Posted on December 10, 2012
MapleStory Added Another New Class – Angelic Burster
Another new class – Angelic Burster was added into MapleStory Korea’s test server. Angelic Burster can only be female. You have a choice between two hairstyles and two faces, as well as any hair colour.
Angelic Burster has a new system call “Soul Recharge”. After normal-hitting monsters and charging up Souls, special “Soul Recharge skills” can be used.
Posted on December 10, 2012
MapleStory Sneak Peek: New Dawn Update
It’s going to be a brand-new day for MapleStory when the New Dawn update goes live in early September. If you can’t wait that long, here below have got a little treat for you: a video preview of Mihile, who previously served as an NPC and can be played in the update. Players will be able to explore Mihile and find out how he became the Knight of Light — and investigate his abilities in the process.
Mihile uses a one-handed sword and a special shield known as the Soul Shield. Unlike other shields, this one improves as Mihile does, earning an upgrade with each advancement and leveling up as it gains experience. That gives Mihile a defensive bulwark from the start of his career all the way to the apex. Check out the preview past the cut, and keep your eyes peeled for more information before the update in early September.
Posted on December 10, 2012
MapleStory: Great Maple Election Quest 2012
Nexon America announced the results from its first ever presidential poll called Great Maple Election Quest 2012. Barack Obama is preferred over Mitt Romney by 80 percent of those participating in this survey.
The poll is a small part of a major event currently being held in MapleStory. The Great Maple Election Quest 2012 will include additional player polls, and will also include wide-ranging in-game election events running up to Election Day on Nov. 6. Additionally, MapleStory has partnered with Rock The Vote to encourage players to register to vote and participate in the real presidential election.
Any registered MapleStory player in Nexon America’s service could participate in the survey. Those who participated in the poll will receive an in-game item, called the “Buff Freezer.”
“It is exciting to see our players voice their position on something as important as a presidential election,” said Min Kim, Nexon America CEO. “Our players represent a very important voting block. This event in MapleStory gives our players an outlet to have their voices heard, in and out of the game, while providing an avenue for them register and become part of the election process.”
Posted on December 10, 2012
Rise up to Justice in MapleSEA!
Asiasoft Online announces the official launch of Justice content update. It is a much anticipated patch featuring two new classes, ZEN and Phantom, major revamp to the Thief and Pirate classes, as well as a new quest to liberate a new world called Azwan, among many others.
“The Justice content update has been the talk of town among MapleSEA gamers for months, as they have been waiting for its arrival. Many players have been looking forward to the arrival of Phantom, the new thief based class who utilises the powers of the cane and card.” Mr Sherman Tan, Chairman of Asiasoft Online. “Also, another major content that the gamers have been looking forward to is the major revamp of the Thief and Pirate class. With most of the other explorer classes who went through major revamps in the past content updates, now it the time for the Thief and Pirate classes to shine and show off their true prowess in the game.”
Posted on December 10, 2012
More Than 200,000 MapleStory Players Complete In-game Quests to Raise Money for Charity: Water
During the last week of September and the first week of October, MapleStory hosted two in-game quests that were designed to engage users to learn about the importance of clean water and to allow them to show their support of the charity: water efforts in Rwanda. In the first quest, MapleStory players collected water droplets from monsters, while in the second quest, players were tasked with carrying a container of water for 30 minutes while in-game. Each completion of either quest helped contribute to fill a water gauge monitoring the total donation to be made to charity: water.
“Over 200,000 MapleStory players have completed in-game quests to support charity: water’s efforts in Rwanda,” said MapleStory producer, Yoonjin Kim. “Our players have shown that they care about the world, and that makes us very proud.”
Karma Koin, a Nexon America product, has recently announced a $250,000 pledge to charity: water. Nexon America’s $10,000 donation through MapleStory is separate and complementary to Karma Koin’s pledge made last month.
Posted on December 10, 2012
MapleStory Winter Update Preview
Winter is nearing, and Nexon is once again preparing for a major update for MapleStory. The scheduled release date for more information is on 6th December next month, and the teaser trailer shows what were some of the historic events which took place on that date.
According to MapleStory Korea’s website, there will be 2 new classes, which only show their silhouettes. Wasn’t there a new Draco swordsman added just recently? The lazer whip looks more suited for a female character… Let your imaginations run wild.
Posted on December 8, 2012
Layoffs hit NCsoft as firm undergoes ‘realignment’
Guild Wars 2 publisher NCsoft has laid off several staff as part of a studio “realignment”, it has confirmed.
The firm’s PR director Lincoln Davis confirmed the news to PC Gamer, revealing that “several” staff had been cut at the Seattle-based studio, but stopped short of revealing specific numbers.”NCsoft is realigning internal publishing resources to better suit the needs of our game development studios,” said Davis. “As a result of the realignment, several employees and contract positions were affected. This was a very tough decision to make and wish the best for all NCsoft employees in their next ventures.”
The news comes one year after NCsoft issued redundancies across studios in Seattle, Austin and Brighton.
It’s unclear how the latest round of layoffs may impact Guild Wars 2 – if at all – which itself was the target of hacker attacks back in September 2012.
Hackers stole “lists of email addresses and passwords from other games and web sites and are systematically testing Guild Wars 2 looking for matching accounts,” said the developer at the time.
Posted on December 8, 2012
Guild Wars 2 review: The final verdict
We’ve only dipped our toes in PVP, and have yet to experience any high level end-game content. So this review is based mostly on PVE. We’ve tested all eight classes and worked our way through a large portion of the human and norn story quests. So bear that in mind as you read on. There’s a score at the end, sure, but it’s subject to change. But what this review will do is tell you if Guild Wars 2 is worth buying, whether you’re an MMO virgin or a hardened veteran.
The freeform quest design is the game’s greatest strength. Not just in terms of gameplay, but in how it brings players together. You don’t have to collect quests from NPCs and turn them in; they automatically trigger when you enter an area. They’re made up of multiple objectives across a specific area of the map, and each one you complete fills up a progress bar. The quest is complete when the bar is filled, and the reward is delivered straight to your mailbox.
Having four or five things to do in each quest cleverly hides the grind and repetition that plagues most online RPGs. You’re still just killing and collecting things, but the typical MMO objectives are always mixed up with bizarre and entertaining mini-games to keep things interesting. This means you can alter your play style depending on your mood. If you don’t feel like fighting mobs, there’s always an alternative. You can finish most quests without even raising your weapon.
Better still, you never feel lonely. If another player is in the middle of killing an enemy, you can help and it’ll count towards both of your progress bars. It’s this collaboration that makes Guild Wars 2 an incredibly social experience, even if you aren’t playing with friends. The large amount of players currently invading the game’s servers is not unusual for an MMO at launch; but seeing them all working together is. You won’t spend all your time in the game silently grinding through quests on your own; you’ll be doing them alongside massive groups of other players.
World events continue this idea of player interaction by giving everyone taking part in the quest the same progress bar. These occur randomly, and when one is triggered you’ll see most players in the area run towards it. Some of these are huge in scale, and see you battling enormous bosses like the towering Shadow Behemoth in Queensdale. You don’t even have to worry about being too high level to take part; the game automatically scales your character down. You’ll frequently see players with top tier gear fighting alongside freshly spawned newbies.
Sometimes enemies will attack fast travel points and make them inactive, which gives players an extra incentive to band together and repel the invaders. In World of Warcraft you’d have to organise raids or wait in a queue to experience these big group boss fights; in Guild Wars 2 they’re everywhere, and anyone in the area can join in instantly. It’s a level of accessibility rarely seen in an MMO, and putting long-time players on a level playing field with fresh-faced newcomers gets rid of the elitism that’s usually rampant in games like this.
Posted on December 8, 2012
Cryptic Developers Reveal Neverwinter’s Character Customization
In Neverwinter, character creation begins with choosing a race, class, and gender combo. Each race comes with unique racial abilities, which grants some bonuses to core stats — strength, constitution, and more. These racial abilities allow players to fully customize their play style. Furthermore, stats are also customizable, both through your choice of race and through rolling.
Create a sharp looking avatar with a large scale of options to customize physical appearance. There will be an option to choose from several preset looks or individually fine-tune each facet of your character – slim or lengthen hands, change shape and complexion, add height, show battle scars or tattoos, and much more.
Posted on December 8, 2012
Fiesta Upgraded Exciting Mount System for the Holidays
“As one of the premiere party MMOs, we’re really psyched to be offering Fiesta fans these super fun ways to enjoy the holidays this season.. This upgrade to the mount system has been one of the most requested items for months now and player feedback since launch has been incredibly strong!” said Philip Yun, CEO, Outspark.
The Buddy Bike and Zip Board will be available this weekend and players are being invited to try the new mounts for FREE at GM-led preview events all this week. Event details here. PLAY FIESTA FOR FREE at the official site and JOIN THE FIESTA COMMUNITIES.