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Previously on MV TV: Week of January 16th, 2012
Welcome to Previously on MV TV! Our livestreaming schedule has picked up a lot over the past few weeks, and our readers have busy lives, so we know it's impossible to watch every single streaming event live. Fortunately for you, we save all of our streams all for posterity on Massively's Twitch TV channel so that you can view them at your leisure. Even better, we've got a roundup of a few of last week's MV TV highlights from the livestream team. Follow along after the jump for the best of the best!
Previously on MV TV: Week of January 9th, 2012
Welcome to the brand-new Previously on MV TV! Our livestreaming schedule has picked up a lot over the past few weeks, and our readers have busy lives, so we know it's impossible to watch every single streaming event live. Fortunately for you, we save all of our streams all for posterity on Massively's Twitch TV channel, so you can view them at your leisure. Even better, we've got a roundup of a few of last week's MV TV highlights from the livestream team. Follow along after the jump for the best of the best!
Congressman gamer supports Riot Game's anti-SOPA stance
SOPA is an extremely hot-button issue on the internet right now, with politicians, companies, websites, and individuals coming out for and against this controversial piece of US legislation. It's so important that many game studios have broken the unwritten rule of not commenting on politics to state their positions on the matter. Riot Games is one of these studios that have piped up to oppose the bill, as CEO Brandon Beck posted a lengthy reasoning as to why SOPA would harm League of Legends specifically, and he asked players to help stop it from being passed into law. "While we do support efforts to prevent online piracy, the current form of this legislation comes at far too high a cost for us, our players, and online communities across the internet," Beck writes, citing examples as to how the game could be taken offline and the community dismantled if the SOPA were wielded against LoL. Interestingly enough, Colorado Rep. Jared Polis, who is himself a League of Legends player, replied to Beck in support of Riot Games' stance: "I'm particularly concerned that SOPA might stifle the kind of innovation that brings us games we love, such as LoL. The bill makes it far too easy for angry competitors to sue good law abiding companies out of existence." Polis says that he is drafting an alternate piece of legislation to combat internet piracy without SOPA's potential abuse. [Update: If you'd like to encourage other companies to blockade SOPA, you might be interested in the online petition aimed squarely at Electronic Arts.]
League of Legends dev Riot Games speaks out against SOPA
Riot Games, the studio behind the incredibly successful League of Legends, has posted a statement in opposition to the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) and "PROTECT IP Act" (PIPA). The company notes that preventing piracy of copyrighted content is a "laudable goal," but that SOPA/PIPA go beyond addressing piracy. The company laid out that the legislation would affect its fans in a number of ways. It's concerned about streaming services being shut down for non-malicious use of copyrighted material, and the threat such laws would have on creation and sharing sites such as YouTube, Reddit and DeviantArt, along with streaming websites, including Own3d and Twitch. In-house, Riot notes features such as in-game chat and forums could be cut back to avoid potential threats. Riot is not a member for the ESA, the video game industry's political arm, which is in support of the legislation. Riot also mentions that both acts "raise serious constitutional free speech issues, and could even compromise the basic security infrastructure of the internet." The statement concludes, "While we do support efforts to prevent online piracy, the current form of this legislation comes at far too high a cost for us, our players, and online communities across the internet." (As an aside, Riot's attorney is currently answering almost anything on Reddit right now about the company's stance.)
League of Legends pops the cork for Lunar Revel
Feeling the doldrums of winter settling into your bones? Missing the colorful lights and excessive sugar dosages of last month? The good news is that there's still a great holiday to celebrate this month -- the Chinese New Year -- and League of Legends is totally on board with any excuse to party. Coming to the game is the brand-new Lunar Revel holiday, which is "a time to celebrate the possibilities of the future with the coming of the new moon." Not only will the game be decorated with cheery lanterns, but Riot Games is adding some new goodies to enjoy, including special consumables in the store and unique skins for Talon, Sona, Wukong, and Lee Sin. The devs say that this marks the beginning of many cultural-themed holidays as they go on a "world tour" to highlight the many countries that play League of Legends. You can get an advance sneak peek at the new Lunar Revel costumes in the gallery below. [Source: Riot Games press release] %Gallery-126155%
MV Guide: January 9-15, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Over one percent of League of Legends players have been banned
Handling antisocial behaviour has always been a problem for online game developers, and MOBAs like League of Legends certainly get the worst of it. The inherently team-based nature and slippery slope gameplay in MOBAs makes it very easy for one antisocial player to ruin a game and cause your team to lose. The problem is normally tackled head-on with a report tool and a suite of hired GMs, but what do you do if your game is free-to-play and has over 15 million registered players? It would be impractical to hire thousands of GMs to police a community of that size, so Riot Games came up with an alternative in the Tribunal system. The Tribunal allows players who have played enough games to reach level 30 to vote on whether to take action against a reported player. Once enough votes are tallied, either the player is pardoned automatically or his case is submitted to a smaller GM team to await punishment. The system went live earlier this year, and Riot has now revealed how incredibly successful the system has been with the publication of some very interesting banning statistics. The biggest shocker is that a whopping 1.4% of LoL's over 15 million players have been banned with the system, a workload that far exceeds the capacity of a traditional GM team. Ninety-four percent of players submitted to the Tribunal are punished, with about 50% of them never reoffending. Skip past the cut for an image showing these and other statistics, and stay tuned to our weekly Not So Massively column every Monday for more LoL news and updates.
Massively's 2011 winter holiday event roundup
The winter holiday season is well underway, both in and out of game. Many schools, businesses, and communities are preparing to take a little time off to enjoy the holidays, and here at Massively, we want to make sure you don't miss a single in-game party. We've been rounding up all the details on celebrations happening in our favorite MMOs, combining them into a handy guide. Follow along after the jump for your map to all of the can't-miss MMO winter holiday events for 2011!
League of Legends' Viktor wields science for evil
Meet Viktor. He's your basic nice-guy scientist who has one teeny, tiny bad experience and decides to turn his entire life into comic book villainy. Feel sorry for him or don't, he's going to rend you limb from limb either way. Viktor is the latest champion on League of Legends' drawing board, and Riot Games has given us a sneak peek at the awe and terror that he will bring to the game. Viktor is written as the creator of fellow champion Blitzcrank, but is a wee bit upset that his work got stolen from under his nose. Instead of joining a therapy group, Viktor turned his body into a robotic slaughter apparatus and is out for some good ol' fashioned revenging. Viktor's passive ability, Evolving Technology, allows players to purchase an item from the store to modify his bonus to suit the players' needs. He can also shoot a beam that bounces back to him as a shield, set up a Graviton Field to slow and stun enemies in his immediate vicinity, and fire a massive Death Ray that cuts through multiple foes. His Chaos Storm is neat as well, allowing Viktor to send out a cloud that silences and damages enemies caught within it.
League of Legends releases Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox
Back in September, Riot Games was so excited about an upcoming League of Legends champion it had barely begun working on that it released the concept to fans far ahead of schedule. The champion later became known as Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox, and last week we got a sneak peek at her abilities and the balance changes that would be accompanying her arrival. That patch went live this weekend, and Ahri has now been officially released. In a new champion spotlight video, LoL's resident strategic expert Phreak discusses each of Ahri's abilities in detail and gives tips on playing the champion effectively. Ahri is a mage assassin, able to dish out considerable damage in a short space of time. After landing a number of spell attacks, Ahri's next spell will hit with a huge bonus to spell vamp. By sending an Orb of Deception through a whole wave of enemy creeps once the spell vamp buff is active, Ahri can heal herself for a significant amount. Her ultimate allows her to quickly dash around the field of play, either to chase down a fleeing champion or evade pursuit. Skip past the cut to watch the full champion spotlight video in HD, and stay tuned to our weekly Not So Massively column every Monday for more LoL news and updates.
League of Legends to introduce big changes with the Ahri patch
Riot Games has revealed that the long-awaited League of Legends champion Ahri the Nine Tailed Fox will be coming in the very next patch. In addition to heralding the arrival of the new champion, the Ahri patch will introduce some major gameplay changes. In a new patch preview video, lead champion designer Morello and spotlight announcer Phreak discuss the biggest balance and gameplay changes coming in the next patch. Twisted Fate's attack range will be increased, and he'll now be able to manually pick a target for his attack once he locks a card. This should prevent cards hitting the wrong target and make him better able to harass in a lane without leaving himself exposed. Tryndamere receives a much-needed nerf to his self-heal as he tends to have a full rage bar when he's doing well in a lane and the heal ends up being much too powerful. The "perseverence" mastery in the utility tree is being removed and replaced with an old "strength of spirit" mastery that converts maximum mana into bonus health regeneration. With the removal of dodge runes, Phreak and Morello also discuss some new ones being added to make the game a bit more interesting. Skip past the cut to watch the full patch preview video, and stay tuned to our weekly Not So Massively column every Monday for more LoL news and updates.
League of Legends discusses jungling changes in patch preview
If you've been following the recent updates on League of Legends, you know that the Riot Games staff has been working to diversify the current metagame with updates to the mastery tree and a complete overhaul of the dodge mechanic. The Riot team is now looking to continue the trend toward improving jungling with the Volibear patch. A whole slew of changes aimed at lowering the skill and rune requirements for jungling and making jungling decisions more complex are slated for the next patch. In addition, the dev team is planning a total rework of Sivir (probably at least partially because of the planned dodge changes). Check out the video after the jump for more specifics!
League of Legends Season Two underway now
Riot Games has kicked off Season Two of League of Legends, bringing the promised updates to the extremely popular free-to-play title. The new update means that all players have had their masteries reset, the new Summoner Spell changes are in and running, and the beta version of the game's "Spectator Mode" is now available on a limited basis. The new update also introduces the game's Competitive Site, in which players can see their newly created ranked teams and standings, and follow along in the race for Season Two's $5 million prize. That's where players can rank up online, and then eventually be invited to live events around the world, culminating in the World Championship. Good luck to all of you League of Legends players out there, and if you really are gunning for the top be sure to guarantee there's a Fizz on your team. That fish is totally overpowered in mid game right now.
League of Legends announces the start of Season Two with new video
The time has finally come, League of Legends players: Season Two is upon us. And to commemorate the occasion, Riot Games has released a video recapping the events of Season One and introducing players to what they can expect in Season Two. Season Two's tournaments, for those not in the know, will reward players with 5 million USD in prizes, so if you've got the skills, there's money to be made. To check out the full video, just click on past the cut.
League of Legends trailer shows off new Vladimir model
There is a monster in all of us, according to Riot Games, and the company is capitalizing on that blood lust with a revamp of its Vladimir champion in League of Legends. The Crimson Reaper was originally released in July of 2010, and today Riot is giving the Blood Lord a makeover that features a "new and intimidating model," new voiceovers, new animations, and new spell effects. "If you'd like to indulge your dark side by living out fantasies of holding the lives of your enemies in the palm of your hand, Blood Lord Vladimir should help slake that thirst," Riot's website says. The company has also released a new teaser trailer for the champion, which you can view after the cut.
League of Legends surpasses 11.5 million active players
It looks like League of Legends has really hit the big-time. In a press release today, Riot Games announced that its popular free-to-play MOBA title has surpassed 11.5 million active players. To put that into perspective for you MMO gaming folks, when Blizzard last announced its World of Warcraft figures, the game weighed in at about 10.3 million active players. To put the icing on the cake, Riot notes that League of Legends has about 1.3 million players at peak times each day, whereas the current game du jour, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, reports about 250,000 concurrent players at peak times on Steam. Needless to say, Riot Games is more than pleased with this turn of events. The studio's CEO, Brandon Beck, attributes the game's success to the players, saying that "the incredible passion and dedication of our players is positively inspiring. Our community's boundless enthusiasm is why they are central to every decision we make at Riot." So good work, League of Legends fans, and good luck to those of you looking to make a name in Season Two. [Update: Click on past the cut for an enormous infographic detailing more stats on this milestone.] [Source: Riot Games press release]
MV Guide: November 14-20, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) We've got some exciting MV TV news this week: We're changing the channel! We've moved to Twitch TV, and we think you're going to love the new look. You can still access the old livestream archives at our Livestream.com channel, but beginning today, everything new will be shown and saved on our Twitch TV channel. Ready to see what's on MV TV this week? Follow along after the jump and take a look!
League of Legends prepares for Fizz patch
All this week, Riot Games has been releasing snippets of information on upcoming League of Legends champion Fizz, the Tidal Trickster. Fizz's mechanics preview gave a first glimpse into the sea monster's skills, including his ability to dodge attacks with his trident and to call a shark to eat the target enemy. A new art spotlight video gave us our first look at the champion and showed off both his signature trident weapon and one mean-looking shark. Today Riot published a patch preview video for the upcoming Fizz patch, detailing all the other changes coming with the update. Ranged carry champions are the focus of rebalancing efforts in the coming patch, with Caitlyn, Kog'maw and Graves being nerfed and Corki, Miss Fortune and Tristana due for buffs. With tournament season approaching, Riot is being careful to make these changes very minor to avoid upsetting current lane balance. Sona's auras are being nerfed a little, which isn't a surprise as Sona's usually the obvious choice for support. The season two summoner spell changes we discussed earlier in the week will also be going live with this patch, along with revamped mastery trees. Skip past the cut to watch the full video in HD.
League of Legends announces ranked team play, Summoner Spell changes
Riot Games has announced that Season Two will bring ranked team play to the online MOBA title League of Legends. Previously, players have had their own individual gameplay rankings, but starting with the game's Season Two update, teams will be able to form up on either the 5v5 or 3v3 maps, and get their own rankings as a group. Teams will need a captain to create and invite or remove members, and will be able to choose a name and tag to go with their rating. The company is also tweaking the in-game Summoner Spell abilities. The Rally and Fortify spells, which Riot calls "underused," are being removed from play, and in their place will be Surge and Promote. Surge will allow Summoners who chose it to boost themselves up with an aura buff, empowering their champions and anyone around them with extra combat effectiveness. And the Promote spell has made its way over from the Dominion gametype, so players who choose it will be able to beef up a minion in the standard game now. Season Two doesn't have a release date yet, but it will also bring the long-awaited Spectator Mode to the game, which has already been seen on the servers in preview form. Odds are that we don't have too much longer to wait for the full update.
League of Legends announces ranked team system
Changes are coming to League of Legends' ranked team structure. Riot Games announced today that it is going to be introducing a brand-new feature: ranked teams. Players can form a premade 3v3 or 5v5 team, give it a name, and track its progress as they work their way up the ladder. Team ratings will operate independently of the members' individual ratings, thereby making the new system a true "measure of you and your friends' ability to work together in a competitive environment." More information will be made available closer to Season 2's launch.
