As the end of the summer starts to roll around, large content launches and expansion announcements start to gear up for MMOs, just as we see this August. This month for MMO Co-Opportunities we take a look at Living World Season 3 starting up for Guild Wars 2, a large content-focused DLC and update hitting Elder Scrolls Online, and a major expansion being announced for RIFT. Let’s get down to it!
Guild Wars 2 Living World Season 3 Has Begun
At the end of July, another one of the promised free Seasonal Updates went live on the Guild Wars 2 (GW2) servers. This one, entitled “Out of the Shadows” includes the long-awaited return of the game’s “Living Story.” Episode 1 of Season 3 was the only episode included with future episodes planned for later Season Updates. Season 3 requires that players own the Heart of Thorns expansion, but aren’t required to have completed the main story of the expansion; however, players may find it useful to do so, since the Living Story picks up where the expansion left off. Below you can find a trailer for Living World Season 3, but beware it contains major spoilers for the main story of Heart of Thorns.
Other updates included in “Out of Shadows” are a brand new fractal (Chaos Isles), a new PVP Map (Revenge of the Capricorn), quality improvements to several old Fractals, and PVP functionality and UI improvements. Also, as per usual, the normal tweaks and balancing of skills and traits.
ESO Shadows of Hist DLC and Update 11 Live Now
A major update is also now live on the Elder Scrolls Online’s PC servers. Simply called Update 11, it highlights hotly anticipated features such as costume dyeing and character re-customization. It also launches side-by-side with a major content DLC, entitled “Shadows of Hist.”
The Style Parlor has been introduced into the game with Update 11. Through the Style Parlor, players can recustomize their characters, through either name change, race change, appearance change, or premium styling. This must be done through the purchase of tokens from the in-game Crown Store. Accordingly, there are Name Change Tokens, Race Change Tokens, and Appearance Change Tokens. All three of these tokens will give players access to the corresponding customization featured on character creation. As for the new Premium Hairstyles, Adornments, and Markings, these can be browsed within the Crown Store. Once purchased, they can be freely changed between as often as the player likes.
Dye Stations have also been introduced into the world, only usable by ESO Plus members. At Dye Stations, players can dye their costumes and hats by selecting any of their unlocked achievement dyes. Dye Stamps are purchasable through the Crown Store for players who want a one-time consumable dye set for dyes they have not unlocked yet through achievements.
Last, we come to the new DLC. “Shadows of Hist” is available for free for all active ESO Plus members. For non-members, it’s available for 1500 Crowns in the Crown Store. The DLC introduces two new Argonian-themed dungeons: Cradle of Shadows and Ruins of Mazzatun. These dungeons are intended for 4 players and scale to the group leader’s level. They also offer a Nomad and Veteran mode. Each dungeon comes with its own set of achievements with corresponding appearance rewards and a monster mask set. These dungeons can be entered at any level, though queueing for them requires level 10.
Update 11 and the accompanying “Shadows of Hist” DLC is now live for ESO on PC. They will be available on August 16th for Xbox One and PS4 players.
RIFT Starfall Prophecy Expansion Announced
Late last week, Trion Worlds announced an expansion for its free-to-play MMO, RIFT. Starfall Prophecy is the third major expansion for the game and it will both vastly expand the content of the game as well as the technical functionality of the game. The level cap will raise to 70, allowing players to enhance select abilities from each Soul with Legendary Powers from levels 66-70. With these levels come five brand-new zones to get players from 65 to 70. A new raid and new dungeons also await (likely contained within the new zones).
As far as system and technical features, Starfall Prophecy will support a 64-bit client, bring in a looking-for-raid feature, and introduce a new item rarity (Eternal). The weapon and armor upgrade system will also be overhauled, introducing Active Upgrades and Planar Fragments. Access to the expansion comes in two versions: the Starfall Prophecy Pack ($40) and Digital Deluxe Edition ($60). Both versions come with a level 65 one-time boost for one character, which will allow players to dive straight into the new content.
Trion has taken a fairly unique approach on pre-order incentives, combining them with the daily log-in bonuses that are common in many online games these days. Upon pre-ordering either version of Starfall Prophecy, each day the player logs into RIFT they will be awarded a Starfall Prophecy Token. These tokens can be turned in for rewards at the 15, 20, and 50 marks. The exact date of Starfall Prophecy is unannounced, but will certainly be at least 50 days from now, due to this hint from the pre-order incentives. You can check out the Teaser Trailer below:
That wraps up this edition of MMOCO. Are any of you playing the new content for ESO or GW2? Are you excited about the new expansion announcement for RIFT? Let us know in the comments below!