What’s up Attackers! Kirk here with Attack Gaming, bringing you the latest and greatest in the world of MMO gaming news for the week ending February 12th, 2016. There was actually a ton of stuff going on this week, although most of it is pretty bland, or at least, not super interesting, like the revenue reports from companies like Neon, Activision/Blizzard, and NCSoft, or Hi-Rez opening up a new European Office in the UK, and Motiga layoffs. Actually, let’s hit on Motiga after the break. The XP starts now!
Motiga, the studio behind the yet unreleased Windows 10 and Xbox One multi-platform MOBA Gigantic has announced another round of layoffs. On Febuary 9, the studio said that it had to layoff a significant percentage of its staff. The official blog post claims the layoffs are “temporary” and can be reversed if ongoing talks with potential investors pan out. Which essentially means, give us more money please, with a shit-eating grin. Gigantic has been in development since 2010 and has only now started to open up to the public. The game’s NDA was lifted just this week, and of course we got a first impressions video up for it minutes after the NDA went way, GO US, but the Closed Beta remains invite-only. Its not surprising that Motiga has run into financial trouble after nearly six years of operation without a shipped product. What’s unfortunate is how close the studio was to the finish line when it stumbled. The MOBA market as matured since 2010, with many new entrants like Smite and Heroes of the Storm filling the cracks left by League of Legends and Dota 2. Even if the studio can’t raise additional funds, Gigantic is just too close to being finished to go dark. I’m hopeful that either Motiga or someone else will pick up the pieces, put them together, and finally ship Gigantic.
Been a bit since we’ve heard anything about Visionary Realms and Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. Actually, last time I remember filling my mouth with that game is when they closed their Kickstarter in February 2014 after not being able to meet it’s nearly $1 million goal. But I digress. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has been promising to take us back to the days of old when teamwork was necessary at all times. That usually means that there must be a solid healer class somewhere in the mix. Enter the Cleric, which was announced and teased this week by the team. In the lore, the Clerics “bind themselves directly to the ancient directives of their Order, guided by the written wisdom of the Celestials of ages past.” Clerics are healers without equal. They can also buff the defense of allies by using “powerful signets, potent writs, and ethereal armors.” They wear heavy plate armor or “plate-woven raiment,” using “one-handed blunt” weapons. The use of staves has largely diminished so that they can “carry their large tomes into battle.” You can find more information about the Cleric on the official website, but the worst part is they only have one damn image of the Cleric, so I can’t even go in and make a 30 second video with cheesy music and some moving pictures to poach some YouTube views. Lame!
Escape From Tarkov made quite the entrance when it was first announced back in November. Created by Battlestate Games—the creators of Contract Wars—Escape From Tarkov is promising something different than the current shooter genre provides. In it, you complete missions for one of two warring military factions and ultimately aim to escape the city of Tarkov. There’s been only one problem as of yet—we don’t really know all that much about the game. The developers though re hoping to change that and are slowly tossing out a set of video developer diaries. The first diary covers the lengths the team has gone to to ensure realism in the handling and sound of guns, as well as motion capture, procedural animation, and several other features. It’s an interesting watch and it gets the point across that they are aiming for authenticity. You can watch the video below via the link below and check out the Beta sign-ups are ongoing on the official website, escape from tarkov dot com.
Blade and Soul’s first major content patch, Rising Waters, is now live. The expansion challenges players to face the Blackram pirates once again in the new 4-player Bloodshade Harbor instance. Players who want more of a challenge can take on the 24-player version of the instance, Nightshade Harbor. The first seven floors of another dungeon, Mushin’s Tower, are now available. This is a single-player Heroic Dungeon that will require players to face more difficult challenges floor after floor for a chance at increasingly better rewards. You begin the tower by choosing an opponent from six different opponents, each with their own fighting style. If successful, you must then pick another opponent to face before moving on to the next floor. The full list of challenges can be found on the Rising Waters mini-site. The first five Hongmoon Levels have also been added. These levels allow advancement beyond the current level cap of 45. Each Hongmoon Level will grant players more skill and stat points.
En Masse Entertainment announced today that they will be publishing C4M’s tactical, competitive RTS Battleplans on PC and mobile later this spring. Battleplans is a different kind of RTS that “splits offensive battles and defensive planning into two distinct phases of the game.” Players are tasked with laying siege to NPC or player-controlled territories that are then defended with “comprehensive defense strategies.” An assortment of heroes and units are available to aid in accomplishing this goal. The developers are already boasting “simple, intuitive controls” that allow ease of use and quick decision making. En Masse CEO Chris Lee stated that “Battleplans is a great strategy game for players interested in actually controlling the units they send into combat. It provides engaging gameplay but isn’t bogged down by micromanagement.” A Closed Beta for the PC version will be held later this month before launching on Android, iOS, and PC later this spring. You can sign up for access on the official website.
Funcom appears to be trying to usher in a new era of Anarchy Online. There’s the new rendering engine. There’s a new website. And now there’s the new Rubi-Ka region, The Reck. The Reck is part of a content update that went live this week. You can enter the region through Tir and Omni-1 Trade The primary purpose of the zone is to provide players with “camps and encounters” that help them level level their characters through “title levels 4 and 5.” The region will be accessible to anyone, but dailies will be restricted to characters in the level 90-170 range. Encounters in this region are built for players in the level 90-220 range. Many of the camps will require players to explore to find them.
That’s all I’ve got for you today. Toss this video a like and a subscribe and i’ll see you guys next week! Ciao!
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