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Warhammer Online celebrates third anniversary with bonus XP, veteran goodies
It's time to raise a glass to Warhammer Online, as Mythic's fantasy PvP title turns three on September 18th (time flies when you're WAAAGHing, we suppose). What's on tap for the inevitable celebration? Bonus XP/RP, of course, and a whopping 10 days of it. Starting today, players can enjoy increased advancement potential and loot a few fireworks from the twitching carcasses of their foes. Also, three-year veterans are being recognized for their loyalty, as Mythic is gifting them with a Jack-O-Lantern vanity pet and an endless supply of both chaos black and blazing orange dyes. Don't forget that the 1.4.4 patch was recently deployed, and the Wild Hunt event is currently ongoing. Finally, check in with Massively on Sunday for our three-year Warhammer Online retrospective.
Gold Capped: Selling pets for fun and profit
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Fox Van Allen and Basil "Euripides" Berntsen aim to show you how to make money on the auction house. Feed Fox's ego by emailing him or tweeting him at @foxvanallen. I will admit, I'm a sucker for collecting in-game pets. Maybe it's because I like having someone following me around, even when I'm soloing content. Maybe it's just because of the obsessive-compulsive Pokemon instinct, where I gotta catch em all regardless of the consequences. Maybe it's just because I like tiny animals that depend on me. I'm far from alone -- collecting pets in WoW is serious business. There are achievements involved. Exclusive bonus pets. People have even created websites devoted to the hobby of collecting vanity pets. People love pets. And people will spend lots of money on the things they love, which makes making, buying, and reselling pets a very profitable endeavor indeed.
Rise of Immortals MOBA launching September 12th
Ready for another MOBA title? Ready or not, there's a new one on the way, and Petroglyph has just announced that Rise of Immortals is set to launch on September 12th. The game is currently barreling through the final days of its open beta test, and as such you can still sign up and get a free preview as well as take home 1,000 Petroglyph coins and an exclusive immortal skin. Rise of Immortals is free-to-play, and the dev team is looking to expand the MOBA genre by adding features like social hubs, emotes, persistent character progression, and collectible combat and vanity pets. That's not all, either, and we'll have more details for you in next week's edition of Not So Massively!
The Road to Mordor: Not all who wander are lost
These are exciting times for Lord of the Rings Online, for sure. The Fellowship -- and hundreds of thousands of groupies following in its wake -- has moved south, and we are growing ever closer to Mordor and Mt. Doom. In a month, Middle-earth will grow significantly with the addition of Rise of Isengard, and level-capped players will suddenly have a whole new buffet of content to devour. It's also a good era for exposure for the game, as plenty of people will get to see the expansion at Gamescom and PAX, not to mention those already in the beta proper. While we haven't heard anything about the game's finances or player numbers lately, there's no reason to believe that it's not still going strong. That said, I want to take a step back today, as I sometimes do, and look at the larger picture. How is LotRO positioned against the current competition and the heavy-hitters yet to come? What does Turbine need to be working on over the next year or two? Are we just wandering aimlessly, or is the path laid out for journey for a long time to come?
Enter at Your Own Rift: Creature comforts
I've got a problem that nine interventions and three bouts of electroshock therapy have yet to cure: I'm hopelessly addicted to collecting non-combat pets (aka vanity pets) in MMOs. I don't know why that is, exactly, although I've always had a fondness for "fluffy" elements on online games. In my opinion, a lot of what we work for in MMOs is cosmetic anyway -- a really good-looking set of armor, a top-of-the-line mount -- with some piddly stats occasionally making a cameo. (Comment bait? Oh yes, I'm evil that way!) While adding nothing to my combat power nor helping me advance in the game, pets still hold purpose. They are fun to display, particularly if you have rare critters that others haven't seen, and they can give you a feeling of virtual companionship during your journeys. Unlike many collection items, pets have a use -- you can actually do something with them instead of tucking them away where they'll sit collecting pixelated dust. I was pretty pleased to discover that RIFT wasn't going to leave us high and dry when it came to non-combat pets, although it's interesting that they're somewhat harder to come by than in, say, World of Warcraft. If you're like I am, you're scouring the game looking to expand your menagerie, so it might be frustrating to be well on your way to 50 with only a paltry pair of pets to your name. Where is everyone getting all of these? How can I snag a few more? Join me after the jump as we examine six ways to collect crazy critters!
Guild Wars 2's Eric Flannum on promises, pets and purpose [Updated]
"Think of the personal story in Guild Wars 2 as you would the 'main' storyline of a great single player RPG," ArenaNet's Eric Flannum said in an interview with GamerZine. Instead of rote MMO quests, this storyline will be full of significant, one-time choices that will have a huge impact on your character. This is just one of the many promises that ArenaNet has made in regard to Guild Wars 2 as the studio strives to differentiate it from the rest of the fantasy pack. The interview covers the main features list of the game: the event system, the personal storyline, and the emphasis on exploration. When pressed about in-game events and holidays, Flannum said that many Guild Wars holidays will be returning: "We haven't planned out exactly what we're doing yet, but we certainly plan to support all of our usual holiday events in Guild Wars 2. Since our event system is very robust I imagine we'll be able to do a lot more things than we were able to do in the first game." He also said that the team is striving to "push the fun and collectability" of the mini-pets system over Guild Wars 2's predecessor. You can read the full interview at GamerZine. [Update: Tap Repeatedly also has a whopper of a GW2 interview up today, this one with Jon Peters and Jonathan Sharp!]
Enter at Your Own Rift: A case for player housing
Earlier this week we were treated to the news that Trion Worlds is going to offer free character transfers between "select servers" once Update 1.3 hits. Now, how useful this will be is anyone's guess -- as some have noted, this may just be a clever ploy to redistribute the population from high-pop servers to low-pop ones -- but generally it's been met with applause from the community. I remain impressed as a consumer with how fast and aggressive Trion is pumping out content, and the fact that this is a free transfer once per week is really cool considering how most other subscription MMOs charge for a similar "premium" service. Whatever Trion's motive and however it'll play out, I do know this: The company needs to continue to bring the heat to the competition. It's vital that RIFT distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack in some way, whether it be polish, originality, speed, customer service, or innovation. Today I'd like to make a case for what I think should be high up on Trion's development schedule: player housing. We know it's something the devs have discussed, with some very much for and some very much against, but I'm hoping it's gone past the brainstorming phase. Why should we care about what might seem like fluff? How could housing work in RIFT? Tune in after the jump, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel to find out!
New reward for collecting 150 companion pets: Nuts
Companion pet collectors, Blizzard has heard your cries for new pets and rewards for collecting 100, 125, and 150 critters. Nuts, who is probably some kind of squirrel (duh), is the new reward for Littlest Pet Shop. Nuts will no doubt add to the wonderful world of WoW companion pets and provide even more awesome jokes for trade chat. Other pet collecting achievements have also been given rewards. Both Petting Zoo and Menagerie, the achievements for collecting 100 and 125 companion pets respectively, will grant the player pet biscuits. We have no idea how many uses these pet biscuits have, but it appears they will work the same as the WoW TCG's Papa Hummel's Old Fashioned Pet Biscuits. Go forth and collect, companion pet enthusiasts. Nuts will be waiting for you in patch 4.2. The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new Tier 12 armor!
The Daily Grind: What do you collect in-game?
Recently I was lamenting to my wife that I don't really have a good collection of anything. I think that really interesting people usually have some oddball collection that they work on over the years. For example, my friend Howard is a Pez fanatic, who has not only thousands of Pez dispensers but Pez t-shirts, belt buckles and a huge Pez tattoo down his arm. Howard knows the joy of a good collection. But then I realized that perhaps my urge to collect is being sated in MMOs. I usually always love to collect non-combat pets (if the game I'm playing has them), or goofy titles, or awesome outfits. There's something deeply satisfying about sitting on a well-stocked treasure-trove after a long period of working on it. So do you collect anything in MMOs? Do you store away statistically useless yet cosmetically perfect weapons just to have them? Is there a huge menagerie of animals parked in your garage, ready to transport you in style? If an MMO has a collection system, do you take full advantage of it? 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!
Power play: Warhammer Online's 1.4.2 patch improves Tier 4 [Updated]
It's been a quiet month or so following Warhammer Online's 1.4.1 patch, so it's a relief to see Mythic swinging back into action with the sequel: patch 1.4.2. The servers are coming down this morning and should be back up and ready for action by 1:00 p.m. EDT. According to the patch highlights, patch 1.4.2's main focus will be on improving WAR's Tier 4 RvR combat. Power levels and power gaps are due for a tune up, and Mythic claims to have taken in a lot of feedback about the end game in order to make these changes. As it's done in the past, Mythic is changing the scenario lineup for this new update, temporarily retiring some of these PvP instances while bringing others back online. The patch will also introduce a couple additional vanity pets, including the powder monkey and imp skeleton, which can be purchased via the EA Store. Some of these pets give you 5% additional gold when you loot corpses, making them very desirable indeed. [Update: Mythic has posted the full 1.4.1 patch notes for your perusal!]
Enter at Your Own Rift: The little things
For me, it's all about the little things in life: the smell of a good cup of coffee, the enthusiastic hug of my two-year-old, an illicit pack of Lemonheads candy, or throwing punny tags into Massively articles. While big things are essential to have and get right, it's the little things I find that give life its unique flavor. So when I enter MMORPGs, I'm always on the lookout for little things. Oh, sure, PvP and raiding and overarching epic stories are all well and good, but it's from the little things that the soul and flavor of a game emerges. I'm often far more delighted when I stumble upon a funny little Easter egg in a game than if I win that roll for a purple piece of armor. Today I want to look at 10 little things in RIFT that I've come to appreciate and savor over the past month or so. Maybe these elements don't get all of the glory, and maybe they're even seen as superfluous to some, but without them the game would be far less to me. So while we rush between rifts and struggle with expert dungeons, I'd encourage all of us to take some time to reflect on all of the supporting cast of features that are just as important to the overall effort.
15 Minutes of Fame: Pet supplier to the realm
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. When was the last time you received a thank-you gift from a vendor you patronize regularly on the auction house? For anyone who plays Alliance-side on Cenarion Circle (US) and is even vaguely interested in collecting pets, it probably hasn't been long at all. CC's healthy market for pets is driven, fittingly enough, by a player named Healthypets. Looking for a particular vendored or crafted pet, but don't feel like slogging across the world or juggling cross-faction AH shenanigans to get it into your hands? If it's not already listed on the auction house, it should be merely a matter of days before Healthypets will pop up a fairly priced selection. Buy more than a few? Regular customers get thank-you gifts -- that's right, a free pet mailed to you from Healthypets, for no other reason than to simply thank you for your patronage. This utterly charming player and his equally charming business (because come on, who wouldn't want to own a healthy pet?) have made it easy for players to stock up on many of Azeroth's collectable pets. After one especially satisfied customer wrote in to The Classifieds with a Random Acts of Uberness for Healthypets, 15 Minutes sent in an anonymous alt to investigate -- and she ended up with her own healthy handful of healthy pets, including not one but two separate thank-you pets. We got in touch with the 56-year-old, self-professed "regular guy" behind Healthypets to find out what goes into this successful, player-pleasing business.
Breakfast Topic: Do you collect anything in WoW?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. I'll admit, I have an obsession with companion pets -- much to my warlock's chagrin. She'd much prefer to burn the little critters, but I can't help amassing as large a collection as I can. At last count, I had over 100 pets and am still striving to get even more. While I have several titles, special mounts, and the like, I devote more time to building my pet collection than anything else. Of course, my collection wouldn't be where it is today without the help of some really good friends (especially the one who tirelessly slaved away killing Bogflare Needlers for my coveted Captured Firefly -- eeeek!). Do you collect anything in WoW? Whether it be common things like mounts or titles, or something a little more obscure, I want to hear about it -- unless, of course, you have a better pet collection than I do. Don't make me cry.
Patch 4.1 PTR: Wintersaber mount grind goes daily
For a long time now, the Wintersaber Trainer grind (for the Reins of the Winterspring Frostsaber) has been one of the last holdouts of the old world's long, slogging reputation grinds, featuring repeatable quests that give relatively small chunks of reputation and require slogging all over a zone. Admittedly, the grind is a lot easier these days thanks to tweaked drop rates, slightly higher reputation gains, and old world flight, but it still stands as a symbol of a different time. In patch 4.1, this will stand no longer. The Wowhead blog is reporting the Wintersaber grind is being turned into a series of daily quests that put you in charge of the care and feeding of a Winterspring Cub on the PTR. After 20 days worth of dailies which earn you Winterspring Cub Whiskers, you'll be able to turn in the They Grow Up So Fast quest for your very own set of reins. In addition, you can buy a Winterspring Cub permapet from a vendor in Everlook. It's Bind on Equip and sold by a neutral vendor, so even Horde and Bloodsail Admirals can get thier hands on it.
Breakfast Topic: Do your in-game pets resemble your real-life pets?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. It's another raid night, and I need another mini-pet out. But there are so many options, however shall I choose? The adorable Hippogryph Hatchling? The nigh impossible-to-obtain Hyacinth Macaw? A flashy collector's edition pet? Nope, not tonight. All I want is my Orange Tabby Cat. Why such a commonplace, easily accessible, inexpensive, almost downright boring pet, you ask? Well, because he's a mirror image of my IRL cat. When I first started playing the game, my Orange Tabby Cat and I traversed many mountains, open plains and snowy hills together. It seems fitting to bring him out on raid nights; as he was there from the beginning, so will he be with me in my final triumphs. Are there any in-game animals that remind you of your RL furry friends? A hunter pet you bring out on special occasions? A mount you seek out on all your characters? Maybe there's one you find particularly lucky? Or perhaps you have a small, ordinary mini-pet to walk beside you in Azeroth, as your RL pet purrs on the back of your chair?
Breakfast Topic: Will you be buying either of the new vanity pets?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. Blizzard has been selling us in-game items for a while now; however, it has kept this to noncombat pets and mounts -- things that, outside of counting for totals for achievements, have little to no real effect on gameplay. Some of the items Blizzard does for self-profit, and sometimes it sells in-game pets for charity. People who buy the items get different reactions from the community; the sparkle pony especially got a lot of hate. Personally, I have not bought any of the real-money pets, partially because I am not a collector and partially because I felt that paying for downloadable content should add something major to the game experience. However, I am considering buying the Ragnaros pet for one main reason: because Rags is my major epic memory of vanilla WoW, I always felt he was an awesome model and so imposing, and many of us went around saying "too soon" on Vent. Have you bought any of the vanity pets? Do you buy them all as a completionist/collector? Do you pick and choose the ones you think look cool? Do you only buy the charity pets? Or do you avoid real money transactions in games altogether?
Lil' Ragnaros and Moonkin Hatchling pets preview
Blizzard is previewing the two pets that will be offered this month in the Blizzard Store: Lil' Ragnaros and the Moonkin Hatchling. Lil' Ragnaros, pictured above, will not be associated with a charity. As reported before, however, a portion of the proceeds from the Moonkin Hatchling will be going to a charity that has yet to be named. Blizzard has not announced when these pets will be available to purchase or for how much. If they keep the same pricing as last year, however, the pets will be $10.00 (EUR 10,00) each. The full announcement by Blizzard and action shots of the hatchling are after the break.
Morhaime says moonkin hatchling available this month
Yes, that's right. During the ATVI earnings report conference call today, Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard Entertainment, announced that the Moonkin Hatchling will be available for purchase later this month, as he had already stated at BlizzCon. In addition, 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale will go to charity. The last time Blizzard did something similar, it raised $1.1 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Can the hatchling possibly dethrone the Pandaren Monk as the most adorable charity money generator? Gregg's speculation on whether or not we'd see more charity pets seems confirmed. Were you already planning on picking one up, and if not, does this news make it any more likely?
Personality or progression: WAR's 1.4.0 patch offers a choice
With the Skaven waiting in the wings, Warhammer Online's 1.4.0 patch delivers a few tantalizing goodies right here and now. The focus of the patch is two new "RvR packs" that can be picked up in the EA Store. For players looking for a leg up in their RvR advancement, the progression pack offers faster Renown Rank climbing as well as an increased cap of level 100. On the flip side, players looking for fun, fluff and fast travel can opt for the personality pack, which includes new dyes, quick mounts, barbershop tokens and vanity pets. Of course, you could always drop $10 for a free level instead. Patch 1.4.0 also features a major revamp of two core WAR features: open RvR zone capture and renown abilities. Mythic has pared down the victory conditions of open RvR to just capturing the enemy's keep, which is aided by achieving battlefield objectives and producing siege weapons. Renown abilities have lost their tiered structure, allowing players to purchase passive traits when and if they have the points for them. The dev team has added a number of new abilities as well. For more on improved itemization, the infamous Barber Surgeon and class changes, head on over to the WAR Herald and check out the patch notes.
Patch 4.0.3: Deathy is going to rehab
Deathy's identity crisis will be over before Cataclysm, according to Nethaera. His days of thinking he's Grunty the Murloc will be over once he goes through "rehabilitation" of some sort. Judging from the words Nethaera uses, Deathy will be fixed in patch 4.0.3. Nethaera For those of you who attended or watched BlizzCon 2010 and claimed a Deathy pet, you may have noticed that he's acting strange. In fact, he seems to think he's Grunty the Murloc Marine. This is an unintended consequence of the groupthink from which all murlocs suffer. Deathy will be undergoing an extensive rehabilitation program and should be acting appropriately destructive once his idol, Deathwing, shatters the world in an upcoming patch that will debut prior to the release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. source BlizzCon 2010 is over! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. You'll find our liveblogs of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
