Welcome back to The Firing Line, shooter fans. Some interesting stuff went down this week, much of it related to DUST 514. Even if you're not partial to what some have dubbed "the controller wars," there's still plenty of online shooter news for you to peruse after the cut.

Join me on the other side for a glimpse of Hawken, Firefall, and my PlanetSide character!

If you haven't made any MMO-centric plans for Valentine's Day, consider the offerings from free-to-play giant Perfect World Entertainment. The company is playing cupid in several of its online titles, and players can acquire "wedding fashions, romantic items, spectacular mounts, mystery boxes, and more."

Jade Dynasty features a wedding event and items for marriage-minded avatars, while Perfect World International GMs will be interacting with players and giving out a rare mount. Rusty Hearts is putting on an art contest, and the prize is Roselle Vegerius (the game's latest premium character).

Forsaken World players will receive a Valentine's Day card and random items, while War of the Immortals fans can collect chocolate and trade it for additional XP. Finally, Ether Saga Odyssey players can enter a screenshot contest to win XP and bonus items, as well as bid for rare pets and send custom broadcast messages.

[Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release]

Looking for a definitive release date for Diablo III? So are we, and unfortunately Blizzard isn't cooperating. The best the company can come up with is Q2 2012, according to Rock, Paper Shotgun.

The site reports on Blizzard's recent investors call, during which Mike Morhaime stated the obvious before alluding to the launch window. "Given the popularity of the action RPG genre, and the keen interest in Diablo III, we expect this launch to be a big opportunity for Blizzard. We can also confirm that we are targeting a Q2 launch for Diablo III. We expect to announce more details about the release schedule in the coming weeks," he said.

But hey, at least he didn't say "when it's ready."

[Source: Activision investor call]

Hello, sandbox faithful, and welcome to a special interview edition of Some Assembly Required. We recently had a chance to pitch some questions to the team behind Seatribe's upcoming Salem title, and creative director Björn Johannessen was kind enough to answer them.

Salem is being advertised by publisher Paradox as "the crafting MMO," but it's also rife with throw-back mechanics including a huge amount of player freedom and a permadeath/punishment system similar to the one in Johannessen's Haven & Hearth.

Red 5 Studios is making a little marketing push for Firefall, and the first salvo takes the form of a new dev diary video starring CEO Mark Kern.

If you're not familiar with the game, this clip is a great place to start. Kern explains how Firefall is really two titles in one, with the first game being a ginormous open world featuring loads of PvE content. The second game is centered around Firefall's e-sport components, which include ranked leaderboard matches ranging from 5-on-5 to 15-on-15.

Kern also mentions the game's unique take on beta and launch. In basic terms, Red 5 implements feature sets, collects beta feedback, and iterates on down the line (as opposed to presenting a finished product for mass beta testing). This staged approach will also apply to the game's launch, and Kern says the game will be rolled out "organically" much like Google's Gmail service.

Finally, content expansion in Firefall will be player-driven. Cross-server cooperation will be necessary to craft MRU units that will expand the playable area from 10 square miles to an entire globe. Kern also touches on the trendy games-as-a-service mandate, and he says that as long as players are around to support Firefall, Red 5 will be around to generate new content. Watch the full video after the break.

Funcom has penned a new dev diary at MMORPG.com, and the piece reveals three new skill decks from the firm's The Secret World title.

What's a skill deck?

It's The Secret World's answer to the how-do-you-make-a-level-free-MMORPG question, and it allows players to select from 500 abilities to create "exactly the type of character they want." Funcom thinks the system will seem daunting to players used to simpler class-based mechanics in competing MMOs, and as such the firm is adding a few deck templates to offer players a helping hand.

Three of these are profiled in the new diary, including one from each of the game's factions. The Witch Hunter focuses on big damage spikes and represents the Templars, the Warlord is your basic swordfighter from the Dragon faction, and the Thaumaturgist is the Illuminati's answer to the gunmage archetype.

[Thanks to fallwind for the tip!]

Ready for another TERA Europe beta test? You're in luck because Frogster is hosting one later today (at 2:00 p.m. EST, to be exact). The Velika server is being stress-tested, and Frogster is raising the player cap in order to see what happens when large numbers of people attempt to log in at once.

TERA Europe community manager Raven says that "you might experience lag or other issues" and that "this test is not intended to offer you a normal gameplay experience." If you're OK with that -- and you feel like volunteering your time -- head to the official forums to learn more (and set your alarms accordingly).

If you're wondering about TERA's American client, En Masse Entertainment sent word that last night's pre-test dress rehearsal "went swimmingly."

How big is RIFT? Big enough to attract one of China's heavyweight MMO houses, apparently. Trion has announced a partnership with publishing giant Shanda that will bring RIFT to the Chinese gaming market, and CEO Lars Buttler tells Gamasutra that expanding the game's global reach is only the beginning.

"We do a lot right, but we think there's so much to learn from Asia, and a company like Shanda that has been in the market so long, and has innovated in so many ways, is a great partner to work with and learn from," Buttler says.

Trion is flexing its muscles -- and broadening its horizons -- on the strength of a banner year that included a hefty influx of investment capital as well as RIFT's $100 million revenue windfall. Trion is also developing an MMORTS called End of Nations and an MMO shooter called Defiance. Additionally, the firm is fleshing out its Red Door program, which will outsource its development platform and distribution channels to third-parties.

Square-Enix is slimming down its server roster for Final Fantasy XIV. After a year of free-play services due to its troubled launch, FFXIV began charging traditional subscription fees last month. Now, Square says that it will be merging servers beginning on March 27th, and the current lineup will be trimmed from 18 to 10.

Character transfers are mandatory for players on one of the affected shards, and the transfer period starts on March 1st and continues through the 19th. Kotaku reports that the new servers will have temporary names (New World 01, 02, etc.), but Square states that "name assignments will be announced after the transfer selection period has ended."

MMO global chat is a funny thing. I've met friends in it, I've ignored half the server because of it, and I'm amused (and appalled) by it on a daily basis. One thing I normally don't do is turn it off completely, unless I'm gunning for an immersive solo or small-group session that's heavy on roleplay.

My EverQuest II Sage has 19 (19!) channels on his UI, and though I rarely see any activity in the ratonga or evil chat rooms, I keep tabs on them anyway in case a useful nugget happens by.

What about you, dear readers? Does your MMO of choice have multiple global chat channels, and if so, how many do you monitor at once?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!