partying posts

The Mog Log: Those grapes were probably sour anyway

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 13th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Game mechanics, Grouping, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

So, guess what beta I didn't get an invitation for. You can go consult with the instant replay if you want, I can wait.

I know that everyone is stunned. I certainly was. Of course, I assuaged my sadness by telling myself that I didn't really want to be in their stupid beta anyway, because I bet it smells bad and it sets my computer on fire. That line of reasoning worked real well. I don't honestly think my column got me kicked from the running for a Final Fantasy XIV beta slot, but it's a bit more reassuring than the idea that I just didn't get picked for some other reason. (I'm putting money on Square-Enix not knowing I exist, for the record.)

All things considered, I can live without the beta, even though I'm chomping at the bit to play the game. But I'm not the only person, place, or thing not currently darting about the world of Eorzea. And as long as I'm on a streak of making long-winded predictions, why break with formula? There are three other things that I suspect aren't in the beta either, and I intend to make a guessing game out of seeing how close I am to the truth.

Tags: beta, dps, featured, ff, ff11, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-11, final-fantasy-14, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiv, game-mechanics, grouping, groups, healers, parties, party-structure, partying, square-enix, statistics, tanks, testing, xbox-360

A big thanks to all those that came to the Champions Online launch day partying

by Seraphina Brennan Sep 2nd 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Culture, Events, in-game, Launches, New titles, Massively meta, Champions Online

Yesterday was the superheroic launch of Champions Online, and we were very happy to get to play alongside some of you! Throughout the day we were jumping around on our characters, breaking from our former plans of camping in the Crisis zones to tackle challenges all over the Champions globe! From Canada to the Desert to even the fouler reaches of Millenium City, Massively readers were taking down some serious threats to the safety of the NPC population.

Didn't get the chance to catch up with us? No worries! We're on your friends list (most likely) so it won't be that hard to catch up with us while we're in-game. Thanks to the wonders of sidekicking, we're here if you ever need backup or just want to go out and save the day.

We hope you're all enjoying your time in Champions Online and your time partying and defeating villains with us. We know we're enjoying it, and thanks again!

Tags: champions-online, co, cryptic-studios, launch, launch-day, massively-events, partying, playtime, reader-meetup, robynblade, tesla-six, yeti-yesterday

Anti-Aliased: Yu rack disriprine

by Seraphina Brennan Mar 18th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, Anti-Aliased

A few nights ago, I was in one of the worst pick-up groups I have ever seen. It was World of Warcraft, we were in Halls of Lightning, and we had opened up with a dramatic wipe on the first boss. (He wasn't even in his powered mode, which surprised me.)

Valiantly, we tried the battle again, but found the same effect. Everyone looked like they had enough gear -- I had done that boss with "worse" people backing me up. Of course, while I was pondering that, the squabbling had already begun in the party. Priest blames hunter, hunter blames mage, mage blames paladin, then the paladin stops pondering why we were failing, realizes people were blaming her, and becomes flustered that someone would actually blame her for the wipe. Meanwhile, the rogue sat in stealth and went afk. Perfect party dynamics.

Before long I found myself outside of Halls of Lightning again, sitting on the steps in my pristine holy plate armor. I held up a sign that said, "Will tank 4 food," while I kept up hopes that another party would take me in. (Note: Apparently Game Informer used "Will tank 4 food" in their latest magazine, which just read 5 minutes ago, well after this article was completed. Scary.)

Party dynamics seem to be on the decline, but why? Pick-up groups were always a scary prospect, but lately they seem to have become something entirely more nightmarish. What the heck has changed?

Tags: anti-aliased, community, death-penalty, dungeons, endgame, exp-loss, featured, grouping, instances, joystiqfeatures, parties, partying, penalties, pick-up-group, pug, pugs, quests, raiding, soloing, world-of-warcraft, wow

Why you should be playing Final Fantasy XI: Level sync

by Seraphina Brennan Dec 30th 2008 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Tips and tricks, Why You Should Be Playing

"Why you should be playing ..." is a free form column from Massively.com intended to inform you about our favorite parts of our favorite games. We want you to know why we play what we do!

This should be a story that any MMO player is intimately acquainted with. You've just picked up an awesome new MMO and have been flying through the levels. It's gripping you and you really want to share it with your friends. Then you realize the fatal problem that occurs with most MMOs -- you're too high level and you don't want to wait for your friends to catch up.

With Final Fantasy XI, this was the brutal nature of the game. Being one or two levels away from your party resulted in decreased exp for everyone involved. Being three levels or more meant the party just didn't work at all and experience was ruined for everyone. It was unbearably hard to get parties, because everyone had to be within 2 levels of one another. With the recent advent of level sync, however, those days are long gone.

Tags: enhancement, featured, ffxi, final-fantasy-xi, group, grouping, level-sync, party, partying, square-enix, update