Posts with tag rift

This post originally appeared on Massively from Editor-in-Chief Brianna Royce. At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO story last week, you've come to the right post.

This week, everything happened. WildStar suffered significant staff layoffs, Final Fantasy unveiled another new class, RIFT launched a new expansion, ArcheAge waged war on exploiters, and Guild Wars 2 resolved its currency controversy. Keep it coming, MMO industry. Well, maybe skip the layoffs next time.

Read on for a look at all of these and more top MMO stories.

This post originally appeared on Massively from Editor-in-Chief Brianna Royce. At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO story last week, you've come to the right post

This week, ArcheAge seemed glad to see its rocky launch in the rear-view mirror, boasting of two million registrations and 21 servers. Meanwhile, Trion nerfed chat for lowbies to counter chat spam and hinted that the Auroria continent, live in Korea already, will soon be en route to western players.

Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories.

This post originally appeared on Massively by Editor-in-Chief Brianna Royce. At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place.

This week, BioWare performed an abrupt about-face on housing in MMORPGs, revealing during a livestream that Star Wars: The Old Republic will install its own system of player apartments to complement the existing private ship instances. Massively's Larry Everett broke down the video, speculating that housing will be faction-based and will have kiosks for mail, missions, decorating, appearance/outfit design, and HBO Go. Kidding.

Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories.

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Insert introductory text here.

HadenHenderson asked:

Whats going to happen to the MOP scenarios when the next expansion hits? Has Blizzard said anything? Will my higher level character be able to Q for them? Will they still be level 90?

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Return of the RIFT character header images! Run away!

MikeLinton said:

I have to seriously question the "super positive response" that you are seeing to scenarios. I only see my small slice of the WoW community, of course, but what I'm seeing tells me the opposite. The only people I knew that ran regular scenarios were for either daily valor or guild gold, and they didn't like doing it. Heroic scenarios are a little better because Blizzard made the rewards awesome and forced people to go in with a full group. If Heroic 5-mans were the same way, then they would be far more enjoyable to heroic scenarios.

I know this isn't a question, but I feel a need to respond to it. What I tend to see personally is that people who play only healers or only tanks dislike scenarios for the most part. People who primarily play DPS (like myself) enjoy them quite a bit. As a DPS player, queues for dungeons and raids are (were?) so absurdly long that I stopped bothering. Scenarios didn't have that problem, plus they give me much more freedom in how I played. Scenarios had me digging tools out of my belt that were never relevant in the tank/healer/DPS tinity, but made a big difference in scenario performance. Not being locked into the trinity is refreshing.

Sometimes, you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	Blizzard to attend PAX East Blizzard Entertainment sort of does its own thing these days. The company has the clout to ignore most gatherings outside of the obvious BlizzCon when you consider the sheer size of World of Warcraft and other properties. But it looks as if this year things will be just a little bit different. Blizzard has stated that representatives will be attending this year's PAX East to show something off. And to compound the bafflement, it's not what you'd expect.
	Massively's comprehensive preview of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Final Fantasy XIV is doing something that has never been done before. After launching to poor reception, the MMO appointed a new producer and director, Naoki Yoshida, who has been working tirelessly for two years to rebuild the game from the ground up. The launch version shut its servers down in November of last year, and since then players have been eagerly awaiting the release of the game's revitalized relaunch, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
	Celebrate RIFT's second anniversary with the Carnival of the Ascended What's a party without a dragon piñata or two? Luckily, RIFT fans won't have to find out as the annual Carnival of the Ascended will have those and plenty more for revelers joining in the game's second anniversary celebration. But the carnival -- with its games of skill, pie-stomping contests, and special anniversary cape -- is not the only goody in today's 2.2 update. Besides the previously revealed features, PvP gets a tier 2 attunement of war. Want to see what awaits in the update? Watch the trailer!
	SOE lawyering up in its fight against PlanetSide 2 cheaters SOE president John Smedley took to Reddit yesterday to elaborate on the firm's banning policy as it relates to PlanetSide 2. Smedley also says that the cat-and-mouse routine is here to stay. "The fight against cheaters is not a war we will ever be finished with," he said, before explaining that the reason it takes longer to ban cheaters than some honest players might like is because the devs "don't want to falsely accuse people without solid proof."
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	World of Warcraft "law enforcement guide" leaked Have you ever wondered what kind of dirt law enforcement officers would be able to dig up on you if they went to World of Warcraft developer Blizzard for information? Well, wonder no more. An 18-page document has been leaked to the internet, thanks to the notorious organization known as AntiSec.
	SWTOR lifts NDA and reveals Legacy system The Old Republic's NDA has been lifted and the Legacy system has been revealed. In the Legacy system, once you've completed the first chapter of the game, you get to select a surname for your character that will be carried across all of your characters on that server. Your Legacy will unlock bonuses across your entire account.
	League of Legends surpasses 11.5 million active players League of Legends has really hit the big time. In a press release today, Riot Games announced that its popular free-to-play MOBA title has surpassed 11.5 million active players. To put that into perspective, when Blizzard last announced its World of Warcraft figures, the game weighed in at about 10.3 million active players.
	MMO accidentally deleted, shut down forever There's a good chance you've never heard of M2, a small, free-to-play MMO developed by Japanese company Sankando and operated by Hangame. If it wasn't for a major misstep last month, your ignorance might've gone on indefinitely. Due to a recent accident, the MMO was deleted and won't be coming back. Ever.
	Massively Speaking Episode 175 Massively Speaking, Massively's MMO podcast, is back this week on its new day as hosts Justin and Rubi discuss the week in MMO news. Topics include RIFT's Patch 1.6, Lord of the Rings Online's Update 5, League of Legends' impressive player stats, and Star Wars: The Old Republic's beta NDA lift.
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

Sometimes, you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	RIFT offers limited-time subscription discounts Getting into the RIFT groove and certain you'll be sticking it out for a while to come? Then there's a way you could be saving some money, as well, by signing up for one of Trion Worlds' new subscription plans during the "Summer of Savings" period that began this month.
	SOE reveals screenshots and trailer for Planetside 2 SOE Fan Faire 2011 played host to an official announcement for the highly anticipated Planetside 2. Players looking for a new entry in the sci-fi MMO genre should head over to Massively to check out screenshots and a trailer.
	Guild Wars: Winds of Change It's time for another major event in Guild Wars, one that's been heavily anticipated by the players -- the next installment in Guild Wars Beyond, centering around the lands of Cantha. There are changes afoot for the land, as evidenced by the title of the new multi-part event, Winds of Change. And if you want to start taking part in the history that will shape Guild Wars 2, now is a fine time to see what those winds are bringing.
	CCP partners with Nexon to release EVE Online in Japan The Japanese games market can be difficult for western companies to break into, with accurate client localization and translation acting as a huge potential roadblock. In an unexpected press release late last week, EVE Online developer CCP Games announced a strategic partnership with Japan-based MMO publisher Nexon to bring EVE Online to the Japanese market.
	DUST 514 may go true F2P in the future While we've known that DUST 514 won't be as free as originally thought, there's still hope for a true free-to-play version to come. CCP's Hilmar Veigar Pétursson told GamesIndustry.biz that while PlayStation 3 owners will have to contend with a "cover charge" -- estimated to be between $10 and $20 -- before accessing the game for the first time, the company may drop it entirely in time.
	Massively Speaking Episode 155 Massively Speaking, Massively's MMO podcast, returns this week with Shawn and Rubi discussing the week's MMO news. Topics include Planetside 2's announcement at Fan Faire, Global Agenda's success with F2P, EVE Online's CSM results, and Age of Conan's Unchained update.

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Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	Massively's E3 Coverage E3 wrapped at the end of last week, and the MMO news that came out of the convention was substantial. Make sure you didn't miss any major highlights from any of the up-and-coming MMOs in the industry. Check out Massively's extensive coverage of the event!
	Hands-on impressions of Star Wars: The Old Republic Members of the Massively staff and WoW Insider's very own Editor-in-Chief Dan O'Halloran had an opportunity to play The Old Republic at E3. Did they like it? Did they hate it? Find out!
	DUST 514's realtime integration with EVE Online At E3, EVE Online developer CCP Games made an appearance to announce that the company's upcoming MMOFPS DUST 514 will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3. The ambitious title aims to link the world of ground troops fighting over planets to EVE Online's universe of spaceborne conflict. EVE players will be able to hire DUST mercenaries as part of an ongoing territorial war. Head over to Massively for the full details.
	Trion Worlds takes players on a tour of RIFT's upcoming Hammerknell raid Trion Worlds, the developer behind the polarizing MMO RIFT, recently gave fans a hands-on tour of their upcoming raid zone, Hammerknell. It's an abandoned dwarven stronghold which has jailed one of the great dragons for ... well, a really long time!
	Massively Speaking episode 152 Massively Speaking, Massively's MMO podcast, returns this week to wrap up E3 2011 by recording another unedited show just for you. The Massively team discusses RIFT's patch 1.3, Cryptic's Neverwinter and Rubi's impressions of SWTOR.
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	RIFT offering free character transfers with patch 1.3 Trion Worlds has announced that with the advent of patch 1.3, RIFT will allow players to move to select servers once per week -- for free. These free character transfers include a wholesale move of all of the character's items, achievements and titles. Also, Trion has stated that initially, there will be no limit to the number of times your character can hop to a different server.
	Sony loses $3.2B, spends $170M in response to hacker attacks Sony's bad year is getting a smidge worse. The company, which had previously predicted a healthy profit for the past fiscal year, is now expecting a loss of $3.2 billion for the period of April 2010 through March 2011. The reverse in fortunes is mostly due to writing off a $4.4 billion tax credit, although the company has been struggling with both the recent earthquake and hacker attack that disrupted operations of both its physical operations and online services.
	Funcom prepping new Age of Conan adventure pack inspired by film reboot Recent rumors of new film-related content for Age of Conan proved to be accurate. According to a new press release, the pack "includes but is not limited to" content from the forthcoming Conan the Barbarian film reboot and will see players traveling to the lands of Turan some 20 years after the events of the movie.
	Guild Wars 2's explosive seventh class: The engineer ArenaNet has announced the seventh Guild Wars 2 profession: the engineer. Rifles, dual pistols, pistols with shields, explosives, flamethrowers, and automated turrets -- come on, do I really need to say any more than that?
	Massively Speaking episode 148 Massively Speaking, Massively's MMO podcast, is back this week as Shawn and Rubi discuss the latest MMO news, including some more details on ArcheAge and Guild Wars 2, a better explanation of the DCUO MegaServers (formerly Super Servers), and the return of SOE!
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	Activision Blizzard posts record profits, WoW subs declining Activision Blizzard hasn't just been surviving but thriving, posting a record profit for the first quarter of 2011 -- $503 million in net income, more than $100 million over the year before. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Blizzard Entertainment was responsible for a large portion of that profit, bringing in $170 million all by its lonesome. You may have already read about this on WoW Insider, but it's always worth checking out the perspective of the larger MMO scene.
	Star Wars: The Old Republic launch window confirmed EA's financial results report was released to the public last week, and alongside the various bits of fiscal information is one important tidbit for fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic. On page 17 of the document, you'll find "The Packaged Goods title release schedule excludes Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is expected to launch in either Q2 FY12 or Q3 FY12," where Q2 FY12 and Q3 FY12 correspond to July through September and October through December, respectively, of this year.
	RIFT begins Ascend-a-Friend referral promotion Beginning today with the advent of patch 1.2, RIFT subscribers will be able to Ascend-a-Friend into the ranks of the Defiant or Guardians, providing the newly Ascended with a seven-day free trial as well as linking the two players' accounts together. Referral bonuses include an adorable, corgi-like non-combat pet and a badass flaming horse mount.
	Analyst predicts a Mass Effect MMO could top The Old Republic Still having geek dreams about a Mass Effect MMO? Your flights of fancy have another advocate, as an analyst thinks it could be not only feasible but extremely profitable to boot. In a recent investor's note, Janco Partners' Mike Hickey predicted that a hypothetical Mass Effect MMO could make more money for Electronic Arts than Star Wars: The Old Republic will.
	Massively Speaking episode 146 Massively Speaking, Massively's MMO podcast, returns this week as Shawn and Rubi discuss the week's MMO news. Topics include APB's open beta date, DCUO's "super servers," more Marvel Online details, SOE's hacker problems, and more!
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	Ethnologist researches the development of social skills in World of Warcraft A lot of players probably think that World of Warcraft breeds social skills, to the extent that contempt for one's fellow human beings can be considered a social skill. But according to Peter Stenberg of Umea University in Sweden, there are some actual developments taking place when you play.
	SOE acknowledges "external intrusion" responsible for downtime Sony Online Entertainment has acknowledged an issue that has caused its MMORPGs and game-related websites to be sporadically unavailable since Thursday, April 21. SOE's Linda "Brasse" Carlson posted on the EverQuest II forums, attributing the trouble to "an external intrusion."
	Massively's Easter event roundup World of Warcraft isn't the only game celebrating Easter this week. Noblegarden is fine and dandy, but check out what the other MMOs have to offer, from EverQuest to Runescape and Vindictus. Everybody is celebrating!
	Analyst says 1 million subscribers attainable for SWTOR Gaming business website Gamasutra quoted Hickey as saying that Janco "suspect[s] a willingness from investors to believe [500,000] to 1 million Star Wars MMO subscribers is an attainable target." Hickey has been focused on games and the gaming industry for some time now, specifically on EA, so the rise and fall of EA-published Warhammer Online cannot be off his radar when he makes his predictions about SWTOR.
	An exclusive look at RIFT's Update 1.2 and beyond With almost two months on the post-launch clock at Trion Worlds, RIFT appears to be holding its own in the wild and woolly field of MMORPGs. With a major update and the first world event under its belt, RIFT is sailing into the future with the wind at its back and a hull full of subscribers below.
	Top 10 MMO forum terms beaten to death We're all familiar with the MMO forum culture. Everybody has favorite complaints, buzzwords, and acronyms. This week, Massively takes a look at the top 10 forum terms that really should be sent to retirement.
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	RIFT world event fizzles, Trion reevaluates approach Much like World of Warcraft's early attempts at world events, RIFT's first major world event ... didn't go so well. Server queues and intermittent server outages plagued the event, but Trion Worlds has already issued a statement indicating that it is aware of the issues and will use the lessons it learned to forge future events.
	Battlestar Galactica Online passes 1 million player milestone Bigpoint's browser-based Battlestar Galactica Online is a certifiable hit, according to a new press release touting the fact that the title recently surpassed 1 million registered players. The milestone comes a scant six weeks after the launch of BSGO's open beta period and dovetails nicely with the news that the game is getting an engine upgrade as well as new ship content.
	BioWare tackles The Old Republic environment polish, class questions Ever wondered what "polish" entails when it comes to an MMORPG? The word is tossed about on forums often enough, and just as often, newly released titles are lambasted by gamers who feel that polish is severely lacking in some form or fashion. The latest Star Wars: The Old Republic update goes behind the scenes at the Jedi dream factory to give readers an inside scoop on how the developers at BioWare define polish.
	Guild Wars 2's Johanson: MMO class trinity is "tired" ArenaNet is a company with one game to its credit, yet the firm still has the courage to openly challenge Blizzard as well as the rest of the crowded MMO market. In a recent interview, lead content designer Colin Johanson says ANet's success and confidence largely stem from a culture of creative fearlessness.
	LFM: Massively is hiring! Are you passionate about every single MMO you can get your hands on? Do you have a particular skill with the written word? We're looking to expand our ranks with a fresh MMO-loving writer, so if you answered yes to both of those questions, Massively wants to hear from you.
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	PAX East 2011: One Massive(ly) roundup PAX East has already begun fading into memory, but there was a lot to see and do over the three days of the convention. Even if you disregard the numerous fan gatherings and community events taking place, there were an awful lot of games on the floor, with showings from MMOs that dwarfed last year's offerings. Head over to Massively to check out all of their coverage of the event.
	NCsoft makes multi-million-dollar Japanese relief donation NCsoft is throwing a considerable contribution into the relief drive for victims of the recent disaster in Japan in the form of 500 million Yen (or 4.5 million Euros/6.3 million USD, for those of you counting along at home). NCsoft's Sung Joon Park explained that the sum equals a month's worth of sales.
	Trion responds to RIFT account hacks Trion World's Scott Hartsman responded to the hacker attempts, reassuring fans curious about what steps were being taken to secure their accounts. Citing "constant attacks" since the launch of RIFT that have impacted 1% of accounts, Hartsman said that the team is blocking hackers and botnets as quickly as they are identified but that this will also be an ongoing process.
	World of Warcraft bloggers fight back against RIFT While RIFT is certainly a four-letter word, it's becoming that kind of four-letter word for certain bloggers in the World of Warcraft community. Reala of Click the Lightwell went so far as to whip up a graphical badge certifying WoW blogs as RIFT-free zones in response to the amount of virtual ink devoted to Trion's title on Azeroth-centric websites.
	Massively Speaking Episode 141: PAX East wrap-up Massively Speaking is back this week with a special PAX East wrap-up episode. Eliot Lefebvre, Larry Everett, and Karen Bryan join Shawn to talk about their experiences at the event, including panels, interviews, and an exciting hands-on demo of SWTOR.
	Massively's Week in Review: New promise for an Old Republic Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

It seems that every new MMORPG wants to bill itself as a "WoW killer." From Lord of the Rings Online to Age of Conan to (most recently) RIFT, everyone wants a piece of the most popular subscription-based MMORPG of all time.

To date, World of Warcraft has weathered the competition. Its subscriber numbers have reached an all-time high (now over 12 million), with its latest Cataclysm expansion selling nearly 5 million copies in the first month alone. The game should remain popular and successful for years to come. Still, even Blizzard admits: It can't stay on top forever.

So what happens when the game starts losing a significant amount of its subscriber base? If what happened to Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online is any clue, World of Warcraft might move to a free-to-play model. Since switching to free-to-play, both of Turbine's games added subscribers and increased revenues.

This past weekend, I sat in on the free-to-play MMO panel held at the PAX East 2011 conference in Boston. Afterward, I caught up with Robert Ferrari, VP of Publishing and Business Development for Sanrio Digital (Hello Kitty Online), to discuss WoW. We discussed the free-to-play industry and whether or not World of Warcraft could eventually find a place in it.

"WoW has to be looking at a free-to-play model currently," Ferrari theorized.