Beta testing for Elder Scrolls Online’s Summerset expansion – as well as the free update 18 that’ll launch alongside it – began this week as the chapter rolled out to the PTS, with plenty of glimpses at new housing and wearables on the way. What else is new in MMORPG testing this week? Defiance 2050’s big PC closed beta is live for the weekend – though console players have been put off a little while longer. Old School RuneScape has begun testing its mobile client. That’s not very old school, but we’re not complaining. WoW’s Battle for Azeroth kicked off player testing of dark iron dwarves and mag’ghar orcs. Conan Exiles rolled out what’ll probably be its last major patch for testers before its official launch next month. Radical Heights’ early access teased female toons. In ’80s leotards. MapleStory 2 is plotting its western closed beta for next month. Did we miss anything? Drop us a note in the comments, … [Read more...] about Betawatch: Defiance 2050’s closed beta, ESO’s Summerset on the PTS (April 20, 2018)
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Betawatch: Radical Heights springs out to predictable lows (April 13, 2018)
Good news, Boss Key fans! After the studio pretty blatantly gave up on LawBreakers, it turned around and quickly launched its next project, a battle royale title dubbed Radical Heights. It sprang to life on Tuesday, and then it… sort of limped right after that. The numbers do look at least slightly better after the rest of the week, so hooray? Maybe? Looking back, I started that paragraph with “good news.” I’m not sure why I did that. Other beta news? Hey, sure. You should definitely catch up on our PAX East coverage if you haven’t; we got hands-on time with several games in early testing like Pantheon and Ashes of Creation, and we had more interviews with studios behind Rend and Ship of Heroes. Dauntless is taking the charge to open beta on May 24th, letting everyone get a peek at what it’s like to hunt monsters in a world. But, like… with less corporate branding. Ahem. Who made Worlds Adrift what it is? The players, that’s who. … [Read more...] about Betawatch: Radical Heights springs out to predictable lows (April 13, 2018)
MMO Week in Review: WoW picks its Battle for Azeroth launch date, Ultima Online goes free-to-play (April 8, 2018)
Support Massively OP on PatreonWere you too busy gaming this week to pay attention to MMO news? Get caught up every Sunday evening with Massively Overpowered’s Week in Review! Classic-but-still-updated MMORPGs were on fire this week! World of Warcraft kicked off PAX East with a bang by announcing Battle for Azeroth’s launch date of August 14th, and then Ultima Online released its Endless Journey patch, taking the 20-year-old game free-to-play for the first time ever. Stay tuned early this week as we roll out all our PAX coverage! In the meantime, read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions. THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES World of Warcraft’s Battle for Azeroth expansion launches August 14 - Who had August in the poll? Anybody have August 14th specifically? Because that, my friends, is precisely when World of Warcraft's Battle for Azeroth expansion is launching. So sayeth Blizzard's official… Ultima Online’s F2P … [Read more...] about MMO Week in Review: WoW picks its Battle for Azeroth launch date, Ultima Online goes free-to-play (April 8, 2018)
Betawatch: Defiance’s beta, TERA’s console launch, and Eliot’s in the brig (April 6, 2018)
Welcome back to another look at all the MMO beta happenings of the week! I’ve stashed Eliot in the brig so that I can take over Betawatch and do some extra work on Friday! Wait, I’m not really sure I’m doing griefing right. Anyway, here’s what’s up. Defiance 2050 is hunting for beta testers! Make sure you’re all signed up. TERA formally launched on consoles, bringing an end to its beta. Soulworker likewise moved from soft launch to full launch. Made of money? A big chunk of cash will get you into Pantheon’s pre-alpha next month. We got our hands on Conan Exiles’ launch build (and loved it). Ashes of Creation is targeting fourth quarter 2018 for its alpha one launch. Camelot Unchained is testing, testing, testing. Crowfall is now in 5.5 pre-alpha, having introduced a new map and lady centaurs. Arcfall may still be in pre-alpha, but now it’s also free-to-play. Star Citizen rolled out 3.1 and then 3.1.1, but then rolled … [Read more...] about Betawatch: Defiance’s beta, TERA’s console launch, and Eliot’s in the brig (April 6, 2018)
Project WoW Noob: Days 3-4 – Contemplating The “MMO” And The “RPG”
DAY 3 & 4 Player: @jarira Little elf lost in the big city. After how smoothly Day 2 went, we decided to see how Jar can hold up in the game on her own. So I was pleasantly surprised to log in one night and see that she’d been online just a few hours before, and had actually gained a level by herself. I quickly shot her a message and asked her how Day 3 on her own worked out. Not so good, apparently. I gathered from her replies that the major highlights of her experience was that she had gotten lost, accidentally ran into a named mob three levels higher than her which killed her pet, and then it took a while for her to figure out how to rez him again. After questing on my own the other day, I’m not so sure WoW is a game I would play on my own much. Its just so much more fun with someone else, especially when everything is new, and I literally get lost like all the time (as you saw today in the cave lol) I think it’s just my lack of experience with RPG … [Read more...] about Project WoW Noob: Days 3-4 – Contemplating The “MMO” And The “RPG”