MMORPG News: Blue Protocol Closed Beta, Chronicles of Elyria Shut Down, Genshin Impact CBT2, MapleStory 2 Shut Down & More

MMORPG News: Blue Protocol Closed Beta, Chronicles of Elyria Shut Down, Genshin Impact CBT2, MapleStory 2 Shut Down & More

I hope you guys are all staying safe right now. I know a lot of you now have a surplus of free time – something I’m sure you’re not used to but what better time is there to play an MMO, right?
Thankfully you have daddy Stix here to let you know what’s going on in the MMO-world right now. What games are being updated. What games are shutting down.
So if you’re searching for something – this might be the very video you need to end your suffering!
So with that in mind, sit back, open a beer, maybe grab some Dorito’s or a hot-dog. Or both, even. And let’s jump right into this week’s Weekly Byte of MMORPG News.

Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact’s 2nd Closed Beta began last Friday and a lot of players got in. Unfortunately I only applied with one email and didn’t get in, but honestly, I was more or less waiting for its full release either way.
A lot of people have shared their opinions on the game during the Closed Beta and it seems as though reception has been very positive. I don’t think I’ve seen nor spoken to a single person that said the game was bad.
Granted, the only people I speak to are those that play games on the PC or consoles so I don’t know what mobile players thought of the Beta but regardless, when they finally announce the full-release of the game, it’s going to do very well for miHoYo.
There’s currently no information on whether this will be the final Closed Beta before it inevitably launches but I’ll make sure to keep you all updated regardless.

Ascent: Infinite Realm

I have a more in-depth video on Ascent: Infinite Realm coming next week, but Bluehole, the team behind both A:IR and TERA have been very quiet with regards to releasing new information over the last.. wait, how long has it been? 6 months? A year at this point?
The last update was back in August 2019.. so almost 8 months. Man. Either way, an image was released with the title “A:IR Reverse,” stating “It’s been a long time you’re waiting,” followed by the date of April 1st 2020.
Honestly, I have no idea what this means and it’s anyone’s guess – but an event is being held currently asking for players to vote on whether they believe it’s true that the combat system employed in A:IR will change to an action-combat system.
This is.. a weird poll to have, especially since the vast majority of players have stated repeatedly that after their success with the combat system in TERA, an improved action-system would’ve been ideal for A:IR.
Does this mean they’re looking to overhaul the combat system? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Fractured

If you weren’t already aware, Fractured on March 25th entered their latest phase of Alpha testing.
The Alpha will last for for several weeks and is being used to test out new features like the ability to party up, finally, guilds and land ownership – all of which are tied to one another.
Classes are also being overhauled with the introduction of new abilities, and a completely new zone for new players.
Unfortunately this Alpha test isn’t available for everyone. Instead, it’s aimed at players that purchased the Legend founder’s pack.

Chronicles of Elyria

I’ll have a much more detailed video on this sometime next week, but suffice it to say, Chronicles of Elyria is pretty much dead in the water right now. A lot of people were highly anticipating Chronicles of Elyria – I thought it looked pretty solid myself at one point.
Back before I realized that backing indie games was a higher risk than gambling.
They managed to raise almost one and a half million dollars ($1.5 million) from fan-backing, and after 4 years of delivering nothing but false promises, it turns out that CEO of Soulbound Studios announced that he’d halted all development on the game.
Additionally, he laid off all employees. Every. Single. One. This is due to a complete lack of funds. “After five long months of only limited crowdfunding revenue coming in, Soulbound Studios has officially run out of money” he said in a public statement.
In essence, he blamed the community for not continuing to funnel money into a game that after 4 years has no playable form and further went on to blame investors themselves.
I don’t normally call people out for choices they make – but this guy is the very definition of a cock-waffle. “It’s your guys’ fault for not giving us enough money to continue development for another 4 years, guys!”

Shroud of the Avatar

This is in follow-up to Chronicles of Elyria, but in a pathetic attempt to win over even a fraction of Elyria’s playerbase, the devs behind Shroud of the Avatar announced that they’re “happy to find players a home” within their game since they’re no doubt disappointed with the notice of closure. That’s just.. c’mon.

MapleStory 2

I announced earlier this week on Monday I believe that Nexon were shutting MapleStory 2 down. This was shocking to a lot of players considering the game hasn’t even been online for 2 years yet.
The closure will take place on May 27th so if you ever wanted to try the game out, this might be the only opportunity you’ll have.
MapleStory 2 launched to over 42,000 concurrent players on Steam and a significant portion more via the official Nexon launcher. As of today, there are approximately 200 people online via Steam.
That’s an unprecedented drop. They attempted to overhaul the game with their Project New Leaf initiative but that fell through.
It’s unconfirmed exactly why they’re shutting the game down but there’s definitely a lot of speculation going around, none of which I’m going to talk about because it’s all player opinion.

High Treason

Here’s a title you may never have heard of: High Treason. Granted, it’s a little niche.
Full-loot permadeath MMOs are definitely not a popular game-type in the genre, but at the same time this provides a market for players that are interested in PvP-oriented MMOs.
And that’s what High Treason is, a PvP MMO that allows you to – much like any traditional MMO, complete quests, run dungeons, loot entire towns and most importantly, do it while dodging other players.
I’ve never been very interested in PvP-oriented MMOs, but I do enjoy participating in PvP in-game.

Population Zero

If you were wondering when Population Zero was going to be available, you’ll be happy to learn that it is expected to launch sometime during May on Steam.
The game is going to be buy-to-play at $30 and honestly, from what I’ve seen might be one of the better looking survival MMOs.
Recently, ahead of their upcoming launch, the team behind the game opted to release a brand new “Developer Diary” video on Youtube, detailing world design and exploration.
It’s definitely worth watching if you’re interested in the world you’re going to be inhabiting or just want to see more of what’s going to be available to play through.

Closers

Closers is rarely in the news because, honestly, other than the odd event here and there the game just doesn’t really offer much.
However, I talked about it a couple weeks ago – specifically the Busan update that brings with it a plethora of new content including new zones to explore and play through. If you’ve ever been interested in playing Closers, then I recommend trying it out now.

Blade & Soul

Blade & Soul just pushed out their latest patch titled “Forgotten Souls.” A brand new dungeon was added called the “Stonescale Passage,” and 2 events are currently beginning: The Ebon Hunting Grounds and the Call to Arms event.
There’s also new accessories in the form of a necklace, belt, ring and updated PvP bonus effects. Oh, and Hongmoon levels have been increased. ’cause grinding for more levels is always fun.

LotRO + DDO

This is good news for fans of the Lord of the Rings Online MMO and Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Standing Stone Games, in light of players being stuck at home has decided to make all content completely free and available up until April 30th 2020.
Both games will also feature additional events for players to participate in while the games remain completely free.
If you’ve ever wanted to try out Lord of the Rings Online, but opted not to due to the sheer amount of content gated behind a paywall, then I’d suggest taking the time to jump in now.
You might not end up with another chance to try the game out!

Albion Online

It seems like every MMO is releasing “roadmaps” these days. Which is fine – I like them, it gives us a semblance of what we have to look forward to.
In Albion Online’s, the next update will introduce a brand new type of solo dungeon. Unlike PvE dungeons though, this dungeon will allow players to take possession of monsters and attack players while they’re trying to make their way through it.
Honestly this is a weird idea to me. It sounds cool in theory but I can also see it as a potential griefing grounds for certain types of players. There are also adjustments coming to combat, new gear, new features, faction warfare and more.
Honestly there’s a lot to go through so if you’re interested in reading more I urge you to check out the official forums for more info.

Occupy White Walls

Here’s an MMO I guarantee you’ve never played before. Or heard of before. It was released onto Steam in Early Access a little over a year ago but has just launched a Kickstarter campaign that has raised almost $30,000 with 25 backers.
That’s.. insane. Literally insane. No other way of putting it. What else is insane though is the kind of game this is. It’s a sandbox MMO that allows you to play.. with art. That’s it.
You design and build your own art gallery, and then you curate your very own art collection. It’s honestly the weirdest MMO I’ve ever had the pleasure of looking at, and that makes me very interested in seeing where it ultimately ends up going.

Blue Protocol

In the most important news of all, Blue Protocol has a confirmed Japanese Closed Beta date at last. Yes, it ultimately got delayed from mid March but the game will be rolling out its beta test on April 23rd.
That’s a little over 3 weeks away. The Closed Beta in question isn’t going to be very long though, beginning on April 23rd and lasting until April 26th.
They’ve revealed on March 30th results for the Closed Beta application test will be announced, with players receiving emails with Beta keys shortly after, ranging from March 30th through April 6th.
The game will become available for pre-download on April 20th, and after the Closed Beta period ends on the 26th, there will be another questionnaire.
I’ll have a more detailed video on this coming so stay tuned for more info next week, but hopefully you’re as excited as I am!

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