This morning, NCSoft and Carbine Studios have announced that WildStar will rocket into its Free-to-Play launch on Tuesday, September 29, 2015. The second phase of CBT of the FTP transition kicks off today, which will have a focus on final fine-tuning touches, including testing out the new in-game store. Testers who purchase NCoin during CBT2 will have that currency transferred to their live characters when the FTP transition goes live.
This morning Carbine announced that the WildStar F2P closed beta test has gone live! The CBT is open to all current subscribers, as well as non-subscribers who obtain a closed beta key. Click the "Sign Up For Beta" button on the main site to register for a chance to obtain a key.
“We can’t wait to have players get into beta and check out all the new content,” said Carbine's Product Director Mike Donatelli. “Inviting players to test all these systems is key to our success. We're looking to them to provide critical feedback that will enable us to launch free-to-play this fall.”
Previously discussed following E3 last month, WildStar will be getting a stat overhaul with this fall's F2P update. The refactoring will simplify things, leaving clear primary and secondary stats for players to customize their gameplay experience with.
This morning Carbine released its latest Deep Dive covering the stat revamp, and we took the opportunity to pose a few questions about it to Lead Designer Steven Engle.
As of this afternoon our E3 coverage is now complete! Here's a list of everything we covered from the event.
WildStar will be transitioning to free-to-play this fall, and we took the time to speak to Product Director Mike Donatelli and Creative Director Chad Moore during E3 for more information on what the change will offer new and existing players.
The game will be getting a host of changes to make it more user-friendly, with the first one being the tutorial options. Currently there's one tutorial zone that everyone goes through, and while that will still remain as a choice, players will now also be able to choose to bypass it or begin a step prior to it. Focusing on the player's MMO experience, tutorial options include Novice (never played MMOs before; extremely basic knowledge), Intermediate (the current WildStar Arkship tutorial experience, though streamlined to be quicker), and Expert (bypass the tutorials while being granted experience and gear that you would have gained from it).
Lindsay "Geektron" Ferguson hosts ZAM's final installment of Friday Update Arcade. Topics discussed include the successful launch of Witcher 3, no more flying in World of Warcraft, WildStar's F2P announcement and more.
Carbine's WildStar team has poured their heart and soul into shaping and expanding the sci-fi MMO into the diversified gaming experience it is today. The last several content drops have focused on a multitude of playstyles, from newbie to casual to raider.
With the game so fleshed out, Carbine has now decided that the time is ripe for it to soon join the ranks of free-to-play MMOs. We sat down with Product Director Mike Donatelli and Creative Director Chad Moore last week to learn more about WildStar's new frontier.
"It's a big decision, a big change, and not one we went into lightly as a studio. Carbine's commitment to WildStar has never been stronger; we will continue to release AAA updates for the game, the experience that players have come to expect they will only get more of as we head into the future."
Today Carbine has announced the release of WildStar's fifth content update, called INVASION: Nexus. The update is a response to player feedback to add more fun, engaging content for a variety of playstyles. It offers several new content options and a few customization features.
Lindsay "geektr0n" Ferguson hosts ZAM's latest installment of Friday Update Arcade! Topics discussed include the PC launch of Grand Theft Auto V, Mortal Kombat X having some Steam issues, a new trailer for Star Wars Battlefront and some speculation that WildStar may be going free-to-play.
If you're still playing Wildstar, get excited because you'll soon be digging into some great new content. The update, dubbed INVASION: Nexus, has made its way to the PTR. Without further ado, let's dive straight into the goods:
