Year: 2013

But what about the second situation? Should we be worried about outright theft? Is there a chance of an employee, or in our case, a member of the Diablo 3 community, stealing from other players? Based on what Ariely says, yes there is. Remember what his study showed us: people are more prone to cheat and/or steal when the item involved is not cash per se. I believe that this is the real danger of the RMAH and one that will be exploited in the coming months. As people around the world realize the value of certain items found in this newly sanctioned digital marketplace, we will hear more stories of our digital avatars having their identities stolen. The temptationto clean out high level players for the sake of making up to $250.00 per transaction is too great; hackers with access to sophisticated technology won’t be able to resist capitalizing on their skills. And as mentioned above, the cheaters won’t see it as being wrong because they aren’t stealing money, but merely digital items that don’t actually exist. That’s about as far from cash as you can get, and as we’ve seen from Ariely’s analysis on human nature and our moral intuitions, the further we get from cash the quicker we are to discount or ignore our conscienceall while Blizzard takes a cut.Let’s talk grinding. No, not how college students awkwardly demonstrate affection for one another at parties. No, I mean that thing that roleplaying games do that’s bad. The one that makes people not like RPGs. That kind of grinding. Like the “daily grind” except for video game This makes it difficult when I talk to people about what kinds of RPGs they like or dislike, especially when they want recommendations. The specter of “grinding,” of playing an RPG but being forced to do something that’s considered bad, hangs over the genre like a cursed dagger. People want to play RPGs, sure, but they don’t want to play the ones that force them to do something over and over again. This of course begs the question: what is grinding? There are a few games where we can clearly say that “grinding” exists. Wizardry VII, as much as I love it, does play much better when you walk around in circles, searching for random encounters, in front of a regeneration fountain so thatyou are in very little danger.  

Illusions—Mesmers create illusions—mind tricks that manifest themselves physically. Most illusions are directed at a specific target, but anyone can see and attack them. They can only exist for as long as that target is alive and can only be dispelled by attacking the illusion itself. A mesmer can maintain up to three illusions at a … Read More “Illusion- illusion- clone- spells of Mesmer“ »

In the Diablo 3 beta, the importance of a good weapon was obvious. Almost every single ability for every class is based on your weapon’s damage. A top-notch weapon can help you power through difficult quests, and just as easily, a lackluster weapon can hinder you unnecessarily. No other item slot has as much impact … Read More “Buying Diablo 3 gold to improve your gear quickly“ »

We have one other new system that will use part of the personal loot model. This is what we’re calling the bonus roll. Once upon a time, raiders had to invest a lot of time and effort every week preparing for a raid. This felt kind of cool in the abstract because it built anticipation, … Read More “Completing daily quests and scenarios for each group“ »

The wetlands had always been largely avoided by the orcs, and for good reason. The entire region was covered with shallow, brackish water; many of the flora and fauna were poisonous if not properly prepared; and many of the larger wetland creatures would eat anything that did not eat them first. As Nobundo navigated several … Read More “The introduction of a World of warcraft guide“ »

The Life-Binder sensed that something about the apocalypse beyond the state of the timeways troubled the bronze Aspect. Yet she was already asking so much of Nozdormu; if he did not wish to voice his concerns, that were his choice. Alexstrasza lowered her head to Nozdormu and spoke softly. “Unto each of you is given … Read More “The Titans’ last command to the Aspects“ »

Helping out is actually pretty common in the Guild Wars 2 community.  Sure, we have a good laugh but by helping out new players we may be helping create a great player.  The best way to help a new player is to answer their questions, even if it reminds you of the noob you used … Read More “Danny takes a look at the F2P“ »

In a new developer blog post on the Line of Defense site, Derek Smart lays out details about the size of the game’s universe and how many players he expects will be able to take part in game play at any given time. In addition, Smart reveals some of the back story that the game … Read More “Line of Defense “ »

The Warhammer Online Herald has been updated with information indicating that the Wild Hunt has been extended until September 14th. The extension is due to the disabling the Live Event Herald NPC which was causing instability issues on WAR servers. The NPC will most likely be reactivated after routine maintenance on Tuesday, September 14th. PLEASE … Read More “Wild Hunt Rewards Extended“ »