer to those questions, we can now safely say, are: "A lot, it's more in-depth, and yes." Assuming that you want slightly more detailed answers than that, go ahead and read below the cut for our brief discussion on Warhammer Online's PvE endgame with Producer Jeff Skalski and Press Relations' Juli Cummins.%Gallery-24013%
More calls for midlevel content, the return
Back before patch 2.3, one of the most repeated calls from players was not for new raiding instances or a particular class balance change, but for new midlevel content. As we've said on the WoW Insider Show, a large percentage of the population of Azeroth is perfectly content hanging around the 30s and 40s and not bothering with endgame PvP or raiding, and previous to patch 2.3, they wanted new content to roll through.Then patch 2.3 came, and with it, a whole new series of quests, and even a new hub in Dustwallow Marsh. Midlevel players finally got what they wanted, and for a while, the requests for new things for midlevel players to do were quelled.Until now.
Totem Talk: Into Medivh's Tower and beyond
When you finally hit 70, and the swirl of light dies down around your character (I always seem to be fighting something when this happens) you step into what some people call 'Endgame'.Yes, I call it endgame too. So I should have said "What I call 'Endgame'." Anyway, last night while running around trying not to be killed by Thaladred it occurred to me that the fight demands a lot out of a shaman. Constant group movement, kiting, proper totem placement (gotta get that Tremor Totem up near the Sanguinar tank) and replacement makes this a very demanding fight for a shaman. That's not a bad thing... it's never boring... but it got me to start thinking about shamans and their roles in raids.Depending on your spec, your shaman will provide the role of ranged DPS, melee DPS or dedicated healing to any raid you're a part of. But abilities like Bloodlust/Heroism, the special abilities of the shocks and the various totem buffs and group utility auras (fire resistance, poison and disease cleanse, temporary tanking, temporary high DPS) make any shaman more than their raid defined role. Shamans are utility players to a degree, they can almost anything (with the exception of tanking) at varying levels of performance depending on spec. An enhancement shaman can throw an emergency heal but you wouldn't want him main healing your first Kalecgos attempt. If it's desperately necessary to apply every last ounce of DPS and heals are solid a resto shaman can fire off a few reasonable lightning bolts but you're not likely to ask him to be your main source of DPS unless he or she way outgears the run. Between this ability to vary their own abilities and the usefulness of their various class features, shamans often find themselves being asked to do unique or interesting things as they move into raiding.Let's discuss how you can prepare for 10 and 25 man raids and what you'll find there.
YTMND: Endgame WoW Raiding Summed Up
My internet browsings brought me upon this YTMND page, and I thought it was funny enough to share with you all.Endgame raiding, for those of you who don't know, can get a little predictable at times. Each class has their pre-defined roles, and each has their own unique style to them. Each raider usually carries with him or her (possibly ill) conceived notions of what players of each class are like.For instance in my guild we usually poke fun at our Mages as being "emo mages," since they like to die a lot. Another one has lately been that I AFK tank, since when I get above 50k threat on the top DPS, there's very little chance they'll catch up to me (and on that note, they joke is on them, because as the main tank I often times do go AFK during phase two of Illidan.)Take a look at this moderately funny YTMND take on WoW Endgame raiding. And have your volume up a little, because as my girlfriend explained, "That's Little Spanish Flea! You know, Homer sings that all the time."
Warhammer Online preview talks endgame
We can never get enough Warhammer Online coverage, even if a particular preview is talking covering a lot of older information we're still interested. It just so happens that this Next-Gen.biz article is talking about old information in a pretty fresh way, which is always a bonus.It's always interesting to see someone else's take on a game you've been slowly forming an opinion about. The main focus of the article is on PvP and PvE, with a hint of the "war is everywhere" concept that EA Mythic have been working on. Essentially, both styles of gameplay feed directly into the endgame concept of faction warfare and all-out bloody battle. We do often find ourselves wondering how living guilds and the recent social network purchase by EA may play into the Warhammer Online endgame. Hm, yes, we certainly wonder.
Video, interview paint detailed picture of AoC raids
There's a two-pronged assault of Age of Conan raid content information at Ten Ton Hammer -- a 20 minute raid presentation video, and an interview with raid boss scripter Eirik Munthe. Both the presentation and the interview occurred at the AoC launch event in Oslo last week, and both were rich with information. It looks like the endgame content has some incremental innovations just like the lower-level stuff; that should make the hardcore crowd happy.In the presentation, bits and pieces of one of AoC's level 80, 24-person raids were shown to an audience with live commentary by Game Director Gaute Godager. Multiple bosses were shown, such as a poison-leaking monstrosity and two demons -- one ice, one fire -- who gain power when standing near one another. Godager explained the philosophy behind raiding and epic gear, and using collision detection in battle strategies. He revealed that raid groups will be able to call it a night halfway through a raid and finish any time they want (so long as it's before the raid expiration date -- one week after its start date). There was also a brief series of clips of a massive PvP siege.In the interview with Eirik Munthe we learned that Funcom put together strike teams consisting of designers, scripters, and writers. Each strike team focused its attentions completely on a 20-level span; for example, Munthe's team worked on content for player levels 60 - 80. Munthe described the challenges he faced when scripting encounters with some of AoC's unique features such as collision detection and CoE (cone of effect) healing in mind.
Ready Check: Death and Raid Guilds
Ready Check is a weekly column focusing on successful raiding for the serious raider. Hardcore or casual, ZA or Sunwell Plateau, everyone can get in on the action and get mad purpz. Today, we take a look at why endgame guilds die. This week, world-first guild Death and Taxes made an announcement which floored most of the raiding community: The End. Death and Taxes is no more. For a long time, raiders and non-raiders alike have been following the adventures of those guilds with the time and dedication to be competing for firsts. Seeing a household name disband, and not for April Fool's, is particularly poignant because it brings the message home that even the loftiest raid guilds are human too, subject to the same problems and drama as any other guild out there. There have been multiple reasons given for the disbanding of D'n'T -- what's most interesting about these is that many people have commented on the same things happening in their guild, or in guilds they know about. Were the problems introduced by The Burning Crusade and other Blizzard-based changes, such as paid character transfer? Or are they fundamentally the result of high expectations, raiding downtime and the ensuing attrition over two years? Let's take a look at some of the problems facing endgame guilds' longevity, and perhaps an insight into how to avoid the same fate.
Final Fantasy XI developers contemplate the endgame in a Q&A
A twelve-question Q&A session with the developers of Final Fantasy XI up at WarCry covers a laundry list of long-term player questions. The discussion centers on some particularly thorny issues for the highest of high end players. It also tackles with some persistent quality of life issues germaine to any Vana'diel adventurer. High-end players will enjoy the exploration of Dynamis, the ultimate conflict known as Absolute Virtue, and the ongoing problems with Named Monsters. All players will recognize the problems inherent in spellcaster food, battle music, and the possibility of changing nations.WarCry also has up a few notes from the upcoming June patch. Quality of Life sounds like the big priority for Square/Enix right now, with Synthesis, Armor Storage, and player housing Furnishings topping the list.
Anti-Aliased: Don't worry, no one will read it anyway...
Kill pathfinders and windtalkers. Forge a new blade. Look in an old library for a man's son. How many quests have we done in our careers in MMOs? Too many, right? That's usually the answer. But when I ask you, "Well, how many quest texts have you read?" Well... that's another story entirely.We complain about many things... the grind in our favorite games, raids and endgame content, nerfs... People are more than willing to spend time reading patch notes and outside guides for their favorite games, but there's one thing that apparently most gamers don't want to take the time to read. And, ironically enough, it's one of the few few things that spends the most time in front of a player's face - quest text boxes.Developers, you spend alot of time making sure your content is perfectly tuned into your lore and your history, but be rest assured, very few of your players will take the time to read it or care.
Curing mudflation before it starts
For many players, the mysteries of a virtual economy are best left as that -- a mystery. The numbers, the abundance of terminology, it all conspires to create an environment where players generally don't want to know why the economy works, they just know that they'd rather it did than it didn't. Is that really too much to ask?Steve Williams of Living Worlds proposes some potential solutions for curbing mudflation -- that seemingly unstoppable inflation that occurs at the endgame when players accrue large amounts of currency and the once high price of rare goods comes tumbling down. He proposes that it's actually possible to limit the amount of currency available in the economy by allowing players to use alternative currencies like vendor trash to barter for basic services like armor repairs. It makes sense, since repairs and vendor trash generally exist in limitless supply and don't actually need to be a part of the economy proper. This is only Part One of Williams' proposed system, so we'll have to check back again soon for his full set of ideas.
Age of Conan's raiding treadmill
Race to the level cap. If you're too slow, you lose. If your gear sucks, you lose MORE. The people who got there first have your number and know where you live. You finally struggle to max level -- but you need to raid to get the gear to continue. The game may be built around PvP, but you have to raid in order to get the gear to PvP. You need to raid to get the gear to do more raiding. Then comes the first expansion, and all your old gear is trash. Rinse and repeat. Thus goes the raiding treadmill. Invented by EverQuest and polished to a mirror-finish by World of Warcraft, the raiding treadmill is no stranger to MMOs.Does it really have to happen again? To see all there is to see and partake in all that can be partook, must we jump on the treadmill and, Red Queen-like, run as fast as we can, just to stay in one place? In a recent blog post, Keen looks at the Age of Conan news that performing in the top echelons of PvP in the Border Kingdoms will depend on grinding out mini-games and doing a fair amount of raiding for the gear to compete. In the end, he decides to purchase the game, despite indications he will not be able to fully enjoy the game. Must modern games still reward fanatical devotion so highly? Is there a way in which casual and hardcore players can both enjoy all the game? We'll know in May if Age of Conan's PvE-gameplay can satisfy gamers who don't wish to climb upon the raiding treadmill.
OMG! Tabula Rasa is dead!
Does that title sound familiar? It's almost like we've heard it before in various contexts. PC Gaming is dead! MMOs are dead! Single-player games are dead! Dumbledore is dead! Whoops. Sorry about that last one, it just slipped out.In a recent article at Eurogamer, they re-reviewed Tabula Rasa and proclaimed it more of an autopsy than a re-review. The article is very well-written, and makes a thorough point of comparing the current state of Tabula Rasa with an episode of CSI. Most of the problems they have stem from lack of end-game content and a crafting system, which are basically the same things we've heard for the last 6 months. They may have a point there. But whether you share the opinion of doom and gloom, or you're a dedicated fanboi, this article is certainly worth a read.
Blood Pact: Destro the only way to go?
Raiding warlocks have a very specific role - dealing damage. As we progress further in the high end-raiding game, one thing becomes more and more apparent. Our much-envied range of playstyles diminishes and we seem to be shoehorned, like other classes, into pretty much a single cookie-cutter spec. The spec in question is destruction or 0/21/40 specifically. This spec capitalizes on the wonderful scalability of shadow bolt and consistently outperforms affliction when good spell hit and crit gear becomes available. For a detailed look at the 0/21/40 build, check out my "A Warlock's descent into Destruction" article. I've recently respecced back to an affliction spec (40/0/21) just to revisit the good ol' days of mobility (instant DoTs) and an "unending" mana pool (Dark Pact). I know we tend to look back on the past with rose-colored glasses, and true enough, my experience with affliction again was ... less than satisfying. Why the difference?
The Daily Grind: Is endgame merely the beginning?
People who love MMOs tend to cite the fun of social, shared play as the reason. It's more fun to play together than alone. However, at the higher levels, when it becomes necessary to group just to stand a chance of completing a raid or instance, it becomes difficult to find a group of players of the same level as you -- unless you're already at the highest level you can attain. One thing to be said about reaching the ceiling is that you can stop worrying about leveling and concentrate on some good, solid 'endgame' content with a bunch of like-minded players.This begs the question: is all game content merely there to help you get to the endgame, at which time the fun truly begins? When you're bored with your top-level character, and you roll a new one, do you grit your teeth and sigh expressively through the lower-level content until you're back up on top? Once you've reached the heights, is the rest of the game still fun?
Ask Massively: Free epics for all!
The "Powers that be" at Massively have convinced me to put down my March Madness bracket long enough to present you, our loyal fans, with yet another edition of Ask Massively. If "They" would be so kind as to put down the heavy blunt object, I would be all too happy to amaze and astound you with my wit and wisdom. Of course, since my last remaining functional brain cell is about to die of loneliness, a sharp blow to the ol' noggin might help out.This week's column is going to focus a bit more on World of Warcraft. Specifically, the upcoming 2.4 patch. Now since nobody else at all has anything to say about this patch, and it is in danger of slipping completely under the radar of the typical World of Warcraft fan, I thought that I would pick a question from our readers that focuses on one of the most important changes in this patch To wit...Dear Massive MegalomaniacSince I'm sure that you are in a top end guild and have all of your top end gear, I was wondering what you thought about all of us casual players who are going to catch up to you in gear for the low, low price of a few Badges of Justice. How does it make you feel to work so hard on all those encounters and attunement quests only to see that content given away to those of us who have lives?-- The HA HA GuyWow. I think I like the brown-nosing emails a little more.If you would like to take a few potshots at me (in the form of a question), feel free to stop by our tipline, or send an email to ask AT massively DOT com. After the break, I'll have more on "Welfare Epics, Part Deux"
TurpsterVision: Don't tell Adam but I've been fooling around with EVE
Every Tuesday think "T" for Turpster and take the "a" in "day", capitalise it, remove the little bit in the middle, turn it upside down and you get a "V". Put the two together and you'll have TV for TurpsterVision -- the best Internet video podcast on Massively! (Never mind that business about it being the only video podcast on Massively...)It's Tuesday! Hooray! If you like having intellectual discussions about current political events and their impact on the everyday life of the brave men and women serving abroad fighting for our freedom then I am afraid you have come to the wrong place. I don't have a clue about the wars going on here on planet Earth. What I do know about however, is a MMO universe so vast and EPIC that I makes the petty struggles of this world seem insignificant. That is right folks; today we are flying and fighting for our very lives in the turbulent universe of EVE Online!Join us after the break if you think you are truly hardcore enough to play in a universe where you can Alt-Tab while you are meant to be working.
World of Noobcraft, the 2.4 debate
With the changes comes to World of Warcraft in 2.4, many of the hardcore raiders out there have begun wailing once more. Blizzard has removed the attunement requirements for Mount Hyjal and Black Temple, two of the most difficult 25-man raid encounters in the game, and also introduced new gear comparable to what can be found in those raids that you can purchase with badges from heroics. To some, this is tantamount to a whole new kind of "welfare epic" and demeans the accomplishments of the game's elite.As Ron at Gaming Today points out, this is exactly the kind of attitude that turns so many people off of MMOs in the first place. A tiny segment of the population, which considers itself the "core" of the developer's audience, raises a big stink because they feel they'll be losing some of their elite status. What they fail to realize is that Blizzard doesn't have a vested interest in their egos, and they would rather more people see the wonderful content that they've spent so much time laboring over. I never really got into the TBC end-game myself, but I'd consider getting back into the game knowing that the barrier for entry has been lowered. The system works!
We built this city: Age of Conan's constructible PvP city system previewed
During the week of GDC we talked briefly about the mounted combat in Age of Conan, part of the demo run for us by Gaute Godager. There was a great deal more to the demo, though, content very much worth talking about. The event started by reshashing the game's starting point, your rise from slave to adventurer in the wake of a ship wreck. We've discussed that experience, both in our own coverage of the game and in reference to work done by other sites. Probably the most interesting element of the demo, though, was the so-far little seen guild and guild city elements. Essentially a sort of RTS-lite element plopped down in the dead center of the game's endgame PvP, Age of Conan's city construction takes the crafting and housing elements we've seen in other games and explodes them out in some interesting directions. Read on for details on this new way of tackling a well-known game system.%Gallery-16341%
