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There are numerous MMORPGs on the market. But which online role-playing games are worth it in 2026? Are there new titles, or do the old classics continue to dominate? We at MeinMMO reveal it to you in this list.
How were the games selected? In this list, we focused on selecting the best titles. The questions were:
These ten titles emerged, originally compiled by MMORPG expert Alexander Leitsch. He has spent dozens, and in some cases even thousands, of hours playing each of these games. The special is now updated by Karsten Scholz, who spends just as much time in online worlds as Alex.
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Developer: Blizzard Entertainment | Platform: PC | Release Date: November 23, 2004 | Model: Pay2Play | Combat System: Tab-Targeting
What kind of game is this? World of Warcraft is the most well-known MMORPG in the West and still remains very popular nearly 20 years after its release. You create a character on the side of the Horde or the Alliance and follow an exciting story through quests and beautiful cinematics. Along the way, you explore dozens of areas that you can roam in the open world.
By now, you can choose from countless classes and races during character creation, divided between the two factions horde and alliance. You can play your character in the classic leveling areas or in one of the old expansions at level 70, before entering the newest expansion and reaching the maximum level of 80.
In the mid and endgame, you can expect dungeons, raids, dangerous world bosses, and of course, PvP battles. This MMORPG relies on a comic graphic style that has been slightly enhanced over the expansions, but still feels somewhat dated.
With each new raid, a race for the World Firsts begins. The best guilds compete to see who can defeat a boss first. Such a battle can last for days or weeks and is exciting to follow.
In August 2024, the latest expansion The War Within was released, bringing new areas, new story content, and features like the Warband and the Depths. There are also various Classic versions available, such as those with Hardcore rules or with the content from the Mists of Pandaria expansion.
Who is this game interesting for? WoW caters to essentially all types:
All player types also benefit from the strong story and the large community of the MMORPG.
Anyone feeling nostalgic for old times can rely on WoW Classic. There, a slightly adjusted version of 2005, a Hardcore variant, and a remake of Cataclysm are available. Conveniently, you only need one subscription to access all versions.
For those who prefer it “old yet new,” you can also check out the “Season of Discoveries” in WoW Classic. Here, the Classic world has been enriched with several new gameplay features and secrets.
Is there a catch? Anyone playing WoW must accept the comic graphics and tab-targeting as a combat system. If you enjoy action-oriented gameplay and want to evade attacks with a dodge roll, you’ll need to look to another MMORPG.
Additionally, there is a very limited free version of WoW. There, you can only play up to level 20 out of 80. After that, you need a monthly subscription and for the latest content, also the expansion The War Within, which requires additional payment.
Is it still worth starting in 2026? Definitely yes. WoW offers a comprehensive package that few other MMORPGs can provide. Moreover, the current expansion and the previous addon Dragonflight create a comparatively positive atmosphere.
If you’re looking for a powerful MMORPG with tab targeting, WoW or Final Fantasy XIV are the only alternatives. If you want to tackle the most difficult dungeons and raids in the genre, there are also few alternatives to the genre leader. And the future is secure: release, raids, early access – everything you need to know about the next WoW expansion, Midnight.
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League of Legends has changed significantly over the many years. A player has now shown a direct comparison, and the community got quite nostalgic when reminded of an unfair strategy.
What did the player show in his comparison? In the League of Legends subreddit, a post was shared that shows the first two minutes of a LoL match. It compares the gameplay in 2012 with that in 2026.
While in the first two minutes of 2012, the jungler could only defeat the first camp, the jungler in 2026 literally sprints through his territory and even starts the first gank on a lane.
Due to the latest changes in the first season of 2026, the spawn of minions and jungle monsters has been significantly accelerated, which has not been well received by everyone.
What was that unfair strategy? Over a decade ago, during the loading screen of a LoL match, individual loading bars and the participants’ pings were displayed. Based on this information, the player with the worst PC, a “potato PC”, and internet was chosen to fall victim to the unfair strategy.
Due to the poor PC, LoL ran with fewer FPS than others, and the high ping caused lags, making it difficult for the player to react properly to the surroundings. Some players exploited this disadvantage to farm their victim and gain a significant gold advantage, while the victim could only watch due to lags or FPS drops. The loading bar and ping thus revealed who the easiest target was.
The Reddit user SneakyKillz writes under the post that he set up camp on the respective lanes of the player with the worst ping. He didn’t reveal exactly why he did that, but another player admitted what he did with the “potato players.”
The Reddit user joelstaz confesses to his unfair behavior in the past and writes: “We not only camped the potato player, but the whole lobby also flamed him because he had a potato PC or bad internet. Oh, good times.”
When was the loading screen changed? With update V3.9 on July 9, 2013, the information from the loading screen was removed. The patch notes state that the loading bars were removed due to space constraints, and the ping was removed for no reason (leagueoflegends.fandom.com).
With the new season, some changes were also made to the jungle. The next patch is expected to be released on January 22, 2026, and will buff a champion who was already feared by professionals in the last season: A champ was feared by LoL professionals last season, now he will be even stronger.
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Although the first successful MMORPG on Steam from 2026, Dreadmyst, does not show significant graphical improvements, there is now criticism regarding allegedly stolen game graphics. The developer, on the other hand, is going on the offensive and making his game open source.
What kind of game is this? Dreadmyst is a tab-target MMORPG played from an isometric perspective and launched on Steam in early January 2026. The game focuses primarily on a deep build system, allowing players to customize their characters into something truly special.
The four classes are played quite old-school, and the MMORPG relies on group gameplay for most content. There is also a game mode for PvP players where they can prove who has the best character.
Here you can watch the trailer for Dreadmyst:
What are the allegations? Even before the release, there was ongoing criticism and allegations against the solo developer who is managing the MMORPG entirely on his own. He was supposedly involved in several unsuccessful projects in the past, including WoW private servers that went offline shortly after launch.
New allegations have emerged on Reddit, claiming that the developer did not create his game himself but rather copied it from another title. The game in question is supposed to be “Undead World,” which is currently in early access on Steam. The characters are very similar in graphic style, even though “Undead World” is a pure single-player RPG without MMO elements.
However, the developer has a good explanation for the similarities and even goes a step further.
Why do the games look so similar? The solo developer of Dreadmyst did not paint every tree in his MMORPG by himself. Instead, he used so-called assets, pre-made textures and objects that he purchased and can use for his game.
He not only admits this openly but also clearly displays the licenses on his website Dreadmyst.com. The game “Undead World” on Steam has also purchased some of the same assets and used them in the game. This is why the two titles appear similar, even though there are probably two different developers behind them.
However, the developer of Dreadmyst goes even further. To prevent further accusations and rumors, he is making his MMORPG open source. This means that anyone can view the code of his game and check how the game was developed.
He explains this on Steam and X.com, outlining the fundamental principles on which the game is based during development and how he created it. However, he does not publish the server code, so private servers for the game are not possible for now.
The fact that the solo developer behind the MMORPG is now playing with open cards and ultimately wants to prove that his MMORPG is not too good to be true is a good step. The Steam player numbers are reaching new heights every day, and the success continues: A solo developer releases a complete MMORPG on Steam, becomes a surprise hit, only one weakness becomes apparent
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A new skin in ARC Raiders is making waves among players. While some are desperately searching for the right safe word, others ironically find it good and improve it in their own way.
Which skin is being talked about? It is the “Abyss” skin in ARC Raiders, which has been available in the game since the latest update. In the game, it is described as a “heavily armored suit of the deep” that is said to look quite intimidating with a techno-eye on the helmet.
However, players feel less intimidated when they see it, as can be gathered from the many community reactions on Reddit. The reception is sharply divided between complete disappointment and enthusiasm. This is primarily due to the lower part of the skin, which one could expect to see in the musical “Kinky Boots”:
“Why, Embark… just why,” writes WarpathWilly on Reddit, and ReliefOk1578 also wants Embark to heed his plea: “For God’s sake, give me the chance to take off these BDSM knee pads, and my life belongs to you!”
Others also want Embark to make further changes to the skin. One player takes matters into their own hands, but in a way that most of the community would not have expected.
What improvements has the player made? Player LavishnessDue6 took the design of the Abyss skin into his own hands to improve it. The result was not the removed lacing, but a skin whose entire outfit is worthy of the thigh gear:
The community’s reactions to the revised design are quite positive. They see it not only as a successful joke but actually find it really good.
“This is completely ironically an improvement,” writes Fire_hive, and CorruptDictator admits, “I couldn’t click the buy button fast enough.”
What are these laces actually? Players highlight in the discussions about the skin that the leg lacing has nothing to do with bondage at all, as investornewb explains on Reddit:
“For anyone wondering what it is: It is an anti-G suit that pilots used to wear, and not sexy lingerie :)”
Anti-G pants and suits are for pilots who are exposed to extremely high G-forces during rapid aerial maneuvers. The lacing is meant to prevent blood pooling in the lower body to further support the brain’s blood and oxygen supply.
Alongside the new update, which has given Raiders a sexy skin, the community also received another nice gift. However, if you are hearing about this for the first time now, it is unfortunately too late for you. You can see what you’ve missed here: You should definitely log in to ARC Raiders today if you don’t want to miss out on an exclusive item – especially if you’re new
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NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang represented his company at the world’s largest technology fair. A major topic was the company’s strong AI focus. Social media has not overlooked this, and a user quickly turned him into a meme.
What happened? During CES 2026, user Prior-Arm-6705 posted on Reddit on January 8, 2026, sharing a video that features a compilation of Jensen at the technology fair.
Overall, the company head said the word “AI” at least 121 times during his appearances, clearly indicating NVIDIA’s attitude and focus. However, Jensen himself is convinced that it will still be a few years before we can fully trust AI.
The Redditor later admits that he intentionally used only AI to create his meme video and explains the exact steps.
But not only NVIDIA earns most of its revenue from AI; a Spanish model is actually not real and is still incredibly rich:
Why is the company focusing on AI? The company has been producing chips for graphics cards for years. Therefore, they are, alongside manufacturers like AMD, the main suppliers of GPUs in the gaming sector. However, they have built a much more promising foundation with AI in recent years, which generates significantly more revenue. As a result, many gamers are concerned that NVIDIA is neglecting them for AI. A specialist even posits that gamers are slowly but surely becoming extinct.
With AI, the company generates significantly more revenue compared to all other sources. A chart from Statista from May 2024 shows that AI and Data Centers account for almost 90 percent of revenues, while the gaming sector represents only about 10 percent.
A more recent report from Investopedia shows that NVIDIA also generated about 89 percent in January 2025 from computing and networking, which includes AI, while the remaining 11 percent came from the Graphics department. This is the category that can include gaming graphics cards, among others.
How is the video received by the community? Users liked the Reddit post over 17,000 times, reposting the compilation in various subreddits and commenting actively (as of January 14, 2026):
This is not the first time that the head of the chip manufacturer has made interesting statements on camera. Earlier in 2025, for example, he mentioned in an interview how influential NVIDIA has been and continues to be for the computer industry: Jensen Huang believes: NVIDIA has reduced costs for computers by millions
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Hytale is the new sandbox game for fans of Minecraft. Many interested players want to experience an adventure with their friends, but some of them have problems with multiplayer. We show you how to connect with your friends.
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How can I play with friends? There are two ways to meet up with friends in Hytale. Either you host a game world and let other players join, or you join a world yourself. Hytale uses your router with UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) to establish a secure connection.
Depending on what you want to set up, you will need to follow different steps to meet up with your friends. We explain both options and also provide solutions if there are issues connecting.
To host a world, you should proceed as follows:
Hytale will now communicate with your router to enable UPnP. Once the process is complete, a code will be displayed on your screen. Additionally, the connection status of UPnP and the NAT type will be shown below.
Now click on “Copy to Clipboard” and send the code to your friends. With this, they can join your world.
To join a world, you should proceed as follows:
The client will attempt to establish each connection in order of priority until a connection is successful.
With these steps, you should be able to connect, but some players still report issues when setting up a session. Below we will now show you some solutions that could be the cause of the problem.
In Hytale, there could be various reasons why you cannot join a world or generate codes. We will now provide different solutions for various issues that you can try.
Problem Occurrence: No code has been generated when attempting to generate a code for your world. The system is blocking it and you may receive an error message.
| Reasons | Solutions |
|---|---|
| UPnP is disabled on the router | Log into the administration interface of your router and enable UPnP. |
| Router does not support UPnP | Use manual port forwarding (Source: support.hytale.com) or let one of your friends host the world. |
| Multiple routers are active | Enable UPnP on all routers or connect your PC directly to the main router. |
| Firewall blocks Hytale | Allow Hytale through your firewall. |
Problem Occurrence: The code was successfully generated, but friends cannot connect to the world. The result is timeouts and errors.
| Reasons | Solutions |
|---|---|
| CGNAT | Your internet provider shares a public IP address with multiple customers. Therefore, UPnP port forwarding does not work. Friends should take the role of the host. |
| Firewall blocks incoming traffic | Allow Hytale in the Windows firewall for private and public networks. |
| UPnP mapping expired | Save the online game settings again to update the mapping. |
| Antivirus interference | Temporarily disable or add Hytale as an exception. |
| Internet providers block game ports | Contact your internet provider or use Tailscale (Source: support.hytale.com) |
Those are all the important infos we can provide you for multiplayer in Hytale and creating a game world. If you can offer additional solutions that we haven’t listed, feel free to mention them in the comments – we will then update them. You can find more about Hytale here: Hytale has 2.8 million players at release, surpassing even the warnings from developers, who are pushing the first patch
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Mobile games are on the rise, not only in Asia but also here with us. We have selected for you the 10 best MMORPGs for Android and iOS.
More and more mobile MMORPGs are making their way to the West, and they are even being received positively here. The trend is shifting towards gaming on smartphones, and possible crossplay could lead to even greater interest in the future. Therefore, we present to you the best representatives in the area of mobile MMORPGs in 2026.
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Developer: Jagex | System: Android, iOS, PC | Release Date: 2013 | Model: Free2Play | Rating: 16
What is Old School RuneScape? The MMORPG RuneScape has been expanded and renewed over time. But many players wanted to bring back the old flair of the early 2000s. So the developer Jagex released Old School RuneScape for PC and smartphone.
The MMORPG relies heavily on interaction with other players, crafting, and trading. You can expect countless different “skills” such as sailing or smithing, a gigantic open world with hundreds of quests, and many opportunities to shape your character to your liking.
The special thing about the development of Old School RuneScape is that players decide on new content. Only if 75 percent of all subscribers agree to a feature will it be implemented. However, there are still surprises from time to time, such as the subscription increase 2024.
Positively, reviews highlight that the MMORPG is very lively and you immediately meet players who help you in the unfamiliar environment. Nostalgia is, of course, in the foreground with Old School RuneScape.
Where can I download Old School RuneScape? You can get Old School RuneScape both in the Play Store and in the App Store.
Who should play Old School RuneScape? If you like old MMORPGs where trading, crafting, and community are at the forefront, you are in the right place with Old School RuneScape.
The game includes many features from the original PC MMORPG but has also been equipped with innovations. It is also known for having a community that takes on bizarre challenges and achieves things that create ripples beyond the game.
While it can be played for free, those who want to experience the complete game will eventually have to resort to the subscription. This includes some “skills”, additional maps, mini-games, and more abilities.
Optionally, you can also play the “current” RuneScape 3 on your smartphone. The subscription for Old School RuneScape also automatically includes RuneScape 3. You can find out how RuneScape is currently doing here: With the new boss on board, an MMORPG classic restarts, releasing the biggest update in 12 years
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A proud 8-year-old told his father how he took down an extremely dangerous beast in Monster Hunter Rise. But when the father looked at his son’s equipment, he was astonished – and thanked the community.
What kind of success are we talking about? The father of the boy describes the situation of the Monster Hunter community in a Reddit post. In the r/MonsterHunter subreddit, he shares that his current 8-year-old son has been playing Monster Hunter Rise for a while and has taken down a particularly dangerous monster.
The monster he took down was a Master Rank Magnamalo. The Magnamalo is already an extremely aggressive and agile monster. The Master Rank variant is considered to be even stronger and more dangerous.
After the 8-year-old defeated the monster, the father became curious and took a look at his son’s equipment. What he saw made it clear to him that his son must have been helped by other hunters to get this far.
Monster Hunter Rise debuted as an exclusive game for the Nintendo Switch, but is now also available on Steam:
What was wrong with the boy’s equipment? According to the father, the boy was using only a low-rank Basarios armor and a normal iron bow. Additionally, he only had 32 Zenny, which is a very low amount for the in-game currency. On top of that, he had “exactly two potions” in his inventory.
The boy’s box was still full of monster parts and eggs. Despite his bad gear, he successfully completed many monster hunts. For this reason, the father thanks the monster hunters on Reddit: “A big thank you to the Monster Hunter community for completely carrying him this far.”
What does the community say about this? They are not quite sure yet whether the boy was really carried by other players or if he is just very persistent.
MV stands for Motion Value, which determines the raw damage of your weapon in Monster Hunter.
Another user, on the other hand, wants to know much more how the boy was able to spend so much money – and on what. “I just have to know what he spent all the Zenny on,” writes DegenerateCrocodile on Reddit.
However, one user doubts that one can be carried so hard. “I guess he has incredibly good dodges, because with those stats, a single hit must wipe out the entire life bar.” Another one says, “He’s probably wandering cluelessly across the map, lol.” (Source: Reddit)
The latest game in the action-RPG series is Monster Hunter Wilds. However, the game has struggled with performance issues since release, especially on PC. The developers are now seriously addressing this problem – and an initial update gives hope. You can read more about this here: With Update 4, Monster Hunter Wilds addresses the biggest issue and finally brings back over 100,000 players to the game
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A company is now offering hotel rooms on the moon, but the prices are quite high. Behind this is the vision of a founder who wants to conquer space in the future.
A company called GRU Space has publicly announced that it intends to build multiple habitats on the moon. The highlight will be a hotel, which is said to be inspired by the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
The plans sound ambitious. Within the next 6 years, they aim to achieve their high goals or at least organize the first moon missions. However, traveling to the moon and the corresponding hotel room is not cheap.
On Monday, January 12, 2026, the company invited interested parties to make a deposit between 250,000 and 1 million dollars to secure a spot for one of the first moon missions. That amounts to about 200,000 euros and more for the travel and the hotel room. And keep in mind, this is just a deposit.
But the story gets even more interesting. The magazine Ars Technica reports that GRU Space had only one employee in December 2025: the founder Skyler Chan.
However, the founder seems to be serious about the matter. He stated in an interview with Ars Technica that the goal is to build a whole infrastructure:
I realized that we needed to create a third pillar: the space tourism industry. We could expand a proven market to the moon and build the first hotel there. And once we have built the hotel on the moon, we can expand our structures, like roads, warehouses, and outposts. And then we can repeat that on Mars. So I made that decision.
Why a hotel at all? Founder Chan’s thoughts go far beyond a hotel. His vision is: with a hotel, you give people a reason to go there, and you need the corresponding infrastructure to support people. However, others could also benefit from the created infrastructure. He himself compares it to the ships that brought the first pioneers to North America:
However, we are convinced that the fundamental problem we must solve to bring humanity to the moon and Mars is the colonization of other worlds. We cannot just leave all people on the first ship that sailed to North America, right? We must build the roads, buildings, and offices in which we live today.
The long-term vision is to extract resources from the moon, Mars, asteroids, and beyond to drive the expansion of humanity into space. This is also reflected in the company’s name: the “GRU” in the company’s name stands for “Galactic Resource Utilization.”
What’s next for the project? GRU Space has already received initial funding from Y Combinator, a company that funds startups in exchange for a percentage of the company shares.
With the initial funds, GRU Space aims to complete a three-month organizational program. This is intended to help Chan and his company refine their project and provide them with more opportunities for fundraising.
Players have also been identified as a target audience for trips. Some hotels are perfectly tailored to the needs of specific target groups. In Taiwan, a hotel is now fully geared towards gamers. You can read more about this directly on MeinMMO: Hotels discover gamers as a target audience, creating gamer paradises
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According to a new leak, the developers of Battlefield 6 seem to plan to extend the current season and keep players waiting for new content even longer. They are reacting annoyed.
What is this leak about? According to a new leak, the developers of Battlefield 6 are currently planning to extend the current Season 1. An update is expected on January 20 that will officially announce the extension. New will then likely be an additional bonus path that players can complete on January 27.
Shortly after Valentine’s Day, the leak suggests that Season 1 of Battlefield 6 will end on February 16. One day later, on February 17, 2026, the new Season 2 is expected to start if the leak holds true. For the community, this is not good news, as they are left high and dry.
How do players react to the leak? In a post on Reddit, the new leak is being widely discussed. Fans mainly believe that they have been waiting far too long for new content and that there is currently too little variety.
Player abracadoobra writes on Reddit that he plans to extend his break for a month, until new content arrives.
In contrast, Reddit user Ampleceted_Future thinks that another delay is what everyone wants, adding, “People were unhappy with the direction, so Dice slows down and adjusts while continuing, but people are angry that it takes time?”.
Even though the developers of Battlefield 6 are making an extra effort to develop “the right” content for the game, player numbers are looking anything but rosy. Reddit user Happy_Abbreviations3 clearly expresses his opinion: “Dice is trying to set a new record for the lowest player count. The perfect time to take a month off and hit the gym.”
How is Battlefield 6 doing? Almost no shooter was as popular in 2025 as Battlefield 6, and this was reflected in the player counts at launch. Over 700,000 players started the game simultaneously on Steam, with more players joining on consoles.
Today, Battlefield 6 has only about 75,000 players at peak times during the week, while on weekends it barely reached the 100,000 player mark according to SteamDB.
Battlefield 6 has lost many of its players, which makes the significance of Season 2 even greater, as it is about bringing players back to the battlefield.
The players of Battlefield 6 are hungry for new content. If the developers extend Season 1 and the leak proves true, this could send even more players into a break than have already left. While Battlefield 6 is on the podium of the biggest shooters, one title remains unbeaten: The biggest multiplayer shooters from Fall 2025 in ranking – Which game takes first place?
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Some champions are so strong in League of Legends that even professionals fear them. One of them has had a new role since the last season and is now even stronger there.
Which champ is it? The demonic war hero Aatrox has been a part of League of Legends for over 12 years. He is mostly played on the top lane but has found a new place since the last LoL season.
Due to a buff in November 2025, one of his abilities, where he can swing his sword up to 3 times, dealt more damage to monsters in the jungle. In the KeSPA Cup 2025, he was banned by most pros.
If he was played at all, he was only placed in the jungle. The LoL community on Reddit was surprised that the champ has a larger audience and more success in the jungle than in his original role.
What changes are being made to Aatrox? With the new patch 26.02, which according to the Riot website is set to release on January 22, 2026, Aatrox’s ability that made him so strong in the jungle will be buffed. Here are the changes:
Additionally, his passive ability will be improved, allowing Aatrox to heal based on his maximum health.
What do players say about the changes? In the LoL subreddit, the complete patch notes for the upcoming update were shared.
The Reddit user notsureiftwins questions why Aatrox is being buffed and writes: “I know I am just Emerald/Diamond (the rank), but this is really funny: [Aatrox] goes ahead in 90% of my games and just melts people away. Raid boss style.”
What is Aatrox’s win rate? Another Reddit user wonders why Aatrox is being buffed in the jungle when he is currently having problems on the top lane. According to leagueofgraphs.com, Aatrox has a win rate of about 47% on the top lane across all ranks, which is still his most played position.
Even in the jungle, the demonic war hero has a win rate of approximately 47%. The exception is at the highest ranks (Master and above), where Aatrox has an impressive win rate of 52% in the jungle (as of January 14, 2026).
The first season of 2026 has changed a lot in League of Legends. Overall, the patch notes are 83 pages long and have significantly altered the gameplay as well as champs and items. The champion Rengar has particularly benefited and received over 17 bug fixes: The new season in LoL brings 83 pages of patch notes, and they are especially good for one champ
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MeinMMO demon Cortyn has to hold back hard not to lose composure. Because the biggest promise of World of Warcraft Midnight is currently being taken.
There are few expansions I look forward to as much as Midnight. I love Quel’Thalas and the Blood Elves and have been a big fan of Xal’atath – ever since she was my Artifact weapon in Legion. Now housing has also come and brought WoW very close to perfection for me. The last issue was the (often deemed necessary) addons that one could use for raids or dungeons. Those should disappear soon as well. I thought. But Blizzard is diluting its own red line.
World of Warcraft Midnight is supposed to lead Blizzard’s MMORPG into a new era. Not only is the overhaul of the fundamental game systems continuing, but an important thing is also on the agenda: the “disarmament” of interface addons.
The Game Director of World of Warcraft wrote a long blog post about this and made it clear what is to be achieved: Interface addons should no longer provide any gameplay advantage. This means that pretty much all addons that extract any information from fights will no longer function.
Untouched will be addons that are purely visual or represent accessible information visually differently. Cosmetic adjustments should therefore still be available, as well as role-playing addons or databases that help in farming (like the addon “All The Things”).
At the same time, Blizzard is providing its own solutions for many addons, such as an internal “Damage Meter” or a timeline on which you can see when a boss uses special abilities. This aims to ensure that all information is accessible to everyone and that addons never become a necessity or expectation.
When the beta of Midnight launched, it was clear how serious Blizzard was about this. Addon authors, like those from WeakAuras, quickly threw in the towel and said: With these restrictions, we will no longer exist.
The cuts were so drastic that even primarily cosmetic addons like ElvUI also stated: We can’t continue like this.
The developers at Blizzard then communicated closely with the addon authors to loosen restrictions and give cosmetic addons back the freedoms they need.
Basically, this is a good thing – but we all know how the World of Warcraft community works. As soon as there is a way to exploit something and gain even a minimal advantage, there will also be addons that implement it.
An example mentioned by YouTuber and analyst Bellular in his latest video is “Northern Sky Raid Tools”. You can see the relevant passage from minute 2:22 to minute 5:38:
Why does this work? Because you set everything that can be set on an external website before the actual fight. You specify which characters participate in the boss fight and also which characters have which tasks – such as, which enemies need to be interrupted by whom. Then you receive lines of code that you insert into the addon in the game.
Since most boss fights have a fixed timer for when things happen, these are not “live information” from the fight – but rather prepared calls that are then converted into clear readable information. This makes it possible to display a big “INTERUPT THIS MOB” directly on the enemies’ health bars – without having to find out which mob actually belongs to which character.
And yes, strictly speaking, these are not combat information, but simply complex agreements made beforehand. However, for most it is probably clear that in the end it is just WeakAuras with extra steps
.
Not so badis still bad enough
Bellular believes that we should not view the whole situation so negatively. Because the new possibilities are still not as powerful as addons like “WeakAuras” currently are. Additionally, one would have to install a variety of addons to even come close to the capabilities currently possible with WeakAuras. This would only be interesting for hardcore raiders playing at the top mythical level and should have no significance for the vast majority of players.
I see it differently. If there is a possibility to gain gameplay-relevant tactical advantages through addons that go beyond just cosmetic interface adjustments, then that will also be utilized. Right now, in World of Warcraft, what “the pros” use is slowly trickling down, and more and more is seen as necessary by larger parts of the community.
I have no reason to believe that things will be different with Midnight when Blizzard does not cut addons as heavily as initially announced.
From my perspective, there are only two ways Blizzard can salvage this situation.
Because now we have the absurd situation that World of Warcraft Midnight starts with the pre-patch already next week, but “addons with advantages” somehow still exist – they are just slightly less powerful and significantly more difficult to implement. But they exist and can be used. This is exactly the opposite of what was promised and aimed for.
Fair is fair, Blizzard still has a few weeks of buffer time between the pre-patch and the actual release of Midnight at the beginning of March. But Blizzard needs to act quickly and clearly state where they actually want to go with addons. Because the “red line” has already been diluted again to the point that one could say with some cynicism: It all essentially remains as it is.
The big initiative that World of Warcraft wanted to create for more equality and fair conditions for everyone, regardless of whether with or without addons, seems to be more than just cracked.
My clear opinion on this: Kill all combat addons. I want to see a World of Warcraft where addons are only cosmetic. I want to see the developers’ vision that they have built an entire expansion around, with fights designed so that powerful addons belong to the past.
Do not deviate from this goal. It was simply not enough to just “disarm WeakAuras”. All other addons that provide any gameplay advantage in combat must be eliminated. In this respect, I am clearly for a “all or nothing” variant. Because if it is not done “all the way”, addons will end up being a requirement for many groups. In the end, it hinders everyone, who would like to get back into World of Warcraft.
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The quest “Industrial Espionage” is one of the trickier ones in ARC Raiders. We show you how to solve it quickly and as safely as possible.
What kind of quest is this? You receive the quest from the merchant Tian Wen and need to deliver a weapon to a weapons depot. For this, you must go to the map “Buried City” and find the corresponding depot. In our guide, we show you the best way to do this.
Important: You only need to deliver the weapon there. You do not have to successfully reach an extraction point afterwards and can complete the quest directly during the match.
However, you need to have the weapon (Burletta) with you – if you accidentally sold or recycled it, you will need to craft a new one. You cannot simply restart the quest or obtain a new one from Tian Wen.
Here you will find the weapons depot for the quest: Once you start your match on the “Buried City” map, you should head to the gas station map point. You will find it in the north of the map. Then, look out for a square container in the western part of the region. It is located near an old bridge ruin and a bus buried in the sand.
We have highlighted the region on the map in green for you:
If you want to be as cautious as possible and avoid encountering enemies, it is advisable to bypass the loot zones in the region (the library and the hospital; shown in red on the map). There, you are likely to encounter other players.
When you approach the crate, it should display “1/1 Burletta”; otherwise, you have likely lost the weapon somewhere or disposed of it in some other way. Interact with the container, and you will automatically complete the quest.
You can then decide whether to continue playing the match or escape directly through an extraction point. The next point is quite a distance south of you.
If you want to complete quests in ARC Raiders, your heart might race, as other Raiders or ARCs could quickly spoil your plans. One player has ranked all outfits based on how likely you are to get shot while wearing them: Players of ARC Raiders ranked 30 outfits based on how likely you are to get shot in the shooter while wearing them
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A little girl discovered a character from the Anime My Hero Academia about a year ago. She realized that they have some things in common. Her discovery moved several people in charge.
What is this commonality? About a year ago, a little girl known as Windy-chan discovered a plush toy from My Hero Academia. The plush toy represented the character Shoto Todoroki, who, just like the girl, has a scar on his face.
The video of her discovery spread so far, that even the original Japanese voice actor and the author of the manga reached out. The voice actor mentioned the character’s sad past and expressed how glad he was that such a sad story could make other people’s lives easier.
As a new video shows, even more positive things have happened to the girl: Windy-chan not only got to meet the English-speaking voice actor of the character but also received a really great gift.
How did she meet the English-speaking voice actor? On X, it’s shown how David Matranga meets the little girl. The two meet at a convention where Matranga is present for photos and autographs.
Windy-chan even dressed up as Shoto and carries the very doll she discovered in the store back then. The meeting is heartwarming. Of course, he signs a figure of Shoto for the little girl, at least the base on which the figure stands. Additionally, he takes a group photo with the whole family that they can now display at home.
Afterward, Windy-chan asks who Matranga’s favorite character is. He responds that he’s very biased, and of course, Shoto is his favorite.
What kind of gift did she receive? The streaming service Crunchyroll sent the little girl a complete package of surprises. In a picture on X, she can be seen proudly holding up 2 plush toys of Shoto and Tanjiro from Demon Slayer.
Unfortunately, there will be no more new stories about Shoto. Both the anime and the manga of My Hero Academia have now concluded. The last episode brought plenty of tears to the fans: The last episode of My Hero Academia shows what became of the heroes, bringing fans to tears
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The movies of The Lord of the Rings by director Peter Jackson have enjoyed great popularity since their release. This also applies to the Extended Cuts, which are the longer versions. Jackson has now commented on rumors of an even more extensive version.
No matter if as a book or in the film adaptation – The Lord of the Rings is an epic. The story takes some time due to the numerous characters, locations, and plot lines.
As is often the case, there are also different versions of The Lord of the Rings. On one hand, the theatrical version, which lasts about 558 minutes across all three films. On the other hand, the so-called Extended Cuts, which are more detailed versions that last a total of 683 minutes, over 11 hours.
But that is still not enough for many fans. For years, there have been rumors about another cut, the so-called “Mithril Cut”.
What is the Mithril Cut? In short: a longer version of The Lord of the Rings, basically an Extended-Extended-Cut. Fans believe there are more secret scenes that were never released but would add further content to the film universe.
The name “Mithril” refers to a valuable metal that is very rare and resistant. Frodo receives a shirt made from this material in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” which saves him from the otherwise deadly blade of the Witch King of Angmar.
Does the Mithril Cut really exist? As is often the case with such rumors, they seem to become more real the longer they exist. But now someone who should know has responded: Peter Jackson, the director of the trilogy.
In a conversation with Empire, he must disappoint the fans. The Mithril Cut never existed and does not exist. He elaborates:
Are there great scenes that we never used? The answer is no. There are a few little things here and there, I think. But if one were to release an Extended-Extended-Cut version or whatever you want to call it, it would be disappointing. It would be an Extended Cut version with a few extra seconds here and there; it wouldn’t be worth making.
Peter Jackson
The rumors have arisen because in the past, individual scenes were mentioned that never appear in the film. For example, one where you get to see a young Aragorn. As it turns out, those were just fragments of scenes that would offer little added value.
So no new material for the fans? While Peter Jackson disappoints all those who were waiting for the Mithril Cut, he raises hopes for a possible documentary about The Lord of the Rings.
According to the director, in addition to the already very detailed making-ofs (available on the DVDs and Blu-rays), there are still more alternative scenes and bloopers. All of this could be combined in a future, long documentary. But when and if that will really happen is left open by Jackson. Until then, we can continue to enjoy the high quality of the actual films: The Lord of the Rings trilogy still looks fantastic after 2 decades; we owe that to a technology that is over 113 years old
So no new material for the fans? While Peter Jackson disappoints all those who were waiting for the Mithril Cut, he raises hopes for a possible documentary about The Lord of the Rings.
According to the director, in addition to the already very detailed making-ofs (available on the DVDs and Blu-rays), there are still more alternative scenes and bloopers. All of this could be combined in a future, long documentary. But when and if that will really happen is left open by Jackson. Until then, we can continue to enjoy the high quality of the actual films: The Lord of the Rings trilogy still looks fantastic after 2 decades; we owe that to a technology that is over 113 years old
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A leading developer of ARC Raiders has talked about the game’s matchmaking and shared information that “rats” might interpret as a warning.
Who is warning here?
What is this warning to the rats? Watkins says that the game can determine if someone is shooting you sneakily in the back. “We can track who shoots first and who takes damage,” he explains.
As Embark’s CEO Patrick Söderlund confirmed back in December, your playstyle affects which lobbies you enter. So if you often shoot other players in the back, the game recognizes that, and you will more frequently enter lobbies with other players who also shoot first.
Watkins then explains that the game, however, cannot discern intent or morality, only who lands hits on another raider first:
“If I am a very bad player and you are a good player, and I am the attacker and just miss all my shots while you defend yourself, then the game doesn’t know what the intent was. It only saw that you defeated me because I am so bad.”
So if you want to ensure that the game does not label you as the aggressor in a conflict between raiders, you might just have to let yourself be hit first.
For the developers of ARC Raiders, PvP is a part of the game, but not the sole focus. It contributes to the tension and atmosphere of the shooter. Therefore, the developers do not plan to further encourage PvP with systems like PvP leaderboards. You can read more about it here: ARC Raiders does not intend to promote PvP in the future, which is why it is foregoing a well-known system: “It’s not about shooting other players”
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If tabletop adventures are cancelled, it can be frustrating. But for fans of the Anime Overlord, that is the reason why the series even exists.
Anime often have a curious backstory. Because it’s not always just the author’s diligence that brings a work to life – sometimes it’s also a pinch of frustration. That was the case with Overlord. The author, Kugane Murayama, actually wanted to play tabletop with his friends.
But because the sessions kept getting cancelled, he instead wrote Overlord during that time – both the manga and the series became a huge success.
What did the author say? In an interview (mypage.syosetsu) eight years ago, Murayama explained how Overlord came to be. To which he replied:
One of the reasons I started writing is the fact that my [tabletop] group no longer met regularly. Even in the setting of Overlord, the RPG plays a significant role.
Elsewhere, he clarified that this tabletop game was Dungeons&Dragons. Thus, it is clear: We have the (somewhat unreliable) tabletop group of Murayama to thank for both the Overlord books and the anime ever being released.
What is Overlord about? Overlord takes place in the world of the MMORPG “YGGDRASIL” – at least at the beginning. Because the game is being shut down. The player with the character “Momonga” logs in one last time to settle in the guild hall of his “monster guild”. In the process, he reflects on past adventures and waits for the servers to be shut down.
But time passes and … nothing happens. The game world continues to run, and the NPCs suddenly come to life. Momonga then takes the name of his guild “Ainz Ooal Gown” and plans to dominate the game world – with the wealth of his guild and all the NPCs he and his former teammates have gathered over the years.
How has D&D influenced Overlord? How strongly Overlord is influenced by Dungeons&Dragons can be noticed in almost every episode. The entire magic system in the series is based on D&D – both the “levels” of the various spells and many of the abilities themselves. Almost all have a counterpart in tabletop or are even directly taken from it.
While the levels in YGGDRASIL (the PC game that the protagonist merges with) differ, as levels up to 100 (and possibly higher) can be achieved there – in D&D, it generally caps around level 30 with epic creatures.
Overlord, like many other modern anime, belongs to the so-called “isekai” genre, where characters from the real world are transported to a fantasy world and then experience adventures with their knowledge and often special abilities. We have introduced some of the best isekai anime here.
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A customer is buying a powerful computer for AI content. The machine has more video memory (VRAM) than RAM for a good reason. In AI, CPU and RAM play a lesser role, while the graphics card and its VRAM are much more important.
A user reports on Reddit that a friend of his works at a PC company that professionally assembles PC systems for buyers. A customer is said to have ordered a special PC system: a machine with 4 RTX-4090 graphics cards and 64 GB of RAM.
The special thing about the system: The 4 graphics cards alone have more video memory than the entire computer has RAM. A standard RTX 4090 has 24 GB of VRAM, which totals 96 GB of video memory.
How much did the system cost? The user explains that the customer paid about 16,000 US dollars for the PC, including assembly, shipping, and warranty. This is approximately 14,000 euros.
What is not known? It is not known which CPU, which motherboard, how much system memory, and what kind of case are installed. According to another comment on Reddit, the case is said to be a specific custom model from a Chinese manufacturer. The motherboard offers 8 slots for RAM, so it is likely to be a specific motherboard.
And what is the expensive hardware used for? According to the user’s statement, the customer wants to use the system to deploy AI models locally. This at least explains the need for the graphics cards.
Why is VRAM more important than RAM? The computer is primarily intended for generative AI use. A lot of RAM does not bring significant advantages in generative AI. RAM only becomes important, as a user explains on Reddit, when you want to save intermediate steps, called checkpoints.
Video memory has the advantage that you can already fit the entire AI model into this memory. The important and large models are then at 20 GB and more. Processor and RAM play a less important role here because VRAM is significantly faster than normal RAM and is much more directly connected to the graphics card and its graphics processor.
Neural networks, for example, require many parallel calculations simultaneously, which graphics cards are particularly good at. The more video memory is available, the faster and easier it goes. Running these calculations on a CPU that then accesses normal RAM would be significantly slower.
Why is this a good offer? Several users explain that 14,000 euros for such a system is quite fair, considering the current market situation. Particularly in light of the rising prices for hardware. Because it is still unclear when prices will stop rising.
Just the four graphics cards and 64 GB of RAM are expected to be significantly more expensive in a few months than they are currently. One user writes that the offer is better than he thought. Another adds: “With the 5k cards that are coming soon, it sounds almost like a good deal.”
A user bought 1 TB of RAM for around 1,400 US dollars. A few months later, the hardware is worth 10,000 US dollars to his surprise. He wanted to sell it much earlier but forgot about it: A user bought 1 TB of RAM and 20 TB of storage for 1,200 euros a few months ago: Today the hardware is worth more than 8,500 euros
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