For anyone that loves playing games, QuakeCon should be on your bucket list. From thousands of fans “whoop-ing” and playing games in BYOC to special events like this year’s DOOM reveal, it’s memorable each and every year. It’s also the most acceptable venue in the world for BAWLS chugging contests. With 2014 being Bethesda’s 6th […]

Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous

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 or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post.

Console fans were treated to a hefty dose of sci-fi pseudo-MMO Destiny this week as the beta opened up for PS3, PS4, and XBone and developers showered trinkets on players. In spite of the game's lack of cross-platform play, at least one analyst predicts Bungie could sell as many as 20 million units.

Meanwhile, we finished up our trio of articles previewing the World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor beta.

	WoW's Warlords of Draenor beta: A disappointing start
	WoW's Warlords of Draenor beta: The disappointment of garrisons
	WoW's Warlords of Draenor beta: Questing, mechanics, and concerns

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

Continue reading MMO Week in Review: It is your Destiny

MMO Week in Review: It is your Destiny originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Jul 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monolith Productions and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have announced today that their action-RPG for the old-school consoles the new-school consoles and PC has received a new release date … See Full Article Link This link was shared via our social networks and tagged to automatically post to the blog.

The first match of OGN Champions Summer featured defending champions Samsung Blue vs. a newly formed qualifier team, Incredible Miracle #1. Many of my friends skipped this match, predicting an easy 2-0 stomp by Blue. The match was indeed a 2-0, but more than anything, it showed that there is as much to learn from […]

The post 3 Steps to a 4-Buff Start: OGN’s Jungling Masterpiece appeared first on Cloth5.

Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-Play, Legal, Dungeon Fighter Online

A pair of cyber-thieves have been sentenced to two years of prison time in China for stealing from another player in Dungeon Fighter Online.

The unemployed thieves stole the login and password of a player, accessed his account, and sold off his inventory to the tune of $6,405. They were caught soon after and will face not only jail but fines for the crime.

Late last year 10 Chinese thieves were caught stealing World of Warcraft accounts and selling players' possessions. They too received about two years in jail and had to cough up fines.

[Thanks to Hagu for the tip!]

Dungeon Fighter Online thieves go to jail originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Jul 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Source: Kotaku

The compLexity organization is the first to truly come full circle in North America. After qualifying for the 2013 North American LCS Spring Split, they soon faced relegation after an unsuccessful season, only to return in the Summer of 2014 with a near completely different line-up. With a cast of determined individuals, compLexity defeated Team Coast to earn their spot […]

The post Determination: The compLex Story appeared first on Cloth5.

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, DUST 514

Oceania DUST 514 players have gotten an eviction notice from their home. CCP announced that it will be closing the game's Oceania battleserver this upcoming Monday, citing low population and player exploitation of those remaining.

"Due to some players from other battleservers using Oceania battleservers as a venue for farming battles thanks to the lower population there, we will be shutting them down during downtime on Monday, 28th of July 2014. Any players in the Oceania region will be directed to either the Asia battleservers or the US battleservers, depending on their individual ISP routing," CCP posted.

The studio said that Oceania players will be seeing "a slight increase in latency" due to the move.

[Thanks to Ghural for the tip!]

DUST 514 shuts down Oceania server originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Source: Oceania server closing

Using roughly 20,000 Guild Wars 2 screenshots, YouTuber Quecc made a stunning timelapse video of various zones from the game, including chaotic world boss fights that just look peaceful when watching… See Full Article Link This link was shared via our social networks and tagged to automatically post to the blog.

Filed under: Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, One Shots, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Final Fantasy XIV, Miscellaneous, WildStar

Man, Bunglerm00se is so lost right now, you can't even imagine it. At least he's getting a great view as he contemplates having to trudge back. If you haven't heard, space is, like, really really big. Costco-family-packages-of-goldfish-crackers big.

"WildStar is shaping up to be one of the most immersive, interesting, and (above all) fun MMORPGs I've played in over a decade of mMm-Mor-Pu-Guhing, and I'd recommend it to just about anyone!" Bunglerm00se enthuses. "This is from the first shiphand mission your character can run. In this case, my character was asked to liberate a moonbase from a deadly menace. Is there any other kind of menace, you ask? On and around Nexus, the answer is 'no.' But the scenery sure is pretty."

You know what else is pretty? Everything after the break. Just you wait and see, my friends.

Continue reading One Shots: The green marble

One Shots: The green marble originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Jul 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Seeing some of our readers' perspectives on John Romero was interesting and occasionally terrifying. Romero, of course, recently made headlines by equating modern F2P with 1990s shareware. A couple hundred comments later, Massively readers had shared their opinions on Romero's opinions.

Which for some reason led me to speculate about non-MMO developers making MMOs. So, how about it, folks? Is there a game developer who has never made an MMO that you'd like to see make one? Who is it? If not, why not?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What non-MMO dev would you like to see make an MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Jul 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hello everyone and welcome to the final matchup of the OGN Champions Summer Quarterfinals. First up today we have the reigning champions Samsung Blue. They had a very strong group performance, but have likely been weakened due to recent changes hurting the strength of the 2v1 swap. On the other hand we have newcomers Jin […]

The post OGN Quarterfinals: Samsung Blue vs Jin Air Stealths appeared first on Cloth5.

Last night I… flame-jet dropped?  Pyro-dropped?  I don’t know what the term is for “jumping out of an aircraft with a jetpack to slow your fall” is in the game, but that’s what I did.  The Exile spy organization was … Continue reading →

Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Crowdfunding, Make My MMO

MMO crowdfunding news was fairly sparse this week, but a couple of genre heavyweights did capture a headline or two. Frontier reminded us that Elite: Dangerous will feature planetary landings and station/ship interiors post-launch, while Portalarium kicked off its latest backer-only weekend alpha test for Shroud of the Avatar. Release 8 is up and running through 11:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 28th, and it features a focus on PvP. As such, the dev team released an extensive tutorial video and a forum post dedicated to kitting out your PvP decks.

The rest of our weekly MMO crowdfunding recap is just past the cut.

Continue reading Make My MMO: July 20 - July 26, 2014

Make My MMO: July 20 - July 26, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Jul 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hi there, this is Tahalden bringing you the next installment of Skill Dimensions to discuss the most recent upset in the design evolution of League of Legends: Addition of jungle timers to the user interface (UI). What exactly are jungle timers? Why are they cumbersome to track? And what has led Riot to add UI support for them? […]

The post Skill Dimensions: Jungle Timers vs. The World appeared first on Cloth5.

WIP POST

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Debonair Ezreal

Debonair Vi

Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Culture, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous

You'd think that by now I would be running out of older MMOs and their kin to cover, but I just keep discovering more. Some of those discoveries are helped by Massively readers, who have urged me from time to time to investigate certain games. One such commenter, Space Cobra, has been after me for quite a while (as in years) to do a write-up about Kingdom of Drakkar, and I finally caved. Here you go, good buddy!

Kingdom of Drakkar, also known as Drakkar or Kingdom of Drakkar II, is a really odd duck in the MMO history books. While being very small potatoes for the industry as a whole throughout its entire lifespan, it's notable for an extraordinary long run (it began in the 1980s, people!) that's traversed through several format changes and handlers. I've seen it described, somewhat unkindly, as a "shoddier Ultima Online," but I think that is a surface judgment that doesn't take the effort to get to know the game or its legacy. There must be something to this game if it's been around for three decades, yes? Let's find out!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: Kingdom of Drakkar

The Game Archaeologist: Kingdom of Drakkar originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Jul 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, First Impressions, Livestream, Sandbox, The Stream Team, Crowdfunding, Pathfinder Online

Have you been eager to see what is happening behind the Pathfinder Online developmental curtain? Massively's MJ has sneaked in and will be poking around the alpha to see how things are coming along. Starting with character creation, she'll peek into as many corners as possible to show off this upcoming crowdfunded sandbox. Can she get to housing, crafting, adventuring, and exploring? Obviously because it is alpha, things won't be finished, but chances of experiencing everything in a short time is still pretty low! Join us live at 1:00 p.m. to let MJ know what aspects you want to see the most while she has the chance to show you.

Game: Pathfinder Online
Host: MJ Guthrie
Date: Saturday, July 26th, 2014
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT

Enjoy our Stream Team video below.

Continue reading The Stream Team: Poking in the Pathfinder Online alpha

The Stream Team: Poking in the Pathfinder Online alpha originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Jul 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Vanguard, Free-to-Play, Livestream, The Stream Team

With only a week left of life, Vanguard players have limited time to jump in and get the all the things done. Massively's MJ is heading back in with the intention of diving into a dungeon or two, although chances are she just might get sidetracked by intense nostalgia. Maybe she'll just take her sorrow for the loss of the game out on some nearby mobs or dungeon dwellers! Join us live at 11:00 a.m. to be a part of the mob butt-kicking group or just to share memories about the game.

Game: Vanguard
Host: MJ Guthrie
Date: Saturday, July 26th, 2014
Time: 11:00 a.m.. EDT

Enjoy our Stream Team video below.

Continue reading The Stream Team: Vanguard's final week

The Stream Team: Vanguard's final week originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Jul 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My Paladin at level 27 Like WildStar (WS), ArcheAge (AA) wasn’t on my radar. I’d hear of it but not having much success with Asian imports in the past, I wrote it off. In between MMOs again, I started watching Twitch streams and noticed more and more AA offerings so I started watching. Initially, I didn’t see anything that would make me scrounge for a BETA key / invite or purchase my way into either, so the thought of the game passed. My son started playing GW2 again but not with much regularity. Bored by the lack of a more traditional expansion, he began another search for an alternative. Since he’s a PVP fanboi, he decided to pay his way into the AA Alpha. I messed around on his account for a bit which piqued my interest. That combined with finding more varied game play on Twitch, I saw enough...

In May we reported that Google was looking into purchasing streaming video service Twitch for $1 billion, and now it looks like it could be a done deal.… See Full Article Link This link was shared via our social networks and tagged to automatically post to the blog.

Since reaching level 50 and completing the main story quest I’m been taking a little away from questing in Elder Scrolls Online. I’ve used the opportunity to take a quite a few screenshots in the areas I’ve completed recently I wondered about adding effects to the images to see what I could produce. There are […]

Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous

Welcome back to Massively's What Are You Playing, the game in which we tell you what we're playing this weekend and you giggle at all the lore purists who demand in-game lore-friendly holidays and events instead of Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day because here it is. This is our punishment for hating on Ewoks with cupid wings. This is why we can't have nice things.

Continue reading WRUP: This is why we can't have nice things

WRUP: This is why we can't have nice things originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Jul 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Via: Blame Space Cobra for the depressing meme pic

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Some of my best experiences with MMOs have involved regular gaming nights with a set group of friends. These days I only have a Monday night The Secret World excursion to look forward to with my cabal, but it's undoubtedly the highlight of my gaming week.

I have friends who have been playing a Monday night LotRO skirmish group for years now, and they often regale us with tales of idiocy, running jokes, and extremely slow leveling. But the point is more to socialize and have fun than progress, which I can respect.

Do you have a regular gaming group for your MMO? If so, how did you get into it? What exciting adventures have you gone on lately?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Do you have a regular gaming group? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Jul 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hello Low Elo listener. This week Dave and I want to say "we're sorry" to you, our fans. We've left you without the melodic tones of Low Elo for much too long. And to show you that we mean it, we've recorded this episode together and made it last a full 2 hours long. We do it because we care. That's right, listener. I'm talking to you. This week on the show, we talk about patch updates in 4.12, invite you to watch the New Dawn cinematic with us and much more. This week we're running a queue tip for Zyra so send us your tips and tricks on how to play as (or against!) this lady of the nightshade. You can send your tips and other email to team@lowelo.com. Follow Team Meat on Twitter as @EatGamer and @LowEloDave.


Media Link

Important: Unofficial PBE Patch Notes for 7/25/2014 - Iceborn Gauntlet Fix

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LoL Design Values: In-depth with Mastery

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

It's the second entry in our ongoing League of Legends design values! Last time we had environment and clarity designer Richard "Nome" Liu go in-depth on why Clarity is important in League of Legends. Up this week is Riot Games' Vice President of Game Design, Tom "Zileas" Cadwell, here to talk to one of League's most central themes: the pursuit of mastery.

Zileas has been a part of Riot Games for a long time and he's actually the one who first introduced several of the terms used in our design values series – like Counterplay. Today, however, Zileas will be focusing more on mastery as it relates to every design decision we make in League and why it's so important to the game as a whole. Onward!

Mastery

Players are driven to play different game genres for different reasons. In MMOs, it might be a feeling of progression or social achievement. In single-player, story-focused games, it might be about immersion, or making your way through a deep narrative. In the MOBA genre, we believe the main thing that motivates players to stick around is the pursuit of mastery.

Whether you're trying to be the best League player in the world or you're just picking up on how to last hit, playing League of Legends is about continually growing and becoming a better player. We believe that players who play League are seeking mastery, and our design philosophy is deeply tied to this idea. For our part, we hope to make a player's journey endlessly rich and fulfilling; someone who adapts quickly and instinctually should be rewarded as much as the one who spends days figuring out the most optimal path forward - both are pursuing mastery in their own unique ways.

We’ve identified three major areas of mastery: personal expertise, teamwork, and adaptability.