Monthly Archives: July 2012

TERA: For the Federation S2 Ep3 – The Most Dangerous Game

TERA: For the Federation S2 Ep3 – The Most Dangerous Game

By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief

 

 

 

I spent the rest of the evening camped outside of a forgotten Labyrinth just southwest of Castanica. Between the sound of chaotic battle to the south and the threat of Federation guards under the control of Samael to the north, getting a good night’s rest was anything but easy. It didn’t help that every time I blinked the afterimage of my imaginary Popori Cat friend kept appearing before my eyes. I figured if I only got some rest, the nightmare of today would pass.

 

 

In my dream I saw Wulynn lying on a cold metallic slab of a bed trapped in a containment cell in one of the many Argon bases now established throughout Northern Arun. Nothing our world would consider ‘life’ existed for miles around. Her bed was surrounded by what at first glance looked like flowers, but closer inspection would reveal them as cheap construct copies of the real deal. A small legion of corrupted fairies and a unicorn with a broken horn stood guard outside her door with malicious vigilance. And then as if by magic that smile from my imagination appeared before her. As the rest of his body formed together Wulynn jumped up in shock and pointed her staff head at him in defense. The wicked cat grinned and assured her he meant no harm.

 

 

“I am the result of an Argon experiment just like you. I came from a family of wealthy traders respected throughout the Federation. One day we were delivering goods to a customer in Northern Arun when a portal opened in the sky and a barrage of steel unlike any I had ever seen fell from the heavens. I was terribly disfigured in the barrage and my family killed, however the Argon’s queen restored my spark through their magic. As unbelievable as it may be, the queen seemed different from the rest of the Argons I met after. She seems to think independently and even has emotion, even compassion. She knew I was of no value to her and yet still allowed me to live on as a servant of her empire.” Wulynn smacked the cat on the head with her staff, anger flaring in her eyes.

 

 

“That sounds more like an inhumane punishment than an act of kindness to me!” The cat stood dumbfounded at Wulynn’s words as he attempted to understand the point she was making.

 

 

“Perhaps we got off on the wrong paw? My name is Gemie of Pora Elinu. In both my life and my second life my family has taught me what is required to live and live well. Meanwhile others as useless as myself don’t last a week in the Argon ranks because they don’t know how to play the game. The most dangerous game. But a game nonetheless! Our lives are mere pawns of a greater war.”

 

 

“It sounds like the Argon magic has twisted your reality already.” Wulynn rebutted, though with less intensity than her previous words carried.

 

 

“Ah it has happened yes. Though I twisted it back as close as possible to my old form. If you would like I can do the same for you.” Wulynn cocked her head to the side in confusion at his words, then jumped when he phased through her to reappear again behind her holding onto her central tail. Wulynn gasped at the sight of a metallic tip and small veins of ore slowly expanding down it towards her body. “It’s only a matter of time until you to face the loss of self. Now if you want to play nice perhaps I will offer you guidance so you don’t lose yourself.”

 

 

Wulynn shivered at these words. She understood that the corruption had already begun and no Federation magic or medicine had yet to find a cure for the Argon’s poison.

 

 

“Very well Gemie, teach me to be an Argon like yourself.”

 

 

“Say please!” His grin expanded to the point of stretching his face into distorted lengths.

 

 

“…Please?” Wulynn had lived her entire life in prestige, having a room in the upper branches of the Elin Palace through most of her life. Bowing in respect to this ugly corrupted cat did not settle well with either side of her mind. A voice inside her head almost seemed to mock her, and the realization that an urge to act on more animalistic desires was starting to override her natural calm and reasonable nature.

 

 

“That’s better,” chided Gemie as he pat Wulynn on the head. He suddenly turned to face the wall… no to face me.

 

 

The surrounded environment began to fade away until only Gemie’s wicked mouth surrounded by blackness spoke directly into my soul. “And you, Dizzy! Accept that Wulynn is mine now. The Wulynn you loved died at the end of your poison barbed spear. Stop your foolish quest to bring her back and live out the rest of your days in peace. Only death awaits those that defy the queen!”

 

 

I jumped from my bed and fell to the floor landing on an unlucky rooster that happened to be pecking for crumbs in the tent. The rooster’s yell soon had everyone else in our encampment rushing into our tent, some to see what the fuss was, others to deal with the pesky “alarm.”

 

 

After having a delicious chicken salad, we set out for the ruins under the cover of the local flora, leaving Surmun and Leander to cover our supplies at the base. Some of the men we had rescued in Val Aureum pleaded that we wait for further instructions from Dougal but Elleon’s wicked glare was more than enough to silence any dissenters. I whispered quietly to Platy about what I had seen but he shook his head in confusion.

 

 

“Dizzy, there simply isn’t magic that exists in our world to allow one to experience and share information with another across vast distances. No one among our races has such technology. The giants certainly didn’t have that technology. And if the Argon’s had access to it they would have already known that their diversion in Val Kaeli to draw attention away from Castanica for a full invasion was countered from the beginning. You just had a nightmare.” I stared back at him with my blank bloodshot eyes, not immediately sure how to defend what even in my own mind sounded absurd. Thankfully the sounds of battle to the south were beginning to subside as one Argon portal after another accepted refugees and closed its gates to the approaching outsiders.

 

 

“I know what I saw Platy. That Argon cat is converting Wulynn into a monster and getting pleasure out of forcing me to watch!”

 

 

“Then catch him the next time he is around and prove it to me. I only believe tangible magic I”m exposed to!” As Platy turned a hard stick of bamboo caught him across the face. I attempted to dodge but got smacked as well. There Jelena stood looking to be in an even fouler mood than usual.

 

 

“Enough of your delusions Dizzy. We need to keep quiet so we don’t tip off Samael to our presence. His thugs are already roaming around the tombs in droves expecting to hold off the Argon invasion. If we make a scene he’ll be gone before we ever have a chance to expose him.”

 

 

Suddenly a much larger branch smacked into Jelena’s back, knocking her to the ground. She turned in rage ready to belittle Elleon, only to find a large orc standing over her chuckling to a small legion of lesser orcs at least 10 strong behind him.

 

 

“Ambush!” Jelena shouted and rolled, doding a crushing blow from the massive orc and then taking off in a mad sprint to avoid the 10 smaller creatures hot on her tail. Platy began murmuring incantations in rapid succession as I charged into the small horde of creatures, my abilities supernaturally bolstered by Platy’s prayers. Without pause I tore through 5 of them, smashing their heads in with rapid succession as I flailed my shield left and right. The large orc ran at me without pause, swinging his club over his head to build momentum. I caught him straight in the throat as poison splashed from his neck and across my fur as I turned my wrist to open the Basilisks spikes that had covered my master’s former weapon.

 

 

As the light faded from the beast’s eyes, I felt a shock of lightning shoot up my arm and throughout my body. I looked closely as my weapon retracted to see a strange purple taint covering its tip. Undoubtedly my thrust had been so potent not because of the Basilisk poison, but rather the Argonian magic that destroyed all life it touched. It was hard to come to grasps between my need for power and the fear of what this meant for my personal being. Thankfully Elleon had returned with news of a secret back entrance to the Labyrinth’s underground catacombs.

 

 

Minutes later we stood atop a large cliff side overlooking the labyrinth below. Elleon pointed out the hole blown in the side of the structure near a large stone staircase leading into the depths of the labyrinth. There was no doubt that this hole was made by Samael’s men to bypass the horrors of the labyrinth, and that staircase held within it the God Lok’s lost Spear of Gidd.

 

 

‘I thought the labyrinth’s challenges would have bought us more time, ” Elleon groaned at the sight, “We need to act now.”

 

 

“What about our plans to expose Samael to Seir and the Federation at large?” I wondered aloud.

 

 

“If Samael gets that lance in his possession, Seir will no longer be a concern for his power grab. With his lies and political connections he’ll seize control of the entire Federation and utilize its power to bring about the resurrection of Lok without anyone knowing. I’ll kill him myself if I have to. Living as a fugitive isn’t as bad as living under his shadow.”

 

 

“Elleon is right,” Jelena confirmed. Elleon gave her a reassuring smile. “Besides, if you were against breaking the law you wouldn’t have come with us in the first place. When in Castanica, do like the Castanics and live a little Dizzy!”

 

 

At that Jelena and Elleon began their rapid slide down the hillside where they disappeared behind the solid imposing walls. The rest of the men looked on, unsure of themselves. I could sympathize with their hesitation. These men were unfortunate pawns of Samael that had been pulled into a Civil War they wanted nothing of. I looked down at my spear, pulsating with dark power and bruised with scratches and discoloration from years of use and abuse by my master. Popori after all are more known for their botany than blacksmithing and don’t take the best care of their equipment.

 

 

“Get out of here. All of you.” I spoke, my words coming out as emotionless as I could possibly muster to prevent my voice from shaking. The mens’ eyes locked onto my beady stare with uncertainty but respect. “Look at all of you. All I see is fear and uncertainty. Samael will feed on your fear. Samael will destroy you with your uncertainty. Anyone unready to die today may as well go home. You are only a liability to us otherwise.”

 

 

I turned and slide down the darkside of the mountain, with the sound of pebbles rumbling close behind me. I didn’t have to look to know this was Platy right at my back. Yet the sound grew louder and forced me to glance back to see the hillside covered with a small battalion of Federation humans right behind us. My plan to appeal to their honor worked. Humans are so simple minded sometimes.

 

 

As we reached the bottom we found a few limp bodies of curious labyrinth guardians that were likely drawn to the location after Samael’s men had blasted down the wall. Jelena and Elleon had made it clear they meant business, cutting off limbs and random ligaments left and right to quickly clear a way to the staircase. Platy and I glanced at each other nervously and knew the sound of battle would surely draw a much… larger crowd. So we waved for the Federation soldiers to hurry into the staircase. Just before the daylight was blocked out by the earth covering our heads, a familiar voice called out for me to wait.

 

 

I turned to face Seir’s Counsel, Dougal, standing with his full officer body armor and signature multiplated lance. A small battalion of men stood on the hillside behind him. He quickly shouted out that Seir had been informed of Samael’s betrayal and that no matter the outcome, he would never be able to return to Velika a free man.

 

 

“Well that’s good and all,” interjected Platy, “But if we don’t get back to Velika alive how can you buy us Popori a drink to celebrate?”

 

 

The men let out a brief chuckled laugh before Dougal reached the bottom of the hillside to raise his arm calling for silence. We heard the sudden rumbling of heavy footsteps and knew it was best not to overstay our welcome. We rushed down the staircase and came to a stop when seeing not 2 but 3 figures standing in close proximity at the base of the stairs. A large throne room stood before us, built from the ground itself with furniture and decoration carved completely out of precious metals. In the throne sat a beautiful but wicked looking Castanic.. no.. that name bears too much honor with it. She sat comfortably, a slight smile acting as the centerpiece of her countenance as she stared at Elleon and Jelena’s tense forms with content. This was a high ranking Devas, and unfortunately one I had come to know all too well.

 

 

I broke our cover, stepping forward as if my lance was surging a wave of bravado through my tiny body that I had never before felt.

 

 

“Fadora you traitorous bitch. I should have expected you would be a part of this.” I muttered through clenched teeth. The familiar figure of a Castanic Federation lancer emerged from behind her throne, forcing Elleon and Jelena to take a safe step back to remain out of the reach of his infamous lance. Samael’s right hand man, Stadrian, pointed his lance straight at me with a heavy frown marking his countenance.

 

 

“Fadora is a fabrication you pompous little rabbit. Know your place when speaking to Akia, Grand Priestess of Darkness and mastermind behind the resurrection of our beloved God Lok!”

 

 

At this Akia placed a calm hand on his shoulder, silently requesting he step aside. With an effortless wrist flick she tossed a dark fireball at me. I knocked it to the side with my shield with considerable effort and charged past Elleon and Jelena, missing her left thigh by inches as she boosted off the metallic throne and flipped through the air behind it. From the shadows emerged Samael with a small legion of Devas hunched over, licking their blades in anticipation of the coming battle. Before I could jump back to clear distance, Stadrian landed an unsteady thrust of his lance directly into my unbraced shield, knocking me to the ground before he retreated behind the advancing line of blood thirsty Devas.

 

 

Samael held his lance out as Akia pressed her open palm against the sharpened edge. Her blood seeped out slowly at first and then gushed in a large spurt, covering the lance in a slimy red sheen. He then pulled the lance from her and jammed it into a circular cut out in the wall, immediately resulting in runic swirls of magic erupting around the lance, and opening a portal into some kind of sub-dimension. Samael began to walk into the light expecting to be bestowed with the God Lok’s blessings. Akia grabbed his shoulder and nodded her head slowly, approaching it before him instead.

 

 

Binding chains of darkness shot out from all directions in reaction to her intrusion, attempting to pin Akia to the ground and bind her movements from counter-attacking. She held her staff before her, unleashing parallel chains of light that wrapped around and deflecting the Ancient’s final trap to prevent intrusion into Gidd’s Chamber. She waved her arms fanatically as the two factions of chains struggled and jockeyed for position against each other. Her eyes grew wide as one misplaced move allowed a large group of chains to break free and launch in her direction. She dove to the ground as they gripped the slower unsuspecting Deva onlookers from behind. I jumped before Elleon as Dougal did the same for Jelena, thrusting our shields forward to deflect the same fate from our crew.

 

 

As the last of the life within the Devas faded, their forms began to twist into grotesque forms, smaller monsters mirroring the multitude of statues lining the throne room with matching decorated head dresses and short sharp blades. The largest of the Devas however actually rose in size, one foot.. and then another, until he towered over even Elleon’s imposing form with blades expanding from his shoulder blades like skeletal armor. He reached into the air as more dark chains wrapped around his upper arms, rolling in endless circles down his flexed bicep until forming into a bladeless handle at the end. Magic ignited the handle as he swung it forward, and flames shot out in the shape and form of a hefty broadsword.

 

 

The Castanic I once knew as Fadora blew a kiss to me with her blooded head and turned, placing a hand on Samael’s shoulder. They strode together into the portal along with a reluctant Stadrian that stared with remorse at his corrupted allies writhing in pain. Just before their forms faded into the ethereal light, Akia waved her hand in the air, letting the last drop of blood drizzle off her palm and into her open mouth. She then turned back with a quick glance and bid us farewell, hoping we would be sure to suffer before dying. The portal closed behind as the monsters began to succumb to the curse of the chains and spread out, surrounding and pushing our troops slowly back up the staircase. Some of the men, losing their nerve, turned to run only to find the exit to the cavern suddenly blocked by a sliding stone.

 

 

“Crush them quickly. We don’t have time to lose,” Elleon said in a matter of fact tone.

 

 

“At least it can’t get any worse,” sighed Jelena.

 

 

As she spoke these words I noticed stones began to clatter and rumble on the ground. The clashing sound of a statue smashing into the ground drew our attention to the side of the room which was suddenly a good foot closer than I remembered. A quick turn to the left revealed a similar state on the opposing wall. We were trapped inside a box that was slowly closing in on us, a trap favored by the ancients for keeping pesky robbers from unleashing horrible artifacts of destruction on the world. Time was of the essence and opening the portal to the Chamber of Gidd seemed to be the only way out.

 

 

Dougal raised his lance, extending it fully and throwing it into the skull of the first minion to approach our cornered band.

 

 

“Today you live or die for the Federation men. May Goddess Velik be with us!”

 

RaiderZ Announces North American CBT Launch Date

RaiderZ Announces North American CBT Launch Date

 

 

Perfect World Entertainment announced today that the Closed Beta for its award-winning, action MMORPG, RaiderZ, is scheduled to launch on August 8, 2012. Players who register for the RaiderZ Closed Beta will also have a chance to win an all-inclusive trip for two to PAX Prime, the highly popular, now sold out consumer video game show held in Seattle, WA, from August 31 to September 2.

 

 

One lucky winner and a friend will get the opportunity to go behind closed doors for an exclusive preview of RaiderZ and enjoy a vacation package complete with three-day show passes, paid-for hotel accommodations and round-trip flights. To enter the giveaway, players simply need to register for the RaiderZ Closed Beta by 11:59pm on August 6, 2012. All previously registered players will already be eligible to win.

 

 

To sign up for Closed Beta access and for more information about RaiderZ and Beta Events in the coming weeks, please visit the official website at http://www.playraiderz.com/

 

 

“We’re excited to be able to invite more players to experience RaiderZ in the upcoming Closed Beta,” said Senior Producer Mark Hill. “With its skill-based combat, classless character system, and impressive bosses that will throw, eat, or even smash players into the ground, RaiderZ represents a truly unique MMORPG experience. Players who already got a chance to try RaiderZ during the Alpha Test phase can also look forward to striving towards a new level cap of 30, exploring the Makot Village, and much more.”

 

 

In RaiderZ, players must hunt together or die alone as they pursue the most dangerous and vicious creatures in the land of Rendel. A new teaser trailer launched today showcases just how harsh these battles can be!

 

 

Gameforge, the European publisher of RaiderZ, will also be hosting a livestream this coming Friday the 13th so keep an eye on their channel at http://www.own3d.tv/FrogCastTV to see an early glimpse of the action!

OnRPG Shotgun news 7/12: Spirit Tales, AQ Worlds, Wakfu, DCUO, and More!

OnRPG Shotgun news 7/12: Spirit Tales, AQ Worlds, Wakfu, DCUO, and More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Spirit Tales Updates Classes and and Increases Customization


 

As of July 11th Spirit Tales players will be able to change their class to one of 12 special secondary classes. The secondary classes will feature new and refined skills which will allow any gamer over level 40 to further customize their characters to make them better in raids.

 

 

The Secret World Chat Bug Update and Live Stream

An explanation of the recent chat issues plaguing The Secret World has been posted by Funcom. The important thing to know is that they are working on the problem just as fast as they can manage and have several ideas. Also tomorrow there will be a live broadcast on Twitch with Director Ragnar Tørnquist and Lead Content Designer Joel Bylos.

 

 

Wakfu Releases Fourth Update


Trool Fair is the latest update to Square Enix’s MMO Wakfu. It introduces the Trool Fair, mobile arenas, and a new pet. The Trool Fair is a theme park with more than 20 mini-games that takes up an entire island. It can be accessed from all four nations and prizes include things like tokens, pets and other unique items.

 

 

FUNimation Acquires Significant Stake in GameSamba

GameSamba announced at San Diego Comic Con that FUNimation Entertainment has bought a majority stake in GameSamba. Last year they formed a strategic alliance and FUNimation’s president was named GameSamba’s first chairman in October. The decision was made after both parties saw that they had similar goals and ideals.

 

 

DCUO Tides of War Summer Event


 

War has broken out deep in the oceans. Its turned into an all out Atlantean civil war. In this summer event there are all new open world missions, a new boss battle and tons of great rewards available. Tides of War will begin with Update 16 and run for a limited time.

 

 

League of Legends Named Most Played PC Game

Over the last 12 months League of Legends has been the most played PC game according to data collected by Xfire. In North America and Europe almost 1.3 billion hours have been logged in. While World of Warcraft came in second with 622 million hours. The data was gathered from over 21 million Xfire users between July last year and the end of June this year.

 

 

Ragnarok Online Spawns Puzzle Game Angel Poring


 

Gravity Europe the publishers of Ragnarok Online have released an iOS game drawn from the universe of the hit MMO. The game stars Porings who are out to make a name for themselves. There are 70 levels that can be played with family and friends or solo too if you want.

 

 

Phantasy Star Online 2 Hacked

Phantasy Star Online 2 has apparently been hacked as some sort of prank. NPCs have been moved to locations putting them out of reach of players. Sega has announced they are aware of the hack and that no player data was leaked. Some Japanese sites are blaming foreigners for the attacks saying that the alleged hackers spoke English.

 

 

AdventureQuest Worlds Celebrates Friday the 13th with Musician Aurelio Voltare

Artix Entertainment is hosting a Friday the 13th event in the hit MMO AdventureQuest Worlds with special guest Aurelio Voltare. This Friday players team up with the musician and his undead teddy bear to take down The Beast Master and his clone army.

 

 

Stronghold Kingdoms Launches on New Amazon Free to Play Store

Firefly Studios has announced that its free to play castle MMO Stronghold Kingdoms will be available via the new Amazon Game Connect store. Players who sign up made through the service get a $10 bonus. Players will also be able to buy currency in the new store.

Gamania Celebrates Lucent Heart’s One Year Anniversary

Gamania Celebrates Lucent Heart’s One Year Anniversary

 

Lucent Heart

 

Gamania Digital Entertainment is pleased to announce that today marks Lucent Heart’s one year anniversary. In celebration of a successful first year with its growing community, the team is running a series of special events, contests, and tournaments all month long. Players can find the full event list at http://www.lucentheart.com/event/1stAnniversary/default.aspx and sign up for a free account at http://www.lucentheart.com/signup/signup.aspx?PartnerID=90.

 

 

“It’s been extremely rewarding watching Lucent Heart develop and getting to know our players” said David Wong, COO of Gamania. “A year ago we launched with the goal of delivering a unique social experience where day-to-day interaction is valued, ensuring the game is more than just about quests and items. Looking back at our fantastic community and how close everyone has become, I’d say that without a doubt we’ve accomplished that goal”.

 

Lucent Heart

 

Gamania is running a month of special events in celebration of Lucent Heart’s one year anniversary. Players can win outfits, pets, SWAG, and more. Highlights include:

 

I Love Lucent Heart Event: Collect event cards from monster drops and cash them in for a permanent I Love Lucent Heart set.

Anniversary Art Contest: Submit an awesome drawing for the chance to win a Lucent Heart SWAG bag, filled with goodies.

Tournament of Champions PvP Event: Enter Lucent Heart’s first PvP tournament for the chance to win armor, pets, and more.

Double XP and Double Drop Weekends: Jump in and play during the weekend to automatically receive extra rewards.

 

 

As a final surprise, Gamania is slashing Item Mall prices with weekly sales on Lucent Heart’s most sought after goods. Pets, mounts, and more will be available at discounted prices for players throughout the month. OnRPG will also be offering a surprise giveaway code shortly so keep an eye out on our Event Page!

League of Legends: Totally Addicted to Jayce

League of Legends: Totally Addicted to Jayce

By Jason Harper (Hhean), OnRPG League Reporter

 

 

 

Jayce is a versatile bruiser with a number of ranged abilities. While he can act as a purely ranged character, he’s far better suited to softening the enemy up with his ranged abilities before closing in for the kill. He can act as a top, jungle or bot lane choice, though he’s best suited to going top. Due to his role swapping dynamic, Nidalee players may be the most comfortable picking him up. While she is his closest cousin in mechanics, he still stands apart from her, as while he has a good poking tool, it isn’t the centre of his game.

 

 

Let’s break this guy apart, and see what makes him tick.

 

 

Pros:

Highly adaptable and unpredictable

Can fit in multiple roles, good for solo queue on a budget

Rewarding skill combinations

Low mana costs on individual abilities

Very long range poke

Highly mobile

Good utility (2 crowd control, 1 team buff)

 

 

Cons:

High skill cap

No ‘haymaker’ ultimate

Individually weak skills

Mana hungry combos

Needs to get in close to get the most from his kit

Short range on his ranged auto attacks

No built in sustain or shields

 

 

Ability Summary

Mercury Cannon/Mercury Hammer [R]: Switches between Hammer and Cannon stance. Also gives Jayce a buff to his next auto attack. In Cannon stance he will apply an armour and magic resistance debuff to the target, and in Hammer stance he’ll deal additional magic damage on hit. This is the only ability he has that shares a cooldown between stances.

 

Hextech Capacitor (Passive): When Jayce switches stance, he gains additional movement speed, and ignores unit collision. Players can spam this to get across the map quicker as well as unleash very high movement bursts in combination with his Acceleration Gate. At the time of writing this passive will actually let you pass through champion made terrain, like Jarvan’s Cataclysm. Abuse this knowledge until Riot fixes it, because it makes the characters that use these abilities a complete joke.

 

Shock Blast [Q Cannon]: Moderate range skillshot that will detonate in an AoE when it hits an enemy target or reaches its maximum range. The blast grants vision as well as dealing damage. Gains additional range, damage, projectile speed and a larger blast when fired through an Acceleration Gate. Its short cooldown makes it a great harassment tool in the lane, while the extreme range of the enhanced version gives him a very effective poke.

 

Hyper Charge [W Cannon]: Grants a very high attack speed bonus to his next three auto attacks. The important part about this ability is while it can only be triggered in Cannon stance, you can use the three auto attacks in either stance, as the self-buff will persist even after a stance change. Hyper Charge is the main way that Jayce enhances his damage output. If you use this as someone plants a ward near you, the three shots will destroy the ward before it turns invisible.

 

Acceleration Gate: [E Cannon]: Places a wall that increases the movement of any allied champions that pass through it, including Jayce. His Shock Blast will be greatly improved by firing through it. Best to run along the length of the wall, rather than just passing through it.

 

To The Skies! [Q Hammer]: Short gap closer with an AoE slow. Should be used with a stance change and Acceleration Gate to close distance on targets, because it’s not very good alone. This ability combined with Lightning Field makes for very fast creep wave clearance.

 

Lightning Field [W Hammer]: The passive on this gives Jayce back mana when you auto attack minions. This can be good when last hitting under your tower, to give you that little bit of extra staying power, and also for jungling without blue buff. The active creates a damaging aura around Jayce that will persist even if he switches stances. Since it does nothing but hurt people, use it anytime you’re near to something you want dead.

 

Thundering Blow [E Hammer]: Single target knockback that ends in a stun. Can knock enemies through walls. If they hit into a wall that’s too thick for them to pass through, the enemy will simply stop and be stunned right next to you, ready to get their face smashed in by a hamer. Primarily used for punting enemies back into your team or pushing melee enemies away.

 

 

Combos & Shenanigans

Jayce should always be flicking between his Cannon and Hammer stances to trigger his passive, getting himself across the map quicker. However, he’ll be much stronger if he starts a fight in his Cannon stance. The Cannon’s abilities will help both soften up his foe as he approaches, while also making his Hammer stance stronger when he’s able to go in for his full combo.

 

 

Jayce’s go-to bread and butter combo sounds long winded, but it can come out with deadly speed when used with smart casting. While in Cannon stance, drop an Acceleration Gate in front of Jayce and fire a Shock Blast through it just before he runs through. If you have the auto attack enhancement from his ultimate, quickly shoot it at the enemy if they’re in range. If not, don’t waste your time. Next, get his Hyper Charge ready before switching to his Hammer stance for even more speed (you should still be under the effects of the Acceleration Gate, after all). Zoom up to your target and target them with his To The Skies!, triggering his Lightning Field while still airborne. You will now land on them and trigger every single ability he has on them all at once, in one devastating barrage of delayed-blast agony. To the Skies will slam into them, then three Hyper Charged hits will let rip, triggering his ultimate’s on-hit effect, all while the Lightning Field grinds their health off.

 

 

The last step in this chain bears for consideration, as it is possibly the most important part, and shows how much control Jayce has over his foes. Now that the enemy has taken your full burst, Jayce will be on cooldown, and therefore very vulnerable to a counter attack. If you’re feeling cautious, or your combo was only intended to wound rather than kill, you can use his Thundering Blow to immediately push the enemy back, change stance and go back to harassing. If you want to finish the job though, you can use his passive to walk straight through your hated foe, and smack them backwards, either into your fellow teammates, or simply into a bad position. While they’re stunned, you should have enough time to swap stance and begin the whole combo all over again, especially if Jayce has brought a little cooldown reduction to the table.

 

 

For those of you who want the short version of all that, Jayce’s full combo is to start in Canon stance and proceed to EQWRQW(E) his enemies.

 

 

Jayce’s list of situational combos are incredibly varied, and likely will continue to expand as people dig deeper into the character. One trick I rather enjoy is using his Shock Blast to find people in brush or behind walls, then using the small window of vision to leap on them with To The Skies!. Batting them back through a wall immediately afterwards is optional.

 

 

A similar trick is to bash Golem through the wall of its camp, then leap through the wall with To The Skies!, allowing you to safely fight it in the brush near the river, rather than knee deep in the enemy jungle.

 

 

The reach on his Acceleration Gate+Shock Blast combo shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s on par with Nidalee’s spear, and travels far faster. Unfortunately it doesn’t deal the same damage in the mid to late game, but its AoE can make for some great harass against teams cowering under their tower in the late game. When using this combo, always try to put the gate as close to Jayce as possible, as the projectile will only gain its speed when it passes through the gate, yet its range will remain the same regardless of when it’s enhanced. In less than ideal situations though, remember that the ball will always be enhanced, regardless of what angle you fire through it.

 

 

Conclusions

Thematically, Riot has been doing really well recently. Draven’s abilities drove home the thrill, the excitement of being a narcissistic killing machine. Jayce nails that creativity and experimentation we associate with a great inventor. It’s not about slamming your foes with a sledgehammer (though that certainly helps), it’s about careful planning, preparation and creative solutions. There is no tool that Jayce doesn’t have, and no situation that he will be at a disadvantage, provided he has worked things out ahead of time. A comfortable, experienced Jayce player will be a real pain to deal with in the future, and everyone starts to get over his cliff-face of a learning curve.

 

 

All of this versatility does come at great cost though. His complete lack of an ultimate means that while he can spam people down with his barrage of abilities, constantly engaging and disengaging from fights, he never simply turns around and makes someone explode. He needs time to hurt people, so mages can often be his bane. While he can do a good amount of damage quickly, it won’t matter if he’s stunned, then plastered across the walls of Summoner’s Rift mid combo.

 

 

Final Verdict

Jayce is an interesting character that should at least be played when he comes out on free week, especially if you value versatility over raw power. He’s strong, but not game changing. He may see long term use as a good counter pick for top lane, given he can kite a number of other bruisers with ease.

 

 

To discuss Jayce yourselves, post in the massive League of Legends thread in the free to play MMOs section, or post in the comments section below. If you haven’t tried League of Legends yet, you’re missing out.

Rusty Hearts Announces Reborn Expansion

Rusty Hearts Announces Reborn Expansion

 

 

The Rusty Hearts team is excited to announce the release date for Rusty Hearts: Reborn, the first major expansion for Perfect World Entertainment’s free-to-play MMO brawler. On July 24, players can look forward to a wealth of new content, including new Weapon Focuses and skill sets for each character, a new Pet System, ranked PvP with weekly rewards, and much more.

 

Rusty Hearts: Reborn is the largest update we’ve introduced since the game first launched — and we can’t wait for longtime and new players to be able to dive into the expansion,” said Senior Product Manager Mark Hill. “In addition to all the new content tailored towards high-level players, Rusty Hearts: Reborn also introduces a ton of new areas and features geared towards new players and those looking to roll a new character. We’ve also made multiple updates to both player-facing and ‘under the hood’ features that greatly enhances the Rusty Hearts experience.

 

 

Need more convincing? Check out the teaser trailer showcasing just how smooth things are looking!

Meta’s Verse: Power Pool Changes

Meta’s Verse: Power Pool Changes

By Meticulous Meta, OnRPG Paragon Reporter

 

 

 

Today’s Meta’s Verse is a little bit late. There’s a good reason for it I promise. Today’s coffee talk on Twitch made some very big announcements regarding power pools. Like, so big they confirmed everyone is getting a free respec with City of Heroes Issue 24. So if you missed out on the stream you’re in luck because I was in the audience jotting down information just as fast as my little hands could type. They announced changes to two of three power pools which got some pretty major updates.

 

 

First up is Presence. They made Challenge a single target placate, didn’t change Provoke and that’s where the changes get bigger. Intimidate gets bumped up to Mag 3 and costs less endurance. Invoke Panic is also getting a Mag 3 bump in addition to an increase of 80% accuracy, reduced endurance cost, and given a 20ft radius. And there is a new awesome power which I have to say I think I’m going to be getting on a lot of characters. Unrelenting is a damage buff, recharge buff, recovery buff….or it can be a rez. I’m already wishing the pool changes were up on Mids so I could start tweaking all my builds.

 

 

The other power pool they talked about was everyone’s favorite, Fighting. Both Synapse and Zwillinger stressed that no changes have been made to the favorites Tough and Weave. The changes that they did make mostly revolve around the new power called Cross Punch. Cross Punch in its own right is a power but if you have it in addition to Boxing and Kicking, that’s where the big impact is. It adds to damage and end recovery. And yeah, it might become another must have for my favorite characters.

 

 

Other big news was another upcoming change to Blasters. This one is the one everyone has really been waiting for. The five words every blaster has wanted to hear: No more crash on nukes. Yeah, they finally did it. But not only did they get rid of the crash, there were only slight changes to damage output made and recharge time has been significantly reduced. Before you start wondering, no this won’t see anything changing in Kheldians. Though it is something they may look at. The reason for the nuke changes is that a lot of people were skipping them all together. So this they hope will make people start going back and taking them. Admittedly I’m in the crowd that has always taken them but I am still very excited about these changes. Oh, and Synapse said that other crashes might be looked at in the future because we all hate them.

 

 

We also got to see some of the changes to Dual Pistols. Now, I love my DP characters. And I’ve always loved the powerset so some of these changes I’m not too sure on. First off (this one is ok in my book), the secondary effects have been added to the powers that didn’t already have them. This made me immediately think, “wait, there’s powers that don’t have them?” Then I said, “I should have known that. Oh well, yay for the change.” The other changes that were highlighted were a reduction in the casting time on some of the powers. This is the one I’m not sure I like. I am completely in love with Executioner’s Strike. It is in my opinion the best looking power period. Now that it’s sped up though I’m not sure if it has the same bad ass feeling it did. I’ll be able to really make my mind up on it when I can get my hands on it.

 

 

People who have been trying out Nature Affinity on Beta have noticed that Regrowth has undergone some visual changes. Something that some people aren’t too pleased about as it is really a step down graphically speaking. Synapse explained that this happened because of how much coverage it was. It would run the risk of hiding things on the ground. It also didn’t look quite right on slopes because it is programmed as a flat surface. I haven’t tried out the changes yet myself but generally I feel a bit sad about the whole thing.

 

 

Finally, there is a new giveaway program starting. They are giving away a new aura that is only available from Twitter. Now the part that bothers me about this is the speed involved. You see the tweet, quickly log into your NCSoft account, put in the code and find it’s taken. It is supposed to be happening on Twitter every Thursday starting this Thursday. But this week there is a big update coming to NCSoft account management which will have the entire account system down for most of the day. So, it might happen on Thursday or it might not. It just depends on how long the downtime is.

 

 

I am quite excited about all the changes they’ve been announcing recently. And they even said there is more to come. So keep an eye out for news coming up in the next week or so. I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated on OnRPG as soon as I hear about it, you’ll hear about it.

WoW Wednesday: The PuG

WoW Wednesday: The PuG

By Meredith Watson, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

n. PuG (pg) acronym for pickup group. Used in MMORPGs.

 

 

A few months ago, after playing the World of Warcraft for seven plus years, I decided to create yet another account. This is my third account, my second EU account, with the first being the original US account. Why would someone start a third account this late in the game you ask? I must really love the World of Warcraft, right? No, that isn’t it. It has been a good game and it is my go to game when other games fail to deliver but I didn’t start a new account out of love. I started the third account because I wanted to see how the game had changed with Cataclysm. I wanted to experience it as a new player would with no help from my retired raiding characters, no BoAs, and no gold. The previous two accounts would both be cancelled and I would start completely from scratch. While all that presented a fun challenge what I really wanted to do on this account was PUG.

 

 

Up to this point, instancing was with guild members only or partial PuGs. PUG-ing without guildmates would be a new experience.

 

 

The World of Warcraft PUG is a much maligned thing.  Everyone knows (if they play WoW) that PUGs are a necessary evil if you want any decent gear.  PUGs are a hotbed of foul mouthed youths, ninja looters, and moronic hunters.  Or so that is what other players would have you believe.

 

 

I wanted to see how bad it really was.

 

 

The biggest complaint since patch 3.3 and cross realm LFG is that there isn’t any communication amongst party members. This is still quite true.   Most PUGs are done in absolute “silence” and as quickly as possible.   As long as the run is smooth, I don’t mind the silence and it is certainly better than the alternative (flaming).

 

“Who pulled the surger with the corehound? I think a hunter did but he’s dead now”-MC Raiders by Myndflame

 


In PUGs you will see the worst the community has to offer but you can also experience the best and this has been a theme since vanilla. The biggest difference now is players not understanding their classes or group dynamics.  They are not team players.   Given the current pace of levelling, new players or even Wrath babies aren’t fully cognisant of how to behave in a dungeon or aware of the intricacies of their class.  The amount of rogues I see not stealthing then standing in front of the mob while fighting is astounding. The worst played class historically has been hunters and even now in Cataclysm this has not changed, which is a shame because the hunter played properly is a great class. Hunters still aren’t dismissing pets before jumping or turning off growl. Tanks think with a healer behind them they can pull whole rooms, healers only healing the tank, mages  and warlocks AoE-ing everything in sight when there is no need are par for the course in a bad PUG.

 

 

It isn’t just bad playing. It is also bad attitudes. Players ganging up on other players to kick them, flame wars, and needing on items not meant for your class just to be a jerk are just a few more examples of the bad PUG.  This is not a new phenomenon however. Bad behaviour has run rampant in WoW since vanilla. With the introduction of cross realm LFG it certainly has been amplified given that players can do what they like as it won’t affect them, outside the dungeon, on their realm. Before cross realm LFG players, if they cared, had to worry about their reputation on their realm if they ever wanted to get a group.

 

 

On occasion though you will find a great PUG and this is where friends are made but it is generally more about a means to an end versus friendship. The good PUGs are those where the players know how to play their classes, are team players and understand their role in the group. While they are far and few between, these types of PUGs will often run several dungeons together because they know they are onto a good thing.

 

 

What I have learned about PUGs is that it is something that has to be done if you want gear, experience or achievements. Is it the most enjoyable part of the game? In a word, no.  The best way to run dungeons is with friends or guildmates but for whatever reason that isn’t always possible. If you have a fairly thick skin and a degree of patience PUG-ing will get you what you want.

 

We can connect you to other players, but we can’t force people to talk or be social. It’s going to take effort from the community itself to make it a more social experience by being social. – Blizzard Community Manager.

 


Blizzard is correct in stating that the change needs to come from the community itself. We can’t hold Blizzard accountable because anonymity and the internet make some people act like fools.  No, the WoW community needs to change but it doesn’t so therefore everyone must be happy with the way things are. If we as the community are happy with the PUG the way it is, then we should cease complaining. Simple.

 

 

What is your experience with PUGs? Do you think the community needs to change or does Blizzard need to do something and if so, what?