As the Elder Scrolls Online nears the end of development, and as convention season rolls around, there are a lot of things to look forward to in the coming months. We take a look at a few of the things that we're most keen to find out in our latest ESO column. Check it out and then tell us what you're looking forward to learning about in the comments.

Payment Model

I don’t want to go into too much detail about the payment model for Elder Scrolls Online because that is an entire article itself, and Mike covered it well enough last week. It has not been announced yet, but hopefully it will get announced at either E3 or PAX Prime. Until then, we’re all just guessing.

Read more of Garrett Fuller's Elder Scrolls Online: On the Radar for Summer.

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the forthcoming DC Universe Online update, Origin Crisis, will launch across all servers on May 14th. The Quantum Power set will arrive in game and high level players have received some love as well.

• New Quantum Controller Power Set 
• Two challenging new Raids
• Two new Hero Origin Operations
• Two new Villain Origin Operations
• Iconic Anomalies - Two new Solo Simulation Challenges
• New Gear, including Tier 5 PvE Gear and new Iconic-inspired Gear
• New Feats, Collections and Trophies

Read more on the DC Universe Online site.

In this bi-weekly comic, artist Blaz Klaric brings us his irreverent look into the foibles of the MMO worlds we love, and love to hate. Check out this week's installment, LUCK!

UPDATE: PvE culling will not be included in this build, nor will the WXP adjustments for WvW. The team is working on both, but players will not see those features added on May 14. ArenaNet has updated the page to reflect this: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/may-14-2013/. 

ArenaNet is previewing the Guild Wars 2 May content update in a new teaser page. Called The Secret of Southsun, the update will feature a new mini-game, the end of culling in the open world and changes to the WvW system.

• New Crab Toss Game: In this instanced mini-game, players can score points by capturing a hermit crab and withstanding karka attacks.
• Traps Introduced in WvW: Purchase traps that remove supply from enemy players from the new Traps and Tricks Outfitters on each WvW map.
• Limited Custom WvW Features: ArenaNet has improved the award system for World XP to World vs. World players. Gain rewards for a much wider range of activities in the Mists – everything from destroying siege weapons, repairing walls, escort missions and more.
• The End of Culling in the Living World: By removing the limit on the number of characters you can see in the Living World, players will experience an epic feel of exploring through a fully-populated world.

Read up on the details on the Guild Wars 2 page.

Dragon's Prophet is currently in beta testing in both North America and in Europe. We spent some time exploring Runewaker's first foray into the MMO space after Runes of Magic. We think you'll be surprised by what you read. Head to the comments afterward to discuss.

Color me surprised that when I logged into Dragon’s Prophet (to be published by SOE here in the West), what I found instead was a game that’s startling different from the rest of the also-rans out there.  There are plenty of fantasy tropes (the game is entirely based on dragons), kill this and fetch this missions, and your usual loot and gear grind are ever-present.  But what drew me in, aside from the action-based combat, was just how free I was to make what I could of my character and his dragons.  Dragon’s prophet is a surprisingly enticing MMORPG with a good mix of theme-park and sandbox to please fans of each.  Color me interested, and I’ll be watching this one from now on.

Read more of Bill Murphy's Dragon's Prophet: Runewaker's Onto Something.

R2Games and Mechanist Games have announced that City of Steam will be launching into beta this week and that all interested players can check out the forthcoming game. The beta is expected to kick off on May 10th with a host of new and improved features.

New in the Beta are Events, Wilderness Levels, Jumping, Jetpacks, a much smoother tutorial, a streamlined skill, talent and crafting system (more on crafting soon!), a new way of doing quests, cosmetic items and sets, a new PVP system, an energy system (more on this a little further down), more balanced everythings, improved itemization, further improved UI, customizable keybindings (finally!) and cancelable auto attacks. We also took something out of the game; the Factions, as they previously existed, are no more. Your company will no longer be aligned to a Faction as we weren’t happy with how the system turned out. On the other hand, you will still be interacting with the Factions very soon; we have some interesting plans for them coming up in one of the soon-to-be released hubs. We’re also wondering if there are any MOBA fans in these parts ‘o town? They *might* have reasons to be pretty happy as well.                         

Head to the City of Steam page for more information.

One of the more interesting features that Age of Wushu players can experience is the ability to tolerate (or not) alcohol. Being 'drunk' in the game adds an evade buff. The higher the tolerance for alcohol, the harder it is to get 'drunk' and earn the bonus.

Drinking and becoming drunk rewards players with a Evade buff during combat. The higher the tolerance of a player, the more alcohol is required to remain drunk. If a player drinks too much, they will no longer be able to evade and lose mobility in combat or in regular travels. Certain NPCs can unlock random encounters if they enjoy seeing a drunk master stumbling across the streets on a regular basis. Be wary of your Schools Rules to make sure that you are permitted to drink without being disciplined by your sect.

Read more on the Age of Wushu site.

Wargaming has released a bunch of new screens from World of WarShips that feature some of the newly created ships that will be featured in the forthcoming naval battle MMO. Check them out in our World of WarShips screenshot gallery.

Kotaku is reporting that EA has scored licensing privileges to publish and develop games based on the Star Wars intellectual property. According to Kotaku, both EA and BioWare will work on games based on the IP.

“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” said EA Labels president Frank Gibeau in a statement. “Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.”

Read the full report at the link above.

The Elder Scrolls Online team has posted the latest in a series of community questions and answers. The Q&A is a mixed bag of topics including armor, slavery, and whether or not puzzles will be included.

The Ayleids are said to have “At one point [have] controlled the entirety of what is now the Imperial Province of Cyrodiil.” Does that mean we are only going to see Ayleid ruins in Cyrodiil or in other provinces like High Rock or Valenwood? – By Ian Barber

The Ayleids were considerably more widespread than in just the province of Cyrodiil – at the height of their civilization, they were spread across Tamriel from High Rock to Black Marsh, and though their ruins are most frequently encountered in Cyrodiil, you might find one in any province but Skyrim, Morrowind, and Summerset. Outside Cyrodiil they are most common in Valenwood, because after the Slave Revolt of St. Alessia, the Ayleids who fled Cyrodiil largely took refuge among the Wood Elves of the south.

Read the full post on the Elder Scrolls Online site.

After a year off, Blizzcon 2013 will be storming back to Anaheim later this year. Ardent World of Warcraft fans are beginning to speculate about what big announcements the team might have in store for the world's most popular MMO. Check out our musings before adding yours in the comments.

Last week BlizzCon tickets went on sale and milliseconds later they were sold out. This happened with both batches of tickets. For those of you that were lucky enough to score some, congratulations! For everyone else who tried, I can’t imagine your frustration and hope you’ll be able to find a way to watch the event with the virtual ticket (details on virtual tickets have yet to be announced). This week I’d like to share what I hope we’ll see at BlizzCon 2013.

Read more of Reza Lackey's The WoW Factor: Anticipating BlizzCon 2013.

Turbine has announced that the next Lord of the Rings Online update, Treachery of the White Hand, will go live across all servers on May 13th. Players are charged with finding the town of Scylfig and discover the roots of the encroaching winter. 

• Mounted combat revamp - New class-specific traits now enhance your mounted combat skills, while bonuses to mobility have been moved from traits to your base steed. 
• Hobbit presents! - Another reason to get in the game! All players will receive a Silver Hobbit Present each day they log in to LOTRO. Rewards vary from common to legendary and are tailored to your logged-in character’s level and class.
• New VIP benefits - Improved offerings for VIPs, including a custom character portrait frame, improved bonus experience system and better Hobbit presents.

Head to the Lord of the Rings Online site for more information.

Guild Wars 2 is a game that has made some big changes in a short while and has plans to make many more as the player base adapts and requests new features. In our latest Guild Wars 2 column, we take a look at what has changed already and offer a few thoughts about things we'd like to see in the future. Read on before heading to the comments.

Guild Wars 2 is still a very young game, yet ArenaNet has already added and changed several features.  I think we all remember at launch how the game, though still great, needed some tweaking here and there to really make the experience feel whole.  From fixing culling in WvW, to changes in daily achievements, Guild Wars 2 has come a long way since its launch last year.  Here are just a few ways things that have changed, and what still needs some work.

Read more of David North's Guild Wars 2: Growing Up.

Until guild halls are released, guilds will build tree houses to hold their weekly meetings.

Be sure to check the MMORPG.com Live Stream Schedule to find the times of your favorite MMOs in action with our terrific team of streamers.

Monday - 5/6

Noon EDT Neverwinter with Brewha
3pm EDT Neverwinter with Kelethar
9pm EDT TERA with Eaderbreca

Tuesday - 5/7

Noon EDT Neverwinter with Brewha
3pm EDT TERA with Kelethar
7pm EDT Neverwinter with Chief Sarcan 

Wednesday - 5/8

Noon EDT Neverwinter with Brewha
3pm EDT Ragnarok Online 2 with Kelethar 

Thursday - 5/9

Noon EDT Neverwinter with Brewha
3pm EDT Neverwinter with Kelethar
9:30pm EDT Neverwinter Foundry Focus with Rob Lashley

Friday - 5/10

Noon EDT Neverwinter with Brewha
3pm EDT Defiance with Kelethar

Sunday - 5/12

12pm EDT Pirate101 with Sarcan 

Gazillion Entertainment invited players into an open beta event for Marvel Heroes this past weekend. We took the opportunity to take our super heroes out for a run and have a few thoughts to share. Read on and then let us know about your experiences with Marvel Heroes in the comments.

I entered the game as Black Widow with absolutely zero options for customization. That will come later in the form of costumes. Still, after playing Neverwinter for the last week or so, a game that has an amazing amount of customization, it was disappointing. It would have been nice to have been able to choose some small way to set your character apart but it is not to be. So, on finishing the tutorial, I joined hundreds of my mirror images and thousands of Iron Men, Hulks, Captain Americas, Spider Men and more. I actually found it kind of distracting. 

Read more of Bill Murphy's and Suzie Ford's Marvel Heroes: Delving Into Open Beta.

Welcome to another episode of Game On: Epic Slant Press Edition. This week Chris and Adam are joined by Green Armadillo of the Player Versus Developer MMO blog. Together we discuss the Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and The Old Republic's free-to-play versions, the success of the Camelot Unchained's kickstarter, the launch of Neverwinter, and the FFXIV: A Realm Reborn summer release announcement.

Check it out on our Game On podcast page.

Rob Lashley has started a terrific new series for MMORPG.com that is based around Neverwinter. Called Foundry Focus, Rob shines the spotlight on a specific Foundry quest each week. In this inaugural article, Rob takes a look at "A Kidnapping in Blacklake". Check it out and then tell us about your favorite Foundry quests in the comments.

On April 30th Cryptic Studios released their new Dungeons and Dragons based MMORPG Neverwinter. One of the main mechanics that separates Neverwinter from the MMORPG pack is the inclusion of Cryptic’s foundry system. By using the foundry everyone that plays Neverwinter can become a content creator for Neverwinter. Think you can do a better job than Cryptic of making fun and engaging missions for their own game? Well now you can prove it, and I believe some of you can.

Read more of Rob Lashley's Neverwinter: Foundry Focus: A Kidnapping in Blacklake.

Game On: Epic Slant Press Edition, the official podcast of MMORPG.com, is proud to announce its first iTunes review giveaway. From now until 3:00PM EST, May 19th, each written 5-star review will be entered to win a digital download copy of Defiance courtesy of Trion Worlds and Indigo Pearl. Chris and Adam will also be giving away these select indie games for each of the three weeks to follow,: Magicka, Strike Suit Zero, and A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2. Enter now for your chance to win. Be sure to tune in every Monday to see if you've won and get even more great MMORPG.com content. 

Check it out on the Game On Podcast page.

Reality Squared Games (R2Games) will be launching its open beta test on 9:00 pm 3rd  May (GMT+8) for Dragon Pals. The title is a multi-faceted, adventure based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). MMORPG.com has been given gift pack codes that will give players Exp Scrolls, Dragon Souls, Gem Chests and more!  Get your key now!

Each gift pack will give you:

• Advanced Exp. Scroll x5
• Amethysts x150,000
• Voucher x300
• Dragon Souls x1000
• 99 Roses x1
• Lvl. 2 Gem Chest x6

Event ends June 10, 2013

GET YOUR DRAGON PALS GIFT KEY CODE AT THIS LINK!