Filed under: Races

Atlantica Online unleashes content update

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 21st 2010 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Endgame, News items, Free-to-play, Races, Atlantica Online

Atlantica Online has rolled out another content update to the game, giving every player what they've longed for: the chance to beat the stuffing out of an impressive number of crab people. That's really what everyone wants out of a game, so we should all just go home and kill crab people. Of course, there were a couple other elements improved or expanded in the game's update, but who cares about little things like new skills and improved competition ranks when faced with a dynamic new cluster of enemies?

Leaving aside the awesomeness of getting to beat up homarids in Atlantica Online, the update is quite substantial, with a lengthy set of patch notes available on the official site. Players can enjoy augmented health points to extend the length of engagements, as well as the aforementioned new skills and competition ranks. The game has also streamlined its system of Mana Stones, combining and simplifying the Repair, Enhance, and Enchant stones to make life easier for players.

If all that's still not appealing enough to you, the fishing system has been improved, which might wind up bringing you back to crab people yet again. Take a look at the full notes to see all the additions and updates with this latest patch.

Star Trek Online character customization in pictures

by Dan O'Halloran Jan 21st 2010 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, Classes, New titles, Star Trek Online, Races

Cryptic Studios, the developer behind Star Trek Online, is well known for their character customization options. I know that I spent more time making characters in City of Heroes than beating up bad guys. Cryptic has brought that same design aesthetic to STO. For those of you not currently in open Beta, I've captured a gallery of shots below spotlighting all the available races in open beta (Federation and Klingon factions.) I've also shown the cosmetic customization screens for both factions and the color palettes available.

However the true fun lies not in tweaking the familiar Vulcan, Bajoran or Klingon races, but in the build-you-own-alien race tool. For both factions you can randomly create an alien species based on a humanoid model. Blotchy skin, tentacles, protrusions, ridges, antennae and more await those players looking for a unique presence in the game. I've taken screenshots of some crazy creations randomly generated, too. You can also customize your alien if you have something specific in mind.

Not seeing the alien life form you're looking for? Borg will be available as a Federation faction playable race to those who pay for the Lifetime subscription option. Ferengi and Risian will be added as playable races right after launch and future expansions promise more familiar faction race sets including Romulan. Star Trek Online launches on February 2, 2010.

Gallery: Star Trek Online Character Creation

Enter the Star Trek universe with Cryptic Studios' Star Trek Online. From hands on reviews of the early levels and space combat, through noob question and developer interviews, we've got everything you need to know about the game trekkies are dying for.

The Daily Grind: Which Guild Wars 2 race will you play?

by Rubi Bayer Dec 12th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, Races

Hot on the heels of any new information about Guild Wars 2 these days comes the inevitable question: which race will you make first? Since we found out that humans aren't the only playable race, the discussion provides endless fodder for Guild Wars fans.

Will you stick with your tried-and-true and play a human? How about going brain-over-brawn and playing an Asura? Have you been running around in your Charr hat since Halloween this year, dreaming of the day you can go all steampunk and create a Charr character? Perhaps you'll create a Norn, just to see if you have a shot with Jora. Or are you the curious type, anxious to create a Sylvari and learn about this mysterious new race?

Speculating on your first race in Guild Wars 2 seems to be a favorite way for fans to entertain themselves while waiting for launch, so how about you? What race can you just not wait to jump into when launch day arrives?

Analyzing the newest Guild Wars 2 trailer

by Rubi Bayer Dec 4th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2, Races

ArenaNet has a very early, very wonderful holiday gift for Guild Wars fans this morning: a brand new Guild Wars 2 trailer. (Take a moment to cheer, then we'll move on.) The trailer is amazingly beautiful, something we've come to expect from ArenaNet and particularly Guild Wars 2. But if you don't let yourself get distracted by the eye candy -- something that is admittedly hard to do -- there is a lot of new information here, including more details on people and places we've already heard of, and some fascinating possibilities to explore.

Take a look at the video here, then follow along with us as we explore this new information from ArenaNet. If you're unfamiliar with Guild Wars 2, this will help you get acquainted, but we also have some deep lore speculation for current Guild Wars fans. (The video can also be found at the official Guild Wars 2 site.)

Turbine releases DDO screenshots of Drow race

by Rubi Bayer Nov 21st 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Free-to-play, Races

Any DnD fan is going to be familiar with the Drow, and it's pretty much a given that they would be a playable race in Dungeons and Dragons Online. If you're not familiar with them, Turbine has given us a series of beautiful screenshots with a closer look at the Drow.

The official site has a history of the Drow as well, if you are hoping for a bit more background: Most drow choose a life of adventure out of necessity, given the dangers of their homeland. Still, they greatly desire personal power, and many drow take up the mantle of adventurer seeking to satisfy their ambitions. Most drow follow the evil scorpion-god Vulkoor, though exposure to the cultures of Stormreach has brought a few of them to less malevolent deities.

If these screenshots are enough to get you interested in checking out the Drow race further you can explore more of their story and the prerequisites for unlocking them as a playable race, as well as inherent abilities and enhancements on the DDO site.

Gallery: Dungeons and Dragons Online Drow race

More new Halloween items from EverQuest, EverQuest II

by Rubi Bayer Oct 24th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, News items, Races

Sony Online Entertainment might just take the prize this Halloween for the best transformation item in an MMO this year. EverQuest and EverQuest II players can purchase a Transmogrification Scroll or a Race Change Potion for a change of race. If you've been dying to try out a new race but hate the thought of starting all over and losing your progress, you need to get to the marketplace.

The change is permanent, but you can always purchase another scroll or potion to change back or try a different race on for size. EverQuest players have even more fun items to check out while they're shopping. A couple of different auras will surround you with floating jack-o-lanterns or candles, a Collar of the Cursed Lupine will net you one werewolf companion, and a Bat on a String will summon a bat to follow your every move.

Halloween's coming up fast, so grab your bat, your floating jack-o-lanterns and pick your shiny new race in time for trick-or-treating!

The running of the Ratonga

by Rubi Bayer Oct 11th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Events, in-game, News items, Races

Well, okay, it's not called that, but it's going to look awfully similar. EverQuest II is calling for players to create a brand new, level 1 Ratonga character for the Rat Race, a scavenger hunt of sorts being run on 21 different servers. The race will begin in Hate's Envy on all servers, where the horde of new Ratonga will be given a list of items to gather as they race through Norrath. The fastest finishers will win special in-game prizes, but there are also gifts for everyone who participates.

Kiara and Amnerys from the SOE Community Relations team will be your hosts for this event, so it's sure to be lots of fun. This is an ongoing event, with the first race set for next Tuesday, the 13th, and races scheduled nearly every day until November 6th. Check the list on the official site for starting dates and times for each server, and good luck in the Rat Race!

Star Trek Online: wouldn't you like to be a Klingon too?

by Rubi Bayer Oct 10th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, PvP, News items, Star Trek Online, Races

Craig Zinkievich covered a great deal of new information about Star Trek Online in his interview with Eurogamer yesterday, including the burning question "Can I play a Klingon? I want to wield a Bat'leth!" Well, you can. It turns out that Cryptic has put a great deal of thought into this, offering full character advancement as a Klingon and a "drastically different" playing experience.

Klingon gameplay is initially locked, requiring some time to open it, but Zinkievich says it's "not deep in the game." Once unlocked, the Klingon faction will be less story driven than the Federation story line. "The content that they will be experiencing is a lot more focused on PvP -- fighting the Federation, fighting House versus House within the Klingon empire. So it is a full-on character with advancement, with items, with bridge officers as well," says Zinkievich.

While the overall Klingon arc in the game is that of a "bad guy," there will be chances for the Klingon and Federation sides to work together, as well as some good Klingons in the federation. "You can't really make a Star Trek game these days without allowing people to live out their Worf fantasy," said Zinkievich.

He goes into further detail in the full interview.

Epic Mission Arcs in EVE Online add new dimensions to game's PvE

by James Egan Aug 25th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Lore, Quests, PvE, Races

There are so many reasons we love to play MMOs, but for most of us, repetition isn't one of them. Although EVE Online differs from most other MMOs on the market in a number of ways, it still has some of those PvE pitfalls that have long been part of massively multiplayer online games -- specifically, repetitive missions (quests). As with any game where there are only so many quests that NPCs can give out, a mission runner in EVE will play through the same stories multiple times.

Granted, many players who run Level 4s all week are doing so for the ISK, not to enjoy the story. There are only so many times you can rescue The Damsel or blow up another Zor before you've stopped paying attention to the story that's presumably taking place around you. Although this issue of quest repetition in MMOs certainly isn't limited to EVE Online, the developers at CCP Games want to address this problem in their game, and their solution to creating more engaging PvE content is the Epic Mission Arc.

The Digital Continuum: Let the Star Wars races begin

by Kyle Horner Aug 17th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: New titles, News items, Opinion, The Digital Continuum, Races, Star Wars: The Old Republic

I've been holding off on this for a little while, but it's the kind of subject that is impossible for me to avoid indefinitely. Classes were the last topic I touched upon, and there was quite a lot of conversation. In fact, there was a whole bunch of it to follow. So let's discuss the potential races for Star Wars: The Old Republic and, as usual, feel free to toss in your thoughts and picks in the comments. It wouldn't be the same without them.

The Digital Continuum: Let the Star Wars races begin, part 2

by Kyle Horner Aug 17th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, The Digital Continuum, Races, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Karos Online announces closed beta dates and three playable races

by James Egan Aug 14th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Races

It was only the other day when we first mentioned Karos Online, a fantasy MMO in development at Galaxy Gate, which will offer a twist on standard game mechanics with a dual dungeon system. Event dungeons will be limited to five players but battle conditions will adapt to player actions. Maze dungeons, on the other hand, won't have those player caps, and are essentially shifting labyrinths which add more difficulty the further players venture in.

If that's caught your attention, Karos Online's publisher NHN released more info today about the game's closed beta test. The closed beta weekend event will begin on Friday, August 21 and last through Sunday, August 23. This first weekend event will let players choose from three different races -- Humans, Shadows, and Seroines -- and one of each race's sub-classes.

Runes of Magic's Elven Prophecy releases September 15, collectors items announced

by James Egan Aug 13th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, Races, Runes of Magic

Frogster has just announced a September 15 release date for Runes of Magic's next content update, Chapter II - The Elven Prophecy. The update will bring players into new zones, like the Savage Lands, in addition to adding a new race to Runes of Magic -- the elves. September 15 will also mark the release of a boxed version of Runes of Magic for Germany, France, and Spain (at a recommended retail price of €9,90). That boxed version will include a few collectors items:

Manticore pet

Printed manual

Poster-sized world map of Taborea

Time-limited mount: Thunder Wartiger

Choose my Adventure: Lord of the Rings Online

by Shawn Schuster Aug 5th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Classes, Culture, Lore, Professions, Massively meta, Races, Choose my Adventure

Join me as I brave my way through lands unknown in an adventure dictated entirely by you, the Massively readers! Vote for everything from game played to character creation to ultimate goal and watch it unfold in a series of journals and galleries here on the site. Then, as the ultimate goal is reached, we'll do it all over again in a new game!

With our Guild Wars adventures behind us, it's now time to branch out into our next game for the Choose my Adventure series. According to your votes accumulated this week, Lord of the Rings Online will be my next game to explore, with a little help from you, the readers. You also voted to keep the format the same, so I'm happy to hear that it's been working well so far.

Now I must say, I'm certainly no stranger to either GW or LotRO (I didn't rig the polls, I promise!), but I think this can still be approached from a fresh perspective through the use of both the in-character gallery journal and the brand new character that you will help me create. So keep reading after the jump for the polls and more information to get me started in my brand new journey through Lord of the Rings Online.

Final Fantasy XIV's first jobs and race names revealed

by Kyle Horner Aug 5th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Classes, New titles, News items, Races, Final Fantasy XIV

New information is dropping rapidly on this game. Now, Final Fantasy XIV's race names and first classes have been revealed. Hmm, maybe those rumors of an earlier than expected beta carried more weight to them than we thought.

If you weren't already aware, the races in Final Fantasy XIV are visually alike to the ones found in Final Fantasy XI so that players from that game feel more at home in the new one. Aside from this, names and lore for each race are completely different. Today, we've got the official new names. Here's the rundown with the Final Fantasy XI names in parenthesis for comparison: Hyuran (Hume), Lalafell (Tarutaru), Elzen (Elvaan), Miqo'te (Mithra) and Roegadyn (Galka).

There are four jobs, each with two subclasses, revealed so far. They are: Fighter (Archer & Swordsman), Sorcerer (Enchanter & Warlock), Crafter (Blacksmith & Cook) and Gatherer (Gardener, Fishermen). Interestingly, it appears that FFXIV may eschew crafting professions for a system that incorporates the feature into jobs. When you couple this with the news of no levels and no experience points, it becomes even more curious.

We think the dev team are really onto something, and 2010 cannot come soon enough.

[via Kotaku]

Gallery: FFXIV First Races and Classes