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Still need a Mythos closed beta key? Get one now!
Welcome to round three of the Mythos Europe closed beta key giveaway! If you missed out on the last two giveaways, we've got another chance for you -- we've managed to get our hands on another 250 keys. The drill is the same as before: grab a key from our giveaway page, create a Mythos Europe account if you haven't done so, then enter your beta key! If the last two giveaways are any indication, these will go fast, so grab one quickly if you want in. Closed beta is going on now, so you can get started right away -- have fun!
More Mythos Europe beta keys for you
With the closed beta underway for Mythos Europe, many players who tried the beta back when Flagship was developing the game are champing at the bit to get in. Of course, those testers aren't the only ones who are excited, if our free closed beta key giveaway the other day was any indication! Our initial batch of keys flew off our code server incredibly quickly, and we received comments, tweets, and emails asking for more keys! Well, being the givers that we are here at Massively, we got in touch with our friends at Frogster and asked for another batch. The studio was only too happy to oblige, and as such, we have 250 more closed beta keys for you! All you have to do to pick one up is to head for our giveaway page and grab your very own Mythos Europe closed beta key. From there, point your browser at the Mythos page to set up your account. After that's all done, simply enter your username and key code and get your download on. A colorful, crazy adventure awaits -- so get moving if you want to grab a key before they're gone!
Exclusive: Mythos displays Lamento armor sets
Hanibitsoft and European publisher Frogster gave Massively the skinny on three armor sets revealed in the new fantasy MMO Mythos. Merchants on Heaven Island offer special armor sets to players with enough points from Lamento battles. Players form teams to face off against other groups in these contests of glory and special prizes. The Lamento sets of armor are specially designed to visually complement each other when worn as a complete suit. In addition to the stat increases given by individual pieces, the armor grants characters extra bonuses when the player equips more than one piece at a time. The bonus stats increase at 2, 5, 8, 11, and 13 collected pieces. The weapons and shields will vary, and each armor set contains two different sets of attributes for each of the three classes. Gadgeteers don the Pure White Soul armor set; Bloodletters strap on the Dark Plains or Snow Field armor; Pyromancers ignite the world in their Firestorm robes. In the gallery below, we've uploaded your first look at these enchanting suits. If you are interested in finding out more about the myth behind Mythos, march over to the official site and sign up for the closed beta going on right now. %Gallery-10781%
Lost Pages of Taborea: An interview with Dynamedion
A lot of people like music in video games, and for good reason. Today there are some amazing tracks being recorded by professionals and artists for us to listen to as we own noobs, take down mighty dragons, and explore serene vistas. The world of video game composing even has its own fanbase filled with players who pay close attention to who is making the musical score to tomorrow's buzz-worthy game. I have personally clawed around in the dark for months looking for scraps of information on Runes of Magic's soundtrack. Some fragments have been unearthed here and there, but I was finally able to get in touch with the source. Dynamedion is the music production company behind many of the tracks in RoM. It has a number of games listed on its resume, including Halo Legends, Alan Wake, Call of Duty 4 and many more. I nabbed an interview with some of the lead composers to try to get some more information about the music in RoM. Where did the inspiration for these tracks come from? Who worked on them? Did they steal all the music from Bardy Woods? Set your metronome to epic fantasy and click to read on.
Triple the class coming for Runes of Magic
If you're a Runes of Magic player, you've got something big to look forward to in about a month and a half. The latest official podcast not only dates Chapter IV for an April 6th release (barring unforeseen technical issues) but discusses in more detail what can be found within the update. A new starting area for the game is certainly a nice piece of news, but it's not the centerpiece of the announcement -- that would be the fact that the update will be moving the game from its current dual-class system to a triple-class system. The change might sound a bit subtle, but it's actually a rather large shift. Unlike the current system, which allows players to have a primary class active and a second class "in reserve," this system will give you two classes with full access to all abilities, with a third class in reserve. That means access to a much wider range of abilities -- rather than only having access to the general skills of a secondary class, players will have all the skills of two classes, with a third class of general skills on top. Runes of Magic players will want to listen to the announcement, starting at about 10 minutes into the podcast.
The MMO Report: TERA-fying exclusive edition
Another week, another pile of news delivered to us by your snarktastic friend and ours, Casey Schreiner. So grab your boxers, Bertie, because we're going in fast and furious! First up, it's a nod to us (yay!) for our post on ArenaNet's statements in regard to Guild Wars 2 alpha and beta dates. Whether it's likely 2011 or 2012, all we have to say, in the most memetastic method we can manage, is "do want." Next it's a note on RIFT's trailer made with in-game footage and the impending release date, which are both scoring high on the "hell yes" scale this week. The StarCraft 2 MM-faux mod is also mentioned, now that Blizzard has had its chance to crack down on the author. Next, Casey and the MMO Report crew are proud to present their exclusive TERA video featuring footage of Mount Tyrannas, which you can get a taste of during Casey's newscast. Of course, if you're more in the mood to experience it without Casey's dulcet tones atop it, you can check out the video on the G4TV site as well. Finally, it's a bittersweet note on Warhammer Online servers, which are being merged in order to keep the population together. Add in a dash of crazy courtesy of Uncle Casey's Mailbag, and stir to taste. Now that we've had a merry romp through metaphor and pop-culture references alike, we'll borrow a nod from Casey and sign off. Don't forget you can catch The MMO Report every Thursday on G4TV!
Lost Pages of Taborea: Community spotlight
Runes of Magic's second anniversary is not far off now. In the nearly two solid years since the official launch, a thriving gaming community has been cultivated. Within this active community are some talented players who weren't satisfied with just playing RoM. For whatever reasons, these players ventured outside the digital confines of the game to share their talents and their adventures through the land of Taborea. I wanted to highlight a handful of members of this talented community that has evolved around RoM. Some have made outstanding guides, while others have made useful websites or fun blogs. There's a lot of great talent on the official forum and within the addon community, to be sure, but I tried to focus on examples of great forum guides and others who have stepped further away to do their own thing. Click past the break to see if you made the list.
Frogster sends Save the Children 82,000€ check
While Frogster Interactive, as a company, has been dealing with some rough times of late, the players of both Runes of Magic and Bounty Bay Online have opened up their hearts -- and their wallets -- to do some good. Recently, players in both games have had the option to pick up certain special mounts and ship covers to help fund the Save the Children initiative in Bhutan. Frogster kept a small portion of proceeds from the item sales to cover VAT and basic administration costs, while Runewaker waived its share of all profits from those items. While previous fundraising in Frogster's free-to-play games has always been met with great success, this year players more than doubled last year's 40,000€ raised for Save the Children by raising 82,000€! This year's initiative was to assist the families in Bhutan, a small landlocked country in the Himalayas sandwiched between India and China that is home to a burgeoning Democratic government. Due to the major cultural shifts occurring in the country, children are inundated with information via internet and cable TV while their parents are unable to read and write -- let alone navigate the newfound technological morass they find themselves thrust into. Save the Children seeks to build schools for the children as well as help Bhutani families navigate the influx of new technology, all while preserving the country's cultural heritage for future generations. According to a press release, Kathrin Wieland, Executive Director of Save the Children Germany e.V., was surprised and delighted at the great generosity of the gamers: "I am very happy about the engagement of Frogster and its players, which allows us to clear a path for these children to a positive future." We certainly wish Save the Children the very best of luck with the hard work ahead and applaud Frogster and Runewaker as well as the giving players of Runes of Magic and Bounty Bay Online who have made that work possible.
One Shots: Where dust devils dwell
One of the best things about MMOs is that no matter what you're used to in terms of real-world locales, you can probably find the exact opposite somewhere out there amongst the myriad games we play. Spend all day cooped up in a very urban area? Escape to the fields and meadows of a fantasy land! Sick and tired of dealing with snow, ice, slush, and all that goes with it? Why not spend some time enjoying the heat and desolate landscapes of Runes of Magic's desert areas? This screenshot comes in to us from Terenth, who is sharing his journey through Runes of Magic with us here on One Shots. He writes in to explain that this is an image of "[t]he morning sun rising over the mountains in Dust Devil Canyon." Whether the game is huge or small, we love to see screenshots of the MMOs people enjoy playing. If you'd like to share an image from your favorite game, send it in to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. It couldn't be easier! %Gallery-112285%
Lost Pages of Taborea: One crafter's obsession
Let me start this week off by telling you a little story of one crafter's obsession, of how he feels about crafting in MMOs, and what he hopes and dreams for. I love crafting. I want more of it. Whenever I loaded up Runes of Magic, it was the first thing I got my grubby virtual hands on. Now, I know there are a lot of people who will say they like crafting, but I'm here to separate us even further by telling you what I really think about when I want more crafting. I see lots of threads on the forums about how many people want crafting in RoM. There's a lot of conversation over how much work it should require and how much it should pay off. I feel disconnected from a lot of those players. I feel that we aren't truly like-minded. My brain doesn't run in the same direction. What the heck am I babbling about? Read on to find out.
Frogster not giving in to hacker's demands
Free-to-play giant Frogster isn't playing along with Cpt.Z3r0, a hacker who resorted to blackmail and account theft to voice his views about the company's customer service and forum culture. Frogster, which publishes Runes of Magic, was stung by the release of over 2,000 RoM account names and passwords to its public forum last month, and has since been working to repair the damage done to its security systems as well as its reputation. "Our team has to focus and work on making the system more secure, on managing the whole incident. It means that they can't work on their regular goals and targets, like making events for the game, or improving it in other ways," company COO Dirk Weyel told GamesIndustry.biz. A police investigation into the hacking incident is ongoing, and Frogster is tight-lipped regarding any possible changes or improvements to its customer service apparatus, preferring instead to concentrate its PR firepower on the anonymous hacker. "Why is someone so angry? Why do they want to harm Frogster and the user base? Obviously, in any community you have people who complain. Some of them are reasonable, and some complain in a way that is unacceptable," Weyel said. He goes on to acknowledge that Frogster's community management isn't perfect, and that open and transparent communication are the ultimate goals.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Finding time to play Runes of Magic
Ever since my semester started up, I've had to learn new ways to budget my time. My schedule cuts right through the middle of every day, which is both good and bad. I don't have to get up at an obscene hour for class, and I'm not in school through the night. It still makes it hard to play Runes of Magic and other MMOs, though, as it chops my free-time up into short, interspersed chunks. I initially found some ways to satiate my gaming addiction by -- gasp -- playing Perpetuum. Games like Perpetuum -- and I suspect EVE Online -- have some nice pacing that allows me to go semi-AFK while I work on homework, articles or whatever. I can find safe places with large ore deposits, lay down a large container, and mine for 30 minutes at a time or longer. I'm still visiting the world of Taborea on weekends, and I make quick pit-stops during the week to check up on my fellow guild members, but I realized during my last visit that there are some nice ways for the returning college student to get in some game time and get his or her school-work done. If you find your having trouble balancing work, school and life with RoM, you might find some satisfaction in the long term pet, guild, crafting, and skill-building goals.
Frogster CEO resigns
Andreas Weidenhaupt, CEO of Frogster, has announced his impending resignation from the company. Weidenhaupt will be stepping down in April of this year to focus on other projects but will remain a consultant with Frogster afterward. Weidenhaupt has been one of the most public faces of the company, particularly for Runes of Magic and TERA. Frogster's chairman of the executive board Christoph Gerlinger had this to say about Andreas' departure: "We thank Andreas kindly for his job performance of the past years, the amicable co-operation with the executive board colleagues and for his significant contribution to the success of Frogster. In the course of last year, Andreas managed to fill the Frogster product pipeline with excellent titles for the next years in advance." You can read the full announcement over at Frogster Interactive.
One Shots: So much for that idea
Don't you hate it when you get all the elements of a screenshot just right and someone comes along and jumps into the frame? Worse still -- if you've composed your scenic shot with an outfit to match, and a nearby NPC chooses the exact moment you snap your screenshot to jump you? Well, if you're Darkorchid in Runes of Magic, you know this too well -- as today's One Shots proves! Apparently she was unsuccessfully trying to capture an image for us when this pesky fellow decided to ruin everything. We'll let Darkorchid explain: "I was in Dragonfang Ridge, trying to get a screenie of my gear and pet. Apparently, the Gnoll on the right thought this was a good time to photobomb me. Is it any wonder nobody likes them?" Have an MMO screenshot that was photobombed in a funny way? Care to share your story? If so, grab that screenshot and email it to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the image. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit for sending it in. %Gallery-112285%
Lost Pages of Taborea: Improvements on MMO standards
After having a couple of conversations on the topic over the last month, I decided to make a list of more reasons I am so attracted to Runes of Magic. Runewaker may not have created the next evolutionary step in MMOs, but it did do some new and innovative things. It created what I consider to be the first hybrid traditional free-to-play MMO. RoM predominantly uses western game mechanics and a quest-driven leveling system with a cash shop. As far as actual gameplay is concerned, RoM features many standards -- very nice improvements on those standards. In this article, I list six refinements that I think add to the increasing uniqueness of an MMO that constantly shows it's more than a generic clone. Jump past the break to see if you agree with me or share your favorite MMO standards that you think RoM improves upon.
Community Detective Issue #17: Runes of Magic
Welcome to issue 17 of Community Detective (wow, 17, has it been that many already?). Anyhow, this week I figured I'd broaden my horizons a little bit. While I've delved into the free-to-play genre before with Global Agenda, Hi-Rez Studios' MMO shooter is not your average F2P title (there's no item shop, for example, and the game is one of a recent spate of MMOs to start off with a subscription and subsequently switch to F2P). This time around, I'm well and truly submerging myself in a "real" (i.e., from the ground up) F2P game, and the subject of this week's study is Runes of Magic. Runewaker's fantasy world is nearing its second birthday, and the first year and change hasn't been without controversy. The game is published by Frogster in both America and Europe, and the German-based giant is often called onto the carpet by fans upset with its zealous forum moderation and alleged poor customer service. How bad is it really? Well the community portion of the equation was quite good. On the other hand, the support experience wasn't good by any stretch of the imagination. As with all Community Detective pieces though, that comes with the disclaimer that this report stems from a very specific set of circumstances (i.e., your mileage may vary).
Lost Pages of Taborea: The importance of learning to play your role
This past week I was working on a couple of planned articles when I saw Josh Myers' post on WoW Insider about being a middle-ranged DPSer. I think the gist of the article was that we shouldn't look at another player's class and keep asking for buffs, skills or stats that would give another class more direct output to even out the equation. Not being able to pump out the most DPS is not a bad thing. This falls right in line with the subject of class balancing that I've been talking about with some astute players on the Runes of Magic forum. I wish I could take credit for this, but it was midknight129 from the RoM forum who said -- to paraphrase -- "Classes don't have to be equal; they just should be equitable." Any player should want to play his class because he enjoys the skills and abilities that his preferred class provides, but he should also want a class that will hold up when compared to the other classes. This is especially true in a PvP environment. It's just hard sometimes to compare the damage-dealing capability of a Priest to that of, say, a Scout. All of this brings me to the idea of learning to play specific roles around intermittent patch updates and skewed mechanics. Can we enjoy our favorite class in such a gear-heavy MMO without worrying about maximum damage or healing output?
One Shots: A lazy-day slice of life
When you have had enough of monster slaying, are bored fighting the evil that threatens to imperil your MMO of choice, and don't quite feel like making the trek to a city, there are always places like the one we see today. This rural locale in free-to-play favorite Runes of Magic was captured for us by TheElvenAssassin (known in-game as Terenth) and offers us a peaceful view of a farmstead -- perfect for getting away from all the noise and bother of everyday life. He writes in to give us his thoughts on this image: "Sometimes it's just nice to sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery. This is in Silverspring, by the path to the Howling Mountains." Whether you like high-flying action or laid-back moments like the one above, we're always curious what you like about your favorite MMO. If you'd like to contribute an image, just email it in to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the picture. Please make sure your image is attached to your email, is at least 1024 pixels wide, and has no visible UI elements if possible. It could be the very next one we showcase here as part of One Shots! %Gallery-112285%
Runes of Magic prepping Queensland flood relief effort
Today's feel-good story (if anything associated with the dreadful Queensland flooding can be termed feel-good) comes courtesy of N3V Games and F2P giant Runes of Magic. N3V, the game's Queensland-based publisher, has announced plans to assist flooding victims by donating half of the revenues from certain cash shop items to the relief efforts. The special event begins this Saturday, January 15th, and ends on Sunday, January 23rd. Runes of Magic players can contribute to the clean-up efforts by purchasing star mounts or flame mounts (at a cost of 225 diamonds, or approximately US $12). N3V Games CEO Graham Edelsten explained his company's decision to lend a helping hand. "As a Queensland company we have many guys living in Brisbane who have been affected by the floods," he said. "This charity event is our way of showing our support for all of those affected by these unfortunate events."
Lost Pages of Taborea: Do-It-Yourself Combat Engine
When I first started playing Runes of Magic and other MMOs, I never used addons because they broke my perceived immersion. Fast forward to today and I have well over a dozen different addons to enhance my user interface and interaction with Taborea. There are quite a few addons that I'd now highly recommend. The collection has both evolved and stayed basically the same over the months. The collection does grow, but a lot of the new addons that come along don't see any love once uploaded. Some of the great classics -- like Advanced AuctionHouse -- are constantly being updated and are very useful. Many others that come along are variations on older popular addons or they aren't popular because they are small fluff addons. Basically, there's a core of great addons that are still being updated, but good new addons are coming at a slow pace. One new addon in particular is the Do-It-Yourself Combat Engine. DIYCE is a robust combat engine that can allow players to pre-script entire combat encounters with the push of a button. There are some ethical questions about the ability to easily program what some would call a cheat code. Is this going too far and skirting the boundaries of hacking? Let's take a closer look at the pros and cons for this program.
