sw-tfa-teaserIssue 126: Holy Cow, that was a crazy Gamescom! I think Blizzard definitely stole the show but everyone knew it was going to happen, which is why I think so many other companies had a lot of their own products to talk about. The increase in interest gave them the perfect arena to market their games too. There will be some residual posts below from the final couple of days of Gamescom, but for the most part I tried to keep it to news more immediately published.

I will try to limit the Legion talk as I’m sure there will be plenty of it in the coming weeks (especially as Blizzcon draws near). In fact I actually threw in some Rise of the Tombraider because it has some new footage really worth checking out. There is also Diablo III patch news, WildStar beta news, Heroes of the Storm latest PTR status and more. So take a break from trying to find that perfect Demon Hunter name and check out these great headlines. KCGO

Gamescom Wrap-Up

Posted 8.9.15 – There was more to talk about then I provided in the last post but Massively Overpowered is there to help. They have provided a fairly comprehensive wrap-up of all the exciting news and debuts from Cologne this year. I would take a look because I’m sure there was something there that you would probably find interesting that I didn’t mention in the last issue. What was your favorite Gamescom moment?
Massively Overpowered post

Rise of the Tombraider Footage

lara-rise-of-trPosted 8.10.15 – I know Tombraider isn’t an MMO but its a great game that I have played quite a bit over the years. The reboot was amazing and now there is 13 minutes of footage that was presented at Gamescom of the upcoming Rise of the Tombraider sequel. Again, the game looks amazing. Its schedule for XBox One/360 release in 3 months (Nov. 10) and it will be out for PC and PS4 sometime in early 2016. I’m glad its going to be available for the 360 because I’m not ready to give up my R2-D2 X-Box!
 Gamespot post

Crafting Changes for D3 Patch

Posted 8.10.15 – In Diablo 3’s upcoming 2.3.0 patch there will be some pretty big changes coming to crafting. In fact some of the changes have an uncanny reference to another title of similar lore (i.e. enchanting now uses dusts, essences, shards, etc). There will also be new legendary materials that you will need to craft the new ring and amulet. All existing level 60 materials will be converted to a similar level 70 material, basically its all been slimmed down and better compartmentalized. There is quite a bit of information so this is not a small change.
Blizzard Watch post

WildStar F2P Beta Live

Posted 8.11.15 – As promised (at Gamescom) WildStar’s Free-2-Play version is officially in closed beta. If you have tried WildStar then you should check out this article describing some of the changes you can expect when it goes live. For example the introduction starts much earlier in the story to give the player more immersion into what you need to do as the hero (it triggers the “feels”). I think the interesting point in the whole article was how the Carbine developers took player feedback seriously and literally as many of the features added are all part of that feedback. When you show that you actually listen to your target market, it builds a beautiful relationship.
Massively Overpowered article

HotS Latest Patch on PTR

Posted 8.11.15 – The newest patch for Heroes of the Storm has hit the public test realms. This is a rather large patch that told us there would be three new heroes and the Infernal Shrines map. According to this article, however, while the Infernal Shrines map is also on the PTR, it will not go out with the patch when it goes live. The other interesting detail to glean from this article is that it only mentions Kharazim as the hero that will accompany the patch so perhaps the other two heroes will be unlocked later, perhaps when the Infernal Shrines map is unlocked? It’s the usual Blizzard shenanigans.
 Gamespot article

A Foreboding Prognostication from Devs

Posted 8.12.15 – While the video is 15 minutes long, it is a Gamescom interview with the Blizzard devs in which they talk about a “terrifying” worldwide illidan-bladesinvasion before the expansion. Most of the interview has details that we pretty much already know from their unveiling on the 6th but there are a few tidbits worth mentioning. We will get a 12th character spot per server for our demon hunters, demon hunters will start about level 95 or 100, we will not be getting player or guild housing (this expansion). This invasion thing though sounds pretty interesting (“This is the biggest of all invasions.”); I kinda, can’t wait!
 Massively Overpowered post

Blizzard Considering Another RTS

Posted 8.12.15 – A friend of mine and I were just discussing this the other day. We were kind of wondering why Blizzard hasn’t considered making another Warcraft RTS game. Well it seems someone overheard our conversation (damn NSA) because Blizzard is considering another Warcraft RTS after StarCraft 2.
Blizzard Watch post
The MMO Times is a post I put together periodically of different MMO/gaming news articles that I think are interesting, fun and/or exciting. If you are interested in receiving these posts in an e-mail please click here to subscribe.