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The Daily Grind: Have you branched out beyond traditional MMOs lately?
As I mentioned in this space last week, I've been suffering a bit of MMO burnout. I've still been gaming, though, mostly via single-player stuff but also a smidge of Marvel Heroes. I was never much for Diablo, which is why my ongoing MH fixation is somewhat surprising. Maybe I'm just an action RPG late-bloomer, and I'm curious to see if I might enjoy something like Path of Exile now, too. What about you, Massively readers? Have you branched out beyond traditional MMOs recently? How so? 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!
PAX Prime 2014: Marvel Heroes is the industry's surprise success story
Meeting with Marvel Heroes' David Brevik at PAX Prime confirmed what I have been observing over the past year or so: This game has quietly and steadily become one of the bigger success stories in the online gaming industry. Brevik told me that the Marvel Heroes playerbase continues to grow, boasting four times as many players as it had nine months ago. What did Brevik attribute to the game's meteoric rise? The promotions and sheer mountain of new content that the team's been adding certainly helped, but he said that it really came down to terrific community relations. Brevik streams the game four nights a week and talks to the community members as though they were part of his family.
Get a glimpse of Rogue in Marvel Heroes' video preview
Few are the superhero fans who don't like Rogue, the saucy southern villain-turned-hero, and Marvel Heroes will soon be adding this powerful X-Man to its lineup. With her unique power-absorbing abilities, how will Rogue work in the game? Devs hosted a lengthy livestream to introduce the hero and show off her versatility. Of Rogue's three power sets, only one is pre-defined -- the Miss Marvel set with flight, strength, etc. The other two are customizable based on the powers players actually steal from friends! If you missed the stream, you can get full details on stealing powers (as well as forgetting them to learn others), in the hour-and-twenty-minute video right here. There's also some talk about Jean Grey and Ghostrider, who get a Dark Phoenix power and more single-target attacks, respectively. Fans can also discuss Rogue in her special forums on the official site. Rogue is available currently for pre-order.
Marvel Heroes now featuring Operation Omega
Operation Omega is going on right now in Marvel Heroes. In fact, it's a week-long event that started yesterday, so it will be going on for some time. It features 24 percent server-wide boosts to XP, SIF, and RIF as well as harder enemies and more loot. Oh, and don't forget to collect those Omega access files and trade them in to Dum Dum Dugan for exclusive items and artifacts!
Marvel Heroes unleashes Cosmic Chaos Week
Bad things to unleash include krakens, tempers, and the hounds. Good things to unleash include puppy parades and Marvel Heroes' new Cosmic Chaos Week. This soon-to-be monthly event features a week full of double boss loot drops, double prestige earned, and cosmic doops as far as the eye can see. There will also be opportunities to save up for special rewards and to buy certain galactic-themed heroes for a discounted price. The event is currently live and will go until the patch next week.
Marvel Heroes celebrates Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy film hits theaters on August 1st, and Marvel Heroes is counting down with its 10 Days of Guardians of the Galaxy in-game event. Players can complete three shared quests once per day to max out their allotment of Planet X Bark, which can then be redeemed for loot boxes with varying levels of unique rewards. There's also a daily login reward, so head to the official Marvel Heroes website to read all about it!
Marvel Heroes has great plans for you this Fourth of July weekend
Do you have a few days off this weekend for superhero action? Marvel Heroes has a trio of events lined up for players this weekend who have an abundance of time on their hands. The main event this weekend is a "Red, White, and Loot" boost to rotating game modes. Marvel Heroes will increase loot drops between four game modes depending on the time of day. There will also be BBQ-themed drops all over the game (because HULK LOVE HOT DOG!) and an extended Soccer Showdown event that neatly coincides with the World Cup.
Marvel Heroes' super first year
In a game focused on super heroes with super powers facing super villains, you wouldn't expect a birthday bash to be just ordinary, would you? Of course not; it should be super! Gazillion agreed: Marvel Heroes just wrapped up its mega month-long first anniversary celebration this past weekend. From multiple buy-one-get-one-free offers to plentiful buffs and boosts to 365 birthday gifts for each player, the event was filled with festivities fit to bear the "super" moniker. The celebration itself capped off a year of growth and expansion for the action RPG; the Marvel Heroes of today is not the Marvel Heroes that players logged into back in June of 2013. Even before the big release of Marvel Heroes 2015, which kicked off the anniversary festivities on June 4th, the game had already evolved quite a bit. How has it changed over the last 12 months? Let's take a hop, skip, and super leap down memory lane for a look.
Marvel Heroes' Brevik thanks community, touts anniversary infographic
Marvel Heroes creator David Brevik has published a thank-you post to gamers who have made the superheroic online ARPG a success over its first year. He lauds the game's community for its unflagging support, and he also lists quite a number of improvements made over the past 12 months as well as a list of very recent and upcoming tweaks. Oh yeah, and there's one of those spiffy infographics, too! Click past the cut to have a look.
Silver Surfer hangs ten into Marvel Heroes
Is more than one color for a superhero costume maddening to your sensibilities? Do you look at caped crusaders and wonder, "If only they used beach sports equipment for physics-defying purposes?" Are you the sole die-hard fan of the second Fantastic Four movie? Then today, my friend, is your day. Marvel Heroes has added the Silver Surfer to its in-game hero roster. The Surfer is an alien who used to work for the planet-eating Galactus but has since defected to the forces of good. The new hero has two costume options, including the Savage set, and is available to purchase either with money or Eternity Splinters.
Marvel Heroes is adding dual specs
If superheroes have dual identities, why not player characters? Marvel Heroes is leaning this way, which is why Gazillion is working on a dual spec feature for the game. "We have dual spec coming sometime in the next eight weeks [or] so," the devs posted on the forum. "The current plan is to offer everyone a free second spec that they can use for PVP or anything else (raiding, solo, groups, different builds, etc). Currently the UI for it is being designed, then we'll get the back end server systems set up for it and put it on test center."
Marvel Heroes celebrates its first anniversary
Marvel Heroes turns one year old today and it's throwing itself a fabulous birthday party. Don't worry: You're all invited as well. Gazillion is handing out an anniversary gift per day per account for players level 30 or higher who log in and talk to a special NPC. In addition, the team has toggled the server to boost XP, RIF, SIF, and cosmic chest rewards by 50%. Marvel Heroes has big plans coming up later this month, including achievements, login rewards, the Silver Surfer, and a special surprise.
Marvel Heroes celebrates Mac open beta, releases Surtur trailer
Marvel Heroes is celebrating the upcoming Mac open beta with two new content packs: the Mini and Pro Pack. The Mini Pack includes four heroes, eight costumes, five iBoosts, and four of each Fortune Card. The Pro Pack includes eight heroes, exclusive Iron Man Armor, 21 costumes, two team-ups, 15 iBoosts, pet mini Dragon Man, six of each Fortune Card, the Mac Pro Founder forum title, and Iron Man Guardians of the Galaxy White Variant avatar. These packs will be available to both PC and Mac players. The advance and exclusive content will be available at a later unannounced date. Gazillion says that the Mac open beta is coming "very soon." Gazillion has also launched a new Surtur trailer that previews content coming later this month! View it after the break.
Sentinel siege going on right now in Marvel Heroes
Siege of the Sentinels is happening now in Marvel Heroes! The towering baddies are spawning randomly throughout Gazillion's action RPG, and they'll be doing so through next week's patch. After you take a few down, you can bring looted Sentinel Parts to Hank Pym and you'll eventually be able to craft a couple of new items, according to Gazillion's announcement blurb. The devs have also buffed up X-Mansion loot and released Psylocke as a playable hero available in the game's cash shop. If you don't want to pony up for Psylocke or grind shards to unlock her, you can watch Massively's MJ stream her live on May 24th at 12:00 p.m. EDT.
Marvel Heroes introduces One-Shots!
Greetings, True Believers! If you've been enjoying the scintillating storyline swiftly strung throughout Marvel Heroes, you're no doubt happy at the thought of more tantalizing tales of heroes and villains. But when the game is built on a broad base of boundless maps and mazes, where could the writers weave a web of wonder without damaging the delicate designs of Doom's decisive defeat? Why, the answer is simple -- it's time for the game to embrace the might Marvel One-Shot! One-Shots are episodes carefully crafted to comic concerns, focused on isolated incidents rather than breaking up the flow of the central narrative structure. The first one pits heroes against the sinister schemes of Man-Ape as he seeks to subdue the people of Wakanda and ruin the regency of Wakanda's rightful ruler, Black Panther. Any hero of level 20 or above who's cheering for a change of pace can pick up the One-Shot by selecting the Terminal from any waypoint, so by all means, jump in the next time you're in the game. Excelsior!
Marvel Heroes hosting Bounty Hunter Week
If you're having gift box withdrawals following the conclusion of last week's Marvel Heroes event extravaganza, you'll be happy to know that the devs are kicking off something called Bounty Hunter Week starting May 9th. The festivities involve obtaining A.R.M.O.R. research drives and then turning them in to a special vendor in exchange for new uniques, artifacts, Ghost Boxes, and costume cores. Login gifts are back, too, as everyone showing up on May 10th will get a Bounty Hunter box while everyone who plays on May 11th will get a Mother's Day gift.
The Daily Grind: Have you ever been put off by double XP?
Marvel Heroes features a bunch of firsts for me. It's my first prolonged exposure to the Marvel universe. It's the first ARPG I've enjoyed, and it's the first game that's kind of annoyed me with its promotional XP bonuses. Let me explain. I hate leveling in MMOs. I don't play MMOs for leveling or progression and 99 percent of the time these tropes act as timesinks that get in the way of what I actually want to do in a virtual world. So, normally I love, love, love double XP. Well, last week in Marvel Heroes I was blowing through the levels so fast that I ended up way ahead of the story in terms of level-specific areas. I want to play through the story once, enjoy it, and then go about speed leveling, trying all the other characters, etc. But that was almost impossible to do since I couldn't log in without levels and loot bags hitting my character in the face! Anyway, it's my own fault for starting the game during a promotional period, and I'm not really complaining as much as I'm looking to start a discussion topic. So, how about it, Massively readers? Do XP bonuses ever seem counterproductive or annoying, or is it just me? 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!
Marvel Heroes makes visible the Invisible Woman
Marvel Heroes today revealed new playable character Invisible Woman, though I suppose we'll have to just take the studio's word for it since, you know, she can turn invisible. Sue Storm is the latest member of the Fantastic Four to be added to the roster and joins her brother, Johnny Storm the Human Torch, and Thing in Marvel Heroes. Able to bend light surrounding her to create force fields for both defensive and offensive use, she is informally known as the most powerful member due to the limitless potential of her powers. Gazillion has provided Massively's readers with a special code for a mystery gift in the game: RUNE3. It expires Saturday morning at 2:59 a.m. EST, so if you want some mystery, use it quickly. The studio also announced the start of Rune Week, an event that implements brand-new rune types and doubles rune drop rates across the game. [Source: Gazillion press release]
The Daily Grind: Has an MMO ever sparked your interest in its IP?
IP-based MMOs are a big draw, as games like Star Wars: The Old Republic, Lord of the Rings Online, DC Universe Online and even World of Warcraft have shown us. Clearly these IP-based games have brought pre-existing fans of said IPs into the MMO fold. Does that work in reverse, though? It's working in my case, as my current addiction to Marvel Heroes has caused me to purchase a few X-Men comic books. What about you, Massively readers? Has an IP-based MMO ever sparked your interest in an IP? 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!
The Daily Grind: Who's your favorite Marvel Heroes hero?
I'm having a hard time picking a main character in Marvel Heroes. I started out with Storm, then F2P guilt intervened so I ponied up for Nightcrawler. Then I got a free Spider-man as a result of Gazillion's 10-month anniversary promotional shindig which only added to my indecision. It's a good problem to have, though, and I guess for now I'll go with Nightcrawler because, well, teleporting. What about you, Marvel Heroes players? Who's your favorite 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!
