Massively Overpowered

Santa's bringing both coal and presents to Lord of the Rings Online players this Christmas. First, the coal. Long-time Lead Designer Ben "Dr Octothorpe" Schneider announced on Twitter that he is no longer with the studio. "Over the course six (six!) good years at Turbine/SSG I incremented several core attributes and racked up scores of skill points," Schneider said. "I...

Massively Overpowered's end-of-the-year 2018 awards continue today with our award for the Best MMO Trend of 2018, which was awarded to the trend of developer communication and community focus last year. This year, all trends were back on the table. Don’t forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end! The Massively OP staff pick for the Best...

It was years ago that Magic: the Gathering fans learned a very simple fact about collectible card games: Cards are toys, not investments, and toys only occasionally and unexpectedly appreciate in value. A toy is not a hedge against inflation. Apparently some of Artifact's playerbase didn't get that particular memo, since players were outraged when a minor exploit allowed players...

Shroud of the Avatar's final update of the year is live later today as Release 61 hits the ground running and the devs get some much-needed rest for the holidays. Players can expect more additions to the fishing skill tree and system, a major expansion of the teleporting system, a streamlining of currencies, new ways to respec, the Krampus seasonal...

The only way to the next Final Fantasy XIV expansion is through the last patch of this expansion, just like the only way to reach Ilsabard through Aldenard is through Ghimlyt. A combination of aetheroclimatic conditions and the local terrain make the area into a foreboding and dark landscape, but players will need to pass through as the centerpiece of...

Holiday Blizzard World is live in Overwatch! Oops, nevermind! Well, it was live earlier this week briefly as the Winter Wonderland rolled out to the online team shooter, along with the Yeti Hunter brawl (five Meis is still not enough Mei if you ask me), the Snowball Offensive, and holiday versions of Hanamura, King's Row, Black Forest, and of course,...

I remember the developers talking about Legendary items in World of Warcraft: Legion in hushed tones, noting that they wanted to replicate the experience of getting one of the rare world purples with odd effects back in the base game. They may as well have promised to replicate the experience of playing Roy Batty in Blade Runner, as neither one...

It would not be unfair to say that this week has been one of the most news-heavy weeks of the year, to the point that Justin actually protested yesterday that there was already too much set aside for our traditional end-of-the-week Mop Up - and it was only Tuesday. He had signs and everything. So we've decided to yoink a...

Russian-made survival MMO Population Zero plans to head into alpha testing at the start of 2019 -- and hopes to end the year with a full-fledged launch of some sort. Enplex Games is hoping to stir up hype this week with a press push now that the title is ready to show off to the world. The studio firmly establishes...

"The hottest leisure time activity since binge-watching has finally come to TERA!" No, it's not nitpicking grammar errors on Reddit or arguing in the YouTube comments section: It's fishing! Yes, now players can cast a rod and reel and enjoy this newfound hobby, all thanks to this week's BAF (that's "big-ass fish") Masters patch. The fishing system issues in both a "game-wide...