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


Welcome
to the 1,431st
edition
of Loading...

Initial (very initial)
impressions of style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy XIV
and thoughts on account proliferation (or why we don't need three
accounts to play one game) in today's href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/oct/1">Loading...
Password Overprotection!

cellspacing="0" width="100%">

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. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">EverQuest 2 
  3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/99">Lord
    of the Rings Online 
  4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/43">EVE
    Online 
  5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/183">Guild
    Wars 2 (UP 5) 

Biggest
movers today
:

  1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv">Final
    Fantasy XIV

    - UP 8
    to
    #14
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/33">Gods
    and Heroes: Rome Rising

    - down 7
    to
    #18
    style="text-decoration: underline;">
  3. style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/860">Champions
    Online

    - Up 4
    to
    #15
size="-1">Recent Releases
  • 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"> style="font-weight: bold;">9/7
    - size="-1"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion">Aion:
    Assault on Balaurea (free
    expansion)
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">9/29
    - Everquest
    2 Extended

    (release)
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">9/30
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv">Final
    Fantasy XIV (release)

size="-1">Upcoming
Releases

  • 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;">10/5 -
    10/8 - href="http://www.gdconline.com/">GDC
    Online
  • 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
style="font-weight: bold;">World
of Warcraft:
Brewfest Tankard O' Terror Contest

October is just around the corner, so you know what that means.
It’s that festive time once again when we get to raise or
virtual tankards in World of Warcraft in celebration of the annual
in-game Brewfest event! To help get you into the spirit (or should that
be spirits?) of the event, we’ll be giving away not just one,
but two signed Tankard O’ Terror’s from href="http://www.taverncraft.com/">Taverncraft.
For full contest details be sure to race your ram over to our href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/wow/brewfest">Brewfest
Tankard O’ Terror Contest page!




Enter now as the contest ends on Friday, October 1st at 11:59pm! style="font-weight: bold;">Rift
- Ask the Devs!

Have you got a question about style="font-style: italic;">Rift:
Planes of Telera?
Well, you have a chance to ask the devs at Trion Worlds directly. Just
submit your questions href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53660">in
our forums.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/playerscore/scoreboards"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 580px; height: 249px;"
alt="World of Warcraft PlayerScore"
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/misc/PlayerScore/2010/PlayerScore_100110.jpg">

What's
your PlayerScore?
World of
Warcraft players, find out at href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/playerscore">playerscore.com.


Loading... more fun that a
barrel of Murlocs!



I set aside about four hours yesterday afternoon to install and play style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy XIV.
Surely, thought I, four hours would be enough to make a fresh start
with FFXIV
and share my initial impressions with you in today's newsletter.
Instead I spent a good three and a half hours installing and setting up
the game and about a half hour actually playing. Well, 'playing' is a
little generous. Of that half hour, about 10 minutes was spent in
character creation mostly wondering about classes (primary classes)
like the fisher and botanist and the sheer volume of obscure,
irrevocable decisions I was making, 18 minutes was spent waiting for or
watching cutscenes, and I spent the remaining two minutes actually
playing.



So let me sum up my thoughts on the game thus far, and feel free to
impugn my observations since I was only truly in-game for, as I said,
two minutes of the four hours allocated: 1) poorly seeded torrent
patchers are the most sinister example of MMO devolution to-date, 2)
the world is pretty, the characters are cute, 3) in addition to
creating the sort of cute characters and pretty worlds that would have
Walt Disney giggling in his grave, Square Enix also excels at
cockblocking players at every turn during the account setup process, 4)
gender ambivalence is at an all time high - could I get some man
clothes that aren't skin tight or show belly? 5) I must be playing the
game through a side view mirror, because all the monsters are several
times bigger in the cutscenes than they actually appear.



I don't want this to be another blog post about the pain in the ass
that is Square Enix billing. It's been done before, and particularly
well in FFXIV's
case in Karen's href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/sep/22">Loading...
last week. Buying virtual currency to just pay for a subscription and
paying per alt is strange, but what we're hearing about clickandbuy is
scary if it's true (in the interest of full disclosure, the clickandbuy
site href="http://www.clickandbuy.com/WW_en/faqs.html">notes
that you're free to cancel subscriptions at any time but that you must
observe "the periods of notice specified by the vendor." If any period
of notice is specified by Square Enix, I can't find this information on
the website, ergo, scary. And, after all, this isn't SquareEnix's first
go-round with href="http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/06/24/Class_Sues_Online_Gamer_Square_Enix.htm">allegations
of deceptive billing practices.



Instead, I'm more out of sorts that I had to create multiple accounts
with multiple passwords to play one game. style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy XIV
requires a Square Enix account (which you already have if you played style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy XI),
a "service account" to set up the game, and a payment account (the href="http://clickandbuy.com/">clickandbuy.com
step, dodge it with PayPal at your peril). I could have written this
off as just Square Enix's usual lunacy had I not spent a good chunk of
the weekend trying to wrest control of my style="font-style: italic;">Guild Wars
and City
of Heroes
account.



NCSoft requires a master account to set up billing, then per-game
accounts for each of the games. The simple solution is to pick a
usernames and strong password, then keep that the same for all accounts
though a single developer or publisher. That doesn't work. None of the
usernames can match (and style="font-style: italic;">Guild Wars
tacks on an @ncsoft to usernames too), consequently I make a bad habit
of forgetting my login info for NCSoft games. Plus, NCSoft logins pry a
bit. Logging into my style="font-style: italic;">Guild Wars
account, for example, requires me to remember the name of one of my
characters. That's probably fine for diehard fans of the game, but my
original GW
experience was pretty short and not very memorable, and worse: style="font-style: italic;">GW
characters have surnames. After a lengthy call to customer service, Eh
Thec sits idle on the server, guarding my path to future style="font-style: italic;">Guild Wars
enjoyment. Then to have to turn around and do the same thing with style="font-style: italic;">City of Heroes
- it's enough to drive you insane.



I fully understand and appreciate the desire to keep my game account
and payment info secure, but for all the talk of account security, the
authenticators and secret questions and other hoops to jump through, I
feel more hassled than safe.  With no dongles and half the
passwords required, my online bank account seems far safer than the
majority of my game accounts. I find it easier to go back to games
under the SOE and Turbine umbrella, and remembering login info plays a
major part in that. SOE's Station Launcher is a very elegant solution
that I wish NCSoft in particular would adopt. When SOE ties in
authenticators, as much as I hate traveling with them and fear the
inevitable battery failure (a smartphone version, perhaps?), this might
be the perfect solution.



Are you feeling password overprotected too? Does adding yet another
password to the mix really make your account more secure? Are
authenticators, provided they're free or low cost and easy to tote, the
solution? Discuss in the href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53861">Loading...
forum and happy October!



Shayalyn's
Epic Thread of the Day



From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=354">WoW
Raiding & PvP Discussion



href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53799"> style="font-weight: bold;">Raiding & Gearscore



So,
let's say you're a World of Warcraft player and you've reached a time
in your character's life where he's ready to raid, only...whoops! Your
almighty Gearscore isn't high enough. It's like that old conundrum
where you can't get the job you want without experience, but you can't
get experience because you can't get the job you wan. What to do?
 Our WoW community is href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53799">talking
about it.



=====================================

Awesome
Quotes from the Epic Thread




"I
certainly will give
style="font-style: italic;" href="http://playerscore.com">PlayerScore style="font-style: italic;"> a try!"



- href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/postings.php?do=getip&p=443104">Fritzo

=====================================


New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer





6 new Ten Ton Hammer
features today! 111 Ten Ton
Hammer features in September! 1066 in 2010!




REVIEW



Final
Fantasy XIV Review at Ten Ton Hammer


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/reviews/final-fantasy-xiv">http://www.tentonhammer.com/reviews/final-fantasy-xiv



In
celebration of the official launch of Final Fantasy XIV, Ten Ton Hammer
guest writer, Ralsu, reviews the game in its entirety. Can FFXIV hold
up to other new titles? How does the game play for new players and
Final Fantasy veterans alike? And, most importantly, is the game worth
your dollar?



PREVIEW
GUIDE




WoW
- Introduction to the Mastery System


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/mastery">http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/mastery




Mastery
is a stat that has a different meaning for each of the 30 available
World of Warcraft class specializations. In general, mastery is a stat
that will massively increase the potency of a defining aspect of your
chosen specialization and serve to significantly differentiate each
spec.



MEDIA



Lex
Luthor Revealed in New DC Universe Online Artwork and Screenshots


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/dcuo/screenshots/lex-luthor">http://www.tentonhammer.com/dcuo/screenshots/lex-luthor



Sony
Online Entertainment has revealed the latest character in
their
upcoming MMOG, DC Universe Online. The latest reveal showcases that
criminal mastermind, Lex Luthor. Armed with his power suit, Luthor is
known for his overwhelming desire to kill Superman and, you guessed it,
take over the world. SOE has released a new batch of art and
screenshots of the criminal genius in action and you can check them all
out here.



Final
Fantasy XIV Video Showcases World Conflict


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv/videos/cg-trailer">http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv/videos/cg-trailer

 

Final
Fantasy XIV recently launched, bringing magic wielders and furries to
fans everywhere. With the game's official launch, Square Enix has also
released the opening movie CG video that offers a look at some of the
story and conflict found in the FFXIV world. The video runtime is about
seven and a half minutes, so grab a snack and enjoy a look at some of
the excellent cinematics of FFXIV.



Top
Ten Things You Need To Know About FFXIV


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/top-ten-ffxiv">http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/top-ten-ffxiv



Final
Fantasy XIV is not a typical MMOG. It’s filled with unique
mechanics
and new ways of doing things that may throw you off your game.
Understanding the different facets of the game takes time to discover,
and may surprise you along the way. To lessen the shock of these
discoveries, and smooth out some of the speed bumps on your road to
enjoying this rich title, I’ve assembled my list of the Top
Ten Things
You Need To Know About FFXIV.



Ten
Ton Hammer's Beginner's Guide for LotRO - General Gameplay


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/90254">http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/90254



Everybody
has to start somewhere, and it's no different in The Lord of the Rings
Online than it is anywhere else. Players who are new to the game may
feel a bit overwhelmed or confused with the unfamiliar setings and
controls, and some of the game-specific language. There are a lot of
new things to learn, whether you are Free-to-play or a new VIP
subscriber. So here's your General Gameplay Beginner's Manual to help
smooth things out and allow you to get the most out of the game.


Today's
Top 10

  1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/mastery"> style="font-weight: bold;">WoW
    - Introduction to the Mastery System href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/reviews/final-fantasy-xiv"> style="font-weight: bold;">
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/reviews/final-fantasy-xiv"> style="font-weight: bold;">Final Fantasy XIV
    Review at Ten Ton Hammer href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/rogue_cataclysm_talents"> style="font-weight: bold;">
  3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/rogue_cataclysm_talents"> style="font-weight: bold;">WoW
    Rogue Talent Guide for Patch 4.0.1 href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/shso/previews/sept-2010"> style="font-weight: bold;">
  4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/shso/previews/sept-2010"> style="font-weight: bold;">Marvel Super Hero Squad
    Online - A Heroes &
    Helicarriers Preview
  5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/90254">Ten Ton
    Hammer's Beginner's Guide for style="font-weight: bold;">LotRO
    - General Gameplay
  6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/features/reviews/character-rating-tools">Measuring
    Gear and Comparing Scores in style="font-weight: bold;">World of
    Warcraft
  7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2/interviews/dave-georgeson-sep-2010">Return
    to Norrath! An Interview with style="font-weight: bold;">EverQuest
    2’s
    Dave Georgeson 
  8. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/guides/basics/weapons">An
    Introduction to Weapons in style="font-weight: bold;">Guild Wars 2
  9. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gnh/interviews/heatwave-interview-sep-2010">For
    the Emperor! style="font-weight: bold;">Gods and Heroes
    - An Interview with Heatwave Interactive
  10. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/minstrel/overview">Ten
    Ton Hammer's All-New Minstrel Class Guide for style="font-weight: bold;">Lord of the Rings Online href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/vindictus/previews/sept2010"> style="font-weight: bold;">

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 Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn 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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