The Daily Grind: How can MMO communities revive a dying playerbase?
A while back, I read a Reddit thread from players of a certain small MMO who were discussing what the community could do to, well, save the game and give it the prominence it deserves. "Honestly this game is awesome, and has so much potential," the OP said. "I'd love to see it thrive – […]
The Stream Team: Speed gardening in Path of Exile
Massively OP's MJ wants to get in some more gardening before she's gone on her moving excursion. With all the packing and moving, she hasn't been able to play Path of Exile's latest league and her melee Scion nearly as much as she's wanted to. And now she'll be facing an undetermined time of being […]
Massively Uplifting: Good deeds don't take the summer off for Bungie, Niantic, and Trolls in WoW
When summer comes, some lucky folks get to take the season off. Even those who continue on their regular labors often head out on real life adventures and vacations. Conventions, family reunions, fairs and amusement parks — these were standard July activities. 2020, however, has certainly put the kibosh on many summer plans all across […]
Lord of the Rings Online community reschedules Weatherstock for September
In hindsight, Lord of the Rings Online's greatest annual player concert series couldn't have picked a worse time to try to host the event. Last month's Weatherstock was originally going to rage all day on July 18th, but that's about when the servers caught on fire and the game went mostly offline for great periods […]
Closed alpha testing results see survival sandbox Craftopia delay its early access launch
MOP's Bree and I — and probably some other staffers here — are pretty eager to see what Craftopia is all about. For those who don't remember the last time we cast eyes on this one, it styles itself as an open world survival crafting game with farming, crafting (obviously), dungeon delving, monster hunting, and […]
Black Desert addresses caster-heavy Conquest Wars, new regions, and gear progress walls
We're back once again with another set of Black Desert Heidel Ball player questions. Who knew that we'd be getting so much mileage out of an image of the Black Spirit adorably holding a microphone? In this Q&A round we get a number of answers from a wide variety of topics. One of the very […]
Fortnite's receding water level reveals a new Atlantis-like location known as Coral Castle
As the water level recedes in the battle royale island of Fortnite, more locations are revealed, yet those who have been exploring the area (when they're not being shot by other players) have been curiously peering at a particular corner of the map that was previously covered by a whirlpool that seemed to suggest a […]
ARK discusses balance changes and Genesis part 2 release, Atlas answers player questions
Hi there! Do you love some survival sandboxes developed by Studio Wildcard and Grapeshot Games? Then you're in the right place as both ARK: Survival Evolved and Atlas are in the news. Let's get to it. In ARK's latest community crunch, players are given the rather unhappy news that Genesis part 2's release is being […]
Final Fantasy XI: The Voracious Resurgence gets its own teaser site
It turns out that Final Fantasy XI will just keep going forever. The game has been pumping out monthly updates reliably ever since its supposed maintenance mode kicked off, of course, but now it's getting new story content… and as a demonstration of scope, the new story has a subtitle and even a full special […]
Path of Exile lays out a rough timeline for its next major expansion
Now that Path of Exile has effectively completed work on the Harvest League (sort of), the time has come for the devs at Grinding Gear Games to look ahead to 3.12 with a general idea of when players can expect the next League. As a result of a 14 week development cycle to create Harvest, […]
Star Citizen discusses its plans for finalizing the Stanton system
The Stanton system of Star Citizen (aka the only star system available to explore in the alpha right now) is almost fully built. Sort of. Maybe? It's a work in progress. That's the broad strokes message from the latest Calling All Devs video, though there are more specific details that should be noted before you […]
World of Warcraft ad accidentally shows up in Disney's Spaceship Earth
So for those brave foolhardy souls venturing into Walt Disney World during this year of the pandemic, it must be a surreal experience to see normally crowded parks spread out and subject to all manner of extra precautions. But it must be even more surreal when an MMORPG just happens to pop up in one […]
World of Warships enters into a crossover with Transformers for unique skins and voices
It's time for Transformers to cross over with World of Warships, and that means… ship skins. Like, seriously, that's the thing. You might think that you would get ships based on some of the numerous Transformers with sea-based alternate modes (Tidal Wave, Broadside, Seaspray, Thunderblast, Depthcharge, Splashdown, Undertow, Flattop, Manta Ray, and Waterlog all spring […]
Wisdom of Nym: What it means to be good at Final Fantasy XIV content
Let's start with an assertion that some people may or may not believe but is still true no matter what: Dungeons in Final Fantasy XIV are not terribly difficult. That's not to say that FFXIV is bereft of difficult content, although your standards on how difficult it actually is will vary. Savage and Extreme, for […]
Camelot Unchained works on giants, pretty trees, wyverns, and replacing Ben Pielstick
It's another week of Camelot Unchained updates with another Top Ten-ish and look at artwork — followers know the drill by now. In this update, the devs discuss working on a new giant race that's slowly starting to come together, adding the viking keep plot crafted by the Builder's Brigade to the battleground zone, and […]
Little Orbit offers Fallen Earth rebuilding update, say it's temporarily 'low priority'
Fans of the post-apoc MMO Fallen Earth were thrown a bone by publisher/developer Little Orbit recently as the studio's CEO Matthew Scott checked in with an update on where the game's in-progress rebuilding efforts currently are after the game was taken offline in September 2019. And it's not particularly great news overall. First off, Scott […]
Call of Duty gamers ignore pandemic-related safety orders at unofficial esports gathering
I never got the impression that some players of Call of Duty are a particularly compliant bunch, and that assumption was not helped by the actions of a number of players in an esports event that ignored calls for a tournament to be held online and instead congregated in a LAN event. The competition in […]
TennoCon 2020: The creepy charm of Warframe's broken frame, Xaku
When Digital Extreme's first announced that the Broken Frame concept won in the community creation contest, I had my reservations. I have known — and appreciated — how much Digital Extremes involves and listens to its community, but was this stretching it too far? Could eaterofstorms' meme-alicious idea that might be construed as a joke […]
Anthem discusses the design goals for getting loot and gearing up in the rebooted version of the shooter
BioWare Austin studio director Christian Dailey promised in his last preview of the Anthem reboot that a new dev blog would be coming soon, and sure enough, he made good on that vow with a look at what the developers are doing to improve looting and gearing up. Much of these changes are goals-oriented, but […]
WoW Classic players squabble over the Ahn'Qiraj Scarab Lord title amidst griefing and bans
Some player-crafted drama in WoW Classic appears to be brewing as guilds seek to complete a certain portion of the Scarab Lord quest chain. The incident in question involves the Horde guild Amnesty and the Alliance guild Sulfuras Alliance, both of which were attempting to finish the green scepter segment involving a boss fight. Just […]
The Daily Grind: How do you decide whether to play an MMO rogue server?
Last week, we covered the bizarre case of a Dragon's Prophet rogue server, which announced itself as a legitimate, partnered version of the game coming to Steam and multiple other platforms. A few days of digging and prodding on the part of MOP and MMO Fallout exposed the server as just a fan-run emulator, whose […]
MMO Week in Review: Guild Wars 2's Jormag Rising has arisen
This week in the world of MMORPGs, Guild Wars 2's latest episode, Jormag Rising, rolled out to hungry players, albeit without voice acting just yet thanks to the pandemic. Meanwhile, DCUO, Black Desert, and PlanetSide 2 got meaty updates; the LOTRO downtime saga was more or less resolved; ArcheAge and Phantasy Star Online 2 announced […]
TennoCon 2020: Watch the full demo of Warframe's Heart of Deimos reveal
The TennoCon 2020 live reveal of Warframe's Heart of Deimos was quite a bit to take in, so we understand if you missed anything the first time around. Or maybe you can't wait until the August 25th launch and just want to revisit that thematic landscape to revel in the infested atmosphere for a while. […]
Overwatch hosts an AMA, Hearthstone adds a playable kitty hero
You can play as a kitty in Hearthstone. Yes, there's been some patch notes for update 18.0 which sets the table for the arrival of Scholomance Academy as well as some adjustments to Battlegrounds, new minions, and other gameplay tweaks, but none of those is important. Because you can play as a kitty now. The […]
The MOP Up: All Points Bulletin revs its engine upgrade
This past weekend, Little Orbit's All Points Bulletin ran its second open beta test as it prepares to roll out the huge Unreal Engine 3.5 upgrade for the crime shooter. The dev team said that this was another important step toward a full release of what will hopefully be a better performing game. And this […]
Runes of Magic plans an August filled with bonus drops and extra expies
It turns out it's been 115 days since we last talked about Runes of Magic, an unintended slight for an MMO that once commanded a weekly column on Old Massively. We're rectifying that today, as Gameforge is kicking off summer events in the game starting next week. "Different, exciting events await you each week this […]
Jukebox Heroes: The ultimate guide to MMORPG music
It's been a long, strange, and wonderful journey to explore MMORPG music with you here in Jukebox Heroes. And while I am anticipating many years to come of future soundtrack journeys, I wanted to take inventory this week of the places this column has traveled in the past. So I present to you the Jukebox […]
Ashes of Creation shows off gathering, spell effects, and a dungeon in its latest livestream
This past Thursday saw yet another peek at Ashes of Creation gameplay and development footage from the folks at Intrepid Studios. The video first kicked off with a number of spell effect previews as well as a look at the level up effect among other visual previews. The devs also discussed what sort of visual […]
One Shots: The ultimate tree house
When I asked for pictures of plant houses in online games, I wasn't quite expecting that notion to sprout and grow into this tremendous hangout in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. I want to go to there. "Plants you say?" Iron Salamander asked. "I could have linked a ton for obvious reasons but limited […]
The Daily Grind: Have you ruined your sleep for an MMO?
My wife and I were so excited for the launch of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade that we pre-ordered well in advance and were all set to go for the midnight launch, lining up with others outside of the Gamestop before it released, feeling tired and worn but so excited to get our copies […]
Battle Bards Episode 174: Dragon Oath
Running from 2007 to 2016, ChangYou's Dragon Oath is probably one of those MMORPGs you've never heard of, nevermind actually played. Yet when Syl stumbled upon it on YouTube, she knew it was a soundtrack for the Battle Bards to highlight. Take a journey with the team today as they visit this Bhuddist-inspired MMO and […]
TennoCon 2020: Warframe's infested open world Heart of Deimos launches August 25th on all platforms
To the moon, Tenno! A Mars moon, to be exact. If that was your guess for Warframe's Heart of Deimos expansion, you got it. But did you guess "rideable infested dragonflies"? Giant sun and moon worms locked in eternal battle on the surface? K-drive combat? Playable mechs? The ability to take skills from one Warframe […]
TennoCon 2020: Warframe art panel showcases new frames and infested everything
While the biggest reveal isn't until later tonight, that doesn't mean Warframe players aren't being treated to tons of tasty tidbits at TennoCon 2020. The art panel was bursting with reveals and sneak peaks of many new warframes, skins, and infested-themed pets, monster, weapons, and more. Here's a round up of the highlights of the […]
Diablo Immortal offers a slightly gussied-up 'new' trailer
Shh, don't worry. We won't spoil your deepest, darkest secret — you know, the one about how you're actually still kind of interested in Diablo Immortal, even though it's the whipping boy of the Blizzard community. We wouldn't dream of exposing that the thought of playing Diablo on your phone (yes, a phone!) has appeal. […]
The Game Archaeologist: Clone Wars Adventures, the Star Wars MMO everyone kinda forgot
Whenever the topic — the argument — of Star Wars MMOs arises, the debate is usually between the merits of the sandboxy Star Wars Galaxies and the themeparky Star Wars: The Old Republic. While opinions and passionate feelings whirl into the atmosphere on these games, I can't help but think how fortunate Star Wars fans […]
LOTRO and DDO hand out additional compensation for VIP accounts
As both Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online gradually resume normal operation following nearly two weeks of server instability, Standing Stone Games is trying to make it up to both the discontent and the patient. On top of special gifts handed out to all players in both games, the studio is […]
WRUP: The power of fist edition
Step 1: Have a hand. Step 2: Curl your fingers together so that the tips of your nails – your sweet, tender nails, so delicately painted, so marvelous, so pristine – are touching your palm. Step 3: Curl your thumb and place one side of it against your closed fingers. There should only be one […]
The Daily Grind: What would your ultimate MMO character creator look like?
In the wide field of MMOs, there are great character creators and there are… there are the less-good ones. You know, the ones that give you the choice of three faces (one of which has to be "old crone nobody picks") and two shades of robes. The ones where developers mistakenly think that players will […]
The Stream Team: Getting done with Warframe's Deadlock Protocol, day 3
With Warframe's TennoCon 2020 coming tomorrow, Massively OP's MJ wants to work on completing Deadlock Protocol before the big announcement of what's on the horizon. With luck, she leveled her Xoris enough to help complete this story mission series and find out why she was "summoned" there. And who doesn't want to completely thwart Nef […]
Betawatch: The silence on Squadron 42 was all about a video not being pretty enough
So Star Citizen fans were more than a little miffed that the news on Squadron 42 had slowed from "a crawl" to "did that move or was it just the wind" levels of activity. That makes sense, especially since at one point the persistent universe was supposed to be the optional multiplayer sideline and not […]
Albion Online's Guild Season 10 begins August 22 — here's the schedule of events
It's about that time for the guilds of Albion Online to test their might, prove they're the best, and maybe get their ridiculous guild name on a leaderboard for all to see. Guild Season 10 is looming, kicking off on Saturday, August 22nd, and the devs have posted the schedule of events. The season begins […]
Dual Universe's August beta will also see the end of NDA
Dual Universe is sort of repeating itself in its latest newsletter, but then tooting the horn of an upcoming beta launch is to be expected. What's different in the announcement, however, is confirmation that beta will also spell the end of the game's NDA, which means fans should expect a whole lot more user-created content […]
Fallout 76 enlists the community to build a Brotherhood of Steel base
WoW Classic isn't the only game in town that's throwing massive community construction events these days. Starting early next month, Fallout 76 is enlisting its entire band of vault dwellers to help make a new base. And not just any base — but one for the incoming Brotherhood of Steel. "The Brotherhood of Steel have […]
Animal Crossing New Horizons now lets players trip and fall, create penis-shaped fireworks
There's been a recent update made to the adorable Animal Crossing New Horizons, including the ability to visit a dream version of other players' islands in their sleep, backup their island and save data, and take in fireworks shows every Sunday which can be modified to include custom fireworks designs. So, naturally, everyone started filling […]
Grab a Crossout Beach Buggy code from Gaijin and Massively OP!
Post-apoc MMO action game Crossout has football, and I'm not even kidding! Gaijin has spent the better part of the summer on its Steel Championship series and its new map. In celebration, Gaijin has granted Massively OP a stack of keys to give to our readers – and do note that these giveaways are the only […]
Legends of Aria just announced The Shifting Sands, its fourth season of content
Just a few weeks after leaving early access and finally formally launching, Legends of Aria is already moving on to its next content phase. Season 4: The Shifting Sands is coming August 10th, with fresh dynamic encounters in the Barren Lands. Not so barren anymore! "Journey throughout the Withering Sands and Flat Wilds to discover […]
The summer of no E3 seems to be treating publishers and developers just fine in terms of buzz
This is the year of no E3, the year with no big summer convention in which everyone packs together in a building to see the latest games that can be anticipated for the years to come. Of course, somebody has already speculated that we don't really need trade shows any longer, but this year is […]
Rumor: Halo Infinite leak suggests a free-to-play multiplayer experience
So, who had Halo goes free-to-play on the summer 2020 bingo card? OK, not really, but a leak circulating on the internet today suggests that Halo Infinite will be some sort of free-to-play multiplayer mayhem. The leak comes by way of Smyths Toys Superstore (what), which seems to have accidentally announced the free-to-play status of […]
Here's what to expect from Elder Scrolls Online at QuakeCon 2020
With COVID-19 still raging around the country, Bethesda has turned this year's QuakeCon into a virtual event running August 7th through August 9th. Do the math: That's just a week away! And Bethsoft has posted a full schedule of what to expect and when, including panels for all of its core games. Most notable for […]
The Survivalist: Astroneer's worst mistake was using Nitrado servers
Wonder rant powers, activate! It's been a long while since I have been pushed to the point of activating rant mode. I can be chill and forgiving about quite a bit. But here I am — knit brows, frustrated growls, and all. What could possibly have frustrated me to this point, especially regarding Astroneer, a game […]
