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On this special bonus episode, Justin catches up with Richard Garriott and Starr Long about Ultima Online's spiritual successor, Shroud of the Avatar. How is this project shaping up now that it's nearing launch? Listen and find out! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Geocaching What is Shroud of the Avatar? How do you retrain players to this type of game? How did May's free trial program go? Can you clarify the rollout? Why not do a wipe right before launch? What's the status on the offline mode? How will that work for grouping? What are the paths? Are you still aiming for a five-episode rollout? How big is an episode? When is optimization coming? How many scenes are in the game? How are you going to promote and hype the launch? Player investments Why a spiritual successor? Outro Other info: Po

On this week’s show, Justin sits down with Ashes of Creation's Steven Sharif to talk about the game's successful Kickstarter, handling a wild community, and the next steps for this up-and-coming sandbox MMORPG. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so.   Show notes: Intro What is Ashes of Creation? What do you like best about some other MMOs you've played? What's the office environment like there at Intrepid? Why was this Kickstarter such a success? What did you learn from the Kickstarter process? Why did the web store take so long to start up? Will the store post totals? Why no stretch goals? Will there be continued fundraising? Have you done anything to mitigate complaints about the affiliate system? How much of the game is playable right now? Will we start getting blog posts again? How do you time nodes so they don't

On this week’s show, Justin and Bree talk about FFXIV: Stormblood's early access launch, Destiny 2's PC delay, Elder Scrolls Online's next DLC drops, breaking up the trinity in MMOs, and more! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: Sims 4, FFXIV, LOTRO, Elder Scrolls Online News: FFXIV sounds the starting pistol to Stormblood News: Destiny 2 is coming out on PC in late October, won't see PS4 exclusives until next year News: BioWare's Anthem makes waves News: Bless Online will be released here after all News: Elder Scrolls Online's next DLC revealed News: LOTRO's secret anniversary quest Mailbag: Fencing in MMOs Mailbag: Better patch numbering? Mailbag: Non-combat progression systems Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Stormblood Menu Theme" from FFXIV Your show hosts: Bree

On this week’s show, Justin and Bree talk about the huge revelation of Cryptic's Magic: The Gathering MMO, the premature demise of Bless Online, World of Warcraft's new launch, and more. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: A summer malaise  News: Cryptic announces Magic: The Gathering MMO News: Fractured is revealed News: Aeria Games drops Bless Online from western release News: World of Warcraft Patch 7.2.5 is rolling out this Tuesday News: Secret World Legends announces headstart, widens beta News: Wild West Online sells early bird packages Mailbag: Managing inventory Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Salty Sailor" from World of Warcraft Your show hosts: Bree and Justin Listen to Massively OP Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, TuneIn, Google Play, and Pocket Cas

On this week's show, Justin and Bree welcome summer by talking about SWTOR's roadmap, Black Desert's amazing Steam debut, and a troubling Shroud of the Avatar announcement, as well as a mailbag question about casual gaming. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: FFXIV, Marvel Heroes, Elder Scrolls Online News: SWTOR's summer road map News: Ashes of Creation ends Kickstarter at $3.27M News: Lots of FFXIV: Stormblood coverage News: Neverwinter's Tomb of Annihilation update News: Shroud of the Avatar's July launch News: Black Desert does very well on Steam Mailbag: Casual gaming Badge update Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Kariela's Song" from Shroud of the Avatar Your show hosts: Bree and Justin Listen to Massively OP Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, TuneIn, Google

When does Final Fantasy become, well, final? It's probably not going to end with Final Fantasy XIV, which shows every intention of outlasting all of us as long as it keeps pumping out Moogle plushies and Hildebrand quests. On the show today, Eliot lends his FFXIV expertise on the next step of this saga. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: FFXIV, FFXI, Neverwinter, World of Warcraft News: Secret World Legends talks about its F2P model News: LOTRO signs back on Chance Thomas to score Mordor News: Alternative server rulesets launch in EverQuest and Allods Online, while RIFT mulls challenge server News: Black Desert releases on Steam Mailbag: Role homogenization (FFXIV blog post) Mailbag: PvP pay-to-win Mailbag: Marvel Heroes overreaction? Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "

Just when you think the MMO industry is predictable, it jukes and jags all over the place, tossing out surprises left and right in an attempt to shake you off its tail (or to pull you in, we haven't decided on that one yet). Marking one of the most unpredictable news weeks of 2017, Bree and Justin ride out westerns, space operas, and fantasies with aplomb. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: SWTOR, Dreamfall Chapters, Ultima Online News: Morrowind launches head start News: Crowfall reveals class/race choices, graphical improvements News: Wild West Online kills Kickstarter plans News: Destiny 2 details revealed News: Funcom has a great quarter, offers free Age of Conan boosts News: Star Citizen crosses $150M in crowdfunding Mailbag: Dating in MMOs Outro Other info: Podca

Kind of a weird and fascinating week for MMOs, as an expansion has a legal showdown with a charity, a western MMO is announced, and Vvardenfell decided to come to us two weeks early. Is the industry shaping up for the most explosive June on record? It might just be! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: Warframe, Guild Wars 2, ARK, Conan Exiles, EverQuest 2, The Secret World, LOTRO News: Wild West Online announced News: RIFT: Starfall Prophecy changes its name News: Secret World Legends gets June 26th launch date News: Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind gets a two-week head start News: TERA pushes out Velik's Fate Mailbag: Getting back into MMOs Mailbag: Marvel Heroes guild Mailbag: F2P MMO recommendations Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Wild Wild West" by Will Smith Your s

Is Ashes of Creation destined to be the Kickstarter event of the year? Today on the 'cast, Bree and Justin talk about this crowdfunding tsunami, several MMO patches, a superhero preview, and even a launch. It was a busy week! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, Marvel Heroes, Ultima Online News: Ashes of Creation weathers first week of Kickstarter News: Blizzard's Q1 2017 financials News: Darkfall: Rise of Agon launches News: Guild Wars 2 starts talking expansion News: Marvel Heroes' 2017 plans Mailbag: How satisfied are we with these plans? News: WildStar drops 1.7.1, Neverwinter is go for Shroud of Souls Mailbag: Parched on sandboxes Update on Patreon and badges Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Pub Tune" from Ultima Online Your show hosts: Bree a

Face it: No matter how hard you train, no matter how many voice coaches you hire, no matter how much you spend on expensive recording equipment, you can never be a legendary podcaster. Legendary podcasters are born once in a century, and the Massively OP Podcast has two of them on staff. It just so happens that they've been missing for the past 114 shows. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: Guild Wars 1, Kingdom of Loot, City of Heroes News: Ashes of Creation kicks off Kickstarter  News: Guild Wars 2 announces Flashpoint episode, legendary armor News: Star Trek Online escalates things News: Final Fantasy XIV expansion live letter News: Neverwinter claims 15M players News: World of Warcraft breaks addon to fix performance Mailbag: Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Live

What does a week where the news douses us in a shower of smaller stories look like? Bree and Justin wring out of their clothes, shaking loose tales of metropolises in the planning, console features, anniversary parties, and dance studios. Maybe it won't flood the world of MMOs, but it definitely waters the lawns of our interest! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: LOTRO, Guild Wars 2, World of Warcraft News: Ashes of Creation shows its metropolis News: What's Carbine Studios up to? News: Marvel Heroes console has local coop, starts beta test News: World of Warcraft gets all dancey News: LOTRO's 10th anniversary News: Project Gorgon's graphical upgrade Mailbag: Why should we care about Trove? Paragon Chat party! Mailbag: Why are MMOs getting away from pets? Outro Other i

Do you want to date my space avatar? She's a star and she's hotter than a supernova by far. Or maybe you're a loony tooner? What's the socially acceptable way to reference your character in an MMORPG without coming across like some weirdo from another gaming era? Bree and Justin will devote their lives to figuring out this question. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so.   Show notes: Adventures in MMOs: Guild Wars 2, LOTRO, Trove News: TERA brings in the Valkyrie News: Elite Dangerous adds avatars, suffers rollback News: World of Warcraft previews Patch 7.2.5 News: Star Citizen posts development roadmap News: WildStar's state of the game News: Sub-classes for Trove? Mailbag: Making MMO content accessible Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Turnabout" from TERA Your show hosts: Bree and Justin Listen to Massive

Since it takes a superheroic effort to put on a podcast every week -- so many words! so many Star Wars Galaxies references! -- Bree and Justin consider themselves in equal company with this week's superhero news and discussion. From Ship of Heroes to Marvel Heroes to City of Heroes, it's 300% of your RDA of spandex in one hour! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Adventures in MMOs: LOTRO, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2 News: Marvel Heroes announces console edition News: Ship of Heroes' short Kickstarter bid News: SWTOR gets ready for its first raid in two years News: Starting to get a look at Secret World Legends News: Black Desert has a whole lot planned for this year News: EVE Fanfest Mailbag: Dressing up Mailbag: Hope for City of Heroes successor? Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Freedom Co

Justin goes away to Disney for a week and the MMO world explodes with news, which is to be expected. From a controversial reboot to a controversial superhero return to a controversial patch, there's no shortage of ruffled feathers and quirked eyebrows at this past week's news roundup! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Adventures in MMOs: LOTRO, Guild Wars 2, Paragon Chat News: April Fools pranks News: Secret World Legends reboot Mailbag: Secret World Legends News: World of Warcraft Patch 7.2 and item scaling controversy News: Destiny 2 announced News: Goodbye Club Penguin News: RIFT's Patch 4.1 rolls out Mailbag: Asheron's Call guilds Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Untold Legends" from Destiny Your show hosts: Bree and Justin Listen to Massively OP Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, T

Join us in welcoming today Citadel Studios' Project Lead Derek Brinkmann from Legends of Aria (née Shards Online) for an hour-long interview about the game's rebranding, new MMO focus, and upcoming alpha tests! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Interview with Legends of Aria's Derek Brinkmann PAX East Ultima Online Legends of Aria elevator pitch Solving the open PvP problem Why change from Shards Online? Testing schedule Financials Skill-based MMOs What does your work day look like? The community Private shards The game world and story What do you enjoy playing? Going incognito Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Trailer Theme" from Shards Online Your show hosts: Justin Listen to Massively OP Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, TuneIn, Google Play, and Pocket Casts Follow Massively Overpowered: We

Roll for initiative! Bree and Justin are getting all kinds of nerdy with this week's show, in which they talk about Dragon-people, the return of a long-abandoned sci-fi game, a momentous anniversary, and the viability of sandbox MMOs. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so.   Show notes: Adventures in MMOs: Wizard101, World of Warcraft, LOTRO, Guild Wars 2 Site: Our PAX Awards News: DDO releases the Dragonborn race News: The Repopulation comes back online News: EverQuest turns 18 News: Eternal Crusade goes free-to-play News: Pathfinder Online's one-year plan Mailbag: Funcom's new game? Mailbag: Viability of sandboxes Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Tavern 1" from DDO Your show hosts: Bree and Justin Listen to Massively OP Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, TuneIn, Google Play, and Pocket Casts Follow Mas

As Massively OP is on the scene at PAX East this year, we've got plenty of juicy news and interviews to discuss on the show! What game is coming to console this year? What secret is Eliot hiding? What MMO just got a name change? Find out in today's episode! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Listen to the show right now:   Show notes: Intro: PAX East coverage News: Shards Online becomes Legends of Aria News: TERA is officially coming to console News: Trove's console edition News: FFXIV interview News: Dauntless News: Kritika Online News: Conan Exiles Mailbag: Why don't western MMOs look as good as eastern MMOs? Mailbag: Permadeath possibilities Outro Other info: Download Episode 108 Podcast theme: "A Savage Beauty" from TERA Your show hosts: Eliot and Justin Listen to Massively OP Podcast on iTunes, Stitch

This week on the show, Justin and Bree celebrate a couple of hearty MMO updates, empathize over a pair of titles getting maintenance moded (is that a phrase?), and reunite with Raph Koster in his latest crafting efforts. It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so.   Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: World of Warcraft, Torment, Guild Wars 2 News: Black Desert brings out the Dark Knight News: Age of Conan and Anarchy Online get maintenance moded News: WildStar's Primal Matrix update and free level 50s News: Darkfall Rise of Agon is launching in May News: Path of Exile's Patch 2.6 News: Revelation Online's soft launch Mailbag: Differences between console and PC fanbases Mailbag: Mount and armor conformity Outro Other info: Podcast theme: "Grist for the Mill" from WildStar Your show hosts: Bree and Justin Listen to

Call this episode "tangent city," because it doesn't take much to send Bree and Justin down conversational rabbit holes! From discussing why Champions Online failed to pick up City of Heroes' refugees to going on epic rants against gankboxes, you'll need a flow chart and a five-dimensional mind to follow all of the topics of today's show. Good luck! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: LOTRO, Elder Scrolls Online, Guild Wars 2, Crowfall, The Secret World News: The Secret World announces relaunch News: Landmark goes dark News: Our look into Elder Scrolls Online's expansion News: Albion Online is launching in July News: Guild Wars 2's skill balancing patch News: Ship of Heroes' upcoming Kickstarter Champions Online side topic Mailbag: ESO and lobotomies Outro Other info: P

This week saw one of the biggest MMO industry shakeups in recent memory, with big-name developers leaving long-term posts and Amazon giving Smedley a shot at redemption. Add in revelations about two major upcoming expansions, and it's all we can do to bottle up the news and deliver it to you before it explodes all over the place! It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so. Show notes: Intro Adventures in MMOs: LOTRO, FFXIV, WildStar News: Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood reveals oh-so-many details News: Path of Exile reveals Fall of Oriath, starts up legacy league News: Skyforge is coming to PlayStation 4 News: Smedley joins up with Amazon Game Studios News: Emily Taylor leaves Daybreak and Daniel Dociu leaves ArenaNet Mailbag: Level scaling blues Mailbag: Finding a game like Guild Wars 1 Outro Other info: Podcast th