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As you may have noticed, my URL has changed from http://hgamer.blogspot.com to http://heartlessgamer.com. I now own my own domain name and have redirected traffic from blogspot to the new domain. This probably causes all kinds of weird issues that I am too lazy to fix, so just got to heartlessgamer.com already and be happy.

Borderlands to have DLC

#Borderlands and it's developer, Gearbox, are stirring the pot today by announcing paid downloadable content (DLC):

Gearbox's loot-driven wasteland romp Borderlands ain't even on store shelves till next week--with a PC release following on Steam the week after that--but the developer is already spilling the beans about its post-release plans for downloadable content.

Described as "the first in a series" of add-ons, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned will run you $10 on all three platforms.

This should make players mad, but I think Kill Ten Rats has a better view on it:

After looking at the neat DLC pictures of a zombie isle, I had another idea. Gearbox devs were the good guys here. They were letting me, the customer know, the specifics of their business plan before people shelled out for the game. Players that were interested in Borderlands as a service would now have a more concrete understanding of things to come.

I would type more, but the above quote sums it up perfectly. The only problem that could arise is if the game feels incomplete at launch.

Watch this blog for more information on my plans for Borderlands.

The Missing WAR Card Game

In yet another "wouldn't that have been cool" moment for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the most recent grab bag has revealed that an in-game card game was supposed to be in at launch, but had been dropped:

Q. What are the 'Cards' unlocks? You know where you have the items, titles, and Tactics unlocked in the Tome there is also a tab that says 'Cards'. What are these cards!?!

A. ‘Cards’ is a system that we wanted to do at launch, so we put in a spot for them, but did not have time to complete the design and implementation of. It was a reward system that would tie into an in-game card game. At this point, it is on our back burner of things we’d like to do, but other items have our priority at the moment.

This is just more evidence that WAR wasn't ready to go at launch and that bugs the shit out of me because the beta flowed very smoothly and gave all the appearances that Mythic had a great game waiting for us at launch. Unfortunately, as any MMOG demonstrates, its the grand total of a game, not its individual pieces that matter. In WAR's case, all that was beta tested were those individual parts, not the combined contraption that ultimately collapsed.

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I finally signed up for Twitter and was shocked to find that heartlessgamer was already taken.

The REAL heartlessgamer can be found at http://twitter.com/heartless_gamer

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Be a Better Hero: Sharing is Caring! Gunnner, Soldier, and Commando Tips

Battlefield Heroes is a solo friendly game. At the same time, it is a team-based game. There is no free-for-all or deathmatch game modes. Each round focuses on team vs team capture-the-points gameplay. So, while a good solo player can do well, a few team players can dominate. The key to this domination is making sure to share all of the Heroes different group abilities.

Soldier

Soldiers are the pen-ultimate team player in BF:H. They provide the healing! A Soldiers healing ability is great by itself, but when it hits multiple injured team mates, the healing is increased and the points gained for healing are increased. This is a great incentive for EVERY soldier to be a team player. Soldiers are the cornerstone of BF:H grouping.

Gunner

If Soldiers are the cornerstone, Gunners are the brick walls, roof, and bell tower. With the recent Heroes of the Fall update, Gunners received a couple boosts to their team play. First, their shield ability is now shareable for those around the Gunner. Never charge into an enemy hornet nest without a shield up and running.

Secondly, a Gunners explosive keg now has a slow-down attached to any enemy it hits. Since commandos and enemy Gunners are always trying to sprint away, slowing them with a keg is invaluable when trying to lock down an area.

Also of importance is the Gunner's Leg It ability. Once used, the gunner and everyone around him will gain a boost of speed. Since vehicles are first come, first serve, a team will always need a speed boost to get where they are going. Once in combat, speed kills and makes for frustratingly hard targets to hit.

Lastly, Gunners are the best tank killers. I recommend that any Gunner spends a few dollars and buy a permanent rocket launcher in the BF:H store. Yes, spend money on a free game! Save those VP for band aids!

Commando

Out of all the classes, the Commando is by far the weakest team player. They are stealthy assassins, not hard charging knuckle-draggers! However, there are some abilities they can use to assist the team.

First off, mark target is invaluable for outing hard to find enemy commandos. Once lite up, the team can easily take care of the rest. At the minimum, it will make most enemy Commandos retreat while the mark wears off. A marked and dead Commando is better, but a retreating one isn't too bad either.

Secondly, with improvements to troop trap recently, Commandos can be very useful while staying completely stealthed. A good commando can skirt the outside of a battle and drop troop traps behind enemy players. Then team mates can try and force the enemy towards the troop trap. All of this, without the commando having to unstealth.

Don't forget, commandos are great at sneaking up on tanks and planting TNT! Combine this with a Gunners rockets and tanks are nothing more than easy kills.

Remember, sharing is caring!