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One Shots: A look around
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of an active MMO account, must be in want of a female character's butt to watch. I know from my own unscientific polls that a great many of us play in third-person, moving on from mob to mob or location to location -- and looking at a lot of butt in the process. I certainly don't look up half as often as I probably should since I'm often time-crunched. That's why today we're glad to hear from Awenspiration on the Osha server in Runes of Magic. He not only sent in this great screenshot of a fun free-to-play game we haven't seen on One Shots recently, but also reminds us to take a moment and enjoy the view from another angle. He writes: "Awenspiration's having a fun time hunting chicken feathers in Ystra Labyrinth. The lighting and ceiling are quite impressive. There's such a great art display in this game if you just look up. Oh and Awen's a Mage, so it's fried chicken for supper!" One Shots relies on reader submissions to keep going. If you haven't sent in a screenshot recently -- or even if you have -- we'd love to see some from you. Just email your image in to us here at oneshots@massively.com. Include your name (alias is OK), the name of the game, and a note about what we're seeing in the image. Other details like guild, server, or anything of that nature are also always welcome. We'll post it up here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit for sending in the image! %Gallery-85937%
Lost Pages of Taborea: Armor customizing and coloring
Quite frankly, I don't know why I waited so long to do an article about customizing and coloring armor in Runes of Magic. Indeed, it's one of my absolute favorite aspects of RoM. But thanks to Rubi's coverage of Guild Wars 2 and the recent ArenaNet posts, I've been spurred on to do this article. The GW2 news of late is, of course, all about how ArenaNet plans on implementing armor customization through the use of Transmutation stones you will be able to buy from a cash shop. After reading over Rubi's coverage, I felt that GW2 was heading in a very similar direction to the one taken by RoM. I find this to be very cool! So for anyone who didn't know this flexible system was in the game or that it was so flexible, I present a guide on customizing your RoM character any way you see fit. I've also included a short video tutorial to help illustrate how customizing works.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Resource acquisition
Way back when Runes of Magic was still young and learning to fly, there was only one way to obtain resources: Find a resource node and click it. Come to think of it, I've always chopped wood and gathered herbs, but what's the proper verb for obtaining ore in MMOs? In any case, the tried and true method of clicking on resource nodes has always worked for RoM. It's just that recipes take a lot of resources, which used to mean a lot of gathering. Seriously. A lot. I've written about the state of RoM's crafting system before, but many updates have come along since then. While the large amount of resources needed to craft items hasn't changed, the many different ways of obtaining those resources have. In this article I cover all the new ways you can get your grubby little mitts on a crafter's best friend.
TERA-Europe unveils archer and sorcerer gameplay videos
TERA's action combat system has gotten a lot of press over the months since the game's announcement, and rightly so as it looks to differentiate itself from traditional tab-target-spam-special MMO mechanics. While it sounds great on paper, particularly for melee and heavily armored types, ranged classes are a different animal. Happily, Frogster and TERA-Europe have just released a pair of new gameplay videos that show the PvE experience from the perspective of both an archer and a sorcerer. The trailers give would-be players a first-hand look at ranged DPS in the world of TERA, and highlight the fact that both classes will require a certain amount of active participation and, dare we say it, player skill. Check out both videos after the break.
Newest class revealed for Mythos encourages others to give blood
Mythos, the upcoming Diablo-style action MMO, has not shown its first three classes to be subtle creatures. The first two revealed, the pyromancer and the gadgeteer, both showed their aptitudes for wide-scale destruction. However, the newest class reveal is even more direct -- the bloodletter. It's both a class name and description of what the class specializes in doing. This class is a master of blood and causing grievous bodily harm to everything within range, and it seems quite well-suited to doing just that. As with other classes, the bloodletter has three different specializations available. The crimsonate gouges opponents and derives sustenance from their injuries, the red hand uses a necromantic control of blood to summon minions and turn corpses into weapons, and the martialist discards pseudo-mystical abilities in favor of brutal expertise with weaponry. Take a look at the full class page for preview screenshots as well as short movies demonstrating the class capabilities, all fine demonstrations of what to expect from what may be the most direct class in Mythos.
Lost Pages of Taborea: The Runes of Magic Database
A long long time ago, I wrote about community resources for Runes of Magic. In that article is a handy resource that gathers collected data from RoM called the buffed database. Key personnel from buffed.de started a new venture called Playata to provide content services to game publishers. The point of this boring news snippet is that Playata, in conjunction with Frogster, has created the official RoM database. This shiny new official site could be viewed as getbuffed 2.0. The official version is streamlined, runs better, and has a few nice extras that the original never had. This week I put together a guide explaining what the database is, what you can do with it, and some of the extra fun stuff it offers.
Atlantis surfaces in Bounty Bay Online
Long ago thought lost, the lands of Atlantis have resurfaced in Frogster Interactive's Bounty Bay Online! The new area offers two new islands for players to check out: Bimini and the Northern Islands. The free expansion also offers a wealth of new content for players at endgame, as well as some modifications to systems that will make the game more enjoyable overall. To top it all off, all Bounty Bay Online players of all levels will get twice the experience all weekend long to celebrate! Players will find a new level cap of 150, crafting improvements, tricky treasure map puzzles, an all-new achievement system, quests, and several new dungeons among the numerous additions. In short, this new update is absolutely bountiful! If you'd like more details or to sign up for some historical(esque) MMO free-to-play fun, head on over to the Bounty Bay Online site!
Frogster unveils Mythos' gadgeteer class
The second class revealed for Mythos is a pretty far cry from last week's pyromancer. Rather than relying on magic to sling spells and raise minions, the gadgeteer uses his proficiency with firearms and contraptions (with a little magical boost thrown in sometimes) to take out his foes. Like the pyromancer, the gadgeteer will have three specialties to choose from. Marksmen, grenadiers, and tinkers each have specialties ranging from trapping to long-range grenades. The Mythos site gives players an in-depth look at the gadgeteer. Check out the newest class page for all sorts of details, including images, a description of each specialty, and three brand-new videos!
Lost Pages of Taborea: What's in a server?
Welcome back to another week of Lost Pages of Taborea. I'm switching gears and answering some reader mail. I'll answer the question to the best of my abilities, and then I want to expand the topic to cover server density and personality. Roger Ringo has returned to Reni from a hiatus which prompted the following question. Roger Ringo asks: I was wondering if you could give me a rundown on the population and community of the servers you have played on. I would really appreciate it. This is a great question about server populations. How populated are the Runes of Magic servers? For that matter, how do we go about finding the number of people on any MMO's server? It never seems to be a cut-and-dried answer with one almighty server-status site to feed us the numbers. A lot of our own perceptions can sway answers to these questions too. What days and times a person logs in, his playstyle, and what he pays more attention to in-game can all affect an opinion of whether a server is a ghost town or a small but happy community. Do my conclusions match with yours? Find out after the break!
Frogster cuts senior management staff
Things at Frogster have been pretty busy lately with publishing projects like Runes of Magic, Mythos and TERA. Since Gameforge purchased a majority stake in the company early last month, it's made another offer to remaining Frogster shareholders in order to solidify its position. Things changed even more today. Three senior Frogster staffers have been relieved of their duties at the company, including two former Gameforge employees. CFO Ralf Kloppel, Frogster America CEO Lars Koschin (ex-Gameforge staff) and board member Bjorn Koschin have all been let go. There are no details forthcoming at the moment, but we'll keep you up-to-date on any developments. [via gameindustry.biz]
Runes of Magic drops patch 3.0.4
Server downtime on your favorite MMO is never fun, but it's pretty bearable if it brings a pile of new content. Frogster has provided just that with the latest patch to Runes of Magic. This morning's downtime added patch 3.0.4 "The Mystery of the Temple" which brings exciting additions to the game everywhere you look. A new instance, new public encounter and new guild events should satisfy your taste for adventure, while the return of the Juice Festival will keep the party animals happy. If you're in the mood for a serious challenge, go in search of the newest world boss, Sesphiroth. Rumor has it that he's guarding a treasure, so your reward may be more than just the satisfaction of a job well done. More information on this patch -- along with a trailer for the new instance -- can be found on the Runes of Magic site.
First playable class revealed for Mythos
Frogster's newest announcement regarding Mythos comes in the form of the very first class reveal. The Pyromancer looks to be a versatile class depending on which of the three skill trees a player chooses -- and formidable no matter what. The Cinderblade and Flamecaster specialize in short and long range combat, respectively, while the Coalsmasher acts as a summoner class. Coalsmashers bring infernal minions from the fiery depths to do their dirty work, making for a potentially devastating style of play. Frogster has released a video and short description of each of the three skill trees which are now available on the Mythos site.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Low-level PvP alt
I've been spending some time making a home for myself on Artemis. Yes, I've moved away from the PvP server, and I haven't regretted it. I've never really participated in open PvP, so it's not really a surprise. I've said before that I only started on a PvP server to have that extra option available to me and to have an added dose of excitement. Well, your unofficial ambassador to Taborea may be changing his tune. After I made the switch to PvE, I wasn't sure what to do. I already had a high-level character. I didn't feel ready to put my main to rest. It's been my dedicated character for over a year, and it does give me the advantage of accessing high-level content. With the limited time I have for Runes of Magic right now, let alone other MMOs, I was tentative about making an alt. I took the plunge, made an alt, and haven't looked back. Oddly enough -- or maybe not -- I'm enjoying PvP more on a PvE server. I've found that I like alt life, and it has me thinking creatively about what to do with each character. I've spoken about PvP culture; I've mentioned my idea for improving battlefields; and last week I spoke about siege badges that can help you in battlefields. This week, I want to cover building a low-level PvP alt. There's a lot to be done in prepping a low-level PvP alt, so let's get busy.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Badge of honor
I've been spending a lot of time lately in Runes of Magic's battlefields and arena. There are a number of these instanced PvP areas and this crafter has been enjoying most of them. The battlefields, arena, and guild siege system all have tasty incentives in the form of points or badges. Basically operating as a form of currency, these PvP rewards can all be spent on a variety of items. If you thought gear grinding or buying purified fusion stones was the only way to improve your character, then think again. If you thought spending diamonds or exorbitant amounts of gold was the only way to improve your pet, then think again. If you thought Kipos had one ugly mug... well, you'd be right. In this article I take a look at a couple alternative forms of currency you can get your hands on and what you can do with them.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Fun with housing
I've briefly mentioned housing in previous articles, but I haven't done any in-depth looks into it. Plus, with the addition of new house contracts, the housekeeper system, and some creative ideas I've discovered, I thought it was about time to give housing some exposure. For the uninitiated, Runes of Magic's housing is a feature that lets you have an instanced area for yourself to store items, earn bonuses, and decorate to your heart's content. I've seen some players refer to RoM's housing as Everquest II lite. Apart from a handful of boss furniture-recipes, you don't craft the majority of furniture. You can buy furniture from NPCs or select from a wide range of choices in the cash shop. Once inside your house, you'll have access to the housing interface. Your items of choice can be moved into the furniture slots and then placed anywhere you want. You can get a more detailed how-to guide on housing from the Runes of Magic Wiki. In this article, I want to take a look at some creative things you can do with furniture and housing.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Mana strike
When In the Depths of the Forest went live in Runes of Magic there were cheers heard across Taborea, but players soon protested. Along with all of the new content, Runkewaker also added a nerf in the form of increased mana costs for many of the skills in RoM. On top of the existing base mana costs for skills, a percentage modifier was added that significantly increased the cost to use skills as you leveled up. Many players were unhappy with the skills being balanced in this way and went as far as staging cross-server in-game strikes in Varanas' Central Plaza until something was done. Only a few days after the patch went live, a new hotfix was applied to RoM which removed the balancing act completely. Tony Tang, the Vice President of Business Development at Runewaker, issued a statement to announce the removal of the balance, but he also clarified that the company was confident a change would need to be made to address the issue of the game becoming less challenging. In this week's article I want to take a closer look at why many players were upset and point out why I think the balance may be for the better.
One Shots: That can't be comfortable
Ah, there's nothing quite as nice after a long day of adventuring than to come back to your house, curl up, and get a good night's sleep. The only thing we'd caution against is leaving all that heavy armor on -- or worse still, one's weapon! Today's Runes of Magic shot comes to us from Abstergo, who apparently was a little too tired after a long day to bother! The note attached to this image read: "Affter a long day of work, Abstergo takes a rest on his bed. Sleeping with an axe in the back must be kind of painful, but he's a tough guy!" Hopefully he had a potion for morning back pain! If you've taken a silly screenshot of your character that you'd like to share with the rest of us, then send it in! We're always on the lookout for more. Email them in to us here at oneshots@massively.com, and be sure to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in. %Gallery-85937%
Lost Pages of Taborea: What's $15 worth?
Hello everyone! This week, Jeremy Stratton (your usual Lost Pages of Taborea host) and I are swapping columns for variety -- so thanks to Jeremy for allowing me, Beau Hindman, to take over his column for the day! I have to admit that I am relatively new to the game, never having really given my character time to grow into a proper hero. Fortunately, the game's free-to-play status allows for this type of reckless avatar growth. But how free is it? Runes of Magic is not a "freemium" game, one that literally asks for payment at some point in order to level higher or to explore new content. It's my favorite type of free-to-play: the kind that gives you the client, gives you a free house, and even loans you a mount to make early level travel much easier. Critics of free-to-play will say that most free-to-play games trick, convince, or even force players to spend large amounts of money in the cash shop in order to "succeed," often without defining what "success" means. While I admit that I play at the speed of molasses, I do maintain a few titles in which I slowly, but surely, obtain higher levels. Runes of Magic isn't one of them, yet, so I want to take a look at how much I will get for a typical subscription amount: 15 US dollars. So, how much does it buy me?
Frogster announces gamescom activities
Gamescom is just a few days away, and Frogster has big plans for the event. Whether you're interested in TERA, Runes of Magic, or Mythos, Frogster will have something for you to enjoy. Frogster will have 30 terminals set up to play all three games, but there's much more to the schedule. There will be planned RoM raids, a costume contest, a live performance from VanCanto, and more. The events will take over two exhibition stands, and if you can't attend don't feel too bad. The events will be streaming live from the booth beginning on the 19th to keep even those at home up on the latest news. Check out the full schedule of events, and have fun!
Lost Pages of Taborea: It's the little things
As we wait in rapt anticipation for the final volley of Chapter 3 goodness, I find myself speculating about other possible additions and changes that could go into Runes of Magic. Now that the pet system is up and running and the relationship system is on the horizon, will there be a myriad of balances made to classes? Or, will Runewaker and Frogster spring any fun surprises on us? I'm not sure what it is about the time right before a patch, but it gets my neurons firing and makes me want to play amateur designer. Besides trying to figure out exactly how the relationship system is going to work, I've been thinking about how I'd add my own changes to some of RoM's current features. The door is wide open for speculation in this department, but I wanted to look at what I thought would be possible for pre-existing areas in the near future. Follow along after the jump and see whether you agree with what I'd do to the lore, battlegrounds, crafting, and a handful of random features.
