wrath

See: Wrath of the Lich King

Revelation Online’s Eternal Chasm raid comes in three difficulty modes

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Endgamers, Revelation Online’s update today is all about you, as My.com’s just dropped the Eternal Chasm raid, a “high-end raid for those that can handle its twisting layouts and waves of draconic evil.” In fact, while there are two different 10-man difficulty modes for the dungeon, there’s also a 5-man edition. Good news; it turns out that multiple difficulty modes for raiding is something My.com is willing to do to make its content appeal to lots of players. If only other big studios would step up.

The studio’s promising secret bosses and a rare fire-dino mount in addition to the regular ones:

“Stygian Siren: Haunting a long-forgotten ghost ship, the Stygian Siren is longing to seduce everyone who dares to go aboard.
Lightning Kirin: This magic dragon uses lightning powers to electrocute its enemies within seconds.
The Three Gatekeepers: If you want to descend deeper into the chasm, you have to put an end to these towering elementals that are forged of Steel, Fire, and Earth!
Flameborn Tyrant: Are you ready to taste some flames? This fiery beast won’t go down easily. But once it does, it may serve you as a loyal mount.
Ravenous Wretch: This poisonous giant resides in the swamps of the Eternal Chasm and is swift to anger. Beware of nature’s wrath and be sure to bring a proper antidote!
Devouring Dragon: Watch your step – this creature does exactly as its name suggests: it swallows you up.
Ice Queen: Frozen Onslaught, Ice Shrapnel, and Sword of Ice are just some of her abilities. If you don’t want to end up as a frozen statue, you better end her reign!”

Check out the trailer and images down below! Anybody playing?

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Perfect Ten: Why no one should recommend World of Warcraft ever

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Last week, MOP’s Justin (friend to man and beast alike) posted his list of MMOs he would recommend people play. It was a pretty good list! It wasn’t the list I would have written, but that’s why we’re separate people and not a single fused mass pulling ourselves along on withered, inhuman appendages. That would cause lots of problems in our respective marriages, for one thing. Also, it’d probably render us ineligible to collect multiple paychecks.

One thing I did not ask, however, was why he didn’t include World of Warcraft as a game he would recommend, even though some of our readers wondered it aloud. I would think that the reason for that would be pretty obvious, given that it was a list of Justin’s recommendations. But because I do love being contrary, there’s a good list of reasons why no one, ever, should recommend World of Warcraft as a game to be tried. Under any circumstances. Let’s even make it a nice round dozen reasons… but then subtract two, for no good reason.

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Star Trek Online adds Kobayashi Maru event with anniversary gifts

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It may be the “no-win scenario,” but Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru has a lot to teach captains about enduring in the face of failure. Inspired by the famous test from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek Online is adding a new weekend event that players cannot beat.

They can, however, strive to do their best before the game over screen appears. The longer that player captains protect the titular freighter, the greater the rewards gained. As a bonus, if players participate for three days during the event, they’ll be awarded a Universal Console Reiterative Structural Capacitor. It sounds very impressive.

Additionally, with today’s patch comes a slew of free gifts to mark the 30th anniversary of The Next Generation’s debut. Players can claim a Type-7 shuttle and a “skant” uniform from the C-store and visit Worf at Starfleet Academy to participate in the reprise of the 25th anniversary events.

Source: Patch notes, Star Trek Online

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Camelot Unchained’s Mark Jacobs on guilds, groups, and the social systems that make an MMORPG go ’round

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Over the weekend, the studio behind crowdfunded RvR MMORPG Camelot Unchained released a hefty chunk of its ongoing beta one document, revealing extensive insight into the way the game’s social systems will be laid out. Parts of those social systems will look familiar to MMO players, such as groups (Warbands), guilds (Orders), and raids (Battlegroups). But there are more layers to contend with, including perma-groups or mini-guilds (Permanent Warbands), as well as project-oriented raids (Campaigns), all designed in the service of an ambitious RvR-centered MMO that makes space for soloers and small guilds by not over- or under-privileging the largest teams in the genre. That’s the goal, anyway!

CU boss and MMORPG veteran developer Mark Jacobs, whom many of you know personally thanks to his ubiquity in our comments section, gamely answered about a thousand of my questions over the weekend, which we’ve compiled into an absurdly long interview about how to properly smush together all these groups into a social system sandwich that makes everybody happy. There’s even a Star Trek quote and a bonus question about Warhammer Online’s development and CU’s budget at the end!

I strongly urge you to check out the original doc first, as the interview assumes knowledge of the basic terminology and structure of the game. Fair warning: While Camelot Unchained’s document is almost 6000 words, this interview itself is close to 4000. You put Jacobs in a virtual room with me and my questions go on forever, and damn if he doesn’t answer them exhaustively. It’s a whopper, but it’s worth reading for a glimpse into what could be the future of MMO community planning.

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Overwatch gets serious about bad behavior yet again – for real this time, they swear

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Even Mercy can’t save you from Blizzard’s wrath for being a cranky player.

The studio sat its playerbase down for a talk this week, saying that it was getting serious about bad behavior that is running rampant throughout Overwatch and stepping up the punishments for crossing the line.

“Effective immediately, we will be issuing increased penalties to players in response to verified reports of bad behavior,” the studio posted. “In Overwatch, that means anything from abusive chat, harassment, in-game spam, match inactivity (being intentionally AFK), and griefing.”

Blizzard encouraged players spotting such activities to make full use of the reporting tools. Those caught engaging in negative behavior will be silenced, suspended, or even banned. The studio said that a reporting system is on its way for the console editions as well.

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Diablo III’s 11th season is now live with new class gear for the Necro

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Season 11 is now live in Diablo III, which means a brand-new opportunity to start a fresh grind for loot and expies. In its release blog last night, Blizzard touted new minipets, new portraits, new stash tab unlocks, and a new rotation of Conquests. The main prize, however, is the class sets players can earn for completing this season’s journey requirements, including a class set for the still relatively fresh Necromancer class.

“Now that the Priests of Rathma are active in Sanctuary, you can play through the Season Journey as the Necromancer and complete the free Class Set: the Bones of Rathma. Of course, this prize isn’t just for Necromancers. Every class will receive Haedrig’s Gift—a free Class Set—for completing the Season Journey Chapters 2, 3, and 4. Barbarians can earn the Wrath of the Wastes set, Crusaders can earn Roland’s Legacy, Demon Hunters can earn the Unhallowed Essence set, Monks can earn the Raiment of a Thousand Storms set, Witch Doctors can earn the Helltooth Harness set, and Wizards can earn Tal Rasha’s Elements.”

To get started, either create a seasonal hero or rebirth an older toon to start him or her from scratch (but don’t worry – you won’t lose loot permanently!).

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Hearthstone’s next expansion is Knights of the Frozen Throne

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Will Hearthstone have as much success in the frozen northlands as World of Warcraft did with Wrath? We’re about to find out, as last night Blizzard announced Knights of the Frozen Throne is the name of the card battler’s next big expansion.

“In Knights of the Frozen Throne™, Azeroth’s greatest heroes are called to Northrend once again to battle the Lich King . . . in the tavern! Blizzard Entertainment’s newest Hearthstone® expansion brings players to the Icecrown Citadel, where they will encounter terrifying bear sharks, ridiculous geists, indigenous Tuskarr ice fishermen, and the mysterious influence of runic magic. With 135 icy new cards, the tavern is about to get a whole lot cooler!”

Among the highlights of the expansion are new legendary hero cards, the Lifesteal keyword, and free Northrend-themed missions (“including a prologue, two wings of three bosses, and a final epic showdown against The Lich King himself”). The whole shebang launches in August, alongside a prepurchase 50-card bundle that by itself costs $49.99. The new pics and trailer are down below!

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Secret World Legends fist users have a difficult choice to make

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Wolverine clones have a new mechanic to master when Secret World Legends launches later this month. Funcom shone a spotlight on the fist weapon speciality today, telling players that they can build up enough fury to either activate a DPS or healing frenzy — but not both.

“Every attack and heal using fists generates fury,” the studio explained. “When your fury meter gets above a threshold you can activate frenzied wrath or invigorating wrath. You will gain new, powerful abilities while under the effect of wrath. You can continue to use those abilities until your fury meter is fully drained.”

See how the fist weapon mechanic works after the break!

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Secret World Legends offers up ‘deep dive’ on weapons

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After a week or so of teasing the different weapon specialties on Twitter for Secret World Legends, the crew at Funcom has finally released a “deep dive” into the different tools of destruction and their brand-new mechanics from which players can choose when they create a new character.

The weapon selection, from which each player can choose two at a time, is:

  • Blades: Generate “chi” to trigger a time-limited spirit blade
  • Hammer: Build up rage to spend on power attacks
  • Fist: Build up fury to access primal wrath abilities
  • Blood Magic: Move on a meter to either boost damage or healing
  • Chaos Magic: Damage divisible by eight will trigger a special event
  • Elementalism: Build up heat to boost damage but deny the use of some skills
  • Shotgun: One of four random shell types will be reloaded every six shots
  • Pistol: The RNG will determine if you do bonus damage on any given shot
  • Assault Rifle: Generate and expend grenades over time

The headstart for Secret Worlds Legends begins on June 23rd and will accept anyone who either has a current Secret World account or has signed up for the beta.

Source: Secret World Legends

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WoW Factor: Breaking up is surprisingly easy to do

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The classic break-up line is “it’s not you, it’s me.” It is, of course, usually a lie, and it often gets followed up shortly afterward with a line that makes it clear that it is really you. But it’s still a not-terrible way to ease into a breakup, to convey the idea that you want to move forward without bad blood between you.

So I’m sorry, World of Warcraft, but it’s not me. It’s you. It’s really on you. And a little bit on me, perhaps, but the parts that are on me have more to do with the fact that I’m aware I have better options open to me. It’s like declaring that you won’t go to Dunkin’ Donuts any more when the store in your area is constantly on fire; a bit of that is on you, but you could put out the fire.

Wait, I already did that fire joke, didn’t I? Let’s move on.

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The Daily Grind: What’s the longest break you’ve ever taken from an MMO?

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The other day I realized that I had just completed over a continuous year of time in World of Warcraft. This was kind of surprising to me, as when I returned to the game after a multi-year absence in early 2016, I did not expect to stay long. I truly thought I was fully burned out on the game following Wrath of the Lich King, and indeed I was not there for the next two expansions at all. Six years later, however, and I found myself sucked back in once more.

Sometimes it’s like that. Excessive play in MMORPGs can produce burnout, even in titles we love, and occasionally we simply need an extended break to rejuvenate our interest. I’ve always thought this in farming terms, letting the ground go fallow so that it can be rich and productive in the years to come.

Today’s topic is about the longest break you ever took from playing an MMO? For a legitimate answer here, it has to be an MMO you played, left, and then came back to, not one that you simply left and have never returned.

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Jukebox Heroes: Your favorite MMO themes, #12-7

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It’s starting to get serious now.

As we well know, people are highly opinionated about everything, but when it comes to music, there seems to be a (pardon the pun) higher pitch to the passion of those arguments. I’ve been doing an MMO music podcast for over three years now, and believe me when I say that there have been countless times when myself and my cohosts were aghast when someone hated a tune we liked and vice-versa, even though we shouldn’t have been surprised.

So as we head into the top 10 of the best MMO theme songs, as voted on by the Massively OP community, expect a lot of opinions and controversies. You may not like the picks, the order, or the comments, but hopefully one or two of these will make you happy (and there’s always room to be pleasantly surprised by a track you never heard before!). Suck it up and jump with me!

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Global Chat: Interior decorating in MMORPGs

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With Elder Scrolls Online’s new housing system coming early next month and LOTRO testing out some much-needed housing improvements, homemaking seems to be a subject on the mind of many players these days.

Contains Moderate Peril says that MMO housing has yet to live up to potential: “What you can do with housing is a far more interesting talking point. At present housing mainly offers in the MMO genre additional storage, an opportunity for aesthetic customisation, and convenient support services […] What housing across most MMOs fails to do is offer any additional social facilities or unique group content.”

Meanwhile, Dimension Gallery featured one house designer that came up with some impressive dimensions (my favorite is the Spongebob Squarepants!).

Housing not your thing? After the break we have blog essays on Final Fantasy XIV, welfare epics, and the true endgame activity of MMORPGs!

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