Infinite Game Publishing and Piranha Games announced today that MechWarrior Online is set for an Open Beta launch next week on October 29. MechWarrior Online, one of 2012’s most anticipated titles, has been lauded by fans and the games media as the return of true mech combat. Recently the companies jointly announced that the MechWarrior Online Founder’s Program achieved more than $5 million dollars in sales since July.
Set in the year 3049 during the early stages of a massive interstellar war, MechWarrior Online puts you in command of the most powerful war machine to ever walk the field of battle, the mighty BattleMech™. Command your Mech and customize it to suit your battlefield role; upgrade systems, replace weapons, and tweak armor with endless options.
Halloween is a magical time in the MMOverse. Practically every game out there does a little something for the holiday. There are so many of these events in fact it can be a bit hard to keep track of them all. Have no fear, we here at OnRPG have been doing that for you. So, have a look in our list of Halloween events for your favorite game. I’ve put it in alphabetical order, just to make it easier to find the game you want. If your game isn’t listed that means one of two things, either they aren’t having a Halloween event or we somehow missed it.
Age of Conan – October 19-November 5
Three new quests lead players through tracking down and defeating three Lost Souls. Finishing the quests will reward you with your choice of social gear.
APB Reloaded
Trick and Treat have come back again this year to offer six levels of missions to complete. Its also smashing pumpkins season. There are pumpkins all over, smashy smashy! Four levels of titles can be unlocked by smashing the poor innocent pumpkins.
City of Heroes – October 26-29
For the final time the City of Heroes tradition comes alive. With trick or treating, zombie invasions and even a mad man with a deadly haunted mansion. And you can’t forget the giant pumpkin walking the main city zones. The Halloween event has long been said to be the best of all of City of Heroes’ events. This is not one to miss.
CrossFire
The infamous Halloween map has returned to CrossFire for the season. In addition there are character items which will be exclusive to Halloween.
Continent of the Ninth Seal (C9) – October 24-?
Players grab Halloween boxes from the Pumpkin Knight which appear throughout the dungeons of C9. Inside are Halloween costumes and gear. In addition special items can be purchased in the item shop. And new gear will be available at a special discount.
Dark Age of Camelot – October 24-November 5
A new quest is available for anyone over level 45. And vendors with treats can be found inside several areas. Meanwhile ghosts haunt the capital cities as the pumpkin moon rises. And this is just barely scratching the surface of the events going on.
DC Universe Online – October 16-November 6
This year’s Halloween event is brand new, titled “The Witching Hour” it deals with Klarion the Witch Boy causing havoc in Gotham City. Heroes are sent to defeat the ghouls the Witch Boy has released and ultimately enter the Midnight Masquerade and face Klarion himself.
Digimon Masters – October 24-November 20
Trick or Treat the Digimon Masters way this season, instead of going door to door just defeat monsters for prizes and treats. There are also treats for logging in and for buying the Digimon of the Month during the event.
Dragon Saga – October 24-November 6
A new racing event map is the highlight of Dragon Saga’s festivities this year along with 4 new Halloween costumes and 2 new riding pets. In addition there are many new vanity items to earn throughout the event.
Dragonica
A new Halloween themed quest has been added to Dragonica. Along with it there are new themes, pets, outfits and prizes galore. Tigers and Ligers as well as jewellery and precious gems have been added as well.
Elsword
New content has come to life in Elseword for the Halloween season. The Halloween dungeon has been given a bit of a revamp and the grim reaper has been seen randomly invading dungeons. A limited edition pet and costumes are also available.
Everquest – October 19-November 7
Festivities on Norrath this year include helping a gravedigger dig graves and helping the hungry find pumpkin food and drink. Halloween themed armor will drop in Hero’s Forge and there are special items in the market.
Everquest II – October 11-November 5
In the Nights of the Dead players can enjoy haunted houses in Qeynos and Freeport. Meanwhile Ghost Hunter competitions are taking place in Commonlands and Antonica.
Fallen Earth – October 11-31
A pumpkin carving contest is the highlight of Fallen Earth’s festivities this year. Players are encouraged to carve their pumpkins in Fallen Earth inspired ways and post photos of them on the official forums. The top three pumpkin carvers will receive prizes.
Free Realms – October 11-November 15
Vampires and Werewolves come face to face in a dance off, just one part of Free Realm’s unique Halloween activities. There are also several new costume parts for players to enjoy and lots of frightening quests.
Forge of Empires – October 25-November 4
Jack O’ Lantern has some rhyming riddles for you to solve to get some tricky treats. Players who complete Jack’s riddles are rewarded with a unique cultural building, The Graveyard.
Guild Wars – October 19-November 2
Mad King Thorn makes his yearly appearance in the mortal world for a celebration full of festive quests, costume brawl PvP event, and guild vs guild battles in the Halloween theme of course. The main events are in Lion’s Arch and Kamadan but all of Tyria is decorated for the occasion.
Guild Wars II – October 22-November 1
For the first time in 250 years the Mad King Thorn has made another appearance in Tyria. The events in Guild Wars 2 will be broken up into four parts. The first is Tricks or Treats. Complete with new events and haunted doors that have appeared all over the world. Get in on it while you can though, Act two starts on Friday October 26. With the last two on October 28 and 31 respectively. Details aren’t released yet about the acts coming, and we wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.
Knight Age – Ends October 25
A fan art competition is taking place this year for Knight Age fans. Players are encouraged to mix Knight Age with Halloween for some fun festive artwork. Submissions are being accepted through October 25.
Maestia – October 17-November 6
Lucy has coins for you to collect this year. You can trade them in for special Halloween boxes with fantastic items like broomstick mounts, and ghost pets. There will also be special gold Halloween boxes on sale for a limited time.
Ragnarok – October 16-November 7
Not quite alive creatures inhabit the shadows of Rune Midgard in the Halloween quest from Ragnarok. Go up against the undead for a short time and complete the side quests to find the source of the undead…problem.
Requiem: Memento Mori – October 24-November 7
Monsters and Minions throughout the Requiem Nightmare Halloween event have a chance to drop the exclusive Halloween box. While the Grim Reaper pet and and Pumpkin costume make a return to spice things up.
ROSE Online – October 18-November 1
Heburkal has returned to terrorize Junon Polis with his minions. Visitors can defend the city and enjoy some favorite Halloween quests to get spooky and fun rewards. Seven new mounts are being introduces, some of which will only be available during Halloween.
Rusty Hearts – October 10-26
If you’re a fan of art contests Rusty Hearts has one for you. Make a costume, a postcard or draw one of your own characters for this Halloween themed contest. There are several in game prizes to be won and submissions are being accepted on the forums.
Runescape
The Festival of the Dead celebrates the lives the dead lived instead of mourning them after they were gone. New quests are available for celebrating your fallen comrades which will give you a skeleton mask (hopefully not one of your comrades’ skulls) and double xp multipliers.
Scarlet Legacy
A trick or treat that has players collecting treats offers seasonal treats like a Black Magician Costume, Spirit Scrolls, and a Pumpkin Head accessory. And players can post Halloween themed screenshots on Facebook to earn the exclusive Mummy pet companion.
TERA – October 23-November 5
Candy baskets, cake, and mystery boxes are just the beginning of the festive events going on in TERA. There are items galore to collect and you even get to throw pies at a poor soul named Gourdo.
The Secret World – October 18-November 1
A new storyline dealing with the Cat God comes to Solomon Island. There are a variety of potions, unique items costumes and pets to enjoy. And biggest of all there are exclusive prizes for dimensions and secret societies. Stonehenge takes a step away from the pvp scene for a bit of festive fun.
Ultima Online – October 19-November 1
The annual Shard of the Dead is back once again this year. You enter the shard as you entered the world, naked and screaming. Once you join a team you can go to a safe zone where you get gear and supplies. Then you enter the danger. The floors are covered in powerful magic items for you to use. But don’t think being unarmed will keep monsters from attacking.
Vanguard Saga of Heroes – October 1-November 1
The veil between the world of living and the world of the dead is at it’s weakest and thinnest. New bosses have poured through with their ghoulish minions. But it isn’t all bad, there is plenty of candy on hand for all to enjoy!
Warhammer Age of Reckoning – October 18-November 1
A public quest, an event quest and a creepy cemetery scenario feature in WAR’s Daemon Moon Rising, Halloween event. Rewards both fair and foul are handed out, these masks are rare rewards for completing quests and public quests. Last year’s masks are also available from RvR battlefields.
World of Warcraft – October 18-31
Hallow’s End makes a return to WoW with several events ranging from apple bobbing to handing out sweets to the kids of Azeroth. There are also pets, mounts, vanity items as well as achievements, and titles.
By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief
Co-Written by James Hunt (JamesBl0nde), MMOHuts Content Manager
It’s been quite a busy couple of weeks here at OnRPG and MMOHuts but now that NYCC, the Elder Scrolls event, and SOE Live have come to a close we can finally readjust and get things back to normal. But not before our final and in some people’s opinion, the most important article of all. Of course we’re talking about the cosplayers so let’s take a look!
SOE Live’s brand of cosplayers are an interesting bunch, primarily because their line-up of titles are so diverse with no real connecting factor. You’ll find everything from dwarves…
To DC Heroes and Villians. And the guy on the right. He actually won an award for his incredibly unique costume.
This Everquest 2 fan showed off his dedication by lugging a 30lb Chainmail to the showroom floor!
This golden dragon set the record for construction with 17 rolls of duct tape filling out the costume!
This Warlock stands as a testament to the power of gaming. Diagnosed with a crippling illness in 2000 and expected to live a mere 3-5 years, she stands now at SOE Live demonstrating her love of the original Everquest in cosplay form.
Throwing stereotypes to the wind, this Pig Knight stands as a 5+ year military veteran. The red head to his right was so pumped for the Chains of Eternity expansion she came dressed as just that!
Back on the superhero front…
These girls made Planetside 2 and Everquest 2 look good!
While hanging out with the Planetside 2 team we stumbled across the green screen stand…
…so we of course took advantage to become comic book characters!
Yoda was cruising in style in this custom Star Wars sports car
This Everquest 2 vixen was all the rage at the pool party. Let it be a lesson to ladies everywhere, geeks in Vegas will treat you right if you dress like a video game character.
This full body Dragon Knight stole the show with a mask beneath a mask. Congrats to this incredibly skilled costume designer for winning the gold!
This concludes this year’s coverage of SOE Live. This was one of the most fun shows we’ve ever worked at and we suggest anyone true fan of Sony’s titles reserve their spot in next year’s show. You won’t regret it!
OnRPG Shotgun News 10/26: Elder Scrolls, City of Steam, LoL, and Much More!
By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist
City of Steam Announces Closed Beta
Today the team at Mechanist announced the four part Closed Beta for City of Steam. The first begins on November 16. The events are scheduled as listed below.
In addition to announcing the dates of the closed beta Mechanist announced a new series of beta collaboration packs for players to buy. And a closed beta social media event which will see new content which was intended for open beta to be released early which involves players sharing, liking, retweeting, and viewing youtube links to fill the steam-o-meter and unlock the items. Below is the new trailer for Closed Beta which was just released today.
Wartune Now Available on Aeria Browser
Wartune joins the catalog of games available on the Aeria browser without any download required. In celebration of the occasion Aeria Games is running a series of events on the official Facebook page over the next two weeks. With more events continuing through Wartune’s first month.
League of Legends New Map and Champion Announced
Today League of Legends has released a video giving an overview of the Twisted Treeline map and another featuring Elise, The Spider Queen. Twisted Treeline is a 3 on 3 map which has been given a bit of a makeover. While Elise, The Spider Queen is a hybrid of a ranged mage and a melee assassin or fighter. She can swap between human and spider form which is her basic ability. These are both part of the upcoming Shadow Isles release.
The Elder Scrolls Online Website Updates With Story, Images, and More
After a week of press interviews, The Elder Scrolls Online’s websitehas been given a bit of an update. It has a bit of back story for the MMO now as well as a page for news and announcements, images and much more.
Gamigo Bought By Samarion S.E.
One of the leading German publisher and operators of MMOs has been bought by a German online game investment company. 100% of Gamigo which is famous for producing Cultures Online and offering Fiesta Online, Jagged Alliance Online and many others is now owned by Samarion S.E.
Nexon America’s Dragon Nest has released its newest content update, “Chapter 6: The Astral Coven” that includes the new town map, Lotus Marsh, increases the level cap to 50, giving players a variety of new challenges and action-packed adventures.
The Lotus Marsh is a humid, moss covered zone where humans and its native inhabitants, the Dromaji, maintain a strained coexistence. The Lotus Marsh is also the home of the Astral Coven.
Accessible through Lotus Marsh are the danger-filled Titan Nest and Arch Bishop Nest. The Titan Nest is a maze filled with inanimate objects inhabited by evil spirits that can come alive and to menace adventurers. The Arch Bishop Nest is lorded over by the evil and greedy Archbishop Kazalman. Guarded by an army of undead, cursed warriors, the risks of taking on Kazalman are great.
Along with the increased level cap, Dragon Nest’s new update also includes a host of new specializations and powers for every class available in the game. The new specializations and skills will be fully tested in the Lotus Marsh map.
Dragon Nest will also be giving out free Scrolls of Unlimited Unlearnings for all players visiting the game at 4PM on Oct. 27 so that players can test out different skill trees for free for 24 hours.