Yearly Archives: 2013

Legacy of a 1000 Suns Mobile: Choose Your Own Adventure, The Game

By: Vincent Haoson, OnRPG’s Mobile Master

 

Legacy of 1000 Suns Review

At first glance Legacy of a 1000 Suns would seem like another hammy mobile game with an oriental hook. However, the game instantaneously disproves that judgement and gives you a sci-fi mobile game that may become your next time sink.

 

Gameplay

 
Legacy of 1000 Suns Gameplay

LoTS plays like your typical simulation FB/mobile game. You control one unit as said unit travels through LoTS’ universe through either its unfolding story at missions and or raiding against bosses with your fellow LoTS players.

 

Missions

 Legacy of 1000 Suns Missions

Missions in LoTS puts you in the shoes of “The Captain”, the protagonist of the game’s narrative. You are given his/her POV as you engage through each mission at the cost of at least 10 stamina points each attempt.

 

As you go through each mission in LoTS you are welcomed by a highly stylized narrative that would put other mobile games to shame. In fact, I am already going to warn you that I’d be giving the game’s story writer (and the story itself) high praise till maybe the end of the article.

 

Legacy of 1000 Suns Storyline

 

One of LoTS’ quirks is that you can’t just redo each engagement like in other mobile games. You have to restart the whole “act” before you can revisit the mission you just finished in hopes of “maybe” having a more cohesive storytelling experience.

 

Raids

 Legacy of 1000 Suns Raids

Aside from doing missions, LoTS has a raid system in place where you can keep on facing bosses that you can’t take down alone. This may be the game’ biggest replayability factor since you’d be required to keep on coming back till someone would eventually be able to defeat said raid boss.

 

 

Legacy of a 1000 Suns also has a raid code system in place where you can share it through your social networks to get more people to help you take down the raid boss. You can see it on screen and can go to either your FB wall or the game’s FB wall and share it for the world to see. All they need to do is just input the code in-game and they’d immediately be able to help you out in your raid.

Simulation

Legacy of 1000 Suns Simulations

Aside from the gung-ho battles on missions and raids, LoTS has a mini-simulation feature where you can “build” structures in your labs to supply you with credits and items as you play through the game. While it’s not as in-depth as most mobile games go in this area, it keeps the gameplay varied so the game won’t bore you too much.

 

Alliance

 Legacy of 1000 Suns Alliances

Since LoTS has raids, it’s pretty logical to expect that the game allows banding of players to finish raids. In this regard LoTS has the alliance system in place. They serve as the game’s guild system where you can tell your alliance mates to help you or open up raids for you to take part in.

 

 

The alliance also has a chat room where you can talk to members in real time for coordination and basic communication.

Conclusion

With the game’s title alone, LoTS gives off a novel-like vibe that does deliver quite nicely. I have never seen a mobile game that’s so well written and stylized that it makes you feel like you’re reading a sci-fi space drama instead of playing one. This specific strength of LoTS however is a polarizing one since the possible target players of the game would either choose to love the prose or hate it.

 

Legacy of 1000 Suns Conclusion

Also, given that the game’s medium is the mobile platform, it should be expected that players would want short, quick bursts of gameplay that the game fails to deliver. In fact, I’d like to point out that one of the game’s biggest problems is the pace of the player’s progression. Normally, with a game like LoTS, players would expect to accomplish a lot of things for the first few hours of gaming. That however is lost in LoTS since engaging missions would require a minimum of 10 points at least, and it would take almost 5 minutes to regain a stamina point. It would seem that 5th Planet Games would still need to fix the balance in the stamina regen time and stamina point used per engagement since the website boasts of “fast leveling” in LoTS (found in their site http://www.5thplanetgames.com/projects).

 

The other issue I’d like to raise is the alliance system in-game. With the raid system game mechanic you are at the mercy of other players in terms of their activeness in playing. In fact, I am still not a member of the 30+ member alliance I applied for almost a week ago. The game doesn’t allow you to go apply for more than one alliance, and that’s just bad for a game that emphasizes the importance of such connections.

The game also has a thing for pushing the premium currency (suns) in every nook and cranny. While engagements do reward you with suns, it won’t be enough to cover most of the things you need to do in-game. But of course it should be given into consideration that the game needs some revenue for it to continue operations. It would’ve been better though that it wasn’t as obvious.

 

Legacy of 1000 Suns Issues

So in the end I can say that Legacy of a 1000 Suns is not a game for everyone. Unless 5th Planet Games changes the stamina points cost OR the stamina recovery time, the game would find it hard to get fans from the casual gaming market. Since that specific gaming target would want to play fast and do a lot of things in as little time as it would take. However, if you’re the type of gamer who’s looking for a good narrative that mobile games (or games in general) seems to lack these days, but have the patience that would shame even Gandhi, then by all means LoTS just might be the game for you!

New Game World for Stronghold Kingdoms Features Attack Formations

Stronghold Kingdoms

 

Firefly Studios, creators of the Stronghold series, have just launched a new game world for their popular Castle MMO, adding Attack Formations and Faction Applications to the game.

The ability to save castle designs in Stronghold Kingdoms means that in a few clicks you can rebuild your stronghold and get back to razing your enemies! That system has now been adapted for use when launching attacks, giving you the ability to set up and save up to five troop formations. These Formations allow you to set up troops layouts for use when planning your attack, whether you are attacking AI opponents or other players. So if you have a specific set-up for taking down The Wolf or ridding your Parish of those pesky wolf lairs you can now store it for later use.

 

Stronghold Kingdoms

Also featured in the update are two additions to the Factions system. There is the ability to apply directly to join a Faction, without having to wait for an invitation or ask for one by mail. The Faction General and Officers can then approve or decline applications as they see fit. Players will also now receive a report when they are dismissed from their faction, with details of their dismissal.

In addition, several other small additions to the game have been made, most to do with increasing feedback and functionality for new players. As always a full list of Patch Notes can be found here.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Beta Preview

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor) OnRPG Journalist

FFXIV Beta 1

What would you do when your game has the Final Fantasy name but it didn’t receive the popularity expected with soft a franchise? Final Fantasy XIV knows this fate all too well, receiving negative reviews throughout the community on its initial launch; a title that simply didn’t hold up the quality standards fans of Final Fantasy have come to expect. The game was in bad shape, and because of this the Square Enix’s president assigned an entirely new team to fix it up in a super rework project nearly unheard of in the online industry. For over two years the team has been working hard on this remake, and I got the chance to finally see their progress in the recent closed beta.

I have to be honest about my history prior to this write-up so you know where I’m coming from. I have never been a real big fan of the Final Fantasy series. Even though I appreciate the well thought out story line and depth of each title, they just brought something to the table that I felt wasn’t for me. The 2010 FFXIV launch more or less cemented this bias. I expected grandeur and polish and left the 2010 beta feeling let down.

FFXIV Beta Combat

In my eyes, turn-based combat has always been a signature feature of the FF series, giving a throwback to a simpler age of gaming. Yet the first thing I noticed when jumping into 2013’s beta when I engaged my first foe is that turn-based fighting is no more.  In my eyes they have finally made a huge step forward into the new era of action gaming. The combat’s overall flow is much improved and it truly adds the feeling of playing an MMORPG instead of a single-player RPG that happens to be online. Another thing I have always liked is the slickness of Final Fantasy; the user interface in every Final Fantasy game has been the absolute best, and its locales and various regions are so simple yet beautiful.  Back in 2010, I really felt the atmosphere was rather dead, and the soul of the series was lacking because of it.

FFXIV Beta Environment

However when I stepped into the updated beta, I was immediately sidetracked from questing by the sense of exploration to see the beautiful new starting zone. My adventurer Lalafell set out to do just that but unfortunately stumbled into something I dislike the most, invisible walls. Now I understand that having an instanced world makes invisible walls a necessary, yet it completely ruins the experience for me when there is no apparent reason why I cannot jump onto some places or reach some of the beautiful distant vistas. Still the areas you can reach have restored that FF soul the previous iteration badly lacked. The world feels vibrant and alive and they are now utilizing the epic graphics their engine was capable of in levels the franchise deserves. Heck even the attention to small details like door opening animations help draw you in and feel a warmth about the game. The improved chatboxes also provide a bit of nostalgia for the oldschool console RPG’s; they are simple yet appealing.

FFXIV Beta UI

It’s often hard as an online gamer to have to choose between the eastern versus western style of games. Although a few try to find that perfect melding between the two, they usually lean heavily towards one or the other. This goes beyond just graphics into the gameplay style itself. FFXIV also aims for this middle ground to attract both types of gamers. And while it’s impossible to perfectly appeal to both elements, I must say, I’m impressed by their approach. They really ‘westernized’ the game completely, and scrapped some of the core elements that have been standard in their titles for years. Luckily they haven’t changed what they’ve done best, and that is being as detailed oriented as possible. From the people you meet, to the objects you find, everything has this rich background story that could fill whole books. The combat has been made so much faster that it matches the games from this era, and the questing has been improved to the point that leveling doesn’t even feel like a grind. Public Events, known as Full Active Time Events or FATE, have been adopted as a core social gathering point to make PvE more addicting. Mostly they involve defending a location or person, by killing the foes with all the force that you have. They’re certainly optional but a lot of fun to break up the questing and meet new friends. But they seem to have the contribution to reward set up properly to encourage players to take them seriously when they get involved.

FFXIV Beta 3

Conclusion

Even though the game is still heavily into the beta testing and much still resides behind NDAs and blocked access, the rate that change is coming gives me hope for the relaunch. I must say that this new and upcoming Final Fantasy game has changed my attitude towards the FF franchise. Normally when an MMORPG extends beta, you expect some slight polishing to balance and graphics. Yet FFXIV went the extra mile and hit their core mechanics to meet the increased competitiveness in the industry head on. I am not one to  say ‘Game X will be the death of Game Y,” but with a bit more fine tuning FFXIV has the potential to blow the MMORPG into a new era of higher quality titles. The combination of modern refined UI and console level graphics with simple RPG elements shows the developers know what they’re aiming for and are pushing towards it ruthlessly. No longer is FFXIV a single player RPG trapped online, but an online rpg that will do the MMORPG genre proud.

OnRPG Shotgun News 5/2: SMITE, Camelot Unchained, Rift, and Navy Field 2

SMITE Reveals Fenrir

 

The monstrous wolf Fenrir from North mythology joins SMITE as the newest God in the Pantheon. The melee wolf uses his claws and jumps, howls. He builds runes to make his attacks more powerful. And in new God reveal video they show him in action against several gods as well as each ability without an enemy to fight back.

 

Camelot Unchained Kickstarter Campaign Ends

 Camelot Unchained Giant Duck

Camelot Unchained’s month long Kickstarter Campaign is now over. With over 2 million dollars backing it they almost reached two of their stretch goals in the last day. In the last 10 minutes one of the $10,000 backers backed out. And between City State Entertainment’s Co-Founder Mark Jacobs and private investors an additional $3 million has been committed to Camelot Unchained’s production.

 

Defiance Hellbugs Enter Rift

Rift Hellbugs

The world of Defiance is invading Telara in the all new limited time event taking place in Rift. Hellbugs are pouring out of Rifts all over the world and it is up to the Ascended to fight them off. There is even a chance to collect Hellbug mounts and companions.

 

Navy Field 2 Launches

 

Nexon’s Navy Field 2 has set sail from Open Beta and entered the wide open waters of Commercial Launch. New players can earn 1000 NX cash just by getting to level 5 before May 15th. While Navy Field 2 vets will be getting new NX items gifted to their accounts. And importantly the cash shop is now open for business.

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