MMORPG News: Blue Protocol Beta, Astellia Beta 2, TERA 2: Classic, Kingdom Under Fire 2, Bless Unleashed

We’ll start this off with possibly the best, and worst news this week.
On the positive side, Kingdom Under Fire 2 – after 11 whole years has finally been confirmed to be releasing in the West.
On the negative side, Gameforge is the publisher that is opting to publish it over here, the very same company responsible for ruining every single title they have.
Content has long since stopped over in South Korea as it shut down years ago, so what we’ll get is very limited, but nevertheless, those of us that have been waiting for 11 years will finally be able to play it.
Gameforge are likely attempting to cash in on a long-since-dead MMO like they have in the past and this is all I believe this release is, honestly, but I think we can still enjoy it for the most part.
At least for a short while. The game is confirmed to be releasing this year.

If you didn’t skip this at the first sight of the title then this might interest you.
Closed Beta 4 began on July 11th and will be running until July 15th for Bless Unleashed so if you got a closed beta key and wanna see what the game’s like then make sure you get in!
Surprisingly, I’ve heard good things about the game from people I follow on Twitter. But then again, I heard good things about Bless Online from their press conference as well way back when.
So do take the positive comments with a grain of salt for the time being until you get to see the game for yourself at launch, but have fun testing out the beta at the same time.

Aion, the Gameforge version not the NCSoft version is preparing their 7.0 update.
The update brings quite a few things with it: The new land of Dumaha, which is accessible via teleporting from Lakrum. New Siege Battles for people that are invested in PvP.. which is most of Aion’s playerbase, honestly.
The Gold Arena is making a return – which is another form of PvP, and there are tons of new transformation items to collect and use.
The update itself was originally slated for a July 10th release but has since been pushed back to July 24th. So if you’re wanting for things to do in Aion, at least in Europe, then you won’t for much longer.

So Dual Universe is currently still under an NDA but that hasn’t stopped them from uploading various trailers for the game.
Accompanying new footage was the announcement that they would be kicking off their second stage of Alpha testing, bringing with it a variety of changes and features.
One of which involves you being able to leave your ship and float around space in zero-g which is pretty sick.
Currently, the game lacks any kind of combat I believe but they’re working on padding the game with content before introducing combat, PvP and more.

Blue Protocol, one of my most anticipated MMOs now has an Alpha test going live this month. Yup – this soon after being announced.
The new action-oriented PC MMORPG is being crafted using Unreal Engine 4 and shares some resemblances to Project BBQ – a lot of people have noticed.
Alpha testing – well, closed Alpha testing will be beginning in Japan only from July 26th until July 28th.
There is no confirmed global Alpha tests going on or even planned right now, and only 5,000 Japanese players will be able to get in to the game to test it.
There are 4 classes currently slated for playability during the Alpha: The Aegis Fighter, Blast Archer, Spell Caster and Twin Striker.

Dragon Nest doesn’t get much in the way of updates anymore, especially since it launched its mobile port. But here we are, the second half of 2019 talking about an update the PC version is getting.
Well, the South Korean version, anyway. But I’m sure the other versions won’t be too far behind. What was introduced was the new Vena Plaga class, and she looks pretty adorable.
Yes, that’s kind of it, but at least we’re still getting Dragon Nest updated, right?

It’s a pretty big week for updates it would seem.
Albion Online received its next large update titled Percival on the 10th. This marks the games seventh major update since it launched originally way back in 2017.
In an attempt to further expand their already large open world, Percival is introducing new randomized dungeons for solo players that aim to offer unique experiences every time they’re run.
Additionally, players will gain access to a large variety of new customization options such as new beards, hairstyles, and face options.
A full list of features will be available on their website for interested players.

This is news that I know is going to pique a lot of interest from you guys. As you know, there already exists an MMO set within the Lord of the Rings world: Lord of the Rings Online.
However, last year it was announced that a new Lord of the Rings MMO would begin being worked on.
This week we got further clarification on that, when Amazon Game Studios, which recently shut down its New World alpha test that has been constantly online for.. like, ever, revealed they would be working on it.
A brand new Lord of the Rings MMO set before the events of Lord of the Rings Online. The game will be launching cross-platform but unfortunately won’t tie in with the new TV series being produced by Amazon.
There is currently no planned release date, or news of any upcoming Alphas or Betas but if there’s any word on it you’ll know where to find out about it first. From me. I’m saying you’ll find out about it from me.

Kakao Games had announced last month that it would be bringing a brand new TERA MMORPG to mobile devices, titled “TERA Classic.”
I’ve done a segment on this in the past, discussing the difference between TERA M and all of the other TERA mobile ports but as of right now I just want to inform everyone that if you’re interested in TERA Classic – a mobile port that is attempting to recreate the PC game in mobile form then they’re currently holding pre-registration for the game.
Not much in the way of information pertaining to the game or gameplay have been revealed other than it’ll feature the same action combat present in the PC game and be set 20 years before it.
From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t look or play nearly as good as the PC version though, unlike Black Desert Mobile which looks amazing.

Who here is old enough to remember The Land Before Time? Because I remember it quite fondly.
RuneScape’s newest update – and it’s quite a large update at that, brings with it a brand new mysterious island to explore filled with all of Littlefoot’s friends.. if they were horribly, horribly mutated and bloodthirsty.
There’s a lot added with this patch, far too much to go over here but to quickly summarize.. you get lots of shit. And there are tons of dinosaurs ready to ravage your body.

This is an update a lot of you guys DM’d me about. Why? Because it brings with it the brand new Gith race – something you’ve been excited for for a while now.
Not only that, but the update, titled Uprising, brings with it new PvP content, a new 10-player raid and most importantly: A completely overhauled leveling experience for new players.
You can expect the update to go live on August 13th. Pretty cool, huh?

Fresh off of the success of its first closed beta, the team behind Astellia Online are readying themselves for closed beta 2.
Remember that we’ll have beta keys to give out along with copies of the game to give away for free for those of you that follow my wife MrsStix and I on Twitter and are subscribed to our channel.
The second closed beta has a yet-undisclosed date but we’ll be sure to let you all know when it does.