Some of the strongest builds in Baldur’s Gate 3 are hidden behind very special combinations of classes, abilities, and talents. MeinMMO reveals why polearm paladins are considered completely OP in D&D.
What kind of talent is that?
Polearm Master allows you to make extra attacks with halberds, spears, staves, and pikes.
Especially in combination with a paladin, Polearm Master becomes a deadly tool that can wipe out many opponents in one round.
This is the strong combination: Polearm Master together with a paladin is one of the best combinations known among D&D players. It is similarly strong in Baldur’s Gate 3.
This is what makes the build so strong: As a polearm paladin, you have several advantages in battle:
you can attack opponents with a reaction when they get too close – this usually only works when they run out of range
by default, you already have another attack as a bonus action per round
paladins inherently gain a second attack at level 5
What makes the paladin so strong in conjunction with the talent is his Smite. You have “Divine Smite” as an action by default, which you can use to enhance your next attack. You add 2d8 additional damage plus one further d8 per spell level used.
In addition, paladins also have the choice of other variants that can ignite, frighten, or smash opponents. Depending on the situation, you can enhance an attack, and that works as a Polearm Master with almost any attack.
The only disadvantage: in Baldur’s Gate 3, there are only a few truly strong polearms. The currently known strongest polearm is a glaive, which is hidden behind a long quest and certain decisions. Otherwise, primarily rely on halberds.
Level 2: Choose “Great Weapon Fighting” as your fighting style
Level 4: Choose the talent “Polearm Master”
Level 8: Choose the talent “Great Weapon Mastery”
Level 12: Choose the talent “Sentinel”; alternatives are: “Lucky”, “Savage Attacker” or an ability improvement
Raw attack power on paper is indeed inferior to fighters or barbarians with this build, but your true strength comes from the Smite. You generally benefit from having bonus damage on every attack. Poisons, oils, or dipping into fire help you immensely.
5 Tips to Level Up Your Characters Properly in Baldur’s Gate 3
Polearm Paladin – Here’s how you play him
In principle, you play like a fighter: attack an enemy with full strength and use your Smite. Depending on the circumstances and group, various types of Smite may be more sensible.
However, pay attention not to waste your reaction unnecessarily. You need it for a third attack when an opponent moves towards you or when you want to attack using the Sentinel talent. Especially ideal if a tank is standing next to you.
A barbarian or fighter can push enemies out of your reach with the shove ability to force them to run back to you on their turn. This way, you also force another attack per round without the Sentinel.
Use your spell levels exclusively for Smite when you are going for pure damage. For Oath abilities, it’s best to use Inquisitor’s Might (against many opponents) or Oath of Enmity (against bosses).
Finally, you can always make an attack with the end of your polearm as a bonus action when an attack hits, or you can even execute a full additional attack when you critical hit or kill an opponent. If you want to plan your character first, you can find the right tool here:
A company wanted to throw away a graphics card. But a gamer is instead happy about the free upgrade.
The RTX 3060 is one of the most popular graphics cards that gamers can install in their systems. A gamer is now very lucky and received an RTX 3060 as a gift from his employer. Because he wanted to throw it away.
Managers want to dispose of wrong delivery because the effort is too great
What kind of graphics card is this? The player himself explained on reddit that only RTX 3050s and GT 1650s are sold in the store where he works. But in the last shipment, an RTX 3060 was mistakenly included that they hadn’t ordered. And his boss wanted to dispose of it because that would have been the easiest for the daily routine in the company:
The department heads who have no idea about PC parts decided that it would be too much effort to register them for sale in the system and told us to just throw them away. There was only one item in the order, and they didn’t even want to bother returning it. So I took [the GPU]. I couldn’t stand the thought of this card being thrown away out of ignorance.
At home, he now wants to replace his old GTX 1080Ti with it. And this could be really worth it for him, depending on the scenario.
What was the problem? The user described the “problem” with his department heads so thoroughly that not only the business but also the involved persons could be identified. Under his post, some users already warned him that he should urgently remove details. Because such a rant isn’t really worth risking your job over. If his bosses read this, it could have serious consequences and ultimately harm other people.
In the updated post, several details have now been removed. For an RTX 3060, he probably didn’t want to risk his job after all.
Old GPU offers more performance but fewer features
Is the “upgrade” even worth it? On paper, the 5-year-old GTX 1080 Ti is slightly faster and offers more performance than the RTX 3060. However, one should not overlook that the RTX 3060 is the significantly more modern GPU with:
RayTracing
DLSS
long-term software support
Furthermore, the RTX 3060 offers faster and larger video memory and is (depending on the manufacturer) also significantly quieter than a GTX 1080 Ti. The new graphics card also consumes less power (power consumption) than the old GTX 1080 Ti.
Some users even recommend that he sell both the GTX 1080 Ti and the RTX 3060 and then use the money to buy a faster graphics card. That might ultimately be the most worthwhile.
In the most frustrating case, the user would then also have to upgrade his remaining hardware. Which upgrades are absolutely not worth it for a gaming PC, you can find in the following article on MeinMMO:
Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street was the head of the LoL MMORPG for years. However, in 2023 he left Riot Games and founded his own company, which is now working on a new game. While there are hardly any details, it sounds really good.
“We don’t want to radically change the genre, but we want to do it right,” Ghostcrawler writes in his latest tweet. And that’s exactly what I want to hear from an indie studio. As silly as it sounds, but for really big innovations, you need a company with a lot of money. That probably won’t be the case with a newly founded studio.
Innovations in MMORPGs are always difficult anyway. Many long for their old title in a modern guise, with modern game systems and a new world and new stories. Because nothing is as fun as exploring a new world for the first time.
But even aside from this tweet, Street writes things that sound really good to me. And they give me more hope than the big LoL MMORPG by Riot itself.
Who is speaking here? Alex is the MMORPG expert at MeinMMO. He actively plays Guild Wars 2, ESO, Black Desert, and New World. Additionally, every new game is immediately tested.
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The 3 largest MMORPGs in Germany in 2023, according to Google
“I am not the best developer, but I can listen to players well”
The new game is aimed at MMO fans. At its core, it addresses players who like titles such as WoW or Final Fantasy XIV. Ghostcrawler also wants to reach players who think they don’t like MMORPGs but appreciate at least parts of them.
He emphasizes that they are not creating a game for the “younger generation“, but they won’t be young forever.
Another important aspect is the openness of the development. Players should be involved the whole time. He promises that you can get hands-on experience with the title very early, much earlier than at other companies:
I often use analogies from the restaurant sector, so let’s try it here too. We will have an open kitchen where you can watch the preparation of the dishes and try them on the way.
We know this approach will not please every player. But don’t worry. We will make sure you know when the game is ready so you can try it out.
In several tweets, Greg Street emphasizes that while he may not be the best developer, he sees his strengths in his love for the genre and in communicating with the community. This foundation will guide the development of the new MMORPG.
Dungeons, Raids, and a lot of Action at Launch
What is known about the game’s content? Well, not much, not even a name. However, the launch of the game will likely be very action-packed, as there will not be a launch with many running and talking quests. Generally, worldbuilding will take place over time and not bombard the player too quickly.
This can at least be inferred from a tweet:
A tip: World designers, including dungeon masters, do not send their group to any city with more than 20 NPCs that they have to talk to just a few hours after the game starts. It destroys all momentum.
My opinion: Almost every RPG introduces you too quickly to civilization while players are still learning and enjoying combat.
Let characters engage in battle within a maximum of 15 minutes. Don’t drown new players in world building until they actually care about the world.
And I completely share this opinion. Guild Wars 2 solved this quite elegantly for me by throwing me right into a mission with other players at the start and even fighting a big boss at the end.
I immediately feel that my little section of the world is threatened and that I need to look for the cause. This creates a connection, like as a Charr to the region of Ascalon and the spirits there.
However, I wish that the action continues a bit further afterward. Too quickly, one lands in typical quests and in the first city. Ghostcrawler also has an opinion on this:
Do I want to buy a bunch of equipment from the merchants? I don’t know! I just started your game 30 minutes ago. Does this world work like that? Do I need good gear? Do I want to spend money at the inn or just camp? I damn well don’t know yet.
Our role in the story of Guild Wars 2 is also often that of a higher soldier, not that of the great leader. Even at the end of the main story, we were an important part, but Sylvari Traherne was the leader of the pact. This could also be the case in the new MMORPG.
I like it when you are just a persistent person, not the chosen one, not the champion of the world, and that for as long as possible. Personal taste.
Ghostcrawler has not yet commented on further game content. However, we still know some of his views from his time at Riot Games:
He wants to deviate from the standard with the camera perspective only if there is a truly important reason. But he himself is a big fan of the third-person view. A similar statement was made about the combat system. Street seems to be more of a fan of tab targeting.
The image Ghostcrawler is currently painting of his new MMORPG sounds simply fantastic. A kind of modern WoW Classic with dungeons, raids, and tab-targeting as the combat system, but with a completely different and action-packed start.
It doesn’t bring any crazy innovations and is not aimed specifically at young players, but rather the older MMORPG generation. Furthermore, Street repeatedly emphasizes the close exchange with players and the early tests that are planned.
While the last two points carry some risk and Crowfall has shown that this can also be a nail in the coffin, Ashes of Creation has managed to maintain a small hype over the years this way. And if what has been shown is good, I prefer a small world for testing rather than writing about theories and blog posts for years without seeing gameplay.
And after the latest statement about the LoL MMORPG, I am sure we will see gameplay from the Ghostcrawler MMO before we see it from Riot Games itself. Meanwhile, his development studio doesn’t even have a name yet.
What do you think of the MMORPG? Are you as hyped as I am or are you waiting for more information first?
An MMORPG that also doesn’t belong to the mainstream managed to captivate me with its trailer:
In Anime it gets wild – but gay and lesbian marriages are a taboo. So great that a couple is now quickly “de-married” retroactively.
The world of anime is colorful and often quite bizarre. Besides the “beach episode” cliché, the often very similar harem protagonists, questionable tentacle monster attacks, and also the repeatedly alluded incestuous relationships, there is actually nothing that the medium shies away from. Nothing? Almost.
Because with a marriage between homosexual characters, a limit seems to be reached, as Ninotaku explains.
What kind of video is this? German-speaking anime fans are likely to know Nino Kerl as “Ninotaku TV” on YouTube. In his videos, he informs not only about the latest topics related to anime itself but also about the whole surrounding – such as the problems in production or the reasons why many anime never get a second season.
In one of his latest videos, he takes on a topic that is particularly important to him. Because while anime hardly shy away from depicting even the most questionable things, one thing seems to be a taboo: homosexual couples saying ‘I do.’
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What happened? In one of the latest Gundam anime (“Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury”), the engagement of the two protagonists, Miorine Rembran and Suletta Mercury, occurs very early on. The relationship between the two is an important element throughout the series, even though this may seem rather unusual for Gundam series.
That this relationship ultimately leads to a marriage is implied at several points. As Ninotaku reports, an interview with the two protagonists’ voice actresses was published in the magazine “Gundam Ace”. The voice actress for Suletta revealed here that the two characters got married after the final battle.
This is confirmed elsewhere: After all, the two characters are each wearing a wedding ring in the anime’s epilogue. A post by the American Gundam account on Twitter also featured the two characters, and in the alt text of the image, it was clearly stated: “Suletta Mercury is sitting on the left side of the image and holding the hand of her wife Miorine Rembran, who is sitting next to her”:
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Such alt texts are written so that Google can better assign images. In addition, these texts are read aloud to blind people through assistive devices so they can form an idea of the displayed image.
The “evidence” is therefore quite clear that the two characters got married at the end of the series.
All the more strange it becomes later, because: In the digital version of the magazine “Gundam Ace”, the story was retroactively modified, and the passage regarding the marriage was removed. The change was made because there was “an error in the original interview,” and they want to “leave the interpretation of the relationship of the two ladies to the audience.”
Why was this done? As Ninotaku explains, Japan is the only country in the G7 states where marriage between homosexual partners is still not recognized. The reason for this, in his eyes, is the conservative ruling party, which stands mainly for “traditional marriage,” meaning only between man and woman – even though the majority of the Japanese population supports the legalization of same-sex marriage (71%, according to Kyodo via nzz.ch)
Ninotaku finds it particularly ridiculous that such marriages are denied while much more tasteless topics, like the sexualization of minors or rapes, repeatedly find a place in anime.
The topic is also being discussed vigorously in the comments under the video.
What do you think about it? Does it fit your image of anime, where Yuri and Yaoi series are also very popular?
Actually, there is a subscription requirement in Final Fantasy XIV. Players must pay a monthly fee to be able to log into the game. Since MeinMMO editor Jasmin had too little time, she skipped the payments in recent months. However, a free promotion brings her back to the game.
I joined Final Fantasy XIV very late. When I started the game, the Endwalker expansion was just announced. A friend encouraged me to just give the game a try, after all, the first expansions are free. And I fell in love instantly.
After I saw the credits roll during Endwalker, I enjoyed the endgame content for a few more weeks – but after some time I let my subscription expire. Due to a career change, it was no longer worthwhile to invest a lot of time in the game.
Has that changed now? But Square Enix has currently started a promotion to bring back lost players like me – and it worked. If you meet the following conditions, you can snag up to 14 days for free:
You own the full version of FF14
You do not have an active subscription
Your subscription expired at least 90 days ago
Then you have the chance to log in for free. The promotion period coincides with the period from August 9 to 31, 2023, which is the Gamescom week, which even has its own role-playing game this year. However, if you are not attending the convention or only for a few days, you can focus intensively on the new content of Final Fantasy XIV.
Why is it worth returning? You can use the game time, among other things, to progress further in the story. Since the end of Endwalker, Square Enix has been releasing new updates that move the story forward.
This way, you are well prepared for the upcoming Dawntrail expansion, which MeinMMO presents in a trailer:
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Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail – Trailer for the new expansion
The Dawntrail expansion will be released in summer 2024. Before that, there will be Patch 6.5 in October 2023, followed by Patch 6.55 in January 2024. The quests between the expansions often bridge the old content and lead to the new adventures.
And the story in the patch quests after Endwalker is captivating. I was immediately hooked by the content that awaited me after the final battle against the last boss. It takes the group to another shard world, which has been overtaken by darkness this time.
Furthermore, the dragons are again coming into focus in the story. We experience the tale surrounding Azdaja and Vrtra and the consequences of the conquest of Meracydia.
If you are not interested in the story and just want to focus on the endgame content, you will soon be able to skip most of the story and catch up with a summary:
How do I find my way after returning? Final Fantasy XIV has many mechanics to make it as easy as possible for returnees like me. If your active time was a bit longer ago, you can stick to the following things:
Get the returnee status and receive a green plant icon. This way, other players can recognize that you are new.
At the same time, you can join the newbie chat, where a mentor is assigned to you, and you can ask questions about the game.
Your main quest will be indicated to you with a special symbol. You can recognize where to go to progress in the main story by the meteor symbol.
Against weak mobs and training dummies, you can practice your rotation again if you might have forgotten it.
The community in Final Fantasy XIV is considered to be very helpful. In no other MMORPG were players so patient when I didn’t immediately understand a content. Instead of insults, I often received tips on how to defeat boss XY. Bad apples were rather rare.
No wonder, then, that Final Fantasy XIV is not only one of my favorite MMORPGs but also convinces our MMORPG specialist Alexander:
Is it worth it as a newcomer? Even if you have so far avoided Final Fantasy XIV, I can highly recommend the title to you. As already mentioned, you can skip the story for real money if you fear losing track.
However, no player will be left behind. Thanks to the randomly chosen content of the dailies, veterans are often grouped with beginners and run the beginner dungeons with them.
This ensures that especially in low-level areas, no dungeon remains empty and players do not have to wait for hours until they find players who want to run the content with them.
With the quests, there is also regular gear that is adjusted for the level. This way, you are well equipped at every level to dive into the trials, dungeons, and other content.
Overwatch 2 launched on August 10 on Steam and has already boasted the title of “worst game on Steam” just days after its release. Now, the head of Overwatch 2 has commented on what he thinks about it.
Overwatch 2 is Blizzard’s first PC release since the introduction of the Battle.net launcher. However, the release has not been well received. The game has nearly 150,000 reviews (as of 19.08.2023) and its status on Steam is “extremely negative.” This has made Overwatch 2 the worst game on Steam – at least according to the users.
In addition to criticism of Blizzard and poor FPS performance, there are also numerous negative reviews that only express opinions through memes or recipes.
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Overwatch 2: The 2nd season brings new heroes – and quite crazy skins
Head understands that many are unhappy about the canceled PvE content
How does Blizzard respond? In a blog post, Aaron Keller, the Game Director of Overwatch 2, commented. He explained:
Even though it’s not fun to be bombarded with reviews, it was great to see how many new players have entered Overwatch 2 for the first time.
Many of the reviews on Steam mention the cancellation of the much larger PvE component that was announced in 2019 as one of the main reasons for their dissatisfaction with the game. I understand that. This announcement was about an ambitious project that we ultimately could not realize.
If we can’t turn back time, what can we do? We can continue to expand and improve Overwatch 2.
Keller also stated that they want to continue developing the game and adding further features. However, what they have planned for the future was not revealed in the post.
However, according to a China specialist, the review bombing largely stems from the fact that Chinese players are extremely angry at Blizzard because they can no longer play Overwatch. In January 2023, they shut down live streaming for Overwatch there:
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Release on Steam is a big success, despite devastating critiques
How is the game doing on Steam? Surprisingly well. Despite the many negative reviews, around 50,000 players still play Blizzard’s hero shooter daily on Steam. At times, the new game even climbed into the top 10 bestsellers on Steam, although it is officially a free-to-play game. This indicates that many players are willing to invest money in Overwatch 2.
Blizzard has likely achieved its goal of reaching a new user group for its shooter. Especially if Blizzard can manage to keep the new players engaged consistently.
Are there PvE missions in Overwatch 2? Yes, there are, and Cortyn has tried them out for you. However, the price for the handful of missions is quite steep. You can read more about it directly on MeinMMO:
Hi-Rez Studios develops the popular games SMITE and Paladins. Now there were plans to switch to an AI voice output in their own games. However, this did not sit well with the players or the voice actors.
Now the creators of Paladins and Smite, Hi-Rez Studios, have gotten into trouble on social media after a voice actor discovered plans to use AI to clone voice recordings.
Players and voice actors vented their frustrations on Twitter about the company, which then eventually withdrew its plans and announced a change to contracts.
AI Is Supposed to Clone Voices, Players Are Angry
The voice actor Henry Schrader posted on Twitter that the company Hi-Rez Studios allegedly has plans to clone voices. So he writes on Twitter:
For those who do not know yet: Hi-Rez Studios, the creators of Paladins and Smite, have stated that they will use AI to clone voices and have refused to enter into contracts that would protect the actors.
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The post by voice actor Henry Schrader garnered so much attention that the president of the studio, Stewart Chisam, presented a modified version of the contract addendum on Twitter.
This smoothed things over for the time being, but players are still upset. And concerns not only involve the game studio but also many other areas of life. AI has been gaining power for months.
What Is Behind the Discussion? For months, the functions and capabilities of AI have been discussed. Many are not only impressed by the capabilities, but are also afraid that artificial intelligence could eventually take over jobs.
The angry reaction from voice actors is therefore not surprising. The use of AI would likely mean the end of their work or at least a reduction in their time.
The fear of becoming obsolete had to be experienced firsthand by a woman:
A streamer accidentally makes exactly the right sound – and Blizzard takes the opportunity to poke fun at it.
Who is Voxy? Voxy is a Twitch streamer perhaps best known for her content around the Magic card game. Most of her streams end up on YouTube, but those videos have typically had rather modest view counts, mostly ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand.
However, a few weeks ago, she collaborated with another streamer on Hearthstone. They created two videos that were well-received by both communities: It was about a Magic player evaluating various Hearthstone cards and creating an arena deck while the Hearthstone player did the same with her Magic deck.
For Voxy, this video was the breakthrough, as it had 139,000 views.
Watching and evaluating the cards – and presumably also the success – had Voxy “hooked,” so she wanted to check out Hearthstone. Together with her viewers, she primarily played the solo adventures, as there is no time limit, allowing her to look at, get to know, and plan the cards at her leisure.
What happened next? During the solo adventure “Dalaran Heist,” Voxy activated a Discover effect and was confronted with the “Weasel Tunneler.” The art of the card depicts a small, cheekily grinning weasel with a felt hat on its head and a cigar in its mouth. The sight amused Voxy so much that she first burst into laughter and could hardly control herself.
The community found it even more amusing because during her laugh, Voxy sounded almost exactly like the sound the Weasel Tunneler makes when played: a particularly throaty, raspy laugh.
When addressed about it, Voxy initially reacted indignantly and was sure that she did not sound that terrible – but only until she heard both sounds back-to-back:
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This is how Blizzard reacted: At Blizzard, there was apparently someone who found Voxy’s videos just as amusing as the community did. Because just a few days after the incident, Voxy received two packages from Blizzard at her doorstep.
In the first package, just as Voxy expected, was a felt hat, so she could visually get a bit closer to the Weasel Tunneler. Even though Voxy playfully tumbles a bit in front of the camera, she and the community seem to be happy about the gift as she reads Blizzard’s message:
We really laughed loudly about your Weasel Tunneler saga, even if we didn’t sound as awful as you. Enjoy these little keepsakes of your true self, and we’ll see you in the Dalaran Heist.
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When putting on the hat, she laughs so hard at her own appearance that she has to make the iconic sound of the Weasel Tunneler again.
The second gift is also well-received. It is a mug featuring the “Weasel Tunneler” design along with the phrase “Up to no good” – that was Voxy’s first assessment upon seeing this card.
Even if Blizzard receives a lot of criticism from the player base in the Hearthstone area – at least they made a streamer and her pretty positive community happy.
MeinMMO-Demon Cortyn plays with two friends Baldur’s Gate 3, who only cause chaos. Because accidentally, everything always ends with someone dying.
I love Baldur’s Gate 3. So much that I’m now playing 3 save files concurrently. One “main save” with a friend, another solo (with really nasty decisions), and now a third with two other friends who have never really gotten into the genre.
But this third save file brings wonderful yet devastating chaos, as somehow the group always manages to kill absolutely everything and everyone.
Spoiler Warning: The article discusses some events from the first act of the game. This includes roughly the first 8-10 hours of gameplay. You have been warned.
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Launch Trailer for the Role-playing Game Baldur’s Gate 3
The thing is, these two players haven’t had much experience with such games.
They aren’t really role-players in the sense of pen & paper, but I was pleasantly surprised that at least the player behind the halfling had given it some thought: His rogue is interested in gold. Everything else is irrelevant to him. Gemstones, securities, books, or even weapons that would have high selling value – he’s all about the gold. It’s a bit simplistic, but also incredibly funny.
At least, I thought it would be funny. Because already at the first real encounter on the Nautiloid, I had to bite my tongue. They took surprisingly long to free Shadowheart from her capsule – because without a magically gifted character and without a strength hero, the answer isn’t that simple.
After we freed the fair cleric from the capsule, the question immediately arose: “Can I steal from her too?”
Honestly, that was a thought that never occurred to me. “Give it a try …,” I mumble to myself and regret it when “Sleight of hand failed” pops up. Shadowheart is apparently not impressed by the attempt and a fight ensues.
Yes, my dear friends. After only 10 minutes of gameplay, Shadowheart was already murdered. Exactly the Shadowheart with whom I sat by the campfire for hours in other save files, explored the Shar Temple, and mocked the Selûnite.
Shadowheart was killed after just 10 minutes.
To ensure the story doesn’t completely come to a standstill, the magical relic automatically passes into our possession.
The rest of the Nautiloid went surprisingly smoothly.
But just after arriving at the beach, and just reaching level 2, the chaos continued. Like almost everyone else, we encountered Lae’zel in her cage, who is currently being held captive by two tieflings. I breathe a sigh of relief as the rogue lies to the tieflings to free Lae’zel from the cage afterward.
“How can we get her out of there?” “Look around, I’m sure you’ll find a way.”
Well, they found it too.
Maybe it was bad luck, maybe fate, or maybe there’s some demon in hell who bears a grudge against me, but:
Almost simultaneously, the two tried to free Lae’zel from the cage by attacking the floor of the cage. However, the brief delay of maybe half a second led to this result:
The druid successfully attacks the floor of the cage with his thorn whip and destroys it. This causes Lae’zel to fall from the cage. At exactly that moment, the rogue also clicks with his crossbow on the floor of the cage – which no longer exists.
The end result is a Lae’zel lying on the ground with a crossbow bolt in her head.
Well. I can cope with Lae’zel’s death. We killed her in my main save file too, although I was mostly forced into good decisions there most of the time.
Lae’zel did not survive the fall from her cage. Accident.
Onward to the Emerald Grove. This is basically the first “real” fight, as a group of kobolds attempts to overcome the defense of the small camp, but with the help of the hero party, the fight is actually survived quite well. Plus, the potential companion Wyll is also jumping around there, dismantling everything with his warlock spells.
I can still hear “Why is the camera control so crap?” when once again a crossbow bolt whizzes past my tiefling and hits one of the defenders in the back.
Lucky us: They apparently don’t hold this “slip-up” against us and everyone survives the fight more or less unscathed. Everyone, except for that one fighter with the bolt in his back.
Fearing that the two might somehow completely ruin the save file here, I hastily say in Discord: “Be careful what you do in a village. If you provoke someone there, the whole village could hate you and then …”
I can’t get any further. The rogue has already robbed the merchant in the camp of the tiefling refugees, was caught, and lets himself be taken to prison without resistance.
It takes a good 15 minutes until we are reunited again, rescued the rogue from prison, and can listen in on the NPCs’ conversations a bit.
Upon arriving at the Circle of Druids, the usual scene unfolds: Tieflings argue with the druids and the latter make it clear that they currently do not tolerate strangers in the Circle’s area. Even our dwarf tries his luck once more, but the druids do not allow us to pass.
“Can’t I just walk past them while they talk to the dwarf?” our rogue asks and promptly tries it out.
I didn’t know that was possible. I didn’t know what would happen next. But the scenario was as follows:
The druid guards immediately engage our group in a fight because we are intruders. At the same time, a large part of the druids storms into the camp of the tiefling refugees and a cutscene plays. The druids start mercilessly murdering all the refugees.
In the Circle of Druids, everything is now poisoned.
We barely survive the fight against the druids’ guards, expending almost all resources. We rush back to the refugee camp and once again I can hardly believe my eyes. Important characters like Zevlor lie dead on the ground. Wyll’s adventure has also come to a swift end under the assault of the druids, as his corpse lies here as well.
I want to emphasize again: We were at level 2, so basically just off the Nautiloid. Kargha (the high druid) is level 5 and possesses spells and abilities that can one-hit us with a bit of bad luck – which she did multiple times. Moreover, she has many druids with her who can permanently heal her or deal hefty damage themselves.
We had to restart the fight multiple times and it surely took us two hours to just manage to survive it. And that was only possible because we used the last remaining tiefling refugees as “meat shields” and our druid dwarf in animal form blocked a door.
The result after a few hours is therefore: Shadowheart is dead, Lae’zel is dead, the tiefling refugees are dead, the druids are dead.
All tieflings are dead. Yes, even the lovely bard.
I’m already afraid of what they will do in the goblin camp. But actually, I don’t have much time to think about it, as I’m already being asked:
“I want to join the tentacle people. Can I?”
I’m a bit afraid of where the journey will lead. Because originally, the two didn’t intend to intentionally kill anyone. But it just turned out that way.
I still need to teach the two not to always just chase after the quest log – but after nearly 20 years of MMORPGs, they may have ingrained the habit of always following the glowing marker on the map, which leaves me fighting a losing battle.
Have you also had such experiences with your friends in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Using artificial intelligence, the YouTuber Kapuzenwurm created a video in which he plays the game Phasmophobia together with streamers Gronkh, Pandorya, and Tobinator. How Gronkh reacted live on Twitch and what concerns he expressed is told by MeinMMO.
Who is Kapuzenwurm? Michael “Kapuzenwurm” Dorrer (31) is a well-known figure in the world of streaming and online entertainment. Kapuzenwurm was a key member of PewDiePie, the famous YouTuber with 111 million subscribers until 2017.
In his position as a producer, he was responsible for programming, creation, and ideation for over two years. He then joined Gronkh’s team. He has since made a name for himself and is now successfully active as both a streamer and a YouTuber.
More about Gronkh can be found here:
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Gronkh, the man with the voice – Career and life of Germany’s most famous Let’s Player
What video is it? Recently, Kapuzenwurm took on a special idea: a AI-generated video in which he plays the horror game Phasmophobia together with established streamers Gronkh, Pandorya, and Tobinator.
The four had previously played together regularly as the M.E.T.T. crew, but recently had fewer opportunities due to Gronkh’s busy schedule. This apparently led Kapuzenwurm to the idea of creating such a video to revive the missing quartet.
Similar ideas are currently being pursued more frequently. Recently, an unknown person had a AI version of xQc stream and was able to generate some viewers.
How did Gronkh react to the video? The premiere of the AI-generated video took place in one of Gronkh’s recent streams. The streamer was visibly surprised when he saw the opening scenes of the video for the first time.
Already after the first seconds, Gronkh could hardly contain his laughter. “AI still needs a bit,” he commented. The presented streamers in the video had a funny, robot-like accent, which caused numerous laughs among Gronkh and his viewers. Particularly, the funny distortion of the face and the exaggeratedly wide-open eyes of Tobinator provided significant entertainment value.
You can see the video along with the reaction here:
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How was the video made? During the video, Gronkh eventually realized that Kapuzenwurm not only used AI for the video but also dubbed the presented streamers. The otherwise absent Austrian accent of Gronkh and Pandorya revealed Kapuzenwurm’s involvement and led to further funny moments.
At the end of the video, Kapuzenwurm provided insight into the creation of the AI video and showed how he dubbed the voices together with a colleague. Gronkh’s chat repeatedly commented ironically: “Better than the original”.
At the end of the video, Gronkh explained: “One can be curious about how it might look in a few years. That was more of a joke. Kapuzenwurm could probably have made it a lot more realistic, but then it would naturally be much more elaborate.”
However, the streamer also expressed concerns: “But I think at some point it will become frightening. Or maybe it won’t be frightening; maybe at some point someone else will sit down here to stream.”
As artificial intelligences are increasingly advancing into various creative fields, the question arises about the potentials and dangers of this development. The ability to use AI-generated content in the entertainment industry presents both new opportunities and ethical considerations.
In Baldur’s Gate 3 there is a small annoying thing that can be easily solved. You can quickly clean your dirty face after a fight with 4 simple tricks. You can find more details here.
How do I quickly clean my character’s face?
Use a water bottle
Run into a body of water, for example a river
Through the spell or trick: “Create or Destroy Water.”
With a cloak that permanently grants you the “wet” state.
Here you can find tips on how to reduce your carry weight in Baldur’s Gate 3:
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3 Tips to Reduce Your Carrying Weight in Baldur’s Gate 3
How to get rid of your bloodied face
Especially as “Dark Urge” you will likely be running around permanently bloodied. Baldur’s Gate 3 offers 4 ways to clean your character’s face after it has been covered in blood, dirt, and bruises. All options, who would have thought, require water.
Use a bottle of water: To clean yourself and your party members, simply throw a water bottle at your feet. You should probably have plenty of water bottles if you’ve been diligently looting everything. With a water bottle, you can also extinguish flames and cause the “wet” state for two rounds. This will make you resistant to fire damage but will incur double lightning damage.
Run into a body of water: You just need to dip your toes into a body of water – for example, a river. There are numerous water sources in Baldur’s Gate 3, especially in Act 1 and Act 3.
Spell “Create or Destroy Water”: You can use the spell/trick “Create or Destroy Water” to clean your party members. However, I wouldn’t prefer this method, as it wastes a level 1 spell slot.
Find the reverse rain cloak: This cloak grants the wearer the “wet” state. So when you put on the cloak with your character, you will be instantly freed from all dirt. After that, you can switch the cloak again. You will find the cloak at the fairground at the beginning of Act 3, just spin the prize wheel.
These options free you from dirt, blood, and anything else that comes with it – without requiring a long rest. Because through a long rest, you will also become clean again.
In this RPG, you feel like you are constantly wandering around with a bloodied or dirty face, as adventures and battles are at the forefront.
However, experiencing blood-stained political negotiations, serious conversations, or intimate moments with companions is not for everyone. Fortunately, there are these simple ways to remove the dirt, so you can start your conversations completely clean.
The story chief of Baldur’s Gate 3 thanks BioWare. It is one of the reasons why Baldur’s Gate 3 has turned out so well.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is as successful as no one could have imagined. Neither the players nor the critics or even the developers would have believed in this huge success. Nevertheless, the story chief behind Baldur’s Gate 3, Adam Smith, remains humble. He believes that we owe a lot to “BioWare of the 90s”.
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Launch Trailer for the Role-playing Game Baldur’s Gate 3
What was said? In an interview with PCGamer magazine, lead writer Adam Smith talked about the doubts that existed at the beginning at Larian Studios. There was concern that they might not be up to the big shadow and, thus, the responsibility of making a successor to Baldur’s Gate 2.
After all, Baldur’s Gate 2 was back then one of the highest-rated PC games of all time – and still is today.
It’s easy to forget that because our game has now been released, but when we started working [on Baldur’s Gate 3], it was a gigantic task. [Baldur’s Gate] was such a big shadow. We asked ourselves: Can we even look okay in this shadow? There was a lot of concern about that.
Especially at the beginning of the early access phase of Baldur’s Gate 3, there was a lot of criticism. Again and again, people said it was just “Divinity: Original Sin 3 and not really Baldur’s Gate 3.”
The criticism was taken to heart and worked on:
We told ourselves: ‘No, we love Baldur’s Gate. We want to create Baldur’s Gate 3.’ And there was a reason for that, because so many of us grew up with it.
Why do we owe something to BioWare? Even though BioWare has somewhat fallen out of favor with players in recent years – especially with Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem – the studio was considered an absolute exception in the field of RPGs in the past.
Especially the first two “Baldur’s Gate” games and their expansions come from the old BioWare, and that is exactly what Smith refers to.
Especially the character Jaheira, whom veterans may remember from the earlier games, was close to Smith’s heart. He always wanted the character to appear in Baldur’s Gate 3 because the story takes place about 100 years later, and it is exciting to have a character who has experienced so much suffering and loss and then reappears after a century to prepare the next heroes.
That is exactly what Smith is particularly proud of when he receives praise:
It means a lot to me when I see someone who had something to do with the original [Baldur’s Gate] games and is satisfied because we owe them a lot, and I hope we made them proud.
If you look at the ratings of Baldur’s Gate 3 and the current playing times on Steam, then you might well conclude: Yes, it worked.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The week in Destiny 2 is coming to an end, and as Guardians prepare for the new season, the mysterious and shadowy presence of Xur, the exotic merchant, is making its way once again in Season 21.
What happened this week in Destiny 2? Before Xur lures you back into his corner of Destiny 2’s universe with new offers, let’s take a look at the past week. And there’s quite a lot to cover.
The former largest Destiny streamer Luis “Lachegga” has been permanently banned due to his violations of Bungie’s code of conduct. Our author Schuhmann states: This hate and toxicity in Luis’s community is simply not okay, because even people who have seen him wish death upon others applaud.
Other streamers also make their jokes – however, they only discuss whether a boss in Destiny 2 has too much health or if the players just don’t know how to play it.
On Tuesday, the big Destiny 2 Showcase will take place, which will be extremely exciting. Also because many Guardians look to the future of the loot shooter with mixed feelings and skepticism. You can find a first teaser in our hub for “The Final Form”.
Looking ahead, we have also put together a glimpse into the new Season 22, which starts next Tuesday, August 22, and will tell you what is currently in store.
Destiny 2: Teaser trailer for the DLC “The Final Form”
All info on Xur on August 18, 2023 – PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
Xur will take his job in Destiny 2 again today and sell you quickly available exotic items.
When does Xur arrive? Xur visits Destiny 2 every Friday at 7:00 PM. His visit ends the following Tuesday at 7:00 PM. During this time his shop is open, and all Guardians can buy exotic items from him.
Where is Xur? This is his hideout for the weekend
Xur’s position: Xur prefers remote locations to showcase his exotic goods. However, his exact location remains a closely guarded secret until the weekly reset at 7:00 PM. But don’t worry, the Destiny editorial team tracks him down every Friday and reveals where he can be found.
Here is where Xur is located: Nessus in the Guardian’s Grave on the large tree
Xur’s inventory from August 18 – 22 – All Exotics at a glance
What does Xur have to offer? Xur presents a comprehensive range of exotic weapons and armor. These unique items grant Guardians powerful extra abilities that give them a decisive advantage in combat.
His goods change weekly, making his offers a little surprise each time. However, we will list his offerings so that you can stay informed quickly.
This is Xur’s offer
Xur’s inventory from August 18 – 22.
Weapon: D.A.R.C.I. – Sniper rifle for 29 Legendary shards
Titan: ACD/0 Feedback Fence – Gauntlets for 23 Legendary shards
Mobility: +10
Resilience: +4
Recovery: +19
Discipline: +2
Intellect: +12
Strength: +18
Total: 65
Hunter: Ahamkara’s Spine – Gauntlets for 23 Legendary shards
Mobility: +6
Resilience: +11
Recovery: +16
Discipline: +13
Intellect: +7
Strength: +10
Total: 63
Warlock: Apotheosis Veil – Helm for 23 Legendary shards
Mobility: +2
Resilience: +3
Recovery: +29
Discipline: +2
Intellect: +19
Strength: +10
Total: 65
Legendary Armor Set: “Hauer Loyalitäts” Set
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In addition to the regular offerings, Xur has also been selling unique rolls for Exotics from no longer available exotic missions from past DLCs each week for the past few seasons. However, you can only buy these weapons from Xur if you own the appropriate expansion.
Currently, he has these two weapons on offer:
The exotic hand cannon “Fate of All Fools” (Beyond Light DLC) with Moving Target
The exotic scout rifle “The Last Breath” (Beyond Light DLC) with All Good Things Are Three
Trials of Osiris from August 18 – 22 – Maps, weapon, and info
The most flawless Guardians can be found in PvP at the Trials of Osiris. This endgame challenge offers intense 3v3 battles, where only the bravest and most skillful can claim the master rewards at the Lighthouse.
Which map is up this week? In the Trials, Guardians must focus on a specific map. It does not change and remains active until the Weekly Reset on August 22.
This week’s maps are rotating: Altar of Flames, Wormhaven, and Downtown
PvP map “Wormhaven”PvP map “Downtown”PvP map “Altar of Flames”
This is the reward for a flawless run: Each week, a very special weapon awaits you at the Lighthouse, which you receive for your flawless run, i.e., 7 victories, as a master version. You can earn the weapon until next Tuesday, August 22, at 7:00 PM.
As a reward, there is always an adept weapon if you have made it to the Lighthouse safely with your ticket.
This week’s adept weapon is: The glaive “Unexpected Return”
Earn the master version of the glaive “Unexpected Return” this week
Focus on the loot you want: You can also specifically focus your Trials Engrams at the 14th Saint for your desired weapon. Additionally, there are upgrade prisms and ascendant shards.
Your rewards increase further once you have a complete pass – even if you have lost one or two Trials matches.
When do the Trials officially start? The Trials of Osiris start today, August 18, 2023, at 7:00 PM and end with the Weekly Reset on August 22, 2023, at 7:00 PM.
This new catalyst could become particularly strong in close combat in Season 22 of Destiny 2:
With Baldur’s Gate 3 (Steam), the Collector’s Edition proves to be an extremely lucrative investment. Only 25,000 of them have been offered for sale since 2022. Since July 2023, they are no longer available in the shop. Now, one of the collector’s boxes has been sold for $1,975 on Ebay.
What’s included in the Collector’s Edition? The Collector’s Edition of Baldur’s Gate 3 was offered in versions for PC and PS5 for €259.99.
On July 8, 2023, a user reported on reddit: The box was sold out. Currently, both versions are not available in the game’s shop. There are hopes that Larian will offer a few more boxes for sale, but there is already active bidding for the coveted special editions on eBay.
The collector’s edition includes:
A 1.1 KG heavy and 25 CM tall combat diorama featuring a Mindflayer and a Drow in a “deadly clash.”
A hardcover art book with artwork from the game: It includes 160 pages
A larval keychain inspired by tadpoles
An oversized W20 die
A set of four-sided character sheets
32 vinyl stickers
A digital copy of Baldur’s Gate for PC/PS5
A fabric map of Faerûn
3 booster packs for Magic: The Gathering
A certificate of authenticity
The “digital deluxe contents” also included in the €80 edition, such as cosmetic in-game items
Since the release of Baldur’s Gate 3 on Steam, the demand for special editions has skyrocketed:
Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3: The release teaser for the new role-playing game for PS5 and Steam
Collector’s Edition is limited to 25,000 – Prices are skyrocketing
How have prices developed? Since the quantity of the Collector’s Edition is limited to 25,000, there has been a rapid price increase since Baldur’s Gate 3 was released and became a big hit on Steam.
If you look at the listings on eBay, the collector’s boxes are getting more expensive week by week in the English-speaking eBay:
On July 28, a box was sold by a seller in Vermillion, South Dakota, for $1,500
On August 10, a box from El Paso, Texas, went for $1,875
On August 13, the same store in El Paso, Texas, sold a box for $1,975
Currently, there is a box from Germany, Neu-Isenburg, available on the English-speaking Ebay for €1,520.
The highest sold edition so far for $1,975 corresponds to a value increase of 631.5% based on a purchase price of $270.
What do they cost with us? On the German-speaking Ebay, the “cheapest Collector’s Edition” is currently available for €899.
If only one had known this earlier.
It may be that some people, anticipating a rising demand, bought several Collector’s Editions to resell them for profit. Such people are generally known as “scalpers”:
Remnant 2 has a huge collection of amulets that you can equip. They not only look unique but also provide you with strong advantages on your journeys. We show you the best amulets with their locations and explain why they are so good.
What are amulets in Remnant 2? In Remnant 2, you can equip your hero with an amulet. Each amulet looks unique and also has powerful bonuses. However, the amulets you need differ depending on your build and playstyle. Some provide you with more damage, while others increase your carrying capacity.
In our overview, we now show you 11 amulets that are useful for every build. They are strong, useful, and often necessary if you aim for higher difficulty levels.
[toc]
In our list, we are currently using the English names for the amulets. As soon as the German version is known, we will translate the names.
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Remnant 2 – Coop Gameplay Trailer
Ankh of Power
Why is this amulet so good? This anklet increases your overall damage by 15%. If you consume a relic, the bonus is even doubled for 15 seconds.
Where can I find the amulet? You will find the amulet on Earth of the Seed in the area Unland of Ash. At the second small checkpoint, go up the stairs in the alternative version of Ford’s Base. Now proceed to the last room on the right side. You will find the amulet on the floor.
Broken Pocket Watch
Why is this amulet so good? Your stamina regeneration is increased by 25, and your stamina costs are reduced by 50%. It’s worth it if you often need to dodge or are engaged in close combat.
Where can I find the amulet? Can be purchased from Cass in Station 13 for 1000 scrap.
The next three amulets can be found on the second page of our overview.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
No one polarizes as much in Germany on Twitch right now as 25-year-old Pia Scholz alias Shurjoka. The streamer has faced heavy criticism for months. But what is really behind it, and why does it seem like there is no end in sight?
“I wish you all that is done to dogs in Asian countries.”
Such and similar comments can be found in abundance under the selfies and outfit checks of a young woman on Instagram. The woman is Pia “Shurjoka” Scholz, a Twitch streamer, political activist, and the center of an endless campaign of content on YouTube and social media that casts her in a negative light.
Where does the rejection come from? With her call to boycott Hogwarts Legacy, Shurjoka faced a lot of misunderstanding at the beginning of 2023. Many could not understand the criticism and found it exaggerated, not wanting to have their childhood memories belittled or a game banned.
The Twitch streamer described herself as “loud,” seemed convinced of her moral compass and the correctness of her views. This led to conflicts, but she also managed to attract a lot of attention to the subject. She wasn’t the only one speaking out against Hogwarts Legacy, but she was made the face of a leftist movement.
Some may forget that “Shurjoka” is not a concept, not an abstract enemy image, but a young woman who wanted to advocate for minorities and represent her ideals.
In hindsight, one could argue that it could have been handled better, that one could have acted more skillfully, bringing more people along instead of hitting them in the face with an aggressive tone.
Yet even months later, Shurjoka still faces ongoing criticism. In particular, the trio of content creators Tim “KuchenTV” Heldt, Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris, and Theo “Scurrows” Bottländer have discovered how lucrative it is to repeatedly make the streamer the center of their content.
The content machine of reaction streamers
“I gladly take the clicks” – so says KuchenTV when it comes to dealing with Shurjoka. (via YouTube).
Every statement from Shurjoka is analyzed in a video, which other creators can then react to. Sometimes the reaction is also reacted to again. This creates an endless content loop about one and the same topic – one and the same person.
That three individuals, who have a multiple of Shurjoka’s reach and are often significantly older, are attacking a young woman seems neither questionable nor unfair to many.
The three content creators seem to feel justified because Shurjoka annoys them with her statements, because they cannot comprehend her views. Scurrows says: Shurjoka wanted to destroy his career. But she is the one who has been losing followers for months, while his career thrives.
According to the titles of KuchenTV’s videos, it is always others who are attacking him, spreading lies. He himself only exercises factual criticism. At the same time, he accuses Shurjoka of constantly putting herself in a victim role.
Shurjoka “hates and lies”, while KuchenTV engages in “factual criticism” (via KuchenTV)
The actual motivation is also not hidden: Things are just going too well. KuchenTV boasts about how many views his videos suddenly get (via Twitter) and repays MontanaBlack by conspicuously placing his energy drink in the background of his videos.
And Scurrows, who had long been known as a gambling streamer, can suddenly play along with the others again (via YouTube).
To give a sense of the reach: In 2023, Shurjoka had an average of 1,626 viewers on Twitch (via Twitchtracker). Alone, MontanaBlack had an impressive 25,183 average viewers (via Twitchtracker).
Shurjoka in a dilemma
Meanwhile, it seems that the streamer has hardly any options to break out of this vicious cycle. As she said in May, she cannot defend herself, as any reaction from her would only lead to more videos and reactions.
She has also had no success with ignoring, as she noticed someone spoke about her when she received a new wave of hate messages on her accounts.
By now, Shurjoka hardly speaks publicly about the topic any longer. She doesn’t even have to, because just mentioning her name is enough to unleash a new wave.
The moderator of a streamer with whom Shurjoka herself has not had much to do wrote in his chat, Gronkh is probably quite right-wing, the way he attacks Shurjoka. This resulted from a statement by Gronkh, one of Germany’s most famous YouTubers, that he felt unfairly treated after being criticized by Shurjoka.
Gronkh’s statement was also exploited (via YouTube)
The streamer herself had nothing to do with this accusation and even distanced herself (via Twitter). Nevertheless, on Twitter, the narrative of the “ridiculous Shurjoka bubble” was spread again, suggesting that everyone who has a different opinion is on the right.
She deactivated her Twitter account. Yet even days later, “Shurjoka” and “Gronkh” were trending on Twitter.
KuchenTV, MontanaBlack, and Scurrows also seem not yet ready to give up this “cash cow”: If there are no new contents from Shurjoka herself, an old video, an article about her, or a documentary from WDR is taken instead (via YouTube).
How Shurjoka is really dealing with the ongoing stream of negativity can only be speculated from the outside. In conversation with WDR, she said in May that she was sleeping poorly, placing her activism above her own mental health.
Currently, it seems she is at least holding back a bit. In her streams, she shows normality: There is a game of Baldur’s Gate 3, film recommendations are exchanged.
It remains to be seen whether this will finally bring about some peace. You can read how it all came to this point on the next page.
How did it come to this point? A chronological classification
On Twitch, Shurjoka became primarily known for the strategy game Crusader Kings 3. However, she also uses her platform to engage politically and advocates for the rights of women and queer people.
Although at this time she already belonged to the larger German streamers with more than 200,000 followers on Twitch, a broader audience only became aware of Shurjoka in early 2023 in the wake of the controversy surrounding the Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy.
Shurjoka criticized the comments of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling regarding transgender people and accused her as well as the game’s creators of reproducing anti-Semitic stereotypes.
Many people, especially those who grew up with Harry Potter, did not want to let the joy of the game be taken away from them. To them, it came across as: Someone wants to ban a game for me; I am called transphobic because I want to play a game.
The Twitch streamer became for many the face of a leftist, “woke” movement that wanted to dictate what one could consume.
The out-of-context statement was interpreted by some Twitter users as transphobia. One could apparently expect a clear statement against Hogwarts Legacy from a content creator with his reach.
On Twitter, there was a rain of criticism, but Gronkh’s supporters pushed back just as vehemently. A “culprit” was quickly found: Shurjoka or at least the “Shurjoka bubble” was trying to cancel Gronkh.
The Twitch streamer herself denied having anything to do with the shitstorm. She was on vacation and only learned about it on Twitter just like everyone else. She had nothing to do with the spread of the clip.
The stir over Hogwarts Legacy gradually subsided, but in many people’s minds, the image of the radical leftist Shurjoka remained, who wanted to ban their opinions and hobbies through violence.
The Twitch streamer Shurjoka (left) received the German Computer Game Award in 2023.
Awarded “Player of the Year”
The atmosphere boiled over again when Shurjoka was awarded the German Computer Game Award as “Player of the Year” for her political engagement in connection with Hogwarts Legacy.
The opinion blogger Tim “KuchenTV” Heldt published several videos on YouTube arguing why, in his opinion, the streamer did not deserve the award. He had already released a six-hour reaction to her statements on Hogwarts Legacy in February, criticizing her alleged double standards.
He now said: She is toxic, would incite hatred, commit character assassination, allow no other opinions, and is also not a “real gamer.”
Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris reacted to these videos in his streams. He had previously clashed with KuchenTV, but with Shurjoka, the two seemed to agree so well that a new brotherly friendship blossomed.
This set off a vicious cycle: Shurjoka expressed herself in her streams, KuchenTV reacted in a stream and/or posted a video about it, and MontanaBlack then watched it with tens of thousands of viewers to add his two cents.
The Twitch streamer later stated that she always notices when a male influencer has said something about her because her personal accounts would suddenly be flooded with hate messages.
As Shurjoka noted in a stream, she cannot defend herself. Every comment, every statement from her led to new videos, new reactions, new hate comments.
However, simply doing her own thing didn’t stop the others from making content out of her. Maybe a complete withdrawal from the online world could have been an escape, but then there is the studio in Berlin and the employees who need to be paid. Shurjoka is a professional streamer, and their life depends on creating public content. This is her livelihood.
Accusations against Scurrows
However, Shurjoka did not want to let herself be defeated, she wanted to be loud, continue to advocate for her convictions. In this context, she also criticized Theo “Scurrows” Bottländer, a streamer known for roleplaying in GTA who later mainly showed gambling content.
When Twitch tightened its guidelines on gambling in October 2022, Scurrows and other “casino streamers” lost viewers and relevance.
She casually mentioned that accusations from various female influencers, including herself, were also being made against him. She hinted at allegations that Scurrows filmed her cleavage at Gamescom in 2017 and made inappropriate comments afterward.
The streamer primarily focused on the part about the harassment.
Scurrows claimed that these accusations could have endangered his entire career, while it seemed that no one had particularly taken notice of the statements until he brought them to the public.
The full allegations are not often recounted, instead, the focus is almost exclusively on the accusation of sexual harassment. (via YouTube) In a video, Scurrows wanted to prove his innocence by showing a clip of his stream from the meeting with Shurjoka at Gamescom 2017. (via YouTube)
There are various opinions on what the video actually shows. Because this video was also heavily discussed on social media.
The opinion was firmly established in the wider audience: It was said that you could see Shurjoka was a fan of Scurrows, that she had actively participated in his stream.
KuchenTV then released a video claiming that Shurjoka had destroyed her credibility. MontanaBlack reacted to that.
The content mills keep grinding.
Action and reaction
The 25-year-old positions herself publicly as a feminist, as an ally, as an activist who stands in front of marginalized groups like a shield, wanting to give them a voice, even to the point of self-neglect.
In doing so, she sometimes gets tangled, allowing herself to be carried away by thoughtless, emotional statements, and occasionally goes too far. Statements such as that KuchenTV’s videos could be embarrassing for his son (via YouTube) do not belong in such a dispute.
There are also contradictory statements from her. For example, she said she hadn’t spoken about KuchenTV for months. He reacted by showing timestamps of how often he had been part of her streams during these months (via YouTube).
But that shouldn’t distract from how disproportionate the response from the other side is. Her statements are unnecessarily inflated, taken out of context, and mocked.
Shurjoka continuously reports being subjected to massive threats of violence, especially sexualized violence. She faces constant hostility that goes beyond a political difference of opinion and extends into other areas of her life as well.
Shurjoka wanted to educate and play video games on the side, hold Pen & Paper sessions with her friends. In doing so, she clashed with her loud and sometimes aggressive opinions. What remains in the end:
“I wish you all that is done to dogs in Asian countries.”
How does that compare?
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Warhammer 40k: Darktide started strong but quickly declined. Players were disappointed with the lack of depth, especially regarding the classes. That was in November 2022. Now the developers want to deliver what everyone wanted to see at release.
What kind of game is this?
Darktide takes place in the grim sci-fi world of Warhammer 40k. There, you should battle nasty Chaos cultists in the depths of a mega-city.
The gameplay is similar to Left4Dead: with one of 5 classes, you fight through hordes with abilities, weapons, and melee weapons. The predecessor is the popular Vermintide 2 in a fantasy setting.
What is changing: The developers have announced that Darktide’s skill system will be completely overhauled. Currently, you only receive one skill point every 5 levels that you could invest in one of three options per level.
In the new system, the system is divided into a total of three trees, each representing a different direction for the class. In the end, you will get more skill points than one tree can contain alone.
This is meant to ensure that you try different play styles and build different characters. There is still no concrete date for the update, but October is mentioned as a possible release.
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Warhammer 40,000 Darktide: The Launch Trailer
“I’m just excited right now”
After Darktide lost more and more players on Steam over the months, it currently stands at an average of 2,300 players (via steamcharts). However, the news brings great joy to the community.
In the corresponding thread on Reddit, hundreds of fans discuss the changes and praise that the developers have actually put work into the game. Many had given up hope that anything would happen at all.
Already in February, the developers promised missing features. Now, with the skill trees, another system is coming that players have been waiting for a long time.
When the game was announced, the skill system was supposed to differ significantly from that of Vermintide. That did not happen and led to criticism and dissatisfaction among fans. Now, seeing the changes brings joy.
Nevertheless, there is skepticism in the community. While some are happy that something is happening, they also say: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” There are doubts about how much variation is actually in the different skill trees.
However, the joy prevails. Even if the overhaul comes late, Darktide will, with the update, be about what fans wanted at release.
If you don’t quite understand the fascination with Warhammer:
Baldur’s Gate 3 threatens you later on with some dangers. Here you will find out how to defeat the Shadow Curse in Act 2.
Warning Spoiler: We are dealing here with circumstances after Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3.
After Act 1 you will quickly encounter a problem: The Shadow Curse. A curse that constantly deals damage to you if you do not outsmart it.
Once again the obligatory spoiler warning! You have been warned. By the end of the first act, you will have already heard about the Shadow Curse in some dialogues. The curse constantly harms you if you have no protection against it. There are four ways you can keep the curse at bay.
[Our author Maximilian Schütz usually writes about Mein-MMO and GameStar PCs. However, since he has struggled for ages with the Shadow Curse, he offered to write a little guide for you. Thanks Maxi! If Baldur’s Gate 3 lags or just doesn’t look good, then check out Maxi’s article: here is the solution
A simple torch. Yes, a burning torch helps you resist the Shadow Curse up to a certain point, then, however, it loses its effect. It is advisable to give several characters a torch to broaden the protective radius. You can buy torches at almost any merchant.
Blessing of Selûne: Should you enter the shadow-cursed area from the direction of the Grymschmiede/Grymforge, you will soon reach a camp. Without giving too much away: in this camp you can find allies, among them a priestess of Selûne. If you ask her, she will bless you, and the problem with the torch’s radius is solved, but unfortunately, the blessing also loses its effect in some areas and can no longer help.
Moon lantern: Alreadyin the first act, you hear again and again about the moon lantern that is supposed to protect you from the curse. But funnily enough, you only receive this after you have already ventured into the shadow-cursed land. If you come from the direction of the mountain pass, you will soon find a disgusting boss named Kar’niss. He carries a moon lantern with him, but he does not willingly give it away. The moon lantern protects you everywhere.
Spider Lyre: If you decide to be evil in Act 1 and recruit the Drow Minthara, you will receive a Spider Lyre from the Paladin. With it, you can go to the camp of the Absolute in Act 2 and play it. A dryad will then appear to guide you through the fog. And don’t worry, you don’t need to be able to play the lyre; one attempt is enough.
Blessing of the Pixie: The probably most elegant and best solution is to free the pixie trapped in the moon lantern and ask for help. After a short dialogue, she will bless you as thanks for your rescue. The blessing of the pixie protects you everywhere from the damage of the curse and has no radius. WARNING: Sometimes you can lose the blessing. For that, the pixie gives you a bell that you should not sell to call her again if you need the blessing again.
In July 2023, a concerning situation occurred in League of Legends: A professional player from the Japanese team DetonatioN FocusMe fled from the gaming house. He stated on Twitter that he feared for his life. Now, Riot Games has investigated the incident and banned 2 professional coaches in LoL. The 20-year-old has not played since the incident.
What was the incident?
In July 2023, the 20-year-old top laner Harubi “Tol2” Shibata fled from his team’s gaming house. He said he feared for his life.
The young man claimed that his coaches had repeatedly verbally abused him: Head Coach Kazu and Assistant Coach Ceros had him in their sights and were harassing him because he did not play as strong as the previous top laner who was considered the star of the team.
An attempt to seek help in the league failed and only brought him more trouble.
Here was the reaction: Just one day after the professional player ran away, the team immediately fired both of its coaches.
They admitted that the coaches had said things that could be understood as threats.
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LoL stages its biggest professionals in a trailer so perfectly that I still get goosebumps 4 years later
LoL bans 2 coaches for 6 months, CEO must undergo training
This is now the consequence: Riot Games and the Japanese LoL league LJL have now investigated the incident for a month and made the following decision:
The former coaches of the team Kyohei “Ceros” Yoshida and Kazuta “Kazu” Suzuki will be banned for 6 months.
The CEO of the team, LGraN, must undergo training to increase his sensitivity regarding “harassment allegations”.
Additionally, the team will receive a fine of 2 million yen (12,656 €).
The investigation found that two violations of harassment had occurred and that “unethical behavior” had been observed over a prolonged period.
Team played without the professional player, continued to win without him
How is the player doing? Tol2 has not found his way back into the team after the incident. It was said that his situation had “not improved significantly, he is still unfit both physically and mentally”.
As a result, the bot laner switched to the top lane on July 9 and a new bot laner was brought into the team.
DetonatioN FocusMe continues to dominate the Japanese league and stands in the finals of the playoffs.
Tol2 has officially left the team on August 16. By mutual agreement with the team, his contract was terminated. He currently has no new club.
The often young players of a professional team in e-sports live together in so-called “gaming houses” during the season. The worst case of how a situation can end occurred in Brazil:
A gamer bought a new AMD graphics card as an upgrade for his PC. However, he did not pay attention to the size and therefore cannot use it in his system.
On reddit, the user “Eliciautzr” shared a picture of his new AMD Sapphire NITRO+ graphics card with the community. The exact model designation remains unclear.
The card is lying sideways on the open PC case, and it is immediately clear that it is too long for installation. But the power supply, which can be seen in the photo, could also pose a problem with a power rating of 550 watts for more current products from AMD and Nvidia.
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Why are graphics cards getting bigger? With every product presentation, the new graphics accelerators seem to be getting larger. The graphics chip and other components require a lot of space on the board.
To ensure adequate cooling for the increasing GPU power, manufacturers install bulky cooling systems that often take up multiple slots in the case. There is not much space left for installation and other hardware components.
Why is the right power supply important? AMD and Nvidia regularly try to undercut each other in terms of power consumption. Developers from both camps are also able to continuously optimize the energy efficiency of their creations. However, power consumption continues to rise with the development of high-performance chips and requires power supplies with sufficient reserves to keep a gaming PC stable.
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Manufacturer shows sleek case, gamers are thrilled: “Great design! Goes directly onto my wishlist”
Impulsive purchase ends in a dead end
In such cases, the wise saying “Buy cheap, buy twice” is often heard. And in this case, the reddit user would have been wise to follow this advice.
What options does he have now? He is now in a dilemma and cannot use his new acquisition without further investments.
If he wants to avoid additional effort and costs, he is left only with the option of exchanging for a smaller model or returning to the old pixel accelerator. On websites like TechPowerUp, he can inform himself in advance about the dimensions of the most common models.
Moreover, the question remains whether the power supply has enough power reserves. Alternatively, he could buy a larger case and a properly sized power supply, which, however, would involve additional costs.
Proper planning helps with an upgrade and prevents having to spend more money than intended when trying to upgrade the system later.
What is the best approach? Therefore, it is advisable to think carefully about a future-proof PC case with sufficient space reserves to accommodate larger components later without problems. A good case typically lasts much longer than the hardware inside, and it would be frustrating to buy a new case just because the new desired graphics card does not fit.
Also, when it comes to the power supply, you should think ahead and opt for a slightly larger power supply so that it ideally does not need to be replaced when you upgrade the graphics card next time. Especially models with modular connectors can be a real advantage when it comes to neat cable management in the case.
What do others say about his situation?
The comments on reddit are of differing opinions. Many give him tips to solve his mess. Others give him advice for future purchases:
‘Nothing a Dremel can’t fix.’
‘Measure twice, buy once.’
Can you share similar experiences with PC upgrades? What have been your best or worst experiences when upgrading?
