Previous posts:

An Introduction to Aion
Mid-Level Gameplay on Aion

After playing for a bit more than 2 months, I am now level 37. Everything about the game is a challenge at the moment, the levelling, the gearing up, the cashflow, progression in crafting, PvP…all are really difficult to make solid progress in. This suits some people but will definately put-off others. Where I use the word challenge, other people will use the word grind. Your mileage may vary….

Levelling Past 30

Levelling 1-30 was somewhat of a breeze. There were plenty of quests yielding good xp and towards 25 an instance opened up (Noctua Training Grounds) which took me from 25 to 29 in a few easy sessions.

From level 30 onwards things have changed dramatically. There are two types of quests in the game: regular quests and Campaign quests. The Campaign quests are much harder and usually require groups to deal with Elite mobs but they also yield huge XP. In the early to mid 30′s I quickly ran out of regular quests and relied on the Campaign quests as my main source of quest XP.

Last night at level 36 I completed two level 40 Campaign quests with a friend using some good flying skills and team work to dodge Asmodian enemies (hiding, using NPC guards, taking turn in rezzing each other while quickly killing mobs in open ground). Those two quests gave us around 5 million xp out of the 19 million required to ding to 37. It was quite a thrill to be able to complete quests using some clever tactics without having to resort to full-group bulldozer strategies. [More...]

Posted by Wizlor on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

What can you do when you are stuck at your parents with hours to kill until the next meal and only an ancient PC for company? Take a break from the MMOs and play browser games, of course. There’s a lot of fun, free games out there which can keep you distracted – maybe you can even introduce Aunt Mabel to computer gaming.

In the spirit of giving, I’ve spent the day playing mediocre games so that you don’t have to! Here are my favourite seasonal browser games with a variety of gameplay. Now grab a glass of mulled wine and get playing. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

The Sentinel’s Fate expansion is in Closed Beta and the excitement is beginning to grow. I’m sure I’m not the only person who is wondering what has changed since the dark days of the forest in EQ1. Tomorrow, we’ll be treated to a sneak preview of the Sundered Frontier but in the meantime, I’ve got some exclusive screenshots to whet your appetite! Click on the image to see a hi-res version full of detail.

[More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

Legends of Norrath is Sony’s Trading Card Game which can be accessed from within Everquest and Everquest 2. Many people quite enjoy playing Legends of Norrath for fun and in tournaments but I’m not a huge fan of TCGs. However, as an EQ2 player, I log into LON every month for the free loot cards.

You don’t have to buy decks for a chance to receive a loot card – active subscribers are given free, non-tradeable booster packs on a regular basis. You can open these packs and browse through the cards directly through Everquest 2.

Obviously the majority of cards are focused on the card game but the booster packs can also include loot cards. These cards aren’t used in Legends of Norrath but instead award in-game items for Everquest and Everquest 2 which can’t be received any other way.

This is a step-by-step guide to checking your free card packs and claiming your in-game loot items in Everquest 2.

If at any point the instructions are not clear, you can click on the thumbnail to see an example with yellow highlights.

Enter the Legends of Norrath application

Within Everquest 2, you can either type /lon or find the menu option through the EQII directory [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

If you have been wondering whether to return to a game you used to play, this is the time to do it. The following MMORPGs have special offers available for the holiday season.

Everquest 2

Inactive accounts have been flagged as active until the end of the year.

If you logged into your account at any point between May 12, 2007 and Nov 20, 2009 then you will receive the 3 free weeks as long as you have not logged in since Nov 20, 2009.

Lord of the Rings Online

Accounts will be reactivated for a few days of free play from December 17 to December 21 for US servers and 23rd December until 30th December 2009 for European servers.

Welcome Back to LOTRO! | The Lord of the Rings Online

Age of Conan

You can get free access to Island of Tortage (levels 1-20) if you sign up for an Age of Conan trial before 1st Jan 2010.

Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Warhammer

Warhammer currently is offering 10 free days of gametime if you reactivate your account.

Team Fortress 2

Apparently, Team Fortress 2 are also offering a free weekend but I can’t actually make sense of their site to confirm this. Sorry.

Team Fortress 2 – WAR!

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

Game Update 54 is going live today, Wednesday the 9th of December. You can go through the full update notes – pages upon pages of bug fixes! – on the official forums.

Game Update: Will of a Tyrant – Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

The update includes:

• a new World Event tying into the upcoming Sentinel’s Fate expansion,
• a huge number of bugs eradicated from Norrath once and for all
• live patches for Frostfell and the new City Festivals, although they will not yet appear on the live servers.

The new World Event is a devastating situation in Freeport. Be sure to head straight for the city and find out what is going on. The initial effects to the scenery of Freeport are shocking (or beautiful, if you are a *spit* Qeynosian).

For a quick start, speak to Sir Tallen Yevix in West Freeport or Royal Librarian Brinn in Qeynos Harbor.

PRELUDE EVENT

• Freeport has been rocked by the sudden destruction of Dethknell Citadel. What was once an ever-present reminder of The Overlord’s power and will floating above the city has collapsed, and the tenuous peace held within the city by the watchful and ruthless Overlord has been obliterated. Something has obviously befallen Lucan D’Lere, the Overlord of Freeport! Start your investigation into these mysterious events in West Freeport by speaking with Sir Tallen Yevix.
• The destruction and chaos in Freeport has not gone unnoticed by the Qeynosians, but they, too, have encountered some clandestine acts committed against their leaders, the royal house of Bayle. Help Qeynos recover some stolen texts relating to the history of Enoxus and the Bayle bloodline by speaking with Royal Librarian Brinn in Qeynos Harbor.

The EQII Producer’s Letter posted on Monday by Brenlo, tells us more about the update.

Lots going on in the EQII world! We are just about to release our next update, Will of a Tyrant and couldn’t be more excited! With this update you are going to see a few hundred lingering bugs fixed in EQII. Some of these bugs date back to launch and are being knocked out before we gear up for the expansion. In fact, we have taken to calling this update our “bug bash” as we pulled out our hammers and smashed them into oblivion.

As for content in this update, it might feel a little lighter than recent updates however there is a reason for that. Actually, there are a couple of reasons. The first is that it was a shorter development cycle for us, with only about two months of time between this update and last. The second reason is that we are starting to shift many of our resources over to expansion work as it gets closer to its release. In addition, we have some as yet to be announced surprises coming. They’re some rather large features, which we hope will excite you. More on those in the months ahead.

Although the first City Festival will not be until next year (to avoid conflicts with Frostfell festivities), you can start collecting tokens now to spend at the fair. Adventure and Tradeskill writs will reward tokens. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

This is my second update on the state of play in Aion – I was level 28 when I wrote this. You can read my initial impressions in An Introduction to Aion

The initial issues with queuing and server-side lag have completely disappeared. The game is playing smoothly for me at all times.

Since the first update, I have experienced the game in three new dimensions: PvP, Instance Play and Crafting.

Impressions follow:

PvP

I have only participated in impromptu, open-field PvP, not in any Fortress or Artifact organised pushes yet. This is for the moment dominated by level difference and implicitly the level and quality of the gear you wear.

One feature of the game is that you cannot determine the exact level of your opponent when you target them. You can see their Abyss Rank which shows how many points they have acquired in PvP areas but I believe this balance of points can go down when you spend Abyss points (for PvP vendor gear). In general though the higher Abyss rank, the more likely the player is to be of higher native level.

As a tank, the few encounters I have been in have gone one of two ways.

1. I get ganked by a group of Asmodians while I am questing which usually means a quick death unless I see them coming and manage a sharp run for my life
2. A one-on-one encounter which is then more interesting.

One-on-one fights at similar levels require you to understand how the opponent’s class is played in order to have a better chance of defeating them. The game only has 8 distinct classes which are effectively identical (8 evil classes mirrored by 8 good classes) in skills/spells. All classes have a small set of “special” abilities to avoid or deal massive damage and you need to anticipate what the opponent will do and react accordingly with your play, keeping your own special skills in store for the right time in the fight.

It’s a very deep challenge to try to understand your enemy, read what he is doing during the fight and react appropriately. Fights can be over in seconds or can last up to a minute. I had one such fight where I ended up running but only after 30 seconds toe-to-toe with an opponent who was also a tank and 5 levels above me. I found out his level by looking him up on the Aion website after the fight. [More...]

Posted by Wizlor on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

I don’t usually post about political issues but this public service announcement from the Save The Murlocs Foundation has touched me so, I feel compelled to share it with you.

You can find out more about this fine organisation on their website.

The Save the Murlocs Foundation aims to preserve and protect these majestic creatures. Through numerous awareness and outreach programs, we work to outlaw Murloc cruelty, help rebuild villages, protest part harvesting, and find homes for poor orphaned baby Murlocs.

Remember, you CAN make a difference. Spread the word and support the cause!

Save The Murlocs

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.

Great news! The new City Festival has played out on the Test server and the Far Seas Trading Company are traveling now to bring the celebrations to the live servers, hurrah!

This monthly event will be moving around the starting cities of Norrath, with the Far Seas Trading Company sponsoring a week-long festival for everyone to enjoy! Next week, when Game Update 54 goes live, you will be able to start earning tokens to spend at the festivals.

These tokens have been added as rewards for writs (both adventure and crafting) as well as special quests available as a part of the festival.

The tokens are used to purchase items from the festival merchants. Most of the merchants travel to each city but in addition, each location has its own vendor with special house items only available at that city’s festival!

I have been collecting details from the message boards which sheds some light onto the details. Rumor has it that the first festival will be in January, so as not to conflict with the Frostfell celebrations.

Here are some excerpts from the developer posts on the subject: [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://www.mmorpg-info.org.