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is the premier daily MMOG newsletter, only from Ten
Ton Hammer!

Welcome
to the 1,407th
edition
of Loading...

The last thing World of Warcraft needs is another website or addon to compare numbers. So why has Ten Ton Hammer spent the last several months creating something called PlayerScore that does just that? Because PlayerScore does a LOT more, and with your help might make WoW the social game we'd always hoped it would become. Read all about why even the non-WoW fans on our team are excited for PlayerScore (and how you can join in) in today's Loading... PlayerScore Enters Open Beta.

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The
Pulse

You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result
is the Ten Ton Pulse ( href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/">What
is The Pulse?).

Today's
top 5 Pulse results:

  1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
    of Warcraft
  2. EverQuest 2
  3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aoc">Age
    of
    Conan
  4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve">EVE Online (UP 2)
  5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/war">Warhammer
    Online

Biggest
movers today
:

  1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor">Star Wars: The Old Republic
    - UP 10 to #11
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38">EverQuest

    - down 3 to
    #13
  3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/254">Aion

    UP 2 to 10
size="-1">Recent Releases
  • size="-1">6/29
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998"
    target="_blank">APB
    (release)
  • size="-1">7/27
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
    target="_blank">Need
    for Speed World
    (release)
  • size="-1">7/27
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/starcraft2" target="_blank">StarCraft
    II: Wings of Liberty
    (release)
  • size="-1">8/17
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
    of Heroes: Going Rogue (release)
  • size="-1">8/18
    - href="http://everquest2.com/free_to_play">EverQuest
    II Extended (release)
size="-1">Upcoming
Releases

  • size="-1">September
    7, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion">Aion:
    Assault on Balaurea (free
    expansion)
  • size="-1">September
    30, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv" target="_blank">Final
    Fantasy XIV size="-1">
    (release)
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">October
    26, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/170">LEGO
    Universe (release)

  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">November
    2, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1407">DC
    Universe Online (release)

size="-1">Upcoming
Events

  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
    9/5 - href="http://www.paxsite.com/paxprime/index.php" target="_blank">PAX
    Prime
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
    9/6 - href="http://www.dragoncon.org/" target="_blank">DragonCon
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">10/8 -
    10/10 - href="http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/">New
    York Comic Con
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
    10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y" target="_blank">BlizzCon
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;"> 3/24
    -
    3/26 (2011) - href="http://fanfest.eveonline.com/" target="_blank">CCP
    FanFest

Loading... redressing all the needs of MMOkind, one opinion at a time.

I've never been much of a PvPer, but paintball brings out the aggro in me. My fiancee wanted to try out the game, so I dutifully signed us up without really mentioning the certainly of welts that go with getting shot full of a .67 caliber pellet of cellulose-encased paint travelling at 60 miles per hour. Thankfully I got dinged up the most, including a close range shot in the neck that was the talk of the dead zone, a sprained knee, and two hits frightfully close to the jimster.

The fun of paintball isn't just nailing an unsuspecting enemy in the mask from twenty feet away, it's about the stories you take away from the experience. My shining moment came when I charged a bunker without any ammo left (it took us 2.5 games to exhaust 500 rounds at $37, who knew?), and got two unsuspecting opponents to surrender. Whether we're talking paintball or MMOGs, those are the fun-defining moments, but too often they're lost in a sea of accomplishments and completionism.

Unlike it's MMO predecessors, WoW is said to be a game where no one has a story. No massive UO- or DAoC - style PvP battles, no EQ corpse runs or spawn camps. The more I play WoW (and believe me, I've tauted my share of WoW hatred) I don't believe that to be the case. A group of friends and TTH editors recently started a bunch of lowbie characters, and going through the low-teens Deadmines dungeon had its share of quirks and laugh out loud moments.

Today, TenTonHammer announced the PlayerScore Open Beta, an addon and website for World of Warcraft players that goes beyond rating players based on equipment. PlayerScore offers a complete picture of your character, your friends' characters, your guildmates, and almost anyone else (almost, meaning US servers are available now, with EU and Oceanic to follow soon).

You could look at PlayerScore as a measuring tape for your eParts. It's a measure of competence, for sure, but I look at it as a way to document your experiences on a per-character level - it's like having an individual forum thread for each of the thirty million plus characters in the game. Better yet, that's just one of the website and addon's many features. The addon, for example, tells you if an item is an upgrade for a groupmate before you roll need or greed.

Something like PlayerScore is all the more important now that Dungeon Finder has made pick-up groups more the rule than the exception. If your healer is an expert mana manager, extremely careful with over-healing and always using the most efficient spells, and if he or she kept the group up through areas where you've had trouble before, you can give your healer some credit. If your off-tank doesn't have the best equipment in the game, but was alert enough to switch targets and pull adds off of the healer and DPS units, give him or her due props. If, on the other hand, it's obvious that a groupmate isn't focusing - too busy eating ho-hos and watching "Friends" reruns to do much more than move and auto-attack - you can address that too.

PlayerScore is also a teaching tool, sort of like an expanded Armory. It's easy to look into better ranked players in my class and level range, see where they've been spending their time and look into the equipment that they have, and over time see what kind of ratings and traits other players have given them, then modify my play style accordingly.

My main's PlayerScore is 4103, what's yours? Share it in the Loading... forum!


Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our Tavern of the Ten Ton Hammer forum




That MMO Itch


That little itch could mean...gaming! This is the epic thread in
which Darke confesses a "condition/affliction/whatever" that makes him
re-subscribe to MMOGs he once dumped. Sounds like a playah to me. Do
you get that MMOG itch? It's okay, don't be embarrassed; you're among
friends. Talk about it!

=====================================
Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread

"...it doesn't feel right anymore to not be subscribed to one MMORPG...
even if I don't do that much with it. Which reminds me. Hehe unsubbed
from CoH again but will probably resub later...again
."

- SirRobin
=====================================


New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer

7 new and exclusive
Ten
Ton Hammer
features
today! 118 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in August! 934
in 2010!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS



Take Me Out to the Reckoning: A Video Interview with 38 Studios’ Curt Schilling

http://www.tentonhammer.com/syndcon10/interviews/curt-schilling
 

Curt
Schilling defies all the usual myths and stereotypes about gamers. The future Hall of Fame pitcher has long been an
avid gamer, playing wargames such as Advanced Squad Leader (which he
now owns), RPGs, and online games from Ultima Online to World of
Warcraft. His new game company, 38 Studios, has two titles in the
works. Ten Ton Hammer’s own Ethec sat down with Curt Schilling at
SyndCon 2010 to talk about 38 Studios’ upcoming projects and gaming in
general.


EVE Senior Producer Answers Community Concerns - An Exclusive Q&A
http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/interviews/gylfason-at-gamescom2010

Last year Ten Ton Hammer awarded EVE Online as the Best Community in a MMOG
of the year. Why? Because the community knows what it wants and has had
a fundamental part in designing the future of the game. Ten Ton Hammer
caught up with Arnar Gylfason, Senior Producer of EVE at gamescom 2010
to address some concerns that have been going about the community. Lag,
features backlog, and the future of the game are our topics in this
exclusive EVE Online interview from gamescom 2010.

TEN TON HAMMER NEWS

Announcing the WoW Ten Ton Hammer Forum Revamp
http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53171

Our
Ten Ton Hammer community forums are the place to be to talk about all
kinds of online games (and more!). We've taken our popular World of
Warcraft forums and given them a complete overhaul to prepare for the
upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. So why not head on
over to our forums and have a chat with some of our friendly community
members? Get your questions answered, share your stories, discuss the
latest events, and more here at Ten Ton Hammer.

MEDIA

New DC Universe Screenshots Show Iconic and Player Created Characters in Action
http://www.tentonhammer.com/dcuo/screenshots/august2010
 
DC
Universe Online (DCUO) is just a few short months away from launch and
one of the key selling points of the game is the ability to create your
own customized superhero or villain to fight alongside some of the
iconic characters in the DC Universe, something we had the chance to experience first-hand at Fan Faire.
Sony Online Entertainment is continuing to hype the game and recently
released a fresh batch of new screenshots that show some of the player
created characters, combat using Batman, and several other iconic DCUO
characters in action. Check them all out here.

FEATURES & GUIDES

EQ2 New Player Mount Guide
http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2/guides/newbie-mounts

A
staple utility in EverQuest II is definitely the mounts. Nearly every
player has one for the look, the status, the run speed, and the stats
that they provide. Traditionally you had to wait until you were in the
mid levels before you could get your first mount but not anymore! With
new quest additions, even low level players can enjoy the benefit of
having a trusty horse mount, and we can tell you how to get yours.

Guild Wars 2 Profession Preview: Necromancer
http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/necromancer

Necromancers
return for Guild Wars 2 as the bringers of death and destruction along
with the unique ability to return life to those who have perished, as
mindless undead zombies of course. We take a look at the Necromancer,
how its changed from the original Guild Wars, and more.

WoW: What’s New in the Beta? A Look at Cataclysm Beta Build 12803
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/cataclysm/patch-notes/build-12803

There
have been a few patches to the Cataclysm beta this month, and last week
saw the release of patch 12803. This patch pushed some major changes to
the game and how it plays. Byron “Messiah” Mudry walks you through some
of the critical changes to the game, the effect they will likely have
on the game, and explains why you should care about them.

Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features

  1. EVE Online Senior Producer Answers Community Concerns - An Exclusive Q&A
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/dancing-with-destiny">Dancing
    With Destiny - A First Look at Guild
    Wars 2
  3. Take Me Out to the Reckoning: A Video Interview with 38 Studios’ Curt Schilling
  4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/coh/review/going-rogue">City
    of Heroes: Going Rogue
    - First
    Impressions
  5. Intellectual Properties and MMOGs – Cure or Curse?
  6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/swtor/daniel-erikson-interview">Exclusive
    Star
    Wars: The Old
    Republic
    Lead Writer
    Interviewed
  7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/interviews/eric-flannum-video">Exclusive Interview
    with Guild
    Wars 2
    's
    Eric Flannum
  8. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/interviews/enmasse-talks-tera"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> style="color: red;">Talking
    TERA
    -
    An Exclusive Interview with En Masse Entertainment
  9. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/syndcon10/interviews/john-smedley">In
    The Trenches: A SyndCon 2010 Q&A with SOE’s John
    Smedley
  10. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/torchlight2/previews/first-look">Lightning
    Strikes Twice - A First Look at style="font-weight: bold;">Torchlight
    II

Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle
and the Ten Ton Hammer team


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Jeff joined the Ten Ton Hammer team in 2004 covering EverQuest II, and he's had his hands on just about every PC online and multiplayer game he could since.

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