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WoW Radio runs Utgarde Keep
Our good friends at WoW Radio have somehow boonswaggled their way into the beta, and they're letting you all reap the rewards: Totalbiscuit and his buddies all ran Utgarde Keep, the first instance of Northrend, and you can see the results above. This is the same instance we played way back at BlizzCon of last year, and it looks about the same -- you can see the hulking Vrykul, the big flame forge with its walls that come down when you pull mobs, and later on you can check out the other boss battles, including a dual boss battle (two bosses, and both have to die, or else the one that dies first spawns a shade of himself), and Ingvar the Plunderer, who has a pretty mean AoE and some cheating help. There's also a few glimpses of other beta features, including Illidan form way at the end.Unfortunately, they don't run the next instance, Sar Chasm, which features a boss who says things to you he doesn't actually mean (spoiler: that's a joke, watch the video). But it's awesome to get a first look at Utgarde, bugs and all (the dragons who walk through the air are pretty fun), and the WoW Radio guys are pretty entertaining the whole time.
E308: Interview reveals name of new AoC dungeon
At E3, MMO bloggers Keen and Graev caught up with Funcom Product Manager and all-around Age of Conan-spinster Erling Ellingsen. The Vault Network-hosted interview covers a lot of the same ground that we went over in our own talk with Ellingson, but there was one extra bit that we thought was worth mentioning. We know you don't want to miss a thing, so here it is!Ellingsen mentioned that a new dungeon instance called "House of Crom." He didn't give any information about it apart from the name, although Keen's prose suggested that he was unusually excited about it. We'd like to think that this House of Crom is, in fact, the actual house of the deity Crom, atop a monstrous mountain.We also find it fun to imagine that the name of that dungeon is basically a curse phrase. Crom's name is rarely invoked except in cursing and swearing in Howard's Conan novels. You don't want to attract Crom's attention, you know. He might kick your pathetic mortal ass.
What this morning's AoC patch notes didn't mention
It's very busy over at FunCom, what with two patches a week coming out for Age of Conan. We understand. We know that sometimes stuff gets missed off the patch notes. Of course, sometimes stuff gets purposefully left off patch notes, and it can be hard to tell whether this was by accident or design.What's certain is that when something changes, players will eventually find out. The more players, the sooner they find out; and AoC has rather a lot of players right now. Between them, with cross-referencing going on between European and American forums (always nice to see), the players have put together an unofficial list of what else changed with this morning's patch.
Lorebook tells tales of Ents gone bad
According to Turbine's most recently highlighted The Lord of the Rings Online Lorebook entry, even Ents can turn to the proverbial dark side. One might think that even if they did, it would take them such a long time to work out how to kill you that they wouldn't be much of a threat. Unfortunately, you'll hear a different story from anyone who's faced the dour-root -- or Huorn, as some call it -- in Agamaur.To be more specific, the monster is an Elite Master boss encounter in the Lone-lands' Garth Agarwen instance. It's probably not the first killer tree encountered by most LotRO players. That honor most likely goes to the Warped Oaks in the Old Forest.
Age of Conan's Jorgen Tharaldsen addresses game issues
Jon Wood from MMORPG.com recently interviewed Funcom's Product Director Jorgen Tharaldsen about some of the issues affecting gameplay in Age of Conan. The interview was primarily focused on customer service issues, and hopefully provides a good indicator as to how things are improving in AoC. Some of the key issues that Tharaldsen addressed include: Customer support frustrations expressed by players. Inability to log in to the game's official forums. Funcom's actions taken against exploiters. Poor game performance despite meeting required system specs. Server downtimes during peak hours. Limitations on number of players in certain instances. Increasing the number of GM's to handle the petition backlog. Check out the interview over at MMORPG.com, where's there's quite a string of comments from the readers. Do you think Funcom is handling customer service issues properly (given that AoC had such a recent launch), or are they dropping the ball?
FFXI devs adjust Einherjar with accessibility in mind
Square-Enix revealed today that the next update to FInal Fantasy XI will make several adjustments to the Einherjar venue.Players have complained that the structure of the battlefield makes it inaccessible and unworthy of the trouble. One of the chief complaints was that new party members could not be introduced into the mix after the progression has begun, and that a player who missed one or more chambers would not be able to continue. The FFXI team is making the following changes to remedy that.After the next patch, Therion Ichor will be given to players based on how many monsters they've killed, not on whether or not they completed a chamber. Also, only the "organizing player" will need to meet the old requirements for entry into Wings I, II, and III, or Valgrind. Other players will be able to follow him or her into each chamber regardless of their past progress.
Age of Conan on single player mode
Age of Conan has gotten an intense amount of exposure lately on virtually every site that covers games. You might have noticed. The influence of AoC is ever-present, burned into the retinas of most of the Massively team as they slash their way through Hyboria. The title seems to have breathed new life into massively multiplayer spheres, with people everywhere either talking about it, reading about it, or playing it. While the AoC launch went smoothly, this is not to say that the game itself is perfect. Psychochild takes Age of Conan to task in his latest Weekend Design Challenge, for what he perceives to be a potential flaw in the game's design: much of the low-level experience, despite being a massively multiplayer title, is essentially a single-player game. He contends that the point of online games is to interact with people in one way or another, but the difference between instances in AoC is literally night and day. Night quests give personal instances that are wholly isolated from other players. This creates a split where daytime quests are multiplayer; night quests are single player. While a benefit is that players can opt for the night quests to take on their own spawns unchallenged by competitors, doesn't this defeat the purpose of AoC even being an MMO title?
Barrens Chat: The shocking truth
Engineers frighten me. Mostly because I tend to be the guinea pig in anything and everything I find myself involved in, and because of the things they do when we're not looking. But also because I don't understand a single thing they're trying to tell me.I don't know about you guys, but anyone who thinks a good time involves playing with dangerous things with electrical charges, and trying to outrun explosive sheep is a little bit on the crazy side. %Gallery-22361% Every week, Barrens Chat drags its readers through the clutter-filled, cobweb infested mind of Megan Harris, and exposes the readers to her decaying sense of humor. So if you're interested in soft, fluffy delights, or are more into a quick and tasty snack you... wait. Why are all these comics focused on food so far? Maybe next week our starving artist will be a little more well fed and provide less food-for-though, and more funny.
Is Karazhan no longer for entry level raiders?
We ran Karazhan the other day and for the first time in a long time we didn't clear it in one run and took almost four hours only to call it at Prince. Only about half of our regular group could make it that day and we were forced to PuG the rest, even filling the last spot with a player who had never done Karazhan before. Our raid leader and tank grumbled throughout the entire run, sending me tells of wanting to kick people from the group. In the end, we conspired to end our misery by acceding to a couple of attempts at Prince but no more.For the past weeks, we had been doing 2 1/2 hour Karazhan for badges, and for the most part we made sure that our raid members were equipped in Tier 4-5 or better. We'd turbo pull to bosses with a Paladin tank and Disenchanted nearly every drop because, really, no one needed anything from there. We ran it for badges and wanted to breeze through the instance as quickly as possible. We would wince if we brought someone who wasn't familiar with the strats or had more than a few blues.
All things Wrath of the Lich King
Over the past week, particularly in the last few days, the crisp Internet air has been abuzz with news from the upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Fear you're out of the loop? Here's a quick round-up of all the information being released, along with analysis and opinion. Don't forget to keep checking back, as this page will be updated as information becomes available:Dungeons and raids An analysis on Arthas as a ten-manned event, including its impact on the 25-man raiding structure, as well an exploration of its consistency with the lore. Did you know that all expansion raids will have a 10-man setting, as well as a 25-man? Read through some of our initial impressions on the 10-man raiding set-up. We also wrote up a concise overview of the ins and outs of dungeons post-expansion, including a new token system, similar to [Badge of Justice]. The Nexus has been announced on the official site as one of the new dungeons. The WoW Insider Show discusses 10-manning Arthas. Zones, factions, and relevant lore Alex has written an excellent overview of the Grizzly Hills, a soon-to-be zone for low to mid-seventies. With old factions reappearing, along with other surprises, it's definitely something to look forward to! If news of the Dragonblight has intrigued you, you'll be pleased to know that more information has been made available. While we're brushing up on our lore and learning about new areas and factions, Alex thought it fitting to illuminate the lore behind Azjol-Nerub, as the Nerubians will have their own role in the expansion. Alex asks us about lore figures we'd like to see in the expansion. %Gallery-20386%
It's never too late to start playing Guild Wars
Haven't had a chance to play Guild Wars yet? You're thinking maybe three years after launch is a bit late? Nah, you're just in time! Guild Wars has so many enticements for people who are just getting into this new-fangled MMO scene, but also for people looking for a change from their regular game. We're here now to explain a bit about ArenaNet's masterpiece, targeted at someone who has only heard of Guild Wars, but never actually played it.Guild Wars is different from many of the larger, more popular MMOs we have to choose from today. The main reasons include the fact that it has no monthly fee, it centers around instanced worlds and it is one of the few games that successfully combines PvE with PvP.So let's start from the beginning and explain a bit about the history of the game and why it came into existence. No, this will not be on the test later, but it is an important piece of back story when considering why it is the game that it is.
Peer inside Star Wars Galaxies' newest tomb, Exar Kun's lair
We've been following the progress of the Star Wars Galaxies team on the upcoming Chapter 9 content update for some time, and patch day shouldn't be too far off now. We've talked about the new PvP collections, discussed fan reaction to the content on the Test server, and it all sounds pretty good. How about a look, though?All the way back at the beginning of the month we discussed preview information for Chapter 9's setpiece addition: the Exar Kun heroic instance. Today we're going to give you a look inside. Check out the four exclusive screenshots we have of this imposing facility, deep in the heart of a Yavin 4 temple. Built originally by the Massassi race, Kun has now twisted the old stones to his dark will. Looks like a great place for a fight!%Gallery-19344%
MT, MrT, MagT, MST, Magisters' Terrace
We hit on this a while back, but now that Magisters' Terrace has finally landed on the live realms, it's time to choose an official abbreviation. Players are apparently all over the place, but the time for debate and discussion is over. Let's come up with the real choice for Magisters' Terrace abbreviation.When making this decision, lots of things have to be considered. MT is out no matter what, as not only do many things in game use it as an abbreviation (main tank, mistell, Montana -- ok maybe that last one is a stretch), but it also leads us to confusion with the other "MT" instance in the game: Mana Tombs. For that reason, MaT is also out, though MagT has found a lot of foothold with many players, as has MgT. I originally thought MT would work well (since Mana Tombs is actually "Mana-Tombs," and would therefore be abbreviated M-T), but I haven't see that too much so far.But almost surprisingly, the thing I've seen most players using is something that I originally mentioned way back as just a joke. Yes, most players I've seen are actually describing the instance as MrT. Not that that makes any more sense, but it does kind of provide a nice homage to a Mohawked WoW hero.So in our (un)official capacity as WoW Insider, one of the 50 most influential blogs on the net, we're declaring the winner: from now on, the new Sunwell 5man will be known as "MrT." And we pity the fool who doesn't agree.Haven't been to MrT yet (or MagT, or MgT, or whatever you decide to call it)? We've got a Kalecgos-sized roundup of info on the brand new five-man, including a step-by-step walkthrough of what's in there and how to kill it.
Magisters' Terrace: Great instance or the greatest instance?
I, like many other players, spent the better part of the morning running the new 5man Magisters' Terrace instance (and yes -- it is "Magisters'," so there is actually more than one Magister in it), and while not everyone is thrilled with it (I know some are saying that it's too hard), I love it. I pretty much agree with AA -- it's not that hard when you actually figure out what to do with CC, and get a handle on the fact that even on normal difficulty, this is a dungeon that doesn't let up.But my favorite part of the dungeon is just the fact that Blizzard put their money where their mouth is on this one -- for a while, they've been saying that they wanted a five man to be like Deadmines, in that it felt like the end of a long storyline. And MT (which is what I think it will eventually be called by most players, since who really runs Mana Tombs anymore?) is definitely that -- I won't ruin the lore too much, but it works perfectly as both a cap on what happened in Outland, and as a sweet preview to Sunwell Plateau. I never thought we'd meet some of those names in a five man instance, but I loved it, and we'll see more of that in Wrath for sure.Plus, the encounters are fun. Unfortunately, there's nothing super new -- Blizzard cribbed directly from Warlord Kalithresh for the first boss and Curator for the second (boy, AoEing the little guys before that is exciting, isn't it?), but the miniboss battle near the end really does play like a little PvP-ish PvE (similar to the .5 upgrade event in BRD). All in all, I think it's a great instance, and a fun way to cap off five mans at level 70.
Getting back into the game
Knightless is having the same problem I'd guess quite a few players have -- her interest in her character is flagging a bit, and she's trying to figure out a way to get more involved in what she's doing in Azeroth. This is an interesting situation, because at this point, with almost any other game, the player would just leave and go find something else to play (and actually, I can say from experience that sometimes taking a short break from the game completely can rebuild your interest in it), but things don't really work that way in World of Warcraft -- responsibilities to your guild and the people you've met in game will keep you around even when your interest is low.So what tips can we offer Knightless and others who are looking for ways to refresh their interest in the game? Rerolling is a big one -- I've always found that picking up a new class you've never played before can get you to look at a game in a different way. Running an instance that you haven't run in a while is always fun, too -- it only takes a little while to level up a character to Deadmines or Wailing Caverns levels, and both of those instances always renew my interest in playing through Warcraft. Running guild activities or contests are always fun, too -- especially since Knightless is a guild officer, she could organize some lower level runs or some "grind days," where guildies all get together in groups to level each other up.Any other ideas for reviving a flagging interest in playing a character that you feel a need to play due to responsibilities or other connections in the game?
No Sunwell Plateau this weekend
If you were expecting to trash around in the Sunwell Plateau this weekend, think again. According to a Daelo post, Blizzard has taken the instance offline for the next couple of days.While I can understand the Blizzard dev's taking the realm offline here or there, and taking down an instance for an extended period of time during the week, it does strike me as odd that they would choose to remove access during the weekend – a prime playing time for a lot of folks. And I know that I and many of my friends only raid weeknights, so we have ample opportunity to test out the content on the weekends.Nonetheless, we can all look forward to reentering the Sunwell on Monday. If this changes, expect to see an update on WoW Insider.
Tabula Rasa dev journal: Sanctus Grotto
Tabula Rasa has received a lot of buzz over the last few weeks. Some have stated that it's an incomplete game, others have erroneously called it a financial disaster, while others (like myself) enjoy it for what it is. And all of this fallout (some of which reeks with the taint of hidden agendas - anyone who actively cheers for the demise of a game must be questioned) comes after only being live for four months (the game launched on November 1, 2007). NCsoft has reiterated that they are far from abandoning this sci-fi MMO. To prove that point they gave us their latest developer's journal to pass along to you. What follows is a retrospective written by Tom Potter, world builder for the new Sanctus Grotto instance. Sanctus Grotto Retrospective Tom Potter, World Builder Sanctus Grotto was an instance that was in development for some time before I started working at Destination Games. I joined the Tabula Rasa team late in development, so my job was to take the initial vision to completion. The conceptual foundation was already complete so you'd think that there wouldn't be much left for me to do. But Sanctus Grotto is a perfect example of how even "final" designs are often in a state of flux, and how making a few small changes can quickly multiply into something much larger. %Gallery-9822%
Hail Mandy: The Druid's Soulstone
We've all wiped in an instance from time to time. It is significantly easier to keep going when a rezzer has a self-rez ability so the group doesn't have to waste time running back to the instance. Soulstone and Reincarnation are wonderful things. The Druid's Rebirth spell can also be used occasionally to save the party the walk of shame back to the instance. I call this maneuver the "Hail Mandy." I started doing this when I was multiboxing my Paladin and Druid. When the Paladin, who was tanking, died and the Druid was going down, I would cast rebirth on the Pally. Then after the Druid was killed and the mobs reset, I would accept the rez. This allowed me to raise both characters and start back up on my merry, dualboxing way- just like using a Soulstone.
Breakfast Topic: Instance hour
I don't know about you, but my guild tends to run its raids and instances during "prime time" server hours, from around 8PM to midnight. But then there are a dedicated group of night owls who stay up for the "late night" instance run after any officially scheduled runs, sneaking in one last instance somewhere between 1 and 2 in the morning. (And I have to say, sometimes these casual groups, filled with players half-asleep or perhaps a bit tipsy, are sometimes the most fun to be in.) So this morning I ask you: when's your instance hour? What time of day do you always manage to get your circle of friends online and hitting up the instances you all need?
The PvE + PvP instance
"Lowlifescum" over on the official WoW forums has had an interesting idea, to combine PvE instances and Battleground instances into a kind of "race-to-the-boss" PvP and PvE experience combined. According to his idea, players would queue up for the instance, and when both 5-man teams are ready, begin on opposite ends of a dungeon. From there, they have to fight their way through normal monsters and 1 or 2 regular bosses before finally reaching the final boss in the middle. They would have to choose between rushing through as quickly as possible in order to reach the final boss first, or else moving slowly and steadily enough that they can avoid setbacks along the way, and arrive at the last boss fully prepared for the other team to attack in the middle of the fight. The first existing instance your mind jumps to is likely Alterac Valley, but this new instance would be different in that the players are not marching towards two separate goals, split up into two offensive and defensive groups, but rather going after the very same bosses and getting in each others way to a certain extent. Obviously it would also be a lot smaller than AV too, and, like Arenas, based from the beginning on teamwork with your friends rather than random groupings of strangers. Obviously balancing such a battle would be very difficult, and the losers should feel as though they gain something of value even if they don't beat the other team. When I imagine this sort of instance, I envision something like a maze where players can not only meet up at the last boss, but also sneak around and PvP with each other the whole way through. Different sections of the instance could be designed to provide advantages to different sorts of classes, whether melee or ranged, damage or healing, and monsters could be designed to interact with the two groups of players in some very dynamic ways. Perhaps the bosses and maps could even vary a bit from battle to battle to keep everything fresh.A Blizzard representative showed up in the original thread to say that he liked the idea too, and hopes that someday we might be able to see something like it. What do you think about it, and what elements would you pay special attention to in order to make it work?
