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The Secret World: Help Guide

August 4, 2012 by

One of the coolest things about The Secret World is the investigation missions. They require brains instead of finger-mashing, which is why the game has a built in web browser for research. Which is probably what has brought you here. The below answers are ones I found out myself – I’d suggest you do the same but if you want the easy way out, read on:

(this help guide will grow as I progress through the game – bear with me!)

Men in Black Vans: what is the laptop password?

Answer: (non-spoiler) – go to the URL shown on the black suited bodies lying near the van and look up Kitsune’s wife at that URL. (spoiler) ‘sally’ is the password.

Men in Black Vans: where is the tracker I need to use?

Answer: right next to the laptop, adjust your camera angle and you’ll see it just to the left of the laptop in the back of the van. I didn’t see it for ages because I had my camera angle too low.

Men in Black Vans: how do I disassemble the tracker?

Answer: (non-spoiler) there’s a combination you need to do in the right order. If you get it wring you’ll see the component fizzle and hear a noise. It’ll also attract a bigger monster out of the sea so head back up the beach unless you want a fight. (spoiler) Select the component on the East side of the unit (facing the sea), then the South side and then West side. That’s what worked for me anyway.

I Phone Home: how do I give the tablet to Danny?

Answer: just left click on him once. Believe it or not took me a while to work this out.

ATC: how do I use the security keypad to get in to disable the EMP generator?

Answer: (non-spoiler) Kill the draug in the area and just near where he was standing you’ll find your answer. (spoiler) Passcode is 739241. And don’t forget to put on your Orochi uniform from your inventory (it is looted automatically from the body you examine – although you may need to examine both bodies to get one to fit).

Dawn of an Endless Night: what is the password on Dr Bannerman’s computer?

Answer: (non-spoiler) Dr Bannerman likes classical music based on the photo you examine. (spoiler) Google ‘Four Seasons Classical’ and you’ll get your answer.

Dawn of an Endless Night: how do I find the trail left by Beaumont?

Answer: (non-spoiler) You need to search around the airport based on the picture you’re shown. (spoiler) Go to the shed/shack that’s at the furthest west of the airport (just above the scrapyard). It has the same scenic flight sign as in the picture.

Dawn of an Endless Night: how do I unlock the door to the Illuminati tunnel?

Answer: (non-spoiler) Collect the items around the room, read the book on the desk near the door, which gives you the hints. (spoiler) In order, insert the Yin and Yang, Skull, Phoenix, Pyramid and The Eye, then the door will open.

Dawn of an Endless Night: Where is the Illuminati vault?

Answer: (non-spoiler) Find the Order of Great Works book just inside the entrance of the instance. Collect the items from each of the rooms (both levels) and then search for the vault. (spoiler) Find the loose floorboards in the northern end room on the ground floor. Jump down and you’ll come to a door. Same deal as the previous tunnel door – insert (in order) the Star of David, Masonic Symbol, The Eye, skull and finally the Templar Cross.

They Never Stop Coming: where are the Slow and Dry Zombies?

Answer:(non-spoiler) Go to the North West of the main township. (Spoiler) It’s zombies like the Charred Remains and Witch Trial Victims that fit into this category.

They Never Stop Coming: where are the Zombie Cultists?

Answer: (non-spoiler) Have a good wander around the back areas of Kingsmouth and you’ll find them. (Spoiler) Behind Norma’s house.

Tomb Raider: where is Eric and Mindy’s Grave?

Answer: (non-spoiler) Work your way around the graveyard and it’s there, but not in the easiest areas. (Spoiler) With your back to the church, it’s in the second back row on the right half near the fence.

Into Darkness: how do I get to New York?

Answer: via Agartha – I stupidly kept going to the record shop because there was a yellow cross there….

Into Darkness: where is the rendezvous point?

Answer: (non-spoiler) near a truck with flashing lights in a lower level of the parking garage. (Spoiler) Walk right up to the corpses in the corner on the lowest level.

Horror Show: where is the camera at the mining museum?

Answer: (non-spoiler) it’s in the top half of the building. (Spoiler) You climb the ladder on the building behind the mining museum, jump across to the museum and you’ll find the camera at the front of the musuem on the little overhang.

The League of Monster Slayers: what is the order of initiation?

Answer: here’s the map – click on it for the full-size version:

monster-slayers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The League of Monster Slayers: where is the body I need to poke?

Answer: (non-spoiler) Look around the immediate area after you discover Dead Man’s Canyon. (spoiler) There;s a small dark head poking out of the ground. Mouse over that and it’ll be labelled as ‘The Body’ – right click to poke it.

Science And The Arts: where are the blueprints in the headmaster’s office?

Answer: (non-spoiler) Don’t make the mistake like I did of thinking the headmaster’s office is where you talk to him. (spoiler) The blueprints are on the wall in the headmaster’s office which is directly on the floor above where you talk to him.

Filed Under: How-To, The Secret World Tagged With: ,

Doom 3: BFG Edition – Eight Unseen Levels

August 3, 2012 by

Ahhh, Doom. I still count one of my favourite gaming memories being Doom 2 death matches with my brother-in-law, connecting modem to modem. I pretty much missed Doom 3, so I’m really interested in Doom 3: BFG Edition and what it holds.

The latest trailer video shows off some of the previously unseen levels in the game, and I have to admit I very much like what I see:

The details on game availability and contents:

DOOM 3 BFG Edition is slated for release in North America on October 16, 2012 and throughout Europe on October 19, 2012. DOOM 3 BFG Edition will feature re-mastered versions of both DOOM 3 and the Resurrection of Evil add-on pack, as well seven new levels of content entitled ‘The Lost Mission.’ DOOM 3 BFG Edition will be available in North America on PC for $29.99 and on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $39.99.

Over to you: is this on your buy list?

Filed Under: General News, Other Games Tagged With: ,

SWTOR Suggestion Box: F2P as saviour?

August 3, 2012 by

Ok I promise this will be the last SWTOR Free to Play post for this week, but it’s an obvious topic for some more discussion. Specifically, is the change going to affect your relationship with SWTOR? Will you be playing more, less, don’t care about the change?

My best guess is that there will be some growth as a result, but a guess is all it is. So educamate me: do you think this is a new dawn or the start of the sunset. Jump in!

Filed Under: General News, Opinion, Suggestion Box, SWTOR Tagged With:

SWTOR F2P: Game On, BioWare!

August 2, 2012 by

As promised, key members of our team are going to give their thoughts on the announcement SWTOR has gone free-to-play. It’s Jemima Moore’s turn.

I love SWTOR and when I awoke to the news that my current passion was going F2P, I will admit, I got that sinking feeling most long-time gamers get when they hear that phrase.  F2P = MMO death, or at least it used to.

My immediate reaction was one of sheer outrage at the blatantly misleading marketing language.

“…adding a new Free-to-Play option this fall. This option will give players access to each of the eight iconic Star Wars character class storylines, all the way up to level 50, with certain restrictions*. Unlimited game access, including new higher-level game content and new features will be made available through individual purchases or through a subscription option.”

What? Let me re-read that a couple of times and take out all the bits designed to confuse…

“a new Free-to-Play option… will give players access to … new higher-level game content and new features through individual purchases or through a subscription option.”

So… um… the F2P option doesn’t give you access to higher-level content and new features – you have to purchase them or take up the subscription option.

“Subscribers will retain unrestricted access to all game features”

Except you won’t. Some game features require Cartel Coins to access and subscribers get a restricted amount for their monthly fee.

Even the name of the option is misleading. I remember when Free-to-Play actually meant it was free to play. Without spending a dime you could experience every aspect of the game.  Real money was only required if you want to look different, get around more quickly or skip a grind fest to min/max your gear.

Pay-to-Win meant the game was mostly free but to get the best gear, experience late end-game content and be competitive at the highest level you had to pay.

BioWare, and many other developers, are calling their incoming model free-to-play, but it’s actually Pay-to-Win or a Super-extended-free-trial or some other marketing lingo yet to be developed. Somewhere along the lines the meaning of F2P got hijacked and twisted around to mean any model that isn’t strictly and solely subscription-based. From a developer’s point of view it makes sense. Any catch-phrase with the word FREE in it is number one with a bullet when it comes to advertising. So what if it isn’t true? Gamers are addicts – we just have to suck them in.

Well, we may have let them twist around definitions and use them for evil and not good – but most gamers are pretty picky about their drug, er… MMO of choice and value-for-money remains King.

In this regard, BioWare’s new Pay-as-you-Play option is the greatest blessing we could have hoped for. Subscription models don’t tend to force players to assess the worth of their fun every time they log-in and play. For most the financial commitment to a game happens once and then continues unmonitored until you tell it to stop.

Split those decisions into many little parts and shift them to the here and now and people get a lot more picky. Subscribers may be willing to spend $15 per month on buggy unfinished content, riding elevators, staring at loading screens, and basic MMO services that are unintuitive and clunky like the GTN or crafting window. But spending 50 cents on a Warzone that may or may not count as a win will only happen once.

Bioware haven’t always demonstrated the best sense in this regard, but I’m keeping the faith that the instantaneous money-talks feedback they’re about to introduce into the game will drive faster bug fixes, better QA, more content and a few sackings in the Crafting Department.

I’ve got money in my pocket, Bioware, so it’s Game On!

Filed Under: General News, Opinion, SWTOR Tagged With:

Comparing SWTOR F2P Versus Subscription

August 1, 2012 by

It’s been a big day for SWTOR, with the announcement of the game going free-to-play. Although I’m extremely cynical about the framing of the announcement of a great positive sign for the game, I do think the move is likely to grow the game somewhat. Not purely because of the change broadly, but because of the way BioWare have drawn a nice line between what F2P’ers and ongoing subscribers can access. Let’s take a look at the key ones:

1. Everyone can play right through to Level 50

This is an unavoidable move if you want to attract new players and it’s a good move when you factor in the other differences between the two player types.

2. Limited character creation options for F2P’ers

Only subscribers will get to choose species. It’s a good differentiation, as any RP’ers or other Star Wars devotees that love a particular species will be driven to subscribe. More casual players won’t be fazed most likely, so it’s not a huge issue.

3. Warzones

F2P’ers will have a lesser number of Warzones they can complete each week. There’s no confirmation of what the exact limitation is at this stage. Rabid PvP’ers will probably maintain a subscription anyways, while everyone else can really check out if they like SWTOR PvP.

4. Flashpoints and Space Combat

Again, only subscribers will have unlimited times they can play Flashpoints or space missions. What will be interesting here is the number F2P’ers can play – if the number is relatively high then there actually won’t be that big a difference. No-one sane plays dozens of Flashpoints a week. Do they?

5. Operations

This is probably the firmest line in the sand between the two player types. If you want to raid, you need to be a subscriber. That said, the F2P players should be welcome additions to guilds, as they can level up and gear up on F2P and if they decide they want that last step, they can pay up then. The cynic in me says that F2P’ers will get some Operation access in the future though.

6. Travel Features and GTN

Again, less access for those who go F2P. GTN access is apparently going to be ‘extremely’ limited, with full subscribers able to have 50 simultaneous listings. There’s no clarity on exactly what falls within ‘travel features’ – perhaps there’ll be longer cooldowns on Quick Travel for those who go F2P.

7. Priority Login for Subscribers

Ok, I feel bad, but I laughed when I read this one. Subscribers will always jump the login queue ahead of F2P’ers. That’s reasonable and handy – if there were queues. Can anyone tell me the last time they had a queue? 1.3 update maybe?

Over to you: are the subscription features enough to stop you going to F2P? Let us know!

Filed Under: General News, Opinion, SWTOR Tagged With:

SWTOR F2P: Caution, Diatribe Ahead

August 1, 2012 by
As promised, key members of our team are going to give their thoughts on today’s announcement. First cab off the rank: Simon Potter.
There’s a time for being charitable and understanding and there’s a time to just say what you think… guess which this is?
Clue… I am angry, people.

In my humble opinion, F2P isn’t the news although I welcome the change, if it’s done right. 

Bioware have plenty of good examples to follow and SWTOR should enjoy the growth and ongoing success of DCUO and LotRO. If they screw it up, they only have themselves to blame.

What really burns my brisket about this announcement is the mealy mouthed obfuscation from various spokespeople regarding this inevitable model shift. While they were just following orders, it’s perfectly clear that the weasel words were to cloud the issue so this announcement could be married to the EA earnings call yesterday. Perhaps they value their shareholders opinion and good wishes more than players? I think it’s a distinct possibility.

All the while BioWare maintain the ‘if we don’t talk about it, then no one will notice’, which I will be honest is really beginning to grate. Since BioWare have fired most of their community team, it’s no surprise that their communication has gone from uneven to non-existent to insulting. However at least one person at EA is honest, if not with player then with the investors. In the earnings call Frank Gibeau, President, EA Labels, referred to SWTOR as ‘a miss’. Well, that puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

To sum things up, if BioWare expect to keep the sudden influx of new and returning players informed, they will need to lift their community communication dramatically and perhaps try to be a little more honest and open. Too much spin makes people dizzy and nauseous.

Now that I’ve got that out of my system, let me assure you I still love SWTOR and am looking forward to the upcoming announced content, assuming we ever see it. After all they’ve promised a number of things that have yet to materialise. The game is only just beginning to hit its stride and I’m certain it will be a longterm survivor.

I still hate Taris though. 
Filed Under: General News, Opinion, SWTOR

SWTOR Goes Free to Play

August 1, 2012 by

In one of the biggest non-surprises of the year, BioWare have announced that SWTOR has gone free-to-play.

Even though in recent weeks there have been more layoffs, including departures of some of the big names involved in the development of the game, it hasn’t stopped BioWare plastering their front page with the excited “The Old Republic Is Expanding!” as the lead for the F2P announcement. Cynicism aside, there’s a bunch of related content announced with the change:

1. Players can still choose to pay a subscription, which gives them access to everything and also earns them ‘Cartel Points’

2. The F2P option will go live in August, when you can buy the game for only $14.99 which includes 30 days of game time.

3. A range of new content is coming as well:

The full press release from BioWare/EA:

BioWare™, a Label of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), announced today that it will be expanding the story-driven, massively multiplayer online game Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ by adding a new Free-to-Play option this fall. This option will give players access to each of the eight iconic Star Wars character class storylines, all the way up to level 50, with certain restrictions*. Unlimited game access, including new higher-level game content and new features will be made available through individual purchases or through a subscription option.

“Players want flexibility and choice. The subscription-only model presented a major barrier for a lot of people who wanted to become part of The Old Republic™ universe,” said Matthew Bromberg, GM of BioWare Austin.

Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic added, “Since launch we have been adding new content and refining The Old Republic at a breakneck pace based on the feedback from our fans. We believe we are in a position to help improve the service even more, not only by continuing to add new content, but also by expanding the game to many more Star Wars fans, increasing the populations on worlds and the vibrancy of the community.”

Starting this fall, there will be two different ways to play Star Wars: The Old Republic:

Subscription – A service designed for players who want unrestricted access to all the game features via ongoing subscription or by redeeming a Game Time Card. In addition to gaining access to all game content as our current subscribers do now, Subscribers will receive ongoing monthly grants of Cartel Coins*, the new virtual currency that will be introduced later this fall. Cartel Coins can be used to purchase valuable items including customizable gear and convenience features that will enhance the game play experience.
Free-to-Play –The first 50 levels will be free-to-play, with some restrictions on access to new content and advanced player features. Some restrictions can be “unlocked” with Cartel Coins.
As the first step towards adding the new Free-to-Play option this fall, in August at retail Star Wars: The Old Republic will go on sale for $14.99 USD, including one-month of free subscription.

Current and former players will also find additional benefits as part of this program. BioWare will be increasing the frequency of game content updates, with the first of many new releases coming in August. In addition, current subscribers will receive Cartel Coin grants and qualify for access to special in-game items. Even former players who re-activate now will qualify for special benefits. To learn more about these rewards, please visit www.StarWarstheOldRepublic.com/FREE.

We’ll be covering this is more detail today as our team of writers dissect things. In the meantime, what’s your take? A great move that will grow the game, a desperate measure to keep the game viable, or somewhere in the middle?

Filed Under: General News, News, SWTOR Tagged With:

/gchat: The Good, The Bad And The Guildy

July 31, 2012 by

/gchat is our new and ongoing column on guilds and the fun, conflicts, laughs and rage-quits they contain. If you have a topic you’d like covered, drop Jemima a line!

By far the two most common causes of grief surrounding your whole guild experience are absent leadership and being in the wrong guild.

Absent leadership is pretty easy to spot, unless you live in Poland and rolled on Gav Daragon because you thought it sounded like a tasty sausage, but that is an article for another day.

Being in the wrong guild is often much more difficult to recognise.

Like most made-for-TV-movie relationships, you don’t want to see the problems. You’ve already invested a lot into the guild: made great friends, had great times, gone for long walks through the rakghoul-infested swamps of Taris at sunset and stopped for a romantic dinner at Karagga’s Palace.

Problems start as minor annoyances, but like a frog being slow-boiled, they can quickly escalate into train wrecks without you even being conscious of it. Bargains that should be made out loud and with other people are made silently and with yourself. “I’ll give them one more week to pick me for the team and if they don’t…  I’m leaving!! I swear to god!”

Next thing you know you’re throwing chairs and saucepans at walls and the police are asking you to sit in separate rooms – well, replace chairs and saucepans with mice and keyboards at monitors… and there’s no police – but you get my drift.

Assuming your leadership is present and does care about the guild, unhappiness with your current guild is more likely a symptom of the fact that they don’t care about you.

So how do you recognise the warning signs that you’re in the wrong guild?

If you’re in a social guild, but constantly frustrated that they can’t organise their way out of a paper bag – you’re in the wrong guild.

Social guilds are great for new players still trying to figure out the game, their class and what they want to do at end-game. They’re also fantastic for the lone-wolf or the family guy who logs in on Tuesday evenings, when the wife is at book-club, and are happy to PUG on the rare occasions when they feel like participating in structured activities.

But raids and ranked warzones are not like all-night movie cinemas – you can’t just buy a ticket for the next showing. You need rules, level and gear requirements. You need a fixed number and mix of classes to commit and then actually show to even give it a try, let alone succeed.

But the lack of these rules, requirements and obligations is the very thing that fundamentally defines a social guild. If you’re frustrated at your guild’s inability to provide enough structured content for you, it sounds like it’s time for you to specialise and move on.

If you’re in a raiding guild but find yourself too often benched, you’re in the wrong guild.

Casual, hardcore, semi-hardcore, decaf-halfcore with a twist of lemon – there’s a million different kinds of raiding guilds out there from absolute beginner to sponsored professional. But the devil is in the detail and when you start adding in rules and requirements, you have to make sure they work for you. You can generally liken the officers of raiding guilds to a hot chip on a beach of seagulls – trying to keep everyone happy with not quite enough to go around. So the key here is to make sure that you don’t want special treatment.

If you want the flexibility to raid as and when you choose on a moment’s notice, make sure you’re in a casual raiding guild and be prepared to sit out when you don’t necessarily want to. If you want a known schedule: min/max your gear; don’t stand in stuff; find a guild that guarantees positions to core raiders or works on a fixed rotating schedule; and show up when you say you will even when you don’t want to. Find out how they distribute loot and be honest with yourself – will you still be happy with that system once your ‘probation’ period is over?

Above all, make sure the raid team you’re on matches your experience level. Gear is easy to acquire – developing skills take time. If you’re constantly frustrated by the clown-show around you, it’s time to move on. If you’re too frequently the one wiping the team, you’re likely to find yourself having long conversations with Mr Bench.

If you’re in a PvP guild and you’re not getting matches, you probably suck at PvP.

Unlike PvE, in PvP there are no do-overs, there’s no we’ll get ‘em next week, and every win and loss gets recorded in the indelible ‘inspect player’ scorecard. Your performance is measured by the numbers and published to all those present at the end of the match. By necessity, PvPers live on the ruthless side of life and PvP team leaders have to be cut-throat to win. There’s still a requirement for some class balance but not to the same extent as raiding so if you’re getting benched, chances are you’re just not as good as the other people wanting to go.

Practice more and get better. Stop clicking or find out what that means. Roll a class or respec to one that’s more suited to PvP. Find a lower ranked team so you look good by comparison or turn that toon into the most formidable crafter on the Fleet.

Whatever your problems are there is a guild out there for you!

Filed Under: General News, Guilds, Guilds Tagged With:

Play The Secret World Free In August

July 31, 2012 by

So many MMOs, not enough time! Believe it or not it’s been a month since A Secret World launched, and to celebrate Funcom are offering some free play time coming up in early August (From Friday, August 3rd at 4pm GMT until Monday, August 6th at 7am GMT).

That means from 2am Saturday morning the 4th August to 5pm on Monday 6th August at 5pm AEST. Here’s the full details:

We want to share the joy with as many people as possible! Any player, who has any type of The Secret World account, may join us over the weekend to celebrate our first month! Early Access, Inactive Accounts, and Beta Accounts may all join in! If you do not currently have an account for The Secret World, you may register to participate starting today, Friday, July 27th, to have open access to this special celebration weekend! You can find the celebration event registration on the right side of the official website! You may download the game here.

So if you’ve got an inactive account, now might be the time to jump back in. Or like me, you might want to give the game a go for the first time.

While we’re talking TSW, if you’re a dedicated player that would like to write about the game, why not join our team?

Filed Under: General News Tagged With: ,

Looking to make your own GW2 Email/Forum signature?

July 31, 2012 by

Then here’s a pretty nifty option. There’s a huge range of options you can choose and you can easily test out a bunch of things and cancel them individually. Best of all, you can download the end result without needing to give away your email address or any other info.

Check it out for yourself!

[Thanks to Peter over at GW2 Gamers of Oceania Facebook Page]

Filed Under: General News, Guild Wars 2 Tagged With: ,

Solo Malgus Kill: Go The Assassin!

July 29, 2012 by

I’m sure it’s not unique, but I’m always fascinated by solo kills and this SWTOR solo kill is no different.

This time it’s a Sith Assassin called Stevoo on the Master Dar’Nala Server, knocking over Darth Malgus in the False Emperor Flashpoint – in hard mode no less.

Having a healer companion doesn’t hurt obviously, but it’s still an impressive feat.

Have a look for yourself:

Over to you: have you pulled off a similar feat or does it seem a little too much like hard work? Post your thoughts below!

[Thanks to Jedi Consulars for the heads-up]

Filed Under: General News, Inquisitor, Machinima, News, PvE, SWTOR Tagged With: , ,

Through The Mist: MoP Overview

July 29, 2012 by

Through the Mist is a regular column covering not just the new expansion but pretty much anything else of interest in the game. We’re thrilled to welcome Through the Mist’s writer, Luke Le Page. Luke is going to writing the column regularly, starting with an overview of the upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. Welcome Luke!

As this is my first piece I was having some difficulty in determining how to start it. Blizzard have managed to do it for me by announcing the release date for World of Warcraft’s fourth expansion; Mists of Pandaria. This also leaves me with a lot of content to cover and not much time in which to do it. Mists will hit shelves and for the first time in the franchise’s history be available digitally on September 25. The digital version will enable players to log in the second that the servers are ready and eliminate the need to wait in line at various retail stores for midnight launches. Thurday’s press release also detailed the different version of the game and can be found here.

I will start by summarising ten of the major changes to be found in the upcoming expansion and unpack them in more detail on a weekly between now and release.

Character creation:

There have been a number of complaints over WoW’s lifespan regarding character customisation, which was partially addressed with introduction of the barber shop where players could, for an in-game fee, change the look of their characters. This was advanced further with the recent introduction of transmogrification – which allows characters to transmogrify their equipped items into something entirely different. This feature was warmly received and has seen a huge differentiation in the items that many people display on their characters giving them a more unique feel. Despite these other additions the actual character creation had not changed since the initial launch of WoW and it was past time for this feature to be updated.

While the changes in Mists are by no means ground-breaking they offer an exciting new feel to making a character and I have spent some time on the beta playing with the new functions.

Talents:

The talent tree has received a major overhaul. Veteran players will be familiar with having to adapt to a number of changes with the release of past expansions, but the new system is something completely different. We still see the 3 major tree’s for each class, but it is the talent trees themselves that have seen the major changes. Players will now receive a talent point every 15 levels giving them just 6 talent points overall. Each tree has 6 tiers with 3 choices per tier, offering just 18 talent choices in total, however only one talent in each tier can be selected. Many of the old talents are now incorporated into abilities passively and are acquired as characters progress through levels. This change has seen a lot of discussion across various message boards but when people ask me what I think of it I describe it as ‘less is more’. These changes can already be seen on the PTR.

Pre-release world event:

I will not go into any real detail on this as I do not wish to spoil it for anyone but we all love a great in-game event and the Mists of Pandaria launch event is set to be excellent.

Shared Zones:

This is one of my favourite changes to the game in its life span. MoP will see the introduction of cross-realm zones where players from multiple realms will be able to see, interact and play with one another.  This will help solve the issue of sparsely populated levelling zones and shows promise towards the introduction of a fully shared game world where guilds and friendships can be formed across realms.

Account wide mounts and achievements:

This feature may not impress everyone but for me personally it is a major selling point. I have well over 100 mounts on my Rogue, including a number of rare and no longer attainable ones, so it is nice to be rewarded for this hard work on all of my characters. This feature is still being worked on but it looks promising for release

New Race:

In this expansion we see the introduction of a new race, the Pandaren. The Pandaren come with a rich back story and breathtaking new starting zone, which I will preview prior to release, and is available to both factions. I was quite impressed by the dynamics of the Pandaren race, though their movement felt somewhat bobbly to me.

New Class:

MoP will introduce us to the class of Monk. The Monk is a new melee class with the ability to fulfil all three roles in the game i.e. healer, tank, dps. I will preview the Monk in full prior to release but so far I have found it an extremely fun class to play.

Pet Battles:

This is an extremely fun mini-game. I hate to bring up another game but many readers of this site will be familiar with the high demand for a Pazaak mini game in SWTOR and the disappointment that accompanied its exclusion. While Pet battles is not Pazaak it seems that Blizzard have taken note of the demand for mini-games and decided to try their hand at it and the result is a lot of fun. Again this is by no means a ground breaking advancement of the modern MMO, it is simply another way to have fun in the game.

Challenge modes:

This is a feature I am extremely excited about. This feature sees the introduction of challenge modes to dungeons where players will race against the clock to complete instances as fast as possible. Rewards will vary based on the speed with which the instance is cleared. Gear will also be normalised to a level appropriate to the dungeon ensuring that challenge modes remain difficult throughout various tiers of gear. The only downside I see to this is that it encourages “zerging” of the challenge mode as the rewards are based on speed and not the difficulty of content.

New Zones

Lastly we have the customary introduction of new zones. We see the introduction of eight new zones in Mists of Pandaria and all of them are breathtaking. If, like me, you enjoy exploring the world, MoP offers you spectacular scenery to enjoy and explore.

This is by no means all of the changes that are coming with Mists of Pandaria and I will attempt to cover everything I can in the time until release I felt that these 10 points were the major changes that have me excited to play.

Over to you: have you been involved in the beta and if so, what have you enjoyed the most?

Filed Under: General News, WoW Tagged With: ,
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