mystery-boxes
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Unwrapping the mystery of GW2's Wintersday boxes
You've heard plenty about it, from the history behind the holiday to the schedule of festivities. And now it is upon us! Yes folks, Wintersday in Guild Wars 2 is finally here with its assortment of seasonal activities and holiday-themed goodies. And among those goodies are special mystery gift boxes available in the gem store. What exactly comes in a mystery box? That's what Massively's Richie Procopio, aka Bog Otter, aimed to find out in his latest video. Richie understands that folks may be wary of spending their gems on the unknown. The boxes are said to contain up to five personalized Wintersday gifts plus an additional themed item as well as a chance to contain new minipets and rare, themed weapon skin tickets. But is it worth the risk? To give you a better idea of what random loot awaits fans in the mystery boxes, Richie -- rechristening himself Bog Guinea Pig -- took the risk upon himself and unwrapped a number of boxes for you in his video. Check out what gifts he received after the break.
Star Trek Online adds Ferengi lock boxes and in-game store
Thought that the Cardassian lock boxes and those ever-present "So-and-so opened a lock box and got a Galor-class cruiser!" messages were the end of Star Trek Online's foray into pay-for-treasure items? Think again! As of today, STO players will begin to see Ferengi lock boxes dropping in the game. As with the Cardassian boxes, the Ferengi boxes can only be unlocked with a special key that must be purchased in the C-Store. The contents of the boxes contain a mystery prize that ranges from the D'Kora Marauder Class starship to combat pets to Lobi Crystals. Gold lock boxes have a higher chance of delivering a better prize. In addition to proliferating lock boxes across the galaxy, STO's Ferengi are opening a store on Drozana Station that will sell a variety of fun items in exchange for Lobi Crystals. The store will offer Ferengi shuttles, photonic tactical bridge officers, costume pieces, and pets.
Leaderboard: Lockboxes yea vs. lockboxes nay
While the concept of lockboxes -- or gift boxes, or super packs, or whatever nomenclature you prefer -- is certainly not new to MMOs, it seems like they're finally making headway into some of the biggest free-to-play titles as of late. From Star Trek Online to Lord of the Rings Online to City of Heroes, games are making beaucoup bucks from hosting these mystery treasure chests that cost real-world money to acquire or unlock. Some players love them and some despise them, but the truth is that they're incredible moneymakers for companies. But money isn't what Leaderboard is about; we're in search of public opinion. Do lockboxes have an acceptable place in MMOs? Not only would finances seem to suggest so, but the psychology of these goodie bags offers euphoric rushes that normal monster looting does not provide. Sure, maybe it's gambling, but nobody's forcing you to buy them -- and if you do, you're guaranteed to get something somewhat useful if not incredibly rare. Should lockboxes be shunned and boycotted in all MMOs? Are they ruining the reputation of F2P? Are they representative of the worst mentality this business model has to offer? Do lockboxes kill koala bears and deforest Brazil? Has a lockbox been the cause of one or more breakups in your dating life? Let's put it to a vote: lockboxes yea or lockboxes nay? Keep in mind that if you've spent money on one or more in a game, then you don't want to come across as hypocritical in this poll!
LotRO's update 5.2 showers players with lock boxes
Lord of the Rings Online is grasping the concept of mystery lock boxes with both hands and isn't letting go. In fact, the game's new 5.2 patch will see these lock boxes dropping with increased frequency across all of Middle-earth. The boxes, which require a special key to unlock for its tantalizing prize, have had their loot tables improved and can even drop additional keys for future boxes. Update 5.2 isn't just about these lock boxes, of course. Improvements to monster play and two endgames raids are on the docket, as well as a much-needed in-game map to the Pit of Irons. For those who have gotten turned around in the aforementioned pit (such as a Massively staffer or two), this comes as a welcome piece of news. Crafters will rejoice to see that the cooldown on guild crafting recipes has been lowered by six hours and that several recipes, such as the Tome of Wisdom, are now granted automatically. Word is that the Buried Treasure in-game event has gone live with the update as well.
Star Trek Online unpacks Cardassian mystery boxes
While last December's red gift boxes proved controversial in the Star Trek Online community, Cryptic has stated that they were incredibly profitable and that it will continue to produce similar "treasure chest" items that require real-world money to acquire. True to its word, the studio will release a new batch of Cardassian Lock Boxes this Thursday as standard, free drops -- but opening them is going to cost you. The lock boxes contain one random reward inside that ranges from insanely rare (in this case, a Cardassian Galor-class starship) to trivially common (such as consumables) and everything in-between. While the boxes will be attained and traded like any other in-game loot, they can only be opened with a special Master Key purchased in the C-Store. Master Keys will go on sale for 100 CP apiece or 10 for 900 CP. Other potential prizes in the Cardassian Lock Boxes include Tribbles, Hortas, shuttles, Deep Space Nine costumes, and duty officer packs.
