The Stream Team: Celebrating EverQuest II's sweet sixteen
The Heroes Festival is in full swing in honor of EverQuest II's 16th birthday, and Massively OP's MJ is going to enjoy a bit of the festivities on Norrath. But after vanquishing a few of Mischeva's Clothworks bosses, she'll return to Luclin to continue the story in order to be ready for the upcoming expansion. […]
Dauntless discusses Hunting Grounds playtests and migrating character progress with Reforged update
Dauntless has taken to calling its upcoming update Reforged, as it will change the way characters progress and replace Patrols and Pursuits with the more open-ended Hunting Grounds hunt type. In order to get ahead of discussions within the game's community, the devs have made a pair of sizeable posts to Reddit in order to […]
Final Fantasy XI: November version update, another Mog Bonanza, and new collector toys
How good are you at guessing numbers? Final Fantasy XI is starting a new Nomad Mog Bonanza on November 11th in which players have to guess at the right three-digit combination to win fantastic prizes. That's fewer digits than the usual Mog Bonanza, but players can only get one marble with inscribed numbers, so you've still […]
EVE Online releases supercarrier updates, dynamic bounties, and the revamped ESS
Over the past few weeks, EVE Online has been outlining a number of changes that were due to the game like bigger and better supercarriers, changes to the Encounter Surveillance System (ESS), and the introduction of a dynamic bounty system. Now, all of that has officially landed with today's release. In addition to these adjustments, […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 296: Feywild, Markarth, and multiboxing
Justin and Bree discuss Dungeons and Dragons Online, ESO Markarth, WoW multiboxing, Old School RuneScape, and Guild Wars 2 Truce, with mailbag topics on leadership influencing toxicity and a new generation of MMO minigames.
Neverwinter brings the final phase of Redeemed Citadel to PC alongside its Epic Games Store launch
The PC version of Neverwinter has gotten itself a fresh patchin', and with it comes the fourth part of the Redeemed Citadel. Yes, the building that already calls itself redeemed is being more redeemed, and it's landed on the Epic Games Store to boot. The fourth part of Redeemed Citadel will introduce the capstone for […]
Apex Legends studio Respawn projects a firm anti-crunch stance
"We don't do crunch here" is the "ethically sourced whale blubber" label of the games industry — and it's one label that Apex Legends' Respawn is proud to wear. Apex Legends Game Director Chad Grenier pushed back against some complaints that the game's development has slowed down as of late. In response, Grenier said that […]
The Stream Team: Into the Mists in Guild Wars 2
How can you learn to defeat a god? By talking to other gods. The next step in the Guild Wars 2 Path of Fire journey is taking Massively OP's MJ to the Tomb of Primeval Kings to access a portal to the Mists. The Mists: where it's all fun and games until someone releases a […]
Open beta begins for pixel art adventure MMO Naïca Online
Let's face it: The only way that Naïca could get any more cute is if it engaged in some sort of unholy ceremony to drain the life force from puppies. And the only way we can get more engaged with this adorable 2-D MMO is if we end up, you know, actually playing it. Fortunately, […]
Mobile PvP MMO A3: Still Alive launches around the globe today
It's part open-world PvP MMO, part battle royale, all mobile title. It's A3: Still Alive and it has officially arrived to both Google Play and iOS devices as of today. At the heart of the game is the 100 v 100 Dark Presence battle royale mode, along with its open world exploration featuring PvP and […]
The folks working on Raph Koster's Playable Worlds MMO provide clues into what it'll be
If like many hardcore MMORPG players you're keeping half an eye on the very early MMO development at Playable Worlds, the studio Raph Koster founded last year, then you might wanna spend a bit of time this week soaking up a video by YouTuber and friend-of-the-site Napyet. Nap's done a lot of digging into the […]
Wisdom of Nym: The roots of Final Fantasy XIV's awful housing problem aren't clear
Let's start with a simple sentiment that I think absolutely everyone can get behind. However solid the underlying mechanics for decorating houses may be, Final Fantasy XIV's housing is a damn mess. It's open-world with a bunch of added restrictions that manage to feel like it also inherits the worst parts of instanced housing with […]
Destiny 2's Beyond Light expansion sends players to Europa today
No more delays: Destiny 2's Beyond Light expansion is finally upon us today. As promised, the update sends players to Europa, certainly the most interesting of Jupiter's many moons to humans given its icy climate. Expect new quests, the Deep Stone Crypt raid, and the new elemental power known as Stasis. "Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters […]
Choose My Adventure: A slow, steady, and informational search for Artemis in No Man's Sky
I think I appreciate why last week's voting had me follow the Artemis path, as this past week felt a bit like more tutorial steps, some new, most familiar, and all helpful if a bit droll. This isn't exactly to say that I was growing bored during this week's excursion to wherever I am in […]
Star Wars: The Old Republic gets set to reveal its Mandalorian flashpoint
Mandalorians aren't just about Baby Yodas and obsessive armor polishing; sometimes these elite warriors like to throw open their doors and host a wild shindig. Of course, any Mandalorian party always includes poisonous hors d'oeuvres and deadly duels around the firepit in the back yard. This is all to say that Star Wars: The Old […]
World of Warcraft kicks off the Shadowlands expansion event following maintenance today
We hope you haven't gotten your fill of spooky scary skeletons from World of Warcraft just yet, because the Shadowlands pre-expansion event kicks off today following the game's regularly scheduled maintenance. And while the expansion itself will send you into the realm of the dead, you'll be dealing with the undead across Icecrown in Northrend during the […]
Would you pay a hefty monthly sub for Fortnite? Epic Games thinks you might
Subscriptions have been trending deeply unpopular in the online gaming space for nearly a decade now, so you might be surprised to learn that Epic Games thinks it can make subs happen in Fortnite. Leaks on Twitter via FireMonkey show that Epic has been working on a survey to measure opinions on a sub for […]
Elder Scrolls Online's Markarth DLC is live on console as ZeniMax promises free next-gen upgrades
With the next-generation console launches coming very soon now, ZeniMax thought it was wise to push the release of Elder Scrolls Online's Markarth on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 up a day — to yestereve. That means it's live now. Happy patch day, console jockeys! The update, which includes both the new Markarth DLC and […]
The Daily Grind: What 'lost' content from your favorite MMO do you wish would be restored?
A while back, YouTuber Wooden Potatoes did a video invoking the "Guild Wars 2 graveyard" of lost profession skills. I… love stuff like this, and the Guild Wars franchise in particular is full of 'em because of just how much Utopia content managed to make it topside before it was scuttled in favor of Eye […]
The Stream Team: Going all ghoul-ly in Blade & Soul
What? It's November you say? And Halloween is over? Pffft, nope! Not for Massively OP's MJ, and not for Blade & Soul. The holiday festivities continue with the Blade & Ghoul event, and MJ is just the ghoul to go enjoy it. Tune in live at 8:00 p.m. to spend some spooky time with TestSubject […]
G-Star 2020 confirms developers from ArcheAge 2, NBA 2K21 as key speakers
Just in case you're not familiar, G-Star is effectively South Korea's E3, so it probably isn't a big surprise that it's drawing in a lot of larger studios. That said, G-Star 2020, which is going all-digital this year, has raked in a variety of studio speakers from around the globe, including some from our part […]
Gloria Victis lets you manage your own castle with the Bastion management system
Forget measly player housing, with their pathetic little cottages and substandard dreams. If you're going to move into a virtual residence, why not a castle? That's the sights that Gloria Victis wants you to set, especially with the game's forthcoming Bastion castle management system. The system will give you hands-on control over the function of […]
Shroud of the Avatar details where to trade in foals and tamed horses for rideable mounts
Release 83 of Shroud of the Avatar added horsies. Most of those horsies were hiding in the Crown Shop, but readers will likely recall that there were some that could be earned by trading in tamed horses or foals. The latest newsletter from the developing MMORPG has outlined more details on how this is done, […]
Mobile real-time strategy game TERA: Endless War makes its global debut
Back in October, we reported on TERA: Endless War, a new strategy title for mobile based on the TERA IP. As of this past Friday, the game has officially made its global launch to over 170 countries worldwide following over 2 million pre-registrations in just a month's time. In TERA: Endless War, players can select […]
RuneScape adds a wiki button and answers player questions about upcoming content
The week begins for RuneScape players with another update to the game, which has introduced a button for accessing the game's wiki instead of typing a slash command, along with some general quality-of-life updates and some improvements to the tutorial island. It's all outlined in this week's patch notes post. For the most part, RuneScape […]
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen discusses programming in its latest dev roundtable
As the team for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen said in its own words that it had "backed itself into a corner" with regards to its hard coding, the fact that programming was the topic of October's Dev Roundtable is likely not a surprise. The roundtable featured lead programmer Kyle Olsen as he discussed all […]
Starbase confirms another early access delay, this one to sometime in early 2021
When we had a recent peek at the progress of spaceship sandbox Starbase, we wondered aloud whether the game would meet its targeted early access release date of this year. Turns out it won't, as confirmed on the game's official forums. Early access will now be pushed back to the first quarter of 2021 in […]
Animal Crossing New Horizons brings new autumnal creatures and items for November
The seasons wear on in real life and in the in-game island life of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and the month of November is bringing plenty of autumnal charm to the game as evidenced in a recent video. This month, players can look forward to some new creatures to find and collect like the blowfish […]
Star Citizen talks about ship balancing and offers more details for this year's IAE spaceship expo
It's almost always about vehicles and spaceships in Star Citizen as we've said a few times before, but some of the latest news out of the developing sandbox is especially about vehicles and spaceships. Firstly, this week's Star Citizen Live broadcast featured the Vehicle Experience Team to answer questions about the operation of vehicles in […]
EVE Online on Pochven changes, renovation of the Jita trade hub, and more
It's time once again to get the Pulse of EVE Online, as in the latest news digest video straight from CCP Games that collects the latest goings-on in the game. The video opens up with mention of the changes to ESS, then moves on to changes in the Triglavian region of Pochven that have added […]
Interview: Crowfall's Rhea Shelley on what to expect from Revival's big class update
Over the past few weeks, we've been covering update 6.200 arriving in (the now beta) Crowfall. The Revival, as ArtCraft is calling it, introduces significant changes for the character talent and build system with a new level of customization: Domains. To get the scoop on what to expect from Domains, I chatted with ArtCraft Rhea […]
ARK Survival Evolved's Genesis Part 2 stars new monsters, biomes, and David Tennant of Doctor Who fame
The hype train for ARK: Survival Evolved's Genesis Part 2 expansion is beginning to spool up its engine. At the start of a 24-hour charity livestream, a new teaser trailer was unveiled that offered a look at some dramatic new biomes, alarming new creatures (check out the gigantic laser goat things), and hints at the […]
Why I Play: Exploring World of Warcraft as a free-to-play game
A few weeks back, the Massively OP staff discussed, among other things, whether World of Warcraft's leveling revamp coupled with its continued endless free trial constitute a change to free to play. I'd lean toward the "yes" end of that discussion. Though the trial still only lets you get to level 20, the new world-scaling […]
Final Fantasy XIV outlines the changes coming to tomestones in patch 5.4
The penultimate patch for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is coming in early December, and that means players will be dealing with a new shuffling of tomestones once again as gear levels improve. The official site has already posted a rundown of the changes to expect, which should be familiar to veterans at this point as […]
Ashes of Creation raised over $83k for Extra Life, so Intrepid's Steven Sharif had to shave his beard
Extra Life, the charity devoted to raising funds from gamers for children's hospitals, has the motto "Play Games, Heal Kids." We may suggest adding two more words to that: "Shave Beards." As part of its effort to raise funds for Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, Intrepid Studios engaged in a 24-hour broadcast with the […]
Dual Universe's aerospace expo brought together a thousand players and their hardware
Did you realize that Dual Universe's beta test has been going on for two months now? I didn't, but that's pretty cool to see. Apparently the community's been having a blast with it, going so far as to organize large-scale events such as the Zenith Aerospace Expo back in October. The dev team said that […]
Guild Wars 2 teased End of Dragons concept art during its $64K charity livestream
The Extra Life charity livestream from Guild Wars 2 was, naturally, a place to raise money for children's hospitals, but during that broadcast there were a few pieces of artwork to whet players' appetite for the End of Dragons expansion. The artwork, collected in three Reddit posts, provides a look at the Shing Jea location, […]
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite crowd control class in MMORPGs?
I know that crowd controllers as a standalone class have long since fallen out of fashion – most MMORPG players don't even remember when it was CC, not DPS, that made up the third arm of the genre's "holy trinity." But I remember, and crowd control classes and skills remain among my favorite things to […]
MMO Week in Review: Marching to Markarth
If the last couple of years have taught us anything, it's to appreciate a low-key week when everything was fine and nothing was actively on fire. This week had plenty of fun bits for MMO players: Guild Wars 2 dropped its Truce trailer, Elder Scrolls Online released Markarth, ArcheAge previewed Rise of Nehliya, Bless Unleashed […]
Conan Exiles plans anti-undermesh features for PC, updates on the Xbox version's woes
Busy times over in Conan Exiles land. There's things for both PC players and Xbox players to report on, so let's dig right in: First, the PC version's recent crafting-minded update has gotten a hotfixing, with changes to placement boxes for Tanneries, Furnaces, Delving, and Alchemist Benches, fixes for a number of building piece pivots […]
The MOP Up: Runes of Magic gets a headstart on Thanksgiving
It's still early in November, but Runes of Magic has already laid out a tasty spread for its Autumn Banquet in the game. Eat up, my friends! Gotta stretch that stomach for later events! "Travelers that happen to pass by are also warmly welcomed to join the festivities," Runewalker said. "Travelers that learned of the […]
Project Gorgon bestows much love upon its playable cows, rabbits, and spirit foxes
We still have a ways to go — at least a year and a half — until Project Gorgon officially launches, and the hard-working team is going to make the best of that time to get the indie MMO into top form. In pursuit of a good balance and the right feel for combat, the […]
Jukebox Heroes: The best of EverQuest's MIDI soundtrack
I've always felt that MIDI tunes were to computers what chiptunes were to 8-bit and 16-bit consoles. Before storage media expanded and technology increased to the level of using regular instruments, practically every PC game had a MIDI soundtrack at its back (as did quite a few early and misguided websites). MIDI wasn't a file […]
EverQuest II celebrates its 16th anniversary with Heroes' Fest 2020
A very happy birthday to EverQuest II, which is celebrating 16 years of live operation this month! But the MMO doesn't need us to make a big deal out of this fact; it's doing so itself! Heroes' Fest 2020 is raging in EQII right now, bringing back the game's anniversary event with all the style […]
One Shots: Don't stare directly at the book
In most games, a book is a dumping ground for ignored lore or, at best, a prop to make you look extra-nerdy for all your nerd friends. But in Final Fantasy XIV, a book is an all-powerful weapon of unimaginable destructive power that will sear your retinas if you happen to read to chapter four. […]
The Daily Grind: Are there MMO quests you refuse to do?
Today's Daily Grind comes to us courtesy of MOP's Carlo, who is really not about this one quest in Black Desert. "So I'm questing in Black Desert, and I met a poacher that wants me to poach some animals in Kamasylvia," he says. "Since I know the story of the region, I refuse to do […]
Battle Bards Episode 180: Moonlight Blade
While Moonlight Blade is not yet a known quantity over here in the west, its soundtrack has gone before it and landed right into the laps of Steff, Syl, and Syp — otherwise known as the Battle Bards! In this contentious episode, the three dance, flow, and fly through this big and distinct score. Battle […]
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is pretty much ready to go now
We are just about two weeks away from World of Warcraft's latest expansion launch, but if the test servers are any indication, this sucker is pretty much ready to release now. The folks over at Wowhead noted that the latest Shadowlands build on the PTR is a release — rather than a beta — candidate […]
Diablo III Season 22 introduces shadow clones and a fourth Kanai's Cube slot on November 20
The seasons keep rolling on in Diablo III, with the ARPG's 22nd season, Shades of the Nephalem, confirmed for Friday, November 20th. As the season's name suggests, the wrinkle this time around is the ability to summon a shadow clone of your character when interacting a shrine or pylon, which matches your character's strength and […]
The Stream Team: Searching for skilled labor in a Conan Exiles super surge
Massively OP's MJ ran a lower-level surge on Conan Exiles' Isle of Siptah, but she's eager to test the system's limits and run some at max! Today the crew is summoning forth more thralls from the Exiled Lands in search of some talented skilled labor to relocate permanently to the Isle. Join us live at […]
