Elder Scrolls Online's Flames of Ambition lands on console as ZeniMax preps April Fools' shenanigans
If Neverwinter's Iron Tooth isn't whetting your console MMO whistle, then point your eyeballs over at Elder Scrolls Online's Flames of Ambition and update 29, which dropped on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this week as promised. Update 29 is free for everyone and introduces the massive overhaul to the Champion Point system, while […]
The Stream Team: St. Qubeslick's shenanigans in Trove
Being Irish herself, Massively OP's MJ loves to celebrate St. Patrick's Day any and everywhere. And Trove's St Qubeslick event is the perfect place to spend the holiday! It involves feats, farming, and tater tots… er, totter tates. Bring some luck o' the Irish and join us live at 3:00 p.m. for some shenanigans. What: […]
Conan Exiles improves Siptah with more NPCs, new Purges, new factions, and an offline mode
The latest update for Conan Exiles is out now for PC players, and it's chiefly focused around a pretty big revamp to the Isle of Siptah. Broadly, this is split between two different sides of things. One is adding new stuff to the island, which includes more NPC camps, more factions, and points of interest across […]
Skyforge celebrates green week with costumes and emotes
Green costumes! Emotes that feature the color green! Mounts that are also probably green! Envy! Money! Yes, it's Green Week in Skyforge, and that means a whole lot of green across the game, with players finding green dancers throughout the game that they are best served by helping out. They're a bit mysterious and they […]
Star Citizen's devs answer questions about customization, aliens, and animated cloth
Members of CIG's character tech teams took to the Star Citizen forums to host an AMA about all things character-related, and while much of the answers probably won't blow doors open, it did provide a little more detail about what's in the works for in-game avatars. The very first question was simply: "Beards?" which was […]
Neverwinter's Sharandar: Iron Tooth episode has officially launched on PS4 and Xbox One
It's a happy week for console MMO players, as not only can Black Desert consolers begin designing their very own Sage, but two big content drops that were previously playable only by PC gamers have finally landed on the console versions. One of those games is Neverwinter, where Sharandar's first episode, Iron Tooth, rolled out […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 introduces an ultra hard fight against the Face of the Abyss
If the headline for this particular bit of Phantasy Star Online 2 content makes things sound rather dire, that would be by design, as one of the recently added Urgent Quests beseeches players to "let the love and aspirations of those [they] care about empower [them] with light, that we might chase this darkness back […]
Aliens Fireteam devs discuss City of Heroes' lasting popularity and Cryptic's canceled Marvel MMO
Earlier this month, we finally got some hard info on Cold Iron's Aliens Fireteam, the Alien-franchise shooter that's been under wraps for six years while the former Cryptic devs who founded it tinkered on the game and teased its MMO pedigree. Last year, the studio was bought out by Daybreak, which itself was bought out […]
Lord of the Rings Online's Wildwood update is here with new quests, instances, and the spring festival
It's patch day over in Lord of the Rings Online – everyone come to me! I mean to Bree! Bree-land! Because that's where the new Wildwood stuff is! OK, now that I've made it weird for you to make it less weird for me, here's what's actually in today's big LOTRO patch. This is update […]
Perfect Ten: 10 ways that MMOs kind of used to be worse
Believe you me, I know quite well the arguments that have been rehashed over the years about how the MMORPG genre and these online games in general have declined in quality. If you come out with a rant about how MMOs have gotten worse, you're not making any sort of radical statement — you're preaching […]
Black Desert releases the Sage class on PC, introduces Life Skill Mastery and Caphras Stones to console
PC players of Black Desert can now rock enemy faces with the power of cubes. Today's update has introduced the Sage class to the MMORPG, along with a special event full of login rewards and goodies for leveling up a Sage. The latest update has also added new level 59 Awakening skills for every class, […]
Albion Online's Call to Arms update is live today with new faction and buffed faction PvP
As promised, Albion Online's Call to Arms update is live today, with gobs of new content and systems reworks. To wit: Sandbox Interactive has completely revamped faction warfare; factions can now take regions in addition to outposts, with spiffed-up rewards too. The game's added its sixth faction, Caerleon, with new trade missions and a "lawless" […]
VR MMO Zenith starts 'early bird' alpha next month, posts new gameplay video
Are you ready, player one, to enter the world of Zenith? The virtual reality MMORPG is still in its pre-alpha stage, but it's heading toward closed alpha this week. The small indie team announced this month that the MMO has been "approved and greenlit for development on SteamVR, PS VR, as well as Oculus Quest/Rift." […]
RIFT's 10th birthday is here, but it ignores the elephant in the room
With the desperate, frenzied actions of a parent trying to redirect a kid's attention away from tragedy, Gamigo invites one and all to RIFT's 10th anniversary events this week. The fantasy MMORPG, which launched on March 1st, 2011, is marking the occasion belatedly with a bartender scavenger hunt that involves making a QR code from […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMO game sounds trigger happy memories?
MMORPGs are large, enormous repositories of sound design. You may never consciously think about it, but trust me, you notice it. From leveling up to casting spells to being alerted that an enemy is heading your way, the audio of your MMO plays a huge part in your experience with it. And as with any […]
The Stream Team: Poaching eggs in Guild Wars 2's Crystal Oasis
The work toward a griffon mount continues in Guild Wars 2, and that means Massively OP's MJ has many more eggs to poach! OK, so she's not really poaching them — she's rescuing them. Truly! She'll be raiding the griffon nests in Crystal Oasis to rescue the next batch. Tune in live at 8:00 p.m. […]
Wakfu's 1.71 update is live with the Xelor class revamp and more
Any kind of time-based class in an MMO can be complicated to get working just right, and it appears that Wakfu's Xelor class has suffered from the sheer complexity involved in properly modeling chronomantic abilities. In a recent dev blog, the team explained class was too complicated to play properly and its spells were too […]
Activision-Blizzard has laid off another round of employees
Don't look now, but Activision-Blizzard just laid off another batch of people. According to a Bloomberg report, the company has slashed just under 190 jobs, 50 of them relating to esports and live events (this seems to be the reason for some sites reporting 50 layoffs and some reporting under 2%/under 190, but Bloomberg's piece […]
A modder earns $10,000 for finding a loading issue in Grand Theft Auto Online
Normally modding video games, even ones that are all about earning fat stacks, will not produce fat stacks in real life. But a modder by the name t0st proved the exception to the rule with Grand Theft Auto Online by taking a peek at the game's code and identifying an issue with the game's loading times… […]
MechWarrior Online introduces a weapons balance pass and new Trial 'Mechs in today's patch
It's patch day for MechWarrior Online and that means patch notes! With today's update, players of the online stompy robot battler can look forward to a host of balance tweaks to PPC weapon variants, Gauss Rifle variants, and MRM Missle Racks; an adjustment to the MASC that brings a temporary sprint speed boost instead of […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 313: Hope you saved your game!
Justin and Bree discuss the RIFT layoffs, OVH fire, Saga of Lucimia drama, Elder Scrolls Online and Guild Wars 2 patches, LOTRO's roadmap, and Ashes of Creation's delay, with adventures in WoW Classic, ESO, SWG Legends, and City of Heroes, plus mailbag topics on onboarding returning players, crafting MMOs, and Last Oasis.
The Stream Team: Frolicking Frogloks as EverQuest turns 22 today!
Do you remember playing EQ back when it launched? If so, you probably might be feeling old now as EverQuest turns 22 today! But age is only a number, and Massively OP's MJ feels just fine frolicking on her Froglok. Join us live at 3:30 p.m. to hop into Norrath and celebrate this milestone with […]
Alienware cut its League of Legends esports sponsorships short over ongoing Riot Games scandals
Last month, we covered yet another sexual harassment lawsuit swirling around Riot Games, this one a wrongful termination suit from a former executive assistant who alleges she was fired from Riot last summer after enduring sexist language and sexual advances from no less than Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent. In response, Riot formed a "special […]
Albion Online details the changes coming to Hellgates with its patch tomorrow
Jumping into a demonic hellscape can be a fun time if you're playing Albion Online, or at least a rewarding one. It'll be even more true when tomorrow's Call to Arms update revamps the game's Hellgates, with a new dispatch from the development team specifying the changes coming to the content. Rather than opening Hellgates by […]
New World's latest alpha update adds Ebonscale Reach, flags all gear BOE or BOP
Amazon Games' New World is inching toward its new-new launch with a new patch unleashed on the alpha. The update includes the brand-new level 51+ Ebonscale Reach zone, with its stunning vistas and clear East Asian influences. "Ebonscale Reach is a fertile territory named for the black fungus that grows in abundance there. The area […]
Fortnite rolls out Primal season, disqualifies esports pro over vile tweet
If you're hoping for Fortnite's lore to make sense with its latest patch, I have to question whether you've been paying any attention. And also I have to tell you no, as today, both Lara Croft of Tomb Raider fame and Raven from teen Titans have dropped into the game as skins for Fortnite's "Primal" […]
Choose My Adventure: The point where Wizard101 blends in with other MMOs
I feel like I've got the general thrust of Wizard101. For the most part, anyway. This week it was all about trying to clear the quest list, which ended up being a bit more daunting than I expected. That's not to say it was impossible by any means but that there are a lot more […]
EVE Online begins open beta testing of its browser-based EVE Anywhere client
If you're eager to play EVE Online somewhere you probably shouldn't be, you just want to keep appraised of goings on in New Eden, or you're curious to try the game without a full install, then you might be interested in the browser-based cloud client of the game, which has expanded its testing to include […]
Casually Classic: Will WoW Burning Crusade Classic's level boost be the casual's best friend?
While the announcement of Burning Crusade Classic at BlizzCon last month was of no surprise to even comatose cave dwellers, details of that announcement were. Not everyone was expecting #somechanges or a pre-patch with the two additional races, for example. One of the most surprising parts of this announcement was the fact that Blizzard is […]
Animal Crossing New Horizons unveils more design space, an Island Tour Creator, and the return of Bunny Day
There's a whole lot of new features coming to your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island in the next few days according to a sizeable info post on the game's website and a thread on Twitter. First up, a free update on March 18th will add, among other things, some spring seasonal items and whoopee cushions […]
TERA Console teaser trailer showcases the arrival of the training ground in its next update
TERA Console players are soon going to get the opportunity to parse their DPS and tune their favorite class if a teaser trailer showcased on Twitter is any indication. This new teaser for v91 comes to us via the results of a player poll that was attached to another teaser video last week, which incidentally […]
Co-op D&D action battler Dark Alliance announces a June 22 launch date
The best way to experience a story set in the oldest role-playing game is through a hack-and-slash co-op battler, obviously. Yes, Dark Alliance is based on Dungeons & Dragons (the Forgotten Realms specifically), but as already mentioned it's more of an action game than anything else, with players battling iconic monsters from the tabletop game in […]
World of Warcraft explains the current Valor cap as an 'immediate kickstart'
The Valor point cap in World of Warcraft at the moment might seem a little high compared to the amount of weekly increases available subsequently. A new post from the developers clarifies the rationale behind the initial 5000-point cap compared to the smaller weekly increments afterwards. Since the system is only coming in partway through the […]
Elder Scrolls Online decides to leave proc sets disabled – for now
The bursty nature of proc sets have been a contentious part of Elder Scrolls Online's PvP scene, where some players dislike how quickly they can tip the tide of battle and overcome displays of skill. Well, those critics of proc sets have been enjoying a proc-free PvP scene in the game — and Zenimax apparently […]
EverQuest marks its 22nd anniversary with events, producer's letter
Wake up sheeple! If you thought today was going to be a normal, ordinary day — you're dead wrong! It's the 22nd anniversary of the majestic EverQuest! Which means that everything we write today will end with an exclamation point! OK, no, my editor told me we are definitely not doing that — but we […]
The Daily Grind: Would you play a modern remake of Guild Wars 1?
Every couple of months, we'll mention Classic Guild Wars in an article, and we'll get deluged by fans of the 2005 MMO. There appears to be a strong sentiment out there, at least in our commenters, that the original Guild Wars was a great game, maybe even superior in many ways to Guild Wars 2. […]
The Stream Team: Path of Exile's layaway plan and loot betrayal
When Massively OP's MJ didn't have enough Ritual currency to buy a certain item in Path of Exile, she had to put it on layaway. Now, she's got to have the RNG luck for it to reappear in her available rewards! It's not like she's stubborn and refuses to stop until she gets what she […]
Mabinogi celebrates 13 years with combat challenges and lots of balloons
Few things set a festive atmosphere quite like a bunch of balloons, so it's a good thing that Mabinogi has plenty of them to celebrate the game's 13th anniversary. Balloons (likely) not only feature in the event's decor but also in minigames where players can pop balloons as fast as possible for Anniversary Coins and […]
Sea of Thieves talks up its third anniversary, new comic, and Vault raiding event in a video
It's time once more for the buccaneers of Sea of Thieves to get their news in video form. That's right, it's time for another news bulletin video, which offers word of several things arriving to the piratical sandbox over the course of this month. First off, the game's next update is due to arrive on […]
Diablo III confirms the closing dates of Season 22 and prepares to preview Season 23
Have you had fun watching your shadow clone follow you around in Diablo III? Well you don't have much time with it left as the devs have confirmed end dates for Season 22 in order for players to better prepare to say goodbye to their little shadow buddy. Season 22 will officially end on Sunday, […]
Saga of Lucimia studio splits from the Anderson brothers, says game dev 'continues full steam ahead'
Last week, we covered the surprising news that the founder of Saga of Lucimia, Tim Anderson, was no longer working on the game. The revelation came courtesy of a Patreon post for a new game being built by his family; the January posting says that they had stepped back from Lucimia's development and hadn't been […]
Vegetation is getting animated in Albion Online's Call to Arms update
I am writing about wiggly plants in Albion Online. Primarily because the devs of the game have also written about wiggly plants. Among the other features that the Call to Arms update is bringing, there will soon be a new visual thing to look forward to: wiggly plants. Specifically, flowers, grass, bushes, and trees for […]
Simutronics' new mech hero shooter Galahad 3093 plans an open beta for March 19
It's a mech game! It's a hero shooter! It's from the company best known for GemStone IV and DragonRealms, a pair of MUDs which are not known for their graphical acumen! Yes, it's Simutronics' new game, Galahad 3093, and hold on a moment, is that really the same company behind a pair of MUDs? The […]
Fractured sets next alpha for March 31, shows off new biomes and texturing
Fractured's next alpha is finally on the way – though it'll begin in early spring rather than late winter. "The exact launch date is the 31st of March," Dynamite Studios' Jacopo Gallelli quips on the stream. "We promised March, and March it is. The last day of March. Technically still March." Gallelli spends the rest of […]
EA admits that 'one or more EA accounts' is involved in FIFA 21 trading scandal
Last week our MMO business roundup report included word that there was some illicit trading going on between players and EA employees in FIFA 21. Since then, the game has put out a recent update with word that ongoing investigations may have revealed it could be more than just one bad actor. "It appears that […]
Niantic begins testing transparent Pokemon Go egg odds
Regular players of Pokemon Go know all about eggs; they're kind of a crap shoot in terms of what could possibly hatch and the only way to really know what's inside is to walk the predetermined length of kilometers. However, Niantic is tapping a few lucky players to test a new feature that offers a […]
Albion Online players and devs are being menaced by one player using a 'speed hacking' technique
Nobody likes to see a hacker or cheater in their game, and the players of Albion Online have had it with these proverbial snakes on their proverbial plane, particularly one player who appears to be doing his best to make in-game life (and incidentally the developers' lives) miserable. An instance of one cheater's behavior was […]
Not So Massively: Checking the pulse of Star Wars Battlefront II
As I am someone who is at best lukewarm to the Star Wars franchise, nearly as ambivalent toward shooters, and almost entirely uninterested in competitive play, Star Wars Battlefront II is not a game that was ever on my radar. If not for its infamous lockbox fiasco, I may have never given it a second […]
EverQuest II's PvP server eyes beta in early April, GU 117 beta starts March 17
The most recent Kander's Candor podcast, by Kander's own admission, was more of a general one for the most part as it brought along lead systems designer Robert "Caith" Fouts to talk about EverQuest II overall, but the tail end of the podcast did offer some details for those eager to PvP in the MMORPG. […]
Wisdom of Nym: Thoughts on Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker (given what we know so far)
At the time you read this, it'll be just about two months until we know more about what's coming with Final Fantasy XIV's fourth expansion. We already have some information, but we also have some pretty glaring blank spots about which we know nothing. And it's difficult to not envision those blank spots as being […]
