MMO Weekly 11/02

'Allo, dear friends, and thanks for joining us for the latest installment of MMO Weekly!  This week, for better or worse (well, usually worse), we'll cover all the latest news in the virtual universes.  As always, the virtual universes contain stories of trust, betrayal, raunchy virtual sex, and the senseless deaths of countless innocent gnomes, hobbits, and dwarfs.  But the juiciest story this week takes place in the cold, blackness of deep space, so we'll begin there.

The GoonSwarm Alliance is the strangest of strange game guilds.  They originated as a group of friends that met in the Something Awful forums, where they formed their first MMO guild.  That guild was dedicated to achieving one goal: griefing other players.  Now they move from game to game, griefing, raising havoc, and doing everything they can to upset their fellow gamers.  The Goons find particular joy when they can annoy their targets to the point where they quit the game and never play again.  They're pretty much the very embodiment of chaotic evil and, while they play nearly any MMO out there, they've really taken a liking to Eve Online.

Standing against the Goons were the Band of Brothers.  BoB was the biggest corporation in the game, and they controlled a huge empire.  Despite being completely untrustworthy, backstabbing their own allies, and tricking even their most trusted friends, the Goons have grown ever more powerful over the years.  Of course, the Goons have repeatedly targeted BoB, and BoB has fought back.  Generally speaking, BoB has had the upper hand, despite a few notable victories for the Goons.  Quite frankly, without BoB, the Goons would be the most powerful, nefarious, evil nerds in all of Eve.  They'd simply control, and if at all possible wreck, the game for everyone.  Only BoB stood in the way of utter chaos in Eve. 

And then something went very, very wrong.  A BoB corporate director (basically, a high ranking guild leader) named Haargoth Agamar joined Goonswarm with an alt, and decided that he liked the Goons.  This was despite the fact that they initially tried to scam him out of 100 million ISK (the in-game currency of Eve).  Haargoth, who apparently forgives very easily, outed himself as one of the head honchos in BoB, and offered to betray his old guild.  He then offered to give everything to his new super best friends, the Goons, who'd just tried to rip him off.  Why did he do this?  It seems ol' Haargoth was just sick of the other leaders of BoB.  In a nutshell, he agreed to destroy BoB because his fellow BoB directors were too “emo” for his tastes.  He somehow felt that the Goons would be better.  Yes, really.

In a rapid-fire set of three stunning moves, he single-handedly destroyed his old guild, transferring most of their assets to GoonSwarm.  First, using his powers as a director of BoB, he basically opened up the BoB hangers, allowing waiting Goons to get inside.  The Goons then stole a large number of BoB-owned capital ships, worth billions of ISK.  These, piloted by compromised pilots, are now parked safely in Goon space. 

Next, again using his director powers, Haargoth then managed to disband (or at least disrupt) the remainder of BoB.  Due to the mechanics of the game, this meant that their section of space was no longer secure, and it was quickly taken over by others. 

In a final, utterly fatal move, Haaroth emptied the BoB corporate coffers transferring nearly 8.5 billion ISK to Goonswarm.

What did Haargoth get for all his trouble?  Well, as far as I can tell, nothing.  Really, it seems he got nothing in return.  He was sick of BoB's other corporate directors – people he'd been friends with for months, if not years – so he betrayed them, stole their ships and their money, and broke up their alliance.  Then he gave it all to their arch-enemies.  And he didn't get jack in return. 

Apparently, this is Haargoth's revenge for BoB's being all “emo”.  Revenge, as we all know, is a dish best served cold.  It's very cold in space.   And now, space also smells like the sweat of evil nerds.

If you're interested, the GoonSwarm leader, known as “The Mittani”, tells the story himself (with lots of self-congratulatory back-patting) right here.     

        
In somewhat more positive news, it seems that Mythic Entertainment is doing quite a bit to improve an already solid MMO, Warhammer Online.  It announced that new content, amounting to a free expansion, would be rolled out in the next several months.  What's included in this “free expansion”?  Quite a darned lot, to be frank.  Here goes:

Starting in March, WAR players get the following:

•    The “Bitter Rivals” live event (March) will give players advanced access to two new player classes, the Dwarf Slayer and Orc Choppa.  Essentially, completing a series of daily tasks in-game will unlock the new classes.  Once they’re unlocked, you can begin playing them right away.
•    A new RvR scenario, the Twisting Tower, will also go live in March.  It’s a three tiered scenario that promises “special rewards” to the faction that gains control of all three levels of the tower.
•    The Dwarf Slayer:  details are sketchy about this death-seeking berserker.  What is known is that they are are DPS melee fighter based on a “rage” system, in that they build up rage as they fight.  This unlocks increasingly powerful abilities.  However, if a fight goes too long, or they don’t unleash their rage, they become increasingly vulnerable to damage and can be more easily killed.  Jeff Hickman mentioned trying to strike a balance, between building rage and expending it, when playing a Slayer.
•    The Orc Choppa:  again, details are sketchy.  However, they appear to be operating under the same mechanic as the slayer, above.  They are DPS melee fighters that build and expend a kind of battle “frenzy”.  Build up too much, and they become increasingly vulnerable to damage.
But that's not all.  In April, players will get to participate in a second live event, called “Beyond the Sands.”  Details are sketchy (well, they're actually nonexistent), but it includes more rewards and more new content.  May, similarly, the “Rise of the Tomb Kings” event will take place in May.  Again, few details are available, but we know this will lead to the opening of the Land of the Dead dungeon. 

In June, the Land of the Dead dungeon opens to Warhammerheads.  It's a familiar, and very successful mechanic for Mythic.  It's a large dungeon, generally much larger than any other in the game.  It's also centrally located.  Players don't automatically get access to the LotD, however.  They have to fight for it.  If your side controls the zone, you can get in.  If not, tough luck. 

This kind of dungeon promises a good time for everyone that plays WAR.  LotD is good for both the PvE players (who get a new, rich dungeon to loot) and for RvR players, as well.  Look at it this way:  if you control the zone, the dungeon opens for you, and your side gets inside to loot it.  However, this also draws lots of guys from from the other side to the zone, as they try to gain control of LotD.  So, if you are primarily an RvR kind of player, you have lots of towers to defend, players to kill, and havoc to wreak.  This will probably take place 24/7, so a splendid time is guaranteed for all.  

If you'd like to hear more, right from Paul Barnett and Josh Drescher, about both the Choppa and the Slayer, this is your video. 

A bit of Choppa gameplay footage, you ask?  Why, of course!

A bit of Slayer gameplay?  Well, we couldn't find any, but a slayer is featured prominently in this Warhammer trailer. 

And that, my friends, is all for this week.  Join us next week when we again cover all the chicanery, all the shenanigans, and all the tomfoolery to be found in virtual space.  Until then, ciao!