MMO News Wrap-Up

Welcome to the latest MMO News Wrap-up, where this week I'll be going over the usual selection of big stories surrounding some of the massively multiplayer online games out there, namely Age of Conan, Fallen Earth, Star Trek Online, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Aion, Champions Online, Warhammer Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

I'll kick off with the colossal amount of exclusive information we received from Funcom regarding Age of Conan, and the new content in the upcoming update 5.6. There is an interview with game designer Carola Berens, where she talks about the new high-level dungeon, the Iron Tower. If you are still hungry for more info on that after the interview, we also have a feature on the instance which gives details on a few Iron Tower bosses, and even previews a selection of loot items.

Something else that should be appearing in AoC very soon is the in-game event, Nights of the Lost Souls, which we also have a feature on. Take a look to find out what you will face once the event starts, and the gruesome goodies you might be able to get your hands on.

AoC players have been hearing about the fabled Veteran System for a while now, and its finally within our sights. Read through our exclusive feature on this upcoming system, where players who have subscribed for certain periods can claim special in-game items. Hell, there's even a breast enlargement potion, but it's just for girls, sorry guys.

Finally, read the article that discusses what's in store for AoC in update 5.6 and beyond.

Bioware released information about Balmorra earlier this week, a planet in the highly anticipated MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Balmorra, which is home to a healthy droid and weapon industry, was once a Republic ally but was abandoned when the Empire invaded. An Imperial occupation force is now in place, but the Republic want it back. However, do the Balmorrans want to go back to the Republic after they were abandoned? Swing by our article to read more and check out some screenshots.

New players got a treat in Warhammer Online late last week, when the game's starter experience was overhauled completely, and had several features added, with the implementation of patch 1.3.2. When a new character is created now, they share a starter area with every new character of that faction, regardless of race. Mythic decided the starting areas were too barren and players often felt alone. This way, players should be interacting with each other right from the start.

To further encourage player interaction early on in the game, a number of other new-player features were introduced including the automatic invitation to a starter guild, and a new global channel where players can ask for advice.

Another new addition to WAR was the apprentice system, where players can team up with each others regardless of level. Depending on which character is the apprentice and which the master, one character has its level scaled up or down to match the other, allowing players to complete quests and tasks together and benefit equally.

The Halloween event, Daemon Moon Rising, is also starting today. Be sure to check out Mythic's video walk-through to see what's in store for you there.

Another game to receive a substantial patch this week was Fallen Earth. Well, substantial doesn't quite cover it. The patch notes are several pages long, and contain a multitude of changes and tweaks to the game, which only launched last month. The main alterations are a whole heap of bug and issue fixes, UI improvements, and the addition of the in-game event, Days of the Dead. Oh yes, they're all jumping on the Halloween event bandwagon!

Turbine unveiled some new screenshots and a trailer for the upcoming Lord of the Rings Online expansion, Siege of Mirkwood. The screenshots focus on battles in the area of Gathburz, with the fortress of Dol Guldur looming in the background. The trailer explains the background of the area, which was once a lush forest. Now Orcs, ghouls and ghosts roam the area that surrounds the dread fortress. Pop over to IncGamers TV to see the story behind this new area.

In keeping with the Halloween theme that many games seem to have gone with this week, Champions Online opened its micro-transaction C-Store, allowing players to purchase several items including a Halloween costume set. The set contains skeleton and and spider web costumes, and a selection of spooky heads that can be worn on your character. The Halloween sets can be bought individually or in one package. Other items in the C-Shop include in-game action figures (non-combat companions), extra character slots and character retcons.

If you'd like to find out more about Champions Online, look out for our review on the first 20 levels, which will be up on IncGamers next week.