Weekly MMO news round up: EQ bonus weekend, new EVE faction, Guild Wars I & II stuff

The news this week in MMOs was a bit scarce, unless it was huge news that hit the front page - which a lot of it did.

However, there were other things going on: a new faction for EVE Online, bonus goodies for EverQuest II, content changes for Guild Wars, and a few other things you can read about on past the break.

TGS is coming up, so who knows what lies in store for us by way of new announcements.

• CCP has announced that the Dominion expansion for EVE Online will bring improvements to faction ships and wants input from players regarding pirate and Navy faction ships. Also, Tier 1 battleship variants are expected with the expansion, which include: Armageddon Navy Issue, Dominix Navy Issue, Scorpion Navy Issue, and Typhoon Fleet Issue. Each will have new enhancements, skins, hull changes, stats, and other nifty things. More can be found out over on the official EVE Online website.

• Fallen Earth has had its release date changed once again. Instead launching on September 9, it was changed to Septeber 15 and now it has been pushed to September 22. The reason, according to the devs, is "to make sure that Fallen Earth is easily accessible to as many fans as possible. We are working on initiatives that are near fruition and we simply need more time." Those who preordered will still get early access on September 9, which will subsequently run six days longer than originally planned.

• Guild Wars game designer Linsey Murdock's latest journal entry details changes coming to PvP, and to those that play, these changes note the closure of the Hero Battles format and conversion of Team Arena into a new Sealed Deck format. Sealed Deck has been added into the game due to the popularity of the format and the lessening number of participants in Team Arena and Hero Battles have added to the inclusion. There's loads more there through the link.

• The one year anniversary of Warhammer Online has been going on since August 31 with The Wild Hunt celebration and if you have not logged in, you only have until September 7 to join the fray. Should you miss out though, there is more coolness in store for you through the rest of the month. Following the Wild Hunt live event, limited weekend-only events with special versions of the Mourkain Temple (September 11-14), Gates of Ekrund (September 18-21) and Temple of Isha (September 25-28) scenarios are at the ready. Also, during the whole month of September, players get an extra 20 percent experience and renown bonus, fireworks, exploding stout, special in-game items, veteran rewards and loads more.

• Kill Ten Rats has a great Guild Wars 2 interview with world designer and writer Jeff Grubb. Want to find out if the secrets behind Bahltek, the undeciphered Asuran banner, or the giganticus lupicus are revealed? Interested in finding out why the elder dragons have awakened? Then hit the link to find out!

• The patch notes for Darkfall were released this week, and if you have not logged into the game in a while, you are in for some surprises. First off, the patch lays the ground work for the October expansion with revamped spells, crafting faster advancement, reduced mana and area effects, changes to AI, new weapons and loads of other stuff. Get to reading.

• In honor of Labor Day, the American Holiday Weekend, EverQuest players will get magical experience now until Tuesday, September 8. Nothing wrong with Double XP for any reason, is there?