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Ragnar Tørnquist discusses TSW's skill system, investigations, and more
Dark days are coming, my friends. All the myths are true, and evil lurks around every corner. Thankfully, we've gotten our hands on a new PC Gamer interview with The Secret World's creative director Ragnar Tørnquist, which should help to cast some light on these grim prophecies. It's already well-known that The Secret World won't hinge on classes and levels but instead will allow players to craft their own skill sets from a number of set categories. Ragnar expounds on this system, explaining that players will have access to something called a Base Gear Manager, which essentially provides a way for players to quickly swap between preset groups of abilities and equipment in order to adapt to the situation at hand. While players will likely find themselves falling into the traditional MMO archetypes of tanks, healers, DPS, and so forth, Tørnquist points out that The Secret World won't be as instance-heavy as other games and will provide a plethora of open-world events that will allow players to come together as an ad hoc group to, say, keep a police station from being overrun by the forces of evil. Perhaps most interesting, though, are the bits of information revealed about the game's unique Investigation Missions. Tørnquist provides two examples of what players can expect from the ARG-inspired missions. One involves hunting down an in-game location based on a fortune teller's visions, while the other is a bit more in-depth, requiring players to look up information on a famous painter in order to progress. He also hints that the team may put up websites regarding in-game information that players will have to hack into in order to progress the investigation. For the full interview, which is full of interesting nuggets and anecdotes from Tørnquist himself, just click on the link below.
New Dragon Nest videos show off Saint's Haven, new abilities
Nexon's dungeon-crawling beat-'em-up MMO Dragon Nest is gearing up for its launch in just a couple of days, and the company has released a pair of videos to help pump up some excitement for the official release. The first trailer welcomes players to Saint's Haven, the new city to which players will be able to venture once the game officially goes live. The city provides players with a whopping 10 new dungeons as well as over 500 new quests. But what good are all those dungeons if you don't have the mad skills to clear 'em out? Don't worry, Nexon has you covered. Video number two focuses on all the fancy new abilities players will be granted when the game launches on the 28th. So whether you're a nimble Acrobat, a brutal Mercenary, or a zealous Paladin, you'll have plenty of new tricks up your sleeve to help turn the tide of battle. But less babble, more bashing, am I right? Head on past the cut for the full videos.
Wings Over Atreia: Coming soon -- Crucible III
Look Pa! It's rainin' patches! In the midst of Daevas gorging themselves on festivities and goodies galore, NCsoft tossed out another juicy bit of information that might have been lost in the frenzy: Patch 2.7 will release on October 19, 2011. "Wait a minute!" you say, with second-anniversary cake dribbling from your mouth. "Didn't Aion just have a recent patch?" Aye folks, that it did! This patch will actually be the third in only a five-month span. Color me hopeful, but it certainly looks like someone was listening when I requested more frequent content updates. And I have to say I am pleased! Giving players more options only helps stave off boredom and retain players. From new instances (3rd Crucible, Padmarashka's Cave) to reductions in DP costs and skill cooldown timers, there are enough little goodies to keep Daevas entertained until the -- dare I hope not too long in coming -- next update. So what does Aion have in store for us this time around? Join me past the cut for a look at the the upcoming changes.
Wasteland Diaries: PvE like a boss
Fallen Earth PvE can be anywhere from laughably easy to downright frustrating. I guess that's a good thing since you get a gamut of difficulty levels, but much of the leveling span leans toward the easy end of the scale. I tend to get bored with PvE combat fairly quickly in MMOs (not just Fallen Earth). Other people love to struggle against the environment. Some even refuse to do anything remotely akin to PvP. I'll only throw the term "carebear" at those who think all PvPers are maladjusted psychopaths. I'm not talking about them; I'm talking about regular hardcore PvEers: players who would rather play against the NPCs than against other players. Many of my posts center around PvP. If I didn't PvP (and since I'm not a big roleplayer), I doubt I would still be playing Fallen Earth. That's just what I spend most of my time doing in the wastelands. So I tend to write a lot about it. But all PvPers have to PvE. PvE has its own set of challenges for the player. Granted, these challenges are quite static, and once you find a way to overcome them, you are done. But they are challenges nonetheless, and knowledge is power as much in PvE as it is in PvP. In this post I will give you some tips and tricks that might help you get through that next tough mission. Much of this stuff is common sense, but it may not occur to you until it's too late. So click past the cut and let's get started.
You won't find the 'Feminist Wh*re' skill in the final version of Dead Island
When Dead Island arrived on Steam in North America, it wasn't exactly what the game's developer and publisher intended on releasing. Rather, it was a pre-release dev build, meaning many folks encountered bugs or were unable to play the game altogether. Moreover, some PC users have been able to do rather ... interesting things with the early build, and one even spotted a somewhat disturbing skill name that didn't end up in the final game: "Feminist Wh*re". One of Dead Island's playable characters, Purna, was apparently allotted a skill at one point that was dubbed "Feminist Whore", though it only shows up in the source code (in the "default_player_setup" file). It's possible that the skill eventually ended up as "Gender Wars," though that's just us taking an educated guess. Publisher Deep Silver, issued this response: "These unfortunate actions were of one individual at developer company Techland and do not in any way represent the views of publishing company Deep Silver." Further, developer Techland stated: "It obviously violates professional and ethical standards at Techland and should never have happened. We're investigating this right now and we'll issue a statement later. For now, I can only express my sincerest apologies for this incident and assure you that whoever acted so irresponsibly did not represent the views and opinions of Techland. I'm equally sure that aside from the author of that unfortunate line of code, everyone at the office is as disturbed by this as you are." [Thanks, Spencer.]
Wasteland Diaries: The old vs. the new
When it was first introduced, the new combat system seemed pretty awkward and cumbersome. As with all new game systems, you just have to get used to it. Luckily, due to the extreme familiarity I have with Fallen Earth, I adapted fairly quickly. But I didn't like it much at first. It was too healer-centric in PvP, and it was nearly impossible to die in PvE with such a large health pool and awesome self-heals. Instead of grinning and bearing it, I complained and hoped for a fix. It got fixed, and though it's not perfect, it's pretty close. In this post, I will take a look at the new system and how it differs from the old one, now that I've had some time to think it over. I'm still not sure whether I like it better than the old system yet, but it's growing on me. There's a lot of stuff that I miss from the old system and a lot of stuff I'll never miss. Knockdown and stuns are two of those things. A lot of players were worried that the new combat system would take ages to tweak, but it seems like it's pretty close to the mark already. A few minor adjustments might be needed, but it's already close to a finished product from what I see. After the cut, I'll tell you why I think that.
Lore-masters tune up their hogs to cruise the mean streets of Isengard
Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard is bringing plenty of class changes, tweaks, and updates to the table, and the hybrid Lore-master class is waiting for the dev love with arms wide open. While Turbine's talked about the class' increased ability to be a reliable off-healer, word is coming out of the beta that there are many more changes than just the ability to slap a bandage on a wounded ally. A Casual Stroll to Mordor reports on how the improved skills function in play. These include the ability to stack up to three Burning Embers DoTs on a target, the combination of two Signs of Battle powers into one Wizard's Fire, a nice 10% buff to pet damage through Sign of the wild: Rage, and a much more versatile Improved Staff Sweep. There's also word on the new Lore-master pet: a Limrafn. While Lore-masters were originally slated to receive an Auroch pet, apparently the common complaint about the pet's size ended up swaying Turbine's mind. The Limrafn is a floating ball of light that doesn't attack, but instead assists the Lore-master in the off-healing department. Lore-masters will also see one of their lesser-utilized trait lines -- Keeper of Animals -- given much love in the form of tempting abilities and buffs.
Scarlet Legacy prepping mammoth beta update for September 1st
The open beta MMO that's not afraid to bribe players to come give it a try is gearing up for one of its biggest updates yet. Scarlet Legacy is counting down the hours until it uploads an elephant's worth of content onto the servers for testers to enjoy (and, hopefully, thoroughly vet). This September 1st content update includes, but is not limited to, an increase in level cap to 45, dozens of new skills, 12 additional stances, three more maps, 68 quests, 46 crafting recipes, 154 weapons and pieces of armor, eight pets, high-level events, and a partridge in a pear tree. Well, maybe not the partridge. It's hard to say which part of the content update is most enticing, although our money is on the three new maps with intriguing names like Hidden Evil Island and Ancient Grave. There's also a virgin dungeon that's ready to be plundered for its goodies: Soul Trapping Matrix. For story lovers, the tale of Princess Scarlet will be extended up through level 45 to match the level cap increase. GamesCampus vows to release similarly large updates "at least once a month" from here on out.
PlanetSide 2 may feature space-based gameplay
A few more PlanetSide 2 details have emerged thanks to a presentation given by Sony Online Entertainment's John Smedley and Matt Higby at a recent SyndCon gathering. The duo explained how PlanetSide 2's dynamic weather system will affect combat and that smoke resulting from prolonged firefights will also play a role. The catch here, according to FPSguru, is that these features "may not be in at launch, but [are] definitely in the long-term plan." Speaking of iteration, Smedley also drew comparisons to EVE Online's "outside-in" approach (specifically, the fact that CCP began with a space game and added planet-based gameplay at a later date). PlanetSide 2 will reverse this process, beginning with a single continent, "then add[ing] more continents and eventually, planets," Smedley said. Plans for space-based gameplay are also on the table. There's a bit more to the article including riffs on certifications (i.e., skills) and the inevitable cash shop. Head to FPSguru for more details.
Choose your abilities with ArcheAge's custom class creator
ArcheAge's skill and class system is still something of a mystery to most folks in the West, due to both the language barrier and the fact that XL Games hasn't outlined all the particulars in detail. The company has updated its English-language website, though, and the ability-combination page gives a bit more insight into what players can expect when building characters in the upcoming sandpark title. The page features a charted list of abilities that, when combined in groups of three, result in a particular class name being displayed. We're assuming that the resulting class will then get to select specific skills from each ability tree. For example, selecting the artistry, calling, and wild abilities results in a class called a Plainsrunner, and reading between the lines on each ability description indicates a Ranger-like class with a pet, stealth, support buffs, and ranged attacks. If you're looking for a traditional fantasy class, XL provides premade Warrior, Priest, and Wizard templates just above the chart (as well as something called a Chaser), and you can also view brief videos of 10 of the listed abilities via the link in the left margin.
Wasteland Diaries: I got skills
Sector 4, a new skill and abilities system and a new... well, a new everything has come to Fallen Earth. Even the forums will be migrating over to GamersFirst's little piece of cyberspace. While the transition hasn't gone completely smoothly, it could have been a lot worse. I don't know why they decided to do all this stuff at once, but it went well, considering how major an undertaking it probably was. The skills and abilities (also known as the "combat system") didn't fare too well with the wastelanders, and the devs have promised some fixes. With everything going on right now, I don't think we'll see them any time soon, though I may be wrong. One thing is for sure: The new combat system is here to stay. Many of us would like to see them scrap it, go back to the old system and just patch up its imperfections (it was so close). But, I have been told emphatically that it's here to stay. So, instead of dwelling on the what-ifs, I'd like to take a look at all of the new skills and mutations, since they are definitely permanent -- although they may be changing a little bit in the coming days while this brand-new system is tested and balanced. Mostly what we have now is what we are going be using. Some of them are the same, but by and large, this new system is an entirely different animal. You may recognize some of the names, but most of the abilities (actually, I think all of them) function differently. After the cut, we will take a look at every skill and their associated abilities in the game.
Diablo 3 beta preview: Polish and punch
While all the Diablo 3 talk this week will probably center around Blizzard's announcement of the player-to-player auction system, there's plenty to say about the game itself. It's the most polished it has ever been, and while the mechanics were in and working at the last BlizzCon, this beta build featured all of the classes with both sexes, the early questlines and story in the beginning of Act 1, co-op play, and the latest implementation of the full skill and crafting systems. We didn't get to play with the skill-tweaking Runes, but we were shown them being slotted and used in a hands-off demo. Regardless of how you feel about real-money transactions and third-party payment providers, Diablo 3 is still turning out to be one hell of a videogame. %Gallery-129364%
The Mog Log: Proof of concept
Final Fantasy XIV's last major patch was back in March, when 1.16 brought out the first iteration of the game's quests. Sure, we've had updates since then, but even 1.17 didn't really have the appeal and the energy that you'd expect from a major patch. And 1.16 was something of a disappointment at the time -- not bad, but not nearly what the game needed. There was an awful lot missing there, stuff that seemed basic. I wasn't happy, in other words. Well, here we are now, at 1.18. Any better? In a word, yes. A lot of the stuff that needed to be fixed has been, and a lot of the improvements the game has needed have come through. I've unfortunately only had a little time to play around with the update, but what I've played has been pretty uniformly positive. Positive except for the notable issues that the game was having with the login server right after the patch, but who actually expects patch day to go smoothly? (Other than me, I mean.)
Ask Massively: We do in fact have rules edition
I feel that right now would be an excellent time to refer everyone to a bit of supplemental reading that should be really fun -- our Code of Conduct! Yes, we have a set of rules that we expect everyone to follow, and no, we are not stupid. If you spend months trying to skirt those rules very carefully, we will be watching hawk-like for the moment you step out of line. And when that happens? There is cake. Moving right along, it's time for another edition of Ask Massively. This time, we're discussing issues of balance and overall character depth as brought on by recent developments within the world of Darkfall. If you'd like to have a question answered in a future edition of the column, send it along to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments afterward. Or use the comments to discuss something else; that does seem equally likely.
EVE Evolved: Learning to let go
Bombarded by the epic stories emerging from EVE Online's colossal social sandbox, thousands of MMO addicts per month give in to temptation and pick up a free trial. Most drop the trial for one reason or another, but those who continue on to a full game subscription often fall into a common trap. Some enjoy the concept of the game enough to subscribe for a month, and a portion of those get invested enough in skill plans and the mission grind to stick about for two or three months. It's rare for a new or trial player to actually get into PvP or start creating the same epic sandbox stories that drew them to the game in the first place, but this is exactly what they should be doing right from day one. New players often spend their entire trial or first month of gameplay attempting to grapple with the enormity of EVE, absorbing as much information as they can in order to make informed decisions for themselves. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking months of training skills and learning the basics of the game through reading or PvE will be required before you can PvP competitively or begin crafting your own epic story. I firmly believe that the real learning curve of EVE is in learning to let go of these ideas and to accept the loss of ships or items as part of the game. I believe new players need to discard their pre-conceived notions of death penalty, what skill points represent, and the idea of preparing for endgame. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at how EVE is actually very forgiving for new players getting into PvP immediately, I challenge the learning curve myth, and I encourage new pilots to drop themselves into EVE at the deep end.
The Secret World designers talk optimal builds, travel, and more
Funcom devs have been hitting the publicity circuit lately in support of The Secret World, and GamePro has a new video interview featuring lead designer Martin Bruusgaard and lead content designer Joel Bylos. The pair spend a good nine minutes talking about various aspects of their upcoming fantasy-horror MMO, with particular attention given to the game's skill system and the builds it makes possible. "In certain areas, people will need to have the correct effects to be optimal," Bylos explains. "In solo play especially, you will want to have a certain build." You can still progress any way you see fit, though, and Bylos was quick to point out that Funcom's intent is to provide a flexible character building system. That said, it's clear that build flexibility can come at the expense of perfect optimization, and ultimately Funcom is striving for a balance between playing how you want to play and tweaking your build as you go in order to progress through content. The interview also touches on travel in The Secret World, and Bylos drops a few interesting hints about the use of hollow-earth myths to facilitate the globe-jumping that players will experience when traveling between far-flung locales like New York, Seoul, or London. Check out all the details after the cut.
Fallen Earth dev blog talks builds, combat mechanics, and more
Let it never be said that the devs at GamersFirst and Icarus fail to communicate with Fallen Earth players. The latest wasteland-flavored dev blog is longer than your average George R. R. Martin novel, and just about as complex. This week's installment is heavy on builds and mechanical info following the recent combat revamp, and theorycrafters, min-maxers, and folks whose eyes don't glaze over at the thought of number-driven minutiae will no doubt find it instructive. There's also a brief mention of current subscriber rewards, as well as some hinting at the various subscriber levels (and premium access benefits) that the dev team is still in the process of tweaking. Read all about it at the official Fallen Earth dev blog.
The Secret World's progression system doesn't subscribe to labels, man
Though most other MMOs allow their players to use level ranking and class like some kind of shorthand calling card ("Oh, me? I'm a Lv. 43 Powermime!"), Funcom's The Secret World will ditch that system for a more versatile approach, according to a recent Rock, Paper, Shotgun preview. Instead of levels and classes, players will be able to pick and choose from 500 skills that they'll be able to swap between at certain points during a mission, making strategy and foresight far more powerful tools than patience and grinding. Players will be able to specialize as one of the MMORPG genre's many archetypes, though this broad system won't lock them out of other job types should their interests shift. We appreciate any MMO that allows us to reenact our collegiate career, during which we double-majored in Animal Husbandry and Astronomy with a minor in Healthcare Management and another minor in Racquetball.
Funcom reveals new Secret World cinematic
Funcom's had a busy fortnight, what with Age of Conan's content extravaganza and a few location reveals for The Secret World. Tonight the Norwegian development firm has taken the wraps off another spiffy teaser, this time in the form of a new cinematic for its upcoming conspiracy-horror MMORPG. The two-minute trailer starts off innocently enough, as a forlorn-looking barfly fond of cigarettes and strange tricks with pocket change makes his way from a bar stool to the nearest bathroom. It only gets weirder from there, and before the clip's running time is up, we've seen a sackcloth man-creature having trouble with a urinal, lots of icky tentacles, and some sort of multi-eyed horror from the depths of hell. None of this phases our ice-cold protagonist of course, and he even takes the time to zip his fly while disposing of the baddie in fine supernatural style. See for yourself after the cut, or head to GameTrailers.
Prime: Battle for Dominus announces classes and abilities
Pitchblack Games has released the first of what it promises to be a series of many "infodumps" regarding its upcoming PvP-focused MMORPG Prime: Battle for Dominus. Today the spotlight is on classes and character progression, which is as good a place to start as any. Each faction will have six classes available to it, making for a total of 18 classes overall. New characters in Prime will begin the game with five basic skills, though they'll gain access to newer and more class-specific abilities as they progress. Each class will ultimately end up with a total of 15 skills. Progression is skill-based, with players earning skillpoints as they level. These skillpoints can be allocated amongst the character's various skills as they so desire (though Pitchblack did point out that it will not be possible to max out every ability with the amount of skillpoints granted, which will force players to prioritize). Another point to note is that Prime will not be permanently tying players to a given build. Pitchblack President Warren Weems says, "We don't think players should be permanently tied to choices they made when they were still learning about the game. We also want people to feel free to experiment." As a result, skillpoints will be "relatively easy" to reallocate if players feel the need for a change of pace. For more information, and for the full class and ability listings, warp on over to the official site!
