DCUO gets the next slot in my Labor Day round-up in recognition of other news in comic MMORPG's. I picked up all of the remaining DLC's when I was dumping my now generally useless Station Cash. As a result, I now own the new Captain America shield weaponset for all characters, along with the Green/Yellow Lantern and the Earth powersets (if I make new characters), along with a few additional chunks of content.
One of the newer additions - I can't tell if this required DLC or not - are soloable daily quests that award two of the tier two dungeon tokens daily. On the plus side, this can help grind out the tokens needed to get the gear required to access some of the content I already owned - on the downside, this doesn't make the daily quest grind any less of a daily quest grind. I'm keeping an open mind, but overall I'm not spending much time in game.
If you'd told me that one superhero MMO had abruptly announced plans to close today, I would have guessed DCUO over City of Heroes/Villians. SOE is not NCsoft, but DCUO never really took off and is shackled with the costs of a licensed IP - the only significant scenario in which SOE has been forced to pull the plug on MMORPG's. By contrast, Paragon Studios' offering was an original IP that recently went free to play, and had an eight and a half year history behind it. I guess we finally have hard evidence that a business model change is not guaranteed to save every MMO that makes the attempt.
What I've Been Working On: World of Warcraft
I signed in briefly to make the rounds of all my characters in the wake of WoW's new patch.
As promised, mounts (subject to faction/class restrictions), pets, and achievements are relatively account-wide. Realistically, the overwhelming majority of these were only on my main character to begin with, but the upshot is that my main character picks up a handful of new options, including the coveted Brew Kodo (which I had won on my Tauren warrior - like he needed more Kodos). For reference, prior to logging into my main my account had 3565 achievement points, 43 pets, and 20ish mounts (Alliance side). Afterwards, the numbers were 90 mounts, 168 pets (! - includes some duplicates due to how the new battle system works) and 7495 achievement points. Apparently account-wide credit was also enough to push me over 2500 daily quests completed.
More generally, the changes to game systems, like talents and glyphs, are confusing and at least temporarily disruptive for someone who comes into them mid-patch (i.e. basically everyone who played the game prior to Tuesday). For example, Arcane Blast applying slow automagically is now a glyph and one that I happen not to have because that glyph was previously useless. That said, I am already liking the system better - there are some legitimately interesting choices amongst the talents and glyphs, and it's not like the overwhelming majority of your talent points under most previous incarnations of the system weren't obvious. I suppose they should have taken last expansion's revamp this far rather than revamping dramatically twice in a row, but at least they've done the job properly this time.
In the short term, my plan is still to use the period before the launch to complete some unfinished business from the Cataclysm era. I can't entirely rule out working on an alt, especially if one or more classes have changed in interesting ways, but ironically all the changes make it hard for me to tell which alt to work on. That said, the bigger question is whether Pandaria will be the first WoW expansion that I don't bother to purchase on launch day.
This is not purely a referendum on Pandaria - I haven't paid full price for an MMO box/expansion since probably Wrath, and I have many other things I am working on. Basically, the only reason why I'd even consider fitting Pandaria into my schedule next month would be because I would have a month of time remaining on my annual pass. Then again, I can use that time to mess around with pet battles and even roll a baby Pandaren alt through the newbie areas (which will supposedly not require the expansion) and call it even. Blizzard's decision to forgo a launch event in favor of a one-week level 85 preview of a level 90 scenario is pretty lackluster in terms of competing for my interest in a busy period of MMO's. Guess we'll see how I'm feeling on this in late September.
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| Triumph of the Brew Kodo earned on one of my alts |
More generally, the changes to game systems, like talents and glyphs, are confusing and at least temporarily disruptive for someone who comes into them mid-patch (i.e. basically everyone who played the game prior to Tuesday). For example, Arcane Blast applying slow automagically is now a glyph and one that I happen not to have because that glyph was previously useless. That said, I am already liking the system better - there are some legitimately interesting choices amongst the talents and glyphs, and it's not like the overwhelming majority of your talent points under most previous incarnations of the system weren't obvious. I suppose they should have taken last expansion's revamp this far rather than revamping dramatically twice in a row, but at least they've done the job properly this time.
In the short term, my plan is still to use the period before the launch to complete some unfinished business from the Cataclysm era. I can't entirely rule out working on an alt, especially if one or more classes have changed in interesting ways, but ironically all the changes make it hard for me to tell which alt to work on. That said, the bigger question is whether Pandaria will be the first WoW expansion that I don't bother to purchase on launch day.
This is not purely a referendum on Pandaria - I haven't paid full price for an MMO box/expansion since probably Wrath, and I have many other things I am working on. Basically, the only reason why I'd even consider fitting Pandaria into my schedule next month would be because I would have a month of time remaining on my annual pass. Then again, I can use that time to mess around with pet battles and even roll a baby Pandaren alt through the newbie areas (which will supposedly not require the expansion) and call it even. Blizzard's decision to forgo a launch event in favor of a one-week level 85 preview of a level 90 scenario is pretty lackluster in terms of competing for my interest in a busy period of MMO's. Guess we'll see how I'm feeling on this in late September.
What I've been Working On: Dungeons and Dragons Online
I traditionally mark the U.S. Labor Day weekend with a post about each game I'm currently playing. With that tally rising, the series needs to start early this year.
While everyone else is busy hacking away at Guild Wars 2 of late, I've been working on some Dungeons and Dragons Online. My highest character is level 10 with enough experience to advance to 11 - the game permits you to bank up to two levels' worth of experience, and doing so can help avoid exp penalties for being over level (starting at -10% for being two levels above the rating of the quest). While I'm not really halfway through the content yet, I'm making steady progress in a way that I had never been able to in previous visits to the game. This raises some questions on how to spend my Turbine Point balance.
On one level, Turbine points have no cash value. The cash I spent to get them had cash value, but there are no refunds on this or any other MMO's virtual currency. The roughly $30 worth of points that have been sitting in my account since 2010 haven't really been doing much for me during that time.
On the other hand, Turbine points can be exchanged for things that I would otherwise pay money for, such as content and major features. While it is theoretically possible to grind out Turbine Points if you value your time at pennies per hour - and while there is a rebate of sorts from points that you earn during natural play - for the most part points I spend now will eventually be replaced at the cost of real cash. In general things that are in the store now will go on sale or see prices reduced eventually, and in general new things that I want will be added to the store in the future. The future value of the points could in principle be greater than their present day value.
The TR System
Up until this point, I have played a stable of characters, and the things that I have purchased for them have been account-wide benefits that applied equally to future alts. Looking ahead, though, I'm tempted to take up the game's true reincarnation (TR) mechanic, whereby characters who reach level 20 can start over at level 1 (in the same or different class) in exchange for more build options, passive bonuses, and other perks.
DDO's character building system is very rich, though it does allow the player to make genuinely terrible characters, and the TR system expands options in a way that sounds fun. Meanwhile, while the game is built on repeatable content, there is something to be said for beating the level four content once and not coming back to it until my next life. (One pitfall of being an altoholic in DDO is that you end up starting over in the same level range repeatedly.) The experience to level actually increases for subsequent lives, but there are also bonuses, such as immediately unlocking higher difficulty levels for quests (a feature that it otherwise available to subscribers, or for a somewhat prohibitive consumable per-quest unlock).
On the other hand, being a TR is in some ways expensive. Actually reincarnating requires a heart that can in principle be earned through in-game group content, but is more feasibly obtained for around $15 in the store. There are also bonuses like inventory boosts and tomes (some of which are available in game) that become much more attractive when you can carry them into your next life. On the downside, these bonuses are tied to the one character, so you can't keep them if you end up disliking your next life (or if future mechanics changes - such as the enhancement revamp they are supposedly working on - break your build).
The decision point for me is still a bit out, but I have slowly elected to pick up things that are immediately useful and that will continue to be useful in future lives. My main has a greater experience tome through the expansion bundle purchase, stat tomes on some of my in-game stats, and will probably pick up at least the additional personal bag when the next sale cooperates (possibly this weekend).
P.S. "Sword Saint" build
The last time I posted about this, Yeebo inquired about my plans to build a character with cloth armor and swords. My character was originally going to be a Tempest dual-wielding ranger (approximately like this one) but I found combat uninteresting and the benefits of splashing monk for wisdom and dex bonuses to armor classes somewhat reduced due to changes in this summer's expansion. Fortunately, DDO levels are added one at a time, and I realized I could repurpose the character in favor of the more active monk combat style. My current build:
Human w/ Stats (32 pt build):
STR: 16 (+level increases) DEX: 16 CON: 14 INT: 8 WIS: 14 CHA: 8
1 Rogue: Toughness, Dodge (human bonus, Tempest prereq), skills including UMD, Balance, Open Lock
1 Ranger/1 Rogue: Favored Enemy Undead (or your choice), add concentration
2 Ranger/1 Rogue: Power Attack, Two Weapon Fighting (class feature)
2 Ranger/1 Monk/1 Rogue: Mobility (Monk bonus, Tempest prereq)
3 Ranger/1/1: Diehard (class feature, Shintao Monk prereq)
4 Ranger/1/1: Spring Attack (Tempest prereq)
5 Ranger/1/1: Favored Enemy Giants (common at this level, take your pick)
6 Ranger/1/1: Improved Two Weapon Fighting (class feature), Tempest Prestige Enhancement
2 Monk/6 Ranger/1 Rogue: Weapon Focus Slashing (level 9 feat, prereq for the following:), Whirling Steel Strike (monk bonus, allows use of longswords as a monk weapon)
3 Monk/6/1: Light Path for solo self-heals
That's where I am through character level 10. I have great DPS thanks to high strength, swords, and monk special attacks. I have good armor/avoidance through full DEX and WIS bonuses, enhancement bonuses to armor (now available on robes), and other little perks like the Tempest bonus to dual wielding. Meanwhile, I can open locks along with full ranks in UMD, balance, and concentration. Planned milestones ahead:
12: 5 Monk/6/1: Improved Crit Slashing
13: 6 Monk/6/1: Stunning Fist (Monk Bonus, prereq for:) Shintao Monk Prestige Enhancement
15: 8 Monk/6/1: Greater Two Weapon Fighting (requires +1 Dex tome no later than level 14, I already got this)
19: 12 Monk/6/1: Shintao Monk Rank 2
I'm actually not sure what I will do with my level 18 feat or my 20th heroic class level, and I guess it won't matter that much if I TR relatively shortly thereafter, but so far I'm loving this build.
While everyone else is busy hacking away at Guild Wars 2 of late, I've been working on some Dungeons and Dragons Online. My highest character is level 10 with enough experience to advance to 11 - the game permits you to bank up to two levels' worth of experience, and doing so can help avoid exp penalties for being over level (starting at -10% for being two levels above the rating of the quest). While I'm not really halfway through the content yet, I'm making steady progress in a way that I had never been able to in previous visits to the game. This raises some questions on how to spend my Turbine Point balance.
 |
| My character sheet at level 10, including all my armor bonuses, the AC goes a few points higher with various consumables. |
On the other hand, Turbine points can be exchanged for things that I would otherwise pay money for, such as content and major features. While it is theoretically possible to grind out Turbine Points if you value your time at pennies per hour - and while there is a rebate of sorts from points that you earn during natural play - for the most part points I spend now will eventually be replaced at the cost of real cash. In general things that are in the store now will go on sale or see prices reduced eventually, and in general new things that I want will be added to the store in the future. The future value of the points could in principle be greater than their present day value.
The TR System
Up until this point, I have played a stable of characters, and the things that I have purchased for them have been account-wide benefits that applied equally to future alts. Looking ahead, though, I'm tempted to take up the game's true reincarnation (TR) mechanic, whereby characters who reach level 20 can start over at level 1 (in the same or different class) in exchange for more build options, passive bonuses, and other perks.
DDO's character building system is very rich, though it does allow the player to make genuinely terrible characters, and the TR system expands options in a way that sounds fun. Meanwhile, while the game is built on repeatable content, there is something to be said for beating the level four content once and not coming back to it until my next life. (One pitfall of being an altoholic in DDO is that you end up starting over in the same level range repeatedly.) The experience to level actually increases for subsequent lives, but there are also bonuses, such as immediately unlocking higher difficulty levels for quests (a feature that it otherwise available to subscribers, or for a somewhat prohibitive consumable per-quest unlock).
On the other hand, being a TR is in some ways expensive. Actually reincarnating requires a heart that can in principle be earned through in-game group content, but is more feasibly obtained for around $15 in the store. There are also bonuses like inventory boosts and tomes (some of which are available in game) that become much more attractive when you can carry them into your next life. On the downside, these bonuses are tied to the one character, so you can't keep them if you end up disliking your next life (or if future mechanics changes - such as the enhancement revamp they are supposedly working on - break your build).
The decision point for me is still a bit out, but I have slowly elected to pick up things that are immediately useful and that will continue to be useful in future lives. My main has a greater experience tome through the expansion bundle purchase, stat tomes on some of my in-game stats, and will probably pick up at least the additional personal bag when the next sale cooperates (possibly this weekend).
P.S. "Sword Saint" build
The last time I posted about this, Yeebo inquired about my plans to build a character with cloth armor and swords. My character was originally going to be a Tempest dual-wielding ranger (approximately like this one) but I found combat uninteresting and the benefits of splashing monk for wisdom and dex bonuses to armor classes somewhat reduced due to changes in this summer's expansion. Fortunately, DDO levels are added one at a time, and I realized I could repurpose the character in favor of the more active monk combat style. My current build:
Human w/ Stats (32 pt build):
STR: 16 (+level increases) DEX: 16 CON: 14 INT: 8 WIS: 14 CHA: 8
1 Rogue: Toughness, Dodge (human bonus, Tempest prereq), skills including UMD, Balance, Open Lock
1 Ranger/1 Rogue: Favored Enemy Undead (or your choice), add concentration
2 Ranger/1 Rogue: Power Attack, Two Weapon Fighting (class feature)
2 Ranger/1 Monk/1 Rogue: Mobility (Monk bonus, Tempest prereq)
3 Ranger/1/1: Diehard (class feature, Shintao Monk prereq)
4 Ranger/1/1: Spring Attack (Tempest prereq)
5 Ranger/1/1: Favored Enemy Giants (common at this level, take your pick)
6 Ranger/1/1: Improved Two Weapon Fighting (class feature), Tempest Prestige Enhancement
2 Monk/6 Ranger/1 Rogue: Weapon Focus Slashing (level 9 feat, prereq for the following:), Whirling Steel Strike (monk bonus, allows use of longswords as a monk weapon)
3 Monk/6/1: Light Path for solo self-heals
That's where I am through character level 10. I have great DPS thanks to high strength, swords, and monk special attacks. I have good armor/avoidance through full DEX and WIS bonuses, enhancement bonuses to armor (now available on robes), and other little perks like the Tempest bonus to dual wielding. Meanwhile, I can open locks along with full ranks in UMD, balance, and concentration. Planned milestones ahead:
12: 5 Monk/6/1: Improved Crit Slashing
13: 6 Monk/6/1: Stunning Fist (Monk Bonus, prereq for:) Shintao Monk Prestige Enhancement
15: 8 Monk/6/1: Greater Two Weapon Fighting (requires +1 Dex tome no later than level 14, I already got this)
19: 12 Monk/6/1: Shintao Monk Rank 2
I'm actually not sure what I will do with my level 18 feat or my 20th heroic class level, and I guess it won't matter that much if I TR relatively shortly thereafter, but so far I'm loving this build.
Most Threatened By GW2: Rift?
Wilhelm has an interesting post about current events in Rift that got me thinking about the week's major release. While Blizzard is making their traditional obligatory response to the Guild Wars 2 launch by rolling out a new patch tomorrow - there is a tradition to uphold, after all - I'm wondering that WoW may not be the game with the most to lose this week. When you look at what distinguishes the remaining MMO's - and in particular the surviving subscription games - I'm much more worried for Rift.
My personal experience in the world of Telara was that it was technically well executed but very dry solo. Where the game shined was in groups, and I spent more time leveling with other people than I have in any other MMO before or since. When I read over accounts from people who have stuck with the game, it seems that most have done so because their friends or their guilds have chosen Rift precisely because it is at their best when enjoyed in good company.
Now, in Guild Wars 2, you have a game that was supposedly developed under a philosophy where the first question was always how systems would affect players' ability to cooperate. Servers and levels, probably the biggest barriers between players, are functionally gone. The subscription fee is gone, and with it the constant financial incentive to quit the game. Tapping mechanics that cause other players in the area to become competitors rather than collaborators are gone. Open world events that encourage cooperation are in. Ironically, Blizzard dodges a bullet by having a major competitor choose not to tackle WoW head-on, while Trion's model is most similar and most in the crosshairs.
The Trion Response
Wilhelm says that his Rift server got pretty deserted during the GW2 prelaunch events, which is certainly anecdotal and probably a common experience around the MMO world this week. However, the approach that the GW2 devs had planned was no surprise given the game's lengthy and relatively public development cycle. Thus, Trion has had time to respond.
Within a few months of GW2's anticipated release, Rift has added a popular auto-mentoring system (much like GW2's approach), removal of faction barriers to grouping (which GW2 intentionally never had), and a new world PVP system (albeit with some kinks) to join longstanding features like free instant server transfers and cross-server groups. And yes, incidentally, a discount on a year-long subscription paired with an expansion - a move that Blizzard tried at the SWTOR launch, when it was widely regarded as a transparent attempt to lock in revenue before players canceled their subscriptions to go play a new game. The fact that the competitor lacks a monthly fee can't help that math any.
I don't expect Trion to fold anytime soon. Even so, they may have as much riding on where the dust settles after this launch and their forthcoming expansion as any other game on the market.
My personal experience in the world of Telara was that it was technically well executed but very dry solo. Where the game shined was in groups, and I spent more time leveling with other people than I have in any other MMO before or since. When I read over accounts from people who have stuck with the game, it seems that most have done so because their friends or their guilds have chosen Rift precisely because it is at their best when enjoyed in good company.
Now, in Guild Wars 2, you have a game that was supposedly developed under a philosophy where the first question was always how systems would affect players' ability to cooperate. Servers and levels, probably the biggest barriers between players, are functionally gone. The subscription fee is gone, and with it the constant financial incentive to quit the game. Tapping mechanics that cause other players in the area to become competitors rather than collaborators are gone. Open world events that encourage cooperation are in. Ironically, Blizzard dodges a bullet by having a major competitor choose not to tackle WoW head-on, while Trion's model is most similar and most in the crosshairs.
The Trion Response
Wilhelm says that his Rift server got pretty deserted during the GW2 prelaunch events, which is certainly anecdotal and probably a common experience around the MMO world this week. However, the approach that the GW2 devs had planned was no surprise given the game's lengthy and relatively public development cycle. Thus, Trion has had time to respond.
Within a few months of GW2's anticipated release, Rift has added a popular auto-mentoring system (much like GW2's approach), removal of faction barriers to grouping (which GW2 intentionally never had), and a new world PVP system (albeit with some kinks) to join longstanding features like free instant server transfers and cross-server groups. And yes, incidentally, a discount on a year-long subscription paired with an expansion - a move that Blizzard tried at the SWTOR launch, when it was widely regarded as a transparent attempt to lock in revenue before players canceled their subscriptions to go play a new game. The fact that the competitor lacks a monthly fee can't help that math any.
I don't expect Trion to fold anytime soon. Even so, they may have as much riding on where the dust settles after this launch and their forthcoming expansion as any other game on the market.
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