https://massivelyop.com MMORPG news and opinions Wed, 26 Apr 2023 16:37:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/albion-online-previews-knightfalls-content-and-quality-of-life-perks/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/albion-online-previews-knightfalls-content-and-quality-of-life-perks/#respond Wed, 26 Apr 2023 20:00:26 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437307 The Albion Online comfy chair welcomes you back to another video with Sandbox Interactive game director Robin Henkys, this one zeroing in on the Knightfall patch already heralded on the test server. Knightfall, Henkys says, is not meant as a major update, just a patch that “packs quite a punch.” It will introduce new chest […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/albion-online-previews-knightfalls-content-and-quality-of-life-perks/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/lost-arks-may-to-august-roadmap-promises-the-slayer-class-next-month/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/lost-arks-may-to-august-roadmap-promises-the-slayer-class-next-month/#respond Wed, 26 Apr 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437267 Following up on their letter to gamers last week, Amazon and Smilegate have now released a proper summer – or maybe second trimester would be more accurate – roadmap for Lost Ark. And the first thing in May is actually the Slayer, the fifth Warrior advanced class described as a “female remix of the Berserker […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/lost-arks-may-to-august-roadmap-promises-the-slayer-class-next-month/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/activision-blizzard-q1-2023/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/activision-blizzard-q1-2023/#comments Wed, 26 Apr 2023 15:35:13 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437352 Activision blinked: Activision-Blizzard wasn’t supposed to release its Q1 2023 financials until tomorrow after the bell, but it’s just done it this morning out of the blue, presumably attempting to ward off the sharp stock drop it experienced this morning after UK regulators moved to block its merge with Microsoft. So it’s here early, and let’s […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/activision-blizzard-q1-2023/feed/ 29 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/city-of-heroes-homecoming-drops-i27p6-patch-with-storm-blast-and-new-story-arcs/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/city-of-heroes-homecoming-drops-i27p6-patch-with-storm-blast-and-new-story-arcs/#comments Wed, 26 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437170 Just a few weeks ago, we covered the testing of a brand-new patch on the City of Heroes Homecoming rogue server, one that included the very much wanted Storm Blast powerset for Blasters, Corruptors, Sentinels, and Defenders. Well, Issue 27, Page 6, is now live as of this week, and as we noted, there’s quite […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/city-of-heroes-homecoming-drops-i27p6-patch-with-storm-blast-and-new-story-arcs/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/amazon-is-shutting-down-new-worlds-forums-next-week-in-favor-of-discord/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/amazon-is-shutting-down-new-worlds-forums-next-week-in-favor-of-discord/#comments Wed, 26 Apr 2023 13:00:56 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437243 Yesterday, I said in MOP’s work chat that the New World team deserved kudos for being one of the few major MMO studios pumping out weekly videos with the top devs. Well, I’m about to crush that goodwill for the core MMO audience, as last night Amazon announced that it’s shuttering the game’s forums in […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/amazon-is-shutting-down-new-worlds-forums-next-week-in-favor-of-discord/feed/ 45 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/uk-regulators-block-microsofts-buyout-of-activision-blizzard/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/uk-regulators-block-microsofts-buyout-of-activision-blizzard/#comments Wed, 26 Apr 2023 12:00:06 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437247 Multiple outlets are reporting this morning that Microsoft’s buyout of Activision-Blizzard has been blocked in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority aka CMA determined that the merger of the two megacorps – to the tune of almost $70B US – would impede industry competition in the country, saying the move could “alter the future […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/uk-regulators-block-microsofts-buyout-of-activision-blizzard/feed/ 33 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/new-world-addresses-pvp-mounts-and-solo-content-as-merges-begin-this-afternoon/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/new-world-addresses-pvp-mounts-and-solo-content-as-merges-begin-this-afternoon/#comments Tue, 25 Apr 2023 14:30:44 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437053 Amazon game director Scot Lane and live lead Katy Kaszynski helm another episode of New World’s Forged in Aeternum this week – outside, standing up, and absent fan-favorite creative director Dave Verfaillie. Here are the highlights: Solo dungeons aren’t on the table, but Amazon is says it’s putting more effort into solo content over the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/new-world-addresses-pvp-mounts-and-solo-content-as-merges-begin-this-afternoon/feed/ 10 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/aion-classic-has-officially-launched-in-its-third-region-europe/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/aion-classic-has-officially-launched-in-its-third-region-europe/#comments Tue, 25 Apr 2023 13:30:50 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437047 It’s another launch day for Aion Classic as the throwback version of the game already live in South Korea (since 2020) and North America (since 2021) finally launches in Europe under the Gameforge banner. The server is free-to-play and kicks off with the 1.9 patch; Gameforge is calling it an “international” server with support for […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/aion-classic-has-officially-launched-in-its-third-region-europe/feed/ 10 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/that-netease-lawsuit-against-blizzard-turns-out-to-have-been-a-clerical-error/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/that-netease-lawsuit-against-blizzard-turns-out-to-have-been-a-clerical-error/#comments Tue, 25 Apr 2023 13:00:48 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437062 Yesterday, we – and just about everyone else in the industry – picked up a Wowhead story about a lawsuit being lodged by NetEase against Blizzard in a Shanghai court to the tune of $43M, sourced through a legitimate Chinese financial website. But the story is far weirder than that, as it turns out, as […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/that-netease-lawsuit-against-blizzard-turns-out-to-have-been-a-clerical-error/feed/ 9 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/the-daily-grind-how-could-blizzard-make-world-of-warcraft-more-appealing-to-former-players/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/the-daily-grind-how-could-blizzard-make-world-of-warcraft-more-appealing-to-former-players/#comments Tue, 25 Apr 2023 12:00:09 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436927 Eliot’s column about World of Warcraft feeling like a dead mall struck a chord with our commenters, many of whom agreed with the feels – and were pretty sad about the situation. In the comments of that article, some players even offered suggestions for how Blizzard could salvage the game and make it once again […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/the-daily-grind-how-could-blizzard-make-world-of-warcraft-more-appealing-to-former-players/feed/ 75 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/netease-is-suing-blizzard-for-300m-over-failed-and-reneged-licensing-agreements/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/netease-is-suing-blizzard-for-300m-over-failed-and-reneged-licensing-agreements/#comments Mon, 24 Apr 2023 12:30:08 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436873 We’ve updated this story at the end as NetEase’s name has been removed from the lawsuit. The original article follows. If you thought the NetEase vs. Blizzard showdown couldn’t get any spicier than demolished statues and personal attacks being leaked by execs, then you are in for a dramatic surprise today as NetEase has taken […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/netease-is-suing-blizzard-for-300m-over-failed-and-reneged-licensing-agreements/feed/ 23 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/the-daily-grind-do-mmo-studios-manipulate-their-playerbases-with-trolling-and-tribalism/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/the-daily-grind-do-mmo-studios-manipulate-their-playerbases-with-trolling-and-tribalism/#comments Mon, 24 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433908 A few weeks ago, MOP Chris and I were discussing Star Citizen’s antics – remember the video with the coffee? – and it was so bizarre that I asked Chris whether he honestly thought Cloud Imperium is trolling everyone with these videos, doing it on purpose for hate clicks. “During the coffee machine demonstration, CIG’s […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/the-daily-grind-do-mmo-studios-manipulate-their-playerbases-with-trolling-and-tribalism/feed/ 42 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/23/mmo-week-in-review-tarisland-on-the-horizon/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/23/mmo-week-in-review-tarisland-on-the-horizon/#respond Mon, 24 Apr 2023 00:00:52 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436667 Prepare to be not in Azeroth anymore (again), as Tencent made plans this week to not only fill the gap left by the untimely death of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft in China with Tarisland but also launch it in the west too. Well, this ought to be interesting! Meanwhile, Throne & Liberty is (probably) delayed […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/23/mmo-week-in-review-tarisland-on-the-horizon/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-22/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-22/#comments Sun, 23 Apr 2023 00:00:30 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436665 Welcome to another blast of MMO crowdfunding news from the last few weeks! The chaos still trailing behind the failed Kickstarter MMO TitanReach continued through April; readers will recall that TitanReach was covered in red flags long before it went belly up after its angel investor caught its lead dev embezzling from the company, and […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-22/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/torchlight-infinite-will-finally-launch-globally-may-9-with-the-cube-of-rapacity-season/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/torchlight-infinite-will-finally-launch-globally-may-9-with-the-cube-of-rapacity-season/#respond Sat, 22 Apr 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436439 XD Games is finally gearing up to move multiplayer crossplatform OARPG Torchlight Infinite from open beta early access – where it’s been since last October – into launch. “On May 9th, at 1AM BST, the loot-hauling, dungeon-crawling ARPG will be available worldwide and completely free-to-play on both PC and mobile with Hunters able to sync […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/torchlight-infinite-will-finally-launch-globally-may-9-with-the-cube-of-rapacity-season/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/pax-dei-demos-nighttime-housing-gameplay-teases-high-stakes-pvp-and-pvp-building/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/pax-dei-demos-nighttime-housing-gameplay-teases-high-stakes-pvp-and-pvp-building/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2023 16:30:51 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436636 Earlier this week, the devs of upcoming sandbox MMORPG Pax Dei posted a video and FAQ all about the game’s buildable housing. Now, Mainframe Industries has followed up that infodump with yet another video and answers to more questions prompted by feedback on the first batch – including a teaser for PvP. Here are the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/pax-dei-demos-nighttime-housing-gameplay-teases-high-stakes-pvp-and-pvp-building/feed/ 9 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/champions-onlines-cryptic-says-itll-start-exploring-more-inclusive-customization-options/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/champions-onlines-cryptic-says-itll-start-exploring-more-inclusive-customization-options/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2023 15:00:48 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436611 Over the weekend, a Champions Online player tipped us off to a conversation on the game’s official forums in which players are chronicling their multi-year efforts to convince Cryptic to add more diverse, ethnic, inclusive, and POC-friendly hairstyles. Apparently, having been instructed to post these requests in the game’s suggestion thread, players have submitted 127 […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/champions-onlines-cryptic-says-itll-start-exploring-more-inclusive-customization-options/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/mad-worlds-founder-headstart-launch-is-about-to-kick-off/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/mad-worlds-founder-headstart-launch-is-about-to-kick-off/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2023 14:30:40 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436594 It’s a big day for Mad World fans who bought the game’s largest founder packs, as the earliest of the early bird headstarts is set to kick off today at 11 a.m. EDT. The headstart will continue to stagger out, with the next wave entering on Sunday and the full F2P launch dropping on April […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/mad-worlds-founder-headstart-launch-is-about-to-kick-off/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/the-daily-grind-what-are-the-best-and-worst-horizontal-progression-systems-in-an-mmorpg/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/the-daily-grind-what-are-the-best-and-worst-horizontal-progression-systems-in-an-mmorpg/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2023 12:00:47 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=431699 This morning, I want to talk about horizontal progression systems in MMOs, of which I am generally a fan! And I’m gonna start with the one I like least, which is rep grinds in every single MMO. Nobody likes rep grinds. Nobody cares if the NPCs like us. They aren’t even pretending to be advancement; […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/the-daily-grind-what-are-the-best-and-worst-horizontal-progression-systems-in-an-mmorpg/feed/ 28 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/massively-overthinking-what-should-mmos-do-when-guild-leaders-vanish/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/massively-overthinking-what-should-mmos-do-when-guild-leaders-vanish/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2023 00:00:14 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435850 Last week, we covered that wild story about a “heist” in EVE Online that allowed the perpetrators to make off with trillions of ISK in cash and assets, amounting to a value of something like $22,000 US. And when you look a little more closely at the story, you realize it wasn’t really a heist […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/massively-overthinking-what-should-mmos-do-when-guild-leaders-vanish/feed/ 8 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/diablo-iv-is-running-a-server-slam-stress-test-the-weekend-of-may-12/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/diablo-iv-is-running-a-server-slam-stress-test-the-weekend-of-may-12/#comments Thu, 20 Apr 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436034 This morning, we noted the rumor that Blizzard might be plotting another Diablo IV beta, and during the studio’s stream this afternoon, that’s exactly what it confirmed: “From May 12, 12 p.m. – May 14, 12 p.m. PDT, everyone can come to Sanctuary’s defense on Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/diablo-iv-is-running-a-server-slam-stress-test-the-weekend-of-may-12/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/ccp-games-is-already-sunsetting-eve-anywhere-after-just-a-year-in-the-wild/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/ccp-games-is-already-sunsetting-eve-anywhere-after-just-a-year-in-the-wild/#comments Thu, 20 Apr 2023 17:00:12 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436438 Back in 2021, CCP Games made a big to-do over a browser client for EVE Online called EVE Anywhere – essentially a cloud-hosted version of the game that denizens of New Eden could play from, well, anywhere (except for all the countries they couldn’t). It hit beta in 2021, expanding to multiple browsers and countries, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/ccp-games-is-already-sunsetting-eve-anywhere-after-just-a-year-in-the-wild/feed/ 10 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/lost-ark-aims-to-spend-2023-reducing-grind-and-improving-the-newbie-and-catch-up-experience/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/lost-ark-aims-to-spend-2023-reducing-grind-and-improving-the-newbie-and-catch-up-experience/#comments Thu, 20 Apr 2023 14:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436400 Lost Ark has been live in the west over a year now, giving Amazon and Smilegate the opportunity to reflect on how far the game has come – and where it’s going from here. “Last year, our top priorities were introducing content into the Western shores of Arkesia at an appropriate cadence to avoid burnout, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/lost-ark-aims-to-spend-2023-reducing-grind-and-improving-the-newbie-and-catch-up-experience/feed/ 8 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/new-world-prepares-to-merge-11-servers-and-open-transfers-from-fresh-start-worlds/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/new-world-prepares-to-merge-11-servers-and-open-transfers-from-fresh-start-worlds/#comments Thu, 20 Apr 2023 13:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436391 Before the launch of New World’s first season, Amazon devs has promised that they would revist the server population situation, and now they’ve made good on it. In a post issued late last night, Amazon announced the merging of 11 servers in Central EU, US-East, and South America. There’s no hard timeline for when it’s […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/new-world-prepares-to-merge-11-servers-and-open-transfers-from-fresh-start-worlds/feed/ 9 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/rumor-throne-liberty-has-been-delayed-to-fall-2023-cbt-arrives-in-may/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/rumor-throne-liberty-has-been-delayed-to-fall-2023-cbt-arrives-in-may/#comments Thu, 20 Apr 2023 13:00:44 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436410 Korean media are reporting today that NCsoft’s Throne & Liberty has been delayed yet again, though of course since we’ve been waiting since 2014 and lost count of all the delays and renames along the way, it may not even shock anyone now, especially since analysts were already speculating about it a few weeks ago. […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/20/rumor-throne-liberty-has-been-delayed-to-fall-2023-cbt-arrives-in-may/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/new-worlds-springtide-bloom-event-invites-you-to-pick-all-the-flowers-next-week/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/new-worlds-springtide-bloom-event-invites-you-to-pick-all-the-flowers-next-week/#respond Wed, 19 Apr 2023 18:30:16 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436294 New World’s incoming themed event is so pretty and flowery and springy that I just had an allergy attack looking at the promotional pics. Achoooooo! Yep, it’s time for Springtide Bloom in Amazon’s sandbox starting next week. “Springtide Bloom calls its children to share an ancient secret capable of granting true freedom. Help the enigmatic […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/new-worlds-springtide-bloom-event-invites-you-to-pick-all-the-flowers-next-week/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/destiny-2-season-of-defiance-mid-season-update-buffs-a-bunch-of-weapons-in-pve/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/destiny-2-season-of-defiance-mid-season-update-buffs-a-bunch-of-weapons-in-pve/#comments Wed, 19 Apr 2023 15:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436166 Dang, it seems like Destiny 2’s Season of Defiance just started, and Bungie’s already rolling out its mid-season update. Gonna need time to slow down a lil bit here, Bungo! The key change is that the studio has buffed weapons in PvP kind of a lot, specifically rifles; it’s increased damage for auto rifles by […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/destiny-2-season-of-defiance-mid-season-update-buffs-a-bunch-of-weapons-in-pve/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/multiplayer-cozy-game-fae-farm-has-been-delayed-from-spring-2023-to-late-2023/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/multiplayer-cozy-game-fae-farm-has-been-delayed-from-spring-2023-to-late-2023/#comments Wed, 19 Apr 2023 15:00:36 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436211 Dauntless studio Phoenix Labs first announced upcoming cozy multiplayer title Fae Farm last fall, with a launch window on the Nintendo Switch of spring 2023. Unfortunately, the team isn’t going to make that window: According to today’s press release, it’s not launching until “late 2023.” The bad news isn’t framed as bad news or as […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/multiplayer-cozy-game-fae-farm-has-been-delayed-from-spring-2023-to-late-2023/feed/ 6 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/blizzcon-2023-is-still-happening-blizzards-mike-ybarra-tells-twitter-fans/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/blizzcon-2023-is-still-happening-blizzards-mike-ybarra-tells-twitter-fans/#comments Wed, 19 Apr 2023 14:30:31 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436180 Blizzard’s fan-centered live event BlizzCon used to be one of the highlights of the year for the MMORPG genre – until COVID drove it out of Anaheim and to online spaces, and then Blizzard let it lapse entirely in 2022 after a rather weak online event at the top of 2021. But since July of […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/blizzcon-2023-is-still-happening-blizzards-mike-ybarra-tells-twitter-fans/feed/ 17 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/heres-how-world-of-warcrafts-cross-faction-guilds-will-work-in-embers-of-neltharion/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/heres-how-world-of-warcrafts-cross-faction-guilds-will-work-in-embers-of-neltharion/#respond Wed, 19 Apr 2023 13:30:49 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436162 World of Warcraft players who’ve waited almost two decades to put all their toons from both sides of faction war into the same guild are finally getting their wish when the Embers of Neltharion update launches on May 2nd. Ahead of the patch’s arrival, Blizzard detailed its plans for “blurring the faction line for guilds” […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/heres-how-world-of-warcrafts-cross-faction-guilds-will-work-in-embers-of-neltharion/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/trove-celebrates-tax-day-by-adding-new-market-taxes-aimed-at-curbing-inflation/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/trove-celebrates-tax-day-by-adding-new-market-taxes-aimed-at-curbing-inflation/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2023 19:00:15 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436105 It’s tax day here in the US, so I’m sure our US readers just cannot wait to get off work today and log into video games to pay taxes! But that’s pretty much the exact cheeky move Gamigo’s blocky MMO sandbox Trove is pulling with its Fees and Felines update. The “Fees” part of the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/trove-celebrates-tax-day-by-adding-new-market-taxes-aimed-at-curbing-inflation/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/guild-wars-2-is-testing-a-map-queueing-feature-finishes-directx-11-migration/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/guild-wars-2-is-testing-a-map-queueing-feature-finishes-directx-11-migration/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2023 17:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436100 Guild Wars 2 released a minor update today with some interesting implications for players trying to join specific maps that are already full. “Players can now add themselves to a queue to join party members in open-world maps that are currently at their maximum player capacity,” ArenaNet explains. “The queue can be reached through the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/guild-wars-2-is-testing-a-map-queueing-feature-finishes-directx-11-migration/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/pax-dei-elaborates-on-its-sandbox-housing-and-building-systems-check-out-the-new-video/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/pax-dei-elaborates-on-its-sandbox-housing-and-building-systems-check-out-the-new-video/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2023 16:30:52 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436036 Pax Dei’s reveal at the top of March was a surprise of the welcome sort for fans of immersive fantasy sandbox MMOs, as studio Mainframe Industries – headed up by former CCP Games bosses – welcomed lookyloos to its fold. The studio has continued teases over the last few weeks, albeit largely in Discord. Most […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/pax-dei-elaborates-on-its-sandbox-housing-and-building-systems-check-out-the-new-video/feed/ 8 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/pokemon-gos-niantic-pushes-marvel-world-of-heroes-into-beta-announces-monster-hunter-now/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/pokemon-gos-niantic-pushes-marvel-world-of-heroes-into-beta-announces-monster-hunter-now/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2023 15:00:44 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436003 Niantic is continuing is thus far unsuccessful attempts to make MMOARGs besides one attached to the Pokemon IP happen following the flop of its Harry Potter game, as we’re now watching multiple titles in addition to Peridot. The two newest on our radar is Marvel World of Heroes and Monster Hunter Now. You might recall […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/pokemon-gos-niantic-pushes-marvel-world-of-heroes-into-beta-announces-monster-hunter-now/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/new-world-deep-dives-the-creation-of-its-in-game-languages/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/new-world-deep-dives-the-creation-of-its-in-game-languages/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2023 14:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435977 To understand this week’s New World video from the Amazon devs, you need to know first that a conlang is a made-up language – a constructed language – like Klingon or Quenya. Yes, I know that all languages are technically made up; work with me here. New World also has conlangs, including a language for […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/new-world-deep-dives-the-creation-of-its-in-game-languages/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/guild-wars-2s-arenanet-named-extra-life-partner-of-the-year-for-its-2022-april-quest-and-253k-fundraise/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/guild-wars-2s-arenanet-named-extra-life-partner-of-the-year-for-its-2022-april-quest-and-253k-fundraise/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435541 File this one under Massively Uplifting in the best way: Guild Wars 2 studio ArenaNet was named as the 2022 Extra Life Partner of the Year for its fundraising efforts last year. MMO players will recall that last autumn, ArenaNet partnered with Children’s Miracle Network to add a CMN Champion child, April Arellano, as a […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/guild-wars-2s-arenanet-named-extra-life-partner-of-the-year-for-its-2022-april-quest-and-253k-fundraise/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/the-daily-grind-what-are-some-demonstrably-wrong-things-about-old-mmos-that-people-insist-were-true-anyway/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/the-daily-grind-what-are-some-demonstrably-wrong-things-about-old-mmos-that-people-insist-were-true-anyway/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2023 12:00:15 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=430928 A while back, there was a thread on the MMORPG subreddit arguing that “minmaxing an information abundance has ruined MMORPGs” and posited that devs had “stopped fighting it.” After the thread spiraled out of control, the mods probably wisely deleted it, though some of the conversation was intact. In a nutshell, the thread harkened back […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/the-daily-grind-what-are-some-demonstrably-wrong-things-about-old-mmos-that-people-insist-were-true-anyway/feed/ 36 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/leaderboard-is-an-overlay-map-essential-in-oarpgs/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/leaderboard-is-an-overlay-map-essential-in-oarpgs/#comments Mon, 17 Apr 2023 17:00:40 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435879 Is an overlay map critical to your experience in OARPGs? Blizzard apparently doesn’t think so, as it’s not planning on implementing one in Diablo IV in spite of the fact that it’s a pretty time-honored tradition in action RPGs and roguelike games that are about map-crawling and loot-collecting. The news was confirmed by Blizzard’s Rod […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/leaderboard-is-an-overlay-map-essential-in-oarpgs/feed/ 14 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/a-serious-guild-wars-2-exploit-led-to-a-temporary-elementalist-nerf-over-the-weekend/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/a-serious-guild-wars-2-exploit-led-to-a-temporary-elementalist-nerf-over-the-weekend/#comments Mon, 17 Apr 2023 13:00:49 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435820 On Saturday, ArenaNet took the unusual move of disabling a couple of Elementalist traits in Guild Wars 2 that made the Weaver spec nigh on unplayable. “We are temporarily disabling two elementalist minor traits, Weaver and Sunspot, while we address an issue. We will reactivate them as soon as possible,” the studio said late that […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/a-serious-guild-wars-2-exploit-led-to-a-temporary-elementalist-nerf-over-the-weekend/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/the-daily-grind-whats-the-most-unique-weapon-in-an-mmo/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/the-daily-grind-whats-the-most-unique-weapon-in-an-mmo/#comments Mon, 17 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434885 I’m sure we’ve done pieces on unusual weapons in MMOs over the years – we’ve done thousands of Daily Grinds, after all – but one popped on my radar last week that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before! I’m talking about Tower of Fantasy’s new character Icarus, who literally wields a magical yo-yo. And […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/the-daily-grind-whats-the-most-unique-weapon-in-an-mmo/feed/ 16 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/16/mmo-week-in-review-lotros-character-customization-expansion/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/16/mmo-week-in-review-lotros-character-customization-expansion/#respond Mon, 17 Apr 2023 00:00:51 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435771 Lord of the Rings Online characters will soon be able to adopt a whole new look as Standing Stone Games announced this week that it’s expanding character customization rather dramatically, with a much wider range of faces, hairstyles, skin tones, eye colors, body types, and discrete sliders for all sorts of body parts…. for humans, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/16/mmo-week-in-review-lotros-character-customization-expansion/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/16/2019-indie-mmo-slay-together-resurfaces-with-a-crafting-update/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/16/2019-indie-mmo-slay-together-resurfaces-with-a-crafting-update/#comments Sun, 16 Apr 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435082 Way back in 2019, we covered a brand-new teeny-tiny MMORPG dubbed Slay Together, an early access MMORPG with a simple gameplay loop and reasonable old-school ambitions. We can’t say the game has exploded in popularity since then, as SteamCharts shows it capping out under 100 players, but it nevertheless garnered several hundred reviews and sits […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/16/2019-indie-mmo-slay-together-resurfaces-with-a-crafting-update/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/kickstarted-open-world-mmo-past-fate-posts-new-early-access-video/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/kickstarted-open-world-mmo-past-fate-posts-new-early-access-video/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435180 We’ve had an eyeball on skill-based open-world MMORPG Past Fate since at least 2019, when it first made it into one of our MMOs you’ve never heard of roundups, but the game’s come a long way since then, even landing $25,000 in Kickstarter funds back in 2020 and rolling into an open alpha last summer […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/kickstarted-open-world-mmo-past-fate-posts-new-early-access-video/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/wayfinder-delays-its-global-beta-to-may-and-its-early-access-to-summer/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/wayfinder-delays-its-global-beta-to-may-and-its-early-access-to-summer/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 17:08:15 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435630 We’ve more than once expressed skepticism that Wayfinder might need a bit more time to cook and wouldn’t make its May early access launch, and as of today, Airship Syndicate has confirmed that’s exactly what’s happening. “We’re moving the global beta from April to May 10th,” the studio announced on Reddit this afternoon. “We need […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/wayfinder-delays-its-global-beta-to-may-and-its-early-access-to-summer/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/bitcrafts-next-pre-alpha-will-test-the-games-new-backend-infrastructure/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/bitcrafts-next-pre-alpha-will-test-the-games-new-backend-infrastructure/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435382 We’ve had an eye on BitCraft, a procedural-gen MMORPG sandbox, since it first surfaced in 2019 as Clockwork Labs’ well-funded new toy. In spite of the “bit” in its name, it’s not a crypto game (the studio referred to such games as a “crypto blackhole“); it’s a Unity game that counted 752,000 signups for its […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/bitcrafts-next-pre-alpha-will-test-the-games-new-backend-infrastructure/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/kickstarted-survival-sandbox-fractured-veil-delays-early-access-to-september-plans-engine-upgrade/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/kickstarted-survival-sandbox-fractured-veil-delays-early-access-to-september-plans-engine-upgrade/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 15:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435493 Just about two years ago, we first learned about a new survival MMO called Fractured Veil. It pulled in $110,000 on Kickstarter to fund a unique multiplayer base-builder set in a post-apoc Hawaii, and it’s been chugging along in development ever since. In fact, it was supposed to hit early access last year – but […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/kickstarted-survival-sandbox-fractured-veil-delays-early-access-to-september-plans-engine-upgrade/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/nightingale-recaps-march-playtest-plans-another-test-in-may-before-finalizing-launch-plans/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/nightingale-recaps-march-playtest-plans-another-test-in-may-before-finalizing-launch-plans/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 14:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435532 Inflexion Games has a new Nightingale dev video out this week, and it homes in on the March playtest, which devs say was the first round of testing that stayed up continously for nearly 60 hours for around 1700 testers. According to the studio, the servers didn’t die and multiplayer worked much as intended, with […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/nightingale-recaps-march-playtest-plans-another-test-in-may-before-finalizing-launch-plans/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/lord-of-the-rings-online-is-testing-major-new-customization-options-for-hairstyle-skintone-and-gobs-more/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/lord-of-the-rings-online-is-testing-major-new-customization-options-for-hairstyle-skintone-and-gobs-more/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435538 Standing Stone Games opened up Lord of the Rings Online’s Bullroarer test server last night with multiple surprises for content and customization. “LOTRO is celebrating the uniqueness of every player!” the test patch notes say. “Our latest update celebrates individuality with additional character customization options for the Race of Men (humans) that let players express […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/lord-of-the-rings-online-is-testing-major-new-customization-options-for-hairstyle-skintone-and-gobs-more/feed/ 55 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/the-daily-grind-which-mmos-lore-makes-your-eyes-glaze-over/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/the-daily-grind-which-mmos-lore-makes-your-eyes-glaze-over/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 12:00:46 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435316 Earlier this week, Blizzard posted up a brief in-universe timeline of the Diablo IP’s storyline, and in spite of my having played these games, I realized the dates and plotpoints mean nothing to me. Blizzard could’ve made all of that up as a joke and I would not know. Unlike MOP’s Tyler, who knows the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/the-daily-grind-which-mmos-lore-makes-your-eyes-glaze-over/feed/ 26 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/13/anvil-empires-solicits-serious-testers-for-upcoming-technical-pre-alpha-tests/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/13/anvil-empires-solicits-serious-testers-for-upcoming-technical-pre-alpha-tests/#respond Thu, 13 Apr 2023 20:00:34 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435503 MMO players were treated to a delightful surprise at the end of March, when Foxhole developer Siege Camp took the wraps off its next venture: Anvil Empires, a serious persistent MMO focused on massive battles and sandbox simulation. At the time, we noted that Siege Camp was soliciting alpha testers as needed in Discord, but […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/13/anvil-empires-solicits-serious-testers-for-upcoming-technical-pre-alpha-tests/feed/ 0