Yearly Archives: 2013

MMODen Announces 24 Hour AIDs Charity Stream

MMODen

Sometimes you have to tip your hat to the competition when they are doing good for the world. In this case MMORPG news and review site MMODen has announced a 24 hour live streaming marathon coinciding with PWE’s Neverwinter early access start. The stream will start April 25th at 12 noon PDT and run until Noon PDT April 26th, 2013 featuring MMODen’s founder Limpy.

The event will support AIDS Lifecycle, a 7 day, 545 mile charity bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Riders put themselves through this grueling event to raise money and awareness in the fight to end AIDS/HIV. This event will support a rider who is taking on the journey for the first time, and can be supported directly before, during and after the event at http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR?px=2832206&fr_id=1550&pg=personal

Dragon Nest EU Welcomes Circus Maximus in Huge Update

Dragon Nest EU Circus Maximus

German based publisher eFusion MMOG GmbH has released the next major content update for its free-to-play MMO Dragon Nest Europe. In the Circus Maximus Arena players can accept exciting challenges and be rewarded with unique items in return. With the introduction of a new ladder system, PvP battles become even more exciting and, for the first time in the world of Althea, mounts are available.

Let the games begin

Adventurers can now take a break from their stressful life as heroes and visit Circus Maximus. Taking their skills to the test in five new challenges, the following battle modes have to be mastered in order to win unique rewards:

Boss Rush: Players have to vanquish their most powerful opponents a second time.

Gobartans: True heroes can unleash their battle frenzy against a horde of 300 goblins.

Bumpy Road: This obstacle course will put the players’ dexterity to the test.

Monastery Treasure Warehouse: Flocks of monsters are hiding there and have to be defeated in order to loot their treasures.

Ork Gim Strikes Back: Wounded soldiers of Saint Haven have to be defended against the assaulting waves of orcs.

 

Up, up, up the stairs we go

With the introduction of a ladder system, Player vs Player battles are even more exciting now. Through a rating and scoring system, players can compete with other ladder characters. 1 on 1 matches are automatically set up based on the players’ individual strength and they earn valuable points that can be exchanged for exclusive items.

Dragon Nest EU Mount Wolf

Mounts
With the new update players are also able to explore the Dragon Nest universe with new mounts. In order to go off adventuring with a new companion, heroes must first collect medals from the level 40 Nests, which can then be redeemed for various horses.

In addition, each player has the opportunity to purchase a Deluxe Box with the chance of receiving a unique wolf.

 

Heroes wanted!

Players have a chance to win prizes worth a total of € 1,000 until the 27th of April. Together with their teammates, players need to clean the Apocalypse Nest as quickly as possible. Check out the full info at the official site!

Angel’s Wrath Starter Pack Giveaway

OnRPG is partnering with Lekool to offer starter packs for their latest ARPG with some incredibly cutesy graphics, Angel’s Wrath!

Angel’s Wrath offers a diverse pet system, a huge vibrant world to explore, a unique line-up of playable characters including a monk, archer, dancer, and berserker, along with the usual clan systems, PvP, extensive questlines, and social features you’ll find in modern MMORPGs. The starter pack includes all of the following:

Angels Wrath Starter Pack

To get your key you have to follow these instructions:

  • If you are not a member of OnRPG Please sign-up here.
  • 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:

  • Make an account and login to Angels Wrath at http://angelswrath.lekool.com/
  • Click the “Event” Icon located on the top right side
  • Once event icons pops up, click the “GiftPack” option and enter your gift code by clicking obtain
  • The items will be sent directly to your in-game bag

Ghost Recon Online Elite Bundle Pack Giveaway

OnRPG is partnering with Ubisoft to get you an elite bundle pack for Ghost Recon Online! If you’re playing on the North American server, grab a pack and enjoy the freebies!

Ghost Recon Online brings the tactical methodical combat Tom Clancy games are famous for to a F2P PC audience. Join up with friends and coordinate a united assault utilizing some of the world’s most advanced weaponry to overcome your foes in a FPS unlike any you’ve ever played for free before.

The Elite Bundle Pack Includes:
1000 RP
20x M26 Frag Grenade
4x Mark III Inserts

To get your key you have to follow these instructions:

  • If you are not a member of OnRPG Please sign-up here.
  • 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:

  • Sign-up for the game or log-in with your existing uplay account HERE
  • Download and install the client and log-in to the game
  • From the main menu, click the store icon at the top of the screen (the shopping cart)
  • Select “redeem coupon” from the menu on the left side of the screen
  • Enter the 16 digit coupon code you claimed from this page
  • Enjoy your Elite Bundle! Note that these keys are only valid on the US server and only one key is valid per account!

Darkfall: Unholy Wars – Let’s Try This Again, Shall We?

By Jordan Hall(ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

 

Editor’s Note: Darkfall is currently in serious flux and many of the reported features in this write-up could be tweaked or otherwise revamped within weeks of the posting of this review.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars is Aventurine’s second attempt at Darkfall, which was the 2009 PVP-focused MMORPG that had a devoted cult following, but fell from popularity early on. It was originally an attempt at revamping the first Darkfall, but was later dubbed a new game after the developers realized the extent of the changes they wished to make. Some key changes in the new game are a smaller and more condensed version of the world map, a completely redone User Interface, and a complete reworking of the original skill system that now includes a quasi-class system. Another big thing is increased user-friendliness, something that was almost completely absent. Hopefully, the years of experience gained from the original Darkfall will allow Aventurine to have created a great experience.

 

I feel that I should mention that I have been following Darkfall for many years now. I originally started following its development in 2005 when I began lurking the forums. In 2006 I took the leap and began to actually participate in the discussion; I even took part in beta testing and bought the game as soon as it was available. However, I honestly never spent much time playing the game – combined I probably played for five months at the most. The massive grind that killed a majority of the population away also caused me to not be able to enjoy the game, and it wasn’t until the end of its days that I actually sat down and spend a meaningful amount of time in the game.

 

 

Customization

Character creation in Darkfall: Unholy Wars is what you might expect from an MMORPG. First you will choose one of six races – which are Mercians (humans), Tovarr (formerly Dwarves), Orks, Alfari (Dark Elves), Mirdain (High Elves), and Mahirim (Wolf people) – and customize your appearance. There are options for your hair, hair color, accessories – which range from earrings to eye patches, tattoos and other body customizations. It’s a bit disappointing that you don’t get as many options as some modern MMOs offer, but there are enough there to make yourself look at least a little unique. Also at creation you will be choosing a starting primary and secondary role, after which creation ends with choosing a first and last name for your character.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars Character Creation

 

Of course, customization does not end at character creation and it extends far into your character’s life. As you play the game, you will complete Feats and gain Prowess points, which can be used to customize and advance your character. As there are no limits to what you can learn, you can tailor your character to your wants and needs. This new Prowess system is quite interesting and I will go into it more later in the review. In short, Darkfall offers a lot of freedom to choose how you want to play the game, and that itself is a great thing.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars Skills

 

Graphics

The graphics in Darkfall: Unholy Wars are around the same quality as the original Darkfall. They seem a bit higher quality, but that may just be because the game itself has an air of “newness” around it. Despite a lacking in the overall quality of the graphics, I found that the game has several beautiful vistas to behold. Something I’ve always enjoyed was the large diversity in the world map, from beautiful floating islands to thriving jungles filled with ruins. It feels like a true fantasy world with a rich lore and history.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars Landscape

 

One thing I’ve had difficulty working with is the new User Interface (UI). It seems a step backwards to me compared to the old UI, which itself was quite bad. The major issue that I have with this new UI is the inventory. It similar to what you could find in Skyrim, and can be quite difficult to get used to. Another gripe is the small icons on the sides of the screen; it makes it difficult to find the buttons you need to click.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars UI

 

In fact, a lot of things now in the game remind me of Skyrim. The Northern parts of the map even seem to be similar, but not quite the same. I honestly felt like I had just come off the mountain during the very first part of Skyrim when I began exploring the Tovarr lands. Despite the intention of having the first Darkfall game be reminiscent of Ultima Online, I feel like they’ve began to take more influences from the Elder Scroll series. The graphics quality reminds me of a revamped Morrowind, while the UI reminds me of Skyrim. The gameplay however is still quite unique to Darkfall.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars Graphics

 

There are some bugs when it comes to the graphics, too. A majority of them seem to surround water. An example, I was standing on a cliff overlooking a vast sea. Suddenly, something in the water catches my eyes – It’s massive! Is that a…- Nope, it’s just my huge reflection in the water. Another water issue is that if you look into the water at just the right angle, it disappears and you can see quite far without an impediment.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars Water

I think I broke it…
 

 

Controls

This is the one area I am 100% sure the new game has improved from its predecessor. In the original, I spent hours and hours learning to write macros and mooching off of friends for theirs, just so I could PVP. Whenever I launched Darkfall, I also launched three macros, one of which was quite a number of macros condensed into one file. Lucky for us, that won’t be an issue any longer as each Role in the game only has a limited number of abilities, and the new radial-style hotbar accommodates them quite well.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars Radial

 

As opposed to the traditional way of doing things, Aventurine has decided to go with something new. You have two circles on which you can play abilities and spells. Each circle has eight slots, to correspond with the 1-8 keys. Rather than having to stretch to hit Shift+1 to use abilities from the other ability circle, you simply use the Q and E keys to switch between the two on the fly. I found this to be extremely useful and easy to use, and I am glad it was implemented. It even worked perfectly while I was sprinting for my life and talking in mumble.

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars Death

 

Other than that, it’s still the same general scheme. WASD movement, left mouse attack, stuff such as that. I found the controls to be responsive, and never had an issue with them. I really liked the way that controlling mounts felt; I could almost feel the weight behind them as I turned. Overall, Aventurine did great with this area of the game.

 

 

Community

I wish I could say that Darkfall: Unholy Wars had a “special” community and leave it there. Unfortunately, I need to say something about it. As with all things PVP-related, there is a lot of rage and hate involved, and it shows in immense amounts in the Darkfall community. Rampant racism, hate speech, and other obscenities abound on the forums – where it seems the moderators will let almost anything fly. Honestly, I have to wonder if Aventurine cares much about the quality of their community. I understand that it’s a mature game, but mature doesn’t mean shithole.

 

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of nice, intelligent people who play the game. It’s sad that the negativity often drowns this out. Oddly enough, a lot of role players are attracted to Darkfall. I suppose it’s due to the freedom that is available to forge your own destiny and conquer the world. Truthfully, Darkfall has the best of both worlds in terms of community – it’s just that the better world is often hidden by the bad one.

Continue to Gameplay

LOTRO Expansion Helm’s Deep Announced For Fall 2013

LOTRO: Helm's Deep

 

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unveiled today The Lord of the Rings Online™: Helm’s Deep™, the next expansion to the award-winning free-to-play massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) developed by Turbine. Helm’s Deep will continue the Epic Story into the western plains of Rohan, allow players to take a direct role in the battle for Helm’s Deep and advance the level cap to 95.

 

“With Helm’s Deep, we’re bringing the War of the Ring to players on a monumental scale,” said Kate Paiz, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine. “Our team is thrilled to create another iconic moment in Middle-earth, and put players in the center of the action.”

 

THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE: HELM’S DEEP FEATURES:

 

  • Experience the Battle for Helm’s Deep – Fight to defend Helm’s Deep starting at level 10, as your character enlists as a soldier in the Battle of the Hornburg, the most massive conflict yet in The Lord of the Rings Online. Earn rewards for your contribution to the war effort – win or lose, your aid makes a difference!

 

  • Explore new landscapes across Western Rohan – Explore the Westemnet of Rohan and rally each of the five Ridings as Rohan returns to glory. Traverse the capital of Edoras, mysterious Dunharrow, and the fortress of the Hornburg, deep within Helm’s Deep.

 

  • Advance from levels 85 to 95 – Experience 10 new levels, from 85 to 95, with new skills and completely updated class specializations. Both mounted and un-mounted combat will challenge you as you war against the evil of Saruman.

 

  • Continue the Epic Story – Encounter beloved characters such as Aragorn, Éowyn, and Éomer. Restore King Théoden to his rightful lordship and defend the peoples of Rohan at Helm’s Deep.

OnRPG Shotgun News 4/24: LoTRO, EQ Next, Neverwinter, and More MMO News

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG News Hawk

Lord of the Rings Online Announces Helm’s Deep Expansion

helms deep

LOTRO players will get a chance to take part in the battle for Helm’s Deep in the new expansion coming in the fall of this year. Starting at level 10 players will be enlisted to be a soldier in the Battle of the Hornburg, which is to be the most massive conflict yet. New areas of the world including Edoras and Dunharrow will be available to explore and players will get an additional 10 level, bringing the cap to 95.

Storybricks Working with SOE on Everquest Next

Though their Kickstarter campaign failed to make the goal in the end it hasn’t been completely bad news for Namaste Entertainment. In a recent newsletter they announced they’ve been working with Sony Online Entertainment on Everquest Next. Which is really the first thing we’ve heard about EQ:N in forever.

Kartuga Hosting Open Beta Midweek Event

For the next three days anyone can play Kartuga, even if you aren’t part of the closed beta. So grab your friends and take part in this “Board the Servers” stress test. Anyone who participates will have a chance to win a closed beta key so they can continue to play beyond the stress test.

C9 Gets A Raid

Molleck

Bardiel Seal, the new dungeon coming to C9 has bosses so epic, so hard they had to call it a raid. The God of Fire, Bardiel has escaped from his prison and it is your job, with some help to capture him again, while fighting off three merciless raid monsters. The dungeon will be available to players over level 62.

Origins of Malu Announces Beta Date

Last week I reported that Origins of Malu had temporarily delayed the beta but left it open as to when it would be. Well now we know that the date is May 4th. Or maybe sooner if things go well. And players who are already confirmed for the beta can download the client now in preparation for the coming test.

Neverwinter Reveals the Devils of Helm’s Hold

Deep within the stronghold of Helm’s Hold lives all sorts of terrible creatures, including devils. The town is under the control of a devil worshiping cult. And now Perfect World has released a video so you know what to watch out for in your adventures.