Tree of Savior is bringing back high-speed leveling Growth Servers on August 11
If you happened to have missed out on the last time high-speed leveling servers were added to Tree of Savior, then you're in luck: IMCGames is doing it again. Starting on August 11th, players will get to experience a 300% boost to XP and looting chances, a 20% bonus to Ichor Extraction, and reductions to […]
Hearthstone draws on WoW nostalgia for today's Scholomance Academy launch
Just the word "Scholomance" makes me cringe remembering the hundreds of times I trawled the iconic World of Warcraft dungeon, but for Hearthstone players today, it will be a breath of fresh air, as the expansion is finally live with its 135 new cards and "sorcerous hijinks." I love that word. "Hearthstone players can 'double […]
EverQuest II's GU 115: Reignite the Flames launches August 25
Blink and you'll miss it: Daybreak dropped a teaser for EverQuest II's GU 115: Reignite the Flames last night, and if this is the first you're hearing of it, you're not alone, as plenty of folks in the forums seemed surprised and you won't find anything on game's main website about it either. But in […]
Final Fantasy XIV launches new 5.3 microsite, hits 1.2M active players (with caveats)
Final Fantasy XIV has today launched a new microsite for the 5.3 patch, arriving August 11, 2020. The site confirms the new content coming with the patch – the Heroes' Gauntlet dungeon, Mystery Trial, The Puppets' Bunker alliance raid dungeon, Bozjan Southern Front battlefield, and more – with screenshots and the new Reflections in Crystal […]
GDC Summer 2020: Unionizing the video games industry
Just in time for Blizzard's latest labor crisis, Game Workers Unite UK treasurer Kevin Agwaze held an Ask Me Anything at GDC Summer 2020 earlier today. While obviously not all of our readers are developers, many of the sub-topics in the presentation will still be useful in terms of understanding the industry for outsiders and […]
Fallout 76 addresses the CAMP system uproar, says it's working on a solution
Yesterday, we covered the "colossal problem" patch in Fallout 76 that caused the entire subreddit to melt down in fury over changes and bugs that essentially made creative construction in the game impossible. The good news is that Bethsoft says it's heard the community's reaction and is working on a solution. "[T]hese fixes addressed issues […]
Elder Scrolls Online will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X – with backward compatibility
Here's some good news for fans of Elder Scrolls Online with their eyes on the next-gen of consoles: ESO is pushing into the future and will indeed set up shop on both Xbox Series X and the PS5. "We are thrilled to announce that if you currently own or plan to purchase an Xbox One […]
LOTRO Legendarium: The pros and cons of Rohan housing
To my knowledge, this past week's Update 27.2 for Lord of the Rings Online may well be the biggest housing patch that's hit the game since the system was first implemented. The sheer amount of additions and improvements that came with the Rohan neighborhoods far exceeded my expectations, and I've been in housing heaven since […]
GDC Summer 2020: Quantic's 400K-gamer motivation model
Quantic Foundry's Nick Yee gave a lecture at GDC Summer 2020 yesterday showing how the analytics firm's massive amount of data can be used in various ways to parse out players into different gamer categorizations. But in truth, it's not always that helpful. I don't say that to pass judgement but rather to repeat what […]
EVE Online will introduce abyssal energy hurricanes to nullsec space in a future update
You wouldn't routinely consider checking a weather report for flying in space, but EVE Online players should probably consider doing precisely that when Metaliminal Storms arrive to the space sandbox, which are described as "chaotic storms of abyssal energy" that will "move around nullsec space slowly like hurricanes." The eye of these storms will always […]
World of Warcraft wipes Shadowlands beta, adds a memorial to popular YouTuber
Even as you slumber, the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands beta continues to toil away in its preparation for the great day of reckoning that will soon come to all. All subscribers, that is. The beta was wiped yesterday to bring it up to the latest build, which seems to have broken a few things such […]
Fractured is handing out alpha keys via in-testing games distribution platform G.Round
I've learned something new when putting this story together: There's apparently a Steam for in-testing and in-development games with a focus on gathering player feedback to give to devs. This platform is where Fractured now finds itself as it seeks to fill up its current alpha build with more players. The platform in question is […]
Infantry Online rogue server asks for Daybreak's help
Usually rogue servers and game emulators like to stay on the down low as to not draw any unwanted attention from the legal owners — and their lawyers — of those titles. But in the case of 2-D MMO shooter Infantry Online, the community operators have drafted a letter to ask for the help of […]
Blizzard staffers confirm 'honor point system,' further exposing the company's wage disparities
This week we've been following Bloomberg's reports on Blizzard employees' attempts to secure pay and equitable pay for the gaming industry. Early in the week, staff were circulating a spreadsheet of their wages and raises, telling journalists tales of stories of skipping meals and living on coffee and oatmeal and postponing starting families because of […]
Star Citizen brings new flight models, new weapons, and a plushie penguin in alpha 3.10
Alpha 3.10 is now live in Star Citizen, bringing with it a whole lot of important changes. Chief among them is the new flight model, which brings atmospheric effects, limited thruster jerk (aka the measure of how quickly a ship's acceleration changes, meaning heavy ships now feel heavier as thrusters don't immediately respond), and individual […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMO offers your favorite type of resource gathering?
You know, we talk about crafting a lot here on Massively OP, but gathering doesn't get nearly as much love, and yet pretty much every game with crafting has that too. I've been doing a lot of it lately in Lord of the Rings Online, circling through my loops through zones harvesting ore and wood, […]
The Stream Team: Into the Mists of Dungeons & Dragons Online's Ravenloft
With the free access to DDO's Ravenloft quests going away at the end of August, Massively OP's MJ is aiming to get some of those quest lines in. And her first foray will be Into the Mists, a quest involving getting lost in a dark and forbidding forest. Nothing to worry about, right? Tune in […]
Crucible's latest beta patch introduces a big overhaul for scenarios and objectives
Crucible has been one of online gaming's punching bags of the summer, what with Amazon's decision to pull the once-launched title back into closed beta for reworking after players just didn't connect with it. In fact, last week, the game delayed its next round of testing a pinch more thanks to bugs. Well, that update […]
'Our mentors are leaving in droves': Blizzard staff are organizing to demand better compensation
Yesterday, we covered Bloomberg's report on how Blizzard employees were circulating a spreadsheet of their wages and raises in an effort to determine whether Blizzard had gone far enough with its promises to dispense fair pay, particularly in light of increased duties following the 2019 layoffs. As we noted, employees told stories of skipping meals […]
Ashes of Creation's newsletter gets pumped for Alpha One
Are you ready for Alpha One? That's the question that Ashes of Creation's community as the game barrels toward this momentous test event this fall. In this month's newsletter, the team hyped up the progress being made toward the alpha while rounding up a lot of the interviews and AMAs that Intrepid Studios did in […]
Fall Guys Ultimate Knockout's launch day initially trips and falls, gets back up to big numbers
This is pretty much a "water is wet" sort of story, especially for those of us who have seen messy MMO and online game launches before, but we still want to touch back on Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout as the game officially launched yesterday with a bit of a sputtering start. The game first tried […]
GDC Summer 2020: Immersive multiplayer storytelling with Disney's Star Wars Galaxy's Edge
Prior to this whole virus thing, one thing that I was enjoying about MMOs was how they (along with ideas taken from social media) were influencing other genres, particularly when that involves merging tech and real-life spaces to create immersive spaces and games. The idea of themeparks playing with this has been awesome in the […]
TERA NA's next PC update will bring a 64-bit client and a new 20-person raid
Whenever an MMO touts its client getting an upgrade in bits, I'm brought screaming backwards in time to my console war years when the bit size of a system was somehow an effective marketing strategy. In the case of the PC version of TERA, the upcoming update to a 64-bit client is less about marketing […]
Desert Oasis: Our guide to playing Black Desert's season servers
The introduction of Black Desert's season servers this summer was my chocolate-in-peanut-butter moment of the year. I didn't know the combination would be so good! Other players seem to think so as well. The special season servers were pretty packed throughout the entire season, and there was never a dull moment in server chat! It […]
Overwatch's Summer Games have returned with a new twist on Lucioball
Sportsball is pretty strange in pandemic times, as the professional leagues and kiddie teams alike are struggling to find safe ways to return to group sports. The same isn't true in Overwatch, where the shooter's version of The Olympics has returned once again. "Grab your beach ball and join the fun in Overwatch Summer Games […]
GDC Summer 2020: How Niantic adapted Pokemon Go gameplay in the time of COVID-19
GDC Summer 2020 is running all this week, and I'm, well, at home. But much like Pokemon Go, the convention adapted, and while I've had a few "con" moments already, it doesn't feel like it's adapted quite as well as POGO. Lucky for GDC and us, Niantic "sent" Product Lead Matt Slemon and Senior Game Designer […]
Guild Wars 2's Festival of the Four Winds returns August 11
It's been only a week since Guild Wars 2 dropped its latest content episode, but already the ArenaNet team is moving to the next festival: Festival of the Four Winds, launching once again on August 11th. "The Festival of the Four Winds returns on August 11! Whether you relax by chilling out at the beach […]
Perfect Ten: Ten things to do when you just want to chill out in an MMO
Let's face it: Sometimes, playing MMORPGs — as with any video game — has the potential to stress us out. We might feel under pressure to get all of those dailies done, to bring our A-game to raids, or to scramble to get holiday events done before the end date arrives. Personally, I'm not a […]
Black Desert Mobile adds a new tower defense mode, PC lets players graduate season servers early
Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile both have some things going on in the news today, as is very often the case for these games, so allow me to once again offer you this bundle of Black Desert treats to look over. We'll start with the mobile version, which has introduced a new mode known […]
Fallout 76's Colossal Problem patch lives up to its name as the communuty melts down over massive building bugs
So yesterday's Fallout 76 patch did… not go to plan. Bethsoft added the foundation for A Colossal Problem to the game, and that's not a euphemism, mind you; that's actually what it's called, though the playable part was pulled before it went live. In any case, the patch has been a colossal problem indeed since […]
No, Lord of the Rings Online Classic isn't going to happen, Standing Stone says
When any MMORPG has gone on long enough, a movement among fans to return to the earlier days of the game tends to emerge. Call it "legacy fever" or what have you, but the nostalgia for old systems and a more limited scope seems to appeal to some players. But for those calling for a […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 episode 4 brings new quests and events, a PvP arena, and arrival on Steam
Today is a pretty big day for Phantasy Star Online 2 as the game is releasing its big episode 4 update, bringing new quests and new monsters, an all-new PvP battle arena, and the addition of Bonus Quests which can offer up huge XP, Mesata, and item rewards, though those quests can only be accessed […]
Riot is closing up shop for a week to grant devs a break from crunch and deadlines
It's not at all uncommon for senior staff to take holiday vacations in the USA, nor is it uncommon for whole studios in Europe to close down for a summer break, but you seldom see the latter here. Riot Games, however, will be the exception, as it's announced it'll close down the studio – which […]
War breaks out in WoW Classic as Horde players retaliate for Alliance Ahn'Qiraj Scarab Lord griefing
It would seem that the factional drama over getting the Scarab Lord title in WoW Classic was simply the flashpoint for a major bonfire on the Sulfuras server, as the re-opening of the gates of Ahn'Qiraj touched off a massive battle between Horde and Alliance guilds, with members of the slighted Horde guild reportedly seeking […]
The Daily Grind: Who is the greatest female NPC in an MMO?
From Jaina to Wonder Woman, Vette to Galadriel, MMORPGs sport an inspiring roster of strong and fascinating women. Sometimes they headline the game, as in the case of Tabula Rasa's Sarah Morrison. Sometimes they serve as protector figures, such as Destiny 2's Sloane, while other times they serve as antagonists, such as Star Wars: The […]
The Stream Team: Completing concert collection and powering a ranger in AQ3D
The end of the Breaking Benjamin battle concert in AQ3D is eminent, and the conclusions of that 54+ step quest is in sight for Massively OP's MJ. Today is the day! She will complete the concert. But not only that, MJ will also power up her new ranger. It's a double-header of wrap-ups. Join us […]
Trove has a celestial summer with the launch of the Lunar Plunge event
It's about time to reach for the stars — quite literally — in Trove as the game kicks off the Lunar Plunge event where players can gather up all sorts of celestial-themed goodies. During the Lunar Plunge, Invasions will be replaced with Starfalls that will see Stars and Lunar Drops randomly appear around the world. […]
Shroud of the Avatar adds player town teleporters and previews new building block types
Release 80 is now live in Shroud of the Avatar and with it are new ways for players to blip between player-created towns. The teleporter items that were previewed earlier are now in-game, with a number of different types of things that can function as a route between player-created towns, from the previewed wagon to […]
Activision-Blizzard Q2 2020: Year-over-year revenues are up for the first time in six quarters
We're back with another dip into Activision-Blizzard's financials, this one Q2 2020, the first report since shareholders lambasted the company for excessive executive pay and the first report since BlizzCon 2020 was outright canceled. MMO readers will recall that Q1's report was heavily focused on on COVID-19 impacts and talking up better-than-expected returns, but as […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 282: Gate crashers
Justin and Bree discuss WoW Classic, Dragon's Prophet, Warhammer Online's Return of Reckoning, Phantasy Star Online 2, and EVE Echoes, with adventures in LOTRO, SWTOR, WoW, and SWG Legends, plus mailbag topics on memorable MMO stories and the greediest games.
Rebirth Online makes its early access arrival to Steam
Steam is now home to another free-to-play MMORPG from our friends in South Korea. This time it's Rebirth Online, which appears to be the PC version of the mobile MMO Rebirth M now released on Steam Early Access. As we covered when publisher/developer Caret Games first announce the arrival of Rebirth Online, this title hits […]
Past Fate promises new spells and skill trees to alpha as its Kickstarter marches on
As the second Kickstarter drive for sandbox MMORPG Past Fate rolls on, the devs at Icy North Games are still hard at work improving the game's alpha build, kicking out a bug fix-loaded update and planning on future updates that will include more spells & abilities for Necromancer, Warrior and Priest classes as well as […]
For Science: Meta-analysis of aggression studies shows no link between aggression and video games
Do video games make people violent? The dispatch from the APA back in March certainly seems to indicate that it thinks so, which runs counter to what even researchers connected to the studies cited believed. But a new meta-analysis released on the Royal Society site went through 28 different studies and analyzed the data from […]
Fallout 76 patches in a new public event and the communal Brotherhood of Steel base building effort
I'll be honest, the only reason I enjoy the Brotherhood of Steel is that they have neat toys, which I suspect would be a prime reason for Fallout 76 players to join in on the community goal of building a Brotherhood of Steel base, which is something that can now be done with the latest […]
Choose My Adventure: The absurd tsunami that is AdventureQuest 3D
Let's see… I was flung across the world, I fought an extremely hyperactive unicorn bro, I nearly got defeated by chickens, and I fought a monstrous tree stump that spoke only in puns. And that was just the beginning of my AdventureQuest 3D adventures. To be honest, I was expecting plenty of silliness. I used […]
Final Fantasy XIV will be down for 24 hours for patch 5.3 maintenance
Get anything you need to have done in Final Fantasy XIV done before August 10th. Anything you want done before the patch, at least, because that's when patch 5.3 comes roaring on to the game's servers with a 24-hour long maintenance window. Yes, it starts at 6:00 a.m. EDT on August 10th and ends at […]
Not So Massively: First impressions of StarCraft II's co-op prestige system
Last week, StarCraft II celebrated its tenth anniversary by launching the major 5.0 patch. With it came the new "prestige" system for co-op mode, offering a wealth of new strategic options for every commander. It would take weeks — if not months — to explore all the new options in detail, but for now I can […]
Yet another Ubisoft executive is out of a job in the wake of ongoing sexual misconduct allegations
Ubisoft is still feeling the effects of sexual harassment allegations at the executive level as Tommy Francois, VP of editorial and creative services, is how gone from the company entirely. Francois was previously put on administrative leave in June and widely reported to have left earlier this week, though Gamasutra's source says he was in […]
Trove interview: Gamigo on console's future, Bomber Royale, and the next class for a revamp
With Trove's fifth birthday and its Delves expansion now behind it, we're curious about what's next for the game. Gamigo's Cornelia and Coby – Product Manager and Game Designer on Trove, respectively – kindly chatted with us about that and a few other burning questions, like what's up with console, which class is next up […]
Phantasy Star Online Director on working on the original: 'The pressure was intense'
We wouldn't have Phantasy Star Online 2 without the original Phantasy Star Online – not just because numbers work like that, but because a big part of what made PSO2 possible was the foundational work done on PSO. A new interview with director Takao Miyoshi looking back on the original includes, among other things, his […]
