MMO News Wrap Up

Unlike many console games, MMOs are constantly changing, upgrading, updating and expanding. Considering just how many games like this are out there, it's handy to have concise round up of all the goings-on from the last week, so, like each and every Friday here at IncGamers, here it is. Read on to find out about the latest news on games including Star Trek Online, Runes of Magic, Lord of the Rings Online, Aion, Champions Online, EVE, World of Warcraft, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Warhammer Online.

The popularity of last week's Star Trek Online competition gives some indication of how many people are excited about this upcoming game. Star Trek has never been more popular, following the latest film's release earlier this year, and Cryptic is keen to keep the fans of the game wanting more. This week, the full line up of Federation ships was finally unveiled, showing us how many options players will have when selecting their vessel. That's provided you want to play as Federation of course, if you opt for Klingon, your choice of ship is... slightly more limited right now. Well, there are two Klingon vessels, in fact, and three ships listed under 'Other'.

However, it's unlikely that players who side with the Klingons will have a much smaller choice when it comes to ships, so expect regular updates from Cryptic about new vessels in the coming weeks.

In other STO news, information about the Bridge Officers and crewmen was revealed, giving players an idea of how we should man our decks. If you're familiar with the bridge of a ship in Star Trek, you'll know that there are several posts, filled with various officers. Depending on the type of ship, the type of posts and roles of the officers will differ. Science ships will require more science stations on the bridge for example. Bridge Officers also have ranks, and the better their rank, the more of their skills you get to use in battles, support or exploration – whichever duty you choose to carry out.

Crewmen, the behind-the-scenes worker bees who make sure your ship runs smoothly and is repaired after battles, are vulnerable and can be killed. A well-equipped sick bay can heal the injured more quickly, along with a skilled science officer but, once they're dead, a trip back to a starbase is the only way to replace them (unless you find yourself in Voyager's position of course, then you're stuffed).

As we discovered last week, the character progression in Star Trek Online will be skill-based, meaning that as a character completes quests and objectives, it will gain skill points that can be invested into skill trees, instead of experience points. Although there are no 'levels' in STO, there are still ranks that open up more abilities as the skill trees are explored. In this week's MMO Weekly, IncGamers writer Jeff Hollis asks if it would be possible to have an MMO truly without levels. What would it be like to start an MMO at maximum level, rather than having to work for weeks to get to that magical level cap, where some believe the game really begins? Would it work and what would we be missing out on? Take a look at the article and give your thoughts.

The free to play MMO, Runes of Magic, is still going from strength to strength, as this week saw two big announcements about the game. First came the news that two million people have signed up to play and, considering it's only been live for six months, that's not bad going. Chapter II, The Elven Prophecy, was released last month, introducing Elves as a playable race, allowing two new classes and opening up masses of new land to explore. But that's not the game's first content patch by any means. RoM has been added to regularly since release, and this week players got yet more new content; Fans will be glad to see some traditional fantasy MMO goodness in the form of dragons, which finally entered the game when patch 2.1 went live on Tuesday. The patch also opens up the new Aotulia Volcano area, designed for high level players, containing several new quests and an instance where adventurers take on a dragon as the final boss.

Seven new images of the next Lord of the Rings expansion, Siege of Mirkwood, were released this week, showing the sinister fortress of Dol Guldur, home of the Ringwraiths. The expansion is due to be released on 1 December, and players who sign up for any of Turbine's multi-month subscriptions before 31 October will get it for free.

Fans of LotRO may also be happy to see that Turbine announced a new YouTube channel dedicated to the game this week, which hosts official trailers, developer diaries and behind the scenes videos. It also displays videos made by the community, including the LotRO version of “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar”. A Dungeons and Dragons Online channel that does the same thing has been opened too.