Mobility: Knights Chronicles, Or How I Played the Gacha Game


This week I played Knights Chronicle.

I’m not entirely sure how to go about this week’s Mobility impressions piece, because it wasn’t presented to me in the normal way that I usually look at game updates. Normally when a developer/publisher reaches out to someone like myself to cover new content, what usually happens is they’ll provide a press account or provide access to a beta/PTS version of the game in order to preview said content. That didn’t happen here.

Knights Chronicle just dropped the RWBY collaboration event a few days ago, and the update introduces five new playable characters from the Rooster Teeth anime series:

  • Ruby Rose
  • Weiss Schnee
  • Blake
  • Yang Xiao Long
  • Cinder Fall

As part of the update, Cinder Fall is easily obtainable through the in-game event dungeon. The rest are held behind loot boxes.

And that’s where we get to the meat of this impressions piece: Knights Chronicle is a gacha game, so in addition to my crystals earned in-game, I was given a small stipend of (premium currency) to draw heroes and hopefully, MAYBE, get something from the event. Each draw costs 200 crystals, roughly $20 in currency, and pulls 11 random heroes from the giant pile with a few guaranteed to be rare quality. I might have the opportunity to talk to you about things related to the event that I’m supposed to be talking about. Maybe.

Yang Xiao Long is also free, which makes three locked behind loot boxes. Pretty good, all things considered. Unfortunately my luck didn’t quite stick and after roughly $160 worth of hero summons, I had yet to obtain another hero. Roll another set and boom! There is Ruby Rose! So at this point I have yet to unlock Blake or Weiss Schnee, and who is to say that I ever will within the next couple of weeks? Obviously that assumes that my drive to continue grinding crystals holds up. I’ve spent some time reading the Reddit for Knights Chronicle and found people who have spent 4,000+ crystals (over $300 worth) in order to get the whole set of five. I’m not going to do that.

The characters themselves are quite powerful, so if you are a heavily invested fan of Knights Chronicle, you’re going to want to get in on this action. Cinder Fall’s leader skill increases fire allies’ attack by 40%, and her passive gives heavy bonuses to heroes with Fall Maiden(s) and at level 60 gains the ability to resurrect. Yang has a 60% chance to assume a stance that will let her counterattack, inflicting 200% additional damage if the caster was also counter attacking. Ruby Rose also has an ability to avoid fatal damage, while Blake summons ghosts to mitigate damage and Weiss Schnee stacks damage on damage.

You may notice that I haven’t actually talked about the gameplay of Knights Chronicle, and that’s because this game doesn’t have a whole lot going for it. The goal in the game is the same as it is with any gacha game: Collect heroes, pay money to get better heroes, and then look at your cute anime heroes. The gameplay portion where you set your team of five heroes through multi-tier encounters where you gradually level up their ability to do more damage and take more damage, to beat monsters that can also do more damage and take more damage, is ancillary, and only serves to reward you with more cute anime heroes and heroines for your collection to look at and reminisce about that time you spent $100 to get the shiny version. It’s like video game baseball cards, but you probably won’t be showing them to your kids in 20 years.

It would have been nice if Knights Chronicle had offered players some method of obtaining the whole set of RWBY by playing the event, because to players outside of the whales this whole thing is likely to come off as another example of the exploitative mobile market. This isn’t to say that Netmarble shouldn’t be able to monetize the games as it wishes, but the characters are the whole point of this events, and the whole notion of having a light at the tunnel where players can take part in the event, put in some cash of their own, and if they are dedicated enough come out with all of the heroes even if the ridiculously low odds don’t work out, which is the purpose of the event. Rather, when you have an event where you can spend hundreds of dollars worth of currency on a limited pull and the game still sticks its middle finger up and says “no you can’t have this,” and then graciously holds out its hand for more money.

That seems more likely to just convince people to quit. In fact, the longer this event goes on and the more obvious it is that the remaining characters are out of reach, I can feel my enthusiasm dropping like a stone. It’s cynical and it knows it, for a game that is deeply focused on that small minority who will pay hundreds to thousands of dollars on singular events so they can build a collection of .gif files of their favorite waifus and husbandos. Who needs to care about what I think when these whales will gleefully troll users out of the customer base in order to feel like their SSR-ranked Weiss Schnee is more exclusive and thus makes them a more special person, even though they put $500 of their real money for the third time this year into something that will probably be gone by 2022.

Nothing I say in this article is going to convince people to pull in one direction or another. The person who refuses to play these games because they view the gacha mechanics as manipulative and built by companies that will gladly ring you dry for nearly nothing in value and then hold out their hand for more, they aren’t going to suddenly start playing because I said the RWBY models are better quality than they are in the anime. On the other hand, the guys who could have put a down payment on a new car with all the money they’ve sunk into gacha games aren’t going to have a change of heart because I pointed out how alienating the event is.

I have no idea how to end this impressions piece, so I will leave you with a word of wisdom: Don’t pre-order games.

[NM] Steam Launches Steam Lab Experiments


Valve is constantly working on improvements to Steam store visibility. After all, hundreds of new games are launching on the service every month, and sometimes dozens of games launching every single day. The average user just can’t keep up!

This week Valve launched the Steam Labs, three experiments being presented to the community as ideas on how to improve visibility. The first idea comes in the form of micro-trailers; five second clips of video game footage on a big page where the user can simply go down the list of recently released titles.

“Absorb every game in the Steam catalog in just seconds. Micro Trailers are six-second looping videos designed to quickly inform viewers about titles on Steam with a presentation that’s easy to skim. This experiment is a fancier version of the Twitter bot of the same name.”

The second idea is an interactive recommender, a slider that shows you recommended titles based on your library as well as your weight by popularity and release date.

“This experiment looks at how much you’ve played each game in your Steam library, and uses the magic of machine learning to recommend games you might like. Filter your results by picking games that are popular or niche, and drill down by release date and tags.”

And the third idea is an automated show about games, kind of like #1 except presented as something of a very long, half-hour clip show of six second clips of recently released games.

There are certainly more experiments to come. Check out the Steamlabs and see how it works for you at the link below.

Source: Steam

Netmarble and Rooster Teeth Team Up For RWBY Crossover With Knights Chronicle


Starting now through July 31, Knights Chronicle is running a crossover event with the Rooster Teeth anime series RWBY (pronounced Ruby) that will afford players the opportunity to attract powerful members of Team RWBY (Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, and the deadly Maiden of Fall, Cinder Fall) from the world of Remnant into their roster of powerful heroes through Knights Chronicle’s Summon Shop.

  • An all-new Advent Dungeon where fans can win over Cinder Fall into their party and learn how the worlds of Knights Chronicle and RWBY come together in an all-new story.
  • All-new costumes for Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long and Cinder Fall themed after their Beacon Academy uniforms.
  • A limited-time check-in event where players can simply log-in and earn a free 4? SSR RWBY hero.

Knights Chronicle is a classic turn based RPG available on mobile devices. For more information on the game, head over to the official website.

Jagex Hides AFK Magic Trainers From New Players


Jagex is very concerned with how new players take in their first few minutes in RuneScape, and they are kind of concerned regarding the impression players are getting from logging in and seeing the starting area full of players in high level armor fighting rats. Magic splashing is a widespread method of training the skill, as players figured out years ago that you could wear melee equipment with low enough magical accuracy that your attacks never actually hit. Since RuneScape gives a small amount of magic experience even when a spell fails to do damage, this has become a slow and expensive, but for many valid method of training their magic skill while doing something else.

Thankfully Jagex is not removing magic splashing, but the company announced with this today’s update that magic splashing will no longer reward experience within the area that players immediately spawn in following the tutorial, that being Lumbridge and the surrounding forest. The map area is very small, so there are plenty of other locations that players can set up in and AFK to their heart’s content.

Source: RuneScape

Everyone Missed It: Daybreak Permanently Closes Everquest Player Studio


Since Daybreak has fallen out of the public spotlight, nobody notices when they shut things down anymore.

Flashback to March 1 and you will find producer Nick Silva stating that the player studio is absolutely not dead, and will in fact return better than ever.

“In the meantime, we will be evaluating options for overhauling the Player Studio site with the intention of allowing broader categories of submissions and a more streamlined submission process.”

Unfortunately the player studio is yet another reminder that anything coming out of Daybreak should be taken with a grain of salt. In an announcement on June 22 that absolutely nobody noticed because not a single gaming website (including this one) reported on it, Daybreak quietly took the Everquest/Everquest 2 Player Studio out back and gave it the Old Yeller treatment. The announcement is as follows (their strikethroughs, not mine).

“Over the years, EverQuest II players have remained some of the most dedicated in any virtual world. Since Player Studio first launched, we have constantly found ourselves impressed and humbled by the boundless creative talents of our players. Over the years, members of our community have created countless new items that help bring even more color to the world of Norrath. After nearly 6 years, the Player Studio program has concluded for both EverQuest and EverQuest II. Player Studio items that have been previously approved will be released and remain in-game, but players will not have the ability to submit new items. We’d like to thank each of you for sharing your creations with us.”

This sunsetting makes Planetside 2 the only game remaining with Studio support, and the term “support” might be generous. The Planetside 2 sector of the Player Studio is performing fantastically, with the creator forums seeing an entire thirteen posts over the entirety of 2019. One of the posts is lamenting the fact that the user’s creation has been in limbo for over a year with nobody bothering to look at a simple decal submission. There has been roughly one developer post on the entire studio forums in the last two years, and that was to announce the initial suspension of new creators.

Source: Daybreak

Maplestory M Hits One Year Anniversary, Releasing Phantom


Maplestory M is celebrating its one year anniversary with style as Nexon has announced the latest class to be added in: The Phantom. Set for release on July 17, players can pre-register for the Phantom today to receive a pack of items including a Unique Weapon Whetstone, Unique Armor Whetstone, Auto-Battle Charge Ticket and more.

“Featuring a cane as his main weapon, the Phantom is a master thief who steals the abilities of characters in the Explorer class. Skills including Phantom Shroud, Return of Phantom and Steal help players plan more strategic strikes, while the Phantom’s most special skill – Judgment – comes into play when delivering critical damage to mobs, triggering randomly stacked cards that give players additional attack. Phantom characters between levels 3 to 100 will also be able to level up a total of 3 levels per each level up through the Mega Burning event.”

Also included in the update is an updated wedding system allowing players to team up with their dearly beloved for buffs and gifts, as well as a new emote wheel and more. The one year anniversary will have events of its own with special experience rewards, skins, accessories, and more. Starting July 25, players can take part in the Monster Park amusement park event for heavy experience gains.

Source: Nexon Press Release

Black Desert: Be A Ninja, Right Now


Do you want to be a ninja? Of course you do.

Pearl Abyss today announced the release of the latest class for Black Desert on the Xbox One and unlike with the Shai class, you won’t need to go through the hullabaloo of pre-making your character for when it launches in a few weeks. It’s available now. The ninja is a close-quarters combat specialist and enters the game along with the two new guild bosses and the Marni Stones, an item to assist in end-game leveling.

“For Adventurers interested in a challenging fight, two new guild bosses have been added – the electrifying Ancient Puturum in Valencia and the ghastly Muskan of Madness in Serendia. The Ancient Puturum attacks by shooting out electric currents from its body and can regain HP by soaring into the sky to gather energy. For those seeking a more grounded fight, the Muskan of Madness will require substantial teamwork and clever strategies to be defeated. Players who successfully conquer either guild boss can receive powerful new items and equipment.”

Marni Stones can be purchased at level 57 and are available for each monster type and achieving specific bounties. Players can turn in these stones to gain more experience.

Playstation 4 users will be happy to know that the game is available for pre-order ahead of the planned August 22 launch. More information can be found on the official website with the trailer below for your viewing pleasure.

MMO Fallout Reviews the EWin Champion Gamer Chair


Editor’s note: The chair being reviewed was provided by Ewinracing Corp.

Those of you who read MMO Fallout know that I am the prime authority on activities involving sitting on your duff. By day I am just a mild mannered MMO reporter, so I spend a lot of time typing on my laptop. Also by day I am a student attorney which means doing a lot of legal research, sitting in court, writing up stuff, and you guessed it…sitting down while I do those things. As a six-figured debted student, my history of chairs has generally fallen into the “what’s on clearance at Office Max” stack, chairs that are not exactly ergonomic, don’t provide lumbar support, and cost less than a new video game for a very good reason (low quality). Unsurprisingly, I’ve had some back problems arise from this.

So you can imagine my excitement when Ewinracing Corp reached out and wanted to talk business. If you don’t know who Ewinracing is, they sell those gaming chairs you might have seen your favorite Youtubers being sponsored by. They also sell gaming desks, tablet holders, and mini-PC sticks. I accepted the offer, and because I am a champion they shipped me out an Ewin Champion Series chair in my favorite color; Neon Green, and the rest as they say is about to be written in this review.

This is, without a doubt, the best chair I have ever sat in and Ewin was kind enough to not make me review this chair in the form of a Youtube video which is to everyone’s benefit. The chair itself is made of high-density separated foam over top a metal endoskeleton with a 120mm gas lift that claims to support up to 330 pounds. I am not close to two thirds of that weight, and it seemed rather unprofessional to purposely try to break the chair by hauling several people onto it in a way that it was not designed for, but given the metal skeleton I am willing to give EWin the benefit of the doubt and say that you should be good to go in terms of body support.

As far as office chairs go, this is a sturdy, sturdy bird. I did give the chair a heavy wiggle and bounce test to see how it held up as in my experience I’ve found that these self-assembled chairs tend to not feel completely secure, but the Ewinracing Champion Series chair is sturdy as a rock. If you have ever assembled an office chair, you already know what you’re doing here with the exception that there are covers for where the back screws into the base that you don’t normally find on other chairs. Even the bolts that come with the chair are thicker than I’m used to seeing, and add to the feeling of sturdiness that the Ewinracing chair provides.

The first thing you’ll notice about the chair if you are like me are the pillows. It is incredible how much of a difference some simple lumbar support can make on your sitting experience, and for the past few days I have sat in this chair and did not have to adjust myself or have any issues with back pain after prolonged sessions. The pillow is very comfortable and it can be adjusted higher on the chair if you’d prefer that kind of back support. As someone who is six feet tall with much of that height being in my legs, it’s refreshing to see a chair that rises high enough that my feet don’t touch the ground. In addition, the EWin chairs feature what they call “4D” adjustable armrests, which is really just a fancy way of saying that the armrests go up and down, rotate left and right, and even go forward and back. As someone who is rather finicky about my armrests, this is a big positive.

But when I received my chair, I wanted to know just one thing: Does the chair actually recline as much as it does in the videos, and is it as comfortable as they say it is? Short answer: Yes. I’ll be honest with you folks, this chair scared me the first three or four times I sat in it. I just had to check out one of the major advertised features of the EWin racing chair, that being that it reclines back to a point that on a regular office chair would just lead to the whole thing toppling backwards. Unlike a regular office chair, the Ewin gaming chairs have their center of gravity closer to the back of the chair.

This allows you to recline to a point where someone might just be able to check your teeth given proper lighting. It’s terrifying the first few times you do it, because anyone who has taken a spill backwards over their office chair knows that they are not generally designed to recline like this and stay upright with a person leaning all the way back. This isn’t anything to do with the chair itself, which I will reiterate is completely sturdy and gives no indication or reason to believe that it isn’t stable. After a few times reclining the headrest back, I can comfortably lay back on my Ewin chair without the fear of the thing toppling over and me injuring myself on the hardwood floor. It’s perfect for veg out sessions watching Netflix on the TV that is way too large for my tiny room. I recommend getting used to the idea by lowering the chair to a point where your feet are still planted on the floor while the chair is all the way back.

The shape of the chair itself forces your back into a healthy posture, and while it does feel weird at first, you pretty quickly get used to it.

Now let’s talk about negatives of which I can think of very few. The Ewinracing chair is as heavy as you would expect a thick metal framed chair to be, and this could be an issue during assembly if you are buying it because you have a really bad back and assembling a standard chair is already an issue. The chair itself is also very firm, which people who like a soft chair might find disagreeable although the pillows should take care of any of those complaints. There’s also the matter of cost of which this chair is roughly $350. Three hundred fifty smackers is going to sound like a lot for a “gaming chair,” especially when you don’t have the luxury of sitting in the chair beforehand like you do at most office stores.

After having the opportunity to try out what in my opinion are the best gaming chairs in the business, if Ewinracing contacted me and said they needed the chair back, I would happily pay for the chair to just be able to keep it. Don’t tell anyone that I said that. Yes, it’s easy to say that a product is a great value when it is provided for free, but I can say with complete confidence that the Ewinracing Gaming Chair is worth every penny.

Photographed: The clearance office chair

Thankfully you don’t have to spend every penny to get one of your own. If you head over to the official website, you can get 25% off of your purchase of an Ewin gaming chair with the coupon code “mmofallout” (without the quotation marks).

I want to thank the folks at Ewingaing Corp for offering up this great opportunity.

PSA: [RuneScape] For People Stuck In the Desperate Times Quest


I wanted to post this PSA for those of you who, like me, waited until this week’s update to finish the RuneScape quest Desperate Times. At one point in the quest you’ll get to the area from the quest Missing, Presumed Death, and get stuck. Why? Well you’ll get to the area above and not know where to go. The door is closed and won’t even respond to your interactions, there aren’t any other paths forward, and you’re basically screwed.

Or are you?

Long story short, the door shouldn’t be there. The door isn’t there, but for some reason the latest update has brought back entities that should be invisible to the player. The good news is that Jagex is aware of the bug and working on a fix. The better news is that you don’t have to wait until they are removed. Grit your teeth folks, because the method to get around this bug until Jagex actually fixes it is to…click past the door.

Yep, just click past it as if it wasn’t there, because it isn’t really. Your player character will just walk right through. There are a few doors on the way and a couple elements to just ignore. This only seems to be affecting people on the NXT client, so alternately you can boot up the Java client and they shouldn’t even be present.

[Video] Bless Unleashed Shows Off Dungeons & Arena Bosses


Today’s video comes to us from Neowiz and shows off some of the features coming with the upcoming console spinoff Bless Unleashed.

There is an upcoming beta test for Bless Unleashed coming on Thursday July 11 at 10 a.m. pst running until Monday July 15. The beta will be available for preload on July 10.