News

The official Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 blog was updated with new details about the Sony PlayStation Vita port of Phantasy Star Online 2. The purpose of the new information was to clear up some of the concerns that people had expressed about the Vita version. Here is a summary of the information:

• Vita Updates - It will be possible to distribute updates and make balance changes to the Vita version.
• Online Security - Phantasy Star Online 2 will be an online only game. All data will be stored on the servers. Also, the Vita version will use the same security measures as the PC version.
• 3G Connections - It will be possible to play Phantasy Star Online 2 using a wireless connection or 3G network. However, the connection method for a 3G network will be different.
• PC/Vita Compatibility - The current plan is to allow PC and Vita players to play together. However, there is a chance that the PC and Vita players maybe separated depending on early testing results.

Credit goes to Mike for bringing us this news. You can discuss this news in this forum thread.

Phantasy Star Online 2 for the Sony PlayStation Vita was announced today on the Japanese Sony Vita Tengoku site with additional information being posted on the official Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 blog. Here is the promotional video:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5OMPhKLhXQ[/ame]

Here is what we know so far:

• The game is less than 10% complete. It is scheduled for release in 2013.
• It will use the same servers and character data as the PC version.
• Gameplay will be online only.
• It is possible that cross-platform parties between PC and Vita clients will be allowed. This is briefly shown in the video.

Credit goes to Mike for bringing us this exciting news. You can discuss this news in this forum thread.

As posted on the official forums and Japanese homepage, the Xbox 360 servers will be receiving an update this week. The specific details are below.

• More event rewards: Congratulations again to all participants of GUARDIANS Chronicle for obtaining all milestone rewards! The following is a list of the second set of modifiers that will be posted. These will be available until March 29.
• Three star photon fortune
• Weapon and armor synthesis success rate +20%
• Weapon upgrade success rate +15%
• Twelfth GAS wave: Also known as JP's eleventh GAS wave, this set includes the following additions.
• Weapon styles: [Status Effect] Collapse added as an upgrade for every [Status Effect] Crusher
• Shield style: Ragan's Soul added as an upgrade for Ragan's Force
• Extra style: Regrowth added as an upgrade for Regenerate
• AP cap increase: Players can now store up to 30 AP for GAS options (up from 20).
• Photon Art adjustments: Various changes will be made to elemental bullets.
• Rifles: Increased power at LV41+.
• Longbows: Increased attribute rate and accuracy.
• Laser Cannons: Increased power at LV41+.
• Twin Handguns: Increased power at LV41+.
• Handguns: Increased attribute rate and accuracy. Increased power at LV41+.
• Cards: Increased accuracy.
• White Day Lobbies: Clyez City will be decorated in celebration of White Day. This decor will last until March 29 and so will appearances of Jaggo Amure. During this time, WD Box will be available at the Variety Shop.
• Casino Voloyal: There will be a standard rotation of items here.

The GAS options are currently listed with placeholder translations, but will be updated with the official ones later. Remember that the New Year Special Week, Valentine's Day Lobbies, and the initial event rewards all end with this maintenance. Any additional details will be posted following maintenance.

Update: New items introduced with February 17's update were not searchable by name in player shops. This has been resolved in this maintenance. Additionally, Bgei-senba has been renamed to Bugei-senba and it now has a description. Missing descriptions have also been added for Suikongoh, Tefukirizao, and Wise Plunderer (introduced January 27).

The official Phantasy Star Online 2 blog was updated earlier today with new concept art and information about "Boost Enemies." Boost Enemies have previously appeared in Phantasy Star Zero and Phantasy Star Portable 2. Compared to regular enemies, they have enhanced stats and have improved odds on certain item drops. The screenshot below provides an example of what a boost enemy will look like in Phantasy Star Online 2.

Boost Enemy Example

Also, concept art was released for the FOmar, RAMarl, and NPC vendors. Be sure to click on the image below to view larger version of the concept art!

FOmar

RAmarl

Female NPC Vendor

Male NPC Vendor

Credit goes to Mike for bringing us this news. You can discuss this news in this forum thread.

Concept art for the default RAnewearl costume was posted today on the official Phantasy Star Online 2 blog. Be sure to click on the image below to view larger version of the concept art!

RAnewearl

Also, a large treasure trove of information from the Phantasy Star Online 2 Alpha 2 test was posted on the Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 website. This information includes breakdowns on race/job statistics and the most popular items. Mike has translated and posted the information here.

PSO-World has added 30+ avatars to the new Phantasy Star Online 2 category. To see preview pictures of the new avatars, check out this forum thread. You can use these new forum avatars by going to your User CP and clicking on "Edit Avatar."

Examples:

A maintenance occurred last night on the Xbox 360 servers. As noted in English and Japanese, a recent issue has been corrected. Protectors ?' had reduced AMP payouts for characters that were above first stage in GAM. This has been changed to be consistent across all stages.

As listed on the English and Japanese homepages, there was quite an update for PSU on Xbox 360 this week!

• Initial event rewards: Congratulations to all participants of GUARDIANS Chronicle for obtaining all milestone rewards! The following is a list of the first set that was posted. These will be available until the listed dates.
• Half-priced clothes and parts (March
• Free Lumilass services (March
• Daily Vol Coin allowance x10 (March
• PA EXP boost (March
• 15% initial boost for the new GBR (March 29)
• Koltova Madog (April 30)
• Neudaiz Drop Boost 4th: This GBR will be running through March 29 and contains the following new and upgraded missions.
• Cost of Research: C-S2 was upgraded from PSU to AOTI standards. S3 difficulty was added. Additionally, it has been changed from a co-op mission into a free mission.
• Ecosystem Crisis: This new mission can be found in the Kego Clearing heading towards Agata Islands. It features C-S3 difficulties.
• Grove of Fanatics: C-S2 was upgraded from PSU to AOTI standards. S3 difficulty was added. Additionally, the destination lobby has been changed from Shikon Tanze route to Old Hakura Temple.
• Ruins in the Mist: This new mission can be found in the Old Hakura Temple heading towards Kugo Hot Springs. It features C-S3 difficulties.
• New Lobby: Old Hakura Temple was added.
• Casino Voloyal: There was a standard rotation of items here.

A bug has been confirmed from the last update. Protectors ?' has reduced AMP payouts when a player is ranked above first stage. They should be consistent no matter the stage. This will be fixed in a future maintenance. Players have also noticed with the current update that many/all of the new drops are not searchable by name in player shops. However, they can be found by inputting various properties of the items. This will also likely be fixed in a future maintenance.

Concept art for the default HUcaseal and RAcast costumes were posted today on the official Phantasy Star Online 2 blog. Be sure to click on the images below to view larger versions of the concept art!

HUcaseal

RAcast

In addition, the following pieces of information were gleaned from the Phantasy Star Online 2 Alpha 2 Questionnaire:

• Testers from the first alpha test made up 30% of the population for the second alpha test.
• Cast creation rates were up thanks to the improved Cast creation options.
• There were more female characters than male characters.
• Male Newmans were the least played race/sex combination.
• 65% of testers used a game controller. The rest used a keyboard and mouse.

Credit goes to Mike for bringing us this news and translating the questionnaire results. You can discuss this news in this forum thread.