RIFT 2.4: Beyond Infinity Secrets are Revealed

RIFT 2.4: Beyond Infinity heralds the first chapter in a new war between the elemental planes. Players will find themselves defeating several bosses to pave the way to Planerbreaker Bastion within the Infinity Gate. The Realm of Twisted Dreams, a 5-man dungeon, is a place filled with chimeric versions of faces that may be familiar to the Ascended. You may also stumble into an alternate Telara called Infernal Dawn: Laethys, where a victorious Laethys reigns from her volcanic lair.

The update also includes PvP Prestige Rank 90 armor and weapons, cross-shard Instant Adventure, and new hairstyles and hair colors in the Barbershop. Planebreaker Bastion will be unlocked shortly after Update 2.4 goes live.

League of Legends: "Teamwork OP" Video

It's no secret that the League of Legends community can be a bit "fierce" at times. And by fierce I don't mean model walking down the runway "fierce". More like a pack of wolves praying on a little lamb "fierce". While there are moments of greatness that come from this particular community of players, we've all been in those games where you, or someone else, gets flamed hard for making a mistake. Whether you missed an ability, lost your lane, accidentally fed the enemy team or whatever other scenario you can think of, we've all had that team at one time or another that forgets the meaning of the word "teamwork" and starts treating one another as the enemy.

To help address this on-going issue, Riot has released a video that will hopefully encourage players to stop bickering amongst each other and start working together to win more games. The company's latest "Teamwork OP" video breaks down the statistics and shows players exactly what it takes to win more games--as well as lose them.

PlanetSide 2 Heads to PlayStation 4

Those who have pre-ordered Sony’s next-generation console have even more reason to celebrate, with the news that PlanetSide 2 will be heading to the PlayStation 4. There’s no promise that SOE’s flagship MMOFPS will be ready for the console’s launch on November 15 (29 in Europe), but it will contain everything currently in the PC version.

When I spoke to creative director Matt Higby in a roundtable discussion at Gamescom, he was upbeat about the move, promising that it will look as good as a PC on the highest settings. While there won’t be any cross-platform play, Higby also suggested that we might see a facility to transfer characters from PC to PS4 servers and vice versa, all in the name of helping us play with friends.

“We’re not doing it [cross-platform play], but the main reason is logistical. When you’re releasing something on the PlayStation Network, it goes through a different level of QA from SCEE and SCEA. We can’t guarantee that our PC and PS4 servers will be on the same version all the time, so that means we can’t have characters jumping back and forth or playing on the same servers.”

While the PS4 version is still in the pipeline, the PC version has already clocked over five million users. On August 16, European publisher ProsiebenSat.1 took the unusual step of launching a retail version. Priced at €10, the box contains codes for that amount in store currency, along with exclusive items and useful boosts. It also contains a DVD, saving 8GB of download time for those suffering with low-quality internet.

Elder Scrolls Online: Ask Us Anything Variety Pack

Earlier this week ZeniMax Online posted another in their Ask Us Anything series for The Elder Scrolls Online. In these roughly weekly/biweekly posts, the developers take questions from you, the community, and try to answer them to the best of their ability. For this week's AUA, it's time for another variety pack; topics from PvP and titles to lore and spell functionality are all included in this batch of fan-submitted questions.

Rise of the Hutt Cartel Goes Free to Subscribers

Starting on Thursday, September 12, 2013, active subscribers to Star Wars: The Old Republic will receive the first digital expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel, free of charge as a newly added benefit to the Subscriber Rewards Program.

Players who have already purchased Rise of the Hutt Cartel and are an active subscriber on September 12 at 4:00AM PDT (11:00AM GMT) will receive a new title, "The Risen," via in-game mail on or before September 25, 2013 as appreciation for the purchase. Subscribers who have purchased Rise of the Hutt Cartel between August 11, 2013 and September 12, 2013 at 9:00AM PDT (4:00PM GMT) will be granted 1050 Bonus Cartel Coins, which will be granted by September 13, 2013 at 9:00AM PDT (4:00PM GMT), in appreciation for their recent purchase.

Executive Producer Announced For EVE: Valkyrie

CCP Games today named Owen O'Brien as executive producer of EVE: Valkyrie, a new virtual-reality spaceship dogfighting game in development at the company’s Newcastle, UK studio. As executive producer O'Brien will oversee all aspects of EVE: Valkyrie's production.

O'Brien joins CCP following a long career at the award-winning game development studio DICE in Stockholm, Sweden, owned by publisher Electronic Arts. At DICE, O'Brien led production of the critically acclaimed game Mirror's Edge, which was heralded for its creativity and groundbreaking take on the first-person action genre.

Aion Celebrates Four Years!

This month marks four years since NCSoft introduced Aion to the west and players will be treated to a multitude of events both in and out of game. Specific activities include:

  • Alchemy Event (September 4 – 18): Unlock special chests throughout the world with keys obtained from daily quests and by combining Alchemic Essences with Lead Fragments. There are tons of great rewards available in the chests so make the most of this event every day.
  • Leave Your Legacy (September 11 – 25): Aethertech Players are once again given the chance to leave their mark in Aion forever. Leave Your Legacy allows players to submit their very own design for an Aethertech Key & Mecha. One design will be chosen and created for the new Aethertech class coming when Aion 4.5 launches in North America.
  • Deava’s Day Event (September 18 – October 2): A variety of celebration activities that include special anniversary cake buffs, quests rewarding players with Deava Wings, challenges that enable players to earn golden feathers to purchase rewards, and a hide-and-seek game that rewards players for finding mini-anniversary cakes around the world.
  • Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19): Dress your character in the latest designer North American exclusive Pirate gear in observance of the national Talk Like a Pirate Day and participate in various themed activities.
  • In-game GM Events: NCSOFT GMs will be making their way into the game to host a variety of activities and play mini-games designed to bring players together and handsomely reward them for their efforts.

LolKing: The Inner League featuring ZionSpartan

Our sister site LolKing has released the latest episode of The Inner League -- a look at the innards of the competitive League of Legends community, one star at a time, hosted by the inquisitive Matt Demers

Last episode Matt spoke with NK Inc of team Velocity eSports, one of the teams who didn't make the cut this League Championship season, this episode he catches up with the second team who lost out, Team Coast and ZionSpartan

Guild Wars 2: Tequatl Rising

Next week's update for Guild Wars 2, Tequatl Rising, will feature a major revamp to the Tequatl, the Sunless boss fight. Tequatl has been gathering power in the depths and now promises to be one of the most difficult encounters in the game. Players will need to work together to tackle the all new mechanics in this epic challenge.

Libra Eorzea: The Official FFXIV iOS Application

Square Enix announced today that Final Fantasy XIV: Libra Eorzea, its official smart phone app, is available to download for iOS through the iTunes store. The application features a comprehensive offline game database and a character profile viewer, with future plans for more features and an Android version.

Game Database
FINAL FANTASY XIV: LIBRA EORZEA contains an encyclopaedic catalog of in-game information, including items, quests, non-playable characters (NPCs), achievements, and more. With a host of updates in the works, the database will serve as an ever-useful resource for the adventurers of FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn.

Character Profiles
Players with an active FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn account can log in with their Square Enix account credentials to review their character information such as attributes and gear. They can also browse the profiles of other characters in their Free Company, Linkshell, or use the search function to view details on other players and Free Companies. Moreover, players can even learn where fellow adventurers acquired their gear.