Monthly Archives: July 2012

Allods Dev Diary: Next Major Update Approaches as New Server Opens

Allods Dev Diary: Next Major Update Approaches as New Server Opens

By StirFry Robot, gPotato Representative

 

 

 
Over the past few months you have seen new additions to Allods Online such as new zones, new Allods to explore, a new Raid – Dead City, the Bard class was introduced, looter pets, and more. The game and the community continue to grow and will continue to do so. There is a lot to look forward to. And continuing that trend, we would like to officially announce that the next major update (3.0.4) will be coming soon!

 

 

Here is a preview of some new features to come as well as details about the opening of the new Allods Online server – Avilon!

 

• Mentor Changes •

Apprentices are now shared between a Progenitor and it’s Incarnations, meaning that a Mentor can only have a maximum of 10 Apprentices per character slot. If a player has accumulated more than 10 Apprentices between their Progenitor and Incarnations already, those Apprentices will remain, however the Mentor will be unable to receive new Apprentices until they are below the 10 Apprentice limit.

 

 

Additionally, if the ability to dismiss an Apprentice is used on a Progenitor or Incarnation, the cooldown is shared among the Progenitor and other Incarnations. Apprentices will not see Incarnations that are incognito.

 

 

A new button, next to the chat window, has been added so with just one click of your mouse you’ll be able to chat with your Mentor or Apprentices.

To encourage Mentors to invite their apprentices to their guild, information about receiving twice as many Marks of Diligence for an Apprentice being in the same guild as the Mentor is now displayed on the Mentor’s interface menu.

 

 

One of the most exciting changes to the Mentor System is the addition of a new quest line that will give rewards to both the Apprentice and the Mentor.

 

A NPC has been added in both capital cities, Sarang Hurum for the Empire and Methodius Cognoscentius for the League. An apprentice can visit this NPC once they are the appropriate level to receive a special quest. Once you use the wand that it gives you and defeat the Spirit of Wisdom you will be given an Apprentice’s Gift. Find your mentor and open the gift with them so you can both receive the rewards.

 

 

You’ll be able to complete this quest every 5 levels starting at level 10. And the rewards for both the Apprentice and the Mentor get better each time you complete it.

 

 

• Questing Changes •

There have been some improvements to the Quest Log’s features to make it easier to use. Now the Quest Tracker works more like the Quest Map and you can simply double click on a quest to toggle its status as the Active quest. The Find Quest feature has also been improved and should now provide a more accurate assessment of the next quest you should complete in addition to being better at locating any quests you may have missed.

 

 

Improvements were also made to the new Automove feature. Automove will no longer be an available option if there is no destination, and will appear directly to the right of a quest when hovering over it on the Quest Tracker, saving the trouble of right-clicking to open the drop-down menu.

 

 

One of the most helpful changes to Automove is its new ability to navigate through zones. While not active for all quests yet, Automove will navigate to and through an unlocked Teleportation Portal and continue to the quest’s required zone.

 

 

To help make the leveling process smoother and some zones more accessible, players will now go directly from the “A Well-Deserved Reward” and “A Cultist’s Reward” quests to “The Shadowy Tower” quest, simplifying access to Gorluxor’s Tower.

 

 

Other notable quest changes include the the removal of the very long and involved Banking and Astral Extract quests, as well as the old armor quests given by the Goblin Banker. Players that still have tokens they would like to redeem at the Goblin Banker may open a ticket to receive assistance.

 

 

• New Server •

Allods Online will be opening a second server here in the North American region!

 

 

A few of you might ask “Why are you opening a new server after merging servers a short while ago?” We have a few reasons for this and some of them are:

 

• Following the merge, the new server, Yul, has seen it’s population continue to grow.

• New players are having to compete with a much larger end-game playerbase that has had a sizable head start on them

• Opening a second server will allow new players to experience Allods with a fresh economy and playerbase that does not outgun them due to levels or gear.

 

 

We will not be offering any character transfers to the new server so that the new server can grow with that fresh economy and a playerbase that will all start at level 1.

 

 

Over the past week we have run a poll both on the Allods forum and on our Facebook page. This poll was to see what all of you would choose as a server name.

 

 

With over 39% of the vote, the overwhelming majority voted and the new server will be named Avilon!

Soul of Guardian

Soul of Guardian takes browser based action combat to new heights. With fast paced crisp looking combat, four classes, massive customization, and an array of community features, you’ll feel like you’re playing a full client based MMO in the comfort of your browser!

 

 

Features

 

4 Classes: Choose from the Blade Warrior (high accuracy melee dps), Dagger Assassin (Jack of All Trades), Hammer Judge (Hard hitting tank), or Spear Guard (high evade, disruption, and lasting power) and master an arrange of skills of your choice to specialize your class as you see fit.

 

Immense Customization: From altering your stats through the relic and gem system to purchasing fashion to various skill trees, players should find plenty of ways to differentiate themselves from the mold.

 

Community Focused: With fun events like dragon hunting, fishing, and guilds, you should have an easy time feeling at one with the community.

 

Daily Events: A huge number of events occur at different times each day to give you plenty of gameplay options and keep things fresh.

 

OnRPG Shotgun News 7/6: Allods, League of Legends, Conquer Online, and More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 7/6: Allods, League of Legends, Conquer Online, and More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Allods Online Announces New Update


 

Allods Online has announced update 3.0.4 is coming soon. More information will be released about the update in the coming weeks. In addition a second server is being opened for the North American Audience.

 

 

MapleStory Coming to iOS and Android

Nexon announces they are bringing one of the worlds most popular PC RPGs to mobile devices with the release of MapleStory Live. From July 5th to July 11th players can earn 3,000 candies or $3.00 worth of game coins by reviewing MapleStory Live in Apple’s App store or Google Play.

 

 

Online Qualifiers for League of Legends Arena


 

Major League Gaming announced the Online Qualifiers for the first ever League of Legends Summer Arena. The Qualifiers start Tuesday, July 10th and registration is $50 per team. Players begin by competing in two regional qualifiers and the top teams from each will get an all expense paid trip to New York to compete for $10,000 at the League of Legends Summer Arena from August 3rd to August 5th.

 

 

Third Anniversary Celebration of TwoWar.com

eFusion MMOG, the publisher of BlackShot Europe and NavyField Europe announced the third anniversary of their military gaming portal TwoWar.com. To celebrate this momentous occasion the TwoWar team are bringing triple the fun to all players. In BlackShot Europe three revised legendary maps will be added. In addition all paying players will receive valuable game weapons. In NavyField Europe players can be boosted at the Summer Beach Party on the weekends. In addition there will be an Ice Cube event where they can get prizes.

 

 

SWTOR Rewards Character Transfers


 

For eligible players SWTOR is now offering rewards for completing server transfers. To be eligible you have to move to one of the specified servers before July 30th. At that time anyone on the eligible servers, even people who started there will receive the rewards which are 25 Black Hole Commendations and a Gannifari mini-pet.

 

 

Conquer Online Releases new Chi System

New equipment system Chi has come to Conquer Online. This philosophy comes from ideas in ancient China. In Conquer Online Chi power comes from the inside and is locked by four inner gates.

Maestia – At First Glance

Maestia – At First Glance

By Meredith Watson, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Maestia is a 3D fantasy MMO set on a large island boasting a mystical story with hundreds of quests.  The objective is to collect all seven maestones to become the most powerful player.  Maestia is free to play and has a cash shop where premium items can be bought with orbs (the purchased currency).

 

 

At the time I was playing Maestia there were only EU servers; however, a US server should be entering open beta in the coming weeks.

 

 

Maestia has two factions: Superion Guardians and the Temple Knights, as well as four player classes:  mage, warrior, cleric and ranger.  The four classes are typical of other fantasy games.  The mage is the ranged caster class that is quite vulnerable in melee, the warrior is the tanking class, priest is a healing support class and the ranger is either ranged or melee DPS utilizing bows or daggers respectively.

 

 

The characters in Maestia are all very pretty but with minimal choices in character creation.  There are for each category, such as face and hair, only a few options to pick from.  The character creation shows the characters in high level armour as seems to be the current trend amongst MMOs.

 

 

Maestia is a lovely game with an art style similar to Aion or Perfect World.  The zones range from opulent cities to lush forests to dark and foreboding zones.  Like Aion and Perfect World, Maestia does have some cutesy anime type elements as well.

 

 

Recommended system requirements:

Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz

2GB RAM

Geforce 6600 (ATI Radeon 9800) (Pixel Shader 2.0+)

 

 

The first notable and welcome feature is that movement is WASD, which is a nice change over the usual click to move in the free to play games I’ve experienced.  Holding down both mouse buttons works as well though arrow keys do not. The new player will also notice an easy to understand map with auto run possible by clicking on the quest destination. If that isn’t your preferred method of moving there is a big overlay of an arrow above your character’s head.  The UI does run the risk of being cluttered with a scrolling ticker, the PvP menu, quest tracker, and the prayer icon to name a few as well as the standard fare.  Most elements of the UI are movable at least.

 

 

The biggest drawback is how most quests are acquired. A large portion of quests are given through praying which the player can do anywhere via the interface (Z or the icon). That in and of itself is convenient as the player doesn’t have to run to and fro picking up quests and turning them in.  The problem is that when the player prays to receive or hand in a quest the game goes to a cut scene with a lot of dialogue the player needs to scroll through, if they are interested in the story, with only one response option.  There is a skip button however for those that aren’t interested in the storyline. Because of this and the way the different options are presented the quest cut scene interface feels quite clunky. The translations to English are also a bit odd though localization is usually a major focus of ported titles so it probably will improve some.

 

 

Combat is much like one would expect of an MMO. If you are a clicker of hot bars versus a key presser then combat may be a bit awkward at first as it is right click instead of the standard left click. Combat animations and spells are fluid with nice particle effects. Levelling, at least in the lower levels, seems to be quite quick. Aside from the first couple of levels, combat is mainly auto attack with a couple spells on longish cooldowns.  The pet system is intriguing and after level ten when the first pet is acquired via a quest, combat is a much easier. Getting the first pet is a definite boon as they act essentially as buffs, are non-combat and open to all classes.  After the first pets are rewarded, future pets will need to be purchased through the store.

 

 

Another very interesting feature of Maestia is the mercenary system.  The mercenary system uses player characters that have enrolled to act as a combat companion that other player characters hire.  The Mercenaries last for two hours or until death. They act in the same way as an NPC would except the mercenaries have the skills, gears and stats the owner of the hired mercenary chose for them.  The mercenary must be of the same faction and within ten levels of the player hiring the mercenary.

 

 

Maestones are one form of customization, seeing how there is very little in the way of appearance customization, and are essentially skills that can be switched in and out depending on need.   There are 1,580 maestones in the game so the combinations are numerous. Maestones can be gotten from drops, quests, or purchased and offer passive and active skills. Maestones can be upgraded using the Maestone Enhancement system. Maestones are tradable between players.

 

 

The talent tree becomes available at level 25, which may seem a bit late for getting talents but given there are 100 levels in Maestia it isn’t a problem. The player does have to actively add points to their stats which are agility, wisdom, intelligence, strength and vitality, adding further to the customization of the character. Further ways to improve skills, weapons and gear is done via the Infinite Enchantment system.

 

 

The player gets their first mount at level ten by doing a very simple quest. The mount represents a 50% speed increase. At level 70 another quest is available for an even faster mount. Mounts can be purchased with gold or through the item shop.

 

 

Most zones in Maestia do not allow PvP but there are special zones that are meant specifically for this reason. These zones are called Irima. In addition to these areas, there are battlegrounds for RVR and GvG.  These battles award experience, divinity points (a currency type) and rare items designed for PvP.

 

 

If you are looking for a very pretty game with attractive characters in an anime-like style then you could do a lot worse than this gorgeous game.  It doesn’t offer anything new or exciting to the free to play model but it is easy to learn with a lot of nice features.

MicroVolts Launches on Steam

MicroVolts Launches On Steam

 

MicroVolts

 

Rock Hippo Productions Ltd. announced today its lead title, and popular free-to-play third-person online toy shooter, MicroVolts is now available for download and to play via Steam. Players can now enjoy all the perks of the Steam interface from in-game chatting to friends’ lists to automatic game updates and special offers! Players can visit Steam now to get started.

 

 

Starting today through August 5th, every new player will receive a redeem code in their verification email for an exclusive “Y-U-NO” Rage Mask! Steam players that are new to MicroVolts can also take advantage of the exclusive-to-Steam MicroVolts Starter Pack that contains four essential MicroVolting items available now in the Steam Store. In this handy kit, players will get a MicroVolters favorite the Permanent Advanced Pepper Rifle and a 500 Battery Recharge item to upgrade their permanent weapons for a beneficial stat boost! The kit also includes a 7-Day Bomb Keyring Accessory to earn 50% more Micro Points in battle for added purchasing power and a 7-Day Multi-Vitamin Accessory to level up faster by gaining 50% more Experience points!

 

MicroVolts

 

“We’re thrilled to launch MicroVolts on Steam today,” said Howard He, President and CEO of Rock Hippo Productions. “Now Steam users can look forward to, not only an action-packed toy shooter that has players and reviewers worldwide raving, but also joining a great gaming community that hosts tons of events including tournaments and contests for every type of gamer.”

 

 

Additionally, MicroVolters new and old can look forward to an upcoming revamped website. Players will have a new place to call home with new website features that will make it easier to navigate and a whole lot more! MicroVolters can stay tuned for more announcements.

Meta’s Verse: CoH Summer Blockbuster Event

Meta’s Verse: Summer Blockbuster Event

By Meticulous Meta, OnRPG Paragon Reporter

 

 

 

In the real world when the temperatures start climbing and summer is in full swing it is blockbuster season. And this year blockbuster season has come to Paragon City. In the first ever summer event in City of Heroes it is a Saturday night at the movies. But, this being Paragon City, nothing is ever really as it seems. Here instead of watching the movie, you’re in it! The two blockbusters this year both come from Crey Studios.

 

 

Casino Heist

In Casino Heist you are part of a team which sets out to steal a huge fortune which is kept in the vault at Tyrant’s Palace Casino. You each have a role to play for this heist to go as planned. But when you fall back to your safe house Tyrant’s Palace Casino guards are there waiting. You have to face wave after wave of them and send a message to their boss. So long as everyone plays their part you walk away a rich, rich person.

 

 

Time Gladiator

In what would possibly be the most awesome/horrible B movie ever, you and your three friends are thrust into an ancient Roman gladiatorial arena to face off against fighters from throughout the ages. You go up against everything from Ninjas to cowboys and all the way up to Rikti monkeys.

 

 

Supporting these movies are the user made posters which came from a poster competition held by Paragon Studios some time ago. Seven movies were chosen which included Magical Dream Unicorns, and My User, Dave. The rest were very much set in the City of Heroes universe. Even Death from Bologna staring Ryan Hogsling, Natalie Porkchop, Gary Coldham and Morgan Freeham has something to do with City of Heroes. In a round about, punny sort of way. The top three winners of the competition were absolutely fantastic and sound like interesting movies. In third place was The Guard. A movie about The Vanguard who are in my eyes under appreciated. Second place was the based on a true story Brass Monday which is a Nemesis plot. And finally, in first place, my absolute favorite was Hero One. This one was amazingly well done. And honestly, I wish it were made into a real movie. I would pay to see that movie. Quickly! Someone call Michael Bay! All of these posters are on display in the lobby of the movie theater which you can only enter by using the LFG tool.

 

 

There are ten badges in total for this event. Four of them come from Time Gladiator, five of them from Casino Heist and finally one for completing both movies. These are all easily obtained in one run through if you know what you’re doing. But there are plenty of reasons to replay it.

 

 

As a reward for running the summer blockbuster event you get the usual suspects: reward tokens, inspirations and things like that. But there’s also the choice to pick up a brand new enhancement set which is only available through the summer event. This set is called Overwhelming Force and can be slotted into most attack powers. They are all unique and there is one proc. The proc is a chance for knockback to become knockdown. In addition it gives a 20% chance for knockdown. Currently the set cannot be traded or sold in the auction but that is a bug which will hopefully be fixed soon.

 

 

This event is going on through July until the 30th. In addition there is currently a free hat in the Paragon Market as part of a special Fourth of July sale. It is available for only a short time so get it while you can.

OnRPG Summer MMO Event List 2012!

OnRPG Summer MMO Event List 2012!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Summer is a time full of events, giveaways and fun. Here are a list of just some of the events going on in the MMO World this summer.

 

 

RIFT

Dates: June 27th-July 25th


What: Summerfest Event 1.9. Fishing, Camping, Bug squashing Quests

 

 

City of Heroes


Dates: June 27th – July 30th


What: Blockbuster Summer Event. Two movies to play through for various in game rewards. Requires 4 people.

 

 

EVE Alliance Tournament X


Dates: June 30th-July 22nd


What: Alliance Tournament to win powerful new ships.

 

 

Tribal Wars


Dates: July –August

What: Tournament to win real world prizes.

 

 

Cabal Online


Dates: July

What: Sixth birthday item giveaway in game and out.

 

 

ROSE Online


Dates: July – August 28th


What: Daily chance to win Visa Gift Cards and Item Mall points through July. Huge Item Mall sale through to August 28th

 

 

Dawn of Fantasy


Dates: July 4th – July 10th


What: 50% sale on Dawn of Fantasy with a free welcome basket.

 

 

Requiem: Memento Mori

Dates: July 4th-July 18th


What: An in game currency to purchase items such a 1 day XP Boost and 4 hour 100% item drop rate increase. In addition there is a sale on all costumes and mounts.

 

 

Einherjar


Dates: July 4th – August 1st


What: New Players receive 300 power and a summer kit which includes armor, a lucky rabbit tail and healing potions. Old players who return will receive 200 power and a veteran kit which includes a trident, shield and master ring.

 

 

Dragon Saga


Dates: July 4th – July 10th


What: 3x XP Happy Hour Event.

 

 

Ragnarok Online


Dates: July 5th – July 17th


What: Double XP/Double Drops

 

 

 

BlazeJam


Dates: July 6th-July 8th


What: A 48 hour game jam and auction to benefit the victims of the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado. http://blazejam2012.ceruleangames.com/

 

 

If you know of an event that isn’t included in this list let us know in the comment section of our forum and we’ll add it!

OnRPG Shotgun News 7/5: Maplestory, Drakensang, Pockie Ninja II, and More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 7/5: Maplestory, Drakensang, Pockie Ninja II, and More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Study shows more than half of European Internet Users use Micropayments

A study done by Hi-Media Payments has shown that 52% of internet users are micropayment users. This includes payments around the $10/£10/€10 mark. Everything from game subscriptions to online music and even game currencies. The German market have the most micropayment users with 60% of the internet users using them. 88% of all micropayments in Europe are done some way other than credit card. Overall this is a 45% growth in micropayments in the last year.

 

 

Star Supremacy Q&A Session

The development team behind held a player question and answer session. Many of the questions were about the games strategy and when certain features would be released. To see the entire Q&A go to the Star Supremacy website. http://ssupremacy.com/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=5320&extra=page%3D1

 

EU Ruling Allows Resale of Games

An EU ruling has found that game companies cannot legally stop users from reselling programs they have downloaded from the internet. This means, if you live in Europe you are now allowed to sell games you’ve bought on Steam, GoG, and Origin. This is despite the fact that most EULAs forbid it. This is going to lead to one of two things. 1. A mass change in EULAs or 2. An argument that the ruling doesn’t apply to them if they aren’t based in the EU. Will this new ruling stretch as far as accounts? It is one possibility.

 

 

Demon Slayer comes to MapleSEA

 

The final part of the Legends content update in the localized version of MapleStory has arrived. Demon Slayer is the first dark class and has a unique background, which includes him killing his family and fighting alongside the Resistance.

 

Grepolis Brings the Olympics Back

In Ancient Greece the Olympic games were a time of peace and as the London Olympics approach the players of Grepolis are preparing for games of their own, Grepolympia.

 

 

ACTA Defeated by EU Parliament

 

For the first time the European Parliament has rejected an international trade agreement. ACTA was dealt a huge defeat in the EU Parliament with 478 votes against it and only 39 in favour. It was noted that an unprecedented level of lobbying from EU citizens in the forms of phone calls, emails and street demonstrations lead to this decision. They also receive an online petition signed by 2.8 million people calling for ACTA to be rejected.

 

Pockie Ninja II Closed Beta Launch

Pockie Ninja II, an online social strategy game developed by NGames announces it has launched closed beta. To celebrate this they’re giving away in game prizes through their Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

Drakensang Online Update

 

Bigpoint announces the biggest update yet to Drakensang with a new continent, more than 100 quests and tons of new monsters. Players will go up against creatures and warriors from the long lost empire of Atlantis.

 

 

Reloaded Games Merges with K2

Reloaded Games and K2 have merged and will operate as Reloaded Games Inc. Bjorn Book-Larsson, CEO of K2 will become the CEO of Reloaded Games. They will continue to focus on their free2play and publishing portal Gamers first.

 

 

Terra Militaris Opens New Servers

 

gPotato’s Terra Militaris will have new servers opening today. To celebrate this event Terra Militaris are holding competitions for prizes worth up to €7,000 which range from in game items to a Samsung Galaxy Tab for the top prize.

Hordes Gather for RuneScape Combat Beta Open Weekend

Hordes Gather For RuneScape Combat Beta Open Weekend

 

RuneScape

 

Jagex, maker of the world’s most popular free-to-play MMORPG – RuneScape, today announced the opening of its highly anticipated Combat Beta, Evolution of Combat, to all RuneScape members this weekend.

 

 

The members will join an elite band of 50,000 testers, who applied for access to the Beta and have been engrossed in game play for the last week, to help shape the development of this significant and immense update.

 

 

The open weekend will run from 10am on Friday 6th July until 10am on Monday 9th July (BST). This is the first of four open weekends where members will be able to hone their skills and, should players participate in all four and carry out certain tasks, their efforts will unlock a unique player outfit at the end of the Beta.

 

 

This weekend’s challenge requires players to complete one full game of Castle Wars, the popularity of which will be bolstered by the chance to do battle with RuneScape’s esteemed team of developers.

 

RuneScape

 

“We’re really pleased to be able to announce the first Combat Beta open weekend for RuneScape members.” commented Mark Ogilvie, RuneScape’s Lead Designer. “Not only will they be able to playtest and fine tune their skills, but if they take part in each of the four open weekends, they will be rewarded with the unique Mad Scientist outfit!”

 

 

Through the Evolution of Combat, RuneScape has undergone the most significant change in its 11-year history. The developer has promised a totally revolutionary change to the game – upping the level of immersion and player involvement while, critically, retaining the features and overall charm that have made the browser-based adventure so popular.

 

 

The Evolution of Combat update includes a host of new features designed to add even more excitement and skill to the game. These features include the ability to dual wield weapons; the introduction of action bars; new abilities which unlock as the battle progresses and the new adrenaline bar fills; the ability to cast buffs and weaknesses on your allies and opponents respectively; the ability to produce critical hits and – finally – a whole host of new character animations.