Thursday, June 4 marked the introduction of a brand new in-game currency to the Japanese PC/PS2 servers. Dubbed "GUARDIANS Cash," this optional service allows players to purchase varying quantities of GC to gain access to exclusive missions with various bonuses and rewards. (For details on the cost of GC, please see this post.) Currently, only two GC missions have been released: "Legacy of the Light" and "Entrusted Defense." "Legacy of the Light" offers players a chance of obtaining drops from LV175 enemies, but also a variety of new weapons from boxes within the mission. The include the likes of Soul Eater, Rocket Punchers, Motav Prophecy and more. The second mission, "Entrusted Defense," places players in a VR simulation of an enemy invasion at GUARDIANS HQ. This mission offers players a 350% EXP boost as well as a boost to PA EXP payout.
Along with these two missions came a new exchange mission called "Photon Crystal Exchange." Here players can compress Photon Drops (received from GC missions) into Photon Crystals and trade these crystals for different weapons and even clothes and parts. Of note, replica sets of the GH410 and GH480's clothing are available.
Despite some players enjoying the new missions and items, the introduction of the GUARDIANS Cash system to the Japanese servers has received a lot of flak from both the Japanese and the English communities alike. English GMs have stated that the GC system has not been confirmed for an English version release, but all feedback is welcome as it can help determine what is best for the community as far as this content goes. If you would like to jump in on the discussion and leave your thoughts on the system, please feel free to do so at the forum. But, please remember to keep your posts clean and on-topic!
Are you feeling bored now that school and Shred the Darkness are over? If so, you may be interested in participating in our TWO new fan artist contests! In the Event Illustration contest, participants are asked to recreate a scene from a past Phantasy Star Universe event. If that does not suit your fancy, you can enter the Stick Figure Assault. Entrants in this contest will be asked to draw a stick figure comic about an in-game experience from either Phantasy Star Universe or Phantasy Star Portable. Submissions for both contests must be received by June 20th. The prizes for these contests include rare PSU figures and PSU artbooks autographed by Takao Miyoshi, one of PSU's creators! Check the corresponding contest threads for details and rules.
These contests are sponsored by the European release of Phantasy Star Portable, now available at most retailers! PSO-World.com would like to thank Sega of Europe for supplying us with a great selection of rare and amazing prizes!
Good luck everyone! We look forward to seeing your entries!
An announcement for the upcoming May 29 content update has been posted at the official English Phantasy Star Universe website! Aside from the end of Shred the Darkness, here's what else to expect next week.
Feel free to discuss this update in this thread at the forum.
Update: The PC/PS2 servers have gone down entirely along with Sega's blog. The PSU homepage is also down.
Update 2: According to Clumsyorchid, servers problems are due to air conditioner failure in the server room.
Update 3: The PSU homepage and Sega blogs are now back online. The game servers and official forums remain unavailable.
Update 4: The Xbox 360 Demo servers are now available. A notice has been posted on the official homepage about the downtime.
Update 5: The official PSU forums are now available.
Update 6: The PC/Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 servers are now back online. The official PSU forums went offline in preparation for a planned forum upgrade later this week.
Update 7: According to the official Japanese PSU Xbox 360 homepage, compensation is already being planned.
GM Edward has just announced that Shred the Darkness has been extended for an additional week! Previously scheduled to conclude on May 22, the event (and current GBR) now will run until May 29, giving players even more time to take advantage of the increased drop rates and EXP. Take a stop by the forums to join in the discussion of this news.
GM Edward has announced that there will be a giveaway running on the Phantasy Star Twitter. Up for grabs are inflatable PMs and PSU wristbands.
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It is not necessary to have a current subscription to PSU, but you will have to follow (and be followed on) this Twitter page so that you can respond with the correct winning codes. The giveaways are supposed to last through the end of Shred the Darkness and it was hinted that they may be posting codes around the times the last few milestones are achieved.
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Full details can be found at the posted links.
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Update: GM Edward noted recently that the Twitter giveaway will now last throughout the extension to Shred the Darkness.
The global kill count for Shred the Darkness went over the 65 million mark earlier today. This unlocked the "two weeks of 10 silver casino coins" per day bonus. In addition, the 80 million kill panel has been unveiled - a 2x Photon Arts exp boost for two weeks! With almost three weeks left in the event, players should be able to reach this highly desirable goal.
To recap, the following rewards have been unlocked so far:
As with all past events, the rewards for Shred the Darkness will be implemented sometime after the event ends. You can discuss this update in this forum thread.
On May 8th, the PC/Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 servers will receive the next Shred the Darkness event update. According to the Japanese webpage, a purification mission (C - S2) and several new Dark Crystal Seeker exchange items will be added. Also, a new Guardians Boost Road will run from May 8 to May 21 for Roar of Flames, The Big Push, and the new Purification mission. The boost for this GBR will be an increased drop percentage.
Credit goes to EspioKaos for translating and bring us this news. You can discuss this content update in this forum thread.
Update: The official English site has been updated with this information, revealing the official localized name of the new event mission. Formerly known as "The Fourth Seal", the new name is "The 4th System".
The judging period for the PSO-World.com Phantasy Star Swag Contest is over and the winners have been selected!
To briefly recap, the idea for the contest was to write your most memorable in-game moments from any Phantasy Star game. The top four stories were selected by the judging team based on attritutes such as composition and perceived awesomeness. The judging team consisted of Ryna, Dhylec, Dragwind, and Hunewearl_Meira - all long-time Phantasy Star players (Classic, PSO, and PSU).
There were a large number of outstanding stories and the final voting rounds were very tight. From this process, four truly exceptional were selected. So without further adieu, here are the winners:
Each of the above winners will receive a copy of Phantasy Star Portable, an inflatable GH101, and a Phantasy Star Universe wrist band! Now for the grand prize winner:
Larian will receive a GH101 drawing autographed by Takao Miyoshi, a Phantasy Star Universe t-shirt, and a Phantasy Star Universe wrist strap.
 
The winners will need to contact me via Private Message. A big thanks goes to everyone that participated in the contest and to Sega of America for supplying the prizes! You can share your responses in this forum thread.