MMORPG News: Lost Ark RU Open Beta, A:IR KR Open Beta, WoW: Shadowlands

The last few weeks have been filled with MMORPG related news. So much so that I’ve had to devote an entire day to writing this up.
Not wanting to prolong this any longer than is necessary, let’s just jump right into this week’s Weekly Byte of MMORPG News.

Let’s start this off with some good news. As you should all be well aware, Kritika Online was shut down by En Masse after a brief run.
However, since its closure, players have been longing for a day when the game would re-open to the public.
ALLM, the developers behind Kritika heard those sentiments and have decided to self-publish the game over here in North America and Europe.
Whether or not this is a good thing as there might be new Founder’s Packs, the cash shop might be ridiculous.. you know, the norm, remains to be seen but they’re promising improvements to the game overall.
Improvements like the removal of the stamina system – which is probably one of the best additions – or features removed. The game is expected to come back online on November 13th, so mark your calendars!

I don’t know the history of Ragnarok Online and its updates, but I’m shocked at how they’re handling their most recent one. See, traditionally, when an MMO receives an update they normally receive downtime.
8 hours, 12 hours, maybe even an entire day is necessary. But this? This is.. ridiculous. Ragnarok Online is being taken down for 2 entire months to apply the latest update to the game.
Little is known about the update other than there are some system and quality-of-life changes being made, alterations to pet evolution and registration for a brand new game service will be announced.
So say goodbye to your friends for a couple months!

Star Wars The Old Republic may not be as popular as it once was – or at the very least, it wasn’t as popular as it once was.. until recently, when a brand new expansion titled “Onslaught” hit the live servers.
Initially announced back in April and delayed until late October, the game officially went live a couple weeks ago, bringing with it a continuation of the story, brand new areas, instanced content and more.
People were initially excited, but the content added was actually cleared within a couple hours of playing. This expansion took 2-3 years to release – and fans of the game are noticeably upset.
So if this is the reason you were planning on coming back.. it might be better to wait for additional content, or at the very least come back knowing it isn’t a whole lot of content.

So, I’m being flown out to Germany on Sunday to participate in the pre-launch Kingdom Under Fire 2 event.
I’ll be getting a hands-on look of the game before almost anyone else. I’ll be able to sit down with Gameforge – the company publishing the game, and some of the Korean devs behind its creation.
The game is expected to launch on November 14th – and I’m excited. I’ve been looking forward to this game for almost a decade now.
I did a video on it a couple months ago detailing what there was to expect so if you haven’t – I recommend checking it out. Otherwise, wait until I get back and give my impressions of the game.
If there’s anything you guys want me to ask the devs, let me know in the comments below and I’ll try my best to!

I talked about this in a video a couple months ago. SEED has almost $40 million dollars funding, largely in part due to an investment made by LEGO.
Late last month it was announced that the game would be going into Alpha testing – with the alpha test being referred to as SEED Pioneers.
A group of players from the community will receive access to the game – completely at random. There is no buy-in for alpha access which is a refreshing change of pace.
You’ll need to be signed up to their newsletter, naturally, as otherwise there’d be no way of letting you know if you were chosen. Pioneers will be going live sometime in 2020.

The last few weeks have been filled with re-launches it seems as Rusty Hearts is coming back as well.
I never played Rusty Hearts but I know a lotta you guys did and a lotta you still talk about the game to this day.
Rusty Hearts will be coming back as Rusty Hearts: Revolution Reborn, and yes, it will be in the form of a private server.
No official servers will likely ever arise so private servers are all we have left and it looks like these guys care about the game and its future.
The game is expected to launch before 2020 so it isn’t long before you get the opportunity to jump back in-game!

RaiderZ was shut down by Perfect World Entertainment a while ago and ever since, players have been playing on RaiderZ private servers.
However, in 2017, Masangsoft gained rights to publish the MMO over here in the West, promising the game would be worked on and overhauled leading up to relaunching sometime in the near future.
2 years have passed since then and Masangsoft have not updated us in.. what seems like an eternity on the progress of the game, and with us going into 2020, it looks like the game is currently on the backburner, with other titles taking precedence over RaiderZ for the immediate future.
So expecting a release any time in the next year or two is highly unlikely.

Final Fantasy XIV has just rolled out its latest large patch, 5.1, bringing with it a continuation of the main scenario, a brand new dungeon, a new Extreme trial, new gear, the NieR-themed 24-player raid and so much more.
I’ve played through some of it, with Mrs Stix having played through significantly more and it’s a lotta fun.
It’s interesting to see such large patches go live every couple months – patches of this magnitude, when games like The Old Republic struggle to make something technically smaller in scale with years worth of time.

For those of you awaiting the upcoming Unreal Engine 4 graphical overhaul of Blade & Soul – you’ll be happy to know that the update, which actually brings with it a ton of new content unrelated to the overhaul will be going live in December.
In South Korea, anyway. North America won’t likely be receiving the update for a while after that. But that was to be expected.
Supposedly, the update, which is being called “Blade & Soul Complete” will feature a “reborn world,” “remastered visuals,” a brand new dungeon, changes to PvP, “advanced combat,” new awakenings, and more.
And while the trailer in question is completely in CGI.. I’m pretty excited to see where this update takes the game.

This is info I’m sure a lotta you have been waiting for.
South Korea is gearing towards their final closed beta test of the game before finalizing changes, and moving towards a fully-functional open beta, allowing everyone to log in to the game and play.
If you’re from South Korea, have a South Korean IP and a South Korean social security number, of course.
But if that’s an issue for you like it is for a lot of other people, then fear not as although the North American and European versions of the game have been delayed, it seems as though they are going to be a focus going forward.
Closed beta testing for the Western version of the game is coming much closer.
I have a video detailing the closed beta, open beta, changes made to the game, classes, combat changes and more coming next week so keep an eye out for that as I’m sure you’ll find it very interesting.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but apparently Netmarble are making a Ni no Kuni Mobile MMORPG. Yes.. yes you really did hear that correctly.
I was reluctant to include this here because it just seems so ludicrous but what isn’t being turned into a mobile game these days?
While there’s no information on the game right now other than that it will be focused on collecting and training spirits, you’ll bet that there’s gonna be some sweet microtransaction goodness involved!
Are you excited? I feel like you’re excited.

A lot has been changing for Legends of Aria ever since it launched. Players have been left highly confused as to what’s even going on – but at the very least, I’m here to let you all know that the game is going free-to-play.
It’ll be keeping the option for players to purchase premium subscriptions and will also retain the ability for players to buy the game as well – each offering different rewards.
They claim that the majority of the game’s content is free to play either way, so might as well just go all in and go completely free.
This shift of business model will accompany a very large patch that brings with it a ton of new content for players to play through along with some alterations to current systems.
According to the team behind the game, this new update titled “New Dawn” will allow players to “experience Legends of Aria the way it was meant to be.”

As you’re all well aware by this point, Astellia Online is a buy-to-play MMORPG that offers a much cheaper subscription for players looking to trial the game before they buy it.
But recently, to garner additional exposure and attention, the team behind the game have been offering free-to-play weekends.
They’ve been pretty well received, honestly, and the reason I’m bringing this up is because another one is happening right this moment.
Until Monday, you’ll be able to register for an account, download, and play the game. You’ll therefore be able to see if it’s worth a purchase or sub fee – or if you’re better off just ignoring it. Now’s your chance!

Do note, there are spoilers ahead if you haven’t finished Battle for Azeroth.
It looks as though fans were correct when they assumed that the next title would be called “Shadowlands.”
Yup, World of Warcraft will be wrapping up the faction war in Battle for Azeroth as we move on to fight a much bigger threat: The Old Gods.
Not much in the way of information has been provided yet other than we’re going to have to choose a Covenant, aligning with one several different factions introduced in the expansion.
I’m excited. This looks really freakin’ epic.

And finally, the information I’m sure the vast majority of you have been waiting for.. Lost Ark just went into open beta in Russia.
To play the South Korean version of the game you needed someone with a South Korean social security number to register for you and the likelihood of getting banned was still pretty high.
However, since going live in Russia – as of right now, the game is completely playable, 100% free. All you need is a VPN. Then you can register, download and play the game with a fan-translated English translation.
It’s really that simple. A VPN I use for every MMO that isn’t released in the West is ExitLag which I have a link for in the pinned comment and description.
If you sign up using that link you can try it out for a few days, long enough to test out the Russian version of Lost Ark and see if either the game, or the VPN is worth continuing to use.
The game still doesn’t have an immediate release in the West any time in the future – but with it having launched in 2 countries thus far, and it launching in 2 more soon, you’d think a release would be coming soon.
Like A:IR I have a video for Lost Ark and its changes coming Monday, so make sure you stop by and watch!