StevenMessner

Even though I admitted the same thing months earlier, meeting EVE players in real life remains one of the most bizarre things I've ever done. There's this wonderful surrealism about sitting in a bar in Iceland with a person I've only just met, discussing a virtual war with the same intensity that we would later display talking about the American politics.

If you haven't heard, EVE Online is on fire. Okay, well, not the entirety of New Eden is going up in flames. It's just the large swathe of northern territory owned by The Imperium. If you're not up to speed, I highly suggest reading the last Chronicles of New Eden to catch up to what's been going on.

I have seen MMORPGs rise and fall, but none of them felt as depressing as watching Nostalrius, the most popular private server for World of Warcraft, shut down on Sunday. It wasn't just the end of a wonderful community, but a stark reminder that, despite what the back of the box might say, MMORPGs are ultimately products first and virtual societies second.

Finding that right combination that is still budget-conscious but pushes for every extra frame can be tough, but I've spelled out an awesome build that balances both power and cost for something that will handle any top quality game or MMO you could toss at it while still ensuring that you won't need to worry about upgrading for a number of years.

The Imperium has finally done it. Through systematic aggression and alienation against the entirety of the EVE community, The MIttani, Goonswarm, and greater Imperium allies have somehow managed to find themselves in an all versus one war that will, god willing, dwarf any conflict that has happened in EVE Online to date.

If there's one piece of criticism I continually see popping up around Black Desert Online, it's that the PVP is horribly imbalanced due to "power creep". No matter how much you play, you'll never catch up to the top 1% who have already invested significant chunks of time and energy into forging all the best gear and pushing beyond the soft level cap of 50. Now, reading that, this is usually followed up with "You should probably not even bother trying." But here's where I disagree.

EVE Fanfest is now exactly a month away, and for those of you who might be unfamiliar, it's one of the biggest weekends all year for EVE Online. Between Fanfest and EVE Vegas, which I covered extensively last year, both gatherings are a chance for CCP to shake hands with their players, talk to them about upcoming changes, announce new projects, and then get blindly drunk. It's a pretty good time.

If you haven't yet played Tom Clancy's The Division, you're missing out. It's too early to tell how long it will last, but The Division has been a good deal of fun so far. Its vision for a post-apocalyptic Manhattan is amazingly realized, and the sobering sense of wonder you'll feel wandering its snowy, abandoned streets is gripping. But I can't help but feel disappointed with how carelessly The Division treats that lovingly crafted world.

With games like The Repopulation, Albion Online, Crowfall, Camelot Unchained, Black Desert Online, and countless others, developers are finally starting to harness the creative power sandboxes contain. But will any of them ever be able to topple the greatest sandbox MMO of all time?

It's been awhile since I felt truly captivated by an MMORPG. You probably feel the same way too. There's a feeling I like to call the "Ironforge moment" that I think everyone has with their first MMORPG. It's that moment when you step into a city and witness thousands of players all independently moving around and the site overwhelms you with awe. For many of us, that moment happened in Ironforge while playing World of Warcraft.

The recent buzz surrounding Black Desert Online these past few weeks hasn't been all that positive. There's been a fervent argument back and forth about it being pay-to-win, not having any relevant endgame, and even a vocal minority still attacking it for not being free-to-play. All of those are conversations worth having, but after several dozen hours spent playing Black Desert Online, its biggest problem isn't any one of those issues.

EVE Online is a delicate game, and sometimes I have to wonder how CCP can ever make changes because comprehending how drastically those changes can affect its ecosystem would probably require its own degree. Yesterday during the EVE Online Nottingham (EVE_NT) meetup, it was revealed that a fairly major, and much asked for, change is finally being implemented into the game: The watchlist is being removed.

The PVP in Black Desert Online is one of the game’s main selling points. But it’s not just about queuing up for an arena and smacking faces. There’s a whole lot that goes on behind the scenes of the Siege System in BDO, but fear not - our own Steven Messner compiled this guide to help you on your way!

Combat is central to many things in Black Desert Online, but it extends well beyond just killing monsters. While some might find the lack of traditional endgame disconcerting, that's only because Black Desert Online is much more akin to EVE Online than World of Warcraft. In place of a never-ending string of raids, the true heart of Black Desert Online lives within its robust and expansive PVP system.

Getting a mount in Black Desert Online is, like most everything in the game, not all that simple. Unless you're flush with cash and are willing to buy a horse from the market, or if you don't mind the meandering pace of the donkey you'll receive early in the game, getting your own horse is going to require some preparation and a little bit of luck. Fortunately, we've rounded up everything you need to set off and find yourself a black stallion to call your own.