The PSO2 servers will undergo special maintenance at the times listed below:

PSO2 Special Maintenance

• May 23rd @ 8:00 ~ 12:00 JST
• May 22nd @ 7:00 PM ~ 11:00PM EDT
• Check Google Calendar for other timezones.

Though they plan to finish maintenance at 12:00 JST, it may end earlier or later depending on the situation. They also plan to distribute some form of compensation, details to be announced at a later time.

Bug Correction

• Corrected a bug where large quantities of Vita Crashelb dropped while playing Tundra and Mechs Stages 65 – 70.

As compensation for this maintenance, the following items will be distributed in the future.

• 1 Tribooster

As compensation for this bug, those who cleared Extreme Quest: Tundra and Mechs between May 21st’s maintenance until May 23rd’s maintenance will receive:

• One Extreme Pass
• One +250% Rare Drop Booster
• One +100% Tribooster

These items will be distributed at a later date.

Boost Event Reschedule

The Forest / Caves / Desert Advance Quest boost has been extended to:

• May 24th @ 0:00 ~ 12:00 JST
• Check Google Calender for other timezones.

Update: On May 25th @ 0:00 JST Sega confirmed an issue where players could neither connect to the official site, nor access the game servers. As of May 25th 1:15 JST, both the PSO2 official website and game servers are back online! Initially they thought that they would have to do another Special Maintenance, but after further investigation, this was deemed unnecessary.

As compensation for the connection issues on May 25th, the following items will be distributed:

• Tribooster (x1)

Emergency Quest Rescheduling

The following Emergency Quest has been rescheduled to a new time.

• Mecha Awakening: May 26th @ 0:00 JST
• Check Google Calendar for other timezones.

It’s time for the 20th PSO2 Live Broadcast. You can watch it live on Nico Nico!

Post Broadcast Updates:

• Changed Momoi to Enomoto.
• Added character names to Shining Blade.
• Added information to Arks Ship Competition and PSO2es.
• Added PSO2 Item Design Contest 2
• Added Seven Eleven Promotion.
• Placed Mr. Bowan on Free-Fields.

Emergency Quest Poll:

• Players chose [In the Driving Rain 2] which will go up at May 27th 23:00 JST. Currently the boost rate is set at +100% Rare Drop Boost and +100% EXP Boost.
• With the Rare Drop Boost Day in effect, it will achieve 150%.
• Ichitaro challenge increased the boost rates even further.
• Added to the Calendar.

New Lobby Actions

Enter the secret phrase つゆたろう in chat sometime after the broadcast through June 4th’s maintenance to receive these lobby actions:

• Ichitaro 2
• Ichitaro 3
• Enomoto 2
• Enomoto 3

Sega Platinum Selection (June 11th)

• Space Channel 5
• Valkyria Chronicles
• Yakuza Ishin
• Yakuza 5
• Sonic Mag

Sega Platinum Selection (June 11th)

• Weapon Camos, Room Items, and Music Disks are coming too!

Craft Update (June 11th)

• Craft Level 50
• Technic Customization Recipe Level 3
• Equipment Extension Reset Recipe

Balance Adjustments (June 11th)

• Team Fusion
• Daily Order Achievement Conditions Relaxed!
• DF [Colossus] Victory Pose Added!

2nd Anniversary Event (June 11th)

• Sonic Lobby
• 2nd Year Anniversary Bingo
• Interlocking Web Event Rewards!

 
2nd Anniversary Limited Quest (June 11th)

• [Chaotic Silence] (Chaos Born In Silence) on the Infested Mothership
• Level 70 Boss Enemies
• New Bird Darker

Balance Adjustments

• Shunka Shunran Nerf
• Gekka Zakuro Power Buff, PP Consumption becomes 20!
• Asagiri Rendan Power Buff
• Sacrifice Bite improved. Lv. 16 Power Buff. Using it on Boss-type enemies that can’t be held will apply the effect for 40 seconds.

 Balance Adjustments 2

• Mag energy drains even while you’re logged out. 
  (Does not apply to mags at max level.)
• [Apos Dorios] Different annihilation rates by quest difficulty.
• Relaxed Dark Falz Luther’s power on Very Hard.
• Adjusted the point requirements and the amount of times you may use the Burst Barrier and Base Recovery functions in Mining Base Intrusion.
• PA and Technics that are known for obscuring the screen will have their particle/animation effects adjusted.
  (Probably Il Foie and Cosmos Breaker, etc.)
• Mr. Bowan will appear on all free-fields.

Arks Ship Competition (Late June)

• All 10 ships are divided into five groups that compete in a large-scale event! [ex. Ship 1 + Ship 2] or whatever ships are paired up.
• Earn stars by clearing objectives in the morning/evening hours.
  (Example: Defeat a Rockbear).
• The cumulative score determines the winning group.
• Earn wonderful rewards by placing in the top results.

Arks Ship Competition (Late June)

• New Mascot (?)  “Arkuma”
• Purchase items with Stars.
• The 5 Rappies will indicate the current ranking positions.

Shining Heroes Scratch (Late June)

• Rage, Altina, Kerberos, Sakuya ModeC, Misty, Yukihime.
• Costumes, Weapon Camos, and Voices from these Shining Blade characters.

PSO2es Updates

• May 28th: Quna Chips
• June 11th: Floating Continent quests!
• June 11th: Push notifications for Emergency Quests
  (15 Minutes advance notice for all users.)
• Future: Premium Set 1 hour push notifications under construction.

PSO2es Update

• June 11th: Sega Star Collab: Characters from popular SEGA titles will appear as chips!
• June 11th: Evasion invincibility times for Hunter and Ranger adjusted.
• June 11th: Enemy attack frequency adjusted.

Item Design Contest 2

• Beginning May 28th!
• Mag designs welcome!

PSO2 Side Stories (Novel)

• Advance copies available on June 15th at the Phantasy Star Festa 2014
• Available to the general public on June 16th!
• Contains PSO2 item codes!

 Seven Eleven Promotion

• PSO2 concept artwork prints are available from multi-copier machines in Seven Eleven stores across Japan.
• Available June 15th ~ August 31st.

Mining Base Defense: Despair
Arks Interception Silhouette Mechas
~Coming July~

May 28th Maintenance

• 5/28/2014 @ 11:00 ~ 17:00 JST
• 5/27/2014 @ 10:00 PM ~ 4:00 AM EDT

PSO2es Maintenance

• 5/28/2014 @ 10:55 ~ 17:30 JST
• 5/27/2014 @ 9:55 PM ~ 4:30 AM EDT

PSO2es Maintenance Contents

• Rare chip scratch update

Emergency Quest Schedule

Eastern / Central / Mountain / Pacific / Hawaii

São Paulo / London / Berlin / Moscow

Bangkok / Philippines / Sydney / Japan

Please Note:

• The Emergency Quest schedule will update automatically during maintenance. Please wait until after maintenance has ended to see the current schedule.
• If you are using a mobile device or an external application, please [sync] the calendar after maintenance has ended.
• Boost Events that occur for 24 hours will be posted in this calendar with the duration of 1 minute. This change was made to make the calendar easier to read when viewing the events as a list.

PSO2es Linking Campaign

In order to commemorate the launch of PSO2es, Sega is holding an interlocking campaign with the Smartphone, Vita, and PC versions! When you play both [PSO2] and [PSO2es], you can earn in-game items!

Campaign Period

• May 21st through June 18th

Campaign Qualification

Play PSO2es during the campaign period to receive these items in PSO2:

• (Lv. 10+ Characters) +50% Tribooster (x1)
• (Lv. 20+ Characters) +100% Tribooster (x1)

Play PSO2 during the campaign period to receive these items in PSO2es:

• (Lv. 10+ Characters) 5 Rappy Medals
• (Lv. 20+ Characters) 10 Rappy Medals

Characters made prior to the campaign period will also qualify for these items.

Prize Distribution Date

• Mid or Late June at the Visiphone for PSO2, and the Mailbox for PSO2es.

You can link your account by logging in with your PSO2 character on the smartphone version. Be aware that you will not qualify for this campaign if you have not logged into PSO2 (PC/Vita) versions. If you have several characters on the PC/Vita versions, you will only receive the rewards once per SEGA ID account. If you have several linked characters on PSO2es, they will all receive the Rappy Medal rewards in their mailbox.

• Item Design Contest
• Character Contest

 

PSO2 Item Design Contest #2!

Purpose

• Players can now participate in a new Item Design Contest where they can create weapon camos, accessories, costumes, and now mags!

 

Entry Period

• May 28th ~ July 16th, 2014

 

Announcements

• The nominations and results will be posted  at separate times in the future.
• The winning designs will have their works created as in-game items, which will be distributed through AC Scratch. The winners will receive their items separately from the public.

 

Important Points

• The works submitted must be somewhat related to Phantasy Star Online 2
• They are not accepting entries for hairstyles, head parts, leg parts, arm parts, and body parts for this contest.
• Weapon Camos should be submitted only for the categories that appear in Phantasy Star Online 2. You will not qualify for the selection process if you submit outside of the targeted weapon categories.
• Submitted works may be slightly modified when implemented as an in-game item, or posted at the official site.
• Entrants must submit unpublished works they’ve created themselves.
• Images must be in the JPEG file format up to 1MB in size.
• One person may submit several works.
• Please fill in all the required entries in the submission form.
• Please refrain from posting your works on a blog or social networking site, etc. Your winning entry may be disqualified if they discover that it was posted to the public before or after the winning announcements.
• The copyright of the submitted works will belong to SEGA. The user shall agree that the item they created will be sold as AC Scratch content.

 

Important Links

• Full Contest Details
• Submission Form
• Costume Design Template

 

Submission Categories

Select the appropriate contest divisions on the entry submission form. Copy and paste the category names in Japanese that pertain to your submission.

 

武器迷彩部門  Weapon Camo Division

ソード Sword	ワイヤードランス Wired Lance	パルチザン Partisan	ツインダガー Twin Dagger	ダブルセイバー Double Saber
ナックル Knuckle	ガンスラッシュ Gunslash	カタナ Katana	アサルトライフル Assault Rifle	ランチャー Launcher
ツインマシンガン Twin Machine Gun	バレットボウ Bullet Bow	ロッド Rod	タリス Talis	ウォンド Wand

 

コスチューム部門 Costume Division

• 全種族男女共用 All-Race Unisex
• 全種族男性 All-Race Male
• 全種族女性 All-Race Female

アクセサリー部門 Accessory Division

• アクセサリー Accessory

 マグ部門 Mag Division

• マグ進化デバイス Mag Evo Device

 

Also be sure to write a comment for your item in Japanese.

Submissions Form

• メールアドレス[必須]
  Email Address (Required)
• ペンネーム[必須]
  Pen Name (Required)
• 部門選択[必須]
  Contest Division (Camo/Costume/Accessory/Mag)
• カテゴリー
  Copy and Paste the Category’s Name
• 作品へのコメント[必須]
  Write a comment about your entry in 200 characters or less in Japanese.
• 投稿作品のアップロード[必須] Upload your JPG file no larger than 1MB

 

PSO2 Character Contest

Purpose:

• The ARKS Museum is collecting entries for the PSO2 2nd Anniversary Character Contest!
• Submit a screenshot and your character creation data of a cute, cool, or sexy character!

 

Entry Period

• May 28th ~ July 2nd @ 16:00 JST

 

Announcements

• Nominations in July
• Winners in August

 

Prizes

Nominees selected will receive:

• Gold Medal of Thanks
• 1000 FUN ticket
• EXCube
• Grind Success (100%)

Prizes will be distributed at a future maintenance.

 

 

Character Creation Conditions

• Any costume that conceals the entire body, or any accessory that hides the entire face are disqualified from the contest. You are also forbidden from using any collaboration materials on your character.
• Save your character creation data and send it as a file through the entry submission form.

 

View Banned Costumes

The following costumes are banned from the contest.
This includes any color variations or alternate versions of said outfits.

• Rappy Suits (Any Color or Variation)
• Bask Repcas
• Student S Repca
• Phantom Q Repca
• Homura’s Clothes (including the Ribbon versions)
• Absolute Layer
• Kaleido Ruby
• Cow Man T-Shirts (M and F)
• Seven Eleven Uniforms (M and F)
• Survey Corps Uniform and 3DMG
• Lillipa Suits (Any Color or Variation)
• Hatsune Miku Repca
• Fiona Repca
• Panis Repca
• Urayukihime Repca
• Hikari Line Blue T Shirts
• Miraseria 711
• Reindeer Suit
• Selvaria Repca
• Arle Repca
• Sakuya Mode N
• Madoko’s Clothes
• Akahara Reisou
• King of Heroes Armor
• King of Knights Armor

 

View Banned Accessories

Generally anything that covers the entire face, as well as collaboration items.

• Moai Mask
• Rebellion Mask
• Thoroughbred Mask
• Red Puyo Cap
• Tengu Mask
• Sea Bream (Red Fish Head)
• Okame Mask
• Carbuncle Pouch
• Kitsune Mask
• All Sonic Character Masks
• Sega Saturn Mask
• Sega Dreamcast Mask
• Gulf Mask
• Zombie Mask
• Skull Face
• Za Oodan Mask
• Miraseria Headgear 711
• Gilgamesh Earring
• Kyoutou Sensei Helmet
• Halloween Head
• Cow Man Scarf
• Mikasa Scarf
• Jack Head
• Snowman Head
• Any of Panis’ Wings

 

View Banned Hairstyles

Anything that covers the entire face or collaboration items.

• Volcano Helmet
• Hatsune Miku Hair
• Cow Man hair
• Selvaria Long
• Arle Half Up
• Sakuya Long Pony
• Kyoutou Sensei Helmet
• Illya Straght
• Hatsune Miku Hair
• Student S Hair
• Akira Hair
• Phantom Q Hair
• Saber Up-Style
• Mikasa Short-cut
• Fiona Fairly Long
• Panis Semilong
• Urayukihime Straight
• Rin Twin Side Up

View Banned Misc.

Stickers related to:

• FLET’s
• Attack on Titan
• Cougar Brand / Yakusha Brand
• Dengeki Magazine

Phantom Q Makeup

May’s Fabulous Screenshot Example

Screenshot Submissions

• Submit 1 image intended for the contest.
• Submit 1 image with your Player ID over your character’s head.

 

First Screenshot Criteria

• Mags and Weapons are not allowed in the screenshot.
• Head/Arm/Leg units are not allowed. You may either un-equip them or make them go stealth.
• Other player characters or NPCs are not allowed in the screenshot.
• Screenshots must be in landscape orientation.
• Windows/UI elements should not be shown in the screenshot. (You can set this screenshot option in settings.)
• You may take a screenshot in the Lobby, My Room, or Team Room.

 

First Screenshot Conditions

Acceptable Locations

• Lobby: Gate Area or Shopping Areas are acceptable!
• Room: Screenshots in decorated My Rooms / Mini Rooms are acceptable! Screenshots with a Symbol Art displayed on a projector are forbidden.
• Team Room: Screenshots in any of the Team Room locations are acceptable. Screenshots with a symbol art displayed on the Team monitors are forbidden.

Acceptable Camera Functions

• You may use either the [Camera Selection] functions from the Quick Menu or the [Digi Ichi] camera room item to take screenshots.

Acceptable Chat Functions

• Facial Expressions
• Lobby Actions

First Screenshot Conditions

Unacceptable Chat Functions

• Speech bubbles
• Cut-ins
• Symbols
• Symbol Art

Second Screenshot Conditions

• Player ID must be displayed over your character’s head.
  Go to:
  Quick Menu > Communication Menu > Overhead Display > Player ID
• Your character must face towards the screen with their entire body in view.
• Please take a screenshot in a place where the ID can be seen.
• When taking a Player ID screenshot, you must set the screenshot setting in Options to display the interface.

 

Advice and Tips

• You can use the [+] and [-] keys to change the camera zoom.
• You can use the [/] or [*] keys to change the camera height.
• You can use the [Camera Selection] menu from the Quick Menu to take screenshots at an angle.
• Turning the blur off in Drawing Settings will make your character easier to see.
• You can use chat shortcuts for expressions while disabling the cut-in chat window. For example:

  /ci2 1 nw s60

  This will allow your character to continue the facial expression for 60 seconds without any cut-in windows.

• Please keep in mind that you can display whether or not the interface is on by changing the setting in Options.

 

Submission Criteria

• The entry submitted must be created by the contestant themselves and must not be shown to the public.
• The entry can be submitted as a JPEG file up to 1MB.
• Please do not crop or make edits to the screenshot.
• The character creation data must be saved in the same state as how the character appears in the screenshot.
• You are allowed one entry per person. If you submit another entry, the last submission will count for the contest.
• Please refrain from posting your work to the public on blogs or social networking sites, etc.

 

Submission Contents

• Character Creation data saved in the same state as how the character appears in the screenshot.
• One Screenshot for the contest.
• One Screenshot containing the Player ID overhead.

 

Important Links

• Full Screenshot Contest Details
• Entry Submission Form (Login Required)

 

Submission Form

• メールアドレス[必須]
  Email Address
• プレイヤーID[必須]
  Player ID Number
• キャラクター名[必須]
  Character Name
• 投稿作品名[必須]
  Screenshot Title
• コーディネートのこだわりコメント[必須]
  Tell us how you coordinated your character’s fashion style!
• 投稿作品のアップロード[必須]
  (1) Submit Character Creation Data
  (2) Submit Screenshot for the Contest
  (3) Submit a Screenshot with your Player ID
  

A new limited quest will arrive on June 11th through July 23rd. This quest takes place on the infested mother ship with Dragonkin, Oceanids, Mechs, Naberius Natives, and Darkers. The enemies are generally level 65, but some emergency trials will feature level 70 bosses!

New winged Darkers [Doubluné] and [Doublunda] will spawn egg-shaped bombs, while [Lanz Valeda] transforms into smoke and dashes.

Expect to acquire new item drops as well!

Phantasy Star Festa 2014 Online:
Interlocking Web Event!

Summer Long Anniversary Event
~ June 11th until August 20th, 2014 ~

Let’s all participate in the [Phantasy Star Festa 2014 ~Online~] event! Everyone can earn points by clearing the targeted limited quest over and over. Periodically, these points are tallied and used to unlock rewards posted at the event’s official website.

Targeted Limited Quest

• 1 Point = Normal
• 2 Points = Hard
• 3 Points = Very Hard
• 4 Points = Super Hard

Every week we’ll get a new mission, where if we earn enough points we can unlock rewards distributed to us in the future! Points are accumulated through the power of all ARKS members, let’s aim towards clearing the missions!

※ Missions are somewhat like weekly goals that list the rewards we can get if we achieve certain scores.

[The Phantasy Star Festa 2014 ~Offline~] event will kick off in Tokyo on June 15th, and move to various locations across Japan. Attendees can receive item codes for 2014 FAN T-Shirts as well as various room items and accessories depicting mascots from the hosting cities!

In the upcoming days, more details about these events will be posted in the [Phantasy Star Festa 2014] category.

Be sure to also check out the [Item Design & Character Contests]!

New Client Orders, Bingo, and FUN Shop!

For a limited time, (2nd Anniversary) Xie will appear in the lobby with new client orders and her own 2nd Anniversary FUN Shop. The 2nd Anniversary Bingo will feature rewards like boost items and a Morolian Mag.

Team Merger

With this new feature,  you can merge two teams into one. The team points from the other team will be added into the main team, but their acquired team features will not carry over. You are only allowed up to 100 people in a team. If the total members of both teams surpass that number, they will not be able to merge. In addition, the other team will be prevented from merging until they remove all items from their Team Storage Box. After the process is complete, the other team will be deleted.

Victory Pose for Elder

Everyone will be able to perform a victory pose after defeating Dark Falz Elder. This option is available in the [Chat Settings] menu.

Crafting Level Cap Rises

The crafting level cap has expanded to level 50! This update increases the extend level cap and adds new level 3 recipes for Technic Customizations. In addition, you can acquire a [reset recipe] which will return the extended item back to its original performance; however the item will still be bound to owner.

 Balance Adjustments

Photon Art Adjustments

• Gekka Zakura: Increased power and reduced PP consumption.
• Asagiri Rendan: Increased power.
• Sacrifice Bite: Increased power at level 16.
• Sacrifice Bite: The effect is extended to 40 seconds when used on Bosses that can’t be held.
• Sacrifice Bite: Expanded attack hitboxes when activated.

※ After examining the state of the balance adjustments made from Early March to Late April, they have decided to nerf Shunka Shunran.  This adjustment will be carried out on June 11th, 2014.  Other balance adjustments may be announced in the future after they examine the current situation.

Mag Adjustments

• Mag energy depletes even while you’re offline.
• This change does not apply to mags at the level cap.

Daily Order Achievement Conditions Relaxed

• The quest must be completed once for [Quest Completion Daily Orders]
• Bosses must be defeated once for [Enemy Defeat Daily Orders]
• Daily Order rewards are not affected by the above changes.
• The above changes only pertain to Daily Orders that require a set number of tasks to complete.
• The other style of Daily Orders (where the completion rate increases the rewards) are not affected by these changes.

[Mining Base Intrusion] Balance Adjustments

• Increased the number of times you may use the Burst Barrier / Base Recovery functions.
• Relaxed the number of points needed to activate those functions.

Sega Platinum Selection AC Scratch

アリシア・レプカ Alicia Repca

セルベリア・スイムウェア Selvaria Swimwear

うらら・レプカ Ulala Repca

真島吾朗スタイル Goro Majima Style

新選組隊長羽織Ｍ Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori M

PSO2 Nova

• PlayStation Vita
• Releasing 2014
• 1 ~ 4 Players
• Adhoc Multiplayer

The Japanese blogosphere is abuzz with some details on Phantasy Star Nova, here’s what they found in a recent Famitsu interview.

• The game’s atmosphere feels close to PSO.
• Character Creation is almost the same as PSO2. Confirmed
• The advancements made in the graphics engine makes the skin and clothing material feel real.
• Weapons, Defensive Gear, and Recovery items are prepared with “Self Sufficiency.” 
• In order for you to feel the concept of “survival,”  they came up with the idea of having your clothes break (equipment damage).
• Since the setting is based on PSO2 Episode 1, they have no plans to do Episode 2′s race and classes.
• The battle system is quite different from PSO2. Those inexperienced with the series could have an easier time getting into the story.
• As the player progresses through the game, they can decide on which facilities to function.

Characters

• Lutina ルティナ (CV: Maaya Uchida)  (Human x Force)
• Sail セイル (CV: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) (Human x Hunter)
• Izuna イズナ (CV: Ai Kayano) (Newman x Ranger)
• Fieldia フォルディア (CV: Miyuki Sawashiro) (Human x Hunter)
• Magnus マグナス (CV: Banjō Ginga) (Human x Hunter)

According to the blogs, new information for Phantasy Star Nova is expected on June 15 at the Phantasy Star Festa 2014!

[via zaregoto od3 / gamestalk / hokanko alt]

June 4th Maintenance

• 6/4/2014 @ 11:00 ~ 17:00 JST
• 6/3/2014 @ 10:00 PM ~ 4:00 AM EDT

PSO2es Maintenance

• 6/4/2014 @ 10:55 ~ 17:30 JST
• 6/3/2014 @ 9:55 PM ~ 4:30 AM EDT

Emergency Quest Schedule

Eastern / Central / Mountain / Pacific / Hawaii

São Paulo / London / Berlin / Moscow

Bangkok / Philippines / Sydney / Japan

Please Note:

• The Emergency Quest schedule will update automatically during maintenance. Please wait until after maintenance has ended to see the current schedule.
• If you are using a mobile device or an external application, please [sync] the calendar after maintenance has ended.
• Boost Events that occur for 24 hours will be posted in this calendar with the duration of 1 minute. This change was made to make the calendar easier to read when viewing the events as a list.

300,000 DLs Commemorative Campaign

SEGA is holding a special PSO2es campaign to commemorate reaching 300,000 downloads. Login to PSO2es during the campaign period to receive prizes!

Campaign Period

• June 4th @ 0:00 JST ~ June 10th @ 23:59 JST

Login Bonus Period

Items are given based on the number of days you login during the campaign period. If you login everyday, you can achieve the 7th Day login bonus.
You can pick up the rewards in the mailbox.

ARKS Museum: Character Portrait

The ARKS Museum is now accepting entries for its third Character Portrait contest.

Purpose

• Take a picture utilizing the [Character Portrait] feature on your PlayStation Vita for the three contest divisions.

Contest Divisions

• Costume Division: Submit a picture of a character wearing a costume like the Lillipan Suit, Rappy Suit, etc.
• Male Division: Submit a picture of a male character.
• Female Division: Submit a picture of a female character.

Entry Submission Period

• Until July 16th @ 17:00 JST

Contest Announcements

• Mid-August 2014

Prizes

• Gold Medal of Thanks
• 1000 FUN Ticket
• EXCube
• Grind Success (100%)

Example Entry

Submission Contents

• One picture intended for the contest.
• One picture with your Player ID

First Picture Conditions

• Characters saved as Character Portrait Data or Partner Character NPCs.
• Personally identifiable information such as a person’s entire face and body should be avoided in the photograph.
• Even if you are photographing a person in a way that does not make their identity known, you must obtain consent from that person before submitting it into the contest.

Second Picture Conditions

• Please take a screenshot with your character and their player ID overhead.
• The picture should be taken in a location where the Player ID is clearly visible.

Tips and Advice

• Use the Left Stick in Character Portrait to move the character.
• Use the Right Stick to rotate and adjust the size of the character.
• Use the arrow keys to tilt the character.
• In Pose Settings, you can select your character’s pose, facial expressions, and equipment.
• In Speech Balloon settings, you can change the speech bubble, the message contents, the symbols, and justification style.

Submission Criteria

• Works submitted should be unpublished works made by the contest entrant. Please refrain from making edits to the image like cropping and such.
• Submitted works should be a JPEG file up to 1MB in size.
• Pictures must be taken in the landscape orientation.

Important Links

• Full Contest Details
• Entry Submission Form (Vita Only)

Important Points

• The work must be submitted only through the entry submission form.
• One entry per division for each person; meaning one person may enter up to 3 entries, as long as ONE entry is submitted for each contest category.
  (1 x Costume) + (1x Male ) + (1x Female) per person.
• If you submit two or more entries for one contest division, only the last submitted entry for that division will be counted for the contest.
• One entry per person allowed. When you submit two or more entries, only the last entry is counted for the contest.
• Any last minute edits or changes will not be accepted after the entry period is over.
• You must get permission from the person in your photograph before submitting it into the contest.
• Sega may edit the works in someway.
• The copyright of the works submitted will belong to SEGA

Client Order Campaign #55

Clear Xie and Revelle’s client orders to earn several items!

Campaign Period

• June 4th until June 11th’s maintenance.

Qualifying Client Orders

(1) Clear Xie’s client order 「ロックベア対Mr.アンブラ」 Rockbear vs. Mr. Umblla to receive:

• +50% EXP Booster (x2)
• Grinder (x20)

(2) Clear Revelle’s client order 「イレイザー・レポート・V」 Eraser Report V to receive:

• Grind Risk Reducer +1 (x2)
• Liliparium (Small) (x1)

Prize Distribution Date

• June 25th at the Visiphone after maintenance.

Some minor details on Phantasy Star Nova was posted at Famitsu this morning. Let’s take a look at it below!

The Story So Far

The ORACLE fleet assembled the [ARKS Special Planetary Search Party] in order to investigate and safely navigate a region of stars they could not warp directly to. Within the search party, was a group known as “Alter,” and their ship, the “Delta Variant.” They were forced to make an emergency landing after mysteriously coming under attack from a newly discovered planet known as “Machia.” This strange planet has the peculiar quality of negating the use of “photons.” How will our heroes survive?

Lutina (Human x Force)
(CV: Maaya Uchida)

Sail (Human x Hunter)
(CV: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka)

During their search, the main characters will have to face the Gigantes! A colossal enemy adorned in heavy artillery and armor.

With the character creator you can set their height and build, and change the color of the costume. You can change the bust size for female characters too!

More details on Phantasy Star Nova will appear in this week’s issue of Famitsu Weekly! See you later!

SEGA released a new video showing the prologue to Phantasy Star Nova. You can get up to speed on the latest news by reading our Phantasy Star Nova articles! Some of them have been updated with new information. We’re even adding more information as we speak.

Planet Machia (Makia)

Screens from Phantasy Star Nova

Emergency Quest Schedule

 Eastern / Central / Mountain / Pacific / Hawaii

São Paulo / London / Berlin / Moscow

Bangkok / Philippines / Sydney / Japan

Please Note:

• The Emergency Quest schedule will update automatically during maintenance. Please wait until after maintenance has ended to see the current schedule.
• If you are using a mobile device or an external application, please [sync] the calendar after maintenance has ended.
• Boost Events that occur for 24 hours will be posted in this calendar with the duration of 1 minute. This change was made to make the calendar easier to read when viewing the events as a list.
• Boost Events that occur for several hours will now use the “Period” suffix in their titles. You still need to check the Google Calendar itself to see how long it will last as this will not be displayed in the sidebar.

Welcome Back Go! Go! Campaign #2

Players with accounts that have not logged in since May 7th’s maintenance are eligible to receive a grand total of 255 items if they sign on during the campaign period!

Campaign Period

• June 11th ~ July 9th’s maintenance.

Campaign Qualifications

Your character must reach level 10 during or prior to the campaign period to qualify for the prizes.

The qualifying period occurs between maintenances.

This campaign only pertains to PSO2, not PSO2es.

Prize List

• Extreme Pass (x5)
• Advance Capsule d (x55)
• Advance Capsule e (x55)
• Advance Capsule f (x55)
• +50% Tribooster (x5)
• +50% Rare Drop Booster (x5)
• +50% EXP Booster (x5)
• Grinder (x55)
• Grind Risk Reducer +2 (x5)
• Photon Sphere (x5)
• Liliparium (Small) (x5)

Client Order Campaign #56

Xie and Lubert are celebrating the 2nd Anniversary with a client order campaign! Complete their qualifying client orders for some prizes.

Campaign Period

• June 11th until June 25th’s maintenance.

Qualifying Client Orders

(1) Clear Xie’s client order 「混乱誘うダーカーたち！」 to receive:

• +50% EXP Booster (x2)
• Grinder (x20)

(2) Clear Lubert’s client order 「デ・マルモスの部位破壊を！」 Destroy the De Malmoth Parts! to receive

• Grind Risk Reducer +1 (x2)
• Grinder (x30)

Prize Distribution Date

• July 2nd at the Visiphone after maintenance.

Sega Platinum Selection
(Until 7.9.2014)

アリシア・レプカ Alicia Repca
アリシア・レプカ雪 Alicia Repca White Snow
アリシア・レプカ海 Alica Repca Blue Sea
アリシア・レプカ影 Alicia Repca Black Shadow
アリシア・レプカ葉 Alicia Repca Leaf Green
アリシア・レプカ紅 Alicia Repca Crimson Red

セルベリア・スイムウェア Selvaria Swimwear
セルベリア・スイムウェア雪 Selvaria Swimwear White Snow
セルベリア・スイムウェア夜 Selvaria Swimwear Night Blue
セルベリア・スイムウェア空 Selvaria Swimwear Sky Blue
セルベリア・スイムウェア紅 Selvaria Swimwear Crimson Red
セルベリア・スイムウェア葉 Selvaria Swimwear Leaf Green

うらら・レプカ Ulala Repca
うらら・レプカ影 Ulala Repca Black Shadow
うらら・レプカ紅 Ulala Repca Crimson Red
うらら・レプカ陽 Ulala Repca Orange Sun
うらら・レプカ空 Ulala Repca Sky Blue
うらら・レプカ桜 Ulala Repca Sakura Pink

新選組隊長羽織Ｆ Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori F
新選組隊長羽織Ｆ影 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori F Black Shadow
新選組隊長羽織Ｆ紅 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori F Crimson Red
新選組隊長羽織Ｆ海 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori F Blue Sea
新選組隊長羽織Ｆ鋼 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori F Steel
新選組隊長羽織Ｆ雪 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori F White Snow

セルベリア・ツヴァイ Selvaria Zwei
セルベリア・ツヴァイ雪 Selvaria Zwei White Snow
セルベリア・ツヴァイ夜 Selvaria Zwei Night Blue
セルベリア・ツヴァイ影 Selvaria Zwei Black Shadow
セルベリア・ツヴァイ海 Selvaria Zwei Blue Sea

新選組隊長羽織Ｍ Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori M
新選組隊長羽織Ｍ影 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori M Black Shadow
新選組隊長羽織Ｍ紅 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori M Crimson Red
新選組隊長羽織Ｍ海 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori M Blue Sea
新選組隊長羽織Ｍ鋼 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori M Steel
新選組隊長羽織Ｍ雪 Shinsengumi Captain’s Haori M White Snow

真島吾朗スタイル Goro Majima Style
真島吾朗スタイル雪 Goro Majima Style White Snow
真島吾朗スタイル紅 Goro Majima Style Crimson Red
真島吾朗スタイル夜 Goro Majima Style Night Blue
真島吾朗スタイル桜 Goro Majima Style Sakura Pink
真島吾朗スタイル影 Goro Majima Style Black Shadow

Recolors

• セルベリア・レプカ玄 Selvaria Repca Mysterious Black
• セルベリア・レプカ海 Selvaria Repca Blue Sea
• スチューデントＳ・レプカ海 Student S Repca Blue Sea
• スチューデントＳ・レプカ冬 Student S Repca Winter White
• スチューデントＳ・レプカ夜 Student S Repca Night Blue
• アルル・レプカ玄 Arle Repca Mysterious Black
• アルル・レプカ夜 Arle Repca Night Blue

Revivals

• セルベリア・レプカ Selvaria Repca 
• セルベリア・レプカ雪 Selvaria Repca Snow 
• セルベリア・レプカ夜 Selvaria Repca Night
• スチューデントＳ・レプカ Student S Repca 
• スチューデントＳ・レプカ雪 Student S Repca Snow 
• スチューデントＳ・レプカ鋼 Student S Repca Steel
• アルル・レプカ Arle Repca 
• アルル・レプカ影 Arle Repca Shadow 
• ゴウボイド・ボディＣＶ Gouboid Body CV 
• ゴウボイド・アームＣＶ Gouboid Arms CV 
• ゴウボイド・レッグＣＶ Gouboid Legs CV 
• ゴウボイド・ヘッドＣＶ Gouboid Head CV 
• セルベリアロング Selvaria Long 
• スチューデントＳヘアー Student S Hair 
• アルルハーフアップ Arle Half Up
• 縦長瞳　大 Vertical Eyes Large 
• 縦長瞳　小 Vertical Eyes Small 
• 赤ぷよぼう Red Puyo Hat
• カーバンクルポシェット Carbuncle Pochette 
• ブレードテイル Blade Tail
• 二本アホ毛　大 Double Ahoge Large 
• 二本アホ毛　小 Double Ahoge Small 
• 進化デバイス/カーバンクル Evo. Device / Carbuncle
• 緑ぷよ Green Puyo
• 赤ぷよ Red Puyo
• 青ぷよ Blue Puyo
• 黄ぷよ Yellow Puyo
• 紫ぷよ Purple Puyo
• おじゃまぷよ Ojama Puyo 
• クラス追加（フォース） Class Addition (Force)
• クラス追加（ブレイバー） Class Addition (Braver)
• 属性強化＋５％ Attribute Enhancer +5%
• 属性変化（闇属性） Attribute Change (Dark)
• 属性変化（氷属性） Attribute Change (Ice)
• 属性変化（雷属性） Attribute Change (Lightning)
• 特殊能力追加（法撃） Ability Affixer (T-ATK)
• フードデバイス／打撃 Food Device / S-ATK 

Kana Ueda Female Voice 63

• 女性追加ボイス６３
• 女性Ｃ追加ボイス６３ (Cast Ver.)

Megumi Ogata Male Voice 44

• 男性追加ボイス４４
• 男性Ｃ追加ボイス４４ (Cast Ver.)

Lobby Actions

• 追加ロビーアクション３２ (/la sc5dance) [Space Channel 5 Dance]
• 追加ロビーアクション３４ (/la sc5ulala) [Space Channel 5 Ulala]
• 追加ロビーアクション１１０ (/la dance20) [Dance 20]

FUN Scratch

Revivals

• くっきりまつげ　黒 Sharp Eyelashes Black
• くっきりまつげ　青 Sharp Eyelashes Blue
• くっきりまつげ　茶 Sharp Eyelashes Brown
• ストレートアップ Straight Up
• ネコ耳カチューシャ Cat Ears Headband
• ソニックのおめん Sonic Mask
• テイルスのおめん Tails Mask
• エッグマンのおめん Eggman Mask
• ナックルズのおめん Knuckles Mask
• エミーのおめん Amy Mask
• ソニック Sonic
• ナックルズ Knuckles
• テイルス Tails
• エミー Amy

Lobby Action

• 追加ロビーアクション１０７ (/la bow2) [Bow 2]

Music Discs

• Open Your Heart (Sonic Adventure BGM)
• Live and Learn (Sonic Adventure 2 BGM)
• getting the truth (Space Channel 5 BGM)
• Pala Paya… Lounge Music
• S.C.5 25時 (Space Channel 5 Part 2 BGM)
• The Battle for the Dream (Yakuza 5 BGM)
• Receive and Slash You
• With You（龍が如く 維新！） (Yakuza Restoration! BGM)
• 吹雪小唄
• さむらい演舞
• 新旧弦楽器戦争

Interlocking Web Event

It’s time for the Phantasy Star Festa 2014 ~Online~ event! Players are tasked with clearing the targeted quest over and over to earn points that will be used to unlock rewards at a later date. Each player will contribute the following points when clearing the targeted quest.

Targeted Quest: Chaotic Silence

• 1 Point = Normal
• 2 Points = Hard
• 3 Points = Very Hard
• 4 Points = Super Hard

Every week we’ll get a new mission that lists the rewards we can receive if we achieve certain scores. Points are accumulated through the power of all ARKS members, let’s aim towards clearing all missions!

Mission 1: Red Puyo & 1000 FUN Ticket

[View Current Score]

Mission 1: Red Puyo

• Targeted Quest: Chaotic Silence
• Target Score: 3,500,000
• Period: June 11th ~ June 18th
• Prizes: 1000 FUN Ticket (x1) and Evo. Device / Red Puyo (x1)

Offline Event 

The Phantasy Star Festa will be touring across Japan and kicking off its first event on June 15th! Those in attendance can receive item codes for fan t-shirts and items depicting the mascots of the hosting cities.

感謝祭2014TシャツM (Festa 2014 T-Shirt M)
感謝祭2014TシャツF (Festa 2014 T-Shirt F)

~ Tokyo 6/15 ~
ノッポン兄弟チェーン (Noppon Brothers Chain)
タワオ人形 (Tawao Doll)

~ Osaka 6/21 ~
いしきりんチェーン (Isikirin Chain)
いしきりん人形 (Isikirin Doll)

~ Fukuoka 6/28 ~
かわりみ千兵衛チェーン (Kawarimi Senbei Chain)
かわりみ千兵衛人形 (Kawarimi Senbei Doll)

~ Sapporo 7/26 ~
コアックマ＆アックマC (Koakkuma&Akkuma C)
コアックマ＆アックマ人形 (Koakkuma&Akkuma Doll)

~ Nagoya 8/3 ~
オカザえもんチェーン (Okazaemon Chain)
オカザえもん人形 (Okazaemon Doll)

Type かんしゃさいたろう in chat sometime between now through June 25th maintenance to receive:

• Ichitaro 4
• Enomoto 4
• Yopparai

These will be delivered to the Visiphone sometime in the future.

June 25th Update

• New Pre-Scheduled Emergency Quest
• [An Invitation To Darkness]
• Level 70 enemies
• Falz Angel appears.
• Escape from the Darker weapon [Ignix] which does these red explosions all over the place.

June 25th Update

• Shining Heroes Scratch
• Costumes, Weapon Camos, and Voices from Shining Blade

June 25th Update

• Extreme Quest [Forest and Dragons]
• Stage 61~70 (Burn Draal) (Dark Agrani)

June 25th Update

• 10 ships are divided into 5 groups that compete for stars!
• Earn stars by clearing the objective.

June 25th Update

• New Mascot (?) Arkuma
• Buy items with Stars

New Event System

• Arks Ship Tournament
  Round 1 Begins: June 27th @ 12:00 JST ~ July 6th @ 22:00 JST
• Red Rappy: Ship 5/9
• Blue Rappy: Ship 4/6
• Yellow Rappy: Ship2/8
• Green Rappy: Ship1/7
• White Rappy: Ship 3/10

PSO2es July Update

• Premium Set Users: 1 Hour advance EQ Push Notifications
• King Rappy

July Update

• Io and Klotho themed weapons!
• Theodore Partner Card
• Change Team Name Feature

July Update

• Crafting System Update!
• Install a Time-Limited Ability on Units.
• You could think of these as potentials for Units that lasts for a period of time. (Like 7 days or 14 days or…)

July Update

• Mining Base Defense: Despair
• Infected Sockets with Darker Particle Guns
• Infected Aircrafts
• Darker Walls separating the field.
• New Enemy Solza Prahda
• Turn Despair into Hope

July Update

• Episode 2′s Final Chapter
• Takes place 10 years ago.
  Learn about Matoi
  Clariskrays vs Apprentice (with dark skin…)
• Rewatch events through the “Event Chronicle”

July Update

• Electronic Diva Scratch
• Megurine Luka, Kagamine Rin / Len costumes and hair.

July Update

• Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka will sing PSPo2 Theme Song “Living Universe” LIVE on stage.
• Players are granted with an effect when watching it live.

Late July

• Shining Force Cross Exlesia
• Collaboration Boss: Knight Gear
• Costumes, Accessories, Weapon Camos, and Mags

Late July

• Virtual ON Force Collaboration
• Temjin 747A and Fei Yen.
• Weapon Camos, Room Items, and Costumes
• Virtual ON Lobby (Until 8/6)

Tournament Finals Convention Item

• Danbo Costume and Mag Device.
• August 16th’s Phantasy Star Festa.

Earlier today in the PSO2 Live Broadcast, SEGA announced the arrival of Episode 3. This episode is expected to launch late August with a new class, new planet, new weapon categories, new enemies, and a complete overhaul to the Arks Lobby!

This update will introduce a new class called “Bouncer.” This class excels at striking and tech in two new weapon categories known as “Jet Boots” and “Dual Blades.”

Dual Blades are striking weapons comprised within the sword art of Nito-Ryo. Utilizing the “Photon Blades” it stabs enemies and absorbs PP.

You can perform a double jump with Jet Boots!

Jet Boots are weapons that can perform various kicks and have the power to fire off technics as well. During the heat of battle, it can automatically trigger support effects.

Planet Harukotan

This planet inhabited by Titans, consists of two opposing nations: “Black” and “White.” The enemies and atmosphere are reminiscent of Japanese-style folklore. Starting off in the “White Lands” you’ll see new characters like Kotoshiro (CV: Tomokazu Sugita) and Sukunahime (CV: Yui Horie).

Arks Lobby: Casino

In addition to an overhaul to the entire ARKS Lobby, players can enter the Casino and earn “Casino Coins.”  Not many details were revealed so far, but we do know that it’s set up like a theme park where you can play the attractions with your friends.

 Videos & More

PSO2 Episode 3 Rundown

• Launches: Late August 2014
• New Class: バウンサー Bouncer
• New Weapon Category:  デュアルブレード Dual Blades
• New Weapon Category: ジェットブーツ Jet Boots
• New Planet: Harukotan (Japanese-themed Planet)
• New Lobby: Casino
• Arks Lobby Renewal
• Recommended Quests
• Matter Board Improvements
• Rare Enemy Triggering (Forces a rare enemy to appear.)
• Edit the placement of accessories.
• Accessory slot 4
• Balance Adjustments to All Classes
• New Skills
• Player movement speed increased
• Better EXP Bonuses when playing in a Party.
• EXP Rewards for Team Orders
• Photon Tree balance adjustments
• PSE Effect balance adjustments.
• Some interface improvements.
• Client Order unlocking conditions relaxed.

Sonic’s Birthday 2014

Did you know that Sonic’s Birthday is on June 23rd? For a limited time, you can acquire Sonic related items from the FUN Scratch and 2nd Anniversary FUN Shop! But if you wish Sonic a happy birthday during the event period, you’ll receive several prizes.

Just say 誕生日おめでとう in chat sometime between now through June 25th’s maintenance to receive:

• One SEGA logo Light
• One  Short Cake
• One +50% Tribooster

You can say it in any of the following ways:

• 「誕生日おめでとう」
  ▲▲The Exact Phrase▲▲
• 「ソニック、誕生日おめでとう！」
  Other words and punctuation can be used before or after the phrase.

However, if you break up the phrase by adding in punctuation 「誕生日、おめでとう」, or break up the phrase on two or more lines, or say the phrase in English 「Happy Birthday」, or use the wrong kana 「たんじょうびオメデトウ」, you will not qualify for the prizes.

The prizes will be distributed mid-July at the Visiphone.

 PSO2 Maintenance

June 17th Maintenance

• 6/18/2014 @ 7:00 ~ 17:00 JST
• 6/17/2014 @ 6:00 PM ~ 4:00 AM EDT

Maintenance Content

• Server Equipment Maintenance

PSO2es Maintenance

• 6/18/2014 @ 6:55 ~ 17:30 JST
• 6/17/2014 @ 5:55 PM ~ 4:30 AM EDT

Arks Investigative Report

• Most popular class: Braver
• Least popular class: Techer
• Male / Female Percentage: 31.9% / 68.1%
• Least Popular Race/Gender: Newman Males
• Female Cup Size Distribution: AA(-) 28.3 / A~B  29.0% / C~D 22.1% / E(+) 20.6%
• Popular Male / Female Heights: 180cm / 160cm
• Most Popular Support Partner Gender: Females 80.1%
• Most Popular Support Partner Race/Gender: Dewman Females
• Most Popular Support Partner Class: Force
• Least Popular Support Partner Class: Gunner
• Most Popular Male Support Partner Personality: Cool
• Most Popular Female Support Partner Personality: Suave
• See More Stats

Emergency Quest Schedule

 Eastern / Central / Mountain / Pacific / Hawaii

São Paulo / London / Berlin / Moscow

Bangkok / Philippines / Sydney / Japan

Please Note:

• The Emergency Quest schedule will update automatically during maintenance. Please wait until after maintenance has ended to see the current schedule.
• If you are using a mobile device or an external application, please [sync] the calendar after maintenance has ended.
• Boost Events that occur for 24 hours will be posted in this calendar with the duration of 1 minute. This change was made to make the calendar easier to read when viewing the events as a list.
• Boost Events that occur for several hours will now use the “Period” suffix in their titles. You still need to check the Google Calendar itself to see how long it will last as this will not be displayed in the sidebar.

Spend AC Campaign

Spend certain amounts of AC during the campaign period to receive prizes at a later date.

Campaign Period

• June 11th (Maintenance) ~ July 2nd (Maintenance)

Campaign Qualifications

Spend 100+ AC to receive:

• Two +50% Rare Drop Booster

Spend 2,000+ AC to receive:

• Six +50% EXP Boosters
• Two Grind Risk Reducers (+2)

Spend 5,000+ AC to receive:

• Yellow Rappy Suit

You may spend AC in any of the following ways:

• Playing AC Scratch (Activating an AC Scratch Ticket Bundle does not qualify.)
• Buying AC Scratch Ticket Bundles
• Buying AC Shop Items
• Buying Scape Dolls
• Using AC Contents in the Makeover Counter
• Using AC Contents at the Class Counter
• Creating a character with AC
• Ship Transfers

AC/iAC used in PSO2es with a linked account will qualify for this campaign. However, any AC/iAC used in PSO2es prior to linking will not qualify for this campaign.

Prize Distribution Date

• Late July

PSO2 Servers Offline

All comments are under moderation and may take some time to appear.

The recently announced Episode 3 now has an HD teaser video ready for you to overanalyze. Episode 3 releases in late August with all sorts of new features. Players can experience the new Bouncer class with its striking weapon “Dual Blades” and tech weapon “Jet Boots.” The journey to the Oracle’s rebirth begins with Episode 3!

Osaka Festa Information (Rumours)

• Sizustar posted some notes obtained from guests who attended the Phantasy Star Festa in Osaka.
• There is no way for us to verify the information presented there at the moment, so you may read the list at your own risk.
• Whenever there’s information posted word of mouth from a non-streamed Festa, they’ll be placed within a rumours list at the bottom of a post. 
• 6/23 Update Added confirmed information to slides.

Planet Harukotan

~ The Planet of Titans; White and Black, where the two powers clash. ~

Planet Harukotan where Titans Dwell

Planet Harukotan has a Japanese-style atmosphere, with cherry trees and butteflies fluttering around. Its split up into two major inhabitants, the “White Harukotans” (4m tall) and “Black Harukotans” (8m tall, the tallest pictured above).

(Festa Attendees’ Tidbits)

• ARKS are approximately 1.8m tall.
• White Harukotans are approximately 4m tall.
• Black Harukotans are approximately 8m tall.
• White Harukotans were described as timid.

New Field

In this new field, the Black Harukotans are invading White territory. You’ll team up with the White Harukotans in eradicating this threat. Ascend the rooftops and aim at the Black Harukotan’s weakpoint.

Anja Duriri

Titans aren’t the only enemies you’ll come across. There’s also ghost-types like the “Anja Duriri.” During the battle, a miasma envelops the field, increasing the Black Harukotan’s power. The player can stop this by destroying some “lanterns” to purify the effect.

New Darkers and Boss

Dark Falz Double [Twins] controls Toy-like Darkers. Though they may seem cute at first, there appears to be a “grotesque” evil side that comes forth. This field will also introduce a Black “ice” Titan, 15 meters tall, known as Gigur Gunnegam.

Other Tidbits from the Festa

• Accessory slot 4 will become available. You can adjust the positioning of accessories for free.
• You’ll be able to see other parties on the map.
• The movement speed will reach a similar speed to doing a step cancel.
• Jet Boots are Tech dependent for both PAs and normal attacks. Dual Blades are striking dependent. 
• They have plans for a Wopal Time Attack Quest.
• They’re adding ways to make money so that people don’t rely on Time Attack Client Orders too much.
• If things go well, they may try another Virtual-On Force collaboration.
• They’re going to have a leggings body paint.
• They’d like to do a soccer lobby some day.
• They’d like to have a Matoi friend partner one day.
• Sakai’s favorite class is Hunter.

Casino Area

~ Aim for a Fever. Play with friends and earn Casino Coins ~

Arks Ship Tournament

The [2nd Anniversary Cup] begins on June 27th! Ten ships will be split into 5 groups represented by a Rappy. The group with the most overall victory points at the end of all events will become the champions!

Ship Alliance [6/27 ~ 7/6]

• Red Rappy Group: Ship 5 + Ship 9
• Blue Rappy Group: Ship 4 + Ship 6
• Yellow Rappy Group: Ship 2 + Ship 8
• Green Rappy Group: Ship 1 + Ship 7
• White Rappy Group: Ship 3 + Ship 10

The event is split up into several rounds occurring during the morning and evening hours. In each round, players will be tasked with completing a certain objective; whether it is to defeat a certain enemy, or clear a certain quest.

• Example Round 1:  June 27th @ 12:00 ~ 22:59 JST
• Example Round 2:  June 28th @ 0:00 ~ 10:59 JST

Players who clear the objectives will earn points and stars. Stars can be used to purchase boost items and other goodies at the Arkuma Prize Shop! Points on the other hand will count towards your group. After the end of each round, the scores are tallied up to determine the winning group.

You can watch the Rappy Race in the Shopping Area to see the current standings. The results will be posted on the large monitors at the end of each round and at the end of the entire event.

 Arkuma Prize Shop

2nd Anniversary Sticker

A sticker designed with Arkuma holding a star.

 New Emergency Quest

June 25th will launch with a new pre-scheduled Emergency Quest that takes place on the infested Mother Ship. An assortment of Darkers such as Goldrahdas, Vidludas, Doubluné + Doublundas, and Lanz Varedas can appear. Eventually you’ll reach Falz Angel, where on Super Hard, it can drop new items. 

This Emergency Quest will feature a new Darker weapon known as the “Ignix.” This weapon causes explosions all across the room, which could be quite troublesome in tight spaces.

Shining Heroes AC Scratch

This scratch will contain weapon camos, costumes, hairstyles, and room items. In addition, you can also obtain voice tickets from the main cast which includes extra chat commands: [/vo13] ~ [/vo22].

レイジ・レプカ Rage Repca

サクヤｍｏｄｅＣ・レプカ Sakuya modeC Repca

ミスティ・レプカ Misty Repca

アルティナ・レプカ Altina Repca

ユキヒメ・レプカ Yukihime Repca

ケルベロスＱ・レプカ Kerberos Q Repca

Other stuff

• Extreme Quest: Forest and Dragons (Stages 61 ~ 70) 

Sega released a statement saying they are experiencing a DDoS attack against their servers by a third party group. Sega has decided to temporarily suspend service to PSO2, and confirmed that no gameplay data was affected.  Unfortunately as the DDoS attacks continue, it will be difficult for them to reopen service. In the meantime, they will periodically release status reports to keep us posted on the situation.

 June 26th @ 15:00 JST

Preparations are underway…

The DDoS attacks are still coming in at an intermittent rate. Sega is now advancing preparations to reopen service sometime in June.

• They will need some more time in addressing PSO2es, they’ll announce at a later time when they’ll relaunch service for PSO2es.
• AC purchases will be suspended for a while. They’ll announce at a later time when AC can be purchased again.

Unfortunately, it will take some time to reopen service for the game.
They ask that you wait for yet another followup report on Friday, June 27th at 14:00 JST.

In order to carry out further measures in response to the DDoS attacks, they will perform an official site maintenance on Thursday, June 26th at 16:00 ~ 18:00 JST.

• During this maintenance, you will not be able to connect to the official site.
• If the attacks intensify, there is a possibility that they may be forced to shut down the official site again.

The events and campaigns at the official site are currently following the original schedule. They will publish a new schedule of the events and campaigns at a later time.

Please keep in mind that SEGA has decided to postpone part 2 of the “Phantasy Star Festa 2014: Volume 1″ update that was scheduled for June 26th. They will announce this update’s rescheduling at a later time.

At this time, the current services have been suspended:

• PC Game Client Downloads
• PC Character Creation Demo Downloads
• AC Purchases
• PC/Vita Logins
• Android/iOS Logins

As for compensations, they plan to address them as follows:

• They will examine some kind of compensation for all users.
• They will extend the AC expiration date.
• They will consider extending items that are valid for a period of time, like Premium Sets and Extra Storage Slots.
• They will discuss the new schedule for the various events and campaigns (including the interlocking WEB Event) at a later time.
  • Targeted Events & Campaigns:
    • Item Design Contest
    • 2nd Anniv: Character Contest
    • 2nd Anniv: Character Portrait
    • Interlocking Web Event Missions
    • MJxPSO2 Campaign
    • PSO2 New Registration Campaign #9
    • Buy AC Campaign #11
    • Welcome Back Go! Go! Campaign #2
    • Spend AC, Get Items Campaign #9
    • Sonic’s Birthday 2014
    • Webmoney Campaign #10
    • Client Order Campaign #56
    • PSO2 Live Broadcast #21 Secret Keyword
• They will extend the expiration date for campaign item retrieval.
• Compensation details and dates will be discussed at a later time.

Comments have been reopened, however they will be placed under strict moderation and may take some time to show up. Some comment threads and their replies (regardless of whether they were reasonable or not) have been removed. After the service restores, the comment section will return to its regular format.

Authentication Email Problem

Sega has received reports that users are not receiving their authentication key emails when requested during the login process. Under certain environments, this bug seems to be occurring due to the measures that took place in regards to the DDoS attacks. They are sorry for the inconvenience and are now working towards correcting the problem.

The new Casino Area has a theme park-like atmosphere. It will first have two different kinds of games, “Mesetan Shooter” and “Rappy Slot.” Every day you’ll receive a “Coin Pass” which you can use to redeem a random amount of Casino Coins. Each game has fluctuating advantages/disadvantages based on its difficulty.

Rappy Slot is a single player slot machine game. Similar to Just Attacks, the game encourages you to press buttons at the right moments. When the singing rappies are together, a [RaPSEBURST] will occur.

You can play Mesetan Shooter, which is a multiplayer game that supports up to 4 players. You can earn coins by shooting at the targets. Various characters will appear during the mini-game. Achieving a PSE Burst increases the chances that a rare Mesetan will appear, giving you the prospect of earning even more coins! However, if you shoot Mr. Umblla, you’ll lose coins.

You can exchange coins for various items at the Prize Counter like Weapon Camos and Rare Enemy Triggers. Rare Enemy Triggers lets you encounter a rare enemy at Area 1 in a quest.

In addition, in the Casino, there are balloons you can use to fly through the air. You could think of this Casino like an oasis for players who are tired of fighting enemies.

In late July, part 1 of the “Phantasy Star Festa: Volume 2″ update will be kicking off with a new limited quest. It’s an all star quest that takes place in the Ruins. It features level 70 bosses with increased chances that some of them will appear at the same time.

Here you can expect to see “Shining Force Cross Exlesia” boss [Knight Gear], with its rare counterpart [Knight Mage Knight Gear]. You might even see three [Knight Gears] appearing at the same time.

There are some changes coming to AC Scratch in the upcoming weeks. AC Scratch Gold will now feature sets for costume, accessory, hairstyle, weapon camo, and cast parts. This should be arriving around part 3 of the “Phantasy Star Festa: Volume 1″ update.

In addition, during the time of the Hatsune Miku collaboration, they will add a female voice in the “Hakaka” dialect.

Extra Things

• They will announce details of the balance adjustments in the Sapporo conference.
• Jet boots were nominated to appear in EP1. They were pushed back to EP2, but disappeared, and reappeared for EP3! Originally they were not going to be “tech” weapons, but Suganuma proposed that idea.
• The EP3 soundtrack is under consideration, but Kobayashi is pretty tied up with EP3 at the moment.
• It may not appear exactly when EP3 launches, but they’re looking into improving Parallel Areas with level 70 enemies.