Weekly Recap #363 – MapleStory 2, Realm Royale, Astellia Online and More!

Weekly Recap #363 – MapleStory 2, Realm Royale, Astellia Online and More!

Weekly Gaming News summary for the week of May 31st (May 25th – May 31st )

Astellia Online Beguns Pre-Orders and Announces Closed Beta Event: 00:20

Barunson E&A announced today that their title Astellia Online is available for pre-order on their website below. The first closed beta event will run from June 25th to July 1st, with the Legendary level of preorder package granting access to this first test. In fact, only Legendary Package holders will be guaranteed access to every testing phase. Barunson E&A have done a ton of work to prep this game for its western launch, including removing gender locks on characters like the Assassin. This decision was revealed in a recent developer blog, which focused heavily on the topic of gender locks. 

Realm Royale Launches on Nintendo Switch: 00:58

HiRez Studios’ entry into the battle royale genre, Realm Royale has officially entered closed beta on the Nintendo Switch! Over 10 million players are already taking up arms in the popular third person shooter where players choose classes and hunt down not only weapons but powerful abilities as well to guide them to victory. As it stands right now, you’ll have to purchase the founder’s pack to join in on the closed beta, but the game is scheduled to go free-to-play later this year. 

Heavy Metal Machines’ Esports Championship Arrives on the South American Servers: 01:26

Speaking of big launches, Hoplon Entertainment announced the start of their big Heavy Metal Machines eSports tournament this week! It will take place primarily on the South American server, but players from all over the world are welcome to enter the tournament featuring almost $4,000 US in cash prizes. The tournament will take place in two phases; the first is the Qualifier phase which will run until June 29th. This will be followed by the Playoffs, where the 8 highest ranked teams in the Qualifiers will face each other. 

Minion Masters Leaves Early Access and Announces a Huge Update: 1:55

After two years of early access, Minion Masters is finally going into its official launch! This combination of card game, MOBA, and tower defense drew in over 1.5 million players in its early access phase and received a ton of feedback to help shape the game into its current form. To coincide with the launch, a new update was also revealed entitled “Bones and Bravery”. The update features 8 new cards, some all-new mechanics, and the biggest Minion ever seen in the game. The main new mechanic for the update is called “Accursed Ascension” and works like this: Once you collect enough Spectral Essence from Accursed cards, you can summon a horde of skeletons from fallen enemies or even the mighty dragon Nyrvir. A new Master was also teased known as Morellia, the Lich Queen. FInally, the update will feature a new Battle Pass for 1500 Rubies, which will grant players access to every last reward the update has to offer. If you don’t feel like purchasing it though, there’s also a free track which will still get you some neat stuff. 

EVE: Online Reveals New Cinematic Trailer for ‘EVE Online: Invasion’: 2:54

While we’re on the subject of teases, EVE Online teased a new expansion that’s set to drop next week called “Invasion”. The Triglavian forces will be coming to known space for the first time in this update, and players will have to fight for their territory as the Triglavian forces attempt to lay siege to it. There will be three new ships added to the Tech II category from this powerful enemy force, as well as new additions to the Mutaplasmid system. In addition to all the new things to see, there have been updates to the War Declaration system as well as new content and quality of life changes to the Agency. 

Revelation Online Releases New Expansion, “Heaven and Earth”: 3:25

My.com and NetEase have launched a new expansion for Revelation Online entitled “Heaven and Earth” this week! This update adds new high-level content and new features for all groups of adventurers. One of these is a new Zodiac Dungeon called the Temple of Twelve. This dungeon hosts twelve unique Zodiac bosses which have a minimum level requirement of 59 to challenge. The dungeon will scale to the player’s group level, which ensures that 5-player groups will have an appropriate challenge when they tackle this particular dungeon. Some key rewards from the Temple of the Twelve include summoning tokens and experience items to maintain and upgrade your new Battle Companion, one of the new major features in the expansion. This is a pet that will dive into combat with you no matter where you are. Each Battle Companion will also have their own special Ultimate ability and several class talents to pick from. Aside from these, the update will also include a Wedding system, and a Family Oath system. Full details on how these systems will work can be found down in the description. 

Ship of Heroes Releases Leveling, Progression and Augments Video: 4:22

The Ship of Heroes team released a new video for Memorial Day showing off some new technical aspects of the game. The first part of the video shows off a Fire Devastator doing battle with some Prometheans. The hero in question is level 1, but the Prometheans are levels 2 and 3 and are also color coded. After this battle, they showed off the sorceress upgrading her powers. If you’re interested in Ship of Heroes, it’s worth checking out. 

League of Legends Is Bringing Four Months of Loot to Twitch Prime: 4:45

Twitch Prime and Riot Games have teamed up to offer four months of exclusive League of Legends loot, starting this week. Prime members can acquire a Rift Herald’s Capsule that contains two random Skin Shards, a random Legendary Skin Shard, and an exclusive emote. Once you’ve claimed the first capsule, you’ll automatically receive another every 30 days for four months: A rift herald’s capsule, Red Buff’s Capsule, Blue Buff’s Capsule, and a Baron’s Capsule. The final capsule contains a permanent Legendary Skin, in addition to another random skin shard and exclusive emote. Players will have until August 28th to claim the first capsule and ensure they receive all of the future rewards. 

Armored Warfare Reveals Third Season, “Moscow Calling”: 5:22

Armored Warfare revealed a third season this week, called “Moscow Calling”. Unlike previous seasons, this season will be treated as a full story arc instead of being split into multiple parts. It will feature four new missions, new achievements to unlock, and a special co-operative gameplay mode. One of the major changes to the game is adding more things to do after the recent expansion to the collection of vehicles. You can also receive improved contact missions rewards, and of course there will be a ton of bug fixes and mechanics enhancements to look forward to including commander progression systems, daily bonuses, smoke visuals, and the armor viewer. 

Neverwinter: Undermountain’s Console Edition Changes Release Date: 5:57

Neverwinter’s new Undermountain expansion experienced a small setback in the console world this week, with its new release date being pushed back to June 18th. Since this is the largest expansion in the game’s history, more time was needed to bring the Mad Mage’s realm to life in all of its absolutely massive glory on PS4 and Xbox One. When it does launch, console players will have the new level cap of 80 to look forward to as well as a complete overhaul of class powers and feats, five brand new adventure zones and a new endgame dungeon.

Trove Announces New Update, ‘Going Green’: 6:27

Gamingo announced a huge new update coming to the PC edition of the Voxel-MMO Trove entitled “Going Green”! This update adds new vegetables and other features for gardeners. Players will now be able to reach the gardening rank of Horticulturist, and those players can explore new habitats to acquire unique new allies. These included Flowered Faeries and Apple-shell Snails. Any Trovian ranked Gardener or above can now also try new crafting stations. The Vegetable Sink can be used to wash fresh harvest, which can be turned into edible items or added to other recipes. The Compost Bin allows players to turn unwanted goods into Organic Refuse. With the Harvesting Bench, players can also craft mounts, decorative plants, and ally homes. This update also adds a host of new features and items to make gardening more complex and fun, and even features a new dragon: Kahramet, the Warden of the Fields which can even be used as a mount. 

Brawlhalla 3.43 Patch Notes: 7:21

Brawlhalla’s latest patch notes were revealed this week for update 3.43, Sword of the Raven! This update introduces a new feature where Crossover Characters no longer require you to use the base legend! For example, if you want to use the Shovel Knight epic Crossover, but don’t own Gnash, you can still use Shovel Knight. You can also claim the new social media weapon, Sword of the Raven. This is available for all platforms and can be accessed via the link in the description.

Cuisine Royale Announced Its Coming to Xbox One Game Preview: 7:47

Darkflow Software and Gaijin Entertainment are bringing their unique Battle Royale game known as Cuisine Royale to consoles! Cuisine Royale is now live on the Xbox One Game Preview program and Xbox owners everywhere can now download and experience the gun-shooting, spell-casting, physics warping mayhem for themselves. In the game, you’ll unlock new spells to use in battle as well as cosmetic items based on your performance. Every month, a new season comes out that adds a different flavor of items to the game for players to try. The current theme is Wild West, which of course means six-shooters, cowboy hats, and plenty more. 

MapleStory’s Massive ‘Awakening’ Update Launches: 8:19

MapleStory 2’s biggest update to date hit this week on Nexon Launcher and Steam. The Awakening expansion increases the level cap, adds a new class, a second job rank for all classes, new raids, and much more. The Striker class is a new melee-focused class that uses a whirlwind of fists and feet to deal damage to enemies as quickly as possible. All players will also receive a free character slot with this update, so you can make your own Striker if you so desire. With that, the level cap also raises from 60 to 70.  For a bonus, players who log in before June 26th will receive a Striker Daily Wonder on the first character they log in with. Players who log in every day will receive even more items including a Canola Bonito ground mount, a Floating Lotus air mount, a specially made Iron Fist Kunckles weapon skin for the striker, and a full Hysteria Outfit skin. 

Destiny’s Sword Interview with Ken Hall: 9:09

Jason got to sit down with Ken Hall from the Destiny’s Sword development team to talk about their new MMORPG which features a strong focus on the mental health of your characters. To check it out in full, click the link above this text. 

–Music Credits–
Track(s): Compass, Seahorse Dreams
Artist: Kubbi
Buy these and more great tracks by Kubbi here:
http://www.kubbi.bandcamp.com