Blizzard has handed down its final gift to raiders who haven’t defeated the Lich King and his minions. The Strength of Wrynn and Hellscream’s Warsong buffs—aka the Icecrown buffs—have been raised to the maximum 30% cap, making it easier than ever to conquer Arthas’ frigid lair.

This means 30% bonus health, healing and absorption effects, and damage dealt for all raid members once the Icecrown buffs are turned on. It’s been awhile since the first iteration of the buffs went live in World of Warcraft and, like clockwork, these increased at a 5% increment each month.

The 30% level should give even the most casual raiders a leg up in finishing ICC achievements like The Light of Dawn and The Frozen Throne for those impressive titles. More complicated feats  like the Glory of the Icecrown Raider can also become EZ mode with the help of the buffs, which might lead to a proliferation of Frostbrood mounts.

For those who have long since moved on from Icecrown and are now tackling the newer Ruby Sanctum raid, just keep in mind that some loot drops in ICC are still better than those from Halion and his three drake lieutenants.  So these Icecrown buffs can still be useful for gear farming during progression rest days.

The level cap has been raised to 51 from 45 with three new ranks opening up to both Federation and Klingon factions. But what good are new titles without a new ships to go with them?

That’s why Federation captains will be treated to three new vessels: an Exploration Cruiser retrofit featuring saucer separation, a Tactical Escort retrofit with a non-combat cloaking device and a Long Range Science Vessel retrofit with ablative generators. Meanwhile, Klingons will get the Kar’Fi Carrier, a Fek’Lhri Tactical Carrier with kamikaze S’Kul Fighters.

While the Federation will get more ships, Klingons will get special episodes focusing on their fight against the Fek’lhri, who plan to occupy the Klingon homeworld Qo’noS. Season 2 will also introduce the Federation Diplomatic Corps system, which tracks progress in non-combat missions and awards special rewards for those who complete First Contact missions.

There’s even the new casino game Dabo that’s poised to lure risk-takers who seek gold pressed latinum and the valuable items that can be exchanged for the said currency. Let’s just hope no delays crop up because STO fans have already sacrificed an update so Season 2 can be released on time.

Fresh from implementing the Rise of the Godslayer expansion last month, Age of Conan Game Director Craig Morrison talked to players about upgrading the DreamWorld graphics engine, and how this will enable his team to create better visuals in the future.

The DreamWorld engine supports the Age of Conan virtual world, serving as its backbone for special effects and other graphics optimization features. Mr. Morrison said the next iteration of the Dreamworld engine will improve the gaming platform and boiled down the benefits to three points in his latest June newsletter addressed to players:

1. Improved performance

One of the main goals of the engine upgrade is to make Age of Conan run as beautifully as it paints the landscapes of Khitai. Rendering, network latency, and server CPU output may all get a boost once Dreamworld engine 2.0 goes up and running.

2. New tech features

Upcoming features like deferred lighting will also be enabled by the more robust Dreamworld engine. Mr. Morrison did not elaborate more on this, pointing out instead that such integration cycles opens up possibilities to the game, graphics-wise.

3. Improved back-end tools for developers

The upgrade will also facilitate better and more efficient content production.

“[W]e will get expanded tools that allow us to do our cut-scenes easier and put more into them, which the team can then use in the future to give the key new encounters they create a little more of a cinematic feel,” Mr. Morrison said.

Game developers work under a set infrastructure and use tools to create content, and he said these will likely be expanded with the enhanced DreamWorld engine. Public test servers should see this new integrated version by late summer, but expect the test cycle to be longer than usual due to the “highly complex code integration” involved.

We’ve seen it before. A patch goes out a week later than promised, and suddenly the succeeding updates gets bumped down as well. Star Trek Online wants to avoid the same delay domino so it will be inserting the smaller Update 1.3 to the features-packed Season 2 patch, and sticking to its July release date.

Update 1.3 was originally scheduled to be released later this month. But given the slight delay in releasing the most recent Update 1.2 (it went live early June instead of late May), Cryptic decided to consolidate the next two updates in instead of pushing both back into  later dates. Here’s the long-winded explanation from their latest Engineering report:

So what about update 1.3? With Season 2 looming in July, and 1.2 having just shipped this month, we made the decision that the game will better served if we combine 1.3 into Season 2.0 and work to get that full update onto Tribble as soon as possible instead of trying to get 1.3 up later this month, and then Season 2 after that. Getting Season 2 onto Tribble sooner than later will give you more time to check it out and provide valuable feedback and testing of the content before it goes live in July. So that’s the plan. No more 1.3 update. Instead, get 1.3 into 2.0 and get 2.0 to you ASAP. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can ship Season 2.

It’s a solid move to prevent further disappointment in terms of delays. Players have voiced concerns that Update 1.2, despite its prolonged testing period, still left out promised features such as Episode Replay and the Caitians. The hope now is that the combined Update 1.3 and Season 2 update will deliver in its promise of a functioning Federation Diplomatic Corps system, a new level 51 cap, and additional missions for both factions.

Advance orders can now be placed for the upcoming Vision of Abyssea update, the first of three battle area add-ons planned for the year in Final Fantasy XI.

Players can already purchase their registration code to avoid the patch day hassle. Vision of Abyssea goes live on Monday, June 21 and will be released in line with the next version update. Like previous add-ons, only one registration code is needed to access the content on all characters under a single PlayOnline ID.

With this announcement, Square Enix has also updated the Vision of Abyssea website with a promo trailer, a partial bestiary, and Empyrean weapons that serve as adventurer rewards. This upcoming add-on introduces the forsaken world of Abyssea just beyond the Cavernous Maws that has long been abandoned by the gods. Savage creatures (such as the Limule behemoth pictured above) dominate this parallel dimension and make it impossible to survive without proper training.

Due to the harsh environment of Abyssea, characters must be level 30 or above to take on quests in this battle add-on. Full-scale battles, meanwhile, demand a minimum level 75 or above due to their sheer challenge and equally impressive equipment prizes.

The Halas Reborn update has arrived in Norrath, opening the doors to the frozen city of New Halas and inviting brave adventurers to hobnob with its resident Coldain dwarves, barbarians and frogloks.

While it might take awhile before EverQuest II players get used to New Halas and its cold-weather climate, many are eager to roam the city and its surrounding regions to test the new features that came with the patch.

The updated Halas Reborn patch notes reveal snowmounds of improvements. These include two new high-level raid dungeons (Underfoot Depths: The Hole and Icy Keep: Retribution), a fresh level 1-20 starting zone, additional housing options, a helpful Storyteller guide system, and New Halas-themed store and character items.

To celebrate the launch of this update, SOE and fans are rolling out in-game events aimed at recruiting as many Norrathians to visit New Halas. The first of these is an exclusive log-in bonus item; EverQuest II players who log in between May 25-28 will get their very own Halas Frostpaw Kitten pet.

Then a couple of days after, on May 30, the Medieval Syndicate on the Antonia Bayle server will throw a player-run event to makr the Memorial Day weekend! It’ll be held in New Halas from 3pm-5pm EDT/noon-2pm PDT so bring some warm gloves to share for newcomers and veterans alike.

There’s also a new world event to take part in. A mysterious young Fae named Kurista has begun a ritual to restore the ruined druid rings across Norrath, and she’ll take all the help she can get. This epic endeavor begins in Nektulos Forest near the Valley of the Dead and will require completion before Kurista can move on to the next one so be sure to lend a hand until the next game update.

Now bust out those thermal jackets and brave the blizzards ahead, New Halas is ready for you!

Mark those calendars!

BlizzCon 2010 tickets go on sale June 2 (7pm Pacific time) and June 5 (10am Pacific time) under a first-come, first-serve basis. Tickets for the October 22-23 event can be bought either through the BlizzCon 2010 website or Blizzard store at $150 apiece.

But before plunking down the cash, make sure you have an active Battle.net account because the Blizzard store won’t sell you the tickets otherwise. Each household can only purchase a maximum of five tickets so coordinate the guild accordingly.

There are only a limited number of BlizzCon tickets for sale–which sell faster than lemonade during summer–so the back-up plan is watching the action remotely via pay-per-view. Blizzard said in a press release that live coverage for BlizzCon will be available on television or internet streaming to the tune of $39.95.

Both options will cover the discussion panels, tournaments, contests and opening and closing ceremonies. But the advantage of internet streaming, according to Blizzard, is that viewers can switch coverages on-demand:

Anyone who purchases the Internet stream will be able to switch freely between multiple channels of coverage dedicated to different areas of BlizzCon, allowing online viewers expanded access to the panels and events they’re most interested in.

There’s also a bonus in-game item (probably a pet) for for PPV subscribers–a small consolation for missing out on game play trials and autograph signings with Blizzard developers. Some players schedule their year around BlizzCon to meet guildies or to just relax with family or friends.

If you’re lucky enough to get a hold of the tickets, then spend some time reading through the BlizzCon 2010 FAQs (scroll down to see). It’ll give the do’s and don’ts for one of the most mind-blowing weekends for a World of Warcraft,  StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 fans.

Star Trek Online delivered on its promise to release the Season 1.1 Supplemental update this week, enabling the new STF: Undine Terradome mission and some convenient Memory Alpha upgrades.

In STF: Undine Terradome, admiral-ranked captains must thwart an Undine invasion against the Federation. What begins as an investigation of an unknown energy signature deep in quadrant space becomes a race to discover–and destroy–the mastermind behind a possible attack. Players will engage in both space and ground combat as the Undine block your progress deeper into the terradome.

The latest update also rolled out fixes that makes it easier to use the Memory Alpha crafting system. Quick access to R&D progress and the addition of unlock requirements beside grayed out items should cut down the crafting migraines. Research has also been streamlined somewhat to seven areas of research, with each opening up to advanced Energy, Physical and Technology recipes.

The Season 1.1 Supplemental patch notes also mention minor UI and mission tweaks as well as more detailed notes on the Memory Alpha changes. Head there now for a quick read then go kick some Undine behind (in whatever shapeshifted form you may find them).

April 29 was a bittersweet day for Western Aion players who inched closer to a live Update 1.9 with the launch of two public test servers, but was also reminded of their catch-up game with Koreans who gained access to the more advanced Update 2.0 on the same day.

Last April 22, Aion developer NCSoft announced that US and EU subscribers–commonly lumped together as the Western community–would gain access to two PTS erected specifically for testing Update 1.9 and, presumably, future content patches. Update 1.9 became live in Korea a month ago, but Western players have not seen it due to lengthy “translation processes” needed for US and EU markets.

Western players saw the two PTS as a way to placate their unrest over what the translation hold-up, but an announcement that Update 2.0 is now live in Korean PTS renewed calls for NCSoft to better synchronize their content patches across the globe.

Initial testing for both Western PTS saw the usual disconnection problems, but feedback was positive once players got into the game world due to the easier leveling, increased drop rates, and availability of GMs for bug and error reporting. The Western PTS can be downloaded via two methods but manual copying is far easier provided you follow the instructions well to avoid a disastrous client deletion.

But if you’re more interested in knowing all the features coming with Update 2.0, then better wait a little much longer; NCSoft said the patch notes will be uploaded at the official website early this week in English, French and German.

It’s 38 pages long before translation so you might want to save a box of popcorn for when it finally hits the official website–and melts your buttered mouth with a hot new pet system, new zones, and the Path of Wind movement system.

Pic from MMOSite.com along with other Update 2.0 screenies.

Time to sharpen your kendo sparring skills because the Feast of Swords strikes again in Final Fantasy XI.

To join the fighting festivities held from April 27 to May 11, you should talk to the moogles stationed in San d’Oria, Bastok or Windurst. They’ll furnish you with a gleaming ibushi shinai and ask you to imbue it with moogle magic via one of several M.H.M.U. representatives scattered around Vana’diel.

Armed with the powerful shinai, gather your trusty team and battle the brigands who have stolen the sacred armor from the Feast of Swords. Prepare to defend yourself against enemy attacks using your shinai to earn great rewards such as fabled swords accessed from the ??? that appears on an enemy corpse.

Don’t underestimate the encounter because your use of moogle magic lowers your level in exchange for faster movement speed. And try to finish the mission quickly because the moogle enchantment will disappear when you enter another area or log off.

If you want to learn more about the Far Eastern lore surrounding Feast of Swords, visit the official event post which also lists the exact locations of both shinai and M.H.M.U. Moogles. Now get back those armor, kupo!