Monthly Archives: November 2012

Shotgun News 11/10 Video Special

Shotgun News November 5-9 Video Special

 

The week of November 5-9 was huge for new videos. Everything from a 9 minute long introduction to Elder Scrolls Online to RaiderZ showing off the latest sewer instance. Check those out and many more below.

 

Elder Scrolls 9 Minute Introduction

Total Recall Game Trailer

MechWarrior Open Beta Trailer

Forge Closed Beta Gameplay

Planetside 2 Black Widow Company

Perfect World International Sirens of War

RaiderZ Reitz Sewer Instance

Warface Co-op Gameplay

AlphaBeta Soup: 11/10: District 187, Hawken and more

AlphaBeta Soup 11/10: District 187, Hawken and more!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

Big news this week from District 187 as they announce their upcoming launch date on November 20. In addition, next week is the launch of Rift’s expansion Storm Legion. Hawken is currently hosting a second closed beta weekend while Absolute Force Online will be starting closed beta on November 14. All this news and other ongoing betas can be found in the list below.
As ever anything new this week or any changes are in orange in the list below.

OnRPG Giveaways

These are all the beta giveaways currently running on OnRPG. There’s no guarantee that we won’t run out so grab them quick.
Kingsroad Beta Giveaway

 

Dates Announced:

Below are the MMOs who have announced upcoming beta events that haven’t started yet.
Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn Alpha applications now being accepted
Hawken Closed Beta November 8-13
WorldAlpha Alpha & Closed Beta Beginning  November 9
Storm Legion Live Release November 13
Absolute Force Online Closed Beta November 14
City of Steam: Closed Beta November 16
Kartuga: Alpha November 24th (Event is only for 16 people who will be invited to the studio after a competition)
Arctic Combat Open Beta December 6
Path of Exile Open Beta December
Age of Wulin EU Closed Beta 2013

 

Alpha:

These games are currently in Alpha. Signups are available via the link.
The Repopulation
Xulu

 

Closed Beta:

MMOs which are in closed beta require application and often require approval before access can be gained.
Age of Wulin(EU, Asia) EU in Early 2013
Age of Wushu(US) Ends November 25, Round 2 Begins December 20th
Ascension: Arenas of War
Black Prophecy Tactics: Nexus Conflict
Born To Fire
Bounty Hounds Online
Dragon Knights
Dragon Nest EU
Dust 514
Hawken November 8-13
Firefall
Forge
Grimlands
GUNS and ROBOTS
JollyGrim
Marvel Heroes
Patterns
Pirate101
PlanetSide 2
Ravaged
Salem
SmashMuck Champions
SMITE
Starlight Story
Strategoria
UFO Online
The War Z
World of Warplanes

 

Open Beta:

Games in open beta require an application but often it is little more than signing up for an account.
Cyber Monster
District 187 Due to officially launch November 20
End of Nations No current beta event ongoing
MechWarrior Online
Oversoul
RaiderZ (Founders Pack includes Neverwinter closed beta access)
Soul Captor
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Online(Russian)
Universal Monsters Online

 

Expansions:

These are the beta events for games which are already live. These are for new content which is going to be added to the game at a later date. Access is limited to the current playerbase and often requires special permissions to take part.
Guild Wars 2 Mobile Authenticator
Lord of the Rings Online Mac

City of Steam Closed Beta Sneak Peek: Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead

It’s been three months since anyone outside Mechanist Studios got to have a peek at City of Steam. And though Closed Beta may not start for another week, today I got to be one of the first to see all the huge changes that have been made in those three months.

I hadn’t even started making a character when I came across the first new addition. An introduction to the history and world that is City of Steam. The narrated video explains the world and the different regions that make it up before focusing on Nexus, the City of Steam. The music is by the amazingly talented Daniel Sadowski. I won’t give away too much of the details on this though, you’ll have to see for yourself on Friday.

After watching the video I made my way to character creation where I found some amazing changes which make character creation easier while adding a few things that weren’t there before. First and most obviously there were Dwarves. They won’t be available to play the first couple of closed beta weekends but it is hoped they’ll be ready later on. The first thing I noticed about them was that there weren’t any females. And why would there be? Female Dwarves? Pah! No such thing. But the Dwarves in City of Steam aren’t male either. In City of Steam Dwarves are genderless, but of course they are just so manly that they all look male, as proper Dwarves should. I also got a sneak peek at the racial clothes which even my tour guide Andrew was surprised to see. The pipes, hats and goggles which players have earned early access to with the Steam-o-meter we’re easily my favorite part to play with. Giving even more customization to your character. But the biggest new part of character creation is the Perks button. Perks are bonuses that players can unlock and apply to new characters. You can get these perks from a variety of ways, everything from getting certain classes to certain levels to inviting a certain number of friends. Now, that does mean that you won’t have perks for your first character, but it is certainly a good way to encourage people to have multiple characters. As if the huge variety of choices isn’t encouragement enough.

Once I finished rolling up my female Hobbe I entered the tutorial. During Alpha this is where you would have found yourself on board a train getting attacked. Well not anymore! After having listened to the community and alpha testers Mechanist decided to make a tutorial which better represents the game. Have no fear though, if you enjoyed the train it isn’t completely gone. And if you’re comfortable with the game, or rolling up a second or third character you can even skip the tutorial. Though that was where I discovered the next batch of changes.

The ability tree has undergone some big changes. When you select a new ability you can also add oil to it to make it better. The effects can range from doing more damage to having a new nice looking effect. Oil can be bought in the store, collected from drops or even in the Transmuter. Something new I’ll explain a little bit further on. For higher level characters looking for even more customization there is the Prestige tab of the ability tree. There you will be able to pick abilities from one of two options. Racial abilities have also been added which again gives more customization.

So that brings me to the Transmuter. The first Transmuter you come across is where the storage tank used to be in the Refuge. The storage was taken out because low level characters couldn’t use it anyway. So, what is the Transmuter? Well, think of it like a slot machine. You take a Challenge Orb (chorb) which you get from doing challenge dungeons (I’ll explain those next) click on the center of the the Transmuter screen and wait to see what you get! You have a chance to win anything from Electrum, the in game store currency, to clothes, pets, and even the steambike if you’re really lucky!

But to use the Transmuter you need chorbs. How do you get them? Completing challenge dungeons. These aren’t regular dungeons. They’re timed instances in which you have to complete tasks like smashing boxes or opening chests. Successful completion earns you chorbs which you can then use in the Transmuter for sweet loot. I only ran one during my tour but I could tell right away that I would be addicted to them.

Have I mentioned I got to ride a steambike? No? Well…I got to ride a steambike. Never in my life have I felt like more of a badass than when my lady Hobbe posed on her bike. The bike is upgradeable to do things like make it faster. Oh and you don’t have to worry about finding wide spots in the road to turn around. These babies turn better than they would if you got off and picked it up yourself. Look at me, I’m on a bike.

With only a week left until the first Closed Beta weekend the excitement is really starting to kick up. If you want to take part in Closed Beta the only way to absolutely guarantee a place is to buy a collaborator pack. Otherwise you can subscribe to the newsletter which gives biweekly updates on the status of the game. A huge thank you to Andrew for taking the time to give me a special tour after working a 16 hour day.

Shotgun News 11/5-9 Week in Review: WoW, GW2, World of Tanks, and much more!

We’ve had a busy week here at OnRPG, so much so that the news has been somewhat neglected. But have no fear, I am back and ready with the major news highlights from the MMO universe.

WoW Cinder Kitten Sales Benefit Hurricane Sandy Relief

Well known for helping out disaster relief with the sale of pets World of Warcraft is at it again. This time to help out victims of Hurricane Sandy some of whom have now been without power for 11 days. The adorable Cinder Kitten pet is going to be available for purchase in the coming weeks for $10 and 100% of that going towards the Red Cross.

District 187: Sin Streets Launch Announced

After months of beta testing CJ Games Global is pleased to announce that their free to play first person shooter District 187: Sin Streets will officially launch on November 20. With it will be released the never before seen Street Fight. A competitive team vs team feature which allows players to form clans and battle for control over territory. Players can register for a special beta to get a sneak peek at Street Fight before it goes live with the launch of District 187.

Chinese Tanks Incoming

Now that I have your attention, I should tell you that the Chinese are coming to World of Tanks. In update 8.2 China will join The US, Germany, Soviet Union, France and Britain in the World of Tanks battlefield. There will be 17 new armored vehicles while the tech tree is composed of modifications to already existing combat machines. It will also include a number of Chinese made tanks which never went into mass production. Check them out in the video below.

 

BioWare Mythic Becomes Mythic, Again

First it was Mythic Entertainment then it became EA Mythic after being purchased by EA. Then they went back to being Mythic Entertainment for a while before becoming BioWare Mythic. Confusing? I’d say so. Especially when you consider that all of these changes happened in the last six years. Well, here is another one for you. BioWare Mythic is now just Mythic.

Guild Wars 2 Announces November Event Dates

Something is stirring in the Sea of Sorrows, or at least that’s what they say. The Lost Shore event details have been released, spoiler free. On Friday November 16 at noon PST the weekend of events will kick off in Lion’s Arch with something that is not to be missed. It will also trigger events all across Tyria. The next phase of events will kick in at the same time the following day and end with a big finale on Sunday which will be a one time only event chain running several hours.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Announces Free to Play Date

Star Wars fans have been waiting months to hear when SWTOR would go free to play after the initial announcement was made. We now finally know that date is November 15. A page has been set up to help players work out what rewards they will be receiving once free to play begins.

Check back again tomorrow for a special edition of Shotgun News which will feature over a half an hour of videos from MechWarrior, Elder Scrolls Online, and much more.

DK Online RvR Dev Blog

Hi Dragon Knights,

Today we shed light on the Realm vs. Realm PvP battles in DK Online. RvR is a cornerstone of the large-scale PvP options in the game (together with Castle Siege, the guild battle royale for control of a valuable castle). While Castle Siege is intended for organized PvP-focused guilds to have the ultimate challenge against like-minded guilds, we know that not everyone can be a part of those guilds but may still want to experience massive PvP battles. That’s where RvR comes in.

 

DK Online Realm vs. Realm

 

 

RvR begins with your faction choice. You can ally yourself with Eos or Dione (the two goddesses in the lore), and you’ll play for that side when the RvR battle takes place. There is a central outdoor area with a large beacon on the world map, and it’s here that the factions collide. When RvR is active, you’ll see a bar representing control of the beacon when you’re in the area. Whichever side has more living players in the area will gradually swing control of the bar toward their side.

 

 

DK Online PvP

 

 

As you can imagine, one side wins when the bar fills up completely. Winning RvR grants an experience and regen buff for all players associated with that faction worldwide—including those that weren’t present for the battle! This buff will be highly sought after, because RvR doesn’t happen that often (the exact frequency is yet to be determined, but it will always be at predetermined times so that players can plan on being there).

 

Thanks for reading, and keep an eye and ear open for big closed beta news very soon!

 

GSTAR 2012 Day 1 Recap w/ Cosplay!

GSTAR 2012 Day 1 Recap w/ Cosplay!

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

 

One more thing… Jackie Chan is a huge celebrity in Busan!

 

GSTAR can only be described as overwhelming. Take PAX. Now put it in a venue 3x larger than the Seattle Convention Center. Now add in a miniature E3 in the right wing building and a small ESports convention in the left wing building. Sprinkle in oh around 300 cosplay girls and blow Korea writing all over every inch of wall space possible. Add in constant events and giveaways, loud localized music specific to each booth, and an unholy army of Korean press boxing in around each cosplayer on the showroom floor. This is GSTAR, the convention I’ve fought the last 3 years of my career to finally get to attend.

 

I went in on day 1 with only two goals. Get all the cosplay pics out of the way while scouting the floor, and get hands-on time with Neowiz’s upcoming MMO set to blaze their names into the minds of western gamers the world over, Bless. Everything about the show was incredible. Before I even entered the main building I was greeted by Wargaming’s world renowned tank + cosplayer combo which was smack in the middle of a swap meet of WeMade, Nexon, and other companies I had never seen before shouting at passing attendees trying to get them in to try upcoming titles. I resisted the temptation and rushed into the main building to be greeted at the entrance by an overly enthusiastic gerbil. At this point I realized Anime is an accurate portrayal of Asian culture.

 

 

 

 

Of course Wargaming had prime positioning both in and out of the hall as their booth towered to the sky and was carried one of the longest lines of entry of any booth at the show. I passed by gaping at the incredible machinery and the players enthralled in their matches as a beautiful shoutcaster called out the play by play events in typical frantic Korean shoutcasting style.

 


To my left a brood of Korean journalists parted to reveal two bunny girls that seemed to have nothing to do with the title they were promoting. Not that I’m complaining.

 

 

 

I made my way to the back and breathless as the a movie theatre sized screen played out a animated manga comic to the left of the Neowiz booth.

 

 

The Neowiz booth itself stood above all others as a two story tall mesa. On the lower levels girls ushered an endless line of players in to test out the various content and regions of the game. Up above in the control center VIP presentations were carried out on unbelievable 3 screenwide game stations each accompanied by 2 developers to guide press through the ins and outs of the game. Keep an eye out for an MMOHuts style First Look and OnRPG Early Access article in the near future as there’s just no way to describe everything about this game without dedicating an entire feature to it. But in the meantime drool at their latest combat trailer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the right of the Neowiz booth stood the equally impressive WeMade booth that stretched across the isle and took over an entire corner of the room. Those that remember our E3 coverage will be happy to hear that their 13 and growing iOS line-up of multiplayer online games are progressing smoothly and we should start to see many of them going live in 2013. In particular two of their titles really excited me.  First was Touch Fighter, a Street Fighter-esque game that is controlled entirely with on-screen touch controls.

 

 

 

The second being Heroes League, Realm of the Gods, a MOBA that not only looks and plays great, but has the gusto to rip off elements of the names of 3 of the largest MOBAs on the market currently.

 

 

 

 

 


Though I didn’t get a very long look at it on day 1 due to how strapped for time I was, WeMade’s signature title that they are advertising all over the convention center is Icarus. The faces of the players engaging in this title were magical and I will be going out of my way to ensure I play this game during day 2!

 

Other notable titles from devs you may not recognize included Asta – The War of Tears and Wind, Dungeon Striker, A-team (think an FPS built around Zero-Suit Samus) and a particularly interesting game called KingZ Online that is attempting to merge classic MMORPG elements with the strategic basis for browser based empire games. Essentially players become pawns in the larger scheme of empire building with a deep and well refined economic system that makes crafting far more valuable than in your typical MMORPG. I’ll be sure to do a full write-up on KingZ soon!

 

 

 

 

 

After making me rounds on the right side of the convention hall I turned back and made my way to the Blizzard corner. While I would have liked to get some coverage of Starcraft Heart of the Swarm, the below shot is as close as I could get with 8x zoom on my camera. I kid you not there were fans sitting on the floor stretching back 80 feet from the monitor in all directions, creating the largest roadblock in the entire convention.

 

 

 

After kicking my way through the zerglings I took a gander at the left wall, not surprisingly entirely owned by Nexon. Titles on display this year include Warface…

 

 

Mabinogi II Arena

 

And Fifa Online 3 (be interesting if we ever see this one stateside)

 


I made note to check Nexon out in the business center the following day as the lines to get access to any of their titles made Disneyland lines look tame.

 

With a few minutes left before the show closing I went into a mad sprint looking for the weird and bizarre. I close out my day 1 recap with just that…

 

3D glasses + mechanical rollercoaster + drunk Korean gamers = Epic Win

 

Tabletop Games are alive and well in Korea

 

The esports room was literally bustling with activity from open to close and they didn’t even have any major tournaments going on.

 

 

Rockem Sockem Robots in Asia taunt their opponents and dance when victorious. Why do we not have these in America damn it?!

 

 

 

A new dev company called Havok has an incredible looking tactical RPG that any JRPG fan would be thrilled to get their hands on.

 

Punch Hero looks to be the long awaited online answer to Nintendo’s ever popular Punch-Out Series.

 

Special thanks to San Disk for providing the memory storage to allow me to take pictures of the San Disk girl.

Bless Online

Purchased from Aeria games by Neowiz studios, Bless Online is an MMORPG.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes – Cosmetics such as costumes, and convenience items such as XP and gathering rate boosters.

Key Features:

Races: The currently available races are:

Hieron: Habichts, Sylvan Elf, Lupus

Union: Amistad, Aqua Elf, Pantera

Neutral/Either: Mascu

Additional races may be introduced early 2019.

Classes: Berserker, Guardian, Ranger, Mage, Paladin, Assassin are currently implemented. Plans for 2 more classes, Mystic and Warlock, have been announced.

Crafting: From Alchemy to Weaponsmithing, Bless Online offers a wide variety of useful craft skills.

Taming: Over 660 unique tamable species can be turned into useful allies.

RVR: Choose a side in an epic war between the Hieron and Union factions in up to 100v100 battles.

Pockie Pirates – Nautical Tactics beyond Expectations

Pockie Pirates – Nautical Tactics beyond Expectations

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

This free-to-play sidescroller browser game comes along the same vein of its sister game Pockie Ninja, but with a focus on One Piece instead of Bleach and Naruto. Pirates or Ninjas, is an endless discussion that has been forever on the internets. Those siding with pirates can now rejoice that One Piece is getting its chance to shine. However if you immediately assume that Pockie Pirates is just a reskin, you’d be wrong. Pockie Pirates’ gameplay is unique and quite a change-up.

 

 

When creating your first character you get the choice between four different classes. The first option is the Great Swordsman; just as the name would most likely tell you he is very skillful with the use of swords. The Sniper offers ranged damage with heavy guns. The Navigator brings in the magical ranged damage for those not fond of heavy weaponry. Last but not least the Doctor offers healing and support skills to round out any balanced group. After making the simple choice of which class to play and which gender you prefer, you’re thrown into an extended tutorial. Through a small story I learned the responsibility that comes with being a pirate. The tutorial explains the mission system, how to equip items as well as the basic crafting system. And after clearing every mission I had the choice to choose between five different cards. These cards all had one unique item that I could win, but since you can only choose one you will have to be lucky to win the item you want the most.

 

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When you are done with this advanced and fairly long tutorial you are given your own war ship. Together with your crew you will set sail to a new island and begin a new quest. Once you get to the second island you will be learn the ropes of managing a crew. You are able to hire new crewmembers, level them and use them in different formations. This will help you set up a strategy to counter-play  your foes with; classes and positioning proved to be key in overcoming the tougher opponents in Pockie Pirates.

 

 

When killing time between missions you are also able to train your crewmembers to boost their stats and skills. This of course applies to your personal character as well. Pockie Pirates boosts numerous daily events from dailies to challenges to team battles and even legion battles for the ultimate Pockie Pirate experience.

 

 

Conclusion

Pockie Pirates is something completely different than I had expected based on the NGames series. Tactics seem much more important and varied compared to Pockie Ninja and the in-depth story was a definite plus. I found the progression of my crew to be quite engaging for a browser title, and my decisions seemed to hold a much larger sway in the outcome of battles as compared to Pockie Ninja. Overall I really enjoyed playing this game… even though it is about pirates. NINJAS YEAH!

On E-sports – MLG Dallas

On E-sports – MLG Dallas

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

 


Last weekend it was time for yet another Major League Gaming event and this time the event was held in Dallas! Previous events hosted in Dallas always had a rough time of starting up with many technical difficulties, and to keep the spirits up the event was yet again delayed for only a small time. The curse that exists in the Dallas region for Major League Gaming seems to fade away a little each year, and with Sandy slamming the East Coast it was expected some of the competitors would be unable to make it. Not to be deterred MLG ensured ground transportation to get every competitor to the arena on schedule.

 

 

As an e-sports fan, I had my bag of chips and energy drink ready to watch all the sweet games that were waiting for me. As a fan of both League of Legends and Starcraft 2 I was prepared for amazing games and boy did we have it lucky; this weekend was full of surprises and nail biters that created an overwhelming amount of energy from the fans both at home and in attendance. Let’s kick things off with a recap of the popular real time strategy game Starcraft 2!

 

 

The boys are back in town! – Starcraft 2

Unfortunately I never really had any connection with Starcraft Brood War at all, but I did hear the legends of the many Korean pro’s that played these amazing games up to date and are crowned kings and gods in the land of E-sports. Waiting for this event I was curious to see what the results would be for these legendary players. Since this was actually the first real event where they were familiar with the game I couldn’t wait to see these legendary old school players picking a fight with the ‘new generation’ that have played Starcraft 2 since the beta. Almost every noticeable player in the Starcraft scene came to this event in Dallas in the hopes of taking some prize money home. Unfortunately yet again the Korean scene shows the outside world why they are the dominating nationality in the Starcraft 2 scene. But of all the competitors, all eyes were focused on Flash, a master of Brood War who has taken like a duck to water adapting to the changes in Starcraft 2. Would he hold things down as expected against such stiff competition?

 

 

As the weekend progressed the scene became dismal for any competitor not trained in the Korean scene. In the top 16 only one foreigner made it in, Naniwa, who ironically has spent the last year training in Korea. Though making a name for himself in GSL, he has been in a long slump and hasn’t been heard from much recently as he went into a hermit-style journey to find his roots. After he ‘relearned’ the game, people were curious to see this new Naniwa play. Boy were we given a show in his triumphant return as he not only blazed into the top 16 but gave Flash a run for his money in multiple matches. The King of the North showed some us how he earned his title and restored some faith to the foreign community.

 

 

However Naniwa was a definite exception to the rule. The unusual number of Korean legends attending MLG came hard and crushed the hopes of foreign competitors one after another. Many fan favorites unfortunately fell in the open bracket and only a few names made it into the championship bracket to fall after only a few rounds. Names like MajOr, Grubby, Ret, Huk, Suppy, Scarlett, Thorzain, mOOnGLaDe, IdrA and BabyKnight all got into the championship bracket but failed to win any prize money at all. The rest of the brackets were filled with the many Koreans the foreign community had to face, but unfortunately they were no match for the gods of the east. And it was no real surprise at all that the previous GSL winner ‘Life’ got ahead of everyone and even slayed the God of Starcraft 2 to crown himself the winner of the 2012 MLG Fall Championship, earning $25,000. Closely followed by Leenock who showed a great fight against Life but he unfortunately lost the game with only one map win difference who took home $15,000. The God of Broodwar got a shared third place with Bomber, another legendary player that we have seen win many events before. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on Flash in the future as his ability to place third with only half a year of practice marks him as a true prodigy of the growing Starcraft 2 scene.

 

 

League of Legends

With many team transfers, ‘benches’ and drama, MLG Dallas is timed perfectly to see what’s going on behind the scenes with various teams in the off-season. MLG Dallas would witness some prominent rematches between the best of NA and EU coming to reclaim some lost glory against the Korean teams that dominated the championships.

 

 

We saw some really unexpected results during these tournaments due to last minute changes in line-ups. HotShotGG, the team captain of CLG Prime, benched Voyboy only a week before the event, and took in Locodoco the experienced AD Carry to take their new available support role just a week before the event which was a big surprise for many fans. Their sister team CLG.EU decided to take a break after the championships and Krepo, the team support, was still on holiday during this important event. Many of the other team players also took their holiday and even snoopeh, the team’s jungler, admitted to having not touched the game for a few weeks. To their favor Krepo’s fill-in demonstrated his skill beyond expectations. I’m of course talking about JREE, a Swedish player at 2500 ELO that contacted the team via their site’s forums. Meanwhile NA favorite Team SoloMid had a rough time adjusting to the rigid desk stations after having spent many recent weeks playing on couches with laptops due to a recent relocation to San Francisco. With these major shake-ups fans eagerly anticipated an unpredictable tournament.

 

 

Since the League of Legends composition is a little different than Starcraft 2, only eight teams battled it out on the main stage between each other. This smaller tournament makes a one bracket system more favorable. Unfortunately, League of Legends is suffering from some of the growing pains Starcraft 2 experienced a few years ago. Because of poor planning and scheduling only half of the games were casted, and we didn’t see many of the first round games that were looking very promising. With only half of the games shown to the public, there was already a big surprise that many of us missed. CLG.EU had already dropped to the lower bracket of the competition with a loss against Dignitas. Apparently, Dignitas was looking very strong as they practiced really hard after their poor showing at the championship and came to Dallas with vengeance on their minds and a spirit to prove their value as real contenders.

 

 

CLG NA showed their lack of preparation as well, being obliterated by the ruthless aggressive playstyle of NaJin Swords made famous during the Season 2 championships. In the second round, the other two North American teams were also shown their place and unfortunately fell to the Lower Bracket to face their friends and big competitors. Unfortunately TSM’s spirit seemed broken by their initial loss, falling out of the tournament without putting up much of a fight against CLG.EU. CLG NA also recovered by defeating Dignitas, who despite making a strong showing in day 1 fell a game short of taking the win in round 2. Next up, both the CLG teams had to duke it out in front of the big crowd at the League of Legends main stage. The EU team was heavily favored in this match-up, leaving the crowd speechless when NA CLG held nothing back, pulling a crushing victory in game 1. CLG.EU was unphased and  adjusted their tactics to pull a 2 to 1 victory over their sister team when the dust settled. I highly recommend checking out game 3 of this match-up as one of the most exciting matches in the entire weekend of events.

 

 

Unfortunately this weak showing against their NA sister team should have been seen as a sign of weakness as the arrival of Azubu Blaze in the Lower Bracket spelt doom for CLG’s run. Azubu Blaze returned to grace against NaJin Sword delivered their prior loss. The crowd watched anxiously as Azubu Blaze took to the main stage in their rematch with NaJin Sword. Would NaJin’s unstoppable aggressive style go unopposed in MLG Dallas?

 

 

After showing some very strong plays, Azubu Blaze struck back and forced NaJin into the extended series. Victory after victory landed in Azubu Blaze’s lap as they sealed their title with an emphatic pentakill to end the final match, winning 4 to 1 and taking home $16,000 in prize money!

Stalker Online – Enter the Zone

Stalker Online – Enter the Zone

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Stalker Online is a MMORPG set in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe that we have come to love thanks to games such as Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Skies. The game is a third-person shooter with many RPG elements that help bring the Zone to life. Developed by Cybertime Systems, a team of young and talented Russians. This is a game that must be played if you have ever played any of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

 

 

The Story

In Stalker Online, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster acted as the catalyst to the creation of the Zone. The Zone is an area surrounding the accident site where the laws of physics and reality no longer rule. Within the zone, mutants are as common as the animals we know from the real world. Anomalies with the ability to kill a man in an instant are found everywhere. And within the Zone, the greatest treasure known to man – Artifacts – are born.

 

 

Anomalies and Artifacts play a large role in Stalker Online. Anomalies are found everywhere within the Zone. Chances are you will not walk for longer than a minute before coming across one or more. The anomalies in the zone have a chance to give birth to artifacts. Artifacts are items that have been imbued with special properties that will often benefit those that possess it.

 

 

This is where you come in. You come in to the world as a Stalker. Stalker is the name given to the artifact hunters that sneak in to the Zone. Labeled as outlaws and thieves, the Stalkers are on their own within the Zone. This has given rise to a special kind of law that exists within the Zone, similar to that which existed in the Old West of the United States. It is every man for himself in the Zone.

 

 

Life in the Zone

Life in the Zone is rough. It takes a special kind of person to withstand the hardships that are constantly thrown at you. From the constant onslaught of anomalies, to worrying about being murdered by your fellow Stalkers and the never ending threat of being attacked by vicious mutants, you will rarely have a break.

 

 

Stalker Online stays true to the world we became familiar with in the original single player games. The maps are big and fun to explore. The world tells a story with its inspiring landscapes. There are plenty of possibilities that make for a rich experience not easily forgotten. I usually do not role play, but I often found myself getting in to character whenever I came across another player and they were happy to oblige, doing the same.

 

 

It is possible to buy Golden Rubles with real money that you can then use to buy items from the cash shop. The cash shop features powerful weapons and a large selection of cosmetic items. There are also scopes and flashlights. The good news is you can get just about every gun from the cash shop via the in-game shops as well. By going to the special artifact trader located in bases, you can buy weapons and armor on par with that of the cash shop. These items require artifacts to buy, which are not hard to farm. It may take you a week if you do it lazily. Maybe two days if you do it actively.

 

 

Not everything in the Zone is great. The biggest issue I came across was the poor translations that make it very hard to understand some quests. At times this gets to the point of being completely incomprehensible. There are even parts of the game that have not been translated at all and are still in Russian. Despite this, it’s still an amazing experience.

 

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Customization

Right now, there is not much customization while making your character. I believe you are limited to just choosing between two skin colors. Outside of that, there are lots of clothes and armors for you to wear to give your character its own personality.

 

 

Stalker Online is skill based, and you are given a lot of freedom in your choices. The skills are split into three trees: Combat, Survival and Support. Combat is pretty self-explanatory. Survival ranges from giving your character more damage resistance and health, to making him better at spotting anomalies. Support is for increasing your ability to repair items or craft new ones, making you better able to carry stuff, and making you better at using medkits. And if you decide you want to change things up, you can do it easily. Every few days, you have the ability to reset your skills for free.

 

 

 

The World

The world is beautiful with very few flaws. The landscapes were very nice and leave most players in awe. Combined with the atmospheric effects, such as fog and rain, this made for a very pleasant experience exploring the land. There are a few bugged textures, though. And the occasional tear in the world.

 

 

The user interface, while not perfect, is not hard on the eye. It works well and is designed to fit with the game’s theme. Not a thing I can think of to change, really. Maybe the ability to re-arrange it more freely?

 

 

All-in-all, the world in Stalker Online is one of the best I have seen. It may not have graphics on par with Skyrim, though it definitely has its own charm. They get the job done while providing the proper mood for a game focused on survival.

 

 

The Controls

Stalker Online has your traditional RPG stuff. There are keys to open up your equipment, inventory, skills and quest. The 1-9 keys can be used as hotkeys to use items. Nothing new there. However, due to the uniqueness of the game, there are a few new things. An example being the ability to throw stones with the Q key to test for anomalies, which can sometimes be invisible until it is too late. Everything is pretty simple and easy to understand without requiring much tutorial.

 

 

The over-the-shoulder aiming works well and is quite smooth. Combined with the fluid movement and easy transition to scope view, this makes for superb combat. Not a bad thing to say about this game in the area of controls. It did everything well and there is nothing to complain about.

 

 

Your Fellow Stalkers

It is a dangerous place, the Zone. There are very few places where you will find safety. Most places are full, open PvP areas. You are more likely to stop and exchange greetings with your fellow Stalkers, rather than start shooting. There is an unspoken code between the players that you do not kill each other unless you have to. Of course, there are some bad apples. Fortunately these are few and far between.

 

 

There is a lot of content that will encourage you and your friends to work together. Such as the awesome beasts that populate portions of the map. You won’t feel like a true Stalker until you and five of your friends get together to hunt down a massive bear.

 

 

There were a few areas that had me scratching my head, though. Such as allowing Game Masters to play as regular players. The Senior Game Master for the English server runs a clan that is at odds with most everyone else, including newbie clans. There are even claims of players being banned for no apparent reason, other than the Game Master not liking them.

 

 

Another thing I was confused about was the forums rules. You are not allowed to post new threads unless you send an administrator a personal message beforehand and get an OK. If you do not get permission, you will be banned for a day without warning. I could not understand why this rule exists.

 

 

It does appear that the developers do not care much for the English community. This is most likely due to the language barrier, as all the developers are native Russian speakers and very few of them appear to speak English. This is bad because anyone in a position of power seems to use google translate to communicate with the players. This means it is very hard for players to relate problems to the developers.

 

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Death is Not the End

When you are killed in Stalker Online, you get two options. You can choose to revive or you can rest. Reviving will instantly teleport you to the last fire you visited, with the chance of having one of the items in your inventory drop on to the ground. Resting will make you wait for a period of time and then bring you back to life where you fell. During this time, players can come up to you and use a medkit to instantly bring you back, or they can murder you. Murdering a player, much like using the revive options, has a chance of them dropping one of their items.

 

 

If you rest, you will get a special debuff that limits you to 1/3rd of your health until you visit a fire to rest. These debuffs will continue to stack until then, each one adding an extra ten seconds to the thirty second timer. So, if you have three stacks of the resting debuff, you will have to wait one minute to rest. It is not possible to get your health past 1/3rd with this debuff, even while using medkits.

 

 

Clans and Factions

Just like in the single player games, factions play a big role in the Zone. They control territory and offer benefits to their members. There are both NPC factions, and player-made clans.

 

 

A big part of the clan side of the game is bases. Bases are locations that can be controlled by player-made clans that offer special benefits to whoever owns it. These benefits are a place to respawn that is near good locations, a localized storage, and an NPC that offers special items that cannot be found elsewhere.

 

 

Base warfare happens every Saturday. For two hours, every base becomes vulnerable to attack and can be taken by enemy clans. Included are fortifications, smaller versions of bases that can only be taken if you already own a base. The fortifications are on a separate timer than bases, so they are vulnerable at different times. It is a planned feature to give clans the ability to develop and upgrade their bases and fortifications to offer further benefits.

 

 

The one gripe I have in this area is the completely overpowered NPC guards. These NPCs protect bases and must be killed if you want to capture them. The NPCs will always hit you as long as you are within range and line-of-sight. This can be very annoying and has been known to cause mass genocide of newbies.

 

 

Conclusion

Stalking Online is a game with a lot of potential. The biggest negative about it is the lack of communication between the developers and their English speaking players. I have been having a blast in this game ever since I downloaded it and I cannot wait to see how it develops in the future. Cybertime Systems has done a great job with this game so far; let’s hope they keep it up. I fully recommend that fans of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, or anyone who enjoys a big open world, give it a try.