The MMO industry moves along at the speed of information, and sometimes we’re deluged with so much news here at Massively Overpowered that some of it gets backlogged. That’s why there’s The MOP Up: a weekly compilation of smaller MMO stories and videos that you won’t want to miss. Seen any good MMO news? Hit us up through our tips line!
This week players were invited to roleplay a Guild Wars 2 Quaggan (“ooOo”), the humans vs. supergods MMO Titan Siege hit open beta, Cabal Online released on a new platform, the Ultima Online community bought out Stratics, and more!
New Games and Testing
- Titan Siege: This multi-mythos title has gone into open beta testing with a brand-new North American server. Get in and check out one of those epic sieges! There have been some issues that have resulted in the need for NA players to re-download the client.
- Guardians of Divinity: This small fantasy title launched its first server on January 14th and welcomed players to check it out.
- Imperial Realm: The one-man dev team put out the Alpha 4 patch that features two of the four planned factions for the game.
Patches
- Atlantica Online: January 14th’s patch adds two floors to the Olympus Tower, six Jupiter weapons, three additional types of invasions, and a new ice rink dungeon event (which is going on right now through February 18th).
- Vainglory: The popular mobile MOBA brought out its 1.13 Update with a new ice mage hero, winter-themed skins, autumn season rewards, and plenty of balance tweaks.
- DC Universe Online: Episode 20 is now out for everyone and wraps up the War of the Light saga. It includes an eight-player operation and the Wastelands Wonderland duo.
- Dungeons and Dragons Online: A small patch for Update 29 came out this past week with plenty of tweaks and a nerf to the pain that raid mobs bring.
Events
- Tribes Ascend: The Out of the Blue EU Draft is coming on January 23rd and 24th. Signups are now open and there’s a 200 Euro prize pool to be won.
- Aion: European players are invited once again to plunder the Shugo Imperial Tomb from now through Feburary 3rd. There’s a lot of rewards to be had if you’re willing to put in the work!
Odds and Ends
- Path of Exile: The devs whipped up an informative post showing what talismans challenge league players are using, in case you were wondering.
- Cabal Online: This long-running MMO is now available on the Mac and includes all of the game’s content and patches to date. [Source: press release]
- Ultima Online: Fans pooled together over $12,000 to buy out Stratics and preserve it for the community. The new owners have a lot on their plate for 2016 indeed. “We will do our best to make sure we remain worthy of the trust you’ve placed in us,” the owners posted.
- Guild Wars 2: The devs put together a cute Twine game that allows you to guide Drooburt the Quaggan to his last Wintersday. What will he experience along the way?
- Star Citizen: What’s Project Ouadeen? According to this strange lore post, it’s the “biggest, scariest ship ever made.”
- Trove: Want to unlock one of the new Starlight Dragons? It’s going to take some work, but here’s a guide to making it happen.
- Skyforge: Need a few helpful pointers regarding side quests in this game? The official site has you covered!
- Lusternia: This MUD now allows you to retire characters and use the ensuing credits in the creation of a new one. [Thanks to Brett for the tip!]
- SMITE: Uh-oh! Google is poaching some talent away from Hi-Rez, namely two members of its SMITE team.
- Norway: A Norwegian high school is creating an elective subject for students to study esports. A final game list hasn’t been decided as of yet.
Videos
Titan Siege’s official trailer is long on style but quite short on showing any actual gameplay. Still, check it out for a little bit of the game’s backstory!
Closers Online has a new Brilliance of Darkness outfit that’s crazy hard to obtain, as players have to purchase other outfits with real cash and then combine them for a chance to get a piece of this set. Instead of spending that money, why not just watch the video and drool from afar?
This player video claims that Escape from Tarkov is “the new Day Z.” Is that just early excitement or a true prognostication? You can also read an extensive testing FAQ that the devs posted to stay up to date on the game’s development. [Thanks to Zoran_Styx for the tip!]
The full run of AFK: The Webseries is now out, with 12 episodes of players-becoming-MMO-characters for you to watch. Here’s the epic finale! [Thanks to Paragon for the tip!]
Arpiel Online has a couple of new characters named Sheep Girl and Dog Boy, and Steparu has taken them out for a spin to see if they’re as sad as they sound.
