ALL THE POSTS

MMO Week in Review: Ascendancy, Horizons, and U44

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It was a surprisingly big patch week for the MMORPG genre: Elder Scrolls Online pushed out Update 44, Elite Dangerous launched its Ascendancy patch, and Albion Online dropped its quarterly release, Horizons. Meanwhile, PlanetSide 2 merged its EU servers, we took a deep-dive into Wayfinder, Final Fantasy XIV previewed its Crossroads patch, Path of Exile 2 delayed its early access...

Astra Knights of Veda brings a new character, new progression, and new items in its second season

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Back in July we remarked how it might surprise people that the 2-D mobile and PC gacha "MORPG" ASTRA: Knights of Veda had made it to 100 days. We now can report that the game has now achieved something of a second milestone: the launch of its second season, which adds a whole slew of new things for players...

The MOP Up: Torchlight Infinite invites you to step into a painting

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Torchlight Infinite's sixth season, The Frozen Canvas, arrived with a new character and a mechanic centered around painting and canvases: "As these paintings are completed, they come to life, allowing players to step into these vibrant, frozen landscapes and engage in battles for exclusive rewards." And this is just the beginning of the rest of the news! Read on for a roundup...

The Stream Team: Helping a new Dark Knight learn in Final Fantasy XIV

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The Dark Knight rises... but only to a few feet in height. Yes, MOP's Chris is joining with one of his friends in Final Fantasy XIV to help them along in learning a new-to-them class, and that means taking a journey through the Palace of the Dead. Join him and the crew today at 2:00 p.m. EST for some...

The studio behind Kickstarted MMO Past Fate releases a co-op survival side project called Tuonela

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Generally, when a development studio elects to release a second side project while still working on a primary game, especially a Kickstarted MMO, that second game is pretty poorly received, and in some cases it can blow up spectacularly in the team's face. So we'll have to see just what happens to Icy North Games, the developer of Past...

Bethsoft’s Elder Scrolls Legends will sunset on January 30 after five years in maintenance mode

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It's been quite a while since the PC and mobile collectible card game Elder Scrolls Legends crossed our desk, but that would make sense considering the game went into maintenance mode in 2019. Unfortunately, maintenance mode will soon be over as will the game, as developer Sparkypants confirmed the game will go dark on Thursday, January 30th, 2025. Players were...

One Shots: A sticky situation, indeed

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While I am a general fan of honey, the fact that this is a dessert guarded by hundreds of bees does turn my attention elsewhere when I'm craving sweets. Although I admit that I never did think of a hive of honeycombs the most ideal spot for a jumping puzzle. Guild Wars 2 did, though. "Just mind the bees," said...
LISTEN GOOD

The Daily Grind: Have you or would you buy an album of MMORPG music?

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Music in video games is a funny thing. In the early days games could barely manage music and many didn't even try. But these days? Video game music is a big deal. And MMORPGs are no exception. Sure, some of our genre's early titles had less than memorable tunes, but these days games feature some pretty good soundtracks. Almost...

Grand Theft Auto Online previews December’s garment factory content patch

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While mention of a garment factory typically doesn't generate a lot of enthusiasm, Grand Theft Auto Online bets that it can do just that with its preview of December's content drop. The online crime sim has great plans to turn the Darnell Bros. Garment Factory into "a hive for clandestine infiltration operations" for players to enjoy. And that's not even...
our house, etc.

Stars Reach moves its pre-alpha testing from single worlds to multiple worlds

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The first thing to note is that Stars Reach, if you hadn't know this, takes place in space. The second thing to note once you finish noting that first thing is that technically every game takes place in space because that's how space work. The third thing to note is that everyone knows when you say a game takes...

Pantheon extends pre-early access testing through December 1, with ‘record numbers’ showing up

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With under two months to go until Pantheon launches into early access, you would think that studio Visionary Realms would be going all-out with details and promotion. And while that may still be coming, the November newsletter is oddly demure in its offering. The big news here is that the current testing cycle for all backers now has been extended...

The Stream Team: The Hallowed Nights of Don’t Starve Together

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Massively OP's MJ has been wanting to get back into the crazy survival-ness that is Don't Starve Together, and Halloween has given her a good reason to. Its Hallowed Nights holiday event has returned, bringing candy and cosmetic to collect around The Constant (and a cool animated short to watch starring the slobbering storage solution, Chester!). How could MJ...

LOTRO Legendarium: How should LOTRO handle ‘the levels issue?’

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Legacy of Morgoth comes out next week for Lord of the Rings Online, and I'm generally excited for it. I wasn't initially, since desert zones aren't my thing, but after seeing some of these area previews, I've come around on that. And it's always a welcome day when I can continue my long-running character's journey through Middle-earth. However, this expansion doesn't come...
does anyone want to hang out

World of Warcraft’s Patch 11.0.7 may be coming sooner than you think

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With World of Warcraft's Patch 11.0.7 and its Siren Isle in testing, there's a lot of speculation and curiosity over when Blizzard is scheduling this content drop. Blizzard fan site Icy Veins may have the right of it by claiming that the patch should land on or before December 17th of this year. That's because datamining turned up the patch's...
Just sheep.

WRUP: Deciding on the serious version from now on edition

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Join us for our weekly open thread! We're discussing what MMOs we're playing this weekend and answering a bonus question about.CANDY!

The Daily Grind: Do you play at the pace of your MMO — or do you push yourself?

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The other day I was listening to a podcast and the host said that he tried to "play at the pace of the game," which I thought was a lovely turn of phrase. This isn't always the de facto standard approach to gaming in our genre because people like to speed run things, be first, be the best, and...

The Stream Team: Gorses, goonicorns, and more Mogloween in AQ3D

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Massively OP's MJ already loves AQ3D's Mogloween (with the exception of how many fish she has to catch!), and the event just gets better every year. Now, there are even housing items to horde and gorses and goonicorns to gander at and gather! What? You haven't had the privilege of peeking at gorses and goonicorns? Then join us live...
Demonic.

Betawatch: Path of Exile 2 delays its early access thanks to demons of the database

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Look, I have to ask: Does Path of Exile 2 have a whole lot of demons in it? I haven't really played the game, but given its obvious inspiration, my assumption had always been that the game tries to be light on demons just in case anyone wants to make unflattering comparisons. But it clearly has database demons, and...

Star Wars Galaxies rogue server SWG Legends is cracking down on shady game mods

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Heads-up, folks who mod in ancient emulators: The Star Wars Galaxies rogue server SWG Legends is cracking down on mods, though hopefully not the mods you actually use. "To keep our server fair and enjoyable for everyone, we are implementing some important changes starting January 1st, 2025," the devs wrote earlier this week. "These changes focus on restricting specific file...

Polish survival game Tomorrow: MMO Nuclear Quest launches on mobile

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Looking for a Fallout-like experience on mobile with a modicum of MMO design to it? Polish studio Rage Quit Games just launched Tomorrow: MMO Nuclear Quest on iOS and Android to satisfy this gaming hunger. "This real-time survival game will take you on a journey to an uncertain future," the studio said. "The year is 2061 – the Earth is...

COOL STORY BRO