Global Chat: Why do devs amputate content from MMOs?
MMO blogger Yeebo Fernbottom tackled an issue that's a standing pet peeve for me: When game developers take away systems, content, and fun toys that players loved. It's like wee-ohh wee-oh the fun police is here to put a stop to you actually enjoying your game! "For no sane seeming reason, MMO developers do this […]
Neverwinter offers a preview of the upcoming Vault of Stars dungeon
Just one time, just one time, I'd like to open up a vault in an MMORPG and be greeted with gobs of riches or loads of food or a bunch of kittens to cuddle. Alas, opening up the Vault of Stars in Neverwinter will yield no such things, but it will yield a bunch of […]
One Shots: Even adventurers like to be tucked in to sleep
Slaying a bajillion creatures, hauling around blood-splattered loot, and going through a repeated death-resurrection cycle sure does take it out on the intrepid adventurer. That's why it's always nice to have a comfy and cozy bed to go to at the end of the day. Now if we can only find one in Utakata's house […]
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite story of anonymous kindness from an MMO?
One of the best parts about MMOs is that they give players a chance to be kind in countless little ways. Maybe not always in memorable ones, too. You don't have to befriend the person who swoops in to save you from dying in an ill-advised fight, but you can still appreciate them. I don't […]
Battle Bards Episode 187: Sewers and swamps
Oh yeah, this is destined to be our most-downloaded show ever, because the Battle Bards are bringing the THRILLS of sewer systems and the EXCITEMENT of swamps right to your eardrums! Decaying organic matter and waste disposal are always fun times in the music department! Syp, Steff, and Syl comb through their MMO soundtrack archives […]
Bungie swells its studio size and seeks to expand the Destiny IP with 'new stories and experiences'
It would appear that things are going just swimmingly for Destiny 2 studio Bungie. In a recent press release, the company announced that it would be expanding its home office in Bellvue, WA, growing the building from 84,000 square feet to 208,000 square feet by fall of 2022. This burgeoning studio size is being built […]
Runes of Magic announces two new servers coming to the game
These days it seems like most of the news about servers in any MMO is about merges or closures. So it's nice to know that Runes of Magic isn't doing any of that. Indeed, the latest server news from the game states that it's actually adding two new servers, meaning that you can start your […]
BlizzConline 2021: Everything we learned at the World of Warcraft Q&A
Well, there's one way today's World of Warcraft's Q&A session is going to be different at BlizzConline 2021: There is absolutely zero chance that an audience member will be able to interrupt it. This would be because there will be no live questions because the event is all streamed, so all of the questions will […]
EVE Online will add fleet formations and Marauder adjustments in upcoming updates
There's more coming to EVE Online now that the Reign quadrant is well underway. Specifically, a couple of updates that have been previewed that will change a few things for Marauder pilots and folks that work in fleets. First, the Bastions of War update will make Marauders hit a bit harder thanks to the ability […]
The Stream Team: Facing Valheim's first prey
Trees may be the biggest threat in Valheim right now, but soon Massively OP's MJ will face the first prey the gods sent her to destroy, Eikythr. Soon as in today! The crew just needs to build a raft to sail over to the island and face the beast with lightning antlers. Will MJ survive? […]
Guild Wars 2 seeks the roller beetle champions of the world – qualifiers are this weekend and next
There are two types of Guild Wars 2 players: Those who stop to smell (and loot) the roses, and those who experience the game at the speed of light on the back of a roller beetle. To those who are expert pilots of these speedy bugs, the World Beetle Championship League calls. "The Beetle Champions […]
WRUP: The story of the wombat edition
Once upon a time there was a wombat. This wombat's name was Simon Birchson. Everyone thought this wombat was very cute and nicely rotund, and they told the wombat this when they observed him. This wombat could understand human speech and it made him a very happy wombat. Despite this, he never became arrogant and […]
The Daily Grind: Would you (or do you) play as a villain in an MMO?
Our recent Massively Overthinking discussion on being heroes in MMOs got me, well, thinking. I'm just not one who really cares for labels like that, nor do I need to be the Chosen One who saves the world. In fact, there are times when I wouldn't mind seeing my character fall a bit into the […]
BlizzConline 2021: Overwatch 2 shows off New York City, visceral combat, and PvE content
"Patience" was the word of the day for the BlizzConline Overwatch 2 behind-the-scenes panel tonight at Blizzard's show, but that's to be expected for a game that is so unfinished it barely got a mention during the keynote. That said, what Jeff Kaplan and his crew brought to the show is early work with grayboxing […]
The Stream Team: Facing Warframe's Mastery Rank test
Massively OP's MJ still has more fishing and resource gathering to do in order to craft her archwing in Warframe, but before she delves into that she needs to take her Rank 9 Gold Mastery Test. Yes, a test on a Friday! As always, she is going into the test blind for her first attempt, […]
BlizzConline 2021: Hearthstone's Forged in the Barrens and Mercenaries
Surprisingly, the single game with the most individual announcements at tonight's BlizzConline was Hearthstone. It's all bundled under what Blizzard is calling the Year of the Gryphon – here's what we're looking at. First up is the new Core Set, which basically replaces Basic and Classic with a "curated" set of cards new and old. […]
Betawatch: Titan Reach backtracks on admission it's not paying all its devs
So Titan Reach is launching into its paid early access, and it announced that fact. That's good. What is less good is the fact that the announcement casually noted that some of the people working on the game were working unpaid out of "passion." What is even worse is the developers apparently tried to stealth-edit […]
BlizzConline 2021: Everything you need to know about Diablo II Remastered, Diablo Immortal, and Diablo IV
This year at BlizzConline, Blizzard is looking to win disillusioned or bored Diablo players back through a multi-pronged approach. The studio isn't just putting all of its hell-eggs in one basket; Blizzard has multiple Diablo projects in the works. We've known all that, of course, but a lot of the details and timeline for these […]
BlizzConline 2021: WoW Classic and Chains of Domination panel recaps
Ain't no rest for the Blizzard fans today, as BlizzConline 2021 rolls on with relentless intensity. World of Warcraft has more to share beyond the opening keynote, and now we're getting to hear about it with two back-to-back panels, starting with the What's Next panel and followed shortly thereafter with the Deep Dive. Since they're adjacent […]
BlizzConline 2021: Opening ceremonies – WoW Chains of Domination, Burning Crusade Classic confirmed
Just because the world is shrouded in death doesn't mean that we have to give up our beloved conventions. I mean, it does mean that, but we can always adapt with a bit of online technology! This is all the roundabout way to introduce you to the opening ceremonies of BlizzConline 2021, the annual showcase of […]
Wild Terra 2 reveals its roadmap for 2021 including combat improvements, auctions, and quests
The Wild Terra 2 team is still hard at work improving the game in early access, and that starts with developing a plan for the next few months. But the team hasn't just made plans for the next months; instead, there's a full roadmap planned for 2021 as a whole, with major updates planned in […]
Dauntless plans to introduce gear level requirements for public hunts soon
It's important to try to be as prepared as possible when entering a public hunt in Dauntless, but apparently there have been enough players entering these hunts without appropriate gear and enough demand from players to necessitate the introduction of hard gear level requirements. So that's just what the devs at Phoenix Labs are doing. […]
Shadow Arena makes adjustments to existing members of its roster as player numbers continue to fall
Adding new members to the roster of Shadow Arena is all well and good, sure, but sometimes you need to turn around and make changes to the existing cast of characters. That appears to be the line of thinking for the game's recent updates, as several of the game's existing heroes are seeing some changes. […]
The Stream Team: AdventureQuest 3D's Wolfwing Challenge
When the Darkovia story concludes with a half vampire, half werewolf monstrosity, what do you get? A new AQ3D boss to fight! And that fight is a brand-new challenge waiting to test adventurers like Massively OP's MJ. Join us live at 2:00 p.m. for MJ's first attempt at the Wolfwing Challenge. Can she get some […]
LOTRO producer Q&A: Legendary item revamp, closed world transfers, difficulty sliders, and more
Executive Producer Rob Ciccolini joined the Friday Lord of the Rings Online livestream this week to do a seat-of-his-pants Q&A with fans who showed up to ask him everything that was on their minds. While the big plans for 2021 are yet to come with the (hopefully soon) producer's letter, Ciccolini had a whole lot […]
House financial services committee investigates Gamestonk as investors sue Reddit 'agitator'
As promised, the US House Financial Services Committee held its hearing on Gamestonk yesterday, and to read some of the coverage, you'd think the most interesting thing was the gaming chair and cat memes of one of the people being sued for market manipulation. But of course, that's not the real story. Readers will recall […]
Path of Exile players have completed over 600M Rituals in the latest league
If there's one thing the folks at Grinding Gear Games (and perhaps by extension, its fans) love, it's putting together statistics, and we've got some more fresh numbers from Path of Exile regarding the Ritual league. Specifically, over 600 million players have cleared the Rituals they've started, resulting in a clear rate of just over […]
Final Fantasy XI kicks off a discount and its return home campaign once again
If you haven't been back to Final Fantasy XI for a while, the game wants you back. It misses you. If you've never been to FFXI, the game wants you to try it out. It already likes you. That's the big takeaway from the game's two major campaigns running right now, although the discount campaign […]
Interview: Crowfall is 'very close' to launch, plus more details on 6.400 Transformation
This week has brought another massive update to Kickstarted MMORPG Crowfall: ArtCraft describes Update 6.400 aka Transformation as a "major balance pass of combat, attributes and loot across every world and ruleset." It offers players a new attribute system, updates to leveling and the level cap, performance improvements, new talents and powers, the last leg […]
Massively Overthinking: Which MMORPG offers the best tutorial?
MMORPG developer Raph Koster recently put this neat article by experimental game developer Nicky Case on my radar. Case notes that common wisdom is that players learn by "doing," but that isn't actually true – for beginners. It's true for experts, though. And apparently, the best games make you feel as if you're learning by […]
Inside Star Citizen showcases the Orison landing zone and dirty ships
It's Friday, which means it's time for another episode of Star Citizen's weekly video series. In the first half of this week's episode, we get a closer look at the Orison landing zone on Crusader, which features a variety of impressive views and locations as well as places for future updates to happen like the […]
Lord of the Rings Online finally sells War of the Three Peaks DLC for LOTRO Points
Last fall's War of the Three Peaks release for Lord of the Rings Online should've been an exciting moment — but instead it was mired in controversy as SSG decided to market it as a "mini-expansion" that required everyone, including subscribers, to purchase it for cash. As a result, many players (including this author) held […]
Naoki Yoshida discusses the Island Sanctuary and content length for Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
The next major reveal of information about Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker isn't going to happen until May, but producer and director Naoki Yoshida has been on the interview circuit and has been talking more about features players learned from the expansion reveal. For example, in an interview with Fanbyte Media, Yoshida mentioned that the Island […]
Magic Legends' loadouts makes build swapping a breeze
One of the fun aspects of collectable card games like Magic: The Gathering is constantly experimenting with different decks and configurations to see if there's a better build to help you dominate. The spirit of this experimental style is being carried over to Magic Legends, not just with the choice of cards themselves, but with […]
The Daily Grind: Would you play an MMO with randomly generated characters?
MMORPGs are traditionally games where people spend a lot of time designing their characters. Even in titles where there's not much to character creation, we often care what we look like (even if we are still willing to look like clowns for stats). So it struck me as an interesting question when I saw a […]
The Stream Team: Jungle traps in Dungeons & Dragons Online
Do you feel trapped? Weather and more can bring on that feeling. For Massively OP's MJ, that feeling is coming from the next adventure in DDO; "Gwylan's Stand" involves jungle ruins just dripping with traps! Tune in live at 8:00 p.m. as the D&D night crew fight off claim jumpers and sabotage supplies all while […]
Not So Massively Roundup: Fortnite Short Night, Runeterra's Empires of the Ascended
Welcome to a roundup of some MMO-adjacent titles that sit just on the edge of our wheelhouse but not enough to tip it over and make this metaphor super weird. Fortnite: Fortnite Short Nite? Yes, Epic is trying yet another type of event with Short Nite on February 20th and 21st (that's this weekend). Players […]
Gamigo is merging down ArcheAge and ArcheAge Unchained's servers, and yes there will be new land rushes
ArcheAge's misery just compounds lately: Gamigo has announced that it's merging many of the gamers servers servers under the "server evolution" catchphrase. Across both the free-to-play ArcheAge and buy-to-play ArcheAge Unchained, the game will go from 13 to four servers. Unchained's servers make the big crunch on March 4th, while the original game will lose […]
Allods Online opens up pre-orders for collector's editions of its upcoming Desert Dreams update
Why wait for an update to arrive when you can pre-order a collector's edition of an update before it even lands? This is the honest-to-goodness thinking of Allods Online, which has taken the bold step of offering up CE's of the game's next update. These editions come in two varieties and offer a number of […]
Conan Exiles gets closer to cracking crashing issues on Xbox One and update parity with PC
It's time to turn the page once again on the ongoing battle with crashing issues for Conan Exiles on Xbox One. Readers will recall that the devs were looking to address crashes when connecting to an official server, and the latest producer update announces that the most recent patch has cracked it. Sort of. "This […]
Albion Online discusses the faction rankings and rewards coming with the Call to Arms update
One of the spotlight pieces of content coming to Albion Online in the Call to Arms update is the adjustments to faction warfare, but what's the point of signing up for a faction if you can't really tell what you're getting for your trouble? That's where ranking comes in, which has been broken down by […]
Massively on the Go: Your complete guide to the Pokemon Go Kanto tour
The Pokemon GO Kanto Tour is almost upon us! On Saturday, February 20th, ticket holders will have an opportunity to collect most of the 151 Kanto Pokemon plus trade for some, much like in the original Game Boy days. Except without wires. And now with color. Well, you know what I'm saying. Unlike most Pokemon Go events though, […]
Lord of the Rings Online nerfs Ill Omens event rewards
If you thought that the trio of top-shelf items that Standing Stone Games released with this year's Ill Omens event sounded way too good, just know that the studio agrees with you. The Lord of the Rings Online developer pushed out a patch on Wednesday to nerf the overpowered rewards. The Obvious Portents of Strength, […]
The Stream Team: A Heckbug of a holiday in Trove
It's that time of year when the Heckbugs cross the borders of gaming and invade Trove. That means the adorable little critters are all looking for love and they need Massively OP's MJ to play matchmaker. Rumor has it that this year includes baby Heckbugs and pink piñatas! Join us live at 2:00 p.m. for […]
Enter to win a Maplestory M Xenon swag bag, including a battery pack, from Nexon and MOP!
In honor of the launch of Xenon in MapleStory M this month (and the concomitant avalanche of new events), Nexon is offering a nifty swag bag to one of our American readers! The bundle includes a sweet Xenon-themed battery pack, along with a charging cable and case, plus a Xenon-bedecked notebook, pen, and stainless steel tumbler. Read […]
Elder Scrolls Online's Tribunal Celebration fêtes Morrowind with bonuses and sales next week
I'ma let you finish, but Morrowind is the best thing in the Elder Scrolls franchise. If you agree, you'll want to point your eyeballs at The Elder Scrolls Online next week as the game kicks off what it calls the Tribunal Celebration, which sends players back into Vvardenfell and the Clockwork City itself. Starting February 25th […]
Chronicles of Elyria is releasing Kingdoms of Elyria as a standalone product for backers
In early 2020, Chronicles of Elyria stunned MMO gamers by announcing it was out of money, had laid off the devs, had closed Soulbound Studio, and had ended development on the game. And though CEO Jeromy Walsh later retracted much of that and said the game was still in production with volunteer staff, the gamers […]
Titan Reach addresses early access funding – and its partly unpaid staff
If you are working on an MMO, you should be getting paid to do so. Please, developers, do not work for free in an industry worth billions – that goes for the devs of Titan Reach too, some of whom are apparently working volunteer on the unreleased MMO, according to the latest Titan Reach developer […]
Vague Patch Notes: The challenge of the average MMO player
Pick an MMO, any MMO you know pretty well. Pick an MMO where you have a good sense of how much content there is in the game. Now, ask yourself this: How much of that content has the average player done? How frequently do players engage with various bits of content? What does an average […]
World of Warcraft's BlizzConline press kit leaks confirm patch 9.1 and Burning Crusade Classic
Well, that'd be a whoops from Blizzard: It turns out that World of Warcraft's press kits for the reveals at BlizzConline 2021 have been released now, and Wowhead is reporting all of the documents now confirming at least some of what players had already expected. For example, it looks like we are indeed getting a […]
