Weekly Recap #356 April 12th – Notmycar, TERA, Brawlhalla & More!

Weekly Gaming News summary for the week of April 11th (April 6th – April 12th).

Skyforge’s New Horizons Update has Arrived: 0:23

Skyforge continues its tradition of rich storytelling by building on previous expansions and releasing New Horizons. New Horizons introduces an entirely new planet named Terra. With a new planet comes new features, such as the growth of the planet being entirely up to the players’ actions. Immortals will need to develop the land, eliminate threats, and collect data when their ships arrive on Terra. Skyforge’s largest map to date comes with New Horizons, and as players unravel the mysteries of Terra, launch programs to change the world around them, and reinforce their holdings, they will see change and growth in the land. Programs are a new mechanic that will let players manage the development of Terra and also unlock new rewards. New Horizons is already available on PC and releases today, April 11th on  Playstation 4 and tomorrow April 12th for the Xbox One.

TERA’s Skywatch: New Heights Update is Now Available: 1:15
TERA Gunner Quick-Fire Pack Giveaway for Xbox One Giveaway

On a somewhat similar note, a new update launched in Tera this past week called Skywatch: New Heights. This is not a full-fledged expansion of TERA, but it does increase the level cap of the game from 65 to 70. The update kicks off with a new quest, “The Nightmare Begins”, which will guide players through the new story. There are also new BAMs (Big-Ass Monsters) to battle, Field BAMs. These are larger, more powerful BAMs, which spawn randomly throughout the world of TERA.Skywatch: New Heights has some other new systems to look forward to, such as Skill Advancement and Gear Fusion systems, to increase character customization potential. Skill Advancement uses experience items earned from Field BAMs, Vanguard Requests, and other sources to gradually improve a skill’s performance. This will eventually unlock up to three alternate versions of select skills. These can be freely changed at any time players are not in combat, allowing them to pick the right skill for the job. The Gear Fusion system allows players to combine two pieces of gear together, consuming one of the items and granting additional stats to the other. Additionally, once players hit level 66 they unlock two new gear slots—for Halidoms and Relics infused with the power of the gods.

Closers Releases Major Update This Week: 2:35

Also with En Masse, after Closers‘ update this week, there are some big changes on the way to the game. En Masse has been working hard on Closers, and even besides the Bai registration event, there is so much more going on. Character Balance will be arriving, as well as a complete overhaul of the Title and Achievement System. Players can look forward to new rewards and account-wide points progression on that end. The Achievements, Titles, and Costume menus will also see a redesign, to make them easier to navigate.

Of course, that’s not all. The Bai Pre-Creation Event will be hitting Closers, as well as the Divine Battle Celebration. For lapsed and new players, a New & Returning Event will arrive to help those players get caught up and receive some great items. Of course, there are new Premium Costumes, EMP Store Items, and BITNA STore Items. Finally, “A Rift in Time & Space”, the April Fool’s Dungeon will still be around until April 23rd.

Notmycar Launches Early Access: 3:33

In other news, the Free-to-play battle royale racing game, notmycar, has begun its Early Access on Steam with a surprise launch trailer. Citing Twisted Metal as a major influence, the new Battle Royale game hopes to capture the sensation of mega-explosive PS1 era brawls with modern visuals and gameplay sensibilities. Once again the game is in early access so for the time being bugs will have to be ironed out, it’s a bit nostalgic for me playing twisted metal years ago so hopefully they’ll do the right thing and add an ice cream truck as a playable vehicle.

Hearthstone’s Latest Expansion, ‘Rise of Shadows’ is Live: 4:07

Next up, the vilest villains in Azeroth have teamed up and are plotting something horrific, involving the floating city of Dalaran in Hearthstone. This story begins in Rise of Shadows, and with the 135 card expansion comes plenty of new keywords and mechanics to shake up gameplay like never before. Cards like Schemes that grow in strength the longer they’re held in hand, and Lackeys – 1/1 minions that make up for their lack of power with incredible Battlecries. The next Hearthstone single-player experience will arrive in May and is the most ambitious Solo Adventure for the card game yet. Five chapters will be playable, the first of which will be free for everyone. Further chapters will be unlocked for 700 gold each, or purchased in a package for 19.99. Players will earn three Rise of Shadows card packs for every chapter they complete, and more rewards await those who finish all five.

Brawlhalla x Hellboy 5:03
Brawlhalla Patch Notes

The latest update for Brawlhalla, 3.40 is a huge celebration focused on the upcoming Hellboy film. Along with this, there are three alternate costumes for Cross (Hellboy), Mordex (Daimio), Nimue (Dusk) and Teros (Gruagach). In this update, there will also be a Daily Login Bonus of 250 gold to celebrate the Hellboy Crossover and a new Hellboy-themed map (Apocalypse) for 1v 1 and 2v2. There’s also a fun new Hellboy themed Game Mode and Brawl of the Week – Horde! To celebrate the new Hellboy movie, Brawlhalla is teaming up with Ubisoft for an epic crossover event!

MapleStory and LINE FRIENDS Crossover: 5:44

But speaking of crossovers, MapleStory will begin a co-promotion event with the LINE FRIENDS franchise beginning on April 24th. The LINE FRIENDS x MapleStory will go from April 24th until May 21st, 2019. This event is available for all players level 61 and above and will feature LINE FRIENDS characters like BROWN, CONY, and LEONARD. Maplers will obtain LINE FRIENDS Coins, which can be redeemed at the LINE FRIENDS Coins Shop for special in-game items. There will also be LINE FRIENDS character-themed items, such as chat rings, mounts, pets, outfits and much more.

Battlerite Easter Event Teased: 6:19

Also this past week, Battlerite teased an Easter event! Besides the teaser trailer you see playing here, we don’t have a ton of information on it right now, but there’ll be an event, and it will be Easter themed! The event will include chicken costumes, shooting easter eggs, and plenty more. Could be an easter skin of their halloween event even, We’ll have more on the specifics as the info becomes available.

SMITE – SPL Editorial: SPL Match of the Week (Week 2): 6:47
Final Fantasy XIV Hatching-tide Guide: 6:56
JetX Steam Key Giveaway: 7:07

Next up we’ve got a few updates from the writing team, Jason has written up a breakdown of the Smite Pro League matches from this week over on MMOHuts.com that you should check out when you get the chance, it’s a great way to keep up. Alongside this, he also has a Final Fantasy XIV Hatching-tide guide, which will help you in making the most of the game’s currently on-going Easter event! Check out both articles linked in the description below.

And finally, as another quick mention, we also have another giveaway around the high speed arena shooter known as JetX. This is the game I mentioned that has crossplay between PC and the VR platform, though you might get vertigo… just sayin. The giveaway starts today (April 11th, 2019) and runs until April 15th, 2019, where we’ll draw the winners and contact them via email. If you don’t win, fear not! We’ll do a first-come-first-server giveaway on the OnRPG Forums after the giveaway has ended. If you have a VR headset, don’t miss your chance at free vertigo… I mean JetX key.