Next week, after 9 years, a new installment of the legendary Tekken series is finally being released. For MeinMMO author Nikolas Hernes, it is the most anticipated game of the year because it reminds him of his childhood.
Tekken 8 will be released next week on January 26, 2024, and is the latest installment of the fighting game series after 9 years. Along with Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, the game is one of the biggest representatives of the fighting game genre and aims to offer an incredible amount of content.
In addition to a story mode and a classic arcade mode, there are more single-player modes, as well as some features designed to prepare beginners for online modes. However, for me personally, that’s even secondary, because I’ve loved the Tekken series since Tekken 3, especially because it always reminds me of how I used to fight virtually with my family for hours.
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Tekken 8 Gameplay – Game Awards Trailer
Tekken is not just a family affair for me in the game
At its core, Tekken revolves around a family feud of the Mishima family. This conflict has been ongoing for decades and usually ends with one being thrown into a volcano. The other quirky characters have their own little stories in their arcade endings.
I love the characters of the Tekken series. Especially because everyone takes themselves so incredibly seriously. A bear is trained by Heihachi and loved more than his own sons? Wrestlers wear tiger masks and talk by roaring, and everyone understands that? These are things that happen in Tekken and are simply taken seriously in this world.
This seriousness with such silly premises has taught me to love many of the characters. At the same time, I associate many iconic characters with my family, because I grew up playing Tekken.
When I was younger, we often went on holiday to my grandma’s in Poland. Alongside us was the PlayStation 2 and Tekken 5. We played the game with my grandma for hours, gradually unlocking new characters. Everyone had their favorites. As a fan of Kung-Fu movies, Feng Wei was my father’s favorite. My sister loved to mash buttons with Eddy, and my mother enjoyed fighting with Marshall Law or Nina.
And my grandma was also there. She usually didn’t play video games besides Facebook farm games, but she was all in with Tekken. There were nights when I had already fallen asleep and heard button mashing from the living room at night. The next morning, suddenly all characters were unlocked.
Tekken is a great game for beginners
Don’t get me wrong, Tekken is an incredibly difficult and complex game at the highest level. You have nearly endless possibilities to express yourself with the characters. However, unlike Street Fighter, which requires moves like quarter circles with the stick, you can mash the buttons in Tekken, and it still looks spectacular on screen.
If you don’t take the game with friends and family seriously for a casual evening, even total gaming noobs can have moments of success when they pull off a good-looking combo on the screen. Many people hate Eddy, but a character like him is perfect for players who just want to play for an evening with friends.
Tekken 8 seems even more effective. It looks more cinematic in the fights and the characters are more flamboyant and, in my opinion, cooler designed than before. Additionally, several single-player modes have been announced, along with new training opportunities.
I am really excited to play the game next week. I want to improve and play online, but I’m also looking forward to the single-player content. However, my biggest anticipation is playing with my friends who may not be hard-core gamers to show them why Tekken is one of the best game series of all time.
Palworld has been in Early Access on Xbox and Steam since Friday. Since then, it has been surpassing its own player records almost hourly. The survival game is now bigger than some of the best releases of the past few years. MeinMMO has taken a look at how successful Palworld is.
Update 12:35 – The original version of the article stated that Palworld was in 2nd place among the most played paid titles after Cyberpunk 2077. Palworld has just broken the mark of 1,060,000 concurrent players, so we have adjusted the article accordingly.
What is Palworld? This is probably something that hardly needs explaining at this point. The unusual survival game has been in Early Access since January 19, 2024, and has been on a seemingly unstoppable winning streak ever since.
If, despite all the hype, you haven’t heard anything about the game yet, we have summarized the most important information for you. Although Palworld has only been released in Early Access, it has already broken several records. Learn how successful “Pokémon with guns” is here.
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Palworld showcases the small monsters in massive action in the early access trailer
Palworld is bigger than Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring
What records are these? These achievements are all tied to a magical number that Palworld broke on the morning of January 21, 2024, our time: the mark of 1 million concurrent players. This catapults the survival game to 6th place among the games with the highest player records on Steam (via SteamDB).
Specifically, this means:
Palworld has broken the player records of Baldur’s Gate 3, New World, and even Elden Ring – 3 of the biggest releases in recent years.
The survival title from developer Pocketpair is also the Japanese game with the most concurrent players of all time on Steam, as the studio itself shared on X.
In the most played games on Steam, free titles usually dominate. On January 21, 2024, Palworld surpassed Cyberpunk 2077, making it the paid game with the most concurrent players on Steam.
Palworld was neck-and-neck with Cyberpunk (via SteamDB)
How is Palworld doing otherwise? Besides these specific achievements, Palworld is currently doing exceedingly well. It sold 1 million copies within 8 hours after launch and reached the mark of 3 million sales within 40 hours (via X).
On Steam, it is currently the best-selling game, ahead of the free enduring classic Counter-Strike. Unfortunately, such numbers are not available for Xbox, but it is expected that many players are taking advantage of the Game Pass offer and playing Palworld for free there.
However, not everyone is happy with Palworld’s success. Some Pokémon fans complain that it has borrowed too much from Nintendo’s popular creature collector. However, that doesn’t seem to detract from the overall mood, as the survival game currently has a 93% positive rating on Steam.
Friends of refined end-time entertainment, listen up: At the end of January, a new film will be released on Netflix, which already hints in the trailer at a mix of Mad Max and zombie movies. The main actor is already familiar with the undead.
What film is it about? Badland Hunters is a new film from the streaming provider Netflix. It is a South Korean production.
The story revolves around the aftermath of a severe earthquake in the region surrounding the South Korean metropolis of Seoul. The city and the surrounding areas have been largely destroyed, the buildings have collapsed, and only a few people are still fighting for survival.
This immediately reminds film lovers of Mad Max. Similar to George Miller’s gasoline-fueled action series (which will continue in 2024), various factions have also formed within the apocalyptic world of Badland Hunters. They are fighting for bare survival, even with violence. There seems to be no longer any law and order.
One of the titular hunters sets out on a mission to rescue a teenager who has been kidnapped by a crazed doctor.
The dusty, dirty images of the trailer already create the right end-time mood:
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Badland Hunters | Official Trailer | Netflix
The lead role is played by an actor from Eternals
Who is behind the project? As seen in the trailer, the South Korean actor Ma Dong-seok plays the lead role. Film lovers in the West may know him from his role in the Marvel production Eternals. He plays Gilgamesh, a warrior known for his legendary battles.
Zombie fans may also know the actor from Train to Busan. The Korean zombie film from 2016 is among the highest-rated Korean films on IMDb. The passengers of a train must deal with the repercussions of a zombie apocalypse. This means: nail-biting tension, and fast, merciless undead that pounce on their victims.
The trailer for Badland Hunters reminds in some places of Train to Busan: Here too, the survivors seem to have to fight not only against their fellow humans but also against fast-running zombies. By the way, fast zombies first appeared in a completely different film.
A player has built a unique desk PC. The trained engineer has been very careful in doing so. The detailed planning and actual construction have occupied him for a year.
Modern cases for gaming PCs often have a major commonality despite different designs. With glass side panels, the hardware inside can be inspected at any time. However, an engineer with a sense of style and elegance puts these off-the-shelf cases in the shade with his desk PC.
His gaming PC in a desk also allows a clear view of the components. At this point, the comparison with the mentioned cases ends directly. He spent a year building a computer in a unique piece of furniture (via ericmaglio.com).
His construction with powerful hardware and a custom water cooling system excites the community on Reddit.
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Manufacturer shows sleek case, gamers are thrilled: “Great design! Goes directly onto my wishlist”
Engineer creates unique desk PC with water cooling
What kind of computer is this? The desk PC of engineer Eric is a fully-fledged gaming PC. The desk in which the hardware is installed was custom-made for this project. All components are coordinated and were neatly integrated into the desk.
His goal was to create a unique system with style and sufficient performance for gaming and compute-intensive applications. In selecting the appropriate hardware, he focused primarily on aesthetics and the simplest installation in the desk.
What hardware is in the desk? Based on his criteria and availability at the time of the project, the choice fell on the following components:
For water cooling, he used a system from EK Water Blocks. Eric painstakingly crafted the pipe connections for the water cooling by hand. While several fans on the left side of the desk provide fresh air in the desk PC, the fans on the right side expel the warm air of the water cooling through a radiator out of the construction.
How did he approach the project? From previous projects, the engineer was used to first creating a CAD model. This allowed him to plan even the smallest details in advance and reduce any nasty surprises in the further work to a minimum.
Before the actual manufacturing of the desk, Eric opted for a test environment that he installed on a wooden board. This way, he could check his previous calculations for cable lengths and hole positions one last time. After his design passed all tests, the engineer began the final manufacturing.
What materials are in the desk? In addition to the hardware and water cooling, wood was used for the desk construction and an acrylic plate as a mounting fixation for the PC components.
With the help of friends and woodworking and CNC machines, he was able to shape the material into the desired form. He considered the final assembly to be child’s play. With this, he referred to the previous test setup, which he could now replicate 1:1.
How does the community react to his project? In his Reddit post, there are many enthusiastic users congratulating him on his unique project.
In Diablo 4, players will receive a mechanical companion – the Steward – in Season 3. You can find out how it works and what powers the guiding and tuning stones have on MeinMMO.
“Season of the Construct” starts on January 23 in Diablo 4 and brings several new features. The main feature will be a mechanical companion that you can customize with different stones:
You can equip 2 guiding stones that determine how your companion behaves – one for each attack.
6 tuning stones act as “runes” or affixes that change or enhance abilities.
In total, there are 12 guiding stones and 27 tuning stones.
Below you will learn what the Steward is and what guiding and tuning stones will be available.
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Diablo 4: The Announcement Trailer for Season 3
The Steward, a loyal companion in Sanctuary
What is the Steward? The Steward is a mechanical companion that supports you in battle – or keeps your back covered. You can customize the Steward to fit your builds, allowing you to get the most out of them in combination with your companion.
How do I get the Steward? You will receive the Steward companion during the seasonal questline. This way, the Steward will complement your adventures in Season 3 of Diablo 4 by equipping him with guiding and tuning stones.
Once you have obtained your Steward, he will follow you throughout all of Sanctuary until the end of the season.
All guiding and tuning stones and their powers
What stones are available? In total, there are 12 guiding stones and 27 different tuning stones with varying rarity. With the stones, you can customize your Steward to fit your playstyle and your build.
You can increase the experience level of the stones by collecting or crafting duplicate stones and combining them. The guiding stones determine which attacks your Steward can perform, while the tuning stones complement and enhance these abilities.
With guiding stones, your Steward can attack from stealth and deal massive damage to enemies, unleash bolts or fire beams, or provide healing or an adrenaline boost to the player character, thereby increasing their damage.
All 12 guiding stones and their powers to expand
Auto-defense: The Steward construct activates an antimatter field around itself, shooting down enemy projectiles in the air. Cannot shoot projectiles from bosses or player characters.
Ambush: A quick attack from stealth that damages any target. Can hit the same target multiple times.
Fireflies: Deploys a small construct that lands on the target, explodes 3 times, and deals damage.
Focus-fire: The Steward construct channels a fire beam onto the targets, dealing damage over time.
Whirling: The Steward construct whirls its legs rapidly, dealing damage to all surrounding enemies.
Piercing: Executes an attack against all enemies in a straight line in front of the Steward construct, dealing damage in the process.
Lightning strike: Strikes a target with lightning, dealing damage. Bounces to additional targets, dealing a portion of the original damage.
Protection: The Steward construct creates a protective barrier equal to a portion of its maximum health around the player character.
Reconstruction: The Steward construct channels a healing beam that heals the player character over time for a portion of their maximum health.
Slashing: Strikes opponents in front of the Steward construct, dealing damage.
Storm Chaser: Inflicts an electrical charge on an enemy, dealing damage to itself and other enemies every second. If the enemy is killed, Storm Chaser jumps to another enemy and gains a longer duration and additional bonus damage. These bonuses also apply when Storm Chaser is applied again to the same enemy.
Adrenaline Boost: Administers a quick adrenaline boost, causing the player character to deal bonus damage temporarily.
The tuning stones can grant bonuses to effect size or attack speed to supportive skills, reduce their cooldown, increase their duration, or decrease the movement speed of affected enemies.
All 27 tuning stones and their powers to expand
Voluminous Support: Increases the effect size of the supported skill.
Swift Support: The supported skill receives an attack speed bonus.
Shatter Support: Damage dealt by the supported skill instantly destroys enemy barrier effects. Additionally, there is a chance to make enemies vulnerable for 2 seconds.
Tactical Support: Reduces the cooldown of the supported skill.
Efficiency Support: Causes the supported skill to deal damage, granting you critical hit chance for affected targets.
Devastation Support: The supported skill receives a damage bonus for critical hits.
Safeguard Support: When the supported skill is used, it grants damage reduction.
Cold Support: A portion of the damage dealt by the supported skill counts as cold damage over time, causing chilling effects.
Burning Support: A portion of the damage dealt by the supported skill counts as burning damage over time. Burning enemies receive additional critical hit damage from the Steward construct.
Shock Support: A portion of the damage dealt by the supported skill counts as lightning damage, which has a chance to stun enemies.
Bleeding Support: A portion of the damage dealt by the supported skill counts as bleeding damage over time. Enemies receive bonus bleeding damage from all sources while moving.
Poison Support: A portion of the damage dealt by the supported skill counts as poison damage over time. This poison damage has a chance to spread to another enemy every second.
Dusk Support: A portion of the damage dealt by the supported skill counts as shadow damage over time. For attacking enemies affected by this, there’s a chance their attacks will be interrupted. Bosses cannot be interrupted.
Duration Support: Increases the duration of supported skills.
Stalwart Support: When the Steward construct uses the supported skill, you gain Stalwart. Skills with lower attack speed and skills with cooldowns increase the granted amount of Stalwart.
Resource Support: The player character receives a portion of primary resources when the supporting skill first deals damage.
Initiative Support: The supported skill makes the Steward construct teleport to the target if it is out of range. Can only happen once every few seconds.
Arc Support: The supported skill can hit additional enemies.
Multi-shot Support: Supported projectile skills fire additional projectiles.
Piercing Support: The supported projectile skill pierces additional enemies.
Pulling Support: Damage and effects caused by the supporting skill on distant enemies pull them towards the Steward construct. Can only occur intermittently per enemy.
Registered Damage Support: All damage dealt by the supported skill is recorded. The recorded damage explodes with effectiveness as fire damage when the target dies.
Seeking Support: The supported projectile skill automatically seeks out enemies for a duration.
Slowing Support: Damage dealt by the supported skill slows the enemy’s movement speed for a limited duration. The closer the enemy is to the Steward construct, the greater the slowing effect. Enemies can be slowed up to a maximum amount.
Taunting Support: Damage dealt by the supporting skill taunts affected enemies for a limited duration. This can only occur intermittently per enemy. Does not apply to bosses.
Where can I find the stones? There are various ways to obtain the tuning and guiding stones. By completing vaults, the new dungeons in Season 3, you will receive a random tuning stone. You can also find the stones in so-called wire-woven chests that await you at the end of the dungeons.
If you’re lucky, you can find both types of stones as loot from vaults. By defeating constructs in the vaults, you will receive “Shattered Stone,” which you can use to craft stones at jewelers.
Do you also have the constant problem in Pokémon GO that your bag is full? We will show you which items you can do without.
What is the problem? The item bag in Pokémon GO has a limited capacity. You can increase it with PokéCoins, but that is either expensive or takes a long time if you are relying only on the daily free PokéCoins.
Therefore, it is important to part with items that are not of the highest relevance. This way, you ensure that you have space for the truly important items and can rely on them when you need them.
We will list the items you can do without here.
Balls, Potions, Berries, and Stones in Abundance
Which balls can be discarded? If your inventory is full and you have an abundance of items, you can part with your Poké Balls. Great Balls and Ultra Balls are better suited for catching Pokémon, so you can confidently do without the classic Poké Balls.
Poké Balls are also easy to obtain from PokéStops and by spinning Gym discs in case you have parted with too many Poké Balls.
Trailer for the current season Timeless Travels.
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Pokémon GO shows the new season “Timeless Travels” in the trailer
Which potions can be discarded? It is similar with regular potions and super potions. Here too, there are better alternatives with hyper and max potions, which also heal more hit points of your Pokémon and are therefore more space-efficient.
When you revive defeated Pokémon with max revives, you also do not need any additional potions to get your Pokémon back in shape.
Which berries can be discarded? For the Raspberry, there is a better alternative with the Golden Raspberry, which is not quite as easy to obtain. However, if you have more than enough Golden Raspberries, you can part with your normal ones or at least reduce the amount.
If you rarely or never use Nanab Berries, you can also reduce their quantity and thus create space in your item bag. Both Raspberries and Nanab Berries can also be quickly collected again from PokéStops and Gym discs.
Which evolution stones can be discarded? Some Pokémon require special items to evolve. These items are evolution stones, such as the Sun Stone, Sinnoh Stone, or Dragon Scale. If you have already evolved the Pokémon that require such evolution stones, you can also minimize the number you keep.
If there are events in Pokémon GO featuring Pokémon that require an evolution stone, there are always suitable stones as rewards through limited research or field research. This way, you can quickly obtain the evolution stones when needed for new Pokémon.
You can also fight the team leaders daily, which can also yield evolution stones. What other options you have to obtain evolution stones can be found in our checklist to receive daily rewards in Pokémon GO.
How about you? Is your item bag constantly full and do you have to sort it out regularly? Which items do you do without and which ones can you never have enough of? Feel free to write it to us in the comments. You can also find an overview of the events in January 2024 in Pokémon GO with us.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
How well is World of Warcraft doing right now? MyMMO demon Cortyn believes: It probably won’t get any better than 2023 in the coming years.
After another successful visit to heroic Amirdrassil, there was a lengthy discussion in my raid group’s Discord on Thursday about the current state of World of Warcraft. A somewhat grumpy warrior believed that World of Warcraft was at a low point – nothing was fun for him anymore. It had been the “worst year for WoW in a long time.”
The (surprisingly objective) discussion that ensued led us to reflect on the entire year since the release of Dragonflight. Ultimately, most – myself included – came to the conclusion:
World of Warcraft had its best year in 2023 since the game’s release in 2004, even if many will only appreciate that in a few years.
More content than ever before – and nothing is mandatory
When you look at the sheer amount of content patches that World of Warcraft has received since the release of Dragonflight, it’s quite impressive. It’s hard to comprehend how long Shadowlands made us wait and how quickly fresh content is now coming in “continuous firing”. A new patch every 6-8 weeks with a handful of quests and smaller activities to get lost in.
Yes, not every patch offers weeks of entertainment for everyone. But each patch contains at least a little something to look forward to. Whether it’s mount collectibles, new toys, pets, small story quests, or a new world event to farm transmog.
Those who enjoy multiple contents here can spend almost infinite time in the game – all without pressure.
Because even though there are many options, there is virtually no compulsion. There is no time pressure because many rewards are simply cosmetic and completely optional. If someone doesn’t want to go back into the Zskera vault to collect the last toy, they just won’t go in there again. It’s completely different than Torghast, where everyone was basically forced to go in there every week.
The vaults of Zskera – those who didn’t like them didn’t have to go in often.
World of Warcraft no longer “forces” players to spend time in the world. But it offers more than ever before.
Some miss this catalog of mandatory tasks – but the vast majority around me totally enjoys finally only having to do what they really feel like.
Another point is the number of significant overhauls of classes. Paladins and demon hunters have been drastically reworked (and significantly improved), mages have received more diverse talents, and the summoner even got a completely new specialization. These are things that Blizzard would have brought out earlier only at the launch of a new expansion – now all of this was “added on the side” in the smaller patches.
In addition, there are so many small but nice “Quality of Life” improvements. It has never been easier to play with friends – no matter which realm they are on or which faction they belong to. For a while now, guilds that unite Horde and Alliance have been possible and this mix has existed in all types of dungeons and raids for a longer time.
Horde and Alliance, traveling together.
These are details that one quickly gets used to and which are simply “good” even though they stand in stark contrast to what World of Warcraft has done for nearly two decades.
The developers are listening – and I have the impression they really are. The tent toys were nice, but unsuitable for RP fans, as they appeared in random orientation and with a short time limit. One patch later, the tents last a full 15 minutes and always appear at the desired location and then I made a fool of myself with you.
Similar improvements have been made in “Mythic+”. Here the criticism was that you only focus on the affixes and no longer on the dungeons as such. Blizzard has taken this to heart, reduced the number of affixes, eliminated the most annoying ones, and increased the thresholds at which affixes become relevant.
More small things:
Draenei can now choose the skin colors of Man’ari.
Warlocks can now be played by all races.
The reconquest of Gilneas
The legacy questline of the undead
The new hair colors
The cool sets for night elves
The trading post with numerous creative and previously unseen transmog rewards.
If you list them, there is so much “new stuff” that has made individual player groups very happy.
An end that really felt like one
Patch 10.2 and the subsequent patch 10.2.5 achieved something that has been praised multiple times in the World of Warcraft subreddit. Because Dragonflight feels like it really got a conclusion.
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Whether it’s the heartwarming quests where we converse again with the aspects, Tyrande, and Shandris or the big party in the last patch – especially the party!
The celebration inaugurating Amirdrassil was just another quest for many, which they sprinted through without looking left or right. In fact, over 100 NPCs were gathered here – namely, almost all the quest NPCs we could encounter throughout Dragonflight. Almost every character from all the small side quests somehow showed up, could be spoken to, and had a few lines to say about our deeds.
Anyone who took the time here could surely spend half an hour at the celebration (rather longer) and think back on everything that had happened in the story.
Countless NPCs were present at the celebration inaugurating Amirdrassil.
This felt rounder, more complete, and simply more coherent than in all previous expansions, where there was never a real, visible resolution, but always a rush from one problem to the next.
This time it feels more organic, more natural. There are initial hints for the next expansion without immediately painting the devil on the wall. There was a “happy ending” for the dragons and the night elves.
More than just Dragonflight
When I talk about the “best year”, I don’t just mean World of Warcraft Dragonflight. Because the other WoW versions had a pretty strong year as well. I want to summarize that briefly, because I personally don’t have much to do with these WoW variants, but I am aware there were many fans who were very happy with them.
World of Warcraft Classic had the expansion “Wrath of the Lich King” – even today, many consider it the “best expansion” and accordingly it was nostalgic for many to return to Northrend and give the Lich King a beatdown. Many were also able to experience this addon for the first time “properly”, as they were simply too young back then.
Classic fans could beat down the Lich King. Many for the first time.
The “Season of Discovery” might be the most creative and fresh thing World of Warcraft could have done with Classic – no wonder the servers were overcrowded. The old game in a new guise and with some interesting “What if?” ideas. There are fresh raids, new abilities for old classes, and even completely new roles that heroes can fulfill. As a little bonus, there are even some story elements that won’t become relevant in “Retail” until many years later.
However, these are all minor issues. Although I hardly enjoy my shadow priest gameplay, I still play and always have something to do. Even though World of Warcraft has reduced or completely eliminated most mandatory tasks, I continually find new activities that I enjoy.
In the end, it is clear to me: Looking back at the last year and simply listing how much new content there was, how many good and meaningful changes were made, how many adjustments to classes and specializations came together, how much feedback was implemented and wishes were fulfilled: We as WoW players have never had it as good as a whole.
And then, you add “Wrath of the Lich King Classic” and the “Season of Discovery” on top of that.
Even if many are complaining right now – because WoW players always do – I am quite sure that in 5 or 10 years we will look back at the past WoW year and say: “That was pretty awesome back then. Now I miss it.”
Much like how Mists of Pandaria was only appreciated later.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On Netflix, the science fiction thriller “The Circle” is a gem that few have discovered so far. MyMMO author Schuhmann explains the appeal of the film and why it reminds him of the South Korean hit series “Squid Game.”
This is the idea of “The Circle”: In the film “The Circle,” 50 people stand in a circle around a construct that kills someone with a lightning strike every 2 minutes. Through gestures, the participants vote on who will be targeted and who will die next.
The working hypothesis that the “participants” arrive at after 5 or 6 deaths is: If only one person is left at the end, that person survives because one cannot choose themselves and no one is there to vote for them.
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English trailer for the drama Circle
“The Circle” is like Squid Game, but even more merciless
Why does this remind us of Squid Game? Like in Squid Game, viewers quickly enter a tactical thinking game mode and contemplate what strategy they would pursue if they found themselves in such a situation.
The film ruthlessly plays out various scenarios and shows what happens when one follows plausible or typically human strategies:
It quickly becomes clear that one does not want to stand out, cause any issues, or appear as a threat to others.
But does one just want to remain silent and risk dying next purely by chance?
Choosing the “seemingly right path” and advocating that a pregnant woman or a little girl should be the last survivor inevitably leads to one’s own death.
How much this “How would I survive this?” fascinates viewers is evident from the existence of a YouTube video with 11 million views on the topic “How to defeat the death game in The Circle” (via youtube).
The difference from Squid Game is that in “The Circle,” there is only one game that runs continuously and mercilessly. The clock is ticking, and every two minutes, the next vote is due. There are no breaks or time for private conversations, as in the Korean hit series.
Instead, controversial topics are negotiated in conversation with the group: Should it matter if one has a family, a good job, or belongs to an ethnic minority? And can this even be verified, or do people just tell something that makes them appear much better than they actually are?
This is what makes “The Circle” special: The film does not feature any well-known actors. It was made in 2015, and no one from the cast has really become a star in the years since. This benefits the film because no one is safe, and the most important person in one sequence can already be the next one lying dead on the ground, pulled out of the circle by an invisible force.
Here, you can’t say: Oh, he has already won 3 Oscars, he will surely survive until the end.
The lack of star power is also responsible for the film having remained almost completely under the radar until today. As the directors told in an AMA on reddit, many publishers were interested in the film, but no one really wanted to distribute a film with 50 unknown actors. That’s where Netflix came in at the right time.
Where can you watch this? “The Circle” is streaming on the subscription service Netflix. It is available only in English, but there are German subtitles.
MeinMMO editor Dariusz loves Pokémon, shooters, and the survival game ARK. Now he has tested Palworld, the “Pokémon with guns”, and is having a great time.
I’m honest: I’ve been waiting a long time for the release of Palworld. When I first saw a trailer for the “Pokémon with guns” in 2022, I knew I would like it.
Now I’ve spent the first hours in the game and can confidently say that my assumption about the game has been confirmed. Palworld is absolutely ridiculous and is a huge amount of fun.
From ARK to Pokémon: A successful mix of my favorite games
If a game developer wants to make a game that immediately grabs my interest, they must meet at least one of three criteria.
It is a shooter with entertaining gunplay and movement
It is a survival game, ideally with the ability to tame creatures and work with them
It is Pokémon
Palworld actually succeeds in entertainingly combining all three aspects for me.
I have been a huge Pokémon fan for about 20 years. I have played every game in the main series, collected the cards as a child, and even watched the entire anime. However, I am not fixated on something having to be an original Pokémon game and just enjoy the principle of catching little cute monsters, traveling with them, or battling. For example, I also enjoyed Temtem.
Furthermore, ARK: Survival Evolved is one of my favorite games. However, I am not a dinosaur fan. I just like the game concept. It is a rather challenging survival game where I can tame and breed various creatures to farm resources, engage in boss or PvP battles, or explore the map. I am also a big fan of the building system.
Palworld is so much fun for me because it combines ARK with Pokémon. I can catch different monsters, train them, and use them for battle or work. I really like the designs of the individual Pals. Some are cool, some are cute, and others are just so oddly designed that I wonder what I am actually looking at.
Like ARK, Palworld also has some shooter mechanics. Of course, it can’t be compared to real shooters or survival games like Rust or DayZ, but it is still not poorly implemented. For example, I like shooting with a bow and arrow in Palworld much better than in ARK.
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Palworld showcases the small monsters in massive action in the early access trailer
Palworld borrows strong mechanics from Nintendo
Palworld has some really good mechanics that have already worked well in other games. One of them is the glider from Zelda: BotW. More and more new and upcoming games have a glider like this, including LEGO Fortnite and Palworld. Especially in survival games, this is a popular feature because you can glide through the air and avoid fall damage.
Additionally, you can climb stone walls in Palworld. At first, this doesn’t sound special, but in ARK, I often wished I could climb properly – not least to avoid attacks from aggressive dinosaurs.
One of the highlights of Palworld, however, is catching the Pals. This does not take place in turn-based battles, as we know from the main Pokémon games, but is like in Pokémon Legends Arceus.
This means we move freely on the map and manually throw balls at the monster. In doing so, we have to dodge the monster’s attacks with a roll and simultaneously weaken it to increase our chance of capture. To weaken it, we can use our Pals, firearms, or a baseball bat. Yes, the game is really crazy.
The catch animation of PalworldDisplay of the catch chance during capturingThe gliderWorld Boss MammorestPals carrying berries in the campSleeping PalsPal grilling food on the campfire
Pals are Kelvin in cute
Palworld has also taken some inspiration from the survival game Sons of the Forest, which was released in early access in 2023. In Sons of the Forest, you have an NPC named Kelvin who helps you survive and can, for instance, farm wood. The Pals can also support you and collect stones, operate the workbench, and fulfill any tasks you assign them.
This is not only practical because you have to farm less when you don’t feel like it. It complements the gameplay because it gives you time to catch new Pals or engage in battles.
In addition, the Pals gain experience points when completing tasks and level up. So you don’t have to fight wild monsters for hours and train your companions when you face a too-strong opponent.
Extensive options to adjust difficulty
It was obviously clear to the developers of Palworld that their game would not only attract survival fans or shooter players. There are different difficulty levels that can also provide a fun experience for casual players.
The “normal” difficulty is already easier and more beginner-friendly than, for example, the classic experience of ARK: Survival Evolved. However, if you have never played such a survival game, you can further reduce the difficulty. There is a level that makes the game very easy and allows for uncomplicated progress.
If you are used to games like ARK and are looking for a challenge, you can also increase the difficulty.
However, the custom settings are particularly interesting. Here, you can adjust a series of different parameters. This includes, for example, how quickly a resource respawns.
In my time playing so far, the game has not crashed, and I have had acceptable FPS on the highest settings. I could certainly get more out of it, but I am satisfied and enjoy the graphics. Visually, Palworld is not a masterpiece, but it’s not ugly either. I like the style.
I’ve only rarely experienced FPS drops. After I set a corresponding FPS limit, they completely disappeared.
I believe there could still be some tweaking to optimization given the graphics, and performance could be improved further. But overall, Palworld is in a playable state and is far from the poor performance that, for instance, ARK: Survival Ascended had at launch.
Conclusion: If you like ARK and Pokémon, it’s a recommendation
The idea of shooting little monsters with firearms and making them work for crafting items is absolutely ridiculous – but I really have a lot of fun with Palworld.
It is an early access game, so not everything is perfect, and there are still some desirable content missing, but that has not worsened my experience with the title so far.
Especially, I find the price of 26 euros on Steam to be really fair – I probably wouldn’t have paid 50 to 60 euros. But this is primarily due to my extreme frugality and lack of trust in survival games in early access – a shoutout to The Day Before – and not because of the quality of Palworld.
So if you love Pokémon like I do and enjoy playing games like ARK, then you probably can’t go wrong with Palworld. If you’re not sure if Palworld is interesting for you, you can also check out a stream on Twitch. The game is currently taking off:
In 2024, some real game classics are celebrating their 20th anniversary. Reason enough to take a look back and wonder: Has it really been that long?
We all get older year by year, and so do the games we love. In 2024, some of the biggest classics in gaming history will turn 20 years old. We want to take a look back, feel old, and note what has become of the releases from back then.
Ready for a nostalgic journey? Then let’s go.
[toc]
Half Life 2
Release: November 16, 2004 | Developer: Valve | Platforms: PC (Steam), Linux, macOS, Xbox, Xbox 360/One/SeriesX/S, PlayStation 3, Android
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Half Life 2 – Trailer
Our first stop on our journey into the past is one of the best and most important shooters ever produced. The sequel to the already revolutionary first part from Valve continues its events. Again, we take on the role of the mute Gordon Freeman and fight against Combine soldiers, Headcrabs, zombies, and more from the city of City 17. The different weapons along with the innovative physics engine make it a lot of fun (keyword: Gravity Gun).
The story is told entirely from the protagonist’s perspective without cutscenes. After the game was released, Episode One and Episode Two followed, which continued the story. Players are still waiting for Episode Three or an official third part of the series. Fans must settle for the VR spin-off “Alyx.” Nevertheless, Half Life 2 influenced many other shooters and is still enjoyable to play today.
GTA San Andreas
Release: October 29, 2004 | Developer: Rockstar North | Platforms: Windows, Xbox, Xbox360/One/SeriesX/S, PS2/3/4/5, macOS, iOS, Android, Fire OS, Windows Phone
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GTA San Andreas – Trailer
“Oh shit, here we go again.” – The famous words of protagonist CJ as he hops on his bike and rides off have long become an internet meme. With him as our character, Rockstar releases us into the largest GTA adventure up to that point. The story is inspired by movies like “Boyz N the Hood” and “Training Day,” told from an African American perspective, which remains a rarity in gaming to this day.
New features in the series include not only the vast countryside of the city but also RPG elements, allowing us to send CJ to the gym, making him lose weight, which we can visibly see in the game.
GTA San Andreas was released just two years after its predecessor Vice City. By comparison, it will be at least 12 years by today’s standards between GTA 5 and its successor. San Andreas laid the foundation for the modern GTA worlds with its massive game world and has long become a part of pop culture.
Halo 2
Release: November 11, 2004 | Developer: Bungie Studios | Platforms: Xbox, Xbox 360/One/SeriesX/S
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Halo 2 Anniversary Cinematic Launch Trailer
The second installment of the long-running Halo series was initially only released for the proprietary Xbox console. A PC port for Windows Vista followed in 2007 – even though the game actually also ran on the XP version.
Compared to the influential first part, Halo 2 shines with far fewer innovations. This is hardly surprising. After all, Halo: Combat Evolved introduced the modern shooter controls for gamepads. Nevertheless, Halo 2 offers some improvements in terms of storytelling, world-building, and variety. The game’s campaign takes players through many different locations and also plays for the first time on Earth.
Halo 2 notoriously led to four more entries in the main series. In addition, there were several spin-offs like the Halo Wars series, a TV show, and a variety of books.
World of Warcraft
Release: November 23, 2004 | Developer: Blizzard Entertainment | Platforms: Windows, macOS
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World of Warcraft Cinematic Trailer
One thing WoW has certainly achieved in its 20 years of existence: Almost every gamer has heard of it, even if they haven’t played it themselves.
The MMORPG, which was born out of the Warcraft brand, was not the first game of its kind but probably the most well-known, discussed, and beloved.
WoW has firmly brought the MMORPG into the mainstream – and into the media, where it has often been a punching bag in the debate about video game addiction. In the process, the gaming qualities were usually overlooked.
To this day, nine expansions have been released. In time for the game’s anniversary, the tenth, titled The War Within, is set to go online in 2024. And WoW Classic, the vanilla version of the game, continues to be very popular. Meanwhile, there are countless books, board games, comics, and a Warcraft film. And although there have been many attempts over the years to dethrone WoW, no game has truly succeeded.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Palworld is currently the talk of the town. The crazy “Pokémon with weapons” is conquering not only Steam but also Twitch. And Erik “Gronkh” Range (46) is leading the way.
Big streamers like Asmongold and Rubius showcase the game in front of tens of thousands of viewers on Twitch. However, it is actually a German streamer who is currently in the lead and leaving everyone else behind – none other than Gronkh. In the last 3 days, no other streamer had as many viewers on average for the game (via SullyGnome).
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Gronkh, the man with the voice – Career and life of Germany’s most famous Let’s Player
Gronkh and Palworld seem to be a great combination
What is Gronkh up to in Palworld? All sorts of mischief, and he is having a lot of fun doing it. The 46-year-old jumped straight into Palworld on Friday, January 19, 2024, and immersed himself in the game for more than 6 hours. During that time, Gronkh has already discovered the current meta, human trafficking:
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In addition, the content creator participates in the “normal” Palworld activities such as Pal-tormenting and building an exploitative operation. That he names Pals after his friends and then makes them work for him probably doesn’t need to raise any eyebrows… or (via Twitch)?
For those wanting more Palworld content from Gronkh, you’re in luck because the streamer is far from done and has plenty of big plans for the survival game. He visibly struggled to end the stream, as this is a game where he “could easily continue until 8 or 9 o’clock.”
As for angry Pokémon fans who consider Palworld a blatant copy, Gronkh has a clear opinion. Gameplay-wise, the survival game is already quite different from the original creature collector, and besides: “Cute creatures were not invented by Pokémon.”
You can find the entire stream, as usual, on Gronkh.tv.
On January 23, Diablo 4 will start its third season. The announcements regarding the content and changes seem to put players in a confident mood; many are looking forward to the new season, while others are skeptical.
In addition to the features, many players are also appreciating the “Quality of Life” improvements, including the announced WASD controls for PC. On Reddit, user “Tiger_Widow” wrote on January 18 that he is looking forward to the new season. He feels that Diablo 4 is now “standing on both feet.”
Some users agree with him, while others criticize the announcements and wish for more features and adjustments.
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Diablo 4: The Announcement Trailer for Season 3
“As if they kept the good parts and expanded on them”
Why does Season 3 sound like a win?On Reddit, “Tiger_Widow” wrote on January 18, “Season 3 sounds like a massive W [Win] and Diablo 4 feels like it’s really taking off now.”
In the post, he writes:
I am very pleased with the developer stream and how the game is evolving. It has certainly been a rocky start, but honestly, it feels like the game is now standing on both feet. I am really looking forward to Season 3, which I didn’t feel about the previous seasons.
In the comments, some users ask what exactly he is looking forward to. “Tiger_Widow” responds: “The companion mini-game. I love the insights we’ve gotten into the attacks […]. I can imagine that I’ll be tinkering with these glyphs [stones] much more than I probably should, lol.”
User “S1mpinAintEZ” writes in a comment: “I agree. I wanted to give up after Season 1, but I’m glad I tried again because the game feels much better than before. I’m not sure what I think of the companion thing. I usually don’t like summoner builds, but we’ll see.”
To this, “Tiger_Widow” responds:
Exactly. The blood harvest was so much fun, which was a win for me. Bigger packs, a better gameplay feel, faster gameplay. Higher drop chance on Ubers, target farming, realistic boss runs connected to said target farming. And now Season 3 feels like they have kept all the good parts and elaborated on everything even more.
In another comment, the poster notes that it is evident that the developers are truly listening to feedback and taking it seriously, which is commendable. He also sees the implementation of WASD controls as a “game-changer.” And “ikazuki404” adds that he has wanted WASD since 2017, “that’s great.”
What is being criticized? Not all users agree with “Tiger_Widow”. Some write that the “real test” will come with Season 4 and the overhaul of the item system. “sansaset” writes on Reddit that the loot part is currently uninteresting, and there is also a lack of build diversity.
“Soresu0203” criticizes that the best loot still comes from the same grind at Uber Duriel. There are still issues with minion builds and seeing all chests in the Hell Tide.
“SamMerlini” adds in a comment: “Too slow, not enough. The [new] mechanics sound fun, but many fundamental issues need to be addressed. Being able to switch builds, zooming out, more chest space, social features.”
What do you think about the announcements for Season 3? Are you looking forward to it, or are you missing something as well? Feel free to leave us a comment.
You want to unlock and build an incubator in Palworld, but don’t know how to do it? MeinMMO explains what you need and how to do it the fastest.
What do you need the incubator for? You need the incubator if you want to hatch eggs from Pals. You can get the eggs by breeding or find them in the wild. Unfortunately, it is not possible to hatch the eggs without this machine. You can find out how to breed Pals and produce eggs in our Breeding and Breeding Guide on MeinMMO.
Requirements for the incubator: There are two requirements you need to fulfill: first, you must reach level 7, and second, you need 1 point in Ancient Technology. Where to find Ancient Technology, you can read on MeinMMO.
You will need these resources: To build the incubator, you need the following items:
10 Paldium
5 Fabrics
30 Stones
2 Ancient Components
Where can I get the materials? You can find Paldium and Stones in the wild, Paldium glows blue but also drops from stone boulders when you hit them. You must first unlock Fabrics in the technology tree and then you can produce the fabric at a simple wool workbench:
Another option is the Pal Melpaca, which you will also find quite early but has a higher level than Lamball.
The biggest hurdle will likely be finding Ancient Components. Because you get these by successfully completing dungeons or by defeating shiny Pals, also known as Shinys. The latter are quite rare but comparatively easy to defeat. Dungeons are also recommended if you want to level up quickly in Palworld.
Once you have gathered all the resources, you can place the incubator in your base. Afterwards, your Pals will help you build the incubator. The hatching of the eggs takes some time but happens completely automatically.
All guides to Palworld: Are you looking for more tips, tricks and assistance for Palworld? Then check out MeinMMO. We are accompanying the game for you and have bundled all the guides that are meant to help you in a clear list:
The crazy survival game Palworld has been in Early Access since yesterday and is already one of the most played games on Steam. MeinMMO reveals why this led to an update in the Epic Games backend.
Update: As soon as the article was published, Palworld has already surpassed 715,000 concurrent players on Steam. This puts it in 9th place for the highest all-time peaks in history and kicks Apex Legends out of the Top 10 (via Steamcharts).
This is how successful Palworld is: Even before the Early Access launch, it was clear that this crazy survival game could be a success, as it conquered the Twitch charts. However, such numbers cannot always be simply translated into commercial success for a game.
Sometimes potential buyers do not fully trust the hype and prefer to get a sense of the game by watching others play. Did someone say “The Day Before”? However, the situation for Palworld looks significantly more positive so far than for the failed survival hope. Here’s what Palworld has achieved in less than 24 hours:
On January 20, 2024, at around 1 PM, Palworld reached an all-time peak of 639,048 concurrent players on Steam – and could continue to grow over the weekend.
It is currently in 2nd place for the most played games on Steam, just behind Counter-Strike 2, and could push Apex Legends out of the Top 10 of the highest player records (via Steamcharts).
In just 8 hours, Palworld already surpassed 1 million copies sold, and now there are already more than double that (via X). It is no wonder that Palworld is currently the top seller on Steam .
On Twitch, Palworld has more than 239,000 concurrent viewers, outpacing games like GTA 5, Counter-Strike, and Fortnite.
However, the massive influx also presents an unexpected strain.
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Palworld showcases the small monsters in massive action in the early access trailer
Palworld is so successful that Epic had to update its backend
How are the servers doing? They apparently couldn’t withstand the enormous influx. This especially led to issues with multiplayer. According to the developers on X, formerly Twitter, the connection difficulties when hosting cooperative games are due to a problem in the Epic Games backend.
Developer Pocketpair also revealed that there has already been an emergency meeting with Epic Games, which resulted in a short-term update being initiated at Epic Games. Players should therefore notice an improvement in the connection issues.
This also suggests that Pocketpair is using Epic Online Services for the Palworld servers.
If you too have been caught up in the Palworld fever, you’ll find a range of guides and tips here on MeinMMO to help you get started in the game. Palworld: The 7 best tips you should know at the start. Feel free to share your first impressions in the comments and let us know if you still experience connection issues.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
7 vs. Wild has become a huge success. The 3rd season is now airing on YouTube and reaches millions of people with each episode. RTL has now secured the rights to the format “Alone”; here you can find out how similar the two series are.
What is Alone? Alone is a US survival show that is considered a sort of template for 7 vs. Wild. Fritz Meinecke and other participants have repeatedly emphasized that they watched episodes of the show as preparation for their time on 7 vs. Wild. In the series, survival professionals are placed in the wild and must survive alone until only one remains.
One of the participants in the 3rd season is Twitch streamer Jens “Knossi” Knossalla. You can see more about him in our video.
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From the Witness Stand with Barbara Salesch to the King of Twitch – Career and Life of Knossi
The differences lie in the details
Which candidates are involved in Alone? The difference between the two series begins with the candidates. In 7 vs. Wild, there is sometimes talk of a real “school trip feeling” because there are primarily YouTubers and Twitch streamers who know each other. In Alone, however, only survival professionals are placed.
The casting call provides a bit more clarity about the candidates:
You (m/f/d) are at least 18 years old, assertive, physically fit, and want to take on the challenge of surviving as long as possible in the wild?
You can expect a battle against the relentless forces of nature, hunger, wild animals, and perhaps the hardest task of all: isolation.
RTL is having the series produced by production company ITV Studios Germany. The company is probably best known for the show “I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here!”
Who wins in Alone? In Alone, the participant who survives the longest wins. In the German version of the show, a prize of 75,000 euros is at stake. In other countries, the prize money is significantly higher at 500,000 euros.
In 7 vs. Wild, the winner in seasons 1 and 2 was determined by who collected the most points through the various daily challenges. In season 3, however, all teams that managed to last the full two weeks won.
In both shows, participants can drop out at any time and call for help even in great danger.
Here you can watch the trailer for the “Alone” spin-off from the UK.
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What other differences are there? In both Alone and 7 vs. Wild, there are no camera crews; the participants film themselves. However, in Alone, there are 10 candidates each with 10 items, while in 7 vs. Wild, at least in season 1, there were 7 candidates with 7 items.
The locations of the two series are also quite similar. Both Alone on RTL+ and the 3rd season of 7 vs. Wild were filmed in Canada, specifically Vancouver Island. Both series also take place in an area of the First Nations, the indigenous people of the region.
The filming locations are somewhat different, while 7 vs. Wild was filmed in the northern part of the area on the islands Hope Island and Nigei Island, Alone takes place on the west coast of the area.
What about animals? In Alone, the danger from bears and other wild animals like cougars and wolves is much higher than in 7 vs. Wild. RTL indicates that the participants filmed in the fall, just when bears are out searching for food in preparation for hibernation.
However, like in 7 vs. Wild, participants have additional items to defend themselves against or ward off wild animals.
The strategy game Endless Legend is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Steam in 2024. Thanks to a developer promotion, it is currently heavily discounted and even available for free. This has set a new player record for the title.
What kind of game is it? Endless Legend is a turn-based 4X strategy game, placing it in a category alongside games like Civilization. While the latter is based on our real world – with some creative liberties – Endless Legend transports you to the planet Auriga, which is threatened by a mysterious catastrophe.
So not only do you need to build, develop, and expand your own civilization, but you also have to save the world in the process.
Endless Legend was released on September 18, 2014, on Steam, where it enjoys an “Very Positive” rating with 84% recommendations. It currently ranks 4th among the best-rated 4X games on Steam (as of January 20, 2024).
You can get an impression of the game from the trailer here:
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Endless Legend shows its world in the atmospheric launch trailer
Endless Legend sets new player record 10 years after release
What are the player numbers like? Endless Legend had an average of 156 players in December 2023, peaking at 329. This is not unusual for a game that is almost 10 years old – what is surprising is that the much newer Endless Dungeon from 2023 barely has more players (via SteamDB).
In the last 30 days, Endless Dungeon has averaged over 2,000 players and even set a new player record of 88,785 simultaneous players on the night of Saturday. The last peak was at 10,429 simultaneous players in April 2015 (via Steamcharts).
Where does the increase come from? This is likely due to a special promotion from the developer Amplitude Studios. Until January 25, 2024, Endless Legend is available for just €4.99, representing an 80% discount on Steam.
But wait, the title mentioned “free”? Indeed, you can currently add the strategy game to your Steam library completely free of charge. To do this, you need to link your account with Games2gether, Amplitude Studios’ community forum. A detailed guide can be found with the colleagues at GameStar.
If you take a look at Endless Legend due to the promotion and enjoy the strategy game, you can also purchase a number of DLCs that bring additional content to the game. The last expansion was released in 2021.
After playing through most of the game, the player finally noticed that Karlach’s gear in heavy armor makes her Rage almost useless (via reddit.com).
Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3 – Trailer Game Awards
Karlach’s Rage is almost useless with heavy armor
What is behind the bug? While any character can theoretically equip any weapon or armor, only those who master a particular category can use them effectively and without negative consequences. Additionally, certain class abilities make using specific gear more or less attractive.
What does this have to do with Karlach? Barbarians like Karlach master light and medium armor. However, with the passive trait “Unarmored Defense,” it is most sensible not to equip any armor at all.
The problem here was that the player equipped the Tiefling Barbarian with heavy armor. By wearing heavy armor, the “Rage” state is prevented and cannot be activated.
This meant that the benefits of Rage, such as additional damage, resistance to physical damage, and advantages in strength, could not be utilized. As a result, Karlach lost several powerful bonuses.
The best build for Karlach: If you have hired Karlach as a companion, you can find the best tips and tricks on how to play the Tiefling in the following guide:
Today in Pokémon GO, the Community Day Classic featuring Porygon is taking place. In the shop, you can purchase a ticket for €1 to unlock a special research task. We will show you the contents.
What is this ticket? At least one Community Day takes place every month in Pokémon GO. Correspondingly, you can unlock research in the game’s shop for a price of about €1 (varies depending on the shop). The special research always revolves around the Pokémon featured in the respective Community Day.
Due to the time difference, some trainers have already participated in the research and shared the tasks and rewards with the community. We show you all the contents in the overview. This way, you can easily decide whether purchasing is worth it for you.
Special Research with Porygon on Community Day 1/4
Task
Reward
Make 5 great throws
10 Ultra Balls
Catch 15 Porygon
Encounter with Porygon
Use 10 Power-Ups on Pokémon
20 Porygon Candies
Stage Reward: If you complete all three tasks and collect the corresponding rewards, you will additionally receive 2,000 Stardust, 1 Incense, and an encounter with Porygon.
Special Research with Porygon on Community Day 2/4
Task
Reward
Send 10 Pokémon
Encounter with Porygon2
Catch 15 Porygon
1 Up-Grade
Evolve 3 Porygon
20 Porygon Candies
Stage Reward: If you complete all three tasks and collect the corresponding rewards, you will additionally receive 2,000 XP, 1 Chespin, and 1 Incense.
Special Research with Porygon on Community Day 3/4
Stage Reward: If you complete all three tasks and collect the corresponding rewards, you will additionally receive 2,000 Stardust, 1 Rocket Radar, and 1 Incense.
Stage Reward: If you complete all three tasks and collect the corresponding rewards, you will additionally receive 2,000 Stardust, 3 Special Candies, and an encounter with Porygon-Z.
Is the purchase worth it?
What you need to know: Through the unlocked Pokémon encounters, you will receive strong Porygon, Porygon2, and Porygon-Z. Additionally, you will receive valuable items such as a Rocket Radar, Incense, and Berries, the monetary value of which exceeds the purchase price of the ticket. So, if you are interested in the items anyway and still need strong Porygon for your collection, the purchase of the ticket might be worth it for you.
Manor Lords is among the most highly anticipated games alongside Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong on Steam. Even the developer is surprised by how many players want the game.
What kind of game is it?Manor Lords is a strategy game developed by the solo developer Slavic Magic and will be released on Steam on April 26, 2024. Additionally, Manor Lords is expected to be included in the PC Game Pass.
Currently, Manor Lords, set in a medieval environment, is one of the most requested games on Steam. It ranks second, just behind Hades 2, and is just ahead of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
What makes Manor Lords special? Gameplay-wise, Manor Lords features large-scale medieval battles as well as an extensive city-building system, allowing you to freely place your buildings, paths, and fields. You are not, as in other construction simulations, bound to a grid that dictates where an object can be placed.
In addition, Manor Lords incorporates various economic and social systems as well as seasons that bring different requirements. Your goal is to grow your hometown into a proper medieval city.
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Manor Lord Release Date Trailer
What does the developer say about the great interest in his game? Manor Lords is largely developed by a single person. The name “Slavic Magic” refers to the solo developer Greg Styczén.
On January 18, Slavic Magic announced that Manor Lords is now on the Steam wishlists of 2 million players, but as Styczén told the American online magazine PC Gamer, he himself did not expect such great interest.
Styczén recalls that when the announcement trailer was released, his girlfriend expected just 7,000 wishlist entries. He himself was a bit more optimistic, estimating 14,000.
Ultimately, both were significantly off: “I didn’t expect the game to attract so much interest and reach over 2 million.”
In April, the time finally comes, and medieval fans as well as strategy nerds can look forward to the release of the indie game.
For many independent developers, the release of their game is a very special event that requires a lot of time, money, and preparation. Sometimes their commitment is rewarded by the support of players.
The min-maxing community is having a blast with Baldur’s Gate 3 and we’ve already presented you with the boldest builds. Now, a YouTuber has developed a multiclass build that can even kill boss enemies in Act 2 with just a touch.
Where does the build come from? Behind the build that kills enemies with a mere touch is YouTuber Bouch. He has 18,000 subscribers and primarily focuses on content related to Baldur’s Gate 3.
In the first video, he starts in the recently patched Honour Mode. In addition to having an Armor Class of 0, the YouTuber has implemented a second twist: All enemies have +99 to their attack rolls – they always hit, unless they roll a 1.
In the Githyanki crib, he ultimately dies. This ends the Honour Mode, but not the game. Thus, Bouch proceeds into Act 2 in the second video. However, since a normal run would be boring, he rebuilds his character and uses a multiclass build that kills enemies when they attack him.
Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to PS5 – Trailer prepares for console release
How the multiclass build makes you untouchable
How do you recreate the build? You need a total of 9 levels for the build. Distribute them as follows:
Warlock: 2 levels
Wizard, School of Abjuration: 6 levels
Cleric, Storm Domain: 1 level
What abilities do you need?
Armor of Agathys (via Warlock): The spell requires an action and envelops your character in armor. You gain 5 temporary hit points, and if a creature hits you, it takes 5 points of cold damage. If you cast the spell at a higher level, both the cold damage and the hit points gained are doubled. Warlocks always cast their spells at the highest level. Therefore, level two gives you 10 temporary hit points and 10 cold damage.
Shadow Armor (via Warlock): With this ability, you can cast the spell Mage Armor at any time – no matter how many spells you can still cast.
Arcane Repulsion (via Wizard): Every time you cast an abjuration spell like Mage Armor, your Arcane Repulsion gains a charge. Your maximum is your Wizard level times 2 – at a Wizard level of 6, it would be 12. Every time you take damage, the repulsion reduces it by 1 for each charge currently held.
Heavy Armor (feat): This allows you to wear heavy armor if needed. The feat also primarily reduces magic damage against your character by 3.
Create Water (via Cleric): This literally makes your opponents wet. They then become susceptible to lightning and cold damage. This means that wet opponents take not only 5 but 10 points of cold damage upon contact and while active with Armor of Agathys.
Divine Power Focus – Wrath of the Storm (via Cleric): Every time you are attacked, the attacker takes between 2 and 16 points of lightning damage. If your opponent is wet, they take double damage – so between 4 and 32 points.
Which armor should you equip your character with? For the build, there are two armors that you should use. As armor, choose the Adamant Splendid Armor. You need to craft this in Act 1 at the Adamant Forge. It reduces incoming damage by 2 points.
The second piece you need is the shield The Protector of the Absolute. This also reduces magical damage by 1 and allows you to use the spell Fire Shield: Chilling. This gives you resistance to fire and cold damage. Opponents take between 2 and 16 fire damage and between 2 and 16 cold damage on contact. If the opponents are wet, the cold damage doubles.
Note: To fully utilize the shield, your character needs the Mark of the Absolute.
How do you use the build? Even before the fight begins, cast Mage Armor as often as possible until your Arcane Repulsion is fully charged. Equip the armor and the shield. Before you fight, ensure that your opponents are wet.
If you are then hit with an attack, your (wet) opponent takes the following damage:
20 cold damage from Armor of Agathys
4 – 32 cold damage from Fire Shield: Chilling
4 – 32 lightning damage from Divine Power Focus
This is a maximum of 84 damage points but at least always 28.
Additionally, incoming attacks are reduced by the following points:
12 points from Arcane Repulsion
3 from the Heavy Armor feat
2 via the Adamant Splendid Armor
Magical damage: 1 from the shield
Thus, attackers automatically deal between 17 and 18 points less damage.
What are the limits of the build? The build sounds absolutely overpowered, which it is. However, you still depend on dice luck. Many enemies, especially until the beginning of Act Three, don’t have enough hit points to truly harm you:
Each of their attacks is less effective than desired, and each attack automatically triggers counter damage.
If you can still attack, your opponents should already be significantly weakened. Overall, fights become easier. However, once you face boss enemies with more than 150 hit points, the build slowly loses effectiveness.
