MMORPG News: Project Eternal, Project C, WoW Classic, Lost Ark, A:IR, Caravan Stories & More

Hot off the success of their recent Re:Build update, the team behind Tree of Savior released their next update that introduced 11 new zones, an increased level cap up to level 420 and most importantly: Four additional classes.
Accompanying the large update were various in-game events that players are able to participate in but I know you’re gonna be testing out the new classes. Everyone loves new classes. New races, too.
So if you haven’t already, then now’s a fantastic time to test the game out.

Age of Conan just turned 11 this month! With another year gone by comes another anniversary celebration. The event provides players with a new mount and pet as one of the daily login rewards that ends on May 30th.
Making a return are the Acheronian Soul and Shadows of the Past quests that provide rewards upon completion.
While Age of Conan itself is still pretty much void of any and all updates, it’s nice to come back and enjoy the game every so often.

In more somber news, Mabinogi, the somehow-still-alive sandbox MMO from Nexon has server merges planned: Mari, Ruairi and Tarlach will all be merged into a single server, henceforth called Nao.
The reason behind the merges was stated as being to keep the population and environment healthy, but it’s also likely due to the cost of having 4 dead servers online outweighing any gain.
Their goal is likely to provide incentive for new players to spread out to another server, since Alexina is the primary server housing the majority of the playerbase.

I feel like we should have a monthly segment solely for RIFT. Gamigo have taken every opportunity to milk the game as much as possible while simultaneously destroying what remains of it.
While server merges aren’t necessarily a bad thing as they help dead servers come alive – bringing the remnants of dead servers together, the reality of it is that the game is so dead that they’re trying to group everyone together to cut costs for as long as possible before shuttering the doors to everyone.
RIFT in question is having several of its servers merged together in an effort to combat this, and the PvP server is being removed all together.
Granted the open-world PvP server was pointless, it’s a shame to see it go the way of TERA’s PvP servers.

This may be of interest to some of you, especially since there were a lotta people that enjoyed Alchemia Story. I know a lot of you hate Mobile MMOs but don’t skip this.
Asobimo, the leading Mobile MMORPG developer out of Japan, yes, Japan, not South Korea, has taken Project Eternal into Closed Beta earlier this week.
Asobimo MMOs are generally considered “the only MMORPGs worth playing on Mobile devices” so if you’re in the market for an actual MMORPG on mobile devices, this may be what you’re after.

Now for news that could break the entire MMO genre.. at least for a few months, Blizz announced that World of Warcraft Classic will be launching on August 27th.
A small-scale beta begun earlier this week allowing a select few players – or, streamers, moreso, to participate.
The general consensus was that it was a lot of fun and has piqued a whole lot of interest from fans wanting that old, nostalgic feel of Classic WoW back in their lives.
I know there are quite a substantial amount of people interested in Classic, and I use the word “interested” here as opposed to “anticipating”, because remember, nostalgia is a tricky thing.
We’ll have to see exactly how well WoW Classic does. Are you looking forward to it?

Lost Ark’s Russian publisher has just announced the release of their Founder’s Packs.
While various items listed were Russian, a language I’m unable to understand, it is worth noting that the game will continue to release as a free-to-play MMORPG.. at an undisclosed date.
No ETA is given on either the game’s release or even when the Closed Beta will take place, but purchasing a Founder’s Pack will ensure you access to the Closed Beta whenever it happens.
Still no word on a Western release, though.

Yes, I’m not kidding. As of right now, the game is title “Project C.”
While Darewise Entertainment, the team behind Project C have yet to officially name the game, that hasn’t stopped them from making enough progress to warrant an Alpha test.
If you’re interested in signing up for the Alpha test then you can use the following link to apply.
The game is being described as a “massively multiplayer persistent open world” game that allows you to join clans, build societies and explore a large, abandoned planet.

If you didn’t get into the Thai version of A:IR then don’t fret, South Korea is releasing the game into Closed Beta next month. Registrations for the game will be available beginning May 29th and will last until June 16th.
I’ve played through some of the game already and will have a deeper look into it next week sometime, so keep an eye out if you’re interested.
Or, alternatively, go check the current A:IR video out and see if it piques your interest.

Mad World, an MMO that I’m highly anticipating just finished its first Alpha test but is already moving along with its second Alpha, accepting applications between the 22nd and 27th of May.
Do note that the game is still under an NDA so even if you make it in, you won’t be allowed to share anything.

Even though MapleStory 2’s population has seen a steep decline, Nexon have announced a new Awakening expansion introducing a new set of Job Skills for players to master, 13 new dungeons to combat your way through, Chaos raids and new challenges.
The classes available in MapleStory 2 were quite limited comparatively to the original MapleStory, but as MapleStory releases new classes regularly, it looks as though MapleStory 2 is following suit.
So if you were bored due to a lack of end-game content, skipped the game because you felt it was lacking substance, or just.. Iunno. Chose not to play it until a later date, this might be it!
Now’s your chance to get in-game and play!

World of Kings, the upcoming Mobile MMORPG will be going into Open Beta at the end of this month.
It’s.. a Mobile MMORPG, so I don’t really need to elaborate on it any further than that but suffice it to say, I’ll definitely be covering it on my mobile channel so if you’re interested on how it fares as an MMO, stop by and take a look.

When the team behind the incredibly popular Anime MMO Caravan Stories confirmed a Western release last month I was ecstatic.
The game is incredibly beautiful and I’ve wanted to play it for a long while now. The game is slated to release into Open Beta on July 16th on PS4 and PS4 only.
I’ll admit, I’ve never played a console MMO so this’ll be a new experience for me. I might need to buy a second TV and PS4 just so my wife MrsStix can play with me.
I’m not kidding though, outside of Shadowbringers, this is the most exciting MMO-related news for me this year.

This is a two-parter. Lineage II has an update that adds new raid weapons, armor and a brand new boss to the game.
NCSoft have also stated that they are overhauling the entire 1 to 85 leveling experience so that it’s completable within a 48hr window.
Additionally, and possibly the most disconcerting feature added is the “automatic hunting system,” a feature that will automate various parts of the game such as auto-consumables, auto-looting and monster targeting to name a few.
Lineage II Classic however has the Secret of the Empire update that adds various raids, S-grade armor, weapons, and more.

Final Fantasy XI – the predecessor to Final Fantasy XIV celebrated 17 years being online as of May 16th. Nothing was really done in the way of celebration but they did finally release a long-awaited feature: An all-in-one launcher.
The new launcher will provide everything condensed into a single launcher to make for an easier experience for new players looking to begin their journey through Vana’diel.
Some of you might not see the point in this but fans of the game have been eagerly awaiting this for a long, long time.