Loading... Patching You In

Welcome to the 1,060th Edition of Loading...

Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

Loading... discusses the last two game updates in this already patch-heavy week with a look at Warhammer Online 1.2.1 and EVE Online Apocrypha 1.1. Plus, we have an exciting beta giveaway for Free Realms to tell you about, but you'll need to act fast to get your chance to win! That plus links to no less than 13 featured articles, guides, and giveaways to start your weekend right in today's Loading... Patching you in!

Need more newsletter? Play World of Warcraft? Jay "Medeor" Johnson's weekly WoW newsletter "The Overpull" comes out every Tuesday and keeps you entertained and informed on all the latest developments in WoW. Sign up!

The Pulse

You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is Pulse?).

Here's today's top 5 Pulse results for today:

Biggest Movers in the Top 20 today :

Asheron's Call (UP 91 to #19)
Lego Universe (UP 66 to #18)
Anarchy Online (UP 45 to #17)

Loading... Daily

After yesterday's Loading... a number of you wrote in and suggested I give Deadlands a whirl for an excellent western-themed campaign setting. Thanks for that tip, and I'll be consulting with the local nerd priest / hobby shop owner to get started this afternoon. That is, I'll consult after the obligatory "you should really try this high-priced pewter miniatures game complete with paints and primers made from rare earth minerals" spiel. I think I did my mini gaming reputation enough harm with a consummate devotion to cheap, pre-painted (gasp) plastic miniatures of the Axis & Allies line, but we'll see.

WoW unleashed patch 3.1 earlier this week and, not to be outdone, Warhammer Online saw its 1.2.1 patch go live and CCP released Apocrypha 1.1 EVE Online on Thursday. Click the links to read the lengthy patch notes.

With WAR's first total victory for Chaos last week, you'd expect that the RvR system would become a little more challenging to carve through, and you'd be correct. The keep upgrade system is aimed at making guild-owned keeps more defensible, as is a number of Capital Cities changes. Those assaulting a keep or city get a little bump in the form of trading up a new drop - "ordnance" - for improved siege weaponry. That's just the tip of the iceberg on these notes, so be sure to check out RadarX's much more complete report on the 1.2 patch notes.

Most gamers, myself included, would rather see 5 solid bug and exploit fixes than 5 new yet extremely buggy features. CCP has been on a mission to eradicate all bugs since Empyrean Age 1.1 last September, which was a monumental purge of hundreds of bugs. CCP continued their fine tradition with their first Apocrypha patch, which admittedly doesn't have much to offer in terms of completely new stuff. After the wave of free newness with Apocrypha, I'd personally be ashamed to ask for more. EVE's patch notes handily categorize the changes and highlight in green the most significant, so reading the patch notes won't dazzle you with bullet points as in previous patch note listings.

If the rugged PvP of EVE and WAR aren't really your cup of tea, I'll make a 180 just for you. Do you like cute games with a sense of humor, but wouldn't ever admit it to anyone? Do you have ADD? Free Realms might just be the game for you. We have a fairly limited number of Free Realms beta keys to give away by lottery over the weekend. We'll even pretend its only for your kids, so enter the giveaway here! As with all of our giveaways, Ten Ton Hammer premium members get an extra chance (or, in this case, 99 extra chances) to win.

Patches and free stuff, it's been a goo (if patience-testing) week for MMO gaming. Comments, thoughts, suggestions, complaints? Voice them in the Loading... forum, or send me an email!

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our Jumpgate Evolution Forum

Pie > Cake and all the rest

I know, I know...you're rolling your eyes and thinking, Seriously, Shay? A pie versus cake Epic Thread?

Yeah.
Deal with it. The folks in our Jumpgate Evolution Forum wanted to talk
pie and cake (and cheesecake) because, according to JGE fan
TakaoYamasaki, "...it's the most
important lesson that new pilots coming into JGE have to learn. It's
tradition."

Who am I to stop them? Next it'll be a pirates
versus ninjas versus robots thread (my vote is for pirates, because
pirates likely have sex a whole lot more often than either ninjas or
robots). As overdone as the topic may seem, this thread has definitely
developed an epic air about it. And, thanks to my own discriminating
palate, the thread also now has blitz torte. (That translates from
German to lightning cake. Seriously, how much cooler can you get?)

Come weigh in on the age-old debate!

==============================
Epic Quote from the Epic Thread

"You seem a little confused...

You
are championing cheesecake--which we have already established is in
fact a Pie with a silly name--yet seem to support the Cake faction over
the Pie faction. I guess I can understand a little dissilusionment in
the face of the lack of recognition that the cheesecake has had in the
Pie fraternity, but it is an oversight we are endeavouring to correct."

- Djarid
==============================

Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell us!

13 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 87 in April! 474 in 2009!

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

Features

Free Realms Beta Giveaway
In the Ten Ton Hammer Free Realms Beta Giveaway, you can enter to win a closed beta key for Free Realms. Help SOE shape the game by finding bugs for them to squash or pointing out which elements are the most fun. Give your input on what could improve the title or just play around with it and let your presence contribute to server stress tests. Whatever you do, make sure you don't miss this chance to say you were there when it all started.
Comic: Geeked - "Another Day at Work"
Ten Ton Hammer's very own satirical webcomic on all things geek-related back with the answer to life, the universe and everything... oh wait. Nope. It's just the 42nd issue of Geeked. Pirate Bill is back again, and holding up a game store for their booty. Be sure to catch up on any issues of Geeked you've missed by visiting our Comics Portal. Don't forget to rate your favorites while you're at it!
Loading... Live #11 - Vooncast Dev Chat with Paul Barnett
Creative Director Paul Barnett joined our eleventh Loading... Live vooncast from Game Developer's Conference 2009 a little over two weeks ago, though not in a Warhammer Online capacity. Instead, Paul delivered his impressions on this year's low-key event and what game developers in general (and MMO designers in particular) need to do to succeed moving forward.
From the Page to Your PC - 4 book series that would make great MMORPGs
Money is tight for everyone right now and the MMOG investors of the world are no exception. Companies are bound to be leery of pouring vast sums of cash into an unproven property so snagging the rights to an established franchise will continue to be the route most teams will go. Bookshelves across the world are overflowing with exceptional realms of fantasy waiting to be put to code, so what's everyone waiting for? In this week's Forever Fantasy, Dalmarus takes a look at some of the fantasy series that should be turned into MMOGs sooner rather than later.
Champions Online PvP - Keep on fighting till the end!
Developing quality PvP for any MMO game isn't a bed of roses, but there's a huge possibility that - if done right - a quality PvP experience could bring in a large batch of users for the title. So what do the developers at Cryptic Studios need to do to ensure that Champions Online's PvP is up to snuff? That's the question that Cody Bye tried to answer in this week's In the Trenches. Check it out!
WAR Update 1.2 - Mythic Keeps on Patching
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has been out for quite a few months but that hasn't slowed Mythic down a bit. In a major patch hitting today, huge additions will be made to the Keep system, combat, and plenty more. What do WAR players have in store for them and how will it affect the overall gameplay in RvR? We take a look at the patch highlights to let you know.
WoW - Joana's Leveling Guide Reviewed
Every guide claims to be the fastest and the best, but which one really IS the best, and which ones are just cheap scams? We intend to find out. After we've reviewed them all, we'll have a comparison to see exactly which leveling guide reigns supreme. Today, David Piner takes a look at Joana's paid leveling guide.

Guides

EVE Online - Guide to Ship Types
Ships are the armor and gear for your EVE Online characters and just as with gear in most games, there is a wide variety available. So how do you know what ship is best suited to you? Knowing your basics is a good start! Learned about the various types of ships, what they do, and other vital information in our newly revamped EVE Ship Guide.
WoW - PvP Basics for the Druid
Finally decided to stand up for yourself and kick the opposing faction in the teeth, eh? Well have no fear! Your druid is pretty amazing in many aspects of PvP and a potent weapon if used correctly. We will get more in depth in future articles about the nuts and bolts of PvP in WoW, but for now lets take a quick overview.
WoW - PvP Basics for the Rogue
You ’ve killed a hundred different bosses in innumerable instances, slain every conceivable creature that walks on
two or four (or as many as eight!) legs, and now you’re getting bored.
What’s a bloodthirsty rogue to do? Well, the answer is…… (Cue booming
cool oice)….you now hunt the greatest prey of all…..night elves…or
tauren….or orcs! That’s right, other players!
WoW - PvP Basics for the Shaman
Over the past three months, we’ve discussed many facets of the Shaman lifestyle. Hopefully some folks have made it to eighty and been getting some gear and experience playing their Shaman. You’ve logged countless hours (well unless you type /played) of game time getting to this point. Most likely you’ve only battled in PvE environment which has a certain challenge. It’s time to take that training and practice and dish out some punishment against you fellow gamers!
WoW - PvP Basics for the Warrior
Playing a warrior in PvP well is an art, and one or two wrong moves can lead to you being feared, controlled, thrown off a cliff, or otherwise humiliated. Our place in PvP is the same place it is in PvE, and that's right on top of them. Staying in that range is half the battle!
WoW - PvP Basics for the Warlock
Quick reactions and big nukes aren't the only things you need for good PvP. Find out what you need to know in this guide before your next match to make sure you got it all.

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

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 EVE Online Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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