News for today's 2018

Lord of the Rings Online: or GRRR again

7:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQnKL5-33cr2gTQ_QyzFz3Dt4Jdn4FTcKRGnrF43KXJkL5ME16aHzKtk259k3WuqDIWgyylZ9-LZNl8u3Dq_o8QXf1kGJyfnZXJkCiVulbHCakHekTcMIPIofIw6rBODn0VCDRrjy3yZU/s1600-h/ScreenShot00008%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="ScreenShot00008" border="0" height="476" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XE0pPrxjWyM/Un5Wv26QwDI/AAAAAAAADJI/wUv7htDX3TA/ScreenShot00008_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" title="ScreenShot00008" width="844"></a> The more things change, the more they stay the same … this old axiom is very true for <a href="https://www.lotro.com/en" target="_blank">Lord of the Rings Online</a>.  There are parts I truly love about the game, it’s intense focus on lore and bringing the books to life for example.  But after taking a break from WOW and playing LOTRO for two weeks, once again the frustration outweighs the benefits of LOTRO. Bag space is a HUGE frustration in LOTRO.  Seriously, six bags of twelve slots is just not enough.  Having to stop and empty bags every time you run across a vault location or a seller is time consuming and not fun, but failure to do so means that shortly you will be out of bag space.  Another frustration as a SUBSCRIBER is that the game is overly monetized for the cash shop.  I get that it is a niche game with a smaller player base but seriously if I’m spending real world money on mounts (or anything) then those mounts need to be account wide.  And while I love the old world complexity of MMO’s that still exists in LOTRO, it is also the downfall of LOTRO.  I don’t have the bag space to carry multiple weapons of varying damage types.  And to be honest, as a casual player that flits in and out of games having to remember what damage is best against what critter is annoying.  The game play mechanics are also old and outdated, <a href="http://www.lotro.com/en/helmsdeep?utm_source=Clix&utm_medium=GOOGLE&utm_campaign=LOTROHDSearch" target="_blank">Helm’s Deep</a> may fix some of those issues but can’t possibly fix all of them.  Quest is slow and the mechanics are outdated.  I understand why it is do X, return to quest giver and then go back to the SAME EXACT AREA and do Y but it is annoying, tedious, and a huge time sync.  At some point, efficiency of my time is more important that running to and from a quest giver for the sake of lore immersion. Don’t get me wrong, the game is drop deep gorgeous but the mechanics are too flawed.  I will stop in and play every once in a while but it is too frustrating to commit long term to an overly monetized game with expansions that are over-priced for the value of what a digital only expansion offers.  I’m not leaving LOTRO with a bitter taste in my mouth, more with frustration with Turbine and the slow pace of the game. <div id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:5b554ecb-5182-4c78-b850-bfe2bc0d97d6" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lord+of+the+Rings+Online" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/LOTRO" rel="tag">LOTRO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Turbine" rel="tag">Turbine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Helm's+Deep" rel="tag">Helm's Deep</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cash+shop" rel="tag">cash shop</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/free+to+play" rel="tag">free to play</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/F2P" rel="tag">F2P</a></div>

The more things change, the more they stay the same … this old axiom is very true for Lord of the Rings Online. There are parts I truly love about the game, it’s intense focus on lore and bringing the books to life for example. But after taking a…

Lord of the Rings Online: Helm’s Deep Expansion Class Guides

6:14 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/--oQ4LpC44go/UnpO37z0wvI/AAAAAAAADIg/v9-KixIhbK8/s1600-h/ScreenShot00002%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="ScreenShot00002" border="0" height="509" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-o4YM8bHB2yU/UnpO4XEDx3I/AAAAAAAADIk/UxC_JMXHOb4/ScreenShot00002_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" title="ScreenShot00002" width="789"></a> <a href="https://www.lotro.com/en" target="_blank">Lord of the Ring’s Online</a> latest expansion drops in two weeks, <a href="http://www.lotro.com/en/helmsdeep?utm_source=Clix&utm_medium=GOOGLE&utm_campaign=LOTROHDSearch" target="_blank">Helm’s Deep</a>.  The NDA on the beta testers was lifted on Monday and class guides have been <a href="https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?529680-Helm-s-Deep-NDA-Dropped-as-of-Today-November-4-2013&p=6984174&highlight=#post6984174" target="_blank">posted</a> for upcoming changes for all classes.  Every class is seeing major changes this expansion, and as you might expect the forums and players are full of differing opinions.  I didn’t beta test for this expansion but personally I believe that the changes are going to be a great thing for the game. <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:305e2a35-544b-47d4-a72e-ee9ec4015e5e" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div id="16369dbd-1bb9-4bf3-96b2-c045f66ee58e" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbbwoj5te2M&feature=player_embedded" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('16369dbd-1bb9-4bf3-96b2-c045f66ee58e'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Mbbwoj5te2M&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/Mbbwoj5te2M&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ICrN7H0jQOo/UnpO4tI3DRI/AAAAAAAADIs/ID4x4vZQNCw/videocb0bbf4a627d%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none"></a></div></div></div> LOTRO has a terrific story that everyone is familiar with on some level.  However, the game suffers from slow game play compared to the newer, shinier competition that exists in the flooded marketplace.  Yet, LOTRO is among the best niche games out there in my opinion.  It has positive, uplifting quest lines (helping the farmers in Oatbarton is one of my favorites), the community is generally more mature and helpful than other games out there, and there is constant communication with the development team. Now, I know a lot of people are plenty pissed off about the class changes coming in the expansion but honestly, it’s time to get over it.  Games change and adapt and players need to comprehend that to continue to enjoy the game in the real world.  Turbine needs to be profitable and adapt to the marketplace, and cash shop income will only go so far.  I think the class changes will make the game more accessible to a new generation of players, enhance game for those of us who find game play slow at times, and will work as a reboot of classes.  Yes, players who are sitting at max level right now may have to learn to replay their class entirely but with changes come opportunities. I’m looking forward to the changes and relearning my classes as I continue to level.  I just wish Turbine would implement a paid character transfer service but I’ve wished that for as long as I’ve played LOTRO and have come to accept that will never happen.  If you haven’t played LOTRO or have been away for a while, double experience is in effect until the expansion goes live on 18 November 2013.  So, drop by and have a beer with a hobbit and immerse yourself in Middle Earth. <div id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e47815c6-5cfe-409b-8d43-0f4af1d257b6" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lord+of+the+Rings+Online" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/LOTRO" rel="tag">LOTRO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Helm's+Deep" rel="tag">Helm's Deep</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/class+guides" rel="tag">class guides</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/class+changes" rel="tag">class changes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Oatbarron" rel="tag">Oatbarron</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cash+shop" rel="tag">cash shop</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/F2P" rel="tag">F2P</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/free-to-play" rel="tag">free-to-play</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Turbine" rel="tag">Turbine</a></div>

Cash Shop F2P free to play Lord of the Rings Online LOTRO Lord of the Rings Online: Helm’s Deep Expansion Class Guides

Lord of the Ring’s Online latest expansion drops in two weeks, Helm’s Deep. The NDA on the beta testers was lifted on Monday and class guides have been posted for upcoming changes for all classes. Every class is seeing major changes this expansio…

World of Warcraft: Patch 5.4 Siege of Orgrimmar

3:22 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:42c85969-4974-4cac-8590-f6cf4fcd76a7" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object height="480" width="853"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/slzQOyS5TqQ?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/slzQOyS5TqQ?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="853" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div></div>   <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/patch-notes/under-dev" target="_blank">Highlights</a> of Patch 5.4: The Siege of Orgrimmar: <ul> <li>Vale of Eternal Blossoms is destroyed.  Taran Zhu warned long ago that the new visitors to Pandaria would permanent change the land and he was right.  The newly opened Vale of Eternal Blossoms will be destroyed with the live implementation of the patch.  The achievement for opening the Vale will become a Feat of Strength and will no longer be obtainable.</li> <ul> <li>ALL water is gone from the Vale</li></ul> <li>A new raid, Siege of Orgrimmar: 14 bosses, including Garrosh Hellscream—> will raiders kill him, dethrone him, or what?  So far, Blizzard has kept that secret but we will all know shortly</li> <li>A new type of raid: <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/10175200/A_Raid_for_All_Seasons_Flexible_Raid_Preview-6_6_2013" target="_blank">Flex Raiding</a>: raids are now capable of scaling in difficult based on the number of people in the raid.  Raid sizes of anywhere between 10 to 25 players are available for flex raids.  Flex raids DO NOT replace normal and heroic 10 and 25 man raids, or LFR.  Loot quality will be a step above LFR and a step below Normal.</li> <li>Proving Grounds: just switch specs, just coming back and skills a little rusty?  <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/10405142/" target="_blank">Proving Grounds</a> are solo instances in four varying degrees of difficulty designed to test the players skills as tank, healer, or damage.  The four modes are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Endless and the Proving Ground is located at the Temple in Kun-Lai Summit.</li> <li><a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/10590712/" target="_blank">Timeless Isle</a>: new adventuring zone to be found just off the coast of the Jade Forest.  There will be no new dallies or quest chains to be found.  However, the braver explorer will be rewarded with tokens to allow for faster gearing of alts and gear with an ilvl high enough to get into LFR for the Siege of Orgrimmar raid.</li> <li>Legendary quest chain concludes – lucky you, my poor priest is far behind on this one.</li> <li>Gear that previously cost Valor points, except for Shado Pan Assault gear, will now cost Justice Points and are no longer locked behind a faction reputation grind</li> <li>Valor is not being reset</li> <li>Connected Realms are coming but will not be available when the Patch goes live</li> <li><a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/10158897/" target="_blank">Usual number of class changes and balancing changes</a>:</li> <ul> <li>Taunt type abilities all now increase threat generated by 200%</li> <li>Vengeance has multiple changes</li> <li>All area knockback effects share diminishing returns</li> <li>Spinning Crane Kick, Holy Radiance, Light’s Hammer, Holy Word: Sanctuary, and Healing Rain are now smart heals, healing the six lowest health friendly targets in range but will not heal minor guardian type targets (i.e. wild imps, snakes from traps, etc.)</li></ul> <li>Base Resilience increased to 72% up from 65%</li> <li>Conquest Points awarded from winning a Random Battleground or Call to Arms increased to 150 for the first win and 75 points for each subsequent win that day.</li> <li>Balanced Trillium Ingot plans will drop throughout Pandaria, ingots are required to make the new Raid and PvP Blacksmithing plans</li> <li>New cooking recipes have been added</li> <li>New enchanting reagent: Sha  Fragment –> come from disenchanting gear that was previous obtained using Valor Points</li> <ul> <li>Crystals can be combined to make a Sha Crystal</li></ul> <li>Engineers can obtain the plans to craft Jard's Peculiar Energy Source from creatures throughout Pandaria, it is required to make new schematics</li> <li>Blingatron now has a chance to drop a Lil’Blingatron pet</li> <li>All enchantments can now be applied to Heirloom Items but will scale down to a level appropriate for the player</li> <li>Cash shop goes live in game</li></ul> Servers come down at midnight 10 September 2013 Pacific Daylight Time and are anticipated to be live at ten o’clock PDT.  I will post updates if anything major changes. <div id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:40fc4175-f8f0-4474-b078-ba62ae08e50d" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/World+of+Warcraft" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/WOW" rel="tag">WOW</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Patch+5.4" rel="tag">Patch 5.4</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Siege+of+Orgrimmar" rel="tag">Siege of Orgrimmar</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PvP" rel="tag">PvP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cash+shop" rel="tag">cash shop</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/professions" rel="tag">professions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/valor" rel="tag">valor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/justice" rel="tag">justice</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/legendary" rel="tag">legendary</a></div>

Blizzard Cash Shop MMO video games World of Warcraft World of Warcraft: Patch 5.4 Siege of Orgrimmar

Highlights of Patch 5.4: The Siege of Orgrimmar: Vale of Eternal Blossoms is destroyed. Taran Zhu warned long ago that the new visitors to Pandaria would permanent change the land and he was right. The newly opened Vale of Eternal Blossoms wil…

Hearthstone: Closed Beta Begins

12:06 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:bc97ee43-e814-4a76-94cf-a726a41d5ff7" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object height="480" width="853"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/QdXl3QtutQI?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/QdXl3QtutQI?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="853" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div></div>   <a href="http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/" target="_blank">Hearthstone</a> is the trading card game from Blizzard which entered closed beta this morning.  No, I wasn’t lucky enough to get in the first round of testers.  Hearthstone is based on the lore and characters from The Warcraft mythology.  The closed beta does not have a Non-disclosure Agreement and thus testers will be able to share their experiences directly.  The game will be free to play when it releases but it will have a cash shop. <div id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9125fd92-cf42-43ea-9639-699ab2049995" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hearthstone" rel="tag">Hearthstone</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Blizzard" rel="tag">Blizzard</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/trading+card" rel="tag">trading card</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/beta" rel="tag">beta</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Warcraft" rel="tag">Warcraft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/free+to+play" rel="tag">free to play</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cash+shop" rel="tag">cash shop</a></div>

beta Blizzard Cash Shop F2P free to play Hearthstone Hearthstone: Closed Beta Begins

Hearthstone is the trading card game from Blizzard which entered closed beta this morning. No, I wasn’t lucky enough to get in the first round of testers. Hearthstone is based on the lore and characters from The Warcraft mythology. The closed b…

World of Warcraft: Item Store Preview

8:01 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:34999cef-914a-4d88-a41d-25a7b99d350d" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object height="480" width="853"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/1uLknPTEz7U?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/1uLknPTEz7U?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="853" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div></div> <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/patch-notes/under-dev">Patch 5.4: Siege of Orgrimmar</a> will see an item store added to <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/">WOW</a>.  The above video gives a nice preview of the vanity items that currently exist on the public test realm.  Prices and items are subject to change when Patch 5.4 goes live.  Areyou looking forward to the release of Patch 5.4? <div id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a2b5f2ee-b8ff-4364-80f9-2c9ac49e3de6" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/World+of+Warcraft" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/WOW" rel="tag">WOW</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/MMO" rel="tag">MMO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/video+games" rel="tag">video games</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/item+shop" rel="tag">item shop</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/transmogrification" rel="tag">transmogrification</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/vanity+items" rel="tag">vanity items</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Siege+of+Orgimmar" rel="tag">Siege of Orgimmar</a></div>

Blizzard Cash Shop MMO World of Warcraft WOW World of Warcraft: Item Store Preview

Patch 5.4: Siege of Orgrimmar will see an item store added to WOW. The above video gives a nice preview of the vanity items that currently exist on the public test realm. Prices and items are subject to change when Patch 5.4 goes live. Areyou loo…

Rift: Previous Owners Free to Play Starts NOW

6:05 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-N-cGhf5hvfk/Ua3l-33yaMI/AAAAAAAAC9U/cgP0t-0-ty8/s1600-h/2013-06-03_075445%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="2013-06-03_075445" border="0" height="510" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yna10BAvvZw/Ua3l_e2v0uI/AAAAAAAAC9c/5ML7HDFUvu4/2013-06-03_075445_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" title="2013-06-03_075445" width="904"></a> The fine folks over at <a href="http://trionworlds.com/en/">Trion Worlds</a> and <a href="http://www.riftgame.com/en/">Rift</a> made the fine decision to extend the free to play for all past owners of Rift forever yesterday afternoon.  Free to Play for the rest of the world doesn’t begin until June 12th, along with the implementation of the cash shop, but that is less that a week away now. So, welcome back to Terlara and enjoy the journey.  But remember, if you want any of the previous bonuses for purchasing a box of the game or a digital upgrade, those purchases must be completed prior to the conversion on the 12th. <div id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:5954da3e-4222-49bc-9eed-8abca4f4e644" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Trion+Worlds" rel="tag">Trion Worlds</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rift" rel="tag">Rift</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/free+to+play" rel="tag">free to play</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/F2P" rel="tag">F2P</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cash+shop" rel="tag">cash shop</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/MMO" rel="tag">MMO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/digital+upgrade" rel="tag">digital upgrade</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/video+game" rel="tag">video game</a></div>

Cash Shop F2P MMO Rift Trion video games Rift: Previous Owners Free to Play Starts NOW

The fine folks over at Trion Worlds and Rift made the fine decision to extend the free to play for all past owners of Rift forever yesterday afternoon. Free to Play for the rest of the world doesn’t begin until June 12th, along with the implemen…

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