Massively Uplifting: Summer goodness from SOLO, EVE, Bungie, Warframe, and Guild Wars
When the news gets filled with dark and horrible things (and maybe you start to be disgusted with companies and people), it is natural to turn toward some comfort news that focuses on the good and uplifting things happening around us. Filling up on this is more than satisfying; it is balm for the soul. […]
Nevergrind Online is an upcoming cooperative multiplayer title dressed up in classic RPG style
Do you like the classic battle system of a game like Dragon Warrior or Wizardry but would rather play it online with a few friends? Then you might be interested in setting aside some time to grant Nevergrind Online a quick peek. "Nevergrind Online is a real-time cooperative multiplayer online RPG where you and a […]
Wolcen Lords of Mayhem details plans for summons and endgame activities
With the Arise update of Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem already in players' hands, there's perhaps some question on what the multiplayer ARPG has next up its sleeve. In their July 2021 monthly update, the devs of Wolcen Studio offer some word on what's in the works for the near future. Further scaling improvements to summons […]
Star Sonata 2 adjusts support classes, adds a new zone, and introduces base upgrading features
Let's check in on Star Sonata 2, shall we? After all, the last time we had a peek in on this one it had made its free-to-play debut on Steam in June 2020. So what's been going on since then? Quite a lot, actually, if you flip through the game's dev blog. One topic of […]
Star Wars Galaxies Legends just restored language-learning and expanded smuggler slicing
I have grumped before about logging into an MMORPG and having a mechanic upended so thoroughly that it's cost me days or weeks of playtime or piles of credits, but while the recent SWG Legends patch does just that, I am not at all sad about it. And that's because it's in the service of […]
Crowfall launches The Shadow update, opens new recruiting campaign
This won't surprise anyone who was already participating in Crowfall's pre-launch recruiting programs, but it's worth noting all the same that the live game is also embarking on a promotion to pull in new players. "Starting today, all Crowfall players can use their personal CrowLink (Crowfall.com/join/displayname) to invite friends to join you in Crowfall," ArtCraft says. […]
Competitive MMO Lands of Kehliel posts slow but sure progress on its first match
Do you remember Lands of Kehliel? It first crossed our desk in November of last year, promising a competition-focused open world MMORPG experience where four teams of four players can fight monsters and one another, use soul shards from slain players in crafting, and race to complete quests that can only be snapped up by […]
SEED dev blogs discuss city building, player testing reactions, and the first version of an economy
If you were worried that the somewhat sort list suggested by this story's headline meant that there weren't a lot of developer blogs roaring out of SEED, then don't be. There's plenty for the devs at Klang Games to talk about as the team moves its way along the development pipeline of the colony building […]
Mortal Online 2 revamps pet XP, adjusts clade gifts, and adds new monsters in latest update
Mortal Online 2's newest content patch is yet another little cornucopia of different things, whether it's fixes for bugs, adjustments to abilities or pet behaviors, or improvements to UI. There are a couple of highlights in this patch we'd like to call attention to, particularly those who bring pets along into battle. The pet experience […]
TERA EU adds new dungeon content, new gear, and a new armor boon system in Build 108
EU players of TERA have a few new dungeon things to do with the launch of Build 108, particularly since there are two new five-player dungeons in the form of the Cursed Fusion Laboratory (in normal and cursed versions) and the Stormed Citadel, along with new Mahtnan gear found in Ace Dungeons and Echoes of […]
DragonCon 2021 plans hybrid setup, implements COVID precautions for in-person event
Since 1987, DragonCon's put out a yearly call for geeks, the hardcore, and cosplay royalty to gather together to get their nerd on. When it returns on September 2nd, fans will find the same celebratory spirit couched in new precautions due to the ongoing pandemic. According to an August 1st update, the organizers said that […]
Wisdom of Nym: What will Final Fantasy XIV add to its magical DPS?
The biggest issue that Final Fantasy XIV has with its casters, as a rule, is that casters in the series all basically work like Black Mage but have to work differently in the game. That isn't a problem for adding new abilities, of course; it's just an interesting fact to consider when thinking about the […]
Star Wars: The Old Republic offers lore-filled look at Legacy of the Sith's new planet Manaan
Fans of KOTOR are already very familiar with the planet Manaan, which is coming in the Legacy of the Sith expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic. That said, this is still a new version of the old favorite, and there are — conceivably at least — new players who have never even heard of […]
Not So Massively: Magic the Gathering Arena is great, but it can't replace Magic Legends
I've been playing a bit more of Magic: Legends lately — might as well enjoy it while I can — and two things have really struck me: Yes, it really is a dumpster fire, and yes, I really do like it. I am going to miss it when it sunsets this fall. That wistful feeling […]
Indie MMO TitanReach's free-to-play access is live — for a limited time
TitanReach, an indie MMO with an ambition to marry old and new school design together, may have been out of your financial reach with its previous $70 and then $38 early access price tag. Fortunately, now the cost has been reduced to $0 for anyone who wants to peek a head into the test. As […]
Ashes of Creation talks about its next testing steps and previews melee combat adjustments
Like clockwork, Ashes of Creation is striding into August with its July development update livestream, and also like clockwork, the stream has plenty of things for followers of the sandbox MMORPG to take in. At the start of the broadcast, creative director Steven Sharif talked about what would be happening next once the game's Alpha […]
City of Titans adds flight and avatar builder UI improvements in latest alpha patch
Fans and followers of the developing City of Titans were likely eager to get their hands on some superheroic flying after it was showcased this past May, and while the travel power's debut was delayed in July, there's some good news to report: The latest build of the game now has flight ready to go. […]
Embers Adrift offers a progress report on world locations, character models, and gameplay systems
It's been just over a month since we learned that Saga of Lucimia is wholesale rebranding and rejiggering itself into a new title: Embers Adrift. So just what's been happening in the past year? The devs at Stormhaven Studios have offered up a progress report on what's different for the MMORPG. The first part of […]
The Daily Grind: What part of your MMO's endgame do you participate in?
In the comments of our recent piece on the Guild Wars 2 legendary armory, several of our regular readers got into a discussion on whether the armory constituted a good use of developer time as a relatively low percentage of players actually have legendaries or do the endgame content that legendaries enable. From there, the […]
MMO Week in Review: End of Dragons and the Blizzard walkout
Activision-Blizzard's sexism scandal continued ramping up this week, as Bobby Kotick issued a letter reassuring stockholders while staffers condemned the corporate response, staging a walkout on Wednesday. Fortunately, there are plenty of MMORPGs for frustrated WoW players to turn to, including New World, which has been tearing up the concurrency charts; Guild Wars 2, which […]
Post-apoc Dreadlands joins the latest $10 Humble Bundle
Dreadlands is a game we haven't touched on for a while, but if your amazing memory serves, you might recall that it's this odd turned-based online co-op strategy game set in a post-apocalyptic world. It launched back in November 2020 with a $25 price tag, but if you've been patient waiting for a sale, you […]
The MOP Up: Warface tops 117 million registered players, Skyforge is up to 13 million
Warface — no, not Warframe, it's that other game — is being held up as one of the crown jewels in My.Games' portfolio. My.Games posted its Q2 2021 earnings report this past week, proclaiming that the studio made $297 million in the first half of this year. This 18% year-over-year growth is in large part […]
Shroud of the Avatar revamps potions, adds new UI features, and brings new crafting recipes in Release 92
Whether you knock back refreshing potions, look at UI elements, or craft things, there's a little something for you in Release 92 of Shroud of the Avatar. In this update, health, focus, and restoration potions now have an "aether" tier, which is a higher tier than imbued potions. In addition, all potions of these type […]
The Stream Team: Making a return trip to Craftopia's latest early access build
Last time MOP's Chris took a crack at Craftopia's early access build, it was still just evolving, with a fair bit of potential surrounded by some rough spots. After some time, however, the game has made a host of updates and it's about time that we take a look back to see how much has […]
Former ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain calls for game dev unionization
Jeff Strain, a former employee of Blizzard, former co-founder of ArenaNet, and current founder of Undead Labs, is joining the cavalcade of voices condemning Activision-Blizzard's culture. In a letter sent to his employees that he invited them to publish to the public, Strain is calling on the video game industry to unionize and inviting his […]
One Shots: When the sun goes down over New Yang City
When the sun begins to set over the horizon in Blade and Soul, Utakata knows that another thrilling summer night is about to commence. But for now? Now we look at that gorgeous pastel sky, listen to the birds call over the water, and feel a city settle down into slumber. Ardra is calming down […]
The Daily Grind: What convinces you to accept an MMO studio's apology?
MMO studios are going to screw up sooner or later. Some are better or worse about how often those screwups happen, but these studios are going to make mistakes and then they're going to apologize to you later. For some reason that's been on my mind lately, and as usual that gets me thinking about […]
Make My MMO: Chronicles of Elyria gets a parody vid, Pathfinder Online gets a sunset date
This week in crowdfunded MMOs, YouTuber MadR built a parody version of Chronicles of Elyria to rib Soulbound Studios for its ongoing shenanigans. And they are indeed ongoing, between dodgy NDA, crypto, and the lawsuit. (Cheers for alerting us to this vid, Pepperzine!) The last few weeks were just as wild: Ashes of Creation hit […]
Ship of Heroes previews the playable missions of its upcoming August beta event
As we reported earlier this month, Ship of Heroes is going to be entering a limited-time beta starting in August, which will include among other things some missions for players to take on. But what kind of missions are they? Well, curious superhero, the devs at Heroic Games have penned just the preview for you. […]
Camelot Unchained focuses on delivering a 'solid foundation' for immersive animation
Even as City State throttles down a little for summer vacations, it doesn't spell a complete stop for the Camelot Unchained train. The studio's monthly newsletter arrived to touch on several of the initiatives that emerged in July, including the male Hamadryad mob concept art, changes to the Heavy Fighters and Archers, better player motion, […]
Guild Wars 2 disables Black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets due to an unspecified issue
This past Wednesday, Guild Wars 2 players were informed that the delivery of Level 80 Boosts and Shared Inventory Slots was being temporarily disabled after some sort of issue was discovered. This past Friday, ArenaNet shared an update outlining that Black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets and any Gem Store packages that include them are […]
LOTRO Legendarium: 10 features that would make LOTRO even more fun
For me, it's been a great month of easing back into Lord of the Rings Online after taking a sabbatical from Middle-earth. With the improved flow of information, more money being invested in SSG, and the expansion on the way this fall, 2021 is becoming a fairly exciting year for this MMO. It's a good […]
New World tests out server merge tech, why not
While most brand-new MMORPGs arrive with the attitude of unbounding optimism and assumption of growth, Amazon is preparing for the inevitable with New World by testing out its server merge system. Sure, it seems like a weird thing to include in the beta process, but considering that almost every MMO merges after that initial explosive […]
WRUP: Hamster buffers edition
Note: This week's guest installment of What Are You Playing was written by Terry, who is officially the youngest member of the state parole board at age 15 due to a clerical error and a refusal to admit to clerical errors. Terry interned with me for two days while I was laughing myself into a […]
The Daily Grind: What's the newest class you've played in your oldest MMO?
I don't know about you, but I am not always that adventurous when it comes to picking a new class to play in an MMORPG. I will settle on my favorites early on and choose those again and again, even if I've played them to death. But as of late, I've been challenging myself to […]
Betawatch: Starbase enters early access alpha
At long last, it's happened! Starbase has moved into early access, allowing everyone to… well, access the game. But early. Look, we've had kind of a blur of various games testing or moving test phases or even launching lately; you kind of run out of things to say at some point. Hey, that's a good […]
Battle Bards Episode 198: Final Fantasy XI expansions
Return with us to the lands of Vana'diel, as the Battle Bards dip into the ocean of Final Fantasy XI expansion music. While Syl might be chiding Syp over his inappropriate attire, at least these amazing tunes can overcome all hostility! Battle Bards is the world's first, best, and only MMO music podcast. Biweekly episodes alternate […]
Genfanad is a browser-based 'nostalgic' MMORPG that also seeks to shake up RPG tropes
Reading up about the old school-styled browser-based MMORPG Genfanad, I'm brought to mind another certain MMORPG that tries to both mirror the classics while adding some of its own humorous and unique twists. Read this snippet from the game's fact sheet and see if you don't feel the same way: "Genfanad is a nostalgic browser-based […]
Lineage 2 Revolution's Valakas' Fury expansion marked the opening of two new servers
The Lineage franchise is having one heck of a summer thanks to the revitalization of Lineage II with the impending Aden server, but Lineage II isn't the only game under the Lineage umbrella that deserves a look-see, as Lineage 2 Revolution is busy tearing up mobile too. The Netmarble-backed mobile spinoff MMORPG rolled out what it's […]
EVE Pulse recounts the Grand Heist, visual updates, and recent events ahead of the series' fall refresh
Busy followers of EVE Online will be happy to note that the game's latest episode of EVE Pulse is available for viewing, letting players catch up on the most recent goings-on in New Eden. In this episode, CCP Games draws attention to the Grand Heist update, new visual filters, the game's 16th CSM, and the […]
Valheim showcases additional new decor items arriving with the Hearth and Home update
Last month we got word about the Hearth and Home content update coming to Valheim, which is planning on bringing a variety of home decor and home building items to the Viking-themed survival sandbox sometime in the third quarter. Things had been a bit quiet on that front since then up until a Friday update […]
Fortnite's Rift Tour promises a 'musical journey into magical new realities'
It would appear that Fortnite is ramping up for another in-game concert event. This past Thursday saw the game put out an announcement about an event known as The Rift Tour, which will run between Tuesday, August 6th, and Thursday, August 8th, where attendees will get to "take a musical journey into magical new realities […]
Path of Exile tweaks balance and Expedition drop rates ahead of Royale weekend
Path of Exile's hardest core fanbase has been roiling for a few weeks now, unhappy with the proposition of, launch of, and state of the game and its Expedition League. Reddit, for example, is still grumpy over everything from perceived population dips to drop rates. Grinding Gear hasn't been sitting around twiddling its thumbs, however, […]
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Unite is genuinely fun – for new and casual MOBA players
When Pokemon Unite was first announced, I had severe doubts I'd even give it a shot. I know I'm the local Pokemon guy, but there are many games in the franchise I've never even touched, and PU being a MOBA partially for mobile by a Chinese company had me worried. I don't have any particular beef with Chinese games or studios, but […]
An Activision-Blizzard worker was arrested for bathroom peeping in 2018
We're on day 10 of the Activision-Blizzard scandal – 10 days since we first learned California had filed a massive sexual discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard following a two-year investigation. The last week and a half has been a non-stop parade of leaked memos, press statements, apologies, and nonpologies from Activision-Blizzard leaders old […]
Neverwinter's new character boosting event is extended for a day after a broken release
Neverwinter kicked off its Jewel of the North release on PC, which certainly got its fair share of attention, but there was another event kicked off this past Tuesday as well: a returning Neverember Recruitment event, which offered newly crafted characters some extra rewards for every level earned and some account-wide goodies that could be […]
Massively Overthinking: Has Blizzard's sexism lawsuit changed your gaming plans?
Following last week's disturbing revelation that Blizzard has been covering up more than a decade of abuse and that the state of California is attempting to hold it accountable, there's been a distinct rift in the online gaming community about what gamers themselves can do about it. While some players and content creators and even […]
Wizard101's summer update reworks the newbie and grouping experience
Wizard101's summer update is promising to be an enticing one for fans of the family-friendly MMO thanks to its revamped tutorial that KingsIsle has been teasing for months. They're calling it the FTUE – first-time user experience – that should help ease newbies into the experience. "The Summer Update not only enhances the experience for […]
Star Citizen features upcoming dynamic loot generation system in latest video
After its usual quarterly hiatus, Star Citizen is back once more with its latest Inside Star Citizen episode, and this one is all about something that up to this point wasn't a thing in the game's alpha: loot, and the finding thereof. CIG is building a loot generation system that will let the devs set […]
Final Fantasy XIV changes the Sage job icon in response to trypophobia sufferers
Today's vocabulary word is "trypophobia," which refers to a feeling of fear or disgust when seeing a small cluster of holes or bumps. Not familiar with it? Then you probably don't understand why there could have been any issue with the design for the job icon for Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming Sage job, which is […]
