Massively Overpowered

I've given dragons a lot of flack over the years for being overused, underwhelming stock MMO bosses when bears deserve top billing. But what about player dragon heroes? Where do they stand in my estimation? I guess I'll give them the scaly benefit of the doubt that they can do actual good in the world and be self-sacrificing for those...

A player on Reddit recently asked one of the most pressing questions in the MMO genre today: "Where can I find a fun Bard-like class?" Though often posts on the MMORPG Reddit aren't heavily populated, this one elicited dozens of responses and ideas. I'm telling you: Bards are awesome, and everyone knows it. Naturally, the thread quickly devolved into bragging about just who...

Welcome back to Make My MMO, a recurring column from Massively-that-was which covers crowdsourced MMOs of both the fully funded and the not-so-much variety. Each week we'll round up the most relevant crowdfunding news stories in case you missed them, and we'll also keep a running tab on active funding drives. And speaking of that, for the next two weeks...

Here's a novel concept: pounding space rocks into space dust could actually be fun! At least it appears that way in reading the latest Star Citizen design doc, which is focused on mining. "Mining presents players with a variety of challenges requiring skill and intelligence, whereas mindless repetition of a task and idle drudgery are explicitly avoided," explains persistent...

Closed beta testing for Skyforge will be coming soon to North America and Europe, according to a new producer's letter. While Skyforge is already hosting "some CBT activities" in Russia, the science-fiction MMO is working hard on server architecture and localization so that testing can commence in additional regions. The team has ambitious plans for the upcoming test: "Starting with...

Welcome to LOTRO Legendarium, the continuation of my old Road to Mordor column from Massively. Why the name change? First, I never got to name RTM (it was chosen by another author before I came on board as a writer). Second, I wanted to work in Lord of the Rings Online's name into the title. And third, I liked...

Visionary Realms posted a new Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen video update this weekend. Creative director Chris Perkins narrates approximately four-and-a-half minutes of footage that shows off visual upgrades that the team have been working on since the first of the year. The video also offers a sneak peek at new in-game art assets. Finally, project lead Brad McQuaid also...

Daybreak continues to trim its asset portfolio, as the former SOE studio has cut loose artificial intelligence software company Storybricks from the EverQuest Next project. "We are not working with Storybricks any more," Senior Producer Terry Michaels said on a livestream chat yesterday. "We made the decision that it was in the best interest of the game to take that...

Welcome back to What Are You Playing, the game where we tell you what we're playing this weekend and you tell us who's getting pushed off the cliff first because we have finally identified that cliffs and especially pushing people off cliffs is Crowfall's core mechanic. I'm done now. ​Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): I'm predictable: I've been spending my MMO time in...

There's one unfortunate fallout to taking an extended leave from an MMO: You quickly fall behind the curve. As patches and expansions and changes roll in, players in the game adapt and conquer while you'll be playing catch-up if or when you come back. I'm experiencing this right now in Star Wars: The Old Republic. When I left, my Operative...