Fantasy

For the past two weeks, I've been sitting through panel after panel, keynote after keynote, and the constant message was about what the future of MMOs will look like. The big buzzwords from GDC Online and SOE Live were things like mobile gaming, user-generated content, emergent gameplay, and e-sports, but sometimes, it's the little things that make for a great MMO.

I'm still cutting my teeth on RIFT's Storm Legion, but there are several things that already get me excited about the expansion. We've heard a lot about the big things coming to the game, but in this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, I'd like to talk about a few of the little things that will make this a well-received expansion.

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It is undeniable: Between panels, keynote addresses, and interviews, SOE Live offered fans a smorgasbord of information this year. Even as we reported on some information, more came our way. Such is the case with EverQuest II and its upcoming Chains of Eternity expansion; no sooner had I shared the new tradeskill AA and prestige lines than I was able to sit down developers to gain more insights into the new features. And of course, another panel came along offering even more tidbits about the expansion and beyond!

Did previous announcements leave you wondering whether crafters will be required to grind their own AA tree up from 0? How many crafted items can actually be mass produced at one time? And what's in store for the Dungeon Maker and SOEmote? These questions and more were answered as I sat down with Brain Ferguson (PvP and tradeskill game designer), Holly Longdale, (Producer), and Dave Georgeson (Director of the EQ franchise).

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Don't be surprised that the Endless Dead are back in Dungeons and Dragons Online; after all, they're endless. We should be grateful that they bother coming only once a year instead of crashing weddings all summer. Turbine's added several improvements to its Halloween event and is excited to show you a good (and spooky) time.

The festival, which begins tomorrow and runs through November 4th, includes a special instance, cool prizes, and plenty of undead bad guys coming up for another round with your sword-and-shield. The team has increased the size of the monsters, added items like night black coffee (mmm), and dangled the possibility of accessing the Summoning Chamber, a special instance created for the event.

Get a bloody eyeful of the scares to come in the gallery below!

ArcheAge is preparing for a sixth closed beta phase in China, apparently because of challenges inherent in localizing the Korean sandbox for a foreign market. To gear up for the testing, publisher Tencent has put together a "racial week" highlighted by a trio of new gameplay trailers.

The first is a very brief intro clip, followed by two longer videos that offer extensive looks at the game's Hariharan (i.e., human) race and its native territory. All three videos are viewable after the cut.

[Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]

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Hey look, it's another Kickstarter project! We know, it's a cliche at this point, but we thought we'd point out Burning Dog Media's foray into the space because its Origins of Malu title predates the whole crowd-funding phenomenon.

To recap, Origins is a sci-fantasy sandbox with an ambitious feature set that aims to give players full control over an expansive open world. It's also more than a pipe dream, and we've already gotten our hands on a build of the title to prove it. All that said, indie sandbox development is expensive, and Burning Dog is looking to raise $1.2 million to help fund the project.

The Origins Kickstarter initiative just launched today and it concludes on December 8th, so you've got plenty of time to learn about the game and the various pledge-related incentives.

While KingsIsle has been heavily focused on Pirate101's recent launch, the studio wanted to send a strong message that it's still fully behind Wizard101 and has a dedicated team working hard to keep improving and expanding the game. In fact, the Wizard101 team is larger now than it was at launch and has a huge announcement to share.

So what's the big exciting news of the day? Producer Leah Ruben was bursting at the seams to tell us in three words: "Dinosaurs are awesome!"

Actually, the big news is that Wizard101 is preparing to release its ninth new world since launch, a dinosaur world named Azteca. Azteca not only will challenge players to progress through 13 areas but is going to raise the level cap. And the biggest surprise of all? It's going on test servers this week for players to try out.

Keep on reading to find out what Azteca is going to do for the landscape of Wizard101!

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MMOs come and go. They get popular and sink to obscurity. Expansions can give a suffering MMO another chance, make an average MMO the popular kid on the block, or change the industry completely. No matter which MMOs come and go or what expansions push an MMO into the sunlight for a spell, many MMOs will keep on running with a larger community than there were votes on this poll. Not to mention people who aren't playing but want to see someone else play! Guild Wars 2 and Allods were initially close enough in the poll to leave a little doubt as to who might win, but GW2 swept ahead and held on to the end.

So before I let you vote on what you want me to do in Guild Wars 2, let me tell you a bit about my playstyle so you can make your decision. You'll find all of this week's polls at the end!

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Ah, Dragon Nest -- you are one of my favorite action MMOs. Truth be told, you're currently ranked above Vindictus in this household. I know, I know... but don't judge me until you have played through the new content that is being released today and until you watch my embedded video. It shows just how dramatic, well-scripted, and fun dungeons in Dragon Nest can be.

I was given a level 45 character, a Lunar Knight, one of the new classes coming with this patch, to try out on the test server. The saddest part is that I haven't reached anywhere near level 45 on my current Warrior, even though I have learned his abilities well and enjoyed the heck out of him during my 24-hour stream. Unfortunately I didn't utilize the powerset from the Lunar Knight in the video much, instead using my familiar Warrior abilities. I was also given a nice set of Sea Dragon Armor, a mount, and a killer sword -- after all, a naked level 45 character would be sad.

I loaded up and jumped in, and here's what I found.

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Trion has released another round of Storm Legion concept art. The latest update features four bodacious beasts that you'll face when RIFT's expansion lands on November 13th. First up is a Shade Giant, followed by Animator Cahail, an Empyrean Arbalest, and an Architect.

This last is an elemental servitor recruited by Crucia from across the cosmos. Trion says that Architects "are much sought after for their martial prowess and technical skill." Have a look at the new images in our Storm Legion gallery below.

Another new Aion class has been revealed via a Korean developer blog. The Troubadour joins the Shooting Star in the lineup of new archetypes coming with the fantasy title's 4.0 update.

MMO Culture reports that the Troubadour is a support class featuring the ability to both heal allies and weaken enemies. The blurb also compares the new class to Aion's existing Priest, saying that the former plays "at a higher tempo" and boasts skills that work well in both PvP and PvE.

The Troubador marks the second of three class reveals hinted at earlier this year. Head past the cut for the new class concept art.

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Final Fantasy XIV players already knew that the game's character creator is being overhauled when the game's relaunch goes live. Now, the development team at Square-Enix has finally given us a clearer picture of what to expect from the creator in A Realm Reborn with five new screens showing off some of the options within the new tool as well as the overall interface players will be experiencing. It's not the full picture, but it's enough for fans to start getting a feel for what's on the way.

Several of the options appear to be returning from the current version of the game, while still others are being added or expanded (no doubt some players will be happy to see that a character's bust size is now freely selectable, for example). The overall look is far more streamlined and straightforward compared to the current version. There's no hint of new hairstyles, but you can take a look at the full preview in the gallery just below.

[Source: Square-Enix press release]

Remember what we talked about a while ago about divorcing any stigma a game carries from its music? Let's apply that to Vanguard, possibly one of the most stigmatized MMOs of all time. For all of its negative reputation, Vanguard's been slowly recognized as a gem in the rough, and its soundtrack is just second to none in the field.

I'm serious: This is a whopper of a score. This is music that makes you weep that you don't hear it in the MMOs you play. It's definitely not as well known because it's attached to Vanguard, but I love this music so much that I'm going to do an entire series on it (spread out over time, of course). Unfortunately, the only place that I could find it was packaged in with the collector's edition -- and good luck finding that!

The only composer I found credited for this score was Todd Masten, who writes on his website that he worked on the project over a period of two years. Masten took an interesting angle to the score: "The music for this game was designed and composed in a modular fashion for each distinct environment and was created to be interactive."

So let's dive in and take a look at the first six Vanguard tracks to catch my ear!

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We've all had that moment. In your mind's eye, you see the perfect item; whether you are a decorator or adventurer, you've imagined that one item that would look perfect in your EverQuest II house or on your EverQuest character. But alas, since you aren't on the development team, your awesome idea could not be realized. That was then; this is now. With the new Player Studio announced last month, that idea can not only come to fruition but net you some cold hard cash as well.

So how does one transition from imaginer to bustling entrepreneur? Devs hosted a panel at SOE Live 2012 that discussed the steps of getting an item from your mind's eye out into the Marketplace for others to buy and enjoy. But what if instead of imagining new items, you take existing items and create incredible displays that are the envy of others? Devs announced a feature that will allow decorators to fully furnish a home, bundle it up, and offer it for sale via the Marketplace as well.

After the informative panel, I caught up with Producer Holly Longdale and director of of the EQ franchise Dave Georgeson to uncover even more details about the opportunities available with Player Studio.

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Crafting professions in Allods Online are getting quite a revamp with Patch 3.05 at the end of this month. Following in the footsteps of the Alchemy changes, all professions will be merged with their appropriate gathering counterparts to make for a more self-sufficient process. According to the dev notes, "the skill of their new merged profession will be based on the highest of the two that are being combined."

Other changes made to crafting with this patch include simplified profession leveling progression, an improved crafting interface, tool upgrades, crafted armor, and more. The point of the crafting changes revolves around the idea of making armor that is more easily obtained for those players who put time into crafting and adventuring.

Patch 3.05 is set to release on October 30th.