MMO News Round-Up: Monday 20th February 2012

Big news, huuuuge news, server vs server PvP battles sized news.  That’s right, Guild Wars 2 will bring us server against server PvP combat, Mike Ferguson discusses it in more detail on his blog post and it’s looking good. Worried about not being able to take part till you reach cap? Fear not: “When fighting in the Mists, you’ll be using your regular PvE character and the gear you’ve acquired in your adventures through Tyria. In the Mists, players all fight at the same level. Any character below level 80 will be adjusted so they are roughly equivalent in power to what they would be at level 80. This makes combat among characters of any level not only possible, but actually fun!” It looks like NCSoft have put a lot of thought in to this aspect of the game and have taken note of competitor’s successes and failures and adapted themselves accordingly, I love the smell of siege weapons in the morning.

Tired of having to follow the skill tree the game dictates for you? Funcom has released more information on how The Secret World will go about letting players create the character they want. The latest news from their website mentions a choice of five hundred abilities available with the option of picking and choosing as you see fit. GamesRadar snagged an interview with Martin Bruusgaard (Lead Designer) and it’s an exciting read if you’re looking for some innovation in the MMO world. There’s also mention of “kick-ass outfits” .. sold!

Creepy trailer time from Dark Legends though precious little information about the game itself aside from some blurb on their Facebook page about “joining the secret society of vampires”. The voice in the song though .. brrrrr!

Should you have been participating in the TERA closed beta / sneak peeks you might be pleased to hear a new patch has dropped, though potentially less pleased to hear that it’s another 7GB on top of (what was for me) a very slow download. If you’re involved in the next event on the 24th of February En Masse have suggested you might like to update in advance – you’ll get some high-res textures for your trouble.

Now if you’re in to shivering timbers and other nautical nonsense Pirate Storm has been released worldwide, their press release tells us that the game ” is also intended for beginners by offering uncomplicated game entry and an enthralling introduction into the world of buccaneers. Alone or with other pirates in their guild, players must face monsters from the darkest depths of the ocean and greedy, enemy pirates. Players must give their all – because waiting for them at the end of this Flash game’s challenging missions is legendary treasure … or death!” I only managed a brief splash about the great oceans so if you’ve had a go let me know whether you enjoyed it?

Valentines Day passed quietly in my house, no flowers were delivered *sniff* – I did however spend a lot of time reading about how the various MMO’s were trying to attract (I mean, celebrate with) subscribers, my favourite being this from CCP & EVE Online. I’m pleased they didn’t stoop to offering Cupid outfits to the Gallente, they look the sort to indulge in a bit of dressing up.