Filed under: Classes

New DDO Menace of the Underdark video profiles Druid class

by Jef Reahard May 18th 2012 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries

Dungeons and Dragons Online - Druid wolf form

Turbine continues its Menace of the Underdark info blitz this morning with a new video centering on Dungeons and Dragons Online's maiden expansion. If you've been hiding in a troll cave for the last month, you may not be aware that the devs are taking players from Eberron to the Forgotten Realms starting on June 25th.

There's also a new Druid class, which is the focus of today's dev diary clip. Executive producer Fernando Paiz calls the Druid the single most requested feature by the DDO playerbase over the last six years. Click past the cut to learn more about the class and see if it measures up to your expectations.

[Source: Turbine press release]

Runes of Magic shows off the new Champion and Warlock

by Eliot Lefebvre May 16th 2012 at 2:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic

Now, if he transformed into a plane, that would be something.

New classes are always exciting. In a game with an established set of abilities and character options, the chance to take a different option helps keep the game engaging and surprising. That's no doubt part of the rationale behind Runes of Magic's two new classes, the Champion and the Warlock. But they're also meant to show off the ingenuity and cleverness of the Dwarves, and in a new preview of these two classes, it becomes clear just how much both will bring to the table.

The Warlock is an arcane caster who has delved into the knowledge of the Shadowforge Dwarves, allowing him to act as either a damage dealer or a support character as the situation warrants. Champions are masters of pseudo-mystical forge techniques, with the Champion ultimately being capable of transforming into a special Runic Robot form for increased damage and durability. There are only a few more weeks until the game's next major update, and then players will get to try out the new hybrid classes for themselves.

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Why there are no more Epic Archetypes in City of Heroes

by Eliot Lefebvre May 16th 2012 at 12:30PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Classes, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann

My weekend plans went cross-eyed, as they often do, but as a result I found myself looking through some old notes for future columns on City of Heroes. There were a lot of notes I took early on when I was first writing columns, some of which I wound up using and some of which wound up being discarded, but one particular idea jumped out at me: a column about potential future Epic Archetypes.

Specifically, I was looking back over and noting how a lot of the archetypes I listed wouldn't actually work at all.

I've gone on record as having been a big fan of EATs right from the beginning, as they're meant to be classes that break up the regular structure of the game's classes. That strikes me as laudable. But even disregarding the technical aspects of the epics that makes them more complex to develop and balance, I think there are some noteworthy basic problems with them on a conceptual level. We may very well never get another one just because the game has been structured to make them almost a design mistake that's never been corrected.

Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's James Ohlen shares the formula behind PvP nerfs

by Larry Everett May 15th 2012 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, Interviews, Patches, PvP, Massively Interviews, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon

Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's James Ohlen shares the formula behind PvP nerfs

When Update 1.2 launched for Star Wars: The Old Republic, most players witnessed some major changes to their classes. In my opinion, these changes weren't game-breaking, but they did require that some players re-evaluate how they played. Some classes were changed so drastically in this patch players claimed they felt as if they were truly playing a completely different class.

Major changes like this do not happen without reason, and from my time spent with SWTOR developers, I know that they are passionately interested in making their game the best it can be. So I asked Game Director James Ohlen some questions about these mechanical changes. In true James Ohlen fashion, he was more than happy to answer in intricate detail, and I'm excited to bring you those answers here in the Hyperspace Beacon.

World of Warplanes video diary details classes, roles

by Jef Reahard May 15th 2012 at 11:30AM

Filed under: Betas, Historical, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, World of Warplanes

World of Warplanes - dev diary title screen

Looking for the latest World of Warplanes news? Wargaming.net has you covered with part two of its developer diary video series.

The clip introduces us to some of the dev personalities working on the game as well as the three main aircraft classes (fighters, heavy fighters, and ground attack planes). "Fighters top the food chain," according to historical consultant Yuri Pasholok. "They are the most widespread, versatile, and -- pound for pound -- the deadliest class in the game."

In comparison, ground attack birds are "slow, clumsy, and very heavy." Pasholok says, "To imagine what flying a ground attack plane is like, think of flying a tank." Why would you want to fly a tank? Well, for the ridiculous amounts of destructive firepower, of course. Finally, heavy fighters are something of a middle ground between the previous two classes. They can take a beating better than their light fighter counterparts, but their main objective is defense and interception. Click past the cut to view the full video, and be sure to check out The Firing Line this Friday for an exclusive World of Warplanes producer interview.

Learn the basics of Diablo III gameplay

by Alex Ziebart May 14th 2012 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Launches, Guides, Diablo III

Massively's sister site WoW Insider brings us this special bonus article tonight on the basics of Diablo III for folks who normally play MMOs like World of Warcraft. Enjoy the rest of Joystiq's WoW team's Diablo coverage over on WoW Insider, and stay tuned for our own Diablo III launch roundups tomorrow morning!

Since Diablo II was released 12 years ago, it's safe to say that Diablo III will be the first Diablo title many people will have ever played. It's one of the most anticipated titles of the season and is attracting countless new players to the genre. We've received a number of questions asking how this game is even played -- and if it has anything in common with your favorite MMOs.

We have you covered.

The core of Diablo gameplay is the mouse click. You do everything from combat to looting to movement with your mouse, and your interactions with your keyboard are extremely minimal overall. On Twitter recently, many Diablo diehards have mentioned they were buying a new mouse specifically to use with Diablo III -- and that's not a bad idea. No, we're not talking a brand-new $80 Razer Naga; we're talking some $10 to $15 thing you can pick up off of a department store shelf. You want a mouse that you're not going to mourn when your buttons inevitably give out from the mountain of abuse you're about to unleash upon them. Grab something cheap and disposable so that when it dies, you will consider it a victory -- just another technological corpse for the bone pile.

The Mog Log: A look forward to Final Fantasy XIV pets

by Eliot Lefebvre May 12th 2012 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

Pet classes and I have an odd relationship. I don't generally like them, but I like having them there, and when they're done right, I'm very fond of the option. Final Fantasy XIV currently has a grand total of none of them; we have not even a summoner or beastmaster to call our own, but we've been told that this is all changing in version 2.0. And with November just half a year away, it's time to start thinking about what form these pets are going to take.

Of course, this isn't virgin territory for the game series. Final Fantasy XI featured four different pet classes, which have had differing levels of success over time. And even though Final Fantasy XIV isn't meant to be Final Fantasy XI in a new skin, the game can certainly take some inspiration from its predecessor even while forging a unique legacy. And hey, we've got at least three of the four pets from the previous game in Eorzea at this point. So let's talk about the past set of pets, where we are in the present game, and how those systems might make it into the main game.

The Firing Line: 16th century fragging edition

by Jef Reahard May 11th 2012 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Dev Diaries, The Firing Line

What do War Thunder, World of Warplanes, Leonardo da Vinci, and Tribes: Ascend have in common? Not a whole lot aside from their respective appearances in this week's edition of The Firing Line.

Won't you join me after the cut for a rundown on some recent and notable online shooter news? If you're feeling particularly ornery, you can point and laugh at the fact that I'm still not in the War Thunder beta.

War of the Immortals expansion adds new class, 540-player PvP arenas

by Jef Reahard May 10th 2012 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play

War of the Immortals - combat screenshot

War of the Immortals' new expansion is officially live. Perfect World Entertainment is adding a new Harbinger class, the pet ascension system, a new instance called Proof of Divinity, and an extensive PvP revamp with the Lost Omen patch.

This last bit involves "re-tooling the team matchmaking system," PWE says. The changes allow for three teams of up to 180 players to duke it out in a single battle arena (that's 540 players at once if you're counting at home).

There's also a new trailer for the Lost Omen expansion. Check it out by clicking past the cut.

[Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release]

New End of Nations trailer shines some light on the Shadow Revolution

by Matt Daniel May 9th 2012 at 5:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Classes, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, MMORTS

Last month, we got a look at the Liberation Front faction of Trion Worlds' upcoming MMORTS, End of Nations. Today, the company released a trailer highlighting the Liberation Front's enemy of war, the forebodingly named Shadow Revolution.

Players of the Shadow Revolution faction have their choice of two classes: the Wraith class, which focuses on utilizing guerrilla tactics to strike quickly and retreat before counterattacks can be made, and the Phantom class, which takes advantage of cloaking devices in order to launch devastating surprise attacks that can cripple enemy forces before they know what hit them. To get a look at the Shadow Revolution's units in action, just check out the official trailer below.

Vanguard update brings new loyalty rewards for subscribers

by Justin Olivetti May 9th 2012 at 4:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Patches, Vanguard, Free-to-play, Promotions

As Vanguard straddles the line between its old subscriber-only business model and this summer's free-to-play transition, the team is still plugging away at minor updates to the game. Today's patch brings a smattering of updates and fixes as well as the May loyalty rewards for current subscribers.

Active players will get to haul away five goodies from SOE, including a brown sloop ship, unique tack and barding, and a "Kamelott Overland Onslaught Life-Sustaining Exo-Skeleton" mount. Players can also pick up free supply crates and veteran's caches (the latter are available only for level 50+ characters) every 44 hours.

The update also fixed a few small issues with quests, retweaked some skills for Rogues and Bards, and changed a couple of items to make them work properly.

SOE will continue to dish out loyalty rewards until Vanguard goes F2P.

Druids, Drow, and destinies in an epic DDO expansion tour

by Justin Olivetti May 9th 2012 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, Previews, Free-to-play, Hands-on

On Thursday, Turbine will take the wraps off of Dungeons and Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark and commence with the closed beta. It's a heady time for both the team and playerbase, as this 2007 title steps into the big leagues of expansion-holding MMOs. And because we know you hate waiting for all the goods, we joined Turbine on the test server for an advance look at some of the hottest features coming with June's launch.

On the phone with us was Senior Producer Eric Boyer, Community Specialist Amanda Grove, and Design Director Ian Currie. "We want to show players how big the expansion pack is and how much it'll be changing the game," Boyer began, telling us that levels one through 20 were merely "heroic" -- now it'll be time to make the move into epic territory.

From a look at the much-anticipated Druid and the previously vague Epic Destinies to a lightning tour of your first day in the Forgotten Realms, the team was out to convince us that Menace of the Underdark is fully worthy of the "expansion" moniker. How's it looking so far? Take a look for yourself!

Hyperspace Beacon: Holocron Files -- Miraluka

by Larry Everett May 8th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Culture, Lore, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, Races, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon

Hyperspace Beacon: Holocron Files -- Miraluka

As I mentioned in my Why I Play Star Wars: The Old Republic piece, Dark Forces and Jedi Knight were two of the Star Wars video games I enjoyed most. Obviously, this was before Knights of the Old Republic. In Jedi Knight, the main antagonist was Jerec. Although it's never mentioned where Jerec comes from or even what species he was, his most distinguishing feature is the cover over his eyes. At the time, players thought it was a type of cybernetic implant similar to that worn by Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. It wasn't until the Tales of the Jedi comic book series that we learned that Jerec and others are a part of the Force-seeing humanoid species known as the Miraluka.

If you choose to play a Jedi Knight or a Jedi Consular (or if you have 1.5 million credits to unlock it through the Legacy system), you can play as a Miraluka. I have been fascinated by this species since Jerec of Jedi Knight and Shoaneb Culu in the Tales of the Jedi after that. So this week, let's talk about this captivating species, its culture, its connection to the Force, and what its role is during the time of The Old Republic.

The Game Archaeologist looks at Guild Wars Utopia

by Justin Olivetti May 8th 2012 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Classes, Expansions, Guild Wars 2, The Game Archaeologist

Aztecs. Chronomancers. Mounts. Halberds. Golems. Dual wielding.

These are all but a hint of what a fourth Guild Wars campaign could have been, a campaign that was under development in the mid-2000s but was scrapped by 2007. Replacing it was the expansion Guild Wars Eye of the North and the workings of a super-secret sequel to the game (which you've probably never heard of). It was the forgotten campaign, swept under a rug while it was still under the rug.

But what if, in some alternative timeline, ArenaNet had gone ahead with this campaign? What if it became an established part of the Guild Wars legacy, as familiar to us today as Nightfall and Factions?

What if Guild Wars Utopia had lived?

World of Warplanes heavy fighter class revealed

by Jef Reahard May 8th 2012 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Historical, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Warplanes

Wargaming.net has taken the wraps off its next World of Warplanes aircraft class. Heavy fighters are the subject of a new teaser video and a new press release, with the former featuring just over a minute of gameplay footage. Right now, the interceptors are confined to the German tech tree, but Wargaming.net promises that they'll be added to other nation rosters as well.

"Their size, power and armament allow heavy fighters to fulfill a great variety of objectives including interception, head-on attacks, and bombing, making them one of the most versatile classes of air forces," the company says.

German heavy fighters include the Fw.57, the Bf.110, the Me.410, and the Me.P.1102. Get a look at the full video clip after the cut.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Massively Features

Events Calendar

Name	Date
Cataclysm Launch	Dec 7, 2010
DCUO Launch	Early 2011

Massively Staff

Name	Title
Shawn Schuster	Editor-in-Chief
Brianna Royce	Senior Editor
Rubi Bayer	Community Manager
Brendan Drain	Contributing Editor
Eliot Lefebvre	Contributing Editor
Jef Reahard	Contributing Editor
Justin Olivetti	Contributing Editor
Krystalle Voecks	Contributing Editor
Larry Everett	Contributing Editor
Beau Hindman	Columnist
Edward Marshall	Columnist
Greg Waller	Columnist
Jeremy Stratton	Columnist
Karen Bryan	Columnist
MJ Guthrie	Columnist
Patrick Mackey	Columnist
Ryan Greene	Columnist
Lisa Poisso	Columnist