With the special "Valentione's Day" Event (again, not a spelling error) as announced previously for Xiah, not only lovers would be able to express their true feelings to that special MMO-someone. Love is definitely in the air, and even the bad guys are going to be that much more generous for the next couple of days.

From February 6 to 19, monsters will have a chance to drop donate special Gift Box and rings for you if you, well, kill them (talk about tough love!):

• +1 Gift Box- Drops from Level 1-25 monsters and can contain: - Stones, crystals, collecting pockets, Force item (+3~+5) Large Hornpipe, Small Hornpipe, selling Tags, rings, chocolate
• +2 Gift Box- Level 25-40 monsters and can contain - Crystals, jewels, collecting pockets, Force item (+3~+5), Five Elements martial arts books (1st), Large Hornpipe, Small Hornpipe, selling tags, rings, chocolate
• +3 Gift Box- Level 41+ monsters and can contain - Jewels, collecting pockets, Force item (+3~+5), Five Elements martial arts books, selling tags, rings, chocolate, Metallurgical Stone
• Enchant Lance(Sky)-Increases Damage by 20% for all characters on your current map for 30 minutes.
• Ring of Defense(Sky)-Increases Defense by 20% for all characters on your current map for 30 minutes.
• Ring of Accuracy(Sky)-Increases Accuracy by 20% for all characters on your current map for 30 minutes.
• Ring of Life(Sky)-Increases Life by 20% for all characters on your current map for 30 minutes.
• Ring of C.Hit(Sky)-Increases Critical Hit rate by 20% for all characters on your current map for 30 minutes

OnNet is also completing this Valentine's season with some chocolate! You can eat as much as you want, and guess what? Each chocolate item you consume will heal you up to 100% HP and MP. Time to stuff ourselves silly. Now if only this was the case in real life...

MMO title Xiah really has a lot of good points working for it. First, it is free. And then the minimum system requirement is rather low, making the game accessible to more people. But we guess the best thing about the game is that it is Asian and the developers are proud of it. We all know about localization and stuff but publisher OnNet USA took a big risk in pushing through with their project.

According to the game's General Manager Daehoon Jang, this is exactly the game's strongest point. Jang pointed out that the genre is quite populated with Orcs and Elves and so they are banking that an Asian MMO will be appreciated. Xiah's Asian nature, as the GM explained, can be seen in the game's aesthetics and gameplay:

The flying feature that exists within Xiah can be described more as levitating and moving as opposed to flying such as a bird would do. It would be more accurately classified as "wire-Fu" as you might have been in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The developers wanted to keep the unique flying feature that many people associate with Asian fantasy motion pictures.

The GM then went on to talk about the game's rather impressive A.I. feature. Players of the game are able to meet from time to time with an in-game character who provides players with answers similar to a FAQ. But more interestingly, the monsters found throughout the game are not aimless, easy targets. Jang elaborated:

Monsters have a built-in feature which recognizes a player's level and experience and respond accordingly. For example, a player may be a high level and encounters a monster. If the monster is by itself, it will not attack the player. Instead, other monsters will be summoned and they will attack the player together.

Jang understands that to be able for Xiah to survive here in Western territories, they have got to prioritize their community. Given that, the GM explained that while the game is an MMO, they've incorporated certain console features in the gameplay and the interface for better usability.

Lastly, improvements in the rather usual guild arrangement are being planned as well for Xiah. GM Daehoon Jang announced:

We have created the unique feature of sub-communities (Guild, party, relation party, teacher-student, and lover) which allows players to choose the type of community structure they feel most comfortable with. This feature is a first of its kind in online gaming. We are in the process of creating a forum and hope to have that feature ready in the near future.

Ever since Asian MMO game Xiah was released for the U.S. market back in November, it feels like publisher OnNet USA has been very busy making this game look and appeal better to Westerners. Aside from combating giants such as WoW and Second Life, Xiah needs to overcome the cultural barriers.

Anyway, it would be remembered that just a couple of days ago, Xiah opened its first commercial service. This, in turn, caused a bit of confusion regarding the game's free-to-play offer. Actually, the said commercial service is just an added feature that gives players the option to purchase at the Item Mall, previously unavailable and some rare in-game items.

Furthermore, Xiah was recently updated to improve on certain features like gameplay and graphics. However, it came to the attention of the game's support team that some of the players are having problems with the update. There have been several reports these past days that the game won't automatically update.

As a response, OnNet USA released today a manual patch to solve the problem. They also mentioned that should more problems arise, players can contact them via the read link below.

Download: [Xiah Manual Patch]

Xiah announced the launch of it's commercial service. Don't worry, it's still free-to-play. The launch just means that previously unavailable and some rare in-game items can now be purchased in the Item Mall. Players can buy these items with CyberCash. The in-game currency (called Cybercash) can be purchased from the Xiah website. These special items can help improve a player's gameplay.

So far, only 20 special items are available at the Item Mall, but the Xiah support team says that they will gradually add other items like re-distributing points, re-naming, and other items.

Here's a list of said items:

• Clean Water (Large)
• Selling Tag
• Mana Pill (Large)
• Curing Potion (Large)
• Dragon Bone Elixir (Large)
• Eternal Life (Large)
• Mana Pill (Medium)
• Curing Potion (Medium)
• Yao Hammer
• Web Hammer
• Ju Hammer
• Stamp Hammer
• Heaven Hammer
• Dragon Hammer
• Ice Crystal of Life
• Ice Crystal of Accuracy
• Ice Crystal of Defense
• Ice Crystal of Attack
• Large Hornpipe
• Small Hornpipe

Kevin Kim, CEO of OnNet USA says, "We have had many players who have been eagerly awaiting this service. It gives players more of a choice about how to acquire certain items."

Xiah, published by OnNet USA, is a oriental fantasy MMORPG which features all sorts of cool kung fu fighting (We know, we know; this is an understatement).

When we first heard about Xiah, the first thing that popped into our heads was "Martial artists! Kick-ass kung-fu!" Then we found out it was free and we were like, "Woohoo! More money for the donut fund!" And then we were told that it wasn't available in the US. Not yet, anyway.

Yeah, we were disappointed, but not anymore because OnNet USA just announced the US launch of Xiah, the free-to-play Asian martial arts fantasy MMORPG. Finally, all that kick-ass kung-fu magic is coming to these shores, and it's gonna be free!

Okay,  let's take a breather first and have a look at what Xiah is all about. Like we said earlier, Xiah is all about the martial arts. The game's setting is a fantasy realm with Asian-based environments and characters, realistic Asian-style scenery and graphics, and an easy-to-play design for beginners.

In Xiah, players get to choose from four different characters. The game also has the nifty option of letting the player choose whether to use a controller or a keyboard, with the controller actually giving players better real-time in-game character control.

Another central element of the game is its community. There are five distinct types of in-game communities in Xiah. Veteran MMORPG players will recognize the Guild and the Party, but Xiah also introduces three new and unique community aspects: Relationship Party, Lover, and Teacher/Student. Yep, lover. We did a double take when we read about that one too.

Anyhoo, Xiah is part of GamesCampus.com, an online website that features games developed and distributed by OnNet USA. With the success of OnNet's other title Shot Online (which is also being hosted by GamesCampus), the day that OnNet decides to bring more MMORPG titles to the US isn't that far off.