The first part of the Winter Holidays starts in Pokémon GO. MeinMMO has looked into what you can expect at the event.
When does the event take place? The Christmas season is celebrated in Pokémon GO with an event that consists of 2 parts. The first part of the Winter Holidays starts on Thursday, December 18, 2025, at 10:00 AM and runs until Wednesday, December 24, 2025, at 10:00 AM. Right after the end of Part 1, the 2nd part of the Winter Holidays continues.
In the 1st part of the event, there is a dedicated GO Pass, new costumed Pokémon, and an increased chance of 2 rare Shinies. We have summarized what specific content you can expect in the coming days.
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Pokémon GO shows its new season in the trailer
All Content of Winter Holidays: Part 1 in Pokémon GO
What new costumed monsters are there? Within the event, you can obtain 3 costumed monsters for the first time in Pokémon GO. They are Mogelbaum, Akkup, and Donarion – each in holiday clothing. All 3 monsters can also be obtained as Shiny with some luck.
While you can find Mogelbaum and Akkup in the wild and in raids, you will only receive Donarion if you evolve Akkup at a PokéStop with an activated Magnetic Lure Module.
What bonuses are there? If you hatch Pichu with a holiday hat or Petznief with a holiday ribbon from 7-km eggs during the first part of the Winter Holidays, both monsters have an increased chance of being obtained as Shiny.
Additionally, event field research will be active, where you can earn Stardust and encounters with event Pokémon.
What rewards are in the GO Pass? A separate GO Pass is also part of the event. This will continue to be active in the 2nd part of the Winter Holidays. As usual, there is a free and a paid version of the pass. The GO Pass Deluxe contains all the content of the free GO Pass.
In the table below, you can see what rewards are known so far:
GO Pass
GO Pass Deluxe
Rewards
• Encounter with Snomnom* • Encounters with event monsters • Stardust • Experience points • Poké Balls • Candies
• Snomnom Hat • even more encounters with event monsters • Premium Battle Passes • Special Candies XL • Candies XL
Rank 1
double experience points for sent gifts
double amount of Stardust for opened gifts
Rank 2
you can receive more items from opened gifts
halved hatch distance for eggs placed in incubators
Rank 3
50% additional experience points for raid battles
double amount of catch experience points
What monsters are there? You can find special monsters in the event both in the wild, in eggs, and in raids. These include the following:
In the wild:
Quiekel*
Schneppke*
Seemops*
Mogelbaum with holiday clothing* (rare)
Akkup with holiday clothing* (rare)
In 7-km eggs:
Pichu with holiday hat*
Kussilla*
Petznief with holiday ribbon*
Frigometri*
Snomnom
In 3-star raids:
Mogelbaum with holiday clothing*
Hisui-Arktilas*
Akkup with holiday clothing*
All Pokémon marked with an * can also be found as Shiny.
Avatar Accessories: With the start of the Winter Holidays, you can permanently acquire 2 new items for your avatar in the in-game shop. These are the Akkup bag and the Mogelbaum sweater.
An expert trains rats to be gamers. After 4 years, the rats can shoot at enemies in Doom for the first time.In 2021, a neuroengineer and his team began training rats in gaming. Now, the project has received a major update.
A team led by neuroengineer Viktor Tóth has been trying to train rats to be gamers since 2021. In 2021, PCGamer first reported on this. Specifically, he and his team are teaching the rodents the shooter Doom. This includes movements, performing actions, and using weapons to defend themselves against demons.
By the end of 2025, the project has now received a significant update. The trained rodents can now shoot and defend themselves against enemies. This is reported by the English-language magazine TomsHardware.com. You can follow the entire project of the rats on the project’s own website.
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Students spy on passersby with hidden cameras and AI, find name and address in seconds
Rats are to become gamers; their gaming setup has now received an upgrade
How did the experiment start? At the beginning, the rats stood in a harness over a freely spinning ball, where forward movement was assigned to a simplified Doom II corridor. As a reward, they were given sweetened water when they performed the desired action. Further interactions with Doom were not possible at that time.
What changed in 2025? The team of Viktor Tóth has now presented a major update: he has extensively upgraded the gaming setup for his rats: the new system still maps the movements of the rats but now also supports more complex inputs. Additionally, he has incorporated a small, curved AMOLED display into the setup, providing the training rats with significantly more spatial feedback than before. The researchers state in their own blog:
The rats successfully learned to navigate the virtual environment and trigger the shooting mechanism. The adaptation took about two weeks per rat. Due to time constraints, advanced training could not be completed, but initial data showed promising interaction with the system.
Moreover, the rats can finally defend themselves in Doom against enemies: via a physical trigger mechanism, the animals can activate the fire function of Doom. Technically, they can now shoot enemies, but practically, this works with varying degrees of precision. A shooting god like Shroud is likely still far from the rats when it comes to precision.
After Doom Eternal, a new installment in the series, The Dark Ages, was released, which aimed to break the fast gameplay style a little. Bethesda invited MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus to check out Doom: The Dark Ages and play selected missions. The shooter is solid and extremely difficult; however, the unique selling point doesn’t quite stand out. More about this can be read directly on MeinMMO: The new Doom plays like a really hard shooter, but something is missing
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Streamers on Twitch come up with crazy challenges time and again. One of them wanted to chop 150 kg of onions while waiting for the next update for one of the largest games on Steam, Dota 2.
Which Twitch streamer is it? The streamer TeaGuvnor mainly plays Dota 2 on his Twitch channel. In the past, he has initiated crazy challenges to make the wait for the next patch for the largest MOBA on Steam more enjoyable.
After counting the individual grains of rice from 20 kg of rice for an earlier patch, he decided to chop 150 kg of onions this time. You can watch the event on Twitch.
How many onions did he manage? After eight hours, the Twitch streamer was relieved by Valve when the patch notes for update 7.40 (dota2.com) were released. He managed to chop a total of 211 onions, which according to him weighs 21.31 kg.
He will store the chopped onions in his empty freezer, and he will donate all the remaining onions to local restaurants.
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The new hero in Dota 2 is a frog with a guitar
The Twitch streamer will be rewarded with a frog that plays Guitar Hero
What kind of frog is this? The Dota community was already concerned that 2025 would be the first year with no new heroes.
As an early Christmas gift, Valve has now released the bard frog Largo. With his tongue, he pulls in enemies or allies and can support his team with various melodies.
The melodies must be played with the correct beat on the keys and is his ultimate ability. The community was immediately reminded of Guitar Hero, a game where a guitar controller is used to play well-known songs (reddit.com).
The Reddit user ccmdmc has apparently already found a way to play the new hero with the Guitar Hero controller.
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What else is new in patch 7.40? In addition to the new hero Largo, there are a lot of changes to Dota 2. Since every piece of news would exceed the scope of an article, we have summarized the most important points for you:
The new hero Largo is now playable
The heroes Slark, Lone Druid, and Treant Protector have been reworked
Several adjustments have been made to the terrain
Three items have been removed
Many items have been buffed or nerfed
Most heroes have received adjustments
On the patch page for 7.40, you can find all the changes that have been made to Dota 2 in detail.
In spring 2025, Dota 2 received one of the biggest updates ever. The map has been considerably enlarged, and a new mechanic for the strong neutral items from the jungle has been introduced.
Just in time for the holidays, Palworld is releasing Update 0.7 and aims to shine with quality of life adjustments: There are improved melee combats, new content for the building mode, and modding is supposed to get easier.
What are the highlights of Update 0.7? Patch 0.7 for Palworld comes with longer patch notes. Included are a whole lot of adjustments for the building mode. Certain building parts are now supposed to be paintable. Furthermore, there should now be much more freedom in design. For this, the team has implemented triangular components.
Melee combats are now also supposed to run better, which is good: with Patch 0.7 there is a new raid boss. The boss enemies can now also be taken to dedicated raid arenas. Previously, they had to be summoned in your own base and then defeated there.
In addition, there are also updates for modders, an experimental PvP mode, and a new collaboration with the early access shooter Ultrakill.
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Palworlds Update 0.7 brings many changes for the Quality of Life and a collaboration with a shooter
Easier modding and new collab outfits
What’s also included? In addition to updates for the building mode, combat adjustments, and the raid boss, there are a few more new features. Among them is the unlocking of the Steam Workshop. This should make sharing and using mods easier.
On top comes a new collaboration with the early access shooter Ultrakill: 0.7 implements weapons and armors from the game as well as a coin toss emote.
For PvP players, there are now also experimental new features. Fully integrating PvP into Palworld is claimed by the developers to be difficult in the patch notes. However, they have now implemented all the necessary tools for players to set their own PvP rules. They warn of balancing issues.
When will Palworld finally be released? Currently, it is not yet known exactly when Palworld will be released in its final 1.0 version. Recently, the developers stated, that they are aiming for 2026. Version 0.7 is also said by the developers to lay the groundwork for it.
In addition, there is also the ongoing lawsuit with Nintendo over allegedly violated patents by Palworld. Although this is currently taking place in Japan, there have been recent developments in the United States. There, Nintendo is currently trying to secure new patents. An originally newly approved patent has now been re-evaluated.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The perhaps best modern alternative to Skyrim currently comes from Poland and is called Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon. While fans are still waiting for news on The Elder Scrolls 6, this dark RPG is receiving a new story DLC on Steam– and it’s getting great reception.
What kind of game is this? Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is an open-world RPG developed by Questline, an indie studio from Poland. The RPG offers a dark reinterpretation of the Arthurian legend. Overall, the game feels very much like Skyrim, just more modern:
The game allows you to switch between first-person and third-person perspective like Skyrim did. Particularly in first-person, the combats feel very reminiscent of Bethesda’s model.
The game world evokes its dark, melancholic atmosphere, reminiscent of Skyrim’s setting of Tamriel.
Many players on Steam also believe that Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon feels like the “spiritual successor to Skyrim” (as mentioned in this Steam review).
The game was released on May 25, 2025, for PC on Steam, Epic Games, and GOG. The title is also available on the consoles PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. On December 15, 2025, the first story DLC, Sanctuary of Sarras, was released. This sends you to a mysterious underwater world.
Here you can see the trailer for the new story expansion:
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Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon schickt euch im neuen Story-DLC in eine gefährliche Unterwasserwelt
New adventure in an underwater world
What does the new DLC deliver? In Sanctuary of Sarras, you follow the trails of Nimue and the deserters who once stood against King Arthur. Throughout the story, you will also explore why the namesake sanctuary sank into the sea.
The DLC provides a brand-new area where fresh dungeons, enemies (including bosses), and equipment await you. Additionally, the DLC introduces a new progression system.
By activating sacred shrines in Sarras, you weaken enemies (who will now scale with your level, meaning they become stronger). Furthermore, these shrines grant you points that you can invest in three new talent trees.
How long will I be occupied with the DLC? The developers mention around 15 hours of gameplay on Steam. However, some players have stated that they completed it much faster:
Shepherd of Elo gives a thumbs up in his Steam review, but recommends playing the DLC with a new character or only on New Game +: “It only took me 7-8 hours with an Act 3 completed character on NG.”
Steam user andy is also enthusiastic and writes in his Steam review: “I really liked this expansion […] in fact it was so good that i played through this in one sitting”. However, he does not disclose how long that session was.
Overall, the reviews for the DLC on Steam are 90% positive, although there are currently only 54 of them. This value is likely to change as more players share their opinions.
On Steam, you can currently get Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon for €30.79 instead of €43.99. This offer is valid until December 19, 2025. A demo is also available on Steam. On GOG, the game costs €35.19, and this includes a DRM-free version, with a discount valid until January 3, 2026.
For Free2Play players, Destiny: Rising can currently feel very frustrating and tedious. The developers want to change that in the coming year.
What do the developers plan? A major update for Destiny: Rising is set to be released in January 2026. This is to include content for the main story, fresh activities, a tower defense mode, and a new pinnacle energy system.
In the announcement on playdestinyrising.com, the developers also address current criticism from the community that farming for resources and upgrade materials is too laborious and lengthy if you don’t invest money in the mobile version of Destiny.
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Destiny: Rising shows first gameplay in the trailer
More Free2Play fun starting 2026
What will change? For the upcoming Season 3, the developers plan a free pinnacle energy drop event. This event is to be active throughout the entire season and grant players free energy every day.
Furthermore, they want to significantly improve the rewards for Free2Play players and reduce the currently too strong restrictions on accessing content. Especially modes like “Calamity Ops” and “Bounties” currently do not offer enough rewards.
The goal of the changes in January: Those who do not invest money in Destiny: Rising should still have the opportunity to keep up with the new releases.
We firmly believe that active players are the foundation of a healthy gaming ecosystem, and we do not want monetization to become a barrier that prevents players from experiencing the game’s content.
A patch is already addressing the wound inflicted by the “The Dawning” event taking place in December. Through the associated activities, you can earn additional pinnacle energy and upgrade materials before the January update. By the way, what our Destiny expert Christos Tsogos thinks of the mobile version can be found here: I can hardly believe it myself, but Destiny: Rising is better than feared
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Patch 7.4 has entered Final Fantasy XIV and brought some exciting new features. And one new content is so good that MeinMMO editor Alex simply can’t get enough.
What content are we talking about? With Patch 7.4, the raid series of Dawntrail around the Arkadion came to an end in Solution Nine. The last 4 new raids were introduced and are definitely impressive. As a long-time extreme raider, I naturally had to jump in on patch day to see what awaits us in January when the hard modes become available.
So: Grabbed the raid group and off we went! And we were anything but disappointed. Because what unfolded before us in the next 2 hours was a pure fireworks display of emotions and fun. So much so that after our first run, we had to jump in again, even though we had already collected the weekly rewards, and we realized: These raids definitely rank among the best in the MMORPG.
Who is writing here? MeinMMO editor Alexander Mehrwald has been active as a Dark Knight in Eorzea since the beginning of the Heavensward expansion in 2015 and does not shy away from tough content. For the new raid tier, he is switching from tank to healer after 10 years and is looking forward to the Savage variants on January 6, 2026, which he will tackle with his long-time raid crew.
You can also get a brief impression of the raids in the trailer:
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Final Fantasy XIV: Rocking trailer for “Into the Mist” sets the stage for patch 7.4
A successful finale for the Arkadion
What was our experience? Already in the first of the four new raids, we noticed the rocking and captivating new soundtrack. Raids in FF14 often have really good music, but the new tracks resonated with us even more than the previous ones. They represent one of the great strengths of this raid tier.
This impression continued in Raids 2 – 4 and culminated in a song that is currently stuck in my head and plays on loop alongside my work. Because in Raid 4 you can listen to the song ‘Everything Burns’, which was created in collaboration with Tom Morello, the guitarist of the band ‘Rage Against the Machine’.
You can listen to the song here:
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The drive generated by the music also continues in the fight design and mechanics. The fights are fast, chaotic, snappy, and yes, they forgive little mistakes. Casual players may encounter some difficulties here, but nothing that can’t be mastered with a little patience and brainstorming.
Familiar formulas cleverly wrapped
The mechanics are, as always, based on the well-trodden, typical FF14 formula – however, they are wrapped and combined so cleverly that they feel fresh and new. Every fight had so many moments where we simply had to laugh, felt overwhelmed, and yes – even had to literally tank the floor collectively to restart the whole thing multiple times. A situation that hasn’t happened to us in several years.
The previous raids in the Arkadion were good and fun, but not more or less than, for example, the Eden series from Shadowbringers or the Pandaemonium from Endwalker. From our perspective, they were simply solid, with a slightly higher level of difficulty than before.
However, these last four raids of Dawntrail surprised us so positively that they have brought back the motivation and passion for the game that had somewhat faded during the expansion.
Just this achievement leads us to almost call the new raids the best in the game. Added to this are the really well-executed and fun concept, the very different arenas and designs, and the rocking soundtrack.
But the patch also brought some new features that are slowly but surely bringing back the fun of the game. For example, it is now possible to combine the armor pieces of all classes and glamor them over the equipped gear, so it feels like there are endlessly new possibilities for cool outfits.
Additionally, a strategy board for groups was introduced to facilitate planning for challenging content. Whether we will use it for our savage raids in the future remains to be seen. Yesterday, we primarily used it during waiting times to play chess or Tic-Tac-Toe in giant format. Apparently, we were not alone in this, as some posts on x.com show.
The new Anime season starts directly in January 2026. There are so many hits in winter that fans don’t even know when to watch it all.
What hits are coming? Right at the beginning of the year, several sequels of popular animes are available that fans can look forward to. Even though the rest of the year has more hits in store, some good series start right in January. These include:
But Oshi no Ko, Pokémon Horizons, and Fire Force are also part of the sequels. In addition, there are numerous new animes like Sentenced to Be a Hero, which will start in the Winter Season 2026. Fans reasonably ask themselves: When should we watch all of this?
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Hell’s Paradise: Trailer for Season 2 shows the creepy flower island
Tight schedule in January for anime viewers
What do fans say about this? Since so many good series are starting simultaneously, many users on Reddit think that the season from January will be very packed. According to them, the current season was “starving”, while the upcoming season would lead to “forced feeding”.
This means, the users feel that after a long drought, suddenly too many good series are appearing. For example, One-Punch Man was one of the highlights in autumn, but disappointed with its animations.
By the way, some users don’t find the drought in the current period bad at all: They were able to catch up on rewatches of past seasons to prepare for Winter 2026.
The fact that the next season seems so full is also because it caters to every fan genre-wise. In the comments, there are all sorts of animes that users are looking forward to. There is no clear favorite.
User Cipher-IX receives a lot of support: “Frieren, JJK, and Hell’s Paradise. I’m in heaven.”
User Lodju replies to his post: “For me, there’s much more, Oshi no Ko, Golden Kamuy, and Tis Time for Torture Princess, to name a few. And I will watch all the new non-sequels that have piqued my interest.”
User xenon2456 keeps it short with his favorite: “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes.”
Therefore, a tight schedule is needed to largely cover all your interests in the upcoming season. Do you have a method for efficiently binge-watching many animes? Or are you perhaps not interested in many animes in Winter 2026? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
Chapter 1169 of the manga One Piece is coming soon. MeinMMO will tell you what happens in the chapter and when you can expect the release.
Update on December, 17th, 2025: We have updated the article regarding the upcoming chapter.
When does the next chapter come out? The new chapter will be released on December, 21st, 2025, at 4:00 PM Central European Time (10:00 AM ET / 7:00 AM PT).
Where can I read the chapter? The Shueisha Publishing publishes the latest chapter in digital format every week on the official page of Manga Plus or in the corresponding app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store. There you can read the manga completely in German or other languages.
When will the next chapters come? The release schedule for the following weeks is as follows:
Attention: Here are spoilers for the content of the upcoming chapter.
What happens in Chapter 1169? Thanks to Reddit, we know what happens in the upcoming chapter:
Gaban says Garp told him Roger has a son. Shanks says, then that child is like his younger brother.
Harald orders Giant Soldiers to kill him, that’s the scene we saw in Chapter 1152 when Loki and Jarul arrived to the castle.
Shanks explains he’s in Elbaph to tell Harald not to accept the “Knight of God” position.
Harald explains to Loki, Jarul and the Giant Soldiers that he worked with the government and betrayed they betrayed him. Then he asks Loki to kill him and tell Elbaph what happened.
Harald orders Loki to eat the Legendary Devil Fruit, otherwise he won’t be able to kill/defeat him.
Harald has lost his sense of mind completely, turning into a cruel monster and attacking everyone, including Jarul who got stabbed in his head
Shanks and Gaban tried to stop Harald, but it’s pointless since Harald lost his mind.
Loki goes to the treasure room to eat the legendary Devil Fruit. When Loki enters the treasure room, Ragnir’s hammer attacks him.
What happened last? If you missed chapter 1168, we can summarize the main things for you here:
Ida died on a snowy day. Harald and Hajrudin wept for her, and Loki suffered silently while he was held captive.
14 years ago, Shanks was supposed to receive the Deep Sea Pact, but he did not appear. Instead, they decided to promote Harald for the Deep Sea Pact and appoint him as the Knight of God.
Harald gained more power and immortality.
Imu commanded Harald to create the Abyss Circle in Elbaph. After that, Imu ordered him to build a huge army for the government.
The chapter ends with Loki and Jarul arriving at the castle.
Until Oda writes the last chapter of One Piece, it will probably take some time. Accordingly, we will experience several arcs and islands where we will follow the story of Luffy and his crew. MeinMMO has attempted to make a prediction of when the end of the pirate story might be reached: When does the story of One Piece end?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A few days ago, the MMORPG community came across a lawsuit stating that the studio behind Ashes of Creation allegedly has not paid some invoices. Some speculated this is the reason for the sudden Early Access launch. Now, the founder Steven Sharif has spoken out.
What is the lawsuit about? The company Sara Software Systems LLC is suing Intrepid Studios because the game developer allegedly has not paid for the cloud services delivered since September 2022 despite multiple payment requests. You can find the lawsuit document on trellis.law.
Ashes of Creation stimmt im Trailer auf Early-Access-Start auf Steam ein
“$800,000 represents the studio’s weekly operating costs”
How does Intrepid respond? Studio head Steven Sharif has now commented on the assumption, clarifying that they deal with weekly expenses that make a penalty payment of $850,000 seem like proverbial peanuts.
Contract disputes are quite common in the business world and are resolved similarly to other disputes Intrepid has faced in its nine-year history. $800,000 represents the studio’s weekly operating costs. Anyone expressing concerns about this amount should take this into account.
The largest cost factor is likely salaries, as about 250 people are now working on Ashes of Creation. The penalty payment itself may not have been a reason for the Early Access launch on Steam, but the enormous total costs certainly were.
In the latest interview with YouTuber and streamer Esfand, the lead developer emphasized this again: Ashes of Creation is a risky project due to the genre, bringing additional uncertainties due to its innovations.
Memory is currently getting more and more expensive. One player gets lucky and finds 64 GB of RAM at a fair price.
This is what the user did: One player reports on Reddit that he had been at the retailer Walmart, a US chain, and purchased memory there.
Online, the memory already cost 240 US dollars, but Walmart apparently forgot to update the prices for the merchandise in one of its stores. The player shows a picture and in another post a receipt proving that he only had to pay 139 US dollars for the memory. Converted, that’s about 120 Euros without VAT (as of: December 17, 2025).
And this price is really a fair offer at a time when memory costs have nearly tripled. The price is at the level of before September 2025.
The seller reacts quickly: But for Walmart, the offer seemed too fair. The store soon adjusted the price significantly and nearly doubled it: Now you pay 240 US dollars per 32 GB kit, which is 100 US dollars more. The user himself writes in a further post on Reddit:
They [Walmart] have now updated the price, the remaining stock now costs 240 dollars. I left it there, hoping that other lucky ones would find it, but that didn’t last long.
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Valve presents the Steam Machine in the new trailer
Prices for memory and other components have been rising drastically for months
How bad is the situation currently? Since September or October 2025, the prices for memory have doubled and in some cases even tripled, if you can still buy modules at all. In many retailers, memory is often already sold out.
Even other components are now affected: In addition to memory, prices for SSDs, M.2 SSDs, and graphics cards are also rising. Models from Nvidia are sometimes more affected. At AMD, especially models with a lot of video memory are expected to rise in price.
Housing in World of Warcraft is getting major improvements in a few months. Blizzard is already showing what will change.
The housing in World of Warcraft is a complete success and ensures that many players invest many dozens of hours into designing their small homes. However, what many forget amidst all the commotion in the neighborhoods is that this is just the Early Access. For Blizzard, this is a kind of test run to test server stability and make adjustments. Many great features and improvements are yet to come.
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In WoW könnt ihr Häuser anheben – Pimp Your House Edition
What to Expect for Housing in WoW
In various posts on social media, in the forum, or even in the WoW subreddit, you can see small improvements that have been made to housing in the Midnight beta. Some of these improvements are:
Clear property boundaries: When decorating the garden, everyone has probably encountered the problem at least once. You move a tree or a fence, rotate it to what seems to be the perfect spot – only for it to be reset by ghostly hands because it protrudes over the property line. This is frustrating because you can’t see these boundaries clearly. With Midnight, that will change. In edit mode, you can always see at a glowing mark where your property ends and position objects precisely.
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Strong lighting options: Currently, the house level is capped at level 5, but starting from level 6, there will be brand new features. One of them is the “Armillar”. This allows you to provide different lighting for different rooms. A room can either have normal lighting (like during the day) or a significantly dimmer lighting, such as in the evening, or even an unnatural darkness. This can drastically change the atmosphere of a room, as these examples show:
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New rooms: Also new are room types that did not exist before. You already see these listed as rewards at housing level 5, but they cannot be used yet. These are rooms that do not have classic walls but instead use a “skybox” – a background with mountains and clouds.
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This allows for rooms to be created that give the impression of being “outdoors” – perfect for a balcony, a courtyard, or a nice garden that avoids the restrictions of the outdoor area.
Is there more to come? Yes. Housing is a long-term project and will be continuously expanded over the coming years. It aims to be a new “evergreen” feature, a new social component of World of Warcraft. That is why housing will be continuously developed, and you will likely receive new decorations and fresh options that are requested by the community with every major patch.
The first tournament of the new professional season in League of Legends is over. Former ADC of Faker, Gumayusi, has only reached second place and says he is still the best ADC in the world.
What kind of tournament was this? The KeSPA Cup 2025 was the first tournament held with the major teams in South Korea. In the final, T1, the multiple world champions, faced off against Hanwha Life Esports, Gumayusi’s new team, (lol.fandom.com).
What exactly did Gumayusi say? In an interview after the KeSPA Cup, Gumayusi was asked several questions. One of them was whether he still sees himself as the best ADC in the world. His answer was simple: “Yes, I do.” (reddit.com)
Of all people, his rival Peyz, the new ADC of T1, rocked the tournament and set a record while receiving the most coveted title.
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The trailer of the new champion of League of Legends showcases his abilities in action
Furthermore, Peyz was awarded MVP. This means he was the most valuable player in the final of the tournament and showed exceptional performance (reddit.com).
Peyz is one of Gumayusi’s biggest rivals
What else did Gumayusi reveal in the interview? Another question for the former ADC of T1 was who his major rivals in League of Legends are right now.
In addition to the ADC of GenG Esports, Peyz is certainly one of Gumayusi’s biggest rivals. The young ADC has not only taken his place but also shown that he belongs to the best team in the world.
What goals does Gumayusi have for 2026? Together with his team Hanwha Life Esports, Gumayusi wants to win many titles. Especially the fourth Worlds title is interesting for the ADC, as he has also won the League of Legends World Championships in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Gumayusi’s former teammate, Faker, also gave an interview during the KeSPA Cup 2025 and was asked for a few words about his former ADC. The best LoL player of all time was somewhat reticent and only found one word for him: Faker won 3 Worlds with his ADC, giving him only one word of advice
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO, a new Raid Day has been announced. And it’s really something.
What kind of event is this? The Raid Day is an event that occurs regularly with different monsters in Pokémon GO. During this event, you can participate in a large number of raids against a single monster within a time frame of 3 hours and benefit from various bonuses.
The next edition of the event has now been announced. It will take place on Saturday, January 10, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and will be named “Fusion Raid Day.” As the name suggests, the event will bring back 2 really strong fusions – even with an increased Shiny chance.
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Pokémon GO shows its new season in the trailer
What to expect on Fusion Raid Day
Which monsters will be in the event? The Raid Day will feature Kyurem in both desired forms, White and Black Kyurem, as well as Reshiram and Zekrom. You have 3 hours to battle the monsters in a variety of gyms.
The bosses will rotate every half hour during the event. First, Reshiram and Black Kyurem will appear for 30 minutes, followed by Zekrom and White Kyurem.
What rewards will there be in the event? If you defeat the respective monsters, you will receive Fusion Energy, which you need to perform the fusion with Kyurem.
If you defeat a White or a Black Kyurem, you can catch a regular Kyurem after a successful raid.
Additionally, there are exclusive moves that the monsters will know if you obtain them through raids in the event. These are:
Reshiram knows the Charged Attack Fusion Flare
Zekrom knows the Charged Attack Fusion Bolt
Kyurem can know the Charged Attack Ice Age
What bonuses will there be in the event? Additionally, there will be the following bonuses during the event:
up to 5 additional free raid passes at gyms
Increased Shiny chance for Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem
the limit for remote raids is increased to 20 (from Saturday, January 10, 2026, 2:00 AM until Sunday, January 11, 2026, 5:00 AM)
Event ticket: You can also purchase a ticket for $4.99 (about 5 €). This will grant you the following bonuses:
up to 8 additional raid passes (total 14)
increased chance for XL Special Candy through raids
If you don’t have the two fusions of Kyurem yet, you should take advantage of the event to fill this gap. Both monsters are among the best attackers in the game. If you want to know how strong they are, we have some additional information for you: Black or White Kyurem? Here’s how strong both forms are.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The developers of The Lord of the Rings Online are currently testing Update 46.1 and it holds a nice surprise! A long-awaited improvement that players have been wishing for is planned.
However, there were also players who were eager for an MMORPG in the Lord of the Rings universe but still refrained from installing it. One often mentioned reason: The user interface of the game desperately needed modernization. On large monitors, the text was hardly readable. The UI needed improvements for higher resolutions.
Now it is clear: The developers have taken the criticism to heart and are currently working to fulfill the players’ wishes!
The trailer for the current LOTRO expansion The Kingdoms of Harad:
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18 years after the release, The Lord of the Rings Online announces its new expansion “The Kingdoms of Harad” in the teaser trailer
“These are great news!”
What exactly are the developers planning? On lotro.com, the developers announced their test for the upcoming Patch 46.1. From December 15 to 19, not only will the new 3- and 6-player dungeons be available on the test server, but also the new UI scaling. According to the devs, this includes:
New UI scaling options are being tested, including global UI scaling.
Many of the full-screen UI elements will be updated to support widescreen displays without distortion.
Updates for character creation and selection, loading screens, and the map window are expected.
How are the players reacting? They are excited about the surprising improvement to the user interface.
Adavald jokes on Reddit: “I’m getting tired of hearing about this game since they refuse to update the user interface… Oh, wait.”
SecludedCottage celebrates on Reddit: “I love The Lord of the Rings Online. The only reason I’m not playing it anymore is that I can’t read the user interface on my 4K screen because it’s so small. This is great news!”
M3ss14h directly gives the team the next to-do on Reddit: “Great news, now they just need to fix the lag, which in my opinion is the bigger issue.”
With the early access launch on Steam, many new players will set foot in the world of Ashes of Creation starting December 11, 2025. This guide to AoC will help you get started.
Ashes of Creation is one of the few ambitious MMORPG projects from the West. For this reason alone, many genre enthusiasts will want to take a look. With the early access launch on Steam, this has never been easier and cheaper than starting December 11, 2025.
Due to the sandbox nature of the game world, the heavy focus on PvP, and the still rather unfinished alpha status of the MMORPG, Ashes of Creation is unfortunately not one of the most beginner-friendly online role-playing games at the early access launch. To ensure your start is as frustration-free as possible, you will find various tips in this guide to make your entry easier.
Update from December 17, 2025: We have now played both starting areas of the early access version of Ashes of Creation and are adjusting our tips accordingly.
You can jump directly to the points that are particularly important to you through the table of contents:
[toc]
The trailer for Ashes of Creation for the Steam launch:
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Ashes of Creation stimmt im Trailer auf Early-Access-Start auf Steam ein
Character Creation and Class Choice
At the beginning, you create a character, along with choosing an archetype and a race (there are 9 in total, you can find an overview on ashesofcreation.com). Keep in mind the following when choosing your class:
The summoner is new to the game and may still play quite buggy and unbalanced. A few months ago, the thief was introduced. Bard, cleric, fighter, mage, ranger, and tank have been part of the alpha for a longer time.
The choice of race is supposed to eventually affect the character’s attributes, but these racial bonuses are not yet in the game.
As you can currently only level up to level 25, it is not yet possible to choose a second archetype and combine it with the first class. So choose your class without considering possible archetype combinations.
Which Starting Zone is Better?
Currently, the riverlands and “The Anvils” are two starting zones available for launching into Ashes of Creation. Our impression after playing both starting areas:
Compared to the previous alpha, the game is now noticeably more beginner-friendly. Enemies drop rations that restore health and mana. Quests guide you through the first few levels and provide you with equipment and a mount. The new Destiny goals give you a rough idea of what you should be doing. This applies to both regions.
From level 5 or 6 onwards, this guidance disappears. The commissions on the black settlement boards sometimes require you to travel very long distances. From here on, AoC slowly switches to sandbox mode, although the gaming experience in “The Anvils” seemed a little more polished to us. This is in line with the developers’ warning that the Riverlands are still a work in progress.
In the following video, YouTuber GiddeonPlays guides you through the first quests and level-ups (the starter experience may differ slightly during early access):
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In the starting area of the game, weapons are lying around that you can simply pick up and equip regardless of your class choice. Since you earn experience points for the weapons you use, choose both a melee and a ranged weapon, which you can switch between in battle at the press of a button.
Tip: In the options, you can find several settings for activating or deactivating auto-attacks under Gameplay → Combat → Auto-Attack. For leveling and questing, it’s best to enable these options so you don’t have to press a button for every weapon attack.
Properly Allocate Your First Talent Points
Throughout the leveling phase, you will earn skill points for your class, the weapons you use, and the stamina area. Aside from the fact that you should always invest these promptly to significantly increase your combat power: Learn new skills whenever possible before upgrading an existing one.
One reason: Activatable offensive abilities deal more damage than auto-attacks. The shorter you keep the time windows in which you only have auto-attacks available, the better for your damage, shorter the fights, and more efficiently you level.
But non-offensive skills are also important to survive dangerous situations alive, to control enemies temporarily, or to enhance your mobility. In short: New skills broaden your range of maneuvers and make you more flexible.
How can I fish? In the “Skill Tree,” you will find the tab “Skill Book,” and under “Artisan,” the skill “Fishing.” Just drag this from the “Skill Book” to your skill bar.
The developers presented the concept for the new skill trees on X in June 2025:
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The developers have extended the protection against PvP encounters from level 5 to level 10. It also applies not only in the starting area but everywhere (exception: deliberate participation in PvP events such as caravans). Once your character reaches a higher level, he can theoretically be attacked anywhere in the world by other players.
However, there is a difference between attacking a player who has consciously marked himself for PvP (indicated by a purple symbol) or without this marking while walking through the world and not defending himself.
Can Ashes of Creation also be fun for PvP averse players and solo players? This question has been answered in detail in the following two articles. The short version: Yes, but … and the “but” could be crucial for many players.
Remember: You can attack players with the symbol without hesitation. If you attack players without a symbol, it could have negative consequences for you. Conversely: If a player hits you while you are not marked for PvP and do not want PvP, do not defend yourself! Many players will then leave you alone. Those who continue will be punished by the corruption system.
Also important: If you see a pile of ashes on the ground that you can loot, leave it. At least if you do not want to mark for PvP. Anyone who picks up the remains of another player can be attacked by passing heroes.
Discover as Many Embersprings as Possible
If you see a yellow griffin symbol on the map while exploring the game world, run or ride there. There is an so-called Emberspring shrine that can serve as a respawn point for your hero. You can also make a shrine your home point – for your respawn, the next shrine and your home point are always available.
Info: One of the first quests in the game introduces you to the Embersprings.
Note that you can only revive at Emberspring shrines you have discovered. Players who have received a debuff from the corruption system (for example, by knocking out a non-PvP marked character who did not defend himself) cannot use the Emberspring shrines.
Tip: Using the “unstuck” function, you can teleport your character to an Emberspring. This is primarily intended for characters that are stuck somewhere. Now …
What is Glint?
This is one of the most important currencies in the game, which you receive from defeated monsters and players or by completing quests, events, and achievements. Glint comes in various rarity levels and can be exchanged at NPCs for copper, silver, or gold. You can also use Glint to pay for the regular tax for your citizen status in a city.
Which city should I become a citizen of? Several factors can be important for this decision. Cities offer exclusive items to their citizens (such as a particularly powerful cloak). A melee fighter may therefore be interested in the city where the cloak with the appropriate melee attributes is available.
You may also want to help expand a city or node where you can fully immerse yourself in your playstyle. Nodes will eventually have different focuses, such as military, trade, or religion.
If you want to team up with other players in Ashes of Creation, you should save your Glint if possible. With Glint, you can buy goods that can be transported by caravan to other locations. If successful, high profits await – depending on the distance covered.
However, the danger is that other players can raid your caravan. If someone wants to carry out a valuable transport, they should rally a strong group of guards.
How to Get Your First Mount
Thanks to the revamped introduction and the first quests, you will receive a mount very early on, which you can summon with a click.
In the medium term, you should also get a spare mount. Your mount can die in battle, and then cannot be summoned for 10 minutes. If you want to avoid a tedious walk through the wilderness, bring along a second mount that can be summoned in such a case.
A third mount with water breathing is finally an additional option since it significantly eases the exploration of underwater areas. Normal mounts can swim, but they are slower, and eventually, you will run out of air.
4K gameplay from the developers, where they showcase water mounts in action on YouTube:
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Whenever you enter a new settlement, check the bulletin board for commission tasks. Grab all the quests there that you can complete during your next trip into the wilderness – for example, because you want to farm resources or defeat certain monsters anyway. This way, you gain additional experience and Glint without much effort.
Warning: There are different types of commission boards. The Adventure version provides you with exploration and kill quests. The Artisan board delivers gathering and crafting tasks. If you want to complete tasks from the Hunting board, you should find a group. Additionally, the local mayor can also distribute special tasks through his board.
Trade with Other Players
In every settlement, you will find access to a marketplace where you can offer up to 20 items for sale. Keep in mind that the game charges you a fee for every trade made, depending on the value of the trade (10 percent of the trade amount).
It is better to find an interested player for a purchase or sale through chat. This way, you save on taxes. It’s best to meet for the exchange of goods in a settlement, as PvP is prohibited there, and you are protected from being raided.
Play Carefully and Avoid Character Deaths!
If you die in Ashes of Creation, you must live with some disadvantages:
– You lose part of your collectable items, materials, and Glint. – You receive a debuff that reduces your stats for a few minutes. – The durability of your equipment suffers. – You gain negative experience that you must work off before you can make level progress.
For all fighters in regulated PvP situations, the disadvantages are noticeably less severe. All players punished by the corruption system, on the other hand, suffer much harder from the disadvantages of character death.
Named Opponents with Stars
In the world of Ashes of Creation, you may encounter special opponents, marked by their unique name and 2 or 3 stars. These unique monsters may drop a special loot item.
On the website ashescodex.com, you can check what loot these special adversaries drop or where a specific item drops. This way, you can avoid a difficult fight that would only yield an item you cannot use.
What else do I need to know about Ashes of Creation? Ashes of Creation is a sandbox MMORPG set in a fantasy world, played in a vast open world. You fight against world bosses and compete against each other in PvP. Additionally, there is a system where you level areas, build villages and cities, and change parts of the game world – the so-called “nodes”. Development of the MMORPG began in 2015. Read more about it here: Release, Roadmap, Alpha 2, Classes, Gameplay, Payment Model – everything important about the MMORPG Ashes of Creation.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
From now on, viewers can watch the first episode of Season 2 of the Fallout–series. Early critics have even been able to see and evaluate several episodes of the continuation. One thing stands out as particularly positive.
How good is Season 2? According to reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, Season 2 of the Fallout series is even better than Season 1:
Season 1 has a rating of 93% from critics with 133 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Among general viewers, the rating is also 93%, but with over 5,000 ratings.
Season 2 currently stands at a phenomenal 98% with 40 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The press has already been able to watch the first 6 of 8 episodes. The first 50 private viewers of Episode 1 have given it a rating of 96%.
Since Season 2 has just been released, not as many ratings have come in yet compared to Season 1. It could still be the case that the score is pushed down. However, it already shows a tendency of how positively the continuation of the series is received by fans.
The percentage indicates what share of viewers would recommend the series. There is also criticism within the recommendations for Fallout. However, there is one particularly positive aspect that prevails in the reviews.
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The official trailer for Fallout Season 2 takes us back to the apocalypse
Fallout benefits from the change of scenery
What is praised? The change of scenery to New Vegas is particularly well received. Small details are said to be hidden throughout the set, strongly adhering to the video game template. Additionally, Season 2 is said to perfectly capture the atmosphere of Fallout: New Vegas.
Moreover, the 2nd season is said to be even more brutal and darker than Season 1. There would be even more bizarre and violent situations that would simply fit Fallout.
It is also positively highlighted that Lucy and the ghoul will gain more depth. Season 2 would develop their relationship further and not just rely on more action. Both would be in the spotlight.
What is criticized? However, the two main characters are also under criticism. They often act separately, which causes their storylines to feel isolated. As a result, sometimes too much happens at once in an episode.
In addition, the structure is said to be very fragmented due to the many locations and new factions.
“The Jungle Book” is a popular story that gained additional popularity thanks to the Disney-adaptation. Mowgli is based on a real person whose story was far more tragic.
The story of the boy Mowgli, who grows up deep in the Indian jungle with wolves and other animals, is well known worldwide. It is part of a collection of stories by the writer Rudyard Kipling and was published in 1894, with a second volume following a year later.
In the story, Mowgli comes into contact with humans after his life in the jungle, learns to speak, and also how to behave like one of them. He even works as a shepherd before being labeled a sorcerer by humans after his victory over the tiger Shere Khan and is cast out. He then returns to the jungle.
Many of you may know this story from the Disney adaptation of 1967 – or the remake from 2016. What is less well known is that Mowgli likely had a real-life counterpart, even though Rudyard Kipling himself never commented on it. But the parallels between the fictional character and the boy Dina Sanichar are simply too great to be a coincidence.
Who was Dina Sanichar? Rudyard Kipling was likely aware of this boy’s story, as he lived in India in the 1880s, where the following events had occurred a few years prior.
In 1867, hunters discovered a wolf den, inside were several animals and a boy of about six years old, running on all fours and howling like a wolf. He fought against the hunters who wanted to capture him and displayed the behavior of an animal that feels cornered.
The boy was eventually captured and taken to an orphanage. As he arrived on a Saturday, he was given the name “Sanichar” – which means “Saturday” in Hindi. Even there, he still crawled on all fours, ate raw meat, and made sounds like a wolf.
In the following time, people tried to train Sanichar to exhibit human behaviors, such as walking on two legs, eating with utensils, and of course, speaking. At this point, the major difference between Sanichar and Mowgli becomes apparent: the real boy never learned to speak, as he was reportedly mentally impaired for unknown reasons.
He also struggled with walking on two legs, as his bones had been deformed from years of crawling. The clothing given to him was torn by him, and he rejected cooked meat until his death. In short, integrating Sanichar into human society failed. He did pick up one unhealthy habit: smoking.
He lived among people for over twenty years. Eventually, he fell ill with tuberculosis, which was exacerbated by his nicotine addiction. This led to Sanichar’s death in 1895 at the young age of 34.
Sanichar’s story is clearly different from that of Mowgli, who returns to his friends in the jungle at the end, and whose fate remains open. The reality, as is often the case in this story, is more complex and tragic than fiction. Did you already know of Sanichar? Feel free to let us know in the comments. A South Korean film also told a reality-inspired story a few years ago: Before Parasite, the director created a masterpiece about a true crime from South Korea
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The new Divinity from the creators behind Baldur’s Gate 3 is created with AI. But that’s not a problem at all, the boss finds – and has good reasons.
Artificial intelligence is a topic that divides the masses. Some love the possibilities that AI offers and how it can simplify their daily lives, while others see it as the death of creativity, a threat to jobs, or the end of original art – whether it’s video games, images, or songs.
However, AI and its use have become indispensable in many areas and are even used by the biggest developers – such as Larian Studios. The boss, Swen Vincke, recently explained in an interview how he uses AI in his company, but that sparked a small shitstorm to which he responded with rather drastic words.
Divinity will be the new game, but Baldur’s Gate 3 is still fresh in many people’s minds:
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Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to PS5 – Trailer prepares for console release
Where do his statements come from? In an interview with Bloomberg magazine, Swen Vincke spoke about the development of the new Divinity game, which impressed with its dark trailer at the Game Awards. Although there have been hardly any details about the game so far, Vincke also talked about AI and how to use machine learning in the workplace in response to a question during the interview.
The article states that “developers often use AI tools to explore ideas, fill PowerPoint presentations, develop concept art, or write placeholder text.” It was also mentioned that under Vincke, Larian would be “pushing hard towards generative AI”.
It was exactly the wording “to create concept art” that sparked a small shitstorm.
AI replaces artists – but that’s not true, says Vincke
What is the criticism? On X, but also in various subreddits, Vincke is criticized for the interview and the statements made therein. Particularly concept artists see their work in danger and are convinced that AI art can never match up. There were insults and concerns like “Now Larian is done” or “Another star falls from the sky.” There are also accusations that Larian would employ fewer concept artists out of greed because they could be replaced by AI – just as many have always predicted.
However, according to Vincke, the reality looks different. Responding to the many allegations about the interview, he spoke up on X with clear words and explained exactly how his statements were to be interpreted:
Holy fuck, guys, we are “not pushing hard” towards AI or wanting to replace concept artists with it.
We have a team of 72 artists, of which 23 are concept artists, and we are even hiring more. The art they create is original, and I am very proud of what they do.
I was specifically asked about concept art and our use of generative AI. I answered that we use it to explore things. I did not say that we use it to develop concept art. The artists do that. And they are truly world-class artists.
We use AI to research references, just as we use Google or art books. In the very early stages of idea collection, we use it to roughly outline what composition we want and then replace that with the original concept art. There is no comparison. (…)
We hire creatives based on their talent, not for their ability to do what a machine suggests, but so they can experiment with these tools to make their lives easier.
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How the community reacts to the statement: In the Larian Studios subreddit, Vincke’s statement is being discussed. Most seem to be reassured by this explanation, although many also feel it would be good to constantly focus on the dangers of AI:
“Probably a steep thesis, but I am honestly glad that even the possibility of AI already sparks this firestorm. Obviously, people can now take a deep breath, now that everything has been explained, but we should never tolerate the use of generative AI in art. Not with voice actors, not with artists, not with writers. Not at all.” – SmellsofGooseberries
“It’s really frustrating to see how Reddit people are getting worked up over something while simultaneously being wildly misinformed. I understand Swen.” – Electrical_Corner_32
“‘AI’ is just this thing thrown around that you have to hate right now – so just using the term makes people grab their weapons. Most of these anti-posts have a very low understanding of what they are actually protesting against. I’m sure I’ve heard Swen talk about AI in an interview a few months ago.” – ShiteyLittleElephant
Larian used AI already in Baldur’s Gate 3
That Larian uses AI to some extent is not new information. Already two and a half years ago, in July 2023, Swen Vincke explained in an interview with MeinMMO that AI is part of daily work to automate processes that hardly anyone wants to do or purely for inspiration. So, they let AI inspire them and then create actual human artworks based on that.
MeinMMO also had the opportunity a few days ago to conduct a long interview with Swen Vincke about the upcoming Divinity. Although AI is not a topic of the interview, we learn a lot about the vision of Divinity – and what we can expect from the next big Larian game or whether the boss is slowly falling into megalomania.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In a stream, one of the designers from Riot Games explained why in League of Legends new champions often take “greater risks” than adding a more boring champion to the game,
What does the developer explain? In one of his past Twitch streams, Riot Games Game Designer Nick “Endstep” Frijia talks about the work on League of Legends. Frijia works in the Summoner’s Rift-team of LoL, after previously being a game tester.
As reported by ESPORTS INSIDER, Nick Frijia explained that new champions in LoL are often integrated into the game stronger than they actually need to be. He elaborates that with new champions, “greater risks” are taken.
Start video
The trailer of the new champion of League of Legends showcases his abilities in action
Better initially stronger than more boring champions
Why are champions initially OP? According to Frijia, there are several reasons why champions are stronger at the start of integration than they ultimately are after a few patches. It is better for developers to scale down a strong champion later on than to do the opposite. The subsequent scaling up of a rather boring champion is more difficult.
Thus, Riot Games is more willing to take a risk with a champion or to implement bolder ideas. As an example, Frijia mentions the champions Smolder and Aurora.
The trick with Smolder is to apply abilities to opponents and increase one’s own strength. The effects are stackable. With each stack, the champion becomes stronger.
The initial problem was that players figured out how to collect these “stacks” extremely quickly. Smolder became too strong too quickly, to the point that a team had no chance against an opposing Smolder. Smolder’s strengths were redistributed so that he received his stronger abilities and attacks later.
Aurora was designed for the Top Lane, but was initially so strong that she was difficult to counter. Only professionals could handle her well. Here too, the champion’s abilities had to be adjusted to balance her out.
