Welcome to the 1,227th edition of Loading...

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

Word has it that the US Postal Service, despite cutbacks, hasn't shut down it's Nome, Alaska-based "Dear Santa" letter answering operation, so we'd like to have a word with the big man. Ten Ton Hammer's MMOG wishlist and much more in today's Loading... Dear Santa.

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We invited developers and premium members to post their MMO gaming wishes in "Letters to Santa." It should be both a fascinating look into the state of the industry and the direction at least some of our most avid fans and vocal developers want to see our little niche of computer gaming niche go in. We'll have our Letters to Santa preview available for premium members later today and it'll go public next week, but in the meantime I figured we might do our own Loading... Letter (or newsletter, as it were) to Santa.

Dear Santa,

2009 has been a fun year. We've seen a number of quality MMORPGs (if not WoW-breakers) released in Aion and Champions Online plus solid niche efforts like Fallen Earth and CitiesXL. That's not mentioning expansions ranging from well-intentioned (Warhammer Online's Call to Arms) to revolutionizing (LotRO's Siege of Mirkwood and EVE Online's Apocrypha and Dominion). Dungeons and Dragons even paved the way for sunset-ready subscription MMOs wishing to reinvent themselves. Sometimes the anticipation is as much fun as the title itself, and we've got Star Trek Online, Global Agenda, All Points Bulletin, WoW: Cataclysm, LEGO Universe, Star Wars: The Old Republic, EverQuest 2: Sentinel's Fate, Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer, Jumpgate Evolution, maybe even Guild Wars 2 and a rumored Aion expansion to look forward to in 2010, The periodic WoW 3.3 content updates leading to Arthas mean that our families will actually see us this holiday season, so thanks for telling your elves at Blizzard to pace that out.

But we have a few humble requests, Santa. First and foremost, endgame-oriented expansions are awesome for current players, but we'd love nothing more than a extra-special reason to dive back into games like Vanguard, EverQuest 2, Warhammer Online, Pirates of the Burning Sea, and Age of Conan... you know, games we knew had potential and might have finally lived up to it, but really never experienced the kind of new player resurgence so critical to keeping MMOs fresh. Please Santa, give us another reason or two to rediscover the fun of yesterday's subscription MMOs, and give us some critical mass to explore and group in the early game together.

DDO was on to something - new races and content alone can't do it, so how about more freemium opportunities, more scalability, more rewarding mentoring / sidekicking mechanics, and developer all-access pass opportunites? We'd love to get together a group of friends to check out how an MMO has evolved, but most of us can only get the crew together to play a night or two a week these days. A day-limited free trial just doesn't cut it. It's not that we're unwilling to pay to play or we want games controlled by microtransactions, we just can't afford to pay for a stable full of accounts that we're not playing on a daily basis. Maybe it's time for a return to the old days and Eastern ways of paying only for the time you're playing? The more decent payment options, the better!

Also, more min-spec friendliness among the latest MMOs. It's not that we don't want GPU cranking MMOs on par with anything in the console world, but this is no time to be thinking about upgrading our rig, and games that comfortably accommodate our current computer are appreciated.

If you could somehow ramp-up the beta for Star Trek Online, Jumpgate Evolution, APB, and maybe Cataclysm too, we'd appreciate it. What better way to spend the post-holiday daze and chilly nights than with next year's hottest games.

Ten Ton Hammer has been extra good this year, offering our viewers and Premium Members over 32 beta giveaways and prize giveaways with a total value in the thousands of dollars. We continue to be one of the few games media sites that doesn't show or make money from lucrative virtual currency advertisers and doesn't exploit volunteers to write or edit the nearly 2,500 articles our dedicated staff of 3 full-time editors and 15 paid contributing writers will produce this year. Times are tight for us and everyone, but thankfully our quality advertisers and Premium Members have stepped up to make premium independent MMORPG coverage a reality.

Thanks Santa, and don't forget to get yourself a little something from our Gifts for Gamers 2009 guide, or perhaps get yourself a Lifetime Ten Ton Hammer Premium Membership - it's the gift that keeps on giving!

Till next year,

Ten Ton Hammer

PS - Have more suggestions for our MMO gaming wishlist? Share them in the Loading... forum and keep warm this weekend!

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day



From our PC & Console Games Forum (Non-MMO)

Music game Question need help for PS3. RB2 or GHWT?

When
it comes to rocking out to music games which do you prefer--Rock Band 2
or Guitar Hero World Tour? OneEyeRed wants a little help with his
holiday shopping, so consider which game you think has the best
controls, the sweetest licks, and the most current songs and head over
to our PC & Console Games forum to share some advice.

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

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread


"I picked RB2 as I preferred the
peripherals for it, I find the GH ones to be cheap/flimsy/annoying. I
also find that I just flat out prefer the RB games (look/feel of the
note highway really)."

- Thansal
==============================



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

5 new Ten Ton Hammer MMOG
features today! 49 in December! 2,230 in
2009!



New Exclusives, Features, and Guides today at Ten Ton
Hammer

• EVE Online - Investing In A Battlecruiser Blueprint
  Investing in a judicious blueprint is the key to supplementing your EVE Online isk with passive income. This guide by Ten Ton Hammer Contributing Writer, Space Junkie, tells you how.
• Global Agenda PvE and Class Balance Video Q&A
  Todd Harris and Stew Chisam from Hi-Rez discuss Global Agenda's beta progress, the growth of PvE content, class balance, and much more in this gameplay footage-packed video Q&A exclusive to Ten Ton Hammer!
• World of Warcraft - Guide to the Pit of Saron
  The Pit of Saron is the second of three instances that make up the
  Frozen Halls in Icecrown Citadel.  It was added in the recent patch
  3.3 which added all of the Icecrown Citadel content to the game.  Join Byron "Messiah" Mudry as he walks you through the Pit of Saron.
• Aion Assassin PvE Gameplay Guide
  If you’ve chosen to play an Aion Assassin then you may have already discovered that this class is like having a high maintenance girl/boyfriend. Learn how to gear up, and keep the damage steadily flowing, and group effectively in this Assassin PvE Gameplay Guide.
• Champions Online : Canadian Wilderness Overview
  

The arctic land of the Canadian Wilderness zone in Champions Online combines the elements of high-tech villainy along with ancient evil represented by the various nether-demons attempting to free the ancient gods.Just make sure you’re wearing your winter clothes, eh?

Today's Hottest Content

1. WoW: Guide to the Pit of Saron
2. WoW: Icecrown
   Citadel 5-man Attunement Quest Line Walkthrough
3. WoW:
   Guide to the Forge of Souls
4. Global Agenda PvE and Class Balance Video Q&A
5. Ten Ton Hammer's
   Gifts for Gamers 2009
6. Champions
   Online Exclusive Nemesis Confrontation Q&A with Bill Roper
7. Building a Fleet
   - a Star Trek Online Q&A with Lead Programmer Stephen
   D'Angelo
8. Aion Assassin PvE Gameplay Guide
9. WoW:
   Patch 3.3 Released and Available for Download
10. Age of Conan
    - Update 6 Q&A with Craig Morrison

Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!

- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team