On the eighth day of gaming Carbine gave to me; Eight Wild Races

With winter finally here it means the spring of WildStar’s launch is that much closer. In order to help celebrate ZAM’s eighth day of gaming, I thought it would be good for us to talk about these eight races and their involvement in the over-arching story of WildStar. And with me being a lore nerd, what better way to bring in the New Year than to share some WildStar history with you all.

You see, It all began with the mysterious and ancient hyper-advanced race known as the Eldan. Planet Nexus used to be their home until the entire race suddenly disappearaed without a trace. How does the most advanced group of people in the galaxy suddenly vanish you ask? Well, that'll be up for you to find out upon completing your descent to this legendary planet. However, what I can say is that whether you’re with the races of the Exiles or the Dominion, you’ll have a reason to fight for Planet Nexus. Let’s begin!

Hey WildStar fans! With the epic-six week class drop finally at an end and the press NDA lifting for levels 1-15, we’ve seen a lot of combat and action-packed info from the WildStar community. Today I want to take a step back and look at a different aspect of the game, one that can sometimes be overlooked in many MMOs. However, in the case of WildStar, our topic of discussion is actually one of the key systems that holds the entire game together and is also one that you might not think of right away. This is the game’s crafting system.

In some games, crafting is included as a “side-project” or something that isn’t given much attention compared to other design aspects. This can often make those dedicated crafters out there feel unimportant, especially once the majority of the player base has reached end-game and crafted gear becomes obsolete. However, In WildStar crafting serves a very important role and not only allows crafters to serve an important economic purpose in the game, but it also allows them to specialize in a specific crafting area and make crafted items that are generally better than other rewards given in various parts of the game.

Today I’ll walk you through the basics of the crafting system and touch on the individual parts that fit into the greater picture. And while this won’t cover every nook and cranny of each crafting skill--and there are a lot of them--it should get you started on the right road to becoming a master crafter at the very least. And one final note before we get started, keep in mind that while you will see some of the crafting UI that is currently in beta, all of the UI and even information we cover isn't final and may be subject to change; beta is beta remember. So without further ado, let’s jump into some crafting!

The staff at ZAM has spent many hours debating which of the games we’ve played over the past year were most deserving of an award. In several cases the votes were neck-and-neck while others had an overwhelming victory. We had so much love to spread around that we expanded our voting categories from six to twelve this year.

Congratulations to the final six winners and runners up of 2013!

Inspector Gadget tank-guy, meets Richie Procopio in this week's episode of Nexus Talk. Join Richie this week as he goes over all of the ins and outs of the final WildStar class, the Engineer. Carbine said they had a third tank class in mind--and it turned out to be an actual tank. Check it out!

Hey WildStar fans. As many of you know, the game’s long-awaited “Winter Beta” is upon us and the beta servers are live and kicking with testers making their mark on Planet Nexus. Now, I know I know, not all of you are in the beta yet, but until that blessed day arrives I have some more news that may serve to quench your thirst for info about this upcoming sci-fi MMO.

While I was hanging in California to chat with some of the Carbine team and get some hands-on time with WildStar, I managed to snag an interview with the game’s Design Director, Mike Donatelli. He gave me the rundown on how Winter Beta is progressing, as well as a few tidbits on crafting and some of the social systems that are going into the game.

So while you’re patiently waiting for those beta keys sit back, relax and enjoy some Winter Beta news.

Those of you who have been reading my WildStar content here on ZAM have probably figured out that I’m a pretty big fan of the game. If the “See you on Nexus” closing to most of my WildStar articles wasn’t a big enough hint, I’m sure that you’ll be able to fit the pieces together once you’ve finished tuning in this time around.

After years of researching this upcoming Sci-fi MMO, which eventually lead to day-dreaming about bringing my guild to the surface of planet Nexus--hey don’t judge me--I finally got the opportunity to embark on an epic journey of my own.  Last week the awesome folks at Carbine Studios and NCSOFT invited members of the press, including myself, to fly to California and check out the game first hand. And, while trying to remain as professional as possible and resist the urge to jump up and down like a crazed Chua who had just been handed a new radioactive gatling laser, I gladly accepted the offer and headed out to San Francisco to hang with the Carbine team.

Wednesday is here and it's finally time to formally introduce the last of the six WildStar classes. This guy might be considered by some to be the "Iron Man" of the WildStar universe. He comes packed with Heavy armor, trusty bot companions, a launcher as well as a Mark IV Exo-suit. Introducing--The Engineer.

An apple a day keeps the doctor a way, but this doctor is actually here to stay! In this week's episode of Nexus Talk, join Richie Procopio as he covers all you need to know about the latest WildStar class reveal. Get ready to enter the Medic class!

This week's episode of "Nexus Talk" is here and Richie Procopio discusses dungeons in Carbine's upcoming MMO, WildStar.

WildStar fans, the time is finally upon us! Until this point Carbine has been re-revealing its previously announced classes. For many, this was a way to get familiarized or re-acquainted with classes that have previously been talked about. We listened and watched intently as the team dove into class changes and the specifics of what each of these power houses are capable of. However, to the masses that were foaming at the mouth for WildStar information--such as me--these re-reveals also served a second purpose, as a countdown to the two remaining un-revealed classes.

Well folks, the wait is finally over. I was lucky enough to participate in another round-table discussion, this time detailing the two latest WildStar classes to be revealed today. We were joined by Carbine’s Combat Systems Lead, Chris Lynch, Lead Class Designer, Hugh Shelton, Class Designer, Steven Angle, Class Designer, Mark Matzenbacher and its PR Manager, Michael Shelling.  From the deep fringes of space, coming to a Planet Nexus near you, I present you with WildStar’s Engineer and Medic classes.

Yeah, things just got real.