Destiny 2 has to lay off employees, extent of the layoffs still unclear

Britta ♤ BeAngel Britta ♤ BeAngel Reading time 4 minutes

Today it was announced that Bungie, the developer of Destiny 2, has been affected by layoffs. Bloomberg and former employees reported this on social media. However, the exact extent of these measures is still unknown.

Update: We requested a statement from Bungie and on October 31 added more information to this article. Included is a Twitter post from CEO Pete Parson regarding the layoffs, as well as a list of former Bungie employees collected and compiled by players.

The layoffs became known: Today, layoffs at developer Bungie surprised both the gaming community and the industry. As Jason Schreier from Bloomberg reported via Twitter/X.

The exact extent is still unclear. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons apparently informed the affected employees about their layoffs on October 30 before a team meeting. Since then, several former employees have spoken out about their situation on social media, primarily from the fields of communication, PR, support, and sound design.

  • For instance, Liana Ruppert, former community manager of Destiny 2, tweeted: ‘It breaks my heart for everyone affected… I’m now looking for opportunities.’ In addition to her, another position in the community area was eliminated with Sam Bartley.
  • Also, Griffin Bennet, former social media lead, commented: ‘I was laid off by Bungie. It’s surreal to write this while sitting here thinking about what went wrong. I’m still processing everything, and although my first instinct is anger, I know I would regret what I would say.[…]’

So far, programmers and developers of Destiny 2 have not commented publicly on their layoffs, leading to the assumption that they were likely spared from the layoffs.

However, it has now been revealed that the composer of Destiny 2, Michael Salvatori, who has been responsible for the grand compositions for Destiny since 2014, has been laid off. On his own website, he replaced his career description with two words: ‘I’m fishing ;)’.

Nevertheless, it is still unclear exactly how many employees have been laid off in total. Players like SamiCkat are already collecting posts from the laid-off employees on Twitter to get a clearer picture. So far, 14 people have been listed there.

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Other studios were also affected in 2023: Some reports suggest that this measure is part of a restructuring, while others cite economic challenges.

Another reason could be that Sony has scaled back its ambitions in the field of live service games compared to earlier announcements. Bungie would thus be just another PlayStation-owned studio affected by a wave of layoffs.

Former community manager dmg04 tweeted that they are “ongoing echoes of bad decisions” due to “poor management” that lead to such moments.

Start video
Destiny 2: The Final Shape – The last DLC of the first saga

This job reduction occurs in a year when publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Take-Two, and Embracer have also laid off hundreds of employees, merged teams, or closed entire studios. However, some players feel, from all that is known, that Bungie should actually have all the means to avoid layoffs after the acquisition by Sony.

What does the future of Destiny 2 look like now? In addition to Destiny 2, Bungie is currently also working on other projects, such as the extraction shooter Marathon. Things are also not going well with Destiny 2. After Lightfall, players were disappointed with the story and delivered gameplay, and many players initially did not want to invest more upfront praise into the company with their DLC pre-order for “The Final Shape”.

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The current developments also raise questions about the future of Destiny 2 and the new projects. Players are concerned that this could now be the fateful end of Destiny and explained the lack of love in recent months for the game, which enables the existence of Bungie and funds their future.

So far, neither Sony nor Bungie have directly commented on the layoffs and changes, so one can only speculate on the reasons. Only the CEO of Bungie shared his regrets on Twitter, which the Destiny-related service website blueberriesGG labeled as “tone-deaf statement”.

Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all had a significant impact on our studio. What these extraordinary people have contributed to our games and to the Bungie culture has been immense and will continue to be an important part of Bungie in the future. These are truly talented people. If you have open positions, I would highly recommend each and every one of them.

wrote Bungie CEO via Twitter/X

The gaming community continues to await more firsthand information about the future of the studio and its projects. It is a highly competitive shooter landscape and one is curious how Bungie will tackle this challenge now.

We have requested a statement from Bungie regarding the layoffs on October 31. If new information arises, you will of course be informed about it on MeinMMO.

Recently, by the way, Epic was also affected, leading to the layoff of 830 employees for cost reasons: Steam rival Epic fires 830 employees, sells a money rain in Fortnite the same day

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Twitter/X - Jason Schreier
  2. Reddit
  3. Forbes

Former developer says GTA 6 must be the opposite of GTA 5: “Smaller and more compact would be better”

Sophia Weiss Sophia Weiss Reading time 2 minutes

The successor to Grand Theft Auto 5, GTA 6, is rumored to have been in development for some time now. Recently, the game has made headlines with several leaks. Former Rockstar Games developer Tony Gowland has now spoken out.

Who is Tony Gowland? Tony Gowland has been in the gaming industry since 2000. His first projects included the lava level in Lego Bionicle for Argonaut Sheffield. In 2004, he started as a designer at Rockstar North and worked as a lead designer at Rockstar San Diego on Red Dead Redemption.

From 2010 to 2011, he worked as a Senior Mission Scripter. His main tasks included early missions and system scripts for GTA Online, a multiplayer based on the mainline game GTA 5.

Since 2012, Gowland has been active at several gaming companies, including The Blast Furnace, Activision, and Outplay Entertainment. Since 2015, he has been employed at Ant Workshop.

“Smaller and more compact” – Tony Gowland talks about GTA 6

What does he say about GTA 6? In an interview with PCGamesn.com, Tony Gowland talked about GTA 6 and his hopes for the game. He believes that after GTA 5, GTA 6 needs to be the exact opposite and thus smaller and more compact:

I think a smaller, but more densely populated place might bring back some of the memorable navigation that I loved so much about the original.

Tony Gowland in an interview with Pcgamesn.com, 28.10.2023

He also commented on the leaks that recently made headlines about GTA 6:
GTA 6: 49 seconds of leaked gameplay shows the main characters, the graphics, and a feature

The only thing I’ve seen are a few snippets from the leaked material, and I quickly stopped watching it. I found it really heartbreaking for the team that all their hard work was shown to the world for the first time in such a shabby and unfinished state, and I would much rather wait for an official trailer to really get excited.

Tony Gowland in an interview with Pcgamesn.com, 28.10.2023
The world map of GTA 5. How big the new map of GTA 6 will be is currently still unknown.

What is currently known about GTA 6? Currently, there is neither official footage nor a release date for GTA 6. Rockstar Games is tight-lipped about the future of the game series. The developer has only confirmed that the game is in development.

In September 2022, 3.4 gigabytes of alleged footage from a test build for GTA 6 were leaked on the GTAForums forum. Additionally, for a while, a video of a heist in Pulp Fiction style was available on Youtube.

About a year later, a new 49-second clip appeared online. This showed gameplay, main characters, and a new feature.

An official announcement from Rockstar Games regarding a GTA 6 release date is still pending. According to a financial report from Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games, a release is planned between April 2024 and March 2025.

Are you already looking forward to GTA 6? Or will you continue to stick with GTA Online? Let us know in the comments.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Microsoft ‘punishes’ soon thousands of innocent players who play with the wrong controller on Xbox

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 2 minutes

Currently, thousands of players are reporting that they are receiving a message on their Xbox: Their device is not authorized and will soon stop functioning. This affects thousands of players.

Players report receiving error messages when trying to use certain third-party controllers on the Xbox Series X/S. The accompanying text informs them that the devices are not authorized and cannot be used from mid-November onwards. The deadline is November 12, 2023:

An attached accessory is not authorized. Using unauthorized accessories affects your gaming experience. For this reason, the unauthorized accessory will be blocked for use on 12.11.2023.

Microsoft wants to punish cheaters, but may affect many innocent gamers

What is behind the ban? Many players speculate that Microsoft intends to primarily target cheaters with the new policy: There are certain adapters that allow players to modify their controller inputs to cheat in popular online shooters like Call of Duty: Warzone 2 and Rainbow Six Siege. As a result, such devices would no longer function, and cheaters would have no chance, at least with such models.

What is the problem? This affects thousands of players who use different accessories. For instance, the accessory manufacturer “Brook Gaming,” which specializes in “Fighting Boards” and steering wheel adapters, reports that these products can no longer be used on Xbox. The same applies to arcade sticks and other devices that rely on their own circuit boards, which have not been authorized by Microsoft.

This would also severely affect our colleague Duy Linh Dinh from GameStar Tech, who built an arcade controller himself and would no longer be able to use it on his console.

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Third-party accessories have long been a major problem on consoles

Such accessories for consoles have long been a major problem and a thorn in the side of many developers. These devices are connected to the console, where they act as mouse and keyboard interfaces, emulating controller inputs or executing simple scripts to prompt the game, for example, to give them additional aim assist.

In shooters like Destiny 2, there has been an ongoing effort against such programs and devices. At least they want to punish people who level up way too quickly and cheat their way up the ranks:

Some cheaters in Destiny 2 consider themselves particularly clever, manipulate hardware, and are now facing problems

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. kotaku.com

EA FC 24: New event promises the strongest right-back in the game – Here’s how to get him

Thomas Dummer Thomas Dummer Reading time 4 minutes

In EA FC 24 the Centurions event has recently arrived in Ultimate Team. It comes with the most expensive yet strongest evolution there has ever been. We show you how to get the probably best right-back in the game with the new upgrade.

Which evolution is it? The Centurions-Allrounder-Mittelfeldprofi-Evolution comes with a hefty price of 150,000 coins or 2,000 FC Points. In return, it promises one of the best upgrades for players with an already good rating of up to 84.

Given this new evolution, especially Marcos Llorente, the affordable all-rounder from Atlético Madrid, has the potential to become a true high-end card very early on in EA FC 24. We present to you the evolution with its requirements, tasks, and upgrades and explain why there should be no way around the Spanish all-rounder.

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Centurions-Allrounder-Evolution – What you need to know

What is the Centurion evolution? The Centurion event is a tribute to all players who have set certain records in their clubs in terms of matches played, goals scored, etc. This year, special versions of cards that were particularly frequently played in previous FIFA parts of Ultimate Team are also being released.

For this reason, the associated Centurion evolution is given more playtime than the previous evolutions, such as the recently released Trailblazers. You need to complete a whole series of matches to reach the last level of the evolution.

Your patience will definitely pay off, especially if you choose the right player.

Before we explain our favorite Llorente in more detail, we will present the general requirements, as well as the tasks and upgrades of the individual evolution levels.

Centurions-Allrounder-Evolution: Requirements, Tasks, and Upgrades

Requirements:

  • Overall rating: max. 84
  • Speed: max. 89
  • Shooting: max. 81
  • Defense: max. 82
  • Physicality: max. 82
  • Position: CM
  • Playing Styles: max. 7

Tasks Level 1:

  1. Win 20 Squad Battles (at least Semi-Pro) or Rivals/Champions with your EVO player in the team.
  2. Assist 20 goals with your EVO player in Squad Battles (at least Semi-Pro) or Rivals/Champions.

Upgrades after Level 1:

  • Overall rating: +1
  • Shooting: +3
  • Dribbling: +3
  • Physicality: +3
  • Offensive work rate: High
  • New playing style: Unyielding

Tasks Level 2:

  1. Win 10 Squad Battles (at least Semi-Pro) or Rivals/Champions with your EVO player in the team.
  2. Assist 30 goals with your EVO player in Squad Battles (at least Semi-Pro) or Rivals/Champions.

Upgrades after Level 2:

  • Overall rating: +1
  • Speed: +3
  • Passing: +3
  • New playing style: Kante

Tasks Level 3:

  1. Win 10 Squad Battles (at least Semi-Pro) or Rivals/Champions with your EVO player in the team.
  2. Score 10 goals with your EVO player in Squad Battles (at least Semi-Pro) or Rivals/Champions.

Upgrades after Level 3:

  • Overall rating: +1
  • Defending: +3
  • Defensive work rate: High
  • New playing style: Decisive Pass

Overall, you need to complete at least 40 matches to fulfill all the tasks. If you have problems in online modes like Rivals or Champions, we would advise you to complete the tasks in Squad Battles. The playtime in Squad Battles has been adjusted to four minutes half-length this year.

After the evolution, you will have a really strong card in your ranks with the 87-rated EVO player Marcos Llorente. We will explain why he might even be the best player in the right-back position in the next section.

How strong is Centurions-Allrounder Llorente in comparison

Llorente rises by three levels in his overall rating after completing the evolution and receives two new playstyles. (via futbin.com)

How strong is Llorente after the Centurions-Allrounder-Evolution? On futbin.com, you have the opportunity to compare individual players with each other. In addition to the individual values that together form the stats like speed, shooting, passing, dribbling, defense, and physicality, you can also take a look at only the main attributes in the comparison, which together add up to a total amount known as Total Stats (TS).

We were curious and compared Llorente position-wise with the currently best RB and CM in the game.

In the first comparison, we used the new Centurion Icon card from Ruud Gullit in central midfield, which with a value of around five million coins is among the most expensive players in the game. The Dutchman has always been considered one of the best and most expensive cards in the game.

And yes, Gullit is still the better card; if you add up the individual stats, the Dutchman has a TS of 522, while Llorente’s TS stands at 503. However, the Spaniard does not have to hide with a deviation of only 20 points in the total stat comparison, considering that you could complete a Centurion Gullit for 30 times the cost of an EVO Llorente.

Llorente compared with the best cards on his two most logical positions as CM and RB (via futbin.com).

In the direct duel with his prominent competitor in the right-back position, Llorente even comes out on top. Against the Brazilian Icon of Carlos Alberto, the Spaniard prevails in comparing the sum of the total stats. Especially the offensive output is promising with a shot value of 81 compared to Alberto’s 64 shot value.

Here too, it is worth noting that Llorente is not a bargain at 150,000 coins. However, compared to the million that Alberto costs, he represents a much cheaper alternative with sometimes even better values.

Centurions EVO player Llorente therefore clearly has ambitions to become and remain one of the best right-backs in the game, perhaps even until the Team of the Year in January.

What makes Llorente so good in addition to his very balanced values are two specific playstyles that make him even faster. We have introduced them in a separate article for you and explained the interplay of the two playstyles.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Blizzard includes Buffy in a strange marketing campaign for Diablo IV

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

The game principle of Diablo IV is old. Apparently, they want to appeal to nostalgia and bring out the Buffy actress you know from the 2000s.

That Diablo IV tries to bring back the high of times long past is evident not only in the game itself but also in the accompanying advertising campaigns. Time and again, they rely on big stars to promote the game or actions in it. After Megan Fox, they have now brought out a very different demon slayer from the closet: Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Who is Sarah Michelle Gellar? Younger readers probably hardly know Sarah Michelle Gellar, but anyone who was a fan of series around the turn of the millennium surely came across “Buffy – The Vampire Slayer.” The series constantly walks the tightrope between cult and trashy and still has many fans today. If you are too young for this and have never heard of it, ask your parents; it might bring back some of their youthful years.

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What’s it about? Blizzard is holding a small competition. Fittingly for the “Season of Blood” currently taking place in Diablo IV, they have enlisted the former vampire slayer. Players can send the expert gameplay materials demonstrating their “best hunting skills” – whether you rely on “garlic or other unconventional talents” is up to you.

Why is Blizzard doing this? Blizzard seems to be increasingly relying on well-known celebrities with its marketing strategy – even now, several months after the release of Diablo IV. This is rather unusual, as marketing campaigns typically end shortly after the release of a game.

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It seems clear, however, that they want to appeal to nostalgia with the actress from Buffy – the same nostalgia that Diablo I and Diablo II evoke – as they also came out around the turn of the millennium.

Since Gellar will choose the winners herself, you can also check off “Buffy personally watched me play Diablo” from your list of great life goals afterward. Because not many can claim that.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. forbes.com

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 system requirements – What kind of PC do I need?

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 2 minutes

Soon Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 will be released for PC and consoles. MeinMMO explains to you what hardware you will need if you want to play the shooter on PC.

MeinMMO presents the system requirements for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Here we show you what hardware you need if you want to play the new shooter in Full HD, WQHD, or even in 4K.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 System Requirements PC – Full HD, 1440p, and 4K

Minimum Requirements (720p, low settings):

  • Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor (CPU): Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400
  • Graphics Card (GPU): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 / GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon RX 470
  • Memory (RAM): 8 GB
  • Storage: 149 GB
  • DirectX Version: 12

Recommended Requirements for high settings Full HD (1080p):

  • Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor (CPU): Intel Core i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
  • Graphics Card (GPU): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080Ti / RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600XT
  • Memory (RAM): 16 GB
  • Storage: 149 GB
  • DirectX Version: 12

Recommended Requirements for 4K/Ultra:

  • Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor (CPU): Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
  • Graphics Card (GPU): NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800XT
  • Memory (RAM): 20 GB
  • Storage: 149 GB
  • DirectX Version: 12

What do the data mean? “Minimum Requirements” means that you can actually play the game at all. Often this means gaming in 720p (HD) at 30 FPS with low settings. So you shouldn’t expect too much.

After all, the minimum requirements are not that high, like the system requirements for Cyberpunk 2077. For Modern Warfare 3 (2023) you only need a GTX 1650 or an AMD Radeon RX 470. These GPUs are rather positioned in the entry-level segment. Even for the recommended settings, you do not need a graphics card for 1,000 Euros.

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All important information about CoD MW 2023: If you want to know everything about the release of CoD MW3, we have the right overview for you directly on MeinMMO. Here you can find detailed all important information about the release of the new CoD game:

CoD MW3 2023: All information on release, beta, pre-order, and leaks

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Cult anime is becoming the next series on Netflix after One Piece and fans are excited: “I can’t wait”

Jasmin Beverungen Jasmin Beverungen Reading time 2 minutes

For many, Avatar: The Last Airbender is considered one of the best animated series of all time. After the animated series was adapted into a live-action film in 2010, Netflix is now working on a live-action series.

What is Avatar: The Last Airbender about?

  • In the world of Avatar, the four nations (Fire, Water, Earth, and Air) lived in harmony and peace, but then the Fire Nation declared war
  • The members of a nation can bend their respective element and use it for combat as well as practical purposes
  • The Avatar is the only person who can bend all four elements, but one day he simply vanished
  • Katara and Sokka belong to the Water Nation and one day discover Aang, the lost Avatar
  • Together with his friends, Aang embarks on a long journey to master all four elements

Strictly speaking, Avatar is not an anime, as it was not produced in Japan. However, the animation style clearly contains influences from the anime genre, which is why the series is still referred to as anime by many.

The animated series left fans thrilled. On Rotten Tomatoes, Avatar has a 100% approval rating and on IMDb, the series achieves 9.3 out of 10 stars. There was even a sequel with The Legend of Korra.

With the following teaser, Netflix announced the series:

Start video
Netflix teases real adaptation of Avatar: The Lord of the Elements

What’s next for Avatar on Netflix

What’s coming next from Avatar? Netflix has planned a new live-action adaptation of the animated series. The live-action implementation is expected to be released sometime in 2024. On Twitter, the team has already given a glimpse of how the individual characters from the Fire Nation will look:

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The images show Fire Lord Ozai, General Iroh, Princess Azula, and Commander Zhao. With another image, we can also catch a glimpse of Prince Zuko. In another article, MeinMMO has already explained where we know the actors from.

After the live-action implementation of One Piece, expectations are high. The series was so successful that a second season was announced.

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How are fans reacting to the images? Many users have taken the opportunity to share their thoughts on the images. Many users are reassured by the new images and find them ‘pretty good.’

Following the debacle of the film “The Last Airbender”, skepticism among many is high. The film from 2010 performed extremely poorly: On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 5% approval rating and on IMDb it only reaches 4 out of 10 stars.

It is therefore even more pleasing that users are taken by the new images. MeinMMO has highlighted some comments below the tweet:

  • annoyed_sister: ‘They look amazing. Especially Ozai and Iroh, omg, as if they were pulled directly from the animated series.’
  • ItsBarbieAlmie: ‘Oh my god… This is so good, I honestly can’t wait!!’
  • NieroDraegon_VA: ‘They look incredible.’

However, there are also some users who are skeptical about the live-action adaptation. One user thinks the story needs to be changed to make it interesting. The production team shouldn’t just copy the story.

Currently, Netflix is expanding its repertoire in the animated and anime genres. A controversial series is Castlevania: Nocturne:

New Netflix series on Castlevania causes a stir: ‘This woke-vania makes no sense’

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. millenium.org

Top streamer says: If someone donates 500 € to him, he is not happy because Twitch keeps all the money

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff (32) has been one of the most successful streamers on Twitch in recent years, especially with shooters like Apex Legends or Call of Duty: Warzone, making him one of the most-watched shooter streamers. In 2021, he ranked 9th worldwide. But now he talks about the pitfalls of his exclusive contract with Twitch.

This is what Nickmercs says: In a clip, the streamer, who was long exclusive to Twitch but is now also streaming on Kick, says:

For a long time, I saw nothing of the money. I received a fixed amount regardless of what happened. If someone came into the stream and donated 100… that was just, I don’t know, Hey! Thank you so much! I appreciate it! But that’s not mine. I mean it seriously: You get a guaranteed amount, you call it MG. With Kick, I get the MG and everything from the dashboard.

When he says “donated 100”, he means that someone donates 100 Twitch subs to him, which is about 500 €, of which he theoretically gets half.

But according to Nickmercs, he saw nothing from the donation that went personally to his channel.

Nickmercs is known for his skills in shooters like Call of Duty:

Start video
The new CoD MW3 presents itself with shooter action in the new multiplayer trailer

Twitch explains “safe deals” and “performance-based deals”

What does Twitch say about it? The CEO of Twitch, Dan Clancy, explains the system a bit differently (via twitter). He says:

  • Nickmercs received all the money from the subs
  • Additionally, Twitch rounded up the money to a certain guaranteed amount

Other streamers have rather concluded “performance-oriented” deals with Twitch, where the creator took a higher risk if they did not reach the targeted amount. At the same time, these creators also benefited more if their performance exceeded the target amount.

However, some creators fought hard for such an “MG” deal that Nickmercs got.

In retrospect, Twitch’s CEO agrees with streamer Nickmercs that the deal was not ideal and that it is better to make a deal where less money is guaranteed, but streamers also benefit more from their performance.

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Twitch streamer in the fight against subscription pressure

This is so exciting: This is the first time we get insight into the details of Twitch deals.

Apparently, Nickmercs chose such a “safe” contract that he could no longer enjoy new Twitch subscriptions. A bizarre situation that many viewers probably aren’t even aware of.

Because actually, every streamer’s declared goal is to gather as many Twitch subscriptions as possible, as that guarantees a steady flow of money: Thus, many streamers have significant problems taking a break, as they fear that during that time subscriptions expire, which disappear forever and their income drops permanently.

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For many streamers, the switch to YouTube is a step towards security, as you are no longer reliant on constantly entertaining the viewers for money to flow through subscriptions, but rather have a more stable income stream.

Nickmercs apparently also negotiated such a deal on Twitch that freed him from the “Twitch subscriptions” treadmill, but then he missed the thrill when a lot of donations came in.

The era of such big deals, like the one Nickmercs had, seems to be over:

The days of fat million-dollar deals for streamers on YouTube and Twitch seem to be over

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. sportskeeda

Gamer buys memory on Amazon, accidentally receives a box with 50 pieces delivered and reacts correctly

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 3 minutes

A gamer wanted to stock up on supplies and ordered new RAM. Instead, he accidentally received a whole box of 50 pieces. In the meantime, he has contacted the seller and reported the mistake.

We already reported on MeinMMO that Amazon buyers sometimes receive too much merchandise. For example, a gamer received 10 SSDs instead of just one, which was also an oversight.

Such mistakes happen at Amazon and other sellers repeatedly. Now, a user has received way too much RAM. But instead of secretly keeping the stuff, he has reached out to the seller.

Gamer contacts Amazon, wants to return excess received merchandise

A gamer posted several images on reddit. These show how he has a whole box of neatly arranged RAM packages sitting on his table. He himself explained that he sells entry-level systems in his shop and wanted to reorder RAM for that. Instead, he received a whole box of it.

How does the buyer react? In a further post, he explained that he had already contacted Amazon and reported the error. He personally feels guilty if he keeps the whole box. At the same time, he somehow hopes that he can keep the stuff if Amazon doesn’t care.

His behavior is rather rare, as many users who experience such a double delivery often keep the items without caring whether they might hurt someone in the long run. And reporting the mistake is right, as legally the excess received goods do not belong to him at all.

What are the reactions? Many are pleased with the honesty of the “finder” and that he has reported to the seller. However, there are also some users who are surprised and explain that Amazon has enough money anyway. It wouldn’t really matter about the box of RAM. For example, the user “Kanone” writes on MeinMMO:

In this society, you are not rewarded for honesty. I used to be like that as well. Society has taught me otherwise. Lying, cheating, that’s how you get ahead in this society. Politics shows it.

Some also scoff: “If you receive the wrong item or more than you ordered in the USA, then you can keep it as a ‘gift’.”

More about Amazon
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von Benedikt Schlotmann
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Excess delivered or incorrect goods officially do not belong to you

Can I just keep the goods? No, because the excess delivered RAM (or double processor or whatever you received too much) does not belong to you. After all, you only entered into a purchase agreement with Amazon for a specific quantity.

The well-known lawyer Christian Solmecke explained that one can quickly get into trouble. He says (via rundschau-online.de):

If the seller has erroneously delivered too much, you are obliged to inform him. Otherwise, you could run into legal problems. If it’s a mistake, you must proceed as described above. Selling, giving away or disposing of the item can lead to the entrepreneur claiming damages.

Do I have to run directly to the post office now? No, no one should expect that you will run directly to the post office and return excess received goods. First, contact the seller and set a deadline for the return.

This can then either pick up the goods themselves or provide you with a shipping label. Because you must not return anything at your own expense. After all, it’s the seller’s mistake and not yours.

It is definitely important that in the end, you do not pay for the return or are left with costs.

Problems with returns: Not always do sellers like Amazon show generosity or helpfulness with returns. This is shown by the story of a family father. He received an incorrect GPU on Amazon, but the seller refused a refund:

Gamer buys graphics card on Amazon, receives fake product – merchant refuses refund until the return of the ‘correct’ item

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

WoW Classic: Hundreds of HC characters dive into permanent death – This is what it’s about

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

In WoW Classic there is now collective mass death on some realms. But what is behind it? The reason is, as so often: greed.

In World of Warcraft Classic, everything is a bit more serious – especially in the “Hardcore” variant of the game, where each character has only one life. However, in various streams or simply with some luck on different realms, curious things can be experienced.

Apparently, many characters consciously jump to their deaths, ruining their character – this raises questions. However, this is not, as often assumed, a protest action – but a particularly deadly game.

What is happening on Classic realms? From the outside, it is a bizarre sight. Hundreds of players gather at the foot of a mountain, looking expectantly up while several characters gather at the top and enter the elevator. One by one, they then jump into the abyss – and many of them die. The characters are permanently defeated; there is no second life.

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Why are the players doing this? The reason for these jumps is usually a competition. A large gathering at an elevator, for example, at the lift to the area “Thousand Needles”. There, onlookers and participants gather. A player usually has a gold amount raffled off that others then play for.

The goal of the game: jump off the elevator in time, so that you hit the ground with as few hit points as possible, but do not die. Whoever lands with the fewest hit points then receives the gold amount.

More current news about WoW Classic:
Blizzard wins lawsuit against Turtle WoW, forcing the largest private server for Classic Plus to settlement
von Karsten Scholz
A version of WoW is too hard, prevents a continuation of the great model of Sauercrowd
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After Nostalrius came WoW Classic, now the end of Turtle WoW must lead to WoW Classic Plus
von Karsten Scholz

Interestingly, there are always some characters participating in such events that have already reached level 60. They are going “all in” and risk that their character is permanently done – because death is permanent.

What do you think of this action? A fun thing or is it crazy to expose a high-level character to such a risk?

The “jump to death” was also used as a symbol of protest back then, when one of the largest private servers of World of Warcraft closed.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

„He forgot where he comes from“ – MontanaBlack attacks smaller Twitch streamer

Lydia Lydia Reading time 3 minutes

There was a lot of excitement on X over the weekend regarding one of the biggest German streamers on Twitch: Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris (35) is said to have made fun of a smaller streamer, Marius “drecksuser,” and insulted him during the stream.

What is this dispute about? On October 28, 2023, Marius alias “drecksuser” shared a clip of MontanaBlack on X, formerly Twitter. The 23-year-old has nearly 68,000 followers there. Many users may have seen his profile picture, Kermit as Sith Lord, in a viral post.

However, he is also active on Twitch, where he has 14,600 followers. In the clip, MontanaBlack – apparently unprovoked – shows two posts from drecksuser:

  • One from 2021, in which he sets the goal to drive a Mercedes AMG within 2 years
  • A post from 2023, in which he asks for financial support for a football ticket

MontanaBlack reads the second post in a distorted voice and bursts out laughing.

When a viewer asks if the streamer has done anything to him, he replies: He just finds him unsympathetic, and he should be allowed to say that.

drecksuser wrote on X about the clip that the whole action was embarrassing from MontanaBlack. That the well-known streamer keeps a screenshot to expose him is “so disgusting.” The 35-year-old has no idea what influence he has with his reach.

Yes, even “Uncle Monte” started small:

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Career and Life of MontanaBlack in 2 Minutes: What Makes Him Unique?

MontanaBlack is said to have used the notorious copyright strike

This is how the situation developed: A discussion quickly arose on X about who among the two streamers is in the right.

drecksuser emphasized that he did not want to sugarcoat his actions, they were not okay. However, MontanaBlack is in his mid-30s; he should have better things to do than “laugh at some guy on the internet with 20,000 people,” said the 23-year-old (via twitter.com).

MontanaBlack did not comment on the situation on X, but he apparently reacted differently. Instead of the clip, only the message that the video was removed after a report by the copyright owner is now visible.

Apparently, he has initiated what is known as a DMCA or copyright strike. This is frowned upon among streamers, as everyone knows how frustrating it is when content is removed. Repeated strikes can also lead to account suspensions, causing content creators to lose important sources of income.

decksuser also shared a screenshot of the email notifying him of the removal on X. This was signed by Sebastian Kluge, who is also listed in the imprint of MontanaBlack’s highlight channel on YouTube.

It seems likely that the strike at least came from the “Team MontanaBlack”; however, it remains unclear to what extent the streamer himself was involved.

A re-upload of the clip has been embedded here for you:

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How is this being discussed? While many fans of MontanaBlack support “their” streamer, some X users view the behavior critically. One such user pointed out that MontanaBlack would likely not have been able to amass such a fortune without the subscriptions and donations on Twitch (via twitter.com). In fact, MontanaBlack had already been criticized for his participation in so-called “begging streams” on TikTok.

A user points to the difficult past of the 35-year-old and writes: “The guy has forgotten where he came from.”

MontanaBlack openly addresses his involvement in property crime during his youth and even stealing from his grandparents. He later referred to this as his perhaps greatest mistake.

More Twitch news on MeinMMO:
Big sponsor has been seen everywhere on Twitch for years, withdrew after shitstorm, now returning
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The LoL team of HandOfBlood has secretly formed a new team, aiming to become German champions in Rocket League
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Actually, MontanaBlack should be able to relate well to drecksuser’s position, as he currently feels unfairly treated as well. The streamer feels that he is portrayed poorly in clip compilations and believes it is something personal.

MontanaBlack feels misrepresented in the unofficial “Best of Twitch”: “He has a problem with me”

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

LoL: The top team in Europe has been working hard for 1 year – Fails when it matters: “So ridiculous”

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

In League of Legends the European team G2 was once regarded as a bunch of master trolls who took nothing seriously, and who often threw away easy games in LoL out of sheer arrogance. But 2023 was supposed to be different: for a year, they were in “Tryhard” mode, the manager writes. G2 was determined to become world champions. In the end, it was in vain.

Why does G2 have such a reputation as trolls?

  • The most successful lineup of G2 consisted of 5 players who played together for two years from 2019 to 2020: the leader Perkz, the WoW junkie Wunder, the hyper-talented Caps, along with the supporter Mikyx and the cynical jungler Jankos.
  • The 5-man combo was considered the best that Europe has ever produced but also as a team of loudmouths, who took nothing seriously. They were led by manager Ocelote, himself a hothead, who constantly fired off quips. In the end, a friendship with Andrew Tage became his downfall.
  • G2 was known as a “Living Meme Machine” that was willing to lose a match just for a good quip. Wunder, according to the image, was always in a bad mood and only wanted to play WoW – Caps had days when he shined or completely messed up; then it was said, his twin brother was playing: Craps. Perkz flamed on Twitter about everything and everyone: their voice calls shared after matches were legendary.

This lineup made it to the finals of the Worlds in 2019, but had to concede to a Chinese wonder team.

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G2 embarrassingly eliminated against supposedly weak opponent

This is what happened this year: At the Worlds 2023, G2 was actually seen as the best team in the West, and even managed to beat a team from South Korea and looked relatively good after the first 3 matches.

But then they lost game 4 clearly against a team from the USA, a disgrace.

Before the match, all experts considered the game a sure win for G2, but then everything went wrong.

In an interview, ADC Hans Sama said they just exploded, didn’t play precisely enough, and the opponent was full of confidence (via youtube).

Game 5 was also lost, and thus G2 was eliminated with 2:3 already after the group stage: the worst result for G2 and for the entire region of Europe in years.

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Manager says: G2 was in Tryhard mode for 50 weeks

What is different this year? Now one could say: typical G2. Underestimated yet again a weaker opponent, failed because of their own arrogance and got eliminated. But the opposite is supposed to be true.

As General Manager Romain Bigeard explains, G2 has been in “Tryhard mode” for 50 weeks, doing everything to win the Worlds.

They have played 900 practice matches, studied videos, trained daily 1vs1 situations, constantly tried to get players out of their comfort zone, and discussed every detail.

For 50 weeks, the game and the team lived only LoL, vowed to give their all to win the Worlds.

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Now they don’t even know why they were eliminated and what happened.

To lose is part of the process. After the Spring Split and after the MSI tournament, we came back stronger and more disciplined. We won the LEC. But when we had the chance to show what we could do when it mattered most… we failed. Hard. So ridiculous. After almost 50 weeks of grind, it’s over, we’re out.

For 2024, G2 wants to work on their methods, refine them, and try again.

How is this being discussed? It’s a bit disillusioning. No one on reddit wants anything bad for G2, they are generally appreciated. Only a few Americans mock – but that’s to be expected.

Nevertheless, it is noted that G2 simply had a really bad day against NRG and such a bad day is something you have to be able to afford if you are a top team. The true top teams are characterized by being able to remain stable and win their matches even on bad days.

G2 has the problem of being able to reach a very high level on good days, but on bad days they drop so low that they get eliminated: It is said. G2 has a high ceiling but a too deep basement.

A top team is characterized by being good enough to beat weaker teams even in the worst case.

That is probably the cold logic of such tournaments: You can give everything for 50 weeks, but if you lose at the decisive moment, you are out. The 900 practice matches don’t count.

Caps and Mikyx are the two players from G2 who were also part of their run to the finals in 2019. But even the people who are no longer with G2 have little to laugh about:

LoL: Europe’s biggest player gets his own “super” team, completely fails – now probably going

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Diablo 4: “This community has lied to me” players think the Uber bosses are too easy, that may not be true

Benedict Grothaus Benedict Grothaus Reading time 2 minutes

Uber bosses are considered the ultimate challenge for all players in Diablo 4 who want to test their skills and build. Many only show how easily they can handle such a fight. This apparently leads to a false impression, at least one fan thinks, and gets support.

These are the bosses:

This is the discussion: On Reddit, YouTube, and more, players repeatedly share their gameplay of how they easily defeat the tough bosses in a short time. A new OP build from Season 2 melts Lilith in about 10 seconds.

Such posts appear almost daily and with almost every class: Necromancers, Barbarians, Druids, and even the previously considered weak Wizards seemingly plow through the Uber bosses, one might think. In season 2, everyone is OP and the fans love it.

It seems that such a build requires either a lot of grind or a lot of practice. One user writes on Reddit: “This community lied to me. Every thread about Uber Duriel is flooded with comments about how easy he is. […] Is this all an elaborate community-wide troll or is everyone just lying to boost their ego?”

He attempted Uber Duriel at level 80 and burned through all his hard-earned materials. In the end, it wasn’t enough: the poison damage was too high, even with potions he couldn’t endure.

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“I killed Uber Lilith and hate everything about it”

Similar reports exist about Uber Lilith, who is still considered a kind of benchmark for builds. Here, a user writes that he supposedly struggled with the boss for 12 hours, over 1,000 attempts (via Reddit).

The problem is mainly the oneshot mechanics, i.e., abilities that can instantly kill you. They are not only too frequent but also hard to see. This absolutely needs to be fixed.

The only way was to simply ignore all mechanics, equip the gear with the most damage, and blast Lilith before she could do anything. Another user sees it similarly and says: this is poor design (via Reddit).

The best builds in season 2 can be found here:

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Many users from the community agree. Most posts on Reddit and similar platforms are about builds that easily melt bosses. Mechanics are ignored. If you want to play them, you need extremely high resistances and a good ping, otherwise, you will get hit.

Others argue: if you attempt an Uber boss at level 80, you are to blame. They are meant for characters at level 100 and ideally for a group. Most agree, however, that the majority of players simply copy expert builds and crush the bosses. All others are simply struggling.

However, with season 2, significantly more builds are playable than was the case before. Some classes have even become so powerful that players are calling for nerfs:

Players demand nerfs in Diablo 4, there are allegedly too strong builds – But Blizzard surprisingly refuses

Do you think the bosses are too easy? Or should there be some challenges in Diablo 4?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Survey shows: young people no longer want to see a certain type of scene in movies and series

Marie Friske Marie Friske Reading time 2 minutes

A survey by UCLA shows that many young people want to see less romance and sex scenes in movies and series. Instead, they desire more friendships and platonic relationships in stories.

What kind of survey is this? The survey comes from the University of California (short: UCLA). The Center for Scholars & Storytellers (short: CSS) published the results of their annual Teens & Screens Report in October 2023.

It revealed that teenagers and young adults, who are considered a primary target group for many advertisers, want to see less of a specific thing in movies and series: We’re talking about romance and sex.

Game of Thrones also has many sex scenes, which is likely not well-received by young adults:

Start video
Trailer for the first season of the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’

Less Romance, More Platonic

What do the results say? The study showed that the majority (51.5%) of teenagers and young adults aged 13-24 want to see more content about friendships and platonic relationships. Only 15.3% disagreed with the statement, while 33.3% are neutral on the topic.

Moreover, almost half (47.5%) of the respondents stated that most series and movies do not need sexual content for the plot. Additionally, 44.3% of those aged 13 to 24 believe that romance is overrepresented in the media.

Instead of traditional heterosexual relationships between men and women, many young people are also demanding more diversity in the media. For example, about 39% of respondents want to see more aromantic and asexual characters in movies and series.

People who identify as part of the asexual spectrum experience little or no sexual attraction to others.

Aromantic individuals, on the other hand, feel little or no romantic attraction to others.

Individuals who identify as both aromantic and asexual are also referred to as AroAce.

If you are interested in the full results of the survey, you can find the complete report from Teens & Screens for 2023 here.

Our colleagues from Filmstarts have investigated when sex on set was simulated and when it was real. Here you can find their analysis.

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What else does the study show? Additionally, these key findings were obtained in the survey regarding the film and television preferences of teenagers and young adults (via newsroom.ucla.edu):

  • 56% of 10- to 24-year-olds prefer original content over franchises and remakes.
  • Twice as many teenagers prefer “Binge Releases“ over weekly drops.
  • Teenagers want to see a life on screen that resembles their own.

How do you feel about the depiction of romance and sex in movies and series? Would you like to see more platonic relationships, or do you enjoy the strong focus on romance in films and series? Feel free to let us know in the comments.

If you enjoy series like Game of Thrones, where things can get heated, then check out this list:

11 series like Game of Thrones

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. www.jeuxvideo.com
  2. variety.com
  3. newsroom.ucla.edu

Pokémon GO: 60 players team up to catch Crypto-Lugia, encounter problems in traffic

Jasmin Beverungen Jasmin Beverungen Reading time 2 minutes

For Pokémon GO, players need to venture outside and catch Pokémon while walking, hatch eggs, and conquer gyms. However, for 60 players from Canada, this led to a dangerous situation that makes it clear that attention should also be on traffic.

What was that dangerous situation? In the reddit forum, a player reports that he and 59 others formed a group to catch Crypto-Lugia in a raid. They crossed a street where there was no crosswalk and no traffic light to regulate traffic.

As the group wanted to cross the street, a car zoomed by. The driver yelled that the group should get out of the way, as she was driving on the road.

When some players wanted to let her pass, one player stood in the street and acted as a “crosswalk” – he waved the group safely across and held up traffic. We spare you the subsequent insults exchanged between the driver and the player.

In another situation, a car turned right and overlooked a red light. The player gave the car a tap on the rear to signal that it was not okay. Whether other members of the group were endangered during this incident, the user omitted in his story.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the incidents, but the situations remind us that your eyes while playing Pokémon GO should not just be glued to the screen.

Crypto-Lugia is a great addition to your Pokémon team. However, there are other Pokémon that would also enhance your team:

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What do other players say about this? In the comments, many users believe that the player acted incorrectly. The group should have simply let the driver pass to de-escalate the situation. It would have taken little time to stop briefly and let her by.

Some users sound far from enthusiastic about the story (via reddit.com):

  • Wigberht_Eadweard: ‘I understand that you are legally in the right, but it’s not uncommon to let a single car pass when there’s a pretty constant stream of pedestrians.’
  • Runescaper4good: ‘That doesn’t make you sound as cool as you think… people have stopped to wait 5 seconds to let the woman pass, and you went out and escalated the situation.’
  • skullsquid1999: ‘Sounds like you were quite the fool.’

The situation is reminiscent of the closed bridge in Düsseldorf. Upon the release of Pokémon GO, a popular bridge was closed to vehicular traffic so that players could safely venture onto the street. Several portable toilets and trash cans were even set up to ensure players were well-equipped.

Such actions protect careless players from straying onto the road and, in the worst case, getting hit by a car. So keep your eyes open when playing Pokémon GO or any other AR game in traffic.

For the Halloween event, there are more Crypto Pokémon that you should definitely catch: Pokémon GO: Fan shows which Cryptos you must grab for the Halloween event

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Baldur’s Gate 3: The hardest fight in Act 1 becomes easy if you play it wrong

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

One of the toughest battles in Baldur’s Gate 3 becomes quite easy if you don’t play the way the developers intended.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, there are numerous battles. Some are quite simple, while others require a bit of brainpower, a good strategy, or just overpowered equipment. Particularly in the first act, most battles are still relatively easy – with a few exceptions.

One of these exceptions is the optional battle against Grym in the Grymforge. You can defeat this metal colossus quite easily – even more so if you don’t apply the intended tactic at all.

Why Baldur’s Gate 3 is so fantastic has been broken down here:

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Middle finger to the AAA industry: Baldur’s Gate 3 was no coincidence

What do you actually do in the battle? The fight in the Grymforge is necessary to unlock the forge and to be able to craft up to two very powerful equipment items in the forge. The fight actually involves soaking the boss in lava first, then pulling him to the forge hammer and letting the hammer drop on him. This causes him to take high damage. Normally, you do this two or three times, and then the battle is over.

This is the obvious approach that the developers presumably consider “normal”.

Can you do it differently? In the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit, a player shares that he simply didn’t understand the boss and just started hitting him at the beginning until he added up the various clues in his head and came to the “real” solution.

Others, however, commented that the “wrong” method of playing the boss is actually much more efficient. Because if you simply beat Grym with blunt weapons (and have corresponding melee fighters) and also speed up your characters with haste, you can defeat the boss within 1-3 rounds without needing the hammer at all. For example, Signal-Woodpecker691 says:

I decided to use Lae’zel and Karlach against him and used Oils of Accuracy. Karlach threw things at the beginning before running up, and Lae’zel just beat him in close combat. He didn’t even lose his initial “Superheated” status – they just destroyed him in 2 rounds.

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Astarion’s actor had so much fun with Baldur’s Gate 3 that it damaged his health, his conclusion today: “It’s stupid”
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Baldur’s Gate 3: Decipher the ancient book – How to find and open the necromancy of Thay
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Baldur’s Gate 3: Recruiting Minthara – How to Get the Powerful Companion
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In fact, the developers always intended for players to be able to defeat this boss without the big forge hammer – because there is even an achievement if you beat Grym without this help.

How did you defeat Grym the first time? Did you use the standard strategy with the hammer? Or did you trick the boss in a different way?

The meanest things you can do to your companions, we have here for you.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/

DAOC offered the feeling that new MMORPGs lack today 20 years ago

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 6 minutes

The MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot was released in 2002 in Europe and is still considered by many veterans to be the online role-playing game with the best PvP. MeinMMO author Schuhmann reflects in October 2023 on his time in DAOC and explains what today’s MMORPGs can learn from DAOC.

DAOC was released in the early days of the internet in Germany, when many people didn’t even have a flat-rate internet connection. There were indeed online games at that time, but they were often shooters like Team Fortress or perhaps something like Age of Empires.

Only a few who played Dark Age of Camelot at that time had experience from MMORPGs like Everquest or Ultima Online – those were the veterans who had a bit of knowledge, and they were the ones we looked up to.

But for many who started playing Dark Age of Camelot in Germany, it was the first MMORPG. For me, it certainly was: My only experience with online games before was with Diablo 2, which had been released shortly before. I quickly found myself in a guild of people who had been playing DAOC on the US server for a while but primarily knew each other from Team Fortress.

Start video
5 old MMORPGs that are still actively played

A player with knowledge could stop 80 newcomers

The one guy in our guild who knew what he was doing, a ranger named Lorin, had experience in Everquest and knew things that were completely foreign to the rest of us back then: For example, that it’s best to play an archer in a new MMORPG full of noobs because they can level and engage in PvP alone.

PvP was anyway the great unifying element in Dark Age of Camelot: Because the 3 realms of the MMORPG shared common borderlands with castles that could be conquered or defended. A ranger who knew what he was doing could hold a castle against 40, 60, or 80 clueless newcomers who for some reason decided to attempt to conquer such a castle.

I have many fond memories of the early days in the MMORPG. DAOC had some features that are no longer known today: Each realm had different versions of archetypes:

  • The hunter of the realm Albion had a shield,
  • the one from Midgard had its own pet and could use a spear,
  • the hunter in my realm Hibernia wielded two blades and since we were still in the midst of the “Lord of the Rings” hype in 2002, I probably saw more misspelled versions of “Legolas” than was good for me.
legolas

“Don’t sit down – Garf is around”

In realm-wide chats, you could read back then when a scout of the enemy, a guy named Sam, was lurking around the borders of our realm again, killing low-level players who wanted to farm mobs in the borderlands unsuspectingly.

The realm of dwarves, trolls, and foul-smelling vikings, Midgard, had the coolest classes: Their rogue variant was called “Shadowblade” and could use two-handed weapons. A player from Midgard, a northerner named Garf, quickly gained a reputation as a deadly assassin, sneaking through the ranks of enemies and killing sitting mages from the shadows.

Mages, affectionately called “fluffies” back then, died from a single hit from his two-handed weapon: With “one-hits”, assassins remained invisible, quickly spreading panic among players to make sure not to sit down and regenerate mana, because surely “Garf” was somewhere – and whoever sat down was always critically hit by a strike. And with such a two-handed weapon, really high values could come out.

Players would then run through the enemies, spamming area spells just to try and hit Garf – usually in vain. Later, a small Lurikeen from our realm made a name for himself because he could reliably track down and eliminate the nasty Garf.

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Through forums and mIRC, one learned what was happening in the other realms

Normally, you only learned in DAOC what was happening in your own realm: Because the defense of the realm against invading hordes was so important, you quickly had an eye on who the “strong guilds” were that you could call upon in times of need for defense: It was clear which guild leader you had to get on well with and which guild had the reputation of being unreliable because they did their own thing and did not coordinate with others.

It quickly became clear that you better not message this one guild leader after 8:00 PM, as he usually had a drink in him and reacted moodily.

Yet, even though you quickly knew the drinking habits of a stranger in your own realm down to the smallest detail, you knew almost nothing about the opponents: You could only read the name if a player killed another. Since many were still completely clueless in the beginning, the few veterans with experience from other MMORPGs stood out, having learned how to level and play properly.

Thus, there was a group of players who seemed overwhelmingly powerful simply because they didn’t play individually but teamed up in threes: There was a Thane, a kind of “magical warrior” who, unfairly, had a private healer with him and a dwarf with an oversized axe.

Against them, as a lonely wolf, you simply had no chance, because the fighters protected the healer and the healer kept restoring the warriors’ health. Much later, I learned that the three were privately friends: a couple and a friend of the man – they had gone through several MMORPGs together.

In any case, you quickly got to know your opponents through forums and common chats. In mIRC, a kind of Discord for cavemen, people chatted, teased each other, and shared complaints about the balance, as one realm was always too strong.

Particularly bad became it when later expansions came and developers Mythic sold the expansions by making the new classes so strong that they were ridiculed as the “flavor of the month” class, easily overwhelming opponents.

Whether Mythic was really that calculating and every new class was fundamentally overpowered, I can no longer swear today. After years as a gaming journalist, I am skeptical when I read such theories from players. But back then, I found it outrageous from Mythic, alarming, and a general scandal – and I felt good about seeing it that way.

Players who switched from their realm to another were called “winning team joiners” – it was almost as frowned upon as people who played “flavor of the month” classes.

daoc-art

Stories were heard of wealthy blacksmiths and powerful leaders

Stories were heard about a player in a realm who led a “zerg”: Everyone knew that you could follow this player in PvP to safely march through the mass from gate to gate and overwhelm enemies.

Or you heard the story of a player who had become the most powerful blacksmith of his realm and was forging such good swords that everyone wanted one from him, for the name of the blacksmith adorned the blades in DAOC.

The gold you paid him for a sword, so it was rumored, could also be bought from him for real money.

In our realm, a bard who was a police officer in real life made a name for himself by being the first to kill the dragon worldwide – even though he was not a particularly good player: He simply designated the dragon hunt as the “event”, marched through the zone with two hundred people, and “zerged” the dragon to death in huge lag. This was due to a game mechanic in DAOC where enemies were easier to hit the more players were attacking them.

Later, a class that could summon mushrooms came, which also counted as attackers: And a handful of mushroom types could kill those monsters for which you needed half a village back then.

When I once tried to become the raid leader, primarily to get a specific glowing sword that I desperately wanted, it went horribly wrong: Although the “zerging” through the raid Darkness Falls went smoothly: Before you could do the PvE in the raid, you first swept away the enemies of the opposing realm from the raid. That was not a problem, and the boss “Legion” died as planned.

Even the coveted sword dropped, but then a guy just pocketed it and refused to return it, even though according to the custom of the time an item was due to the raid leader if he announced it beforehand.

He said he wasn’t an idiot, that the sword would bring in a lot of money on eBay, which caused quite a stir in the forum at the time, as “ninja looting” was considered frowned upon.

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In the MMORPG DAOC, you were still someone

The difference to modern MMORPGs was mainly that DAOC was a limited experience: One realm was limited to a few thousand players. We did not know anything like mega-servers. Due to the common threat from foreign realms or common goals like the death of the dragon, community was important.

There was no anonymous raid finder, no reasonable mechanics to distribute loot fairly, there were no battlegrounds or arenas where structured PvP was possible, ultimately DAOC was an MMORPG where much had to be resolved personally and where contacts and the reputation of a player were important.

What really made DAOC better than online role-playing games today was the feeling it gave players of being someone in this world. What today Influencers like Asmongold are in a large way, were many players in a small way back then: Of course, on the neighboring server, no one knew who Garf was, the nasty Shadowblade, causing everyone to not sit down – but on our server for a time, he was someone.

That was nice.

For many years now, a spiritual successor to DAOC called “Camelot Unchained” has been in the works, but a lot isn’t going as planned:

MMORPG Camelot Unchained has been in development for years – the mood is openly hostile.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Twitch: Streamer flees on the 2nd day of his friend Trymacs’ event: “Disrespectful behavior”

Lydia Lydia Reading time 3 minutes

Maximilian “Trymacs” Stemmler is one of the largest streamers on the German Twitch. When he hosts an event, everyone loves to join – but one of his closest friends has had enough. Wieland “Rumathra” Welte left the streamer’s LAN party early.

Who is it about? The Twitch streamers Maximilian “Trymacs” Stemmler and Wieland “Rumathra” Welte have been good friends for years and are often seen as a team at events. They also participated as a duo in the 3rd season of the survival show 7 vs. Wild.

Participant Jens “Knossi” Knossalla even estimated higher chances for the two due to their long-standing friendship to survive the two weeks in the wilderness together: They would do everything together, even sleep in the same bed.

However, there are now doubts about whether Trymacs and Rumathra could have endured two weeks together: Because Rumathra left his friend’s event early after almost 2 days.

Actually, the event was supposed to revolve around Minecraft.

Start video
The Story of Notch – The Man Who Invented Minecraft

Trymacs is said to have imposed strict rules on event participants

What kind of event is this? Trymacs has been hosting a LAN party for the Minecraft event Craft Attack since October 28, 2023. It is supposed to be an eight-day streaming marathon, but on Sunday, October 29, Rumathra unexpectedly left the event.

A clip shows how Rumathra leaves the streamer party: He said he was not having fun, felt mistreated. He experienced the same thing at the last event, but wanted to give it another try. As nothing had changed, he is leaving now.

Trymacs claims that the dispute is about a recipe for cheese spaetzle, but the streamer denies this and calls the accusation “completely insane”. We have embedded the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS8crY_95kk

In a separate statement, Rumathra explained that Trymacs “really pissed him off”. The streamer reports on how things went at the event: He had to be very quiet, did not sleep well. Additionally, there were many rules. For instance, one was not allowed to put onions in the trash without taking it out immediately.

Moreover, he was constantly criticized, according to Rumathra. He made it clear that he did not like it, but Trymacs kept going. Apparently, Trymacs behaves very differently when they are just the two of them. But in a group, he quickly turns against Rumathra.

However, the streamer also says: He is not angry with Trymacs. After all, he knew before how he was and that he could not change him. However, he does not want to participate in such events anymore (via YouTube).

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Fans find Trymacs disrespectful

How is this received? In fact, many fans seem to be on Rumathra’s side. In the comments on YouTube, they praise him for standing up for himself and pulling the emergency brake.

Trymacs, on the other hand, is not receiving much positive feedback: He has become quite arrogant, has behaved disrespectfully. Also, the fact that he immediately replaced Rumathra is not going over well. On Reddit, there are several larger threads addressing the issue.

For example, u/ziemlichsus writes in a thread titled “Trymacs’ Disrespectful Behavior Towards Rumathra”: “I just think that this behavior should be highlighted and criticized. […] In this clip, I no longer find Trymacs funny, just disrespectful:”

In a thread in the 7 vs. Wild subreddit, users are also discussing whether the two could really have survived two weeks in the wilderness together if they can hardly manage two days now.

Many viewers draw a parallel to Chefstrobel. The Twitch streamer is also considered a friend of Trymacs. However, Trymacs often made fun of his friend in clips, and it also seemed to be “in” to dislike the streamer in the comments under compilations.

Recently, he explained in an emotional stream how much constant negativity affects him: He is tired of being the “fall guy”.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

From Batman to Mortal Kombat – Currently, you can get 11 action-packed games on Humble Bundle for under 15 €

Linda Baumgartl Linda Baumgartl Reading time 2 minutes

Whether you prefer to maintain order in Gotham City, wreak havoc with an orc army in Mordor, or engage in tough duels with your friends: In the current deal for €14.25 on Humble Bundle, fans of action-packed games get their money’s worth and can save significantly compared to prices on Steam.

What is Humble Bundle?

  • Humble Bundle is a website where you can purchase games, books, or software digitally.
  • In constantly changing collections (“bundles”), multiple products can be purchased together.
  • The price of the bundles can be chosen by the buyer. By paying less, you receive fewer titles. By voluntarily paying more, you support charities, publishers, or the Humble Bundle staff themselves. The distribution of the donation can be individually adjusted.

With Mortal Kombat 11, the penultimate installment of the fighting game series is included in the bundle. You can see more about the current Mortal Kombat 1 here:

Start video
Mortal Kombat 1 Megan Fox
If a new anime fails, it means bankruptcy for the artist The tank of your raid group is again the biggest noob? Now you can prove what you can do without MMORPG Zelda TotK: Player lets Link run around Hyrule lightly dressed and shocks the NPCs Godzilla looks in the new teaser as if he has been eating protein powder for 2 years, returning to theaters in 2026 New anime is like John Wick but as a dating sim, flying under the radar for many fans Zelda TotK: Player lets Link run around Hyrule lightly dressed and shocks the NPCs Zelda TotK: Player lets Link run around Hyrule lightly dressed and shocks the NPCs Zelda TotK: Player lets Link run around Hyrule lightly dressed and shocks the NPCs The most successful MMORPG from Germany since Tibia is now much prettier, coming soon on a new platform A series on Netflix is a feast for fans of thrillers, viewed over 69 million times alone in 2025 Zelda TotK: Player lets Link run around Hyrule lightly dressed and shocks the NPCs The X-Men exist only because Stan Lee needed a cowardly excuse for his superheroes

Which bundle is it? For €14.25, you can get 11 titles suitable for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros in a current deal on Humble Bundle. This offer ends on 18.10.2023.

If you were to purchase all games at the current time (including discounts) on Steam, you would have to pay €82.39. With the bundle, you save €68.14.

Batman fans can rejoice

When you hear the name “Warner Bros”, you probably first think of well-known films, for example from the DC universe. Some of the most popular games based on this large franchise are also included in the current bundle.

All included DC games with their current ratings on Metacritic:

  • Injustice 2 Legendary Edition (87)
  • Gotham Knights (67)
  • Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition (87)
  • Batman: Arkham Origins (74)
  • Batman: Arkham City GOTY Edition (85)
  • Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition (92)

Off to Mordor

Also included are two games from the Lord of the Rings universe. Although the games take some liberties with their source material, that’s what makes them so entertaining, as epic stories can be told without having to adhere strictly to the canon.

“Lord of the Rings” games with their Metacritic ratings:

  • Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition (84)
  • Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition (80)

Of zombies, the apocalypse, and tough duels

The last three titles of the bundle are also action-packed. In the cooperative first-person shooter “Back 4 Blood”, you face hordes of the undead. Less cooperative is Morta Kombat. In the eleventh installment of the popular “beat ’em up” game series, you can challenge your friends among others.

In “Mad Max”, you fight for your survival after the apocalypse and explore on foot or in a vehicle in the open world.

More games with their Metacritic ratings:

  • Back 4 Blood (77)
  • Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate Edition (88)
  • Mad Max (69)

What is the cheapest deal? If you want to save your wallet, you also have the option to purchase only a part of the bundle. The cheapest deal contains four titles for €4.75. For that, you get “Batman: Arkham City GOTY Edition”, “Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition”, “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition”, and “Mad Max”.

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For so many games, you obviously need ample storage on your PC. It is all the more annoying when games secretly take up more storage space.

That can happen to you, for example, with the recently released “Mortal Kombat 1”. Why every crash consumes up to 1 GB of storage, you can find out here on MeinMMO:

Every crash of Mortal Kombat 1 secretly consumes storage on your PC drive

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Humble Bundle
  2. Metacritic

The new MMORPG that Amazon is bringing to Europe probably forgoes the mechanics that we so hate

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

In 2024, the new MMORPG Throne and Liberty is set to be released in Europe. Amazon plans to bring it from South Korea to Europe and America. Now, unexpectedly good news has arrived: The online role-playing game plans to forgo the “Gacha mechanics” that are hated in the West, it is said. Here in Germany, the system is known as “Loot Boxes.”

What mechanics do they intend to forgo?

  • A Korean site reports that Throne and Liberty intends to avoid probability mechanics for items. Essentially, this refers to loot boxes: non-visible boxes from which a desired item can be obtained with a certain probability or only a disappointment.
  • Such loot boxes are considered a “gambling mechanic” and are viewed with increasing skepticism. In Belgium and the Netherlands, some games with this mechanic are no longer sold.
  • Because the probability of actually obtaining one of the desired items from such loot boxes is often microscopically small. Players spend way too much money trying to obtain a desired item.
Start video
Throne and Liberty – Summer Game Fest Trailer

Battle Pass instead of Loot Box

What do they plan instead? Instead of loot boxes with probabilities, as is common in Asian gacha MMORPGs, NCSoft is apparently orienting itself towards western live-service games and plans to implement a Battle Pass.

Those who reach certain milestones in this subscription-based season pass are promised items: This is not luck-dependent but calculable.

As a fan site reports about Throne and Liberty, players already got a taste of the season pass with cosmetic items during the last closed beta.

tl-seasonpass

The reputation of loot boxes as a cash grab is getting worse

Why is NCSoft doing this? According to the Korean news site mt.com, loot boxes have fallen out of favor in recent years; high prices have led to controversies. Because they also want to reach the West with Throne and Liberty, NCSoft is therefore orienting itself towards a calculable model.

Because, with a loot box system, success is not guaranteed even if a lot of money is spent.

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NCSoft seems to be redirecting after negative experiences

Here’s what’s behind it: NCSoft launched the game “Blade & Soul 2” in South Korea in 2021, and it was extremely successful at the beginning. However, they overdid it with monetization, leading players to voice strong criticism, and Blade & Soul is now considered a burned license.

After Throne and Liberty had only moderate reception in initial tests, NCSoft seems to have decided to make significant concessions to the players.

How the system will look in practice, we will probably find out soon. A showcase for the Korean version of Throne and Liberty is scheduled for November 2, which is set to be released in South Korea in December.

The combat system of Throne and Liberty has also been significantly revised:

The new MMORPG Throne and Liberty showcases its revised combat system – now promises PvE dungeons

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.