http://www.zam.com/ ZAM gaming news rss feed http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20642 <p>The developers behind <a href="http://www.zam.com/game.html?game=209" target="_self">Atlantica Online</a> are at it again and have sent their latest developer journal to our inboxes. This week we're featuring the Spearman, a powerful mercenary that is also defensive enough to stand on the front lines. Are you willing to learn more about this awe-inspiring warrior? Do you think you could stand toe-to-toe with this fierce gladiator?</p> <p>If you're up to the challenge, keep on reading!</p><a name="pause" title="pause"></a><p>&#160;</p> <hr /> <p>This week&#8217;s entry will feature the spirited Spearman, a D-class mercenary with high attack power and enough defense to hold his ground on the front lines. The Spearman does not have the same tanking ability of a Swordsman, but his ability to deal greater damage and hit multiple targets will turn the tides of many battles encountered on your journey. However, with the ability to equip high-defense melee armor, the Spearman is still capable of adequately mitigating physical damage. Like the Swordsman, the Spearman does not have any level restrictions and can be recruited at the outset of your adventure.</p> <p>&#160;</p> <p>With his great spear and incredible reach, the Spearman can pierce two enemies at once, inflicting substantial damage to his targets. In addition to his basic attack, the Spearman has two spells: Lightning Spear and Deadly Strike. Lightning Spear will transfix and damage two enemies, similar to a regular attack; but after a few upgrades, it will hit all enemies in a column. The main appeal of Lightning Spear, however, is not its damage potential, but its ability to reduce the opponent&#8217;s action power. The Spearman&#8217;s Deadly Strike spell is identical to the Swordsman&#8217;s Deadly Strike in that it can only be used when the Spearman is in a near-death situation. And in that cornered state, the Spearman can deal massive damage with Deadly Strike.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; border: 2px solid black; margin: 5px;" src="http://www.zam.com/Im/Image/width=600/148689.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p>Like other D-class mercenaries, the Spearman can be upgraded using Ashen Crystals and Ashen Jewels. Each upgrade will give the Spearman significant stat boosts, as well as some aesthetic changes.</p> <p>The Spearman is a more popular mercenary because he synergizes with a variety of builds and strategies. For example, because the Spearman has high attack power, he combos well off of the Oracle&#8217;s spell, Seth&#8217;s Will, which is a spell that further boosts attack and action power of a row in your squad. In addition, Seth&#8217;s Will also increases the chance to attack multiple times, resulting in one deadly Spearman.</p> <p>In PvP, especially in higher divisions, you will find AP (action power) drain builds to be pretty common because of the effectiveness in controlling and managing the battle. What players will normally do is have two Spearmen in their squad to effectively utilize Lightning Spear and render opponent&#8217;s mercenaries useless. Two Lightning Spears can potentially shut down an entire column so you have to calculate which column of mercenaries might be the most threatening. It could be that pesky Monk ready to use Awakening on his stunned companions; or maybe it&#8217;s the Exorcist getting ready to Mana Seal your spell casters. Whatever the case may be, having two Spearmen can essentially throw a wrench into the opponent&#8217;s plans, turning the fight in your favor.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; border: 2px solid black; margin: 5px;" src="http://www.zam.com/Im/Image/width=600/148690.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p>AP draining is also an effective strategy in PvE. For example, the Thousand-Year-Old Python, a boss in the Bulguksa dungeon, has an attack that hits all members of your squad. So to prevent the Python from using that particular attack, one strategy is to utilize the Spearman&#8217;s Lightning Spear to keep pressure on the Python&#8217;s AP.</p> <p>Get a sneak peek at the Archer, the next D-class mercenary we&#8217;ll be writing about, by visiting <a href="http://www.playatlantica.com" target="_blank">www.playatlantica.com</a>! <br /><br /></p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:07:50 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20641 <p>Sony Online Entertainment announced today in a press release that more than three million user-created quests have been made in Star Wars Galaxies using the Chronicle Master system since its launch just over a month ago. This number includes one individual who has created more than 6,000 playable quests! That's definitely a dedicated player.</p> <p>In addition, the Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures Premium Plus Pack is now available on <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/24170/" target="_blank">Steam</a> and <a href="http://www.direct2drive.com/8745/product/Buy-Star-Wars-Galaxies:-The-Complete-Online-Adventures-Premium-Plus-Pack-Download" target="_blank">Direct2Drive</a> for 50% off for a limited time. Players who purchase the pack through these sites will receive three exclusive <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/posts/list.m?topic_id=1021664" target="_blank">in-game vehicles</a>, including an AT-RT, a Queen Amidala Transport Ship and a General Grievous Wheel Bike.</p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:57:30 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20640 <p>Cryptic <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20602" target="_blank">revealed</a> on Wednesday that the <a href="http://www.champions-online.com/nemesis_confrontation" target="_blank">Nemesis Confrontation</a> lair that is currently on the public test server will go live on Nov. 24, and the dev team is hosting a <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20620" target="_blank">dev chat</a> about the feature today at 4 p.m. PST. If that's not enough Nemesis news for you, Cryptic just announced in a press release that the update will launch alongside a free weekend of play from Nov. 26-30.</p> <p>It looks like the free-to-play weekend event will be the perfect chance to check out the Nemesis Confrontation update and decide if they want to stick with the game. You can view <a href="http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/view/videos/gameID/335/videoId/1559" target="_blank">a trailer</a> for the lair at MMORPG.com and read the full press release after the jump.</p><a name="pause" title="pause"></a><blockquote> <p><strong>New York, NY (November 19, 2009)</strong> - Atari, Inc., one of the world's most recognized videogame publishers, and Cryptic Studios, developers of City of Heroes, City of Villains, Champions Online and Star Trek Online, are pleased to reveal the Nemesis Confrontation event for Champions Online. On November 24, players will face their greatest Nemeses in a battle to protect our universe from being conquered by an interdimensional evil.<br /><br />"We wanted to take our unique Nemesis System to the next level and do something really awesome with it," said Bill Roper, Executive Producer of Champions Online. "So we asked ourselves, what if your Nemesis could band together with your buddy's Nemesis to take you on? Epic."<br /><br />Players will learn that their uniquely handcrafted Nemeses are trying to create a rift into another dimension in a plot to take over the Champions Universe. To save the world, a band of superheroes will need to defeat their ultimate enemies, as well as a host of dangerous alien gladiators and prison guards in an all new environment. The Nemesis Confrontation event will also launch alongside a free weekend of play that takes place between November 26 and November 30.<br /><br />Champions Online taps into a rich universe of heroes and villains with unparalleled intrigue and adventure. Cryptic Studios has taken the genre to new heights with Champions Online&#8217;s fast paced, &#8220;real time&#8221; action combat and the power of total customization. Through Champions&#8217; unique character customization tool the player can create and individualize every component of their hero: name, back story, costume, powers and abilities can all be modified in countless ways. In addition to allowing players to transform into the ultimate hero, gamers can craft an enemy of the extreme opposite, concoct a villainous history for their ultimate foe and guarantee themselves a truly unique experience.<br /><br />To learn more about the Nemesis Confrontation event and to sign up for the free weekend, please visit: <a class="releaselink" href="http://www.champions-online.com/nemesis_confrontation" target="_new">http://www.champions-online.com/nemesis_confrontation</a></p> </blockquote> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:11:33 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20639 <p>A blue post in the official technical support forum seems to suggest that patch 3.3 isn't scheduled to launch for at least another month. In response to a player complaining about how long it takes to complete the 448MB background download, <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21034438977&amp;pageNo=1&amp;sid=1#2" target="_blank">Datth said</a>, "<span class="blue">We only provide mirror links for full client patches. Background downloads do not count. You have around 1+ month to download this file so we're not really worried about your speed."</span></p> <p><span class="blue">This comment certainly shouldn't be taken as any sort of official confirmation of the 3.3 launch window. After all, Datth could have just been talking about the timetable for background downloads in general. Regardless, it's just something to think about while we all wait for 3.3 to hit the live servers on one of these upcoming Tuesdays.<br /></span></p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:49:53 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20638 <p>What does the future of Aion hold? North American Community Manager Andrew "Tamat" Beegle posted an <a href="http://twitter.com/aion_tamat/status/5867243800" target="_blank">interesting hint</a> on his Twitter page yesterday: "<span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">On November 24th, we will be showing a movie that demonstrates the future of Aion with actual gameplay."</span></span></p> <p>We'll certainly be keeping an eye on the official Aion site and Tamat's Twitter feed next Tuesday. Do you have any speculation as to what Tamat means by his statement? Head over to our <a href="http://aion.zam.com/forum.html?game=71&amp;mid=125873737217413609&amp;num=0&amp;page=1" target="_blank">Aion general forum</a> if you'd like to add to the discussion.</p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:02:28 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20637 <p>Star Trek Online may have just entered <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20249" target="_blank">closed beta</a> about a month ago on Oct. 22, but Cryptic just announced that <a href="http://www.startrekonline.com/node/614" target="_blank">the open beta</a> will be held from Jan. 12-26, 2010. Keys will be given on a first-come, first-served basis on the game's <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20582" target="_blank">revamped</a> Web site.</p> <p>Star Trek Online is scheduled to launch on Feb. 2, 2010 in North America and Feb. 5 in Europe. Do you expect the game to actually be released on those days, or do you think the game will be delayed? We asked this question when the launch dates were <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20450" target="_blank">announced</a>, but it seems like a good time to ask it again since the open beta has already been scheduled.</p> <p>Regardless, we're looking forward to the launch of the Star Trek MMO. We gave the game the "Best in Show" and "Most Innovative Gameplay" titles in our <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=19718" target="_blank">2009 PAX Awards</a>, and we also took <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=19818" target="_blank">another look</a> at the game at the convention.</p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:51:29 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20636 <p><img style="margin: 6px;" src="http://www.zam.com/Im/Image/148627.jpg" alt="" width="598" height="254" /></p> <p>The Fallen Earth team has selected <a href="http://www.fallenearth.com/node/286" target="_blank">the winners</a> of its Thanksgiving screenshot contest, and they are all the proud recipients of festive in-game food items like Fried Prairie Chicken, Gritty Pie Crust and Pumpkin Jam. You have to be thankful for what you can get in the wasteland.</p> <p>The first prize winner will also recieve a Fallen Earth T-shirt. You can view all of the screenshots on the official <a href="http://www.fallenearth.com/node/285" target="_blank">contest gallery page</a>. Which screenshot is your favorite?</p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:36:22 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20635 <p>Monte Cristo published <a href="http://www.citiesxl.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=2378&amp;Itemid=128" target="_blank">a letter</a> today that gives players a glimpse at what they can expect to see in the future for Cities XL. It looks like pollution will be the main issue that is tackled in the next patch, which should be released early next week. The update will give mayors the means to fight the negative effects of pollution by building pleasing neighborhoods.</p> <p>The new MINI Cooper car model will also be added to the game in next week's patch, and you can expect to see buses in early December. Another patch will be implemented before Christmas that will add detailed taxes per category and advanced graphical settings. Lastly, country roads, service vehicles and Chinatown-inspired buildings will be added to Cities XL in the future.</p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:26:01 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20634 <p>The anthropomorphic animals in Earth Enternal are currently celebrating <a href="http://www.eartheternal.com/forums/Announcements/topics/Patch-082-Preview-Harvest-Fest" target="_blank">Harvest Fest</a>, which is an in-game Thanksgiving celebration that runs through Nov. 30. Players can speak to Harvest Masters in the major cities of Camelot, Heartwood and Bremen to warp to a Harvest Feast to enjoy some food, and they can also hunt Turkatrices to to earn tokens for festive items.</p> <p>In addition, players should be on the lookout for the Turkatrice King and may want to consider purchasing the limited edition Turkatrice Hat in the credit store. For more information on this free-to-play browser-based MMO, check out our <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=19932" target="_blank">recent tour</a> into the world of Earth Eternal.</p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:13:04 -0000 http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20633 <p>Today's update to the Star Wars: The Old Republic Web site is the <a href="http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20091120_001" target="blank">20th issue</a> of the Threat of Peace Web comic. Community Manager Sean Dahlberg anticipated that this light week might upset some fans, so he emphasized in <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=1979124#post1979124" target="_blank">a post</a> on the official forums that the team plans on "ending the year well."</p> <p>According to Dahlberg, "we will be doing an update every Friday throughout the rest of the year, including over the holidays. And not a single one of those is a webcomic (by itself) and no Fan Fridays (although they will be returning next year... with some new facets)."</p> <p>While you wait for these future updates, be sure to check out our look at the <a href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=20625" target="_blank">revealed classes</a> as we try to piece together how they'll work as a team in combat.</p> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:06:06 -0000