Updates for the next episodes
Ok, for those who think I spend most of my time on Skype desperately waiting for someone to contact me… you are partially right, but I will also let you know what I’ve been up to lately.
First off, Episode 5 is scripted and the subject of Episode 6 is determined. All going well, I should have Ep 5 completed in a few days, and uploaded on Wednesday or Thursday. If you are wondering why I don’t tell you what game I’m looking at, I have my reasons. If interested, I’ll explain in greater detail in an F.A.Q.
As a couple people have told me, Rusty Hearts is finally in Open Beta, which I do allow full reviews on. (Games rarely change too drastically from Open Beta to Release.) Expect that one to be covered fairly soon, depending on the news I get.
I’ve been getting a ton of good suggestions for reviews, but be sure to check the Suggested MMO List page to see if it already listed so you don’t end up wasting your breath… or keyboard letters… whatever. I will be updating that page once I get some more time, but expect it to be updated once Episode 5 is completed. (There’s a reason for that. Yes, that’s all the hints you’re getting.)
As of now, I will NOT be looking at MUDs or limited graphical interface MUDs. I’m not completely shut off to the idea, but it’s not something I can review with the show’s format. The same goes with games that are contained within a browser like Kingdom of Loathing. Adventure Quest MIGHT work, but I’ll have to find some workarounds. I should also mention that I will NOT be looking at anything subscription based unless it has a free-to-play option. This includes things like Eve Online, Aion, and technically Guild Wars, as while you don’t have to pay an upkeep to play Guild Wars, you DO have to buy the game itself. (However since I do own the game there’s a slight chance I may look at it… but it’s not like I’m running out of material.)
One final thing of note is that MMO Grinder is now featured on AngryBananas.com! Currently the LUNA Online episode is up there, and the rest will soon follow. Check out the site when you can. A special thanks to Carlos, who runs the site, and to Justin Carmical (better known as JewWario) for introducing my video series to him.
Thanks for watching the show and I’ll keep working on it as best I can!
-Jon
Posted on September 17, 2011, in News and Updates. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
MMO Grinder 
RH is more defensive, slower-paced and strategic than DFO, really. But the layout is almost identical. People are going to have a lot of flashbacks to this episode when I cover it.
Yeah, I know gold doesn’t exactly pour out of enemies, but I’m pretty sure I reached close to 10k by level 10 without paying for anything beyond repairs. Bless those spammers.
@Stivvy
I’m probably going to have to ask more about Berserk mode, since I’ve yet to come across it, but then again, I’m only level 11 with Angela.
I figured the AI had wizened up a bit as I was getting interrupted constantly, and with the insane cooldown on some of her moves and buffs, I wasn’t happy about it. And the scythe is 50 times worse to use, not just for speed, but the change done to the spells. I miss Wall of Fire launching enemies, and now it just sets the scythe on fire as she SLOWLY slams it forward. (Took me a while to figure out I could hold attack for different abilities, though.) I did find a slight use for that goofy tornado spell, but the cooldown of the spell makes it hardly worth it. I can’t help but feel that Scythe play and spells like that tornado are meant for party play only.
I have yet to run into crashing problems, but it’s good to be forewarned about them.
Regardless, if you catch the “clue” I give at the end of the latest episode (5), I’m NOT going to be doing Rusty Hearts for at least another 2 episodes. Perhaps most features will be implemented better by that time.
Yes, I caught the clue at the end of the episode, I generally have come to expect an extra bit at the end after a credit sequence. Episode 5 was a nice review, since I have never played Dungeon Fighter, but I’ve heard alot about it. Probably not going to try it, since I already got Rusty Hearts running.
Well, basically berserk mode is what you would except a booster mode to be in a beat-em-up. It drastically increases your attack speed and damage, while reducing attack animation recovery. (also you can air dash continuously without losing momentum). It’s unlocked at level 20 and the green bar you see under your Health and Mana that has the five sections on it, is the charge. Once it’s full, you can activate the skill, which will make your character glow white and just slaughter everything in a room, bosses included. If you have anymore questions about it, I would be more than willing to answer them.
And let’s hope that they can roll out most of the features and give us more content by the time you start doing the Rusty Hearts review, which I am looking forward to even though I have played the game already.
And don’t worry about Angela’s scythe kills everything after you pick the weapon focus for it at lvl 20.
Short addition.
Just saw the most annoying thing ever, gold farmers selling 20k ingame gold for 8$ (20k isnt even that much in the game)
Congratulations on being featured on Angry Bananas. Hopefully it will attract new viewers to this wonderful show.
On a side note, you might want to hold off on the Rusty Hearts review atleast for a while. I’ve been playing the game since Closed Beta and recently broke the lvl 20 barrier that was there in the closed beta, and I got to say, most of the content, isn’t there yet. Currently you can get up to lvl 25 and I think the max is going to be around lvl 40, since all of the characters have their skills up, but with level restrictions and 40 has been the highest number on those skills. You can technically get to the essence of the game, but there might be some serious changes coming around the corner, so I would suggest holding up on that. Out of the 4 characters, only 3 are currently playable and like previously said, only dungeons that are up to lvl 25 are playable right now. But then again, its your choice if you want to do it already.
You bring up interesting points about Rusty Hearts. I’ve always thought of MMO Grinder as an “introductory” show. For newbies, but going a bit further… but I KNOW people are going to delve deeper into the games if they like them. What I hear about RH is troubling, but it looks like they’re keeping the patches up. Yes, I also played Rusty Hearts since Closed Beta, but I made a new login when I couldn’t find my old one. I was happy to see Natasha on the screen, but bummed when she wasn’t “ready” according to the error message. Disturbing how I’ve already had a ton of stuff drop for her, including a high quality pistol from a silver card.
But by the time I’m ready to do Rusty Hearts, it’ll probably be in more full swing. Ep 5 should be out today, but then you’re looking at Ep. 6 being already slated. If they can’t get their shit together in a month, there’s going to be a serious problem.
So I think, currently doing a Grinder Ep on RH might be premature, especially with a Playable Character missing, but there’s TECHNICALLY enough to get an idea of how the game works. As long as Natasha is in the game by the time I start, I can live with the other issues.
(Did they nerf the hell out of Angela or something? I don’t remember her being this slow.)
Well, atleast you didn’t get a gold musket for level 20 back during closed beta phase 2, that was something I wasn’t happy to see out of a gold card.
And yes, one missing playable character isn’t too bad, and seeing as she is out in the Korean version of the game, you can look up gameplay videos to get an idea how Natasha would play. But then again, she is the only ranged character in the whole game, and I’ve seen a reload mechanic for her weapons so, who knows.
They seem to be putting out patches, for instance, they put one out yesterday, but there are still some bugs that I’ve noticed that are just infuriating. Just to mention a few : 1) The F1-F4 active skills seem to randomly bug out, not giving you the buff that they should give you, which can kill your berserk mode completely as you watch your meter going down and never going up again before you die. 2) This happened to my friend while we were playing. His connection was starting to give out so we tried finishing up the level as fast as possible, but he was teleported back to the start of the dungeon unable to move, leaving me to deal with “Fluffy” all alone and he never got any credit and we had to make the run again. 3) Getting disconnected during a cutscene will probably cause you a heart attack since the game appears to be unplayable if you simply reconnect without restarting the game, since your surroundings change depending on which part of the cutscene you were supposed to be in and nothing happens (fixed by restarting the whole client). But, mondays patch gives me hope that they will fix these.
And another way you could do the episode is just explaining the current shortcomings and then after a month or two just revisiting it and giving a short addendum post or video about the recent changes. Or possible discuss the current state of the game with someone who you know plays the game alot and is there for the changes. This could lead to more content, but also an increased amount of work load, but it’s only a suggestion.
And Angela has always been the slowest hitter and with the recent A.I. improvements, she can get interrupted during her combos more frequently, so she might seem a bit under handed on lower levels with the amount of skills you have and which skills you have, since some of the moves are just silly (case and point the skill that sucks all of the enemies in the area to the middle).
Congrats again on getting featured! JewWario is a class act! I’m looking forward to seeing what else you make. Having a definitive list kind of ruins the surprise and I like being surprised. So, good luck and I look forward to seeing more eps, man.