This week, Massively OP’s own Matt Daniel dived into Black Desert’s beta and delivered the first part of his impressions of the upcoming sandbox import. He’s now covered classes, combat, and mechanics; stay tuned for the second half covering crafting, gathering, and economy tomorrow.
Until then, read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions.
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
First impressions of Black Desert’s closed beta test: Classes, combat, and mechanics - Over the course of my first day in Black Desert, I did a lot of the things you'd expect from the first day in a new MMO: I killed some imps, couriered some items for spectacularly…
Perfect Ten: The MMORPGs to watch in 2016 - A long time ago on another website far, far away, I held a tradition of kicking off the new year by listing the top 10 MMOs that deserved attention and were likely to launch that year.…
City of Titans gives a glimpse of its character creator, hints at 2016 testing - City of Titans doesn't seem to mind that some of its demo videos came to light over the past month, although the studio said that it's progressed well beyond those now that the team and tech has…
LOTRO Legendarium: Looking back and forwards with LOTRO - [AL:LOTRO]I think it is safe to say without any malice whatsoever that Lord of the Rings Online has firmly entered its autumn years. Everything about the game seems like it's slowed down. The last expansion, Helm's…
The9’s CEO is throwing over a million bucks at Chinese Firefall players - It's kind of a nail-biting time to be looking in from the outside when it comes to Red 5 Studios and Firefall. The past few big stories have centered on not patches or content but on…
WoW Factor: The view from outside the Legion alpha test - I've been paying rapt attention to the ongoing-though-paused World of Warcraft Legion alpha tests because said tests are looking good. That's a positive. Whilst the actual decisions being made about testing and the state of the live game…
Activision Blizzard buys e-sports company assets for $46M - Does Activision Blizzard see the business world as one big garage sale from which to cherry-pick deals? It certainly seems so, as the company has snapped up another acquisition for its portfolio: much of the assets of…
Tiptoeing through ArcheAge’s 2015 - [AL:Arche]It has been quite a year for ArcheAge. As you look back over the past 12 months, you certainly can't say 2015 was uneventful; from content to controversies, something was always happening with this sandpark title.…
ARK: Survival Evolved is doing even better on Xbox One than PC - It's no secret that ARK: Survival Evolved is one of the most popular early access titles of 2015. What is somewhat surprising is that ever since coming out on Xbox One earlier this month the title…
Nexon is bringing free-form flight to TERA in Korea - [AL:TERA]You all remember how Nexon is taking over publishing duties for TERA in Korea, right? It's important to remember it, because otherwise the newest Korean trailer for the game would make very little sense. You'd be…
Albion Online extends beta test, nixes free-to-play for launch - Major changes are afoot at Albion Online -- and some might not make fans of the cross-platform sandbox too happy. Sandbox Interactive announced today that it will be extending the closed beta test at least through…
Valve finally addresses Steam’s Christmas fiasco, says a DDOS led to the caching error - Valve has finally addressed Steam's Christmas caching fiasco. In an announcement today, it explains the problem: that for 90 minutes on Christmas day, people logging into the Steam store were shown cached pages containing "sensitive personal…
Crowfall details the system of crows and vessels - Let's be real here - the name Crowfall has never made a whole lot of sense. What's so special about a crow, after all? It turns out that crows are special because you're playing one. Rather…
Red 5 says all Firefall devs have now been paid, rebuts rumors of doom - In an email to Massively OP this afternoon, Red 5 has issued a formal statement regarding allegations that its financial situation had led to a failure to meet payroll for Firefall developers last week. Red 5…
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2 predictions for 2016 - [AL:GW2]2015 is coming to a close, and I've eaten my own bodyweight (and then some!) in festive treats, so it's the perfect time to put my wishes for Guild Wars 2 in 2016 out there while…
Pathfinder Online has a new investor interested in taking over the game - Acting CEO Lisa Stevens has good news for Pathfinder Online fans - the game may have found the investors it has been looking for. According to her most recent dispatch to the fans, the new company…
The Repopulation rejects blame for Hero Engine’s financial struggles - The Repopulation's struggles with the money-troubled Hero Engine service have led to game delays, server downtime, and suspended development, and the drama continues today. Earlier this week, an Idea Fabrik Hero Engine rep seemingly defied confidentiality agreements by telling…
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR predictions for 2016 - [AL:TOR]“Difficult to see. Always in motion the future is,” Yoda explained to Luke Skywalker on Dagobah when the boy had a vision of his friends in Cloud City. So when I make predictions for the future…
One-of-a-kind Entropia Universe rifle sells for $51,796 - [AL:Calyp]If nothing else, Entropia Universe seems always good for an eye-popping story about how much real-world money that players will spend on in-game goods (such as $5,000 invisible clothing). Today's "I can't believe someone bought that"…
The Elder Scrolls Online will launch in Japan on June 23rd, 2016 - We so often find ourselves covering games that have not yet been brought over to North America, but it's easy to forget in the bustle that there are plenty of games release in North America that…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Massively Opinionated: Is Star Citizen’s ‘first-person universe’ really a new genre?
Massively OP Podcast Episode 44: Guild Wars 2 sounds and space questions
The Stream Team: ARK: Survival Evolved drops the ball (and kangaroos) for 2016
The Stream Team: Ending the year in The Secret World’s Issue #13
The Stream Team: More MechWarrior Online piloting practice
The Stream Team: Going wild in WildStar’s Winterfest
The Stream Team: Cruising ArcheAge’s oceans
The Stream Team: EverQuest II’s exalting Frostfell experience
The Stream Team: Doing the Marvel Heroes Danger Room
AND FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BLIZZARD WATCH
WoW Legion Priest class hall preview
WoW Legion Warlock class hall tour
WoW Legion Rogue class hall tour
Every week, get caught up on the MMO genre’s latest news and Massively OP’s best content in our MMO Week in Review! Want more roundups of content? Try Monday’s Not So Massively for MOBA and multiplayer news, Friday’s Betawatch for MMO testing highlights, Saturday’s Make My MMO for MMO crowdfunding updates, and Sunday’s The MOP Up, which mops up all the little bits of news we didn’t cover anywhere else.
