Yearly Archives: 2011

Maegica Online

Maegica follows the well beaten path of browser based empire building games. But what sets it apart is the vast amount of items, heroes, and tactics you can call to arms to overcome your enemies. A fanciful and unique anime art-style also helps compliment the look and feel of the game. It gave me the feel that I was playing an alternate Fire Emblem.

Features:

Living World: Whether you are online or afk, the world will continue to grow and evolve.

3 Faction System: Show your allegiance to one of 3 warlords and join their ranks in a battle for domination ofthe realm.

144 Heroes: Do battle with and force hundreds of heroes under your banner. It feels like Pokemon!

Alliance Battles: Do battle against 100 players with up to 500 hero characters at one time. This is one of the most epic battle modes a browser strategy game has ever produced.

RuneScape Releases Clan Citadel Expansion

RuneScape Releases Clan Citadel Expansion

 

 

 

Jagex Games Studio today released the latest RuneScape expansion, Clan Citadels. This expansion fills RuneScape’s horizon with a multitude of floating castles, offering in-game clans a much-anticipated unique and fully customizable gameplay experience.

 

 

Details of the expansion were first released earlier this month, resulting in a surge of players rushing to join the game and pledge their allegiance to one of the existing 200,000+ clans. From today, any clan with five or more RuneScape members will be able to take ownership of its own Citadel.

 

Clan Citadels are set to break the mould for group gaming in MMOs by offering players unmatched customization and freedom to create user-generated multiplayer content. Clans choose from four initial Citadel layouts and propel their Citadel into glorious sunshine or perpetual night. Players then have unrestricted customization options for their castle keep, and can add a range of banners and flags, flying the colors of their clan for all to see.

 

 

The centrepiece of today’s expansion is the clan battlefields feature, presenting unique sandbox environments allowing clans to generate their own gameplay, a RuneScape first. The Battleground Editor allows players to generate their own combat scenarios and multiplayer games. Clans can create any activity, including simple capture-the-flag games, deathmatches, ball games, mazes, and any combination of these. Once the battlegrounds are fine-tuned, players can challenge other clans to participate in large-scale battles and competitions.

 

Each clan’s Citadel can be upgraded through seven tiers, unlocking more space, skilling hotspots, impressive elements and special features. These include skilling zones, portal grounds, meeting areas, a senate, dragon perch, and party room.

 

 

Daniel Clough, VP of RuneScape, commented, “Today is a historic day for RuneScape, as we release the biggest expansion of the year and our largest ever community update. We have been looking for a unique and innovative way to provide new multiplayer features to the game, and we are hugely excited to see what the community makes of this update. The popularity of our in-game clans is staggering, with more than 1.3 million players signing up since our last clan update in April and, as you would expect, the level of anticipation for this update is unprecedented. Our ambitious plan has always been to make RuneScape’s clan support the envy of the MMO world, and we are confident that Clan Citadels can do just that.”

Tank Ace Enters Second Beta Test

Tank Ace Enters Second Beta Test

 

 

 

GamesCampus today launched the second closed beta for its WWII warfare game, Tank Ace.  To kick off the second phase of testing, Tank Ace is hosting a variety of events featuring in-game prizes.  Starting today, players can go to the website to register and participate in the closed beta test (July 26th to July 31st, 11AM-6PM, PST).

 

Chocked full of new content for the second closed beta test, Tank Ace will feature a new challenge mode, new quests and updated bases. Completely overhauled with all-new graphics and textures, the game will also feature a new windowed mode. To celebrate, Tank Ace will kick off a variety of events:

Race to Log In – The first player to log in will receive 1,000 Campus Credits

Log In Event – 10 random players who are logged in for at least 10 minutes will receive 1,000 Campus Credits

GM Events – Players can participate in random in-game events with GM for prizes

Facebook Events – Visit Tank Ace’s Facebook page for quizzes and contests for a chance at prizes

Forum Events – Visit the forums for a variety of quizzes, screen shot contests and more

“We had such a great interest in our first closed beta and I’m sure those fans, and new ones, will want to check out all of the new features in the second test,” said Uyen Uyen Ton Nu, Head of Marketing at GamesCampus.com.  “We have taken our time to improve the game greatly and the fans are going to enjoy all of the upgrades and the fantastic variety of events.”

 

The action-packed third person shooter features realistic World War II battlefields and vehicles based on actual historical facts and gives players the opportunity to customize their tanks by adding additional armor, styles of camouflage and so much more!  In addition, players can gather up their friends and create their own clan to plan a winning battlefield strategy with either terrain features, such as hills and trees, or a coordinated assault with historically accurate tactics.

Tank Ace is packed with engaging battles and accurate specifications like realistic recoil action and tank tactics.  This action-packed tactical-shooter features realistic World War II battlefields and
vehicle stats based on actual historical facts.  Players will create their own clans and devise winning strategies as they utilize terrain features, coordinate assaults by using historically accurate tactics and more!  Just some of the other gripping features include World War II Factions including Russia, Germany and the U.S.A, easy to pick-up controls and an Area Specific Damage System.  In the game, players will lay an ambush, outflank the enemy divisions and charge across the battlefield in the mightiest war machine ever created!

Riot Games Releases League of Legends Stats

Riot Games Announces League of Legends Statistics

 

 

 

Riot Games, the game company behind League of Legends, today revealed that more than 1.4 million players log on to enjoy the award-winning PC game every day. With over 15 million registered players, an average of ten games of League of Legends start every second of every day. As the first season of competitive League of Legends play comes to a close, the number of active players each month has grown to over four million.

 

 

“We are extremely proud and appreciative of the devoted League of Legends community which has grown substantially over the last year and a half,” said Brandon Beck, CEO of Riot Games. “We’re committed to continuing to match their dedication with our relentless focus on ongoing enhancements to the player experience with great new features, content, and polish – and we have some very exciting surprises in store just around the corner.”

 

The League of Legends service currently operates servers in North America and Europe. Peak concurrency between the two platforms totals over 500,000 simultaneous players. In addition:

 

Every day, over a million games of League of Legends are played, most consisting of two teams of five players.

 

Gamers spend 3.7 million hours in-game enjoying League of Legends every day.

 

The official website for League of Legends receives over 6 million page views per day.

 

1.4 million people like League of Legends on Facebook, and League of Legends videos have nearly 100 million views on YouTube.

 

Over 1,690,000 viewers tuned into the online broadcast of the League of Legends Season One Championship, with concurrent viewership peaking at over 210,000.

 

 

In other news, today marks one of the largest updates to be seen from League of Legends in a great while. With it come a much needed Kayle rework, Tryndamere rework (he looks like Genghis Khan now!),  new art, a dozen rebalances, and the legendary Monkey King, who will be going live later today! Stay tuned for the review of this champion and all the changes by Jason Harper in the coming week.

Crimecraft Bleedout- 2011 ReReview

CrimeCraft Bleedout – 2011 ReReview

By Michael Sagoe (Mikedot), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Guns, Drugs, Sex, Violence and Explosions! All of this and more can be found in the wonderfully grim and dreary world of CrimeCraft!

 

Back in 2009, CrimeCraft was released by Vogster Entertainment as a subscription based MMO third person shooter that received meager reception. Since then, the game has been updated, tweaked and reworked into a F2P MMO shooter; all while receiving its first major expansion called “The Bleedout”, which features a handful of new content. But with all this and more, does this game finally have enough street cred?

 

Customization

First, you’re obviously going to need a tough look for yourself when hitting up the streets, but that’s probably going to have to wait since the initial customization options are a bit lacking. For both male and female characters, you only get a handful of hairs, faces, shirts, shoes, etc. After cycling through the options and hitting the” randomize” button a few times, I managed to find a somewhat decent look, but still couldn’t help but feel like my new dude came straight out of a mental ward.

 

 

While the initial customization was lacking, you’ll have a good chunk of options much later on. Most clothing items that can be purchased with in-game money also have stats applied to them, so you might want to think twice about which clothing options to go with. The only way for your character to have the look you want with the stats you want is to pick up avatar clothing which covers over your stat clothing. The only way to get these is by purchasing them from the black market with gold bars (real money) or by bidding off another player’s avatar items at the auction house. Not really my cup of tea, but seems fair enough.

 

Graphics/Presentation

Powered by Unreal Engine 3, the world of CrimeCraft sets a damn good vibe of creating a post-apocalyptic city. The textures seem to be a bit sloppy and low-res in a few places, but for the most part the environments are fantastic.

 

 

Player models also give off a good amount of detail with solid animations, too. I just wish they could have done something with the model faces having a weird, creepy stare which makes them look more like living manikins rather than people. All of this gets wrapped up in a pretty bloody stained bow as killing your enemies viciously includes lots of gibs and ragdoll physics. Strange enough, though, I feel like the gore is a bit overdone (It seems like everyone in CrimeCraft is squishy and have open circulatory systems or something, because even a quick stab to the neck will make an enemy’s head explode.)

 

 

Controls

The control scheme used for CrimeCraft is very typical for first/third person shooters: WSAD for movement, MOUSE1 for firing, MOUSE2 for precise aiming, SHIFT for sprinting and SPACEBAR for action rolling. On a personal note: I wasn’t too fond of not being able to lean or switch aiming sides, so I couldn’t use most of my usual TPS tactics here. Also: Throwing grenades were a bit of a pain for me since they’re listed under skills, and each skill is mapped to the F1-F5 keys. Fortunately, these keys can be remapped.

 

Simply put: The controls scheme for CrimeCraft is as average as average can be, so you should be able to get used to them as soon as your start playing.

 

Features/Gameplay

The game starts off in a way that really caught me off guard: Instead of heading straight into a tutorial, the game dumps you straight into a live match.

 

The available modes here contain a good amount of variety over the basics. While CrimeCraft contains your standard FFA, TDM and CTF (Renamed as Riot, Shootout and Snatch & Grab), there’s a couple of modes that change up the pace such as Robbery and Safeguard. After giving those modes a try, I can say that while they break up the monotony of straight forward shooting, they do lose its luster after a while. One nice feature with game modes is that other players are free to jump into your game at any time, which is great for PvE matches when you need some backup.

 

 

You also have the ability to start up a gang (clan/guild system), allowing you to start up a nice little hideout. If you’re feeling dominant, you can challenge other gangs and wage war while betting some cash on the side. With a gang, you can also start a night club business and have players pay to get in. Starting up or joining a gang is one of the easiest ways to make money in CrimeCraft, and very recommended, since a lot of items are expensive as hell.

 

There’s also crafting professions you can choose from that allow you make different weapons, outfits and other items. My personal favorite: Chemist profession, which lets me make wonderful “medicines” to use in and out of battle (and when I mean “medicine”, I totally mean drugs!). Ever wonder what it would be like to be a drug dealer? Look no further!

 

Living the dream!

 

Besides from a few quests that you can take, there’s always something going down, such as tournaments you can participate in on a daily and weekly basis. I think this is a great way to keep the community active and give players something new to do every time they log in.

 

Community

While the population is a bit low, you’ll find more than enough players around to start a match or instance. The community here contains your typical bunch of friendly, rude and mild mannered players as in every free-to-play online game so don’t expect anything out of the ordinary.

 

Overall

CrimeCraft features a lot of content compared to its competition, making the experience well above average. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but its dark atmosphere alone makes the game stand above most other F2P shooters. If you’re looking for a long lasting experience or just looking to pop off a few heads every now and then, CrimeCraft is certainly worth a try.

 

Customization – 3

Graphics/Presentation – 4

Controls – 2

Features/Gameplay – 3

Community – 3

Early Access: Realm of the Titans Hero Preview

Early Access: Realm of the Titans- Hero Review

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

 

 

 

Welcome back to episode 3 of OnRPG’s Early Access: Realm of the Titans series, focusing on the Heroes themselves! Before we get started I wanted to give a shout out to a fantastic artist named Ajka (Alicja Chrena) I met at Anime Expo who helped me bring to life the image of what Dizzy from Guilty Gear would look like inside the world of League of Legends.

 

That’s Hot

 

Be sure to check out more works by Ajka at http://tirramisu.deviantart.com/.

 

Now to get back on topic! It’s the best and worst time in a game development cycle for Aeria Games this week. Their prized game, Realm of the Titans, which they have spent countless after hours testing and honing over the past year is finally amping up for closed beta access this Wednesday! Beta keys and press releases are being sent out, and there’s no turning back now!

 

I myself have been having a blast seeing the various heroes in action while playing with my new friends at MOBAcast. We had a fun 3v3 scrimmage against them last weekend and Colby made a video of the epicness so check it out HERE. After less than a week of hands on time, things are starting to feel familiar and intuitive. Denying, last hitting, and harassing all form together into an intricate dance akin to a life and death piano tune (Ok I might have spent a bit too much time on Yue).

 

Anyhow I felt it would be best to give a brief description of the heroes available at launch and what makes them each so special. This way OnRPG viewers will be in the know and get who they want on day 1 instead of fumbling through dozens of champions that don’t fit their play style and end up spending closed beta in the proverbial ELO Hell.

 

 

Offensive Heroes

The Offensive heroes are true to their name. They get up in your face, or blow you away with ranged physical damage like no one else can. If left unchecked, they will build into nightmarish foes that nothing will stand against come end game.

 

If you are playing one of these monsters, it’s your job to tell your team what’s up and ensure their strategy is based around getting you maxed out on all your stats as soon as possible. If you are against them, it’s time to deny minions, tower hug, and do whatever you can to shut them down while they are still vulnerable in the early game.

 

Misrefel

Misrefel represents one of the most feared of the offensive heroes. Her ability to deal damage at range and up close makes her a threat from any positioning. Only oppose her if you have a very good back up plan or you will find yourself another victim in her long killing streaks.

 

Ultimate- Blade of Vengeance: Misrefel launches her twin blades which track a target dealing considerable damage and slowing on impact.

 

 Flame Wing and Misrefel Cut Through Their Unsuspecting Foes

 

Flame Wing

Flame Wing is best described as the Ashe of Realm of the Titans. Through constant harass, he will whittle you down and then burst into action to steal a long range kill. Beware letting this hero free farm gold at all costs!

 

Ultimate- Piercing Barrage: Flame Wing Fires a barrage of arrows that penetrate through targets and continue forward. He is immobilized while in this state but can still aim in various directions.

 

Deccat

Deccat is quite a tricky offensive hero. He’s hard to characterize but deadly if played in the right hands. Using traps and CC, he will leave you at the mercy of his ultimate.

 

Ultimate- Spirit Link: Charm a neutral creep that inherits Deccat’s base defense and magic resist. Charmed creep also inherits damage, attack speed, and health!

 

Pua-Pua

Oh Pua.. how I despise you! You’re the Teemo of the ROTT world.. except Pua-Pua goes where he pleases! His Mid-Range tribal dart gun can cut down a wary enemy before they recognize its happening.

 

Ultimate- Shaman King’s Curse: Pua-Pua is afflicted by the King’s Curse. This transforms him into a powerful buff action hero for a 25 second duration.

 

The Curse In Action

 

Samurai Spirit

I think the Curse representative summed Samurai Spirit up best at our private press preview. “His ultimate can’t be targeted, runs faster than me, and deals massive damage. How is this balanced?” Samurai Spirit is a relentless pursuer that would sooner die than let his target escape him. If played right, all team fights should give your team a 1 member advantage.

 

Ultimate- Crimson Fury: Summons a giant samurai warrior who relentlessly pursues an enemy hero. Samurai Spirit can teleport to his summon at any time during its short duration.

 

 Samurai Spirit Hunts down Demon Judge with Crimson Fury!

 

Aether

You may recognize him from OnRPG’s noob stomper image I posted earlier in the month. Aether is a glass cannon with far too many skill shots to count. But if played properly, he can be considered the most dangerous hero on the map, causing massive constant damage at melee and ranged distances.

 

Ultimate- Sword Storm: Concentrate Energy for 3 seconds or discharge on command. The longer you channel, the more damaging the swords are. Swords spread out in a line, shoot forward and converge on a target, and then break apart in a fan shape dealing more damage to foes caught behind the target.

 

 Why Run? Aether Will Catch You Anyway!

 

Defensive Heroes

Don’t let the name fool you. Defensive heroes can still pack a punch in many cases. However these tanks can survive through virtually anything if built for it and still come out on top. Masters of split pushing and overextension, no one can scout or disrupt the enemy team quite like this set of heroes.

 

Soul Taker

Soul Taker is quite a conundrum. Though not fast moving, he brings immense damage to targets he can slice his blades through. Most make the mistake of going toe to toe with him and then kiting thinking that the advantage is theirs due to Soul Taker’s inability to keep up with them. That’s usually their final mistake..

 

Ultimate- : God Destroyer: Soul Taker vaults through the air to a target location, causing massive AoE damage on impact.

 

Casteele

Casteele is tough to peg in one archetype of hero. However, due to his turret system that works similarly to heimerdinger, I classified him as a defensive hero for his intense ability to lock a lane down and punish anyone who overextends on the enemy team gunning for a kill. Casteele makes for quite the distraction himself to pull fire off hurting allies.

 

Ultimate- Siege Mode: Siege Mode grants ranged attacks with 100% splash damage for a duration of 40 seconds. The area of the splash damage is a sizable 300 units.

 

Casteele Dares You to Break Through His Makeshift Fortress

 

Sealed Beast

This nasty tiger-like.. . creature might be just a cute little kitty by himself. But in a team battle he is MVP. His ability to unleash the best in all of his teammates makes him truly shine as both a defensive and supportive hero.

 

Ultimate- Binding Chains: Within a range of 1500 units, Sealed Beast boosts all allies’ speed to equal the fastest ally. All enemies caught in the range will move as slow as their currently slowest moving teammate.

 

Silvar

Silvar, aka the Houdini of the Woods, can initiate team fights and flee with hardly a scratch on him. This living treant might not be able to withstand the damage of some defensive heroes, but you’ll never catch him to finish him off!

 

Ultimate- Overgrowth: Silvar weaves roots through the ground, snaring nearby enemies and doing 80 damage per second.

 

 Silvar Holds On Tight

 

Spell Casters

Spell casters play the role of controller in Realm of the Titans. Although they don’t dish out quite as much consistent DPS as the offensive heroes, their spells usually come with crippling side effects, aoe damage, and are incredibly powerful for ganking heroes in the early games when magic resistance is low and base damage is high. A properly played spell caster can set the pace of a match in the early game to help support offensive heroes build into unopposed end game monsters.

 

Dead Rider

This nasty little goblin-like creature and his trusted mount spread discord and chaos quickly and efficiently all over the map. Due to insane mobility, Dead Rider is a top tier roamer who will leave opponents in fear of overextending away from their towers’ protection. However not even this can save a team from Dead Rider’s team fight killing ultimate.

 

Ultimate- Liaison to Hell: Dead Rider links enemy souls together. The enemy with the lowest hp takes extra damage based on the damage inflicted on his nearby teammates. This ultimate is nasty if you do not realize it is in effect because even if you hide on the back line, the damage inflicted on your tanks will still reach you.

 

Tide Walker

Tide Walker is a goofy little critter. He takes on the form of something between a sea monkey and a bull frog. His mastery over water spells and disruption is no joke though. He also has one of the greatest utility ultimates in the current game.

 

Ultimate- Tidal Wave: Summons a tidal wave that crashes forward, pushing enemies and minions 3,000 units back from the origin of the wave. This is amazing for buying your team time after losing a team battle.

 

Nevetira

Nevetira is a spicy little vixen that looks and feels like an unholy love child between LoL’s Janna and Ryze. With bursts of lightning, speed boosting powers, and a ranged tornado at her disposal, she will leave you harassed and confused.

 

Ultimate- Thunder Clap: Nevetira’s ultimate is one of the most spectacular and dreadful to watch in the game. She fires a volley of her thunder balls in a fan shape, slowing spreading out from their initial location. When you hit the spell button again the balls freeze in place for a quick moment. They will sparkle with energy and then target the nearest enemy and fly at them, doing 120 damage, 80 AoE damage, and causing a 0.1 second stun for each ball that hits a target. Ouch!

 

 

Demon Judge

Although I was unable to see much of the Demon Judge in play, his ability to support an offensive carry is uncanny and dangerous. The Demon Judge acts as the ultimate target caller in team battles, amplifying the power of his teammates so long as they follow his orders. Speaking of orders, opponents will have to be quick on their feet to get out of his ultimate alive.

 

Ultimate- Order of Execution: Demon Judge places a death warrant on an enemy, causing damage over time to the marked foe. If a set amount of damage is inflicted to the target during the duration of the Order, a large additional amount of damage will be incurred at the conclusion of the hex.

 

Haz’zard

Some OnRPG viewers may already be aware of Haz’zard from the hero showcase we did on him recently. I thought he seemed quite horrifying in the hero showcase, and he met all expectations when facing him ingame. Haz’zard’s ability to cause wide spread damage to an area is borderline absurd. In any team battle you have to take Haz’zard out asap or your entire team will be stunned and burnt to a crisp.

 

Ultimate- Thousand Flames: Haz’zard releases multiple rings of fire that spread outward almost endlessly, at a speed of 300 units per second. If you’re stuck inside this range for the full duration, your chance of survival is extremely low.

 

Haz’zard in His Own Base? Time To Run!

 

Supports

As a support in Realm of the Titans, you carry the responsibility of three major roles. Deny, map awareness, and CC. Since supports aren’t as reliant as other heroes on farming gold, they are much more capable of focusing on your own minions and using the deny mechanic to last hit minions before enemies do, denying your opponents of valuable gold and experience. Since wards (items that grant vision in a set area of the map) are so cheap, it’s also best if supports keep wards up in all the major chokepoints of the map to give allies early warning of incoming ganks. Supports also excel at crowd control abilities, whether it be delayed damage (aka psychological damage), heals, or silencing spells.

 

Marroc

Marroc is a hybrid hero that deals much more damage than the average support hero. His twin blades pack a punch and his ultimate can turn any team fight into a one sided massacre.

 

Ultimate- Dragon Evil Release: Marroc releases the spirit of a fiery dragon from his blades, targeting and chasing a selected enemy hero for a period of time. This dragon will also damage any enemies it encounters while chasing the enemy hero. In a worst case scenario this skill will send a skilled enemy hero running for their life to protect their teammates. In the best case scenario, the enemy will be clueless who the dragon is chasing and result in a breakdown of enemy formations and an ensuing ace.

 

Abraxas

Abraxas is an interesting hero because he looks far too bad ass to be labeled as a support hero. He functions similar to the Demon Judge but with a few tricks that can save allies who get stuck in a tight spot.

 

Ultimate- Majesty: Majesty is a two sided ultimate that can be used on allies or enemies. When used on enemies, you can visibility of the enemy while simultaneously doing damage over time and lowering all of their resistances. This is invaluable against heroes utilizing stealth or very mobile heroes that attempt to juke your team by running through the jungle. When Majesty is used on allies, it buffs all of their defenses and recovers a portion of their hp.

 

Ritter

Ritter is the poster child for a Knight in Shining Armor. Acting as half tank and half support, he rides the front lines disrupting enemy heroes left and right while soaking up damage and protecting his more vulnerable teammates. He is definitely a high skill cap champion though so expect a few beat downs before you get the hang of him.

 

Ultimate- Balancing Spear: Ritter throws a spear. On impact it takes an average of the enemy’s hp and mp and knocks both bars to this average. This is a very devastating ranged move to punish opponents that are out of mana but still high in hp.

 

 

Gadgetmeister

My award for most entertaining hero in Realm of the Titans goes to this weird little man. Though he can be played more as a spell caster than a support, I more preferred focusing on the support side of his build. He carries a large box on his back full of more tricks than Fiddle could hold a candle to. One of his most signature abilities is to create a clone of an enemy hero. The clone saps the power from the original Hero, channeling it as its own. And if Gadgetmeister attacks the clone, real damage is done to the original hero. And this isn’t even his ultimate!

 

Ultimate- Time Bomb: A time bomb is attached to an enemy unit. After a considerable wait, the bomb explodes, dealing massive AoE damage. However if the hero dies prematurely, the bomb goes off immediately, making this ultimate a powerful surprise to throw on a nearly dead hero in the middle of the confusion of a team battle.

 

Yue

It’s likely because I’m a major Sona fan, but Yue fits so well into my usual playstyle that I ended up turning her into a carry hero against Realm of the Titan’s own GM team in our preview event. She is a jack of all trades support hero, featuring a heal, a slow, a shield, and a silence. This unpredictable ghostly musician is a game changer in the right hands.

 

Ultimate- Melody of Sorrow: Yue channels a tune that spreads similar to Haz’zard’s Thousand Flames ultimate. After a short period of time it takes effect, silencing and damaging enemies for every second they remain within her 1200 unit range. If uninterrupted, she seems to be able to channel this spell for 20 seconds straight if mana permits.

 

 Yue Controls the Tempo of Any Battle

 

Now you have a strong knowledge of both the titan skills and heroes available to you in Realm of the Titans. With just days away until closed beta, it’s time to get together with your team and start theory crafting on what team builds you will use to dominate the Realm. Even now I feel a bit fidgety wishing I was at home playing ROTT instead of at work writing about it.

 

As thanks for everyone who has followed this Early Access series, we will be providing keys granting guaranteed access to Realm of the Titans as well as a starter pack of goodies courtesy of Aeria Games. Stay tuned as the keys will become available later this week!

Starcraft 2: Journey to Diamond League Wk3

My Journey to Diamond League – Week 3

By Mohammad Abubakr, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

This article features the third week of my journey to diamond league. No progress in terms of leagues will be seen because of the Season 3 lock but I feel that these two weeks helped me to learn a lot about Starcraft II.

 

Only the more interesting matches will be looked at with detail to reduce the length of the article.

 

Week 3

Games played: 11

Initial Rank: Bronze – 5

Final Rank: Bronze – 8

Win/Loss: 2 / 9

 

The third week of my journey was rather disappointing. Dropping from rank 5 to rank 8 because of 9 losses and only two wins is never a good thing. My ranking was also dropped due to inactivity; I spent more time watching Starcraft II than actually playing it.

 

I always try to pick out the benefits of each situation. Even through such a rough week, I had learned a lot about gameplay strategies and how to become more efficient. After losing a lot of games, I decided to stop playing for a bit and just look into the game.

 

A lot of time was spent tuning into live streams and reading the Liquipedia (SCII fan wiki) to learn about opening builds. While I did have basic understanding about the 14 gas 14 pool opening, I was not sure when and what other builds should be constructed. Watching other Zerg players fight against high level opponents taught me about timings and the correct reactions.

 

The only reason I won two games this week was because I had an economic lead. My opponents continued to apply pressure but I was able to hold and counter attack because of my lead in income. On the other hand, most of my losses were the result of all-ins from opponents and because I did not react correctly to certain situations.

 

The first match I found to be interesting was against a Zerg player that continued to apply pressure. I have been able to hold off many all-in attacks in the past so I was not really worried. However, he pumped out units at an unbelievable rate and I was forced to concede. After watching the replay I found out that my opponent had multiple hatcheries within his base. Normally hatcheries are used to expand around additional mineral patches but I later found out they could be used anywhere for the sole purpose of producing units. I will definitely build additional hatcheries anytime I feel I have additional resources.

 

 

So that’s where all the units came from!


The following game did not go very well because I did not react correctly. At this point I was not concentrating on which units are good against other units. I simply continued to pump out roaches while my opponent was smart to warp in Immortals and Stalkers. While Roaches are very good against Zealots, they are not good against Immortals. I had a larger army and an economic lead but I did not make the correct decisions. I believe Zerglings would have won me that game.

 

Roaches are a bad idea against immortals.


Some live streamers stream their player lessons. I use this to my advantage to learn some new tricks. One of them is to always scout around the six minute mark with an overlord. Unfortunately I did not play close attention to my overlord’s pathing and got him killed before I was able to see anything. I was blind for far too long and did not know what to expect. My opponent had a lot of marines so if I had just built banelings I would easily have won. Unfortunately I got roaches instead and was not able to defeat the huge marine ball.

 

My performance this week was not very good. Instead of gaining rankings, I dropped from rank five to eight. I am sure this drop was caused due to inactivity and playing after midnight. Hopefully next week turns out to be better as I aim to get at least rank four. I really need to get better so that once Season Three begins I do not get placed into bronze again.

 

To catch up on this series, be sure to check out our article section on our Starcraft II game profile.

 

If there are any suggestions or feedback about this series, please let me know on the OnRPG forums  (http://www.onrpg.com/boards/) @ Abubakr (http://www.onrpg.com/boards/member-abubakr.html). Alternatively you may message me in Starcraft II (Abubakr, 109).