Welcome to Defiance Reporter’s 27th episode and FIRST episode for 2014! With the new year comes a new season of Defiance, new DLC for the Defiance game, a new web series, and some new blood to Defiance Reporter! Tune in to find out about all the NEW SHINIES past the break!

Listen now:

Defiance Teaser

http://www.defiance.com/en/series/video/2707538 (no link at youtube for international listeners but you can view the french ad here: http://youtu.be/_qffFEoncl0)

It was a big week for Defiance fans due to the season two promo that was wisely included in the Helix premiere. Granted, I thought we were going to get something a bit longer than the thirty second blitz, but it still got the job done: I am officially excited about season two.

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• First glimpses of LA (for those not playing the game, this is entirely new territory) – what is LA like in the game?
  
• Amanda now shooting anti-drug PSAs
  
• Stahma having some rough fun in the bath
  
• Alak in danger
  
• Irzu / Irisa
  

#ReliveDefiance Defiance Rewatch Event

We’re gushing all over everyone’s Twitter feeds for the next few weeks while we rewatch the show. We want to give US and European fans a chance to get in on the fun, so we’re rewatching Monday nights at 9:00pm EST and Tuesday afternoons at 4:00pm EST.

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• @Hellbugs mentioned that Nolan had a sister in the last flashback scene in the Pilot, and sure enough, there was a small child there. These are the things you notice during a rewatch.
  
• Also have a new favorite Sukar moment. In the closing montage of the Pilot, he throws back a shot of everyone’s favorite blue drink at the NeedWant, and the grin on his face is absolutely fantastic.
  
• Monday, January 20 we’ll be rewatching Down in the Ground Where Dead Men Go (Episode 3)
  

Who do you watch Defiance with in real life? Does your partner, or roommate, or friend watch it?

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• Ben: I am lucky enough to have a wife who enjoys science fiction as much as I do so she will watch it with me most of the time.
  
• Michelle: I basically watch it solely with the online fandom, which is why live tweeting and Twitter. Almost a year after the Defiance debut, I’m still impressed with the online community.
  

Defiance Demographics

I took a look back at some rating and demographic info because after live tweeting with the fandom, I was curious as to the audience breakdown

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• Big hit with that key demographic (18-49 and 25-54) with the premiere being the strongest at about 2.7 million (towards the end of the season it averaged around 1.5 million)
  
• http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-syfys-pricey-defiance-440421
  
• http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/tag/defiance-ratings/
  
• Much better than Helix numbers
  
• Need to keep that up in season two – and the best way to do that is to get people hooked now by binge watching the show – and staying relevant, which can be hard to do over the course of an entire year, even if there is a video game to keep people interested
  
• I do wonder what the crossover demographic is between the game and television? A small slice of viewership or a large part of it?
  

Rewatch All of Season 1 ONLINE NOW

If you want to join in on the #ReliveDefiance fun, you can now view the entirety of Season 1 on Syfy Now on the web or on your mobile devices (Android and iOS only). This is only available in the US and requires you to have a subscription to a premium tv service like cable or satellite to sign up. http://www.syfy.com/now/show/Defiance

Defiance’s Next DLC the 7th Legion

http://community.defiance.com/en/2014/01/06/introducing-defiances-next-dlc-the-7th-legion/

When the world fell apart, one group kept their courage. Guided by the teachings of the Code of Bushido, the soldiers of the 7th Legion marched across Canada gathering survivors as they went. From one outpost to another they marched until finally they found a city which did not fall: Manhattan. There, they made their stand against the darkness, and Commander Yoshida Hiro called an end to their long journey. Now they have come to Paradise. What dread news could this herald?

Coming this February 2014 (Castithan Charge Pack was released Aug 20th. Arkbreaker was released Dec 10th.)

New Payment method for Defiance In-Game Store

http://community.defiance.com/en/2013/12/24/meet-rixty-a-new-online-payment-method/

Trion Worlds has partnered with Rixty to bring gamers another way to spend their money in game! Now players of Rift, Defiance, and soon Trove, will be able to part with their loose change and purchase in game items! Trion joins other publishers like Perfect World Games (Star Trek Online, Champions Online, and Neverwinter), Aeria Games (Shaiya, Last Chaos, Aura Kingdom), gPotato (Allods Online, Rappelz, Flyff), Bigpoint games (Drakensang, Battlestar Galactica Online), and even XBOX.

It’s easy to refill with Rixty cards, MoneyPak® cards, Western Union, Green Dot, or at stores at 75,000 stores in the US and nearly 500,000 locations worldwide. This works great for me because they also refill using Coinstar! Just choose “Free Coin Counting” and select Rixty from the list, pour your coins in, and as long as you have $5 worth of loose change, it’ll print an eCertificate you can redeem at rixty.com!

Trion’s First Friday Live Stream of 2014 and Q&A with Trick Dempsey 01/10/14

http://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/b/494215633

Arkbreaker

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  Regarding some trash Warmaster Rewards Trick, said they’ve actually fixed that, stating, “If you killed him you should have been getting one reward that was either epic or legendary but unfortunately it had a green and a blue inside of there as well, so we pulled those and you will definitely get an epic or legendary.â€

  
  
  
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  When will the Warmaster be fixed from glitching into the wall? I have one fix for that which should theoretically be coming out next week, as we have a large patch that we have been working on.

  
  
  

7th Legion

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  For 7th legion there are no new maps, but we are working on new maps for a future update right now.

  
  
  

Game UI

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  The chat update is in the upcoming DLC. We have been doing a few things to improve user experience within it, and in keeping with the other UIs in the game. Important things to know is that it is going back down to the bottom right of the screen, we are giving filtering options that people will find more familiar. For example tabs which you can customise the channels.

  
  
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    As of recording, a new post by Trick Dempsey at the community site was released detailing chat UI changes: http://community.defiance.com/en/2014/01/16/lets-chat/

    
    
    
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    Fat has been trimmed

    
    
    
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    Divorced voice chat from text chat

    
    
    
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    The voice chat channels now appear in the top-right of the screen alongside the mini-map. The voice channel you are speaking in is clearly indicated and can be swapped on the fly, but channels will also light up when people speak in them. (So you can know where that strange voice is coming from.)

    
    
    
  
  
  
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  Hide UI will likely be “turned on†soon. The feature has been available in the GM client for a while now and no one noticed it had not already been implemented.

  
  
  

Core Game Improvements

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  Easy Mobs and Hard Mode – Mobs have not been adjusted, instead its actually weapons that are better with rarity, increased damage stats, etc. Of course that doesn’t mean hard mode isn’t coming, because it is.

  
  
  
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  Events – We have elaborate plans for April Fools, which may or may not come into being. We are hoping to add some sort of holiday things. With most games, devs they have to deal with fantasy universe and create events, but being based on Earth they can use familiar holidays.

  
  
  
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  Tie-in story missions – A recording session for some of the cross over events  was to happen this week  Trion is in contact with Syfy and are in negotiations with getting certain actors from the show back into the game, or into the game for the first time.Not only are they doing a strong “between season†nearer to the launch of the second season, but they have plans for a very different type of crossover than what’s been done before for Season 2. Trick goes on to mention that there are three discrete storylines that are being done and they all directly tie in and tease things happening in the show.

  
  
  

LAST MINUTE ANNOUNCEMENTS

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  Join @WomenofDefiance and @HellbugsInLove on twitter every Monday night at 9pm EST while they explode all over your timeline with their #ReliveDefiance rewatch event!

  
  
  
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  Join our PC clan IGNI FERROQUE! <defiancereporter.guildlaunch.com>
  
  No registration required, just look for one of these officers in-game, Corso Vanlocke, Jack Thundersteele, or Almazar to get an invite!

  
  
  

CONTACT US!

Email: defiance@mmoreporter.com

Website: defiancereporter.com

Voicemail: 616-666-6778 (and our new widget on the ride hand side of the page)

Facebook: facebook.com/defiancereporter

Youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork

Twitter: twitter.com/defiancepodcast or @defiancepodcast

Michelle: twitter.com/womenofdefiance

Ben: twitter.com/nebsinsane