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Patch 3.3: 1400 new PvE items on their way
It seems like every Wrath patch brings with it more items than the last by an order of magnitude. It was eight hundred of 'em for 3.1, between the Argent Tournament and Ulduar, and now Ghostcrawler says that 1400 more PvE items will be packed in every box of Patch 3.3, including our big orange buddy up there. Given the recent interview with Cory Stockton and our man GC, it seems like there's a lot of attention going into itemization for all of the Icecrown gear, and thus it's actually a little surprising that there's so darn much of it. And there's a ton of new kinds of procs, set bonuses, et cetera, building on the "Epic. Cool things. Proc'y stuff." mentality that GC says Icecrown items are all based on. Then again, with what's going down with items in Cataclysm, fourteen hundred new items seem downright mundane in comparison. It must seem that way to Ghostcrawler, too, given that this whole comment off-handedly came out in a post where someone was loudly complaining about an itemization bug on a piece of Icecrown gear. That's casual conversation for ol' Greg. "Yeah, put the finishing touches on 1400 new items today. Figure later I'll get the number of that waitress at Applebee's. Tomorrow I personally reitemize all of the old-world quests for Cataclysm. I'll get up around noon, probably leave work at 3:30 or so." Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Army of Two: The 40th Day to offer weapon customization, garish camo
We've never felt satisfied by the weapon customization options afforded to us by first-person shooters. Oh, three different kinds of scopes? An optional grenade launcher attachment? Yeah, those are pretty cool, we guess -- however, we'd also like a different stock, ammo clip, suppressor and barrel on there as well. Hey, while we're at it, we also need a blender. You know, for when we require a cool coconut smoothie in the middle of a heated firefight. The latest trailer for Army of Two: The 40th Day gives us a look into the weapon customization engine we've always dreamed of, giving us unparalleled control over our in-game boomsticks. You can quickly turn your military grade M107 into a hulking, unwieldy monstrosity, complete with hideous, circus-themed camouflage. Sadly, the above trailer doesn't show off any kitchen appliance attachments -- we're sure they'll show up as DLC shortly after the game launches on January 12.
Stargate Worlds: We're still kicking, the pics prove it
It's been a long, difficult road for Stargate Worlds -- a game that has been mired in financial woes for quite some time. Now and again we do get to report some positive news about the sci-fi MMO, but it's clear that Stargate Worlds isn't out of the woods quite yet. Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment recently made an announcement to the game's fan community, thanking them for their support through tough times. CME stated, "We know you expect nothing less than the AAA content in Stargate Worlds our development team is working hard to give you along with some additional exciting news we will be revealing very soon! We want to thank everyone for their continued support and passion for Stargate Worlds and we can't wait to show you more of what we've been cooking up over here." As to what they've been working on, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment released some new screenshots of the armor and weapons for the Goa'uld, Jaffa, Soldier, and Scientist classes. CME explains, "Each of these armor sets will have unique traits that make them ideal for certain situations. As players become familiar with each world and the various environments they will encounter, they will discover which sets of armor best suit their play." The most recent Stargate Worlds images can be seen at the top of the gallery on the SGW Community Site.%Gallery-18792%
Patch 3.3: Quel'delar caster mace hastened
Ah, Quel'delar -- the Patch 3.3 questline with rewards for everybody. Well, everybody except tanks. And elemental shamans. And shadow priests, and moonkin, and mutilate rogues, and you get the idea. While the caster sword is itemized very well for DPS casters -- and can be used by two of them -- the mace version is loaded with MP5, which is patently useless for them. A lot of healers don't even really need it on their weapon. Well, Blizzard may not have caved to tanks or rogues, but they certainly caved to DPS casters, as Bornakk indicates that the MP5 on the Hammer of Purified Flame is being converted to haste to better match Quel'delar, Lens of the Mind. As an elemental shaman in dire need of replacing his Aesuga, I appreciate that! Then again, this makes it even more odd that sword-and-board tanks are still left out in the cold in this questline. I suppose there's still time before the patch for Blizzard to make the change, but it looks like they're not going that route. Oh well, tanks. There's always dual-spec. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Final Fantasy XIV details two new classes and weapons
Those of us looking forward to Final Fantasy XIV have a bit more to look forward to now, with a new update to the official site. Continuing the slow reveal that the recent updates have included, this update contains two classes who have been previously named but not discussed in detail, the Gladiator and Pugilist. In addition, the update offers some details regarding the weaponry used by these classes -- which, as we've reported earlier, are the central element for each class in the multifaceted world of the game. Gladiators are what their pictures would tend to indicate, heavily-armored sword wielders with a penchant for close melee combat. They're also slated to be masters of throwing knives, and will have the option of using a shield or eschewing it for more offensive combat. Among their weapons are a number of swords and shields, including the blade-encrusted Lantern Shield that offers simultaneous offense and defense. Pugilists, by contrast, are lightly-armored melee fighters that use a variety of hand-to-hand attacks -- shades of the classic Monk. Their weapons are a bit less novel, but any player familiar with Final Fantasy XI will feel some nostalgia at the sight of baghnakhs and cesti. Take a look at the official site for more information, including the galleries of weapons and multiple images of the new classes.
PAX: Two new Ratchet and Clank Future: Crack in Time weapons revealed
Insomniac Games' "Weapons 101" PAX panel had a pair of treats for Ratchet and Clank fans. After giving attendees a look at Crack in Time's expansive list of armaments, the game's director, Brian Allgeier, revealed two brand new guns: The Chimp-O-Matic, which turns enemies into adorable monkeys (and changes robotic enemies into robotic monkey toys with cymbals), and the Rift Inducer 5000, a weapon which summons tentacles from an interdimensional portal, which in turn grasp enemies and abscond with them through the vortex.Man, that seems kinda unfair, doesn't it? "You, enemy, will be turned into an adorable monkey. However, your friend is going to be abducted to a Hell dimension, where he'll be defiled by Cthulhu forever."
Vanguard gets final 3 weapon sets: Druid, Necro, Sorcerer
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes doesn't get as much attention as other SOE games, but it clearly has a dedicated community of players. It's also a game that has seen a significant amount of change since it launched, and the developers are continually improving Vanguard through player input. The latest announcement from the Vanguard developers is about the new weapon sets they're going to introduce, specifically for the Druid, Necro, and Sorcerer classes. They write: "You might have thought that we forgot about 3 certain classes when we were featuring some of the new weaponry. Never fear, this week we were able to wrangle the final 3 weapon sets up for everyone to check out in all their glory."
Phat Loot Phriday: Marrowstrike
Here's something for you Hunters to go after in the 5-man Trial this weekend.Name: Marrowstrike (Wowhead, Thottbot, Armory)Type: Epic PolearmDamage/Speed: 570-856 / 3.50 (212.3 DPS)Attributes: +106 Agility, +101 Stamina Yellow socket (nice for +Hit gems, though you can put whatever you want in there) with a +4 Agility socket bonus %Gallery-33600%
Those fragile Venomhide Ravasaurs
Here's a great tip from WoW LJ on the Ravasaur quest. Like me, many of you probably headed for the new Ravasaur mount on the Horde side the first chance you had in patch 3.2. But there's a hiccup in the quest: while you have to get poisoned by the raptors, the Ravasaurs die pretty easily. You need to attack them for them to poison you, but if you kill them before they sting you, you're out of luck.Still, those crafty folks over on LJ already have a solution. You can use things that work as weapons, but are still weak enough to keep the raptors alive, even in your uber-powerful level 80 hands. Lances from the Argent Tournament, low-level fishing poles, Blacksmith hammers and mining picks all work, along with anything else that can be wielded but has low damage. You can also level up any weapon specialties you don't have maxed out yet, but be careful there, too: anything that goes too high will kill the level 51 raptors off as well.Good luck -- to the raptors for staying alive, as all you'll want is the poison. And good luck to you with the rest of the quest. By the time you're all done, the poison task might actually have revealed itself as the easiest part. WoW's Patch 3.2 ushers in the Crusaders' Coliseum, the Isle of Conquest, flying mounts at 60, and much more. WoW.com has all the patch information your Worgen obsessed mind can handle in WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2!
US Air Force says decision-making attack drones will be here by 2047
Leave it to the military to dream big. In its recently released "Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047" report, the US Air Force details a drone that could fly over a target and then make the decision whether or not to launch an attack, all without human intervention. The Air Force says that increasingly, humans will monitor situations, rather than be deciders or participants, and that "advances in AI will enable systems to make combat decisions and act within legal and policy constraints without necessarily requiring human input." Programming of the drone will be based on "human intent," with real actual humans monitoring the execution, while retaining the authority and ability to override the system. It's all still extremely vague, with literally no details on exactly how this drone will come into existence, but we do know this: the Air Force plans to have these dudes operational by 2047. We're just holding out to see what those "classified" pages are all about. [Warning: read link is a PDF] [Via PC World] Read -Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047
TASER X3 triple-shot stunner arrives, subdues population
Right on schedule, Taser's launching the TASER X3 "force option," which allows "peace officers" the ability to shoot up to three probes in quick succession in order to "incapacitate" their "targets." Not only that, but the X3 can display a "warning arc" when loaded, allowing officers to "gain voluntary compliance" and "avert use-of-force" by putting on a light show. When it comes time to take down that unruly Trustafarian, however, it'll get done with style -- the probes are aimed with laser sights, and the new Pulse Calibration System actively monitors the perp to deliver a Precision Shaped Pulse(TM) that provides "consistent effects." Yeah, we want one. Video after the break.
Darkfall gets a free expansion, adds new weapons, weather, and player housing
Exciting news comes out of the Darkfall camp today as they unveil a brand new set of enhancements to the game, bundled together to form Darkfall's first free expansion. The update unleashes some massive changes, including the addition of weather, character specialization, new fancy weapons, PvE changes, and the big kahuna of additions, player housing.Of course when Darkfall adds player housing it's not your average, cuddly player housing. Houses, in addition to being able to be built on all sorts of land outsides of cities, can be formed into small villages that can be owned by clans. Villages will generate taxes for the owning clan, making them quite lucrative. Every six hours these villages go into a free-for-all status, allowing enemy clans to come in and take ownership with requisite bloodshed.You want to know more? Of course you do! Check out the full patch notes over at Darkfall's main website.
The mystery of the missing Ulduar models
Back at the very end of last year, the folks at MMO-Champion did their usual excellent work in mining up a heap of models from Ulduar. Now that it's six months later, I have to ask: what happened to all of them? Take the sword pictured above. If you've raided Ulduar, you've seen this model wielded by the Twilight's Hammer cultists in the hallway to the Descent Into Madness. Why, then, is it the case that there are four 2h swords available in 10 and 25 man Ulduar and none of them use this model? Furthermore, why do all four of them in fact use the same model instead?As you can see from the older post, there was an alternative two handed mace model, two more 1h sword models, another crossbow model and an alternate gun model as well. You may not love all of them (our own Alex Ziebart felt that the crossbow model lacked) but you have to wonder, why does every Ulduar gun, crossbow, mace and 2h sword look identical? Why are there only two one handed sword models when there could have been four? Are these models coming in a later instance or are they just there to dress up some NPCs? I actually think that the sword model alternative rocks pretty hard. I realize the mace says 'aspect' instead of 'ulduar' meaning that it might be intended for a later Chamber of Aspects instance, but even so, there was clearly a lot of work making new gear for Ulduar that didn't even get used outside of some NPCs. Any opinions on why we got one model for most drops in Ulduar instead of using some of these?
Laser Energetics' new light weapon puts you on the highway to the Dazer Zone
Are you looking to torment a neighbor / random passerby without the messy after-effects of traditional "just plain lethal" weapons? Perhaps you work for a law enforcement agency and you'd like to justify a budget increase by pouring cash into something vaguely futuristic. Or maybe you're a big city mayor with a "tough on crime" stance who'd rather not put any more money in social services. If so, we've found something both painful and cute sounding to add to your shopping list: Laser Energetics ("the total laser technology solutions company!") has just unveiled its new Dazer Laser less-than-lethal light fighting technology line. These bad boys operate at a range of up to 2400 meters (depending on the model), and work by emitting a green laser beam that fans out into a 1 x 8-foot "Dazer Zone." When focused on a person's eyes, his or her vision is temporarily impaired, their balance is effected, and they become overwhelmed by nausea. At the very least, it's probably better than being microwaved, right?[Via Test Freaks]
Ghostcrawler: Death Knight dual wielding to get a makeover soon
Good news to all you Dual Wield Death Knight Diehards: Ghostcrawler recently popped up on the forums with a simple answer to your woes: "Next Major Patch."Apparently, the next major patch (I'm guess it will be patch 3.2) will be seeing more tweaks to Death Knights, at the least to get dual wielding viable again. There's no word on what form this tweaking will take, which is to be expected. Balancing Dual Wielding and Two handed weapons has always been a tricky to near-impossible for other classes, so the skeptical part of me still wonders if it's possible. Of course, it could also be the two-handed weapon partisan in me speaking as well. Any basic solution such as creating a two-weapon strike seems like it could leave two-handed Death Knights out in the cold, at least for DPS. Still, we have that earlier mention of possible dual-wield dedicated tree, so who knows how extensively they'll revamp whichever one they choose to allow dual wield optimization. We do already have some 3.2 feature announcements, though, so who knows, maybe class change information is up next. We'll keep you posted.
Several Ulduar weapons buffed
Apparently a few tweaks to items were either too random or too last-minute to make it into the patch 3.1.2 notes. Three weapons have had their stats improved, "to match their appropriate item level:" Icecore Staff Boreal Guard Malice You can see a screenshot of the new stats at right. Additionally, eight weapons have had their speed changed, "to make them more optimized when used in PvE content compared to equivalent weapons obtained in the Arena." I read that as "Arena weapons were too good, so we changed the speed on these ones to make them better." Golden Saronite Dragon: 2.6 -> ? Remorse: 1.6 -> 1.5 Stonerender: 1.6 -> 1.5 Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion: 3.4 -> ? Dark Edge of Depravity: ? -> ? Aesir's Edge: 3.5 -> ? Hammer of Crushing Whispers: 3.5 -> ? Caress of Insanity: 2.6 -> ? If anyone can fill in the question marks, please leave the information in the comments.
Ulduar-10 hard mode weapons buffed
Well, this is a good piece of news for 10-man raiding. Weapons that drop in hard-mode Ulduar-10 fights are being buffed from ilvl 226 to ilvl 232, a jump of half a tier. Players who have these weapons already will see them adjusted. This puts the Ulduar-10 hard-mode weapons on par with the Ulduar-25 normal-mode weapons, a situation that was already the case for armor rewards (Ulduar-25 normal-mode weapons have always been ilvl 232). My own casual-ish guild is only four bosses into Ulduar at the moment, so this doesn't affect me personally, but it makes sense to see hard modes drop quality rewards. I wonder if this will increase the number of guilds attempting them. Now how about a shot at Val'anyr, eh? Or perhaps a Druid tanking idol somewhere in Wrath before Ulduar-25? Yeah, I didn't think so.
Further weapon balance blogging for Fallen Earth
Realtime guns, knives, grenades, pipes and all sorts of other weapons tend to make for an interesting challenge when it comes to balancing them, which is exactly what the most recent Fallen Earth developer diary discusses. It appears to have been a long road for the developers, but after much play testing and some clever re-categorizing they seem to have come upon a good method.Smart choices like allowing everyone to use grenades (thus giving melee-focused characters a little range) mark a very well thought-out system. Insuring that an sandbox style MMO still have a good sense of structure and meaning is imporatant, because without it everyone simply opts for the winning weapon. It's developer diaries like this that make us excited for upcoming games, which wasn't really necessary for Fallen Earth but helps nonetheless.
Insomniac reveals top 10 favorite Ratchet & Clank weapons
The Ratchet & Clank series is known for its wacky weapons. But what do the people that created the franchise think about them? What are their favorites?Well, here you go. Insomniac Games have revealed their top 10 favorite weapons from the entire Ratchet & Clank franchise. What will make number one? You'll just have to watch to find out.Insomniac's fan-made weapons contest is also drawing to a close. The PlayStation.Blog reveals more information on the finalists, and how you can vote for your top pick. The finalist will be revealed at San Diego Comic-Con later this year.
The Queue: Somebody has a case of the Mondays!
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today.<Insert witty opening remarks here.> Boltzmann asked..."Has Blizzard ever said anything about the prospect of allowing Bind on Account items to be transferred to different servers? It'd be sweet to be able to level a Death Knight on a friend's server and start out with the good gear."
