With the new shooter The Finals (Steam, Console), Embark Studios hit a success in December 2023, presenting perhaps the best shooter of the year. The developers initially found the idea of making a shooter quite boring.
The Finals is an arena shooter with various modes where you play for victory with up to four 3-member teams
In the modes, you need to collect as much money as possible and secure it in a cashout
There are three classes – light, medium, and heavy – each having different weapons and gadgets that can be used tactically
The great unique feature of The Finals is the enormous destruction you can wreak across the entire map. Accordingly, there is no fall damage and gadgets that enable a lot of vertical gameplay.
Start video
In The Finals you can live out your destruction rage – Trailer for the Open Beta
Tilleby successfully pitches “boring” ideas
Why was there almost no The Finals? In an interview with Game Informer, The Finals Creative Director Gustav Tilleby reveals that Embark Studios initially did not want to make a shooter:
At the beginning, we did not want to make a shooter. I don’t think this was really expressed loudly, it was something everyone assumed, like “no, we shouldn’t do that” because we had done it before.
The Finals Creative Director Gustav Tilleby via YouTube
Many developers at Embark Studios have previously worked for EA DICE and contributed to the development of various Battlefield titles. Besides Tilleby himself, this also applies to Patrick Söderlund, Robert Runesson, and Stefan Strandberg. These are three of the founders of Embark Studios.
During the interview, Tilleby then shares that he pitched two ideas which he referred to as “boring idea 1” and “boring idea 2.” “I call them that because I didn’t think anyone would be interested in making them,” Tilleby adds.
Subsequently, the developers actually talked about the pitches and decided to give it a try. The starting point throughout the entire pitching process was to create something “unique” that “nobody else does.”
Is The Finals really the best shooter of the year? After The Finals initially faced some criticism from players for its movement feeling worse and slower than in the open beta, the shooter managed to recover and gather up to 240,000 simultaneous active players on the release weekend.
Generally, The Finals has consistently ranked among the most popular shooters on Steam (via SteamCharts) since its release, leaving all other new shooters behind, including CoD MW3, except for Counter-Strike 2.
Whether it is the best shooter of the year must be decided individually by each player. Aside from a strong cheating problem, criticism of The Finals has since remained quite limited. This is different from other new releases like CS2, MW3, or EFT-Arena.
Meanwhile, Embark Studios is even responding to feedback regarding individual gadgets and is making specific changes to the balancing:
The head of Diablo 4 has made interesting statements in an interview that are likely to please some players of the ARPG. Blizzard has changed its strategy regarding the balancing of builds in the season.
What leads to this statement? The head of Diablo 4, Rod Fergusson, has addressed various topics in an interview (via YouTube), including Diablo 4. In the interview, the Blizzard employee explains that the Diablo 4 team has changed its strategy regarding nerfs of OP builds.
In the past, overpowered builds were nerfed by Blizzard during the ongoing season. This led to frustration among many players because characters were nerfed to the point that the fun was lost.
Since this season, Blizzard wants to intentionally leave OP builds as they are to not rob players of their joy again. Instead, they want to delay nerfs of builds.
Here you can watch the German trailer for the Midwinter Plague.
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Diablo 4: The German trailer for the Midwinter Pest
“Let them have fun, we’ll take care of it later”
What exactly does the head of Diablo 4 say? Rod Fergusson states that as developers they often find themselves in a dilemma. They want all builds to be fair and equally strong, but in doing so, they also destroy some of the fun.
The special thing about a Diablo game is that those overpowering moments, when it feels like you are cheating, or tricking the development team by exploiting a bug, can really, really be fun.
Rod Fergusson describes the experience in Diablo based on the “power curve” of the character. You start slightly weak, find an item, deal a lot of damage for several levels until you eventually fall back again, and then the game starts all over again.
This cycle is the core of most ARPGs and should also be continuously fueled in Diablo. How much fun players can have with overpowering changes has also been recognized by the developers of Path of Exile:
The Twitch streamer Papaplatte participated in 7 vs. Wild and was criticized by some viewers there for his language. They say it is a nasty “Denglish” gibberish. The 26-year-old shows understanding, but he is struggling to adapt to the new language hygiene in practice.
What is Papaplatte being criticized for?
The streamer Papaplatte has already been pointed out by older colleagues like Knossi that he frequently incorporates English words and phrases into the German language – his fans know him only this way.
But during his participation in 7 vs. Wild, some other viewers also got to know the streamer and criticized him for his language.
Papaplatte can understand this criticism. He himself sometimes finds the English phrases in his German to be too much. However, making a significant change is difficult for him.
Critics of Papaplatte, like Scurrows, also call the streamer the “German xQc” – the Canadian, however, speaks even worse:
Start video
From Overwatch professional to number 1 on Twitch to 100 million $ – Who is xQc?
“He got on my nerves with his language”
This was the post that criticized him: On reddit, a post titled “Back to Mother Tongue” appeared regarding 7 vs. Wild. The user stated: At the beginning of the season of 7 vs. Wild, he could not listen to Papaplatte at all. There was too much “Bro – Real Talk – No Joke”.
The user writes: That really got on my nerves.
However, as the season progressed, it got better, until he could listen to him well later on. Then, without any English interjections, Papaplatte even appeared serious and reasonable.
But now that he is back home and reacting to content on Twitch, it is again “Denglish gibberish at its finest.”
Translation Papaplatte – German
“Realtalk” – “Honestly speaking” “No Joke” – “I mean it seriously” “You know” – “You know” “Bro” – all-purpose word, can mean anything depending on emphasis
This is how Papaplatte reacts to the criticism: The 26-year-old shows surprisingly understanding. When he is streaming, he does not notice it at all. But when he listens to recordings of himself, he often finds it too much. He wants to tone it down a bit right now. Often it’s just unnecessary.
But even in the video itself, it becomes clear how difficult it will be for him to pay attention to his language:
“I’m also trying to tone it down a bit. It sometimes annoys me a little bit.”
He watches English creators, you know. Sometimes it really is unnecessary to use so many English things, you know.
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In response to another user’s criticism that he makes fun of colleagues too often, Papaplatte also responded confidently and apologized to Rumathra: “Oh yeah, man. Realtalk, Wieland, I’m sorry.”
There seems to be a long way ahead of him, no joke.
A gamer wanted to upgrade his PC and therefore bought an RTX 4080, but it does not fit in the case. Now he has posted his mistake on Reddit and caused a lot of attention and unusual recommendations.
What was the mistake? As the affected person explains in a Reddit post, he wanted to upgrade his PC. For this, he bought the €1,000 expensive graphics card RTX 4080 for his PC.
However, when installing the graphics card, the gamer noticed that it was much longer than his entire case. Despite the €1,000 he paid for the upgrade, he could not upgrade his PC. Now the gamer has to invest even more money in his gaming PC to be able to use the graphics card.
Here you can see the Reddit post where the gamer shows his PC and the new graphics card.
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Why is the Reddit community upset? Most users sarcastically point out that manufacturers always provide the dimensions of the hardware parts on their sites and the user could have looked at them beforehand if he was already investing €1,000.
Others are bothered by the gamer’s dirty PC. The gamer’s computer is equipped with white parts, which are covered in dust. Reddit user Jeremoi says: “If you buy white components … please keep them clean. 😭”
Willard_swag agrees and writes: “The inside of your PC is disgusting, lol.”
What tips does the community have? The community continues to mock and says you don’t even need a new case for the PC. You can easily enlarge the case with simple means, for example with a hammer, a saw, or a grinder. Others join in on the tips and suggest tools like plastic knives, files, or simply taking a bold bite out of the case as options.
The games for PS Plus Essential in January 2024 for the PS5 and PS4 have been officially announced. We briefly introduce the games and show when they will be available.
Which games are there in January 2024? Again in January 2024, there are three games that you can get with the PS Plus subscription.
A Plague Tale: Requiem – PS5
Evil West – PS4, PS5
Nobody Saves the World – PS4, PS5
When will the games be available? The “PS Plus” games are always available from the first Tuesday of each month:
PS Plus games available: January 02, 2024, from 12:00 PM
What is the game about? A Plague Tale: Requiem is the sequel to the acclaimed adventure game “A Plague Tale: Innocence”. In both titles, siblings Amicia and Hugo are at the center, who flee from their devastated home in France in the first part and have to fight for survival.
The reason for the siblings’ flight is Inquisition troops who murdered their father and have their sights set on Hugo, who possesses special powers and can control hordes of rats that bring death and destruction to the land.
In A Plague Tale: Requiem, the siblings now try to build a new life, but soon they are overtaken by the rat plague and forced to flee again.
The game is characterized, like its predecessor, by its oppressive and emotional atmosphere as well as the suffering of Amicia and Hugo. The PS5 version received a good rating of 82 on Metacritic.
Gameplay involves a lot of sneaking, combat occurs but is rather secondary. The focus is clearly on the emotional story, the characters, and the atmosphere. The narrative has even been described by some players on Reddit as “emotionally devastating”.
Evil West
Start video
Bloody western game on Steam lets you beat up vampires – fans think it deserved more attention
What is the game about? Evil West is a story-based action game in third-person perspective from the developer studio Flying Wild Hog, released in November 2022. It can be played either solo or cooperatively with friends.
What is the game about? Nobody Saves the World is an action RPG from DrinkBox Studios that was released in 2022 and can be played both solo and cooperatively with friends.
You embody the character “Nobody,” who can transform into various forms such as a dragon, a snail, or a robot using a magic wand and tries to save the world.
Each form that Nobody transforms into has different abilities, stats, and attributes that help him tackle various dungeons. Throughout the game, you can also unlock additional abilities and combine the abilities of the individual forms.
Bonus: Warframe Syrinx Collection
In addition to the three monthly PS Plus games, you can also secure a collection for the popular loot shooter Warframe in January 2024.
The “Syrinx Collection” is an exclusive “PlayStation Plus” package and will also be available from January 02, 2024. The package includes:
Syrinx chest plate
Syrinx shoulder plates
Syrinx leg plates
Baza rifle
Cassowar polearm
Sturm color palette
Essential mod bundle base damage
Essential mod bundle critical damage
2 Orokin catalysts
170 platinum
7-day affinity booster
7-day credit booster
The latest update “Whispers in the Walls” was released for Warframe in December, which introduced a new Warframe to the game:
In League of Legends, toxic behavior and trolling are recurring topics. The community is now criticizing the streamer lolmalice.
It’s sometimes a thing with League of Legends, or other games as well. There is always toxic behavior, and it will probably always exist.
Moreover, there are players who intentionally buy troll items, go AFK, intentionally feed the opponents, and/or show toxic behavior in the chat, for example. In such moments, the game can quickly become imbalanced.
A clip sparks discussions
The community is denouncing the LoL streamer lolmalice for allegedly deliberately destroying matches. The Twitch streamer is playing Soloqueue and is currently in Master with 535 LP (as of December 26, 2023, via op.gg). He frequently plays Udyr, Blitzcrank, and also Karthus. With the latter, he had a game that received strong criticism on Reddit from the community.
You can see the post here:
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Streamer buys troll items instead of fighting for the comeback
What exactly was he criticized for? In this clip, you can see that the game was not going very well for the Twitch streamer. With 5/19 and around 8,000 gold less, they are significantly weaker at minute 19 compared to the opponents. Overall, the situation looks bad: top laner Jax with 1/4/0, lolmalice as jungle Karthus 1/4/1, and the support Braum standing with 0/4/1 is not doing well either.
But instead of hoping for a possible turnaround, lolmalice seemingly escalated by selling all his AP items including boots on Karthus and instead acquiring so-called troll items for his champion by getting Mobi boots, Dead Man’s Plate, and Winged Moonplate.
The items do not bring him much on Karthus, which is why the term troll items is fitting. Because Karthus benefits from his AP damage, especially with his ultimate and his high single-target damage with his Q.
Additionally, when you buy items and then leave the base (Fountain/Spawn), you cannot recover the full price when you sell the items again. You only get the full price refunded if you buy items and then realize in the base that it was a bad purchase.
This is what the community says about the streamer: The reactions from the LoL community were quick to come and are found under the Reddit post. Many expressed critical opinions about the behavior.
We have summarized some comments for you:
The top comment from Norasack refers to lolmalice’s stream title: stream title “Soloq chilling” 💀.
rollin43v3r is of the opinion: This is not new. He is a man-child and toxic.
Itismejustadmitit agrees: He literally does this every 2-3 days for the past 3 years. Absolutely crazy that he hasn’t been banned considering how often he does this.
It remains to be seen whether Riot Games will respond. Currently, however, the dissatisfaction within the community seems obvious.
Did you know that LoL has one of the most famous memes? Here you can learn the story:
The well-known Final-Fantasy-XIV YouTuber JoCat has announced that he will take an indefinite break due to ongoing harassment and threats. MeinMMO reveals the details.
The popular YouTuber for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, but also for Monster Hunter and D&D, announced that he is stepping back from the public spotlight after being subjected to harassment since 2021 – because of a video.
Who is JoCat?
JoCat’s real name is Joseph Catalanello
He gained a large fanbase with his A Crap Guide to Serie and other content, often parodies, on his YouTube channel
He currently has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube
Popular video becomes the YouTuber’s downfall after reaching the wrong audience
Which video is it about? According to JoCat, the harassment is due to a specific video of his. It’s a gender-specific parody of the song Boys by Lizzo titled I Like Girls.
Here you can watch the video:
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The video features various popular female gaming and series characters. JoCat describes in this video how he likes pretty much everything about women, every characteristic – whether big or small, curvy or muscular. The video currently has over 11 million views.
Although many fans celebrate the video and praise it as an expression of Body-Positivity, JoCat has gradually become a victim of harassment and threats, as he emphasizes.
He explains that the harassment has escalated from online threats to concerning packages being sent to his family’s home.
He says in his statement:
[..] It [the video] received overwhelmingly positive feedback from my audience, my colleagues, and my partner.
About a year later, it seemed to go beyond the target audience, and since then I have seen and received many assumptions about my character, my story, my beliefs, my relationships, and those of my partner, as well as threats of violence against me and my family, doxxing attempts, and mockery, even from people I respect and look up to. [..]
He explains that a significant part of the harassment mainly took place on Twitter, where he could simply log off and ignore the haters. However, a considerable amount has also leaked into other areas of his daily life that are harder to ignore – private direct messages over Discord and Twitch, as well as suspicious packages sent to his family.
Although he is very grateful for what this job has done for him and his family, he simply does not feel strong enough to continue if it means having to accept this kind of burden. Maybe it makes him weak, but he rarely thinks of it differently.
At the end of his statement, he emphasizes that he never intended to upset anyone. His goal has always been to create things for which he feels passion and to have fun doing it.
You can find his full statement on his official website jocat.net.
This is what the community says: Under his YouTube video I Like Girls, on X and on Reddit numerous comments from users are gathering. We have summarized some for you:
DHTheAlaskan writes: JoCat does not deserve the hate he gets. He is one of the very few positive influences on the internet.
meerakat5034 highlights: My smaller breasts sometimes give me the feeling of being less of a woman. […] When I stumbled upon this silly little video about a year ago, I really felt better. Going through the comments, I see that other women feel the same way. […] Thank you, JoCat. You deserve love, not hate, for what you have done here.
Enlog writes on Reddit: Damn. It is so damn awful to see someone as good and creative as JoCat being driven out of the platform he used to just make fun stuff, and for no good reason.[…]
nachtalb5255 writes (via YouTube): As a woman, I found your “I Like Girls” video very body-positive, cute, and sincere. It’s disappointing that a bunch of losers would harass you for a very cute video.
Currently, JoCat will continue his D&D project Heart of Elynthi and JOmega. With JOmega, he advocates for trans rights and education by raising money for the charity Gendered Intelligence through his stream while progressing through the Ultimate Raid TOP (The Omega Protocol) in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.
And for every wipe, he himself donates an amount to the organization. The project has been running since March 2023. Once these two projects are completed, he will take a indefinite break from publishing content.
The developer of The Coffin of Andy and Leyley was also driven away:
With Voyagers of Nera (PC), Treehouse Games is developing a new survival game set in a magical ocean world, offering co-op for up to 16 players.
What kind of game is this?Voyagers of Nera is a new survival game on Steam, developed by former Riot employees and previously known under the working title “Project Islands”. The game is cooperative, playable with up to 16 players, and is set to be released on Steam in 2024.
Voyagers of Nera takes place in an “ocean world” filled with numerous islands that harbor magical creatures and ancient mysteries. With its comic-style graphics and a game world visually influenced by Polynesian culture, the survival game resembles the Disney film “Vaiana” (English: Moana).
The game also offers familiar gameplay mechanics from the survival genre. You farm resources, explore the game world, and build structures and items. Combat against powerful leviathans is also included.
We present the official trailer for Voyagers of Nera here:
Start video
Voyagers of Nera shows in the trailer what the gameplay of the survival game looks like
What makes Voyagers of Nera special? A unique aspect of Voyagers of Nera is the players’ connection to an island spirit. With this, you form a bond that you can continuously improve.
Island spirits are living islands and players, as so-called rune-born, have the power to awaken the island spirit of their island and together protect the islands from corruption and restore the balance of the unstable seas.
If you maintain a good relationship with your island spirit by, for example, farming the island, you unlock new recipes and crafting skills. This allows you to create better items or more beautiful buildings and make your village more livable.
Who is behind Voyagers of Nera? Voyagers of Nera is developed by Treehouse Games. This is a relatively young development studio consisting of former developers from Riot Games and Microsoft.
Among the former Riot employees is Michael Chu, co-founder and CEO of Treehouse. He previously served as Product Lead at Riot Games for seven years and worked on League of Legends, among other projects.
If you want to discover more survival games in 2024, we introduce you to 8 different titles that you can look forward to next year on MeinMMO:
During the Christmas season, many find the muse to rummage through their belongings and see what is still lying around: A Mexican student came across gold. He owns a rare code for Fortnite, which he accidentally obtained years ago, and it is now quite valuable. Currently, the skin is being offered on eBay for 1,942 euros.
The question was: A Mexican student reached out on the second Christmas holiday, December 26, with a question for the fans of Fortnite in their reddit:
He had come home from university for Christmas, went through his things, found something, and now he has a question.
Years ago, he bought a controller: The controller came with a code for a skin in Fortnite. Is the code valuable – he himself has never played Fortnite.
And indeed, he has stumbled upon gold here. Experts estimate that the skin is worth between $500 and $1,000. If you look on eBay, that could even be a conservative estimate: This bundle is currently being traded for 1,942 €.
Start video
17-year-old is banned from Fortnite, cries in front of 20 million people, uses it for his YouTube career
Code was part of a promotion for the Xbox One S in 2018
Why is the skin so valuable? The code is for the “The Eon Skin Bundle”, which included the “Eon Outfit” and 500 V Bucks.
The Xbox bundle, where you got the console, cost 180 € at that time; for that, you got the Xbox One S, Fortnite as a game, 2000 V Bucks, and the Fortnite The Eon Pack Bundle with skin, pickaxe, and glider.
Since this promotion was limited and exclusive to the Xbox One, there are not many of these skins in existence. Moreover, people who received a code at that time probably just redeemed it, so it was off the market.
However, since Fortnite is still played in 2023, perhaps even more than before, and there are people who want to own every skin in Fortnite or at least those rare ones, the value of the skin alone is now almost 10 times higher than in 2018 – and back then, you also got an Xbox:
In 2018 you bought an Xbox and got the skin basically for free
In 2023, the skin alone is worth as much as 10 units XBox One S back then
At that time, the skins were included for free with an Xbox One S for 180 €.
Such limited promo codes, which can be logged into any account, tend to dramatically increase in value over time:
Also with WoW there is a similar phenomenon with the “Spectral Tiger”
In general, it can be a good investment to secure such “promo codes” when they come out and then lock them away for a few years. Although this always carries a risk, as such a game must still be relevant after many years.
Some fans have probably always wished for the CoD zombie mode to be a standalone game. Activision never implemented it, but now another developer is doing it in the form of a 4-player cooperative shooter on Steam.
What kind of game is it? Hellbreach: Vegas is a cooperative shooter for up to 4 players where you, inspired by the CoD zombie mode, must face waves of demons.
Along the lines of the original, you can buy new weapons, upgrade them, and acquire perks. You can also unlock new rooms and play the 6 different levels in 4 different modes.
Here you can watch the trailer from the latest beta.
Start video
Hellbreach: Vegas shows a co-op trailer for Gamescom 2023
More CoD Zombies than the Original?
Hellbreach: Vegas also wants to offer you enough variety when it comes to weapons. You can choose from 19 firearms and 3 melee weapons, including a flamethrower.
The game resembles the CoD zombie mode in all aspects and does not aim to be much more innovative than the original. The focus is on guaranteeing fun in cooperative mode for a few hours.
Why is the shooter competing with CoD? The shooter truly competes with the CoD zombie mode. The current zombie mode received mixed reviews from fans because it has little to do with the classic mode. Instead, you face zombies and bosses on an open map, similar to the Warzone map.
In the classic mode, there were always elaborately designed maps and Easter eggs that often took weeks to solve.
When is the game supposed to be released? The cooperative shooter is set to be released on Steam in the first quarter of 2024. Hellbreach: Vegas already held a playtest in autumn 2023, which only offered one of the 4 game modes that will be available for the full release.
In addition to the classic mode, there will be a kind of battle royale mode with a gradually shrinking map. There is also supposed to be a mode that focuses on weapon accuracy. In the mode “Captured,” you should survive on smaller versions of the maps, which is supposed to be even harder.
Whether Hellbreach: Vegas can really keep up with a giant like CoD remains to be seen. Cooperative and zombie mode players should find some hours of fun, and if the game is really enjoyable, it could still become a success, as another indie game has recently proven.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At the end of the year, it has almost become a tradition for many content creators to disclose their earnings from YouTube and Twitch. Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris (35) also showed what he has earned over the course of 2023.
What are these numbers? MontanaBlack revealed in a stream on December 24, 2023, how much he has earned this year from YouTube and Twitch. The streamer also disclosed how much money some of his YouTube channels have generated since their creation.
Over the years, MontanaBlack has earned several million euros just from recordings of his streams. The 35-year-old draws a similar conclusion as his colleague Rohat did shortly before: YouTube is a real “money cheat” and much more lucrative than Twitch.
When MontanaBlack released his very first video on YouTube, he probably never expected that he would one day become a millionaire.
Start video
MontanaBlack is one of the most well-known streamers in Germany – This was his very first video
MontanaBlack shows why YouTube is more worthwhile than Twitch
How much did MontanaBlack earn in 2023? Distributed across his YouTube and Twitch channels, MontanaBlack made approximately 4.2 million euros in 2023 from his content alone. This does not include earnings from his shop and his own energy drink.
Additionally, the streamer showed how much his YouTube channels have generated since their inception. Just from the channels “DieCrew” and “Richtiger Kevin”, which mostly upload clips from his streams, a total of 6 million euros has been generated in 7 years, mainly from reactions.
Main channel “MontanaBlack”: about 47,650 euros in 2023, about 263,200 euros since creation
Second channel “SpontanaBlack”: about 547,600 euros in 2023, about 2.9 million euros since creation
Highlight channel “Die Crew”: about 798,450 euros in 2023, about 2.9 million euros since creation
Highlight channel “Richtiger Kevin”: about 842,600 euros in 2023, about 3 million euros since creation
Main channel Twitch: about 1 million euros in 2023 without donations
MontanaBlack, who has repeatedly expressed strong criticism of Twitch in 2023, emphasizes how much more rewarding YouTube is: there, one can still earn a lot of money with videos that are several years old. Such a thing is not possible on the streaming platform. YouTube is simply “easy money”.
However, these are not the amounts that actually end up in his pocket, as MontanaBlack points out. After all, a portion goes to YouTube and his management, and 50% taxes are deducted. Moreover, the streamer does not manage his channels himself, so the actual operators also receive a share.
MontanaBlack did not disclose the earnings from his merchandise shop and his energy drink. As the Twitch streamer explained, he is currently in negotiations regarding Gönrgy, and therefore cannot disclose any figures. However, he wants to do so as soon as it is possible for him. Just recently, MontanaBlack hinted at how much money he really earns in a year.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO, there seems to be a feature that has remained undiscovered until today. And this, despite data miners having found hints about it 6 years ago.
What feature is it? The feature that apparently remained undiscovered by the community for 6 years and uncommented on by Niantic is the so-called Schnäppchenfang, in English Critical Catch. This is a feature from the Pokémon games where the critical catch is random and significantly increases the catch chance. As early as 2017, data miners discovered hints about the critical catch in Pokémon GO.
In the case of Pokémon GO, the critical catch works somewhat differently. As the community reports on Reddit, the critical catch in Pokémon GO is not a random event but can be triggered intentionally. Additionally, the catch chance is not just slightly increased but rises to 100%.
We link the Reddit post about it here:
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How does the critical catch work? To activate the critical catch in Pokémon GO, you must hit the Pokémon with the Pokéball at the right moment. You need to hit the circle, which gets smaller when catching a Pokémon, exactly when it is as small as possible. In other words, you hit the catch circle just at the last moment before it gets big again.
If you succeed, the critical catch is activated and the Pokémon is caught 100%. This is particularly significant regarding the hunt for the rare and difficult-to-catch Galar birds, as it is a very powerful feature that has not been known until now.
What does the community say about it? After trainer Zombie_Alpaca_Lips reported about it on Reddit, it didn’t take long for other trainers to explore his theory – successfully. I was skeptical, but I think you are right. I made 3 critical catches in my last few throws to test this. I’m very impressed that you discovered this!, comments one trainer.
Instinctively, I didn’t believe this, but I had a bunch of Pokémon tasks to test. Even though I wasn’t very good at it, I had 4 excellent throws, which I was convinced were as small as I thought they could be, and it really worked every time, reports another trainer.
Does the critical catch work with all balls? The trainer who discovered the feature reports that he successfully tested it with Poké, Super, and Hyper Balls.
So it seems that Niantic has had this feature in the game for a long time without communicating it.
What do you think about it? Have you tried it yourself? Have you even noticed it yourself? Feel free to check out the rest of the events in December in Pokémon GO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The four-time League of Legends world champion Faker explains in an interview why he declined an offer of 17 million euros and shares more about his new goals. MeinMMO reveals the details.
On December 20th, he appeared as a guest on the South Korean show You Quiz On The Block and explained in an interview why he declined an offer from a Chinese team that wanted him as a player, which was nearly 24 billion KRW (approximately 17 million euros).
Start video
The Life of Faker – Why He is a Living Legend
Faker’s focus is on new goals, no longer on money
What exactly does Faker say? In the interview with hosts Yoo Jae Suk and Jo Se Ho, Faker emphasized that his current goals are different from his previous pursuit of financial gains, which is one reason he declined the offer.
In the past, his main goal was to earn as much money as possible, especially at the beginning of his impressive career.
Faker explained that over the years he achieved his goal of making money. Thus, he constantly thought about what was important now and identified honor as the next essential goal.
He further elaborated:
[In the past] I thought I should show people how great I am by winning a lot. But as my career progressed, I thought about what other goals I should have. I thought I should set a goal that I could dedicate to others. […] My goal right now is to learn and grow more, instead of earning money and building fame. Also, the team [T1] treats me well, so I stayed. […]
This pursuit of constant improvement and the awareness of the value of humility seem to hold greater importance for Faker than the financial allure.
What else did he say? He emphasized that his preparation was not aimed at the results of the World Championship but rather aimed to give his best and enjoy the game, even in the case of a 0:3 loss. Faker said: That was my goal, our fans wanted the victory, so I was happy in that regard.
The League of Legends-GOAT shows that true greatness is not only measured by victories but also by the ability to self-reflect and set new, more meaningful goals.
Faker’s commitment to humility, teamwork, and the pursuit of honor not only shapes his own journey but serves as an inspiring example.
Twitch streamer Asmongold has reacted to a viral video in which a player flies through a dungeon in WoW Classic Season of Discovery to level up a group of players. He criticizes Blizzard sharply due to the hacking situation.
What kind of video is it? A video of the World of Warcraft creator N_Tys went viral on X (formerly Twitter). In this video, he shows a hacker in WoW Classic: Season of Discovery. The video features a mage apparently dragging a group of players through a dungeon to level them up.
However, the mage does not run but flies. We have already reported about hackers in Season of Discovery a week after the launch. Asmongold reacted to the viral video in his livestream and expressed his criticism of Blizzard.
You can watch the viral video on X here:
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In his reaction to the viral video, Asmongold expresses his disbelief towards Blizzard, especially regarding the detection systems.
He wonders how it is possible that players are not marked by the anti-cheat system when they fly through dungeons. As soon as they exceed a certain height that cannot be reached by normal means, the system should automatically mark them as cheaters, the WoW streamer believes.
According to Asmongold, buying gold is one thing, but modifying the game files and flying through the world is on another level. “This completely destroys the immersion and the integrity of the game more than anything else!”
Where does Asmongold see the problem? Asmongold sees the problem with Blizzard itself. The company’s anti-cheat department is said to be “completely incompetent and totally underfunded.”
The department is too small to combat the many cheaters, and the employees that Blizzard has deployed there are stupid, Asmongold asserts. He often criticizes Blizzard and usually quite harshly, so this choice of words is not unusual for Asmongold, as he has proven here.
How does the community view the criticism? On YouTube, most viewers agree with Asmongold. The user BigBoyAdvance writes: “It’s funny how private servers have solved the hacker problem, but a billion-dollar company like Blizzard can’t.”
The user named TheUnknownOtaku jokes: “Actually, mages can fly. It’s a new ability, you just have to have a father who works at Blizzard.”
Even iframe1 cannot understand why Blizzard cannot solve the problem: “I really cannot understand how private servers can write a hacking/bot detection system while it looks like Blizzard isn’t even trying.”
Counter-Strike 2 has been playable for a few months now, but the shooter is still struggling with issues. Nvidia drivers are causing problems again, as players can see through smoke.
What an unfair advantage! On Reddit, Counter-Strike player “GGDropcom_Off” shared a clip in which he activated a “game filter” using GeForce Experience, allowing him to see better through smoke.
GeForce Experience is a tool for Nvidia graphics cards that allows, for example, the recording of clips or displaying your FPS. With the game filter setting, the Reddit user was able to change the coloring of CS2.
When he subsequently threw a smoke grenade, he could still clearly see the silhouettes of other characters through the smoke and accurately shoot them – quite an unfair advantage against anyone who doesn’t have or cannot use this option.
Here you can see the Reddit clip of the player:
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Why is this bad? In Counter-Strike, smoke grenades play an important tactical role. They hinder your opponent’s sight of you and give you a short window of time to exploit the lack of visibility of your opponents.
CS2 even raised the bar and improved the smoke compared to CS:GO. It is now even more variable in use, as it temporarily disappears due to the explosion of grenades. Additionally, shots can cause small holes in the smoke for a short period, and it now spreads better in rooms.
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Counter-Strike 2: Trailer – The New Smoke
If players can see through the smoke and see you, that’s a huge tactical advantage. The cover that the smoke normally provides is no longer effective.
The enemy team’s economy can also benefit if players can see through the smoke due to a game filter, as they won’t need to use grenades to counter your smoke.
What does the community say? In the comments under the clip, there is discussion about who is responsible for the problem. One user writes that Nvidia is in trouble. Other users respond that Valve is to blame: “It’s not Nvidia’s fault, but Valve’s. If the driver has access to it, cheats can too. They shouldn’t render the player if he is not visible.”
Another user writes that Counter-Strike competitor Valorant had a similar problem some time ago. Generally, some players trust that Valve will quickly have a solution ready.
However, one user adds that to use game filters in CS2, one must allow third-party software, which decreases the trust factor.
A too low trust factor can lead to you playing with and against players who also have a low trust factor – for example, due to toxic behavior or many reports for cheating.
By the way, Valve can also be very creative when it comes to showing you that you should behave better. A streamer had to experience this in DOTA 2:
A festive and mysterious veil surrounds Destiny 2, as the final week of the Dawning event begins today. While the galaxy prepares for the upcoming New Year’s Eve, an engaging symphony of adventures and challenges also unfolds in the new Exo mission. MeinMMO summarizes the activities of this Christmas week for you.
For all Star Cat seekers in week 5: This week the cat is not hidden at the specified location. We will show you in this article where you can really find it.
Of course, the story of Season 23 continues, while Eva encourages you to bake cookies for the NPCs in Destiny 2. The countdown for the end of the Dawning event is January 2, 2024. By then, you should also have baked all ingredients into a large pile of Glimmer, weapons, and materials.
But that’s not all – while the snowflakes gently drift from the sky, the weekly activities also rotate through the cosmic offerings.
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Destiny 2 heats up 2023 with “The Dawn” to warm your holiday oven again
The key information about activities from 12/26 to 1/2.
Nightfall
The Corrupted, in the Dreaming City
Guardians must find one of Queen Mara’s closest advisors, Sedia, and free her from the control of the Taken. However, she has some screaming arguments that you need to counter.
Earn this week’s Nightfall weapon: The sniper rifle “Uzume RR4”
Crucible – This is the rotating PvP activity
This week in PvP, the modes checkmate control, witch’s cauldron, and elimination are active.
Additionally, there is a weekly boost with double Crucible rewards.
Endgame: Raid Challenges and Dungeon Rotation
Farmable Endgame on a weekly rotation: For those who enjoy challenges, the so-called Legacy rotations await in the endgame. They can be repeated and farmed.
What does “Farmable Endgame” mean in Destiny 2?
Since Season 21, older missions and raids rotate every week as Legacy activities and are farmable. This means: The active rotational raid, the active rotational dungeon, and the exotic rotational missions can be farmed in the week. You can complete the individual encounters multiple times to receive different items and complete your collection, including any exotics available in these contents.
This week’s Legacy raid is “Oryx’s Sworn” with the pulse rifle “Crowd Control.”
Additionally, there’s the dungeon “Prophecy”
The weekly Exo mission is “Foreboding” with the scout rifle “Tale of a Dead Man.”
Sedia awaits you this week in the Nightfall of Destiny 2.
Weekly Activities
These are the ritual activities:
The Circus: Cross the dangerous paths of the Dreaming City and uncover the secrets left behind by Riven.
Protect the Nest: Retrieve the lost eggs across the Ley Lines from Riven’s domain to fulfill your part of a dangerous deal.
Storm the Watchtower: Enter the ruin of the Warlord and banish the scorn and the Taken from the desire magic.
Lightfall – Weekly Campaign Mission
“No Time Left”
This mission reveals more information about CloudArk that the Guardians are meant to discover. Rohan sends you to the reactor of the network and infrastructure of Neomuna.
Ascendant Challenge – Dreaming City
Petra Venjhas this week’s 2nd Ascendant Challenge for you. You will find Petra and her quest offerings at the location “The Shore” in the Dreaming City. Here too, Savathun has her fingers in the pie, as the curse begins to reclaim the holy city of the Awoken at Level 1.
All sources for top loot in Season 23 of Destiny 2
More power level comes automatically: It seems there will be no grinding for power level in Season 23 either. The hard power level cap in Destiny 2 has remained unchanged at 1,810 for several seasons. Thus, no player is forced to perform at their peak every week, but automatically levels up with artifact level in all activities.
If you are currently not at the hard cap of 1,810, we have listed the best sources for top loot for you here.
This top loot boosts your power level up to 1,810:
Weekly Lightfall campaign mission on Legendary (+2)
Play “Part Restart” on Neomuna
Complete ritual activities in the Vanguard, in Gambit, or in the Crucible
Hawthorne’s clan task: Award 5 appreciation cards to other Guardians (+2 and 7 enhancement cores)
If any additional sources emerge in Season 23, we will promptly add them here.
Glimmer highlights in the Eververse
Only this week can you earn all Dawning armors through Glimmer in the Eververse. Players can obtain them for 6,000 Glimmer. You can use your saved Glimmer, or you can bake a lot of cookies for Eva and receive 10 Glimmer per cookie. Her additional bounty quests are farmable as long as you have enough Dawning Essence. You can even earn more Glimmer through the weekly Eva bounties here.
The frosty offers await you in exchange for Glimmer.
And these items are also available this week in the Eververse:
The MMORPG Star Citizen has not been released yet, but it offers a neat new package: For 53,121 euros and 60 cents, there is the “Legatus 2953” package. It contains 175 virtual spaceships.
However, since more and more ships are being added to the package, it is now at 48,000 $.
By any conceivable definition, that is extremely a lot of money. Especially since neither Star Citizen nor Squadron 42 can currently present any release date. The game is still in alpha.
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Star Citizen Alpha 3.22 Trailer
How expensive is that in relation? On Twitter, an American says: The price is three times the annual minimum wage in the USA.
On a Spanish site, it is explained: That is half as much as the sports car Maserati Grecale GT costs. There is also a small yacht, the Azimut 36 FLY Boat with a length of 11.2 meters, available for 90,000 €. In Spain, the average income is 22,781 euros – so the price of the package is double the annual salary.
Here in Germany, the average gross salary is about 49,260 euros (via Wirtschaftswoche), when working full-time. Even there, one could not afford the package.
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In recent weeks, the venerable MMORPG World of Warcraft had a surge on Twitch. That has now come to a stop for the time being. We explain what it is all about.
What was that surge on Twitch about?
WoW is actually not a big game on Twitch, except when there is currently a “World First Race” for a new raid boss in WoW Retail.
But in recent weeks there was an unusually large boost for WoW on Twitch, and it was precisely because of WoW Classic: In the last 90 days, the game had double the viewer hours compared to the previous 90 days.
This was partly due to the World First Race in WoW Retail, but even when that ended, interest remained high. This was due to a special project: “OnlyFangs” in WoW Classic Hardcore.
Anyone raiding on a hardcore server must be a bit crazy:
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WoW Classic: The Hardcore Servers Are Here!
Twitch streamers come together for project “OnlyFangs” and it hits hard
What was this project? “OnlyFangs” is a raid guild in WoW Classic Hardcore on the server “Ragnaros”, consisting of major Twitch streamers. The unique appeal: Anyone who dies here is out. And in a raid in WoW, people can die.
Leading the guild and the raid is the popular sodapoppin, who achieved 7.6 million viewer hours in the last 90 days, almost as much as raid leader Maximum.
Other big Twitch streamers like Mizkif or Annie Fuchsia were also part of OnlyFangs – and they welcomed people who are not usually known for WoW, like Pokimane or CohhCarnage.
What happened now: The surge for WoW began to stall on December 16 and then dropped significantly starting December 20. Since then, top streamer sodapoppin has not been streaming WoW, and many other major streamers are missing:
In the last 7 days, WoW has lost 34% of viewer hours compared to the previous week.
What is the cause? As Twitch streamer Mizkif explains, “OnlyFangs” is currently paused. The father of Veibae, sodapoppin’s partner, has passed away, and therefore the guild leader, Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris, has taken a streaming break.
As Mizkif explains, they will not play WoW without sodapoppin and are putting the entire project on hold:
“No, WoW is not over, but Chance is missing. Chance will… Chance will be gone for a while, he will be away for a while. Yeah, it’s pretty sad stuff.”
Mizkif thinks the “WoW stuff” will take a break for a few weeks without the raid leader. Because without Chance, they will not be able to continue the guild.
Terminator: Genisys is the fifth installment of the film series featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role. The sci-fi film is considered a flop, but in reality, it performed well. At least at the box office.
The sci-fi film Terminator: Genisys was released in July 2015, directed by Alan Taylor. Despite casting “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke in the role of Sarah Connor alongside Schwarzenegger, the film failed to impress audiences.
However, it was still a success at the box office. And the revenue from U.S. cinemas was not responsible for this in 2015.
Fourth Largest Opening for a U.S. Film in China
Where was the film a financial success? Although Terminator: Genisys couldn’t attract many viewers in the U.S., the film apparently found success abroad. James Cameron’s work achieved the fourth largest opening for a U.S. film in China in 2015. After its premiere, the film grossed $27.4 million in 25,000 locations in China. (Source: variety.com)
Terminator: Genisys grossed according to IMDb a total of $440,603,537 worldwide (approximately €400,023,951). However, only about one-fifth of the earnings, namely $89,760,956, came from the U.S. and Canada.
German trailer for Terminator: Genisys featuring Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor:
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Terminator: Genisys – German Trailer
What is criticized about the film? On Rotten Tomatoes, Terminator: Genisys has an audience rating of only 52%, on IMDb the film has a rating of 6.3/10 with a total of about 289,000 ratings. It is criticized that Terminator: Genisys “treads on the dusty skeletons of its predecessors that it has slaughtered for this purpose.” (Source: Rotten Tomatoes)
Furthermore, the Terminator series has “forgotten what made Terminator and Terminator 2 so great.” Terminator: Genisys is also described as “unnecessarily complicated with so many time shifts that even a passionate fan of the series must reluctantly admit that its future lies behind it.”
Emilia Clarke said according to CinemaBlend about Terminator: Genisys that she was “relieved” she didn’t have to make another film. The shooting experience was not pleasant.
Arnold Schwarzenegger believes that Terminator: Genisys and its sequel, Terminator: Dark Fate, are not a worthy conclusion for the series. You can find out more about this from our colleagues at Moviepilot.
The first two Terminator films, in particular, received very positive feedback. We conducted a survey at MeinMMO where we wanted to know from you which Schwarzenegger film you think is the best.
Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3 is underrated, but powerful. Our author Fabienne explains why she loves this class and what makes it particularly strong.
In Baldur’s Gate 3, there is a class that hides in the shadow of the popularity of others: the Cleric. A statistic from Larian Studios reveals that the Cleric is the least played class in the game:
Source: Larian Studios
The truth is, the Cleric is not just a weaker Paladin. Personally, I love the Cleric, alongside the Druid, and consider this class one of the most powerful in the entire game.
Cleric is damn strong
Overall, you have seven subclasses to choose from. All are viable, but I find the Domain of Light and the Domain of Life stand out significantly.
What makes the two subclasses so strong?
Domain of Light: With the Domain of Light, you as a Cleric receive strong AOE spells early on, especially the Channel Divinity and later the Fireball, allowing you to deal massive damage. With Wall of Fire, you can make tactical plays by placing it wisely, causing enemies to take significant damage when they walk through it. Together with Hunger of Hadar (for example, from the Warlock), it’s a great combo.
Additionally, with the Domain of Light, you have free access to the spell Spirit Guardians. This means you do not need to prepare the spell, as you have it available right away. With your reaction Protective Flicker, you can impose disadvantage on the opponent, potentially leading to a failed attack. From level 5 onwards, you can also use the reaction for an ally.
Domain of Life: This domain is my personal favorite. To be honest, I also play healer in other games like the two MMORPGs WoW and FFXIV. I also enjoy playing supports in LoL and Overwatch, and in Valorant, I play Sage as my main character – so yes, I love the playstyle. It just feels so good when the group survives because of you or when you can turn the battle with supportive abilities. The impact of healers and supporters on the situation can be immense.
With the Life Cleric, you have the only class in Baldur’s Gate 3 that can really keep allies alive. It is the only class that can be considered a healer. Additionally, you are tanky due to the access to heavy armor.
Also, with the choice of this domain, you later gain free access to Spirit Guardians, which is an incredibly strong spell that you can have a lot of fun with, especially in Act 2.
With the Life Cleric, healing spells become very powerful. With the subclass passive Disciple of Life, you heal additional hit points equal to 2 + spell level, which includes AOE healing spells like Mass Healing Word and Mass Cure Wounds. As Channel Divinity, you receive Preserve Life – another strong AOE heal.
Together with the concentration spell Beacon of Hope, you ensure that your allies receive the highest possible number of hit points from your next healing spells – as long as your concentration is not broken. This allows you to unleash strong healing combos.
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Baldur’s Gate 3: Cast two spells in one go
Spirit Guardians – such a cool spell
Spirit Guardians is simply an outstanding spell that is incredibly fun and is considered one of the strongest in the game. For me, it’s also the Mario Kart spell, because the spell feels like the shells from Mario Kart, which can annoy the opponents significantly.
Spirit Guardians is a 3rd-level conjuration spell that requires concentration. You summon spirits that protect you in the form of an aura. Nearby enemies take 3-24 radiant damage or 3-24 necrotic damage per turn, depending on which damage type you choose. Additionally, their movement speed is halved within the aura. On a saving throw, enemies still take half damage.
You receive the spell with all subclasses of the Cleric. With the Life Cleric, you can also deal strong damage with this spell by effectively walking through enemies with the Spirit Guardians.
This aura is especially good at effectively defeating small enemies. In Act 2, this spell is worth its weight in gold. Just be careful not to provoke opportunity attacks.
Divine Guidance: Always a handy cantrip that is available to both Clerics and Druids. With Divine Guidance, you receive a bonus of 1d4 on your ability checks. The cool thing about it is: You can also cast Divine Guidance on your allies. You can use the ability as often as you want without expending resources.
Spiritual Weapon: With this 2nd-level spell, you can conjure a floating spiritual weapon as a Cleric (as a bonus action) that aids you in battle. You can choose from various weapons, including a two-handed axe, a greatsword, a halberd, a two-handed hammer, a spear, or a trident. All weapons deal 6-13 force damage, but each has its own special attack.
The summoned weapon acts independently of the Cleric with its own movement rate, its own action and bonus action – and it can also fly. The cool thing about this spell is: It is not a concentration spell. You use a spell slot, and the weapon is then available to you for 10 turns.
It is also practical that the weapon is seen as a team unit by the enemies, which means it sometimes draws the focus of their attacks, allowing the weapon to tank a few hits.
Although the Cleric is the least played class in Baldur’s Gate 3 (or as a standalone character), the lack of popularity is likely also influenced by the ever-popular companion Shadowheart, who is also a Cleric.
But for anyone unsure about their class choice and who doesn’t want Shadowheart in their party, I highly recommend the Cleric. I personally have not had two Clerics in a group yet, but I think it could also be strong if you choose two different subclasses.
Clerics should not be underestimated – the class is not just a supportive class, but can also deal substantial damage and watch over the group’s survival.
In the right hands, the Cleric becomes an invaluable member of any adventurer group in Baldur’s Gate 3. As always, class choice is a matter of taste.
What do you think of the Cleric? Which class do you love? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
