MMO Weekly Recap #420 August 21st – Apex Legends Season 6, Lost Ark Western Release Rumors & More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of August 21, 2020! Timestamps and transcript follow.

Neverwinter released a new limited time campaign for its latest module, Rogue Company goes Miami Vice while taking care of deserters, Amazon may have just announced a publishing deal for Lost Ark and what happens to tera and closers as En Masse closes its doors?

Whats up guys! JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of August 21st 2020. and a lot like last week we’ve got a bit of a shorter week on the news front but either way.

Apex Legends: Season 6 Begins: 0:21

Apex Legends kicked off Season 6 early this past week, and with it comes the new Legend Rampart. Rampart uses her emplaced minigun “Sheila”, which is boosted through her passive ability which grants increased magazine capacity and faster reloads when using LMGs or the minigun. Her tactical ability lets her build a crouch-cover wall that blocks incoming shots and amps outgoing shots, and her ultimate places down a mounted machine gun that anyone can use! That’s pretty sweet actually. Season 6 also introduces crafting, and of course seasonal rewards and a new battle pass with loot to unlock.

Siege Survival: Gloria Victis Prologue Now Available Free: 1:07

And next up in the news Black Eye Games has released its free prologue story for Gloria Victis, Siege Survival. This is a completely free to play short single player game, in which you take up arms with your NPC allies to help defend the fallen city. Siege Survival takes a different approach than most medieval strategy games in that you actually play as a civilian, not a warlord or armored hero. It’s a little mix of strategy and survival, all set in the Gloria Victis universe. Totally worth checking out if you’re interested, and if you like the prologue, you can check out the full game when it releases, or check out the MMO Gloria Victis.

Amazon Signs Deal with Smilegate – Lost Ark Rumors: 1:42

Well it looks like there’s new rumors going around after Amazon announced this past Wednesday that it had signed a publishing deal with Smilegate RPG. Now if you’re not familiar with that name, you might recognize it as the developer of Crossfire, TalesRunner, and SoulWorker . . .  but more importantly, Smilegate is also the developer behind the epic looking MMORPG Lost Ark, which is currently only available in Korea and Russia. This is an MMO we’ve been waiting for a long time without any sign of it coming west. Let’s be fair to Amazon: they didn’t announce which game would be involved – but the press release does indicate it’s a triple A game and it just makes sense.

Neverwinter: The Redeemed Citadel: 2:21

Also this past week, Neverwinter released a new limited time campaign for Avernus, called The Redeemed Citadel. Players can unlock the new Redeemed Citadel zone in a server-wide campaign, which will open areas gradually as players hit four different milestones. There are new quests and hunt targets, with a new currency reward that can be redeemed at the Citadel for gear, astral diamonds, mount tokens, and more. If you buy the Reforger’s Blessing pass in the Zen Marketplace, you can unlock additional rewards including an Angel Companion, a Vanity pet, and even unlock a new playable race, the Aasimar. The update is live now on PC and will arrive soon on console.

Rogue Company New Map: Vice: 3:00

Meanwhile in Rogue Company a new Miami themed update is live. Named “Vice” the update brings a new map of the same name that uses brand new visual features and is available for Practice Extraction, Strikeout, and Demolition. The update also adds a Deserter system, to discourage players from ditching or AFKing in matches, and a shooting range where you can test out different rogues, abilities, and weapons. The update also makes various quality of life updates including colorblind and left-hand accessibility and the ability to undo perk purchases.

Grand Fantasia: Sprite Sanctuary: 3:33

Its been a while but it looks like this past week Grand Fantasia has launched another update, introducing the Sprite Sanctuary, hidden deep in an ancient forest. Players can fight against Taros, new world bosses, and gain assistance from the Sprites on their quest. Groups of five can enter the Alice Sprite Sanctuary, which scales based on the leader’s level and has players rolling dice in order to move forward on the Rainbow Road. Rewards include powerful items from Eternal Alice that can buff you or debuff your enemies, along with two new titles.  Also in the update are dozens of new trivia quests to undergo for those sharp of mind.

En Masse Shutting Down: 4:07

In some unfortunate news, En Masse Entertainment – publishers of TERA and Closers – announced this past week that the company is closing its doors. The statement read in part: “It is with a heavy heart that we begin the process of discontinuing the business of En Masse Entertainment. Our focus in the coming weeks and months will be on our team, helping them to find new opportunities, and on our games, to ensure a seamless transition for you. For those of you that are interested in Tera or Closers, there will be some news in the coming weeks. Rest assured, support for those titles will continue.” En Masse has announced that Closers will have its publishing taken over by its developer, Niddic, in a few months, but there’s no word just yet on who will be picking up TERA to publish – though En Masse promises that it will stay online. Kinda crazy to hear this since we just heard about Tera Battle arena a few weeks ago, but then again I was starting to wonder if that is what  made them decide to shut doors, just kidding. Its nice to hear Tera and Closers isn’t also coming to an end as well. Best of luck for those who are looking for new work from En Masse closing down.

Bless Unleashed PS4 Beta Weekend: 5:15

Marvel Avengers Beta Weekend: 5:28

As we head into the weekend we want to mention two beta tests open this weekend. First up is the Bless Unleashed beta on PS4 that we mentioned last week – you can still grab a key at the link we’ve included here in the video & in the description. Second, if you’re a Marvel fan, the Marvel Avengers game is having an open beta on PC, PS4, and Xbox One this weekend as well – all you need is a Square Enix account. Plenty of action to dive into, that’s for sure.

Free Games on Epic: 5:42

And finally on that note, let’s touch on our new free games this week! The Epic Games Store has two games for you to snag to keep for free: Enter the Gungeon, a popular bullet-hell dungeon crawler done in a pixel style; and God’s Trigger, a top down shooter in the style of Hotline Miami with an angel and devil theme. Like always these games are free to keep so long as you claim them within the week!

But either way guys, with that said, that’s about it for all the major news and announcements for this week. Be sure to stay safe, and keep your families healthy! Like always you can find more information on the news topics, linked in the description below, feel free to discuss the news or even more news in the comments below and don’t forget to like, subscribe, wash your hands a bunch, hit that little bell icon to get notifications and of course share this video! But until next time guys that’s going to be it for me… I’m JamesBl0nde… see ya out there gamers!