If you're one of our American readers, you're likely too busy today enjoying lighting up the sky with Baysplosions and fighting the good fight for freedom via eating as much grilled meats as possible, while gently caressing your pet bald eagle in a truly heroic manner. You might be reading this on a Saturday instead, nursing your hangover from enjoying too much freedom. Or, you're not that much of a joiner, because celebrating July 4th means going outside. Or, you're not American, today's just another day for you and you don't get what all the hubbub's about. Whichever category you fall into, I'm happy to present you with another site report for the Ten Ton Hammer network. While it overall is not a special freedom edition, the MS Painting at the end got a little themey. Enjoy reading what's been going on around the network, and if you're celebrating the birth of freedom today, please have a safe and fun holiday!

Elitist Jerks

Not all WildStar guides are on the main site! Community member Von Kaiser put together a guide for WildStar's veteran Adventures, giving a good overview of each one and how to defeat them.

Playing a Protection Paladin in World of Warcraft? Don Flamenco's been playing one in the Warlords of Draenor beta and put together a list of differences and where the Prot Pally is these days.

In another WildStar related post, Glass Joe gives us an analysis of DPS and tanking comparisons for Halls of the Bloodsworn.

EQHammer

If you've been following EverQuest Next, you'll know that while there isn't a lot of solid information for it yet, there is a dedicated and growing pile of ebooks that give us its lore in story form to be digested. This lore review goes over the third ebook, “Rise of the Ring.” If you haven't read the ebooks yet, the beginning of the article links to them and then warns you that reading further contains spoilers (which I'm warning you here, again, so if you haven't read them, don't go beyond the introduction).

Lewis B breaks down his history of gaming and alts and wonders how EverQuest Next will be designed, whether to favor those with alt-itus or those who prefer to play one character. He gives us several examples of design choices and how certain games are better for alts or single character players. In the end, he hopes that EQNext will be created in a way that picks the best of all worlds so that both choices will be favored.

In this editorial, Fil Nonkovic examines artists in the past and how their personal views and activities have tarnished their works they have created as light of what they have done or said has become public. While Card's homophobia and Bradley's complacency to her husband's actions are more extreme in comparison to Smedley being blamed for everything bad ever at SOE, one question is relevant: will potential players be able to see past what they've blamed him for in the past and enjoy EverQuest Next, or will they continue to blacklist SOE games and boycott Smedley?

This week in Landmark's Extreme Homes takes a look at the Castles and Manors of Norrath, as created by players in SOE's voxel-based builder, which is currently in closed beta.

Veluux decides to document his return to Norrath, as he found himself unsatisfied with current MMOs, while waiting for EverQuest Next. Like many of us, Veluux has been cycling through games on the market hoping something out there will satisfy the need, only to find out that he's left wanting more. In Part One, we learn that he's come together with people he's met outside the original EverQuest through other channels and they have banded together to start new characters and level together on a weekly basis. He gives us his impressions as he reacquaints himself with the first version of Norrath the world experienced.

Fil Nonkovic profiles Dave Georgeson, Director of Development for the EverQuest franchise. Georgeson, also known as Smokejumper on the official forums, has been known for his openness and candor with the Landmark community. Learn more about Georgeson's history as an MMO developer here.

SOE Live is coming up, we've seen the schedule and shayalyn is giving us her run down of what to expect (mine is here), in this special SOE Live edition of Landmark Live Highlights. We also get a brief summary of the July 2 patch notes, news on the July giveaway item, more Player Studio info, and so much more.

After Landmark Live, the EverQuest Next Workshop show follows. Veluux lets us know what happened, in case we missed it altogether or just need a recap to make sure we didn't miss a tidbit of info! To his satisfaction and my disappointment, we will likely not see Dark Elves on flightless birds for ground mounts.

Part 2 of Veluux's Return to EverQuest is a guide on how players can discover the original Norrath for the first time or get settled back into a game so many of us love, whether for nostalgia or just because it still stays close to our hearts. From joining a server to getting a Mercenary, Veluux lets you know everything you need to have a successful return.

This week, our wise druid gets asked to show off her home in Landmark. Not only does shayalyn put together a great video, but she also gives us tips on how to achieve similar results.

In part four of The Game That Shaped the Genre, the EQ Hammer staff examines what it would take for a game within the EverQuest franchise to be on top again. Would a World of Warcraft clone net it success or would a return to roots be a better bet? Some WoW clones are successes in their own right, even if they haven't dethroned the top dog. But, because some games have found this to be successful, does that mean this clone template should always be followed?

As always, reading beyond the introduction here will be full of spoilers, so tread lightly. Veluux gives us another installment, reviewing the lore and story from the EverQuest Next ebooks. This time, Enemy of My Enemy is reviewed.

eSportsMax

It's the final moments of EU LCS week 6, where we learn that outside of Alliance, who seemed immune to upsets, wins generally favored the underdog! Alliance beat ROCCAT, Millenium won over SK Gaming, Fnatic lost to Supa Hot Crew, and we saw Copenhagen Wolves pull ahead of Gambit Gaming.

Capcom's Pro Tour, CEO (Community Effort Orlando), is held this year in Orlando's Wyndham Convention Center. In preparation, eSportsMax took a tour of the venue grounds, caught in both pictures and video.

Players from all over the world flew into Orlando for this year's King of Fighters XIII tournament at CEO 2014. Two days of intense bouts lead the competition to its final showdown of Reynald vs Luis Cha, with Reynald taking the belt for the second year in a row now.

Week 6 of NA LCS kicks off with Counter Logic Gaming losing to Team SoloMid, compLexity beating Cloud 9 HyperX, Evil Geniuses winning against Team Curse, and LMQ losing to Team Dignitas. This puts Team Dignitas in the lead in Season Standings.

Week 6 of NA LCS ends with Evil Geniuses losing to Cloud 9 HyperX, LMQ beat Team SoloMid, Counter Logic Gaming won against Team Dignitas, and compLexity lost to Team Curse. This brings the Season Standings to a three-way tie for the lead between Counter Logic Gaming, LMQ and Team Dignitas.

Dota 2's annual competition, The International, will be happening soon, and the first day will bring a heated battle between four key teams for the final slot in the competition. EthanKairos gives us a run down of these teams and what to expect.

Coverage swings back to EU LCS that starts off with a new world record by xPeke for the fastest time getting to 300 CS in a pro game. Other notable news includes ROCCAT losing to Fnatic, SK Gaming beating Gambit Gaming, ROCCAT changing the tables with a win against Copenhagen Wolves, Fnatic also winning against Millenium, and Alliance beating Supa Hot Crew. Alliance holds the top spot for the EU Season Standings.

It's day 2 of Super Week for EU LCS. Alliance wins over SK Gaming, Millenium loses to ROCCAT, Supa Hot Crew beats SK Gaming, Millenium comes back to defeat Gambit Gaming, Supa Hot Crew also defeats Copenhagen Wolves, and Gambit Gaming also loses to Fnatic. Alliance takes the top spot in Season Standings with Fnatic and SK Gaming tied for second place.

EthanKairos continues his road to The International 2014 with the second preview in the series, leading up to the actual TI4 event. This time, we get to see rosters for several teams and EK's thoughts on them, this time with a special North America focus.

Super Week ends and here's the conclusion: Alliance loses to Copenhagen Wolves, Millenium loses to Supa Hot Crew, Copenhagen Wolves turn around and lose to SK Gaming, Fnatic beats Alliance, and ROCCAT wins against Gambit Gaming. Season Standings continue with Alliance on top, and Fnatic and SK Gaming tied for second.

GGMaster

Farming creeps is a big part of Dota 2 and other MOBAs. Knowing what they are, and how and when to farm them is a big part of being successful in these games. Learn all about the different types of creeps you'll encounter in Dota 2 in this guide.

Not all skills in League of Legends are created equal, and some require more finesse than others. These abilities, called “skill shots,” have a larger learning curve than other skills in the game. This guide gives you a good idea on how to improve your use of these skills.

Without knowing the difference between card types in Hearthstone, putting together a deck worthy of taking into arenas can be challenging. Don't let dumb luck determine whether or not you'll win your battles! Put together a good deck with this guide and fall back on your skill.

Guild Wars 2 Hub

Gearing up in Guild Wars 2 has become a simple “Berserker is best and anything else is scrub” for PVE gear. Lee B decides to dive into the challenge of the meta gearing game and see if this mentality has become community superstition or if it really holds truth. In this article, gear types are analyzed, giving the good and the bad to decide on what the reality of the outcome is.

Achievements are great for completionists or people who just need something to do while they wait on their friends to all log in so they can band up and kill Big Bads together. Guild Wars 2 is no different, and getting through some of the game's long list of achievements need a hint or two. Rather than throwing yourself at a wall repeatedly like I do, skip straight to that “ohhhhh!” moment and let this guide help you get your goals towards completing Dry Top.

Now that you've completed your Dry Top achievements, it's time to move onto achievements for Gates of Maguuma. After you've completed the story the first time, you'll be able to access these elite achievements and work through them. Gates of Maguuma is the first story in Living World Season Two, which began earlier this week.

Not sure what treasures Maguuma holds for you? Lee B put together a reward and loot guide to follow along as you work your way through Season Two's first story, the Gates of Maguuma.


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

Last Updated: Mar 18, 2016

About The Author

Vendolyn's been playing MMOs since 1999, although Vendolyn in-game often becomes a long-term shelved alt. When she's not gaming, she's likely marathoning some questionable TV show or babbling about music to no end. She really likes goats.

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