Everyone has a fighting chance
The release process of modern MMOs seems to have settled into a normative pattern: Game X gets announced, pre-purchase packs go on sale, closed betas are marketed, and open beta marks the informal launch. These phases are followed by a more official kickoff down the road, which may or may not include a rebranding as free-to-play after a certain amount of time.
Accessibility: It seems to be the mantra for AAA RPGs these days. By itself, there’s no problem with that, being accessible is something all games should aspire to so more players can enjoy them. The problem is, developers too often think more accessibility should mean less difficulty. Looking through my library of games, one studio stood out more than any other: Bioware. Outside of DLC, when was the last time a core Bioware game challenged you?
MMORPG.com and Digital Extremes have teamed up for a key giveaway to give players a 3 day Credit Booster to help players double their earned credits from pickups. This will be in addition to the other great perks found during the Aug 13-17 "Infested Nightmare Bonus Weekend" event. Get your key now!
The Neverwinter site has been updated with a new post that lays out some forthcoming changes to the difficulty and leveling speed for characters in the level 60-70 range. This issue was of significant concern to players after the release of the Elemental Evil module and the team has been crunching numbers and reviewing player feedback for quite some time.
Want to see how a vehicle-based game can be an open world RPG? Then tune in to the now-live stream event by the Mad Max team. The game is set to launch on September 1st for PC, PlayStation 4 and XBox One.
The World of Warcraft team is getting players ready for flying to debut in the Warlords of Draenor expansion, something that has up to now been unavailable. While the ability is not yet patched into the game, it is on the PTR and will be coming soon. In an effort to make sure all players are adequately prepared, Blizzard has published a guide and video about how to attain the multi-part achievement necessary to fly. Check out the video before heading to the World of Warcraft site.
Bigpoint has announced that the Rise of Balor expansion to Drakensang Online will be released on August 26th. The expansion is considered the largest ever in the "hack’n’slay" game’s history and brings new lands to explore, a new level cap and much more.
Aeria Games has released the entire, and fully interactive, world map for Dragomon Hunter. The map allows for a preview of every zone in the world that players will adventure through on a journey to collect find over a hundred monsters. Defeated monsters can be turned into mounts making the trip worthwhile.
Warframe players are invited to check out the special bonus weekend that begins at 2:00 Eastern / 11:00 Pacific today. Called "Infested Nightmares", the special content will run through Monday, August 17th. Players can earn Double Affinity during missions and take on High-Reward Alerts for even more valuable items. Lastly, several items will be 50% off all through the weekend.
The DC Universe Online site has been updated with a new letter from Jens Andersen that reveals the first features from next month’s latest DLC, Episode 16. Players can look forward to a new solo mission called Oa Under Siege, a new four player Alert and Elite Alert called Desecrated Cathedral, new gear and more. Andersen promises more information will be revealed soon, some live stream events to see the new content and more prior to the September release of Episode 16.