Interested readers can head over to the official DUST website where they can signup for the closed beta. Please note that by registering you are not guaranteed entry into the DUST 514 closed beta. You’ll also need a Playstation 3, incase you forgot it was an exclusive.

Now word on when closed beta will begin or when invites will start to be sent out, but since many companies have started doing first-come-first-server invites, you’re better off signing up early.

SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a new column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindi, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios upcoming MOBA.

Lore: Anubis – Anapa in Egyptian – is the jackal-headed son of Nephthys and is most closely related with the Egyptian process of mummification and thus, the afterlife. The association is strengthened further in hieroglyphics, which sees a jackal, Anubis’ animal form, sitting atop a tomb. In addition to protecting those during their travel to Datu, the underworld, Anubis was the “Guardian of Scales”, weighing the fate of the soul of the deceased.

His parentage is complicated, changing depending on the timeframe and legend of the texts. In the earliest texts, Anubis was of Ra’s seed. Later texts claim the father as Osiris. A near-equal amount attribute his patronage to that of Osiris’ brother, Set. Murkier still, one legend claims that Nephthys used alcohol to seduce Osiris, another that his mother impersonated Isis for the same purpose.

Hit the jump for the rest of Anubis’ lore and how it’s used in-game.

Anubis, actually a Greek name, was associated with Greek and Roman mythology in various capacities, despite the cultures considering the half-animal gods of Egypt as primitive.

In-Game: Anubis is a ranged spellcaster that makes full use of his embalming and underworld knowledge. Donning his full jackal appearance, Anubis also possesses personal movement bonuses and attacks, such as Death from Below.

Further reading:

• Anubis on Wikipedia
• Egyptian Mythology on Wikipedia
• Myth of Osiris, Isis and Set
• Book of the Dead

Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for access to details for all of the playable characters.

It seems that in the end, money rules and no one really cares whether or not real-money-trading ruins games or not.  Sony Online Entertainment was the first to allow item and account selling for Everquest and Everquest 2, but shut-down the service in early 2008. Probably because of the enormous fees they charged and sellers decided the blackmarket was better for them.

Yesterday Diablo 3 launched with it’s own RMT auction house, even though Blizzard has been railing against RMT for years. It seems the real issue wasn’t that it ruined their games, but they weren’t getting a cut of the cash.

Blizzard has been adamant about their game accounts, stating time and time again, that they are the owners of the accounts and not the players, but by allowing players to buy and sell accounts to each other, isn’t Blizzard indirectly conceding they really aren’t the owners?

What Blizzard is trying to get away with here is renting you an online account, while making you pay for the game. If I paid for the game and the game requires me to make an online account to use it, then you can’t say I don’t own that account.  Otherwise I cannot gain access to the game which I paid for.

Having said that, it would be reasonable to say that since I purchased the game, and the game requires an online account, then I own that online account. Going a step further, I should then be able to sell my account to anyone I want without using Blizzard’s auction system.

Where do you guys stand in the new RMT world? Is what’s good for the goose, good for the gander? Does Blizzard have any leg to stand on when it comes to RMT and players selling their accounts and items privately? Or do you believe that RMT still ruins games?

Champions have the ability to transform into a Runic Robot, which allows for additional magic and ability attacks and makes the champ very effective at taking damage.  Being a Dwarf, the Champion will have access to their blacksmithing skills, allowing him to equip powerful weapons and armour. Armaments embedded with runes offer even more protection without forfeiting mobility. The Champion is at heart a tank class, but with enough damage output to hold his own in attacking.

The Warlock on the other hand is a range attacker who is able to sap strength from its enemies.  Overall the Warlock is a support class who can aid allies with buffs, but if need be can take the role of a ranged DPS class.

Lore: Ao Kuang, usually spelled Ao Guang, is the destructive god known as the Dragon King of the East Sea. During his early years, Ao Guang reigned terror on man through the forces of nature. Droughts, storms and other natural disasters were his weapons of choice and his destruction continue unabated until Nezha, a protective deity, intervenes. After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Nezha, Ao Guang seeks vengeance by kidnapping Nezha’s parents.

Hit the jump for the rest of Ao Guang’s story, how he’ll play in-game and further reading.

A common antagonist, Ao Guang is actually responsible for helping Sun WuKong achieve his most powerful relic, the transforming staff known as Ruyi Jingu Bang. Unsuspecting that the staff, which was holding down the ocean, would react to the Monkey King, the dragon-king teased the diminutive figure to attempt to acquire the heavenly weapon. Upon approach, the magical weapon reacted to him, confirming that he is the rightful owner. The sea, now unconstrained after Ruyi Jingu Bang’s removal, went into turmoil, wreaking further havoc that was attributed to Ao Guang.

In-Game: Despite the back lore (and misspelling), Hi-Rez Studios is currently tailoring its incarnation of Ao Kuang as a wind serpent. The character is a classic ranged spell caster, featuring wind-based attacks and little crowd control.

Further reading:

• Ao Guang on Wikipedia
• Chinese Mythology on Wikipedia
• Journey to the West (PDF)
• Investiture of the Gods (WikiSource guide)

Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.

SMITE isn’t just another DotA knockoff. The developers at Hi-Rez Studios has put its own massive spin on the genre, aside from cherry picking from previous legendary lore. The title will be familiar, featuring lane pushing, towers, creeping, item building and personal spell selection. The major change is the camera. The camera will not be presented in the typical isometric view, like most MOBA games, but locked behind your player in a third-person perspective. This allows for complete ganks – no need for weeds to “hide” in – forcing players to keep tabs on blind spots and use them to their advantage.

The full list of characters and their titles are after the jump along with a video interview by iTZKooPA with a more comprehensive introduction to the title from COO Todd Harris.

New additions to come every Tuesday and Thursday.

Chinese

• Ao Kuang (Guang) – Dragon King of the East Sea*
• He Bo – God of the Yellow River
• Sun WuKong – Monkey King

Egyptian

• Anubis – God of the Dead
• Bastet – Goddess of Cats
• Ra – The Sun God

Greek

• Arachne – The Great Weaver*
• Hades – King of the Underworld
• Zeus – God of the Sky

Hindi

• Agni – God of Fire
• Kali – The Dark Mother
• Vamana – Fifth Avatar of Vishnu*

Norse

• Hel – Goddess of the Underworld
• Odin – All Father
• Ymir – Father of the Frost Giants

* Currently untitled by Hi-Rez Studios.

This closed beta package will not only give you access to the closed beta, but reward you with the following items and bonuses.

Closed Beta Package (All 7-day items):

• Champion Feng (Hero)
• Feng Exclusive Card: Activate this hero and gain the following effects: Gain extra 50% of Battle Score when winning, deducts 50% less of Battle score when losing. Choose hero 5 seconds earlier.
• Skyboard mount: Mounts can be chosen at Hero selection.
• Double EXP booster: Gain double the usual amount of Experience Points after a match.
• Double BP booster: Gain double the usual amount of Titan Soul after a natch.

“I heard about a star falling in New Tristram. The dead were rising; was this what I searched for? A foe worthy of my blade?

As I walked down the road towards the village of New Tristram I saw a dead body on the side of the road, nothing new for me, but knowing that the dead rise in these parts I kept a close eye on the body. As I kept traveling this road I saw the first of these risen dead; it attacked me on sight, my axe flew fast through the air and struck the creature, killing it. I must watch out though, because I see more of these creatures in the distance.

The road was filled with them, feasting on other dead bodies, I deal with them like any other Barbarian would, with steel. After a bit of a travel I arrived at the gates of New Tristram which were under attack by these dead creatures, but the guards handled them with ease. After the combat ended, I asked the guard captain about the fallen star. He told me that it fell on the old Cathedral and there was only one survivor, Leah. All of a sudden the creatures attacked again, but now they also had me to content with. I helped the guards dispatch of these creatures, one thing is sure, New Tristram isn’t safe, but then again isn’t that what I wanted?

The guard captain, Rumford he was called, praised my combat abilities. He must not have seen a lot of Barbarians I guess. He told me I could find Leah in the Slaughtered Calf Inn. With this knowledge I walked into the village with  a feeling that this journey was not going to be dull, but that’s just the way I like it. When I was making my way to the inn I noticed two men of the militia as they took care of the bodies, it seems to work if you burn it, so simple and so easy, burn the body so these creatures won’t have a body to walk with.

Before I arrived at the inn I was stopped by a madman, he kept talking about this being the end of the world. Doomsayers always seem to crawl out of the woodwork when something bad happens, I gave the man no attention and walked towards the inn.

When I entered the inn I noticed that the people inside this inn were scared, the doomsayer must have gotten to them. I asked around about Leah and I was pointed by one of the villagers to a woman dressed in a red shirt and who had a bow on her back. I asked her if she was Leah, the one that survived the fallen star? She told me that she was, but her uncle, Deckard Cain, was struck by the star and was pulled into the depths of the cathedral. She tried to search for him but to no avail, as the dead began to rise she was forced to get away. As if some god was playing a sick joke on us the wounded inside the inn started to turn themselves. I quickly dispatched of them fighting together with Leah. After the battle Leah warned me that the dead will overwhelm them unless something was going to be done. This is what I was looking for, a challenge, a fight. I told her I would deal with these creatures. She was grateful and sent me to the guard captain, because he could tell me what needed to be done. So I set out again, out of the inn towards the guard captain.”

Check back for further tales of Torak the Barbarian.

The first beta weekend is over for Funcom’s The Secret World and if you happen to be one of those gamers that didn’t receive a beta key yet, you can step away from the ledge, we’re here to help

Lorehound has received five beta keys to give out, one of which was given out yesterday on our Facebook page, with the other four being handed out this Friday, just in time for beta weekend #2.

So how do you get a key? Simply head over to our Facebook page, like us, and tell us why you’re excited about The Secret World.  We’ll select our four favorite comments early Friday morning and send out the keys via Facebook.

Good luck to everyone.

TERA’s political system was not technically delayed shortly before the title’s launch earlier this month, but En Masse Entertainment hasn’t done anything with the system since. Until now, that is. The politicking will begin in earnest this Friday, May 18, for those interested!

The political system is a one-of-a-kind feature enabling high-ranking members to wield untold power over the direction of the realm. For better or worse, the reign of prosperity (or terror) will only last three weeks before another Vanarch is elected. Once elected – more on that in a second – a Vanarch is able to mandate and collect taxes and select which special vendors to open for business. Both the powers of community-elected officials and the process itself are set to mature with the game.

Like any real political system, you have to work at being an electable official before you can be elected. Thankfully, millions of dollars aren’t the only requirement. Players must be level 50 (experience), be a leader of a guild of level 3 or higher with 20+ members (leadership) and pay 3,000 gold and 100 Catharnach Awards (currency sink) to get on the ballot.

If you’re interested, registration begins this Friday, May 18, followed by a week of voting. If you’re not interested in the responsibility, you can vote for a candidate of your choice once per continent per server per account.

Time to go work on my soapbox speeches.

Stay tuned on the latest election happenings by visiting the Election Calendar.