Don’t you just hate that? I mean, quitting from a game only to find out later that it has improved … a lot. Well, it happens to me a lot. There goes that “a lot” again.

Anyway, I have no regrets, primarily because Florensia is free to play and I think my characters are still on the database of Florensia Western Global. But, again, this posting is not about what ifs. It’s more about what is and what will be.

Recently, Florensia has been updated to a newer version. Since the patch has no title or name, I’ll call it the 100 Floors Tower patch as most of the new content focus on this dungeon.

Here are some of the changes:

• New named and boss monsters have been added to some floors of the 100 Floors Tower. They include Bewildered Wild Boar, Bewildered One-Eyed Bat, Bewildered Scream Bat, and Bewildered Blue Back Melok, just to name a few.
• The objectives of some party Scroll Quests have been changed. You now have to get rid of the following monsters: Bewildered Carrier Mole, Bewildered Carreg, Bewildered Rapier Pirate, Bewildered Blue Gangster, Bewildered Skeleton Soldier, Bewildered Whisman Zombie, and Bewildered Chess Sorcerer.
• The reward for the “Hidden Rumor of 100 Floors Tower” has been changed. You will now receive a Bronze Medal of Honor, which can later be used to purchase certain items. These medals are similar to Military Crosses.
• The new client, 100 Floors Tower client, has been launched. Download the new Florensia client here.

Post from: MMOtaku

First off, I’d like to thank MMOtaku’s avid readers, those who visit the blog every day, those who come and go for a dose of MMORPG news, reviews and what-have-yous, and those who have dropped in just to take a gander at what we have to offer. Without your constant support, MMOtaku would have floundered a long time ago.

Second, I’d like the acknowledge the inputs and help of several key people in the life of MMOtaku. To Mike Leaño, former b5media Video Games Channel editor, for putting trust in my abilities to bring the blog to life; to PJ Punla, pioneer blogger and player of Granado Espada Southeast Asia, for showing me that love for video games extends beyond playing them; to Siege Malvar and Alcarcalimo, for keeping me on my toes, a constant reminder that MMOtaku does have readers who crave insights on MMOs available in the market today; and to Joyce, my wife, for being the rigid wall off of which I throw my ideas to see if they stick.

Third and last, I salute the growing online games industry in Asia for giving us topnotch games (yes, despite Mike Leaño’s opinion that MMOGs developed in Asia are, ehem, excrement. These games are getting better, and they’re grabbing the attention of MMOG players in different parts of the globe.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I give you the best of MMOtaku:

November 2008
Granado Espada SEA pioneer pooh-poohs IP e-Games’ ‘mishandling’ of game
Zhu Xian: I came, I saw, I … got disappointed
Endless fun with Perfect World character customization

October 2008
Beach Volleyball Online: The latest craze
Florensia: Kill-stealers and other dregs of society are moving in
RF Online to go offline in November

September 2008
E-Games clamps down on Cabal botters
Perfect World: Bots popping out of the woodwork
NBA Street Online: Soon, real soon
Requiem Bloodymare: New race, yes, but what’s there to like?

August 2008
MMO Etiquette: Stop poking me!
Granado Espada fails to please Chinese market

July 2008
9you crushes Audition shutdown rumor
China’s online games market: 147 million players!
Dragon Nest: The King of MMORPGs

June 2008
Perfect World inks deal with IP e-Games
Requiem Bloodymare launched
Perfect World: Jump hack? Stop crying wolf

May 2008
MMO Etiquette: Pay it forward
Fly For Fun Penya Hack!
Khan Online Philippines bows out

April 2008
Philippines to host Ragnarok World Championships
In this part of the world, MMORPGs and cosplay go hand in hand
Pandora Saga to grace Philippine shores

March 2008
Fantasy Westward Journey online posts 166 million concurrent users
They’re cute and cuddly, and they’re coming to your PC
Not so supa anymore

February 2008
RF Online Crimson Dawn is now online
Blog post on Perfect World clan too hot to handle?
Third job classes coming to Ragnarok Online
Blog post on Perfect World clan’s struggle stirs hornets’ nest

January 2008
GigaMedia bags license to operate Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Reign of Revolution: No rules, just power
Counter-Strike Online to give other online shooters a run for their money
Top Ten Thursdays: Best MMORPGs in the Philippines

December 2007
China’s Perfect World claims strong presence in Asian MMORPG capital Korea
What’s in a(n MMOPRPG) name?
The Vista Trap: How to make your Asian MMOs work on Microsoft’s latest baby
FlyFF Philippines launches Volcane Legends
MMO war: Korea versus China

November 2007
Craving for a slice of Zhu Xian
Asian MMO, meet world

Screenshot taken by Joel from the online game Perfect World, developed by Beijing-based Perfect World Co. Ltd. and published in the Philippines by Level Up! Games.

Post from: MMOtaku

The reason for this hiatus: Perfect World, despite all its features and allure, just doesn’t cut it anymore. The game has lost its appeal, to me and my wife, right after our resignation from the clan we helped build. Oh, yes, we formed a new clan, Illuminati, so that we could stay in touch with good online friends, but as soon as they left the clan in search of excitement via joining other, more powerful clans, we suddenly found ourselves alone again.

So my wife decided to pack up her virtual bags and move to another game, Florensia. Unfortunately, her stint as a diminutive Saint was short lived. I’ve had a similar experience trying to juggle a few online games, including Perfect World, Requiem: Bloodymare, Grand Chase, and Atlantica. My characters remain at low levels, stagnant for a few days to a week, or until I give them the attention they deserve.

About a month ago, a friend, Rovil, approached me in the game Perfect World and asked me to join the Guardians Extension, a clan in Perfect World Philippines’ Tiger Server. Since I couldn’t move my main character, Werefox or Yaojing Malystryx, from the main clan of Guardians, I gave Rovil my second character, Calumet, an Elven Priest or Yuling.

On my first day as an officer of the Guardians Extension, however, I got into a row with another officer over the recruitment of members. I won’t divulge anymore the details of the argument, only that it resulted in my resignation from the clan. Fortunately, another friend, Mabel, offered me a position in her clan, TheSaints.

It turned out that the offer was the start of something good.

After Level Up! Games and Perfect World Co. Ltd. wiped the ownership of territories (meaning those clans that held territories had become landless), TheSaints bid for a territory and won. That was two weeks ago. Just recently, TheSaints got its first taste of a massacre, courtesy of Tiger Server powerhouse, clan Exiled. It took Exiled all of, what, six or so minutes to eliminate our hold over Carefree Path, one of the territories on the Perfect World map.

Fortunately, TheSaints took over another territory, Dragon Slope, from another fledgling clan, DyNasty. The battle, which took about two and a half hours, was long-drawn and very tiring. It was also very expensive, since I bought a couple of amulets (which regenerate hitpoints when it falls below 50 percent), a few hierograms (which fill up a character’s mana when it plummets to 75 percent), and hundreds of potions. But the pain to both my body and my wallet was worth it.

The only thing we have to worry about now is Exiled taking our territory again. It seems I need to force myself into being active again.

Screenshot taken by Joel from the online game Perfect World, developed by Perfect World Co. Ltd. and operated in the Philippines by Level Up! Games.

Post from: MMOtaku

While playing my Mercenary yesterday, I came across a player who, using his mother tongue, cussed and hurled invectives at other players. Gee, how brave of him, cursing from the comfort of his own home other players who haven’t done anything wrong against him. Unfortunately for the offending player, some people, including yours truly, understood every word he typed, including the phrase “Mga tanga at bakla kayong lahat!” which translates into “You are all idiots and gay!” It’s so sad to witness someone from my little tropical country log in to a game played mostly in North America and Europe and curse other players.

About an hour later, while hunting Devil Walkers and Devil Walker Shooters, two other players kept on stealing my kills. What’s the matter, boys? Can’t tank the mobs? Uhmm, maybe because the mobs’ levels (10) are way beyond your levels (4 and 5). I only remember the in-game name of one of the players. Optimus isn’t really that hard to forget. Anyway, Optimus and friend, I know you’re looking for shortcuts, but kill-stealing isn’t really a good way.

Less than an hour after the duo stole my kills, another player, sasukeee, did the same thing but with a twist. The twist was him sending my female avatar a private message asking if I “wanted to be his girlfriend.” Ewwwww. Listen up, sasukeee, if you think girls (even girl players) will be turned on by your behavior (kill-stealing, harassment, etc.), think again. What a dolt!

I’m not the only one complaining. Florensia’s world chat is replete with messages from players who claim that other players have either stolen their kills or harassed them in some way.

Now, I’m beginning to wonder what the administrators of Florensia are doing about this. If the fact that even game moderators or GMs get cursed by players while they’re online is any indication, I’d say that Florensia’s future looks bleak.

Here’s Mister sasukeee trying to figure out if my hawt mercenary is worth harassing.

Mister sasukeee finally makes his move. Hint: Stealing kills doesn’t attract chicks.

Screenshots taken by Joel from the online game Florensia, copyright Burda:ic GmbH.

Post from: MMOtaku

Here’s the official announcement on changes in Florensia:

The servers are back online and the Florensia Staff would like to list the changes that have been applied. We are sorry about the duration of today’s maintenance, but we hope you enjoy the new Sealed Items System, the Server Channels System, and all other changes in and around Florensia.

The capacities of the Florensia servers have been doubled, as specific language channel servers have been added to all servers. LuxPlena now includes three channels (English, Italian/Spanish, and French), while Pardioc has two (English and Latin, for Spanish and Portuguese-speaking players), and Bergruen gains two channels. The Sealed Items System has successfully been added to the game.

For more updates about the changes, click here.

Oh, here’s a tip in surviving Florensia’s new age: You’ll need to fish more, and more often. You’ll know why in a later posting. Stay tuned.

Post from: MMOtaku

Screenshots taken by Joel from the online game Florensia, copyright Burda:ic GmbH.

Post from: MMOtaku

And to answer Alcarcalimo’s question, “Yes, we have two computers at home, but the other one’s crappy, and I can only install one MMORPG at a time on its limited hard drive.” At present, only Perfect World is installed in my brother-in-law’s Jurassic computer.

Well, go check out my wife’s photoshoot below:

Screenshots taken by Joyce from the online game Florensia, developed by NetTimeSoft and published by Burda:ic GmbH.

Post from: MMOtaku

And so, Ginebra the Explorer was born on Pardioc, Florensia’s US server. I chose the explorer class because the idea of playing a character that wields guns is refreshing, though not really original. My first brush with an MMORPG character with guns as primary weapons was the Gunslinger class in Ragnarok Online. I didn’t like it as much as my Florensia Explorer, though.

Here’s the lowdown for Florensia’s Explorer class:

What is hidden on the unknown island spotted over the ocean? Is it an old temple, a forgotten city, an ancient heritage? It is the role of the Explorers to discover hidden mysteries all over the world. Compared to other classes, the Explorers have a distinct ability to find ancient treasures. Moreover, they possess the ability to quickly detect an enemy from a distance and to rapidly attack.

In fact, the Explorers need to rely on this ability, as they have weak defense powers and can’t equip heavy protection gear which would decrease their agility and their ability to move quietly. When being surrounded by enemies, the Explorers are in high danger due to their limited defense powers. Therefore, the Explorers prefer to use ranged weapons in combat, such as guns and a light one-handed sword for close combat.

Post from: MMOtaku

As you may have noticed, my wife also plays MMORPGs, and it’s been quite a while since she has taken a liking to any of the new games I’ve been laying my hands on these past four or five months.

First, we rekindled our passion for our first MMORPG, Ragnarok Online. It was shortlived. My wife decided to keep playing Perfect World, leaving me saddled with the responsibility of leveling our twin Tika Waylans on Ragnarok Online Philippines’ free-to-play server, Valkyrie.

Then I dipped my grubby hands in Rising Force Online. She hated it. Oh, yeah, my wife used to play the game with me back in 2006, but she didn’t like the gameplay this second time ’round. Fortunately, when RF Online came out with a patch, Crimson Dawn, the update bogged down, prompting me to seek an installer. I haven’t found a working installer. Sigh.

Next, I went for the internationally hosted MMORPG Requiem Bloodymare. She found it too bloody and gory. Scratch three for Joel and his MMORPGs. I still play Requiem, though. Leveling is tough.

Fly For Fun? Nah. The wife didn’t even lift a finger when I showed her old characters in all their glory. Dekaron and Granado Espada? Mere distractions, not enough to spark her interest.

When she saw me playing Florensia, however, her attitude changed … dramatically. Now, she couldn’t let go of the computer on which Florensia is installed. Double sigh.

Three days into the game, she’s still at it, while my character, Ginebra, named after a popular brand of gin in this little tropical paradise, is stuck at Level 10. Her character, Cesky, is now Level 14. Gawd!

Lost and confused

Screenshots taken by Joel from the online game Florensia, developed by NetTimeSoft and published by Burda:ic GmbH.

Post from: MMOtaku

And this is what I hate—and love—most about MMORPGs, the updates. I love it when an online game developers and operators update games, but I hate having to patch it because some times it takes just too long.

What’s worse is online game developers and operators ask you to download clients that are not updated, saddling us gamers with the responsibility of downloading and updating. Sigh.

Post from: MMOtaku