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Norrathian Notebook: Landmark's AI will be a game-changer
It's really hard not to be all giddy and excited about the introduction of AI to Landmark; it's quite literally going to be a game-changer. Some might even argue a game-maker! Only one other feature, combat, comes close to the impact that this system will have on the sandbox. Even then, combat doesn't rival it; it complements it. In truth, it will be an early Christmas present for all those players who've been waiting as patiently as possible for this next step: Monsters are slated to be released into the wild on December 10th. I am sure I mirror the sentiments of many when I say the Storybricks system just can't get here soon enough! Before you get your hopes up too high, know that this first iteration of the AI system does not include the much-anticipated storytelling features that players will have access to on their personal claims. Those will come in time. But that doesn't diminish the magnitude of what is coming in just a few short weeks. The introduction of mobs will truly be the big bump that makes Landmark an actual MMORPG in the eyes of the world as opposed to "just a building game," an inaccurate description the game's had a hard time shaking. And did I mention, I can't wait?! If you are fairly new to following Landmark, you may not know what all the excitement is about. Let me share that with you.
Warlords of Draenor: Getting resources for your Garrison
The player's Garrison is one of the central features of Warlords of Draenor, coming with its own special Hearthstone, and in many ways taking the place of a faction hub. Depending on what kind of structures you choose to build in your Garrison, you can have your own crafting centers, bank access, auction house, PvP center, and more. However, to build any of them, you need resources. In fact, to do just about anything with your Garrison you need resources. You need them for buildings, for crafting, and in order to send your followers on missions. So, just how do you get Garrison Resources? Well, I'm glad you asked. There are a variety of ways to earn your Garrison Resources in Warlords of Draenor, some easier than others.
The Daily Grind: What mob do you hate fighting?
I'm an equal opportunity killer; put a bad guy in front of me, give me a flimsy excuse to blast it into kingdom come, and watch me go at it. But I'll admit that there are some mobs I shy away from more than others, not because they have me quaking in my booties, but because they're just... annoying to fight. Usually these are the mobs that pull out some form of crowd control by stunning me, knocking me down, or disabling my skills. I'm also not fond of mobs that like to vanish for a while before reappearing, nor of the ones that like to run home to mama when their health bar gets to 15%. I'm betting that you have pet peeves in the form of a particular mob or two. Which ones do you hate fighting and why? 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!
Rise and Shiny: Prime World
Prime World, a combination MOBA and MMORTS-ish game by Nival, is a fresh take on what appears to be an ever-growing genre. Will vets of the familiar match-based games feel as though it goes too far into new territory, or will they appreciate the changes to their beloved gameplay? While I'll leave that question up to the experts over at Not So Massively, I can say that as someone who is more of an MMORTS fan than a follower of MOBAs, I appreciated the fact that Prime World gave me something to try in both. Better still, games like Prime World are enjoyable for a relative newcomer to the genre like yours truly because they encourage me to become better by being fun to play rather than by being brutal on newbies. Classic MOBA fans probably feel differently, however.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen trailer is full of burning lizards and death
Capcom's new video for Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen shows off some new enemies, one of which is literally death. Like, Death death, with a capital "D." Death shows up randomly and (surprise!) tries to kill you and your Pawns, and while killing it is possible, it reportedly takes several encounters.
Riot games reclaims LeagueOfLegends.co domain from adult site
Riot Games has secured the LeagueOfLegends.co (no "m") website after filing a complaint earlier this year, saying that a domain squatter had grabbed the name and redirected it to a porn site. The case on the World Intellectual Property Organization website has been terminated, and the domain is currently listed as owned by Riot Games, the company behind the popular MOBA game of the same name.Those looking for illicit material on a League of Legends-related website will presumably have to go elsewhere. Like, for example, LeagueOfLegendsPorn.com, which is another (currently empty) domain that Riot has another standing complaint against. Because Riot does own the "League of Legends" trademark, that case will probably see a similar result soon. And now that Riot has secured the URLs we know about, are they going to tell us what Supremacy is anytime soon?
New WAKFU dev diary highlights player freedom, sandbox features
If it's true that MMORPGs have become more linear as the genre has grown, it's also true that Ankama is setting out to do something different with WAKFU. The French development firm has released a new video dev diary titled Power to the Player, and it outlines how the free-to-play game is tackling some of the challenges inherent in sandbox design. "We really wanted to make WAKFU a game based on freedom, a game which puts the player in control," says Ankama designer Azael. "Most current MMOs create a game and then insert the player. With WAKFU we aimed to create the game around the players." WAKFU features very few NPCs (and no traditional vendor NPCs at all), and it also boasts mobs that don't drop money. Players create the game's currency themselves by harvesting ores and making use of minting machines, and players are also responsible for seeding the world with monsters since they don't respawn on their own. You can learn more about WAKFU by viewing the video after the break.
The Secret World unveils new horrific creatures
More creepy-crawlies are emerging from the shadows to join the ranks of Funcom's upcoming horror-inspired title, The Secret World. The studio revealed today three new creatures that players will face in-game: the Bogeyman, Jack O'Lantern, and the mud golem. The first of the three, the Bogeyman, should be familiar to anyone who was once a child (if any of you weren't, please let us know). He is "a being of pure evil" who feeds on fear, and considering that terrible visage up there, we doubt he ever goes hungry. Meanwhile, Jack O'Lantern, is some poor sod who fell under a wicked curse, and is now driven only by vengeance and bloodlust. To take advantage of his pumpkin head, Jack O'Lantern tends to bury himself beneath the ground in pumpkin patches in order to take passers-by by surprise. And finally, we have the mud golem, which is pretty much what it says on the tin. A being of pure earth, the mud golem is created for one purpose: to perform the (almost certainly nefarious) will of its master. For the full details on each of these creatures, head on over to the official site.
New ArcheAge video shows off combat moves, giant mobs
While much has been made of ArcheAge's non-combat gameplay, the upcoming fantasy sandpark is no slouch when it comes to pew pew and sticking the pointy end into the other man. A newly released video compilation shows off many of the game's melee moves and spell-casting animations as well as a good cross-section of PvE mobs ranging from the mundane to the spectacular. Apparently size matters to the devs at XL Games, as more than a few of the creatures on display dwarf the player characters taking them on. Whether you're into giant flying crabs, fearsome tree monsters, or hordes of undead, there's a little something for everyone in ArcheAge's newest combat clip. Check it out after the cut.
Wasteland Diaries: PvE like a boss
Fallen Earth PvE can be anywhere from laughably easy to downright frustrating. I guess that's a good thing since you get a gamut of difficulty levels, but much of the leveling span leans toward the easy end of the scale. I tend to get bored with PvE combat fairly quickly in MMOs (not just Fallen Earth). Other people love to struggle against the environment. Some even refuse to do anything remotely akin to PvP. I'll only throw the term "carebear" at those who think all PvPers are maladjusted psychopaths. I'm not talking about them; I'm talking about regular hardcore PvEers: players who would rather play against the NPCs than against other players. Many of my posts center around PvP. If I didn't PvP (and since I'm not a big roleplayer), I doubt I would still be playing Fallen Earth. That's just what I spend most of my time doing in the wastelands. So I tend to write a lot about it. But all PvPers have to PvE. PvE has its own set of challenges for the player. Granted, these challenges are quite static, and once you find a way to overcome them, you are done. But they are challenges nonetheless, and knowledge is power as much in PvE as it is in PvP. In this post I will give you some tips and tricks that might help you get through that next tough mission. Much of this stuff is common sense, but it may not occur to you until it's too late. So click past the cut and let's get started.
Minecraft 1.9 also leaked by Mojang
Jens Bergensten, Minecraft developer extraordinaire, has once again tweeted out a link to a pre-release of a new update to the popular world-building game. The 1.9 version is said to focus on The Nether, Minecraft's version of Hell. Jens revealed earlier that the update would add "two new hostile mobs," one of which "will (nearly) force you to get better upgrades. If you want to fight it, that is." [Thanks, Derek.]
Wasteland Diaries: Scavenger's guide
The economy in Fallen Earth is due to get a major overhaul in the next month. The devs have been pretty tight-lipped about what exactly is going to change. They may do something as bold as doing away with NPC vendors altogether (unlikely) or maybe just tweaking the rarity of materials (confirmed). Since we aren't exactly sure what is going to change, we can't really prepare ourselves properly, can we? We can guess which materials are going to become rarer with the revamp by looking at the recipes, but they will be undergoing changes as well. So trying to figure out what to hoard for the new economy is purely a guessing game. I don't want to get into theorycrafting on what may or may not change economy-wise. I'll leave it up to your best guess as to what materials you think you'll need to stock up on. My purpose in this post will be to help you get said materials. I can't think of a single material in the entire gameworld of Fallen Earth that is out of my grasp. I'm pretty sure I can find anything. I have compiled a list of useful materials and the best places that I know of to find them. There are some things that I will not divulge, but I'm going to be very generous considering most of the loot tables will be drastically altered very soon. Click past the cut and have a look at the list.
Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising releases new combat trailer
There's a new Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising video in town, and it's taking no prisoners. The new one-minute clip is centered on the game's combat mechanics, and there's plenty of whirling, slashing, stomping, and even a nifty hey-get-off-of-my-back move to whet your violent appetites. Though the clip is short, there's a good sampling of PvE mobs on display, all of them with a distinctly mythological flavor and all of them waiting to meet the business end of your weapon. You'll also get a glimpse of the game's minions (the Gods & Heroes version of the traditional MMORPG pet mechanic) as well as some nice-looking environments. The game has been selling well since its June launch, and you can check out the new trailer after the cut.
Funcom reveals three new monsters of The Secret World
Good things often come in threes, and when it comes to The Secret World, scary things do as well. Funcom has just released a new monster information triple-pack for its horror-conspiracy MMORPG, and the official TSW website has the goods on the wendigo, the deep ones, and the ak'ab. The wendigo are apparently descended from a tribe of humans who went cannibal, and Funcom's intro blurb cites their cursed metabolism and describes them as "more sickness than species." No less chilling are the deep ones, fearsome inhabitants of the Atlantic Ocean who are known to "drag victims into a death-dive until the unfortunates are crushed into more edible material." Finally we have the ak'ab, and Funcom's website quotes H.P. Lovecraft to help set the mood for describing these "cold, pale things of native myth" that do the nefarious bidding of sorcerers and necromancers.
Elsword Online unlocks the doors to two new dungeons
The comic book action-fest Elsword Online got a little bigger today, as Kill3rCombo expanded the newly launched title with additional dungeons, enemies and quests. The dungeons -- Nasod Foundry and Altera Core -- will offer tougher challenges to the three main characters, while 24 new quests should help to keep the playerbase busy. Since dungeons are run repeatedly, two new locales will be welcome across the board. When they're not beating up the bad guys, the principal characters can now learn a third cash skill and earn one of two new titles: Hero of Ponggo and Hero of Sonic. No, not the hedgehog or fast-food chain (we checked). You can get a peek at Nasod Foundry and Altera Core in the gallery below, and don't forget to check out our first impressions of Elsword Online from last month! %Gallery-120229%
TERA shows off Centaur lore and tactics
The official TERA website has updated with a look at one of the mobs players will likely encounter in their journeys around Arborea. Centaurs are found primarily in the Fey Forest region and look to challenge adventurers with spear attacks, hoof attacks, and their ability to sidestep player combos. The new entry also reveals a bit of centaur lore, noting that the legendary creatures are "presently allied with the fey creatures of northwestern Arcadia province in an uprising against woodcutters, whose drastic logging practices are in danger of denuding the forest in order to fulfill lumber orders from Velika." Tactically, centaurs are prone to rapidly closing the distance to a target as well as coming to the aid of nearby faeries and other centaurs. Check out all the details, as well as a couple of new screens, at the TERA website.
It's a rat, it's a bat, it's Guild Wars 2's Skritt!
Don't call them Bat-Men, Skaven or Reepicheep; you'll address them as "Skritt" and do it with respect if you know what's good for you. In a new ArenaNet blog post, Ree Soesbee reveals the latest Guild Wars 2 monster to plague the land: the "horribly, wickedly tricksy" Skritt. Skritt are a humanoid blend of rats and bats that live in massive colonies under the surface of Tyria, emerging to mooch and presumably harvest spoons from their victims. One interesting fact about this race is that Skritt share intelligence in an unknown way, and the more of them that congregate the smarter they become. It's this tenacity and hive-mind that have made them mortal enemies of the Asura, who are adamant that all Skritt be wiped out. So what prompted the creation of Guild Wars 2's Skritt? "We hadn't explored the idea of a hive-mind in our world before, but we didn't want to just repeat the old standard-an insectoid race. We went through many ideas, and eventually settled on the concept of a rattus rattus based horde. A major consideration in their creation was that this race had to challenge the asura on their own terms, but not be just another super-intelligent species."
Darkfall activity report highlights game-changing revamps, recent patch
The March 31st patch was a big step for Darkfall, with everything from skill gain rates to the meditation system to the alignment and crafting systems on the receiving end of some developer love. Aventurine is just warming up, though, and the latest activity report illustrates what's next for sandbox PvP fans all over the world. Work continues on racial area revamps; the Mirdain and Alfar sections of Agon are nearly complete. Aventurine's Tasos Flambouras also hints at some exciting PvE updates, including trap doors and various gameplay physics tweaks designed to delight Agonian dungeoneers. There's also a good bit of info on NPC and monster AI revamps and re-population, new player character and armor models, and a mention of new sound, lighting, and GUI systems, all of which are building toward the game-changing revamp that Aventurine has mentioned previously. Check out all the details on the Darkfall epic blog.
Massively's exclusive TERA lore: Day in the Life - Kumas
Yesterday we got a glimpse of two new BAMs courtesy of En Masse Entertainment. Intrepid explorers ranging far and wide across the vast reaches of Arborea will no doubt run across a Naga or a Kumas in their travels, and today En Masse brings us a new Day in the Life lore snippet focused on the latter. Penned by Stacey Jannsen, Day in the Life -- Kumas takes you inside the one-track mind of the titular creature as he attempts to make a meal out of a wayward Popori and finds himself face to face with another (equally hungry) BAM with a similar goal. Head past the cut for more, and don't forget the three new screenshots in our TERA gallery. %Gallery-88481%
Darkfall blog details PvE tweaks, hints at big PvP changes
Exciting things are afoot in the world of Agon, and Aventurine's weekly Darkfall activity report is here to fill you in on all the grisly details. Whether you're keen on seeing one of your personal weapon designs imported into the game or curious about the ongoing PvE and AI updates, this week's entry makes for interesting reading. To kick things off, Aventurine's Tasos Flambouras gives us the low-down on grungrocs, and these gnarly boar-like bipeds are bent on ruining every adventurer's day. There's also talk of boss fight tweaks, and Flambouras writes that there are "significant changes" coming to high-end PvE content including damage cap adjustments, fight tuning, and loot table changes. Darkfall's PvP is getting some love as well, and new land-based objectives (similar to the game's sea fortresses) are in the works. Flambouras also hints at a new "Arena" project and "a lot more we're doing with PvP" that will be revealed at a later date. Finally, all Darkfall accounts have been gifted with 25,000 meditation points (the game's offline leveling currency) to celebrate the title's second anniversary. Check out the full presentation on the Darkfall Epic Blog.
