Massively OP Podcast Episode 331: The transparency episode
Justin and Bree discuss Crowfall, Chronicles of Elyria, Camelot Unchained, Guild Wars 2, Final Fantasy XIV, Swords of Legends Online, Elyon, Warframe, and Path of Exile, with adventures in FFXIV, WoW Classic, LOTRO, and Albion Online, plus mailbag topics on Crowfall's marketing and its roleplay problem.
EVE Online's bank vault-breaking Grand Heist update arrives to the Singularity test server
Of all of the occupations a player can pursue in EVE Online, "bank robber" might not be one of the first things that spring to mind. However, there are big, fat, juicy reserve banks in-game that have been growing plump with bounty takes thanks to recent updates, and with the incoming Grand Heist update, players […]
Allods Online opens a tournament server for team vs. team battles as qualifiers begin today
What's a summer vacation if you don't come out of it with bloody knuckles, a busted nose, and a pressing need to make a dental appointment? An uneventful one, Allods Online says, which is why you totally need to grab some friends and get into a scrap with the MMO's new Blood Tournament. Open on […]
GDC 2021: Research on online video game voice chat has come a long way
Covering studies about video gamers often reveals a glaring problem with the science on the topic: Most of it looks has traditionally surveyed text chat rather than voice chat. But today we've got a story that could change that narrative, as Hank Howie, Director of Partnerships at Modulate, gave a quick overview of recent studies […]
XDefiant is Ubisoft's next Tom Clancy franchise arena shooter
Ubisoft is not having the best couple of years. It's been wrecked by a wide-ranging sexual harassment scandal and lawsuit, it's losing staff left and right, it's had to delay Skull and Bones so many times that nobody remembers what it is, and it even suffered a hoax bomb threat last year. The company has […]
Choose My Adventure: Wakfu may not be my cup of tea
You know how sometimes you really can't know for sure how you'll feel about a game until you fire it up? Those games where you sort of arrive to it with an empty skull, untouched by any sort of outside influence or opinion? This was the situation I found myself as I headed towards Wakfu […]
Not So Massively: Wolcen's roadmap is missing some important things
In the past, I've been pretty free with my praise for Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem. I've gotten nearly a hundred hours of good fun out of it, and I hope to see it continue to grow. But I am growing concerned. The team behind the game recently released a list of its planned updates for […]
Final Fantasy XIV's Naoki Yoshida addresses the 'staggering and unexpected' player population explosion and asks for patience
Everyone's eager to play Final Fantasy XIV's new expansion, and that's why the servers are full. You know, despite the fact that the expansion in question isn't releasing until November and it's currently July. Producer and director Naoki Yoshida has reached out to the FFXIV community explaining the limitations that the team is working around […]
Dual Universe shares update plans for summer and fall, brings the Apollo patch to PTS
Evidently, Novaquark Studios was so excited to share the latest developments for Dual Universe that it broke tradition and kicked out its next newsletter mid-month instead of waiting for the end of July. Why all the eagerness? For one, the devs have put out a new public roadmap, which offers several tenuous dates for new […]
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's outage analysis, simplified
For my day job, I'm a software developer, and all of my previous jobs have been IT related in some fashion. I still remember some advice that my supervisor at my first tech-related job gave me: "If we're doing our job right, no one will know we're here. When something does break, whether it's your […]
Final Fantasy XIV's newest patch abolishes more weekly limitations for loot and adds AFK timers
The two things that Final Fantasy XIV players were hoping to find in today's patch 5.58 were data center travel and the release of the long-awaited datamined Cruise Chaser mount. Neither of those is included in this patch. What is included is the removal of weekly limits on rewards from the Tower at Paradigm's Breach […]
Portal Knights studio gets $10M investment to make open-world sandbox
After selling over 3.5 million copies of Portal Knights, what's indie developer Keen Games going to do next? Make an even bigger game, that's what. Keen Games announced that it's working on a "spiritual successor" to Portal Knights that's less cartoony and more "grown-up." This unnamed title is an open world multiplayer sandbox that not […]
Blizzard further experiments with WoW Classic's same-faction battlegrounds
Implementing same-faction battlegrounds for some of the wildly unbalanced WoW Classic servers seemed to us to be a no-brainer, but Blizzard isn't fully happy with how the test runs have progressed thus far. While the studio notes that this change resulted in "drastically lowered queue times," issues such as premades and Alliance vs. Alliance BGs […]
Amazon's New World closed beta finally begins today – check out the trailer!
Happy beta day, New World! Yes, Amazon Games' long-awaited MMORPG is finally rolling into closed beta today as the last leg of testing – and hype – before its launch on August 31st. And it is indeed testing; there will be a wipe before launch. But there's no NDA, meaning that we're all going to […]
The Daily Grind: What's the single best way an MMO can keep a newbie playing?
A while back, MOP's own Ben tweeted that during his recent foray into EVE Online, a gamemaster messaged him out of the blue. The GM apparently offered his aid and sent over some starter equipment. As Ben noted, it's a rare thing in MMOs. I've seldom seen it from a studio's staff before either; it's […]
War Thunder fan accidentally shares classified military documents to make digital tank more realistic
No, that headline is not an Onion-style bit of satire because we genuinely live in a world so unapologetically stupid that satire is dying screaming. Apparently, an active member of the UK military and a fan of the online military vehicular battler War Thunder had some opinions about how the game's version of the Challenger […]
Atlas releases a 'summer bug smash' patch that crushes a variety of bugs and adjusts the mortar ship
The pirating sandbox of Atlas is promising some new content on the horizon, but before any of those details are shared, the devs at Grapeshot Games are steamrolling a variety of bugs with its newest patch. Players can look forward to things like more consistent spawning of the ghost ship, the end of the Army […]
SEED's latest dev blogs feature roads, cities, house interiors, a new user portal, and too many ducks
Klang Games' dev blog-a-palooza for its developing colony sim MMO SEED rolls along, with a whole bunch of posts about cities, Seedlings, user tools, and, yes, ducks. Gobs and gobs of ducks. Mysterious ducks gathering under the pale moonlight. We'll begin with a recap of a recent playtest that offers a play-by-play of a recent […]
Mabinogi adds new Stardust skills, new dungeons, and Shadow Missions in the Stardust update
The newest update to the MMO Mabinogi has some goodies for players who like to achieve new power and take on new challenges. The Stardust update has some titular Stardust skills that players can learn from a new NPC after completing a series of quests. Five new Stardust skills and their supporting effects can be […]
OrbusVR releases a new trailer to showcase the MMO's features
How long is long enough before your MMORPG should have an updated trailer? Two years seems to be enough time for OrbusVR, as the devs at Ad Alternum Game Studios have decided their old trailer from April 2019 could do with a refresh. As one might expect from an official trailer, the new video provides […]
Skyforge's Xbox version gets a visual upgrade on Series X/S with the latest patch
It's hard to say a game like Skyforge looks bad from a visual standpoint, but with the launch of the Xbox Series X and S consoles, a lot of games that were released a generation before can now take advantage of the new hardware's grunt to make things look better. So that's just what the […]
Fall Guys season 5 welcomes you to the jungle on July 20
Starting tomorrow, July 20th, the multiplayer obstacle course royale of Fall Guys is trading in its '80s neon for sweltering jungles with the game's fifth season, which is introducing new rounds, new obstacles, and new costumes all set to a tropical jungle theme. A recent trailer offers up a sneak peek at the features for […]
Guild Wars 2 reveals fourth End of Dragons voice actor as cheeky Inventory Manager gets an update
My favorite April Fools' Day trick this year wasn't a trick at all: It was a game published by Guild Wars 2 superfan @that_shaman called Inventory Manager. And it wasn't just a joke; it was a real Bejeweled-style game that actually worked and poked cheeky fun at Guild Wars 2's legendary inventory mess. And now […]
Destiny 2 outlines changes coming to ritual activity ranks and reputations in Season 15
Season 15 of Destiny 2 is going to be doing something a little different for its variety of regular activity reputation grinds. According to the game's regular newsletter, the reputation and rank systems for these ritual activities are getting some unification, while PvE rituals from Commander Zavala will get a reputation system of their very […]
Massively on the Go: Pokemon GO Fest 2021 might be the last great GO Fest
Still cleaning out your pokemon collections, trainers? I know I still need to! Pokemon Go's recent Go Fest 2021 was a return to form for the event. While some people may have preferred the 2020 version, the 2021 version felt incredibly generous in both the low cost and high amount of content without completely overwhelming […]
Ship of Heroes is hitting beta on August 7 – signups open July 31
If you're still bummed about the fact that indie superhero MMORPG Ship of Heroes had to delay its launch from 2021 to 2022, take heart: You can jump into the beta sooner. Back in June, the studio had teased a summer beta event that would be free and open to all comers. That date has […]
Wisdom of Nym: What will Final Fantasy XIV add to its ranged damage dealers?
There's a usual pattern I follow when discussing Final Fantasy XIV jobs, and this time I wanted to break it. We've already talked about tanks, so this week we're going to talk about ranged DPS. We know that Endwalker is going to bring new tools to every job, that's just inevitable; the question is what […]
Indie MMO Past Fate addresses internal PvP tests and region changes in latest dev blog
Indie developer Icy North Games is eager to show off its progress on Past Fate, the sandbox MMORPG that we first told you about in December 2019. The game's most recent Kickstarter post is all about showcasing internal testing, with a focus on PvP combat between developers. "If you have been active in our Discord […]
Hands-on with New World's 20v20 PvPvE battleground and its newest dungeon
Last week Amazon Games held a press demo and offered up an early preview of some of the latest and greatest content coming to New World leading up to launch. Having played around in New World's beta last year, I was excited to see how the game has progressed and to get my hands on […]
Relive LOTRO's Weatherstock XIII player concert series with these videos
This past weekend, Hobbits and Elves (and other Free Peoples of Middle-earth) put down their swords and took up lutes, drums, and oboes for the biggest annual concert in Lord of the Rings Online. Weatherstock XIII raged all Saturday, with several players bands performing entertaining sets to the crowd atop Weathertop on the Landroval server. […]
PvP sandbox Profane shows off development progress as it marches toward alpha
PvP MMO sandbox Profane's been busting its hump this year working to get all of the core parts and features into place, and you may be impressed how much it's done as it works toward getting a proper alpha ready for testing. In fact, developer Insane posted a two-and-a-half minute video to sum up all […]
Albion Online celebrates four years by engaging a fame boost, bringing back a dungeon, and writing a retrospective
Albion Online is now four years old, which naturally means that it's time to celebrate with its players. A number of events are kicking off in the sandbox, including a 25% boost to fame earnings until July 26th, the return of the Defenders of the Past dungeon that was in the beta with a unique […]
New World shares a server list for the upcoming July 20 closed beta test
You know that New World is launching its closed beta tomorrow on July 20th. You know it won't have an NDA. But do you know which server you'll be playing on? While that question would normally be a day-of decision, Amazon Games Studios is actually giving eager fans a heads-up with a list of server […]
The Daily Grind: What do you do when you have gobs of money in an MMO and nothing to spend it on?
The other day, I was tooling around Star Wars Galaxies on the Legends server and feeling a bit despondent, not because I had too little but because I had too much. See, I dropped a bunch of in-game credits when Bespin came out, but I've earned it all back and then some, much faster than […]
MMO Week in Review: Elyria, Camelot, and Crowfall shenanigans
'Twas the battle of the crowdfunded MMOs this week, and not really the good kind, as it all comes down to transparency one way or another. Chronicles of Elyria, for example, locked down its Reddit, passive-aggressively changed its NDA, and committed to crypto trades for its land, while Camelot Unchained rebutted suggestions that its studio […]
Battle Bards Episode 197: A royal affair
Bow to your king and queens of MMO music royalty, for the Battle Bards have donned the crown, taking up the majestic scepter, and issued a proclamation that all sorts of royal music must be heard through the land! Battle Bards is the world's first, best, and only MMO music podcast. Biweekly episodes alternate between examining […]
The MOP Up: World War II Online divides into two battle fronts
Even as World War II Online (aka Battleground Europe) kicked off its 183rd campaign this past week, the studio is running a spin-off game through its early access paces. Called WWII Online Chokepoint, this "represents the future of WWII Online in the form of a standalone game. With an all-new team at CRS working on it […]
Final Fantasy XIV aims to vex you with its Gold Saucer event
Whether you're part of the parade of new people coming into Final Fantasy XIV these days or an experienced player who is twiddling thumbs waiting for Endwalker to arrive, it never hurts to have something extra to do during the summer months. To spice up the already electric atmosphere of the MMO, Square Enix is […]
The Stream Team: Checking out the ninth anniversary hubbub in Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis
It's time to party like it's… whatever year it is in Halpha! It's been nine years since Phantasy Star Online 2 arrived to the west, and MOP's Chris is keen to check out a little bit of the celebratory goings-on in New Genesis. Tune in today at 12:00 p.m. EDT for some anniversary event fun! […]
PAX East 2021: MMO community building – on a budget
Any community managers or indie devs in the audience? This year at PAX East 2021, a few well-known community managers – Linda "Brasse" Carlson of SOE/Trion fame, Margaret Krohn of SOE and Ashes of Creation fame, plus Stephen DuCrest from GREE and Skycrest Games – participated in a discussion described at building communities on a shoestring budget. […]
One Shots: A back warmer for cramps
When you're rocking some bad back pain or a spite of cramps, it certainly helps to have something warm to rest against. Loosens up the muscles, you know. I mean, you could go with an electric heating pad or a hot water bottle, but if you've got a friendly dragon-griffon at the ready, nothing is […]
The Daily Grind: What routine tasks do you frequently forget in MMOs?
If you never played it back in the day, Final Fantasy XI was often a game of chores. Did you remember to get food? Did you bring your prism powder and silent oil? Did you get your spells for your next couple level-ups? Of course you didn't. Of course someone in your leveling party forgot […]
TennoCon 2021: Waframe introduces cross-platform play, shows off mobile
For five TennoCons, Warframe players have asked about cross-platform play. They want it. They need it. Well, it turns out the sixth time's the charm! The first big reveal during TennoCon 2021's TennoLive Broadcast was a double whammy, showing off not only a live demonstration of Warframe on mobile but also cross-platform play. So which […]
Ubisoft faces sexual harassment lawsuit from French game workers union
Ubisoft's uncovered problem with widespread sexual harassment is (rightfully) not a finished matter. The Solidaires Informatique, a French game workers union, has officially filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft, representing victims of the 2021 scandal and accusing several members of management, CEO Yves Guillemot, and the company as a whole of fostering "institutional sexual harassment." The […]
Elite Dangerous attempts to explain its balancing act between sharing details and communicating too much
A common refrain among players of Elite: Dangerous is that developer Frontier Developments isn't communicative enough – a pain point that the studio says it's attempting to address. However, the communication that has been provided to this point is apparently not good enough for some, which has drawn forth a lot of discussion on the […]
PvP sandbox Fractured is blindsided by 'rampant' player killing in alpha tests
With a growing studio and another major alpha test on the horizon, Fractured is taking things to the next level in 2021. Level 2, to be precise. You get some new skills, a bump in stats, and a hat that earns you a free mug of ale in any tavern you visit. In any case, […]
LOTRO Legendarium: What returning to LOTRO feels like
I don't think that I have ever rage-quit Lord of the Rings Online, but I certainly have put it down often enough. That's pretty typical for any player who's been engaged with a decade-and-a-half-old MMORPG. Sometimes I enjoy a good run of a year or more of consecutive play; sometimes my stints are barely a […]
Crowfall quietly adjusts its API to prevent bots from reporting player numbers
Yesterday saw Crowfall put out a tiny patch that didn't really do much on its face beyond changing a resource respawn and preventing some graphics adjustment settings from being changed in certain situations. That alone wouldn't really be newsworthy except for the feature that the patch notes don't detail: a stealthy change to the game's […]
WRUP: Horse mage sampler edition
Level 1: Horse Bolt: Fire a bolt of concentrated horse from your horse wand to deal between 15-38 horse elemental damage. This damage increases as you level and is affected by horse resistance. Level 15: Horse Heal: Use your horse wand to fill your target with the energy of horses, healing the target for 65-97 […]
The Daily Grind: What's the most useful MMO tidbit you've learned recently?
No matter how long I've spent playing an MMORPG, there seems to be no end to the new things I can learn about any particular game. The other day I discovered (to my dismay) that there was no apparent way to toggle my character's vitals above my character's head in Lord of the Rings Online, […]
