When taking various aspects of the game’s controls into account, Chrono Studio has said that it will be adjusting the interruption of timing for movement, attack, and skill animations as part of its overall goal of improving gameplay responsiveness. This also means that there will be steps taken to reduce unintended actions that players might accidentally make as a result of input buffering, and improvements will be made to the client-server packet transmission and network performance.

The overall UX will also see quite a few changes, with the studio aiming to optimise it for the use of both keyboard and mouse, as well as controllers. Menu navigation will also be made simpler, with essential functions being taken out of sub-menus and given their own accessible buttons. The studio also plans to bring in preset controller options based on Soulslike games as well as other controller-based MMORPGs.

On the gameplay side of things, Chrono Studio has said that it will be bringing in improvements to hit feedback, damage feedback, skill synergies, and even skill descriptions, indicators, and class balance. Difficulty for both PvE and PvP content will also be addressed, with steps being taken like giving players clearer rules and revised patterns for solo and party content, as well as a visual barrier to indicate the boundaries of a duel zone in PvP.

General content in Chrono Odyssey will also be seeing quite a few changes, ranging from new region-specific features to spice up otherwise boring maps and redistribution of gameplay content throughout the in-game world. Navigation is also getting improvements, with non-traversable terrain now featuring distinct visual elements to indicate to players that they can’t go through those zones.

Exploration overall is getting more rewarding thanks to the studio’s plans to add new dynamic quests and quest chains throughout the world that players can only discover with thorough exploration. There will also be hidden rewards and rare achievements that players will have to go out of their way to get their hands on. As for quests, their overall design will see changes, and rewards will also be improved. Improvements to the in-game dungeons will be made, with new features like better rewards, random gimmicks for expedition dungeons, and more revival points in the labyrinths.

Chrono Odyssey’s progression systems will also be seeing improvements, with more incentives for open-world exploration, a smoother EXP curve to make leveling up after level 10 not feel too slow, and balance changes to unique gear to make them feel better to equip while also encouraging build experimentation. All of this will also tie in to improvements to the crafting system, which includes a new crafting interface and easier-to-find enhancement materials.

Along with this, the studio has also outlined a number of steps it is taking to improve animations, the game’s visual style, as well as technical issues.

Chrono Odyssey is in development for PC.

According to Chrono Studio, the closed beta for Chrono Odyssey will include the game’s time manipulation-based combat, as well as one of its explorable region.

“Everything in Chrono Odyssey is about how time—and the loss of it—shapes the world and its fate,” said executive producer Sangtae Yoon in a press release. “This new trailer is a narrative invitation to players. The first closed beta is your chance to experience that world for yourself. We can’t wait to see what players think.”

Chrono Odyssey’s closed beta is only available on PC, and can be signed up for through the title’s Steam store page. For more details about the game, check out why we believe it has great potential to become the next big MMORPG.

"We actually received a lot more survey responses than we were originally anticipating – it was a lot of feedback to go through for sure, but the overall sentiment was very positive."

How was the response from players in the game’s closed beta players?

Jim Lacorte, Project Manager, Kakao Games Europe: We actually received a lot more survey responses than we were originally anticipating – it was a lot of feedback to go through for sure, but the overall sentiment was very positive. The most mentioned topic was the cash shop, and we’ll be making a standalone post regarding paid products in the upcoming weeks. Looking forward to hearing your feedback.

What are your plans for additional beta periods before the game’s full western launch?

Lacorte: We are currently preparing a second Closed Beta Test set to run for a few days in mid-August. After CBT2, the next milestone is full release!

Elyon has been out in Korea for some months. Has feedback from your existing playerbase led to any changes that you’re making in the lead-up to the game’s western launch?

Lacorte: The short answer is yes, though it’s a bit more complicated than that. We’re absolutely making changes in certain parts of the game for the EUNA version, but at the same time our goal is to operate on a global build. Elyon’s content management system supports regional feature toggling which allows us to achieve both these goals – you can therefore expect major changes like class balancing and content updates at a pace close to Korea (once we’ve eventually caught up), while EUNA-specific changes are done on a per-content basis.

"We are currently preparing a second Closed Beta Test set to run for a few days in mid-August. After CBT2, the next milestone is full release."

The MMORPG space is tough to break into, especially given how many live games players have these days to pull their attention. What can you tell us about how Elyon sets itself apart from the crowd?

Sunwook Kim, Director, Bluehole: We believe the biggest strength and the most differentiating factor in Elyon is its active combat system. We are confident that players won’t be able to experience anything similar in other games.

How much of an impact does the choice between the Ontari and the Vulpin make?

Kim: The biggest difference is the direction of the story, but there is no big impact in your gameplay experience.

What can you tell us about Realm vs Realm battles in the game? What should players expect from these in terms of scale?

Kim: Our goal is not only focused in the scale of the content, but to provide an immersive RvR gameplay experience with a clear goal to win.

Once Elyon is out, what sort of cadence of post-launch players can players expect?

Kim: We don’t have any specific expectations as realistically speaking, we know there’s a lot of room for improvement. We will keep putting a lot of effort to make Elyon become a better game.

"We believe the biggest strength and the most differentiating factor in Elyon is its active combat system. We are confident that players won’t be able to experience anything similar in other games."

Do you have any plans to release Elyon on next-gen consoles?

Kim: No, we currently have no plans to release Elyon on next-gen consoles.

Black Desert from Pearl Abyss is still going strong on the PC, but was also announced some time ago for the Xbox One. Those still hoping to experience the MMO’s admittedly awesome combat on the console needn’t wait anymore – it’s releasing on March 4th. Pre-orders are already live on the Microsoft Store.

There are three different editions to purchase – Standard ($29.99), Deluxe ($49.99), and Ultimate ($99.99). The Deluxe and Ultimate Editions contain a number of bonuses, like different outfits, currency to use in-game, and early access. The period of early access differs depending on the edition purchased – the Deluxe Edition provides access 48 hours early, while the Ultimate Edition offers access 72 hours early.

Black Desert Online has seen some significant updates since launch. It’s most recent was the Drieghan expansion for PC, which arrived on November 14th. Along with a new continent and a new story, it brought more than 300 new quests to the base game. Will this content be available from launch for Xbox One players? We’ll find out in March.

If you’re still playing Black Desert Online, then the MMO’s newest class Lahn is now available to play. Game passes have also been discounted on the game’s official website, Humble Bundle and Steam. The 50 percent discount will be available until May 28th, 5 PM UTC.

Pearl Abyss and Kakao Games have also announced a special level-up event starting today and ending on June 13th. This event will provide items like Gold Bars, Black Stones, Lauren Family Gift Boxes and more. Starting out and leveling Lahn from scratch will be made easier with this event.

As for Lahn, she’s essentially a former priestess who becomes a martial artist after the death of her lover. Lahn uses a new weapon type, an extendable weapon called the Crescent Pendulum which is essentially a crescent moon blade on an elongated piece of cloth. She also possess an off-hand weapon called Noble Sword for chaining together combos. Nimbus Stride works with Lahn’s agility, allowing her to glide through combat.

The popular MMO Black Desert Online will be getting a new horde mode tomorrow on the North American and European servers for the game, Kakao Games has confirmed today. The horde mode will be called ‘Savage Rift’, and it will require players to defend a sealed tower from 25 waves of AI controlled enemies of increasing difficulty, with the mode ending with a final boss battle. During the battles, defeating enemies will net you points that you can invest in perks like siege weapons, which in turn should further increase your chances at subsequent victory.

This mode will be unavailable to you unless you have a party of eight to ten players, and all players involved must be at a minimum of Level 56.

Black Desert Online, while hugely popular in Asia, has not yet hit it big in western markets. However, the game is coming to the Xbox One later this year- maybe that will be just the thing that helps the game hit it big.

https://youtu.be/b7WzCYx4rPs

Kakao Games has announced quite a fair few new features for its MMORPG Black Desert Online. Among the new features is included Rabam’s Enlightenment – Skill Enhancement, a new skill system that lets you combine two non-awakened skills into a new, powerful one. Additionally, a new series of items will also be introduced to the game to help players circumvent enchantment (should they want to, that is).

That’s not all- a new weapon named The Siege Axe will be introduced to the game, as will a new feature named Training of the Black Spirit, which will let players have their character gain experience while they are away from the PC (albeit not as efficiently as they would have had they grinded for it).

Finally, a new boss, a new camping system, and an auction house for the game’s higher end and rare items have all been confirmed. It seems like players of Black Desert Online will truly be in for a treat with all of this new content and functionality coming the game’s way.