Summer’s wrapping up, but the patches and such are still steadily rolling out for some of the bigger MMOs. This month, we look at some upcoming changes to Guild Wars 2 and Wildstar as well as more details about the upcoming RIFT expansion, Nightmare Tide. Interestingly enough, all of these new pieces seem to be really geared towards addressing players wants and needs.
Wildstar Announces Megaservers
Carbine recently announced that they plan on implementing “Megaservers” to Wildstar. When implemented (no specific date yet, just the “near future”), each Data Center will have only one PVE and one PVP server. The goal is to consolidate the player bases so the servers will have larger communities.
The new megaservers will support up to 12 characters per realm (currently, it’s 6). If players have more than 12 characters across servers that get merged, all characters will be preserved, and they’ll be able to play all of them (allowing them to violate the 12 character limit); however, they just won’t be able to make a new character unless they get back down to 11 existing characters. Obviously, with server merges there’s always a question of what happens with duplicate names. Carbine has chosen to address this by implementing a last name system. When megaservers go live, players will be prompted to enter a last name on the character select screen. So all characters will have a first name (their current name) and a last name (chosen on megaserver launch) separated by a space. Friends lists will automatically get updated with last names.
The obvious inquiry is what this means for Wildstar. As a player, it’s pretty obvious to me that the player base has pretty substantially decreased. This is certainly to be expected a couple months after an MMO’s launch these days. I myself haven’t logged on in a few weeks for various reasons, though my subscription is still active. Carbine also appears to have rethought the monthly megapatch plan, as there has been no September update yet. These megaservers will likely be a good idea for the game, as it will reconsolidate the player base and make it easier for people to group up in the open world. I certainly still have my eye on Wildstar, and look forward to seeing what they’ll bring for us next.
Guild Wars 2 to Overhaul New Player Experience
Arenanet has recently decided to make some interface and general player-usability improvements to Guild Wars 2. One such major update is the changes to the new player experience. This, in part, includes a bunch of small changes to the default interface (which can be changed in the settings by experienced players). For example, the default interface will now have a simplified top right corner (the map area) which also provides an arrow suggesting where the player should go. The arrow will lead them towards appropriate level content. As mentioned, more experienced players can deselect this display mode on the game options, or instead select “World Complete” mode which will point them towards areas they need for world completion.
Gameplay mechanics and systems will also be more gradually introduced to new players. For example, the PvP and WvW buttons will be hidden to new players until levels 18 and 22 respectively. When they reach those levels, the game will inform them of their existence and offer to teach players about them. Experienced players will notice no difference, as when these buttons are unlocked on one character, they’ll be unlocked on all other account characters. Arenanet has also changed the pacing at which leveling characters receive stat boosts. There will be level milestones (complete with rewards) which will give characters noticeable increases in power so players can more clearly gauge their progression in the game.
One last big change is how the personal story is being handled. Rather than having specific level requirements for each segment of a chapter, when a story chapter is unlocked via a level milestone, each segment of that chapter will be unlocked. So, players can now play a chapter from start to finish if they wish with no interruptions in the story experience.
The changes to the new player experience are one of the many updates coming in the September 2014 Feature Pack. Said feature pack will launch tomorrow, September 9th.
More Specifics on RIFT: Nightmare Tide
RIFT’s second expansion, Nightmare Tide, was announced a couple of months ago. Since then, more information has slowly been released, including the expansion’s release date: October 4th. In addition to the new features I detailed in July’s MMOCO, Nightmare Tide will also add Minions (account-wide collectibles which players can send on missions to gather resources, currency, items, etc.), Expansion Recipes for crafting, and four new Souls (one of each Calling).
The new Souls are Oracle (Cleric), Physician (Rogue), Arbiter (Mage), and Liberator (Warrior). Oracles sound like they’ll be a support Soul, specializing in buffs, debuffs, shields, and some supplemented heals. Physicians are alchemical archers who can heal and shield their allies from a good distance (I assume with their arrows?). Arbiters look to be a battlemage, frontline combatants who specialize in storm magic and self damage mitigation. Liberators will intriguingly provide a raid-healing options for Warriors, specializing in high sustained HPS and and group/AOE heals.
Pricing packages for the Collector’s Editions have been announced for Nightmare Tide as well. While most of the content will be generally provided for free or as unlockable with a time investment, the Typhoon, Infusion, and Ultimate Nightmare Collector’s Editions will provide players will extra boosts, early unlocks, cosmetic items, and fancy utility items to fans who want to show their support to Trion.
That about wraps up this month. What MMO are you playing right now? Anything new in it that you're enjoying right now, or looking forward to on the horizon? Let us know in the comments!