Welcome to the 817th Edition of Loading...

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Daily Column

Loading... putting the massive in massively multiplayer.

First, the Ten Ton Pulse, your finger on the beating heart of the MMOG industry.

If the Top 10 isn't enough, we now show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)

1. Age of Conan - 200 BPM
2. World of Warcraft - 48 BPM
3. Lord of the Rings Online - 16 BPM
4. EverQuest 2 - 15 BPM
5. Lineage 2 - 12 BPM
6. Warhammer Online - 11 BPM
7. Vanguard - 9 BPM
8. EVE Online - 9 BPM
9. Guild Wars - 8 BPM
10. Tabula Rasa - 6 BPM

We're nearing the end of our supply of Age of Conan Beta keys. If you would like one this is probably your last chance to win. Direct from Danny, the contest guru,

This looks to be it folks--the last of the Age of Conan Closed Beta keys that Ten Ton Hammer can get. Editor-in-Chief John "Boomjack" Hoskin has worked tirelessly to bring as many chances as possible to win for Ten Ton Hammer faithful. Don't miss this opportunity.

If Age of Conan doesn't float your boat then perhaps NeoSteam does?

Ten Ton Hammer has teamed with JoyImpact Co., Ltd to bring you a shot at one of 200 Closed Beta keys for NeoSteam, a free-to-play massively-multiplayer online game that dares to be different. The world survives on NeoSteam, a unique source of power used to operate machines and airships. For its innovation, NeoSteam debuted at #6 on Ten Ton Hammer's Top Ten Free-to-Play Games last week! Now you can test the game and see what it's all about!

The beta giveaway for NeoSteam is right here!

Already hooked on World of Warcraft and avoiding all beta offers? Our WoW CMs feel the same way and are offering up the love on the edge of their daggers in the current Arena Tournament.in this exclusive and shocking look into the current $200,000 arena tournament. OK, it's not really shocking. Our guys don't expect to win the tournament, but maybe you do. Is the tournament worth your money?

I got owned in the arena when I first started my foray into the adrenaline filled world of PvP in a box. I wasn't geared very well. I wasn't experienced in PvPing in a tiny area and I wasn't even remotely ready for the tactics that would be thrown at me. Times change. I geared my druid up in the battlegrounds and now sport a nearly full purple (epic) set of gear. My heals are now far stronger than they were when I started and now I'm the guy that's nearly impossible to kill. True, Druids are built for 2v2 and 3v3 arena. We can get out of harm's way, heal on the move and throw crowd control into the mix. As a restoration druid I couldn't kill a slug with a shotgun, but likewise killing me is a trial in frustration.

My choice of class was fortunate. If I had chosen a Shaman I may not be having as much fun, which leads to a question.

Why are players asked to make the most game changing decision possible before they are allowed to experience the game? The decision of which class to play defines how a player sees and experiences a game. Sure there are games without classes, but is there a way to deliver a class based game without forcing a player down a path of no return? Was Tabula Rasa's cloning system an epiphany or a gimmick?

I rambled, now it's your turn. The The Loading... forums await you. Do you feel the need to contact me personally with naughty pictures or derogatory comments? Here's my E-mail.

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13 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 243 in April! 995 in 2008!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

Ten Ton Hammer @ NY ComicCon 08

• 38 Studios Presentation
• Warhammer Online: Presentation Video (Extended for Premium Members)
• EVE Online: Ben Mathis on Ambulation
• Interview with the 38 Studios team
• MMOG Developer Panel - Part 1
• MMOG Developer Panel - Part 2
• EVE Online: Faction Warfare Q&A video with Matt Woodward
• Warhammer Online: Devs Pre-event Q&A video
• Dungeons & Dragons 4th Ed @ NYC ComicCon
• Warhammer Online: (Video) Dir. of Community Relations Bob Mull

Images/Video

• NeoSteam: Six New Screenshots
• Zu Online: New Screenshots
• Chronicles of Spellborn: PEP System Explained

Interviews

• NCsoft: VP of marketing David Reid
• Age of Conan: Joe 'Adus' Hegarty, AI Designer

Beta

• Age of Conan: Beta Key Wave 3 (Last Batch!!!)
• NeoSteam: Closed Beta Key Giveaway

Community

• Age of Conan: Clan Soup #7
• Warhammer Online: Guild of the Month

Contests

• World of Warcraft: Ten Ton Hammer in the Arena Tournament

Op/Eds

• World of Warcraft: Is the Arena PvP Tournament Worth Your Money?

Guides

• Lord of the Rings Online: Resource Gathering

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to

1. Age of Conan: Beta Key Wave 3 (Last Batch!!!)
2. 38 Studios Presentation
3. World of Warcraft: Is the Arena PvP Tournament Worth Your Money?
4. NCsoft: VP of marketing David Reid
5. Age of Conan: Joe 'Adus' Hegarty, AI Designer
6. Coyote Sharptongue: At the Bosom of the World's End
7. Warhammer Online: Presentation Video (Extended for Premium Members)
8. Interview with the 38 Studios team

Real World News

• Florida moves to ban fake truck testicles [Courtesy of Bill P.!]
  
  Real testicles still OK
• Floridians throw mullets into Alabama
  
  Tomorrow's event - the Faux-hawk Toss
• Gay porn found on child's DVD
  
  Mommy, why isn't Batman wearing pants?
  
  
  
  
  
  

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com. Thanks to Phil Comeau for doing the heavy lifting with the links, headlines and taglines!

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team