MMO Week in Review: MMOs are back
I don't know about you folks, but I feel as if I'm barely treading water when it comes to keeping up with all the MMO news from the last week. It's damn hard to convince yourself MMOs are in trouble when we're looking at ESO Blackwood, PSO2 New Genesis, Lost Ark, Crowfall, Elyon, Albion Online, […]
The MOP Up: Guild Wars 2 organizes new player tips thread
If you're getting into Guild Wars 2 for the first time or can actually admit that you don't know everything about the game, there's a handy new resource for you to learn all sorts of tips and tricks. ArenaNet organized a #GW2Info thread to populate it with studio and player tips for the MMO. Enjoy! […]
E3 2021: Sea of Thieves kicks off season three with Pirates of the Caribbean collab A Pirate's Life
I can't be the only person who's been watching Sea of Thieves' lack of content lately and wondered what the heck Rare is doing over there. It turns out it's been working on a new story campaign called A Pirate's Life that is essentially a collab between the game and Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. […]
E3 2021: Diablo II Resurrected launches September 23 following open beta; preorders are live now
We've known that Blizzard was working on Diablo II: Resurrected since the big reveal at BlizzConline, but it wasn't a sure bet when it was launching. Now we know: At E3 today, the company put a September 23rd launch date on the remastered title, following an August open beta that will include five of the […]
E3 2021: Elder Scrolls Online announces Waking Flame and Deadlands, Fallout 76 plans Steel Reign and The Pitt
The Xbox-plus-Bethsoft E3 games showcase held a bit of news for MMO players, if you can rip your eyeballs away from Starfield long enough to get caught up! First, Elder Scrolls Online fans already knew that Console Enhanced had been delayed a smidge. It's now coming June 15th, though, so you haven't got long to […]
PSO2 New Genesis wrestles with server lag and unhappy players post-launch
So, how has your time in Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis been? Personally speaking, I've enjoyed myself quite a bit but also have experienced a great deal of lag, which is certainly the case for a large number of players. The game recently went through some unscheduled downtime in order to address server lag, […]
E3 2021: Multiplayer extreme sports playground Riders Republic unveils September 2 release date
Do you recall the multiplayer extreme sports title Riders Republic? This one was first unveiled in September of last year and announced a shift in release timing from February 2021 to "later this year." During Ubisoft's E3 presentation, we learned just when precisely later this year is: Thursday, September 2nd. The presentation also offered up […]
One Shots: The emperor's new cosmetics
"Ever had one of those dreams where you're declared the sultana's champion at a royal banquet in FFXIV and realize you aren't wearing pants?" Hirku Two asked. In game, no. In real life, yes, but just once. At least when you're in an MMORPG, there's no shame, because someone out there has a cosmetic that's […]
The Daily Grind: What sort of monster do you love to kill in an MMO?
We've made jokes before about how MMORPGs have certain predictable elements in their bestiaries. After all, most games feature the really cute thing (or things) you'd prefer not to fight, the legless blob, the dragon thing, and so forth. But there's also always one sort of enemy you love to kill. Whether it's due to constant […]
Tiny MMO Book of Travels hits early access August 9 with its 'chapter zero' release
Well here's a happy weekend announcement for MMO fans: Book of Travels has just revealed that it's launching into early access on August 9th, further compounding your game choices this wild summer of MMO launches. That means no more delays for the Kickstarted MMO that took home our "most anticipated" award at the end of […]
Secret World Legends' community organizes fourth anniversary events
With Funcom seemingly doing the absolute bare minimum to keep the lights on over at Secret World Legends, it's a sad commentary on the state of the game that it's the players that are picking up the slack to throw an anniversary party for the game. Megaversary 4: The Fourth Age Door is scheduled to […]
LOTRO's community puts on a Shirefest concert series
If you have some spare time this weekend and a hankering to enjoy good music amongst friends, make your way over to Lord of the Rings Online's Crickhollow, where Shirefest 2021 is raging all the way through Sunday. With this player concert series, 30 bands are using the in-game music system to perform sets of […]
The Stream Team: Canoe racing and milk fountains in ARK: Genesis 2
Last week, Massively OP's MJ took her first steps into ARK's latest and last new map, Genesis 2. Now she'll be taking her first canoe ride; it turns out Genesis 2 has a canoe race for a mission. There are also a number of new creatures tamed to show off, including one that apparently creates […]
E3's digital event officially kicks off today with a hype trailer
It's either gaming's biggest event, its most annoying event, or a swiftly obsolete event, depending on whom you ask. One way or another, E3 is starting today at 1:00 p.m. EDT, and the event is drumming up the hype with an announcement trailer. As readers will recall, the pandemic has forced E3 to be an […]
Lost Ark's technical alpha dissolved into a technical mess, but it's sorted out now
We are still grappling with the realization that Lost Ark is actually going to be launching here in the west this fall. However, if the current state of the alpha is any indication, the MMOARPG has a few hurdles to overcome before that big day. The start of yesterday's closed alpha test was delayed for […]
WRUP: How to feel good about yourself edition
Oh, fun! We're doing the big one! I think I've got this down, and it's all thanks to what I refer to as my Perfect Zone of Happiness theory. Basically, what's the usual thing that makes you feel bad about yourself? The fact that no one likes you because you're awkward and weird and smell […]
The Daily Grind: What camping options do you wish your MMO had?
I've always been a little disappointed in how most MMORPGs ignore camping as a basic feature of the game. After all, we're spending so much time venturing out into virtual nature — but we almost never stop to build a campsite and hunker down around a flickering fire. Instead, we hit that port back to […]
Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance offers up a co-op loot grinder later this month
Old school console players may well know the name "Dark Alliance," as it was a pair of console action RPGs that came out in the early 2000s. Now the name is being revived for a spiritual successor called Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, and this time you can bring your online friends along for the […]
Whatever happened to Nexon's action-combat MMO Vindictus?
It's been half of forever since we talked about Vindictus, the Nexon MMO that launched in North America way back in 2010 and at least for a little while was touted as one of the genre's key examples of action combat. We last gave it a peek in 2020 just as the pandemic was ramping […]
Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore outlines plans for how spells and abilities are unlocked
What's a self-described "high risk-reward" MMORPG without some spells and abilities? Probably one where the risk and reward would involve angrily glowering at one another or threatening to use hug emotes. Mercifully (or sadly), there will not be hug fights in the game because there will be spells and abilities. Game designer Amar Duranovic took […]
City of Titans shares several music tracks for the MMO's different areas
It's pretty clear from a recent Massively Overthinking post that there's a lot of opinion and emotion linked to music in MMOs, which means getting a soundtrack right can be a pretty vital layer to a game's overall feel. The devs of City of Titans certainly appreciate music's importance and have offered up a preview […]
Albion Online crowns season 12 PvP winner, runs Crystal League Championship this weekend
If you can pull yourself away from the Albion Online mobile launch, the game would like your attention for the kickoff of the Crystal League Championship tomorrow. "The wait is almost over: the Season 12 Crystal League Championship is this weekend! Starting Saturday at 17:00 UTC, tune in to AlbionTV to watch all the action […]
Warhammer Eternal Crusade is sunsetting on September 10
So who remembers Warhammer Eternal Crusade? I sure had forgotten all about it. When last we checked in on it, it was 2018 and already the subject of a "whatever happened to" article, which is never a good sign. Readers will recall that it actually launched back in 2016, but it didn't go well; MOP's […]
The Anacrusis is a co-op multiplayer retro sci-fi shooter from the writer of Portal, Half-Life 2, and Left 4 Dead
Multiplayer co-op shooters like Left 4 Dead, Deep Rock Galactic, and GTFO certainly can feel like they're a dime a dozen, but perhaps the setting and the pedigree behind the upcoming shooter The Anacrusis will perk some ears. For one thing, the game is set in a retro-futurist world where four unlikely survivors must work […]
Horse MMO Star Stable apologizes for the dust-up over its Pride event
File this one under this is why we can't have nice things: Horse-themed MMO Star Stable has been a bit of a mess thanks to its well-intentioned efforts to support Pride. The chaos began on Wednesday when the Star Stable team announced the Rainbow Festival event for its playerbase and expressly sent "extra warm wishes […]
Star Citizen debuts a new Xi'an cargo ship and offers a brief history of the game's alien races
Some of the most unique and distinctive ships in the Star Citizen range come from the game's alien manufacturers, and in the newest Inside Star Citizen video we get a look at a brand-new addition to the lineup of Xi'an designs in the form of the Railen. This new craft, currently in the concept phase, […]
New World's Summer Game Fest video addresses player feedback, content, and pay-to-win
As part of the Summer Game Fest this week, Amazon's New World team has delivered a deep-dive into the game with a new video that dips into the game's lore and plot, its locations, its villains (including Isabella and the Empress!), its mob groups, its gear, its combat, and its content. There are a few […]
EVE Online's upcoming Enter the Portal update features adjustments to the game's sneaky spaceships
For the cloak and dagger-loving EVE Online player, the variety of black ops ships are some pretty good choices, but they could be better. That's the aim of the upcoming Enter the Portal update, which plans to make several changes to black ops battleships and covert ops exploration ships. Black ops battleships are getting a […]
Diablo III's season 24 adds Diablo II-inspired Ethereal weapons
It's not the Diablo you probably want to be hearing about, but it is the Diablo getting some love right now: It's Diablo III, and Blizzard remembered it exists long enough to put the 2.7.1 update on the test server, or will starting next week. "Diablo II left us with fond memories when it released […]
Lord of the Rings Online delays The Fall of Khazad-dûm raid's tier rollout
Good news for you, raiders of Lord of the Rings Online: Standing Stone is giving you more time to fail at The Fall of Khazad-dûm, the raid added in this week's Update 30: Blood of Azog. The company is postponing the opening of the later tiers of the raid: "We are adjusting the schedule for […]
MOP's quick and dirty guide to finding the perfect MMORPG for your tastes
Probably one of the most commonly asked questions both here on Massively OP and in various MMORPG discussions everywhere else too is simply, "What MMO should I play?" We're not living in 2000, after all, when the available options could be counted on one hand; there are hundreds of massively multiplayer online roleplaying games out […]
Standing Stone Games executive producer praises the longevity of Dungeons and Dragons Online
It's been 15 years since Dungeons and Dragons Online has been released, and Standing Stone Games' executive producer Rob Ciccolini has been around for nine of those years, so he's got plenty of things to talk about in an interview, remarking about the game's longevity, it's connection to the greater lore and expansion of D&D, […]
No, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands flying will not require an additional purchase
Being more accurate is always a good thing, right? Well, maybe not quite so much. See, the original developer post for World of Warcraft explaining how flight will work in Shadowlands included the note that once players had cleared the requisite quest step necessary to unlock flight, they could purchase the Expert riding skill needed […]
Fallout 76 ends Nuclear Winter battle royale mode, offers a free trial
While you'd think that the end of a nuclear winter would, y'know, be a good thing, it's bound to disappoint some of Fallout 76's ardent fans. That's because Bethesda just announced that it's going to be shutting down the Nuclear Winter battle royale mode this fall due to a lack of participation. "We've found it […]
Elyon schedules second closed beta for August
Did you miss out on the first closed beta for Elyon this past May? You're going to get another crack at trying out this fantasy MMO before it releases later this year, so don't fret. Kakao Games announced this week that it's scheduling a second closed beta test for August, with exact dates coming soon. […]
The Daily Grind: Do you have any clue what's going on in your MMO's storyline?
Nobody likes to look stupid, so many times we'll keep our mouth shut instead of asking for clarification and explanation. I speak, of course, of the storylines of MMORPGs, which can absolutely lose us with their length and convoluted turns. Sometimes there's so much time spend between narrative beats that we totally forget what happened […]
The Stream Team: Rescuing a prisoner of the mind in Dungeons & Dragons Online
It took all night for Massively OP's MJ to make it through the underground fight club in DDO. (And she's still sore she didn't get to keep that awesome ax!) Now, she's moving on to the next target to assist: a mage trapped in her own mind. Assassins have trapped Mistress Orphne in her mind […]
Massively Overthinking: Abysmal MMO launch experiences
Elite Dangerous' Odyssey launch has been a stark reminder to me that not all launches and launch experiences are the same. To hear some gamers tell it, Odyssey is an abysmal failure, rushed to release, bugged to the heavens, and completely unplayable. But… I've been watching my husband and guildies play, and while they've run […]
Black Desert updates the central market, opens up family names from deleted accounts
With Black Desert's Heidel Ball just a pinch over a week away, the devs busy with a flurry of promotional bits – not to mention the latest PC patch. First, Pearl Abyss has outlined some of the fluffier events that'll take place during the Ball, including the player survey and the giveaway-encrusted watch party events. […]
Crowfall lowers its buy-to-play price and details its optional VIP sub
Ahead of Crowfall's launch this July, ArtCraft is announcing a reduction in its box price and reveals its full subscription plan. "Crowfall is unveiling its innovative VIP membership, and lowering the price on the cost of the base game from $49.99 to $39.99 USD," the studio announced today. "These changes are all part of Crowfall's […]
Four Winds: Everything you need to know about Amazon's Lost Ark
Raise your hands if you've been eagerly waiting for Lost Ark. Now give me a high five because as announced earlier today, it's finally coming to the west under Amazon's guiding hand! Let me let you in on a little secret: I've been playing Lost Ark via a fan translation and a VPN the last […]
EA suffers major data breach while CDPR says its own breach targeted more than just source code
"It's been a bad day for security in games," MOP's Andy sighed in team chat earlier today, and unfortunately, he's quite right. For starters, EA admitted that it was hacked earlier this week; the hackers apparently nabbed source code for multiple games, including FIFA, and the Frostbite engine. EA says "no player data was accessed" […]
Lost Ark launches this fall as an Amazon-published free-to-play title; founder packs are now live
The news won't shock anyone who's been watching Lost Ark inch its way across the world the last few many years and who noticed Amazon's quiet partnership with Smilegate last year: Amazon is indeed publishing Lost Ark here in the west, and launch is expected this fall. The companies are planning an NDA-shrouded technical alpha test […]
Starbase is delaying its early access again, nudging it to the end of July
How many times can you delay an early access launch? Starbase is apparently trying to set a record. It was originally set to hit early access "later in 2019," the same year it was announced. Then it pushed it off when it became clear that wasn't happening. Then it gave up on its 2020 dreams. […]
Final Fantasy XI's June update brings the Voracious Resurgence to Aht Urhgan
It's time for the new story content in Final Fantasy XI to roll onward to the Near East with the latest update to the game. The June version update brings in the latest part of the ongoing Voracious Resurgence content, and it means traveling to Aht Urhgan Whitegate to start the next leg of the journey […]
Neverwinter devs explains why they're squishing the whole game down to level 20
Neverwinter's release and announcement cadence the past few weeks has been confusing, to say the least. Now that the last chunk of Sharandar is out the door, at least on PC, PWE is moving on to talking about the next module: the one that introduces some pretty drastic level squish. The studio says its goal […]
The Stream Team: Celebrating Splendid Summer and Pride in Trove
Spring is so last month! Trove has moved on to summer now. And with the Splendid Summer event, Massively OP's MJ can celebrate summer as well — without having to go out into the actual sunlight! (Shudder.) This event also celebrates love and the Hub is adorned with a beautiful array of rainbow colors. Join […]
PAX Online East is selling a digital badge that grants merch discounts and early Discord access for 15 bucks
With PAX East going to an all-digital format this year, there are a few experiences that are missing from the event that probably can't quite be replicated, such as getting a badge — oh, wait, what's this? PAX Online East is selling a badge for the event? Well then, go figure! This badge isn't quite […]
Stick and Rudder: Launch impressions of Elite Dangerous Odyssey
On June 3rd, 2020, Frontier Developments made an announcement that had fans of the Elite franchise excited for new possibilities. After decades of being confined to the cockpit of various ships and land rovers, the most recent Elite iteration (Dangerous) would release a mind-blowing expansion that would allow pilots to roam the surfaces of planets, […]
Valheim announces its Hearth and Home update for Q3 2021, a smaller roadmap, and an upcoming AMA
Regular followers of the Viking survival sandbox Valheim have probably noticed that new content updates haven't really been coming to the game, with most patch notes focusing on fixes and adjustments. The devs at Iron Gate have now released an announcement that both acknowledges the matter and also previews some new goodies coming in the […]
