Massively

by **Rubi Bayer** Oct 20th 2009 at 5:00PM

We are well into that time of year - Halloween is almost here and a quick look into nearly any MMO out there will show it. We've been talking about quite a few games out there and how they're celebrating, but they're certainly not the only ones putting jack-o-lanterns in their windows. Follow after the jump for a look at how some of our other favorite MMOs are celebrating.

by **William Dobson** Oct 6th 2009 at 11:00AM

Although the Legends of Norrath digital trading card game can be played completely separately from EverQuest, the two games have a lot of ties to each other beyond just lore. The former can be launched from within the latter game. There are also "loot cards" which not only function in LoN but can be redeemed in EverQuest for certain bonus items. Some people that play EQ but not LoN may have been upset in the past at missing out on a few of these loot card items, but it's doubtful that anything has caused as much of an outcry as is currently occurring over an upcoming loot card. The card in question is the Dragon Brood Crypt Key Card, and the resulting EQ reward will be the only way to access a brand new dungeon instance.

by **Mike Schramm** Aug 16th 2009 at 8:00PM

Massively was at Gen Con 2009 yesterday in Indianapolis, Indiana, and while most of the (gigantic) convention was involved with more traditional types of gaming, from dice and board games to collectible card games and RPGs, MMOs made their own splash in the "e-gaming" area. Sony Online Entertainment probably had the biggest presence -- in among huge posters of Free Realms and Star Wars Galaxies, they had demos running of all of their current games (though we didn't see any previews of DCUO or The Agency running). A costumed model posed for pictures in front of a large Legends of Norrath poster, while over in the CCG area, SOE held tournaments of the game for players.

Gallery: MMOs at Gen Con 2009

by **William Dobson** May 12th 2009 at 6:00PM

If you're a hotshot Legends of Norrath player and want to get into the 2009 World Championship Tournament at Gen Con Indy in August, clear your schedule for this coming weekend. The first of the Championship Qualifiers will begin on Saturday the 16th of May, and if you're in the top 16 players of the day, you'll be playing on Sunday as well. Both first and second place will take home some cash, and travel and accommodation for Gen Con Indy so that they can compete in the World Championship.

Of course, if the cards don't line up for you this weekend, there will be other opportunities to win your championship spot over the next few months:

Legends of Norrath 2009 World Championship Qualifier Tournaments

Dates:

Scheduled for May 16-17, 2009
Scheduled for June 6-7, 2009
Scheduled for June 20-21, 2009
Scheduled for August 1-2, 2009

There will even be a few spots to be won at the actual Gen Con Indy event for a handful of lucky late entrants. The eventual World Championship tournament boasts US$10,000 and US$5,000 first and second prizes, and the winners' likenesses will be put on new cards. Full entry details for this weekend's contest can be found here. We'll keep you posted on further qualifier news as it comes up.

by **Krystalle Voecks** Mar 18th 2009 at 11:00AM

Vegas, city of lights, nightlife, and SOE's Fan Faire! Sony has announced that they will once again be heading for Vegas to party down in high-rolling style. This year they'll be holding the event from June 25th to 28th at Bally's Hotel. The location they've picked is right in the middle of various Vegas attractions - although we're sure if you're there for the SOE party, you won't need to worry about that too much.

Having attended last year's Fan Faire, we can definitely say that it's a great weekend of fun and interesting panels, nice people - and this year's lineup appears to be just as interesting. So far the scheduled events include:

Special announcements and sneak peeks of upcoming SOE titles at the Third Annual Community Address from SOE President John Smedley
Autograph signings with members of the original EQ development team and other key contributors
Lots of in-game tournaments; and live, game-themed competitions and quests
Developer forums and roundtables
Cool giveaways and other fun items!
Player of the Year

To top it all off, prices for Vegas vacations are quite good, currently. So if you've been thinking about getting away, really dig SOE's games - or upcoming titles, and enjoy partying down with a great bunch of friendly, welcoming people, then definitely make some plans to attend this year's Fan Faire.

by **James Egan** Feb 5th 2009 at 12:00PM

Sony Online Entertainment surprised us recently with the announcement that they'd acquired Octopi -- creators of the collectible strategy game PoxNora -- and that the studio would now be known as SOE Tucson. We had some questions about what this acquisition might mean for SOE moving into the future, as well as what changes are on the horizon for PoxNora.

Massively caught up with the former president of Octopi, Dan Kopycienski, who is now Director of Development at SOE Tucson. Although SOE Tucson is still very much a studio in transition, he was kind enough to speak with us about where PoxNora is today, and what it may become with the newfound backing of Sony Online Entertainment.

by **James Egan** Feb 1st 2009 at 12:00PM

The latest producer's letter for EverQuest II, from Senior Producer Bruce A. Ferguson (aka "Froech"), is a bit of a look back at how The Shadow Odyssey expansion was received by the players. More than that, it's a look ahead to the changes SOE wants to make with the Fighter classes. Ferguson writes, "Last summer, at Fan Faire, we discussed making some changes to the Fighter classes, in order to bring them back in line with our original vision, where all fighters manage their own aggro, instead of relying on other group members to channel them some hate. Making some of these changes will broaden the desirability of all Fighter classes, and help increase their role in groups, without altering others."

Those changes aren't something SOE is simply rolling out, and they've been releasing the Fighter revamp in stages following some lengthy testing. To that end, they're still hoping to get the feedback of players trying out these changes on the Test server. Beyond class balancing, Ferguson drops some info about what EverQuest II players can expect in the short term:

by **Samuel Axon** Oct 10th 2008 at 8:00AM

There exists a very close relationship between MMOs and table-top games.

Yesterday saw the launch of Ethernauts, the fifth expansion to EverQuest-related collectible trading card game Legends of Norrath. LoN is digital, but gameplay-wise, it's totally a table-top game. World of Warcraft has an entirely material trading card game. Warhammer Online is of course based on the Warhammer miniatures game, and WoW is getting a miniatures game of its own. And of course, the RPG genre originated on the table-top with Dungeons & Dragons.

We're wondering: how much crossover is there between digital and table-top games? How many of our readers play them? Tell us! What do you think of table-top games?

by **Samuel Axon** Oct 9th 2008 at 7:30PM

Today marks the release of the fifth expansion to the Legends of Norrath digital trading card game -- Ethernauts. More than 280 cards join the existing arsenal, including four avatar cards, two new unit races, and 20 loot cards. They all play into a story that sets the stage for EverQuest II's upcoming The Shadow Odyssey expansion. In fact, there are even some scenarios based on never-before-seen TSO content.

In an attempt to give would-be newbies an incentive to buy in, SOE has also introduced the Legendary Starter Pack at the price of $19.99. If you're a vet, though, you can pick up Ethernauts booster packs for $2.99 each. Current EverQuest or EQ2 subscribers will get a free starter deck, 'cause, y'know -- you're not hooked on Norrath enough already, right?

Oh, and there are a bunch of special events all weekend celebrating the launch.

Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!

Gallery: Legends of Norrath: Ethernauts

by **Michael Zenke** Oct 7th 2008 at 10:00AM

Our third and final Legends of Norrath preview card for the Ethernauts set is on display this morning. Ethernauts releases this Thursday, so this card brings our preview series for LoN Expansion 6. We've previously talked about several other 'card counter' mechanic offerings, including the personal attack card Vicious Assault and the pet buff Geotic Rune. Today, finally, we have a defensive card using the card counter mechanic; a quick flip of the wrist to get you out of a tight spot.

This past week we also took a look at some of the loot cards coming with this set. Those and all three of our preview cards are in our gallery for the set, below. Check them out, and get ready for the Legends of Norrath expansion's launch the day after tomorrow. Read on below the cut for a closer look at Temperence.

Gallery: Legends of Norrath: Ethernauts

by **Michael Zenke** Oct 2nd 2008 at 10:30AM

We've been walking through some previews of the Legends of Norrath cards over the last two weeks, and now SOE has some more 'fun stuff' to show off. We have three brand-new loot cards to show off. Two are transformations for your EverQuest II character, and the third is a brand-new pet for your EverQuest character. Check out Allakhazam for even more EQ2 and EQ loot card hijinks!. Plus, keep your eyes on Massively for more loot card information soon, and another preview card through next week!

Gallery: Legends of Norrath: Ethernauts

Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest!

by **Michael Zenke** Sep 30th 2008 at 11:00AM

Last week we began our latest preview series for the upcoming expansion to the TCG Legends of Norrath: Ethernauts. Vicious Assault, last week's card, introduced the 'card counter' mechanic that is taking a bow in this newest expansion. This week's preview card, Geotic Rune, utilizes that same mechanic to provide an all-new level of power to a very traditional Mage deck build.

Another early-to-midgame card, Geotic Rune will increase the power level of all those 'pet decks' out there. It sounds in general like pet fans will be getting a few treats in Ethernauts, a topic touched on in this week's designer analysis. SOE-Denver's Evan Lorentz joins us once again to discuss how Geotic Rune fits into the new expansion to Legends of Norrath, and where you might end up using it in your decks.

Read on below the cut for full details.

by **Michael Zenke** Sep 23rd 2008 at 11:00AM

We announced the upcoming expansion to Legends of Norrath just a little less than two weeks ago. Already the release date for the new card set is approaching, and for the next few weeks we'll be offering up a preview-card-a-week to familiarize you with the expansion's new game elements. The art for the new set meets the standard set by previous expansions, and this time around we'll be trying to include comments from card designers along with the actual art itself.

Today we're previewing 'Vicious Assault', an early-to-midgame ability that starts an avatar-on-avatar combat. SOE Denver's Evan Lorentz walks us through the card and its use; despite the ability itself being fairly straightforward, the new set offers up some different takes on tried-and-true LoN strategies.

Read on below the cut for the full card art and Lorentz's take.

by **Michael Zenke** Sep 10th 2008 at 9:00AM

The folks at Sony Online Entertainment passed us word that a brand-new expansion to their fantasy-themed TCG Legends of Norrath is coming very soon. Called simply Ethernauts, it will be the fifth expansion to the game since the game launched at the end of summer last year. It follows close on the heels of the Oathbreaker expansion, which came out in June of this year. While there are a lot of similarities with past expansions (280 new cards, 20 new loot cards, etc.) Ethernauts looks to be adding a few new bits of flavour to the pot.

Most intriguing is its deep tie-in to the upcoming Shadow Odyssey expansion to EverQuest 2. That connection was hinted at in our interview with LoN developers Kyle Heuer and Tom Lischke in June of this year. Players will take on the roles of ancient heroes, fighting against the darkness of The Void in the far distant past of Norrath. New gameplay elements will also be introduced, with all-new options for starter decks and deck building. We have the full release formatted below the cut, if you're interested. Look to this space in the near future for our typical art previews and promo art from the new expansion.

Gallery: Legends of Norrath: Oathbreaker

by **Krystalle Voecks** Aug 14th 2008 at 9:30PM

What goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas -- unless of course you happen to be at Sony Online Entertainment's 2008 Fan Faire! We here at Massively are party-crashing this fun event bringing all the dark, dirty details to you straight from the heart of casino central!

For those who are unable to make it to this year's event (and those of you who are just curious about this kind of thing) we're bringing you the contents of the official SOE schwag bag for this year. So gather your courage, and dip in to the gallery for a first look at all the wonders contained in the 2008 Bag o' Schwag.

Gallery: SOE Fan Faire Schwag Bag