LOTRO: Dev Diary – Instances 2.0
The second Developer Diary about the upcoming changes to instances has been posted over on the official Lord of the Rings website. This time they are talking about the structure of the rewards system, what you can get from playing Scaling Instances, stat tracking, and the quality bar. Hit the link and go check it out!
Read MoreEverquest 2 Adding Free-To-Play Option
Well, well, I certainly did not see this coming. Sony Online Entertainment has announced today that Everquest 2 is adding a free-to-play option. This play option, named Everquest 2: Extended, will be on its own separate server and operate alongside the existing for-pay service. It will go live on August 27th.
Sony had recently said that they would not be switching Everquest 2 over to the free-to-play model. Things change, as they say, and it is fairly easy to figure out why: Money. Companies are discovering that they can make more money using the free model and allowing people to purchase add-ons via an in-game store. The “gotta have it now” syndrome really brings in the bucks.
Studies have shown that a large portion of people who play free games actually end up spending more per month than they would if they paid a standard monthly fee. Free Realms, which is Sony’s first big for-free title, is a huge cash cow for the company. The game has millions of subscribers that press the “get it now” button at an amazing rate.
Personally, I think this is a good move. I will certainly play Everquest 2 when it does go free-to-play. It is a game that I normally wouldn’t play because I can only afford so many monthly game fees.
This is a surprising development, and I look forward to seeing how it turns out. I will be there when it begins.
–Wolfen
Read MoreEQ Nostalgia Picture
The guild leader gives his troops an encouraging sign while standing next to the North Freeport bank.
LOTRO: Rescuing Amdir
Now that Jagger is dead, Ellie wants me to go after bigger fish. She has talked me up to the top leader of the Blackwolds, a man named Skunkwood. I am to go speak with him, but I should first go talk to the ranger Toradan. He tells me where the Blackwold hideout is located and sends me on my way. Toradan said he would meet me there later.
The Blackwold Hideout is located at the northeast corner of the Staddle pond. The door to the hideout is next to the falls that pour into the pond.
I enter the hideout and I am transported into an instance. The Blackwold”s guarding the gate were expecting me and they let me pass. I roam around the cavern for awhile until I come across the leader of the Blackwold’s. A man named Skunkwood.
I eventually find the cell in which Amdir is imprisoned. Amdir appears to be in a very bad way. He has been attempting to fight off the evil influence infecting his body but things are not going very well. He even scares the Blackwold guards stationed there to keep an eye on him.
I try to speak with Amdir but he is too far gone. He bursts open the door of his cage, knocks down his guards, and runs down the tunnel. This is when I noticed another prisoner in the cell.
A woman named Oakheart asks me to escort her out of the cave so that she can be free. The problem with helping her is that she walks very slowly. As we make our way through the cave, we see that all the Blackwold’s have been knocked unconscious. They re-awaken as we approach and I have to defend the woman from the attackers. Towards the end, I must defeat Skunkwood and his wolf guards. I took screenshots of all this but somehow they never saved to my hard drive. I don’t know why.
As I make my way towards the cave exit, I encounter Toradan facing off with Amdir. Toradan tries to help him but Amdir has transformed into something evil. He attacks and kills Toradan and then runs out of the cave.
I return to Constable Underhill and tell him what happened. I am rewarded with a tunic that is a huge upgrade for me. 74 more armor rating to be exact. Underhill then tasks me with finding the ranger mustering cave in hopes of finding more help.
This Blackwold instance was a fun experience. It advanced the main storyline and gave me several things to do in the cave. I never came close to dying, but I did enjoy my time.
–Wolfen
Read MoreLOTRO: Dev Diary – Instances 2.0
Another Developer’s Diary has appeared on the official Lord of the Rings Online website. This one deals with how they plan on improving instances throughout the game so that more players will have access to them. Here is a snippet of what Joe “jwbarry” had to say:
This was one of the challenges we set out to tackle with the Skirmish system. We were able to construct spaces that are available to as many players as possible and succeeded in knocking down many of the barriers that limit the impact, accessibility and audience for the content we produce. Now, we’ve looked at the Skirmish technology and started tinkering with applying it in other places to spread those benefits.
You can read the entire Developer’s Diary by clicking here.
–Wolfen
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