Battlefield 2042 is finally fun after 1.5 years because I can now destroy noobs

MeinMMO author Dariusz Müller finally enjoys Battlefield 2042 because it feels good to be a bad person.

It is no secret that Battlefield 2042 struggled with some issues at launch in 2021. The eagerly awaited shooter disappointed fans of the popular series with poor performance, gameplay bugs, and missing content – too few maps, no scoreboard, no server browser, and too few weapons.

There were even more points of criticism, but we won’t list them all now.

Almost 2 years after release, a lot has changed in the game and it is approaching the state it should have had at launch. Reason enough for MeinMMO author Dariusz Müller to return to Battlefield 2042 and see how the game has developed – and contrary to his expectations, he actually had some fun!

Still not a good game, but…

I’ll be completely transparent, Battlefield 2042 still has some points that I don’t like. I can’t play this game without getting upset about certain decisions made regarding the gameplay.

Some things just feel wrong, are still buggy, or are simply disappointing compared to predecessors like Battlefield 4. A teammate of mine, an avid Battlefield fan, often has to hear what I think 2042 could have done better.

But that’s not what we’re going to talk about today, because Battlefield 2042 fulfilled exactly the purpose I had for the shooter this summer.

Start video
Battlefield 2042 shows new full-throttle trailer for Season 5 – “Only the trailers keep the game together”

… a little fun in between

I installed Battlefield 2042 as a pastime while waiting for XDefiant. Ubisoft’s upcoming shooter really impressed me in the beta. Now I’m waiting for the scheduled release in summer 2023.

But I couldn’t just wait idly. After the XDefiant beta, I was eager for shooter action. I chose Battlefield 2042 because I had paid money for it once and didn’t want it to rot away unplayed in my library.

The probably better alternative is BattleBit Remastered, but I can’t play it. Regardless of the fact that I don’t like the low-poly graphics style, I suffer from motion sickness in the Lego-Battlefield. Even watching is uncomfortable for me. I don’t have that problem in Bf2042.

Dominance despite lack of talent

Almost with a painful sense of shame, I say: I actually had a lot of fun playing Battlefield 2042 in the past weeks. At some point, I realized that my gaming enjoyment didn’t stem from the game, but from the players. More accurately, from the opponents and definitely not from my teammates.

It feels absolutely wrong to say that so directly, and it certainly makes me a worse person, but: I am simply better.

I am by no means a shooter god and notice in other shooters like Rainbow Six: Siege and especially in Valorant, that there are plenty of players who mercilessly stomp me into the ground. My shooter skills are okay, but nothing more. There are plenty of better players – just not in Battlefield 2042.

Where have you gone, good players?

I don’t know if the matchmaking is just unfair – to my advantage – or if the good Battlefield players are hanging out in the predecessors or in Battlebit, but in Battlefield 2042 I sometimes felt like a young god.

My teammates and I regularly formed the best squad in the match and dominated the scoreboard with kills, captured flags, and the most revives. We often wondered: Where are the good players? Even vehicles couldn’t stop us because they acted too statically and could be blown up by simple C5s.

Of course, there were occasional squads that performed similarly well. There were also players who were simply better. But percentage-wise, that happened surprisingly rarely. The strange thing is, if I were in Battlefield 4 now, I would quickly get reminded of my limits again – so I stayed in Battlefield 2042.

Give a person power…

I am a simple-minded person. I like to be better than my opponents. It feels good to be high up on the scoreboard. I came to enjoy power – or something similar.

Candidly speaking, I can’t really find that good. I’m probably playing against players who only have time to play once every few days or weeks for 1-2 hours and just want to enjoy a round of Battlefield in the evening.

My teammates and I, on the other hand, are much more active and profit-oriented. We usually play tactical shooters, communicate our approach fairly precisely, and also enter chaotic Battlefield matches with a plan. This obviously does not apply to a large portion of our opponents, but also not to our teammates.

Surely some opponents cursed us as “tryhards,” even though we were just playing our way. We certainly didn’t want to ruin anyone’s gaming experience, but it was fun nonetheless.

It looks different in battle royale and extraction shooters, they are not fun for me:

There are only 2 types of new, successful PvP shooters left and both are crap

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

PS Plus 1 year tested: It is not the Xbox Game Pass, but it does not want to be either

The new subscription service from PlayStation is already a year old since June. There was a lot of discussion about it back then, and the service was often compared to Xbox’s Game Pass. Although PS Plus Extra and Premium have many issues in comparison, I still love the service.

What is PS Plus Extra/Premium? Most people probably know PS Plus Essential, which is the standard subscription for online gaming that existed before. The other two offer you additional games:

  • PS Plus Extra: This service offers over 100 games from a catalog and (as of now) also Ubisoft+ Classics, with various titles from the French publisher. Currently, you can also get this service on PC for 1 € to try it out.
  • PS Plus Premium: This service offers you a classic catalog of old games in addition to Extra, as well as trials of new releases and cloud streaming.

Basically, it doesn’t sound so bad, but the service is really not comparable to Game Pass.

One of the games you can play in the subscription is shown here:

Start video
Bloodborne Debut Trailer

The Xbox Game Pass excels with new releases

What makes the Xbox Game Pass better? The big advantage of the Xbox Game Pass are mainly new releases. Many games are available on the first day of the release directly in the subscription. Exoprimal, Wo Long, and Atomic Heart are some major examples.

As a result, you don’t have to pay 70 to 80 € for games that you may not even like. Many indie games also appear in Game Pass and may reach more players this way than if they get lost in the flood of Steam releases.

PS Plus Extra does not offer major games directly. No God of War Ragnarök or Spiderman 2. The exclusive blockbusters do not appear at release. The major flagships from Sony appear in the service only months to years later. Examples would be Horizon Forbidden West.

Nevertheless, the service also offers many blockbusters with very good ratings:

PS Plus Extra: The 5 best games you can play for free on PS4 and PS5 with the subscription

PS Plus is a feast for fans of Japan and the quirky

How is the Premium subscription? The classic catalog unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired at first glance. Individual titles like Resident Evil 1 or Tekken 2 are available. The question is, however, why only individual titles. Tekken 3 is considered one of the most important fighting games, not Tekken 2. Also, classics like Twisted Metal are only available after a year.

While there are countless PS3 games, many of them are titles that could come from the bargain bin of a Saturn. At least you can catch up on the whole God of War and inFAMOUS series. But there’s no real big lineup of historically important titles for Sony.

However, all of this is secondary to me because I have a lot of fun with the Extra and Premium catalog. And this is mainly because I am a fan of Japanese and quirky games.

A hidden gem in the service is Humanity

Start video
Humanity Launch Trailer

Why do I love PS Plus Extra/Premium? First and foremost, the selection of titles. They are not major blockbusters or anything like that. But they are games that I find interesting, which have disappeared due to a large wave of releases.

A Samurai Warriors 5 or Earth Defense Force 5 are not titles that would appeal to the masses. However, PS Plus Extra has its own character because of this. That has always been the appeal to me of the older PlayStation consoles. They were a home for the quirky and odd games.

And the Premium subscription also offers a lot of that. Ape Escape 2 is one of my absolute favorite games, where you just catch monkeys. Tokyo Jungle is a hidden gem of the PS3, which would probably work much better today as a rogue-like. Without the service, I would have never been able to try that game.

Microsoft does not have such a legacy. Sure, there’s Halo and acquired brands like Banjo Kazooie. But I don’t find a real character with edges and corners in Game Pass. Don’t get me wrong, I think both services are good, but not everything has to be like Xbox Game Pass.

It will be interesting to see how both services develop in the future. Have you had any experience with PS Plus Extra or Premium? Let us know in the comments.

A list of interesting hidden gems can be found here:

PS Plus Extra: 5 hidden gems that you can play for free on PS4 and PS5 with the subscription

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

Baldur’s Gate 3: Looting the Golden Chest in the Owlbear Cave – How to Get the Riches Without Losing Your Life

MeinMMO tells you how to open the Golden Chest of Selûne in the Owlbear Cave in Baldur’s Gate 3 without dying.

Open Golden Chest of Selûne – Quick Guide:

  • Enter the Owlbear Cave right next to the entrance to the Guardian Cave at the Emerald Forest.
  • Take the left path to the chest and the statue of Selûne. Jump over the rock crevice and retrieve the prayer behind the statue.
  • Stand in front of the chest and read the prayer from your inventory. Here’s the guide in pictures:

How to open the chest: Early in Baldur’s Gate 3, you will find an injured priest named Edowin on the street along with his two acolytes. You learn that they were attacked by an owlbear.

The respective cave is only a few steps away across the river. Once you enter the cave, your character will quickly notice that the owlbears are still there. These creatures are legendary in D&D and truly dangerous.

Spoiler: Should I help the stranger?

Edowin will ask you to watch over his flock. However, if you do not intend to make a pact with your parasite and take an evil path, fight the two directly or send them to die in the cave. They are not nice fellows.

In the left tunnel of the cave, you will find a statue with a golden chest in front of it. An Arcana roll will reveal that the chest is enchanted. Do not open it yet! Otherwise, you will take a lot of damage. Instead, proceed as follows:

  • Jump over the small chasm (key “Y”).
  • Search behind the Selûne statue in the rubble for a “Selûnian Prayer Scroll.” Shadowheart has a snarky comment about this and wants to stop you. Ignore her.
  • Return to the chest and open your inventory.
  • Use the “Read” function on the scroll and you can open the chest without dying.
What’s in the chest?

Besides a few trinkets that you can sell and some lore items, you will primarily find a statue of Selûne and the necklace “Moon Drop Pendant.” Wearing this, you provoke no opportunity attacks when you have less than 50% hit points. Ideal for offensive melee fighters.

Here are some tips for all classes directly from the developers:

Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3: Developers give 30 minutes of tips on all classes

Investigate Owlbear Cave without dying

If you explore the cave a bit further, you will find a mother owlbear with her cubs – or whatever the kids are called in those beasts. She does not attack you immediately because she is injured. To avoid being killed, you have two options:

  • a successful roll on “Handle Animals”
  • the spell (or potion) “Speak with Animals”

The mother owlbear will then warn you but let you go. You can even explore a bit more in the cave, but do not get too close to her egg, or she will attack. Tip: every character in the party can “speak” to her again from the beginning.

The fight against the mother owlbear is also not too hard. Since she is already injured, she rarely hits and takes a lot of damage. You can easily take her down, which makes her cub very sad. You can choose whether to kill it or spare it.

The brutal option is especially rewarding for greedy players: you will receive a good medium armor for the start and decent gold for the egg.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Class Tier List: The best classes & subclasses 2023

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

Baldur’s Gate 3: How to deactivate the Guardian Statues at the Emerald Grove and rescue Findal

Early in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can find a cave where several guardian statues can quickly take your life. MeinMMO explains how to deactivate the statues, what you can find in the cave, and how to proceed best.

Deactivating guardian statues – Quick Guide:

  • Separate your best stealth character from the group. If you’re not playing a rogue yourself, it’s best to use Astarion, who is already an asset to the group.
  • Stealth to the runes of the eagle, bear, and wolf and interact with them.
  • Clear the goblins out of the way and heal Findal with a simple spell like from Shadowheart or use “Help.”

This is how to reach the runes: There are a total of 3 entrances to the cave. In most cases, you will come from “above,” entering the cave directly next to the gate to the camp in the Emerald Grove.

You can find the door right after the fight with the goblins and use it as an alternative way into the grove. However, right at the entrance, there is an eagle statue waiting for you, which will deal with you using fire and lightning. From here on, proceed as follows:

  • Separate your rogue from the group so that he acts alone. Move his portrait “away” from the others.
  • Use the “Stealth” mode (key “C”). The statues will not attack you then.
  • Stealth past the statue and activate the eagle rune.

Afterward, you will encounter goblins that you need to persuade or take out. They are not particularly strong, and you should deal with them quickly. Then, move to the bear rune in the same way.

For the wolf rune, you need to jump onto the ledge in the middle (key “Y”). Stealth down to the rune below, activate it, and loot the corpse lying right next to it. Heal Findal, who is unconscious among the goblins, and secure his thanks.

Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3: Developers give 30 minutes of tips on all classes

Cave of statues rewards you with plenty of loot

With the key from the corpse – or a rogue with “Lockpicking” – you can open a chest directly in the cave. The goblins also have quite a bit of loot with them, especially weapons and armor that you can turn into gold.

If you leave the cave through the other end, you reach the refugee camp at the prison or the supply shed. Watch out for exploding mushrooms! At both places, you can still talk to tieflings and secure more loot, including useful potions.

SPOILER ON FURTHER PROCEEDINGS: Findal himself only helps you to a limited extent. He will support you later in an optional fight; otherwise, you have only performed a good deed, which may earn you some praise from your companions.

You should avoid the middle exit in the cave for now. There are only traps waiting for you and a door that you probably cannot open at the moment. However, there is also nothing behind it that you cannot obtain later in an easier way.

However, you may also find more creative ways to solve it: Legendary genius surprises the head of Baldur’s Gate 3, plays completely differently than planned – Shows how creative one can be

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

In CoD MW2 & Warzone you can now walk dogs – And these creatures are Pay2Win

With Season 5 came a few new features to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone. Among them were dogs, the new Battle-Pets. Unfortunately, the companions come with advantages when you buy and deploy them.

Over the past years, Call of Duty has brought new types of cosmetics to the game from time to time. Some experiments were really off, like the skins for killcams in CoD: Vanguard.

However, we are now at a point where some players might wish for those crazy experiments back. Because Call of Duty is currently introducing more and more pay-to-win mechanics into the game, each time through cosmetics that require players to pay a hefty price.

The latest gimmick: Battle-Pets. These are animals that accompany you invisibly and only appear when you’ve selected and deployed the correct execution move. Such things existed before, even with birds or wolves. However, new is that the animals can provide certain advantages.

You can watch the trailer for the current Season 5 of Call of Duty here:

Start video
CoD MW2 & Warzone: Season 5 – Trailer shows the return of the Shadow Company

Why is the dog pay-to-win? The dog is named Merlin and modifies a strong perk that helps locate enemies: “Alarmed”.

As soon as an enemy looks at you from a direction you are not currently facing, you receive a visual signal on your screen. You can be sure: Somewhere in the direction of the signal is an enemy.

With Merlin, you also get an audio signal: the dog growls. A video on Reddit shows that this small detail can be an advantage:

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It was only when the dog growled that one enemy in the room took another look around and discovered the thread creator in their hiding spot. The filing cabinet tactic didn’t work out. Enemies can also hear the growling – perhaps an attempt by the developers to mitigate the advantage a bit.

Is it really that bad? Worse. The dog Merlin with its howling continues a trend that pushes Call of Duty further towards pay-to-win.

Right now, it’s only small things, homeopathic doses. There are skins that provide advantages only in the DMZ mode. With the doggo, a pay-to-win feature has now entered the game that works in Warzone, CoD MW2, and DMZ.

The dog is also part of the controversial but very popular “Black Cell” package. Each season features a new package that also comes with level jumps for the Battle Pass. At €29.99, it is one of the most expensive skin bundles available.

What are the reactions like? There is a lot of debate in the thread. Some players defend the feature and don’t see it as pay-to-win. The opposing faction is strictly against cosmetics that influence gameplay and change features.

What do you think? Leave us a comment on the topic.

Many comments also address the play style of the thread creator, who hides in the corner with their riot shield. These players don’t have the best reputation either.

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

Players delete world boss in Diablo 4 in 10 seconds, can’t even fight back – how is that possible?

Shortly after the start of Season 1, the first players already have the strongest builds in Diablo 4. They show: if done right, even the fiercest opponents don’t stand a chance for long. A world boss couldn’t even defend itself.

This is how the boss exploded:

  • A group gathered, according to a post on Reddit, at 2 AM to defeat the world boss “The Wandering Death”.
  • The boss just spawned, was able to initiate the first animations, and was already dead again.
  • Now fans are discussing how ridiculously strong heroes can become in Diablo 4 – and that bosses might need a buff.
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This is how the group managed it: Essentially, some of the strongest builds currently in the game worked together here. If you pay attention to the spells and abilities flying around in the video, at least the following characters can be discovered:

On the Tier List of Diablo 4, most of the builds played there are somewhere in A or even S tier. Especially Necromancers and Hunters can score points there at the moment. What makes them strong is primarily that they rely on the still slightly too good “Vulnerable” mechanic.

The peculiarity in this fight is that the boss does not lose health continuously, but rather in large chunks repeatedly. This is due to the “Barber”, one of the strongest items in Season 1.

At least one player is therefore carrying the Barber and absorbs all the damage from the group to then transfer it multiplied to the boss 2-4 seconds later. This way, the giant skeleton survives barely 4 “attacks” before it leaves its loot behind.

Feeling like an underrated build? Colleague Maik Schneider’s Minion build also melts enemies:

Start video
Diablo 4: Necro-Gameplay from the Minion Build – 5 Minutes of Melting Enemies

Fans say: “This has been possible since Season 1 too”

However, the Barber is not the decisive item here. It merely ensures that such scenes are possible so early and do not only appear after 2-3 weeks. Players in the thread say: something like this has been possible even before Season 1, sometimes even faster.

With the right build or the right combinations, world bosses can simply be killed in a few seconds. By using the appropriate damage buckets from several heroes, even the biggest enemies can be easily wiped out.

However, such things mainly happen during the “unusual hours”, around 2 AM. At that time, no more “casuals” are awake, only the hardcore players who just mow through the game like scythes.

Still, some fans believe that bosses could definitely use a buff. At least regarding their HP. Once one or more strong players are involved, the opponents are no longer a challenge.

At least regarding dungeon bosses, Blizzard has already announced changes. There has been the same problem so far, with the toughest enemies often falling faster than their helpers. With the upcoming patch 1.1.1, this should change:

Diablo 4: Patch 1.1.1 fixes one of the biggest issues in the game – Patch notes overview

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

Champion in LoL makes an unusual split: The best mid-laner is the worst jungler

In League of Legends, there are champions that are unbeatable on one lane but fail mercilessly on others. A particular Darkin champion performs particularly well in the middle – but not at all as a jungler. Who it is, you’ll find out on MeinMMO.

Who is the feared Mid-Laner? LoL’s latest assassin Naafiri is currently, according to u.gg, one of the strongest Mid-Laners in the game – with an impressive win rate of 52.31 percent in all ranks.

As an assassin, Naafiri can perform in the jungle and on the mid lane with her kit. The data clearly shows that she currently shines only as a Mid-Laner – presumably, that will stay that way for now. She is the red hound of the Hundred Bite, who fights with a pack and makes life difficult for many ADC players.

Like Kayne and Varus, Naafiri belongs to the Darkin champions. Her gameplay is said to be easier to learn compared to the notorious King of Assassins: Zed. However, currently, Naafiri is frequently banned due to her strength.

  • Win rate Mid-Lane: 52.31 %
  • Win rate Jungle: 44.64 %
  • Ban rate: 52.6 %
  • Pick rate: 6.1 %
  • Matches: 148,000

If you want to test your knowledge about LoL, then check out a few facts about League of Legends – known only to veterans:

Start video
7 Facts about LoL that only true veterans know

Naafiri: Hound of the Hundred Bites

What makes Naafiri so strong? Naafiri is therefore one of the strongest Mid-Laners – closely followed by Zed, Fizz, Xerath, and Malzahar. The AD Mid-Laner probably attracts the same player types that also enjoy playing other assassins like Zed and Qiyana.

Naafiri proves to be a beginner-friendly assassin, but mastering her mechanically is incredibly difficult. Her dashes and her additional movement speed boost in her ultimate make her incredibly mobile.

What also makes her strong is the fact: She is the latest champion, and many do not know how to play against her. Over time, her strength will likely stabilize once most LoL players are familiar with her kit.

Is balancing for Naafiri planned? Originally, a nerf was planned on August 2 in patch 13.15 for the Darkin champion. However, Riot backtracked, and Naafiri was spared from the nerf hammer.

The design manager Stephen Auker of Naafiri shared a statement on Twitter (via.twitter.com), explaining why they scrapped the nerf plans:

Earlier in the week, we said you could expect nerfs. We anticipated that the win rate would increase further. After a few days of observations, her win rate has stabilized. Her win rate has settled around 51 percent and 51.5 percent in the average MMR. In high ranks, she performs between 49 percent and 49.5 percent.

Stephen Auker

In this Twitter post, Stephen Auker additionally emphasizes that despite her poor performance, Naafiri will not receive any jungle buffs for now. Riot is focusing on ensuring she remains on the mid lane and develops her talent there.

What do you think about Naafiri? Do you wish for buffs for the jungle, or is she well-placed in the mid lane? Do you think she is in a good spot? Feel free to leave a comment on the topic.

If you want to read more about LoL, check here: LoL: The most important innovation in items over the last 3 years was a mistake, and Riot knows it

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

gamescom 2023: The Indie Arena is worth it mainly because of a Survival MMO on Steam – And you don’t even have to wait long

The survival MMO Coreborn was released a few weeks ago in Early Access on Steam and can be tried out at gamescom 2023. This way you can test the game before investing 24.99 euros. With Coreborn, the Indie Arena Booth has at least one title in 2023 that you should definitely check out.

What is Coreborn? Coreborn is a survival MMO featuring classic elements of the genre. This includes building, crafting, and action-based combat. By gathering resources in the world, we can create buildings, weapons, gear, and food. 

The unique aspect of the game is that we need to protect our developed city, which we can expand over time, from waves of monsters. We can take on the defense ourselves or alternatively hire friends or strangers in the game’s hub.

More on the topic
Steam: Coreborn wants to become the WoW of survival MMOs – We played it
von Benedict Grothaus

The game has gained attention in the past primarily because former RBTV employee Hauke Gerdes is involved as the Creative Director. The title is based on the world of “Ultracore,” which he designed.

The world was part of a pen & paper format at Rocket Beans and is based on the open-source rule set “How to be a Hero”.

In an interview, MeinMMO was able to personally ask Hauke some questions about Coreborn:

Start video
Coreborn: Nations of the Ultracore – City Attacks, NPCs and Weapon Crafting

Why is a visit to gamescom worth it? At gamescom, you can try games for free and see if a game might be for you. If you don’t like the game during the demo, you don’t have to spend the 24.99 euros for it.

The big advantage of Coreborn is also that it is not found in the main halls. Here is the largest crowd of visitors since AAA games are presented in these halls. However, this comes with long wait times: six-hour wait times for a game are not even the maximum.

This year, for example, we can imagine long queues at the following exhibitors, who officially confirmed it according to our colleagues from GameStar:

  • Starfield (Microsoft/Xbox/Bethesda)
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo)
  • Assassin’s Creed Mirage (Ubisoft)

The Indie Arena is a smaller area where many games meet. The booths are usually tightly packed and therefore do not offer the opportunity for long queues to form.

Therefore, it is quite possible that you won’t have to wait too long to test Coreborn.

Additionally, the developers of a game are usually present at the Indie Arena Booth. This way, you can share your questions and comments directly with the team responsible for the game’s development.

The team can take your feedback directly and often implement it better than AAA titles in the main halls. In those halls, there are usually only hostesses present who have nothing to do with the actual development.

I even felt this myself: when I had a question about AAA titles, it often couldn’t be answered. In the indie sector, it’s different: last year, I was able to speak directly with the developer of the acclaimed indie RPG Chained Echoes.

In the indie sector, we directly see the feedback from the developers and responsible parties when we have compliments or criticism about a game. Together with the shorter wait times than in the main halls, visiting the booth is really recommendable.

If you decide to visit gamescom this year, you should definitely check out Coreborn. It is the only MMO found in the Indie Arena.

If you are interested in more survival games, we can recommend these 5 games: The 5 most popular survival games on Steam

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

Legendary genius astonishes the boss of Baldur’s Gate 3, plays completely differently than planned – Shows how creative one can be

For the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, the developers showcased a livestream on Steam. Among the guests: Matthew Mercer, one of the most well-known pen-and-paper nerds in the world. He also promptly demonstrated why he plays Dungeons & Dragons professionally – and what is possible in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Who is the legend?

  • Matt Mercer is known as the Dungeon Master of Critical Role, the probably most famous D&D campaign(s) in the world. Critical Role streams the sessions on Twitch and even got its own series on Amazon.
  • In addition, Mercer is a voice actor. He is the voice of McCree/Cassidy in Overwatch and voiced a role in the Dragon Age series on Netflix.
  • Mercer’s “homebrews” are popular expansions among D&D players. Now he has even impressed the boss of Baldur’s Gate 3 with his creativity.

This is what Mercer shows: For the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, Matt Mercer and Larian CEO Swen Vincke streamed the game live on the store page for the game on Steam. In one scene, the D&D professional gained access to a castle.

Instead of bribing the city guards or coming through the back door, Matt Mercer simply stacked dozens of crates on top of each other to build himself higher. When he was finally high enough, he shot himself onto the castle wall with a teleport arrow:

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The height of the crate tower does suggest an alternative understanding of physics, but even the boss gave it praise. He says: “That is … to be honest, really very, very clever.”

On Twitter, fans say that such a thing is obviously the logical solution. At least for a genius like Matt Mercer. The developers themselves probably did not “plan” such situations, but generally leave the most creative solutions open to players.

The developers also offer tips on the classes:

Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3: Developers give 30 minutes of tips on all classes

Baldur’s Gate 3 rewards creativity

Unlike most games, classic role-playing games, especially Baldur’s Gate 3, do not necessarily follow strict “rules.” Generally, what works can also be used. A few examples:

  • Can’t disarm a trap with gas pouring out? Put a crate on it.
  • The merchant wants absurdly much money for a fancy axe? Steal it from him and claim it wasn’t you.
  • Someone has something against your chosen race? Use the spell “disguise self” and claim you are someone else.

Even before the release, fans advised: forget what you have learned about games. This only helps you in Baldur’s Gate 3 to a limited extent. Be creative, the game rewards you for it.

Indeed, Baldur’s Gate 3 has already received significant praise from many quarters for these things. The game truly feels like sitting at a table with a game master, sharing crazy ideas that he then approves with, “Shouldn’t work, but sounds cool. Roll for acrobatics.”

For this reason, it is also possible to play Baldur’s Gate 3 in so many different ways:

17,000 alternative endings: New role-playing epic on Steam apparently wants to redefine “replayability”

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

1,000,000 Euros for a lousy game on Steam: Can be played with 8 people

On the gaming platform Steam, there is a game called ‘Spooky Men’ that costs 999,999.99 euros and represents the worst deal in the history of Steam.

The reputation of games in Early Access on Steam is not the best. Developers give players access to a version of their game that is not fully developed yet.

Often, you save a little compared to the price at full release, but it’s also a mixed bag: Do developers leave the project at some point? Are there bugs in the game that take the entire game down the drain?

Many players on Steam have experienced how such questions were answered with ‘Yes.’ For example, in my case, it was ‘Pixel Piracy’ (via Steam). However, I just saw that the developer posted patch notes after 7 years and several updates already came this year. Crazy.

I fancy that over time, you develop an eye for ‘Red Flags’ in such games – signals indicating a scam. However, with the game ‘Spooky Men,’ I didn’t need my calibrated scam radar. Anyone can recognize that at first glance on the price tag.

And the trailer:

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Spooky Men costs 1,000,000 euros on Steam

What kind of game is this? An outrageously overpriced version of an asymmetrical multiplayer game with a touch of Phasmophobia. With up to 8 players, you are supposed to free a house from a demon, solve randomly distributed puzzles in the house, and prepare for an exorcism.

However, one player controls the ghost: ‘With supernatural abilities and stealth tactics, the ghost can manipulate the environment and track its prey.’

Why does the game cost so much? It’s hard to say for sure, just as there’s no way to contact the developer.

‘Spooky Men’ is obviously a small one-person project; the person behind the project probably wanted to draw attention to the game – which was definitely successful.

It can hardly be due to high quality and massive content. This is evident from some players’ reviews. Moreover, according to SteamDB, the game has completely different prices in other regions, which are significantly below the million euros demanded in Germany.

The cheapest offer is at 9,999,999 Indonesian Rupiah, which according to SteamDB is exactly 583.53 euros (via steamdb.com). The most expensive is in Kuwait. Here, you have to lay down 2,949,200.84 euros on the digital table.

What do players say about ‘Spooky Men’? Since the release, there have been a total of 16 reviews, and the game has a balanced rating. 62% have rated the game positively.

However, these players probably acted before July 17, 2023. According to SteamDB, the price went up to a million on that day – previously it was 5.99 euros. During a sale, Spooky Men was even available for 0.59 euros.

The reviews cover a wide spectrum. It seems that the game is really enjoyable with friends. One player, who also streamed the game, is thrilled because the developer was in his stream and reacted live to the feedback.

The negative reviews warn against the game and say that it doesn’t deserve a chance in its current state. Even though there is potential.

If you want to read more about expensive games on Steam, check this out: 5 of the most expensive games on Steam – You can pay up to €10,000 for virtual train rides

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

5 grandiose Anime that will sweeten your dreary everyday life

Your day was terrible and you need some positive vibes? We have here 5 anime for you that will put a smile on your face.

Hand on heart: Some days are just bad. The news is annoying, work is frustrating, and social contacts are either bothersome or everyone is just busy. What you need are a few hours of escape from reality with nice series that just make you feel good. No exaggerated excitement, no big drama – just a few hours in which you feel good. Exactly such “feel good” anime we have here for you. Have fun with it.

Horimiya

Alternative names: Hori-san and Miyamura-kun
Genre: Romance
Episodes: 13 (a 2nd season is currently airing)
Stream available on: Crunchyroll

That Hori and Miyamura get along is something that hardly anyone would expect at first glance. Hori is pretty and talented in school, while Miyamura seems rather withdrawn and introverted. But by coincidence, they spend a little time together – and find out that they are not what they appear to be in school. Miyamura is into rock music, has tattoos and piercings everywhere, while Hori is quite clumsy and just as nerdy. A relationship is developing between them that does not match their image at school…

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What to expect from Horimiya: You know the clichés of romance anime. Will they get together? Will they not? Why are there so many misunderstandings? Horimiya has none of that. Characters talk about what’s on their minds and clear misunderstandings directly. This makes them feel much more real than in so many other anime. And even the developing love story without exaggerated drama – but with plenty of heart and humor – can simply convince. There’s hardly a series that is as “wholesome” as Horimiya.

Spice and Wolf

Alternative names: Ookami to Koushinryou
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: 25 (2 seasons)
Stream available on: Amazon Prime Video (Season 1)

The powerful wolf being Holo is revered every year for the rich harvest. But with the passing years, the worship diminishes and Holo becomes a mere myth – at least until the merchant Kraft Lawrence comes to the village. Holo decides to become his “business partner” and travels with him through the world. While the pretty Holo helps him lead negotiations, Lawrence comes closer to his dream of having his own business – and must also deal with the peculiarities of this wolf goddess, who is usually much more intelligent than she appears at first glance.

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What to expect from Spice and Wolf: Spice and Wolf not only places importance on likable characters, but also on the economic aspect of the world. How different goods are interconnected or how different merchant guilds haggle over their cooperation is probably depicted in no other anime as interestingly as in Spice and Wolf. The topic may seem dry when reading – but give the anime a chance, you will surely be positively surprised.

More “feel good” anime can be found on the next page.

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

3 games whose reputation suffered because they could not keep their big promises

In the gaming industry, many promises are made to give players an idea of what to expect in upcoming titles. However, some of these promises could not be kept, leading the games towards disaster. We present to you 3 games that have experienced exactly that.

What kind of games are these? These are a collection of games that generated a lot of hope in the community due to their content offerings, but then triggered an avalanche of disappointment through unmet expectations. We will now list three games that fall into this category and explain what happened.

Overwatch 2

Start video
Unleash Hope – Overwatch 2

What happened to the game? Overwatch was a strong alternative for those who wanted PvP at its release in 2016. The combat system felt fresh, and the heroes, with their unique talents and backstories, provided excitement and variety in matches.

However, many fans wished for a story mode instead of time-limited PvE events. Consequently, Blizzard decided to create the sequel “Overwatch 2” and reduce support for Overwatch 1. The game was supposed to focus on a PvE mode alongside the familiar PvP, which, however, was to be added only after the release.

When the game was released, many complained about the monetization. Some even wished for the loot boxes to return instead of continuing to buy in the battle pass or item shop at exorbitant prices.

As if that wasn’t enough, Blizzard then decided to completely scrap the PvE story mode and instead only release temporary events with PvE elements. For many, that was the decisive moment to stop playing Overwatch 2.

Fallout 76

Start video
Fallout 76: Trailer for the new update – “When the stars are in favor”

What happened to the game? Fallout 76 was supposed to be an MMO in an apocalyptic setting. A radioactive wasteland in West Virginia with new threats, a story, and online players to explore the world together. For many fans, a cool idea since all Fallout games could only be played offline and in single-player mode.

However, when the release was approaching and many expected a cool MMO, the disappointment was great:

  • An empty world with no NPCs except robots
  • PvP was always on
  • Quests existed only in written form
  • Bugs made playing almost impossible
  • Poor optimizations led to significant frustrations

The game resembled a graveyard at its release, and while being a Bethesda fan usually means dealing with bugs, it was the world of Fallout 76 that drove the final nail in the coffin (via youtube.com).

Cyberpunk 2077

Start video
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty — Official Trailer

What happened to the game? Cyberpunk 2077 was intended as a new brand that would conquer the gaming market. A new setting with a cool story, a dystopian atmosphere, and Keanu Reeves. The game sounded promising, especially since CD Projekt, the developers of The Witcher 3, were working on the project.

Many players expected a futuristic open world with huge freedoms, and with the COVID-19 pandemic looming, many were trapped in their four walls. So, nothing could go wrong, but it turned out differently.

The game was released with massive bugs that even made it unplayable. Although analysts had projected sales figures of almost 30 million copies in 12 months (via bloomberg.com), only 13 million copies were sold. Many were also refunded due to the disastrous release.

If that wasn’t enough, the developers also had to deal with class-action lawsuits from investors. A chaotic and tragic case that will not be forgotten quickly.

Do you know any other games that made big promises and promotions, but were released only half-finished? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments!

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

I played my PS5 games on my phone instead of on the console – How well does it work?

With the Backbone One, the manufacturer of the same name has introduced a mobile controller that offers the layout of the PlayStation. MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann has tested the model and reveals how well it plays.

The most important points at a glance:

  • The Backbone One is a mobile controller with the layout of a PlayStation controller.
  • The build quality of the controller is good, and the design resembles the DualSense controller.
  • However, the software of the controller is disappointing and confusing.
  • The controller is lighter than the PS5 controller, and the grips feel comfortable to hold.
  • The Backbone One is suitable for mobile gaming and streaming, but there are also alternative controllers available.

What kind of controller is this? Most mobile controllers rely on the well-known Xbox design. However, if you want to play or stream PlayStation games directly, you might first be out of luck or have to use the Xbox design.

Backbone has introduced the Backbone One, a mobile controller that comes with official PlayStation licensing. If you can’t memorize the PS button layout anyway, then this offers an advantage.

But is the model worth it beyond just the logo and buttons? I tested the device with my phone and explain the advantages and disadvantages of the controller.

Who tested it?

I personally own over 20 gaming mice and have tested over 15 keyboards. I also own over 10 sets of in-ear headphones. Since 2019, I have been testing hardware for our readers at MeinMMO. In addition to my PC and PS5, I also use the Steam Deck.

The Backbone One was provided to me by the manufacturer for testing.

asks meinmmo benedikt

Benedikt Schlotmann
Hardware Editor MeinMMO

Features and Technical Details:
Design/InterfaceAsymmetrical controller with PlayStation interface
SoftwareApp (Android, iOS)
LightingNo
CompatibilityMobile phone with Android or iOS
Scope of DeliveryMobile controller (Backbone), manual
Special FeaturesPS layout, pass-through charging of the mobile phone
Price (RRP)119.99 Euro
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Scope of Delivery, Design, and Build

What’s included? The scope of delivery of the Backbone One is minimalist. Besides the controller module, there is only a manual in the box. Nothing more is included and is typically not needed.

If you want to charge your phone via the controller, you’ll need to use your own power supply and charging cable. Everyone should have at least one at home.

Backbone Controller Scope of Delivery

How is the controller designed?

  • On the front, there is the familiar layout of a PS controller.
  • Compared to the “real” PS5 controller, the buttons and thumbsticks are slightly smaller.
  • To play, the Backbone is extended and the phone is placed in the middle. Small rubber parts are supposed to ensure that your phone does not get scratched. It is hardly possible to attach a phone with a case.
  • On the front, there is an additional USB port for charging the phone you are currently playing with and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
  • Individual parts of the controller cannot be replaced; everything is fixed.
  • The controller does not offer triggers or other additional buttons.

What does the controller look like? The Backbone One comes in a white design with black accents, strongly resembling the official DualSense controller. Otherwise, the design is understated and unspectacular. The manufacturer avoids RGB or other embellishments.

Build Quality

The build quality of the controller leaves a good impression. The device is made entirely of plastic, yet it feels valuable and not cheap.

The controller is stiff when you want to pull it apart to clamp your phone between, but I find that good since it gives me the feeling that my phone cannot suddenly detach from the controller.

The buttons, both the D-pad and the individual buttons, provide me with a good tactile feedback. Nothing wobbles or rattles here. Only the thumbsticks have a little play in their mount for loose movement.

Backbone Controller close-up

The Software

In the Backbone app, you must register either with an Apple or Google account if you want to use the app. An alternative is currently not possible (as of July 2023).

The app itself feels like a weak imitation of GeForce Now or the launcher from the Xbox Game Pass. The app is heavily overloaded with suggestions for free games, videos, and gameplay. This directly discourages me from wanting to use the app significantly.

Furthermore, I see no advantage in using this app in everyday life. I can do without friend lists, screenshot and recording features:

  • I can take screenshots and game recordings directly via Android.
  • I already have friend lists with Steam, PlayStation Network, and others.

In my opinion, the software is the major weak point of the device. And although I have to say it harshly: Mandatory account sign-ups and overloaded apps discourage me as a customer instead of actually binding me to a company (and its product). Companies like Razer have quickly abolished such registration requirements for good reasons.

However, it should be noted: To start and play games, I do not necessarily have to use the app. I can therefore fundamentally uninstall it again.

With Backbone+, there is already a paid subscription service, but it is not yet available on Android. The price on iOS is around 50 Euro per year. This does not make the app more appealing in the long term. More info about the subscription directly from the manufacturer.

On the next page, I will discuss ergonomics, weight, and practical experiences with the Backbone. In the concluding summary, I explain whether and for whom the device is worthwhile.

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

A “secret class” in Baldur’s Gate 3 cannot be selected at the start, you must earn it.

Baldur’s Gate 3 delivers you 12 popular RPG classes that you can further expand with “specializations”. One of these classes, the Oathbreaker Paladin, is so unique that you can only unlock it while playing, and only when you act against all your convictions.

What kind of class is this? Paladins are one of the 12 classes in Baldur’s Gate 3. When you create the class, you need to choose an oath that your Paladin follows, a kind of code of honor. The available options at the start are:

  • Oath of the Ancients: stands for preservation of good and fighting against darkness
  • Oath of Devotion: stands for chivalry, honor, and virtue
  • Oath of Vengeance: stands for justice at any cost

However, there is also a fourth, hidden subclass, the Oathbreaker. As an Oathbreaker, you have access to a range of new abilities that Paladins usually do not master. You become a kind of “dark Paladin” who can no longer adhere to their original vow.

Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

How do I become an Oathbreaker? To play as an Oathbreaker, you need to – as the name suggests – break your oath. To do this, you must make certain decisions in the game that completely contradict your beliefs.

If you have sworn the Oath of Devotion, you must break promises or kill defenseless victims. If you are an Ancients Paladin, even “evil” deeds should be enough to break your oath.

For power gamers: You do not lose any progress. When you become an Oathbreaker, all your features and spells from previous levels are retroactively applied to your Oathbreaker level. So you can decide to break your oath even very late in the game.

There are certain moments in the game where your decisions will make you an Oathbreaker. At least in early access, you can also regain your oath – for a proud sum of 2,000 gold coins.

You can see the release teaser for Baldur’s Gate 3 here:

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Baldur’s Gate 3: The release teaser for the new role-playing game for PS5 and Steam

Baldur’s Gate 3 opens up absolutely crazy possibilities for you

The creators of Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios, apparently have made it their mission to give you as much freedom as possible. The Oathbreaker is just one example of this. You have complete freedom over:

Especially regarding the theme of sex, Larian apparently sees a lot of potentials. A rather strange scene where you can have sex with a bear even caused problems on social media and discussions about how moral such things still are.

Your decisions also have significant impacts in the game. They can influence how your companions and other NPCs perceive you. In the end, thousands of possible scenarios await you:

17,000 alternative endings: The new RPG epic on Steam seems to want to redefine “replayability”

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

Remnant 2 congratulates Baldur’s Gate 3 on the absurdly good start on Steam, makes the absolutely best meme about it

Baldur’s Gate 3 is not even a day old and already a successful game on Steam. The developers of Remnant 2 did not want to miss this and congratulated Larian Studios for their success with a meme that you won’t forget anytime soon.

Why is Remnant 2 congratulating? The new souls-like from Gunfire Games “Remnant 2” was released on July 25 for PS5, Xbox, and PC (Steam). With a peak of 110,756 players, the game even managed to surpass its predecessor and gather more than double the number of players. A strong start for the game regarded as a hidden gem, which even temporarily dethroned CS:GO.

Now that Baldur’s Gate 3 has been released, the player numbers of Remnant 2 are slowly dwindling while those of BG3 are rising. Gunfire Games is now celebrating this successful launch with a disturbing new meme from the D&D player community.

Here you can also find the launch trailer of Baldur’s Gate 3:

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Launch Trailer for the Role-playing Game Baldur’s Gate 3

Strong Start on Steam

What kind of meme is this? The Twitter account of Remnant 2 – Europe tweeted a well-known bear scene from a trailer of Baldur’s Gate 3. In this scene, a visibly naked man is sitting with his legs spread, while a bear approaches with a knowing look and looks at this man. Now you can imagine what would follow.

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In the image, the man is also marked with the Remnant 2 symbol while the bear has the symbol of Baldur’s Gate 3. As the title of the tweet, the developers wrote “we get it.” which means “we understood it.” The meme basically shows that Remnant 2 understood that now it’s Baldur’s Gate 3’s turn to bask in the glory.

How successful is Baldur’s Gate 3? The D&D game from Larian Studios has had a stronger launch than Remnant 2. At its peak, 471,897 players gathered to play the game on Steam. A total of 480,000 interested fans tuned in on Twitch to watch other streamers.

The influx was so great that both platforms had to deal with issues. If that weren’t enough, the game also catapulted itself into the top 100 of the best-selling titles by total revenue on Steam.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is currently very well received in the gaming community, but not every platform can benefit from this title. PS5 and Xbox still have to wait a little longer.

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

Baldur’s Gate 3: 1. Hotfix fixes annoying save error, fixes 150 bugs – Patch notes

On Friday, August 4th, Baldur’s Gate 3 received its first hotfix directly. With this, the developers are fixing a ton of bugs, including one that caused issues with save files. You should now be able to save your game without problems.

What about Baldur’s Gate 3?

  • Hundreds of thousands of fans were looking forward to the release of the new RPG.
  • The release on August 3rd on Steam and GOG went extremely well for the game itself, but overloaded Twitch’s servers. Even Twitch was briefly down that evening.
  • Right the next day, a hotfix is issued by the developers. This fixes according to Tweet over 150 bugs and other issues, 78 of which are already listed in the patch notes. There are no balance changes.

What’s included in the hotfix: The main fixes are centered around save games in Baldur’s Gate 3. Some crashes were fixed, for example when you wanted to save at certain points. You should also no longer get stuck in an infinite loop when quick-saving after dying.

Additionally, Larian has disabled the cross-save feature. This apparently led to some players being unable to save their games at all. This problem should now be resolved with the hotfix.

Larian states that the feature is currently non-functional anyway. The PS5 version will be released in September and until then, the integrated cross-save feature in the Larian launcher has no effect. Saves in the Steam Cloud are unaffected.

However, your friends being able to ruin your save files is not affected by the fixes. Whether this is even an intended feature remains to be seen. You can find the complete patch notes on Steam or here in the spoiler.

Patch Notes

CRASHES AND BLOCKERS

  • Fixed possibly getting stuck in a dialogue in the first confrontation with a major boss.
  • Fixed a rare issue where player character states would not update properly after dying.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur related to one of Astarion’s cinematic dialogues in the endgame.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when loading an old savegame while at Last Light.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when using the brain reader in the Colony.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause you to get stuck in a loading screen when loading a savegame after dying.
  • Fixed a blocker during Character Creation preventing you from progressing if you chose a Zariel tiefling as your Guardian.
  • Fixed a potential crash triggered by the light system.
  • Added an error message to prevent crashes being caused by mods when starting the game.
  • Disabled Larian Account cross-saves temporarily to solve an issue blocking loads and saves. Steam cross-saves are unaffected.
  • Fixed a startup crash with the Steam API.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when quick-loading a game while a container or corpse was open for looting.
  • Fixed a crash that could happen if an item unlocked a spell for a game entity without stats.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when switching a race or a class in Character Creation.
  • Fixed potential crashes that could occur when closing screens like the options menu or when ending dialogues.
  • Fixed a potential crash when an enemy tries to use the Motivator during combat in the Steel Watch Foundry.
  • Fixed a blocker that could occur if you choose to attack the Emperor during a dialogue after you side with him.
  • Fixed a crash in PhysX.

MULTIPLAYER

  • Players will now correctly join cinematic dialogues that require all players to be present if they were listening in previously.
  • Fixed an issue that allowed players to listen in on private dialogues using the context menu.
  • Fixed an issue causing players to get stuck and not be able to join a dialogue if someone else is already in a dialogue.

GAMEPLAY

  • Fixed hair physics on drow and elf male strong body types.
  • Fixed an issue causing phase spiders to skip their turn in combat if they’re standing on a web that’s been destroyed.
  • Fixed an issue with dice rolling, where retrying could cause the roll to fail if you were applying bonuses and clicking really fast.
  • Duplicate spells no longer appear on followers’ hotbars and you can no longer customise their radial menus. (Important to note: followers are not companions or full party members.)
  • Fixed Dark Urge randomisation in Character Creation for non-white dragonborn characters.
  • Fixed an issue preventing you from interacting with Withers in one of the camp locations.

UI

  • Fixed issues in cinematic dialogues when listening in.
  • Fixed an issue causing the character models for half-orcs, dragonborn, and half-elves to not update correctly when unequipping armour in the character sheet.
  • Fixed some issues with prepared spells during Level Up, when multiclassing.
  • Hid the version number during dialogues.
  • Fixed splitscreen cinematics showing sampling garbage.

AUDIO

  • Fixed audio issues with grunts, shouts, and moans across gameplay and cinematics.
  • Fixed a line being cut off when speaking to the Restless Myconid in the Underdark.
  • Removed a clicking sound during the credits.
  • Fixed audio levels in a dialogue with Mayrina in the Lower City.

ENGINE

  • Fixed a bug causing textures to appear in bright, neon colours.
  • Fixed a splitscreen issue causing characters to remain invisible after a dialogue ends.
  • Fixed an aspect ratio issue when FSR is active during splitscreen.
  • Fixed surface texture details not updating when changing Texture Detail in the game video options.
Possible Story Spoilers!

CINEMATICS

  • Fixed characters looking in the wrong direction in a dialogue with Mizora.
  • Fixed the Emperor turning backwards in an endgame cinematic.
  • Fixed a camera issue with the deep rothé.
  • Fixed camera and lighting issues with the strange ox at Last Light.
  • Fixed a blank screen in the cinematic when you put on one of Auntie Ethel’s masks.
  • The nautiloid crash scene will now play even if your avatar is dead and a companion used the transponder instead.
  • Fixed Jaheira’s youngest daughter clipping in a cinematic dialogue.
  • Fixed an issue with clipping characters in a cinematic dialogue in the Colony.
  • Ravengard is no longer missing from a dialogue involving all the allies you’ve made.
  • Fixed the avatar’s head popping into place in a dialogue in the Colony.
  • You no longer look like you’re walking through Sceleritas Fel in the Temple of Bhaal.
  • Fixed Cazador’s staff disappearing in a cinematic dialogue.
  • Fixed a camera that was zoomed in too far on a wolf.
  • Fixed Lae’zel’s head popping in a dialogue with Vlaakith.
  • Fixed issues with animations, clipping, and camera shots in the romantic scene in the House of Hope.
  • Fixed Orin and her victim clipping into an altar.
  • Fixed a blocked camera in the dialogue with Lunkbug and Laridda.
  • Fixed companions disappearing the morning after the Dark Urge gives into a particular Urge.
  • Fixed lighting issues in a scene with Z’rell at Moonrise Towers.
  • Fixed Araj’s hands clipping when talking to her in the Lower City.
  • Fixed some companions being visible in the background of dialogues where they shouldn’t be.
  • Fixed some lines being cut off when speaking to Ravengard in Wyrm’s Crossing.
  • Fixed Ketheric’s corpse standing back up in an idle pose.
  • Fixed a blocked camera in the dialogue with the ogres at the Blighted Village.
  • Fixed Raphael popping during the dialogue with the orthon.
  • Fixed camera, audio, and character movement issues in the dialogue with the monk’s amulet.
  • Fixed a looping animation in the cinematic dialogue with the Brewer.
  • Fixed half-orc hirelings clipping when speaking to the pale individuals in Fraygo’s Flophouse.
  • Fixed male halfling Dark Urge’s hand clipping through his body when lying down.
  • Fixed lighting issues in the endgame cinematic.
  • Fixed Jaheira having jittering and popping hands in a dialogue in the Lower City.
  • Fixed a repeating animation on the submersible.
  • Fixed Wyll looking in the wrong direction when recruited.
  • Added reactions to the player character’s face when talking to the ox in Last Light.
  • Fixed clipping between two Zealots of the Absolute in the Colony.
  • Fixed popping issues with Cazador in several dialogues with Astarion.
  • Fixed some issues with where characters are facing, animations, and cameras in the final combat cinematic.
Start video
Launch Trailer for the Role-playing Game Baldur’s Gate 3

Enormously Strong Release on Steam Surprises Even the Developers

Baldur’s Gate 3 had over 470,000 players on Steam at launch and a rating of 96%. This has overtaken Dota 2 in player count and was even ahead of the longtime bestseller CS:GO among the top sellers on Steam.

The developers themselves did not expect such success. The head of the studio, Swen Vincke, told his IT department that they should expect about 100,000 people. He would rather keep quiet from now on because it ended up being over 5 times that (via Twitter).

Even the Director of Publishing commented and said: if you reach 666,000 players at peak, he would get a character from the game tattooed.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is already receiving a lot of positive feedback from both the press and players. Many are happy: finally, a finished game is released again, without major bugs, without microtransactions, and without a shop. You buy it, play through it, and it’s a good experience.

The RPG stands out in that it can be played in dozens of different ways and is said to have thousands of different endings. Almost every player experiences their own story and interesting situations. You can get a glimpse of this in our preview report:

Baldur’s Gate 3: The Personal Feud with a Witch Cost Me 3 Hours of Life – The Solution Took No More Than 30 Seconds

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

Destiny 2: Xur today – location and offer on 04.08.

In Destiny 2 it is once again time to visit the exotic merchant Xur. MeinMMO tells you what exceptional items he has on offer this weekend and where his current location is.

What happened this week in Destiny 2? This week saw some interesting developments in Destiny 2. An analysis by Guardians showed that the loss of 64% of players is not as concerning for Bungie as it seems at first glance.

Furthermore, Bungie will finally fix a bug after two years that has been a useful feature for many players. Starting from Season 22, Guardians will have to prepare for solid ammunition acquisition to become important again.

By the way, Xur has revealed to us that while he sells many exotic weapons to the Guardians, he doesn’t know all the secrets of their hidden bonuses and abilities. To stay one step ahead of him, we have listed the hidden advantages of 16 unique exotic weapons that are not mentioned in the official descriptions.

16 Exotics from Destiny 2 that become even better with hidden bonuses and abilities

Start video
Destiny 2: Guardian tells how a gaming friendship changed his life

All info about Xur on August 4, 2023 – PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S

Xur will once again take up his job for the Nine today and offer you quickly available exotic items. That’s why he is the NPC in Destiny 2 whose offerings you should know.

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 purchase 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 position remains a well-kept 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: on Nessus in the landing zone “Guardian’s Grave”
Destiny-2_nessus-wächtergrab
Xur is on Nessus

Xur’s inventory from August 4 – 8 – All Exotics at a glance

What does Xur have on offer? Xur presents a comprehensive range of exotic weapons and armor. These unique items give Guardians powerful extra abilities that provide them with a decisive advantage in combat.

His goods change weekly, making his offerings a small surprise each time. However, we will list his offerings so you are quickly informed.

This is Xur’s offer

Xur’s inventory from August 4 – 8

Weapon:  Merciless – Fusion Rifle for 29 Legendary Shards

Titan:  ACD/0 Feedback Filter – Gauntlets for 23 Legendary Shards

  • Mobility: +2
  • Resilience: +20
  • Recovery: +12
  • Discipline: +14
  • Intellect: +12
  • Strength: +7
  • Total: 67

Hunter: Shinobu’s Vow– Gauntlets for 23 Legendary Shards

  • Mobility: +18
  • Resilience: +3
  • Recovery: +14
  • Discipline: +19
  • Intellect: +2
  • Strength: +12
  • Total: 68

Warlock: Crown of Tempests – Helmet for 23 Legendary Shards

  • Mobility: +17
  • Resilience: +2
  • Recovery: +16
  • Discipline: +2
  • Intellect: +20
  • Strength: +10
  • Total: 67

Legendary Armor Set: This week Xur is selling Legendary armor called “Perfect Set”.

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In addition to the regular offer, Xur has also been selling unique rolls for exotics from no longer available exotic missions from past DLCs each week for a few seasons. You can only buy these weapons from Xur if you own the corresponding expansion.

Currently, he offers these two weapons:

  • The exotic hand cannon “Bad Land” (Beyond Light DLC) with Moving Target
  • The exotic scout rifle “Succession of a Dead Man” (Beyond Light DLC) with Outlaw

Trials of Osiris from August 4 – 8 – Map, Weapons, and Info

The Trials represent a weekly PvP event that puts Guardians to the test and challenges their skills as well as teamwork. This endgame challenge offers intense 3v3 matches, where only the bravest and most skilled can earn the Trials’ rewards and find their way to the Lighthouse.

What 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 8.

The map of the week is: Anomaly
Anomaly-Anomalie-Destiyn-2-PvP

This is the reward for a flawless run: Every week there is also a special weapon waiting for you at the Lighthouse, which you receive as a Master version for your flawless run, meaning 7 victories. You can earn the weapon until the upcoming Tuesday, August 1, at 7:00 PM.

As a reward, there is always an Adept weapon waiting for you if you made it safely to the Lighthouse.

This week’s Adept weapon is: The hand cannon “Exalted Truth”. It will leave the Trials pool at the end of Season 21 on August 22 and is therefore earnable for the last time.
erhabenewahrheit-handfeuerwaffe-destiny2

Focus on the loot you want: Your Trials Engrams can also be focused on your desired weapon at the 14th Saint. Additionally, there are Upgrade Prisms and Ascendant Shards.

  • Your reward increases further as soon as 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 begin today, August 4, 2023, at 7:00 PM and end with the weekly reset on August 8, 2023, at 7:00 PM.

Regarding the changes coming to Destiny 2, the “State of the Game” blog by Bungie’s Game Director Joe Blackburn offers a preview:

Destiny 2 reveals 10 gameplay changes for upcoming content, kills loot quests, Gambit, and power-level grind

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Diablo 4: Player creates a functioning build from the strangest item in Season 1, looks like a glitch in the matrix

Wizards have had a rough time since the start of Season 1 of Diablo 4 – they are considered weak and have received a new unique that is more meme than helpful. However, with this staff, first players are now building builds that actually work.

What kind of item is this? It is “The Oculus”, a two-handed wand and the new unique item for wizards in Season 1.

While all classes have received a somewhat cool unique, wizards are left with this weird piece that turns “Dodge” into a “Teleport” that teleports the player to random locations. Useless in an action RPG like Diablo 4, right?

As it turns out: not quite. A few relentless wizards have taken a closer look at the item, and especially in connection with the unique mechanic in Season 1, the Malevolent Hearts, you can build a real build with the crazy wand.

The risk of headache, dizziness, and nausea remains present.

You can watch the trailer for the current Season 1 of Diablo 4 here:

Start video
Diablo 4: The Official Announcement Trailer for Season 1

Why does the staff work in Season 1? Through the Malevolent Hearts, a strong buff for your own defense can be obtained. 30% damage reduction after a teleport, which noticeably contributes to your own survivability.

Additionally, some shoes offer an ability that reduces the cooldown of “Dodge” when using a skill by 1.2 seconds. Since wizards constantly cast spells, the random teleport is essentially always available.

On Reddit, user “AthamaSDeaD” shared his experiences and shows: Even with an underdeveloped and makeshift build, you can easily run nightmare dungeons that are 15 levels above your own at level 80:

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  • A short clip with gameplay has also been shown by the user (via youtube.com)

AthamaSDeaD focuses on critical hits and plays a lightning build for the wizard.

In the thread, players also mention advanced endgame builds for the Oculus. For example, a build by YouTuber “BlackHeart86” including a Paragon setup. You can find the English video of the build on YouTube (via youtube.com).

Some users also say: In conjunction with the strongest item of Season 1, the powerful yet annoying “Barber”, you could currently build a decent build from nearly all skills.

What do users say about it? The mood in the thread is quite good. There are even a few users who seriously seem to want to try the wizard with Oculus. Here are a few comments from the Reddit thread:

  • WoodcutHut: ‘Exactly what I’ve been looking for!’
  • blackop: ‘So you’ve decided to lead the life of a [Conduit] shrine’
  • ArdForYa: ‘This is absolutely disgusting, you should be proud of yourself.’

It’s nice to see that wizards are still having fun with the game despite some nerfs. You can find out which builds for the magic class are trending here: Diablo 4: The 3 best builds for the wizard in Season 1

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Pokémon GO: Tomorrow starts the event “Sparkling Garden” – All spawns and bonuses

On Saturday, August 5th, the event Glittering Garden starts in Pokémon GO, where you can look forward to a new Shiny. We at MeinMMO will show you what spawns and bonuses you can expect.

What event is it? In addition to the two live events for the GO Fest in London and Osaka, you can also look forward to a global event starting Saturday: Glittering Garden. This is all about Grass and Fairy Pokémon, which can also be found during the mentioned live events. As a special highlight, Shiny Lilminip will make its worldwide debut.

When does the event run? The Glittering Garden event starts on August 5th, 2023 at 10:00 AM local time and runs until August 8th, 2023 at 8:00 PM local time. It can be played from anywhere in the world.

All spawns and Shinys for the Glittering Garden event

What new Shinys are there? During the event, a new Shiny will debut in Pokémon GO: Lilminip. With a bit of luck, you can encounter the sparkling Grass Pokémon from the 5th generation during this time in the wild, in field research, or receive it from a 2km egg. On Saturday, August 5th, it will appear more frequently in parks.

You can recognize the Shiny by its yellow body. If you manage to get one, you can also evolve it into Dresselia.

Lilminip and Dresselia normal (left) and as Shinys (right)

Wild Monsters and Daily Pokémon

Besides Lilminip, you can encounter other monsters in the wild. Additionally, there will be a specific daily Pokémon on each event day that spawns particularly often in parks. This is especially worthwhile if you are on a Shiny hunt.

Below we show you all the monsters you can expect in the coming days.

All monsters that can be Shiny are marked with an (*).

Wild spawns:

  • Bulbasaur*
  • Jigglypuff*
  • Oddish*
  • Ralts*
  • Budew*
  • Shroomish*
  • Lilminip*
  • Shuppet*
  • Parfitch*
  • Swablu*
  • Dedenne*

Daily Pokémon: On each of the four event days, one monster will be highlighted that can be found more frequently in parks. Keep an eye out for the following Pokémon:

DatePokémon
August 5thLilminip*
August 6thShuppet*
August 7thOddish*
August 8thBudew*

Pokémon from Eggs: In addition to wild spawns and daily Pokémon, there will also be special contents in the 2km eggs for the event. You will receive these by spinning PokéStops and gyms. You can receive the following monsters this way:

  • Budew*
  • Shroomish*
  • Swablu
  • Lilminip*
  • Skitties
  • With a bit of luck: Fletchling

Note that the contents of the eggs always depend on the time of spinning. Therefore, different monsters can hatch from eggs that you already have in your bag.

All bonuses of the Glittering Garden event

Furthermore, the event also offers you some bonuses that reward you particularly for hatching eggs. You can look forward to the following:

  • 1.5x candy when hatching
  • 1.5x stardust when hatching
  • half the distance to earn hearts with your buddy Pokémon
  • higher chance for XL candies when walking with your buddy Pokémon
  • Event field research
    • Encounters with Tangela*, Roselia*, Lilminip* and Shroomish*
  • Limited research on hatching eggs and exploring

What do you think of the event’s contents? Which monster are you most looking forward to? Or do you even have tickets for one of the live events? If so, where? Let us know here at MeinMMO in the comments.

In the coming weeks, there will be much more in Pokémon GO. We will show you all events in August and which ones are worth it.

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Source(s):
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Genshin Impact 4.0: Here are the new banners and characters

The special program for version 4.0 of Genshin Impact took place today, on August 4, 2023, as a livestream. Players received information about the upcoming banners and the characters they will soon be able to pull.

On August 4, 2023, there was a major livestream in Genshin Impact showcasing the upcoming game content.

The new version 4.0 carries the motto “As Light Rain Falls Without Reason” and is translated into German as: “Grundlos gefallen, wie ein sanfter Regen”. It will be available in Genshin Impact starting August 16, 2023.

In the new version 4.0, players can expect:

  • 3 new playable characters
  • 2 rerun banners
  • the 5th nation Fontaine
  • continuation of the Archon Quest
  • and more

Here you can see the trailer for the new version 4.0 in Genshin Impact:

Start video
Genshin Impact Version 4.0 “As Light Rain Falls Without Reason”

These are the new banners in version 4.0 featuring Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet

Who are the new characters? Lyney is a celebrated magician at the court of Fontaine. He is a new 5-star character and Pyro fighter who wields a bow as a weapon. His constellation is named Felis Fuscus. He has the ability to transform into a grinning cat to ignite fireworks.

His little sister and magic assistant Lynette is a 4-star character and belongs to the Anemo element. She fights with a one-handed sword. Her constellation is called Felis Alba. With her special ability, she can move quickly towards enemies.

The third and youngest of the siblings is Freminet, also a 4-star character and a famous diver from Fontaine. He belongs to the Cryo element. His constellation is called Automaton. As a weapon, he wields a great sword, and with his ability, he deals substantial Cryo and physical damage.

Which banners will there be in version 4.0? As usual, banner phases will be divided into 2 phases.

In the first phase, banners for these 5-star characters will run:

  • Lyney (Pyro and bow)
  • Yelan (Hydro and bow)

Through these banners, 4-star character Lynette (Anemo and one-handed sword) will also be available.

Note: You will receive the new character Lynette for free. Once you reach adventure level 25, you can obtain her through an event in version 4.0.

In the second phase, these two special banners will follow:

  • Childe (Hydro and bow)
  • Zhongli (Geo and polearm)

In this phase, you will also receive Freminet (Cryo and claymore) as a 4-star character through the banners.

What else will there be in version 4.0?  In addition to the new characters, the update will provide you with a new region and numerous new contents:

The new region Fontaine consists of both land areas and an underwater world. Therefore, diving as a new gameplay element will be added to the game to provide even more exploration opportunities. The region will have numerous new contents, such as 2 bosses, new enemies, and animals.

The Archon Quest will also continue, and there will be a story quest featuring Lyney.

During several events, you can earn 4-star character Bennett, as well as precious gems and other rewards.

Two new artifact sets will be integrated into the game. Additionally, the update brings system improvements concerning the map view at different levels and watching a TCG duel in co-op mode. There will also be new joining animations for the characters in your team.

Here you will find an overview of all promo codes that you can currently redeem.

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