Raid Finder Coming in Patch 4.3
Posted on Monday, October 3rd, 2011 and filed under Fun Stuff, Game News, MMORPG Issues, Warcraft.This is straight from Blizz. I’m sorry its posted a bit late but I know you all are looking for a tidbit of information. There’s a lot more info out there too.
Raid Finder Coming in Patch 4.3So what is the Raid Finder? It will be a brand new grouping feature that superficially works much like the Dungeon Finder. Instead of five-player dungeons, the Raid Finder is designed to help players quickly and easily form a pick-up raid for a specially tuned version of the current tier of raid content: the Dragon Soul raid. It’s not intended to replace organized raiding though. You’ll still need friends and guild members to help you conquer the toughest raiding challenges that patch 4.3 has to offer.
As we currently plan to roll out the Raid Finder feature in patch 4.3, level-85 players will be able to use it to access a 25-player version of the Dragon Soul raid dungeon, which will culminate in a glorious battle against Deathwing himself. Dragon Soul will be split into three different difficulties. The Raid Finder provides access to a new tier of difficulty, which in this case has split the raid into two wings, each containing four boss encounters. Meanwhile, raiders will still need to join with friends and guildmates to face the more challenging normal and heroic versions of the raid, since the Raid Finder cannot be used to access those higher difficulty levels. Naturally, because they’re harder to defeat, the normal and heroic version of Dragon Soul will drop more powerful lootalong with prestigious rewards such as achievements, titles, and epic mounts. Rich rewards still await those who face the Raid Finder version, which we hope will introduce the thrills and epic experience of raiding to a broader audience than ever before.
You can access the Raid Finder through the ‘Raid’ button in the menu at the bottom of the default user interface. The Raid Finder should feel familiar to Dungeon Finder users. Just fire it up, select your class role, click the ‘Find Raid’ button, and get ready to face Deathwing’s jaw of doom.
FAQ
Q. Raids aren’t dungeons. Who will keep things organized?
A. A Raid Finder raid will require someone to queue as leader. The Raid Finder leader will have a very limited set of powers and cannot change loot type, nor do they have the ability to arbitrarily kick people from the raid. They do have the ability to mark targets and use /raid warning, and can promote other players to be leads as well. To be most successful, each Raid Finder group should have at least one leader who will explain the fights, assign raid markers, and make the tough calls, like who the main tank and off-tanks are.
Q. How will loot be distributed?
A. Automatic rolls and the Need Before Greed loot rules will apply in Raid Finder raids, just as they do in Dungeon Finder instances. Also, while Dungeon Finder raids aren’t locked, you are only eligible for loot from a boss once per week. This means that if you were present for the defeat of a boss, whether you receive loot or not, then you will automatically pass on loot that drops during later attempts on that boss during the same week.
Q. How will Raid Finder loot differ?
A. Loot acquired through the Raid Finder, including tier set pieces, will be of a lower item level than items acquired from normal or heroic mode versions of the Dragon Soul raid, and its appearance may differ. Also, there are certain items, as well as components for legendary weapons, which will not drop in Raid Finder raids. While individual bosses will not yield Valor Points as they would in other versions of the raid, you can still earn 250 Valor Points for beating the final boss in each wing of the instance.
Tier armor that drops in Raid Finder raids still provides set bonuses, and those bonuses are compatible with the higher item level versions of the armor available in the normal and heroic mode versions of the raid. None of these tier sets will be available for purchase from a vendor via Valor Points.
Q. Will there be an item level requirement to use the Raid Finder?
A. Yes, accessing raids via the Raid Finder will require that participating characters be level 85 and have attained a certain item level, to help ensure that they are prepared for the content they’ll be facing.
Q. Will the Raid Finder be cross-realm?
A. Yes, the Raid Finder will draw players from all realms. As with the Dungeon Finder, it will place some priority on grouping players from the same realm, though not at the cost of increased queue times.
Q. What kind of raid composition will the Raid Finder create?
A. Each Raid Finder raid will include two tanks, six healers, and seventeen damage dealers. As the raid is assembled, the Raid Finder will attempt to balance the group according to armor type, which should help ensure a healthy mix of melee and ranged dps.
Q. Why 25-player only?
A. A 25-player group is actually easier and faster to fill than a smaller group would be, and allows for greater flexibility in raid creation, all of which will help contribute to lower queue times. Also, 25-player raids are less subject to issues with composition or player connectivity.
The Raid Finder version of the Dragon Soul raid will be designed with pick-up raiding in mind. Normal and heroic difficulties will require the greater organization and teamwork found in guild raid groups.
Q. Will I get Call to Arms benefits when using the Raid Finder?
A. We don’t currently plan to apply Call to Arms benefits to the Raid Finder, though that may change in the future.
Q. Will I be locked to a raid I join through the Raid Finder?
A. Since the Raid Finder only offers access exclusively to a specially tuned version of the Dragon Soul raid instance, instance locks will not be enforced for that version. Instance locks will still be enforced for the normal and heroic versions of the raid.
Q. Can I queue with my friends in a party or raid?
A. Yes, you can queue for the Raid Finder individually, in a party, or in a raid. The Raid Finder can be a great tool to help fill those last few slots in a raid.
Q. I’m a dedicated raider with an organized group, what good is the Raid Finder to me?
A. Since instance locks aren’t in play, Raid Finder raids could provide a way for dedicated raiders to gear up alternate characters, fill gaps in their itemization, finish off elusive set bonuses, or just have some fun while preparing to face the normal or heroic version of the raid on the next reset.
Q. Why aren’t other raids available?
A. The Raid Finder is intended to help players experience the current tier of content.Also, many older raids don’t require a full complement of raiders, making the Raid Finder unnecessary. This is also the first rollout of the feature and we decided to start things simple, rather than potentially delay the feature’s introduction.
If the Raid Finder proves popular, more raid instances may be added to it in the future.
Q. Will Vote Kick still work in the Raid Finder?
A. Yes, though many of the same requirements and restrictions will be in place. For example, kicking too many times can result in a Vote Kick cooldown. Also, the thresholds are different, and several players will need to agree on kicking a candidate before the vote begins. Successful kick votes will require a significant number of Yes votes to pass.
Q. What happens if I leave a Raid Finder raid before it’s over?
A. Players who leave the Raid prematurely will receive a Deserter Debuff, though it will likely be of longer duration than the one applied to users of the Dungeon Finder. This debuff will only apply to the Raid Finder system.
Anonymous Wants To Destroy Facebook
Posted on Thursday, August 18th, 2011 and filed under Fun Stuff, Game News, MMORPG Issues, Uncategorized.Anonymous, the shady-yet-principled hacktivist group that has previously hacked into Iran’s government emails, the Pentagon, possibly the IMF, News Corp, Anders Breivik’s Twitter account, and much more, has a new target in its crosshairs: Facebook. The hackers have set the date for Facebook’s demise as November 5, 2011. The reason? Ironically, they’re worried about privacy. Full text of their press release after the jump.
DATE: November 5, 2011.
TARGET: https://facebook.com
Press:
Twitter : https://twitter.com/OP_Facebook
http://piratepad.net/YCPcpwrl09
Irc.Anonops.Li #OpFaceBook
Message:
Attention citizens of the world,
We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows:
Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill facebook for the sake of your own privacy.
Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria.
Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your “privacy” settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you “delete” your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more “private” is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family. http://www.physorg.com/news170614271.html
http://itgrunts.com/2010/10/07/facebook-steals-numbers-and-data-from-your-iph….
You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.
The riots are underway. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. It’s unfolding because people are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they don’t understand the consequences. Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them “for their own good” while they then make millions off of you. When a service is “free,” it really means they’re making money off of you and your information.
Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook . Engaged.
This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias. We have the right to not be surveilled, not be stalked, and not be used for profit. We have the right to not live as slaves.
We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us
“Kill Facebook for the sake of your own privacy” — doesn’t that sound strange, coming from people who routinely steal private information as they please? But this echoes the manifesto of a related group, LulzSec, whose nihilistic perspective on the state of the Internet kind of made sense. An excerpt:
Do you think every hacker announces everything they’ve hacked? We certainly haven’t, and we’re damn sure others are playing the silent game. Do you feel safe with your Facebook accounts, your Google Mail accounts, your Skype accounts? What makes you think a hacker isn’t silently sitting inside all of these right now, sniping out individual people, or perhaps selling them off? You are a peon to these people. A toy. A string of characters with a value.This is what you should be fearful of, not us releasing things publicly, but the fact that someone hasn’t released something publicly.
Will Anonymous be able to successfully lay waste to Mark Zuckerberg’s fortress? This is set to be the Internet showdown of the year.
I cant wait to see what happens. It’s going to be interesting.
EVE Online:Incarna
Posted on Sunday, August 14th, 2011 and filed under Fun Stuff, Game News, MMORPG Issues, Mogs, Uncategorized.The newest update/upgrade to EVE online is Incarna. It allows you to leave your ship while you are docked in a station. I haven’t been able to play yet but I hear it’s pretty cool. Here is some information I got from the Evelopedia.
Incarna (Also known as Ambulation or Walking in Stations) is an expansion for Eve Online which introduces the ability for pilots to step out of their pods and explore the Space Stations throughout the galaxy. Walking in stations was first announced in 2006 [1]. The title Incarna was given as the official patch name during the 2009 Fanfest, as part of an update revealing the release to be sometime in 2010. The expansion will be released in stages, the first of which was on 21st of June 2011.
Game Design
The expansion is initially going to be relatively bare-bones, due to the nature of the challenges of creating the technology and creating game play that does not encroach on the methods people play Eve Online today.
A Tactical Map is a major feature being planned for the expansion. [3]
On release, the primary content will be the ability to run shops inside of stations, ranging from Plastic Surgeons to Fashion Outlets. Players will also be able to set up corporate offices where they can hold meetings and introduce recruits. Player scripted NPCs will deliver dialogue to people looking for information.
Mini Games are an expected feature of the Walking in Stations expansion, with a thread on the Eve Online forums taking player suggestions for games to include. Gambling is one of the primary functions that is planned for inclusion, with the ability to place anything from ISK to Ships in a wager.
Custom, player made clothing is another major feature. It will be possible for anyone to have a custom made uniform or outfit, but to prevent “visual griefing,” the color palette is being kept subdued and realistic. CCP has also hired fashion designers to aid in the development of clothing and fabrics within the Walking in Stations expansion.
Locations
Players will be able to ambulate inside of Space Stations, the offices, and the ships located within them. In addition, the captain’s quarters of a ship will also be a visitable location where the player can decorate and furnish their quarters to some degree.
Art Direction
The design and art for the Walking in Stations expansion, much like the rest of Eve Online, pushes for grittiness, functionality, and a grim reality. The player visible areas of the space stations will be expansive, with a lot of space to visit. Since there will not be running in Ambulation, special accelerated walkways will be provided to allow faster transport from place to place.
Graphics Technology
Incarna will make use of a radiosity based lighting system licensed from Geometrics. This gives Incarna a softer, warmer look when compared with Eve. As described at the CCP Presents! panel at Fanfest 2009[4]:
SWG Closing December 15th 2011
Posted on Sunday, August 14th, 2011 and filed under Fun Stuff, Game News, MMORPG Issues, RMT News, SWG.SO SWG IS CLOSING!! I hate to say it and its really sad. I went to bed one night and woke up to the forums being offline, normal for SOE sometimes. After the forums came back up this is what I found. on 06/24/2011 12:46:08 this was posted on the official SWG forums.
Dear Star Wars Galaxies™ Community Member,
We write to you today to inform you that on December 15, 2011, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and LucasArts will end all services (MMO and Trading Card Game) for Star Wars Galaxies (SWG). The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game.
We are extremely grateful to all of the SWG fans. We have had the rare opportunity to host one of the most dedicated and passionate online gaming communities and we truly appreciate the support we’ve received from each and every one of you over the course of the past eight years.
In recognition of your incredible loyalty, we are extending special Fan Appreciation offers to the current SWG community. We also plan to go out with a bang with a galaxy-ending in-game event in December and hope to see you all there. The details relating to these offers and events as well as the timeline and specifics regarding the discontinuation of the service, are provided below.
Again, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our player community for making SWG one of the best online communities in gaming history.
Sincerely,
Sony Online Entertainment & LucasArts
Click here for more information.
the link right there takes you here http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com/playerinfo/
Now I have been playing this game for 8 years now. I have made friends, real friends that i have actually met, and a lot of friends online across the globe. This game has always been about helping and needing the help of others to succeed in your endeavors. there is NO other game out there like it. SWG is a “sandbox” you can do almost anything you want to and it has the most involved crafting and resources system of any game out there. It is truly unique.
So you may ask, why close the game? There are still a lot of players and they are working on new content. Well at first everyone blamed SOE but it really wasn’t their fault. It turns out that LucasArts does not want to let SOE have the Star Wars license because of the new Star Wars the Old Republic game coming out from Bioware.
There is a petition out there that thousands have signed here is a link to it http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveswg/
We as players were told at the beginning that both games could coexist and the was great, I had planned on having at least 2 accounts possibly 3 or 4 depending on my kids. I already had 7 active SWG accounts, only 2 active now, and I figured I’d be able to have fun in both games. SWtOR doesn’t have what SWG has and vice-versa.
Since the announcement SOE has made a lot of changes to the game and promised to release the GCW2 update that they have been working on. I can’t wait to see it and im going to be sad when it’s gone. I don’t know if I’ll play the new game or not, we’ll have to wait and see…….
SWG / SOE and what they’re doing now…..
Posted on Friday, June 10th, 2011 and filed under Game News, MMORPG Issues, SWG.
So most of you probably know about all of the trouble Sony has had with the PSN and SOE system. It was hacked.
As part of their “Make Good” program, every active SWG account is receiving a Boba Fett Slave ITM miniature ship model. They are also running the Bonus Everything Weekend from now until the Tuesday after Memorial Day!
I also checked the TCG and found that i had 3 free booster packs and 1 choose any loot card pack. I of course chose the Ionized Tibanna Gas Display. It looks like a lot of people did.
Thats the hard one to get!! NOW ITS FREE!!
SWG Galactic Civil War 2 – Space Update
Posted on Friday, June 10th, 2011 and filed under Game News, MMORPG Issues, SWG.We all know that space has needed some help in SWG for a while. It’s still reayyl awesome but it needs more. It looks like they’re working on it, and it looks good.
In addition to new GCW scenarios in space, they are also introducing the ACE Pilot System where you can battle against some of the best pilots from classic Star Wars™ lore. How would you fare against Wedge Antilles or other famous Star Wars characters? Find out in the GCW2 Space Update coming soon to a galaxy near you! I cant wait!!
Being able to fly against Wedge or maybe even Anakin, what a hoot that would be. He was supposed to be one of the best!! I’m interested to see these new scenarios they have lined up for us and there better be more than 1 for each faction.
Mark SWG Guru
“Real ID” on Forums Cancelled
Posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 and filed under Game News, MMORPG Issues.I’d like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. We’ve been constantly monitoring the feedback you’ve given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we’ve decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.
Click here for Nethaera’s full post
It looks as though the people have spoken. As quickly as Blizzard announced the new “Real ID” system that they’d like to implement, the amount of dirt it stired has caused Blizzard to decide to not implement the system into the online forums. Nethaera came back and explained that the Real ID will still be used in game for the cross-game communication.
Personally, I think this is a very nice step towards cross-gaming communication. Although I feel there should be various settings that each player can manage that controls what ID you are known by cross game. Whether it be your real name to some individuals while your player ID to the rest of the group. I’m sure the Real ID system is going to go through a plethora of changes, and hopefully it is streamlined to allow the best cross-game communication while keeping privacy and security settings strong.
- Jon@MOGS
Blizzard’s New “Real ID”
Posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 and filed under Game News, MMORPG Issues.Recently, we introduced our new Real ID feature – http://www.battle.net/realid/ , a new way to stay connected with your friends on the new Battle.net. Today, we wanted to give you a heads up about our plans for Real ID on our official forums, discuss the design philosophy behind the changes we’re making, and give you a first look at some of the new features we’re adding to the forums to help improve the quality of conversations and make the forums an even more enjoyable place for players to visit.
The first and most significant change is that in the near future, anyone posting or replying to a post on official Blizzard forums will be doing so using their Real ID — that is, their real-life first and last name — with the option to also display the name of their primary in-game character alongside it.
Recently announced by Nethaera on the WOW forums, it looks like all posts and replies on official Blizzard forums will now display the first and last name on each user’s battle.net account. This will go into effect before the Launch of the new Starcraft II community site, which is set to launch before July 27th. This new change is being dubbed “Real ID”.
What do you guys think the result of removing this veil of anonymity will be? Will this help reduce flame wars and trolling, and result in more positive and constructive feedback? Or, will this result in increased trolling? With Facebook having over 400 million users, it will be easy to find WOW players on there, which could in turn, move the trolling to a more personal section of the gamers life. Interestingly, Blizzard’s employees will also have their real first and last on on the forums too.
Being a former active participant of the forums, this intrigues me. I would guess that having the accountability of your name next to your avatar, would result in posters acting closer to their actual real life selves. However, I also could see this being a problem, because trolls are likely to dig up real life dirt on players now, and bring that into the forums. Nevertheless, it will be interesting when this goes live around July 27th.
Jake@MOGS
APB: ALL POINTS BULLETIN
Posted on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 and filed under MMORPG Issues.
APB is the mmo many of us have been waiting for (besides SWTOR of course). An action fps mmo that is very player based. APB at first glance looks like Grand Theft Auto, and it’s just that, but much more. The game is split between two factions; you can wreck havoc upon the games city districts as a Criminal or gear up and lay down the law as an Enforcer. Missions are player based; Criminals will have missions to steal cars and rob stores, when this is done an All Points Bulletin will appear to the Enforcer players in the area alerting them of the crime and giving them a new mission to stop them. With that, missions can be approached by different strategies; you can sneak around town and find a car in the back streets to steal that no one would notice, or you and some friends can jack a car in broad daylight but you better be ready for the Enforcers to come rolling in.
The servers are split between Standard and Chaos. Standard servers are that the enforcers have to obey the laws and the criminals have to be more careful for the enforcers are keeping an eagle eye on the city. While a chaos server is like GTA where both factions can kill citizens and members of the opposing faction at whim. At first chaos seems like it would just be people patrolling sidewalks killing every npc on the block, but the bulletins go out, and you will be hunted down. Each server holds up to 100,000 people, which players can then go to district maps which hold up to 100 people, or social districts which hold up to 250 people. Each world has hundreds of these maps although only any single district has a population limit.
Just about everything on your character can be customized. Those with the inner artist can spend hours redetailing their cars and clothing with awesome designs and logos with an “Animal Crossing-esque” design grid. And the musicians can remix and create their own music with an in-game synthesizer, which all can be traded between players and played in your car on the radio for all to hear. APB has a lot to offer for an online game.
The game is scheduled to release sometime this Spring/Summer, and you can still apply for the beta. The more I look into it, the more I want to play it. With its early release, hopefully this is the game I have been looking for to satisfy my lust for a new non-WoW mmo.
-Jon
Atlantica Online
Posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 and filed under Fun Stuff, Game News, MMORPG Issues.Atlantica Online is a free to play game that offers strategic turn based game control of several characters. If you are looking for a break from traditional MMO’s and just want to try something different, fun, and free, Atlantica Online is a pretty good choice. I was surprised at how smooth the play was and how fun it is to pick up new boxes and follow the quest line. What are these boxes? They are packages that contain items and goods. When you open them it is somewhat like a lottery or slot machine, items spin around and you win something. There are tons of rare and unique items that pop up.
Characters are pretty cool, a selection of mercenaries are available for you to grow your army. All those little items popping out of the boxes give you opportunity to gear up all the characters that follow your main toon through the game. I can’t say I’ll invest a great deal of time in the game, but for something different now and then it’s better than most of the free to play games sweeping the industry.
Dan@mogs.com
