Yearly Archives: 2012

Spirit Tales Announces 1v5 PvP System Coming in June

Spirit Tales Announces 1v5 PvP System Coming in June

 

Spirit Tales

KoramGame Ltd. today released a trailer for the new 1v5 Monster Boss PvP that is part of the upcoming content update for Spirit Tales, a cute 3D fantasy MMORPG.

The revolutionary 1v5 Monster Boss PvP will give players the chance to compete in an epically fun battle as a massive dungeon boss, or as 1 of 5 daring challengers ready to take up arms in the face of annihilation. Comprised of a 6-player all out fight for survival, players must race against the clock to defeat their competition for a chance to obtain stronger, more powerful equipment.

Experience the new Spirit Tales 1v5 Monster Boss PvP and be entered for a chance to win gaming peripherals and more. For more information visit: http://forum.koramgame.com/thread-61331-1-1.html

Divina Press Tour – Fashion, Action, and Vic Freaking Mignogna!

Divina Press Tour – Fashion, Action and Vic Freaking Mignogna!

By Michael Sagoe (Mikedot), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Beanfun is continuing to storm the MMO market with a dazzling array of anime inspired online games. New to their arsenal is Divinia, a colorful MMORPG with a story based on Norse Mythology. Divina is packed with features out the wazzo, like the ability to transform in to different monsters on the fly, multiple weapon styles for each of the five playable classes, a deep pet system and so much more. I checked out this game during a closed beta weekend and during a special press to give you guys a look at things come.

 

 

I hopped into Divina’s bright and colorful world as a female Machinist, who uses huge cannons and rocket launchers to attack enemies form a distance while adding support with landmines and traps for unsuspecting enemies.

 

 

Shortly after logging in, I met up with the Gamania Team along with GM Basilisk leading the group. The tour started with a little history lesson behind Gamania, were we learned more about the company’s business philosophies.

 

 

Divina has been around for quite some time in Asian territories, along with being well received by players for two things: The game’s storyline and the voice actors behind many of the game’s characters and NPCs.

 

 

Your character wakes up in a world on the brink of destruction, and along with a small case of amnesia, players must travel to the past with a mysterious girl named Clarisse (who also has amnesia… must some kind of epidemic) and go on a journey to stop the events leading up to the destruction of the Yggdrasil tree and the world. While most of the game’s lore is loosely based on Norse mythology, many of the later story quests will be based around Asian mythology as well.

 

 

The other half that made Divina so popular in Asia was the voice talent they’ve included in the game, such as the voice of Rie Tanaka from many, MANY different Japanese anime shows and video games.

 

 

Gamania US decided it was best to give the English version of Divina the same treatment, so instead of hiring some two-bit voice actors off the street, they managed to gather many well-known English voice actors such as Vic Mignogna, who’s best known as the voice of Edward Elric from English dubbing of Full-Metal Alchemist.

 

 

It was time to learn more about the gameplay mechanics. Divina uses several different stat and skill systems. Players will gain stat points every time they level up, and these points must be distributed manually. Pretty simple and straight forward, but along with this, there’s also the Divine Wheel system where players collect special pieces and cores to further increase their stats. Since player outfits have absolutely no stats of their own, leveling up and making use of the Divine Wheel is a must. What’s great about this system is that players won’t have to sacrifice style for substance. Players will be able to dress their characters in any fashion while having practical stats to use in battle.

 

Same class, same level, different outfits.

The amount of customization options doesn’t end there: There’s also a quick change system that allows players to switch into a different class on-the-fly. With the button of a button, my female Machinist was able to transform herself into a female Assassin right before my eyes.

 

 

As with your main class, players will have to level up their alternative class as well, but on the upside: only half the amount of EXP is required. Switching between classes in PvE must also be used sparingly, as players can only switch between classes three times before having to recharge. In PvP, however, players are free to change classes as many times as they want.

 

 

Once we learned about the quick change system, I got to try my alternative assassin class out on some poor, semi-defenseless sky wolves.

 

 

Afterwards, it was time to assault a bunch of lizard warriors while learning another unique feature of the game: The Creature Tome. This system allows players to transform into a field or boss monster, complete with their own set of skills. And earning a particular set of monsters in the creature tome yields special rewards and bonuses. There were so many creatures to choose from, but there was one monster in particular that I was looking for…

 

I have no clue what this thing is, but I want one!

I sadly couldn’t find this little guy on the list, so instead, I settled for transforming into a giant purple tortoise thing.

 

 

Next up: The game’s sidekick system and some PvP action.  Divina has a unique pet system where players can have a little animal companion as a partner. They have their own set of stats and skills that can be tweaked through training them over time or by ‘talking’ to them. Talking to your pets means picking one of three different topics that will increase the pet’s friendship levels, allowing them to become more powerful and responsive in battle. My partner was a snobby little rabbit that didn’t seem to like me very much…

 

 

But still, my rabbit responded to my commands well enough in combat. The last thing we got to try out was some PvP. Divina has several different ways to enjoy PvP, such as Open World PvP, Guild Battles and more. Our matches were set up as 1-on-1 duels out in the pit of the Wind Kingdom.  First match was Cleric against a Machinist.  Despite the Cleric having several support and range attacks at their disposal, the Machinist ended the match in a flash.

 

 

I was up next with my Machinist against the same Cleric player. My strategy was to lay down a few traps while firing shots from a distance, then switch to my assassin whenever they got too close. Unfortunately, my plan didn’t work out so well.

 

 

I was more prepared for the next match. This time, I decided to send out my rabbit sidekick to attack and distract my opponent before coming in for the kill. My rabbit completely destroy my opponent with only a few swipes. Everything went better than expected!

 

 

Overall, there’s so much that Divina has going for it that I couldn’t possibly mention it all in this one little preview. I didn’t get a chance to go over the game’s Guild Domain system, Nickname system, day & night system and so much more. Definitely an MMORPG worth checking out in the future and of course, it has Vic-freaking-Mignogna. What more could you want?

 

 

For more information on Divina: Check out our profile page here at OnRPG.com

World of Warplanes Flies into Closed Beta

World of Warplanes Flies into Closed Beta

Wargaming.net, the award-winning game publisher and developer, today announced that its highly anticipated free-to-play MMO title World of Warplanes has taken to the skies for its closed beta, inviting players to experience an expanded amount of in-game content, including new warplanes, maps and other features.

 

 

Eligible closed beta pilots in Europe, North America and Russia will be able to get into the cockpit and take control of the skies with four warplane classes, including fighters, ground-attack planes, heavy fighters and carrier-based aircraft spanning 59 different warplanes from Germany, the United States and the U.S.S.R.

 

 

Across four unique maps, pilots can unleash devastation on their competition with new weaponry, including bombs and rockets, and against new ground targets such as anti-aircraft guns. New players can also take part in an in-game tutorial to polish their skills.

 

Wargaming.net plans to actively recruit pilots during the entirety of the closed beta to further incorporate player feedback and better improve the gameplay.

 

“It’s an exciting day for the entire World of Warplanes team,” said World of Warplanes Producer Alex Zezulin. “The launch of the closed beta will help us give players the most polished and enjoyable gaming experience possible and we’re looking forward to getting their feedback.”

 

 

Be sure to check the action out in a new trailer released today!

Web Koihime Musou Cosplay Contest Report 2

Web Koihime Musou Cosplay Contest Report 2

 

 

Our four fiery vixens are now two weeks into Gamania and OnRPG’s Web Koihime Musou AnimeExpo Showdown. There is roughly one month left until their big appearance and interview procession at AnimeExpo. Let’s take a look at what they’ve been up to the last seven days!

 

Manzi

 

Here’s what I got done this week. Mostly mock-ups before I cut the final fabric. I also sculpted and cast SoSo’s little hair skull things out of resin. I think I’ll give them another once over with sand paper before I paint them. This weekend I’m hoping to start my scythe!

 

 

Vani

Drafting Sonsaku’s silk “leg-scarves”

 

“hip-scarves”! I have been baby-hemming/rolled-hemming like crazy! However, I may opt to fray-check the raw edges instead because it looks better without the double layered fabric at the edge.

 

Received my wig! Did a little makeup test.

 

Sewing wefted bangs to base wig for thickness.

 

Little tricks to add volume to the ponytail.

 

Jenny

90 % of my fabric. Almost ready to cut & sew!

 

The beginning of the pattern for the shrug! Now to alter it.

 

Almost done drafting the pattern for the top!

 

The completed puff sleeve pattern. Just right!

 

 

Sushi Monster

Cut out pattern for the white blouse.

 

 

Draped muslin for the white blouse~ As you can see it will go over fake breasts.

 

Draped from the side – that silhouette!

 

Finished blouse with zipper and gold closures.

 

Blouse on~

WoW Wednesday: Windwalker Monk Impressions

WoW Wednesday: Windwalker Monk Impressions

By Meredith Watson, OnRPG WoW Specialist

 

 

 

Windwalker Overview

The Windwalker monk is one of three specializations for the new monk class introduced in Mists of Pandaria, the next World of Warcraft expansion. The Windwalker is a melee dps spec focusing on hand and feet manoeuvres such as jabs strikes and kicks. The Windwalker will likely want to use agility leather and duel weild much like the rogue class. The Windwalker has two raid buffs: Legacy of the Emperor which is strength, intelligence, and agility increased by 5% for one hour and the Windwalker only buff Legacy of the White Tiger that gives a 5% crit chance.

 

 

Resources

Monks use two resources. Like a rogue they use energy which quickly replenishes and chi which is generated by using certain spells and then spent by using others. Jab is the primary chi generator (2) though it costs 40 energy to use making it rather expensive and therefore not spammable for you spammy types.

 

 

Combat is a cycle of generations and expenditures being easy enough to learn and manage. Unlike the rogue, whose finishing moves will cost the entire amount of combo points generated, monk finishing moves have a set amount of chi that is used making finishing moves potentially chainable.

 

 

At level 45 there are three different chi generators to choose from in talents. There are also several different passive and combat spells that generate chi.  Currently, there does not appear to be an issue with resource management.

 

 

Windwalker Abilities

Along with the plethora of monk spells (and there are a lot) and as with all World of Warcraft classes the Windwalker has spec specific abilities.

 

 

Rising Sun Kick – Upwards kick that deals x amount of damage and applies mortal wounds which reduces healing to the target for ten seconds.

 

Flying Serpent Kick – soar forward through the air at an increased speed. Use the ability again to land. Upon landing FSK does x amount of damage within 8 yard slowing enemies by 70% for four seconds.

 

Energizing Brew – Replenishes 60 energy over 60 seconds and can only be used in combat.

 

Touch of Karma – All damage taken is redirected to the enemy target over six seconds instead. Damage cannot exceed total health. Lasts ten seconds.

 

Spinning Fire Blossom – Deals x amount of damage to target within 50 yards. If SFB travels further than ten yards, damage is increased by 50% and enemy rooted for 2 seconds.

 

 

Windwalker Passives:

Afterlife – Killing an enemy that grants experience or honour gives 50% chance to summon a healing sphere healing party members or self for 15% of total health when walked through. When an enemy dies from blackout kick you summon a chi sphere which restores 1 chi by walking through it.

 

Duel Weild – one handed weapons except daggers.

 

Brewing: Tigereye brew-increases damage by 2% per stack .A tigereye brew is generated after 4 chi are consumed through abilities or attacks. Can stack up to ten times.

 

Sparring – Chance to parry by 5% for ten seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown. When you attack back sparring is amplified by an additional 5%. Stacks up to 3 times.

 

Mastery: Combo breaker – 15% chance for jab to cause next tiger palm or blackout kick to cost no chi.

 

 

Talents

At level 15 the three talents to choose from seem to be centred on movement while at level 30 the Windwalker gets another heal of varying descriptions. Level 45, as stated above, sees the Windwalker get chi generating abilities. Level 60 talents are stun focused whereas level 75 are damage reduction. Finally, at level 90 a new dps ability is available. Below is a selection of some of the talents.

 


Celerity (passive) – Allows you to Roll and Chi Torpedo more often, increases max number of charges by 1 and reduces cooldown by five seconds.

 

Chi Wave – a wave of chi energy causing x amount of damage or x amount of healing. Bounces up to five times to nearest target within 20 yards.


Ascension (passive) – increases max chi by 1.

 

Leg Sweep – knock down all enemies within 5 yards stunning them for 5 sec.

 

Healing Elixirs (passive) – anytime you drink from a brew or tea you gain 10% of health. Cannot occur more than once every 15 sec.


Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger – invokes the White Tiger Celestial summoning an effigy at casters command. Effigy will attack primary target and also inflict tiger lightning damage every 6 sec to three lowest health enemies nearby. Lasts 45 sec with three minute cooldown.

 

Impressions

While I realize the monk is not a rogue it is hard to not compare the two as they both use the same resource system (energy), wear the same armour type with the same stats and can duel wield. The monk seems to me, after playing it, a poor man’s rogue if you will. The monk lacks the intricacies of the rogue and leans towards the gimmicky. Some of the spell animations are bordering on the ridiculous and look nothing like martial arts while others like blackout kick look great.

 

 

My hope was that the World of Warcraft monk would be similar or at least as well done as the EverQuest II monk. Instead the WoW monk is a bit cliché with more than a few silly animations. The monk is still going to be a viable class, no doubt, as a healer or tank but there are already plenty of dps classes in WoW and I am not so sure the Windwalker can add anything new.

 

 

Personally, Windwalker is not the spec I would choose if I were to play a monk when Mists of Pandaria goes live. I have played a rogue in World of Warcraft since 2004 and to put it plainly they do leather wearing, agility loving, and duel weilding better. At this point in time, I am rather underwhelmed with the monk experience.

Allods Online Launches Game of Gods in NA and EU

Allods Online Launches Game of Gods in NA and EU!  

 

 

The newest expansion for Allods Online: Game of Gods launches today in North America and Europe with a host of features that add even more shine to the already polished free-to-play MMORPG. Make friends with the mentor system and then turn against them in the new, cut-throat PvP and raid maps of Allods Online: Astral Storm!

 

 

Players of the same class can now team up to level and get items with the new mentor system. Mentors receive free items and novices will learn how and when to use their skills under their mentor’s guidance. Join a friend who already plays Allods Online and train to match their level quickly, or take advantage of the automated matchmaking system to make new friends in the game.

 

 

While the mentor system brings players together, the new PvP Skirmish and Kingdom of Elements raid will pit them against each other in interesting new ways. Deserted Farm introduces smaller, faster, and more strategic 6v6 Skirmish battles. The winner must hold the center while keeping their opponent from taking control of the cannons on the edge of the map. Meanwhile, those who take on the new fire boss in Kingdom of Elements must guard their loot from other players in this open, free-for-all PvP area.

 

 

Allods Online improves and refines its systems with every patch, and players will be particularly glad to hear that Tep’s Curse has been permanently removed. Death no longer results in a cursed item, and the Holy Charms needed to remove curses have been banished from the game. On top of that, questing has been smoothed out with the addition of special indicators on the map, quest log, and quest items to make organizing quest objectives a snap.

 

 

Take a break from hard fighting with a trip to the tropics, as the popular Tropical Atoll events return for three weeks. Characters will trade out their armor for swim trunks to participate in summer beach events from athletic competitions to the ever-popular crab races. Feed your crab just enough to speed it up or feed your opponents’ crab so much it slows them down in this popular race to the finish!

 

Speaking of crabs, the Troll and Crab series returns with a new look at the expansion’s best features and a new adventure for its hapless heroes. The troll puts his newly reworked alchemy profession to good use by making a stew, but his crab friend’s efforts to collect the ingredients don’t go quite as planned.

SMITE CB Begins on Thursday, May 31st

SMITE Closed Beta Begins on Thursday, May 31st

 

SMITE

 

Hi-Rez Studios today confirmed that the Closed Beta for the action MOBA game SMITE will begin tomorrow on Thursday, 31st May, 2012. Studio representatives also announced that no character wipes are planned during Beta. Player advancement in terms of character unlocks and progression will extend beyond Closed Beta, into Open Beta and into Release.

 

 

SMITE is an online battleground between mythical gods. SMITE is similar to DotA games but with a few significant changes including a third-person perspective and WASD movement. Players choose from a selection of gods, join session based 5 versus 5 arena combat, and use custom powers and team tactics against other players and minions. SMITE will be free-to-play and is a digital download for the PC.

 

 

The Closed Beta build of SMITE includes seventeen playable gods from five mythological pantheons on a fire-themed battleground map. Five gods are available for free – Artemis, Ra, Kali, Ymir, and Sun WuKong. Additional gods can be unlocked through gameplay or more quickly via in-game microtransactions. Hi-Rez Studios will be adding new playable gods during the Beta period and beyond.

 

SMITE

 

“We are excited to shake-up the MOBA genre with SMITE,” says Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer. “Whether you are a fan of existing DotA type games or MMO PvP battleground play, we invite you to checkout SMITE and play alongside our dev team in Beta.”

 

 

Those wishing to guarantee a Closed Beta spot may purchase the SMITE Starter Pack at the game’s official website. The starter pack includes automatic admission into Beta, access to the 5 free gods, and permanent access to 10 additional gods – Zeus, Hades, Anubis, Vamana, Agni, Odin, Hel, Ao Kuang, He Bo, and Bastet. The Starter Pack is priced at $19.99, a 33% discount to list price, as a reward to those who pre-order and assist with Beta testing.

Meta’s Verse: Statesman Task Force

Meta’s Verse: Statesman Task Force

By Meticulous Meta, OnRPG Paragon Reporter

 

 

 

I’ve always enjoyed the Statesman Task Force. I don’t do it very often though. Unless it is the weekly strike target it can be difficult to find enough people to fill a team to do it. Back in February I wrote about my feels about Statesman being killed off. Since then I’ve done the Statesman task force once and read the first City of Heroes book. My thoughts are very much still on Statesman and with his removal from the game very soon I have been finding myself seeking out his content to do one last time. The biggest by far is the Statesman task force. And though the actual task force won’t be removed it is being changed slightly and given to Statesman’s Granddaughter, Ms. Liberty. The changes won’t be massive, only removing Statesman from the story and fixing things up so they still make sense. But for someone like me who loves Statesman and is sorry to see him go it is a sad goodbye. But before we say our goodbyes Paragon Studios has made the STF the weekly strike target for this week. I like to think this is his big send off.

 

 

What makes the Statesman Task Force so enjoyable? Well, to start with it isn’t easy. For the longest time it was the most difficult thing in City of Heroes. This was before Incarnate trials which some could argue are still easier than the STF. And it excludes the Hamidon fight. All of which require more than the standard team size of eight people. The end fight has you and your teammates going up against Lord Recluse and the four he keeps at his side.

 

 

It has humor. The dialog from the villains you face is not only fantastic at setting the scene, it is also funny and in some cases possibly a bit…not PG 13 lets say. The first cutscene we are given is of the arrival of Arbiter Sands who says the following:

 

“I go to Grandville for some decent coffee and this is what happens?

Well, adopt, adapt, and improve, I suppose. At least it will give me a chance to re-organize things after we clean up.

Though no doubt I’ll have to annihilate the persons responsible first. How bothersome”

 

 

Arbiter Sand has always been somewhat of a joke in the City of Heroes universe. And his loyalty to Arachnos is pretty clear with dialog like this:

 

“Well, I think I’ve had just about enough of this.”
“For Arachnos, etcetera, For Lord Recluse, etcetera, etcetera.”

 

 

My favorite though comes in the next mission when you are sent to capture Dr. Aeon, the brains behind the plot you are foiling. Now for some reason a lot of people find him annoying. But to me humor is a really a big part of comic book culture, and therefore a big part of the City of Heroes culture. One needs only to look to community members like Ascendant to see this. So why is it that people have an issue with dialog like this:

 

Ah-ha-ha-ha!

You ‘Stupor-powered’ fools have fallen into my brilliant trap! Allow me to explain:

That portal didn’t send you to a secret base, instead it sent you into the future, where my Web device has allowed Lord Recluse to conquer the world!

Mwha-ha-ha!

But don’t worry, fools! I’ve made arrangements to have you captured by some of Arachnos’s operatives here in the future. Like Regent Korol, Magus, Mu’Drakhan, Shadow Spider, And Viridian,

Each has part of the code needed to open this door:

And set this portal to send you back to the present:

So just sit tight and wait to be taken prisoner.

And whatever you do, don’t even think about fighting them!

There’s no way you could win, so don’t even try it!

I can’t believe I just told them how to escape like that!

Okay, just erase this recording and we’ll start again.


Bane Spider Executioner:

Uh, sir?


Dr. Aeon:

What?


Bane Spider Executioner:

Uh… You said you wanted to transmit this, uh, live…


Dr. Aeon:

AAAAH! Shut it off! Shut it off!

 

 

Classic material like this really makes the Statesman task force stand out. But ultimately what makes the STF so good is finally facing the ultimate bad guys in the City of Heroes world. And not just facing one of them, but facing them all. Everything pre level 50 has been building to this single, ultimate plot. Telling stories in MMOs can be difficult with the plots getting lost and twisted to fit a group of people’s roleplaying desire. But the Statesman task force has a little bit of something for everyone. And to me it is still the ultimate fight, that which everything else has been building up to.

 

 

Sure, these days there is life beyond 50. But it is part of a different narrative. The STF finishes (for now) the threat that is Arachnos and Lord Recluse, allowing the next story to come along. And that is the story of Praetoria and incarnates. The story we are in now, the story that is slowly being wrapped up. The STF might seem not as important these days because there are new, bigger plots going on in Praetoria, but I think it still holds a place. It tells a part of the story that gets you from being just another hero in a city full of heroes to being one of THE heroes, better than the Freedom Phalanx. So when you’re leveling up your hero don’t forget to do the Statesman Task Force, or as it will be called soon the Ms Liberty Task Force. Do it this week and get some awesome bonuses to XP.