15 March 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
Ice beam.
“Hey, Pherephassa.” I ask.
“Yeah, iTZKooPA?” she responds.
“I’m a control freak. Is that weird?” I confessed.
“Why, heavens no. In fact, this game Neverwinter I’ve been playing has an entire class dedicated to the task. You should give it a whirl.” she informed.
And so I did. I did for over two hours during last weekend’s second beta event for Neverwinter. While I may not have been a huge fan of the DPS class with some crowd control abilities, it was a radically different play style than the Trickster Rogue I played week one. Change is good. I can only imagine how diverse that means Cryptic Studios has made the Guardian Fighter, Devoted Cleric and Great Weapon Fighter.
The Control Wizard is the master of the Arcane. Capable of wielding this field of magic for destructive and support purposes, a control wizard is a dangerous foe and powerful enemy in the lands of Neverwinter. The other classes can keep the party alive and end of foes life, but a skilled control wizard can keep such creatures from ever landing a blow.
Hit the jump for the latest class montage and a collection of wizardy screenshots. Continue Reading
7 March 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.
Lore: A product of Cronus and Rhea, Poseidon, along with his four siblings – Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Hestia and Hera – is one of the twelve major deities of the Greek pantheon. While Poseidon came from a relatively modest sized family, he did not subscribe to the same notion. The God of the Oceans spread his love from sea to shining sea, from his sister Demeter to a host of unknown consorts and a handful of male partners. The acts of the seafaring god left dozens of children in his wake, those born of normal, or in the case of Chrysaor, more supernatural ways.
Most of his lore involves chasing tail. Outside these tales, which can turn to the devious, he’s largely perceived as a “good” god. Yet, he has his faults, including being a part of Hera’s scheme to overthrow Zeus. The failed plot caused his brother to temporarily strip Poseidon of his power. During this time Poseidon toiled away constructing a giant wall for King Laomedon of Troy. Laomedon refused to pay the deity for his work winning the City of Troy a visit by a sea monster. Continue Reading
31 October 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment want you to take control of everything. In Neverwinter, the Control Wizard is the master of arcane energies, the magic spread throughout the known universe. The magical class relies on its intellect, not cumbersome physical prowess or destructible steel.
The Control Wizard class is adept at crowd control, stunning and disabling enemies with large area-of-effect abilities. Any group would be remiss not to have an expert of the arcane in its midst as it takes on the likes of Blackdagger Keep and other mob-rich zones.
Behind the cut is the official class reveal for the Control Wizard and a tasteful selection of screenshots. Continue Reading
23 October 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.
Lore: The most important aspect about Freya’s lore is that it remains unclear. Not just small details either. To this day, scholars still have lively discussions about her past, importance and growth through the ages. But it isn’t all shrouded in mystery.
What is largely agreed on is that the “Lady” is the norse goddess of love, beauty, fertility, gold, war and death. Quite a spread of topics to lord over, eh? Freya, her brother Freyr, her father, Njoror, and often-unnamed mother are all part of the Vanir, a stable in norse mythology that did battle with the Æsir, lead by Odin. The resulting victory by the Æsir lead to a unified pantheon. Freya rules over Fólkvangr, a field home to half of those that die in battle. A less well known but no less honorable compliment to Odin’s Valhalla.
Constant scholarly disagreements revolve around her and Frigg being the same goddess, her connection with the valkyries, her relationships with other deities and her connection to mother nature. Nearly all of the possible sides of the disagreements have championed in popular culture, such as Hi-Rez Studios declaring Freya “Queen of the Valkyries,” which highlights her realm of Fólkvangr. Continue Reading
29 May 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a new column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive backstory of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.
Lore: Hel is the Goddess of the Underworld, Niflheim, in Norse mythology, a territory that colloquially shares the same name as its figurehead. She was given this domain by Odin, one of the principal members of Æsir, the norse pantheon. Her father is the trickster Loki, a common and incredibly intelligent antagonist in many legends. She was born of Angrboða, a giantess. Hel has two siblings, both incredibly powerful beasts of legends, Fenrir and Jörmungandr.
Continue Reading
