Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related.
Ah, the hero healer. It reminds me of me. Have you been in a situation where it always seems to be that one same healer which steals the spotlight raid after raid? Its as if raiding groups can’t take down bosses without that one specific healer there. It gets progressively worse when that healer starts rubbing it in the faces of other healers whether directly or indirectly. Now don’t get me wrong. A healer should be proud of what they are capable of doing.
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Castille World of Warcraft
Perfect World Entertainment has spent a fair amount of time talking up their upcoming PvP-focused game, Battle of the Immortals. The game certainly looks gorgeous, but we’ve only heard bits and pieces about how it will actually play. The most recent update, however, certainly provides a fair bit more information on how the game, as it details the game’s classes — Berzerker, Heretic, Magus, Slayer, and Champion. Each class is given a brief writeup of their strengths, weaknesses, and preferred opponents.
In no particular order, Slayers deal a mix of physical and magical damage at close range but have next to no defensive abilities. Heretics are a combination of priests with more sinister magics, dealing damage and healing as well as inviting a few obious comparisons. Magi (or maguses, if you prefer) are… well, okay, they’re kind of obvious. Berzerkers have an errant “z” in their name and focus on dealing out physical damage at the cost of some defense, and Champions wield a weapon and shield to be all but indestructible. The classes seem set to provide a fair mix of the usual “holy trinity” mechanics and PvP skills, so take a look at the official preview to get a clearer picture of what you might want to play once the game goes live.
gmaxwell Uncategorized
As if a world promised to be “100% rat-free” wasn’t enough to make you want to visit this strange new land, the folks at Perfect World Entertainment have released a shiny new trailer very much in the keeping of Kung Foo! This new commercial video shows off all manner of crazy things that you can look forward to when stepping into the world of Foo. That’s right — it’s just chock full of Foo, and all for you!
If you haven’t taken the time to find out more about Kung Foo!, then be sure to check out the trailer after the break. With the recent death of Dungeon Runners, we’re really glad to see another light-hearted MMO that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Koeningsmark MMOPRG News
The new year is a busy one for Soul of the Ultimate Nation players, as we’ll be looking forward to not only a string of updates, but a brand new class to play with as well.
This year is the year of the Shadow, SUN’s sorcerer/assassination combination character. Carrying a really cool sword that’s reminiscent of Ivy Valentine’s weapon from SoulCalibur, the Shadow is made for playing the game solo. So for all those of you out there who have been looking to get away from the groups and set out on your own, the Shadow is the character you’ve been looking for. Beyond the addition of the Shadow, Webzen is also rolling out mounts and the ability for your characters to transform for the international version.
For all of the information on the new additions as they roll out, keep an eye on the Soul of the Ultimate Nation website.
Castres MMOPRG News
For most people, Valentine’s Day either means either buying something nice for your partner if you’re in a relationship, or staring in silent rage at the endless array of heart-shaped candy boxes if you’re single. Unless you’re a player in Final Fantasy XI, in which case it means yet another opportunity to get yourself a heart-shaped wand and possibly fulfill your dream of being a magical girl. The not-so-deceptively named Valentione’s Day is fast approaching yet again, and as per tradition, the official site has put together a short piece of fiction to commemorate and preview the event.
This year seems to hint at a slight twist to the events of prior years — while the charm wand has become strongly associated with the event (since that was how one earned it in the first place), it’s usually the end reward of the process. The small preview story seems to hint that we’ll be called upon to slay more than a few monsters with said wand before everything is said and done… or perhaps it’s just a sweet little vignette. Either way, Final Fantasy XI players will get a chance to find out between February 4th through February 15th.
Castiglione Final Fantasy XI
Players will be seeing the arena points they had left after season 7 ended be reimbursed in the near (if not immediate) future. Yesterday players logged on after maintenance to discover their points had been wiped, and that season 8 had not yet begun. Area points are only wiped at the beginning of a season, not before and not during the transition between seasons.
Crygil’s full statement on the reimbursement is as follows:
Arena points were wiped during the recent maintenance following the end of the arena season on January 19th. We initially intended to launch the next arena season this week, but it was delayed due to the minor content patch that needs to coincide with the beginning of the season having some last minute issues to resolve.
Due to the delay in the arena season we are in the process of reimbursing arena points to all eligible participants. Characters will be returned to the amount they had on Tuesday, January 26th. All arena points will then be wiped when season 8 begins. We apologize for the confusion this caused and appreciate your understanding
Rumors place season 8 beginning next week, although there has been no official announcement. Arena season 8 will begin with the release of patch 3.3.2 — of which we recently discover
Castille World of Warcraft
Hey folks! After yesterday’s EPIC RAGE in the comments section, let’s try for something a little more low-key, shall we? How about a picnic? Gorthaur of Mal’Ganis sent in this screenshot along with a love letter to a certain NPC: “You complimented my dress, I commented on your new hairstyle. Our pet cockroaches skittered around as I laid out my freshly prepared Northern Stew. I don’t know how you convinced Fenstad to shower petals on us while we toasted and laughed and ate, but it was a sweetly romantic touch.All in all, it was a fabulous date. I hope to see you again this year, Jeremiah.”
Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We’d love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
gmaxwell World of Warcraft
Thank goodness!
Anyone else relieved that this funky device is removed from the game? I have to admit, I wasn’t a big fan of the big head look. I’ve been “pitied” many times by random players (and even those in my own guild). Dwarves and mohawks just don’t seem to mix. In any case, Crygil has confirmed that the mohawk grenade will not be around any longer. Ever since the grenade became active on servers back in November, I couldn’t walk around Dalaran without seeing large heads everywhere. Is this the last time we’ll ever see Mr. T plant these grenades in game for players to use?
Somehow, I have a hunch that this won’t be the last time we’ll see mohawks in game.
admin World of Warcraft
Obviously today’s news from Apple of the iPad is the hottest thing since, well, the iPhone. One of the big things Apple was showing was the OpenGL 3D games on the iPad. OpenGL is the technology that allows advanced 3D graphics and games to function (DirectX is the Microsoft Windows equivalent, although OpenGL works on Windows too). For a long time people have been clamoring over the ability for WoW to run on an iPhone, and the iPad looks like the ideal touch device to let it run on.
And many of you began writing into us as soon as the iPad announcement was made, asking if we knew about WoW running on the iPad.
The answer is no, we have no information, and there is no indication that WoW will run on the iPad. The armory app should work automatically (as well as all your other iPhone/iPod Touch games), and there is certianly room to make the armory app even better on the iPad — but we don’t even know if such a plan is in the works yet.
The iPad, especially with its dirt cheap data plans for $14.99 and overall cheap starting price of $499, can obviously have an impact on guild websites and keeping abreast with WoW news, but that’s all that the WoW community will get from it, for now.
So again, just so we’re clear: No WoW on the iPad right now.
gmaxwell World of Warcraft
Guys? We have our pony!
The Warcraft twitter account just linked to a new page on the official World of Warcraft site regarding Invincible. This stallion served Arthas in life as his mount. Unfortunately, Arthas worked his mount a little too hard and slipped on ice. Arthas had no choice but to give Invincible a merciful death. (You can find more details about the story if you’ve read Arthas: Rise of the Lich King by Christie Golden.) When Arthas became the Lich King, he visited Invincible’s grave and raised him from the dead in order to serve him.
How do you get him?
Oh, it’s fairly simple to get. This pony can’t get hungry, tired, or feel pain. Great for a Lich King to use when traveling around, right? All you have to do is pry it from Arthas’ cold, dead hands. Beat Arthas in Icecrown Citadel on heroic mode, and Invincible will serve you.
But we don’t know if everyone in the raid is going to get one (like Ulduar drakes) or if only one mount will drop (akin to killing Sartharion with 3 drakes up or the Mimiron head mount from Yogg-Saron).
gmaxwell World of Warcraft
Back in October, City of Heroes players got a treat in the form of three arcs created by high-profile creative minds. The Guest Author program used the Mission Architect system and gave players the enjoyment of working through missions scripted by authors known outside of the realm of Paragon City. We haven’t heard much about the program since then, and so it might have seemed as if the feature had been forgotten, but it turns out it was simply in brief hibernation, as the official site has announced the next group of writers.
Mercedes Lackey (known for her series of fantasy novels set in Valdemar), Troy Hickman (known for the meta-superhero series Common Grounds), and Austin Grossman (longtime writer of video games and author of Soon I Will Be Invincible) make up the next batch of guest writers crafting their own arcs in City of Heroes. Two of the arcs should be live today (assuming you’re reading this on January 26th), according to a small supplementary piece which includes a few words from Sean McCann. It’s good to see the game continuing to emphasize and enhance the experience of user-created content, and players should look forward to some high-profile names continuing to take their swing at it.
gmaxwell Uncategorized
If you’re anywhere as excited as us for All Points Bulletin you’ll be happy to know we had the chance to ask Lead Designer EJ Moreland and Community Manager Chris Collins a bevy of questions, which they answered with supreme openness.
We’ve got the scoop on all sorts of topics, from Realtime Worlds’ stance on community interaction, whether or not the game will have official forums, content updates post-launch and plenty more. We hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as we did conducting it!
Massively: How would you describe the state of the current beta and what’s the next step?
Chris Collins / EJ Moreland: We’re in a very important stage of closed beta right now. All Points Bulletin is something technically new and original, so it’s important for the development team to make sure we’re getting the feedback they need. That’s why we’re being extremely selective over who we’re choosing and making sure they’re staying a part of the community.
Read more…
Castillans MMOPRG News
Last time we took a look at an elusive breed in the MMO universe, it was the sometimes spotted but never conclusively studied console MMO. This time, however, we should take a look at the World of Warcraft tourist, which should be compared to a brontosaurus. Not because it’s a slow-witted lumbering creature — because it doesn’t exist except in the minds of people who find the concept easier than the real state of affairs.
As Serial Ganker points out, most people playing World of Warcraft aren’t doing so until something better comes along — they’re doing so because they enjoy playing the game. The players who are lumped in as “tourists” are people who, more often than not, had already left the game and were looking for a new game to call home. This, in no small part, is why it’s hard for games that clone WoW to find an audience, as the people who are looking for a new game want something different.
The ultimate conclusion is that the idea of a tourist shifts the blame from developers to players — that the game was fine, but people just jumped ship because they really wanted to go back to WoW anyway. It’s a convenient myth, but really, we’ll all be better off if we just put the right head with the right skeleton.
Castillans World of Warcraft
One of the things many people love about Guild Wars is the tremendous imagination and feel of the artwork in the games. While we didn’t get a description to go with this interesting screenshot taken by Logen, it reminds me of a gorgeous piece of art from Guild Wars. The work in question won a prize at the Into The Pixel showing at E3 2008. Thankfully, the artwork is available on the Into The Pixel site for everyone to enjoy. Check out today’s great One Shots full size, and then look at the ITP gallery piece from artist Tyler West. We think you’ll see the connection too.
Are you one of the people who really love the artwork in Guild Wars? We’d love to show off more, but we need your screenshots to make that happen. Send your best screenshots (all MMOs welcome) to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, a description of the area, and the name of the game. We’ll post them out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit.
Castres Uncategorized
We’re less than a week away from the launch of Global Agenda, but Hi-Rez is as anxious to get things going as the fans are. Last night they gave a list of launch activities for the week leading up to the big day, and it looks like it’s going to be a busy few days.
Today is the last day of beta, and the Hi-Rez team will make it interesting by randomly entering certain PvP missions and spawning bots that don’t usually show up there. If you’re interested in a little extra challenge, keep your eyes peeled for these.
Wednesday, you’ll want to keep a close eye on this Twitter feed. Global Agenda is expected to be available for download on Steam by the end of the day, and that’s where you’ll find the announcement. Name reserve begins as well, so take a close look at the instructions on the GA site.
Early start begins Friday the 29th, and the servers will be open for limited content until Sunday afternoon.
And finally, Monday, February first: launch day.
The last few days before launch are typically the ones that find us as players at our most impatient, but in this case, GA fans are likely to be way too busy for that. Check out all the details in the announcement, and have fun!
Castiglione MMOPRG News