wardrobe
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DDO beefs up melee characters in Update 23
All hail patch day for Dungeons and Dragons Online! Hear the mighty dragons roar and witness the ancient vaults break open and spill their content goodness! For Update 23 hath arrived to change the game forevermore. Update 23 may not be the largest DDO patch to date, but it does contain several significant improvements. The biggest of these is a large buff to melee characters to balance that playstyle with those of other roles. Melee characters have new stats to help them with their efforts, including melee power, ranged power, and magical resist rating. Turbine has also unlocked the epic version of the Orchard of the Macabre instances, added in a new raid, included guild storage, and offered players the ability to create cosmetic variants of armor pieces with the new Mirror of Glamering.
Guild Wars 2's minipets move into the wardrobe
The ever-so-popular wardrobe in Guild Wars 2 is getting several upgrades with this month's features pack. A new dev diary posted today lists the benefits coming to the fashion conscious among us, including a search feature, a separate section for outfits, and a new finishers panel that delivers previews. Probably one of the biggest changes coming to this screen is that all minipets will be moved out of the bank and into this UI. Once players select a mini from the bank or inventory, the game will destroy the item and unlock the mini for use account-wide. Players won't just select and preview minipets from the wardrobe, but they will be able to equip it in a new slot. Equipped minipets will show up automatically even after waypointing into a new map.
Global Chat: Being the bad guy
As an MMO enthusiast blog, Massively has always had a special appreciation of the dedicated (and unpaid!) writing that gamers put out on their own blogs every day. Every week there are dozens if not hundreds of terrific posts on MMOs out there, and since I'm the resident loon here who reads pretty much all of them, I decided to start up a biweekly column to point you in the direction of some of the best discussions going on in the blogosphere. We'll see posts on specific games and general topics, geeky gushings and zany rantings. For our inagural edition of Global Chat (yes, I'm recycling the name from a long-dormant feature on this site), we'll take a look at how outfits tie into identity, surviving MMOs as a chicken, a requiem for a gold farmer, and so much more!
City of Steam previews its 2.7 update
City of Steam has another update in the works, and it's going to make you look good. How, you ask? Well, partly by adding a new and expanded wardrobe system that will improve categories and free up storage space for your cosmetic outfits. The interface is still rough, but it's also a step toward giving players more options and power when it comes to character appearance. What else is coming? There's a new Lucky Wheel option in the works, allowing players a chance to spin and win all sorts of great prizes whether they're playing for free or not. The Mercenary system is also being revised, with appearances being improved, new mercenaries being added, and an improved interface for organizing and managing the soldiers of fortune. You can check out the full patch preview, which sadly for players does not yet include a targeted release date more specific than "soon."
Funcom yanks mankini costume from The Secret World
Players who logged in this week to The Secret World might have noticed that there was a new male costume option in the game store: a neon green mankini that covered very, very little. However, those who purchased said mankini discovered the costume gone today, as Funcom pulled the April Fools' Day outfits from characters' dressing rooms, refunded the points spent on them, and gave each previous owner a free mystery box. While there was no explanation as to why the outfit was removed, Funcom apologized for the handling of the joke on the forums: "You may or may not be aware, but the mankini was removed. Anyone that purchased the item has been refunded points and has received a mystery box for the inconvenience. However, if you had purchased points in order to buy the mankini, you can contact customer service for a refund of those points. We're terribly sorry for the trouble, folks. Our CS staff will be happy to help."
Flameseeker Chronicles: Looking forward to Guild Wars 2's feature pack
The dust has barely settled on the Battle for Lion's Arch: Aftermath release, but ArenaNet is already releasing blog posts to discuss Guild Wars 2's April 15th feature pack. What's a feature pack? Well, it's exactly what it says on the tin: We'll be getting a big chunk of gameplay updates, quality-of-life improvements, and balance tweaks that don't fit into the living world or have story components. I usually refer to this stuff as "stuff," but "feature pack" definitely sounds more classy. As I write this, we've gotten posts on three of the topics locked up in the official feature pack site's nifty little sidebar doodad: one covering updates to the trait system; another to outline balance changes for runes, sigils and professions; and another to talk about swapping critical damage percentage for a new attribute called Ferocity. I have a lot to say about traits, but I'm also going to spend some time speculating on the next two blog posts in the lineup. There's nothing I love more than making half-baked predictions.
Guild Wars 2 unveils new account-wide wardrobe system
The latest ingredient in Guild Wars 2's April 2014 feature pack has just been announced, and it's a delight for those of us who like to play dress-up in our MMOs. Yes, it's quite literally a wardrobe, an "account-wide system that allows players to collect every skin in the game." Says ArenaNet, "Currently, it can be a little overwhelming to try to sort through it all and customize your character exactly how you'd like to. Our answer to that is the Wardrobe, which makes it easy for players to change their look at any time and to share cosmetic items across all the characters on [their] account." In other words, a skin unlock for one character will work for alts too, and players will use transmutation charges to swap their looks as part of the new simplified transmutation system. ANet launched a brand new dev blog, video, and gallery today to toast the new feature. Enjoy!
EverQuest Next Landmark throws a fashion show
Attention class! Pull up your chairs and mist your eyeballs because it's time for an EverQuest Next Landmark fashion show! SOE put out a short video today showing off the various models and colors of outfits that are in the game, including the sleek sci-fi Colony outfit, the steampunky Victorian outfit, and the utilitarian Adventurer outfit. There's also a "coming soon" teaser at the end with concept art hinting at other types of outfits. Give it a watch after the break and let us know what you'll be wearing in the game!
Chaos Theory: Twenty-plus outfits you can get by questing in The Secret World
Just about everyone I know in The Secret World is a total fashion junkie. My cabal meets once a week to allegedly run dungeons and other difficult content, but really we're just there to show off our spectacular and creative outfits. And because statted gear is completely removed from your character's visuals, there isn't that typical pull to balance looks and numbers. Everyone is free to look the way that he wants, provided he's picked up enough costume pieces to do so. MJ did a terrific job the other week outlining the myriad of ways that you can assemble your wardrobe in The Secret World because she is a fashion junkie. And because I am also a fashion junkie, I'm going to pick up the topic and focus on just those quests that reward you with an item or two that pops into your dressing room. I'm always paranoid about overlooking a quest (or side-quest) because it might be one of the rare ones that gives you a cool article of clothing. So to help any fellow paranoid players out, here is a list of over 20 clothing items that you can get from quests.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite in-game outfit?
Every Monday night my cabal meets in The Secret World supposedly to run instances and tough group content. In actuality, we get together to show off whatever new outfit that we've put together over the week and see who looks the most dashing, fashionable, or interesting. Guys and girls alike, we're all suckers for an eye-catching outfit. Of course, I always have the best. Visuals almost always mean more to me than stats, which is why I prize a good-looking piece of gear highly. I love MMOs with wardrobe or cosmetic outfit systems, and I'm constantly fiddling with new outfits to see if I can make something that stands out from the crowd. So for my fellow fashion fiends, what are your favorite outfits? A description is fine, but bonus points if you can link to a picture! 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!
RIFT Update 1.11 overhauls classes for Storm Legion
RIFT is gearing up for next month's expansion, and Update 1.11 is the first step into that bold new world of Storm Legion. The update, which landed on servers yesterday, makes major changes to classes and game systems in order to get everything in line with the expansion. Most classes have received a wide variety of changes to skills and soul trees, necessitating a reset for many builds. There are so many changes, in fact, that Trion Worlds had to list each of the callings' patch notes in separate forum threads. While players can't spend more than 51 points in any soul, they can now see the additional skills that will come with the expansion. Planar attunement is now shared between characters and has been simplified somewhat. Trion's also loosened restrictions on the wardrobe, allowing players to use clothing from any class for their cosmetic outfits. A world event called Tempest Rising and the unlocking of the Exodus of the Storm Queen dungeon for expansion pre-orders will be triggered in upcoming weeks.
The Road to Mordor: Three things LotRO needs from Guild Wars 2 (and vice versa)
Whenever a new big MMO releases, it causes a shockwave of predictable conversations and comparisons. I'm not interested in the "winning/losing" or "killing/dying" debate so much as a contemporary meeting of minds to share ideas. MMOs used to develop in a vacuum, but now they're much more interconnected (for better and worse). The upside for consumers is that proven features often spread to the competition, hopefully improving the whole playing field. In our case, it's the impact of Guild Wars 2 on the industry and what it might have to teach Lord of the Rings Online. Yet I don't think it's quite fair (or true) to just look at it from the lens of "Everything GW2 has is better"; it's more productive to theorize how to swap the best of both games in order to improve them. So here are three things that LotRO could use to implement from Guild Wars 2 -- and three that Guild Wars 2 could use from LotRO.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Wardrobe blues
One of the aspects of RIFT that I keep trumpeting to friends and strangers alike is just how wonderfully quick, responsive, and engaging Trion Worlds' updates have been. It's almost as if the dev team is engaging in a pillow fight with players, swinging away and trying to pummel us into submission with great content that's not always perfect but usually is great. In comparison, many other MMOs have become stodgy dinosaurs, creaking along with long-promised but never-arriving features. So while I praise Trion for the bounty of nine major updates since launch, there's one feature that I've felt discontented with every since its inclusion: the wardrobe. For me to say this is kind of a big thing; anyone who knows me knows that I adore it when MMOs give us the option to dress up our characters the way we like. An appearance system was a big wish list item for me, and when Trion casually tossed it in the game early on, I was ecstatic. Yet over the months, I've grown to dislike the system as a whole, especially in comparison to cosmetic gear systems in other titles that I play. It's a little difficult to put a finger on why, but I've got another 1000 words or so to make the attempt and then discuss solutions. Let's get to it!
LotRO struts the runway for Fashion Week
Are you more into looking good in Lord of the Rings Online than defeating the very heart of evil? Then Turbine's got a special week planned just for you. Starting today and going through the 16th, Fashion Week will be blazing through LotRO. LotRO's cosmetic system allows players to assemble their own outfit looks independent of slotted gear and has become a popular feature in the game ever since its inception. Through Fashion Week, Turbine will call on the best-dressed to strut their stuff in the hopes that in-game CMs will see them and award special titles. Also included in the week will be fashion-themed lotteries and a screenshot contest in which the best entries will be voted upon by the community. To give players inspiration, Turbine links to three game outfit blogs -- Lotro Fashion, Lotro Stylist, and Cosmetic Lotro -- and has given each of the blogs special codes to hand out for free in-game dyes.
The Road to Mordor: Wish lists, past and future
Hobbits love making lists, don't they? In The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo had a lengthy list of friends and relatives to invite to his eleventy-first birthday party, and he didn't have the luxury of Facebook to help him out. I love lists as well, although I try to save most of that for my Perfect Ten column. At the beginning of the year, I sat down and drafted up a "wish list" for Lord of the Rings Online's 2011 year, populating it with 11 changes and additions I was hoping to see by now. To my surprise, Turbine actually pulled off quite a few items on the list, and I thought it'd be a good idea to go back and examine which of my goals the team met and which remain elusive. Also, since 2012 kicks off tomorrow, I'll look forward as well and draft up a dozen -- yes, one more over the year before -- wish list items that I'd love to see come true in the new year. It's my column; I can cry if I want to, after all. Let's get this party started!
Google's Androidify holiday wardrobe update lets your bot ring in the New Year
Ready to celebrate the holidays this year? Google has gone and refreshed its free Androidify app with some season-appropriate gear for your avatar. The new virtual wardrobe selections should certainly please a variety of tastes, whether you're itching to fit your robo with an ugly Christmas sweater or just a pair of New Years party specs. You can catch our bot's new winter threads below, and snag the update for yourself by hitting up the Android Market link below.
The Daily Grind: Is looking cool more important than stats?
My gaming philosophy is this: Looks matter. They're not all that matter in video games, but they're important. If I'm to spend hundreds of hours with the same avatar, then I want that avatar to look sleek, sophisticated, tough, or coordinated. I do not want to come off like I slathered glue all over my character's body, jumped into a Salvation Army discount bin, and started flopping around. How my character looks in an MMO is so important to me that often I'll choose a piece of gear based on its appearance rather than its stats. If I feel forced to be saddled with an ugly hat or a pair of trousers that were robbed from Bozo the Clown's wardrobe, then it grates and I go to bed that night with a headache. If I can assemble an outfit that I think makes me look cool to others I meet -- and myself especially -- then it almost doesn't matter to me whether I have that extra +5 stamina or not. So even though many MMOs offer both cosmetic appearances and adventuring outfits, the question remains: Is looking cool in MMO ultimately more important than stats? At the end of the day, would you rather look spectacular or fight spectacularly? 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!
Preparing for the apocalypse (again): GamersFirst on Fallen Earth's F2P shift
Today was my last day in Fallen Earth. My subscription ran out, so I was cut off from everything: glorious crafting, expansive exploration, black humor, and gas mask fashionware. Fortunately, my adventures will resume on October 12th, when Fallen Earth officially makes its transition to a hybrid free-to-play/subscription model. Like many current players and potential clones, we are understandably curious about the implications and (pardon the pun) fallout from such a fundamental shift in the business model. Will F2P be the savior of this niche game? What's being done to prepare for the change? To answer these questions and more, we talked to Joseph Willmon, an associate game director for GamersFirst. Massively: How are you preparing your servers for the added influx of free-to-play tourists? Joseph Willmon: We're still wrapping up some of the final stages of settling the Fallen Earth servers into their new homes at GamersFirst, so soon they'll be as optimized as we want them to be. We're lucky in that Fallen Earth was designed from the ground up to support lots of people playing -- we'd have to blow all estimates out of the water really quickly in order for population to be an issue, which wouldn't be such a bad problem to have!
Fallen Earth kickstarts its second anniversary live event a week late
"At Fallen Earth? Our events are fashionable. We have fashionable events," the latest Fallen Earth blog begins. "How fashionable, you might ask? So fashionable that they arrive fashionably late." When the servers go back up today with the new patch, Fallen Earth's second anniversary live event will be ready to go. The six factions are duking it out over New Flagstaff and looking to recruit all the clones they can in order to win the war. Players can sign up for PvP or PvE service in any of the sectors and do their part for the glory of their faction (and be awarded a nifty novelty item for their participation). The live event will occur on Wednesday, October 5th, at different times for European and North and South American players. The patch contains a number of changes to the gathering and crafting systems in the game and also puts in place the new cosmetic appearance system. Unfortunately for the fashion-conscious, you can look at the wardrobe but not touch -- until October 12th, that is. When Fallen Earth goes free-to-play on that date, GamersFirst will flip on the switch for the wardrobe... and there will be much rejoicing.
The Road to Mordor: A week in Dunland
Dunland: savage land of strife, tradition, and body paint. As I stood at its borders, my heel slightly sinking into the soft mud of the river shore, I could hardly believe I was there. The grass blew gently in the breeze, and for a moment it was easy to fool myself into thinking that all was right with Middle-earth, that my journey could be over. The moment passed, and I hefted my staff and walked resolutely toward the first village I saw. It's been almost a year since we first heard that, yes, we were going to take the Hobbits to Isengard (and Dwarves, Men and Elves, for that matter). It's been a long time coming, and now that it's here, it's a lot to absorb. I purposefully didn't spend a lot of time in the beta so as to not be spoiled; I wanted to savor Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard from start to finish. I wasn't going to be concerned with racing to the new level cap or attempting to devour all of the content in a couple of days. With that mindset in place, I've been vastly enjoying Rise of Isengard these past few days -- more than I thought I would, to be honest -- and I wanted to document this first week in Dunland in today's Road to Mordor.
