Yearly Archives: 2011

RIFT Open Beta Event Scheduled To Start February 15th 2011

 

RIFT Open Beta Event Scheduled To Start February 15th 2011

 
Are you looking to to play in “Telara the Merciless” beta event?

 

RIFT Open Beta MMORPG

 
On February 15th Trion will lift the veil on their upcoming MMORPG Rift with a six-day open beta event, giving all would-be Defiants and Guardians the opportunity to preview the epic world of Telara before the game launches worldwide on March 1st. Servers are scheduled to be open from 6:00 PPM GMT on Tuesday, February 15th to 6:00 PM GMT on Monday, February 21st, giving users a taste of Telara, including two playable factions, the first 42 levels of play, three PvP warfronts, and several zones and dungeons to explore.

 

Head start begins on March 4th!

 

Don’t forget, OnRPG is giving away Closed BETA keys so you can get even earlier access right now if you are quick.

 
Sign up now for a guaranteed spot in the “Telara the Merciless” beta event, and secure your spot in the Rift head start period (February 24-March 1) by pre-ordering the game now..

League of Legends: Karma’s a Bitch, Ain’t it?

League of Legends: Karma’s a Bitch, Ain’t it?
Patch v1.0.0.110, Karma, AI revamps, and the greed of Doran
By Jason (Hhean) Harper, OnRPG Journalist

 

League of Legends MMO Karma

 

Greetings fellow summoners! This is the patch v1.0.0.110 article for League of Legends, the game containing the sexiest of Buddhas. This patch sees inflation hit Runeterra as Doran raises his prices, mages feel a bit less runic, but a bit more magical and Karma, The Enlightened One takes to the fields of justice.

 

Karma is a damage dealing support character, or a damage dealing mage with good support capabilities, depending on how you choose to build, level and play her. She is quite possibly the most unintuitive character in the game, best suited to using her defensive abilities to hurt the enemy and using her damaging abilities to aid her allies. She is highly adaptive, and more than any other character in game, should change her levelling order and item build depending on ally and enemy team composition.

 

Her passive, Inner Flame, gives her ability power as she loses health. While this is useful, don’t try to use it to maximise her damage output. It’s worth remembering that it does make her Soul Shield better though, which can save her from a gank on occasion.

 

Her Ultimate, Mantra [R], will allow her next ability to perform an additional effect, usually performing a reverse function to the original ability.

 

Mantra is unusual in that she receives it for free at level 1, and cannot level it further after that. To compensate for this, the rest of her abilities have 6 levels, rather than the usual 5. Most of her abilities are below par on their own, but when enhanced with Mantra, they perform very well. Mantra has an ammo system, allowing Karma to carry up to two stacks of Mantra at a time, which are indicated either in the buff bar or by the little red fans floating around her.

 

Before you think a fight is about to kick off, it’s a good idea to prime Mantra ahead of time, as the frustratingly long cooldown will be that little bit shorter if you have another stack building while Karma is holding onto a Mantra. This almost grants you a third stack if you get the timing down very precisely, and you have stacked a good deal of cooldown reduction later in the game. Mastery of Mantra management is the differences between an awful Karma and a great one.

 

A note to those playing against Karma – When she has none of those fans floating about, that’s a great time to attack without mercy.

 

League of Legends Geisha Karma

 

Heavenly Wave [Q], is a short range conical attack that can be enhanced by her mantra to also heal allies in the cone and herself for the same amount. It’s not quite as short range as it appears though, as the visual on her cone is slightly smaller than the ability’s actual range.

 

Heavenly Wave is her main support skill, though it requires some finesse to use, much like Lux’s Prismatic Barrier. Ideally, you want to be using this to both injure enemies, and heal allies, but in most circumstances this can be used to heal people when they’re not all running around like headless chickens somewhere safe. Using the enhanced version of this, alongside a normal Soul Shield is a very safe, sustainable means of farming, provided you have a means of keeping her mana up.

 

Pick up Heavenly Wave or Soul Shield early and max it first, depending on if you intend to go support or damage. This ability is the better choice for support and sustainability.

 

Spirit Bond [W], shoots out a tether to an ally or enemy near her. Any allies who are hit by the tether, or move through the tether will give them a movement speed increase. An enemy you target will be slowed, and any enemy moving through the tether (Whether its tied to friend or foe) will be damaged and slowed. Using Mantra on this ability will increase the slow or speed boost, which can be useful for moving between lanes or chasing. Generally though, try to avoid enhancing this in anything close to a real fight, as she only has two stacks available, and her other two abilities are more useful for aiding allies and killing enemies.

 

This can be used as a farming tool, as you can target a minion, then use the tether to damage anything nearby. The drawback to this trick though is it will usually leave you out of position, and her other two abilities can farm more effectively while leaving her less exposed.

 

Pick this up either when your enemies pick up boots in order to maintain a mobility advantage or when you feel the laning phase is coming to a close, and will need the added mobility to get you and your teammates around the map. Max it out last.

 

League of Legends Mayan Karama

 

Soul Shield [E], creates a protective shield on a friendly target, absorbing a set amount of damage. If you expend Mantra, the shield will explode the moment its cast, hurting everything in a large area around the target.

 

Soul Shield looks like a support ability, but is actually better suited as her primary nuke and harassing tool, since it can be used on minions as well as champions. As a champion moves in to last hit a minion, you shield it, stopping the hit, and then the following explosion does a significant amount of damage. Your tank rushing into an enemy team is its most obvious usage later in the game, the resulting explosion putting you in a life lead for any team fight. Following this with an enhanced Heavenly Wave for more damage and healing can secure a victory in your favour.

 

If you’re looking to pump out damage, and want to do some heavy harassment during the laning phase, this is a great early game pick. Max this first for a damage dealing Karma with a support ability on the side. This is my personal preference, since the shield and incredible range on the attack can keep your health up enough that the lower healing from her Heavenly Wave won’t be as much of a concern.

 

Item wise, you want to focus on ability power and cooldown reduction for her. Focusing more on cooldown early will allow her access to Mantra more frequently, which on a support focused Karma will allow for more healing. A damage dealing should think more about her ability power earlier on. On either build, Ionian boots are a good choice, netting her some early game cooldown at a low cost. Provided you aren’t being crowd controlled so heavily that Mercury Treads become a must, that is. Banksy’s Deathcap works very well on her, given its synergy with her passive. Due to the close range of many of her abilities, Abyssal Scepter makes a great defensive/offensive item when dealing with magic heavy teams. Soul Shroud is a great support item on her giving both her and her teammates her much needed cooldown. Despite the increased cost, a Doran’s Ring works fine on Karma to begin with, due to few of the cheaper items building into something optimal for her.

 

9/0/21 works fine on her for masteries. Cooldown runes on her are a must. Mp5 per level, and magic penetration on her are solid choices, along with ability power. Clarity is great for her lane sustainability, since she has no mana regeneration abilities, and can eat through her blue bar at speed if she chooses to. Ghost works very well alongside Spirit Bond for getting around the map.

 

League of Legends MMORPG

 

Karma benefits greatly from having an organized team, both from the very specific placement required in order to maximise Spirit Bond, needing a friendly target to perform her most damaging ability, and her allies needing to be standing in the correct position between her and her enemies in order to be healed. In solo queuing she suffers greatly because of this, but in a premade team she can do quite well. I’m finding her a hard champion to judge the overall power of because of this, and that’s after half a week of near constant play. My final verdict on her currently stands that she’s good, but not great. If you’re looking for a complicated, deep character with plenty of versatility, give her a go. Just remember to use all of her abilities backwards to what looks like their intended purpose at first glance.

 

The most significant change to the game overall though is the increase in the cost of Doran’s items. Expect to see much more conservative play from here on in, and an increase in people buying cheaper items so they can stock up on potions. Rejuvenation Beads, Sapphire Crystals and Meki Pendants are most likely going to be seen a lot more from here on out.

 

The gap between the haves and the have nots got shortened this patch, with mana regeneration overall being buffed, while mana regeneration runes got nerfed. The nerfing of health quintessences lets theory crafters debate which quintessences to pick up, and may now allow for a greater array of choices. I would guess that we will likely see a slight rise in the number of armour pen., magic pen., and movement speed quintessences.

 

The new AI are a fun diversion to engage in when testing out builds, but they’re incredibly stupid still. Rather hoping the upcoming intermediate difficulty for the co-op mode will break this trend.

 

To discuss some of the changes yourselves, visit the League of Legends section of our forums, or post in the massive League of Legends thread in the free to play MMOs section. If you haven’t tried League of Legends yet. Now is the perfect time.

Forsaken World Interview Forthesaken Time!

Forsaken World Interview Forthesaken Time!
Questions by Chen Fo Po (cinderboy), OnRPG Journalist
Answers by Jonathan Belliss, Director of Marketing, Perfect World Entertainment Inc.

 

Forsaken World is Perfect World Entertainment’s upcoming epic MMORPG, and I would like to stress that the word “epic” was not added just to make the game sound good. Forsaken World is arguably the company’s biggest MMORPG to date. The Chinese version even had a country-wide tour to promote the game! Without further ado, let’s get into the the second interview interview and find out even more about this gem.

 

OnRPG: Hello, my name is Chen Fo Po (cinderboy) from OnRPG. Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi. My name is Jonathan Belliss and I’m the Director of Marketing for Perfect World Entertainment. I oversee all of our games, including Forsaken World.

 

OnRPG: Let us cut straight to the main point first *serious mode*. What is the current status of the game? Is Forsaken World ready for OBT? And exactly when?

We are in the final stages of polishing the game for launch and with the help of all of our closed beta testers, we are quickly approaching launch. I think the game is definitely almost there in terms of quality and polish.  We’re going through a few more phases of testing, and then we’ll be good to go.  Forsaken World will be launched simultaneously in North American and Europe with French and German versions on March 23.

 

OnRPG: On behalf of the gamers eagerly waiting for the official OBT launch of the game, I will like to ask this: “What in the world is Perfect World Entertainment thinking, letting us wait for nearly a year!”

Forsaken World has been our longest game in development to date and we really wanted to make sure that we get every detail ofthis game right, which is part of the reason why we’ve been taking our time.. It is also one of the reasons why we had such a long closed beta with multiple phases.  We realize a lot of people were unhappy waiting for so long, but we simply didn’t want to release a game pre-maturely and unfinished.

 

OnRPG: Did the response for Forsaken World match the initial expectations set?

The player response has been tremendous. Not only has this been the longest closed beta, it has also been the biggest closed beta for us to date.  The feedback that we’ve gotten from our players has been overwhelmingly positive.  All of this support has simply fueled us even more and is driving us to launch the game.  To answer your question, initial expectations were set pretty high, and we’re glad that we’re meeting those expectations thus far.

 

Forsaken World MMORPG Castle

OnRPG: Numbers. Is it possible to share with us some numbers, like how many CBT accounts were given out, characters created, how many max level characters etc?

Unfortunately since we’re a public company, we’re not allowed to disclose any of those numbers without explicit permission.

 

OnRPG: I have encountered situations where high level players are “camping” outside towns waiting to PK (Player Kill) lower level characters. How is this situation viewed by the Forsaken World team?

We realize that players have been encountering this issue and that it’s been severely hindering gameplay for some.  Starting with Closed Beta Phase 4, more channels will be in place that will allow players to avoid common bottlenecks.  Also with Phase 4 and beyond, there will be PvE server options for players that don’t wish to play on a PvP oriented server.

 

OnRPG: Speaking of PvP (Player vs Player), in the previous interview OnRPG had, it was said that the PvP system will be going back to the drawing board. Any updates with regards to this?

We’ve been going back and forth with the development team on the subject of PvP.  In terms of recent developments, we’ve just confirmed that we’ll be having a PvP Arena System added to the game.  This system will allow players to get into groups and queue for an Arena Match.  Players will then battle and fight for points which can be used to attain gear or other rewards.  We expect to see more improvements in PvP as the year progresses.

 

OnRPG: Also, in the previous interview, the player-god system was apparently a god-forbidden topic to chat about. Perhaps some lights can be shed now? *comes up with a cute adoring face*

This is something that is currently still being worked on by China and balancing it has been the most challenging issue. We want it to be more than just a player recognition status symbol, but at the same time, we don’t want players abusing their powers and griefing other players with it.  More importantly, the revision of other core game systems has taken up more time than anticipated, leaving less time to work on the God System.  For example a majority of players have been asking for an Auction House System.  So we’ve been spending a lot of time on that and should have it out by Phase 4 of CB, if not by when the game goes live.

 

OnRPG: I understand that that there are worries about IP blocking once there are other English servers out in other regions. Care to comment on this?

We are publishing Forsaken World for North America and for most of Europe in both German and French. Perfect World is working with other publishers to ensure that Forsaken World is brought to as many players around the world as possible.

 

OnRPG: There were quite some technical errors during the CBT phase, with in-game lagging (causing the dreaded “rubber-ban effect”) as well affecting a significant amount of players. Are all the problems duly noted by the team and finding ways to solve them?, We’ve definitely taken note of these issues and have addressed them on the backend. Closed beta testing allows us to put the game through its paces in a live environment and discover these issues before launch.  We believe that the channel system will alleviate some of the congestion and frame rate issues that people see in town, but we’re also working on some other improvements that should help with the issues you’ve mentioned.

 

Forsaken World Classes MMORPG

OnRPG: Another concern for the community will be the cash shop, or Eyrda Boutique. How will the items and prices be structured to prevent imbalance for light or non-spending players?

In Closed Beta Phase 3, we gave out cash currency to our players for testing the cash shop. This allows us to gauge demand and we take in feedback from our players regarding prices. The cash shop is focused on convenience and cosmetic items and we are very sensitive to balancing the game for all players regardless of whether or not they spend. 

 

OnRPG: Are there any areas of the game which the Forsaken World team feel that need changing?

I think that the main things that need changing are being addressed right now, both in form of the new Auction House System and PvP Arenas.

 

OnRPG: Up till now, what are some of the major differences the North American server has from the original Chinese server?

The only major differences between the two are PvE servers here in North America.  At launch, we will have a distinct separation between PvE and PvP servers, where as in China, they are all PvP.

 

OnRPG: Will all features found in CBT be in the game at launch? Or will there be new features added?

Yes, as of now we don’t have any plans to take out any of the features in closed beta at launch. One of the features that wasn’t in the first closed beta phase, but has been added since then, is the auction house. Many players requested this and we thought it was a good feature to add into the game.  We’ll also be opening up more PvE content and unlocking progression.

 

OnRPG: Can you share with us some of the events planned for the game’s upcoming OBT launch?

We’ve been doing leveling events throughout closed beta that will grant rewards to players upon launch. We are definitely planning some events for open beta launch and a decision on the various events will be made soon.

 

OnRPG: Having played the Chinese server for some time, there are quite an amount of merchandise for the game. Any plans to bring any of them over as event prizes or for retailing?

Absolutely. We are  looking into bringing over as well as creating our own swag for contests and giveaways for Forsaken World. The best way to keep an eye out for swag is to frequently check the official Forsaken World website (http://fw.perfectworld.com/) for updates.

 

OnRPG: Thank you for your time! I can’t wait for OBT to finally start!

One Lukewarm FPS Serving in the Form of Project Blackout

One Lukewarm FPS Serving in the Form of Project Blackout
By Mitch Baylosis-Benesa (Syllica)

 

There are types of food that doesn’t taste quite right at the first bite. But as soon as you swallow the measly portion in your mouth, the aftertaste begins to resurface. But although there is no strong craving for it, there is still that consistent pull that makes you throw caution to the wind and just shamelessly dig in. To stop beating around the bush, the free-to-play online tactical FPS Project Blackout is simply like that. It looks unappealing, and the features are nothing you haven’t seen in other FPS games. It doesn’t fall into the “gourmet” group, but it certainly doesn’t taste like trash food either.

 

Project Blackout Lukewarm FPS

Project Blackout is simple and somewhat bland, but it is rather unpretentious–something that can be a good and bad thing at the same time. It doesn’t offer anything extraordinary, innovative, or something refreshing yet there is a certain charm to its mediocrity that hits the right spot. It is easy for anyone to forget how time passes flies once they get to play Project Blackout.

 

It’s All In The Title

Project Blackout takes place in the fictional country of Korogese that is currently rife with civil disorder and political instability. Aegis Inc. (Blue Team) is formed by a group of corporations who want to “support” and be part of the government, while The Corps (Red Team) is a group of citizens who resist the Aegis. At the start of the game, it will not matter whether you have chosen to be uphold The Corps’ ideals or support the Aegis’ movements. You will have access to both characters. Project Blackout doesn’t offer any options to customize its looks, but you can add more playable characters–an additional male and female for each team–should you decide to purchase them via its item mall.

 

Project Blackout MMORPG FPS

Like most FPS games, the most you can do to your character is to upgrade its arsenal and armor. Some items can be purchased via ingame currency called Credits, but some items would require Points (credits paid for by the player) or a title. A Title is different from a rank in Project Blackout. You gain your rank by reaching the required experience, but earning a title means having to reach a certain amount of experience, rank, credits, and items that you received mostly for finishing a mission. Missions in Project Blackout are not simply just eliminate, search and destroy, and deathmatches. Missions can also be for individuals, like a personal achievement thing. Completing personal missions such as getting two headshot kills in one round, or using a specialized item during a mission yield good rewards especially when you get to complete a POINTBLANK mission set. You can upgrade your title on your avatar’s skill tree and you will also gain benefits from this like jump or accuracy boosts.

 

Mass Kill

The system requirements for Project Blackout is not that high, so this is tantamount to saying that there is nothing spectacular about its graphics. The characters are rendered in simplest and cleanest manner, but not to the point that it looked like they have flat personalities. The maps actually do resemble an urban environment suited for shootouts. Map designs look a little simple and small. Even a well-aimed grenade can take out more than a couple of players passing by a certain opening. But on the bright side, your mission location actually takes damage when you shoot, stab, or throw a grenade at it adding a bit of realism in the gameplay. Pillars crack and darken in color, walls get knife marks, and windows get broken to create a sweet spot for aiming. So far, I’ve boarded a helicopter during one of our bomb missions (unless there’s a new update of a map having humvees or tanks at the players’ disposal), adding a bit of thrill into the game.

 

Project Blackout Mass Kill

User Friendly

Another feature in Project Blackout is the voice over when you do something cool like a headshot, mass kill (i.e., that well-aimed grenade in the previous example), triple kill to chain killer. The voice was just generic, but it still provides a surprisingly good ego stroking. The controls are basically the standard FPS keys: WASD for the directional buttons, shift to add speed, Ctrl for crouching, Spacebar for jumping, and 12345 for your weapons or via the mousewheel. For any FPS beginners, I’d have to say that Project Blackout is newbie-friendly although chat text are pretty small, hard to read (I have to squint) and are hardly noticeable when you’re new. You can go on solo missions and finish the training missions with difficulty level starting from three levels of Easy, Normal to Difficult. This is a good way to find out your shooting rhythm in the game, and familiarize with the maps. Also, Project Blackout’s hitting accuracy seems to be more forgiving compared to other online FPSes today.

 

Project Blackout User Friendly

 

No Nonsense

Though it is indeed generic and unorginal in terms of concept, Project Blackout still managed to project that it is a straightforward and no nonsense game. Upon logging in, there are no elaborate options for character personalization, or cinematics to watch before you start the game. You log on, you pick a character, you either choose a map or mode to join, or you can create your own room already without being picky with the other players’ ranks. It is simply a game where you log on to lock, load, shoot and kill (or in bomb mode’s case, plant). If you wanted to something more, then load up your credits and purchase items. However, if you’re only up for a casual gaming experience, then Project Blackout is a generic option even without you having to shell out a cent. It’s easy to play, and honestly, the players I’ve encountered so far aren’t douchebags so props to the community. Project Blackout reminds me of a lukewarm homecooked meal: it is nothing fancy, not even served plated, but can still be enjoyed and will still fill an empty stomach. I’m not saying it’s completely delicious, but the tastet is somehow passable, which means I wouldn’t mind eating it again when the best concoctions are out of stock.

 

PB MMORPG FPS Nonsense

The Good:

– Very straightforward gameplay: lock and load

– Missions and title system

 

The Bad:

– Mediocre graphics

– Everything is just way too… standard

Royal Quest

Royal Quest is an MMORPG set in the world of Aura, which is filled with a mixture of magic, technology, and alchemy. Players can become lords, collect exotic mounts, and enjoy a variety of features in-game.

Features:

Simple Mechanics: Game mechanics that are easy to learn for beginners (including an automatic character upgrade system), with deep and challenging gameplay available later in the game for experienced players.

Robust PVP Modes: The game features special PvPvE zones where players battle against each other and monsters while trying to complete quest objectives and gather powerful Shadow gear.

Complex Battle System: The elemental battle system allows players to exploit enemy weaknesses by properly choosing what weapon and skill to use against the target.

PlanetSide Next Reveals Reaver

PlanetSide Next Reveals Reaver

 

The guys over at PlanetSide Universe got their hands on an exclusive early shot of the Reaver Assault craft that will be featured in Sony Online Entertainments PlanetSide Next.

 

PlanetSide Next Reaver

 

It must be stressed that this image will not be fully representitive of the final product. If you are looking to jump in on PlanetSide Next’s beta then you might want to consider resubscribing to the original as current PlanetSide players will be chosen first to see the new game in action.

Jagged Alliance Online

Jagged Alliance Online is taking Jagged Alliance to the next level: Introducing MMORPG mechanisms and mixing them with the convenience of Browser Games while preserving the core gameplay of the franchise. In Jagged Alliance Online you run a tough as nails mercenary company and take your crew into the heat of battle in scenarios around the globe – live and online! Manage your base, equip your mercenaries and send them on a wide variety of missions, entering the action packed tactical combat, amassing fame and fortune.

 

Features:

 

Plethora of Missions: Play through over 100 missions as you hone your tactics and team in preparation for challenging others players to battle.

 

 

Tons of Mercs: Recruit more than 60 mercenaries each with unique attributes and stats and build your A-Team.

 

 

Weapons: Salvage hundreds of weapons and armor to equip your men with the finest firepower available.

 

 

AI Personalities: Challenge smarter AI with randomly chosen personalities and traits that will make it difficult to predict their strategy each time you play through a mission.

Metal Rage

Metal Rage is a Mechanic Third Person Shooter online action game that takes place in the not too distant future of 2070. Technology has developed and humankind have colonized the moon.

Of course this has resulted in a powerstruggle and the three raging factions are duking it out using massive robotic fighting units!

Metal Rage will feature classes such as engineers, repairers and observers giving the player the choice of what role they play in the ongoing struggle.