Jef Reahard

    - Managing Editor

    Jef is an author, pilot, and scruffy looking nerf-herder, not necessarily in that order.  When he's not writing for Massively or slipping the surly bonds of earth, he dreams of the perfect Cool Ranch Dorito. Lost Continent is his fault, and he's the creator of Massively's MMO Burnout, Rewind, Stick and Rudder, Chaos Theory, The Firing Line, Some Assembly Required, Community Detective, Wings Over Atreia, The Anvil of Crom, and the Alter Ego web comic. He's covered SWTOR, Elder Scrolls, EverQuest II, and Darkfall at length, and he has an incurable case of MMO wanderlust. You'll occasionally find him atop Massively's Soapbox.

  • The Daily Grind: This is not the end

    I hate goodbyes, so this one is going to be short. And really, it's not even going to be a goodbye goodbye. But wait, I've said too much! Anyway, thanks. Thanks for reading and commenting. Thanks for playing MMORPGs and making them worlds worth escaping to (and, OK, sometimes from). Mostly, though, thanks for allowing me to do this job. Ahh never mind, here's a quote. "I find myself more and more convinced that I had more fun doing news reporting than in any other enterprise." Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

  • Richardsson replacing Caron atop 40K Eternal Crusade

    Behaviour Interactive's Miguel Caron is leaving his post atop the Warhammer 40,000 Eternal Crusade dev team. MMOGames reports that Nathan Richardsson, familiar to MMO gamers from his stints on Defiance and as an executive producer for EVE Online, is succeeding Caron. War40k moderator Vigilia Mortis posted his farewell to Caron on Twitter yesterday, telling fans that the switch will be final around Valentine's day.

  • EVE's CSM X candidacy opens today

    EVE Online developer CCP is accepting applications for its Council of Stellar Management beginning today. The CSM is a democratically elected group of 14 EVE players chosen annually by their peers and tasked with maintaining "close and constant contact with EVE development." Candidates must not have "any records of serious breach of the EULA and/or TOS," CCP says in its announcement post.

  • A Samurai class is coming to Black Desert

    Black Desert is getting a new Samurai class in its next Korean update, according to MMO Culture. Little is known of the archetype at this point, though the site speculates that we may see some "Samurai-type skills like Yasuo's [from] League of Legends."

  • It's time to pilfer Elder Scrolls NPCs' pockets on the PTS

    Ready to kill and steal your way through Elder Scrolls Online's NPC population? You can thanks to Update 6's recent appearance on the public test server. The justice system is a big part of the patch, but so is the champion system which tweaks endgame progression. Read all about it on the official ESO site!

  • Crowfall maps its universe, tells Forgemaster tales

    Ready for a Crowfall update? Good, me too. ArtCraft has educated us about the Stoneborn Forgemaster archetype as well as provided some sample illustrations on how the game world's laid out. The Forgemaster is some sort of support class, and if you're into lore there's a bit of that on offer. There are also a couple of very interesting drawings that show the "architecture of the Crowfall universe, which should you a hint why being able to travel between worlds is so important," ArtCraft says.

  • Skycastles coming to TERA on February 24

    Have you recently come home to TERA? OK, maybe you never left. Either way, En Masse is betting you'll get excited about the Skycastle guild housing system that's heading your way on February 24th. The castles float above major cities and are available "to the top-ranking guilds on each server via two new ongoing four-week guild competitions that track guild points earned from dungeons, battlegrounds, and guild-vs.-guild battles," according to an En Masse press blurb. The patch will also include a new dungeon set aboard the Sky Cruiser Endeavor as well as a hard-mode version of Bathysmal Rise. [Source: En Masse press release]

  • Leaderboard: When did you start reading Massively?

    This site has been around a while. Not as long as some, but still a while. For today's Leaderboard, tell us how long you've been around Massively. Assuming it's more than a week or so, you already know that there's a poll just past the cut.

  • New Das Tal vid explains combat, playstyles, and more

    Das Tal's devs have released a new video and are currently adding player settlements, resource warfare, crafting, and progression to the PvP sandbox, according to a new press release. The video runs for nearly 10 minutes and explains a good bit about the game's combat abilities. It also summarizes possible playstyles based on weapon and armor choices, as well as a high-level look at the game's "MOBA meets MMO" combat system. Click past the cut to see for yourself! [Source: Fairytale Distillery press release]

  • I just reupped my sub so FFXIV is having a free weekend

    Last night I re-upped my Final Fantasy XIV subscription. Naturally this made it an ideal time for Square to announce a free weekend for its fantasy MMORPG. I haven't been in the game since late 2013, and given my dissatisfaction with pretty much everything at the moment, I figured why not return to a fun title that treats crafting (and fishing!) as more than a half-assed sideline activity. So, yep. That's pretty much that. Free FFXIV weekend -- for inactive accounts -- from Friday, January 30th through Monday, February 2nd. Have fun! [Source: Square press release]

  • Shards producer letter talks maps, admin servers, and more

    We've been wondering what's up with Shards Online, and today we're learning a little bit about that via its new producer's letter. Looks like the team is "making progress on the first map and getting the server in the hands of early admins." Project lead Derek Brinkmann has also been "working to optimize the Lua script engine to make sure we have the ability to support enough servers" for those early admins. There's much more to the report, but you'll need to visit the official Shards website to read it! [Thanks Omedon!]

  • Here's how to steal from NPCs in Elder Scrolls Online

    "Justice is coming to Tamriel," according to ZeniMax's latest website notice. It's probably more accurate to say that criminality is coming to Tamriel, though. More specifically, Elder Scrolls Online's upcoming Update 6 features the justice system which will enable your avatar to participate in a variety of underhanded activities including murder and thievery. The latter involves relieving hapless NPCs of their valuables while avoiding those pesky town guards, and the former involves assaulting and even killing AI citizens. At some point you'll end up with a bounty on your head, which in turns affects how guards react to your presence. Click through the links below to read the rest of the details.

  • The Daily Grind: Did you get anything out of PAX South?

    PAX South came and went, and outside of the jumpgate and mobiglass UI reveals for Star Citizen, none of the news coming from the con really interested me. What about you, Massively readers? Did you get anything out of this year's PAX South? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

  • MMO Burnout: Engineers in spaaace

    I missed the whole Minecraft craze. I was stupidly grinding my virtual life away in various MMORPGs, plus I couldn't get past Minecraft's so-fugly-it's-hip aesthetic. No matter, though, because Space Engineers takes Minecraft's core concepts and dolls them up with pleasing visuals, a nifty near future sci-fi setting, and addictive gameplay that's much more than the sum of its parts.

  • The Daily Grind: Which MMO devs cause you to follow a project?

    Raph Koster's involvement with Crowfall has increased my interest in the game. I still doubt the title is for me, but given Koster's role at the forefront of my two favorite MMORPGs, I kinda have to pay attention. What about you, Massively readers? Are there any MMO devs whose involvement causes you to follow a project? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

  • Make My MMO: January 18 - 24, 2015

    This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Star Citizen's release window made headlines, as did the new VAT tax that's about to hit Euro fans of the space sim opus. We also heard from TUG and Shroud of the Avatar, while Pantheon hosted a dev roundtable and promised a public vision. Click past the cut for our weekly crowdfunding news roundup.

  • Here's a trailer from that Borderlands thing you'll never play

    Borderlands Online is still a China-exclusive title, but if for some reason you want to watch the trailer for a game you'll probably never play, we have it for you after the break! MMO Culture reports that Borderlands started its "technical test" today. It also says that the game is an "instance-based online shooter," so really you aren't missing too much if you're a fan of the original series and its open world ethos.

  • DayZ has sold over 3 million early access copies

    DayZ has been on Steam early access for over a year now, and what does the post-apocalyptic zombie sandbox have to show for it? Well, over 3 million customers, for starters. A new Bohemia Interactive press release touts the 24 updates the game has seen since its "launch," and it also mentions ongoing improvements including a core engine rewrite begun in 2014. The new engine is called Enfusion, and it includes renderer upgrades and corresponding performance upticks as well as "vastly improved" particle effect aesthetics. Bohemia also notes that the DayZ dev team now boasts over 80 people. [Source: Bohemia Interactive press release]

  • RIFT's 3.1 Storm at Sea arrives next week -- with capes

    There's a preview of RIFT's new Tyrant's Throne content on the game's official website. On January 28th, Trion says, players will see some "titanic zone events" as well as a new 20-player raid, a 2-player chronicle, and more. The journey into RIFT 3.1 Storm at Sea is nearly at hand. On January 28, players will make landfall at the harbor of Tyrant's Throne – just in time for titanic zone events that bring ancient akvan lumbering out of the abyss! Ascended will have one week to wipe them from the island before the opening of Tyrant's Forge, a new 20-player raid pitting the strongest Guardians and Defiant against the Dragon Queen of Air. The most important bit, of course, is capes. Yes, capes. "New capes debut for all," says the studio.

  • The Daily Grind: What's the most exciting bit of MMO news you've heard lately?

    Wednesday's blurb about Star Citizen's release schedule caught me a bit off guard. I guess I lost track of time because the thought of getting to see the game's persistent universe this year took me aback. It makes sense, though, since Star Citizen boasts a big dev team and an even bigger developmental warchest, and they've been going at it in some form or fashion since 2012! So that's a bit of exciting and unexpected MMO news for 2015, at least in my book. What about you, Massively readers? What MMO news has tickled your fancy of late? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!