This week on The MMO Report, Casey delivers a Valentine's Day rant before moving on to the latest news -- namely, The Secret World's release date rumors, Wakfu's PvP, and the sunset of sci-fi sandbox Earthrise. He also rounds up the latest Blizzard headlines, noting the lawsuit against Valve, World of Warcraft's recent sub losses, and the "valiant and pointless exercise" of rebuilding Azeroth in Minecraft.

Finally, Uncle Casey's Mailbag provides a forum for the debate over just how we're supposed to pronounce "SWTOR." All this and more in the video behind the break!

Continue Reading

Given all of the fansites dedicated to League of Legends, you might wonder what kind of content I have planned for The Summoner's Guidebook to set it apart. Fortunately, there are quite a few little niches to cover.

Our focus with the column will be on the beginner to intermediate players and improving key elements of lower-level play. While I do recognize and admire the pro League scene, websites like SoloMid.net and Curse Gaming's new LoLPro.com have tons of advice to push your gameplay from the expert levels of play to the master and professional levels.

This week, we're going to start with the basics of laning well. While there are dozens of guides on how to do this, I want to cover them in the Guidebook because their importance can't be stressed enough. Laning fundamentals are something you should practice in every game, even as you learn new strategies or tactics. If you can commit yourself to constantly improving in this area, you'll see dramatic leaps in your ability to play. These tricks are the hardest skills in the game to improve on, so getting better at them gives you a significant edge over most opponents. If you want to take the first steps to improve your LoL game, you'll have to read on.

Continue Reading

But maybe you've got more of a PvP bent to your playstyle. Don't worry; PWE is on the case. Forsaken World's Immortal Rift, which previously played host to massive guild wars, is being repurposed as "an all-out land conquering system," which will pit guild against guild against guild in a knock-down-drag-out brawl for territorial dominance. But that's enough chatter from us, so how about you click on past the cut for the expansion's teaser trailer, then head on over to Forsaken World's official site to get in on the fun.

Continue Reading

Lord of the Rings Online has always had an interesting system of PvP, with players facing off against a specially designated group of players in the guise of monsters. It's also a system that's historically had some problems, ones that the developers are hoping to alleviate the new Commendation system coming with Update 6. While it won't fix everything, the new system outlined in today's developer diary should ensure that players will be able to focus their PvMP efforts toward PvMP rewards, making rewards more straightforward without forcing players into PvE to advance.

The diary explains how Destiny, the previously intended PvMP currency, wound up being bloated and failed to serve its proper purpose. Commendations will be hard-capped at 100,000, and spending this currency will allow players to advance Creeps and acquire new equipment. The preliminary numbers are also included with the diary, with the understanding that there will be some tweaking after the system goes live. While players might be a bit miffed at having to use their Destiny quickly before it goes away, the new reward system will hopefully make advancing via PvMP far more viable.

GamersFirst is in the minds of gamers for its successful relaunch of APB: Reloaded, which went from a lightning-fast shutdown to a successful free-to-play title. The company is also developing new games based on original IPs for future release. But there's some rumbling going on behind the scenes at the company, as the company's parent corporation, K2 Network, saw the resignation of its CEO, Joshua Hong. Bjorn Book-Larsson, former COO and CTO, has been promoted to the CEO position, with Hong's future uncertain.

The official statements claim that the transition of power was amicable and pre-arranged, but it also comes on the heels of worldwide layoffs from K2 and rumors of a power struggle behind the scenes. Rahul Sandil, the company's public relations chief, claimed that there was no truth to these rumors and that the plan was to move forward from simple localizations of titles developed in foreign markets. Sandil went on to confirm that APB: Reloaded continues to be a large-scale success for the company and that further development will be centered around work that Book-Larsson had already seen during his time as CTO and COO.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your essay-writing engines! Sony Online Entertainment is sounding the call for this year's G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition and is now accepting applicants looking to win a $10,000 scholarship and a 10-week internship at SOE.

The program, which is in its fifth year, is designed to promote and inspire female involvement in video game development by helping a talented student through undergraduate studies. Applicants have to currently be enrolled in a gaming-related program, have a 3.0 or higher GPA, be a resident of the US, and be 18 years old or older. If you meet all those standards and have a hankering to apply, you'll need to submit two pieces of original concept art "inspired by" PlanetSide 2 or EverQuest II, captions to go with the art, and a 500-word essay about women in the gaming industry. Applications are due by March 29th.

SOE Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing Laura Naviaux hopes that this will be the biggest year ever for the scholarship: "Over the last few years, we have been nothing short of impressed with the hundreds of amazing submissions from talented students nationwide. Now in our fifth year, we can't wait to see the creativity that comes out of the G.I.R.L. program."

Cyclops, aka Scott Summers, will be leaping off the comic book pages and into MMOs when Marvel Heroes eventually comes out. Until then, we'll have to content ourselves with scoping out his chiseled, spandex'd body and secretly wishing that we had his death ray eyes the next time we get stuck behind some jerk in traffic.

Gazillion is happy to announce that Cyclops will be a playable character in Marvel Heroes. What he lacks in overall charisma and flying abilities, he makes up for with a facial cannon capable of ruining your day. Cyclops is the on-again, off-again leader of the X-Men, a group of heroes that is also confirmed to be a part of the game.

You can check out a larger picture of Cyclops along with all the other revealed playable characters in Marvel Heroes in our new gallery below!

A press release today announced that RIFT players banded together with the goal of setting the record for the most in-game marriages in a 24-hour span. We're not certain what the previous record was if there was one at all, but RIFT players managed to set the bar with a staggering 21,879 marriages performed between noon on February 14th and noon on February 15th. RIFT executive producer and Trion Worlds CCO Scott Hartsman is pleased with the outcome, stating in the press release that "Ascended Weddings were a great way to lift the veil on RIFT's new 'Gatherings' feature, social experiences that bring players together in new and interesting ways." He goes on to add that "[the studio] looks forward to expanding this great new gameplay element in the always-evolving world of Telara." So congratulations to all of the lucky couples. Enjoy your new ball-and-chain!

[Source: Trion Worlds press release]

One question every guild needs to answer at some point is, "Will we be a raiding guild?" Many guilds answer that question with a loud "yes" even before they set foot in game, but for other guilds, it's something that bubbles up as members reach the level cap and raid content is within reach. Raiding tends to get a bad rap, but that's not surprising when you remember that raid videos are usually filled with yelling, swearing, finger pointing, and heavy metal music. It looks about as relaxing as boot camp in the winter.

But it is possible to go from casual to raiding and still maintain a casual, low-key tone. In fact, it's even easier now to do that in many MMOs. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at why we've entered a golden age of raiding, and we'll cover a few handy tips for guilds looking to make the leap.

Continue Reading

In our humble opinion, you can never have enough post-apocalyptic video games, and that's why we're pretty excited to see more of L.A.W (Living After War). Sure there's Fallout, Wasteland, and when it comes to MMOs, Fallen Earth, but the more the merrier.

Luckily for us (and you), L.A.W is gearing up for its first closed beta phase, and the title is available for download at its official website. You'll need a beta key to participate, of course, and if you don't have one yet, you'll need to sign up for an alaplaya account.

L.A.W is described by alaplaya as a PvP-centric MMOG with an RTS mode, and it "also features classic role-playing elements such as a guild system, dungeons, and extensive skill sets."

[Source: alaplaya press release]

We've talked a lot about the American version of TERA's closed beta, but today the European client has taken center stage as Frogster kicked off its first closed beta weekend at 9:00 a.m. EST (3:00 p.m. CET) today.

Testers will receive two character slots, and they'll have the opportunity to explore content up to and including level 22. Frogster is also enabling guild PvP and a new outlaw mission in the town of Velika. This weekend's test marks the start of five closed beta events leading up to TERA Europe's May 3rd release date.

[Source: Frogster press release]

Those of you who found TERA's recent closed beta weekend a bit lacking on the eye-candy front can take heart. En Masse has been hard at work prepping the American client's high-resolution textures for public consumption, and they'll be included in the next beta weekend, which begins on February 24th.

The only catch is the fact that the new shinies have added a whopping seven gigabytes to the client download, but luckily En Masse is allowing testers to start patching now. The firm has also released the latest beta patch notes, so head to the official TERA forums for all the details.

Continue Reading

Back in December, I went in with a toothache and was informed that I had two options: Either the tooth could be yanked, or it could be saved via a root canal. I picked the latter option, which has provided me with a variety of new and interesting experiences, among them getting red-hot filler shoved into my jaw, having a nerve directly squirted with numbing agent, and getting a tooth shaved down to a nub while a sharp suction device jabbed at my gums. The whole process is almost over at long last, and I am relatively certain the last step will involve throwing a rabid weasel at me.

In other news, it's time for this week's installment of Ask Massively, covering our column procedure and the continuing saga of World of Warcraft's subscriber losses. As always, questions for future installments may be submitted via mail to ask@massively.com or left in the comments. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity.

Continue Reading

So the gaming world is abuzz with news of DoubleFine's huge Kickstarter payday. While it's true that there are only a handful of gaming studios with the resume necessary to make such a splash, it's also true that little-guy dev outfits around the globe are now aware of the funding potential inherent in connecting with your fans.

RPG maker Obsidian has begun exploring its options, Brian Fargo is interested in creating a sequel to Wasteland via crowdfunding, and it's only a matter of time before a fledgling MMORPG designer follows suit. For this edition of the Daily Grind, let us know how you feel about a brave new publisher-free world. Would you enjoy cutting out the proverbial middleman when it comes to your gaming dollars, and more specifically, would you contribute to an MMO via Kickstarter?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

MechWarrior Online continues its march along in development, but that's no reason for fans to just wait and see what happens. A new installment in the developer blog that answers community questions has just been unveiled, tackling a variety of different topics. The primary focus is on customizing your 'Mech and advancing your character skills, building off of the recent discussion regarding the means of advancement and how players can upgrade their skills.

As outlined by the questions, the experience system will in some ways be reminiscent of EVE Online's -- players won't be able to respec, but there will be no limitations on starting to put points in a new tree while retaining the benefits of previously spent points. It's also confirmed that your experience with a given chassis remains even if you move on from the 'Mech in question should you later choose to return. If you're worried about the fine details of self-improvement in the upcoming game, the latest answer should put most of your questions to rest.

Last week, I introduced you to two of my favorite free-to-play or freemium payment models. Payment models are endlessly fascinating because so many players normally didn't think about them until free-to-play and freemium models stopped being something that only came from foreign shores. Now, everyone has an opinion about which payment model is the best. I tend to love simple ones, as close to simple as I can get. If a game is truly wonderful, however, I don't care if the developers ask players to cut off their right arms. I've paid my fair share and continue to do so.

In fact, in one of the most disturbing trends of the last few years, players have begun bemoaning the lack of a free version of their favorite game. I see it all the time: players publicly wishing for the time that their favorite game will go free-to-play so they can return without paying a dime. Sure, I can understand being strapped for cash and needing an easy way to get back to an old title, but come on... those titles might not be around much longer if players do not support them in the first place. I am not a fan of free-to-play because I am cheap or because I need to avoid paying developers what they deserve. I have said it before, and I will say it again: I am a fan of free-to-play because it lets me decide when I want to spend my money. There's a big difference.

So let's chat about two of my favorite game's payment models.

Continue Reading

Questing is an essential part of MMOs. You can say that players should be the ones crafting stories in games, not the developers, but quests provide you with structure and guidance. Even if you can create all sorts of stories on your own, it helps to know what the world is supposed to be like and how to set your own objectives. Not to mention the fact that having some sort of pointer is massively useful when you start playing.

So it makes sense to take a good look at the questing in Ryzom, even though the game definitely veers toward the "sandbox" side of the fence. Plus, questing won the poll last week, so even if I thought quests were categorical garbage, that would still be my destination. I can't run you through all of the quests that I've done in the game, but one in particular lent itself to a narrative, albeit in a somewhat disjointed form.

Continue Reading

Dark Age of Camelot's Valentine's Day event is still in full swing, but the devs over at Mythic Entertainment have plenty more in store for players. Stuart Zissu, DAoC's producer, stopped by the official site to give players a heads-up as to what they can expect in upcoming updates. For starters, the next phase of the ongoing live event will be coming sometime "in the next few months," and players are warned that the Pict encampments they've already encountered are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

On top of that, the devs will be adding a number of new titles throughout the year that center on the long-running title's 10th anniversary. Zissu adds that "there will also be new titles for the next phase of the live event" as well as a special trophy commemorating Dark Age of Camelot's 10 years of RvRvR action. For more information, including details on DAoC's first video contest, just click on through the link below and give the post a look.