Cow Mengde
Banned
Wait, I'm confused. Is this Tiger Knight or a completely different game? It looks exactly the same but with a slightly different name. Even the Chinese name isn't the same. Did they change the name of the game midway?
So after losing a bit of the launch enthusiasm for Wildstar plus the World Cup starting I didn't renew Wildstar. Suppose I burnt myself out, it's just so tough for me to go through another WoW clone, even if it is one that tries bring back the Vanilla WoW charm. I'll likely sub up for the WoD expansion and give it another month or two and go from there.
My next great hype machine Everquest Next, which is still so far off. Right now Id settle for plain old fashion EQ1 in a new skin.
I'm currently looking for a good guild, this game is much more fun running with people I run into for quests/adventures. I think that'll be a big acid test.
http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/0...h-biggest-sub-mmo-elder-scrolls-has-over-770/
Found this interesting.
ESO has almost 800k subs going 3 months.
So from going "5m beta sign ups!" to 770 subs (inflated number). Not sure if I should laugh or cry. Tragic is one word.
ArcheAge according to Trion had 1m beta sign ups.
I'm still surprised ESO has 800ksubs after 3 months.
Yea beta sign up numbers hold no water.
I have been playing MMOrpgs for 17 years now. I have invested in many time, effort, money, endless grind, top PVP or PVE player, hardcore or casual, Subscription/F2P/Freemium/B2P and you name it. I am a complete veteran of this genre.
This year and the previous one has been the worst year for this genre. Definitely the worse because instead of having MMOs trying to compete with the big players on the market such as World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy: A realm reborn, WildStar, Destiny, Blade & Soul, Phantasy Star Online 2 and Star Citizen and Kingdom Under Fire II we have games trying to compete with who is the more niche and how fast they can gain revenue by exploiting that niche market.
Let us have a look - Age of Wushu, Archlord 2, C9, Dragon Nest , Guild Wars 2, Firefall, Lord of the Rings, NeverWinter, Rift, Star Wars: The old republic, Swordsman Online, Tera Rising, The Secret World, Warframe and the list never drops. In fact, there are tons of F2P MMOrpgs and the problem is not that F2P exists as a business model, an alternative one to a subscription but the culture itself.
Cheap or Free does not guarantee quality. Anything good needs cash or some type of a strong long run investment. Period.
We all knew what would happen when Free 2 Play came around and mostly MMOers from the new age, were so passionate about the idea of FREE as if it meant FREEDOM and the whole mainstream press was embracing something in the same lines. What is ironical though is that the same press and new MMoers alike are steadily reaching the same conclusion - they are all reaching the same wall that old MMOers reached when the MMO market was stuck in the World of Warcraft era.
"We are bored. We need more. We want more".
And the consequences?
Reverse engineering - Instead of progressing forward to a more complete and unified MMOrpg genre it has dissected that genre into snacks and bites with incomplete PVE & PVP and hidden content through paywalls and paypals. Every single Free 2 Play MMOrpg right now is incomplete and lacks usually basic tools such as a good group finder. Progression has been backwards and that is exactly why we have got so many with disgusting graphics, generic character customization, unpolished combat and animations and bad level designs and environments. In all fronts, from story to gameplay, the F2P market will make sure that there is always going to be a core expectation missing in order to build up hype for the next generation of gamers.
Short life span - In every crisis or stale period, there are opportunities that whoever is the fastest and the smarter hits gold. Some MMOrpgs are good at doing that - filling up a hole through that particular period of stagnation; by taking advantage of the thirst of a niche MMO crowd such as the Lineage crowd with ArcheAge. Companies right now will not allow for complete MMOs to appear because there is no need to because the market is not at a good state nor competitive and there are way too many gaps.
Pipe dream Option is good but it is not always good; when the minority dominates the majority that is unhealthy by default. Once one good subscription MMOrpg fulfils the gap in the market, the rest will get wiped, studios will close downs, jobs will be lost and so on and so forth. And there are two huge gaps - making a more refined MMOrpg of the past and making a more refined MMOrpg of that specific theme. If right now someone released the closest thing to a Skyrim multiplayer, ESO Online would go bankrupt.
Hideous purpose F2P is all about money. Not just about money or some money. And the evidence comes from the very nature of the model ; you are just a free to play player from them; someone that plays their game for free; they do not have to listen to you, take your constructive criticism seriously; you have no authority or influence whatsoever; you are not entitled to anything. Pay2Win elements are often and if you dare to raise a voice you should not because you are not entitled to since you dont pay money to the game. Hence you should be thankful to the whales to spend allot of money so you can play still play that game and still play it for free. And most importantly, regardless of how much money they make, they will never rival with the quality of a sub-based MMOrpg and it is pretty self-explanatory on why that is happening.
No expectations That is right. Since you do not pay for anything you cannot expect anything. Standards can be as low as possible, the game can be as average as possible, customer service can be as non-existent as possible, floods of bots, goldsellers, spammers and hackers can be as big as possible, technical mess with high lag and spikes can be as often as possible and servers can be as ghost towns as possible. As long as the whales spend more money, have a reason to, everything else is irrelevant.
Forceful Adaptation When you have no options because there is a lack of competition, you are forced to adapt. If you think Star Wars is the worst Star Wars, you will still play it because there is no other Star Wars to play. That creates a culture of taking breaks and painfully playing an MMO for the sake of being an MMO or due to boredom.
This has been one of the most ludicrous (for the business), subpar (for the genre) and ridiculous state of gaming where manipulative products of P2W dominate. This is like Steam flooded with indie games to justify that PC gaming is doing good and it still has the most exclusive titles when in reality most of them are byproducts of easy, cheap and intentionally lazy development. And in that respect, MMOs have become moneycash grabbing scheme like a bad Kickstarter project.
They will never attract millions of players because they don't deserve to attract millions of players. They are not that good and they do not want to be that good either. The intention of F2P MMOrpgs is not to make a great and complete MMOrpg experience but to cater to a niche and identify the whales which in turns become a money-grabbing marathon. That is why there is no loyalty from the playerbase. That is why they are not sub-based because they can never have many subs. There not again not that good and they can flood the market just like that.
We need competition because competition drives quality.
That is my argument and right now quality is secondary. Without competition, there are no standards, everything goes, there are no expectations. The culture behind F2P is a backward step.
I can vouch that. The biggest mistake you can do is go there with a solo attitude.
It ain't me, the guild was alarmingly detached, even the ones who ain't played WoW in years.
Wait, I'm confused. Is this Tiger Knight or a completely different game? It looks exactly the same but with a slightly different name. Even the Chinese name isn't the same. Did they change the name of the game midway?
My response was meant to support your response D: not to criticize it.
Played Star Wars Galaxies obsessively (is there any other way to play an MMOrpg?) for about 2 years.
I'll never touch another MMO again, no matter how cool it looks.
Shit's evil.
I loved my time with SWG tho.
Trust me, look at ArcheAge. I got into the closed beta this weekend and it has been nothing but awesome fun. Finally a proper sandbox game where you can literally be a farmer if you want to, or hell go plot a house down and live out your dreams of a fisherman. It is super crazy how open the world is, and just what you can do.Everquest was my first MMO. But damn SWG spoiled me. I played release to NGE, and rage quit like everyone else.
I am still waiting for another MMO that sucks me in like SWG did.
Was it buggy? Yes. Clunky? Yep. But the concept was brilliant,and the game.was a whole lot.of.fun, even though it was a mess, and no other MMO has come close to doing what SWG do, much less what the game aspired to be.
Trust me, look at ArcheAge. I got into the closed beta this weekend and it has been nothing but awesome fun. Finally a proper sandbox game where you can literally be a farmer if you want to, or hell go plot a house down and live out your dreams of a fisherman. It is super crazy how open the world is, and just what you can do.
After playing for a solid 12 hours, this game is definitely for me. I've also learnt far more about the Patron system, and found that it is probably the most balanced approach to a free-to-play title with optional subscription. It doesn't stop you from enjoying what the game has to offer, and only locks away private hiusing/farming lots. This stops people just popping down residents everywhere and then quitting the game, essentially bloating the world with abandoned housing.
Definitely recommend SWG players take a look, it's got some crazy potential.
Oh, that could be taken backwards and I did. My appologies.
Still, it's something I'm looking forwards to, and I hope to find one soon. My guildmates have bought SO many sub and B2P MMOs, and sunk SO much money on the F2P ones yet never stick with them longer than a couple weeks, but they don't even actually play WoW any more as a guild since January.
Stop bullshitting.
Seriously just stop.
The Crew - Closed Beta Walkthrough Video
Ubisoft recently released a Crew Closed Beta Walkthrough detailing some of the features that will be available in the upcoming Beta (July 21, 2014) and explaining why The Crew is an MMORPG.
We are talking about an MMO as you will be playing with your friends and with foreigners on the same server, and we can say that the game features several RPG elements as you will be able to gain experience, level up and even tune your car into one of the five unique and fully customizable specs. On top of this you will be able to explore a seamless open world that lets you travel anywhere in the USA, without any loading screen.
The country is divided into five regions, each with their own environment, moods and driving experiences. In this testing phase you will only have access to all activities in the Mid West and several key locations in the West Coast, but you will be able to explore the entire country.
After finishing the prologue, you will unlock a wide range of activities such as single or co-op narrative missions, skill challenges, PvP missions and landmarks. All of them will reward XP, cash and car parts.
The Crew Closed Beta Walkthrough [NORTH AMERICA] .
Black Desert Online 3rd Closed Beta Scheduled to Start Late August to Early September
Korea: Daum
North America: Daum
Europe: Daum
Russia: GameNet.ru
Black Desert Online is one of the most hyped up Action MMORPG of this year and a lot of my followers often ask me when the next beta will start. The 3rd CBT is scheduled to start sometime late in August to Early September followed by Open Beta two to three months after the 3rd CBT concludes.
Black Desert Online is still the top game of my list, I've had a lot of good things to write and share about this game from my own personal experience. I had a great time during the 1st beta and even a better time during the 2nd. Please check out my links below if you want to learn more about the game in great detail.
Beta Participation FAQ
Q: Is this game IP blocked?
A: The last two CBT's did not have an IP Block.
Q: I have a Media Press Account from the previous beta, can I use that?
A: If it's anything like the previous beta, you "might" need to get a new one.
Q: A friend of mine made me an account from the previous beta, do I need to do anything for next test?
A: You're automatically registered for the next beta upon reaching a certain level and possibly receive an early headstart.
Q: I don't have an account, how can I play T_T?!
A: In the previous CBT, if you work with any form of media or willing to write or make videos, you can apply for CBT Foreigners form through the official PearlAbyss Black Desert Page.
Q: Can I just make an account myself, lols?!
A: Registering requires a Korean cell verification, so you will need to have a Korean friend make you an account.
Black Desert Online CBT2 Level 30 Area Hard World Boss HD .
Also keep in mind that Black Desert will be coming out in North America, Europe, and Russia which may make signing up or applying for media account to the KR beta become a bit more stricter. Cheers and Good Luck!
It is barely mentioned in the article just above, but I'd say it's noteworthy news that Black Desert just got an EU and US publisher: http://steparu.com/latest-news/1588...an-and-europe-publisher-by-daum-game-division
The Crew feels a bit dull if you've played Test Drive Unlimited 2. It reuses a lot of the mechanics from that game. In the beta it is very slow to earn more cash, and the cars cost a lot. Of course there will be the microtransactions in the full version so you can just pay real money for the car you want. In a full priced retail game. The upgrades to your car are tied to your player level, you unlock different types as you progress. At least the handling model feels alright and driving around is fun. Sounds are also very well done.
Really excited for Western release of Black Desert Online!!
Yes. Everything (upgrade parts, cars... also cometics) are insanely expensive and the game pushes you at everycorner to spend your cash (fast travel, repair...) and you have the double money mecanics in your face at all times... You can buy everything with double currency
I'm not big into MMOs, but damn, I miss this. Last year I suddenly felt the urge to play it again (had to stop after a patch broke compatibility with my graphics card some time after Open) and to my surprise it closed down. There's nothing really similar out there.
I am calling you cheap ass gamers that pay for low quality MMOs or don't pay at all and expect others to pay for you while at the same time you feel entitled to talk about the "current state of MMOs"; and virtually bitch and moan about everything.
Societies deserve to have what they have - you deserve the police you have, you deserve the government you have, you deserve the politicians you have. Same thing with games.
Let us now have a closer look at the F2P market since it is the dominant force right now. The F2P supporters have always claimed that most people that play F2P are unemployed or low on income. That has been their thesis since the first day to draw more crowd away from the subscription model. "10-15 dollars a month is too much and most people given these circumstances cannot afford it", "You don't have to pay 10-15 dollars per month anymore to access the full game", "Forget subscription. It is dead" were positions widely accepted and commonly shared.
Considering how attractive and profitable the F2P model has become, if their positions were true or bared any truth that mean that since most are not unable to pay a sub on that amount then that meant most would not be able to pay any money on a F2P MMO. If we follow now the chain on this logic and translate it to numbers and thus percentages, it would mean that a 10% percent of the market, the "whale culture" as the industry calls them, would be enough to fund each F2P MMO.
However that whale culture would have to spend enough to cover monthly costs (all employees wages and payrolls, maintenance, technicians, customer support assistant, developers, servers, ect) which is not true. And it is not true because we do already know that every 1 out of 2 players gives a X amount of dollars per month and interesting enough (who would have thought eh?) that same player will definitely spend more money on a F2P game yearly than he would have spend on a subscription MMO.
It is also a given fact that mainly in Europe and NA, F2P MMOrpgs have got extremely low population. "Dead servers", "Ghost towns", "Full of hackers, bots and goldsellers" is indeed not only a very common perception but it has started to become an expectation of the free-to-play industry. Regardless of that and taken into account the revenues of the F2P sphere of influence, it is a logical fallacy to believe that a few "whales" in all F2P MMOrpgs are not only millionaires and billionaires but the primarily force for covering every single's F2P MMOrpg daily, monthly and yearly costs and hence the multi-million/billion empire.
As far as the demographics of this F2P playerbase, the information is simple and clear; the majority is not unemployed or on low income; the majority or alternatively "casuals" are usually family-oriented or workaholic individuals who do not have enough time to invest on a hardcore content driver MMO, and prefer to spend a few hours here and there on a standard F2P game.
In addition, I personally do not know millions or billions of unemployed or low-on-income players who can afford to maintain a medium-gaming ring including hidden costs (electricity, ect) but not afford a 10-15 payment per month on a sub-MMO.
So who the hell is this apparent vocal minority of not being able to afford a monthly sub?
They are freeriders and freeloaders, the jumping-wagon crowd that jumps from one MMO to another MMO within the first month hence the massive exodus that is apparent these days; they are the so called "jumpers". As it stands, this vocal minority is nothing more than a plague of constant leeches who expect others to sacrifice their own income so they can play anything for free without ever giving a dime back. Until they leave and go to the next F2P game and repeat.
More than usual you find this very verbal and vocal minority when a large amount legitimate paying customers or MMO veterans complain about the design of an apparently "Free to play" model which is 9 out of 10 not free, and more specifically freemium or Pay to win in hardcore gamers term. What is an irony though, is that these non-paying gamers always make an effort to stigmatize the paying gamers are
"gamers that do not want to pay anything and expect everything for free and expect Developers to work for free".
Next time you meet them ask them this question - "Why don't you start paying that much for once and support your beloved Developer that works extremely hard as well as its staff?" Since their position is that games are not free, then they should start putting money where their mouth is and in fact be the first ones to do so.
F2P culture apart from the evidently ridiculous community of rude kids, full-mouth brats and teenagers, it has got also negative side effects to the MMO scene as a whole. And here I explain it clearly,
Calling ALL Developers - Your games are Sub-par
I have been playing MMOrpgs for 17 years now. I have invested in many time, effort, money, endless grind, top PVP or PVE player, hardcore or casual, Subscription/F2P/Freemium/B2P and you name it. I am a complete veteran of this genre.
This year and the previous one has been the worst year for this genre. Definitely the worse because instead of having MMOs trying to compete with the big players on the market such as World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy: A realm reborn, WildStar, Destiny, Blade & Soul, Phantasy Star Online 2 and Star Citizen and Kingdom Under Fire II we have games trying to compete with who is the more niche and how fast they can gain revenue by exploiting that niche market.
Let us have a look - Age of Wushu, Archlord 2, C9, Dragon Nest , Guild Wars 2, Firefall, Lord of the Rings, NeverWinter, Rift, Star Wars: The old republic, Swordsman Online, Tera Rising, The Secret World, Warframe and the list never drops. In fact, there are tons of F2P MMOrpgs and the problem is not that F2P exists as a business model, an alternative one to a subscription but the culture itself.
Cheap or Free does not guarantee quality. Anything good needs cash or some type of a strong long run investment. Period.
We all knew what would happen when Free 2 Play came around and mostly MMOers from the new age, were so passionate about the idea of FREE as if it meant FREEDOM and the whole mainstream press was embracing something in the same lines. What is ironical though is that the same press and new MMoers alike are steadily reaching the same conclusion - they are all reaching the same wall that old MMOers reached when the MMO market was stuck in the World of Warcraft era.
"We are bored. We need more. We want more".
And the consequences?
Reverse engineering - Instead of progressing forward to a more complete and unified MMOrpg genre it has dissected that genre into snacks and bites with incomplete PVE & PVP and hidden content through paywalls and paypals. Every single Free 2 Play MMOrpg right now is incomplete and lacks usually basic tools such as a good group finder. Progression has been backwards and that is exactly why we have got so many with disgusting graphics, generic character customization, unpolished combat and animations and bad level designs and environments. In all fronts, from story to gameplay, the F2P market will make sure that there is always going to be a core expectation missing in order to build up hype for the next generation of gamers.
Short life span - In every crisis or stale period, there are opportunities that whoever is the fastest and the smarter hits gold. Some MMOrpgs are good at doing that - filling up a hole through that particular period of stagnation; by taking advantage of the thirst of a niche MMO crowd such as the Lineage crowd with ArcheAge. Companies right now will not allow for complete MMOs to appear because there is no need to because the market is not at a good state nor competitive and there are way too many gaps.
Pipe dream Option is good but it is not always good; when the minority dominates the majority that is unhealthy by default. Once one good subscription MMOrpg fulfils the gap in the market, the rest will get wiped, studios will close downs, jobs will be lost and so on and so forth. And there are two huge gaps - making a more refined MMOrpg of the past and making a more refined MMOrpg of that specific theme. If right now someone released the closest thing to a Skyrim multiplayer, ESO Online would go bankrupt.
Hideous purpose F2P is all about money. Not just about money or some money. And the evidence comes from the very nature of the model ; you are just a free to play player from them; someone that plays their game for free; they do not have to listen to you, take your constructive criticism seriously; you have no authority or influence whatsoever; you are not entitled to anything. Pay2Win elements are often and if you dare to raise a voice you should not because you are not entitled to since you dont pay money to the game. Hence you should be thankful to the whales to spend allot of money so you can play still play that game and still play it for free. And most importantly, regardless of how much money they make, they will never rival with the quality of a sub-based MMOrpg and it is pretty self-explanatory on why that is happening.
No expectations That is right. Since you do not pay for anything you cannot expect anything. Standards can be as low as possible, the game can be as average as possible, customer service can be as non-existent as possible, floods of bots, goldsellers, spammers and hackers can be as big as possible, technical mess with high lag and spikes can be as often as possible and servers can be as ghost towns as possible. As long as the whales spend more money, have a reason to, everything else is irrelevant.
Forceful Adaptation When you have no options because there is a lack of competition, you are forced to adapt. If you think Star Wars is the worst Star Wars, you will still play it because there is no other Star Wars to play. That creates a culture of taking breaks and painfully playing an MMO for the sake of being an MMO or due to boredom.
This has been one of the most ludicrous (for the business), subpar (for the genre) and ridiculous state of gaming where manipulative products of P2W dominate. This is like Steam flooded with indie games to justify that PC gaming is doing good and it still has the most exclusive titles when in reality most of them are byproducts of easy, cheap and intentionally lazy development. And in that respect, MMOs have become moneycash grabbing scheme like a bad Kickstarter project.
They will never attract millions of players because they don't deserve to attract millions of players. They are not that good and they do not want to be that good either. The intention of F2P MMOrpgs is not to make a great and complete MMOrpg experience but to cater to a niche and identify the whales which in turns become a money-grabbing marathon. That is why there is no loyalty from the playerbase. That is why they are not sub-based because they can never have many subs. There not again not that good and they can flood the market just like that.
We need competition because competition drives quality.
That is my argument and right now quality is secondary. Without competition, there are no standards, everything goes, there are no expectations. The culture behind F2P is a backward step.
Short version - If you do not support models of business that respect customers and give you full access of the game, you know FULL game, instead of hiding it behind paypals and paywalls; unlike great business models such as the one in League of Legends and Guild Wars 2 or any other MMO where cash shop only sells cosmetics, stop bitching and moaning about the state of MMOs because you are the exact reason about that state.
No one else apart from you is responsible for this sub-par quantity and quality.
Moonlight Blade Online: Character Growth and Meridian System
Moonlight Blade Online: Cutscene for Peacock Feather Battle .
Moonlight Blade Online is a martial art MMORPG developed by Tencent and it is currently in the 3rd CBT phase. The game introduces unique features for character growth to promote immersion into the ancient martial art world. The Meridian System which consists of Chi channels and nodes within the body is the key mechanics to strengthen your character in Moonlight Blade.
The 2 major aspects for character growth in Moonlight Blade Online are character level which increases with Experience and meridian system, which requires investment of Cultivation.
Gaining Experience
In conventional MMORPG's, players are required to grind or clear dungeon repeatedly to gain experience to level up their characters. However, Moonlight Blade Online introduces alternative approaches for character leveling. Players gain experience through a variety of means, including doing main quest, clearing dungeon, performing one of the designated role-play daily quest, or simply just meditate at respective school.
Questing is probably the main source of experience point for leveling a character. The main story line is very interesting as it is adapted from the famous novel (which this game is based on) by Gu Long. These main quests typically involve a lot of cut scene and voice acting. It is definitely worth reading and watching the story instead of just skipping through all of them quickly.
Experience can also be obtained through performing daily role-playing quest. Each player will be given a random daily quest which involves one of the role-playing experiences, including calligraphy/painting, wild animal hunting, goods delivery, robbery, treasure hunting or assassination. If you dont like the quest given, you can request the game to change it to another random activity (once per day). These activities allow players to immerse themselves in the ancient martial art world. The details on these role playing activities will be covered in the next review articles.
Clearing instance/dungeon is the conventional means of leveling up in most MMORPG's. In Moonlight Blade, the number of times one can clear an instance to gain experience is capped. Certain instances are only accessible during day or night in-game; for example, the first instance which is a solo assassination instance can only be performed at night (in-game).
When you have reached the maximum clearance count for the particular instance, you can still access the instance through Assist Mode, if someone in the party has the clear count. You can only obtain the loots/items from the run in this Assist Mode but not experience. Killing mobs in the dungeon or world map does not grant you any experience at all. Therefore, there is no need to grind mobs to level up. This is good news for players who enjoy doing interesting activities in the game instead of grinding endlessly to level up their character.
The next way to gain experience is probably the simplest of them all: Meditation. Players can look for the instructor of their school and meditate near them to gain experience automatically. Fixed amounts of experience and cultivation points are provided by the instructors every day. However, you will need to meditate to absorb/convert these experience and cultivation.
Typically, it only takes about ~10-15 minutes to fully convert these free experience/cultivation points. If you are in a party, the meditation process is sped up by 5% per person. If someone nearby is playing musical instrument, the process of absorbing experience and cultivation is further speed up by 20%.
The whole meditation process happens automatically and does not require any input from players. The developer probably intends to give a base amount of experience/cultivation to all players through the meditation process, so that casual players can easily catch up with hardcore players in terms of leveling.
These free experience/cultivation point can be stored up to 2 days. For example, if you miss todays meditation session, you can gain double experience the next day. If you miss the meditation for 3 or more days, the lost experience can be farmed back by killing mobs.
Inspiration Point
One of the most interesting aspect in the leveling process of Moonlight Blade is the "Inspiration Point". There are various Inspiration Points in the world map where players can visit and gain "Inspiration". These locations are typically very scenic and offer breathtaking view of the area. Upon discovery of these points, the game will automatically store the Inspiration, which can be converted to either Experience or Cultivation point through meditation anywhere (you do not have to meditate at that location to absorb it). Each Inspiration Point can only be harvested once in your whole game lifetime.
Some Inspiration Points are clearly marked on the map while others are hidden. The game encourages players to explore the world map and grants good rewards for players who enjoy exploration and photo-taking. The same place offers different sceneries during different time of the day, due to the day-night transition and different weather conditions. Some examples of the sceneries at different times of the day (day, sunset, night) are shown in the screenshots below.
Gaining Cultivation
Moonlight Blade Online: World Boss Bandit .
Moonlight Blade Online: NPC Challenge Duel .
Cultivation is the aspect which really set a hardcore player apart from a casual player. Cultivation points need to be manually distributed into the Meridian system, which looks pretty much like a Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. The details of Meridian system will be highlighted later in the article. Cultivation typically is gained together with experience points from activities such as meditating, doing quest and clearing instances. There are of course other ways to gain cultivation.
Killing the world boss bandits grants some cultivation points. The locations of the bandits are marked on each world map and they will spawn at regular interval. These world boss bandits are very strong if you were to challenge them alone. Normally, you will need a party to take them down, due to the advantage of Inner Strength Battle (Palm-lock). The world boss also drops good items and crafting materials.
Another way to gain cultivation is to challenge certain NPC's to 1-on-1 duel. These NPC are also marked on the map based on the progress of your main story line. Unlike the world map, these NPC challenge has to be done alone. There are two modes of difficulties to select from, easy and hard mode. Aside from Cultivation, successful challenge of these NPC will also grant you a potion which raises one of your stats permanently. Wining the hard mode battle will also reward you with fragments of "JiangHu Meridian Manual". These fragments can be collected and exchanged for the Meridian Training Manual (to be explained later). Unlike the world boss, these rewards can only be obtained once from each challenge NPC.
There are also non-combat related ways of obtaining cultivation points. Meridian Stone can be consumed to gain Cultivation but a daily limit has been imposed on the total of cultivation points obtained through this method. The painting or calligraphy produced by yourself can be admired (or rather consumed) to gain cultivation point as well. Details of ink painting and calligraphy will be covered in my next review article.
Meridian System
The Meridian system is an innovative character growth system in Moonlight Blade Online. It consists of a network of nodes and Chi passages/channels. Each node can either give you stats, new ability/skills or enhancement to your battle skills. The meridian system stems from their respective Central nodes and branches into various auxiliary connecting nodes. To expand the network, the conditions listed in each node have to be satisfied. Most conditions involve reaching a particular character level; some locked nodes requires players to perform specific role playing activities such as assassination, wild animal hunting, calligraphy etc before unlocking them. When the conditions are met, players can infuse the Cultivation gathered from various activities in game into the node.
New node activations require "Nodal Points", which can only be obtained through side quest. These side quests are marked on the map, but certain quests can only be activated under specific weather condition or day/night. For example, some side quest requires you to talk to the NPC at night while others require you to be at the location during a rainy day. The side quests are typically inter-related; completing one will unlock more side quests in the world map.
After a specific node has been connected and activated, one can infuse more Cultivation to it to increase the level of the node and boost the stats / effect grants by that node as long as the conditions (typically character level) listed are satisfied. The Central Node (the first node) can also be level up with investment of Cultivation as it serves as one of the conditions for leveling up or unlocking of other nodes as well.
The meridian system network can be classified into the 3 broad categories: Stats Meridian, Skill Meridian and JiangHu Meridian.
Stats Meridian
Stats meridian is straight forward: activation of new nodes gives players more stats, and leveling up each node will boost the stats granted. There are certain nodes which are empty in the stats meridian network. These nodes can be slotted with Meridian Stones, which comes in 3 shapes: circle, rectangle or triangle.
The Meridian Stone can be obtained from quest, treasure hunting and clearing instances. These stones grant a variety of stats boost and the amount of stats boost depends on the grade and level of the stones. This is where players can differentiate themselves from one another. Players can select the stones which grant the stats they are focusing on and slot them into empty nodes as long as the shape of the stone fits the node. Each stone can be leveled up as well, by feeding it with another meridian stone. Players can remove and insert meridian stones any time to suit different purposes.
Skill Meridian
The Skill Meridian network is another interesting feature of the meridian system. It allows you to boost certain battle skills by activation of new nodes. The activation condition of new nodes in Skill Meridian is slightly different from other meridians. It requires player to challenge certain NPCs to 1-on-1 duel and defeat them in battle (see the section above on Cultivation). The other requirement for activation of nodes in Skill Meridian is the level of Central Node, which can be level up by investing Cultivation points. The level of Central node in Skill meridian cannot exceed your character level.
The skill improvement in Skill Meridian typically comes in the form of higher damage, or additional skill effect. Certain skill node offers 3 difference skill effects for players to choose. For example, the 2nd node for ZhenWu Skill Meridian offers 3 options for improving Charged Slash: (1) Reduce charging time by 0.3, 1st hit suppresses the target (2) The sword chi travels forward and generates a strong suction effect (3) damage increase 20%, sword chi stays on the field for additional 1 sec. Players can switch the effect on the variable skill node anytime. This system creates a flexible and tunable skill build to cater for both PVP and PVE purposes.
JiangHu Meridian
The 3rd category of meridian network is the "JiangHu Meridian". Currently there are up to 4 JiangHu Meridian slots. The slots open up gradually as your character attains the specified character level. These slots can be filled with JiangHu Meridian Training Manual. These meridian traning manual are typically exchanged from NPC after collecting 10 corresponding torn pages / fragments. The fragments of the manual can be obtained through clearing instances, treasure hunting or simply buy from other players.
There are a huge variety of training manuals available. Each meridian manual will generate a different meridian network upon slotting. Each manual offers different focus in stats growth and grants players new unique skills. For example, the Strength Training Manual" gives a high bonus stats for Strength (with other stats as well) and allow players to learn a passive which boost their Strength stats. Another popular meridian manual is the Return Sheath manual, which grants a Battle Meditation skill which allow player to recover HP in battle (the usual meditation cannot be used in battle), but the stats offered by this manual is mediocre.
Other manuals can grant skills which allow players to cast AOE heal while certain manuals come with passive skills which grant bonus to other stats or reduce Breath consumption during Qing Gong usage. A few manuals even offer active battle skills which can deal additional damage to target weakened targets (after losing Inner Strength Battle), or targets with depleted Composure.
The type Meridian Training manual will affect the choice of Meridian stone you will be slotting as well. Each JiangHu Meridian Training manual offers a percentage bonus from JiangHu meridian if a specific type of Meridian Stone is present in your Stats Meridian. For example, Shura manual offers 18% Strength stats increase if a specific meridian stone is slotted. The choice of Meridian Manual is further complicated as some manuals also resonate with each other. For example Shura manual offers 16% observation stats increase if Sharp Edge manual is slotted at the same time.
The complexity does not end here. The total stats gain from each manual is dependent on the location at which the manual is slotted. The JiangHu meridian slots are labeled from #1 to #4. If the meridian manual is slotted in Jianghu Meridian #1, 100% of the stats increase is applied to your character. However, JiangHu Meridian #2 only offers 40% of the original stats boost from the manual, while JiangHu Meridian #3 only 0% of stat boost (you probably only use it for the sake of the skill offered and the resonance effect).
The Central nodes and other connecting nodes of a JiangHu Meridian network can be leveled up, similar to other meridian networks. The manual can be swapped anytime; this flexibility enables player to access a huge variety of stats /skill build.
Conclusion
The main selling point of Moonlight Blade Online is the movie-like gaming experience, as touted by Tencent. Indeed, the game makes me feels like I am watching a movie as the main story unfolds; even the side quests stories are very interesting as well. Overall, the game has been developed to cater for different types of players. Casual players need not worry about the tedious grinding as the character leveling is extremely easy. Hardcore gamers, on the other hand, has the options to work on their Cultivation and Meridian system for character development and stats growth.
Iron Knight to present new 5v5 map and new heroes at ChinaJoy 2014
Tencents upcoming online PvP game Iron Knight will bring something new to ChinaJoy 2014 (July 31-August 3). Attendees can get their hands on new 5v5 map set in ancient Luoyang battlefield.
The Luoyang map is designed to be an arena surrounded by walls. Players will play encounter mode in this map, and the team that manages to kill all the 5 opponent heroes wins. The arena-like layout makes the combat in the map much more intense compared to siege and capture the flag. There's no respawn in the encounter mode so each desicion could be the difference between winning and loss.
Theres no word on the new heroes at the moment though and we will keep you updated during ChinaJoy 2014. Stay tuned.
I know next to nothing about MMOs. Tell me - is it truly like Kingdom of Amalur, only with other players running around doing their stuff alongside you?
On a very basic level and until you reach endgame, yes. Especially for the more average ones. Except with worse combat for the most part. Think KOTOR in terms of combat, except you can't pause (obviously).
Blade & Soul Taiwan Server Officially Announced
Blade and Soul Taiwan trailer
NCsoft has announced officially that Blade & Soul is heading to Taiwan and the official site of this game's Taiwan version has launched. Beta sign up for Blade & Soul Taiwan will start on July 30 and the first closed beta of it will come soon.
The payment mode of Blade & Soul Taiwan is still unknown.
I recently reinstalled Guild Wars.... Makes me sad the game is pretty much dead now. I used to play when it came out and during Factions/Nightfall.
Stopped once EotN came out. Now I kinda don't wanna get into gw2 cause I heard some stuff can be transferred but not without eye if the north.
This mad me wanna try a new MMO. I tried the demo of WoW and the f2p Everquest on steam. Both did not do much for me. Maybe it's a sign that I should stay away. Well either way, I still would like to try out another MMO. Recommendations?
Still waiting for tree of savior!
Do you mind telling me what type of combat you like, what type of setting (sci-fi, fantasy, ect), whether you are PVE-centric and so forth? I can only help you if you can be as specific as that.
I like PvE mostly. Setting can be whatever. I'd prefer more skill based cause that's sort of how I remember guild wars, with the cap at level 20, you had to be smart about what you used.
This is the reason you all hate MMOs http://www.themetropolist.com/play/...of-warcraft-can-learn-psychology-behind-mmos/
although ironically, we can learn a lot from them as a society.
As a recent PC adopter, what are people saying about the Star Wars MMO. Is it worth a go these days?
From what I know - FFXIV and WildStar have got the best and most challenging endgame content. Between the two WildStar is definitely superior.
Good video related from Corpsealot
People will tell you positive things about it, about how the story is great and the game isn't too bad, but it's still filler MMO quests with a ton of busywork and a very slightly above average story. It's still not a great story compared to single player RPGs.
Pile of Garbage = EA Pass?
This is the reason you all hate MMOs http://www.themetropolist.com/play/...of-warcraft-can-learn-psychology-behind-mmos/
although ironically, we can learn a lot from them as a society.
As a recent PC adopter, what are people saying about the Star Wars MMO. Is it worth a go these days?
Activision: over 4.6 million players played Destiny beta
4,638,937 unique players swarmed into Destiny beta started on July 17, Activision said. This marked the largest console beta for a new game IP as enthusiastic gamers can progress their character up to level 8 and participate in Crucible PvP.
I recently reinstalled Guild Wars.... Makes me sad the game is pretty much dead now. I used to play when it came out and during Factions/Nightfall.
Stopped once EotN came out. Now I kinda don't wanna get into gw2 cause I heard some stuff can be transferred but not without eye if the north.
This mad me wanna try a new MMO. I tried the demo of WoW and the f2p Everquest on steam. Both did not do much for me. Maybe it's a sign that I should stay away. Well either way, I still would like to try out another MMO. Recommendations?
I like PvE mostly. Setting can be whatever. I'd prefer more skill based cause that's sort of how I remember guild wars, with the cap at level 20, you had to be smart about what you used.
I have never been able to get into MMOs.
I'm now held back by not having time to go on any kind of venture that requires my non-stop attention..
Firefall's launch-day roundup
MMOFPS Firefall officially launches today after several years of development drama and 180-degree design turns that saw CEO Mark Kern ousted last December as the game shifted from a PvP-oriented e-sport extravanganza to a game with no PvP at all to a game that just reintroduced battlegrounds in the last few weeks.
To celebrate the fact that Firefall is (finally!) launching, we've rounded up some of our best news, opinions, and videos of the game from the past year after the cut. Enjoy!