Yearly Archives: 2010

Allods Online New Patch: V6 Edge of the Astral

 

Allods Online New Patch: V6 Edge of the Astral
 
Gala-Net, Inc., a leading free-to-play online game publisher, announced today the upcoming release of Allods Online V6: Edge of the Astral.  This patch features key enhancements and changes, such as improved chat and trade functions and additional PvE and PvP content.  Raid teams will have an opportunity to prove their strength against War’kaz the Mindreaver, a massive Astral Demon who now lurks in Gorluxor’s Tower.  The Arena of Death, a new PvP coliseum located in Yasez Shard, allows players to engage in deadly combat and earn bonus Combat Glory.
 
Allods Goblin Pet
 
Highlights from our patch notes include:
• New content
 o Arena of Death battle zone
 o New boss in Gorluxor’s Tower
 o New training quests to practice Astral navigation on a training ship
• A number of PvP exploits and quests fixed
• Splittable stacks will allow players to remove one item from a stack
• Guild information now displayed above players’ head
• Ability to respond to whispers
• New goblin pets
• Enhanced League Astral Ships
 
Allods League Astral Ship

Runes of Magic Players Victim of the Goldseller War

Runes of Magic Players Victim of the Goldseller War

 

Last week Frogster disabled the ability to trade Diamonds for gold using the Runes of Magic auction house. In this statement they informed their players that this measure was necessary to combat the growing hold “gold sellers” were having of the in game economy.

 

“Hello Community,

 

As you can see here, we have changed the Trade for Gold and Diamonds in the Auction House as well as deactivated the functionalities of sending Gold or Items (C.O.D.) via ingame mail, this is a temporary change.

 

We will re-establish both as soon as possible again.”

 

Today Frogster has updated its community with this rather unpleasant news:

 

“Our measures have also made it necessary to disable the diamond/gold trade in the auction house. We are well aware that this is a feature appreciated by many of our players. However, we regret to announce that at this point, we are not yet ready to reactivate it.”

 

Frogster also announces it has banned over 1800 gold seller accounts last week and removed their harvested gold and that it will be re-opening player accounts that were closed due to investigations to track down the “dirty” gold.

 

If Frogster reports these successes in its battle on Gold sellers but is not yet ready to re-open the in-game trade of Diamonds and the mailing of gold we seriously wonder if these option will be back in-game again ever.

 

All the while the Runes of Magic website is pushing Diamonds as if nothing was going on.

Runes of Magic - Double Diamonds - Same price - but no in game trading of Diamonds anymore!

We have contacted Frogster for comments and will keep you guys up to date!

Conquerer Online Legends Return Season 1 Kicks off

 

Conquerer Online Legends Return Season 1 Kicks off
TQ Digital is proud to announce the 1st wave of the Legends Return expansion series– Season 1: The Shadow of Darkness will descend upon the world of Conquer Online at Midnight 0:00, April 27th! In season 1 of the expansion, players will be able to experience the prelude to the days of chaos.

As the prophecy of the Sub-Classes is fulfilled, a formidable demon has broken the seal set by ancient heroes, and returned to the mortal world. The demon proclaimed itself the “Demon Overlord”, and summoned all the demons from beneath our world to construct his legion of darkness.

After the server maintenance, players of Conquer Online will be able to experience the fabulous features brought by Patch 5250.

Features of Legends Return Season 1

1. Sub-Class System: 6 types of Sub-Classes have been deciphered by the scholars: the Apothecary, the Martial Artist, the Chi Master, the Warlock, the Sage and the Performer. Each of these skills can provide its practicers with the unique bonus state. When adventurers reach level 70, they can go to the Job Center to study these powerful, ancient arts.
2. Artifact System: Utilizing the fragments of a Dragon Soul, players can purify their current gear, converting them into Artifacts with incredible elemental powers!
3. Weapon Accessories: As a by-product of the Artifact Gear research, the artisans also invented some fascinating Equipment Accessories which players can use to decorate their gear!
4. 3-6th Floors of Frozen Grotto: New dungeons have been opened for adventurers to explore. On 3-6th Floors of Frozen Grotto, you can battle against the legions of demon and challenge the ultimate boss, the Terato Dragon.
5. Small Boss Hunting: Powerful monsters are roaming the world map, transporting Dragon Souls, Equipment Accessory and Refinery Packs back to their dens! The time has come to hunt them, and claim these valuable items for ourselves!
6. New Daily Quests: 6 new Daily Quests are coming to provide you with rich rewards and intriguing storylines.

Other modifications of Patch 5250
– Ninja full Super gear set visual effect added.
– 3 new 500/1000 tables for Texas Hold’em Poker.
– Expanded Warehouses.
– Lottery box category display is added
– The gender prerequisite for the Orchid Quest is removed.
– Chat Interface: a) players can send item info in chat by pushing Ctrl+LMB. B) The Black List for chatting will be saved.
– Horse Racing Tournament: Item release shortcut is added.
– The mark of inscribed becomes invisible when players are checking other players’ equipment.
– The Dragon Ball drop alert sound is added
– The Last Name section has been removed from the new character creation process.

To manually download the patches, please click here
Conquer Online 7th Anniversary Expansion Season 1

Battle of the Immortals Interview: Clash of the Immortals

Battle of the Immortals Interview: Clash of the Immortals
Questions by Chen Fo Po (cinderboy), OnRPG Journalist
Answered by BOI Product Manager, Jonathan Belliss

 

Battle of the Immortals is one of Perfect World Entertainment’s upcoming MMORPGs. The striking difference compared with other PWE games will be the graphics and isometric view. Battle of the Immortals is also the first game developed by Perfect World’s Shanghai studio (most games were developed in the Beijing headquarters). After taking a few months’ hiatus to revamp the game, will Battle of the Immortals take the Free to Play market by storm? We will soon find out.

 

OnRPG: Hi, I am Fo Po (cinderboy), an OnRPG’s journalist. Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi, my name is Jonathan Belliss and I am the Product Manager for Battle of the Immortals.

 

OnRPG: According to this blog post, Battle of the Immortals was delayed for several months to iron out details and improve the game’s overall experience among many other things. How satisfied is the development team at the current status of the game?

We’re very excited on how the game has turned out and the tremendous response we’ve had from the players. We had so many players logging into the game on day one that we didn’t have enough capacity to sustain the number of players flooding in.  Luckily we have additional servers always on standby and were able to open up the floodgates and accommodate the amazing level of demand.

 

Battle of the Immortals is basically a new game because of the reworked game mechanics and an emphasis on PvP and working together in guilds. Players who have checked out the Chinese version will find that this game is a different beast all together and have localized the gameplay to suit North American gamers’ tastes.

 

Battle Of the Immortals Characters Gameplay

 

Even though the player response has been great, we still realize that we’re not done yet.  There’s a lot of player concerns and feedback, and we’re going to address as much of it as we can before we go into Open Beta.

 

OnRPG: I must applaud Perfect World Entertainment for delaying the game. Was it hard to come to a unanimous decision within the development team regarding the delay?

The decision was unanimous and we are sticking to our conviction that every Perfect World game will not only be localized to the highest point, but also that the gameplay will be very polished even in closed beta. Of course, there is some tweaking that we’ll be doing during the CB period, but we know that the closed beta is also the first impression many of our players will get out of the game and we want it to be the best possible.

 

OnRPG: Why the decision to adopt a new graphics engine for Battle of the Immortals?

We wanted to make a very different type of game and thus wanted to start from the ground up. Battle of the Immortals is also the first game developed out of our Shanghai studio and players will definitely see a different style in both the look and feel in the gameplay.

 

Battle of the Immortals Dungeons

 

OnRPG: How easy is it getting to understand the game for a new player? Will there be an in-depth tutorial or even a Master-Disciple system?

We have a built-in tutorial system, which will pop-up and give you guidance throughout the game, similar to the help paperclip in Microsoft Word. We’ve also provided in-depth guides that players can read up on the Battle of the Immortals website here: http://boi.perfectworld.com/

 

The game itself is very casual friendly, but also has a huge amount of depth for hardcore players.

 

OnRPG: Why the special focus on gear in this title?

Who doesn’t like cool looking gear? If anything, the gear looks cooler as you progress through the game and will actually level up with you as you use it. Since the gear progresses as you do, you won’t feel held back or “nerfed” with your current set. This helps a lot when you are in-between levels and are waiting to use the next level of gear.

 

Battle of the Immortals

 

OnRPG: Will players be able to add their own attribute points after reaching a new level? I am really curious as this was not available for previous PWE games.

Yes, at level 30, players will be able to add their own attribute points, so that you can create your own unique character and gain an advantage in battle.

 

OnRPG: Talking about pets, what differences will there be compared to other PWE games? Is the pet fusion feature available in Battle of the Immortals?

The pet system in Battle of the Immortals is quite unique in that unlike any other PWE game, any monster or even boss that you fight within the game has a change to become your pet. When you fight a monster, there’s a chance for them to drop themselves. If successful, the monster will reappear and a lasso icon will appear when you mouse over it. You then have a 100% success rate to capture it.

 

Pets are essential in battle and can help tank or do damage against an enemy or another player. There is a pet fusion feature in Battle of the Immortals, which will be very important to help make your pet stronger at the higher levels.  Also the customization of your pet’s skills will have a huge effect on gameplay.

 

OnRPG: I have read that unique pets based on the 12 horoscopes will be available for capture. How easy will it be for players to get one? These pets sound mighty awesome and powerful at the same time, but will it give players who own them an unfair advantage?

The Zodiac pets are pretty cool as well as pack a pretty big punch. Obviously we had to make it a little challenging to get these pets and they are only available during their corresponding Zodiac period. Zodiac pets can give a player an advantage, but it all depends on how an opponent has leveled up or melded theirs as well.

 

OnRPG: Games under PWE never fails to amaze me with their wide range of mounts. How many mounts will there be, and how many of those will be allocated to the cash shop? Once again, will there be any difference in the mount system compared with other PWE games?

Without giving out exact figures, there are tons of mounts. We have mounts that can be acquired through natural progression in the game as well as some that are class specific. In addition to some of the mounts available in the cash shop, there are special mounts that can only be acquired through credit and bonus currency.

 

I would say that Battle of the Immortals mush have some of the craziest mounts that I have ever seen including this Energized Spider mount, which is basically this huge mechanical spider that players can wheel around on.

 

Probably the biggest difference in BoI in terms of mounts is that mounts actually have skills as you level them up.  They also graphically change each time they level.

 

Battle of the Immortals Mounts

 

OnRPG: I understand that there will be various instances for players to enter. Will the rewards gain from completing an instance be much greater than doing PvE in the open areas? Will this cause players to only do instances and not explore the vast open landscapes?

One of the first instances players can enter into is called the Knight’s Jail, which you have to enter into as a party and gives you some pretty good experience as well as drops Stamps of Promotions, which can be traded in for this high-level gear set called Green Gear. I think a lot of players will be repeating this instance because of the great experience as well as the fact that it scales depending on the level of the players.

 

I don’t think this will prevent players from exploring the rest of the world in Battle of the Immortals, but rather get people to play together in parties and form guilds to later take on tougher challenges at the higher levels.

 

The best party of the instances in BoI is they allow you to play the game in a similar fashion to Torchlight or Diablo.  You can run a dungeon over and over with some friends, or you can play the game via the traditional MMORPG route and go do some quests.  Being able to switch between these two different modes of gameplay is really what makes BoI special and unique.

 

Battle of the Immortals Weapons Dungeons Play 

 

OnRPG: What will the instances found in Battle of the Immortals be like? Will it be just a linear affair, where players mindlessly hack and slash their way to the final boss at the end?

Without revealing too much, the instances do have a point and will have players strategically making sure that they have specific roles/classes in parties. Higher level instances will support multiple parties, which mean that you not only will have to complete the objectives, but also look out from being killed by other players.

 

Also most instances have multiple modes.  An easy low commitment mode where you can run in and complete it in a short amount of time, as well as a normal/hard mode that takes longer to complete, but providing you with greater rewards.

 

OnRPG: What are some of the PvP options available in Battle of the Immortals? Will there be PvE and PvP servers available?

Right now the servers are PvP with the option to turn this mode on and off in the earlier levels. This changes later on in the game and as we said before, Battle of the Immortals is for the hardcore gamer.

 

Currently a battleground system is under development, but tightly under wraps.

 

OnRPG: Will there be a crafting system in the game? How important is it? Many games allow mobs and bosses to drop various rare and powerful gears, hence players tend to neglect crafting their own gears. Will this be the same scenario in Battle of the Immortals?

Crafting in BoI is extremely unique.  It’s actually called the Technology and Craft System.  Crafting in BoI doesn’t need to be performed at any specific location in-game, but instead simply takes time as you run around the game world.

 

What does that mean?  It means that you click a button to research a new recipe, then run around in-game completing quests or dungeons with your friends, then you’ll get a notification that tells you it’s done.  You can then go into the Tech and Craft menu and build something or research something else.

 

OnRPG: From a recent developer diary (starring the one and only Jonathon Belliss), it was mentioned that gems needed to socket gears will be dropped from mobs and instances instead of being put in the Cash Shop. Can you tell us 1 or 2 more significant changes made to the cash shop in order to balance the game?

Yes, as you mention, changing the way gems can be obtained (dropped versus bought through the cash shop) is one of the many significant ways that we did to balance the game for the North American audience. We also made sure that fashion items were made permanent. Since the micro-transaction model is a relatively new concept for North American players, we wanted to ease the transition by making sure that what they purchase wouldn’t go away just because they were away from the game for a certain period of time.

 

OnRPG: Last but not least, are there any plans to develop content unique to the English server?

As time goes on, especially with the launch of the open beta, we’ll have the opportunity to add additional content and special events tailored to the feedback we’ve received from our players. In fact, during closed beta we’ll be sending out survey to our players to get feedback on what they think about the game and what we can approve on. Five players who complete all of the surveys will have a chance at $100 worth of Zen, so we’re definitely looking to our players on how to make Battle of the Immortals even better!

 

OnRPG: Thank you for your time! I can’t wait for the official launch to commence!

Dragonica SEA

Dragonica is a 3D side-scrolling MMORPG! Set in the realm of magic and dragons, our story begins in a great war which ended the harmonious living of all creatures in Dragotaka. The conflict separated them into two sides; The Nobles, led by the Dragon Lord and the Minions, led by the Dark Lord, Elga.
Game features:
1. Attractive and Cute Art Direction with mass-market appeal
2. Offers Non-stop Comic Relief and humorous style that departs from serious games that appeal to a narrow market segment
3. Fast Paced, Addictive Action that appeals to both seasoned and casual gamers
4. Strong Community Bonding Functions
5. Personalized Game Functions
6. High level of character customizability by way of optional costumes and equipment
7. Visually and Technologically outshines other popular side-scrolling MMOs.

MMO Endangered Species: The Healer

MMO Endangered Species: The Healer
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

 

Remember when you were scouting around town in the middle of the night while spamming “LF HEALS” in world chat? Didn’t help much, did it? Today we’re going to talk about one of the MMO world’s endangered species: Healers. The number of healers is dwindling and there’s nothing we can do about it. There will probably come a time when the game will be forced to enable potion spamming to ensure the survival of consumers. Come to think of it, some games already demoted healers as a secondary source of life, with macro’d potions that trigger everytime your health bar reaches a certain point.

 

Healers are a myth to some, and guilds normally hold on to theirs like gold due to their in-demand state. Most people say the job is too boring, as these life givers experience a barrage of heal spam while not being able to get a piece of the COMBAT action. Some on the other hand enjoy this role, keeping their party’s health at full to avoid unnecessary wipes and such. But why are healers so hard to find? Is healing really as boring as most people claim it to be? Let’s see, shall we?

 

Endangered Species Healer Paladin

 

I’d rather attack than Heal

“Dude! Why not make a healer?”
“Dude! Healing is ***”

 

One of the reasons why the MMO World lacks healers would be the huge array of attack type characters. Everyone wants to fight, and that is a fact. We conducted a survey of MMO players and came up with a 9-1 in favor of attacking. When playing a war game, the best way to enjoy it would definitely be at the sword-wielding end of the spectrum. Why help your allies when you can just smash your enemies? Then again, how will you smash your enemies if you die fast? People in general are stubborn about this. Well, it’s hard to be good at something if you’re not devoted anyway.

 

I BLAME HEALS

“We just wiped”
“I blame heals!”

 

Perhaps one of the biggest problem healers face are the flaming “forknuggets” who blame the healer for everything. Healers are mainly there to ensure the survival rate of the group. Anything resulting in death (as long as it’s not an instant kill AOE) is instantly blamed on the healer. It’s pretty easy to be discouraged as healers are mostly silent critters and wouldn’t really retaliate on a normal basis. Kudos to the healer who actually slapped that DPS’s mouth shut.

 

Endangered Species Blame Healer
“Noob healer!”

 

Stereotyping

Let’s face it, anything that has a secondary healing ability is considered cheap in the PVP world. They rock the world of raiding but everyone elseenjoys killing them. Remember that one time when you were so close to killing that Paladin, and he just happened to heal himself and PWND your character to kingdom come? Whenever you say “heals”, it’s instantly dubbed as cheap (in some cases at least). According to my sources, Healing is a woman’s job. Not that I agree with the theory but I have seen a lot of healer girlfriends LOL.

 

Healing isn’t boring!

During our weekly raid, I managed to talk to our healer to feed my curiosity. According to her, healing is better than attacking and that it is all about preferences. She did confirm my theories about being blamed and stereotypes, but that didn’t stop her from summoning the green light.

 

“Healing isn’t boring! It’s actually fun and quite challenging. It’s not that easy to keep track of your party’s health, especially when they’re too weak to kill the boss on its regular time limit. Their life is literally in your hands. I think healers are just as important as other party members; actually, I think they’re more important than any of them, considering the lack of healers online. I mean, how can it be boring when everyone’s counting on you to survive?”

 

I guess I also managed to confirm my girlfriends theory in the process as well since she is the guild master’s girlfriend LOL.

 

Endangered Species Healer Girlfriend
The healer girlfriend

 

According to another one of my surveys, under-geared healers have more of a chance to get invited to do a dungeon raid than under-geared tanks and DPS. This makes gearing up slightly easier than with an attack-based character. This certifies the importance of healing, as well as the effectiveness of having one regardless of them being geared or not.

 

Few words

I guess that’s that. Healing is definitely not something to laugh at; in fact, it was much harder for me to heal than tank. Our guild’s healer did let me borrow her toon for a spin, and let’s just say I found out what its like to be at the receiving end of the whole “I BLAME HEALS!” part of the raid. DPSing and Tanking was hell of a lot easier, and yet healing seems to be the most important job of all. If there are any healers reading this post, KUDOS to you! Healers probably deserve an achievement trophy just by picking the healer archetype in the character selection screen.

Combat Arms: Water runs deep in Kill Creek

Combat Arms: Water runs deep in Kill Creek

Nexon America unveils the upcoming map, Kill Creek, for its popular multiplayer first-person shooter Combat Arms. Players get their chance to cruise down to Kill Creek, a new map being added to Combat Arms, as part of the game’s upcoming update scheduled on Wednesday. Take a first look at the map with the fly-through video.
 
Kill Creek will support the following game modes:
• Elimination
• Elimination Pro
• Capture the Flag
• Quarantine Regen
 
Kill Creek has become a hot spot after guerilla units received Intel detailing the movement of weapons and supplies and have ambushed the train on a railroad bridge. Members of the train crew managed to alert the proper authorities and a Counter-Insurgency Unit was immediately dispatched to the area.
 
Meanwhile, the guerilla units have been ferrying supplies out of the area via a road in the valley beneath the bridge. The Counter-Insurgency Unit arrives just as the last of the supplies are being moved out of the area, and the battle of a lifetime is set in motion.
Combat Arms New Map Kill Creek

BC Wars

BC Wars allows users to build and design caves, battle ancient monsters and dinosaurs, battle other players in real time, join up with tribes and enter massive tribal wars, explore the ancient world, and any number of other exciting things.

LotRO Celebrates Third Anniversary

Turbine, Inc. announced today the start of the celebration of the third anniversary of The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO), the award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

The LOTRO Anniversary celebration will run from April 26, 2010 to June 30, 2010.

“It’s been another incredible year of growth for LOTRO and Turbine highlighted by critical and consumer acclaim,” said Jim Crowley, President and CEO of Turbine, Inc.  “Since its launch, LOTRO has consistently been named Game of the Year by leading MMORPG sites and the overwhelmingly positive response to the game from millions of players who have adventured in Middle-earth has firmly cemented the game as one of the world’s premier online entertainment experiences.  The game’s player base grew over 15% over the past year and our anniversary is a chance for us to celebrate with our past and present players to enjoy everything that is special about Middle-earth and thank them for their wonderful support with some special subscription options.” 

The Lord of the Rings Online Third Anniversary Celebration includes:
– Play for $9.99 a month!:  The party never has to end! During LOTRO’s Third Anniversary Celebration (April 26th  to June 30th), you can get any 3, 6, or 12 month subscription plan and play LOTRO for only $9.99 per month! 

In-Game Celebration:  
– During the anniversary celebration, monsters throughout Middle-earth will drop rare and precious gifts when defeated.  Players can exchange these items for a special gift box brimming with a variety of in-game items to aid them on their adventures in Middle-earth.
– Turbine is also giving new, current and former players who log in to the game during the LOTRO Third Anniversary Celebration (April 24th through June 30th), a special in-game gift — the Writ of Virtue, a passive skill that provides 20% discounts at Bards throughout Middle-earth

Lord of the Rings Online Celebrates its been online for 3 years!