Dungeons and Dragons Online to revamp epic destinies 'from the ground up'
You know that when an MMO developer tells you to "buckle up" before explaining changes coming in a patch, we're in for a wild ride. And so it is for Dungeons and Dragons Online, which is preparing to overhaul its higher-level character progression "from the ground up." The game's epic destinies, which function as a […]
Rumor: Leaked file list suggests Star Citizen's Theaters of War is being made into a standalone game
Allow us to provide a bit of context before we get to the news: This is all about Theaters of War, a 20v20 mixed arms PvP mode that was first revealed at CitizenCon 2019. The vast majority of the talk about Theaters of War was its inclusion as a new mode into Star Citizen itself, […]
New World posts the names of its 176 launch day servers
With less than a week to go before New World's September 28th launch, there isn't much time left for interested players to make plans for the first day of release. And since it's always quite helpful to have a list of servers beforehand for the purpose of player and guild coordination, we're pleased to see […]
The Daily Grind: Do you enjoy fully 'mapping' MMO zones?
Apart from going through particularly good quest stories, filling out a map is my favorite MMORPG activity. This means slightly different goals depending on the game, but generally, "mapping" is when you fully explore and complete all of the goals, objectives, and vistas in a zone. Guild Wars 2 put this verb in our lexicon […]
Funcom gave a player group its blessing to build a Secret World TTRPG
It hasn't been the best couple of years for fans of The Secret World, thanks to the fact that both games are all but in maintenance mode and the community is still mourning one of its own. But we have a bit of good news for you here: Apparently, Funcom has granted a player group […]
Pokemon Unite mobile update adds squads, addresses pay-to-win items
The mobile version of Pokemon Unite is almost upon us, and TiMi Studio Group is giving us more than just crossplay: The new Galactic Ghost 094 battle pass season has some nice skins from the looks of it, but we're also seeing a feature called "Squads." While there's almost no information about them pre-launch, the press asset […]
Riders of Icarus has apparently sunsetted its only Russian server
Pour one out for Riders of Icarus aka Icarus Online, which apparently sunsetted its Russian server this week. As MMO Fallout first reported, the game had run under Russian publisher 101xp for the last four years; its Steam showing wasn't cause for much celebration, as it clocking with barely a hundred concurrent players the last […]
Diablo II Resurrected has begun preloading – here's when it launches in your timezone
We're fast approaching the launch of Diablo II Resurrected, and Blizzard would really like everyone to focus on that instead of on its ballooning culture and legal problems. This afternoon, the studio posted a complete run-down of what gamers will need to prepare for the launch, including the game itself, which of course is not […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 339: Kitchen sinks and the Tao of MMOs
Justin and Bree discuss Guild Wars 2, Funcom, Mortal Online 2, WoW Classic, EverQuest II, Star Trek Online, and Final Fantasy XIV, with adventures in Elder Scrolls Online and SWG Legends, plus mailbag topics on the direction of Guild Wars 2 and WoW and what's going on with LOTRO's dead servers.
New World composers Ramin Djawadi and Brandon Campbell discuss scoring the MMORPG
Somebody go find our resident Battle Bard and Jukebox Hero, Justin: Amazon's just dropped a bunch of music-related goodies ahead of next week's New World launch. "After players ventured through the land of Aeternum in our Alpha and Beta tests, we received an overwhelming positive response to the immersive sound effects and beautiful music those […]
Albion Online's Call to Arms 10 arrives ahead of this weekend's season start
PvP players, you've been called to arms, quite literally, with Albion Online's latest update. Call to Arms Patch 10 has arrived as of today, and it's a bit of a prepatory patch, as it sets the stage for both the next season and the next major expansion. "The Energy Surge Season starts September 25, featuring […]
EverQuest II brings back its (renamed) summer event and kicks off the prelude to Visions of Vetrovia
Panda, Panda, Panda! No, that's not a remake of the film Tora! Tora! Tora! but with adorable fluffy bears; it's the new name for the Days of Summer event in EverQuest II to more accurately reflect the fact that the event primarily features the Hua Mein and Yun Zi. In this year's event, players are […]
Fractured invites MMO players to test its fall alpha starting tomorrow
As we've been covering, indie MMO sandbox Fractured is preparing its big fall alpha phase, which kicks off tomorrow, September 22nd, and runs through October 13th. "The update introduces a number of new abilities, world events, an overhaul of its equipment progression system, and much more," Dynamight Studios says. "The three-week Fall Alpha phase gives […]
Elder Scrolls Online tests Deadlands DLC and new armory system
The big fall release for Elder Scrolls Online is on the way — and is in fact being tested as we speak. ZeniMax announced that Update 23 is on the test server right now for players who want to get an advance look or put the patch through its paces. Update 23 will bring a […]
Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons testers can play with the Vindicator, Bladesworn, Catalyst, and DX11 update now
Hear that hum? It's the distant rumbling of the hype train to Cantha, and it's getting a little bit closer with this week's Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons beta event. As of this afternoon and running through September 25th, Guild Wars 2 players – yes, even freemium players – can log in and roll […]
Choose My Adventure: The further adventures of a twin pistols gadgeteer in DC Universe Online
So, the powers that be said that keeping to my twin pistols in DC Universe Online was the way to go, and I have to say that I wholly agree with the move, especially since I'm now starting to feel like I'm getting a hang of things in combat. As one of the commenters in […]
Star Citizen kicks off a week-long free fly event featuring the four finalists of its community ship showdown
Those who follow Star Citizen closely are likely familiar with the Ship Showdown, an annual community event where fans pick the best ship in the game's roster through a series of polls. That in and of itself isn't really much to write about, but it's the event that's being used as a reason for another […]
Jagex attributes lag spikes during Old School RuneScape's Deadman finals to 'direct network attacks'
Over the past three weeks, Old School RuneScape has been running its Deadman Reborn PvP competition, which hit its zenith this past Friday with a finals event to determine the ultimate winner. However, the whole affair didn't go quite so smoothly as the event started suffering from lag spikes. Initially, Jagex announced that it believed […]
Hearthstone promises a mix of RPG and roguelike when Mercenaries arrives October 12
There's a new game mode coming to Hearthstone on Tuesday, October 12th, which seeks to blend the CCG's characters with RPG and roguelike elements. It's called Mercenaries, and at the very basic level, it's a PvE mode that lets players form a party of mercs to take on bounties for rewards and to build up […]
Final Fantasy XIV details the process of deprecating belts ahead of its next expansion
Final Fantasy XIV is going to remove your belt. Not like that; get your mind out of the gutter. The game is removing belts altogether with the launch of Endwalker, and the newest posting on the official site details exactly how this is going to work. The short version is that when the update's early access […]
Activision-Blizzard is now being investigated by four state and federal regulators as its top legal VP departs
Yesterday, we covered the news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is now investigating Activision-Blizzard in the wake of its ongoing sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit and associated scandal. As we noted, the feds have subpoenaed Activision along with executives including Bobby Kotick, seeking everything from personnel files and board meeting minutes to termination […]
Corepunk adds Diablo-style loot piñatas to its gameplay world
If you've been craving the sweet-and-salty combination of Orcs and high-tech gadgets, the wait for Corepunk must be agonizing. And while it was a bummer to hear that the studio delayed the closed beta until this December, at least we're starting to get more communication on this game as we head down that stretch. Artificial […]
The Daily Grind: Is Blizzard right to 'desexualize' art in World of Warcraft?
Last week, there was a big social media hubbub over World of Warcraft, as Blizzard quietly changed out a pair of obscure paintings in the game. Once changed a blurry portrait of a woman into a sharper version with less visible cleavage, while the other changed an obvious tongue-in-cheek homage to a reclining female nude […]
Niantic is shutting down Catan: World Explorers after a lackluster early access run
Not everything Niantic touches turns to gold — or becomes an instant hit. Case in point, Catan: World Explorers has been kind of a dud ever since coming to early access in 2020. While the board game is a legitimate hit, the thought of running all over the real world to pick up sheep and […]
PSA: Closers is handing out free level 85 boosts until November 3
Want to play Closers but can't be bothered to do all of that leveling up or playing the game? Then you're going to jump for joy for the game's returning Jumping Character event, which is dishing out a ticket to boost characters up to level 85 and a whole bunch of related goodies for doing […]
Wild Terra 2 adds over 25 new peaceful skills, plans to open Plague Island seasonal content October 14
Wild Terra 2 would like players to both enjoy new peaceful skills and prepare for Plague Island. Both of these things sound diametrically opposed to one another, but that's basically the thrust of the game's content updates, starting with the game's most recent update, which has introduced over 25 new passive and active abilities for […]
Starbase introduces new modules, replenishes asteroids, and makes various fixes in latest update
Starbase's latest patch is being flagged as a "major" patch, but reading the notes you might be let down by the fact it doesn't bring anything game-changing to the table. That said, there are still a lot of things being added with the update regardless. At the top of the list are the addition of […]
The feds are now investigating Activision-Blizzard as the SEC subpoenas execs including Bobby Kotick
Early on in our coverage of the Activision-Blizzard sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit scandal, we noted that the company's response took some ineffective swipes at the state of California bureau heading the investigation and all but threatened to leave the state over the suit. Activision-Blizzard may want to set aside that posturing now, as it'll […]
Uncharted Waters Online hopes to boost visibility with its 'first' official trailer
It's safe to say that Uncharted Waters Online isn't the name that's on every MMO player's lips. The quirky seafaring title has labored in obscurity for many years now under several different owners, most recently Papaya with a 2017 relaunch. Getting eyes on the game's been a challenge for the current owners, so any excuse […]
MapleStory M adds the Dual Blade class and the Victoria Road region in recent patch
If your MMO doesn't have a character that can expertly wave two bladed weapons about with precision, guile, and agility, then what are you even doing with yourself? Luckily, MapleStory M isn't suffering from such a shortage as the game received the Dual Blade class this past Thursday, along with a new region to check […]
MechWarrior Online is tweaking weapons, chassis, and a map as MechWarrior 5 unveils its next expansion
Tomorrow will see a fresh update to the online Mech battler MechWarrior Online, bringing with it some revamps, reworks, and tweaks including a new version of the Caustic Valley map, adjustments to several weapons, and changes to 'Mechs like the Flea, the Vindicator, and the Hatamoto-Chi. The patch will also add a second set of […]
SEED shares blogs about multiplayer appointments, economy, Seedling interactions, and horrifying mutations
Well, I did it to myself. Last time I reported on SEED, I remarked with surprise that the devs at Klang Games only kicked out one dev blog. The fates heard me, smirked among themselves, and saw fit to send a muse to the devs so that they may release another deluge of blog posts. […]
EVE Online players speculate at least 110K players are subscribed based on the August economic report
Last month we reported on some number crunching done by a Redditor that took a stat from EVE Online's July economic report to tease out some possible subscriber numbers. In that report, the Redditor known as Angry Mustache noted that the data had imperfections and that a clearer picture may be available once August's econ […]
Diablo II Resurrected devs talk about maintaining the core experience and hint at post-release content
Remastering a game as venerable as Diablo II has got to be something of a tightrope walk. On the one hand, you're expected to maintain the core experience of the game, but at the same time it's also 21 years old and things have progressed. Toeing that line was a big part of an interview […]
Fight or Kite: Spellbreak's wizardry battles wage on with new content
It's been a hot minute since I spent any time playing Spellbreak. When it first launched, it was a nice part of my nightly gaming rotation. It has a lot of the things that I typically enjoy in my PvP: nice cosmetics, build customization, and intense combat moments. When last we saw our hero (in […]
World of Warcraft makes the Ignore function account-wide in patch 9.1.5
So let's say you ignore someone on World of Warcraft with the poetic name of Clownfart. This is probably a sensible reaction just to the name chosen for the character, but Clownfart was actually being an annoying troll so you doubly didn't want to hear from him. Undaunted, Clownfart logged over to his alt, Clownorgan, and […]
Wisdom of Nym: Reactions to Final Fantasy XIV's job changes from the live letter
One of the things that excites me every time about Final Fantasy XIV is the way that the game can tell you up-front exactly what it's going to be revealing to the point that you know the reveals beyond a shadow of a doubt going in… and yet at the same time it can still […]
Warhammer Online: Return of Reckoning finally adds capital cities that Mythic axed
So a little Warhammer Online history lesson for you today: Originally when Mythic Entertainment was developing the game, it had plans to include up to six capital cities that would be the culmination of the RvR siege experience. However, prior to the game's release, the studio cut that number back to just two. What's interesting […]
Mobile 4X strategy MMO Star Trek Fleet Command makes its debut on PC today
Did you know that there's a massively multiplayer 4X strategy game based in the Star Trek universe? Perhaps it's because you're one of those who shuns all things mobile gaming, but indeed there is such a game. It's called Star Trek Fleet Command, which first made its launch to mobile devices in November 2018 with […]
TitanReach plans its comeback after suddenly receiving full funding from a mysterious benefactor
Apparently, some beneficent soul descended upon Square Root Studios' TitanReach and saw fit to bring the game back up from the dead. After the devs announced in August that development was being suspended due to a lack of funding, studio co-founder Unravel announced on Discord yesterday that the game has suddenly been fully funded by […]
The Elder Scrolls Online is getting new Nvidia anti-aliasing tech in Update 32
When Update 32 of Elder Scrolls Online goes live, it's not only going to be bringing changes to combat to address power creep, it will also apparently be bringing in some shiny new tricks to make things look smoother. Creative director Rich Lambert unveiled the addition of Nvidia's Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing, or DLAA, which works […]
The Daily Grind: Are there MMOs with simply too much to do?
MMO blogger Bhagpuss recently penned a solid article about his time in Guild Wars 2, arguing in part that the game's problem isn't that it doesn't have enough to do but that the content is "designed to be consumed and forgotten" – and there's almost too much of it. "[T]he problem is never not having […]
MMO Week in Review: Elder Scrolls, End of Dragons, and Endwalker
Guild Wars 2 continued its rollout of major End of Dragons reveals this past week, including three new elite specs as we head into the upcoming second beta, which includes DX11 testing. Plus: Mortal Online 2 scrapped its early access plans and pushed launch to 2022, EverQuest II announced Visions of Vetrovia, New World teased […]
Destiny 2 adds a new exotic rifle, shares a calendar of events, and tweaks Trials of Osiris
Bungie is once again full of information about Destiny 2 in this week's newsletter, leading off with the recently added quest for the exotic Ager's Scepter, a Stasis trace rifle full of frigid features. The weapon can be chased now, while its catalyst will be available after reset on Tuesday, September 21st. The newsletter then […]
The MOP Up: Ravendawn's PvP system goes down in infamy
Ravendawn's newest dev blog tackles the meat and potatoes of the MMO's player-vs.-player conflict. Basically, the game is trying to pave the way for open world player killing with an infamy system. It's never been done right before, but hey, maybe the 1,000th time is the charm? "The Infamy System is what keeps the devious […]
Global Chat: New World beta pleases some, fails to grab others
The buzz around MMO Town these days is on New World, and specifically, the open beta that wrapped up last week. So far, the verdict seems pretty positive! SparkoMarcoGaming said, "Overall my first impressions of the game were good, it looks nice even on low settings, and the quests were straight-forward." Alysianah Noire noted that "it […]
The Stream Team: Another attempt at peeking into Voidtrain's early access
Aw snap, here we go again. Last time he tried this, MOP's Chris ran into some technical issues that cut the stream off at the knees, but this time will (hopefully) be different as he peek into the intriguing early access survival sandbox of Voidtrain. Tune in today at 12:00 p.m. EDT to check out […]
Dual Universe outlines changes to warping and docking coming in the Ares update
Earlier this week Dual Universe started writing up details about adjustments planned for the Ares update, with the first post discussing stress a stress system for construct cores, shield changes, and the closure of a couple of PvP exploits. Novaquark has now kicked out a second dev blog covering changes to warping and docking that […]
One Shots: Boom, said the world
You'd think that a world that's already been nuked into a radioactive wasteland wouldn't need any additional bombs lobbed at its surface, but several Fallout 76 players disagree, seeing as how they do it at a regular cadence. For some, like Greaterdivinity, a nuclear explosion is kind of like a fireworks show. Break out the […]
The Daily Grind: What feels like a sufficiently interesting central MMO expansion feature to you?
So while we don't yet have the full picture of how masteries will look for Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons, thus far I am not impressed. I am the opposite of impressed. Fishing is a feature I usually take pains to avoid in MMOs, so the prospect of having various things focused on fishing as […]
