Archive for the 'Asheron’s Call 2' Category

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The End Begins (And Ends)

ac2[Asheron's Call 2] Today is the last day for Asheron’s Call 2 and I have the day off from work. Therefore, I will try to play as much as I can today to see how they say goodbye. There has not really been a lot of news out of Turbine regarding any plans they may have, so to be honest my expectations are low.

Here is the first update of the morning. The red X means “offline”.

Checking with the official forums, I find this update from Calandryll:

Hey folks,

Just to let you know, the AC2 servers are not supposed to be down. We are working to bring them back up now.
__________________
-Jonathan “Calandryll” Hanna

Continue reading ‘The End Begins (And Ends)’

Asheron’s Call 2 Memories

ac2[Asheron's Call 2] First off, the people. The community of AC2 players was amazing. I’ve seen nothing like it before or since.

Leafcull!!!

The “end of beta” Tyrant assault on Molworth and Cragstone (they attacked all the cities, but these were the ones I was at). Running through the vaults (Arwic, Lost Wish, Esper, etc.) in the beginning as a group. Looking up at the rain hitting an invisible “floor” above me. Leveling just by running through portals and clicking on obelisks (crazy run buff too). Fueling the forges for crafters. Chat, or should I say no chat. Tou Tou Vault – argh the jumping. Cragstone Excavation (fighting the crowd for medallion pieces). Ghost Mines. Lady Aerfalle. Olthoi and Olthoi mounds. Lady Silva. Tyrants Loft and Lord Deimos. The White Rabbit. Becoming a Hero. Icefire, Boots, and Mage Academy. Gurogs and Buruns.

Continue reading ‘Asheron’s Call 2 Memories’

Whimper

ac2[Asheron's Call 2] Well, it’s almost over now. AC2 is closing down on the 30th of December. What’s left to do?

For one, you can read Wired’s article, “Not With a Bang but a Whimper”, here (thanks to Inhibit for sending me the link). Or, if you still have an account like I do, you can get boosted to the max level which is 150 and go fight two Tyrants at one time in East Gevoth or perhaps go fight Ahria Queen of Night.

But mostly it is just another MMO to go down the tubes. Lots of things went wrong and some went right. Lessons will have hopefully been learned.

Current AC2 players have been invited to DDO’s beta, so all is not lost. Yes, they sent me one so I guess they want me to stop playing AC2 now? Anyway, I’m planning to be there when they pull the plug, to see if they have any inspiration left or if they will do just that – pull the plug.

Whimper.

- Ethic

AC2 Is Dead, Dozens Mourn

[Asheron's Call 2] Sadly, another prediction has come true:

Dear AC2 subscribers,

In spite of our hard work and the launch of Legions, AC2 has reached the point where it no longer makes sense to continue the service. We will be officially closing the Asheron’s Call 2 service on 12/30/05. Until then, we plan to run live events, but we will not be adding any content or features.

We deeply appreciate the many dedicated fans of AC2 who have stood by us over the years. You have our sincerest gratitude.

Best regards,

Jeffrey Anderson
CEO, Turbine

I got nothing to say.

- Ethic

More Free Play

money [Asheron's Call 2] Turbine is offering former players of AC2 a chance to come back and see what’s new. They are giving out free 30 day trials for former players.

Give it a try, you might like the changes.

People that have never tried AC2, can give it a try for free for 15 days.

Here is a returning player guide to help you get back in the swing of things.

- Ethic

AC2 Announces Hero 2.0

[Asheron's Call 2] Turbine has redesigned the Hero levels in AC2 and has announced the new system.

It features things such as: making all classes solo friendly, new and improved passive skills, monsters rebalanced and XP increased, new focus system, more class variety, hero credits, original hero active skills revised, more new hero skills, and even more skills called “perks”.

Read more about it here. Also note the completely new website.

4 Becomes 3

[Asheron's Call 2] Turbine has merged Coldeve (the sole remaining Kingdom vs. Kingdom server) into Frostfell. Now they are down to three servers total, two PvE and one PvP.

Yet one more bad sign for AC2.

Migration Day

[Asheron's Call 2] I was finally prompted to migrate my billing from Microsoft to Turbine last night. What a relief. It is my opinion that Microsoft held down both of the Asheron’s Call games, keeping them from being the best they could have been. AC2 is really going through an upturn in quality design decisions, but I wonder if anyone will come back. The expansion pack coming soon is adding a lot to the game, but is it enough to tempt many people to give it another try (or try it for the first time)?

I also joined the Beta Rewards Program, so bring on those MEO and DDO betas!

The Drudge Report

It looks like there is a new race you can play in the upcoming Asheron’s Call 2: Legions expansion pack. No, it’s not the already announced Empyreans, but it appears to be a Drudge – complete with board and nail.

Seems it is only for people that pre-order the expansion pack.

UPDATE: At a later date, a quest to unlock the Drudge race will be available for those that do not pre-order, but this quest will have a pretty high level-requirement (60-ish).

Empyrean’s – Phase 1

The first phase of beta testing the new Empyrean race in Asheron’s Call 2 has begun. It will be interesting to watch this development as I am honestly suprised they have not shut off the servers by now.