MMO

Blizzard has placed a six month ban on over 100,000 players for using automated bots in World of Warcraft.  Many of those users emplyed bots like HonorBuddy, which gathers honor in PvP for you without actually engaging in combat.

A message from community management states,

We’ve recently taken action against a large number of World of Warcraft accounts that were found to be using third-party programs that automate gameplay, known as “bots.” We’re committed to providing an equal and fair playing field for everyone in World of Warcraft, and will continue to take action against those found in violation of our Terms of Use. Cheating of any form will not be tolerated.

Further clarification from a community manager adds that the issue is not just with movement, but any automated action:



Play fair out there, everyone!

We recently learned about the Mesmer Chronomancer coming to Heart of Thorns, now take a peek at the Dragonhunter.

The Dragonhunter is the Guardian's Elite Specialization for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. It’s a ferocious big-game hunter that specializes in ranged combat and back-line support. We’ve incorporated a more physical aspect into the guardian, and its powers in light-wielding have deepened to the point that they can better physically manifest objects into the world and send them flying as swift as an arrow.

TERA is an action combat based MMO known for its scantily clad characters and sexy, shiny style.  The game has just added a new gunner class, whose weapons are ridiculously and comically large.  



The free to play game is also joining Steam for the first time, making it even easier to pick up.  Learn more from the official site.

If you're not familiar with Second Life, it's a online "virtual world" that dates back to 2003, and though it is massively multiplayer, it does not have any objectives.  It's more or less a 3D chat and roleplay client, but a group of users have done something incredible within it; they've made a Cyberpunk MMO called Remnants of Earth:

[Remnants of Earth has a] heavy basis around classic pen and paper RPGs elements, like; dice rolling, stats, monster fighting, story driven events, MMO-like adventuring, and gathering. RoE is the first second life pen and paper table top game in SL, while still keeping the core features of any other roleplay sim. Players can interact with NPCs and other players to accomplish goals, and even engage in heated PvP faction wars. We even have a full crafting and mining system! Think of RoE as a fully functioning table top game in SL, like Dungeons and Dragons, or ShadowRun.

Check out the trailer for it above.  

ESO has dropped its subscription fee for PC and Mac as of today.  Xbox One and PS4 will join the subscription free fray on June 9.  The game will still require an initial purchase to play, which is currently priced at $59.99.

Final Fantasy XIV's expansion, Heavensward, comes out on June 23, 2015 and will feature new zones, flying mounts, and three new jobs.

Final Fantasy Online's got a new big patch, and to encourage players who have let their subscription lapse to come back, the game is offering a free weekend for registered, inactive players from Friday, January 30, 2015 at 12:00 a.m. to Monday, February 2, 2015 at 12:00 a.m. (PST). It appears that those players will have full access to the game, including new features from the patch.

As The Elder Scrolls Online makes its premiere on PS4 and Xbox One, Bethesda is removing monthly subscription fees, starting March 17th on PC/Mac and June 9th on PS4 and Xbox One with a new name: The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited.

Check out Asylum Entertainment's newly announced Identity, a modern-day MMORPG seeking funding on Kickstarter. If you're interested, learn more here.

Best case scenario: "Heart of Thorns" is the title of an upcoming Guild Wars 2 expansion to be announced next week at PAX South.

Worst case scenario: "Heart of Thorns" is the name of the next season of the living world content for Guild Wars 2.

Either way, something is coming.  Guild Wars 2's publisher, NCSOFT, has registered a new trademark for the name "Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns" with the accompanying logo above.  ArenaNet has a panel scheduled at PAX South that promises a sneak peek at what's next for the game.  If you're a fan, it's time to board the hype train.

The free DLC expansion that's "MMO simulation so good you'll think it's real" will be released on Steam on November 20, 2014. In an effort to perfectly simulate an MMO, the expansion includes five classes: warrior, rouge(?), magician, hunter, and microwave(???).

After seven years in development, project Titan has been canceled, Polygon confirms. Blizzard's CEO told Polygon, "We didn't find the fun,we didn't find the passion. We talked about how we put it through a reevaluation period, and actually, what we reevaluated is whether that's the game we really wanted to be making. The answer is no."


It sounds like Titan rose out of a desire to recreate the success of WoW and it just wasn't happening. Blizzard doesn't want to be identified as "the MMORPG company," and though they "wouldn't say no to ever doing an MMO again... that's not where we want to be spending our time."



Are you sad to see Titan go? Were you looking forward to the MMO? Did you even know it existed?

As part of the upcoming Warlords of Draenor pre-patch (6.0.2), WoW is removing the names of any characters that have not logged into the game since November 13, 2008. If you're trying to preserve any sweet character names you've been hoarding, make sure you've logged in to each character you need to retain the name of.