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Silver Surfer hangs ten into Marvel Heroes
Is more than one color for a superhero costume maddening to your sensibilities? Do you look at caped crusaders and wonder, "If only they used beach sports equipment for physics-defying purposes?" Are you the sole die-hard fan of the second Fantastic Four movie? Then today, my friend, is your day. Marvel Heroes has added the Silver Surfer to its in-game hero roster. The Surfer is an alien who used to work for the planet-eating Galactus but has since defected to the forces of good. The new hero has two costume options, including the Savage set, and is available to purchase either with money or Eternity Splinters.
Norrathian Notebook: SOE says bye-bye ProSiebenSat.1, hello Landmark Player Studio
Double the pleasure, double the fun! SOE made two big announcements Wednesday that brought smiles to the faces of many fans. One said goodbye; the other said hello. But both were good news indeed, especially for Norrathians. Sometimes parting is just sweet, without the sorrow. Such is the case with the first bit of news: the departure of ProSiebenSat.1 from SOE. That's right, my European compadres, rejoice because SOE is bringing you back into the fold! The deal that quickly went sour for fans squished between the US company and the European partner is over, and SOE's titles are returning fully to its portfolio while region locks are being lifted. I can hear you all singing hallelujahs and dancing in the street! The second bit of news worthy of celebration was the launch of Player Studio in Landmark. Although it arrived later than anticipated thanks to the international tax registration processes, the wait was worthwhile because players from not only the U.S but also Canada, Sweden, France, the UK (yes, including Ireland), Germany, Norway, and Denmark can now submit items for sale to other players. That means that aspiring money-makers and non-builders who want to buy their cool items can finally find one another and do business. And that just paves the way for the system to work in EverQuest Next. As great as the announcements are, neither is without a few downs mixed in with the ups. Norrathian Notebook explores both bits of news to get you the necessary details.
SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 splitting up, account migrations coming
"Sony Online Entertainment and ProSiebenSat.1 have jointly decided to migrate all PSG accounts for PlanetSide 2, DC Universe Online, and EverQuest II back to SOE in the near future," wrote SOE's Linda "Brasse" Carlson on the company's forums. SOE and PSG originally joined forces in 2012 to the dismay of European gamers who opposed the forced transfer of existing player accounts and regional server restrictions that threatened to affect international guilds and sub-communities.
Take a look at DC Universe Online's survival mode
DC Universe Online is gearing up to make survivors out of its players. That's kind of the whole focus of the game's upcoming survival mode, which sets players against waves of enemies in a test of endurance and persistence. So what does it look like in action? Well, you can check that out in a fan video just past the break showing off 11 minutes of action in the survival mode on the test server. The footage in question isn't the group's full run of survival mode, just a shot at a full group clearing through the first round and some of the second to give viewers a sense of how it works. There's also some mild cursing in the video, so you might not want to turn your speakers up to full if you're watching this at work. But if you haven't jumped on the test server and you want to see what it'll be like to stand against the hordes as long as you can, just jump on past the break.
Marvel Heroes is adding dual specs
If superheroes have dual identities, why not player characters? Marvel Heroes is leaning this way, which is why Gazillion is working on a dual spec feature for the game. "We have dual spec coming sometime in the next eight weeks [or] so," the devs posted on the forum. "The current plan is to offer everyone a free second spec that they can use for PVP or anything else (raiding, solo, groups, different builds, etc). Currently the UI for it is being designed, then we'll get the back end server systems set up for it and put it on test center."
Marvel Heroes begins Mac open beta
The Mac open beta for Marvel Heroes started yesterday, welcoming a new community of wanna-be superheroes into the fold. The open beta includes all of the content that PC players get, including the recent Battle of Muspelheim raid. Gazillion is selling two special packages to go with the beta that include heroes and costumes. The packs are available for purchase by both PC and Mac players. Currently, Marvel Heroes is celebrating its first anniversary with a month-long in-game celebration.
Marvel Heroes celebrates its first anniversary
Marvel Heroes turns one year old today and it's throwing itself a fabulous birthday party. Don't worry: You're all invited as well. Gazillion is handing out an anniversary gift per day per account for players level 30 or higher who log in and talk to a special NPC. In addition, the team has toggled the server to boost XP, RIF, SIF, and cosmic chest rewards by 50%. Marvel Heroes has big plans coming up later this month, including achievements, login rewards, the Silver Surfer, and a special surprise.
Marvel Heroes celebrates Mac open beta, releases Surtur trailer
Marvel Heroes is celebrating the upcoming Mac open beta with two new content packs: the Mini and Pro Pack. The Mini Pack includes four heroes, eight costumes, five iBoosts, and four of each Fortune Card. The Pro Pack includes eight heroes, exclusive Iron Man Armor, 21 costumes, two team-ups, 15 iBoosts, pet mini Dragon Man, six of each Fortune Card, the Mac Pro Founder forum title, and Iron Man Guardians of the Galaxy White Variant avatar. These packs will be available to both PC and Mac players. The advance and exclusive content will be available at a later unannounced date. Gazillion says that the Mac open beta is coming "very soon." Gazillion has also launched a new Surtur trailer that previews content coming later this month! View it after the break.
Perfect Ten: The MMOs that influenced me greatly
Every one of us has an "MMO resume": a list of titles that we've played, whether briefly or extensively. Some of those are just games, casual flings that meant nothing. But others can take a more meaningful role in our lives, influencing how we experience and view MMOs. I would scarcely say that my resume is one of the most robust you'll ever see; I'm sure plenty of you have played more than I. However, I like to think that I've had a journey over the course of a decade or so that's shaped who I am as a gamer. Since it's my birthday today, I'm going to share 10 of those influential MMOs with you and what they've done for me. You're going to get me cake.
Sentinel siege going on right now in Marvel Heroes
Siege of the Sentinels is happening now in Marvel Heroes! The towering baddies are spawning randomly throughout Gazillion's action RPG, and they'll be doing so through next week's patch. After you take a few down, you can bring looted Sentinel Parts to Hank Pym and you'll eventually be able to craft a couple of new items, according to Gazillion's announcement blurb. The devs have also buffed up X-Mansion loot and released Psylocke as a playable hero available in the game's cash shop. If you don't want to pony up for Psylocke or grind shards to unlock her, you can watch Massively's MJ stream her live on May 24th at 12:00 p.m. EDT.
Marvel Heroes introduces One-Shots!
Greetings, True Believers! If you've been enjoying the scintillating storyline swiftly strung throughout Marvel Heroes, you're no doubt happy at the thought of more tantalizing tales of heroes and villains. But when the game is built on a broad base of boundless maps and mazes, where could the writers weave a web of wonder without damaging the delicate designs of Doom's decisive defeat? Why, the answer is simple -- it's time for the game to embrace the might Marvel One-Shot! One-Shots are episodes carefully crafted to comic concerns, focused on isolated incidents rather than breaking up the flow of the central narrative structure. The first one pits heroes against the sinister schemes of Man-Ape as he seeks to subdue the people of Wakanda and ruin the regency of Wakanda's rightful ruler, Black Panther. Any hero of level 20 or above who's cheering for a change of pace can pick up the One-Shot by selecting the Terminal from any waypoint, so by all means, jump in the next time you're in the game. Excelsior!
SOE announces game-specific player events for SOE Live
Are you headed to SOE Live this summer? We are, even if the game list is a tad shorter than in previous years. And that's why we're excited to see SOE's latest official post about the convention, set to run in Las Vegas, Nevada, this coming August 14th to 17th. The studio has announced special events for several of the games it plans to feature at the event: Plane raids await EverQuest fans. Deck-building games and PvP tournaments lie in store for DC Universe Online players. EverQuest II players will participate in speed instances and a murder mystery quest. Landmark devotees will be treated to a mega-build event and a harvesting-themed dice event. Finally, the studio has planned a squad showdown event for PlanetSide 2 players. Early bird registration for SOE Live ends on Monday.
Marvel Heroes hosting Bounty Hunter Week
If you're having gift box withdrawals following the conclusion of last week's Marvel Heroes event extravaganza, you'll be happy to know that the devs are kicking off something called Bounty Hunter Week starting May 9th. The festivities involve obtaining A.R.M.O.R. research drives and then turning them in to a special vendor in exchange for new uniques, artifacts, Ghost Boxes, and costume cores. Login gifts are back, too, as everyone showing up on May 10th will get a Bounty Hunter box while everyone who plays on May 11th will get a Mother's Day gift.
DC Universe Online launches Amazon Fury Part I
While a Wonder Woman movie still seems about as likely as the Earth transforming into a giant robot, DC Universe Online is giving the heroine star billing in its latest DLC. Amazon Fury Part I is the first of three DLC packs focused around the Amazon Civil War, with an emphasis on Wonder Woman, her mother Hippolyta, and her nemesis Circe. The new DLC includes two solo Iconic Visions in which players take the role of Circe or Wonder Woman, walking through the start of the war now raging. Two new Duos and one new four-player Alert are also available, taking players through Themyscria's palace, port, and warehouses. A new open area dubbed Gotham Under Siege ties in as well, with the divided Amazon forces rampaging across an alternate phase of Gotham City. Members are able to download the new content now at no additional charge, while free players can purchase the DLC separately if they'd like to jump in. [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]
The Daily Grind: Have you ever been put off by double XP?
Marvel Heroes features a bunch of firsts for me. It's my first prolonged exposure to the Marvel universe. It's the first ARPG I've enjoyed, and it's the first game that's kind of annoyed me with its promotional XP bonuses. Let me explain. I hate leveling in MMOs. I don't play MMOs for leveling or progression and 99 percent of the time these tropes act as timesinks that get in the way of what I actually want to do in a virtual world. So, normally I love, love, love double XP. Well, last week in Marvel Heroes I was blowing through the levels so fast that I ended up way ahead of the story in terms of level-specific areas. I want to play through the story once, enjoy it, and then go about speed leveling, trying all the other characters, etc. But that was almost impossible to do since I couldn't log in without levels and loot bags hitting my character in the face! Anyway, it's my own fault for starting the game during a promotional period, and I'm not really complaining as much as I'm looking to start a discussion topic. So, how about it, Massively readers? Do XP bonuses ever seem counterproductive or annoying, or is it just me? 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!
SOE compensates players for All Access issues
Acknowledging that the recent switchover to the new All Access program has been "frustrating," SOE announced today that it will be compensating its playerbase for these issues. The studio will be handing out 50 replay badges to DCUO players, adding an additional week to seven-day Landmark closed beta keys, and triggering double XP weekends for Dragon's Prophet, EverQuest, EverQuest II, and PlanetSide 2. "The implementation of this new membership plan across SOE's game portfolio has been one of the most complicated updates to our billing system to date," SOE apologized in a post. "As fellow gamers, we know that this has been frustrating and we sincerely regret any inconvenience this has caused."
Marvel Heroes makes visible the Invisible Woman
Marvel Heroes today revealed new playable character Invisible Woman, though I suppose we'll have to just take the studio's word for it since, you know, she can turn invisible. Sue Storm is the latest member of the Fantastic Four to be added to the roster and joins her brother, Johnny Storm the Human Torch, and Thing in Marvel Heroes. Able to bend light surrounding her to create force fields for both defensive and offensive use, she is informally known as the most powerful member due to the limitless potential of her powers. Gazillion has provided Massively's readers with a special code for a mystery gift in the game: RUNE3. It expires Saturday morning at 2:59 a.m. EST, so if you want some mystery, use it quickly. The studio also announced the start of Rune Week, an event that implements brand-new rune types and doubles rune drop rates across the game. [Source: Gazillion press release]
DC Universe Online launches Amazon Fury DLC Part 1 for legendary members
Just a day after SOE's new All Access membership plan kicked off, the studio has unleashed two updates for its superhero MMO, DC Universe Online. Weapon Mastery has been introduced today for all DCUO players; primarily, it grants gamers the "ability to master multiple weapon types and seamlessly combine them during combat." Also live today for early access players is Amazon Fury Part I, the first chunk of DLC focusing on Wonder Woman and the Amazons. It includes a new storyline, a new alert, duos, solo content, and a new shared open area. It'll be available for purchase formally on May 6th. We've included the Weapon Mastery video after the cut. Enjoy! [Source: SOE press release]
The Daily Grind: Is there an MMO you're too wary to play?
Ever since City of Heroes was abruptly and unjustly sunsetted, I've toyed with the idea of giving Champions Online another spin. It can never be everything City of Heroes was to me, but it has a lot of the same ideas behind it, and it's closer in spirit and gameplay to my beloved CoH than the admittedly few other superhero options on the table. But Champions Online has been so spottily supported by its developers over the last few years that I have a nagging suspicion I'd just be wasting my time, that the game is locked into a cycle of decay that will only frustrate me in the long run if I invest too much time, money, or emotion into it. And that's enough to keep me away. How about you -- is there an MMO you'd like to play but that just makes you too wary to actually jump back in? What specifically is holding you back? 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!
City of Titans updates trailer for City of Heroes' 10th birthday
Today would have been City of Heroes' 10th anniversary, believe it or not. And while fond memories and colorful screenshots are all that remain of the former superhero MMO, the spiritual successor City of Titans is being built to fill in the void that was left behind. Missing Worlds Media, the team behind City of Titans, released a new version of the teaser trailer for the Kickstarter project on this solemn occasion. It mostly consists of concept art and unpainted models being plunked down to make a city, but if you're looking to the future for your superhero fix, it might be an early glimpse at your future home. Give it a watch after the break. [Update: Not to be outdone, Heroes and Villains also released new work-in-progress screenshots of its own spiritual successor to CoH in honor of the original's anniversary.]
