MMO news, guides, reviews, features, interviews and more at Ten Ton Hammer

You don't need an alchemist to turn plat into USD.
Terra Nova brings us a load of stats from Station Exchange, developer SOE's program designed to facilitate the sale of virtual items for real world cash.

" The service opened on 2 of 22 possible servers mid-to-late July. As of Thursday last week, these two servers (taken together) had: 4200 accounts registered for Station Exchange (from 30,000 accounts in total) $420,000 in total turnover ($180,000 in characters, $210,000 in coin, the  rest in items) 7736 successful transactions [exact amount] Average amount transacted per account is $98.16 [exact amount] Average amount transacted per transaction is $54. "

For more stats from the State of Play III workshop on Virtual Property, visit Terra Nova's Everquest 2 Station Exchange catch-up article.
Other links you might enjoy:

• The TTH EQ2 Community Site
• The Station Exchange Official Site
• The Project Entropia Official Site - Take a look at a game that's used a real-world economy ever since its release in January 2004.

How fair is EQ2's Gigglegibber Goblin Gambin' Game?
Ethec comes across a snickering goblin in Everquest 2 who wants to help him gamble his hard-earned coin. Would you go along with it? Neither would... well, yes I would! But first I had my Mage friend Skeezix perform a little bit of mathematical magic on the gamblin' game first.
Not usually being one to consult with the almighty spreadsheet, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to check out this nifty, free meta-game feature. What's it all about? Will it pass muster? How much is the goblin's theoretical total take when the first jackpot winner hits? These answers and more just a click away!

"When it comes to gambling, who couldn't use some plat? Still, like Fred from "Scooby Doo," I had a bad feeling about this. Fighting the halfling urge to peeter away my cobalt fund (I have one of those kitchy jars on top of my microwave - "Armor Fund"), I decided to consult with my good friend (despite being a gnome) Skeezix. He's a sorceror training to be a wizard, and no doubt the Mages at the tower were putting them through the organ grinder known as "descriptive statistics." Which is kind of comical: my own training was simply a matter of being pointed at a fighter dummy and spamming direct heals while a creative invective-hurling high elf drill sargent-type screamed at me to click FASTER!!, spittle flying, the dwarf next to me sobbing. An ugly scene by all accounts..."

I doubt you'll ever see the words "hypergeometric distribution" in a TTH article again, so you won't want to miss this! Everquest 2's gambling game exposed for the... fun that it is at TenTonHammer!

Gambling makes its EQ2 Debut
A new gambling meta-game is included free-of-charge with today's EverQuest 2 update; it's sort of a slash between the lotto and a slot machine. I got to see it in action last weekend and it's a lot of fun. Other popular changes include 100% run speed while in stealth mode (balanced by the addition of more "see invisible" mobs in the world) as well as tradeskill and UI enhancements.

" *** Headlines ***



- Try your luck at the Gigglegibber Goblin Gamblin' Game!

- No more run-speed reduction with stealth and invisibility!

- Tell at a glance if you don't have enough power to use a spell or art!

- Imbued item recipes now available for level 50+ crafters!

- Many user interface windows have a new look! "

Read the Everquest 2 Live Update #14 notes here.
Other links you might enjoy:

• EQ2 Community Summit Coverage - Gamers and devs met last weekend, we covered what was discussed.
• The TTH Free EQ2 Giveaway - New to the game? Try halfling haiku for free EQ2 :)

Because you only get one chance to make a first impresson.
GameSpy has posted a first impressions look at EverQuest 2: Desert of Flames. When asked if he had read the article, Christian Slater looked hard and long at us, pursed his lips and stated:

" SOE has been pretty aggressive when it comes to updating EverQuest II: two adventure packs, a busload of patches, and dozens of gameplay updates and refinements. At this point, a full-on expansion pack almost seems like overkill, but lo and behold, it's Desert of Flames! The first expansion to EverQuest II, from where we're standing, seems like it's jam-packed. It ups the level cap, introduces the first real PvP elements to game, and adds a whole new continent for players to adventure in. EQ veterans will know it well: the Isle of Ro, the desert region that served as a central hub for much of the original game's life. EQII finds a changed place, to be sure, but fans of the first game will find much to stir up the nostalgia. "

You can read the entire EverQuest 2: Desert of Flames First Impressions Article at GameSpy.
Related Links:

• EverQuest Meta Search Tool - Search all of the big EQ2 sites in one click.
• EverQuest 2 Community at TenTonHammer - Free Guides and much more.
• Other EverQuest 2 News