4th_fireworksIssue 101: Happy Independence Day (for those of us in the U.S.A.)!! I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July. I celebrated our country’s birthday on the beaches in Maryland which means I took a week off of gaming. My vacation also explains why this post is delayed so hopefully there is still something in here that will amuse and/or excite you.

There are quite a few exciting headlines, especially for fans of WoW and SWTOR. There are also details about the Pathfinder Online MMO that is incoming and some exciting news for Asheron’s Call (for those nostalgia MMO fans). Also, not to toot my own horn but I am in the beta/alpha for two of Blizzard’s games now (Heroes of the Storm and WoD) so hopefully I will be able to talk about those games though probably not in too much detail because of the NDA associated with all closed beta/alpha invites. I know a few of you have also received a WoD invite as well so we could probably talk in secret 🙂

Pathfinder Online Formal Alpha

Posted 6.26.14 – If you were one of the folks that gave money to Pathfinder Online’s Kickstarter then you will be receiving an invite to the formal alpha test. This invite will also go to folks that purchased alpha access. There is/was a live stream of the current alpha build June 27th on twitch (which means it might be available to view after the live stream is over). [Alpha client updated 7.6.14]
Massively post

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 SWTOR Tatooine Homesteads

Posted 7.3.14 – Another big content patch coming to SWTOR promises player housing in the form of “Tatooine homesteads”. I love the changes Bioware keeps making to SWTOR every day (such as the casino’s that hand out player buffs). The video shows a quick glimpse of the homesteads and there are links to a few screenshots someone took to give you an idea of what it looks like and how it will all work. Enjoy and MTFBWY.
Massively post

Asheron’s Call Is Buy-2-Play

Posted 7.3.14 – If you are a fan of one of the first MMOs (what, WoW isn’t the first MMO??!!!) then you might be excited to learn that, as promised, Asheron’s Call is no longer a subscription based game. Once you buy it, you can play it as much as you want. Also, by the transitive property, Asheron’s Call 2 is also adopting this model. I’ve never played this game, I just know it by name and reputation. Check out the post to learn a bit more about it.
Massively post

Some FFXIV Patch 2.3 Notes

Posted 7.4.14 – Looks like Final Fantasy fans have a small 4th of July gift, some notes about the upcoming 2.3 patch. Some of the key points in the notes are gear augmentation and upgrades as well as a nifty addition to inns which will give players the ability to play minigames. Looks like there will also be some revamping of existing weapons for a few classes. I would check out the provided post or head over to the official patch notes to see what is coming for you!
Massively post | FFXIV Patch Notes

WoD Gives Random Gear Upgrades

Posted 7.6.14 – If you haven’t heard, Blizzard’s next WoW expansion has entered into alpha testing (in fact I have an invite to try to alpha, but I have been on vacation so I haven’t had a chance to partake). Therefore, it should be no surprise to hear about new things coming to the game such as a random chance for a quest item to suddenly get upgraded. Any green quality item has a chance to upgrade to a blue (rare) quality level. I know that Blizzard revamped the loot system quite a bit for Warlords of Draenor and I think this is pretty cool. It will make leveling a lot easier if you happen to get one of these upgrades (especially for the alts that you don’t play as much).
WoW Insider post

Not Really News, Just Frakking Sweet!

Posted 7.7.14 – There are two staples in a gamer geeks life, games (obviously) and LEGOs. Seriously, who doesn’t like LEGOs (as a child and as an adult)?? So when you combine these two, you might see quite a few gamers squeal (though LEGO Universe was a disappointment). The image in this post is certainly NOT a disappointment. Someone constructed a Warhammer 40k battlefield entirely out of LEGOs. It is really quite impressive.
Kotaku post

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