Monthly Archives: October 2012

Tyrian Times – Hopes for the Future of GW2

Tyrian Times – Hopes for the Future of GW2

By Meredith Watson, OnRPG Tyrian Reporter

 

 

 

It is early days for Guild Wars 2 yet already the community has a bucket list of items they would like to see in-game at some point.  Currently, and because the game is so new, ArenaNet is busy fixing bugs, addressing the problem of bots and gold sellers  as well as policing its community. But let’s take a look into the (hopefully) not too distant future and think about what features we’d like to see in Guild Wars 2.

 

 

I see quite a few asking for mounts, which in all honesty is a bit silly.  Mounts surely have no place in Guild Wars 2 other than more aesthetics due to the already very quick travel system.  You can’t go more than a short distance without finding yet another waypoint out in the wilds. Divinity’s Reach and Lion’s Arch both have 13 waypoints while the Black Citadel has 11 which not only attest to how large the cities are but how easy it is to get around.  If you can’t be bothered running a very short distance, then maybe Guild Wars 2 isn’t for you. The only issue with the current travel system and it really isn’t even an issue is that is can be expensive.  No doubt ArenaNet could make some brilliant looking mounts such as the carriage in Lion’s Arch but it just doesn’t seem viable at this point.

 

 

Another very common adjustment more than a few would like to see is making dyes account bound rather than once opened only usable by the character that opened it.  It seems such a little thing to worry about, but for a lot of players customization is important to them for whatever reason.  Thieves should wear dark colours. Everyone knows this. Say you have a necromancer who would also look smashing in the gorgeous dark dye you just found but you have a thief that would also warrant using the dark dye. What do you do? Obviously, if dyes were account bound both characters and subsequent characters could benefit from the dye in question. As it stands now you can but hope the dye you want drops again or you find it on the trading post.  Along the same lines are the players asking for weapons dyes as are found in Guild Wars. Not the blades mind but dye to change the colour of hilts and other decorative bits.  The more dye the merrier.

 

 

If you’ve played games like EverQuest II, LOTRO or SWG for example, you know what is missing and that is player housing.   There does seem to be plans from ArenaNet for player housing but as of yet absolutely no word when that may happen.  We can only hope that when player housing and guild halls are introduced that movable furniture and décor will also become available either through vendor, gems or player made.   Huntsmen could make furniture, tailors could make carpets, armour/weapon smiths could make the metal bric-a-brac much like in EverQuest II. Adding player housing doesn’t seem like it would be a difficult thing for ArenaNet to implement as there appears to be a lot of components in place already.  Player housing might just make Guild Wars 2 perfect for a lot of players.

 

 

Dueling for some is used to test their skills, weapons and gear. Currently, there isn’t a dueling option in Guild Wars 2 but quite a few players would like to see it added.  Personally, I am not a dueler and my hope would be that if ArenaNet were to introduce dueling that they would also include ways to avoid being spammed by duel invites, which are annoying at best.

 

 

If we are going to be completely honest here, the trading post could use some work.  The filter options are very limited especially when trying to find armour. Currently, when you select armour you will see a drop down menu with choices for slots but not for type such as light or medium. Instead you will have to scroll through all the choices for that slot whether or not you can use them. Of course adding level parameters help but only to minimize how many items you will need to scroll through to find something that fits.  Sure that plate chest piece is shiny and sturdy but it doesn’t do me any good on my delicate Mesmer.  Adding more options for searching the trading post would definitely be a boon for players.

 

 

Since we are on the subject of the trading post, what about a preview option?  This functionality is present in other aspects of the interface and it would be convenient to have it working on the trading post as well for armour and weapons.  How many times have you bought something on the trading post only to find it looks terrible? Dye can only do so much.  There are options to swap looks of gear but it really would be best to try before we buy.

 

 

Lastly more options on the trading post that can be purchased with gems.  Right now it is very limited but I would love to see things such as hair colour change, appearance change and maybe even race change though that might be tricky given personal stories.  More cosmetic options would go down well I think with the community.

 

 

These are intriguing times in Guild Wars 2. Not just because Guild Wars 2 has that new game smell but because of what is to potentially come.  At this point, anything can happen.  There will be many changes over the next year and beyond. Hopefully, they will all be welcome and wonderful changes but whatever happens it promises to be an exciting ride.

 

 

What would you like to see added to Guild Wars 2? What improvements, if any, would you make? Join our massive forum discussion and tell us about it!

League of Legends: ItÂ’s not a bug, itÂ’s a feature!

League of Legends: It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!

By Jason Harper (Hhean), OnRPG League Reporter

 

 

Kha’Zix is the latest League of Legends assassin who can choose to either specialize heavily into his role, or opt to gain a number of team-fight enhancing abilities, offsetting the weaknesses found in many of his peers. He plays most similarly to other aggressive glass cannons, while also having a number of mechanical and thematic similarities with Rengar.

 

 

Pros:

Strong duelist, with incredible damage output

Highly adaptable

Can become a strong pusher

Good mobility (Excellent mobility with correct upgrades)

Unique upgrade system

Can permaslow a target after he gets his ultimate

 

Cons:

Has little early game crowd control

Very fragile, and is especially susceptible to burst damage

No haymaker ultimate

Needs farm to be effective (As a jungler, he needs successful ganks)

 

 

Ability Summary

 

 

Unseen Threat [Passive]: When Kha’Zix is not visible to any enemy champions, he gains a stack of Unseen Threat. If he hits an enemy with an auto-attack or an evolved Void Spike it will consume the stack to deal bonus magic damage and slow the target. There is no cooldown on regaining stacks, so repeatedly juking in and out of brush, around corners or using his ultimate in between attacks can allow him to keep an enemy slowed indefinitely.

 

 

Taste Their Fear [Q]: Deals damage to a single target in melee range. If the target is not close to any of their allies, they will take almost double damage. This is on a very low cooldown, and has a very low mana cost considering the amount of damage it deals to a lone enemy. Always try to hit an enemy away from minions if possible, but given its low cooldown, you don’t have to be very careful with it. When playing against Kha’Zix, stay near your minions if he is leveling this first, as it will significantly eat into his damage output. The evolved version will add a percentage of the target’s HP to the damage, while also increasing his auto-attack range. Grabbing this evolution early will make him a very strong duelist, able to punch holes in the bruisers that are often found in top lane.

 

 

Void Spike [W]: Skillshot that explodes after hitting the first enemy it makes contact with, dealing damage in an AoE. If Kha’Zix is in range of the AoE, it will also heal him. Great harassment tool when laning, and gives some sustain while in melee. The evolved version makes it fire three projectiles in a cone (in a similar manner to Twisted Fate’s Wild Cards), and will also apply the slow and damage from Unseen Threat. The evolved version allows him to clear minion waves with a single shot, and grind entire teams to a crawl. This is a great defensive option, allowing him to farm easily, grabbing a great deal of gold for his mid to late game.

 

 

Leap [E]: AoE damage leap with a short range. The evolved version, however, can leap further than most ranged auto-attacks and is also refreshed after a kill or assist, making it a better version of Tristana’s Rocket Jump. The normal version is a fairly good gap closer, but the evolved version is an absolute menace. It is very common for jungling Kha’Zixs to level this first, as it makes his ganking very difficult to escape from, and allows him to attack from unusual angles.

 

 

Void Assault [R]: Kha’Zix stealths for 1 second, applies Unseen Threat to himself and gets a movement speed boost. Can be used twice in a short period of time. Best used as a reset in the middle of fights. This is also the only way he can maintain his slow over long periods without juking into brush or around corners, so only use this after you’ve already consumed his passive, and need to slow the enemy again. The evolved version allows him to stealth three times, and also gain damage reduction while stealthed. Great for survivability if you don’t have a strong front line on your team, while also giving him more chasing and slowing power to hunt down kiting enemies.

 

 

After you put a rank in Void Assault, it will also allow you to evolve one of his four abilities. This can’t be done instantly like other level ups, and will require a cast time. Every time Kha’Zix evolves, his character model will update, gaining new animations and vocals that reflect his changes (eg. when he acquires wings he will talk about flying, and his run cycle gains a fluttering hop like the butterfly Kog’Maw). Be aware that the updated visuals will give your enemies a clear indication of what upgrades you’ve taken, giving away what you plan to do with the character.

 

 

Choosing which evolutions you take, and in what order are going to dramatically change how you play Kha’zix. Since he can only level his ultimate three times, he’s always going to leave himself with a weakness. Not having his Taste Their Fear evolution weakens him as a duelist, but will mean he has a great deal of durability and team fight presence. Not evolving Void Spike takes away his AoE presence, but he will be an extremely mobile duellist and chaser. Letting Void Assault fall by the wayside will render him unable to leap into an enemy’s squishy carries, but will allow him to mop up any front line fighters that are leaping into his own team. Not choosing Void Assault will greatly diminish his durability and chasing power, but will ramp up his damage potential to its absolute maximum potential, great for doing hit and run strikes on an enemy team’s squishies.

 

 

Don’t ever stick to one set route of evolutions, as you’ll only be throwing away Kha’Zix’s ability to adapt to any situation. Always watch how a game is going, and try to plan ahead by picking the right set of tools that’ll lead your team to victory.

 

 

Combos & Shenanigans

When laning, he can play mind games with his enemy by switching between Taste Their Fear and Void Spike as his main damage dealing abilities. Void Spikes will always catch an enemy that stands near their minion wave, forcing them away, but if you threaten them with a Leap followed by Taste Their Fear, they have to get near their minions to avoid its extremely high damage output. Melee opponents have an especially hard time against this trick, as they can be punished every time they try to last hit, training them to stay away most of the time, and making them easy prey for Taste Their Fear. With an evolved Void Spike, this trick becomes unnecessary, as the spikes will wipe out a minion wave completely, giving your enemies nothing to protect them from Taste Their Fear.

 

 

His most common ganking combination is to Leap from behind a wall or in the brush, smack his target with an auto attack, then use a quick Void Spike to clear the area before hitting them with a Taste Their Fear. If he’s above level 6, Kha’Zix can now make use of his ultimate, Void Assault, to speed himself up before auto-attacking the enemy again, keeping them slowed. Keep using the combination of his ultimate, passive and Taste Their Fear to burn down the enemy’s health, while healing back any damage with Void Spikes. An evolved Void Assault will also reduce the damage from towers when diving in for the kill, so don’t forget to time it so you’re always stealthed when taking those laser blasts.

 

 

Escaping with Kha’Zix can be surprisingly easy, as his extreme mobility doesn’t require a target in order to work (unlike the recently released Diana). Simply Void Assault for his passive, hit the enemy once, Leap away while they’re slowed (preferably over a wall), then zoom off with the remaining uses of his ultimate.

 

 

Conclusions

If adaptability was the key theme of Kha’Zix, then Riot have hit the nail on the head. His evolution mechanic is such an absolute treat, offering new ways to play him every game. This is the way that Viktor’s passive should have worked. If a rework to Viktor ever happens in the future, the design team should look at Kha’Zix for an excellent template to work from.

 

 

Kha’Zix provides a highly satisfying blend of long term planning and fast moment to moment play. He’s also a perfect example of Riot’s desire to make every available option a player makes have a possible counter, both in the long and short term. With every evolution being visible to the enemy, they can never claim they’re caught off guard by his tricks. For everything that he has, there’s a way to stop it, but he also has a way of dealing with dealing with the thing that stops him, but there’s a way for the enemy to stop that…

 

 

Final Verdict

He’s very strong at the moment, and his evolutions make him a fresh take on a well worn type of champion. A worthwhile purchase, and definitely worth a look during his free week. Highly likely he’ll get some form of nerf, though with the world championships so near, we may not see any significant balance changes until it’s over.

 

To discuss Kha’zix yourselves, post in the massive League of Legends thread in the free to play MMOs section, or post in the comments section below. If you haven’t tried League of Legends yet, you’re missing out.

OnRPG Shotgun News 10/1: RIFT, EVE, BigPoint, and More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 10/1: RIFT, EVE, BigPoint, and More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Rift Announces Date Of Next Soul Reveal and Closed Beta

 

Trion has announced that this coming Friday, October 5th is the date for the revealing of the new Rogue soul called Tactician as well as the start of the Storm Legion Closed Beta. Anyone who has pre ordered Storm Legion is automatically invited to join the closed beta and all following closed beta events. They also announced that there would be a stream every week in October leading up to the release of Storm Legion. Though details on that are still pending.

 

EVE Online: Retribution Coming Soon

EVE is getting an 18th expansion this December called Retribution. It is said that it will shake the very core of the game universe. Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers are all undergoing some reworking as part of a massive game balancing effort. The bounty system is also receiving some remodelling and all around the actions of players will have consequences on the universe. The expansion is due for release on December 4th. For more info check out the full write-up here!

 

 

Strategoria Announces Closed Beta

 

A new browser based MMO by Amber Games called Strategoria has announced it will begin closed beta on October 8th Straegoria is a strategy game based in the middle ages and prides itself on being realistic. Registration for the closed beta is going on now on the official website.

 

 

Drakensang, Pirate Storm, and Battlestar Galactica Online Coming to a Store Near(ish) You

Bigpoint has that they will be releasing three of their biggest titles in retails this autumn. Drakensang, Pirate Storm and Battlestar Galactica Online are all set to be released in the UK and Ireland in physical boxes that will contain the client, an exclusive starter pack, and £15-25 of in game items.