Promo codes in Pokémon GO are popular for getting new items or other bonuses. The input process on Android is now changing.
What are promo codes? Occasionally, codes are shared that grant players bonuses in Pokémon GO. Usually, these bonuses are useful items, but sometimes they can also include things like avatar items or even Pokémon encounters.
How were promo codes entered on Android before? It was very simple: You just had to scroll down in the shop of the game within the app until you reached the “Promos” field. There you would enter the code.
Now, however, developer Niantic is changing how this works. Instead of the previous simple way, Android users now also have to take the detour that iOS users are already familiar with.
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Pokémon GO shows the new season “Timeless Travels” in the trailer
Changes to promo codes on Android starting February 13
This is changing: From February 13, Android users will also have to go through the web store to enter promo codes, the Pokémon GO team announced via the blog (via pokemongolive.com).
How does this work? Instead of entering the code in the game, starting February 13, you need to:
Visit the web store
Log in there with your Pokémon GO account
Players with Trainer Club accounts must link another sign-in service to redeem offers
Then enter the code in the field
Now switch back to the game. You should see a pop-up indicating that a code has been successfully redeemed.
Sometimes the pop-up message does not appear immediately, or the activation may take a little while. However, you can check in your account’s log if the code activation was successful.
Why is Pokémon GO doing this? In the announcement, it states: “Our goal was to create a central contact point for everyone. We hope the transition will be easy for all trainers.”
However, the change has initially received criticism from trainers. Some players on the Pokémon GO subreddit, “TheSilphRoad”, regret the change, as it is a detour that Android users did not have to take before (via reddit).
As it stands, the decision is less popular than other adjustments that have been made recently. For example, Niantic implemented an update that allows you to feed your buddy faster and is also testing further quality-of-life improvements. You can learn more about the updates in Pokémon GO here.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A break from World of Warcraft – that’s exactly what a new item forces. Exactly these forced breaks are quite celebrated by some players.
In World of Warcraft Classic, the “Season of Discoveries” is currently running and the second phase has begun. This not only comes with new rules, such as the ban on GDKP, but also with fresh secrets and exclusive items. One of these items makes the players quite excited – because it forces them to take a break every now and then. This seems to be a real blessing for the hardcore community of Classic.
What is this item? We’re talking about the item “Cozy Sleeping Bag”. This is a new item in the Season of Discoveries. The sleeping bag has a high cooldown of almost 3 hours, but the effect is worth it:
When you activate the sleeping bag, you roll it out on the ground. For every minute you spend motionless in the sleeping bag, you get a 1% XP buff – this is stackable up to a maximum of 3% if you spend a full 3 minutes in the sleeping bag. The buff lasts for 2 hours afterward.
The sleeping bag is not consumed, so you can use it again afterward. Other players in your group can also simply lie down next to you to benefit from the XP bonus.
So the sleeping bag “forces” you to take a 3-minute break every few hours to benefit from an XP buff.
How to get the Cozy Sleeping Bag in WoW SoD
You receive the sleeping bag as a reward at the end of a questline, for which you basically have to travel around the entire world (of Warcraft). We will soon reveal how to secure the sleeping bag.
Alliance characters:
Step 1: Travel to Westfall to the coordinates 37 / 50. In the collapsed, burnt wooden beams, you will find a charred corpse. Click on it to start the quest “…and this note you found.”
Step 2: Travel to the Barrens to the coordinates 46 / 74. Here too, you will find a charred corpse. Complete the quest and accept the new quest “Stepping Stones”.
Horde characters:
Step 1: Travel to the Barrens to the coordinates 46 / 74. Here you will find a charred corpse that starts the quest “…and this note you found.” when clicked.
Step 2: Travel to Westfall to the coordinates 37 / 50. In the collapsed, burnt wooden beams, you will find another charred corpse. Complete the quest and then accept “Stepping Stones”.
After this, both factions continue identically:
Step 3: Travel to the Stonecrag Mountains to the coordinates 51 / 52. Here begins a small path that you follow to an abandoned camp (41 / 52). On a small crate, you will find “Pocket Trash” – click it to complete “Stepping Stones” and accept the new mission “Get out of here”.
Step 4: From the camp, go directly north. In the distance, you can see a small “dirt pile” that you need to make some skillful jumps to reach. Click the pile, complete the quest and accept the new task “Wet Affair”.
Step 5: Travel to Loch Modan to the coordinates 49 / 13 and click on a small eagle statue. The statue is located on the large heads of the dam that protrude towards the Wetlands. Hand in your quest and accept “Eagle Claw”.
Step 6: Travel to the Hillsbrad Foothills, at the border to the Arathi Highlands. At the coordinates 87 / 50, you will find a tipped-over cart that you can climb onto the Thoradin Wall. In a small room on the wall, you can see a courier bag hanging on the wall, along with a note. Complete your quest and accept the follow-up quest “This Must Be the Place”.
You can complete the quest immediately by clicking the bag under the bag. As a reward, you finally get the sleeping bag!
As a bonus, you even receive 8 units of “Trail mix”. When you consume this item, you will receive 4 bars of the “Rested” state – with this, you gain double experience from killing monsters.
This is what the community says: The players are quite excited about this item (via reddit). Because even if the XP buff is quite small and 3% is just a drop in the bucket, the sleeping bag provides a sense of unity and ensures that everyone can take a little break – because this is something that is easily forgotten in World of Warcraft:
“Not only does the questline give you more than a level’s worth of Rested XP and about half a level-up, but it also gives you a reason to just step away from the PC or talk to people every 2 hours while waiting for the XP bonus to kick in.” – LiteratureFabulous36
“Honestly, the fact that it encourages and rewards you for just taking a little break probably makes this item the best thing I’ve seen in a long time.” – Detharious
“You can even log out anywhere while lying in it; it counts as a rest zone.” – Any-Yellow-5424
“Setting down the sleeping bag at the start of a dungeon is a great way to give yourself and everyone else in the group a 3-minute break to grab a drink or step away briefly before storming through the dungeon.” – PoignantPoint22
Have you already gotten the sleeping bag, and do you use it regularly? Or do you think it’s not worth the effort?
Helldivers 2 is a new cooperative shooter on Steam, which was released last week. The game is celebrating great success, but this seems unexpected for the team, as the game has also faced some release issues. However, the developers are taking care of it.
Helldivers 2 is a great success at release. The game officially launched on February 8 and has reached an all-time peak of 155,926 players, according to SteamDB. During peak times, the game consistently maintains around 100,000 players simultaneously.
However, this success seems a bit sudden for the Arrowhead development team as the game has been struggling with some issues since release. A patch was released on the day of the release. But there are still other problems that the team is currently working on.
Gameplay of Helldivers 2 can be seen in this video:
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Helldivers 2 Sorrow Titan Liberation Gameplay Video
We are doing our best to get it right
The head of Arrowhead, Johan Pilestedt, posted on x.com today, February 12, 2024, a new statement regarding the current issues. In the statement, he mentions that during server maintenance, they were able to implement 3 fixes that addressed rewards, login issues, and server capacity.
However, login problems can still occur because the capacities for the current login requests are not enough. If you have trouble logging in, you should try restarting the game and logging in again. With the initial fixes, this method should work faster.
The high player traffic also causes issues with rewards. These are not always activated correctly because the server cannot track them. Although a fix has been implemented for this, the problem cannot be resolved without a new server maintenance.
At the end of the statement, Pilestedt apologizes again to the players and assures that the team is doing everything to address the problems. To get this right, the team also needs to get some sleep, which is why they ask everyone to wait a few hours.
Despite the difficult problems, many players on Steam are excited about Helldivers 2. Currently, of 27,540 reviews, 74% are positive. Especially because the game reminds players of the cult film Starship Troopers and its humor.
xEndstille: Anything with more than 2 legs gets shot immediately, understood?!
EpicChrisplay: It’s just an absolute homage to Starship Troopers! It’s just fun to shoot bugs. Overall, a really solid game!
Adonnay: As a new Helldiver, I can only describe it as the better Starship Troopers (game). Wonderful satire where over-Earth must be “protected” from enemies of democracy.
In Ark: Survival Ascended, a new update has been released, but it caused a serious bug. Developers had to retract the update and perform a rollback.
What went wrong? A few days ago, a new update was uploaded on the servers of Ark: Survival Ascended. With this update, players could now use cosmetic items in the form of mods in their game saves. The developers promoted skins like Mickey and Minnie Mouse from Disney in a new trailer.
However, the update had an unwanted side effect, as players lost items from their inventories for no reason. The developers were alerted and had to revert the update.
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In ARK Survival Ascended, Mickey and Minnie Mouse are now available
Rollback and Compensation
What do the developers say about the dilemma? The developers spoke about the incident on x.com (formerly Twitter) about the incident. They felt compelled to reset the official network to the previous state, specifically to the point where the update had not yet been released.
Players affected by this bug should now have their lost items back. However, if you were not affected and earned new items during that time, you will lose them due to the rollback.
To compensate players, the developers are tripling the Evolution Event Rates. Meanwhile, the team is investigating the cause of the bug.
This is not the first rollback: A few weeks ago, players had to endure another rollback. In this case, however, it was not the developers’ fault, but rather the players. They exploited a bug to gain an unfair advantage. Studio Wildcard implemented a rollback to limit the damage.
For Overwatch 2, a lot is changing with the start of the new season. Blizzard’s shooter will feel different – as all heroes will be changed.
Since the developers of Overwatch 2 announced that the PvE mode will never be properly released, the community has been angry. Some have not forgiven Blizzard for reducing the team size from 6 to 5, while others feel cheated for various reasons. However, Blizzard is doing its best to revamp the shooter and further refine the PvP aspect. This Tuesday, on February 13, 2024, there will be plenty of changes.
The adjustments are so extensive that some in the community are talking about an “Overwatch 3”.
The most important things in brief:
All heroes receive more health points.
All heroes heal passively when they take no damage.
The projectiles of nearly all weapons will be significantly larger.
The matchmaking and ranking of all players will be reset.
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Overwatch 2: Season 9 fundamentally changes the game
All heroes in Overwatch 2 will become stronger
Blizzard wants to reduce the impact of burst damage, meaning high damage in an extremely short time. This is especially aimed at reducing the “one-hit potential,” so that enemies won’t be killed with a single combo in a fraction of a second. For this reason, all heroes will across the board receive more health points.
This means for the individual characters:
Heroes with 150-175 HP: +25 HP
Heroes with 200-300 HP: +50 HP
Heroes with 300+ HP (Tanks): +75-100 HP
Ultimately, these changes mean that almost all characters will need at least one additional hit to be eliminated. This leaves more time for healers to intervene or to make use of the new self-healing mechanics.
Healers themselves have it a little harder – as characters have more life and require more attention in battle.
Everyone will be a healer – at least for themselves
The major controversial change, however, is that all characters will receive self-healing. Once a character has not taken damage for 5 seconds, they will start to heal with 20 HP per second until their health points are fully restored. Damage taken stops this healing immediately.
Support characters have an improved version of this healing, as their self-healing begins after just 2.5 seconds without taking damage.
But that’s not all. In addition, damage characters will receive a new passive trait. When a damage dealer hits an enemy, that enemy receives a new debuff, causing them to receive 20% less healing. This allows DPS characters to focus better on enemies and weaken the healing of the opposing team.
All weapons will hit more often – as the bullets will be larger
It is also new that almost all projectiles in Overwatch 2 will become larger. An increased hitbox for the projectiles means that bullets will hit their target more often and less precision will be required, making it slightly easier to deal damage. How much various projectiles will increase depends on the type of weapon and projectile.
The changes to projectile sizes are as follows:
Hitscan projectiles from weapons with very high fire rates or wide spreads (like Reaper or Tracer): +0.05 meters
Hitscan projectiles from precision weapons (like Cassidy or Soldier: 76): +0.08 meters
Projectiles with flight time and a fast fire rate (like Roadhog or Ramattra): +0.05 meters
Projectiles with flight time that travel faster than 50 meters per second (like Zenyatta): +0.10 meters
Projectiles with flight time that travel slower than 50 meters per second (like Pharah or Junkrat): +0.15 meters
No change for particularly large projectiles (like Orisa’s spear or Reinhardt’s fire strike).
This is how the projectile sizes will change.
Fresh start for everyone – matchmaking will be “reset”
The last major change is that the personal ranking of all players will be completely reset. No matter what rank you had before – with the start of Season 9, everyone starts from scratch and must prove their skills in placement matches.
This is the perfect opportunity to finally break out of the “Elo hell” and not remain stuck in the bronze ranks – or to cement a place there forever.
Additionally, there will now be more transparency. A progress bar will show you after each match how close or far you are from the next rank – and how much the win or loss affected it.
An overview of what will influence your rank.
What else is changing?
Apart from these major adjustments, there are also a lot of individual balance changes to the heroes. Many DPS characters will deal more damage in the future to somewhat compensate for the increased health points of the heroes.
In general, these changes aim to make healing have a little less influence on the fight. Support heroes should find it more difficult to keep the entire group alive.
Moreover, the start of a new season also means that there is a fresh battle pass – this time, apparently, cosmic secrets and corruption from dark tentacled aliens are on the agenda. C’thulhu fans should get their money’s worth, and especially the mythical Moira skin looks really nice.
In addition, there has already been a teaser for a collaboration with the anime “Cowboy Bebop” – but there are no further details yet.
What do you think of these changes to Overwatch 2? Is that enough to give the game a fresh coat of paint? Or is it a futile effort?
The majority of the gameplay elements of Palworld are based on catching Pals and making them work for you in your base. A player has not yet caught a Pal and has still defeated the first boss. And this huge handicap has been imposed on himself for a very special reason.
What kind of run is the player doing?reddit user gonnaputmydickinit is being celebrated on reddit for reaching level 15 in Palworld and defeating the first boss without catching a single Pal. Completing such a “only-human” run is quite challenging, as catching and using Pals are core mechanics of the game.
How does the player support his claim? The gamer posted a screenshot of his Steam achievements on reddit. It shows that he has achieved the achievement Hillside Sovereign, translated as Conqueror of the Highlands.
Directly below, but grayed out, is the normally first achievement: Beginning of the Legend, meaning Beginning of a Legend. The player has defeated the first boss combination of Zoe and Grizzbolt without catching a single Pal.
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Palworld, without catching a single Pal – can it work?
How does the gamer manage that? In the comments, the redditor explains his approach:
He caught a green trader to buy makeshift guns from him.
He farms treasure chests in difficult areas of the world for gold to buy bullets.
He primarily grinds berries and cooks them to feed his character.
Meanwhile, the player is at level 15 and, according to his own statements, completes level 13 dungeons almost without problems.
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Palworld: How you can level up quickly
Are there difficulties for a only-human run? gonnaputmydickinit also addresses this. According to his own statements, he does not have access to many resources.
For example, he cannot obtain iron bars, as this requires a fire Pal. Consequently, he cannot craft many equipment parts and cannot progress beyond a primitive workbench. Weapons also cannot be repaired, and he has to purchase them anew every time.
A super nerfed run – because he is waiting for his wife
Why is the player going through with this? In a comment in the thread, the reddit user explains why he chose such a difficult run in Palworld. He shares that his wife also wants to play Palworld, but only later. She is still waiting for a few patches.
However, he himself probably wanted to start right away and opted for an absolutely nerfed run in which he does not experience many of the core mechanics. This way, he can already get started without having too much of an advantage over his wife when they eventually play together.
How does the community react? Other reddit users congratulate gonnaputmydickinit on his achievement. FateFan2018, for example, compares the run to the 12 labors of Hercules from Greek mythology. User WackDance, on the other hand, has been wondering for a while how it would be to play Palworld like a monster hunter game.
Others provide tips and tricks. User Fun-Incident-8238 points out, among other things, that the Pal Bushi leaves iron bars upon its death. With_Hands_And_Paper leaves the info that Astegon drops Pal bars.
With the tips from the reddit users, the only-Human run should become even a tad easier. How about you: Would you take on this challenge? Or do you generally play Palworld without catching Pals? If so, why? We look forward to your comments!
Palworld has been in Early Access for less than a month and has sold incredibly well. In fact, it is so popular that the team at Pocket Pair is now looking for reinforcements.
How successful is Palworld? Palworld was released on January 19, 2024, and broke several records in a very short time. Here are a few examples:
Palworld showcases the small monsters in massive action in the early access trailer
What positions is Pocket Pair hiring for? On X.com, formerly Twitter, they have now posted a call for new employees. They write the following:
At Palworld, we still have a lot to do, but we are short on staff! We are hiring for all positions, but we are particularly looking for planners and technicians! We are looking for people with experience in any engine. So if you are interested in developing a completely new game, please apply! (Translated with Deepl.com)
Underneath, they posted a GIF of the incredibly unmotivated stone-mining Pal, Depresso. Here you can see the original post:
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How quickly is Pocket Pair with patches? The developer has been regularly releasing new updates since the launch of Early Access. The first bug fixes were already made on January 25.
Given the workload that such a successful game brings, it’s no wonder that the team is now looking for reinforcements. It also shows that Pocket Pair wants to continue developing and supporting the game – many Early Access games never make it or take a long time to reach the final release version.
In Sons of the Forest, almost everything wants to kill you, a good armor is enormously helpful. However, one item that helps you without crafting is easy to overlook.
Mutants, cannibals, strange neighbors – things get intense early in Sons of the Forest. A good weapon and armor are a blessing right from the start.
Two armors are relatively easy to obtain at the beginning. But the “mutant armor” can be easily overlooked. MeinMMO shows you which armors you can rely on at the start.
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Sons of the Forest is the most awaited survival game on Steam – All information in 2 minutes
Armor: Mutant Armor and Bone Armor
How do I get mutant armor? Once you explore your first cave, things get serious. You’ll encounter various mutants, and it gets intense.
Once you’ve dealt with one of the slimy creatures, you can “harvest” the dead body. Small tip: If you’re in co-op, stand together next to the body and start harvesting together.
This way, everyone gets a piece of “mutant armor” in their inventory. You can equip these pieces directly, no crafting needed. You can carry a total of 10 pieces of mutant armor and “decorate” your entire body with them.
The armor is a bit hidden in your backpack – move your mouse all the way to the bottom right, past the stones. There lie mysterious pieces of skin – your new armor. One click and you equip it.
Flesh helmet and coat are particularly helpful in cave fights.
How do I get bone armor? You need to craft this armor. For that, you need:
4x bones
1x rope
1x duct tape
Thus, the armor is a bit expensive for the start of the game. You should weigh whether it’s worth sacrificing rope and duct tape at the beginning.
Bones are easier to find. Check your map and look for small water areas. Such ponds often have tents where you can find bones and skulls.
If you have limbs in your inventory, you can also place them on the fire and let them burn. The charred remains will turn into bones after some time.
What does armor do? Below next to your health starts a new bar with the current armor strength. The color indicates what type of armor you have. A maximum of 10 segments can be stacked here.
Damage does not go directly to your health, but first to the armor. The different types of armor have different durability.
Thus, mutant armor is weak – a stronger mutant can take away two segments with one hit. However, it is cheap, and every defeated mutant donates a piece of skin.
Don’t forget: Be sparing with your resources. You never know when you might need them again.
What does armor do? Below next to your health starts a new bar with the current armor strength. The color indicates what type of armor you have. A maximum of 10 segments can be stacked here.
Damage does not go directly to your health, but first to the armor. The different types of armor have different durability.
Thus, mutant armor is weak – a stronger mutant can take away two segments with one hit. However, it is cheap, and every defeated mutant donates a piece of skin.
Don’t forget: Be sparing with your resources. You never know when you might need them again.
In Sons of the Forest, ropes are an important resource that you need for weapons and armor. We will show you where to find ropes and which important recipes you can use them for.
Where can I find ropes? Ropes cannot be crafted in Sons of the Forest and must be found. Therefore, the following places are interesting for you to find ropes:
The crash site of your helicopter
Search your surroundings, debris, and containers
On beaches and rivers
Near rocks and shipwreck debris
At cliff edges
In cave systems
Explore caves and look for ropes near skeletons
A little tip for your explorations: Use your GPS that you have with you to better get to know your environment. Important locations, such as your crash site or cave entrances, will also be marked, making it more reliable for you to access items like ropes.
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Sons of the Forest: The first trailer for the survival game on Steam
What recipes require ropes? In Sons of the Forest, ropes are important because they are needed for many items such as weapons, armor, and even construction projects.
These were all the important information regarding ropes and how to find them. Keep in mind that Sons of the Forest is still in Early Access and possibly additional blueprints for ropes may be published and implemented.
If you want more information about a console release, we have just the right thing for you:
Sons of the Forest is the new offshoot of the survival hit The Forest. In this, you must once again fight for your bare survival, as cannibals and mutants want to get you. That’s why we show you all the weapons and how you can obtain them.
How many weapons are there? In total, there are 30 weapons in the form of melee, ranged, and explosive weapons. You can either craft them yourself or find them on the island during your exploration tours.
Now we will go through each weapon and show you how you can obtain/craft them.
[toc]
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See new gameplay of Sons of the Forest, the sequel to the survival hit ‘The Forest’”
Body Parts – Arms, Legs, Heads
Location: You can find body parts by detaching them from cannibals. A knife or an axe is sufficient.
Find Multi-Purpose Knife
Location: You have it in your inventory from the beginning.
Find Tactical Axe
Location: You receive it at the beginning of your journey from a bag in your inventory.
Location: You find the fire axe in a maintenance bunker northwest of the icy mountains near a river. You need a shovel to dig out the entrance at the excavation site.
Location: The guitar is located west of the island in a bunker. You reach it through a rock crevice in open terrain. Once you have passed through, you only need to explore the bunker and use your maintenance keycard to get through the sealed area.
Now go through the fitness and wellness area up to the second floor along the half-turned staircase and further to a bar. The guitar is on the counter.
Location:The katana is located along with a golden armor southeast of the icy mountains. However, to pass this, you will again need the maintenance keycard. Explore the bunker and you will find the katana on the second floor in an office between two chairs on a holder.
Location: The chainsaw is located in the same bunker as the guitar. After you have climbed up the half-turned staircase, hold right until you reach a locked door. Open it again with the maintenance keycard.
Now walk down the bright corridor and keep to the left side in the large room until you reach a small cinema. The chainsaw is stuck in a corpse.
Find Bones
Location: You can randomly find them on the island or burn corpses of cannibals.
Location: The putter or golf club is located in the same bunker where the katana and the golden armor are found. Search the offices and find it near the chairs in the head of a corpse. Here too, you will need the maintenance keycard for access to the bunker.
Location: The cross is located in a cave west of the map. Fight your way through and collect the cross at the end of the cave. It is located on a severed arm.
Location: You will find the crossbow in a bunker northwest of the map. Enter it and stay to the right until you reach a door that can again only be unlocked with the maintenance keycard. Stay right until you pass a corpse. This one has the crossbow next to it.
Location: You can find the taser north in a cave complex near the beach. Explore these deep corridors until you come to a hanging corpse next to a campfire. The taser is also next to the corpse.
Location: The bow is again underground in a bunker. Southwest of the icy mountains, there is a soil area that needs to be dug up. Just open the hatch and look for a bath with a corpse. The bow lies next to the corpse.
Location: The pistol can be obtained in two places. Either to the west on a rescue boat in the sea or to the east in the bunker, where you can also get the katana.
Location: You will find the revolver in a bunker northeast of the mountains. The entrance must be dug up again. Once inside the bunker, keep left and go down the corridor until an open entrance appears on the right side. In this, there is a corpse and next to it the revolver.
Location: The shotgun is located northwest of the map in a grave. This is marked with a cross that is supposed to serve as a gravestone. Dig up the grave and take the shotgun from the corpse in the coffin.
Location: The slingshot is located near a river west of the icy mountains. Follow this river east until you arrive at three statues located on a frozen lake. One of these statues has the slingshot.
Find Grenade
Location: Grenades can be obtained all over the map in grenade boxes, bunker installations, or in regular boxes.
Find Molotov Cocktail
Location: To craft the Molotov cocktail, you need:
Are these all the weapons? The game is still in early access, so it is quite possible that the developers may implement more weapons at a later date. We will update this article for you.
So stay curious and feel free to let us know in the comments about your favorites that you want to find and use in Sons of the Forest.
The MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria aimed to provide a new, realistic MMORPG that allowed players to be part of a simulated world. Through Kickstarter and their own platform, the team raised approximately 7.5 million euros. However, the CEO mismanaged the funding. He couldn’t find another investor, had to lay off the team, and essentially had to stop development, but he cannot back out of the situation.
What kind of MMORPG was it supposed to be?
The development began in 2016. The man behind the game, Jeromy Walsh, sold his possessions and started developing a realistic MMORPG on his own.
In the game, players could age and die. They would gain weight if they ate too much. They could gain power and prestige.
Through Kickstarter, they quickly raised $900,000, and by October 2019, hopeful fans had invested even $7.7 million into the online role-playing game that sold virtual land and hosted early browser-game-like events on its website.
Start video
What is Chronicles of Elyria – Pre-Alpha
MMORPG project fails in 2020 but cannot stop
That was the breaking point: The $7.7 million they had raised was not enough to implement the ideas that Walsh had in mind. His plan was to use the money to finance a prototype that was good enough to convince solvent investors to fund the game.
Other developers who had successfully managed projects before had succeeded in doing this, but Walsh, as a nobody, failed to convince investors. However, the backers’ money was already gone.
This is the problem: In reality, the development of the MMORPG has failed, but it cannot be stopped because he cannot repay the backers the money. Therefore, Chronicles of Elyria has been subjected to intense ridicule since 2020. While Walsh tries to keep the MMORPG alive somehow, former upset fans are determined to get their money back.
Developer claims 93% of fans still wish for the MMORPG
This is the latest farce: In January 2024, Walsh wanted to determine through a survey among the fans which of his 6 projects the fans would most likely want. Multiple answers were possible.
These were all phantom projects, mocked the online role-playing game site Massivelyop, which still tracks Chronicles of Elyria.
An evaluation of the survey in February 2024 now shows that the MMORPG “Chronicles of Elyria” itself received the most votes; more than 93% still showed interest in this game. Walsh sees this as confirmation that interest in the MMORPG is still high.
Former fans, however, are cynical about this survey. On the site Massivelyop it is stated: The survey had only limited options available. The choice “Give me my damn money back” was missing. That would surely have won.
Others compared the survey to asking visitors at a band’s concert which band they would prefer – the result is clear.
Another says: At Kickstarter, 10,752 people participated, while only 500 were involved in such a survey. He could continue with his role-playing game as CEO and game developer.
This is what it’s about: Since 2020, there has been an uncomfortable situation surrounding Chronicles of Elyria. One hardly wants to look at it anymore:
Former fans are angry and disappointed. They threaten with lawsuits and want their invested money back. They even openly accuse Walsh of fraud and embezzlement.
However, there is a strong indication that someone simply had a dream he desperately wanted to believe in, took on too much, and now simply cannot find a way out.
The new pirate game from Ubisoft, Skull & Bones, repeats a mistake that already occurred in The Division, a game from 2016: a respawn rate that is too slow for important objects like acacia trees. Players say they wait 30 minutes by a tree that simply does not respawn.
What is the problem?
In Skull and Bones, players are sent to collect special wood for their own ship: “Acacia wood” it is supposed to be.
The task comes relatively early in Skull & Bones and should actually not be a problem.
But the trees that players are supposed to find are simply not there for some.
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Pirate MMO Skull & Bones showcases brutal naval battles and absurd upgrades in the new trailer
Waited 30 minutes by the tree
This is what players say: On reddit, a player complained that he had waited 30 minutes in the beta, but the tree did not respawn. He also tried with other trees and had no luck.
Some agree with him and show real frustration. A user says, “Same here, I just gave up. The game is a joke, it should have a respawn timer or something like that.”
Is there a tip that helps to find acacias? A user on reddit says, the spawns did not work for him either, but he found a number of acacia logs that respawn quite quickly. He found them when he drove directly west of Saint Anne towards the sawmill. Then a bit north along the island, and you would see a bay. In this bay, there are the logs.
Some users on reddit thank him for the tip: That solved their problem and saved Skull & Bones from early uninstallation.
In The Division, players even queued up
What does that have to do with The Division? As PcGamesN notes, the shooter The Division from Ubisoft had the same problem at launch in 2016. Back then, players even queued (via reddit) to find certain NPCs or important items.
This affected the gaming experience because nobody likes to wait for something in MMOs.
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The Division managed to get this under control with further patches. Perhaps Skull & Bones will be able to fix this obvious problem as well.
Currently, Skull & Bones seems to be in a difficult position. With a purchase price of €70, players have high expectations for a title that, according to Ubisoft, is not only triple-A but even quadruple-A:
The two major releases in 2024 on Steam were probably the role-playing games Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield. Good half a year after the release, we take a look at the player numbers on Steam. Who is in a better position now?
That was the situation in 2023: Back then, it was actually a fight – David against Goliath:
The new role-playing game from Bethesda, from the creators of Fallout and Skyrim, was highly anticipated and was supposed to define 2023. There was even a special showcase in June that was widely viewed.
Baldur’s Gate 3 was already old news in 2023. Chapter 1 of the role-playing game had been playable in Early Access on Steam since 2020 and at that time, it interested only a few. Larian moved the release from August 31 to August 3, probably to avoid a direct duel with Starfield.
Creators of Baldur’s Gate 3 show intimate love scene with a bear and get banned instantly
Baldur’s Gate 3 clearly wins the duel with Starfield on Steam
Who won in 2023? At the release on Steam, Baldur’s Gate had 450,982.3 average players and 875,343 at its peak.
Starfield reached 145,883.2 average players and 330,597 at its peak in September 2023 – so it had about one-third of the players of Baldur’s Gate 3 based solely on Steam numbers.
How is Starfield doing now? Starfield has continuously lost players since its release in 2023, every month there were fewer players on Steam than in the previous month.
Currently, there are on average 8,110.7 players online. Compared to the release month, that is a loss of 95%.
How is Baldur’s Gate 3 doing now? For Baldur’s Gate 3, patches and its good reputation are having an effect. Although Baldur’s Gate 3 lost players rapidly in the first 3 months, there was a significant upswing on Steam in December 2023 and January 2024.
Currently, an impressive 135,301.7 people are still playing the game on average. This is a loss of almost exactly 70% compared to the release month, even though that was earlier than Starfield’s.
What should be considered? Steam is not the only platform where players can play Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3. Therefore, the player numbers on Steam are not an absolute comparison, but a relative one, restricted to the platform.
What’s behind this: The numbers thus confirm a general sentiment towards Starfield, which was probably not ideally prepared for the post-release period. There was a lack of updates that could still be sent afterward. Many players probably wished for a new incentive to dive back into Starfield, especially during the Christmas holidays.
But not everything is gold with Baldur’s Gate 3 either. Many praised the extremely polished Act 1 in Early Access, but also criticized that Act 2 rapidly declined and Act 3 was so bugged that it was hardly playable. Some testers recommended players to wait half a year with Baldur’s Gate 3 to enjoy the great game without the many bugs.
Here, Larian had some work ahead of them, which they were apparently willing to undertake.
The popular roguelike Dead Cells will come to an end with the last update 35. Why Motion Twin is ending development and what the studio plans to do next is explained by MeinMMO.
Which game is it about? Dead Cells, one of the most popular roguelike games on Steam, is nearing the end of its development. The game is a mix of roguelike, metroidvania, and action platformer from the French developer studio Motion Twin.
The studio announced on the official Steam page for Dead Cells and on X that the upcoming update for the game on PC and consoles, Update 35 The End is Near, will be the last.
Update 35 for Dead Cells marks the end of our creative journey with this game. After an incredible 5-year collaboration in providing additional content for the live ops of Dead Cells, Evil Empire will turn to new adventures, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
The developers had thought long about this, especially after the huge success of the DLC Return to Castlevania last year. In recent years, the developer studio Evil Empire has also played a major role in this DLC and The Queen and the Sea.
Motion Twin’s endeavor to avoid falling into the More of the Same trap and to keep Dead Cells fresh and original led them to this point. They emphasize that it is crucial not to overdo it and risk losing the unique charm of Dead Cells.
Goodbye from Evil Empire
Evil Empire also bid farewell to the fans and developers of Dead Cells. The studio expressed its pride in the work done and emphasized that they enjoyed every minute.
Here you can see the post:
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What’s next? Motion Twin is already working on a roguelike coop game called Windblown and wants to take on new challenges. Nevertheless, Motion Twin assures fans that Dead Cells will not be forgotten. Solutions for existing problems will continue to be provided, as well as exciting projects like an animated series and a board game around Dead Cells.
Windblown is set to enter early access (on PC) later this year, although it is still unknown exactly when in 2024 this will start.
While the fantasy hit “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” successfully brought the well-known tabletop game to the big screen last year, another trilogy failed at the task.
In 2023, the role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3 and the movie blockbuster “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” both released successful adaptations of the well-known board game.
However, back in 2000, filmmakers attempted to capture the adventure feeling of game nights in living rooms and package it in a trilogy – and failed.
Here you can see a trailer for Dungeons & Dragons from the year 2000:
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Trailer for Dungeons & Dragons from 2000
Difficulties even before filming began
The creator of Dungeons & Dragons, Courtney Solomon, planned a huge blockbuster with the DnD film, full of visual effects that were supposed to bring the fantasy world to life.
However, film studios at the time had little interest in the fantasy genre. In the end, Wizards of the Coast did buy the rights to Dungeons & Dragons.
But instead of the $100 million budget that Solomon aimed for, he was given only $3.5 million.
With the help of investors and further negotiations with WotC, the film eventually had a budget of $45 million – yet it flopped.
Despite well-known names, a huge failure
Despite the failure, not just one, but three films based on the well-known game series were released between 2000 and 2012, under the titles:
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God
Dungeons & Dragons 3: The Book of Vile Darkness
Among the actors were also well-known names, such as Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons (Watchmen) or Thora Birch (American Beauty). Yet, the films turned out to be absolute flops.
The first part Dungeons & Dragons received poor ratings from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, with:
9 % on the Tomatometer
20 % on the Audience Score
Why is Dungeons & Dragons so bad? The main criticisms are directed at the poor special effects, sets, and costumes. But some actors’ performances also left much to be desired according to reviews – not even Jeremy Irons could save it.
The higher your level in Palworld, the more important the resource ore becomes – the basis for iron bars. To farm this valuable material, a Twitch streamer used 6 of the powerful Anubis. But since he has a simple turtle instead of them at the base, he farms much faster.
What is the starting situation? The Palworld player and Twitch streamer AverageJonas presents his discovery on reddit: He has built a base around several of the valuable ore deposits.
He built this Palworld day by Palworld day with a team of 6 (!) Anubis. Anubis is one of the strongest Pals and also holds a very special place in the lore of Palworld. For example, it serves as a model for the statues of power.
To his own surprise, AverageJonas was able to replace all 6 Pals with a mining Digtoise and an item-collecting Wumpo. Now he farms the ores even faster. For him, the turtle is therefore the best Pal when it comes to mining stones and ores.
Palworld: Here you will find a super fast ground mount
Why is it important to farm a lot of ore quickly? Ore is the basis for iron bars, which you need for many items such as nails and bear traps. This also includes better pickaxes and axes, as well as firearms and their ammunition.
Starting from the mid-game, you will need so-called High-quality metal bars. You can create these starting at level 34 with an upgraded furnace. This material is the basis for even more powerful tools and weapons, but also for the Ultra-Pal-Sphere and the conveyor belts where you can have your Pals work.
Farming stone and ore with the super turtle – Here’s how to get the Pal
How did AverageJonas breed his Digtoise? To his own surprise, he managed to breed a Digtoise that surpasses the work capacity of his 6 Anubis.
All Pals work faster when they have a higher work speed. However, the streamer found out that the work speed of Digtoise also increases when its partner ability is better.
Furthermore, AverageJonas states that a Digtoise without stars does about 2-3 damage per hit against an ore deposit; a 2-star Pal, on the other hand, does 3 to 4. The final 4-star Digtoise, however, does 7 to 8 damage points in one attack and shreds the ore deposits within a few seconds.
Will you try to get such a powerful Digtoise as well? Or have you perhaps found an even better way to farm ore? We are looking forward to your comments.
The new patch for Baldur’s Gate 3 is set to release in the week of Valentine’s Day and fittingly gifts you new kiss animations, Legendary actions, and more.
Faerûn will soon become even more romantic. Larian Studios is ready to surprise players with a heartwarming patch. Patch 6 for Baldur’s Gate 3 is set to be released in the week of February 12 and promises to elevate your love stories to a new level.
The announcement was not very specific yet, but Larian Studios confirmed on X that it will be a comprehensive patch.
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Creators of Baldur’s Gate 3 show intimate love scene with a bear and get banned instantly
Patch 6 brings more romance for Valentine’s Day
Larian Studios has announced improvements to the kiss animations. In the short video of the announcement, you can even see a new kiss animation – a romantic moment between Halsin and Astarion. Halsin even gives him a gentle kiss on the forehead at the end.
Here you can take a look:
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How does the community react? Under the X post from Larian Studios, a ton of comments have gathered – now over 800. Many are excited about the new kiss animations and can hardly wait. We’ve summarized some comments for you:
TehAngryXeno hopes: Will these improvements also include Dragonborn when kissing?
LULUU_Luo is excited: Kiss on the forehead! The best gift for the new year.
Justjordansart is also looking forward to the forehead kiss: The little kiss on the forehead is all I need.
What else is in Patch 6? Besides that, Larian Studios has announced that your companions will receive new animations when they stand idle in the camp. Additionally, new Legendary actions are expected to be added in Honour Mode to make the hardest difficulty even more challenging. There will also be a number of bug fixes.
More is not yet known about Patch 6. The patch is expected to be extensive and Larian Studios states that the full patch notes will be published online shortly before release.
In Elden Ring, fans recently found clues that the highly anticipated DLC “Shadow of the Erdtree” could be released soon, perhaps on the anniversary, on February 25, 2024. However, the parent company of FromSoftware, Kadokawa, is now pouring cold water on the blazing flames of expectations.
What has given fans hope?
A few days ago, on February 8, fans discovered that the DLC for Elden Ring was updated in the Steam database.
At the release on February 25, 2022, Elden Ring took the gaming world by storm, hence the hope that it could be time for the DLC to finally be released on February 25, 2024. The DLC was already announced in February 2023.
Start video
Elden Ring Trailer
We are working hard on the development of the DLC – but no release date
What do the developers say? In a financial report from Kadokawa, the parent company of FromSoftware, it was noted in the FAQ section on February 8, 2024 (via eir-parts.net):
Question: “What is the development status of the Elden Ring DLC and when will it be released?
Answer: We are currently working hard on the development of the DLC for Elden Ring, but we have not announced a release date at this time.
As PC Gamer concludes, such a statement to investors does not sound like “The DLC is coming out right now,” but rather “The DLC will be released in the next financial year,” which begins for Kadokawa in April 2024.
PC Gamer quotes the producer, who said a few months ago that work on the DLC is progressing well, but it is still ongoing. It will feature new battles and characters.
For more about the first story DLC for Elden Ring, read on MeinMMO:
Baldur’s Gate 3 offers a plethora of spells, making the selection not always easy. At Level 1, you can already choose a powerful spell that almost always hits.
In Baldur’s Gate 3, amidst the multitude of spells, it can sometimes be a challenge to make the right choice – especially for beginners. There is one spell that, despite its simplicity, has immense power: Magic Missile.
Already at Level 1, you can use this spell with your wizard or sorcerer. But what makes Magic Missile so remarkable?
Start video
5 Tips to Level Up Your Characters Properly in Baldur’s Gate 3
Magic Missile – What Makes the Spell So Good
Magic Missile can be taken at Level 1, and the spell (almost) always hits its target. At Level 1, you can hit up to three targets with the spell or direct all 3 shots at one opponent, causing significant damage. The spell’s precision is impressive: You don’t even need a direct line of sight to the opponent to hit them.
Each individual missile also triggers a concentration saving throw. This makes Magic Missile an effective choice for disrupting your opponents’ concentration – a useful strategy, especially when facing spells like Hold Person.
What Magic Missile can do.
Magic Missile at a Glance:
6-15 energy damage, so 3d4+3
3d4+3 damage consists of the number of missiles (at Level 1, there are 3): In this case, it is calculated as 3 times 1d4+1 damage, because each individual missile deals 1d4+1 damage and we can fire a total of 3 at Level 1.
Shoots 3 magical arrows, each causing 2-5 energy damage. They always hit their target.
18 m range
1st-level spell (Level 1)
If you cast the spell at 2nd level or higher, it creates one additional arrow for each spell slot level above 1st. Later, you can shoot up to 8 arrows at a target (or multiple).
Energy Damage
What makes Magic Missile so strong is the energy damage it causes. Unlike many other types of damage, many opponents are not immune or resistant to energy damage. This means the spell is very effective against a variety of foes.
A Hit Chance of 100%
Furthermore, Magic Missile almost always hits. This spell has a hit rate of 100%, with one exception: opponents who can use a shield as a reaction or cast counterspells.
In summary, Magic Missile offers a strong spell in Baldur’s Gate 3 – especially in the early game. As a 1st-level spell available at Level 1 for classes like sorcerers and wizards, it provides a reliable source of damage with its 100% hit chance.
Last week, a 30-minute documentary about the German Twitch streamer Anissa Baddour (26), known as AnniTheDuck, was released. Growing up without much money but highly gifted, the 26-year-old dropped out of her computer science studies and worked as a princess that could be hired for children’s birthday parties. Today, she has 10 employees and is a successful influencer in the video game industry.
What kind of documentary is this?
The ARD series “Moneymaker” presents people who have made money from being nobodies. It has already featured poker players or people who sell “legal LSD.” This week, one of the largest German Twitch streamers took the spotlight: AnniTheDuck.
The ARD documentary covers AnniTheDuck’s childhood, youth, and present. It explains where she comes from, what she is currently doing, and touches on the topic of money. The documentary follows the streamer. Scenes from the past are reenacted in snippets.
Most of the time, AnniTheDuck speaks for herself, but her mother also shares her thoughts on her daughter’s decisions. Additionally, streamer Mowky comments as her best friend.
Start video
Whether on Madeira or at the mixing console – These are 5 of the biggest German Twitch streamers
In Germany, I was the foreigner
This is what you learn about AnniTheDuck’s childhood: She always felt like an outsider as a child and teenager. Due to her background, she felt like she didn’t truly belong anywhere:
“I am half Italian, half Moroccan, but born in Germany. In my Moroccan family, I was the Italian child. In my Italian family, I was the Moroccan child. In Germany, I was the foreigner.”
She wished she could fit into one of those categories that other people so vehemently reject.
AnniTheDuck’s mother explains that her daughter was bullied after skipping the second grade.
But her intelligence also made her an outsider: The future influencer could already read and do math in the first grade. While the other children participated in class, she sat in the back corner of the classroom copying books about birds. A terrible time, as she says today.
She then skipped the second grade because she was bored, and became even more of an outsider, being bullied by her classmates, as her mother recounts:
“Shortly after, she was allowed to skip a grade. It’s not always the best thing, to be honest, because then you’re the one that has skipped a grade to the other kids. And then you get bullied: In the morning, they will call out: Here comes The Brain, The Brain.”
AnniTheDuck shares that as a child, she had many interests and would have loved to do ballet or sports, but the family lacked money, her parents had separated, and her father left behind large debts. Therefore, she was given a PlayStation to keep her quiet, and her love of video games ignited.
Dropped out of university, worked as a rental princess
How did it go for her? As the influencer shares, she was long an outsider in her childhood, with no one wanting to associate with her:
I think I was first too weird and then too quiet.
Only at 13 did she find some like-minded people and dedicated herself to her new hobby: cosplay. Her mother says: While others were partying, her daughter was at home with her friends sewing costumes.
She started studying computer science in Duisburg at 17, but dropped out after a professor publicly humiliated her. When she returned to the lecture hall after missing a class, the professor greeted her with:
“Oh, I thought you dropped out. Here you are again; you had a nail appointment last week, or why didn’t it work out?”
Instead of studying, she worked as a rental princess for an agency and focused more on cosplay and costumes.
When she was first asked in 2014 while cosplaying as the archer Ashe from League of Legends if they could take a photo with her because she looked so cool, it was a completely new experience. Because she had never been “cool” before.
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This is her career: From cosplays and appearances at conventions, social media posts quickly evolved into a Twitch career and a YouTube channel. Today, AnniTheDuck has 10 employees, is one of the biggest Twitch streamers in Germany, and is known in the gaming scene for her cosplay as video game characters.
She says that when she built her own company, she learned a lot from successful CEOs and took the lesson to delegate and outsource as much as possible.
Today she doesn’t earn just well, but “way too much.” However, it still isn’t enough for the millions in her account, as she is simply too nice and pays her employees too well.
A completely normal day for AnniTheDuck.
The documentary suggests: From an outsider that no one wanted to play with, a widely popular and adored figure has emerged, who has built her own life.
Her mother is almost bursting with pride that everything has gone so well. Her daughter is not only successful, but also genuinely dedicated.
The Dark Sides of a Shining Career as an Influencer
So is everything wonderful? At the end of the 30 minutes, the documentary also addresses the negative sides of her career: Because in the business, it is clear that “more is better,” everyone around her tells her she is making too few videos, while she feels she is already making too many.
She herself struggles with constantly being watched and evaluated, having to dress up and pretend, has made surgical changes to her face in several places, and goes to therapy weekly.
Then you post a picture where you are less made up, and everyone says that you are sick and that you have gained weight. And all these things, and it is so awful because you already think all these things yourself and then you get told them. And that is totally burdensome for the head.
She doesn’t want to continue her career indefinitely, but a friend assures her that she will surely be successful in another field as well.
Here you can watch the ARD documentary about AnniTheDuck:
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Is the documentary worth watching? Yes, the documentary is worth it because you see a different side of AnniTheDuck that partially contradicts her public persona.
AnniTheDuck sometimes flirts with the image of a “blonde bimbo.” There is a scene in the documentary where she creates a role-playing character with low intelligence points, joking that she has managed to get by without intelligence her whole life. When you watch the documentary, you know that the opposite is true.
Particularly the insights into her childhood and youth, as well as the dark sides of her career, are interesting. The Gamescom appearances or what Twitch is all about will surely be exciting for ARD viewers, but will reveal little new to regular readers of MeinMMO.
What is there to criticize in the documentary? For a documentary called “Moneymaker,” the money aspect is only hinted at.
It shows how AnniTheDuck does advertising for “Immortals of Avenum” by participating in a role-playing session with the Rocket Beans. However, Immortals of Avenum flopped catastrophically and received practically no attention in Germany, even though it isn’t a bad game (via gamestar). This is not an example of how expensive influencer marketing helps a game gain more attention.
Also, the fact that AnniTheDuck lives in Madeira solely because of “the good weather” leaves a sour taste. They could have made it clearer to the ARD viewer that Madeira has more to offer than just “25 degrees year-round.”
