expansions
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The Unlearning game
World of Warcraft constantly changes. It changes in patches in small ways (buffs change, spell power changes making a formerly useless ability stronger, or a strong ability weaker) and it changes between expansions in much larger ways. If I still played a fury warrior today the way I would have played one back in Wrath I'd be using Whirlwind as part of my rotation. Between player action (players roll alts, switch mains and change roles) and the game's inexorable forward progress, there are always new things to learn, which require us to unlearn what we did before. Factor in returning players who take weeks, months, even years off - I've seen a lot of Hey, I left the game in X expansion, what's different now emails in my time at WoW Insider - and you have a continuous problem for World of Warcraft in people who have, in essence, a different game in mind when they play. This issue affects gameplay in numerous ways, both for those players (and eventually, we're all those players) and for the game itself.
Snail previews Age of Wushu's scheming eunuch Rootless Clan
Want to get castrated and join "a cabal of scheming eunuchs?" Age of Wushu's Rootless Clan is for you. The martial arts sandbox game's upcoming Tempest of Strife expansion introduces the "mysterious yet heinous" new class which is an expert at both ranged and melee attacks. The AoW website features more info about the archetype's skills and abilities as well as a teaser video. Or you could just click past the cut to watch the latter. Hey, don't say Massively never did anything for you!
Age of Wushu celebrates anniversary with events, expansion info
Snail has unveiled a new page on its Age of Wushu website dedicated to celebrating the martial arts sandbox's anniversary. It contains links to various social media events as well as info on in-game activities including special world bosses, XP boosts, and more. The festivities run through April 24, 2014. The firm has also published a letter from AoW game director Hao Han that summarizes the upcoming Tempest of Strife expansion. Snail plans to launch said expansion soon.
The Daily Grind: What game deserves an expansion?
I'm actually really happy to see that Ultima Online might be getting expansions once again because I love seeing classic MMOs bucking the trend of fading away and becoming irrelevant. Actually, I'd really like to witness many more games get expansions, since an expansion gets the excitement, attention, and community interest like a mini-launch. That's always good for the genre as a whole. So what game deserves an expansion? What would you like to see in it? You get bonus points if you manage to go the entire comment without using the word "Cantha" in it! 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!
Expansions, redesign, and the balance of WoW
Between Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria, the warlock class saw a near-total redesign that, at this distant remove, we'd have to admit was a runaway success. Class redesigns are always a risky proposition - the dilemma is always between those who find the class reinvigorated and those that liked the class as it was, who now find it unfamiliar and undesirable to play. The reason I bring this up is because lately, while playing Reaper of Souls, I keep thinking about that warlock redesign and the fact that in RoS Blizzard managed to take a game people generally felt was an unsuccessful sequel and change it in a variety of ways, and in the process so utterly remake people's opinions of it that we get reviews like this in Forbes. This has me thinking about whether or not World of Warcraft is going to see this kind of radical redesign in Warlords of Draenor or not. On the face of it, we're aware of a lot of changes coming - the removal of reforging, stats like hit and expertise, the deflation of stats on gear, health and healing changes - but there's still a lot we don't know about how thorough the redesign of the game is going to be. Now, to be fair, RoS didn't make any significant mechanical changes - certainly nothing as dramatic as the warlock redesign was. And the warlock redesign came at a time when talents were completely overhauled as well. Clearly, there are various kinds of redesign in any expansion, but how does Warlords of Draenor compare? While we don't have a complete answer, we can compare it to previous expansions.
Diablo III's expansion moves 2.7 million first week copies
Reaper of Souls is popular, but is it as popular as Blizzard would like? Diablo III's expansion pack moved 2.7 million copies combined in retail and digital markets, which is well short of the 6.3 million units sold at DIII's 2012 original release. The expansion adds a new story act, a new class, a new game mode, and an increased level cap.
World of Warcraft shows off the 'redesigned' female Draenei
For far too long, Draenei have existed as bastions of unassailable beauty and elegance in World of Warcraft. We're told the race has fallen to the depths of the Broken and the Lost Ones, but you don't really see that in the game. Fortunately for fans, the new redesign to the female Draenei shows a closer connection between the various subtypes of the races, while simultaneously emphasizing the roots of the game's resident space goats. (Those roots would be "space" and "goat," incidentally. Truly.) Among the major changes Blizzard threatens to make to the model are the addition of fur, a slimming of the lower legs and hooves, and the removal of the ridiculously long tail from the model. The eye design also speaks to the ways in which this ancient and mystical race sees things in a way that most of Azeroth's residents can only imagine. It's a bit more of a departure from the existing model than the other redesigns, but take a look at the full diary for a closer look. And then remember what day it is. You don't need to reroll your Shaman as a Dwarf. We promise.
SWTOR's Galactic Strongholds expansion coming in August
Ready for Star Wars: The Old Republic's next expansion? Ready or not, it's called Galactic Strongholds, and it's coming some time in August of 2014. If you're a subscriber you'll get early access beginning on June 24th, and you'll also get a handful of exclusives including a Nar Shaddaa Sky Palace Stronghold. Expansion features include customizable player housing known as strongholds, the ability to live on multiple planets, and guild flagships. BioWare says that housing decor will be available in a number of ways. "Many decorations will be available on existing vendors throughout the game as new rewards for Reputations, PvP, Crew Skills, and more," according to the SWTOR website. "While some of these decorations will be available for credits and other currencies, many will require components created by crafters. Decorations can also be obtained as loot drops from Flashpoints and Operations. Finally, a variety of unique decorations can be purchased with Cartel Coins on the Cartel Market. " Click past the cut for the trailer!
Here's the latest Age of Wushu expansion teaser
Age of Wushu's latest expansion is on the way, and Snail has updated its website with a lengthy blurb focused on Tempest of Strife's Xu Family Manor sect. Sects are basically the martial arts sandbox MMO's answer to traditional genre classes, and Xu Family characters boast heroic alignment, melee attacks, and a signature move called the Black Ink Ruler skill. AoW's Xu Family teaser video is embedded for your viewing pleasure just after the break.
Diablo III shows off expansion gameplay as the auction house closes
Are you ready to continue the adventures of John Diablo as he fights the nefarious forces of Reaper McSoul? Probably not, as that's not even close to the plot of the Diablo III expansion Reaper of Souls. A new gameplay trailer for the expansion has just been released and is available past the break, showing off the new regions, new abilities, and the new class. The expansion launches next week, so you don't have to wait long to try all of this out for yourself. The game's real-money auction house has also finally breathed its last today, with the service currently shut down in the Americas. This goes hand-in-hand with the features of Reaper of Souls that are designed to keep loot drops more relevant and interesting for players. If the trailer is any indication, there are still plenty of demons to be slain -- you just won't be dropping real money to do any of that.
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?
How much should an expansion cost?
We've talked about this briefly in a recent Breakfast Topic, but that's not the same as actually standing up and taking a position on an issue, and I (specifically, I, Matthew Rossi, not all of WoW Insider) do have a position on this one - namely, that this expansion will likely contain as much if not more gameplay, art assets, and overall design work as any game coming out, and that frankly the last couple of expansions have been under what they should have cost. I didn't come to this decision in a vacuum, either - I come to it as someone who does not want to pay the price as established. I'm extremely penurious. almost outright parsimonious when it comes to money. I don't like spending it. So when I heard how much the expansion was going to cost (the day the pre-orders became available) I immediately balked at it. It's only ten bucks more to buy Titanfall, I said to myself, and that's a completely new game. And then I read this post by Kim Acuff (who often comments here at WoW Insider as Ember Dione) a developer on Skylanders, and I started to rethink my position on the relative cost of the expansion, how much it should cost, and the validity of the whole "as expensive as a new game" discussion. Because here's the fact - each WoW expansion has effectively been a new game.
Allods Online outlines changes to the Astral
The Astral is a big part of Allods Online, the big twisting magical space upon which the fragments of land float steadily. Adventuring in this space is a big part of high-level play, and with the game's next major update it's seeing a large-scale overhaul. A new official posting reveals how the environment will be changing and how players will navigate the new regions, hunting down valuable equipment in unexplored regions. With the new update, the map will be divided into four layers of seven sectors each, with better gear available as players unlock maps leading into deeper and more dangerous regions. Players piece together maps by retrieving fragments of said maps in the Wild Shore and will be exploring eight new Astral islands in total. For more information on these changes, including the sector breakdown and the improvements to ship equipment, take a look at the full development blog and get ready for exploration.
Path of Exile previews its first mini-expansion, Sacrifice of the Vaal
The first mini-expansion for Path of Exile is coming out on March 5th, and it's meant to be a big one. This isn't supposed to just improve and expand the core game but to set the pace for the game's upcoming update structure and future expansions. So today is serving as the first preview of the update, teasing the lore behind Sacrifice of the Vaal as well as outlining the future reveals. Players will be set against Queen Atziri and the Vaal corruption she has spread throughout the land, as they try to harvest these malicious powers for their own ultimate ends. It's also hinted that players may have to sacrifice before the expansion is over if they want to put down this threat. The development team is hoping that Sacrifice of the Vaal will be the start of a four-month update schedule for the game, so players should keep their eyes peeled -- more reveals are coming before the March 5th launch date.
SOE outlines upcoming content plan for EverQuest II
Dave Georgeson, who must be the busiest man on Earth right now, has penned a director's letter for fans of EverQuest II explaining how Sony Online Entertainment plans to change the way in which it delivers new content to the nine-year-old game. According to Georgeson, the fan response to SOE's current method of content delivery (three big updates, one expansion, and a bunch of smaller stuff in between) was a resounding "meh," so the studio is looking to shake things up. Future content for EverQuest II will now work like this: Feature refinements, short adventures, holiday events, and other small content will launch every week. Every month, a bigger addition will be made, such as an overhaul an existing dungeon, the addition of a series of quests, or the creation of a new world event. All other resources will be invested into developing full expansions for the game, which are still slotted for annual releases. Georgeson promises that SOE is locked into the new schedule, saying, "Yes, we mean it. We're going to work hard to make it happen regularly and dependably."
Star Trek Online celebrates its fourth anniversary with a look back at the previous year
This year, Star Trek Online turns four years old. So how do you celebrate four years of operation on a single game? Well, in this case, you start with a look back over the past year. The newest trailer from the team at Cryptic Studios, embedded just past the break, shows off the highlights of 2013 in Star Trek Online for players who've been away from the game or those who would just like a quick refresher. So what happened? Lots of stuff. The game launched its first full expansion with Legacy of Romulus, players took on the Voth and met up with Worf again, and a whole lot of seasonal fun was had with jetpacks and animated snowmen. But you don't need us to tell you about all of that, do you? The trailer's ready to show you all of that and offer a few glimpses into the future. Why not take a look?
EVE Evolved: EVE needs real colonisation now
MMOs have absolutely exploded in popularity over the past decade, with online gaming growing from a niche hobby to a global market worth billions of dollars each year. Once dominated by subscription games like EverQuest and World of Warcraft, recent years have seen free-to-play games take centre stage. Global MMO subscriptions have been reportedly shrinking since 2010, and EVE doesn't appear to be immune to this industry-wide trend. Though February 2013's figures showed EVE subscriptions have technically grown year-on-year, those numbers were published just after the Chinese server relaunch, and CCP hasn't released any new figures since. Developers have done a good job of catering to current subscribers and polishing existing gameplay with the past few expansions, but the average daily login numbers are still the same as they were over four years ago. EVE will undoubtedly hook in plenty of new and returning subscribers when its deep space colonisation gameplay with player-built stargates and new hidden solar systems is implemented, but time could be running out on these features. Hefty competition is due in the next few years from upcoming sandbox games such as Star Citizen, EverQuest Next, Camelot Unchained, and Elite: Dangerous, and CCP will have to release something big soon to bring in some fresh blood. In this week's EVE Evolved, I ask whether CCP should focus on new players and suggest plans for two relatively simple colonisation-based expansions that could get EVE a significant part of the way toward its five-year goal in just one year.
The Daily Grind: What do you expect from an MMO expansion?
When World of Warcraft's Warlords of Draenor expansion was revealed last month, I was stoked to see what will be included but disappointed to see what will not -- namely, a new class or race. Admittedly, not every WoW expansion has seen these two additions, but each one has seen one or the other. It's not a rule, spoken or otherwise; it's just become something that folks expect. Thinking it over, I also found that I expect several additions in any expansion for any games: some sort of new landmass to explore, new gear to wear, and usually some new mechanic or skill for character development. In WoW, I'd certainly expect a level cap bump too, though I'd grumble about powercreep in most others (don't go getting any ideas, Guild Wars 2)! Let's put aside quibbles over the line between expansions and patches today and just focus on expansions. What, specifically, do you expect out of a content release that a studio labels an "expansion"? 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!
Continent of the Ninth Seal announces fourth expansion, releases Rahkdan's Counterattack
Webzen has announced that its free-to-play hack-and-slasher Continent of the Ninth Seal (or C9, if you prefer) is getting a new expansion. This expansion, the game's fourth, will be released in three parts, the first of which -- titled Rahkdan's Counterattack -- will be available to all players on November 27th, with dates and details on parts two and three to be announced. Rahkdan's Counterattack is bringing with it a bevy of behind-the-scenes work, including "a server-wide character rebalance." The press release states that "The skill damage for most classes will be updated, as well as the monster difficulty." In addition, new questlines are being added to the Okapia and Sarad continents, and "new Epic items will be dropped from the Second through Sixth continents." On top of that, the future installments of the expansion will include "the long-awaited announcement of a brand new basic class" in addition to a new advanced class. To learn more about C9 or to get in on the action yourself, click on through to the game's official site. [Source: Webzen press release]
EVE Evolved: Getting ready for Rubicon
EVE Online's Rubicon expansion goes live in just two days on Tuesday, November 19th, introducing four brand-new personal deployable structures and revamping PvP across the board with a seemingly innocuous warp acceleration fix. The expansion represents the first step in new Senior Producer Andie Nordgren's plan to bring true player-run deep-space colonisation to EVE Online. The new Mobile Depot that can be placed anywhere in space is possibly the most sandboxy feature since the introduction of player-owned starbases back in 2004. Players have been coming up with plans for the device since its first announcement, but I think we'll see its true potential revealed in the coming weeks and months. If you've been saving up your Sisters of EVE loyalty points to get your hands on the faction's new exploration ships, be prepared to buy and build the blueprints as soon as the server comes up. These will be the first pirate faction ship blueprints that are available in high-security space, and a recent devblog confirmed that players have been collecting Sisters of EVE loyalty points like crazy lately in anticipation of the expansion, but those who get the built ships to market first will make an absolute killing. For the rest of us, getting ready for the expansion means planning where to set up a Mobile Depot for some quick profit-making enterprise or building a few small PvP ships to put the new warp speed mechanics to the test. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the best places to set up a Mobile Depot, re-consider the lure of low-security space, and propose adapting your PvP fleets to take advantage of the warp acceleration changes.
