Updated: Warplots with WildStar PvP Lead Jen Gordy, New Flick and DevSpeak released!

It's a massive understatement to say that Carbine pulled the curtain back on Warplots this week! On Saturday, during PAX East, I was honored to be invited into a private area for an in-depth Warplot presentation by WildStar PvP Lead Jen Gordy assisted by PvP Designer, Kevin Lee.

At the outset, Jen stated that her goal for this event was to explain three key things about Warplots:

• What is a Warparty and how do you make one?
• What is a Warplot and how do you build one?
• How does a Warplot match work?

Then we were shown the brand new Warplots Flick:

UPDATE: Carbine has unveiled their latest DevSpeak which happens to be all about Warplots:

WHAT IS WARPLOT PVP?
Jen explained that Warplots are WildStar's 40 vs. 40 PvP feature for level 50 players. Each team starts with a customizable fortress that they can upgrade using a currency called War Coins. War Coins are earned through participating in Warplot matches, achieving victory, killing players and disabling enemy structures.

Victory is achieved by either invading the enemy Warplot and destroying their generators or through killing players and disabling structures. At the conclusion of the match, both teams are rewarded with Loot Bags, Prestige and Elder Gems.

More pics and details after the jump!

Surprise Beta Weekend! UPDATED

At server shut down on Monday, April 22, Cougar announced that there will be another surprise Beta weekend starting this Friday, April 25!

Screencap by pazukunous

Wanna play? Get your pre-order in at www.wildstar-online.com!

UPDATE: According to a post by Scooter, "We're going to be inviting every person who ever signed up for WildStar beta to this weekend's event". Also, the level cap has been increased to 25 for pre-order players.

In the meantime, for a little Wildstar crafting edu-mi-cation, we recommend that  you check out Richie Procopio's video on Runecrafting posted below. Runes allow players to add stats to their gear. Runecrafting opens up at level 18; a brand new interface for Runecrafting was unveiled this past Beta weekend.

Combat Lead Chris Lynch has parted ways with Carbine Studios

Carbine Studios confirmed today that WildStar Lead Combat Designer, Chris Lynch, has left the company stating that they have parted ways on good terms.

This news was originally communicated via Twitter by former WildStar Lead UI designer, Matthew Krause.

Chris Lynch at the WildStar PAX East 2014 Panel

We reached out to Carbine Studios for a comment on this surprise news and received the following official response:

Chris’ decision to move on was based on what he feels is best for himself and his family, we are sad to see him go. He was a great asset to Carbine during his time here and his contributions to WildStar will always be appreciated and remembered. He leaves us on good terms and his decision to move on is mutually accepted by everyone involved; we wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Thanks,
Team WildStar

We at WildStarFans.net wish Chris the best of luck in his future endeavors and appreciate his great contributions to help make WildStar the amazing game it is turning out to become!

Source: Carbine Email, Twitter

Awesome Addons: Ern's Speedy Quest

Awesome Addons is a regular column where we highlight helpful player created addons for WildStar.

Today I'm featuring a helpful addon that was introduced to me this weekend by a fellow guild member who also happened to be its creator. Let's check out Ern's Speedy Quest.

This addon helps players navigate through the various choices in the WildStar quest interface without the need to mouse-click. For example, instead of clicking on each of the dialogue choices, Ern's Speedy Quest allows you to assign keys to do the job. By default, the choices are 1, 2, 3, etc but can be assigned to different keys, as you see fit.

The screenshot below shows how Ern's Speedy Quest works in-game.

I've been using it during this weekend's beta and it works great. If you want to try it out, head over to the download page (via Curse)

In-Depth Look & First Impressions of the UI 2.0

Haven't had a chance to log into WildStar since UI 2.0? IcyVolk has produced a video that offers an in-depth overview of all of the new changes. He also offers his thoughts on what he likes and what he things could be improved even more. Enjoy!

More IcyVolk:
Twitter
YouTube
Twitch

Bonus! WildStar Weekend gets an extra day!

Sad that the weekend beta only lasts three days? Be sad no longer! According to Scooter's post on the official forums, this weekend's beta will be extended an extra day and will last until 11:59PM Pacific on Monday.

Thank you Carbine!

Source: Official Forums 

Have a great WildStar weekend everybody!

At the time I'm posting this, we're just under an hour before the beta server switches to on. It's exciting to see so many people preparing to try WildStar for the first time.

If you still do not have access, there are still some sites giving keys away. You can find our list of them here. Or you could just go ahead and pre-order and take advantage of the cool goodies Carbine is including with the game.

If you're new to WildStar, be sure to check out our GUIDES page which is filled with lots of great helps/hints that can get you started in the right direction. WildStar can be a bit overwhelming at first, so hopefully we can help you get your mind wrapped around all the great features and content the game has to offer.

I'll be working for most of the weekend, so sadly I won't be on much this weekend but feel free to say hi to me in game. Most of the time I'll be on the Nexus server playing my main character "Arawulf". Fee free to add me as a friend and hopefully I can run a dungeon or two with some of you before the weekend is over.

Enjoy the weekend everybody!

Mike aka Arawulf