Monthly Archives: May 2013

Battle for Graxia Launch Interview

Questions by Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief

Answers by Multiple Developers on Battle for Graxia

 Battle for Graxia Launch Interview

With MOBAs seemingly becoming the next big thing in the F2P online industry, it’s good to keep an eye on the market as a whole as the first to market tend to stand the test of time much like the Ultimas, Everquests, of course World of Warcraft have in the fantasy MMORPG realm. That said a certain MOBA has been under my radar for some time, namely Battle for Graxia, a MOBA developed by none other than Petroglyph Studios. Once I realized such an iconic studio known for developing strategy titles was behind this one, I got in contact to get a quick rundown on what Battle for Graxia brings to the genre as it nears the end of beta testing.

 

 

OnRPG: Hello and thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions. First off, please introduce yourself and your position with the company.

 

BFG Team: Greetings! My name is Mathew “Berek” Anderson, Community Manager at Petroglyph. I also coordinate a lot of the website and marketing elements as well, so anyone let me know if you ever get a broken link on one of them :). Some of the questions here are also answered by our design team.

 Battle for Graxia Aislynn Immortal

 

OnRPG: The first factor I feel sets a MOBA apart is the backstory and how the graphical style captures it. What’s the deal behind Battle for Graxia and is there a defined style your immortals are designed after aesthetically to match this tale?

 

BFG Team: Battle for Graxia is set in the Graxia fantasy universe. Petroglyph developed this world as its own property (IP) and also marketed a few games previously around it, such as the board games Guardians of Graxia and Heroes of Graxia, as well as the PC version for Guardians of Graxia. You can find that one and other games by Petroglyph on Steam.

 

The style and aesthetics in large part comes from the Graxia universe, but the designers had a lot of free ability to create whatever fit best in the game. Because of this freedom of design you get a lot of unique and diverse characters. A MOBA game like ours lends itself well to this diversity.

 

 

OnRPG: Tell me about the artifacts and discipline trees and how they offer incentive for players to level up their account as well as master individual Immortals.

 

BFG Team: As players progress, they unlock more points to spend in the discipline trees as well as more artifact slots. The wide range of artifacts and discipline options allows us to cater to any play style the user prefers. Being able to grow bigger, faster and stronger with each level should, coupled with the vast amount of customization that these systems add, offer a nice incentive to level up your account.

 

 

OnRPG: Maps often define the soul of a MOBA. What principles were focused on when creating the Vale of Kings map?

 

BFG Team: A core MOBA experience. The Vale of Kings map’s strategic layout is a fairly standard 5v5 MOBA map designed with three lanes that connect the two opposing bases. It gets real interesting in the artistic layout with the floating island scene. The floating island idea ties back to the lore of the Graxia world when the planet was shattered and islands were sent up high into the sky. Each of these islands has various races that inhabit them, using portals to teleport from one to the other.

 Battle for Graxia Nyssus

 

OnRPG: Battle for Graxia has a huge selection of items for purchasing during each match. Do you think this is overwhelming for new players and how does the increased options and utility improve the overall tactics a more veteran team can use?

 

BFG Team: For a new player there are more items than you might need, but we’ve found that after a few games it really becomes apparent to players just how useful each of those items can be to their particular character build. The interface does allow sorting and filtering to help in finding items you might need for a particular instance.

 

 

OnRPG: Are the Immortals’ teams designed around a particular Meta or is team creation still rather open for players to decide on?

 

BFG Team: We’ve seen common Meta’s from other MOBA’s such as HoN, LoL and Dota but we have many players that are fresh to the genre that bring exciting ideas to the scene.

 Battle for Graxia Team Battle

 

OnRPG: With all these factors considered, what niche in the MOBA field do you see Battle for Graxia being focused towards?

 

BFG Team: Battle for Graxia is a great MOBA game to play as your primary, or on the side, game with all the others you play. It doesn’t have to take up all your MOBA time for example. Go play those others, but when you get bored, move over to Battle for Graxia for awhile. It’s for everyone who likes these competitive, and collaborative, competition based games.

 

 

OnRPG: Looking forward, what projects is the balancing team currently focusing on?

 

BFG Team: As we add new Immortals, such as the upcoming Murderhoof, more balancing to all of them will have to be made. The focus comes in when the community sends us changes. We evaluate everyone’s input and then start tweaking the balance dials if necessary.

 Battle For Graxia Murderhoof

 

OnRPG: Do you have plans on opening up to new modes or maps? Or do you find focusing on your current modes makes a better overall balanced competitive title?

 

BFG Team: We have ideas for new modes and maps, but there are quite a few we’ve rotated into the active pool that keeps the community interested. Having too many modes and maps can split the community in the queue, causing times to increase dramatically for those looking to get into a particular game. The balance is also a consideration as well.

 Battle for Graxia ARAM Map

 

OnRPG: With MOBAs being highly known for their toxic communities, how have you catered to policing your community? And how much of a challenge do your bots offer for those that prefer the casual PvE aspect?

 

BFG Team: With the launch we’ve added the Reputation system and Badges to help recognize players for their gameplay value. This is just a couple of ways the community can police itself. We have a full moderating team to help for other situations as well of course.

 

If the competitive arena is too much at times, there is PvE as you mentioned. It’s a great way to team up with friends in 3vE, or just try out a new Immortal on your own in 1vE.

 

 

OnRPG: What are your plans for the next dev event?

 

BFG Team: Glad you asked! We actually have a couple of our Production Assistant’s working on a weekly feature with the community. We receive replays from the community and take some of those and commentate on them on our Twitch.TV channel at twitch.tv/battleforgraxia. There are other events we run as well, mainly from ideas the community comes up with.

 Battle for Graxia Tzai

 

OnRPG: Thanks for taking the time to give me a better understanding of Battle for Graxia! If you haven’t be sure to check out their launch trailer to get a peak of just how much this game has improved during beta

TERA Celebrates One-Year Western Anniversary

TERA Anniversary

En Masse Entertainment™, a player-driven publisher focused on delivering fun and innovative online games, is pleased to celebrate the first anniversary of TERA. The game launched in North America on May 1, 2012 to much fanfare. TERA offers a true action MMORPG experience by featuring a real-time contextual action combat system, and has established a dedicated community of fans over the past 12 months with over 1.5 million registered users. En Masse Entertainment re-launched the game under a subscription-free model in early 2013 as TERA: Rising, the next evolution of the award-winning action MMORPG.

 

For players who have wondered what the most popular race in TERA is, how many players of each class have died in PvP battle or how many monsters have been killed in-game (hint: it’s a lot!), En Masse Entertainment has released an all-new infographic to quench the fans’ curiosity. Other statistics, such as percentage breakdowns of character class and sex, most deadly enemies, auction item records and number of guilds in the game have also been revealed.

TERA_Infographic_Final

En Masse is also celebrating TERA’s first birthday with a host of in-game events in TERA: Rising throughout the month of May. Fans are invited to take place in all events, including a loading screen contest which will feature winning fan submissions as loading screens in the game, daily in-game tasks which reward players with raffle items, a new 10- and 20-person Kelsaik raid and in-game mystery boxes filled with rare and valuable prizes. For more information, visit: tera.enmasse.com.

 

TERA: Rising continues to thrive a year on from its inception, and En Masse is dedicated to keeping the game updated with fresh content and features. Upcoming content for the near future includes an expansive 20v20 battleground that asks players to defend and control strongholds with the aid of tanks, cannons and airships, and the introduction of the innovative, player-driven alliance system, scheduled for summer 2013.

 

The recipient of multiple industry accolades, including “Best PC Game” at E3, “Best Combat” at PAX, and our recent 1st prize of best F2P MMORPG on the Market, TERA gives players the best of both worlds: MMO depth delivered with the visceral gratification of an action game. In TERA: Rising, players actively aim, dodge and block, as the game’s real-time combat system takes into account player skill and position as well as stats. Players join a united federation to save the world and can also participate in the game’s forward-thinking political system, through which they wield power based on their in-game political prowess or PvP combat skill. New players can enjoy standard status for free with no level cap or content restrictions. Anyone who purchased the game will gain permanent founder status with special privileges. Elite status is available for players who want to further customize their gameplay experience.

Ecol Tactics Enters Commercial Launch

Ecol Tactics Launch Archer

 

Leading online game publisher GamesCampus today launches its first global browser title, Ecol Tactics Online.  The turn-based strategy game moves from open beta to full commercialization. Players can enjoy the turn based strategic game by signing up now at http://ecoltactics.gamescampus.com/.

 

“After months of fine tuning Ecol Tactics, we are pleased to announce the launch of our very first turn-based strategy browser game, Ecol Tactics Online!” said Elliott Coward, Head Producer for Ecol Tactics Online.  “We have brand new never seen before content and a slew of special events and giveaways.”

Ecol Tactics Launch Cleric

To memorialize this historic event, we have tons of new content. Visit the PvP Coliseum and take on other skilled mercenaries who are venturing for riches and glory. Attend class trainings in the Coliseum and develop your mercenary skill set to prepare for your adventures. Want to strengthen your team further? Players have a chance to hire unique mercenaries to slay those evil monsters who are in your way. Last, but not the least, guilds are available! Strategize with your friends and share your weapons, potions, and loot.

Ecol Tactics Launch Fighter

Ecol Tactics Online’s official launch is loaded with plenty of events. Players can enter the quest “Invasion of the Robo Hopper.” Annihilate this scourge across the world and collect their parts for an exclusive item.  Take on the “Map Mastery Challenge Timers” quest and defeat all zones and challenge dungeons in the town of Vermonics.  Players can score premium items exclusive to this event.  In memorial of our veterans, take on the “Memorial Day Blitz event.” Players can gather items and receive a special tribute item to people in the armed services.

 

In addition to the new game events, we’ll also be introducing rare items to players. Grab some Silver Hammers to protect upgraded items. Two new additional costumes will be added to the item shop and Gacha Board. Plus, players now can access Mercenary Random and Bundle Boxes. Replenish your war chest with gear, potions, unique items, and loot in this game of chance.

Ecol Tactics Launch Mage

To check out all the latest events, updates, screenshots, videos and tips, visit the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ecoltacticsus or Twitter at @EcolTactics.

WoW Wednesday – Children’s Week Guide

By MerryQuiteContrary, OnRPG Azeroth Reporter

 

Another maintenance day has come and gone and patch 5.3 still isn’t live.  What we do have, however, is Children’s Week. So instead of waiting for ages on the PTR to join the new battleground or scenario I am bringing you Merry’s Guide to Children’s Week. Riveting stuff, I know.

 

Children’s Week is loosely based on the Japanese holiday of Children’s Day which happens around May 5th every year. The World of Warcraft’s version is an entire week ferrying around snot nosed mini orcs, blood elves, humans and draenei, all who have been made orphans due to numerous wars.  Luckily, they are all fairly well-mannered if a bit greedy.

World of Warcraft Children's Week 1

To start the event you will need to visit Stormwind or Orgrimmar.  The orphan matron will then give you a whistle to call forth your rug rat. Once you do this, the little snotling will have several quests for you to do.  All of these quests involve taking your mini me to various places around Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.  To start these series of quest you need to be level 10. The first sets of quests from Stormwind include visiting Sentinel Hill, Ironforge and Darnassus. From Orgrimmar you will need to travel to Ashara, Undercity and Mulgore.  Remember to call your pet if not out already when you reach your destination for the quest update.

World of Warcraft Children's Week quests

After these initial three quests your orphan will have two more quests for you. This is where you will want to get out the coin purse because the little bastard darling is going to want you to buy him/her things.  Head back to Stormwind and find Craggle Wobbletop or Orgrimmar and look for Blax Bottlerocket. They are both toy vendors. You’ve no doubt seen them around pushing about a little wagon full of toys.  Buy a Dragon Kite 2-pack and use. Next your orphan wants an ice cream. You will find the Orgrimmar vendor in the Goblin Slums and in Stormwind the Cone of Cold near the mage tower in the mage district. I would suggest doing this quest first because the last bit requires you to purchase a foam sword from the previous toy vendor.  Return to the matron for your reward of pet: piglet, rat, snail or turtle.

World of Warcraft Children's Week Orc

To start the Shattrath quest line next you need to be at least level 60. Go to the Lower City in Shattrath and find the Orphan Matron Mercy. She will give you either a draenei or blood elf whistle.  Whether you are horde or alliance you will take your orphan to the Dark Portal in Hellfire (this can be a bit fiddly to update). Alliance will visit the Ring of Observance in Terokkar Forest and then Aeris Landing in Nagrand while the horde will be sent to Throne of Elements in Nagrand and Sporegarr in Zangarmarsh.

World of Warcraft Children's Week Belf

For the second part of the quests in this series, Alliance will head to Exodar. After stopping by the Seat of Naru find Farseer Nobundo in the Crystal Hall.  Here you learn your little charge has the makings of a powerful shaman.  Caverns of Time will be your next stop where you will meet with the dragon, Zaladormu.  After a “scary” encounter with the guards, purchase a toy dragon from the Keepers of Time Quartermaster in the Caverns of Time. Finally, return to Orphan Matron Mercy for you choice of reward: Elekk training collar, Eggbert‘s Egg, Sleepy Willy (he has one eye), or Legs.

World of Warcraft Children's Week Willy

For Horde, the Cavern of Time quests are the same as are the rewards. The only difference is instead of going to Exodar you will take your little elfling to Silvermoon City.

 

If you haven’t had quite enough with all this running around yet you will be pleased to know there is yet another series – the Northrend series.  You will need to be level 70 to start these.  In Dalaran find Orphan Matron Aria (at the Eventide outside the “Alliance” bank) and talk to her. She will give you the choice between Little Roo, a baby Oracle, or Kekek, a wolvar puppy.  For the first quests in the Oracle line you will take Little Roo to Winterfin Retreat in Borean Tundra, Bronze Dragonshire in Dragonblight and then Grizzlemaw in Grizzly Hills.  After completing these three quests, Roo wants to see Alexstrasza at the top of Wyrmrest Temple. Next head to Scholazar Basin and take the waypoint to Shaper’s Terrace. Finally, go back to Dalaran and buy Little Roo a small paper airplane from the Wonderworks.  Use the airplane then speak to Orphan Matron Aria. Wait a few minutes and you will receive a Curious Oracle Hatchling in the mail with a rather sweet note attached.

World of Warcraft Children's Week Oracle

If you choose to go with the Wolvar pup the difference in the first quests of the series is that instead of going to Winterfin Retreat you will take Kekek to Snowfall Glade. The second set of quests requires the same trip to see Alexstrasza but Kekek will go to Hemet Nesingwary rather than the Shaper’s Terrace. After stopping by the Wonderworks in Dalaran and then speaking to the Orphan Matron you will have your very own Curious Wolvar Pup (in the mail).

lettercw

There isn’t anything to do with your orphan in Pandaria or even the Cataclysm zones which means Children’s Week is in serious need of updating as with most of WoW’s holidays.  There are several achievements that can be completed with your orphan however.  The achievement that used to take three years, Veteran Nanny, can now be done, if you have three characters that can complete the Shattrath series, in one week  thanks to bind on account pets and achievements.

 

There is an enormous amount of travelling in this holiday event.  My top tip would be to roll a mage. As with the Pilgrim’s Bounty event, mages can make a lot of gold offering their portal services. Even if you aren’t willing to pimp your mage out, having one will save you loads of time if you plan on doing the entire Children’s Week quests.

World of Warcraft Children's Week 2

Camelot Unchained Funds Hours Ahead of Deadline

Call outs from PennyArcade against overzealous backers. Amazon’s payment systems crashing the day before close. Kickstarter refusing to extend the deadline an inch despite the downtime this caused. Heck even Mark Jacob’s Macbook was out of commission. Fate truly seemed against Camelot Unchained going into the final 2 days of the campaign with roughly $300,000 left to reach the needed $2 million. Some might say we needed a miracle. And then it happened.

The floodgates exploded, pushing Camelot Unchained up nearly 200 backers and multiple current backers upped their pledges. The final $100k went by faster than most press could keep up. Despite being a niche title with an extremely limited userbase appeal, the game hit record levels of Kickstarter comments and funded with an astoundingly high average backer contribution of well over $100.

But the revolution hasn’t stopped yet as the campaign nears its first extended goal at $2.1 promising archers and an additional race per realm. With the FP exchange system updated and crafters getting some serious love, the momentum seems to be continuing onward! Join in the celebration now at the KS comment page!

Dota 2: Wait For Me, My Princess

By Mohammad Abubakr, OnRPG Journalist

Dragonus, the Skywrath Mage, is the latest hero to enter Dota 2’s hero pool and become the 100th hero to be ported over to Dota 2! It’s amazing to see how Dota 2 has evolved since we first saw the game in action at The International 1. Continue reading on to learn more about Dragonus and other major changes brought by last week’s Dota 2 patch.

 

Skywrath’s lore is not as interesting as Ymir the Tusk but it is still worth mentioning. Skywrath is a high born sworn to protect whomever sits within the Nest of Thorns. He grew alongside the eldest Skywrath princess and fell  for her. However, while Skywrath was occupied with learning arcane and the mastery of Skywrath sorcery, a violent coup caused the ruthless younger princess to rise into power. Due to Skywrath magic only serving the Nest of Thorns, there was nothing he could do. He clings on to his post believing it to be the best hope of one day restoring his true love to her rightful place.

 

As suggested by the name, Skywrath Mage is an intelligence based hero but with the rare ability to increase damage done by one of his skills. Although he does not possess very strong crowd control abilities, his skills pack a punch and are on low cooldowns, allowing Skywrath Mage to impact extended confrontations in a serious way.

 

Arcane Bolt is Skywrath’s first ability dealing base damage + bonus damage based on his Intelligence. You do not typically see abilities scale in Dota 2 to ensure heroes are only capable of carrying at certain points of the game. Unless typical intelligence based heroes snowball early on due to easy kills, you will seldom see intelligence based heroes carry a game at its late stages.

 

The projectile for Arcane Bolt moves slower than a turret’s.

 

This ability has a decent range with high damage, low cooldown and mana costs making it great to spam during the laning phase both for securing last hits and harassing your opponent. The projectile moves very slowly at only 500 movement speed but is not evadable, once it launches it will hit. The projectile will also grant 325 vision around itself.

 

His second ability, Concussive Shot, is a massive range no target ability that functions similar to Tinker’s rockets. The closest hero will be hit, dealt AoE damage and slowed by 40%. This ability deals decent damage but will mostly be used for its slow.

 

Skywrath Mage’s third ability is Ancient Seal which amplifies magic damage while silencing the target. If this ability is coupled correctly with all other abilities, Skywrath Mage can very quickly burst down an enemy.

 

Similar to many other intelligence heroes, the ultimate is the main reason they are picked. Skywrath Mage’s ultimate, Mystic Flare, has a massive range, low cooldown and deals massive damage evenly split amongst all heroes in the area over 2 seconds. The catch is that the very high mana cost, 800 at level three, makes it hard to use more than once. If this ultimate is used on a single hero alongside Ancient Seal, their HP bar will very quickly disappear.

 

One thing I have noticed about Mystic Flare is that it does not feel like an ultimate. It may have the stats to be considered an ultimate but you cast it and think “That’s it?” The animation is very tiny and unnoticeable. It’s nothing compared to black hole or ravage. The animation just needs to feel a little more like an ultimate and maybe even some simple sound changes will make it seem more powerful.

 

Good bye, Lich.

 

Now, on to how these abilities should be skilled. Besides prioritizing Mystic Flare, Arcane Bolt should be given priority when it comes to leveling abilities. After Arcane Bolt and Mystic Flare are fully upgraded, you have a choice on which skill would be more beneficial. Depending on how the game is going, either Concussive Shot or Ancient Seal may be maxed. However, I find Ancient Seal to be of more use in most cases due to Concussive Shot featuring a static 40% slow. Leveling Ancient Seal will increase the duration of the silence but more importantly increase the magical damage amplification.

 

Skill priority: Mystic Flare > Arcane Bolt > Ancient Seal > Concussive Shot > Stats

 

For items, players have the choice between additional mana to allow for spamming (and in certain cases even just using the 800 mana ultimate) or intelligence for extra damage. I have tried building into Bloodstone for mana, health, mana regeneration and health regeneration but this item only helps when you are certain you will be able to land some early kills or pick it up very early on at which point the base damage on Arcane Bolt is high. You definitely need some stacks on Bloodstone to make it worthwhile, otherwise it is much too expensive. To combat mana issues, Arcane boots will be worn.

 

Instead, it makes sense to focus on intelligence and utility items to both aid your team and deal good damage. Items such as Sheep Stick, Force Staff, and Eul’s Scepter are recommended.

 

Eul’s Scepter can be used to help land Mystic Flare.

 

While Skywrath Mage is able to deal high amounts of damage, I cannot help but see him as a weaker version of Obsidian Devourer. Mystic Flair may deal massive amounts of damage and Concussive Shot is able to slow enemies but Skywrath Mage requires stuns to ensure the full duration is hit. On the other hand, Obsidian Devourer’s ultimate is able to hit all enemies for the same amount and hit enemies in Astral Imprisonment.

 

I have found that Skywrath Mage coupled with heroes such as Nyx Assassin can instantly kill off squishier heroes such as supports but let’s be honest Nyx Assassin can do that alone most of the time. There is no need to waste an extra hero slot on Skywrath Mage. And with the high mana cost on Mystic Flair, simple Pugna wards can cause Skywrath to kill himself.

 

However, do not let this discourage you from giving Skywrath a try. Only the best of the best will have to worry about drafting the best possible roster to do well in games. In public games, it is mostly just about having fun and that is an area where Skywrath Mage does not fall short. It is very fulfilling to see heroes melt before your eyes in your ultimate. Definitely give Skywrath Mage a try even if there may be better heroes. Who knows, with the way the game changes I might be proven wrong by a top team.

OnRPG Shotgun News 5/1: GW2, TSW, Camelot Unchained and Much More

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG News Newb

 

Guild Wars 2 Flame & Frost Event Reaches Peak

GW2Retribution

The several month spanning living story event in Guild Wars 2 called Flame & Frost has come to a climax with a limited time dungeon on offer now. Players take the fight to the Molten Alliance and kick ass. This phase of the event will only last for half the month though, and it will be the last chance to complete all the previous phases. So if you’re missing some of the stuff that came before now is your chance to get in on it.

 

The Secret World Reveals Issue #7

 

Joel Bylos came out of hiding to reveal some details of the upcoming Issue #7 update. The bulk of the content takes place in Transylvania and has a theme similar to James Bond and spy thrillers, with that special TSW twist of course. And of course we can’t ignore the new auxiliary weapon, the Flamethrower.

 

Camelot Unchained Kickstarter Enters Final Day

CU

The Kickstarter campaign for Camelot Unchained is entering it’s final day today with just under $200,000 left to go to reach the 2 million dollar goal it set a month ago. The comment section of the Kickstarter campaign has been a nonstop chat room for backers with over 100,000 posts made so far and several more being added with every passing minute.

 

Wargaming Salutes Vets in May

 

As part of National Military Appreciation Month Wargaming America is once again offering two featured bundles, 10% of each sale will go towards three military non-profit organizations, Homes For Our Troops, AMVETS, and Military Families Fund. There are two bundles to pick from, the first for $23.39 gets you 2,000 gold and 2.5 million credits. The second, more expensive bundle gets you a T34 premium tank and garage slot, 10,000 gold, 90 days of premium account status, and 1.2 million credits for $115.99.

Petroglyph Launches Battle For Graxia With New Replay Mode and More

Battle for Graxia: Murderhoof

 

Petroglyph® today announced that its Free-to-Play Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game, Battle for Graxia™, has launched with a new Replay Mode that provides a downloadable recording of a match. Also included is a unique ‘White Knight’ feature that has never been seen in a MOBA game before. White Knight gives players the opportunity to automatically replace others that have dropped out of a match.

 

“Battle for Graxia has been an evolving project and now has culminated into what we are excited to officially call its launch,” said Steve Tall, Executive Director of Battle for Graxia. “Throughout the development process we’ve worked with the community to create a game that adds even more fun for MOBA gamers. We can’t wait to see what the community thinks of the latest features.”

 

To celebrate the launch, content bundles are offered that include exclusive Immortal skins, in-game coins for store items, a personal in-game badge to show off accomplishments, and a variety of booster items to give new characters a head-start in competing in matches. Most features are available to Steam players via the game’s Steam page with some exclusives set aside for founding players the week of launch.