Yearly Archives: 2011

BATTERY Online Begins its First Game-play Contest

BATTERY Online Begins its First Game-play Contest

 

WEBZEN Inc. have announced their first offline in-game contest with $6,000 dollars of total prize for its FPS game, BATTERY, in South Korea.

 

Details released indicate that applications for the “Internet Café – Team Tournament” will begin on January 20th through February 6th. WEBZEN plans to select 16 teams by holding preliminary rounds.

 

Battery Online Grenade Explosion MMORPG

The contest will only be played in the Explosion Mode on randomly selected maps. However, participants are allowed to use their own characters and weapons without limit.

 

The players must create a clan consisting of 5 members to participate, and then sign up at the BATTERY website. All participants are only allowed to join one clan, and up to 2 players can be substituted.

 

WEBZEN will also hold a separate tournament on the day of the contest for the first 80 players with a BATTERY account. The final 8 winners from the tournament will win 100 dollars.

 

“This is the first official BATTERY tournament, and we hope to continue and make it an annual event from now on,” WEBZEN’s representative said.

 

“We already received many positive responses from the fans. The gaming-experience of playing against each other at the spot will be much different from online experience. This event will be very exciting.”

 

More details on BATTERY can be found at the official website.

The Blood Lord’s Reign of terror in Vindictus Arrives With Special Football Events

The Blood Lord’s Reign of terror in Vindictus Arrives With Special Football Events  


The Blood Lord rises in Vindictus, Nexon America’s physics-based action MMORPG. Brave mercenaries can band together in the mission “Shadowed by Darkness” to embark on the ultimate vampire hunt.  

 

Fighting the Blood Lord Vindictus MMORPG

The Blood Lord is the most challenging raid boss to come to Vindictus so far. Up to six mercenaries can join together to face him, but bringing him to submission will require every trick in the book due to his devastating arsenal of attacks.

 

Vindictus Evie and Blood Lord MMORPG

Those players who are creative enough to defeat him with footballs (that’s right, footballs in Vindictus) are in for special rewards. Players must be at least level 41 to face the Blood Lord, but those who are victorious against him will be able to craft the coveted Nightmare Armor set.  

 

Vindictus MMORPG Football Event

Also now available are all new hairstyles, face paint and body tattoos in the cash shop, along with special football themed content. Attentive players will find footballs scattered around the missions, which can be kicked at boss monsters (just think of them as mobile, menacing field goal targets). Every boss defeated with a football kick will yield a coupon, and three coupons can be redeemed for a special football jersey. Combined with any football helmet (available in the cash shop), the jersey and helmet together will yield special bonuses. Show your team spirit by picking up your own helmet and jersey today!  

 

Vindictus Football Bloodlord MMORPG

To learn more about the latest events in Vindictus click here.

Shogun’s Fate

Shogun’s Fate is a browser based massive multiplayer online strategy game developed by the spanish studio Hidden Station. With more than 17.000 registered players in the Spanish version, the long awaited English server will be available on January, 24.

It is a strategy game inspired in feudal Japan. Each player takes the role of a daimyo, or feudal lord, whose goal is to have the control of the Empire, becoming the Shogun.

For this purpose, players must develop their provinces, train samurais and troops, lead armies, organize political events, trade with other players, hire ninjas, bet on sumo tournaments, form clans and alliances with other players… any method is valid to reach the shogunate.

The Shogun’s Fate’s peculiarity is that, unlike other browser games, these games have a finite duration, which may vary from one week to several months. There are many types of games and the goals in each game vary. For instance, in some of them each one of the 7 factions are allies and fight each other, in others the players must survive and they are eliminated when another player conquers them. This gives every game a different playing experience.

As players are finishing games, they accumulate points to distribute in their talent tree. Thus, the best players are rewarded and get improvements and advantages for the next game. This adds variety and multiplies the game strategies. Shogun’s Fate is a free game. It doesn’t require installations or downloads.

League of Legends: Crocodile Tears

League of Legends Game Profile - Sign up Now!

 

League of Legends: Crocodile Tears
Patch v1.0.0.109, Renekton, champion ch-ch-changes, and scoring a reliable critical
By Jason (Hhean) Harper, OnRPG Journalist

 

League of Legends Renekton Deal With It

 

Greetings fellow summoners! This is the patch v1.0.0.109 article for League of Legends, the game in which a crocodile and a jackal can be considered brothers without bestiality being involved. This patch includes the greatest skin for trolling yet (I’m still waiting on a Trollface.jpg Trundle skin), some champion changes, a rework to critical strikes and Renekton, The Butcher of the Sands.

 

Renekton is a suicidal lunatic-type melee carry, suited to running into the enemy team like a screaming madman and doing as much damage as possible before running off, giggling. If you enjoy characters like Olaf or Tryndamere, he’s a good choice if you’re looking for something a little different. He’s a cooldown based champion primarily, with the added sprinkling of his new resource that builds up over the course of fights, Fury.

 

Fury is a new resource in League of Legends, ripped straight out of World of Warcraft that builds with the use of his abilities. With the use of his passive, Reign of Anger, he can also gain Fury from his auto attacks. Every 50 Fury he accumulates can be spent to add additional perks to his abilities, like lengthening the stun on Ruthless Predator, for example. Don’t focus much on his passive, and see it more as a nice added bonus, since his abilities generate Fury much, much faster.

 

Cull the Meek [Q], causes Renekton to spin in a circle with his oddball bladed weapon, causing damage to anything in the area around him, getting some health back, and gaining fury based on the number of enemies hit. You can actually gain fifty Fury almost instantly by Slicing into a champion sitting near a minion wave, and then using this. This is his main bread and butter ability, useful for keeping his health and fury high. Take it at first level, max it first.

 

Cull The Meek Renekton League of Legends

Ruthless Predator [W], make Renekton strike the target twice, stunning them and resetting his attack animation. This is where most of his single target damage comes from, since you can hit, get the double hit with the stun, and then attack again for an instant combo. The stun only applies after the second hit, and therefore has a slight delay on it, so don’t try to use this in clutch situations. The ability is an applied hit effect that buffs your next attack, so you can apply the buff to yourself, Slice towards someone and then hit them with the ability and its stun instantly. The Furious version of this ability extends the stun, which can be great for setting up a gank, or making a run for it. Take this at level 3 and max it second.

 

Slice and Dice [E], is his most satisfying ability, or set of abilities, at his disposal. Slice allows him to dash in a direction of your choosing, inflicting damage as he does so. It’s very short range, and at a glance looks inferior to any of this sort of ability in the game. However, if it damages anything as you dash, Dice immediately replaces it in your hotbar. Dice is a similar ability, but will immediately go on cooldown if it isn’t used shortly after Slice. Dice, unlike Slice, can be enhanced when spending Fury to reduce the armour of enemies when you pass through them.

 

Renekton In-Game Screenshot

These two abilities can be used in a number of ways, and are great when used in combination with his other tricks, a few of which I’ve mentioned above. The most common usage is to Slice at an enemy Champion, hit them with one, or both of your other mundane abilities, then Dice away to avoid a counter attack. This allows him to harass with relative safety, or dive into an enemy team to pick someone off before dashing away. Another great use for this is the all of nothing, Hail Mary Dive ™, where you Slice at one enemy, most likely a tank or minion, then use Dice to leap headlong into the enemy squishies. This will most likely result in someone dying, either Renekton or them, and is a great way of chasing people down when combined with Ruthless Predator. The last is using the double dash mechanic as a double escape. While fleeing, make sure you are on the wrong side of an enemy minion or champion, then Slice through them, allowing you to Dice even further away.

 

Level this at level 2, and level it last, as further levels only increase its damage, not its utility.

 

His ultimate, Dominus [R], works much the same way as his brother’s. He grows in size, gains health and deals damage to enemies around him while also gaining Fury over time. Useful for doing a bit of extra damage, to surcure a kill or just to lay down some AoE damage during a team fight. The extra health is great for quickly using during a gank or team fight to keep yourself alive that little bit longer.

 

Start out with a Doran’s Shield, rather than the recommended Doran’s Blade. He has more than enough life steal already from his Q. His item build should vary dramatically after that depending on who he’s against. As a general rule, he wants to stay tanky for his first few items, before branching out into damage later on. I have been finding Spirit Visage to be surprisingly effective on him, especially against magical damage teams, as the heal boost works very well alongside Cull The Meek, and the cooldown should never be overlooked. Sunfire Cape is great for assisting Renekton’s already impressive farming capabilities, and is almost a must buy against physical teams. Once you believe him to have become sufficiently tanky, pick up a brutalizer and a Black Cleaver. The former is great for its cooldown reduction, and the latter synergises very well with Ruthless Predator to gain lots of stacks of armour reduction.

 

Renekton Minion Crush

For his masteries, you want to be pushing a full 21 in the defense tree, and then spending the remaining points as you choose. I personally put the remaining 9 in offense, but placing them in utility also works well as long as you avoid the mana based abilities. For Runes, I prefer using armour pen reds, dodge yellows, flat cooldown reduction blues and (surprise!) flat health quintessences. This to keep a fair balance between tankiness and damage dealing capabilities.  Rolling out with Cleanse and Ghost for summoner spells will allow him survive a great deal of punishment, especially when combined with his ultimate.

 

A special note to those of you who watched the Champion Spotlight, want to buy Renekton, but haven’t done so yet by the time you’re reading this article – Wait for his buff next patch. During testing, this character was a complete beast, but underwent heavy nerfs extremely close to release. He’s a great champion, with abilities that can be used in different ways depending on the situation, a surprisingly good looking character model and some incredibly fluid animations. However, he’s currently a bit too weak to be viable until his inevitable buffs.

 

The other changes this patch aren’t as global as the previous two. There have been some minor tweaks to a wide array of champions, mostly likely token changes just to show the community that Riot are aware of who the problem children of League of Legends currently are. Heimerdinger got some significant changes to his ultimate, allowing it to enhance his other abilities, and the new ammo system on his turrets (taken from Corki and Teemo) allows him to set up immediately as a team fight is kicking off, taking away one of his major problems. Caitlyn’s ultimate got an unsurprising buff, and yet is still completely underwhelming. Evelyn got slammed in the face with a nerf hammer to try and curb how effective she is in the jungle.

 

The increase in the magic resistance on jungle creeps will impact a number of champions, like Evelyn and Amumu, who will find jungling a bit harder after after this patch. It also gives a slight nerf to the speed of characters like Warwick who, while mostly based on physical damage, uses his abilities to supplement his jungling capabilities. It’s a small effort to make jungling a little bit harder, and a bit slower.

 

League of Legends New Champion Renekton

The critical strike/dodge changes, that they will now be more reliable and not prone to extreme peaks and troughs, will hopefully make characters like Gangplank and Tryndamere a bit more viable. Their power should now (hopefully) come more from carefully calculated risks than sheer, blind luck. I do wish Riot had been a  bit more forthcoming on how the new system works in the patch notes though, but its most likely this will either be explained somewhere on their forums, or someone on Leaguecraft will figure out the exact math behind it.

 

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.

Dynasty Saga Interview: Epic Warfare From The Start

Dynasty Saga Interview: Epic Warfare From The Start

Questions by Bryan King
Answered by Jiming Zhou (Joe) of Koram Games

 

Dynasty Saga is a revolutionary new web game that has combined and improved upon elements of traditional city-building strategy games and classic RPG games to bring you an entirely new gaming experience. Today, I was pleased to toss some questions at Jiming Zhou, who is the Marketing Manager of Dynasty Saga.

 

OnRPG: Hi there! Although we’re all familiar with your name now, can you please introduce readers to your position at Koram Games?

Hello everyone nice to meet you all! I am Joe, the Marketing Manager of Koram Games.

OnRPG: What is Koram Games’ history in the MMO market?

Koram Games is a subsidiary company of Kunlun Group. We have published Kunlun’s games in English, Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Turkish, and Japanese. Our previous games include Three Kingdoms Online, Mythopolis, Clash of Kingdoms, King of Kungfu, CEO Dream, and many more. Our company is a major player in the browser-based MMOG market especially in China and Taiwan. 

 

Dynasty Saga Advisor

OnRPG: Can you please introduce readers to your project, Dynasty Saga?

Dynasty Saga is our newest browser game which I personally believe stands out from other strategy games based on the Three Kingdom time period. In Dynasty Saga you no longer need to toil tirelessly for resources or wait endlessly to recruit your army. Instead, you’ll be fighting and having fun as soon as you enter the game! You can defeat a higher level player by utilizing gambits, tactics, formations and your military ingenuity, so you won’t need to grind away your time on stuff that isn’t any fun!

 

OnRPG: I noticed that the Han Dynasty is mentioned before the first mission of the game, obviously having some correlation to historical events. Can you please tell users about Dynasty Saga’s storyline?

Dynasty Saga’s storyline is based on the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China. In the year 184 AD, an extremist Taoist sect known as the Yellow Turbans launched a peasant rebellion against the mighty Han Empire which led to its eventual collapse. In its aftermath a new stock of heroes emerged, visionary generals, cunning tacticians and despotic tyrants each dead-set on the conquest of the fallen emperor’s throne. What followed was a period of total warfare the likes of which China had never known with epic battles being fought, both on land and on water, between endless armies of devoted soldiers under the command of legendary generals. Cunning and intrigue became weapons of war and allegiances were made and broken with little hesitation. This famous period of Chinese history came to be known as the Three Kingdoms Period, referring to the Wei, Shu and Wu Kingdoms. Players of Dynasty of Saga will have the chance to fight for one of these mighty kingdoms and interact with all of the famous characters of the time.

 

OnRPG: There are plenty of browser games out there. How does Dynasty Saga differentiate itself from them?

Most browser games of the strategy genre force their players to spend vast amounts of time collecting resources and waiting for construction and training queues to finish. If a player wants to participate in a battle it will take him a long time to amass enough troops. Poor resource management can lead to players who won’t be able to do much of anything for a long time. Dynasty Saga is totally different because you can start fighting straight away. Resource management will only become important later on when you’ve gotten the hang of how the game works. Dynasty Saga also features strong RPG elements with great emphasis on the individuality of different generals and units giving endless replay ability and strategic possibilities. It really is a game that is both inviting to the newbie and challenging to even a seasoned pro.

 

Dynasty Saga

OnRPG: Would you consider the game “hard” for anyone to just pick up and play?

I don’t think so. You don’t have to know much about the inner workings of the game in order to start doing stuff and having fun. Both RPG and strategy game players will be instantly at home with Dynasty Saga.

OnRPG: With that in mind, what is your team’s target audience with the game? Hardcore or casual?

I think both types of players would enjoy playing Dynasty Saga. Casual players can play at their own pace, following the storyline of the Three Kingdoms through the campaign whilst being protected from attacks by high level players as the game will not allow players to attack anyone 10 levels or lower than them. We have put a lot of effort into balancing the game and ensuring fairness for all players. As for more hardcore players they’ll have the chance to participate in extensive PvP battles. Dynasty Saga supports huge battles between over a hundred players. That’s around 500 generals and more than 10,000 troops!

 

OnRPG: I understand that the game was taken from an Eastern development team and translated and reformed for English speakers. How was this transition?

Our goal when translating Dynasty Saga was to preserve the cultural richness of the game’s background as the game draws heavily on the stories and lore of the Three Kingdoms. We hope that our players will not only find this game entertaining and challenging but can also learn more about the fascinating world of Eastern culture and history

.

OnRPG: How have fans responded to Dynasty Saga so far, and what channels of communication does your team use to gain feedback?

Since the beginning of Closed Beta we have received a lot of feedback and suggestions from players on our forums. We were delighted to see so many players giving Dynasty Saga five stars on Facebook. We really appreciate the support and feedback of our players which help us to improve the game.

 

OnRPG: Are there any PvP elements in the game that allow players to duke it out?

Dynasty Saga has many PvP game elements. One of the most spectacular of these is legion battle. When a legion battle breaks out you can have more than 100 players fighting against each other on two opposing sides. You can participate in these epic battles by simply joining a legion and logging in at the right time. Strategize with your squad mates to defeat the enemy legion and gain prestige.

 

OnRPG: Does your team make sure that the cash shop balances out players who do pay and those who do not? If so, how?

Dynasty Saga players who buy gold will enjoy a few benefits that free players do not. Having said that, the game is still very enjoyable to players who don’t buy gold. Players have a chance of collecting gold in-game as well as winning it through competitions. Compared to many other games where it is almost impossible to play without buying gold, Dynasty Saga really does allow players to play for free. Free players are also protected from being bullied by gold-buying players who might be stronger though it is entirely possible for a free player to dominate a paying player.

 

OnRPG: Do you think that this is the time of game where players will choose many Generals (main characters) to mess around with or will players stick to one?

In Dynasty Saga you can deploy a total of 5 generals at once. You need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your generals in order to use them effectively. Each general will have unique attributes as well special attacks and gambits. Choose your formation carefully and place each general in a position that suits him/her the best. Enemies will be doing the same too so you’ll need to flexible and adapt your strategies to each opponent. There will be more and more generals to choose from as the player advances through the campaign but players will soon find ones that suit their playing style the best.

 

Dynasty Saga City

OnRPG: Do you guys have any major future content for DS? Any new MMOs coming to Koram Games?

Yes. Our development schedule for next year is already pretty full. There will be new features and new campaigns for Dynasty Saga. As for new MMOs, there are already a few projects underway. We will be releasing a new client-based game soon but it is currently only available in Chinese.

 

OnRPG: Where do you see Dynasty Saga a year from now?

We will be adding more features and expanding the game’s campaign. It’s hard to say what the game will look like in a year’s time but from the looks of things the game is set to become a big hit with our players.

 

OnRPG: Anything else you would like to leave readers with?

Koram Games is proud of what we have achieved with Dynasty Saga. We hope readers who enjoy strategy and RPG games will give it a try. Join Dynasty Saga today and create your own legend!

 

OnRPG: Thank you so much for your time!

I really appreciate the chance to introduce DS to OnRPG readers.

Luna Online Releases Expansion: Luna Plus!

Luna Plus, the first expansion to the smash-hit 3D MMORPG, Luna Online, is now live!  This major expansion will increase the level cap from 120 to 150 and introduce a brand new race as well as new job changes at level 145.  Players will be able to explore seven new high level zones, raid massive new dungeons, and battle hundreds of amazing new monsters!

In addition to new features like Guild vs. Guild Castle Siege and daily random instance dungeons, Luna Plus has a completely overhauled skill and stat system, giving way to more than 500 new or rebalanced skills. For new players, a revamped starting zone will make getting into the action more fun and easier than ever.

Luna Plus the new expansion for Luna Online is now live!

Not only has the farm system been expanded but a brand new amusement park system has been added, letting players customize their own carnival! For those that love customization, Luna Plus’s housing system has over 5000 different items to stack and interact with, plus a 360 degree rotation view to make sure rooms are set up just right!  From a wizard’s wardrobe to a pet nursery, the possibilities are endless and also rewarding as house guests provide benefits and buffs!

Luna Plus also introduces 60 combat pets that level with players and boast unique signature skills from silencing targets to dealing damage. In addition to pets, with eight-person mounts and solo travel on anything from UFOs to a Fighting Sea Serpent, getting around the Blue Land has never looked so good!

With Luna Plus, it’s the Luna you love, plus new zones, new homes, new pets, new mounts, new features and more!

BATTERY’s First Update For 2011

BATTERY’s First Update For 2011

 

WEBZEN Inc. have announced the first update in 2011 for ‘BATTERY,’ the Urban Military Shootout FPS game in South Korea. This update will add a new battle mode, ‘Extreme Extermination’ with new guns and new skills to ‘BATTERY’.

 

Battery Online Grenade Explosion MMORPG

 

Extreme Extermination is a new battle mode, where players battle without hinderance to possess the bomb and place it inside the enemy base. This fast paced battle will keep gamers excited with both the enemy and your own army reinfocements spawning immediately.

 

WEBZEN also released a game play video along side this news to present this new battle mode. This video shows 8 VS 8 Extreme Extermination Mode in the China Market with two new weapons: The ‘SCAR-L,’ and automatic revolver, DESERT EAGLE.’

 

Battery SCAR MMORPG FPS

 

 

Battery Online Desert Eagle MMO FPS

WEBZEN will also update new skills such as ‘DEVASTATOR BULLET’ which can explode dispersively into 5 bullets, and ‘BOMB DETECTER.’

 

A WEBZEN representative said “We are adding this new battle mode with new content to fulfill all users’ preferences, and supply them dynamic tactics and still easy to approach game play.”  He added “We will continue to satisfy both existing and new gamers with tactically prepared content in many different ways for many years to come”

 

More details on BATTERY, the updates can be found at the official website.

Xen Online

Catered to the young at heart, Xen Online is an anime-inspired, socially-oriented Free to Play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) and a reinvented game provided by Mayngames.

 

As explorers and emissaries of love, players seeking adventure in the continent of Xen will:

 

Meet friends from diverse cultures, to socialize, to accessorize and to spread the ideology of love in the mystical world of Xen!

 

Hunt monsters with friends in a captivating quest system that rewards teamwork amongst warriors with complementary skills

 

Explore and discover treasures among locales unique to the Xen Continent, such as mushroom huts and gingerbread houses!

 

Interact with and recruit fellow guildsmen, participate in celebrity and home decor contests!

 

Make fashion statements with endless customization options through smelting equipment, raising pets into mounts, and decorating culturally unique costumes!

 

Appeal to the divinity of love, through the ceremony of Fortress Battles – Massive Player vs Player combat events!

Salem Announced, Features Perma Death!

Salem Announced, Features Perma Death!

Newcomer Seatribe has annouced they are working on Salem, an MMO set in a mythical version of New England. The game starts with the player stepping off a boat in Boston after which they have to fend for themselves in the ‘New World’.

 

Salem MMO RPG Announced - It Features Permadeath!

 

Most interesting fact about this Free to Play game is that it will feature permadeath: “When your character dies, he stays dead,” Seatribe Game Designer Bjorn Johannessen said. And since Salem will feature free-for-all PvP this is going to be a very hot topic! Johannessen hopes that the players will band together to protect each other and keep playerkillers to a minimum.

We wonder if Johannessen played Ultima Online (before Trammel) or any of the other “free for all” PVP games. There is a reason those games are now in the fringe of the genre.

Metal Assault

Metal Assault is a free-to-play 2D side-scrolling shooter, featuring modern military equipment, zombies, vehicles, and more.

Features:

Solo, Co-Op, & Team Missions: Choose from a variety of game modes ranging from solo and co-op missions, team battles for control points, 8v8 deathmatches, and more.

Player Vehicles: Dominate the battlefield with vehicles that include robotic bodysuits, powerful mortar cannons, tanks, and choppers.

Gear Up In Style: Collect a variety of equipment including military fatigues, shorty shorts, groovy goggles, and more.