Welcome to the 944th Edition of Loading...

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The Pulse

First, you vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is Pulse?). Our City of Heroes & City of Villains because of a nifty exclusive CoX dev diary by Sr. Game Designer Bruce Harlick on Issue 13 mission design.

  1. Warhammer Online (UP 1)
  2. World of Warcraft (Down 1)
  3. Age of Conan
  4. City of Heroes (UP 32!!)
  5. City of Villains (UP 43!!)
  6. Star Wars: The Old Republic (down 2)
  7. Lineage 2 (down 4)
  8. EVE Online (down 1)
  9. Dungeons & Dragons Online
  10. Tabula Rasa (down 4)

Monthly Movers & Shakers

6. Star Wars: The Old Republic (new)
19. City of Heroes (UP 7)
13. Dungeons & Dragons Online (UP 2)


Daily Column

Loading... like the full-size candy bar in your trick-or-treat bag.

What makes a good holiday event? That's the question today as I deliver a rundown of the top Halloween holiday events, in no particular order. And, for those of you experiencing PTSD symptoms from a recent zombie-pocalypse, I've included a handy zombie threat level-o-meter.

  • City of Heroes / City of Villains (zombie threat level: limited to NPCs, runs through 11/2) - Collect temporary costumes in the franchise and go trick-or-treating through Paragon City and participate in new missions against old enemies and a special zombie zone event.
  • Lineage 2 - (zombie threat level: low, sticks expire 11/28) I'm not sure how you make a Mr. Pumpkin-Head creature look anime-tastic, but NCSoft pulled it off. The pumpkin transformation stick and 5 potions that fully restore vitality) are yours for the taking in your personal warehouse, so long as you're over level 20.
  • EverQuest 2 - (zombie threat level: limited, runs through 11/18) The most elaborate halloween event returns with three haunted houses spread throughout Norrath, special trick-or-treat costumes, and a surprise or two along the way. You might need a friend to pull off the HH runs, but willing allys shouldn't be in short supply.
  • EverQuest - (zombie threat level: Greater Faydark only, runs through 11/7) - Head to the Plane of Knowledge for a number of trick-or-treat activities, candy, and costumes. Six special Halloween quests are available throughout Norrath, two of which are brand new this year.
  • Warhammer Online - (zombie threat level: imminent, runs through 11/5) - The Witching Night offers a special public quest has been added in RvR areas for all 4 tiers, ghosts of the fallen appear on battlefields throughout the land, and players can interrupt the dark rites of witches scattered throughout the realms for a chance to pick up an one of four exclusive masks, a unique cloak, a new title, or unique potions.
  • World of Warcraft - (zombie threat level: diminishing, runs through 11/1) - Though overshadowed by a zombie infestation, WoW again celebrated Halloween in style, with candy buckets scattered around Azeroth, trick-or-treating in Orgrimmar and Ironforge, and special events in a number of Horde and Alliance towns promise a headless horseman appearance and stinkbomb-chucking battle. This year there's a number of special tie-ins to the new achievements system, so don't miss that!
  • EVE Online - (zombie threat level: none, unless you count frozen corpses and Amarr) - No events scheduled, but you could always make your own event by flying your freighter through a contested low security system or two yelling "TRICK OR TREAT!" and see what happens.

One other mentionable (though no longer available) was the Lord of the Rings Online's Harvest Festival (ended 10/12).

So what makes a worthwhile, memorable holiday event? Free easy-to-get consumables? Extra quests and content? A special twist on the zones you've gotten used to? What's been the most memorable Halloween holiday event for you? Share your thoughts in the Loading... forum or, as always, feel free to email me with your thoughts.


Ten Ton Hammer Epic Thread of the Day

Sometimes they're funny; sometimes they're foolish; sometimes they're flaming;
sometimes they're cool. Whatever this one happens to be, it's
our Epic Thread of the Day.

====================
From our News Discussion Forum

Is Mindfuse's Casual Gaming Community the next big thing?

We're calling Medeor's thread on the announcement of Mindfuse's Gatheryn an epic thread in the making. What is Gatheryn? It's a casual game set in a fantasy world powered by
steam. (No, not the game platform, real steam. Well, virtual steam. Ah,
hell! The hot...steamy
stuff.) And the goal isn't to beat up monsters and take away their
stuff, but to assume the roles of "Victorian themed characters as you
explore, socialize and quest your way through this amazing world."

Medeor, being the grumpy and pessimistic Ten Ton Hammer newsy that he is, reported on Mindfuse's announcement with his usual flair. "...casual gaming [is the] oxy moron of the decade," he says.
"When a company adds the suffix 'community' to casual gaming it almost
makes my head explode."

Can
a casual gaming community (without virtual violence) make it in today's
online gaming climate? Is Gatheryn Second Life in Victorian
clothing, or does it look more substantial? You be the judge. Speak up
in our news discussion forum.

Awesome Quote from the Epic Thread:

"Casual gamers are, by some definitions, people who play various games
periodically without a pattern or commitment. How do you create a
community around that? I heard the Peggle community is going to hold a
meeting as soon as two people join their forum
."
- Medeor
====================

Do you have a favorite Epic Thread? Let us know!

8 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 289 in October! 2789 in 2008!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]

Images/Video

Interviews

Dev Diarys

Features

Free-to-Play

Guides

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:

  1. Lineage II: Sex Sells! New Screenshots
  2. CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson on the Economy, FanFest 08
  3. City of Heroes: Designing the Issue 13 Missions - Power and Responsibility
  4. Age of Conan: Notoriety Combat and You
  5. Top 10 Free-to-Play Games
  6. Pirates of the Burning Sea: Swashbuckling and Derring-Do
  7. Florensia: Exclusive Gameplay Video
  8. Warhammer Online: Guild of the Week
  9. Age of Conan: Clan Interview - Know Thyself

Real World News

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 City of Villains 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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