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Patch 1.19 delayed for Final Fantasy XIV
While Final Fantasy XIV players were eagerly looking toward the end of the week for the game's newest patch, it's going to take just a few days longer for everything to be finished. In his latest letter to the community, Naoki Yoshida apologized for the delay but confirmed that in order to complete the testing process, the development team is holding the patch until October 4th. The guildleve history evaluation and the Ixali stronghold will also be held until 1.19a for further testing and refinement. On the plus side, the full patch notes for patch 1.19 will be available for viewing on September 30th. Yoshida also included a video preview of the upcoming Ifrit battle that will go live in 1.19, showing what players can expect from the first skirmish against this mighty primal. Jump on past the break to take a look at the fight as well as some hints of the game personalities involved once the patch goes live next Tuesday.
Runes of Magic shows off a teaser trailer for Chapter 4
There's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming Runes of Magic chapter 4, as outlined by our own Jeremy Stratton quite recently. But sometimes, the promise of new systems can't quite stand up to an impressive new set of visuals, and a minute of video can provide plenty of excitement in ways that game mechanics usually can't. The newest trailer for the update, now dubbed Lands of Despair, should do an excellent job of drumming up player enthusiasm. Featuring a slow zoom-in accompanied by a steady and suitably creepy voice-over, the trailer is a step beyond any of the previous trailers the team has put together. The full trailer can be viewed on the game's official YouTube channel, and it provides an impressive cavalcade of imagery both unsettling and dramatic. Runes of Magic players might not have a precise date for the patch just yet, but between the visuals and the system changes, there's plenty to anticipate.
Through the woods to Alpha County: Fallen Earth issues the March state of the game
February is a quick month for everyone, but it seems to have been even busier than normal for the Fallen Earth team. There are some major content updates in the wings for the game, several of which are being discussed in the most recent State of the Game address. Obviously, the biggest issue on the minds of players is the promised Sector Four and Alpha County, both of which are going to be rolled out in a staggered fashion starting with the Terminal Woods (which Edward Marshall toured just last week). That will include a surfeit of new missions, achievements, PvP objectives, and special new Scavenger bosses. Alpha County itself, meanwhile, will be getting rolled out sometime in the following months, an update that will see a level cap increase to 55 and new expansions to crafting among other improvements. The letter also states that the team is moving forward on player-crafted housing, as it's long been on the agenda for the team to handle with detail. Fallen Earth players are encouraged to read the full letter on the future of the game, sure to make any clone happy about the content just around the corner.
City of Heroes offers an Issue 20 overview and development journal
PAX East is just around the corner, and it marks the second east coast appearance of the Paragon Studios team. Last year the developers had an upcoming expansion to preview, but this year nevertheless promises to still have plenty of revelations for the City of Heroes fans, starting with the new Issue 20 overview page available today. Aside from the two known Incarnate Trials, the page also previews two new task forces for characters in the 20-40 range as well as more respec trials available for heroes or villains who change alignment. If the overview alone isn't enough to get you fired up for the upcoming Issue 20, the latest installment of the Intrepid Informer previews one of the new areas designed for the patch: a fortress made of lashed-together ships. Gilbert Martinez, one of the game's art leads, explains the process that led to creating an evocative new piece of scenery. City of Heroes players have plenty to look forward to in the near future, not the least of which being an upcoming patch with some pretty interesting content.
Exclusive: MapleStory video preview of upcoming class
New classes and new abilities are always a good thing. MapleStory is already full of classes and abilities, but the upcoming Aftershock update will be adding in a new set of abilities for the Cygnus Knight class. Players who have attained level 120 in the class will be granted the option of making a new character of the Ultimate Explorer class, a character starting at level 50 and bypassing the early training levels for veteran players. The fine folks at Nexon have put together a preview showing off some of the new abilities and attacks players will be able to enjoy in the new update, animated with MapleStory's usual aplomb. While it's a bit on the short side, it should still give a picture of what new destruction can be wrought in the game's side-scrolling regions. Click on past the break for the video, and keep an eye out for further news as the patch gets closer.
Final Fantasy XIV shows off its first notorious monstrosity
Notorious Monsters. The name is well-known to any veteran of Final Fantasy XI, denoting an especially powerful opponent with accordingly potent rewards. Final Fantasy XIV is set to receive its own set of notorious opponents with the December update, and the first preview of such has just been released. Deadeyes, a wolf deep within the forests of the Black Shroud, is the first one announced, and the preview details both why Deadeyes is to be feared and what players can hope to gain from the challenge. The preview implies that Deadeyes will be encountered via a faction levequest, thus clearing up questions of how spawns of notorious monsters would work within the game. It also explains that upon his defeat, he will reward players with one of 12 runestones, with each stone being turned in to an Ul'dahn trader for a powerful piece of armor. The Harlequin set, a four-piece set for Disciples of Magic to use to enhance the potency of their magic, is shown off as one of the possible rewards. Final Fantasy XIV players have quite a bit to look forward to in the next update, and Deadeyes looks to be just the beginning.
Better storage en route to Final Fantasy XI
Inventory space is at a premium in Final Fantasy XI and always has been. When you first start playing, the bag space you have seems like a reasonable amount, but after a couple of hours of play you wind up with both an inventory and a Mog Safe stuffed to the brink. The December version update promises to bring the latest options for players to store items, however, allowing players access to two new item-storage methods -- the Mog Sack and the brand-new Porter Moogles scattered across the world. The Mog Sack is a cousin to the Mog Satchel, but where the latter requires the purchase of an authenticator linked to the player's account, the sack simply requires a quick purchase of just under 10,000 gil. It allows access to stored items from anywhere, and it expands concurrent with a character's normal inventory space, thus allowing players a maximum of 80 extra storage spots. Porter Moogles, meanwhile, will allow players to store high-end items in a manner similar to the event armor storage already in place. Take a look at the full preview for moogle locations, and get ready to kiss your Final Fantasy XI storage woes goodbye... for a couple of hours, anyway.
Warhammer Online reveals tidbits about 1.3.4
After the storm of updates, changes, and news over the holidays, Warhammer Online has been pretty quiet lately. Under the circumstances, that might be a little more unsettling for the game's players. But the silence has at long last been broken, as community manager Andy Belford recently shared some information with the community about what can be expected when patch 1.3.4 arrives. And at least one of the announced features is something that should make a large number of players quite thankful -- the promise of weapons available via RvR gameplay instead of PvE. Belford stresses that the weapons will be purchased via a currency system that works with the game's scenarios, rather than any existing medallions or crests. As a connected point, he mentioned that scenarios were due for some more evaluation, with the promise of re-evaluating or removing several of the less popular options. There are also changes planned in the way that the game handles capturing cities, clearly designed to make defending captured areas more of a tactical decision for players. The patch is intended to go live on the test server by the second week of February at the absolute latest, which should be good news for all Warhammer Online fans.
