As most of you are aware of by now, the official PSO2 site and servers, as well as some related PSO2 sites, have been under intermittent DDoS attacks since late last week. SEGA brought their official site back online Tuesday and has also released an update on the situation.
In their update, SEGA mentions the intermittent nature of the attacks and notes that they may have to stop service to the official site again if attacks intensify. In that event, players are encouraged to get updates via SEGA's official accounts on various social media outlets. At the time of the update, services that were still down included the download servers for the PC game client and character creation trial, AC purchase, and login to all versions of the game (PC, Vita, and smartphone).
Further maintenance to the official site will be carried out on Thursday to reinforce their protection measures and another update will be released on that day, as well. As a result of the downtime experienced due to these incidents, SEGA will be looking to reschedule various events and campaigns and will also be considering some form of compensation to players. More details will be announced at a later time.
If you're seeing this post, then you also know that PSOW is online again as well. Welcome back! We hope to avoid any further downtime, but please hang in there if we experience any more hiccups in service. We've made some changes to the site, so if you run into any bugs or other issues, please contact us and let us know. We'll be doing our best to keep things up and running and appreciate your patience and support!
In case you haven't been following this week, here are some of the current hot topics to check out:
- ARKS "United Front Festival 2014" Triple Campaign
Campaign Period is between Maintenance 15th January 2014 and Maintenance 12th February 2014 with rewards being sent out in March 2014. The three campaign are as follow:
- New Player Campaign: free present for new players
- AC Charge Campaign: rewards for charging 500AC & more
- Friend Campaign: rewards for players with more than 4 or 12 friends
- Arks Bingo Web Panel Event 2014!
This year, there are 20 panels to unlock. Currently, 14 panels have unlocked at 2.25 million points.
- Favorite NPC Elections!
Vote for your favorite NPC and we could get items based on the election winner(s).
We're looking to make the news page a bit more active, despite the lack of PSO2 Western release news these days. The forums continue to be a great source of PSO2 information and discussions, so we'll be trying to post regular highlights of some of the most popular discussions. We hope to do this at least weekly, while we work to get back into a more regular news-posting routine. Here are some of the current hot topics for you to check out:
- PSO2 Episode 2 - Deluxe Package for both PC and PS VITA. Member Meji has just picked up this little news piece from Sega.
- Also, due to a serious issue from PSO2 JP's weekly update, there is an Emergency Maintenance.
Edit: Maintenance is over. Servers are back online.
- Next, check out Sega's new trailer of future content.
Check back for new additions as they are added. Thanks to Meji, Horo The Wise Wolf, AIDA and Shinamori for the updates.
This morning, at Sony Computer Entertainment's pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference, SEGA announced its latest installment in the Phantasy Star franchise, Phantasy Star Nova. The game, set in the same universe as Phantasy Star Online 2, will be an exclusive to the Playstation Vita and will feature an offline, single-player story, as well as online co-op for up to four players.
The title is being developed by tri-Ace, also known for games in the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile franchises. There was no indication if Phantasy Star Nova might make it to the West, but it is slated for a 2014 release in Japan. More details are to be revealed next week, during the 2013 Tokyo Game Show.
A big thanks to everyone who posted about this news in our forums! We'll be sure to post more updates as they become available. In the meantime, feel free to check out the ongoing discussion here!
Update: More details have emerged, courtesy of Shogai PSO and Mike in our forums, be sure to check them out in the forum tags above!
Once again, the PSOW Phasion Group is back to present their biggest Art Contest yet.
This contest will open from July 4 to August 4. Its unique reward style is having more prizes available when there are more submissions. There are three categories to enter: Photoshop, Artwork, and Portrait. Contestants can enter one in each category for more chances to win.
Although the contest is mainly about PSO2, the contest is open to all PSOW members, whether playing PSO2 or not. For more details, follow the link.
The Western release of Phantasy Star Online 2, previously announced in July of last year, has been confirmed by SEGA to be officially delayed. Originally slated for an "early 2013" release in North America, PSO2 failed to make an appearance at this year's event at PAX East and there have been no official updates on its release until now.
"We don't have any specifics, but will update everyone as soon as there are more details to share," said a SEGA representative when asked about the delay.
The Japanese release of PSO2 continues to perform well, with the game recently launching on the Playstation Vita platform. As of February, there had reportedly been over 1.7 million player IDs registered for the service.
We will attempt to get further information on this delay and will post more details as they become available. In the meantime, be sure to check the PSO2 forums for the latest buzz and discussions surrounding Phantasy Star Online 2!
SEGA has released a new video and updated their teaser site to show off some of the content and features coming down the pipeline later in March for Phantasy Star Online 2 (JP).
Part two of the "Walking Together" content update will roll out on March 27th and will include the new Weapon Camo system, new Team Room content, Spring Romantica fashion update, Cherry Blossom lobby, and more. Check out the video and then read more details below!
New Grind Skip →7 item to instantly grind item to +7 level
New Feature for Trading ★10 Weapons & Units at the Recycle Shop
List most ★10 Weapons & Units in My Shop
Increased chance of Parallel Areas (now including boss areas)
New title counting number of times grinding a ★7 or higher weapon to +10
Enemy experience adjustments based on level difference
A big thanks to Macman for posting about the video in our PSO2 forums! Be sure to check out his forum thread for the latest discussion on the update, or leave us a comment here to let us know what you think!
Phantasy Star Online 2 (JP) has received its latest content update, which brings new Advance Quests and Pyroxene Shop items, as well as some weapons and a new matter board campaign. Here's a breakdown:
New Advance Quests (Requires Lvl 45+)
Frozen Tundra - 特務先遣調査：凍土
Mines - 特務先遣調査：地下坑道
Floating Continent - 特務先遣調査：浮遊大陸
New Weapons (only a portion are listed)
Dragon Slayer (Sword)
Gekitsunaata (Partizan)
Inferno Bazooka (Launcher)
Gadian'na (Talis)
New Pyroxene Shop Items
Matter Board Campaign #2
Campaign Period: March 13th through April 3rd @ 11:00am JST
Requirements: Reach the 3rd, 5th, or 8th Matter Board
Reward (3rd board): (2) 50% EXP Booster
Reward (5th board): (1) EXCube
Reward (8th board): (1) EXCube, (5) Advance Capsule A
Reward Distribution: Late April
The technical details of this week's update are as follows:
Update Size (PC): 66MB
Update Size (Vita): 1.05GB
Launcher Version: 01.05.03
Game Version: 1.0301.5
First Time Download Size (PC): 7.1GB
This story will be updated as additional information is revealed and translated. For more details and discussion on all things relating to PSO2, be sure to head over to the PSO2 Message Boards!
Phantasy Star Online 2 (JP) has received it's latest content update! Previously revealed through a teaser video back in February, this latest content update brings the White Day event, as well as the "Universe Star Collection" fashion update. Here's a brief recap:
White Day Event (through March 27th):
White Day Lobby (blue version of Valentine lobby)
Limited time Emergency Quest
Limited time Client Orders from Shii
New Items: Rappy Cannon & Blue Rappy Fan
Fashion Update (FUN Scratch):
Hairstyle: Casual Long (male & female)
Accessories
Cat Ears headband
Bunny Ears ribbon
Fashion Glasses
Green Eye Monitor
Red Eye Monitor
Cyber Goggles (red)
Cyber Goggles B (green)
Blue Lava Lamp room item
Universe Star Collection:
Emilia Replica Costume (female)
Guardians F Replica Costume (female)
Guardians M Replica Costume (male)
Marie Wind Costume (female)
Blue Rappy Costume
Hairstyle: Half-up Ponytail (female)
Hairstyle: Side Ponytail (female)
Accessories
Head Nano Port (?)
Marie Headband
Wing Valletta
Black Wing Valletta
Leader Antenna
White Ribbon
White Side Ribbon
System Update:
Updated My Room shop lineup
More details will be added as they are released and translated. In the meantime, keep an eye on the forums for the latest breaking news. Also, don't forget about the many campaigns that are still running. Thanks guys!
During their 6th Live Broadcast on March 5th, SEGA revealed a number of new things coming down the content pipeline for March. Here are some of the highlights:
New Dragon Altar field for Amduscia
New Team Features:
Hot Springs Team Room Design
Team Room Jukebox
Photon Tree can be leveled up more
Weapon Camouflage Items - Exclusively (for now) from AC Scratch. 13 to be released at first. These will allow players to apply camos and accessories to their weapons, changing the look but not the stats (ie: apply a Guitar Case camo to an assault rifle).
New scratch and costumes (appear to be Japanese culture-themed costumes, as well as bath-towel costumes)
Story content previously released first on either PC or Vita will become available on all platforms.
New Emergency Quest featuring Chrome Dragon and its rare form.
In addition to some of the new details, SEGA tipped viewers off to a "secret" campaign which is currently running. To participate, just type かまたろう in chat before maintenance on March 13th. Participants will be rewarded with new voice tickets later in the month.
A big thanks to Z-0 for posting the update details, as well as TehblackUchicha for posting about the new field! Be sure to hit the forums for more details and discussion relating to this news. A couple of great threads have been highlighted above for your convenience.
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