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Runes of Magic introduces 6,000 Euros Challenge
Last week, Runes of Magic fans were happy to hear that Chapter III: The Elder Kingdoms will be arriving in May. This week, the celebration continues with a game of virtual hide and seek for some serious real-world cash. The Runewalker -- a powerful Zurhidon mage -- will appear on a randomly selected European server every day for five days for the Runes of Magic 6,000 Euros Challenge. The first player to track him down will receive a bundle of items from the item shop. If you're not the first to find him, don't give up. Every player to challenge the Runewalker will be entered in a daily drawing for 1,000 Euros. On Friday, there will be a final drawing in addition to the regular daily drawing: every account that logged in during the contest period will be entered for another prize of 1,000 Euros, whether they challenged the Runewalker or not. The hunt is on as of today, and will continue through Friday the 19th. Take a look at all the details here, and good luck!
Runes of Magic releases new trailer with patch 2.1.6
"The time has come to confront the Demon Lord." Frogster released the latest update for Runes of Magic earlier today, a patch that added Demon Stronghold to the game. Demon Stronghold is a challenging new 12-man raid that reportedly brings some surprises to the table at its end, requiring players to think fast and fight even faster. We saw a nice array of screenshots recently, but if you'd like a better peek at the action before you head in, Frogster is happy to oblige. They released a brand new trailer for Demon Stronghold today, giving nearly two minutes of in-game footage from beginning to end. It's a fast-paced, but extensive trailer, giving a nice look at the dungeon as well as an array of the baddies waiting to take you on. To top it all off, the video's finale gives us a preview of the Demon Lord himself. This is one that you'll want to visit more than once in order to take in the surroundings -- but don't look around too long, Demon Lord Sirloth is waiting! Follow along after the jump for a look at the trailer.
Runes of Magic offering diamonds for surveys
Looking for a way to stock up on some Runes of Magic diamonds, but a bit short on cash? Well, the folks at Frogster Interactive have taken a page from things like Facebook games, and are offering a method to trade a bit of your time for some diamonds. Through their new partnership with Sponsorpay, Runes of Magic players are able to take surveys and check out products and score a certain amount of free diamonds per offer. All you have to do is to log in to the RoM site, go to the diamond purchase page, select your server, and then select the free diamonds option. From there, you'll be taken to a page that will offer several different surveys or trial offers you can check out. With that said, as with any 'lead generation for in game cash' scenario you run across on the Internet, always make sure you read the fine print. The last thing players will want is those free diamonds hitting them in the wallet later because they didn't.
Runes of Magic unleashes Demon Lord in new dungeon
When Runes of Magic launched with the subtitle 'Rise of the Demon Lord' somehow we knew there would be a day when we faced off against the big guy. Sure enough, the folks at Frogster Interactive and Runewaker Entertainment have finally unleashed His Terrible Demonicness on the world of Taborea in the form of a shiny new 12-player dungeon. Located in the Naga Plains, Demon Stronghold is a richly textured raid area, offering four mini-bosses before you come up against the Demon Lord Sirloth. Word is that the final fight is a 4-phase battle, which will challenge players to think fast. Those adventurers who succeed in defeating him will be able to carry off the Demon Lord's weapons. We've gathered up some concept art and screenshots from this shiny new raid and piled them into a gallery for you to check out. Considering how cool this area looks, we're curious to see what kinds of goodies players will carry off from this new raid instance. Should be tasty! %Gallery-83632%
Runes of Magic brings more new content with Gates of Acropolis patch
Runes of Magic has a nice holiday gift for its fans in the form of new content, something we're always happy to hear about. Patch 2.1.5. -- Gates of the Acropolis -- brings the start of the Snowflake Festival, new elite skills for Elven characters, new quests, and an expansion of the plant system. The centerpiece of this patch, though, is the Zurhidon Stronghold, a brand new 12-man raid. The Zurhidon Stronghold continues the story began in "Rise of the Demon Lord." The stronghold is a huge bulwark placed by the Naga as part of their Acropolis on the Aotulia Volcano. Players can explore the fortress in parties of twelve, navigating among the lava streams and eventually taking on Sirloth, envoy of the Demon Lord. The end of the instance will bring about a battle with the Demon Lord himself, so make sure you're well prepared! The new content for Runes of Magic will be available tomorrow.
Runes of Magic grabs another trophy for their efforts
"Best International PC Game of 2009." That's the title handed to Runes of Magic from the German Game Developer Awards public vote, which was awarded last night to the team in Berlin. German gamers were invited to vote for their favorite game of 2009, and Runes of Magic took the vote and beat out other German games like Risen and Anno 1404 to claim the title. To go along with the news, Frogster has announced that Runes of Magic has claimed 2.5 million players in the US, Europe, and Korea all together. We've always been impressed with Runes of Magic's quality gameplay mixed with their free-to-play subscription structure and this award is well deserved. Congratulations to the Runes of Magic team on their newest accomplishment!
One Shots: We don't need no water
When it comes to places to take a nice relaxing ride, we have to admit -- lava pits inhabited with giant angry monsters don't often come to mind for us. For some reason, Remei, who sent in today's Runes of Magic One Shots, thought it would be a good place to mount up and capture a scenic postcard to send in. Brave or crazy -- you decide! Have you been exploring parts of your favorite game that we haven't seen here? All games are welcome, all images too! Send us combat, posed shots, landscapes, you name it, to oneshots AT massively DOT com. Some information like your name, the name of the game, and a description of what's going on in the screenshot is awesome too. We'll post it up here and give you credit. Alternately, you could put yourself in danger and snap a picture of that as well. It's all up to you.%Gallery-9798%
Runes of Magic Save the Children charity event
Frogster is kicking off the holiday season in Runes of Magic in the best way possible -- by running a promotion designed to give back to a good cause. Runes of Magic has a brand new mount available in their item shop: the Moa's Charity Steed, pictured above. While most mounts are priced at 395 diamonds, this one has a special promo price of 295 diamonds. The Charity Steed is aptly named: every time someone purchases one of these new mounts, Frogster will donate 3 Euros ($4.50 USD) to the Save the Children Deutschland charity organization. Save the Children is a worldwide agency that is working in over 50 countries to improve the lives of children through parent education, literacy and nutrition programs, immunization clinics, and acting as advocates for children's rights. (The German site can be viewed here.) The event is going on now and will last until December 28th, so you have plenty of time to pick up your new mount and enjoy doing a good deed.
One Shots: Tyger tyger burning bright
While we're not quite sure what to make of this mount with the lion's head, antlers and odd electrical charges seeming to jump off its body, we can say it's a fairly pretty beastie - and it matches her outfit too. Add in a cliff overlooking the water with the purple mountains off in the snowy distance and you've got a nifty Runes of Magic screenshot. This picture postcard comes from Aetheress, who writes:This is my first time sending in a screenshot and I thought this was cool. I started playing Runes of Magic and it is incredibly enjoyable. This is a screenshot of me on a cliff in Ystra Highlands with an awesome costume, mount, and wings. We love to see screens from MMOs both big and small, but we need you to send them in! It's really easy to do - just drop an email to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and a quick description. We'll post it out here for everyone to check out, and give you the credit.%Gallery-9798%
Runes of Magic cracks open the Lair of the Demon Dragon
What's more threatening to the world of Taborea than a dragon? A demon dragon, obviously! Duh! The only thing more threatening than that would be a emo teen-vampire dragon, but it's good that the team at Runewaker didn't go that far. (Or did they?)This Thursday, the wrath of the demon dragon will be unleashed upon all high level players in patch 2.1.3. The dungeon contained in Aotulia Volcano is the new hardest 12 man raid in the game -- a worthy challenge to players at the top of their endgame.Even if you're not super high level, the patch will also be introducing a cleaned up crafting system with a new, intuitive UI, and the special "Autumn Harvest" festival. Players will be able to stuff their faces at banquet tables scattered across the land in addition to participating in special holiday themed daily quests. So don't be afraid to jump in and enjoy the new patch this Thursday!
Runes of Magic and Playspan team up for game cards
Runes of Magic has been enjoying a nice burst of success recently, and as a free-to-play game one of the biggest things that helps it is increased visibility and access to the game's microtransaction system. So it should come has little surprise that Frogster Interactive has teamed up with PlaySpan to start moving branded game cards into 7-Eleven stores, improving both visibility and accessibility in one fell swoop. In addition, Diamonds will be purchasable at PlaySpan's online store, already a hub for several popular free-to-play game currencies. The game cards, which will come in $10 and $25 denominations, can be redeemed for in-game mounts, enhancements, and other improvements. Overall, this deal will give Runes of Magic a game card presence in over 46 thousand stores inside the US, a high visibility for a fairly young game that's pushing a still-developing business model. And it's certainly not going to hurt that you can pick up some game currency at the same time you grab a soda and one of those little taquito things for a snack on your way home from work.
Runes of Magic's milestone numbers
Free-to-play MMOs have been staking out an impressive share of the gaming audience, and one of their poster children is Runes of Magic. Frogster Interactive, is understandably pleased with the success that the game has enjoyed, so they've taken the time to share some interesting figures of the game's popularity. The most recent chapter of the game, The Elven Prophecy, was released only a couple of months ago. Since then, over fifteen million quests have been completed (even more staggering when one considers that the game has recently cleared the two million mark for registered players). A quarter of a million bosses have been brought down in that span of time, as well as over sixteen million items crafted. Even allowing that some of those were likely craft grind fodder, those are impressive numbers. Of course, one of the wonderful parts about any sort of free-to-play game is that any curiosity about the game can be satisfied by playing right away, which has no doubt contributed to the success Runes of Magic has enjoyed thus far. While it's not the biggest name in the industry, it's experiencing a groundswell of popularity, good news both for fans of the game and the business model alike.
Happy Halloween from Taborea
Earlier this week we mentioned that Runes of Magic is one of the many games celebrating Halloween for the next week or so, but their celebration is definitely worth a closer look. The party in Taborea includes everyone's favorite event: a giveaway. Give your character a Bat Witch Hat on us, and keep an eye on the Runes of Magic Facebook and Twitter pages for more freebies. If a hat isn't enough to satisfy your Halloween spirit, decorate yourself, your house, and even your pet with the Halloween bundles. They'll be around until November 1st. Once you're suited up and decorated to your heart's content, log in and show it off for the in-game decoration contest. Screenshot your costume, house, or guild castle and send it in by the 28th for a chance to win an in-game Halloween decoration. You'll also want to keep your costume on for the in-game events from the Community Events Team. There are three games to participate in: Hide-n-Seek, Your Scary Costume, and Offer to the Goblin King, scheduled for each Friday and Tuesday until Halloween. Finally, RoM goes real life -- they want photos of your real life Halloween decorations that have a Runes of Magic theme. Send them in by the 30th, and if your entry is posted you'll win even more in-game goodies. Runes of Magic has put together quite a party - happy Halloween from Taborea, indeed.
The Zurhidon take revenge on Runes of Magic's European servers
European servers, prepare for war! Runes of Magic is digging deep into MMO playbook history, and they've chosen to pull out a classic move -- the GM controlled event. The mysterious Zurhidon have reappeared in Taborea, and it's up to the players to repel their attacks!Each week, starting tomorrow the 14th and continuing until November 25th, two European servers will feel the wrath of the Zurhidon. Players will be notified what channel the event will be taking place on shortly before the event, and they'll be informed of the event's location at the same time as well. All attacks will take place at 7 PM BST (6 PM GMT.) At least no one can call the Zurhidon unpredictable!Accompanying the waves of spawns will be two Zurhidon generals who will be, of course, controlled by some wrath seeking GMs. Glory awaits those who can hold back the horde, while death will only bring pain (virtual pain) and loss (experience debt!)
Runes of Magic introduces diamond cards at Target
Runes of Magic is expanding their diamond trade to a black market. A black market of diamond and goods trade so black that their red ring logo demands fear and respect. They call this place... Target.Odd movie introductions aside, Runes of Magic is offering their diamonds in new cash card form! For those of us who don't want to run out and throw a credit or debit card at the RoM website, we can now just visit Target and pick up some diamonds (the game's cash shop currency) in our next shopping run at the local strip mall.
Runes of Magic hits 2 million mark
Frogster-Interactive announced an exciting milestone for their free-to-play MMO Runes of Magic today: they have recorded over 2 million registrations. The first chapter, Rise of the Demon Lord, was released only six months ago in English and German language versions. Runes of Magic increased in popularity with every month leading up to the recent September release of Chapter 2, The Elven Prophecy. The second chapter expanded RoM to include Spanish and French language versions, further increasing the game's reach and popularity. A Russian language version is well underway, and plans for further versions are being made to bring RoM to a wider audience. Additionally, RoM has been consistent about treating players to smaller content updates to keep things interesting. Rolf Klöppel, Director of Marketing & PR for Frogster, says "Runes of Magic has become a mega-seller in the few months since we launched. The 2 million registrations milestone we have now hit is yet further proof of the quality of our game and our communication strategy." Congratulations to the Runes of Magic team!
Runes of Magic reveals new dungeon
Free to play MMO Runes of Magic will release another content update next week for Chapter 2, The Elven Prophecy. The Cave of the Water Dragon will be the newest instance from Frogster for players to explore. Six player teams (with a level cap of 55) can quest from Polython to the Throne of Water in the Weeping Coast, where they will meet Zanordoth, King of Water Dragons. Zanordoth is facing a problem that most parents of teenagers are familiar with: his son Lytfir woke up a bit cranky one morning, and turned against all humans. King Zanordoth banished him to a dark cave, but needs help putting the young dragon back to sleep. Players are given the task of collecting several items that will earn a crystal ball used to capture Lytfir and put him back to sleep, effectively sending him to his room until his attitude improves.Cave of the Water Dragon is scheduled for release next week, with a teaser trailer to hold you over until then.
Bounty Bay Online's upcoming expansion to introduce PvP tournaments
Beyond the Horizon, the free expansion to Bounty Bay Online, has been confirmed by Frogster as on track for its intended Q4 2009 launch. Along with this good news, they also updated their expansion teaser site with details that are sure to please PvPers. Beyond the Horizon will introduce a new weekly PvP tournament system, offering 1v1, 2v2 and 5v5 battles, with both prizes and a highly detailed ranking system.But since Bounty Bay Online features sea and land combat, the question must be asked: which of these locations will the tournaments be held at? The answer is "both". Two new arenas will be added to the game, one for land and the other for sea combat. The player will get to choose which type of battle they want to register for, which is kind of too bad, from a comedy perspective -- imagine turning up for a sea battle without a boat.
Runes of Magic goes tower defense
Now here's something you don't see everyday in your MMO -- tower defense. Runes of Magic's newest PvP arena, Visdun Fortress, is a tower defense battle between two teams of three players.For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of tower defense, the objective is simple -- use stationary towers to defend your side of the board to make sure no monsters come in and reach your base. Towers can be usually made in different flavors, such as ice towers to slow down monsters, fire towers to damage monsters and burn them over time, etc. Towers can also be upgraded as the game progresses, as defeating monsters yields points you can spend on more towers or tower upgrades.
New Runes of Magic area "Autolia Volcano" to melt faces this month
Runewalker Entertainment and Frogster Interactive have put word out that a new area is coming to Runes of Magic at the end of September. The "Autolia Volcano" is actually part of the Chapter II: The Elven Prophecy expansion that was just released under a week ago, and will be another high-level region for players to progress after the Savage Lands on their journey to the new level cap of 55. And yes, the graphic above does appear to have a spelling error (it's spelled "Volcano" every time in the news article). The Naga race call the volcano home, so be prepared to engage these scaly foes if you choose to visit. Right at the foot of the volcano is the sprawling Naga city -- perhaps not the smartest place to build, but it doesn't sound like they had much choice after getting their scaly tails kicked in the Great War.Ahead of the zone being released, there are a couple of ways you can get a small taste of what's coming. An article on the Runes of Magic website has two pages worth of detailed lore about the area, its points of interest and its inhabitants to read through. For those who aren't into the whole reading thing, we've got a trailer just past the break that you can watch instead.
