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Star Trek Online hypes a time-limited (but is it really?) lockbox
Cryptic's latest news post details a new promotion involving Star Trek Online's Xindi lockbox. What's inside the Xindi lockbox? How the heck should I know? And isn't that fun! The Xindi lockbox is time-limited because as of October 14, it will no longer be offered as a drop or a reward in STO, according to the blurb. Or will it? After hyping the Xindi, Cryptic uses the very next paragraph to explain how it is unretiring a bunch of supposedly retired lockboxes (including Cardassian, Ferengi, Tholian, Temporal, Dominion, and more). So, be sure and grind hard in order to get your hands on one of those time-limited Xindi lockboxes before they disappear! Or just wait for the next unretirement party, I guess.
The Daily Grind: What's the best loot system in an MMO?
Massively commenters recently reminded me that one of the things that bug me about retro themeparks is the loot that drops in dungeons and raids -- or to be more specific, the lack thereof. You want me to pile how many people into a multi-hour raid and reward only one or two of them with a boss drop? Why we're so happy to bash lockboxes that abuse our money but not RNG lotteries that abuse our time stymies me. I'd love to see more games like City of Heroes that reward everyone with his or her own drops for making it through to the end of a mission -- no roll window required, no DKP necessary, no ninja-looters possible. You do a thing and you get a thing, not just a dim chance at a thing. What do you guys think is the best loot-drop system in an MMO, past or present? 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 Nexus Telegraph: Addictions that WildStar must kick
Matt Daniel is a friend of mine. (Yes, despite my claims at the end of some poorly considered features we did together.) He's also a spectacularly bright guy with a clear picture of what games do well and what they do poorly. So when he and I wind up chatting about WildStar and noting the exact same problems, I take this stuff to heart. And there are a couple of underlying issues that the game would do well to address sooner rather than later. I've talked about issues that the game has before, but a lot of those issues are really symptoms, not the core issues. I enjoy the game a lot, and I think it has a lot to recommend it, but there are some nagging fundamental issues, just certain ways of viewing the game and the community. As we approach the all-important three-month mark, it's time to start thinking about those issues, about what they represent, and perhaps most importantly about how those issues can be addressed.
SMITE reworks Nu Wa, adds treasure boxes
SMITE got a bit of rework this week, with new skins, a new Zeus model, and a complete update of Nu Wa headlining the changes. Hi-Rez also added RNG treasure boxes to its fantasy/mythology MOBA as well as several tweaks to custom game functionality. View the complete update notes via the links below, and don't forget to have a look at the new skins video after the break. [Thanks Sorenthaz!]
Poll: RNG gearing or points-based gearing?
There seems to have been something of a shift of late in Blizzard's gearing philosophy. We've moved from a heavily points-based system, where players had to earn currency -- specifically valor -- to buy items. They also had to earn reputation, which was another thing we can compare to points, although they're not a currency you can spend. Now, we've got Valor only used as an upgrade system, players are reliant on drops for the initial item to upgrade. The Timeless Isle does award currency, but you're more likely to rely on RNG-based drops to get gear from there. Not to mention the RNG nature of Warforged gear. And it looks like this is only going to move more towards RNG with Warlords' removal of currencies, removal of reforging, and the addition of sockets and tertiaries as RNG elements on top of the Warforged system. PvP gear remains mercifully points-based, and in a play system where gear equality is so important, we can only hope it remains the case. But in PvE, what's the good and bad of each? Well, points-based gearing is predictable. It gives you certainty and goals to work towards. Just so long as you keep grinding points, you know categorically that you will get that piece of gear. You can see your points build up, and it's satisfying. On the downside that predictability makes it less exciting. In PvP, that's no bad thing -- you certainly don't want the opposition to get their weapon and 4-set first while you get 2 rings, a neck and some bracers!
Flameseeker Chronicles: How to win friends and influence Guild Wars 2's development
By the time this article goes to press, it'll be Halloween in Guild Wars 2. No, not October 31st; a little known fact is that Halloween actually encompasses the entire month of October and is allowed to sneakily take over part of September if you're particularly excited about it or even seep into November if you're having difficulty letting go. Since it's too early to carve pumpkins and expect them to still be around at the end of the month, MMOs are great places to get your scary on without spending a lot of money on perishable gourds or "stocking up early" on bags of candy that will also mysteriously disappear by the 31st (pro tip: blame ghosts). In the meantime, though, I have one more week before this column can officially turn into the Fearspooky Creepicles and it becomes professionally acceptable to devote at least 200 words to candy corn (note to self: double check with lead editors [Editor's note: /approved! -Bree]). So let's discuss something awesome that's happening on the GW2 official forums under the direction of ArenaNet's Studio Design Director, Chris Whiteside. Let's talk about collaborative development.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Getting what you pay for in Guild Wars 2
Despite a number of unfortunate sword-clipping issues, it seems that Ellen Kiel is our lead candidate so far in Guild Wars 2's player-decided election! It's close though, and Evon Gnashblade's supporters still have plenty of time to make the push to victory. The playerbase is mired in furious controversy over a number of very pressing concerns: Can the fall of Abaddon possibly live up to our expectations, given that it would take place in a short Fractal? What kind of secrets could the Thaumanova Reactor meltdown hold? Why can Kiel wear her spiffy-lookin' town clothes in combat while we can't? A more serious problem is how ArenaNet's handling of Aetherized weapon skins has reignited dissatisfaction over the gem store. Granted, it's mostly settled into dark mutterings at this point, but the issue has still been cropping up with nearly every major event. Changes are made to Black Lion chests and event boxes; players give the boxes another chance, hoping to get their money's worth; disappointment follows when that doesn't happen. This is a cycle that's going to keep occurring if we don't acknowledge the reason for its existence.
The Daily Grind: What was the best random drop you ever got?
The Skinner Box design to MMOs and the random nature of loot tables means that an absolutely epic piece of gear could conceivably drop with the next kill. Or the kill after that! Or after that! Or... yeah, you know the drill. The unpredictability of corpse looting is like a little slot machine built into our games, mostly giving us trash while once in a while paying off in incredible dividends. It's the latter that I'd like us to discuss today. Every once in a while I do a double-take when I see that I just looted an ultra-rare item. I didn't even know text that color existed in the chat window, to be honest! And getting that incredible drop can make my evening (not to mention give me bragging rights to my guild). So what was the best random drop you ever got in an MMO -- and what did you do when it happened? 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!
Navigating the loot
While perusing Wowhead's blue tracker the other day I stumbled across this thread on the EU forums about the LFR loot system, its frustrations, and potential alternatives. Community manager Draztal is pretty active in the thread, which is nice to see -- there is plenty of back-and-forth and, despite player accusations of just parroting Blizzard policy, Draztal has a lot of good points to make about the nature of effort and reward. The truth is that WoW has never consistently rewarded players for running dungeons or raids. I still get a little involuntary curl to my lip anytime I think about Burning Crusade-era heroics, particularly Magister's Terrace, and how often I ran them trying to get some piece of gear, and how often my groups wiped and nothing I needed dropped anyway (and all those useless PvP gems). I agree it's frustrating to run LFR and only get gold, though I did have to sit down and think about why, in particular. After all, I killed Saurfang in Icecrown for probably upwards of three months before I finally got the Mag'hari Chieftain's Staff. During all that time it never occurred to me that my failure to receive loot was an indication that the entire system needed an overhaul. After a couple minutes ruminating, though, I think the answer is pretty obvious: loot is the only real reason to run LFR (with the exception of just experiencing content, for those who may not have the opportunity to raid otherwise).
The Daily Grind: Is loot better with an RNG or token system?
Oh the random number generator, how we love to hate thee. And yet you're so very addictive; with the roll of some virtual dice, we could win big-time on any given kill. Sure, you're often very stingy, but that makes the payoff so much more sweet. With MMOs, the house doesn't win if you play long enough -- you do. Then again, there's the "sure bet" of tokens. Maybe we won't have a shot at uber-loot for every kill, but slowly and surely we can collect enough currency to barter for what we do want. Token systems are the assurance of eventual payouts. Which do you prefer when it comes to acquiring gear in MMOs -- the random number generator or tokens? 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!
Wings Over Atreia: Bringing Lady Luck to Aion
I had a thought... now, don't look at me like that! I do have them! And I share them in Wings Over Atreia often. I won't always attest to their relevance, but I won't discount their existence! Boy, show a few strands of insanity and... wait where were we? Oh yes! My thought. So this week, my mind kept drifting back to the Mega Kinah Millions lottery going on now. I knew I wanted to point the event out to you guys before it closed, but something else about it was nagging at the edges of my mind. My thoughts meandered from contemplating the dream of winning all that moolah to why is the Shugo wearing a tux?, took a detour around mmm cake! and then ended up at gambling in Aion. That's when the idea hit me: Why settle for just a short-term fling with chance when you could have an all-out gambling smorgasbord? Aion is ripe for it! It's not as if gambling isn't inherent in the game anyway, with every Daeva taking part in it daily. I mean, just look at the RNG! Simply put, gambling could be quite a benefit to Aion; among other things, it could be a viable non-grinding pastime that brings more Daevas into the game. So why not ask Lady Luck to take up permanent residence?
The OverAchiever: Help update our list of evil achievements
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, the abyss stares back. Almost two years ago, I wrote a series of articles for OverAchiever that turned out to be one of the most popular themes the column's ever visited: evil achievements. It turns out that a lot of folks care deeply about achievements that have been -- allow me to quote myself -- "milked from the angry teat of Satan himself." Now, it has to be said that all achievements are technically optional. No one is forcing you to do anything, why do you play this game anyway if you aren't having fun, yadda yadda ... all true. But I assume you're reading The OverAchiever because you really like achievements and you think they add something to the game. (Either that, or you're just reading because you're bored, but that's fine too.) Personally, I don't think players really mind difficult achievements or even achievements that they have to peck away at over an extended period of time. But there's a line between an achievement that is genuinely difficult on its own merits and one that makes you privately think the developers want you dead. So with that in mind, how would we reconstruct a list of evil achievements in 2012 during the Cataclysm era? You can find the original series here if you're interested in a trip down Memory Lane, although I'll give you a quick rundown on them past the cut: Evil Achievements: Spotlight on Justicar/Conqueror, The Immortal, and Accomplished Angler Evil Achievements: The 25 most evil achievements, #25-16 Evil Achievements: The 25 most evil achievements, #15-6 Evil Achievements: The 25 most evil achievements, #5-1
Wings Over Atreia: Socket this
Ooo them's fightin' words! Any time you bring up the subject of manastones, it's like twisting a hot serrated knife in the collective bellies of Aion's community. It isn't the manastones per se, with their little tempting pluses to different stats, but rather it's the actual process of socketing them into gear that brings pain, frustration, and despair to the masses. If you operate under the premise that a game is a form of entertainment to be, oh I dunno... entertaining (dare we hope fun and enjoyable also?), then you have to wonder what exactly transpired to bring about this particular feature. Seriously, who kicked the dev's dog to make him retaliate with a thing like manastone socketing? Despite NCsoft's initial attempt to assure players that manastone socketing isn't that bad (that Shugo obviously works on consignment), the company appeared to about-face by recently offering no-fail supplements in the cash shop for a limited time. While socketing is a repeat headache for many Daevas, this particular move brought the subject (and the whole pay-to-win argument) to the forefront of community discussion. However, what really drew me back into the fray was the fact that I finally got myself a Stormwing armor drop and -- masochist that I seem to be lately -- I actually tried to socket it. I couldn't even get the first one in let alone the other four! Seraphim Lords help me if I have to do another six-slotter! So what's with this game mechanic? Why is it even in Aion? This week, Wings Over Atreia theorizes on the motivation behind this arguably flawed feature and offers some healthier alternatives.
Aion fail-proof manastone supplements available in the cash shop
Hey Aion players, want to do away with the frustration inherent in socketing your manastones? NCsoft has answered your prayers with the new fabled and eternal felicitous socketing supplements. The catch? They're only available today through October 11th. The other catch? They're only available in Aion's item shop. If you've never played Aion, here's a run-down: Socketing manastones into your gear grants considerable bonuses and is basically required for competitive PvP and PvE. Unfortunately, the random number generator that governs the process is notoriously unfriendly to players, many of whom have blown their entire in-game fortunes trying to socket a single suit of armor. Five of the new fail-proof supplements are also available as part of Aion's 24-month veteran reward package. You can read the details on the new promotion at the official UK Aion website. NCsoft has not confirmed whether the promotion is also happening on the American servers. We'll update the post as that info becomes available. [Thanks to Indeterminatus for the tip!]
Nexon, NCsoft refuse to fully cooperate with South Korean MMO gambling probe
South Korean MMO makers are under the Game Rating Board's microscope for allegedly obstructing an investigation related to MMORPG gambling. The ratings board has questions regarding real-world money transactions that offer a chance at valuable in-game items, and a veritable who's who of Korean development firms are refusing to fully cooperate, according to This Is Game. NCsoft, Nexon, and HanbitSoft are just a few of the companies mentioned in the report, and while the publishers have given up item names, costs, and other details related to the transactions, the companies are thus far refusing to divulge information on payout percentages. GRB chairman Soo Keun Lee says that his organization is simply trying to determine the legality of RMT transactions using a set of gambling standards adopted by South Korea in 2008. "Game companies ask us why GRB tries to touch their business model and [they] refuse our request[s]," he said.
Wings Over Atreia: Drop -n- shop
Hot topic! Hot topic! Fresh outta the community oven! In a much-hyped announcement a while back, NCsoft proclaimed that drop rates in Aion were being significantly increased in the 2.1 patch. The company even employed a certain wide-eyed Shugo named Victor to outline his experiments and prove that drops now rained from the skies. For a while, there was much rejoicing in the lands of Atreia. *cue Monty Python soundtrack* Oh, there were some naysayers who cried that an end to the economy as we knew it was at hand (not totally incorrect), but for the most part, Elyos and Asmodians alike flocked back to Aion with the promise of more wealth and gold loot. I even found that my bags could not hold everything that dropped during Taloc's Hollow runs, forcing me to to delete items in order to pick more up. Alas -- that was then, and this is now. The pendulum has quietly swung back the other way to the what-exactly-does-a-loot-drop-look-like side. From personal experience, I can attest that getting drops now is about like pulling Stormwing's teeth... with only your bare hands and maybe some dental floss. The change is obvious, so why all the hush-hush? Currently it feels like a classic bait and switch: Market an enticing feature loudly to get players then remove it with equal secrecy and stealth. And to top that off, there are murmurs that the devs plan to implement changes that put a halt to the popular selling of loot rights. Aw, don't kick us while we are down! Make sure you aren't on cool-down and zone past the cut to explore this bane of many a Daeva's life (drop rates) as well as the practice of selling loot rights within Aion.
Arcane Brilliance: Perfecting the fire tree
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, though, it's mostly for fire mages, a spec that isn't at all broken. And yet, here we go, spending a thousand words or so endeavoring to fix it, just going to show that mages, given the opportunity, can and will complain about absolutely anything. When I started this triumvirate of columns highlighting the shortcomings of the three mage trees, I knew that this would be the point at which I would start having problems. See, things were pretty easy with the arcane and frost trees. You can find those two previous columns behind the following links: Things I want to see changed, arcane edition The constantly evolving, completely stagnant frost tree Both of those trees have real problems. You remember when you were a kid and you didn't want to eat your mom's meatloaf because it looked and smelled like something left in the wake of a mule with irritable bowels? And then she'd tell you to eat it because kids in whatever African country happened to be having a famine that year had it way worse than you? That's how frost and arcane mages want to respond when fire mages complain. You think you have problems? Well how about I trade you my Arcane Barrage for your moving Scorches? See what kind of problems you have then. The fire tree is flat-out incredible right now. It's near the top of the damage charts at the highest levels of Cataclysm raiding, the talent tree is spectacularly designed from top to bottom, and most importantly, the spec is just really fun to play. Still, there are a couple of nagging issues -- annoyances that, if addressed, might just result in the game's first truly perfect spec. I think that's a noble goal, and we're gathered here today in pursuit of it.
The Daily Grind: When has an MMO driven you to madness?
Theoretically, MMOs -- like all games -- should be relaxing. They're entertainment, right? Where we go to unwind, to get away from the stress of life by mindlessly slaughtering thousands of virtual beings? For the most part I like to believe that this is true, but I know that there are exceptions. Dark exceptions. There are moments when MMOs show a cackling face from the void as they work to drive you to near-madness. Sometimes it's when you've run a dungeon 500 times for a piece of loot that never, ever drops. Maybe you're oh-so-close to completing an epic quest and you get ganked at the last second by a Rogue on PCP. Perhaps it's losing a battle to the almighty random number generator. So when has an MMO driven you to madness? When did a game tip you over into that swirly void of lunacy and give you a big ol' shove? Join us in the psych ward today by sharing your tale! 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!
Wings Over Atreia: Never put off until tomorrow a daily for today!
Chances are, if you have spent any time in Atreia since the release of Aion's 1.9 patch, you have been participating in daily quests. If, however, you have been living under the same rock as I have (it's plenty roomy here, really), then you either don't know what I am talking about, put it off, or just never put much thought into it, period. Personally, I kept thinking, "I'll get to it in a bit," but never actually got to it. After all, there is quite a bit to do already in Aion, and my days were pretty full. I admit that I didn't even really know why I should put my time into them. After some cajoling from a shocked legionmate who insisted I was sorely missing out, I finally cracked down and got started. Boy, have I been missing out! The daily quest is a new(er) system that rewards players for completing a task with special tokens along with XP. These tokens are then exchanged for special items, including titles, gear, AP items, godstones, and even special pets. In many cases, these quests can be completed in just a few minutes each day. Sure, it takes some time to save up for the rewards, but it wasn't nearly as arduous as I had initially thought. If you haven't started on daily quests, want a few hints on maximizing your token earning potential, or just want to laugh at me for taking so long to jump on the bandwagon, jump past the cut and see why daily quests are well worth the time and effort. Trust me, you want to get started today!
Wings Over Atreia: Solo vs. group
OK, now get your collective minds all out of the gutter! There we go. Of course, the title speaks to gaming styles and preferences in Aion. Lately, I've had the topic of grouping crop up in different discussions, from the trend of decreasing group sizes (Star Wars Galaxies had groups of 20, then Lineage II had groups of nine, followed by other games with a maximum group size of six) to questioning the need to group at all. To group, or not to group: Is that really the question? I touched on this topic a bit a few weeks ago, but an adventure this past week brought my attention back to it; I discovered that you no longer need a full group for one of the more frustrating quests in the game (once you factor in trying to get a group when the rift is up and not have it camped on the other side by the enemy!). Instead, you can complete the quest with just two or three Daevas, a feat unheard of previously due to the difficult dungeon in enemy territory. Granted, we completed our quest, which would have been impossible otherwise given the circumstances. But on a broader scale, what's with the trend of phasing out group content in MMOs and catering to the solo crowd? This phenomenon puzzles me. When a game is an MMO (read "massively multiplayer"), why discourage grouping by making almost all content accessible to the solo crowd -- especially in Aion (where learning good group dynamics can be crucial in large scale warfare)? In a time when social skills seem to be struggling to survive, why open yet another opportunity for people to avoid interaction? Type /Invite and join me past the cut to examine this phenomenon and weigh in with your preferred gaming style in our comments.
