Weekly Recap #370 July 26th – Legends of Aria, Crowfall, Switchblade & More!

Astellia Online Reveals What Players Can Expect in CBT2: (0:18)

First up, the second Closed Beta Test for Astellia Online is fast approaching, and the team gave a clear vision of what players can expect going in. CBT2 will offer up large-scale PVP within the Avalon, as well as the Cash Shop and Loyalty Systems. The first major revisions to the mana/progression systems will also be seen in CBT2. Avalon will hold some intense PVPVE battles every week. Each week, players join one of three factions and do battle with other players, while also taking care of PVE quests, and capture strongholds/other tactical points. It will offer something for both PVP and PVE fans. The other major talking point in Astellia Online’s Closed Beta 2 is the Zender (Loyalty) and Cash Shop systems. This will let players take a peek at these systems for the Western release of Astellia, and more information will be available soon. In the first two days of CBT2, players can test these first major changes, and to help gather this data accurately, they have to build on the same base build as CBT1. This will hopefully ensure they’re moving in the right direction to build the best game they can, so let’s hope that works out.

Crossout Details 0.10.70 Update – Steel Championships: (1:31)

Next up, Crossout got a new update this week! The new update sees the return of the popular Steel Championship, in which players are equipped with special vehicles armed with harpoon guns. These harpoons are used to capture and shoot a massive ball toward the enemy’s goal. These matches are five minute, 3v3 races to score the most points before time expires. This event will last until August 14th. Looks pretty fun, beyond that, There’s also a brand new map called ‘Crater’. The map contains a crater that’s roughly 500 miles in diameter with a crashed space ship at its center. Players can also look forward to some reworked mechanics that ultimately affected the first experience/tutorial for new players. If you want to see every detail of the patch notes in full, of course, you can click on over to mmohuts.com for more information.

Watchers is a Top-Down Shooter Battle Royale Now in Beta Testing: (2:20)

In another bit of beta related news, Watchers has begun beta testing this week! Watchers is a free-to-play battle royale in the style of a top-down shooter. What makes Watchers unique is that you can still be involved in the match even after you’ve died. After death, players can create anomalies on the battlefield, bet on their favorite survivors, and help turn the tables in or out of others’ favor. Anyone who tests the game will also be given a survey to fill out to help them with development through timely feedback. The link to sign up can be found down in the description below.

Switchblade Reveals Battle Pass and New Angel Vehicle: (2:55)

Lucid Games has launched the first Battle Pass recently for Switchblade, which will have a series of tiers for players to work their way through. This Battle Pass has a plethora of rewards and in-game incentives, and also offers access to items like the new vehicle, The Angel. This Battle Pass is available for users to unlock and level-up for free. Owners of the Switchblade Legendary pack will also receive access to The Angel for free upon the launch of the Battle Pass. The Angel can also be purchased in the in-game store, for players who want it now without having to wait.

MMOs That Are Not Pay to Win: (3:28)

And speaking of that, If you’re looking for a new MMO to play but want to avoid the hassle of finding one that isn’t pay-to-win, then your search is just about over! Jason, over on our website MMOHuts.com, put together a list of his favorite MMORPGs that don’t feature pay-to-win elements! Click on over with the link in the description and check them out!

Legends of Aria to Launch on Steam in August: (3:47)

Moving on to some MMO news, Sandbox MMORPG Legends of Aria is officially set to launch on Steam on August 6th! Inspired by classic MMORPGs like Ultima and Eve Online, Legends of Aria seeks to build a world that is shaped and defined by the actions of its players. Citadel Studios are also hard at work responding to player feedback. While much of the world will be free of open PVP, the game will feature lawless areas where anything goes. Adventurers who brave these areas are sure to be rewarded! The early access Steam launch will include a host of new content and updates including the Bard skill line, a guided Profession system experience, new weapon, and armor enchanting systems, a Fresh Start server where everyone will begin on an even footing, and so much more.

Aion’s 7.0 Update Launches in Europe: (4:38)

Next up, Gameforge released a huge update for the European build of Aion this past week in update 7.0 entitled “Legacy of the Painter”. Possibly the biggest part of this update is the new specialization for Artists. The Bard will now be joined by the Painter, who utilizes Paint Rings to fire paint at their enemies. There’s also a variety of Altar Sieges to take part in: battles for Ara Minima, Ara Mediocra, and Ara Magna. Players can use Stellium currency for coupons, consumable items, and stones. There’s also a new PVE instance in Dumaha, the Stella Development Laboratory. Criminals have overrun the Lab, and now it’s absolute chaos. Alongside these new additions are a plethora of new transformations, daily and weekly Lugbug missions, and new equipment to find. Three language versions have also been discontinued including Italian, Spanish, and Polish. However, Forums and Support will still be available for these languages.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Legend of Cao Cao Launches on PC: (5:36)

The difficult-to-pronounce Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Legend of Cao Cao Tactics launched on PC this week via Steam and Nexon Arena. The original Legend of Cao Cao was developed by KOEI-Tecmo, using their Romance of the Three Kingdoms IP, and launched on mobile in October 2016. As a response to the high demand and interest in the title, Nexon releases it on PC today. Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Legend of Cao Cao (Tactics) will offer a variety of modes, from unification, annihilation, and PVP. Romance of The Three Kingdoms: The Legend of Cao Cao (Tactics) also uses a retro aesthetic, using their unique Pixel Art graphics. With this art style, players can dive deep into the history of the legendary Cao Cao, who aimed to rule all battlefields and nations. Many battles await, and fortunately, if you missed the Registration Event, there’s still a chance to receive those rewards today on the official Facebook Page. All players have to do is follow them, and type The Legend of Cao Cao onto their Facebook Messenger to claim the rewards. Kind of a weird way to do it but, hey maybe it is worth it.

Fiesta Online Celebrates 11th Birthday Over Two Weeks: (6:44)

In a bit of milestone news, Fiesta Online is proud to celebrate their 11th birthday this week, and are hosting two weeks of exciting in-game events to celebrate! These include new quests, decorations in a variety of towns, and much more. Players will have to offer their rewards to the “Sugar King”, and in a special quest chain, players will complete birthday-themed tasks. Alfonso will await players willing to help him in in “Roumen”. The main town areas of the game world will be adorned with the most bedazzling decorations, fitting the celebration-themed outfits and accessories players can obtain by fulfilling the special quest.

Heavy Metal Machines Receives Ranked Mode and Gamepad Support: (7:17)

In other news, A free update dropped this past week for Heavy Metal Machines, adding a few new exciting features! The first is Ranked Mode, which will replace the Ladder. This will be a new way for players to receive rewards and of course, show off their bragging rights. Ranked Mode is a new match search feature, that will place players in the Bronze, Silver, Gold and special Heavy Metal Divisions. Each division has five subdivisions, and Heavy Metal Division is only occupied by the players with the highest score in Gold 1. To enter, drivers will need at least 5 completed matches (excluding custom matches) and to join as a solo player or in duos. All Ranked Mode games will be 4×4 matches set in the Metal God and Temple of Sacrifice arenas. The ranked mode will be divided into approximately 5-month-long seasons when drivers will receive exclusive in-game rewards according to the highest Division they reached in the period. Beyond that, Another new feature in this update is the ability to race in every mode with either keyboard/mouse or with a gamepad. Heavy Metal Machines supports Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Playstation 4 controllers, and the default mapping can be changed via the Options menu. Along with all these features, a new Metal League edition is also coming on August 10th. So train alone or with friends and get your engines and weapons ready for another open competitive championship with cash prizes.

Black Desert Beta Arrives on Playstation 4 in August: (8:38)

And while we’re on console stuff, The Playstation 4 iteration of Black Desert Online begins beta testing on August 9th This first test will last until August 13th and is to make final preparations for the August 22nd launch of the game. The best part is this beta test will be available to players regardless of whether they have a Playstation Plus subscription or not. Anyone who signs up will receive an exclusive pet, the Sky Hawk, once the game launches. The Sky Hawk will let players loot items, increase Knowledge Gain chance, and also find rare monsters. It’s also important to note that after the test concludes there will be a data wipe. Black Desert is also available to pre-order, in a variety of editions: Standard (29.99), Deluxe (49.99), and Ultimate (99.99), each with their own in-game rewards. The pre-orders are available on the Playstation Store, and Deluxe/Ultimate Editions will give 48-hours early access to the game. Those with a PlaystationPlus account receive a 10% discount on all pre-order editions.

Crowfall Releases “The Fortunes of War” Update: (9:47)

Back to MMO news, Crowfall’s newest update, The Fortunes of War, is now available in-game! This update’s focus is centered around items and equipment, and two major features also come in this the update. The Embargo System is the heart of this update and allows players more freedom than before. Players are no longer shackled to a server, and can freely move between worlds, each of which has a unique map and unique monsters, resources, and rules. With the Embargo system, characters can take their items and equipment seamlessly between worlds, but it does come with a cost. The Embargo System lets players make challenging but viable choices, as moving to higher-risk PVP worlds will provide greater quality items and resources, but to leave the world with those rewards, you must be in a winning guild or faction. The embargo also provides a way to gate items that are brought into/taken out of each world. Crowfall, with that in mind, can support unique Campaigns restricted by character level, race or class, and equipment restrictions.

This includes making campaigns where only Wood Elves/High Elves/Half-Elves can be played, or a “Survivor” campaign, where players can only bring in a single tool and must forage to survive. Magic Loot also drops on monsters as well. In addition to their crafting system, players can also collect materials, resources, and magical items by defeating War Tribes across the Crowfall worlds. Looted items can also be sold to vendors as a way to generate gold or sacrificed to the Gods for bonus experience points to shortcut our (already lightning-fast) leveling curve. There is also a new world type, with God’s Reach. This makes joining the Throne War far more accessible. In God’s Reach, players can learn critical gameplay mechanics, and gain confidence safely to play on other worlds. Advancement is incredibly fast and is a safe, PVE environment. Finally, by popular demand, they added a new Race/Class combination, the Fae Knight. It combines the mobility of the Fae (gliding/featherfall), with the defensive capabilities of the Knight class. Pretty substantial update for Crowfall.

Oldschool Runescape Announces ‘Song of the Elves’: (11:52)

Moving on, “Song of the Elves” is the conclusion to a 17-year-long quest series and brings a crystal city to the world of Old School Runescape in this week’s update. “Song of the Elves” is a grandmaster-level quest finale, that concludes what is the oldest and the longest quest series in Runescape’s history. The Elf Quest series began in 2002 with Plague City, a novice-level quest, which marked the beginning of RuneScape’s first-ever storyline. Seventeen years later Song of the Elves’ arrival in Old School RuneScape sees adventurers’ team up with characters from across the series to finally put an end to the schemes of Lord Iorwerth and King Lathas and bring peace to the evergreen lands. It’s important to note that “Song of the Elves” is a members-only quest! I figured if you are that dedicated to it, you might already have known that.

MapleStory 2 Releases “Skilled Ally” Update: (12:48)

On another update note, The Skilled Ally update dropped this week in MapleStory 2 which comes with a variety of useful features for players. One of the major features is the “Dungeon Helper” system, which has new players being paired with a MapleStory 2 veteran, to gain assistance when encountering the more difficult dungeons in the game. MapleStory 2 also has a skill rebalance in this update, for the Job Rank II skills. This will spread across several classes, with a focus on less-popular skill trees. The hope is that it will offer up more interesting choices for players. There have been some Maple Life updates as well, such as offering a 90% permanent price reduction on all overworld house plots purchase, rent, and contract extensions. There were also additions of Meso house assistants, and new Arcade-themed blocks added to the housing blocks list. The full patch notes can be found in the link below, and there are also a series of limited-time events that can be tackled in-game.

SMITE – Mid-Season Launch Skin Giveaway: (13:51)

Astellia Online CBT 2 Giveaway: (14:12)

And Finally, we have a pair of giveaways currently running on MMOHuts.com! First, we’ve got a Smite mid-season skin giveaway, where you’ll have a chance to win both a Biohacker Kali skin and a Mothman Ah Muzen Cab skin! There are seven unique ways to gain extra entries for more chances to win some skins! Our second giveaway is a set of keys for Astellia Online’s closed beta test 2! You can enter both of these giveaways through the links down in the description below!

And that’s about it for all the major news and announcements this week for more information on the news topics, check the links 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, hit that little bell icon to get notifications and share this video! But until next time guys that’s going to be it for me… I’m JamesBl0nde… see ya out there gamers!