blizzard posts

Blizzard denies Diablo III authenticator hacking claims

by Justin Olivetti May 22nd 2012 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Legal, Diablo III

We've been following the mass reports of hackers bypassing passwords and authenticators to rob Diablo III accounts blind, and now we have a new twist on the story. While Blizzard confirmed "an increase in reports of individual account compromises," the studio says it has no hard evidence that hackers have found a way to skirt around the authentication system.

Community Manager Bashiok said that the company is taking the claims "extremely seriously" and is investigating the rash of account compromises. "Despite the claims and theories being made, we have yet to find any situations in which a person's account was not compromised through traditional means of someone else logging into their account through the use of their password," he said. "While the authenticator isn't a 100% guarantee of account security, we have yet to investigate a compromise report in which an authenticator was attached beforehand."

Blizzard is assisting compromised customers by restoring stolen items and rolling back their accounts. The studio has a post up on its forums to help players protect their accounts and get assistance if theft occurs.

Tags: account-compromise, account-compromises, account-theft, action-rpg, authenticator, authenticators, Bashiok, battlenet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, cash-shop, d3, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, fantasy, gothic-fantasy, hack, hacked, hacker, hackers, launch, multiplayer, online-multiplayer, roguelike, rollback, rpg, theft

Massively Speaking Episode 202: Rubbernecking at the scene of an MMO accident

by Justin Olivetti May 22nd 2012 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Podcasts, MMO industry, News items, Guild Wars 2, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous, Diablo III, The Elder Scrolls Online, Pirate101

Massively Speaking Episode 202 is hot at the scene of the 38 Studios disaster, and without hyperbole we can say that this is more tragic than Pompeii, the Titanic, and Showgirls combined. Will Curt Schilling's dream team survive this financial crisis? We brought expert analyst Eliot Lefebvre on the podcast to give us his opinion.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
[RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
Listen here on the page:

Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Tags: 38-studios, action-rpg, anet, arenanet, battlenet, bethesda, bethesda-softworks, bethsoft, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, brant, brianna-royce, cash-shop, copernicus, curt-schilling, d3, daggerfall, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, elder-scrolls, elder-scrolls-online, f2p, family, fantasy, featured, free-to-play, gothic-fantasy, guild-wars-2, gw2, humor, justin-olivetti, kid-friendly, kids-mmo, kingsisle, kingsisle-entertainment, massively-speaking, morrowind, multiplayer, ncsoft, oblivion, online-multiplayer, opinion, pirate101, please-dont-suck, podcast, podcasting, podcasts, project-copernicus, pvp, roguelike, rpg, sandbox, skyrim, tamriel, tes, teso, the-elder-scrolls, the-elder-scrolls-online, three-faction-pvp, wizard101, zenimax, zenimax-media, zenimax-online, zenimax-online-studios

Not So Massively: Error 37, hero spotlights, and the Torchlight II beta

by Brendan Drain May 21st 2012 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Trailers, Video, Bugs, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III

Well-known World of Warcraft guild Method secured a world first kill on Diablo III's Skeleton King in inferno mode just a few days after launch but was beaten to the game's completion by a single person. Players have been in outrage all week as server instabilities and login difficulties plagued the game's launch.

League of Legends revealed upcoming champion Darius this week and announced huge client updates that seem set to double the game's frame rate. Blacklight: Retribution released a new Netwar game mode, combining capture the flag and control point gameplay. Heroes of Newerth released its new support hero Riftwalker, Dota 2 released classic hero Treant, and Rise of Immortals took a close look at melee damage-dealer Tzai. Upcoming MOBA Smite will be entering closed beta at the end of the month, and Torchlight II's beta will soon end for the last time.

Tags: action-rpg, activision, battlenet, blacklight, blacklight-retribution, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, competitive-gaming, d3, darius, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, dota, dota-2, e-sport, e-sports, esport, esports, f2p, fantasy, featured, fps, free-to-play, gothic-fantasy, heroes-of-newerth, hi-re, hi-rez, hi-rez-studios, hon, inferno, inferno-mode, league-of-legends, lol, metacritic, method, mmofps, moba, multiplayer, netwar, news, not-so-massively, nsm, online-multiplayer, perfect-world, perfect-world-entertainment, petroglyph, petroglyph-games, pvp, pwe, riot, riot-games, rise-of-immortals, roi, round-up, roundup, rpg, s2, s2-games, smite, stress-test, treant, tree, tzai, valve, video, warcraft, world-first, world-of-warcraft, wow

Leaderboard: Permadeath vs. no permadeath

by Justin Olivetti May 21st 2012 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Polls, Game mechanics, Opinion, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard

Permadeath is one of those game mechanics that seems destined to forever be nibbling away at the fringe of the MMO genre than invited to the cool kids' table. Many players find themselves aghast at the notion of losing all their hard-earned progress with one untimely demise, and it seems like game developers agree with them: Very few MMOs have any sort of permadeath option.

However, this most-severest-of-severe death penalties does persist. Some players elect to form guilds and meta-groups to pursue a permadeath lifestyle in their games. A few upcoming titles, such as Salem and Wizardry Online, have permadeath as a core mechanic. Even the recently released Diablo III has a "hardcore" permadeath mode for the brave at heart.

The question we put before you today is yet another nibble that may never be noticed by the mainstream, but it's important to consider: Is permadeath worth including in MMO design, even as an optional mechanic or server, or should this brand of death penalty kick the bucket once and for all? Vote after the jump!

Tags: action-rpg, battle-royal, battlenet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, browser, browser-based, cash-shop, d3, ddo, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, dnd, dungeons-and-dragons, dungeons-and-dragons-online, f2p, fantasy, free-to-play, gothic-fantasy, historical, leaderboard, multiplayer, new-england, one-on-one, one-vs-one, online-multiplayer, opinion, paradox, paradox-interactive, permadeath, permanent-death, poll, polls, roguelike, rpg, salem, sandbox, turbine, turbine-entertainment, versus, vote, votes, voting, vs, wizardry-online

Diablo III players report eruption of hacked accounts

by Matt Daniel May 21st 2012 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Diablo III

It seems like Diablo III just can't catch a break. The game got off to a rather rocky start with a number of launch issues that have since subsided, but there's no rest for the wicked because now a number of players are reporting hacked accounts and stolen items. Eurogamer writer Christian Donlan is just one of many unlucky players who have had their accounts compromised and their hard-earned items and gold stolen.

What's peculiar about these hacks is the fact that Blizzard authenticators don't seem to be doing anything to deter the hackers. Many players on the forums are speculating that, whatever this hack is, it has the ability to bypass Blizzard's authentication entirely, which is a fairly scary prospect to say the least. That's all of the information we have for the time being, but we'll be sure to keep an eye out for further details as they develop.

Tags: action-rpg, battlenet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, cash-shop, d3, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, fantasy, gothic-fantasy, hack, hacking, hacks, multiplayer, online-multiplayer, roguelike, rpg

ArenaNet: Guild Wars 2 a 'reaction' to sluggish MMO design

by Justin Olivetti May 21st 2012 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2

Do you believe that the MMO genre has been stuck in a rut over the past few years? So does Christopher Lye, the global brand director for ArenaNet, who publicly denounced the post-World of Warcraft trend in the industry as stagnant.

In an interview with Gamasutra, Lye stated that Guild Wars 2 is walking the walk when it comes to genuinely challenging the status quo in the industry. "Honestly, I think the problem is that there's been a lack of change in MMO design and that Guild Wars 2 is a reaction to that," he said. "People will call this risky, but we think it's riskier just to churn out the same MMO that everyone has played before."

Lye pointed to Guild Wars 2's scaling dynamic event system and its action combat as examples of how ArenaNet is forging its own path. Observing that player consumption of content is "virtually insatiable," Lye said that the team has developed tools to allow it to implement changes and additions to dynamic events in hours, not weeks.

Is this industry stagnation coming to an end? Lye says yes: "We're finally seeing a point where companies realize that they're not going to create the next great MMO by just copying what's come before."

Tags: action-combat, activision, anet, arenanet, beta, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, chris-lye, christopher-lye, dynamic-events, fantasy, gamasutra, guild-wars-2, gw2, industry, interview, mmo-industry, ncsoft, stagnant, trend, warcraft, world-of-warcraft, wow

One Shots: Lone wolf

by Brianna Royce May 20th 2012 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Massively Meta, One Shots, Miscellaneous

Long-time Massively follower but first-time One Shots contributor Ilix sent along today's highlighted screenshot of Fallen Earth, which we think is quite timely, given the PvP revamp soon headed to everyone's favorite post-apocalyptic sandbox. He writes in,

Fallen Earth is my top hard-RP MMO. Ilix, after three decades of isolation, attempted to fit in with a player-run town. But he was too rough-edged, too guarded, and still isolated in his mind, and he could not find joy among others. After several days trying to force himself back into what remains of humanity in the blasted terrain of the apocalypse, he admitted to himself that he could never return because he was too quick to anger, and he wandered off back into the desert. Irradiated scorpions haunt the land he wandered into, so he finds rest on the blade of a ruined helicopter's rotor, just out of reach of stingers. This shot defines the dual beauty and harshness of the life he resigns himself to.

Ilix's gorgeous sunset is tucked behind the break along with two other One Shots shots!

Tags: action-rpg, battlenet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, bluehole, bluehole-studios, bring-back-one-shots, cash-shop, d3, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, en-masse, en-masse-entertainment, f2p, fallen-earth, fantasy, fe, free-to-play, g1, galleries, gallery, gamersfirst, gothic-fantasy, multiplayer, one-shots, online-multiplayer, pics-or-it-didnt-happen, post-apoc, post-apocalyptic, reader-screenshots, reader-submissions, roguelike, rpg, sandbox, sci-fi, screenshot, screenshots, tera, user-submissions, wastelands

The Road to Mordor: Five ways LotRO should be streamlined

by Justin Olivetti May 19th 2012 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor

You would think that growth and expansion is nothing but a good thing for MMOs -- after all, those are the hallmarks of the genre. But as these games get bigger, issues emerge as the developers add new zones, features, and systems. In short, maturing MMOs gravitate toward complexity, and this can have an adverse effect on the game as a whole.

The problem is that there is eventually too much a brand-new player has to absorb and master, not to mention the hassle of rolling alts and having to navigate all of that content once more. If developers don't stay on top of the situation, then the game starts to lose overall cohesion and becomes a befuddling mess.

With three expansions and numerous updates under its belt, Lord of the Rings Online is venturing deep into this territory. I have friends who are leveling up for the first time and finding themselves overwhelmed with everything that needs doing as well as all the systems that are not clearly explained. So today I want to play backseat developer and talk about five ways that LotRO should be streamlined for the good of all players, old and new.

Tags: action-rpg, activision, battlenet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, cash-shop, d3, deed-logs, deeds, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, evendim, f2p, fantasy, featured, free-to-play, gothic-fantasy, legendary-items, legendary-trait, legendary-traits, li, lord-of-the-rings, lord-of-the-rings-online, lorebook, lotro, moria, multiplayer, online-multiplayer, opinion, revamp, rework, road-to-mordor, roguelike, rpg, stats, streamline, the-road-to-mordor, turbine, turbine-entertainment, virtue-system, virtues, warcraft, wiki, world-of-warcraft, wow

Blizzard issues an apology for the state of Diablo III's launch

by Eliot Lefebvre May 17th 2012 at 12:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Events, real-world, Launches, News items, Diablo III

The game gets a lot more interesting once you beat the login screen.

OK, have we all gotten the jokes about Diablo III's launch out of our systems yet? Not quite? It's understandable, since the huge and much-hyped launch wound up with a lot of serious problems from the start. Blizzard isn't oblivious to the problems, however, and an official statement from community manager Bashiok apologizes for the issues that players have been experiencing. Bashiok chalks the incidents up as a simple matter of human error: "Despite very aggressive projections, our preparations for the launch of the game did not go far enough."

In order to make sure that the game is running smoothly for everyone before adding another wrinkle, Blizzard is moving back the auction house launch from May 22nd to an as-yet-unspecified later date. He also does note that the game should now be running fine for everyone, with requisite knocking on wood. So while you may have been a bit stuck on launch day, you should be in the clear now, plus you've got Blizzard's apologies for the delay.

Tags: action-rpg, apology, bashiok, battlenet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, cash-shop, community, culture, d3, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, fantasy, gothic-fantasy, launch, launch-issues, launch-troubles, multiplayer, official-apology, online-multiplayer, roguelike, rpg

EVE talks smack about Diablo III's login woes

by Matt Daniel May 16th 2012 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Culture, News items, Humor, Miscellaneous

Oh naw you didn't, girl! EVE Online is letting the trash-talk fly at the newly launched Diablo III by displaying the message "37...3007...315300: It's code for "Play EVE. Servers are up, login is fine" on the game's login screen. This, of course, is making reference to the myriad error codes that Diablo III players experienced over the course of the game's trainwreck of a launch.

We don't know whether the folks at Blizzard will bother to respond to them there fightin' words because they could be too busy rolling around in all the money they made from Diablo III to notice. But if they do deign to issue a retort, we'll be sure to let you know.

Tags: blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, ccp, ccp-games, d3, diablo-3, diablo-iii, eve, eve-online, oh-hell-naw

Why I Play: RIFT

by Justin Olivetti May 16th 2012 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, RIFT, Why I Play

Is it possible for a top-tier MMO to come out of nowhere and bowl you over? Considering that I follow these games not only for a hobby but as a writer for Massively, I always assumed the answer to that was "no." Until it happened, that is. Until RIFT.

It's not as though RIFT was a big secret or anything, but up until the late hours of 2010, it was very low on my -- and many of my friends' -- radars. I often got it confused with TERA, for Pete's sake! It wasn't until I got my hands on it at PAX that year and then saw how huge the beta got that I realized there was more to this supposedly generic fantasy title than I'd assumed. It truly felt like it came out of nowhere, and before I knew it, I was enjoying what became one of my favorite games of 2011.

So why did I play RIFT, and why do I still log in on occasion today? Trust me, it's not for the Elves.

Tags: activision, anet, arenanet, bioware, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, ea, editorial, electronic-arts, fantasy, featured, guild-wars-2, gw2, lucasarts, massively-meta, meta, ncsoft, nostalgia, op-ed, opinion, pax, pax-prime, pax-prime-2010, rift, rift-lite, rift-planes-of-telara, sci-fi, star-wars, star-wars-the-old-republic, sub, subscription-fee, swtor, the-old-republic, tor, trion, trion-worlds, warcraft, why-i-play, world-of-warcraft, wow

Blizzard uses a video to explain what Diablo III is

by Eliot Lefebvre May 15th 2012 at 6:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Launches, News items, Diablo III

The angels want YOU! Specifically, they want you to do their job.

So what is Diablo III? Certain members of our audience are likely shaking their heads at the question, but some potential players genuinely don't have any idea. After all, the first game was released back in 1996. For those of you who have heard the name but have no idea what in the world it refers to, you're in luck, as Blizzard has just put together a short video explaining exactly what Diablo III is for the uninitiated.

The short version? It's a game where you head through a lot of randomly generated dungeons, slaughter untold numbers of demons, and try to banish the forces of the Burning Hells from the mortal realm. It's not quite an MMO, but there are definitely tastes of such with the in-game worldwide auction house. But why are you relying on us to tell you? Click on past the break and find out for yourself.

Tags: action-rpg, battlenet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, cash-shop, d3, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, fantasy, gothic-fantasy, guides, launch-videos, multiplayer, official-guides, online-multiplayer, preview, roguelike, rpg, trailer, trailers, video, videos

Massively Speaking Episode 201: No more secrets

by Justin Olivetti May 15th 2012 at 4:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Podcasts, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO industry, News items, Guild Wars 2, Massively Meta, The Secret World, Earthrise, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous

Massively Speaking Episode 201 gets into all of your dirty little secrets -- not to mention Funcom's, as well! We're joined by Jef, who gives us the full scoop on The Secret World now that the NDA's come tumbling down. Will this be another Failcom or possibly a Fabulouscom? Only Jef knows, and he's highly resistant to torture and bribery.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
[RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
Listen here on the page:

Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Tags: activision, anet, arenanet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, brant, brian-green, brian-psychchild-green, brianna-royce, bricks, browser, browser-based, ddo, dnd, dungeons-and-dragons, dungeons-and-dragons-online, earthrise, f2p, faction, fantasy, featured, free-to-play, funcom, guild-wars-2, gw2, historical, horror, humor, justin-olivetti, lord-of-the-rings, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, massively-speaking, masthead, masthead-studios, mythology, namaste, namaste-entertainment, namaste-inc, ncsoft, new-england, opinion, paradox, paradox-interactive, permadeath, pgc, player-generated-content, podcast, podcasting, podcasts, psychochild, salem, sandbox, sci-fantasy, sci-fi, secret-world, skill-based, storybricks, the-secret-world, tsw, turbine, turbine-entertainment, virtual-world, warcraft, world-of-warcraft, wow

Five top tips for your first few days of Diablo III

by Brendan Drain May 15th 2012 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, Launches, PvE, Opinion, Guides, Dungeons, Diablo III

Diablo III officially launched at midnight last night, opening the floodgates on what is possibly the most pre-ordered PC game in history. It's been almost 12 years since the previous game in the series launched, and it's still going to this day. Whether you've played previous games, have taken part in the Diablo III beta or are taking your first steps into Sanctuary today, everyone starts with a clean slate. In this article, I give my top five tips for spending your first few days wisely in Diablo III.

#5 - Spend most of your time on one character

It seems like a bit of a no-brainer to initially focus on one character, but in Diablo III's case, there's a special reason to do it. You'll likely finish normal mode around level 20-30, and until then, you'll get a new skill almost every level. It's only when you've completed normal mode and moved on to nightmare that the challenge really starts and you will have picked out an effective set of skills. Your last active skill unlocks at level 30, and from then on you'll gain a combination of two to three runes or passive skills every level until you hit the level cap at 60.

Read on for four more tips you should keep in mind as you start playing Diablo III.

Tags: action-rpg, auction-house, barrels, battlenet, blacksmith, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, chart, d3, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, fantasy, featured, gothic-fantasy, graph, guide, guides, launch-day, level, level-chart, leveling, levels, multiplayer, online-multiplayer, party, passives, physics, rpg, runes, sanctuary, skill-chart, skills, tips, top-five, top-tips, weapons

Blizzard awarding Australian GAME customers free copy of Diablo III

by Jef Reahard May 15th 2012 at 9:30AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Diablo III

It's been a rollercoaster week for Australian Diablo III fans who pre-ordered their copies of Blizzard's long-awaited dungeon crawler at GAME. The troubled retailer went into administration yesterday, leaving customers in the lurch without their game or their refunds.

Blizzard has since stepped in and offered to make good with a free digital copy as long as fans have a valid pre-order receipt. Kotaku has all the details on how to submit your receipt and receive your credit. The site also notes that Blizzard didn't get a dime of the original GAME pre-order payments and is essentially taking one for the team by offering affected customers a free copy of Diablo III.

Tags: action-rpg, battlenet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, cash-shop, d3, diablo, diablo-2, diablo-3, diablo-3-game-refunds, diablo-ii, diablo-iii, fantasy, gothic-fantasy, multiplayer, online-multiplayer, roguelike, rpg

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