Skip to Content

Joystiq

Lineage II readies Freya update

NCsoft
NCsoft's Aion and City of Heroes may get more press here in the States, but the workhorse of the Korean MMORPG maker's worldwide stable continues to be Lineage II. The long-running fantasy title is gearing up for yet another substantial update, with the much-anticipated Freya patch scheduled to hit the public test server on July 29th.

Lineage II's updates have always been rather meaty (and free of charge, provided you have an active subscription) and Freya is no different. Included in the patch is everything from new weapons, armor, and abilities to entirely new overland and dungeon areas. Small touches aren't left out either, with new social emotes -- including partner dances -- scheduled for inclusion, as well as reduced teleportation fees and an increase in available quest journal space.

The patch notes have yet to be released, but you can get a sneak peek at the projected additions on the Freya wiki page. Additionally, mark your calendar for the Freya reveal festivities and don't forget to read the official press release. Finally, check out some of the new armors after the cut.

[Thanks Justin!]

Linsey Murdock stepping down from ArenaNet Live Team

GW
If you're a Guild Wars fan, the Live Team is a group you're probably very familiar with. They're the main minds behind Guild Wars, the primary development team.

Linsey Murdock has been the Live Team's leader for quite a while, so it was a bit of a surprise when she announced today that she is stepping down from the position. She'll be passing the torch to designer John Stumme, and they each took a little bit of time to say a few words on the change.

Don't wave goodbye to Linsey just yet, she's not leaving ArenaNet. She'll be taking a different position within the company instead. If you want to know what it is, you'll have to wait a bit, says Linsey -- she can't talk about it quite yet.

Check out the ArenaNet blog to see what John and Linsey have to say about the switch.

Betawatch: July 16 - 23, 2010

Welcome to Betawatch, Massively's weekly report on the state of MMO betas. In each installment, we'll report everything from the latest open betas, closed betas and even alphas in one convenient place. Plus, we'll make sure to include as much info on each game's current status, including projected release dates (if known) and links to the sign-up forms to get yourself into that beta you've been seeking.

There are two newcomers to our closed beta list this week.

DC Universe Online is the first new addition to Betawatch. Closed beta signups began on the 19th, and we've been promised a start date for beta testing "very soon." We'll certainly keep an eye out for that date. GamesCampus debuted its "cute but hardcore" Legends of Edda with beta signups. Closed beta for that one is available right away.

Follow along after the jump for the updated Betawatch list!

Two blades are better than one: MapleStory announces dual blade class

When it comes to weapons, the general thought process in pop culture goes, "One is definitely good, but two is twice as good, not to mention really, really cool looking." Let's be honest -- if people had three hands, we'd be seeing Hollywood movies full of triple-wielding gunslingers, and we'd love it.

MapleStory knows this, which is why their latest class strips away pretensions and plays it like it is. Dual blades are a subset of the thief class, specializing in melee weapons to lay down a double-whammy on the bad guys. The new class also comes with an interactive backstory, as they're accepted into an organization of secret thieves (as if thieves advertise) who are out for revenge against the Dark Lord. With a name like Dark Lord, you know he isn't just selling Girl Scout cookies, so he probably deserves what's heading his way.

Nexon's set up a special site for the new class that includes a trailer, three contests for impressive prizes, and a handful of dual blade wallpaper downloads to spiffy up your desktop. You can check out all of MapleStory's double-wielding action here.

Space combat has been confirmed for SWTOR! [Updated]

Star Wars: The Old Republic
While at Comic-Con, the fan site Mos Eisley Radio tweeted a rumor that there will be space combat in SWTOR. Space combat has been strongly suspected since the announcement of player ships at E3, but there was nothing to confirm our suspicions. According to the folks at Mos Eisley Radio, James Ohlen said that each ship will be customizable, and, of course, that the player will be able to use this ship in space combat.

Not moments later, this rumor was completely confirmed by SWTOR's community manager, Sean Dahlberg, on the official forum. He confesses in his announcement, "While we didn't quite make the numbers [of Facebook and Twitter followers], we definitely saw how excited the community is about this and how everyone came together. After all of that, there's no way we could hold back with our special reveal at Comic-Con!" So it seems the devs did not punish the fans for not reaching the social media goal after all. He reveals that further details will be available in the October edition of PC Gamer.

[Thank you, Mos Eisley Radio, for keeping your ears open!]

[Editor's Note: Brooks from Mos Eisley Radio just mailed us to say that all of his information is coming from Darth Hater's liveblog, so props to Darth Hater, and thanks for letting us know, Brooks! ~Sera]

Wasteland Diaries: The end

When I first heard about Fallen Earth, the first thing that piqued my interest was the post-apocalyptic setting. The second thing was the FPS-style gameplay and the third thing was the factional PvP. I was delivered the setting in spades; I got a good, healthy dose of FPS action. I will admit, I got a good deal of PvP as well, but not much of it was factionally driven. The understanding I had of what to expect when I hit max level was enforcers and CHOTA squaring off for control of a town, slugging it out for hours on end. But in reality I got sporadic random battles or clan warfare. PvP was supposed to be the endgame material. At least that was the impression that I got.

In this post I will look at the current state of Fallen Earth's endgame, and what we might expect to change from the information garnered from the recent State of the Game. Many people aren't sure what to do in the game once they hit the level cap. After the cut I will take a look at the state of Fallen Earth's endgame and where I expect it to go given the recent announcements.

The Road to Mordor: A look back at Volume 1

LotRO
Turbine
This past week I finally finished Volume 1 of the epic storyline for the very first time in my LotRO career. Yeah, I know, welcome to 2008, right? My inner survey department says that 60% of this column's readers finished Volume 1 a long time ago (and perhaps many times since), and are currently sitting there with a bemused expression as if to say, "Oh, isn't that quaint as a duck's burp?" The other 40% probably gave up on the epic storyline somewhere around North Downs -- AKA The Zone That Saps Your Will To Live.

While it may be old news, Volume 1 is still quite relevant in the LotRO landscape for many reasons. One, it's what I've spent the past month of my life playing through, and I always assume that everyone is experiencing the same thing I am due to being a raging egomaniac. Two, ever since it recently received a makeover that allows any and everyone to solo all the way through it, there's been a newfound appreciation for the quest line, even from veterans who gave up on it long ago. And three, with all of the new people coming into the game this year, it'll be the very first thing they experience.

So as I sit on my high (grey) horse and look back over all fifteen books that comprise this massive Volume, I'm struck by a number of thoughts: some good, some bad, some itchy. Let's reminisce, shall we?

Cats invade Star Wars: The Old Republic in this week's Fan Friday

Star Wars: The Old Republic
The community of Star Wars: The Old Republic did not quite make the Twitter and Facebook goals, so the developers decided to punish us by announcing another species that we will not be able to play. (Just kidding, it wasn't punishment.) In addition to spotlighting fan art and video, this week's Fan Friday column mentions Cathar as being another species players of SWTOR will bump into on their travels across the galaxy. The feline species from the planet bearing the same name was first mentioned by name in Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith, but gamers are probably more familiar with it from the other BioWare game, Knights of the Old Republic. Although the devs did not say where or how the players will run into this highly anticipated species, fans are hoping for a Cathar companion character.

As mentioned above, the social media goal was not reached. Even so, the community team did give the fans some gifts. The Fan Site Kit has been updated with more digital goodies. New avatars, screenshots, and biographical images can now grace your SWTOR fan site. Not to mention, the team has included six new desktop wallpaper images straight from the exciting "Hope" trailer.

Be sure to check out all of this and the amazing new fan art on the official SWTOR site.

One Shots: Go play outside

There's nothing we love better than seeing an interesting new perspective on a game we've seen before. Sometimes it's players finding a new view, and other times, it's game companies releasing a new area. One such cool new example is this screenshot from Hi-Rez Studios' game, Global Agenda, showing off a bit of the new content. When you couple that with the recent decision to go subscription-free, we can definitely understand why more players seem to be heading back into Global Agenda!

All that said, let's get back to today's One Shots contributor, Lindsay (also known as MoonlitStalker) who writes in: "We're free! This is Dome City from the outside while on my Assault in the new Sonoran Desert open zone just released in Phase II of Global Agenda's 'Sandstorm'."

One Shots is all about what you're doing. As such, we thrive on your screenshots. No screenshots, no One Shots. Grok? If you'd like to help us out, dig out some screenshots and send them to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sharing. We'll also give you a cookie*.

*Cookies available in "homemade browser cookie" or "tasty-looking .jpg cookie" varieties only. Allergy Warning: All cookies are manufactured on machines that deal with nuts (like us) daily.

Beta journals testify about the LotRO store

LotRO
Turbine
While the new version of Lord of the Rings Online is still under NDA lockdown, Turbine's opened a crack in the door to allow a few beta testers to jaw about the LotRO store. On the EU site, beta testers were encouraged to submit their thoughts and experiences with the new store for non-testers to assimilate, with four stories chosen to be posted.

Although these stories come with the caveat that they were hand-picked to be shared, they seemed free to share both likes and dislikes about the store. Some of the positive mentions include the speed of the store's delivery to player inventory, the sheer amount of items available, fun items like emotes and mounts, and general ease of use. They report that cosmetics are a big hit with beta testers.

On the flip side, the authors were critical of the unfinished feel to the store and the fact you can't see the items you're purchasing in the dressing-room window. Generally, however, the four testers are upbeat about this new LotRO feature. You can read their full thoughts at LotRO EU's site.

Massively Features


Events Calendar

Name Date
NFSW Launch
July 27, 2010
GenCon Indy
Aug 5-8, 2010
SOE Fan Faire
Aug 5-8, 2010
Xsyon Prelude Launch Aug 15, 2010
GamesCom Expo
Aug 18-22, 2010
Earthrise Launch Q3 2010
Dragon*Con
Sep 3-6, 2010
PAX Prime
Sep 3-5, 2010
Final Fantasy XIV Launch
Sep 30, 2010
GDC Online
Oct 5-8, 2010
LEGO Universe Launch
Oct 26, 2010
DCUO Launch
Nov 2, 2010

Massively Staff

Name Title
Shawn Schuster
Editor-in-Chief
Seraphina Brennan
Senior Editor
Brianna Royce
West Coast Editor
Dan O'Halloran Features Coordinator
Brendan Drain Contributing Editor
Eliot Lefebvre Contributing Editor
Jef Reahard Contributing Editor
Justin Olivetti Contributing Editor
Krystalle Voecks
Contributing Editor
Rubi Bayer
Contributing Editor
Tateru Nino Contributing Editor
Beau Hindman Columnist
Edward Marshall Columnist
Greg Waller Columnist
Jeremy Stratton Columnist
Larry Everett Columnist
MJ Guthrie
Columnist
Patrick Mackey
Columnist
Ryan Greene
Columnist
Lisa Poisso Columnist

More about the Massively staff

Massively Podcast

New episodes every Wednesday. Now playing:
Episode 108, for Wednesday, July 21st, 2010.



Archive | RSS | iTunes | Zune

Featured Galleries

One Shots
Choose my Adventure: Star Wars Galaxies
Age of Conan guild city building
TERAfans castanic male armor renders
TERAfans castanic female armor renders
TERA Screenshots of the Week
Kingsisle Celestia concepts
TERAfans high elf female armor renders
APB E3 Wardrobe