NCSOFT®, the world’s premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, today announced an April 22, 2015 release date for Infinite Odyssey, the next content expansion for Lineage II, one of the longest-running MMOs in history and flagship title for NCSOFT.

The story continues with Leona Blackbird and the Blackbird Army walking into an ambush by Embryo forces. Across the continent, strike teams attack the Blackbird Army division, slaughtering them or taking them prisoner. Enraged and determined, Leona sets out to visit the battlefields where the Blackbird Army battled Embryo in order to discover their whereabouts. She surveys scenes of intense fighting, finding no helpful clues until she discovers a soldier who barely escaped. Traumatized, he tells Leona what little he can. Based on the intel she’s gathered, Leona and her team depart for the location of the Embryo stronghold.

Infinite Odyssey launches as part of Lineage II’s 11^th Anniversary, and demonstrates NCSOFT’s strong commitment to creating new content for its most venerated franchise. Key content includes:

·         Level Cap Removed – For more than 10 years players have worked towards reaching level cap, where characters would be most powerful. Now players will be able to achieve level 100 and beyond, taking PvP to a whole new dimension.

·         New Skills – With the level cap removal comes new skills for players to learn and master, making them even more powerful than before. As a result of a recent contest, select skills will be named by members of the Lineage community.

·         New Zones – Two new zones, Atelia Fortress and the Garden of Spirits, will become available to players who meet the level requirements. These new zones are designed to test heroes to their utmost, and will prove to be a challenge for even the most seasoned veterans.

·         The New Raid Boss – Kelbim, the ruler of the Atelia Fortress, will be one of the greatest challenges the heroes of Aden have ever faced. Armed with a sword forged from the Seal of Calamity and powerful dark iron wings, he is ready to battle anyone who dares to challenge him.

Visit www.lineage2.com for more details on the expansion and the results of the Name that Skill contest.

NGames is happy to announce a new game that will be added to their gaming lineup. Pixel Hero will have its first CBT during the first week of May! Join the adventures with our cute chibi characters. Characters in this game not only differ in skills but also in skill configurations. Now let us consider possible strategies in Pixel Hero.

Battle Skills
In Pixel Hero, you can form a colossal team of up to 25 heroes instead of just a 4-member team common in most games. When it comes to RPGs, skills are indispensable to success. There are many types of skills that can boost ATK and CRIT, passive skills that can boost Initiative and DEF while absorbing HP, and skills that can disable dodging. To defeat opponents, form reasonable combinations with various kinds of skills.

Initiative Points allow you to battle first
In battle, both sides attack each other in turn. Skills are triggered starting from the front row to the back row. The chance to trigger skills in the back row will be lesser, especially for CRIT and HP recovery skills. So it’s important to make relevant strategies based on the opponent’s layout.

Since a hero’s position has an effect on triggering skills, players can arrange heroes in the front row based on skills!

Forge Legendary Heroes
The Hero Development system is as simple as profound. Heroes automatically upgrade as they kill monsters. However, each hero can not only be upgraded, but also be awakened. Equip heroes with exclusive artifacts which affect 4 stats Initiative, DEF, DOD and Monarch.

In addition to the awakening feature, players can also craft peerless gear! Pixel Hero is a fun game with simple operations, but sophisticated strategies.

Today, InnoGames launched the US-version of its fantasy strategy game Elvenar. Along with the game’s opening, the German developer and publisher released the game’s official trailer.  The spot displays the main elements of the city-building MMO and gives an outlook on late-game elven and human cities. Although the game has been in beta since the beginning of the year, the international beta world will also be accessible without key restrictions from now on. In the coming weeks, other countries will follow the US and officially launch localized versions of the game.

Elvenar is a city-building strategy-MMO from InnoGames, set in an exotic fantasy world. Tasked with creating a flourishing city, players can choose between Elves or Humans as a starting race. The game’s focus lies on building and upgrading a city, but players also trade or explore the world map. The choice between Elves and Humans influences the way the players’ cities and inhabitants look and which technologies and units are at their disposal. The Elves live and breathe magic and exist in close harmony with nature, whereas Humans are ambitious and determined engineers.

Between managing resources, levelling up buildings and unlocking new perks, players should also pay attention to the multiplayer map. There they can interact with neighbors, scout new provinces and unlock various powerful relics by fighting NPCs or trading. Fights take place on various battlegrounds. The strategic battles are 3D-animated, with up to 20 different monsters and unit types, which make each encounter unique and tactically deep.

Gamers who want to earn their sea legs can dive into Tasharen Entertainment’s Windward on May 12th, 2015 for Windows, Mac and Linux.  In this action-packed sandbox game, set on the high seas, players captain a ship sailing the open waters of a beautiful, large procedurally-generated world.  Windward is currently available in Early Access.

Windward offers a plethora of gameplay possibilities.  Gamers who prefer a more relaxing adventure can explore the unmapped crystal blue oceans filled with detailed marine life, resolve conflict through diplomacy or make their mark as a master merchant.

Players looking to get their adrenaline pumping in high-stakes combat can join a crew of scurvy scallywags online and plunder together as pirates, ally with an in-game faction that protects an area or go rogue and send NPCs to Davy Jones’ Locker in an immersive single player experience.

Specialization is key to survival and gaining an edge over the competition.  With more than 100 talents, players can focus on three separate skill trees.

• Defense – the ideal class for large ships.  Skills include the ability to turn faster, converting the vessel into a powerful turret on the open oceans, dealing more damage when standing still and increasing damage absorption as their health goes down.

• Offense – great for quick ships.  Offense enables increased agility, reducing the opponent’s armor and greatly improving the damage done by allies.

• Support – the perfect team member.  The crew of support vessels specialize in repairing ships quickly and providing benefits to other nearby allies – like putting out fires, repairing other ships to a greater extent than their own crews can and forcing enemies to get closer before they can attack.

“After more than four years of development, and plenty of blood, sweat and tears, I am thrilled to say Windward has an official launch date,” said Michael Lyashenko, founder, Tasharen Entertainment. “Every PC gamer can find something to love about the open world and endless possibilities of Windward, no matter what genres they love.”

Today, Obsidian Entertainment and the Allods Team Have revealed Distortions in Skyforge, battles so difficult that they can not be undertaken until a character has already achieved godhood, and even then, they’ll need help from up to nine other players in their Pantheon (Skyforge’s version of guilds).

Distortions are hidden lairs of the most dangerous monsters from past invasions, that can only be found with a special device. Once a Distortion is found, players are locked in epic combat and must battle four battle-hardened opponents one after another. Once a fight begins, players only have 15 minutes to defeat these deadly foes, requiring players to quickly adapt their strategies and work together to have a chance at victory. If the players are victorious they will receive not only fame and honor, but unique Epic weapons and trophies to advance towards the next stage of their character’s divine form.

For more information, read the full article about Distortions here.

SEGA Networks Co., Ltd. and gumi Inc. have announced a new asynchronous multiplayer mode for Chain Chronicle, available right now on iOS and Android platforms.

The Sage’s Gauntlet – a new player versus player mode – enables line defense role-playing fans to battle through waves of AI-controlled squads based on the parties of other online opponents. Players will pick 10 of their best party members and navigate through a randomly-plotted pathway filled with opponent squads and prizes. Players who reach the end win big rewards, epic loot, and special Honor Tokens used to recruit even more rare units.

In addition to this brand new competitive mode, SEGA Networks and gumi Inc. have added the latest and final Story chapter for Chain Chronicle. Faced with the task of infiltrating the Royal Capital, the volunteer army must struggle through waves of the Black Army to save Yggdra and stop the reign of the Black King once and for all.

Chain Chronicle’s update is free and require no additional cost to download.