Yearly Archives: 2013

WoW Wednesday – Tier Gear: The Best and Worst List

By Meredith Watson, OnRPG Tyrian Reporter

The look and designs of the armour in World of Warcraft has never appealed to me. Luckily, there are plenty of other aspects to the game that I do like to keep me playing.  So, with that being said I had a brainstorming session about which tiers I did like and those tiers which never should have seen the light of day to come up with my top three best and worst.  Enjoy.

 

The Worst

Tier 9

Tier 9 was introduced with patch 3.2 and it was quite clear that giving us unique gear was not a priority.  The only difference between mage, priest and warlock gear was only in the slight variation of colour. Other than that the gear was identical between the three.  The warrior, paladin and death knight also shared the same look as did the hunter and shaman and the rogue and druid.  Tier 9 was an unmitigated disaster.

World of Warcraft Tier 9

Tier 12

I am not sure what the designers were thinking when working on tier 12 other than fire.  We get it. Cataclysm was fiery.  The death knight gear can only be described as some sort of deranged moth. The druid’s gear didn’t look any better and had exactly nothing to do with being a druid. Unless druids look like fireflies which if that is the case they did an outstanding job. The druid didn’t even get proper shoes as his toes were left hanging out.  The mage had a fiery ponytail coming out of the helm and the hunter was non-descript (other than being fiery of course).  The collar on the priest set is so huge you could fit a gnome in there and again, it is fiery.  Blizzard very rarely gets rogue gear right. Actually, I am not sure they ever have. The Tier 12 rogue gear had bright blue glowing bits on it. You know, because nothing says stealth like bright glowing bits. Just cover the rest of the classes in fire and you will have a pretty good idea of the remaining sets.

World of Warcraft Tier 12

Tier 2

Before patch 1.9 Tier 2 was just placeholders. After 1.9, tier 2 was just bad. Druids seemed to have it the worst. Their helm consisted of what is quite possibly a disastrous attempt at moose horns.  The hunter’s gear was purple and orange with huge dragon heads on the shoulder. It was called Dragonstalker and was absolutely ridiculous. The paladin set was also a bit odd for the class which was a red, gold and black robe, facemask and swords on the shoulder. While it looked interesting it didn’t exactly imply holiness.  The priest also didn’t fare well in this tier. The shoulders looked like bananas and the whole ensemble had a disturbing black outline.  The mage, shaman and warlock gear wasn’t horrid but the poor warrior had a rhinoceros horn for a helm.

World of Warcraft Tier 2

The Best

Without a doubt, for me, there is only one tier for this spot and that is tier 6. The druids were again back to nature. Their set had a Native American vibe to it and put one in mind of totem poles and birds. The hunter’s Gronstalker had moving eyeballs inside the shoulders. It was creepy and delightful all at the same time. Finally with this tier the mage, who normally has uninspiring gear, looked arcane and the paladin emitted holy light from their shoulders and wore an angelic crown. The priest gear, along with tier 5 was stellar. For this tier the shoulders of the priest set had a chained blindfolded woman’s head attached to them. Warlocks almost always get great looking tier sets and tier 6 was probably the best of the best.  The helm which was brilliant looking on its own proc’d demon wings every few minutes. What tier 6 gave us was the much coveted uniqueness. We hadn’t seen anything like tier 6 before and wouldn’t again which is probably why it is so desirable for transmogrification these days.

World of Warcraft Tier 6

Tier 10

Where tier 9 got it all wrong, tier 10 got it all right. The designers came back with a vengeance and once again gave each class a unique look. The only real problem with this tier is the colours were off. Again, the rogue is not wearing black. Would it really be so difficult to give rogues a black ninja like set?  The rogue’s helm was very good though and had a sinister quality to it.  Like tier 6, warlocks got the best set again which consisted of a bizarre facemask and long pointy hood.  The overall theme was creepy meets frozen.

World of Warcraft Tier 10

Tier 1

Tier 1 makes the best list mainly due to nostalgia. Admit it-you were proud to be strutting around Orgimmar or Ironforge in your tier 1. For druids, this was the most perfect set. It was all about nature down to the twigs and clumps of grass hanging off the shoulder. The hunter’s Giantstalker had nothing to do with giants or stalking but at least it wasn’t purple. Yet. Really only the paladin suffered in this tier looking like a large plate banana. This is possibly the only tier that got the rogue set even partly right. It was black, grey and red and had D cups for shoulders. While not ideal it was a good start.  Tier 1 isn’t amazing but it hinted at things to come.

World of Warcraft Tier 1 - Nightslayer

Do you have a favourite tier set? Do you think you could do a better job of designing the tier gear?

OnRPG and MMOHuts Partner with GamingEvolved for Akaneiro Livestream

 Akaneiro Live Stream

It’s been three months since OnRPG and MMOHuts gave Akaneiro: Demon Hunters a detailed look, and while it had plenty of bugs at launch, it was certainly the only niche title to offer the feel of an ARPG with the look of action art title Okami. So a few elite members of our team are jumping onto the Gaming Evolved Livestream tonight at 5pm PST to check the game out!

Tune in and discuss your thoughts with us and other members of the Gaming Evolved Audience as we see just how far Spicy Horse Games has upped their game.

Kings and Legends Global Starter Pack Giveaway

OnRPG is partnering with Gamefuse for the launch of Kings and Legends Global, a powerful new take on the iTCG formula with a boardgame styled twist.

Kings And Legends Global Key Giveaway

Kings and Legends is a card-based MMORPG that also features a kingdom building element to it. Players take the role of a ruler whose kingdom is being invaded by evil forces. You can build a deck full of creatures and heroes to drive them back, and use your kingdom’s resources to gain new, more powerful cards along the way. There are also three different arena modes for PvP play: 1v1, 2v2, and 4v4.

 

To get your key you have to follow these instructions:

  • Enter your OnRPG username and password below to get your key
  • The key will appear at the bottom of the page. Copy & paste it to a safe place as you may not be able to retrieve it once you close your browser!

To Redeem your key:

  • Visit http://www.gamefuse.com/kings-and-legends-global and create an account.
  • Log into game and find the red “Gift” button located at the upper left hand corner of the game.
  • Enter your code in the “Claim Gift Pack window.”
  • Check your “Mail” located at the bottom right hand corner of the game.
  • Look in the Hero’s Inventory at the bottom of the screen and double click your gift box to claim the prizes inside!

until your input key digit numbers is verified, then click “Apply”.

Seven Seas Saga OB Starter Pack Giveaway

OnRPG is partnering with JoyHubs to offer a new open beta starter pack with plenty of goodies to find your wealth and blow apart your enemies in Seven Seas Saga!

Seven Seas Saga Starter Pack Giv

Whether you’re a trader or pirate at heart, you’ll be able to customize your ship and captain skills in preparation for the intense battles to come. Whether transporting rare goods from port to port or intercepting players en route to their goals, you’ll find plenty of boarding and ship battling as you claw your way to become king of the seven seas!

Your Starter Pack Includes:
Condensed Ration:    10,000        Food and water to be consumed on the sea.
Special Round Shot:    10,000        Cannonball. Intended to destroy enemy’s hull.
Special Chain Shot:    10,000        Cannonball. Intended to destroy enemy’s sail.
Special Grape Shot:    10,000        Cannonball. Intended to kill enemy’s sailors.
Water-proof Paint:    1        Rename your ship. Click the quill pen icon on Ship Panel (hotkey B) to input a name.
Coin:                    1,000,000   Basic currency.
Sher’s Treasure Map:    1        A treasure map indicates the whereabouts of the treasures buried by Sher.

 

 

Seven Sea Saga Instructions

 

To get your key you have to follow these instructions:

  • Enter your OnRPG username and password below to get your key
  • The key will appear at the bottom of the page. Copy & paste it to a safe place as you may not be able to retrieve it once you close your browser!

To Redeem your key:

  • Go to www.joyhubs.com, register an account and find Seven Seas Saga’s homepage
  • Log into the game and create your character
  • Follow the red arrow shown on the picture above to click the Activity button on the bottom right; a Daily Reward window pops up.
  • Then follow the yellow arrow to switch to the Welfare tag, enter the code, and click Claim. A treasure chest will appear in your inventory. Double click to open the chest and get the gifts.

until your input key digit numbers is verified, then click “Apply”.

OnRPG Shotgun News 5/29: Rift, Titan, City of Steam and more

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG News Lady

 

Blizzard Scraps Work on Titan

The next MMO Titan has been working on, code named Titan has been scrapped. Blizzard has reassigned 70% of the employees working on it and the remaining 30 people will develop the game from the ground up. Titan was expected to debut in 2014, but now it is estimated to have a release date of 2016.

 

City of Steam Unseals the Vault

gunner

City of Steam has been down today for the release of update 1.2 The Vault Unsealed. The patch adds new quests, a new wilderness level, and most popularly the return of Riven and Draug (the Elves) as playable races.

 

Free Weekend of Rift

If you happen to own Rift you can play it for free this weekend, and a bit beyond. That means anyone who has previously played on a full account, (not a Rift lite account) will be able to play from May 30-June 3. So if you’re interested at taking a look at how the game has changed since you last played make sure you’re all patched up.

 

Uncharted Waters Online Sets Sail For Historic Korea

Wonacott_Netmarble_UWO_Stacked_Turtle_Ship2

The latest update from Uncharted Waters has players drifting into the seas of historic Korea. There are three new towns for players, new ships which are only made in these cities, and much more including new quests.

Get Busy with New Content in Scarlet Blade

Scarlet Blade

 

Scarlet Blade is now seeing more action than ever before! Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games, has announced the first major content update for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The update ushers in a raised level cap, powerful new gear, and several dangerous new areas to explore.

 

Commanders can now bring their Arkana to level 34, guiding them through the brand-new zone of Barbiron. The new map features quests and monsters suitable for Arkana level 30 and above, making it the next natural destination in this content update. Intrepid groups can also head underground to brave the new Subterranean Factory, a dungeon designed for high level Arkana crawling with hard-hitting monsters and four challenging bosses.

 

The PvP scene also gets some fresh blood with a new open-world PvP zone designed to hold hundreds of combatants, Viledon. Players can freely come and go to this violent location, with new PvP quests and bosses for opposing players to compete over. There are also new escort missions in Viledon in which players are tasked with keeping special NPCs or cargo alive, while members of the enemy faction try their best to attack these key targets and sabotage the mission.

Tyrian Times: Story Untold?

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Tyrian Explorer

 

If you’ve been playing part 2 of the latest living story in Guild Wars 2 which takes place on Southsun Cove you may have noticed the plot seems a bit, disjointed. In part one we were trying to find what, or who was behind the strange behavior the wildlife of Southsun Cove was displaying. The random attacks on workers and basically anyone on the island. Then, part two starts, we not only know who is behind it all, we know where he is and we’ve been sent after him. So how did we make this jump from investigation to all but catching the guy?

Reef-Rider

As it turns out there were a few short stories released that I completely missed! And from the sounds of it on the forums I’m not alone in this. Now sure, someone who is just your average player, someone who doesn’t visit the site often or follow the game on social media it can kind of be excused that you missed it. But I write about the game! I follow GW2 on Facebook and Twitter as well as visiting the site at least once a week. Either way, I managed to miss it. My fault really and I don’t blame ArenaNet for it one bit.

 

But I have to wonder, why have they opted for the less in your face approach to story telling in game? In my mind short stories posted to the site are a great way to tell a part of the story that didn’t make it. Like say if Eir and Braham made up somehow. They should be a supplement to the story, not the most important part.

Hunt-Down-Canach

In one particular thread I read on the GW2 forums it was pointed out that talking to NPCs gave you a sense of what was going on, or at least gave you parts of the puzzle. And while this is a fantastic way to form a story the actual story itself is better lived out by the character.

 

Would it not be better if we found Canach’s bloody footprint somewhere, or even caught him in the act? I know, understand, and accept that in MMOs you are less the hero of the story and more the soldier in a vast army at war. Already though there are parts where this isn’t the case. Look at personal stories for example. We can all be the Slayer of Issormir/Snaff Savant/Hero of Shaemoor…and so on. So we find ways around it. We make it unique to our character as best we can while still highlighting the achievement we’ve made.

LastStand-A-Monstrous-Threat

I do agree that it is a better told story because it was written out instead of played out in game which comes with all sorts of restrictions. But, forgive me for this, if you wanted to tell a story without the challenges of sticking it into an MMO perhaps you should be a novelist.

 

But, in the end this isn’t something unique to Guild Wars 2. It happens in MMOs all the time, including the seemingly unbreakable World of Warcraft. And most importantly I cannot wait to get out there, kick some Karka ass, and see what the next Living Story has to offer.

Attention you Land Lubber, Scurvy-Fighting, Powder Monkey!

JOYHUBs continues its parade of high quality browser games with the open beta release of Seven Seas Saga, an MMORPG that allows players to fight on the bloody seas for pirate treasure, fight pirate ships, do business, and contribute their countries. SSS allows players to choose from merchants, pirates, or those who fight to keep the seas free. Players also can choose to play as any group at any time, being full time pirates, naval officers, or a combination of the two. Players are given quests, maps to discover treasure, and items to trade at the many harbors in the game.

Seven Seas Saga Open Beta

A few features from the game:

  • Firing, Ramming and Boarding, creative multi-mode real-time sea fights.
  • Create your own ship: Build a ship and upgrade the cabins, equip it with cannons, rams, armor plates, figureheads and crew, even give it a name.
  • Hundreds of cargoes that can be traded in the harbors all over the world.
  • Find the missing buried treasures found throughout the game.
  • Daily, Weekly, and Story quests that all players can take advantage of.
  • Guilds and group play available for players.
  • Many famous fictional and real ships as world bosses.
  • Contains PvP contents: Captain Duels, Port Sieges, Relic Sieges, Sea Fight Arena and Piracies.

Seven Seas Saga Open Beta Giveaway

Servers will be open at PDT 9:00 on May 29th and free for all players. Awesome events will be held to celebrate it. We are also offering luxury gifts to all players. OnRPG and MMOHuts will also be offering gift codes coinciding with the open beta launch so keep an eye out on our giveaway page! Also be sure to catch Proxzor’s preview article on SSS!