City of Heroes: Going Rogue is the widely anticipated next expansion to the City of Heroes franchise developed by NCsoft.  This content was released today and is the second paid addition to the popular superhero/villain MMO.  It adds fresh new dimensions to existing characters and yet more customization options for new players.

Characters can now become evil from good and good from evil, giving depth to the characters that players have taken so much time to create.  These alignment changes give way to the classic “Redeemed Anti-Hero” saviors or can condemn the “Wayward and Misguided Guardian” to the depths of infamy.

Players can also explore an alternate universe called Praetoria, with new missions, areas to explore, costume changes and new abilities to gain.

Demon summoning. Dual pistols. Electricity control and kinetic melee power sets.  These are sure to be right in the fore of player’s minds as they once again embark on grand, courageous and/or foolhardy quests into an unknown and unexplored universe.

The new DAoC patch has gone live, and Bioware Mythic has plenty to show you.  For starters the new UI (user interface) will allow you to upgrade your skill lines without using any mouse clicks.  A new slider bar has been added that will show you what skills are being upgraded, and how many points you will be spending.  Not only that, but styles and spells will now be immediately displayed to the player so that you can make informed decisions in order to build your character to the best of your abilities.  Stuart Zissu; the producer behind Dark Age of Camelot, goes into more detail regarding the new training UI here.

Here are some other major updates to come with the patches release:

·         Bainshee class balance

·         Increased number of displayed buffs

·         Continued dungeon itemization updates

·         Epic Armor upgrades

For more information about the new DAoC patch, click here.  For all other MMO news and info, remember to follow us at mmocrunch.com

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 4

Kingdom Heroes, the free-to-play game from Aeria Games, is an intensely PvP-oriented MMO.  As players fight against rival nations, spectacular player versus player action erupts as the struggles between the Three Kingdoms continue.

Epic spells, exciting melee combat and the rewards of skill over sheer brawn are displayed in this next batch of four brand new, action-packed Kingdom Heroes screenshots.

As of August 17, 2010, Fallen Earth is reducing their prices for long-term subscriptions.

Jessica Orr, Marketing Manager for Fallen Earth said “The new pricing is the first step in rewarding existing customers.  We have a tight community and want to make sure they know how much we value their support.“

It sounds more likely that they are lowering prices to attract new and existing customers into investing for extended periods and away from month-to-month subscriptions, more than they are awarding existing customers.  The reduction of price to $39.99 USD for a three month plan, $71.99 USD for a six month plan and $124.99 USD for a 12 month plan is quite a bit to shave off, especially for the yearly model.

The reduction by $5, $18 and $55 USD respectively roughly translates to a 11, 20 and 31% price reduction on the mentioned subscriptions.  Now may be a good time to jump into the game if you haven’t before, considering this will likely boost the starting areas of the game, thereby creating a richer introductory experience for new players

Yesterday, the folks over at IGN were lucky enough to take a walk through the gritty streets of The Secret World’s London. No, they didn’t get any hands-on playtime, but an interview with Ragnar Tørnquist is almost as sweet. Though it is a pseudo-real world location, TSW’s London will feature an authentic culture and atmosphere, with added supernatural themes inherent in the game’s lore.

Continued…

This will be the first of at least two, maybe three reviews I will do on Dungeons and Dragons Online. I am writing this in multiple sections because there is a lot to cover, it wouldn’t be ethical to discuss what I haven’t experienced firsthand, and because I want to be able to give the proper attention and time to all the aspects of Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) which I wish to discuss.

Until recently, I didn’t play DDO for quite a long time. For those unfamiliar with the game, the level cap is now 20. When I played, it was 10, and it was a very different game. We used to joke that it should be called Dungeon and Dragon because there was only one dragon in the whole game. My best guess would be that I quit shortly after the release of Module 3 in October 2006.

Continued…

Since the release of Eve Online‘s Dominion expansion, lag issues have begun to reemerge, most often during large  1000+ player fleet fights. As we know, server lag can stem from a multitude of sources at once, so there is not one, but many fixes that need to be addressed. Up until now, CCP’s EVE Developer Blog has kept it’s technical side at a minimum in hopes of reaching the widest audience with it’s posts. That is no more, as the developer team hopes to reach a comprehensive solution with the help of EVE’s more technically savvy players.

A series of recurrent blogs are planned, and by the sound of these titles, you know the CCP guys weren’t kidding when they turned up the techie level:

• Singularity Mass Testing Report
• The Long Lag and MMO Scaling
• “Thin Clients” and Automated Testing
• Carbon, CCP’s Core Technology

You can expect updates to both the game and these blogs at a more frequent level, as well as a closer cohesion between CCP and the players. As Zulu puts it, this “long battle on lag” will be an ongoing endeavor, so expect these blog entries indefinitely. Check out the full post, along with short synopses of the upcoming blog entries here.

Perfect World Co. has just announced their latest addition to the highly popular martial arts MMO; Jade Dynasty.  This upcoming expansion is titled Jade Dynasty: Vengeance and will release on August 25th, 2010 in North America, and in Europe with French and German versions of the game.  A slew of new features will arrive with this massive update such as two new races, a territory wars system, and new daily events.

The project manager behind Jade Dynasty; Andrew Brown, says:

“Jade Dynasty has been an international success and with Vengeance, we’ll be offering French and German versions for the first time to our European audience.  New and existing players can look forward to new features and content in the upcoming expansion that will help progress the ongoing story between humans and the immortals.”

Continued…

T3 Entertainment and Hanbitsoft inc have banded together to create the free to play fantasy MMO Aika.  This game has gotten a ton of response in Korea and has received numerous awards at last year’s Korean Game Awards.  Aika Global will be launching in the near future, but for now T3 and Hanbitsoft are starting up the Aika Closed Beta Key Giveaway for the game.

If you and a friend would love to take part in this epic online adventure, then click here for your chance to be selected for the beta.  Once you receive your beta invitational e-mail (if you get one), you will also be awarded with an extra beta key to invite one of your closest buddies.  So what are you waiting for? Grab your keys while it’s still possible.  Only a couple thousand are being handed out!

Gloamwood Firerift Pyromancer

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 3

Trion Worlds revealed new details on the Pyromancer class for the upcoming MMORPG, Rift: Planes of Telara.  The Pyromancer is a specialist in fire, using it for destruction.  From incinerating blasts to walls of fire, the Pyromancer has a fearsome arsenal.  However, quick-footed foes who can charge in and deal melee damage prove to be a weakness of the Pyromancer.  Keeping enemies at bay is the key to successfully playing the Pyromancer.

Continued…