As World of Warcraft continues to expand larger and larger, with the level cap increasing over time, it’s becoming more and more difficult for people to have multiple characters at max level. Everyone would like to have characters of all classes at level cap, but it is terribly time consuming to be able to do that. 

Luckily, Blizzard has introduced, with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, a new type of item to help players level their alts quicker and easier than ever before. They are called Bind on Account items, or Heirlooms. In order to have access to get Heirlooms, you must already have at least one level 80 character, for the most part.

Power and Extra Experience

There are 2 awesome benefits of getting and using Heirloom items. The first benefit is they scale to your level. So, as you gain levels, the Heirloom item stats (armor, damage, etc) increase as well. This is really cool because it makes it unnecessary to upgrade most of your gear. Heirlooms have good stats, armor, and damage for your current level, so they keep you powerful and able to do quests quickly, which is a huge plus when trying to level up some alt characters.

The second, and probably most important, benefit is that some Heirlooms increase the experience points you gain from killing mobs and turning in quests by 10%. If you have 3 Heirloom pieces that give a 10% experience boost each, that’s a total of a 30% experience boost for your character while leveling to level 80. So, if it usually takes you 6 months total, real time, to level your alts, you could level that same character in about 4 months total. Just having Heirlooms could save you 2 months of your time! That’s pretty amazing, if you ask me.

Getting Your Own Heirlooms

The most popular way of getting Heirlooms, hands down, is by doing dailies. Getting a full set of heirlooms can be done pretty quickly by doing dailies, if you know what you’re doing. The whole point of heirloom items is to save you time. So, not only do you want to save time after you get your Heirlooms, but you should also look into saving time while in the process of getting Heirloom items.

The way to do that is with an optimized route of all the dailies you need to do in order to get the items to trade in for Heirlooms. Obviously, you can figure out your own path for doing this, but if you’re like me, you’ll want a guide written by professional gamers for the sole purpose of getting dailies done quickly.

There is a certain guide I use for all my dailies needs. It’s called Zygor’s Dailies & Events Guide. In their guide, they show you step-by-step how to get Heirloom items. As a bonus, they walk you through speed runs for making gold with dailies, as well as getting your Crusader title, which is needed to buy Heirlooms if you want to be able to buy them by doing dailies alone. If you want to get Heirlooms, gold, and your Crusader title fast, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Zygor’s guide.Click Here! Good luck!

The company also announced that it will be discounting Tribute (the in-game currency in Dreamlords: Resurrection) from April 29-May 1, 2011 at Midnight PST. Players can purchase virtual goods that enhance and accelerate the gameplay to help finish the Era’s content, or get a boost in the next Era. There are no fees to download or play the game, which can be found at: www.dreamlords.com

“Unlike persistent MMORTS games, Dreamlords: Resurrection uses a mechanic where the game begins and ends over a certain period of time,” said Tom Söderlund, Project Lead for Paradox Connect. “This provides players with the ability to gain fame and glory on the leaderboards forever and offers new opportunities for players to join the game more often.”

Dreamlords: Resurrection is powered by Paradox Connect, a platform that adds community features, achievements and other features that enhance the gameplay experience, replayability and connection to the game.

About Dreamlords: Resurrection
Dreamlords: Resurrection, developed by MMO studio Lockpick Entertainment, is a unique mix of two genres – the Real-Time Strategy (RTS) and the Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) – where the player takes on the role of a Dreamlord. Through a combination of both long -term strategic planning as well as intense real-time battles, Dreamlords must inspire and unite a small group of followers into a battle-ready army ready to conquer land, defend the populace against the Nightmares that roam the world, and band together with other newly awakened Dreamlords.

The inclusion of Cooperative Player-vs-Environment (PvE) play, allows for even greater intensity as players team up with a friend to launch an assault on the nightmares that haunt your people or attempt to slay one of the world bosses.

Features:
• Free to play
• Fast paced RTS action
• Long term character progression and specialization
• Advanced Empire management
• Achievements and rewards
• Clan based co-operation (Convergence)
• Intense Player vs Player combat
• Research new troops and technology
• Pay Tribute to the gods in order to receive blessings and gifts from them

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Dreamlordsgame
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Dreamlords
Official Forums: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?503864-Welcome-to-the-Dreamlords-Forums

About Paradox Connect
Paradox Connect is the umbrella brand for all Paradox Interactive’s online activities and aims to give every Paradox player a stronger online identity. Building on their large community, Paradox Connect will include Paradox Achievements, integrate social media, downloadable content in various formats and more. Paradox will also start publishing online games as part of the Paradox Connect initiative.

About Paradox Interactive
Since 1999, Paradox Interactive has been a leading global developer and publisher of PC-based strategy games. World-renowned for its strategy catalog, the company holds a particularly strong presence in the United States and Europe. Its steadily-growing portfolio includes originally developed titles such as the critically acclaimed Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, Victoria and the Hearts of Iron franchises, as well as publishing titles such as the Mount&Blade series, The Kings’ Crusade, Majesty 2, Cities in Motion and Magicka. Paradox made an explosive entry onto consoles during 2010 with the release of Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West. For more information, please visit www.paradoxplaza.com and follow www.facebook.com/ParadoxInteractive and www.twitter.com/pdxinteractive

The initial focus of the partnership will be Facebook integration. For registration, the partners will use the social network’s user-friendly single-opt-in function, allowing every Facebook user to dive straight into the virtual world without having to complete any additional registration procedures. Once inside the social network, Runes of Magic can be played in either full screen or windowed mode without limiting any of the game’s functionality. The Kalydo team has already started with the technical implementation of the browser version. Frogster will show a first test version to selected media partners at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco from February 28th to March 4th. The publisher can be found in a shared booth with its parent company Gameforge in the North Hall of the Moscone Center, booth No. 702.

“We are expecting to see a marked increase in the numbers of players for Runes of Magic through this cooperation with Kalydo. Powered by the impressive Kalydo technology the browser version will enable us to attract new target groups who previously have found the download, installation and registration process too complicated”, commented Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive Pictures AG on the signing of the contract.

Doki Tops, CEO of Kalydo agrees with him, “This is the future of gaming. Players enter the game with a single click of the mouse instead of spending hours on a download and installation and get the exact same experience. We praise Frogster for recognizing this potential and taking a leading role with us in pioneering this massive new style of gaming.”

Kalydo has already successfully incorporated the 3D role-playing game GodsWar into Facebook, which has gone from strength to strength.

About Kalydo
Developed by Eximion, Kalydo is a leading browser game middleware solution which enables embedding games, based on any game technology, directly into every browser and social network. Kalydo’s innovative and scalable way of deploying games takes away traditional barriers, such as the need to download and install software. Kalydo decreases distribution costs while increasing visitor-to-player conversion and revenues. Games can now be offered in a “click & play” fashion, bringing consumers a fantastic gaming experience from anywhere in the world. Based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, Kalydo launched their public beta in 2008 before going commercially live in 2009.

Frogster – We take you to a new world!
The Frogster group is a Berlin-based, listed publisher of online games. Frogster focuses on the marketing and operation of virtual worlds, so-called massively multiplayer online games – one of the strongest growing sectors in the entertainment industry. With its top titles ‘Runes of Magic’ and ‘Bounty Bay Online’ Frogster has already gathered over 5 million registered players worldwide. For a release in 2011 Frogster has just recently announced the two highly ambitious MMO games ‘TERA’ and ‘Mythos’. Frogster also intends to enter into the rapidly growing market of browser games with ‘Bounty Bay Live’ and ‘Throne of Fire’ shortly. Currently the Frogster group employs more than 200 staff members in the fields of game development, licensing, IT, web design and web development, product management, marketing, PR, web publishing, community management, support, sales, hosting, billing and finance/administration. Frogster’s subsidiaries Frogster Online Gaming, Frogster America and Frogster Pacific market and operate their games in Europe, America and Oceania respectively. The shares of the Frogster Interactive Pictures AG have been listed in the Entry Standard segment of the Frankfurt stock exchange since February 2006. Internet: www.frogster.de

Two weeks ago, after the Tuesday update (before the Shattering), I checked my email after purchasing the Cataclysm update and found that there was an odd email from Blizzard saying that my email had been changed.  Ok, freak out time – as I didn’t change my email!  So, I immediately jump on the Battlenet site and try to get my account back.  The problem is that you can’t use their automated thing to re-do your password, because, Hello, you don’t have access to that account!  So, I sent in the online ticket request, and sat biting my fingers waiting.

Now, I currently have two accounts.  The one that got hacked happened to be the one that I have a guild on with 4 tabs.  With Cataclysm coming up, yes, my guild bank is stocked to the gills with specific items.  All of my toons on that particular server are pretty rich as I’m an auction house fanatic.  So, immediately I know that they’ve already cleaned out my toons as well as the guild bank.  While I don’t have a large guild at all, (just me and two RL friends), we all use the bank to store things in as they place things in, I sell them for them, and shoot them the gold afterward.  It’s a great system – and we trust each other, which is nice.

Ok, back to the hack.  After waiting for about four hours without hearing anything, I get impatient and call Blizzard.  It does take me seven minutes on hold to get to a person, but when I do, he is absolutely amazing on the phone from what I’ve experienced from their customer service previously.  Within five minutes, I have my account back and he’s already entered tickets to get all my goods back on my toons and I’m logging in to my account again.  Now, this was so easy because I am the owner of the account, I know the secret question and answer, and blah blah blah.  If you don’t have this, yeah, there is no way in hell you’re getting an account – so NEVER give out this information to anyone.

After I get off the phone, it’s only about two hours and my mail boxes are full on all of my toons with everything that was stripped from them.  Then, another hour and everything from the guild bank is back in my mail box.  Amazing!  Needless to say, I’m a happy camper now.  And, needless to say, I purchased an authenticator right after that.

Now, the reason that this is so great to me is because in the Spring of 2008 I had my account hacked.  I’ve had this account for almost two years, and I had gotten my favorite Warlock and DK of all time both to 80 and geared up.  This was before the battlenet accounts and when it got hacked, the hackers managed to change the secret question so I no longer knew it.  I never got this account back – and at least the account is locked and gone so the hackers can’t use it for gold selling either.  On top of this, the people that I spoke to at Blizzard (two different customer service reps), were very hateful and rude to me.  They did nothing but talk down to me as if I was a five year old that had no idea what I was doing, and I got no where with either of them aside from being pissed off when I hung up.  I still grumble to this day about that account and that incident made me quit WoW for almost 9 months.  So, to see the changes in their customer service and processes now is an amazing change for the better.

If you find yourself in the “hacked” category, don’t panic.  I completely understand that you will panic, as I did, but calm yourself and then do yourself a favor and call Blizzard’s customer service line.  Even if you have to wait on hold for ten minutes, it’s well worth it.  Their customer service now is excellent in my opinion, and they will easily take care of you and help get you on the road to a full recovery of everything you lost.  Keep in mind that hackers are coming up with brilliant new ways to get your account information, and you need to be scanning your computer daily for bots, keyloggers, and other spywear that can jack your info.

In CardMon Hero, players will assemble a powerful deck of summoning cards to call upon mercenaries to aid the player in battle. Summoning cards may be found in the field or crafted with materials, each with a unique set of abilities customized to maximize the Hero’s strengths. Heroes can specialize in melee, magic or conjuration depending on their fighting style, while mercenaries come in three flavors – the Tank with high HP and defense attributes, the Assaulter capable of dealing high damage, and Support which can heal allies and confuse enemies. Nearly all monsters you defeat in the game may be summoned as a mercenary, and knowing which mercenaries to summon and when is the key to battle in the Hero’s quest to driving back the evil that has taken over the world of Aria.

Game features include:
• Persistent and open 3D world: Adventure through a massive and beautiful world filled with quests, creatures and enemies just waiting to be discovered.
• Quests without the grind: Complete quests by adventuring through numerous zones and maps that don’t require players to grind. Level up through quests that Heroes can overcome on their own or challenging quests that will offer greater rewards with the cooperation of your friends.
• Extensive Hunting Mode: Join a party or band the guild to face strong monsters that yield unique rewards and rare items, scaling up in difficulty as you gain Mission Points.
• Unique battle strategy: Experience familiar game mechanics popular to MMOs while strategically creating, recruiting and customizing mercenaries to summon and aid you in battle.
• Endless Mercenaries: Discover new summoning cards, craft new mercenaries out of materials, upgrade mercenaries by combining cards with unique skill sets, and even recruit monsters that you encounter in Aria.
• Full customization: Create a Hero unique to your personality with selection of gender, faces, clothes, armor, weapons and shoes. Mix and match summoning cards to build out an army of mercenaries that complement your battling style and strategy.

Based on the popular Korean free-to-play MMORPG Camon Battle, the game has been localized for the North American audience and re-titled asCardMon Hero. Signups for the Closed Beta are now being accepted and aspiring Heroes are encouraged to register at:http://cardmon.redbanaus.net/

For more information about CardMon Hero please visit:http://cardmon.t3fun.com/

Interact with CardMon Hero on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Cardmonheroglobal and Twitter at www.twitter.com/CardMonGlobal.

CardMon Hero Backstory
The evil forces of Zerdantis, god of darkness, have been released onto the peaceful world of Aria after being sealed for many years. Izen and Liberto, two heirs to the throne of Superta, protector of Aria, compete to destroy the dark spirits, secretly summoned by Liberto in a desperate attempt to repel and gain the support of Superta’s congress and citizens that favored Izen. As Liberto obtains the Ark Sign that once awakened the devil, Great Oracle Yui summoned heroes from other dimensions to battle Liberto and the demons. The year is 2016. Players on CardMon Hero are experiencing a glitch in their system. But this is no glitch. This is Yui, asking YOU to join forces with your guild and save Aria!

About Redbana

Formed in April 2008, Redbana Corporation is the North American publishing arm of Korea’s leading videogame developer and publisher, T3 Entertainment. With the considerable support of its parent company, Redbana ultimately aims to take a place among the elite interactive entertainment studios in the North American market by offering the most high-quality and entertaining online games in the world that appeal to a wide audience of consumers. The company has released Audition Online, a rhythm-based online dance game with more than 300 million registered players worldwide, and is currently working on CardMon Hero, a popular Korean card-summoning MMORPG debuting soon, and Mythos, a fast-paced hack-and-slash MMORPG. For more information about Redbana, please visit www.redbana.com.

The vast reduction in the size of the slim client was made possible by compressing some of the detail in the graphical textures and sound files. Aside from these two differences, the game and features in the slim client are identical to those of the full client. Additionally, the slim client of Runes of Magic requires fewer system resources, offering gamers improved system performance.

Both the slim client and the full client including the current update Patch 3.0.5 are available for download at the official website: http://us.runesofmagic.com/us/content.php?show=download

Runes of Magic – A world full of magic and adventure
Runes of Magic has redefined the standard for free-to-play MMORPGs with its wide range of features. The online role-play game is based on an exciting, multi-layered story, driven by more than 2,800 quests set in the atmospheric fantasy world of Taborea which spreads over two continents. Players choose one of eight classes which they can combine with a secondary class. Each class combination has individually assigned elite skills. Runes of Magic offers two races to choose between, the elves and the humans, which can be customized using the wide selection of available physical characteristics. A large range of furniture and other functional items lets players furnish and customise their own virtual homes. In guilds, groups of players can construct their own guild castles which may then be expanded with additional buildings and powerful siege engines allowing them to go head-to-head in absorbing guild wars. Thanks to comprehensive crafting and ranking systems, gripping player vs. player features such as arenas and open battlefields, flexible and extensive customization of the user interface, a selection of demanding dungeons and many other features ‘Runes of Magic’ has something for everyone. So far Runes of Magic has attracted over 4 million registered users making it one of the most popular and successful free-to-play MMORPGs on the market.

Runes of Magic Features
• Dual class system with eight classes and unique elite skills
• Individual furnishing of player housing and guild castles
• Gripping player-versus-player duels in arenas and on the battlefield
• Guilds can set themselves against each other in formidable guild wars
• In-depth story experienced through above 2,800 quests laced with epic quest-lines
• Easy travel using portals and a wide range of mounts
• Challenging boss-combat in dangerous and extensive dungeons with up to 36 players
• Dual difficulty levels in the most challenging dungeons
• Entertaining mini-games for single players and guilds alike
• Dynamic crafting and customization of items
• Versatile role play elements including a marriage system
• Regular comprehensive free updates with new game content

About Runewaker Entertainment Ltd.
Runewaker Entertainment was founded in August of 2004, with headquarters located in Taichung, Taiwan. The founding members were all very experienced in the field and decided to come together to pursue their dream. Currently Runewaker employs over 100 highly skilled programmers, designers and artists and is constantly expanding. Runewaker specializes in making massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG). The company has built their own engine from scratch which rivals some of the best available on the market. Runewaker is constantly producing more content for Runes of Magic. Internet: www.runewaker.com

Frogster – We take you to a new world!
The Berlin based Frogster Interactive Pictures AG, listed on the stock exchange, has focused on the growth sector of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) at an early stage already. The company licenses, markets and operates its virtual worlds for millions of players in Europe, Asia and North America. In Europe its subsidiary Frogster Online Gaming GmbH is taking care of the operating business of the Frogster group. Founded in 2006 and based in Seoul, the Korean joint venture Frogster Asia Co. Ltd. markets and operates virtual worlds in Asia. Frogster America Inc., based in San Francisco, was founded in January of 2009 and markets and operates MMO games in North America. At their offices in Berlin, Seoul and San Francisco, the Frogster group employs more than 200 staff members in the fields of game development, licensing, IT, web design and web development, product management, marketing, PR, web publishing, community management, customer support, hosting, sales, billing and finance/administration. In the year 2008, Frogster won the “Landmark in the Land of Ideas”, a competition under the patronage of the German President. Additional information is available at: www.frogster.de

The most exciting new addition, Premium Quest Tickets, will allow players to experience a completely unique quest that promises a big return in Skill Points as a reward. This quest can be repeated as many times as players like, providing a fantastic opportunity to efficiently build up characters of every level and specialization.

Option Level Enhancement Scrolls, meanwhile, will give players the opportunity to power up their favorite weapons by up to 3 additional levels for a set period of time. There’s no better way to ensure maximum damage against enemies than with extra power, after all. Finally, Tomb of Pharaoh 1 Free Entrance Tickets will allow adventurers to explore the depths of the Tomb of the Pharaoh as many times as they like without worrying about daily visit limitations.

For more information about these epic additions to the Silkroad Online Item Mall, please visit http://www.joymax.com/silkroad.

About Silkroad Online

Silkroad Online is a massively multiplayer online RPG that puts the player deep into historical fantasy, joining the Chinese and European civilizations along the Silk Road trade route. Traveling across Jangan, from China to Constantinople, players can make their fortunes as merchants, prey on the rich as thieves, or be protection-for-hire as hunters. The most recent expansion, Legend V Plus: Battle Arena, provides players with a new PvP arena battle system where they can duel adversaries for Arena coins and Experience as they compete for ultimate domination!

About Joymax

Since its establishment in April, 1997, Joymax has been developing and publishing quality games for the emerging game industry of the 21st century. Based in Seoul, Korea, the company has published numerous titles for the PC platform, and its first MMORPG, Silkroad Online, has grown to offer service in 200 countries since its 2004 launch. Joymax is to become a global entertainment company providing multimedia content. For more information, please visit www.joymax.co.kr/eng/.

In this first of many planned updates, two furry companions that specialize in looting - Hwanggu and Patrasche – have been added. Both of them will automatically pick up enemy loot drops and return them to a character’s inventory, allowing players to focus on taking out the next enemy while their pets collect the goods. Future pets will be able to help out with a variety of other tasks, including direct support in battle, and some will even have their own health, mana points for skills, and levels.

To obtain one of these four-legged companions, players simply need to visit the Florensia Item Shop and purchase a Spirit Pendant. These pendants can be equipped just like any other item, and they give players the option to summon their new partner whenever they’d like.

To view the Florensia Pet System trailer, head to:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TcySOrwJTs

For more information about the Pet System and Florensia’s adventure-filled world, visit http://www.florensia-online.com/

About Florensia

Florensia is a free-to-play, maritime MMORPG that blends vibrant, colorful graphics with classically accessible gameplay. Choosing one of four starting classes, from the sword-wielding Mercenary to the spell casting Noble, players will do battle with a huge variety of weapons and magical abilities as they explore expansive, underground dungeons and sail uncharted seas. Players from every corner of the globe have already signed up and headed out in search of adventure, and there has never a better time to join them in the wild and wonderful world of Florensia.

About burda:ic & alaplaya

burda:ic GmbH is a leading free-to-play PC online games publisher headquartered in Munich, Germany. burda:ic markets and distributes massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) such as Avalon Heroes,S4League, and LOCO – Land of Chaos Online. Its innovative alaplaya Gaming platform has continued to grow rapidly since its launch in summer 2007, with an anticipated 10 million registered users by end of 2010. More information about burda:ic is available at www.burda-ic.com.

“Our inaugural project, TERA, is one that we feel deeply passionate about and will reflect our approach and commitment to the Western gaming community.”

“We’ve brought together ‘best of breed’ experts in the fields of technology, online gaming, branding and localization who have a shared vision for global MMO games that deliver on the highest levels of quality and cultural relevance,” said Dr. Jae-Heon Yang, CEO of En Masse Entertainment. “Our inaugural project, TERA, is one that we feel deeply passionate about and will reflect our approach and commitment to the Western gaming community.”

The senior management team at En Masse is comprised of the following members:

CEO Dr. Jae-Heon Yang

Dr. Yang is a computer science academic, gaming executive and visionary leader within the Korean online gaming industry. After transitioning from academia, he decided to develop games by helping great creators fulfill their visions without getting in the way of the creative process. In 2000, he co-founded IMAZIC Co. Ltd., an innovator in online gaming that developed one of Asia’s first 3D MMOs, Sephiroth, which reached hundreds of thousands of players in Korea, Taiwan and China. In 2005, Dr. Yang became CTO for NCsoft, a role he held until 2007 when he returned to academic circles as a visiting scholar at the University of California, Irvine.

COO Patrick Wyatt

Patrick Wyatt has 19 years of experience with hit franchises, starting as a creator of Blizzard Entertainment’s legendary Warcraft® and Starcraft® franchises, writing Diablo’s® multiplayer code, scaling up battle.net™, founding ArenaNet, developing Guild Wars® and serving as CTO of NCsoft.

Publishing VP Chris Lee

Chris Lee successfully managed the marketing campaigns for blockbuster franchises including Halo®, Need for Speed™, Age of Empires® and Aion® at leading companies including Electronic Arts, Microsoft and NCsoft before joining En Masse Entertainment.

Senior Producer Brian Knox

Brian Knox, who is overseeing Western development for TERA, is an NCsoft MMO veteran who worked his way up from the trenches before assuming Producer responsibilities for Aion.

TERA is an innovative MMORPG with rich graphics and animations where players fully control their characters through the game’s dynamic battle system. Player actions in TERA can change the balance of power in a world where six races try to work together for the common good. The game, which is currently in development for PC, will launch in Korea this year and in Western markets thereafter.

En Masse will host meetings at GDC 2010 in San Francisco from March 9–13 at booth #1134 in Expo. For more information, please visit EnMasse.com.

About En Masse Entertainment

En Masse Entertainment is a specialist publisher focused on high-quality MMOs. Based in Seattle, Washington, the company’s mission is to bring stellar online games to Western markets with integrity and expertise, starting with TERA, En Masse’s inaugural MMO project from developer and parent company Bluehole Studio, Inc. The close-knit team at En Masse includes experts in online technology, game production, branding, and localization, allowing them to bring online games to Western audiences at the highest levels of quality and cultural relevance. For more information, visit EnMasse.com.

About Bluehole Studio

Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Bluehole Studio, Inc. aspires to become the preeminent global MMORPG developer through its unwavering belief in its people and its core values. Bluehole formed in 2007 with an intense focus on attracting pioneers and innovators with a shared vision to create the next flagship MMORPG for the global market. The studio’s inaugural title, TERA, is scheduled to launch in Korea in 2010 and features a dynamic battle system, next-generation graphics, and a gamer-centric community experience. For more information, visit bluehole.net/eng.

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