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Black Gold Online introduces female-only Occultist class
If you prefer to play female avatars in game, Black Gold Online has a new class just for you. Snail Games unveiled the new Occultist class, a female-only support healer and ranged DPS that sports leather armor. With a low resistance to damage, Occultists rely on sapping and stunning their enemies while replenishing the stamina of her group and providing heals. The Occultist joins Black Gold's line up alongside the recently revealed Spellsword class, the Pyromancer, the Assassin, and more. For a chance to check out this class when beta starts, sign up on the official site. [Source: Snail Games press release]
The Art of Wushu: Hacking and account security
When people say they get hacked in online games, I always assume it's the user's fault. The one time I was ever hacked, I could trace it directly back to a situation where I knew my username/password was compromised and I used the same set anyway. Ever since then, I've used more secure logins and passwords, and I've never had an issue. Age of Wushu has come under fire recently for a large string of hacks, and I jumped to the same conclusion. These hacks always seem like a big deal to the people who get hacked, and Age of Wushu is the kind of game where people are incentivized to steal other peoples' stuff. It's natural that people would hack forums or other less secure places and use that information to get whatever accounts they could find. But I've started hearing rumors that people are getting hacked in spite of randomized passwords. One player told me of a friend who deliberately posted a valuable commodity in world chat, traded it to an alt, and logged in the original character later to find that the first character had lost all of her money. Is there something going on?
Age of Wushu teases the features of its next major update
The next big patch for Age of Wushu is due out next month, which should be reason enough for players to be excited about it. But it's hard to get excited about an update with no idea what's in it. So it's a good thing that the official site has posted a small preview detailing the coming update, a patch that will give players even more reason to engage in epic duels of martial arts. For example, there's the new Dragon and Tiger Tournament, a series of one-on-one duels in which both combatants must fight without use of tricks like Hidden Weapon Skills and Ancient Manuals, with winners receiving manuals, skills, and pills. Or there's the chance for assassins to engage practitioners of Peerless Skills; successful defense is required for the practitioner to keep studying, while assassins who slay the practitioner will be rewarded handsomely. Throw in a fourth Internal Skill and new School Lessons, and there's plenty for players to be excited about when the patch goes live in February.
Black Gold Online reveals new Spellsword class
Black Gold Online is about to become a little more magical as Snail Games has announced the new Spellsword class. As one might guess, the Spellsword uses both sorcery and swordplay to dominate its opponents on the battlefield. The Melee DPS/Agility Tank role is a versatile addition to the Kosh and Yutonian Humans. You can read more about the Spellsword class, including background lore and strategies, in the game's newest announcement.
The Art of Wushu: Doing the time for doing crime
Bounties are the primary way that PK victims in Age of Wushu get to fight back against their assailants. If you murder someone, your victim can force you to spend time in jail and pay a constable for the service of putting you behind bars. Much as in EVE Online's original bounty system, there are a few kinks. Overall, it works reasonably well, but there is a disconnect between the intent of the system and how it actually works. As a career criminal, I feel that having a bounty and dealing with it is what separates professional killers from mass murderers.
It's a battle of the titans in this new Black Gold Online trailer
Snail Games has just unveiled a brand-new trailer for Black Gold Online, teasing a fight between an enormous goliath and equally large behemoth and showing off behind-the-scenes clips of how the goliath was designed. According to the video description, the goliath is a creation of the engineers of Steam, built specifically to counter the Erlandir-summoned behemoth. And by "counter" we mean "punch." Check out the teaser after the break. Snail describes Black Gold's universe as a "world where innovative Victorian steampunk clashes with traditional high fantasy." The game is set for launch sometime in 2014 with a closed alpha aimed at February.
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
The Art of Wushu: Tricks of the royal chains
Soul Chasing Claw is one of the most common and hated styles in Age of Wushu, and last week we went over many ways to counter it. However, on the flip side there are a lot of options for trickery. Like most ranged styles, Soul Chasing Claw is devastating as a switch to a melee style. Its main weaknesses are well-known, so cunning is needed against a skilled enemy. Fortunately, it has a lot of advantages. The chain pull is near-instantaneous, so you only need the right opening. It's technically possible to pull people out of the startup of moves like Submerge the Lotus, though it's kind of difficult in practice since the pull has a minimum range. It's a powerful tool, and we'll discuss a lot about getting the most out of it today.
Massively's winter holidays MMO roundup
The holidays are here! That means the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing, with gifts to get, treats to taste, deals to nab, and plenty of festivities to partake in -- and that's just in the MMOverse! Yes folks, there's a plethora of holiday celebrations out there -- so many, in fact, that it can be hard to keep track of them all, let alone participate to them! If you're trying to catch everything in your favorite games, we're here to help. We've got a round up of the various winter celebrations across the gaming sphere all bundled together right here for you. If something catches your eye, hop in and join in the festivities!
The Art of Wushu: Chasing down Soul Chasing Claw
Soul Chasing Claw is the eponymous skill of Royal Guards and one of the most frustrating styles to counter for a new player. It's a nice, robust style with clear strengths and weaknesses, and it's one of my favorite styles in Age of Wushu even though I don't use it myself. Unfortunately, Soul Chasing Claw feels a bit unfair when it's used against you at first. It has long-range, high-damage combos that seem unstoppable, but for the most part it's smoke and mirrors. It's simply a set of tools that are useful rather than all-powerful. Most RGs that rely exclusively on this style are easy to beat for experts, but it is a useful addition to any external Yang martial artist's toolkit.
Black Gold Online video shows off action combat system
Whether you prefer the steampunk or the fantasy faction, if you are a fan of dodging and constant movement to try and out-maneuver your opponents, combat in Black Gold Online should be right up your alley. In the latest feature unveiling, developers delve into the ins and outs of combat in the upcoming game, eschewing the traditional stand-still-and-button-mash version of combat in favor of some action. Most skills in the upcoming game are collision, or hit-box-based, and melee fighters will move in the direction they are facing with every swing. Ranged works a bit differently: Although most ranged skills will remain locked on their target, some will require players to anticipate enemy movements and target accordingly. And don't forget these battles also involve vehicles! While mounted, players will be in FPS mode. Get a preview of Black Gold Online's combat in action in the trailer below. [Source: Snail Games press release]
Age of Wushu introducing school betrayals
Traditionally, your school in Age of Wushu isn't something that changes. Once you've signed on with a school, that's your home forever. But with the upcoming betrayal mechanics, you can move from being a dedicated partisan of one school to being an initiate of another. And you aren't even just limited to changing schools because you were kicked out of the first one, since the game offers several departure options for those who want to see how the other half lives. Betrayal is the obvious choice, which will allow you to immediately leave with the cost of losing your school-specific identity, titles, internal skills, fashion... you get the idea. In trade, you can join any of the seven other schools or one of the new sects launching with the next major update. The Excursion route still takes your identity, titles, and fashion, but your internal skills are merely lowered. Incognito takes this a step further, merely locking your titles and such while leaving your first three skill slots unaffected. These latter two options allow you to explore the new sects with lesser consequence, but both are meant to be more costly and time-consuming. It's up to you if you want to continue to be loyal or start walking the path of betrayal.
Black Gold Online unveils The Chambers of Greed instances
A new feature is coming to Black Gold Online in addition to the main quest-line and normal dungeons that players already enjoy: The Chambers of Greed. These instances chambers, or greed pockets, bring variety to the game by offering challenging side activities that blend PvE and PvP and give another avenue for acquiring new gear by slaying higher level monsters and completing assorted other tasks. Unlike the openness of the over-world, The Greed Chambers have a darker, mysterious ambiance aimed at making players watch their every step. These chambers, which are more challenging that quests of the same level, will have hidden entrances to get inside. Players will need to discover these entrances themselves by getting in close, slaying a gatekeeper, or tripping some other trigger. Peek inside these new instances in the video below. [Source: Snail Games press release]
The Art of Wushu: Taking all comers with Shaolin boxing
Of all of the fighting styles in Age of Wushu, Shaolin Long Boxing is the one I hate the most. It has no counters or easy answers. In a close-combat fight, Long Boxing is unmatched. The only real option is to run away, and in the narrow confines of a duel arena, even that option is limited. However, I don't dislike Long Boxing because it's the best. There has to be a "best" style, though that can be obfuscated a bit with counters (which is the case for many other top-tier styles). The reason I hate it is that it has no counterplay. Even if you understand exactly what your opponent will do next with Long Boxing, there are only a tiny handful of style-specific answers if your opponent just follows a basic flowchart. Everyone else just loses. It's really that frustrating.
New screenshots spotlight Age of Wushu's advanced school skills
Coming from scrolls that are literally billed as the Ultimate Scrolls, you'd expect the skills that Age of Wushu's expansion introduced to be pretty impressive, no? After all, these scrolls offer the pinnacle of each school's arsenal, and only the most skilled martial artists can acquire them. To show off the artistry of these new moves, Snail Games has released eight new screenshots highlighting these ultimate skills, one for each school. Check out stills of Dog Beating Staff from the Beggar's Sect, Tai Chi Fist from Wudang, Dragon Claw Technique from Shaolin, and more in the gallery below. We've also included the official trailer so you can see each advanced skill in action. [Source: Snail Games press release]
Age of Wushu tours the Forbidden Grounds in new trailer
Although Age of Wushu's Ultimate Scrolls expansion launched two weeks ago, you may not have had the chance to experience the scenery (and the dangers that hide therein) of the Forbidden Grounds. Even if you have seen your own school's special instance, you likely have not peeked into the unique vistas of the other seven since each is available to members only. Now, thanks to Snail Games' latest trailer and eight new screenshots, you can see the unique designs of each instance that reflect the soul of its respective school. Take a two-minute stroll through the beautiful landscapes in the Forbidden Grounds in the video below. [Source: Snail Games press release]
Scope out Black Gold Online's vehicular combat in new trailer
By air or by land, Black Gold Online offers players a variety of transportation options that do more than just get you to the battle, but also take part in it! Muscled mounts face off against mechanized ones as The Erlandir Union (the fantasy faction) and The Kingdom of Isenhorst (steampunk faction) duke it out to get control of a mysterious energy substance. An essential part of Black Gold Online's PvP system, these mechanical mechs, war hounds, flying machines, and dragons can all be summoned in battlegrounds for PvP objectives as well as the open world. Players obtain these Raid, Aerial, Anti-Air, Penetration, and Assault vehicles through both questing and battleground achievements, and each mount has its own achievement path and customization options. Get a look at the vehicles in tactical battle formations in the trailer below. [Source: Snail Games press release]
The Art of Wushu: Rewarding good and bad deeds
Last time, I mentioned that I might talk about the new school instances in Age of Wushu's Infinite Scrolls expansion, but the truth is that very little is known. I haven't done them (I'm guildless and I'm not really looking), and the guilds that have done them are very closed-mouthed about what is in the dungeons. I've heard they're pretty easy, if it's any condolence. However, I do have something more fun to talk about, and that's killing other people. You guys may have noticed, but I like PvP a lot. Infinite Scrolls released a new system called Big Jianghu that rewards people for open-world PvP. I have wanted more consequences for PKing for a long time, so I was really excited about this feature. Unfortunately, as with many things in the new expansion, I was bound to be disappointed.
Age of Wushu releases the Ultimate Scrolls
It's time for another big expansion to Age of Wushu, and this time it's all about the Ultimate Scrolls. You might have thought before that you had some pretty great scrolls, maybe even excellent ones, but they're nothing compared to these scrolls. That's reflected in the release of new techniques for all schools, allowing expert martial artists to climb even higher in power. And given all of the challenges you'll be facing in the expansion, you'll need it. The crux of the expansion are the teachings of the Helianthus Codex and the Star Vortex, offering players new paths to wisdom. Players can also take part in the new Forbidden Instances deep within each school and explore a new morality-based PvP system, forcing players to determine not only if they will fight but why they will fight. The patch is out today, and you can take a look at the trailer just past the cut.
Lifting the veil on Age of Wushu's marriage system
Many people consider a wedding day to be a big deal, and Age of Wushu's upcoming marriage system provides a good helping of pomp and circumstance to accompany player nuptials. When the Ultimate Scrolls expansion hits next week, players will be able to tie the knot in an elaborate in-game ceremony that includes a a parade through the city, a banquet (that friends can attend and foes crash), and a dance show provided by the new couple. For those who don't yet have a companion, the marriage system has you covered: Unattached characters can register with the Matchmaker in hopes of finding a suitable suitor. Once you find your match, male characters have to do the proposing by offering a betrothal gift (a self-determined amount of Taels) that, if accepted, starts the whole process rolling. Men, have your money pouches ready because you also have to spring for the wedding package! For a look at what your money will buy, check out these new screenshots and then watch a ceremony unfold in the video below.
