Monthly Archives: April 2014

Guild Wars 2: First-Ever Feature Pack Now Available

GW2 Features Update

ArenaNet has just released the “April 2014 Feature Pack,” the first-ever Guild Wars 2® update dedicated exclusively to adding and enhancing game features. The “Feature Pack” represents ArenaNet’s move towards releasing content updates that are focused on features and game systems. Going forward, these packs will be separate from the studio’s living world releases, which have primarily been the vehicle for introducing new storylines and story-driven game play. Just as with living world, feature packs and all new content added to Guild Wars 2 are available to players free of charge and without a subscription fee.

One of the biggest updates in ArenaNet’s highly anticipated inaugural “Feature Pack” is the introduction of a megaserver system. The system makes it easy for people to find game maps populated with friends, guild members and similar players. Other major new features in the pack include a new wardrobe system, dozens of new traits, and upgrades to PvP. The new content touches on game play, quality of life and social play, meaning what’s being implemented today promises to enhance the experience of every player in Guild Wars 2.

Highlights of the update include:

  • Megaserver System: ArenaNet’s megaserver technology is designed to intelligently bring players together to enrich the open world experience of Guild Wars 2. This system dynamically opens and closes maps to accommodate player activity while bringing players from different home worlds together. As part of these exciting changes, ArenaNet is restructuring the schedules of its open world boss encounters and allowing guilds to kick off the most challenging events to be found in the world of Guild Wars 2.
  • Traits Unleashed: ArenaNet is introducing 40 new traits which will impact every trait line of every profession. The acquisition of traits is changing. Players will no longer have to pay to unlock trait tiers, but will be rewarded with new tiers as they reach the appropriate level. To round out the update, players can now unlock traits through feats of bravery and daring – a whole new horizontal progression system that allows players to customize their character’s build through gameplay.
  • Account Wardrobe: The Account Wardrobe system makes it easy to customize the look of all your characters by sharing cosmetic items across your entire account. Every skin you unlock in Guild Wars 2 will now be accessible to each and every character on your account. Additionally, dyes will become account unlocks, making it simpler than ever to find just the right shade for every character.
  • PvP Reward Tracks and Gear Unification: As part of the Wardrobe system, the idea of PvP weapons and armor will go away. Each player will keep their look consistent across PvE and PvP, although players will continue to be on a statistically even playing field in competitive PvP. As part of this update, ArenaNet is introducing PvP Reward Tracks, which allow players to choose which rewards they’re working towards. These rewards can be anything from dungeon weapons and armor sets to region-specific drops from Tyria, and even the building blocks of Legendary weapons.
  • Social, Balance, and Account Updates: With significant rune and sigil updates, Looking For Group tool improvements, critical damage balancing, and account-bound Ascended and Legendary items, the features in the “April 2014 Feature Pack” will bring exciting changes to every part of Guild Wars 2.

For more information, visit www.guildwars2.com

Neverwinter Icewind Dale Dev Preview

By W.B. Wemyss (Tagspeech)

 

neverwinter_dwarven_valley_

Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with Rob Overmeyer, a dev working on the Neverwinter  team; for those unfamiliar, Neverwinter is the latest multiplayer installment of the famous Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons & Dragons.  Enthusiasts will know that setting as the one called home by famous characters like Wulfgar and the Drow, Drizzt.  Most people will find these names weird and foreign, and that’s fine too.  Neverwinter is a straightforward enough game to make the lore relatively irrelevant to the player.

 

The upcoming content expands on that lore by introducing the much-loved Icewind Dale region of the Forgotten Realms, the very same reason that hosted Drizzt and the other heroes of R.A. Salvatore’s famous FR fantasy novels.  The frozen north is prime adventuring territory, and apparently this content expansion plays off of that story by taking place one-hundred years later, after an evil wizard’s tower was destroyed, and chunks of that primal stone and metal flew across the region to create a new kind of material called “black ice.”  The powerful properties of the ice are coveted by many factions, and signing a mercenary contract with one of them is the primary focus of the expansion content.  This contract settles your PVP faction in the new area, but can also be revoked and swapped to the other side as well for a more fluid experience.

Neverwinter Icewind Dale Town Corruption

Mechanically speaking, Neverwinter has always been a bit of an odd duck.  It shares some qualities with the action-packed Guild Wars, and some qualities with more traditional MMORPGs.  The landscapes and cities have been rather controlled and claustrophobic compared to other games with more open worlds.  What attracts and keeps people with this game is generally the user-created quests and unique character customization.  It is, of course, at the end of the day, a gear treadmill like every other game in its genre.  So what makes Neverwinter stand out among the horde of fantasy MMOs?

neverwinter_m3_creatures_04

As of now, not terribly much beyond the Forgotten Realms setting, and it having a team of dedicated, old school MMORPG devs and gamers behind it that are extremely passionate about the source material.  That alone is great, but it leaves the game in the state of niche appeal.  What has been expanding the game’s audience is PVP.  Interesting PVP, at that, and the upcoming Icewind Dale expansion aims to address some primary gripes with the game, and greatly expand the PVP and PVE/PVP options in a more open-world setting.

Neverwinter Mining Black Ice

The intended content for Icewind Dale is going to be a large, open region the players can explore in the form of the frozen north.  This is unprecedented for the game, and it contains a number of dynamic encounters that take place in the overworld.  These are similar to the rifts in Rift, or the quest system in Guild Wars 2.  Players show up where help is needed, and work together for as long as they like to complete the encounters.  At the end, they part ways or stick together.  It’s a fairly modern take on the old questing paradigm in MMORPGs, and it’s good to see Neverwinter picking up the ball and running with it.

Neverwinter Icewind Dale Dire Wolf

This philosophy extends to the region’s PVP, as well.  Something Neverwinter has stated a desire to bring back is guild vs guild PVP and a greater sense of epic, open world PVP combined in PVE elements.  To this end they’ve added a huge section in the Icewind Dale region where players are automatically flagged once they enter.  This also happens to be the part of the area with the most black ice to mine and scavenge.  Black ice isn’t just integral to the story of the expansion – it allows players to forge a whole new range of powerful gear, more powerful than anything else currently available.  Of course, players are free to scavenge for the stuff out in the wilderness where no flagging is mandatory, but those who take risks will receive greater rewards.

Neverwinter Icewind Dale Guardians

In addition to all of this, a PVP campaign has been added alongside the game’s main storyline for players that want serious progress (and storytelling) told through the lens of the PVP experience.  On top of that, the game is adding a streamlined matchmaking system, leaderboards, and better options for socializing with those you PVP with.  It’s not all contentious and heated.  Sometimes, people like to get to know each other and work together after beating the blood out of each other.  What seems to set the Neverwinter development process apart from some of its competition is its focus on facilitating social interaction and friend-making, as well as its admirable devotion to story and storytelling.

 

The release date for the new content is “soon, possibly in spring.”  The devs are actually excited and optimistic about the state of the game, and especially so for the upcoming Icewind Dale content.  The game is doing well, despite being a bit of a dark horse in the genre.  If you’re looking for a new experience in the same old fantasy MMORPG genre, Neverwinter just might be the breath of fresh air you need.

Neverwinter Icewind Dale Preview

Tagspeech is the alias of author W.B. Wemyss, who was responsible for the bizarre cyberpunk fever dream called Children of Athena.

Monkey King Online Launch Pack Giveaway

OnRPG has partnered with R2Games to take you to the ancient world of China where one brazen monkey dared to defy the heavens in his quest for independence. Pick up your weapon and join the battle in Monkey King Online.

Monkey King Online Launch Pack Giveaway

Immerse yourself in the world of Monkey King Online, a browser MMORPG unlike any other. Choose a hero from the pages of the epic novel Journey to the West – Iron Fan, Bull, Fox, or the rebellious Monkey King himself – and bring peace to the heavens through the art of war!
But strength alone won’t lead you to victory. In Monkey King Online, you’ll need to master the secrets of shapeshifting to survive. Your hero’s skills are only the beginning – gain the favor of an Immortal, and its form and abilities will be yours to Invoke in battle. Skilled players can balance the power of three Immortals at once, creating a truly custom combat build. Even your Mount changes shape to fight by your side!

The Launch Pack Includes:
HP Orbx3
MP Orb x3
Mount Orb x2
Double Reward Orb x2
100 Vouchers x5

 

 

 

To Redeem Your Key:

  • Register an R2Games account for Monkey King Online.
  • Create a character and enter the game.
  • Click the rewards box icon at the top right of the screen.
  • Next, select the Enter Code tab, input your gift code, and click the Exchange button.

Guns & Robots Easter Special Giveaway

OnRPG has partnered with Masthead Studios to bring you an Easter Special Pack to coincide with an array of Easter themed events hitting Guns and Robots Online this month.

Guns and Robots brings robot action with massive customization. Players get cartoony bright 3D  graphics in attractive environments and challenge each other in open arenas. Guns and Robots gives a fun, entertaining experience with easy to master gameplay and numerous options to experiment with to master your robot constructing skills.

The Easter Special Pack Includes:
Death Ray
Lizgar
Fanhelmet

* Note: All parts will be shown in the workbench screen and must be attached to correlating parts to become available modules in your inventory.

 

 

 

To Redeem Your Key:

H1Z1: Just Survive

H1Z1: Just Survive is a F2P massively multiplayer online game in which players fight for survival in a world where death is the only sure thing. The H1Z1 virus devastated mankind and left nothing but death and destruction in its wake and a world nearly empty of human life where the remnants of humanity are in a fight against extinction against those infected with the virus.

Features:

True persistent world: Unlike other zombie survival games, H1Z1: Just Survive is a persistent MMO that can hold thousands of players on servers with different rulesets, which creates a thriving economy and potential to make allies in the all-out war on the Infected… and potential to make enemies as well.

Powered by ForgeLight: Using the same engine used for Planetside 2 and Everquest Next, H1Z1: Just Survive’s world will be as breathtaking is it expansive.

Player-created content: With much focus on the community, H1Z1: Just Survive will support tons of player made content and features.

Warframe Grants Anniversary Gift to PS4 Players

DexFuris-PS4Facebook

Warframe® is celebrating its One Year Anniversary with a gift to its players!

What a difference a year can make. Last year at this time, Warframe went Open Beta on PC and  just over 300,000 registered players crafted 31 Warframes and 2,419 weapons.

Today, Warframe added PS4™ to the mix, has become the 2nd most downloaded App on PS4™ and is nearly 8 million registered Tenno strong across both platforms! With 2,426,731 total Warframes built and 13,390,085 total weapons crafted, it has been a very productive year.

In celebration of Warframe’s First Year and to Thank all who have helped build Warframe into what it is today, The Lotus is gifting each Tenno with a First Anniversary Edition of the DEX FURIS.
This dual-version features a Lotus-themed skin, high fire-rate and accuracy and low recoil. Plus, it comes with a weapon slot and is super-charged with a catalyst.

To claim this gift, PS4 players simply log in to Warframe before 2:00pm EDT on April 21st; open the inbox message and the weapon will automatically be added to their Arsenal.

Also, marking this special occasion, the Excalibur Proto-Armor Skin has been unearthed. Where did it come from?!  Available for a limited time only, this ancient skin is a reflection of Tenno past.  Discovering the precise nature of this recently discovered armored prototype has proved elusive. Initial attempts at dating the relic point to ancient origins, perhaps even pre-dating the Orokin Empire.  Players can visit the in-game Market to purchase and add this Limited Time Skin their Arsenal today.  Available now through 2:00pm EDT, April 21st.

Note: PC players received this gift in a separate update at the end of March.

Sony Online Entertainment Annouces “H1Z1” – MMO Zombie Survial Game

Sony Online

Last week, Sony Online Entertainment announced their newest F2P game as an ode to Star Wars Galaxies fans out there. Known as “H1Z1”, SOE’s newest game combines the open-world capabilities of their Forgelight Engine (same engine used for PlanetSide 2 and EverQuest Next) with the survival aspects of DayZ.

Along with elements found in other survivial games, there will be other unique elements such as fully interactive enviroments. For example, players will be able to set fire to a single tree, which could spread to other trees and cause the an entire forest to be burned down.

Currently, the game is only confirmed for PC, along with SOE’s All-Access program, but there has been talks suggesting that the game could be available on the Playstation 4 soon after.

For more info, visit https://www.h1z1.com/

Ayakashi: Ghost Guild

Ayakashi: Ghost Guild is a free to play mobile card battle RPG. Create a powerful demon deck as a ghost agent, solve the mystery around you, and fight against ghosts and rival agents!

Features:

A Chilling Story: As a young agent, you have the power to communicate with ghosts and turn them into useful demons. Now you must protect humanity.

Collect Demons: Find and collect demons as you go through the story. Rare demons can be found after collecting all the sealed stones.

Negotiations: You may be able to recruit defeated ghosts to serve as demons – but they may refuse.

Enhancement and Fusion: Make stronger demons by fusing them together and leveling the up!