This last weekend Square Enix added in the Duty Finder to the Closed Beta for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, allowing players to queue for dungeons, four-man guildhest quests, and Trials from anywhere in the world. I decided to spend most of that weekend trying out the various dungeons to see how well they stacked up compared to what's available in other MMOs. Well, that and because I was tired of being stuck on the "Finish the Sastasha dungeon" part of my main story quest.

When I left off yesterday, I'd switched to healing as a Conjurer due to lengthy tank queues (yes, I know DPS have it worse) and proceeded to clear the first two dungeons ARR had to offer. I was impressed with how good the dungeons looked, both in terms of general appearance and the cutscene tours leading in, and the side chests littered across the dungeon helped provide incentive to explore rather than just riding the loot train in a single linear path like I'm accustomed to with many MMOs. Unfortunately though these two dungeons are meant as starter dungeons, so the mechanics never got complicated enough to make me feel like my abilities were being taxed. They're a good warm-up for inexperienced players and someone who might be a bit rusty, but I was looking for something a little more interesting than "occasionally summons adds". Time to see what else ARR's Duty Finder has to throw at me with the next few instances.

Over the last couple of weekends the writers here at ZAM, myself included, have been trying out the remake of Square Enix’s second MMO, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Corey gave his early impressions of the game’s mechanics, questing, etc. I focused on crafting and gathering for that early weekend, but followed up later with my own impressions of the rest of the game that I’d experienced up to that point. While I covered most of the areas I was interested in during those first two weekends, there was a fairly glaring hole in my coverage; other than participating in the open world FATE events I ran across, I did not participate in any group content. With no grouping tools other than yelling in General chat and an apparent abundance of Gladiator and Marauder competition for tanking roles, I focused on solo content and story until I ran into a wall when my level 15 main story quest was “Go clear Sastasha, the first dungeon”. Sure I was still content to work on crafting/gathering and there were other classes to work on for my cross-class skill slots, but I like running dungeons so I was somewhat disappointed I couldn’t cover that content.

Thankfully that problem was rectified, as this weekend’s build included a new feature for FFXIV:ARR: the Duty Finder. With that major hurdle taken care of, the goal for this last weekend became clear: run everything I could with the Duty Finder, see what group content is available, and find out.

By now, I’d been playing EVE Online for a month. After learning the basics of ship piloting and working my way through the tutorial, I’d headed out into space with no real goal in mind. I half-stumbled into a corporation, earned a healthy amount of money and started exploring some of the hidden mysteries.

It was at this point that I found myself at a crossroads. I could continue down the industrial road, become better at mining and earn even more money. Or I could use the money I’d earned to start buying powerful equipment and pursue the life of a battleship captain.

Little did I know that my hand would be forced. War was delivered to our doorstep, forcing me to reconsider everything.

Corsairs’ Stronghold arrives today to herald the addition of siege battles to TERA: Rising’s PvP. The battleground will allow 20-on-20 clashes with each side taking turns to attack and defend a castle using vehicles and siege weaponry.

To find out more, I asked Patrick Sun, producer on TERA, some questions; to which he obligingly answered.

New Eden is a vast universe, teeming with hidden riches just waiting to be discovered. Besides the planets and asteroid belts, solar systems might be home to hidden wrecks, pirate hideouts or even wormholes. And, as I continued to journey through EVE Online, I decided it was time for a change.

After earning a healthy amount of ISK from mining, I went in search of variety. The corporation I’d joined was full of chatter about how members go exploring or run missions when they’re not out mining the belts, and I was eager to find out more. With my mining barge safely docked, I headed into the depths of space in an altogether different vessel.

This afternoon SOE released the lineup of panels for SOE Live. The lineup has developer and player panels, including the long-awaited EverQuest Next. No descriptions are available for the panels yet, but attendees can expect a jam-packed weekend of events. Check out the full schedule here!*

Those interested in EverQuest Next should make sure to attend the unveiling of the game during the Friday, August 2 morning keynote address. This takes place from 11am-1pm in the celebrity ballroom of the host hotel, Planet Hollywood. Several EverQuest Next panels are peppered throughout the day on Friday, Saturday, and even one on Sunday.

ZAM's own Cyliena is running a panel, EQII: Hardcore Decorating, scheduled for 3-4pm on Saturday, August 3. If you're attending be sure to swing by and say hello!

* Panel lineup may be modified at SOE's discretion at any point.

As excited as we all are for EverQuest Next here at ZAM--seriously, there's frothing--hundreds of thousands of players are still adventuring through the current incarnations of Norrath.

And SOE has plenty in store for them.

In EverQuest II, Darkness Dawns will be arriving in late July and promises to begin a huge storyline that will leave the world of EQII irrevocably changed. The relic uncovered in Scars of the Awakened holds power that will change the course of Norrath's future, with players taking a central role in the story as it unfolds.

The update will also bring new, high-level incarnations of favorite zones through Fabled Dungeons from the first EQII expansion, Desert of Flames, holding high level loot to tempt the plucky adventurer. There are a lot of other features coming--with Character Advancement Tables sounding particularly intriguing--so be sure to read Holly Longdale's producer's letter for the full details.

With cross-faction PvP now available to testers, WildStar has reached a special point in closed beta. The gloves have come off and players can proudly wear their Dominion or Exile loyalties on the field of battle. Meanwhile, somewhere in Orange County, Carbine Studios will be observing the carnage and taking notes.

But Closed Beta Test 3 isn’t just about PvP. With the Skullcano dungeon, the lunar zone of Farside, and Tradeskill talents, there’s a huge amount of content for all types of player to dig into. To help make sense of the patch notes, I interviewed content director Mike Donatelli about the huge range of additions and changes arriving this week.

For WildStar’s PvP fanatics, their day has finally arrived. Carbine has taken the wraps off Closed Beta Test 3: Ready to Rumble, ushering in cross-faction battlegrounds and open-world PvP. After two tests that featured exclusively Exile and then Dominion content, this will be the first time the two factions go head-to-head.

Alongside arena PvP and the existing Walatiki Temple battleground, players will be able to duke it out in the new Halls of the Bloodsworn and settle scores in the Whitevale contested PvP zone. The latest beta phase also introduces rated battlegrounds and arenas, enabling gladiators to check their ranking against other bloodthirsty warriors

Obviously, this Elezen can afford to be smug, he's in the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn beta, after all. Having played ARR myself I can confirm the buzz around the game: the improvements since 1.0 are wildly apparent throughout.

But why take my word for it?

Thanks to Square Enix and ZAM you have the chance to see this exciting new world for yourself.