Hook em horns

“Okay. The post is done. Let’s publish it!” “Only if you don’t want anyone to see it.” “…” If you are anything like me, you don’t usually stop to consider the WHEN, just the How and Where, as you’re about to hit ‘Publish’ and/or share your post. It’s the internet. It’ll be there forever, right? Yeah. By the time your audience is up and about, it’ll be buried under piles and mounds of other content and distractions. According to data gathered from Global Web Index by We are Social, here’s how many hours-per-day people actually spend using the internet (globally): Source: Digital in 2016 reportNow, the data is also saying that over half of that time (almost two-thirds, in fact) is spent on social media: I’m not alone in my social media addiction.Count in other online activities – sharing memes, rage-fighting trolls on YouTube videos’ comment sections or … [Read more...] about When is the Best Time to Publish and Share Your Content?

We’ve murdered Mordremoth, cracked Kralkatorrik, and seen off Zhaitan. Dragon Bash is in full swing and eventually we are going to have to accept that it’s going to happen. We are going to have to face off against Steve. It’s more than six years into Guild Wars 2 and those of us playing this long know that eventually, we’re going to have to take down the deep-sea dragon.  advertisement  Sure, finding our own deep seas adversary is going to require a unique set of skills but beyond that, we’re going to need to feed the masses. Sure, we can swim, the corsairs can sail, but can we fish? Today I’m going to make the case for fishing in Guild Wars 2 and it’s more than just a narrative addition to our hunt for Bubbles.Fishing has been an add on to many MMORPG and has brought an unexpected amount of joy to several players in various guises and this low effort activity has a place that ultimately makes it a worthwhile consideration for a … [Read more...] about Guild Wars 2 Fishing for Ideas

So here’s the thing about Elder Scrolls games: Most of them start out with the same hook. From Morrowind to Oblivion to Skyrim, you start out as a captive, and you’re either escaping or being set free under mysterious circumstances. Even in Daggerfall, you’re trapped in a cave, and the original version of Elder Scrolls Online had you start out in the Wailing Prison. It’s just a thing with the franchise: You know exactly what to expect from the beginning of the game, even though the rest of the game is a big of an off-the-rails sandbox. It’s a comfort when you’re leaping in to each new installment. We’ve been talking a lot about newbie onboarding and the beginnings of MMOs in our staff channels lately, thanks in part to some interesting questions from podcast listeners and the recent newbie overhaul of Legends of Aria, so I thought we’d take some time to mull over the topic in Overthinking this week. What, specifically, do you expect out … [Read more...] about Massively Overthinking: The first 10 minutes of an MMO

As the end of January draws ever closer, so too does the official console release of Monster Hunter: World, the latest entry into Capcom’s venerable series of action-RPGs that began nearly 15 years ago with the release of the original Monster Hunter on the PlayStation 2 in 2004. It’s a momentous occasion for fans of the series, as it marks the first time since 2013’s Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – itself an enhanced remake of 2010’s Monster Hunter Tri – that a main-series title will get a Western release on a non-handheld console. Although the series has long enjoyed popular success in Japan, where handheld consoles have a much stronger core playerbase, it has remained a largely niche title in the West, where home consoles and PCs reign supreme. So I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that the imminent release of Monster Hunter: World on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (and the PC release slated for this Autumn) marks the start of a … [Read more...] about The greenhorn hunter’s primer: Getting started in Monster Hunter World

This past weekend, FFXIV held a Live Letter that discussed some of the changes and content coming in patch 5.1. Though we don’t have an exact date, we do know it’s set to drop sometime late October. New 24 Man Raid Of course, the biggest selling point for this patch is that the new 24 man raid is being create in conjunction with folks who made NieR:Automata. For me, it’s not that exciting of a hook, though. I’ve never played a NieR game (gasp!) and though people shout from the rooftops how good they are, the aesthetics and basis for the game just don’t appeal to me. Already we’re seeing screens of the raid with machines, dull-feeling metal backdrops and things that just don’t spark interest for me. If you happen to be a fan of the series, I’m sure there’s things to enjoy about it, but I’ve never been into heavy machines/robots/android type environments. Not to mention that I just haven’t found most of the 24 man raids … [Read more...] about FFXIV: Patch 5.1 Live Letter Info