MMO Weekly Recap #445 March 12th – Century Age of Ashes Beta, Conqueror’s Blade Gets Vikings & More

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of March 12, 2021! Transcript follows.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure said Epic Games to Stadia, Kakao’s newly announced survival game gets ready for testing, Rogue company dishes out a new rogue and balance changes galore, and what the heck kinda class did they just release in Black desert, is that thor or vision or both?

What’s good everyone, JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of March 12th 2021 and starting out the news this week

You’ve probably heard mentioned in the news recently that Stadia’s shut down first party support for the platform, which left a lot of developers in a tough spot. Well it seems like the team behind Crayta got in contact with Epic, because this week their Unreal 4 game-building platform is now available free on the Epic Games Store! Originally launching last summer on Stadia, Crayta allows players to build their own games with the Unreal 4 Engine and share them within the Crayta community. This PC version is a free starter edition, and features battle pass options and a “Champion Upgrade” to get extra bonuses in the game. Could be a fun thing to play with if you’re into, you know, player created games or want to try your hand building your own. You can also try out CORE, which is currently in open alpha and is pretty similar but runs independently from gaming platforms like Epic and Steam.

Also launching a free starter edition this week is Ancestors Legacy, a squad-based real time strategy game based on medieval European history. This free edition includes four single player maps and 17 multiplayer maps, with access to the four core nations – Viking, Anglo-Saxon, German, and Slav. Free players will also be able to participate in the Ancestors Legacy League, a competition starting later this month with real world prizes like headphones plus other game keys and goodies up for grabs.

Meanwhile, Century: Age of Ashes is kicking off its second closed beta this weekend, which will run from March 12th to March 21st. If you’re interested you can check out the Steam Page to sign up for the closed beta, which might be worth it since all progress will carry on into Early Access in April. Century: Age of Ashes is a free-to-play team-based shooter that focuses on dragon mounted combat – So you know, that’s pretty cool there. This new beta phase includes the introduction of an MMR system for the matchmaking queue, a new free flight mode, a 3v3 skirmish mode, and lots of balance tweaks. And while petting your dragon isn’t in the works,  you will finally be able to turn off that motion blur! That’s always good

Also ready for testing this month is Kakao’s newly announced online survival game, Dysterra. The game promises to offer large-scale multiplayer, deep crafting systems, environmental disasters, and plenty of opportunities for conflict. The first global alpha test is set to start on March 18th, and if you’re interested you can sign up through the information on the Steam Store page which we’ve linked below. Sign ups are only being accepted until March 15th so make sure you know, you get on that in soon if you wanna try it out.

Unfortunately we’ve got another bit of bad news and we wanted to hold off because there was some bad news recently… but Gamigo has picked off another game from its roster to shut down – this time its S4 League. This free to play shooter has been around a long time but it seems like it wasn’t self-sustaining so it will be going offline in April. Interestingly enough, Gamigo is recommending players try out Desert Operations – so at the very least that means they don’t plan on shutting that one down just yet.

Speaking of shooters, Rogue Company has released its March update, bringing with it a new Rogue, new map, and new limited time mode. The star of the update, Seeker is an Intel Rogue described as an Olympic medalist and archery prodigy. Although he looks pretty bad ass with his bow in the trailers, he mainly uses an assault rifle or marksman rifle – though you will see his archery be used with his abilities. Meanwhile the Hollows map is a new underground weapons installation with lots of twists and cavernous corridors to make a tense battlefield. And finally you can check out the new limited time 4v4 mode, Assault, which is a fast-paced search and destroy type match with a best of seven win condition. There’s a lot of other balance and quality of life fixes in this update too so make sure to check out the full patch notes linked in the description.

Warface has revealed details for its next season on PC, called Heist. This season is promising to introduce a new two-player special operation, a new PvP map, and new enemies and mechanics. There’s also going to be new charms and achievements, new equipment and weapons available to all players, and a bunch of general promises to improve the game’s operation, graphics, interface, and so on. Unfortunately the details are pretty vague and there’s no actual date on when this season will begin – or how much further behind console players will be at the end of it – but if you enjoy Warface on PC it’s definitely something to look forward to.

In other season updates, Hyper Scape’s Season 3 has officially begun this week, and the major star of the update is the evolution of the Neo Arcadia map. The new map has been fully redesigned, made bigger, with more open spaces and varied areas, with a 100% guaranteed chest spawn. Another major change is a restructure of the game modes, to feature Crown Rush Squad, Crown Rush Solo, and Team Deathmatch at all times, plus adjustments to the Arcadium mode. There’s also a new 2D Hub post-match, new weapon charm customizations, new challenges, and a major collection of tweaks and improvements to the game overall.

Meanwhile Conqueror’s Blade has revealed its next season, set to start on March 18th. Grab your Viking gear, because Season 7 is titled the Wolves of Ragnarok, foretelling a dark age of warfare. Players will be able to recruit three new types of units: Shieldmaidens, Berserkers, and the Sons of Fenrir. The season will also introduce a new Rune system which can be used to enhance your Warlord’s gear. Of course there’s going to be a ton of rewards to collect with the battle pass too, so if you love Norse history or mythology get prepped for this season.

EVE Online has set its Fleet Formations update out on the universe this week, giving a new tactic for players to use in battle. Fleets can now be warped in one of five pre-set formations, or a player’s custom formation, meaning players will have more tactical preparation for how their fleet appears in battle. Of course to utilize these formations, you’ll first need to train the necessary skills. The update also adds a new mobile beacon and new landmark locations.

Next up, War Thunder has released the Ixwa Strike update this week, introducing a new line of South African ground forces as a branch within the British tech tree. This means over 30 new vehicles have arrived in the game, along with a new location, tactical surface to air missiles, new graphical effects and new gun sounds have all deployed this week. Unfortunately North American players are still having some struggles with packet loss and frame drops but hopefully Gaijin will address that soon.

Bless Unleashed has released its Spring update, adding a huge bundle of new content for players. There are several new Episode and Regional Quests, a new Arena, and a new Abyssal Dungeon. For the first time players will also be able to undergo quests to obtain the Ancient Weapon, which has its own progression through upgrades until it unlocks brand new upgrades. There’s also updated tutorials, new auto pathing, fishing tournaments, a character beauty system, timed challenge modes and more. Really impressive update, so make sure to check it out.

And in other MMO news, Black Desert Online – which is still in its 5th anniversary celebrations – has revealed the newest class, Sage. Man does this class trailer have some Avengers vibes! Though the developers also compare him to Dr. Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory. Capable of opening rifts in space, the Sage can use an ancient weapon to call upon Ator’s Fist to smite foes, control time to reduce cooldowns, travel distances without regard to obstacles, and can also access Hystria Ruins and Aakman Temple without entry items. Looks totally badass. The Sage class will release on March 17th on PC and March 31st on Consoles.

And finally let’s check in with the Epic Games Store to find the free game of the week is Surviving Mars! This is a sci-fi city builder set on the red planet, with individually simulated colonists, space domes, and a randomized research tree that pits new challenges each playthrough. The upgrade packs are on sale too if you get hooked while you’re playing your free game.

But 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!