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Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Digital Continuum, Star Wars: The Old Republic


Star Wars offers a setting with incredible chances at strong storytelling and it's for this reason I've been watching closely for any hints at the story elements in Star Wars: The Old Republic. This recent developer blog on the driving forces behind the Sith Inquisitor's tale really dug its claws into my mind.

Before now, I'd always assumed most choice elements within the story of any given class would be mostly binary. That was the easiest solution for BioWare, who has created quite the challenge for themselves with the premise of a full singleplayer storyline experience for each class within the game.Continue reading The Digital Continuum: Can story supplant grind?

The Digital Continuum: Can story supplant grind? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.<br style="clear:both;">

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Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Previews, Star Wars: The Old Republic


The Sith Inquisitor is not meant as just another Force-using class. That's one of the central themes behind the most recent developer blog from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Saying even that the Inquisitor is meant as a Palpatine to the Sith Warrior's Darth Vader is only a fraction of the whole story. No, the Inquisitor exists as someone whose diet of dark secrets and forbidden knowledge is as much a survival mechanism as anything, the manipulator and scholar, the calm and reason to balance against the Warrior's bravado and power.

Where the Warrior begins as a member of high society, the Inquisitor begins life as a slave, sent to either become a part of the Empire's almost monastic order of Sith or die unknown and unmourned. Inquisitors face the difficulties of choice, not only of morality but of their personal desires weighed against the needs and demands of the Empire. And through it all, they are the keepers of secrets and mystical knowledge of the Force, learning and studying into the otherworldly aspects it posseses. While we're still more than a year out from the expected launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, fans should still enjoy this look at one of the game's most devious classes.The development of the Sith Inquisitor in Star Wars: The Old Republic originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.<br style="clear:both;">

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Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, The Road to Mordor

Every Friday, the Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis.

Turbine's Lord of the Ring's Online has just announced the Volume III, Book 1: Oath of the Rangers free content expansion and the patch is already up on their test server, Bullroarer. And with a test patch, comes patch notes. I have to give the normal disclaimers about test notes changing before going live, but given that, let's dig in.

Two highlights are listed in the notes right off the bat with little explanation other than a promise of a dev diary to come at a future date. Those two new changes are:

• Duo mode now available in Skirmishes
• Extensive changes to the original Shadows of Angmar Volume I epic quest line

Players have been gimping the Small Fellowship (3-man) system by significantly dropping the level of the mobs when creating their Skirmish. That costs them Skirmish marks. Hopefully the new system will fix that.

The changes to the original epic quest line are probably to make it more solo friendly. It's very hard to complete it now that most players have leveled past it. If you are new to the game, you are probably begging higher level guild members to help you or skipping it altogether. Skipping it, though, is cheating yourself out of some of the best lore-based content in the game. I hope Turbine is changing it to make it more accessible for newer players who don't have access to groups at their level.

New level 64 player skills, Skirmish changes and new crafting after the jump!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Vol III, Book 1 test realm notes analyzed

The Road to Mordor: Vol III, Book 1 test realm notes analyzed originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, News items

Turbine offers up a dev diary and screens for Oath of the Rangers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just spotted this, thought i may as well post it.

http://www.mortalonl...-open-beta.html

Starts 1st Feb (Monday), doesn't say for how long.

I'll probably give it a try, though haven't been following MO much.

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, One Shots

After a Welcome Back weekend that brought players back to Middle-earth, and the announcement for Book III, lots of people are excited about what Turbine has planned in Lord of the Rings Online. We here at Massively are always glad to see One Shots from the game too, because it's just so darned beautiful to look at!

Today's beautiful vista was sent in by Aaron W. a little while back, but the timelessness of the image makes it just the thing for today. He writes in: This is a screenshot from LOTRO's Lake Evendim, in the Evendim zone. After resubbing to Lord of the Rings Online after playing that other big MMO, it's views like this that make me see what a lot of MMOs today are missing out on -- a truly in depth world that is waiting to be explored. This is my Guardian, Stalrond, overlooking the lake after making the long journey to the far side of the zone, near the Even Rills.

While you're gaming this weekend, why not take a screenshot or two for us. Email them to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll show them to the world and give you the credit for sending them along to us. Happy weekend!

One Shots: A long way to go originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, The Road to Mordor

We here at Massively have been avidly covering Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online since we launched back in late 2007. And now, we're dedicating a new weekly column, The Road to Mordor, to cover the many facets of the game including the just announced Volume 3, Book 1 content update. Every Friday, we will be exploring topics and writing guides for both leveling players and end game raiders, crafters and role-players, info-hounds and casual browsers.

After the jump, we've listed links to official guides, fansites, podcasts, blogs, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages and more. This community guide will be updated as new resources become available.

But before we get into it, also want to help answer any questions you have about the game. Wondering what are the best legacies for Champion Second Age weapons? The lore behind Dol Guldur? Which Skirmish nets the most marks per hour? List your question in the comments below and in a couple of weeks, we'll round up the best ones and answer them.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Community guide to Lord of the Rings Online

The Road to Mordor: Community guide to Lord of the Rings Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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