PS Plus Extra has many great blockbusters in its offer. From God of War to Bloodborne, AAA fans are well served. But you can also find smaller games that got lost in the flood of many games in this subscription. We present to you 5 hidden gems from the subscription.
What is PS Plus Extra? PS Plus Extra is the second tier of the PS Plus subscription on PS4 and PS5. With the subscription, you can play many games for free from a large catalog. Similar to GamePass, in addition to blockbusters, you can expect small hidden gems.
In this article, we present to you 5 more or less small hidden gems that you can play for free with your PS Plus Extra subscription.
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1. Humanity
Developer: Tha Ltd. |Genre: Puzzle and Strategy |Meta-Score: 85 (PS5)
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Humanity Launch Trailer
What kind of game is this? The newest game on this list is Humanity. You control a small dog that must guide a group of people through puzzles and obstacles in many different levels. The game resembles a modern version of Lemmings.
The setting sounds not only crazy. The levels are also absurd, colorful, and creative. Collectibles provide an additional challenge. With them, you can unlock various items. For example, you can turn your people into big, bouncing blocks.
If you have a PSVR or even PSVR 2, you can play the whole thing with the headset in Virtual Reality and feel like a dog playing with humanity.
2. Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Developer: Greg Lobanov |Genre: Puzzle and Adventure |Meta-Score: 87 (PS5)
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Chicory: A Colorful Tale Official Trailer
What kind of game is this? Chicory: A Colorful Tale is like a playable coloring book. Here, you also play as a dog and solve various puzzles armed with your brush and paint. But you also have to face boss battles with your brush.
With the brush, you explore and paint your way through the world and meet many quirky characters along the way. The look perfectly matches the story, as Chicory also tells an emotional tale about creativity. The wonderful music should also be mentioned here.
If you have a partner or friends who want to experience Chicory with you, you can also play a 2-player co-op on the couch, where each controls their own brush.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Misha Collins and his character Castiel are loved by fans of the series Supernatural, even though he was originally only supposed to appear for 3 episodes.
Who is it about? The angel “Castiel” has become an extremely important character in the storyline of Supernatural over the years and a real favorite among fans.
The servant of God, portrayed by American actor Misha Collins, first appeared in the first episode of the fourth season (“Lazarus Rises”). Since then, he is known for his confused, alien, and monotone manner as well as for his beige trench coat and crooked tie.
Especially with Dean (Jensen Ackles), Castiel developed a brotherly relationship over the course of the seasons and is not only a great help to the main characters but also a good friend.
In May 2023, Misha Collins was a guest on the English-language podcast Supernatural Then and Now, hosted by Robert “Rob” Benedict (in Supernatural: Chuck) and Richard Speight Jr. (in Supernatural: the Trickster/Gabriel). In the podcast, Collins spoke about his early days in Supernatural, how certain character traits of Castiel came to be, and the plans that existed for his role.
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The 5 Best TV Series Based on Video Games
Castiel was not supposed to be a long-term character
Why was he supposed to leave Supernatural? In the podcast, Collins was asked how Jared Padalecki (Sam) and Jensen Ackles (Dean) behaved towards him when he was first involved in the filming of Supernatural. Collins then recounted that he was originally cast for only three episodes and that they hardly paid attention to him. The character Castiel was not supposed to appear in the series for as long as he ultimately did.
I was not significant. Originally, I was supposed to have a story arc of 3 episodes and they had no idea, they didn’t even read the script we were currently shooting. They didn’t know that the character was coming back. […] They didn’t know they would have to deal with me in the future. So they didn’t create any groundwork.
Misha Collins via Supernatural Then and Now
Collins asked the showrunner for a regular role
How did Castiel stay in the series? Another topic in the podcast was the question of how Collins had known back then if his character was well received by fans. He recounted that he had scoured various websites and forums to read what fans of the series were saying about Castiel.
He realized that the angel was popular among fans. At that time, the show’s creators had already written him into more and more episodes, and it was not just limited to the originally planned three episodes.
Collins then called the showrunner Erik Kripke and bluntly asked him whether he should become a so-called “series regular,” making Castiel one of the recurring characters.
By the end of season 4, I thought: “People really like this, and they keep bringing me back for new episodes. That’s great.” So I called Eric Kripke and said: “Hey, do you want to maybe integrate me as a regular in the series for the next year?” And I felt that I might have enough storyline and maybe enough fan excitement for the character to justify that. To my surprise, he said: “Yeah, okay.”
Misha Collins via Supernatural Then and Now
Misha Collins’ proposal was accepted and he was scheduled for the entire fifth season. Castiel then remained a recurring character for at least another year – and many more years followed.
How impressive and unusual Collins’ question to Erik Kripke was is highlighted by Richard Speight Jr.: “No actor ever does that. That’s impressive. No one would call the showrunner and say: ‘Give me a contract.’ That’s incredible.”
Collins defined Castiel even during the casting: Another highlight of the podcast episode is Collins’ story about how he accidentally defined the character of Castiel forever during the casting.
Collins had prepared to play a demon during the casting. Then he was told that the character was an angel and that he should adjust his performance accordingly. The actor, however, did not expect that:
“That threw me off balance,” he recounts, “I thought, that’s basically the opposite. I was, standing in the spotlight, completely confused.”
Collins described his behavior in that situation as being like someone who didn’t know what was going on. And this confusion would henceforth define Castiel’s demeanor. “Somehow that led to a very bizarre interpretation of the character and somehow it worked.”
That in the world of television not everything goes as planned is also shown by the story of Sir Patrick Stewart and his iconic role as Captain Picard. The actor actually expected to be back home after half a year:
The presentation of the new sci-fi RPG Starfield by Bethesda was for many the highlight of the Xbox showcase on June 11, 2023. However, not everyone shares the excitement for the game.
Who is it about?Shirley Curry became known in 2015 as ‘Skyrim Grandma’ with her Let’s Plays on YouTube. At that time she was 79, so she is now likely in her late 80s. She is eagerly hoping to experience the release of The Elder Scrolls 6 – and is frustrated with Bethesda.
What bothers Skyrim Grandma? In a vlog dated June 16, Curry shared her frustration with her 1.22 million “grandchildren” on YouTube. After many years, she has slowly had enough of Skyrim, but there is no sign of the successor:
One of my problems, kids, is that I have been so upset with Bethesda because they have not made and released Elder Scrolls 6 for us to play. […] I have played so many different stories that I have come up with in Skyrim over the years that I eventually started to get a little bored.
Ultimately, Curry has set aside her beloved Skyrim, but now she is in a difficult situation: “I got bored with the game, now I’m bored without it.”
Curry apparently lacks gaming alternatives. Most other games are boring and do not appeal to her. She tried the Fallout series by Bethesda but found it “too depressing.”
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Starfield brings what fans of Star Citizen wish for – decades earlier, but with a catch
Skyrim Grandma does not play space games
Why is Starfield not an option? In response to a viewer’s question about whether she is looking forward to Starfield, Skyrim Grandma wrote: “No, I am NOT. I am too angry that they postponed ES6 for too long!”
In an interview with PC Gamer, Curry explained that while the presentation of Starfield was nice, it is just a space game. She is simply a Skyrim junkie.
In the meantime, she can only console herself with Civilization 5 – but not Civ 6, because she doesn’t like the map. Whether Curry will give Starfield a chance at release remains to be seen.
At the same time, Curry also dispelled rumors that she would have an appearance in Starfield, as colleagues from GameStar report. Fans discovered a spaceship named “Grandma” during the showcase that invites players to eat.
However, Skyrim Grandma says she saw the scene, but it was at most a little nod from Bethesda. She is not in the game and knows nothing about any such plans from Bethesda.
In Diablo 4, you can expect many challenges, tough bosses, and even the possibility to fight against other players. However, one of the biggest enemies in the game is actually a harmless chair, at least if you are to believe the Reddit community.
What is up with the chair? Chairs can be found in many places in the game, but one in particular has captured the players’ attention. It is located near the forge and players frequently accidentally sit on it instead of interacting with the actual object of desire.
This error apparently occurs regardless of whether you use a mouse and keyboard on PC or a controller on consoles. Some players are brought to the brink of despair by this.
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“This is not a chair, this is a trap”
What do the players say? The Reddit thread titled “My worst enemy in Diablo 4, I’m sure I’m not the only one” received over 1,400 upvotes and 150 comments. Additionally, there are more threads specifically on this topic. So the chair does not only bother one person, but a whole bunch of players.
The user Sciencetaco writes:
On the console, it is especially annoying when you don’t directly click on things, but press a button to trigger what the game thinks is closest to you. Spoiler alert: It always thinks you are next to a chair.
However, there are also PC players with mouse and keyboard who occasionally accidentally click on the chair. Even the thread creator himself uses a mouse:
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The user Big-Comfortable sat on it ten times in a row instead of interacting with the forge. He even refers to the chair as a “trap”.
Many are particularly annoyed by the slow animation when sitting down and getting up again. “It wouldn’t be a problem if you could get up quickly,” says the user Thehoppa091.
However, some users apparently have never encountered this problem. They claim that with a little caution, you can easily reach every object. One even complains: “There were no chairs in Diablo 3, and now the developers add some and you complain again.”
Do the chairs serve a purpose? This is also debated on Reddit. Some claim that you can circumvent an AFK disconnect by simply staying seated on a chair. They say that they were not kicked out even after 30 or 60 minutes without mouse movement.
Others think there is probably a hidden achievement if you sit on all the chairs.
However, we cannot confirm either point yet.
What do you think of the chairs in Diablo 4? Have they “caught” you when you actually wanted to go to the blacksmith?
The career of former CS:GO professional Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat lasted less than half a year, yet he managed to write eSports history in that short time. Although not necessarily in the way he probably dreamed it would be.
What kind of player was he? In April 2018, the American eSports organization OpTic decided to form an Indian CS:GO team. This was at a time when the Indian eSports scene was largely taking place in internet cafes, which was a big deal.
Nick “Ashes” Ridgeway from OpTic said at the time that they were passionately working to build and support new, exciting regions.
After the tryouts, for which there were countless applicants, the 5 members of OpTic’s Indian CS:GO team were finally established. One of them was Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat, who caused perhaps the biggest scandal in Indian eSports during his brief four-month career.
Besides forsaken, the team consisted of:
Vishal “haiVaan” Sharma (Captain)
Sabayasachi “Antidote” Bose
Agneya “Marzil” Koushik
Lukas “yb” Gröning (Coach)
Rishabh “formlesS” Tomar, who was replaced by “yb”
Image: OpTic Gaming via HLTVand eXTREMESLAND 2018 via Twitter
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How did OpTic India’s career go? After a successful start for OpTic India and first victories in minor tournaments, the newly formed team managed to qualify as the only representatives of their region for the eXTREMESLAND 2018 Asia in Shanghai, the first major LAN tournament of their career.
The first match against the Malaysian team FrostFire ended in a disastrous 16:6 for OpTic India. But in the next game against the Vietnamese team Revolution, it seemed like the tide was turning. OpTic India managed to win the first map and secured the lead on the next map.
Nikhil Hathhiramani, editor-in-chief of CSGO2Asia, said at the time that OpTic India was only one map away from victory. But then everything went wrong. In the middle of the match, a technical timeout was called, which would drag on for over an hour.
Forsaken caught live
How bitter the career ended: As it turned out, forsaken’s teammate Marzil called the timeout due to technical issues. However, the officials took the opportunity to take a closer look at the support player’s computer, as the AntiCheat software had raised alarms: forsaken, against whom there had already been suspicions in the past, was apparently cheating.
The eSports athlete tried to salvage the situation somehow. After initially failing to prevent the tournament admins from taking a closer look at his PC, he was eventually asked to leave the game with Alt+Tab.
It immediately became clear that another program was running on forsaken’s PC: “word.exe”. However, this program was not Microsoft’s writing program but an aim assist that the player activated via a special button on his mouse.
forsaken made one last desperate attempt to simply delete the program – in front of referees and up to 6,800 viewers watching the tournament (via escharts). As if all this wasn’t enough, there is also a video of the humiliating moment:
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What happened next? OpTic India was immediately disqualified, and the team was shortly thereafter disbanded. As it turned out, forsaken had not resorted to cheating software for the first time. However, the victory of OpTic India at the ESL India Premiership 2018 Finals was retrospectively revoked, and forsaken received a 5-year ban from the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC).
While forsaken completely withdrew from the public eye, the other members of his team continued their careers in eSports and achieved some – legitimate – successes with new teams. Antidote and Marzil have since switched to Valorant, while haiVaan is active as a streamer.
The YouTuber Rohan “HydraFlick” Ledwani spoke in 2021 with haiVaan, forsaken’s ex-teammate, about the disgraced player. He stated that he did not know what had become of forsaken, that he had not spoken to anyone from the team since the fiasco at eXTREMESLAND, and that he had even flown home alone.
Apparently, forsaken was crammed onto the first flight home by OpTic, while the remaining team members had to wait several days for their return flights. Meanwhile, the events surrounding forsaken went viral.
Spectators not only dug up suspicious old clips of the player but also pounced on the name that forsaken had tried to use to disguise his cheats. “word.exe” became a meme and circulated in the CS:GO scene, where it became synonymous with cheats.
To this day, Google returns videos and articles about forsaken when searching for “word.exe” before it gets to the writing program (as of June 2023).
Ex-colleague says: “He got what he deserved”
What makes the story particularly bitter: OpTic India was supposed to be a chance for a region that had not been able to establish itself in eSports until then. Even though India had many talented players, there was a lack of opportunities: aspiring professionals had hardly any options to obtain hardware of the necessary caliber.
The investments of an American organization like OpTic were supposed to change all that, bringing India onto the big international stage. Now the project had crashed spectacularly, and the country’s reputation as an eSports location was massively damaged.
It also didn’t help that Bubun “The Guru” Panday, the captain of the team that had eliminated OpTic from the ESL India Premiership 2018 Finals and had again competed in a rematch of the Finals, was also accused of cheating.
Accordingly, the anger towards forsaken was also immense, as he stood as a huge disappointment for the nation. Reports suggest that angry fans even contemplated lurking at the airport for the player upon his return.
For his teammates, whose dream seemed to burst in an instant, the matter was particularly painful. Marzil can be seen in a 2021 video recalling the exact moment: he did not know whether to be angry or sad. Regarding his former colleague, he says:
He ruined a lot of things for a lot of people. But none of that will come back, so there’s no point in shouting at him. I think he has received the social media punishment he deserves, being expelled and remembered as the person who destroyed Indian Counter-Strike eSports. That will haunt him, no matter where he goes.
Even at OpTic, they were far from pleased with how forsaken had single-handedly driven the big project into the ground. After all, they had wanted to establish themselves in a new region ahead of everyone else, to be a “first mover”. Hector “HECZ” Rodriguez from OpTic spoke about the incident for the first time in 2020 and recalled:
When we scouted in India, and it turned into a disaster because of that damn cheater forsaken. To wear that brand [OpTic] and do that, he was damn lucky I wasn’t there.
“If I could, I would uninstall it immediately”
Why did he cheat? forsaken deleted all his social media presence after the scandal but agreed to an interview with AFK Gaming and also released a statement regarding his cheating.
The player apologized to his teammates and expressed that he felt guilty for having taken their chances away from them. Regarding the reasons for his cheating, forsaken stated that there was no financial or family pressure; he just wanted to be “perfect in every aspect of the game”.
While he had confidence in his decisions and understanding of the game, he did not have confidence in his aiming skills. To compensate for this shortcoming, he chose the wrong path.
I abused the trust of the people who believed in me. I dragged my country’s name through the mud, and I know that it’s unforgivable. No one but me is to blame for this. No one but me should have to bear the hate and the blame for it.
What would he have done differently? forsaken also admitted that he regretted ever starting with Counter-Strike. Nothing good came of it. If he could go back, he would uninstall the game on the same day he started. He has now lost the one thing he had prioritized above everything else.
I know my career in CS is over. All I can do is try to make something of my life so that I can help my family. I never thought about doing anything other than Counter-Strike. I will try to work on my mistakes and become a better person.
Whether forsaken has managed to start anew, we may never know. However, it is unlikely that he will try to return to the world of eSports after his ESIC ban expires.
How quickly a career in eSports can end was recently experienced by Lithuanian professional Vilius Malinauskas. The 22-year-old did not commit any gaming offenses but managed to ruin his career through his behavior outside the tournament scene.
New World was released in September 2021 and achieved impressive player numbers on Steam. However, the feedback was anything but positive. Recently, though, there has been an increase in positive reviews. The good communication and outlooks on the future are particularly praised.
What has changed in the reviews? New World launched in September 2021 not only with over 913,000 concurrent players but also with 28,458 negative reviews on Steam. In contrast, there were around 40,000 positive reviews, which corresponded to a value of about 59% positive reviews.
In the meantime, the reviews briefly climbed above 70% but fell back below this “best value” after just a few days.
From November 2021 to June 2022, the game hovered between 66 and 67%, before reaching a real low of 65% in July and August.
For the first time, New World broke the 70% mark for positive reviews again in June 2023. Thus, it is currently “mostly positive” on Steam – with 281,949 reviews.
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78% positive reviews in the last 30 days
What do the positive reviews say? The current reviews especially praise the graphics, the fair payment system, and the communication of the developers. Additionally, the many adjustments and new content are receiving positive feedback.
The user Jynex writes after about 212 hours of gameplay:
New World has become a very great game! After many errors and long waiting times, it has developed into a great game with huge potential. A roadmap for the entire year 2023 is available, which contains promising content. You should give the game a little more time!
Are there also negative voices? Yes, in the recent reviews, the battle pass, the lack of minimap, or missing features like cross-server dungeons are criticized. New World is therefore still far from perfect.
Nevertheless, the MMORPG has even achieved 78% positive reviews in the last 30 days with 1,202 ratings submitted. However, the player numbers dropped to around 15,000 concurrent players at peak (via SteamDB).
New dungeons, clear equipment, and the first raid on the horizon
What is the current situation of New World? New World has received several innovations since its release in September 2021, including a completely new area, 3 new weapons, 5 new dungeons, mutations with 10 higher difficulty levels per dungeon, and numerous events that take place during Christmas, Easter, or in summer.
The developers have also sped up the leveling process, adjusted the story, made the battles smoother, and completely overhauled the equipment system, even adding new equipment tiers.
For 2023, the first raid starting in July and an expansion for the fall have also been announced. Therefore, one does not have the feeling that Amazon is currently hitting the brakes.
What do you think of the development of New World? Do you like the MMORPG now or have you completely given up?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
You want to unwind and dive into foreign fantasy worlds? Then we have here 5 anime that make that wonderfully possible.
Anime are the perfect way to escape reality for a few hours and immerse yourself in foreign worlds. Especially in the fantasy genre, there are plenty of series that reveal exciting worlds or offer lovable characters in a fantastic setting that simply makes you root for them.
For this purpose, we have selected 5 fantasy anime that you might not know yet – but you should definitely take a look if you like interesting fantasy worlds.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride
Alternative names: The Magician’s Bride, Mahoutsukai no Yome Other genres: Drama, Romance Episodes: 24 (Open End, Season 2 is currently running) Stream available on: Crunchyroll
At just 15 years old, Chise Hatori is ostracized because she brings misfortune to everyone around her. She ends up as the main attraction at an auction and is sold as a slave for a horrendous price – not to a simple human, but to a mysterious creature hidden behind a mask: a magician named Elias Ainsworth.
Elias bought Chise to make her his wife and to train her as a magician. Because all the misfortune she has attracted so far is due to a peculiarity: She is a “Slay Vega” – a “Beloved Child of the Night” and thus attracts fairies and other magical beings who were responsible for all the calamity.
Alongside the eerie magician, Chise learns more about her powers and has to come to terms with the fact that her fate seems to be preordained.
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What to expect from Ancient Magus’ Bride: The Ancient Magus’ Bride not only has a really beautiful art and animation style but also interesting characters with an exciting world and plenty of love for detail. Chise’s training as a magician involves some dramatic twists, and the anime succeeds in wrapping many well-known proverbs or folk tales into fitting, magical stories.
If you enjoy well-thought-out fantasy anime with relatable characters and exciting stories, you can’t miss this series.
Made in Abyss
Alternative names: / Other genres: Adventure, Mystery, Drama Episodes: 25 (2 seasons) Stream available on: Netflix, Apple TV, aniverse
A gigantic chasm yawns in the world: the Abyss. In its depths lie ancient relics of invaluable worth, hidden technologies, but also a lot of unexplored flora and fauna. On the edge of the Abyss, a town has formed, from which explorers continuously venture deeper – yet many of them never return.
Riko, still young, is only allowed to descend a few meters, but there she makes an interesting find. She discovers a robot boy, whom she names Reg, and is fascinated by the technology that made his creation possible. Together with Reg, she sets out to descend deep into the Abyss, to search for her missing mother and at the same time to explore Reg’s origins.
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What to expect from Made in Abyss: Made in Abyss is perhaps the epitome of an adventure anime, as the descent into the unknown is literally the content of this series. The world becomes increasingly fantastical with every meter down, but also more eerie and grisly. The beings and worlds created here brim with creative energy.
However, a word of warning: Although the protagonists are children, the series is by no means suitable for kids. Some images and scenes are disturbing and may stick in one’s memory for a long time.
More great fantasy anime with exciting worlds can be found on the next page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
There are many bad MMORPGs, but most are never tested at all. But which games attracted attention and still disappointed? We at MeinMMO want to answer this question and therefore look at the average ratings on Metacritic.
What kind of list is this? This list focuses solely on the ratings from reviewers on Metacritic. We compare the results for the base game at release. It’s important that an MMORPG must have at least 5 reviews to be included in this list.
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes – 32 reviews and an average rating of 68
Blade & Soul – 26 reviews and an average rating of 68
Star Trek Online – 34 reviews and an average rating of 66
Tower of Fantasy – 13 reviews and an average rating of 65
Trove – 5 reviews and an average rating of 65
Place 5 – Kingdom Under Fire 2
Setting: Medieval Fantasy | Developer: Blueside | Platform: PC | Release Date: November 14, 2019 | Rating on Metacritic: 62
What kind of game is this? Kingdom Under Fire 2 was a Korean MMORPG with some innovative ideas. It aimed to mix the MMORPG and RTS genres and thus create particularly interesting raids and battles for fortresses.
At the start, you had the choice of 5 different classes and played an introduction as is customary in MMORPGs: with a tutorial, quests, and the grind for new equipment.
However, in later instances, a whole new aspect was added: you lead a group of soldiers as a commander, which you can command with orders.
With a hotkey, you could switch between the RTS view for commands and the third-person view for fighting with your character. This gave the entire combat system a tactical and interesting note.
The troops by your side accompanied you in dungeons, raids for up to 16 players, and several PvP modes. With your troops and hordes of enemies, epic battles were created.
At the same time, there was an open world and PvP arenas, where you only controlled your character – as in an MMORPG.
What is the best rating on Metacritic? Kingdom Under Fire 2 received a respectable 75 from MMORPG.com. The reviewer claimed to have had a lot of fun with the gameplay but was disappointed with the gender lock in the classes and found that shortly after the release, there were no groups for the PvE content.
In North America, finding groups was a major problem. Others have criticized this as well. In fact, primarily German players were very fond of the concept of the MMORPG. The World Firsts in the raids went almost all to us.
What is the worst rating on Metacritic? TheGamer gave the game only a 40, primarily due to issues with localization, technical problems, and long delays. Moreover, a lack of diversity among female characters is listed as a major criticism.
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Kingdom Under Fire – Preview Trailer
How is the MMORPG doing today?On October 26, 2021, the MMORPG was shut down here in the West. The fans of the game hold the publisher Gameforge partly responsible, stating that it did not advertise sufficiently and was slow in providing new content.
However, Kingdom Under Fire 2 also did not do well globally and was also shut down in Russia, Malaysia, and other regions.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The streaming giant Twitch loses its biggest streamer: Félix “xQc” Lengyel (27) announced a move to the new competitor platform Kick. We at MeinMMO will tell you what this is all about.
Image (Collage): xQc, Stake
What kind of streamer is he? The Franco-Canadian Félix “xQc” Lengyel started with League of Legends before switching to the shooter Overwatch. In October 2017, he began playing for the Texas team Dallas Fuel.
However, his career as a professional was short-lived. In March 2018, after several suspensions for toxic behavior, he was released from the roster and began streaming full-time.
With his – albeit short-lived – background as a pro, xQc was seen as an above-average player on Twitch. His mix of gameplay and unfiltered commentary, combined with nearly daily, multi-hour streams and a penchant for controversy, made his channel grow rapidly.
In 2019, xQc was already in 7th place among the most-watched streamers on Twitch, and in 2020, he took 1st place and never looked back. At least until now, as it was announced on June 16, 2023, that the 27-year-old had signed a million-dollar deal with the controversial competitor platform Kick.
His streaming colleague Ninja, who became huge with Fortnite, reportedly switched to Mixer for a comparatively paltry 50 million.
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Streamer assures that everything remains the same
What kind of deal is this? According to reports, the streamer is said to sign a non-exclusive contract with Kick for 2 years. He will receive 35 million USD per year, along with additional incentives of 30 million dollars if xQc reaches certain benchmarks (via New York Times).
In total, the deal amounts to 100 million USD. This would not only be the largest known streaming deal, but it would also place xQc in a league with professional athletes. For comparison: Lakers star LeBron James extended his contract in June for 2 years for 97.1 million dollars (via Twitter).
This is what xQc says: On Twitter, the streamer announced his move in a short video noting that it was time. In it, xQc promised that his content would remain the same as on Twitch. He also stated that he would continue to broadcast from his old streaming home.
Sometimes he would stream for one day only on Twitch, sometimes only on Kick, xQc said. This is not only allowed by Kick but is expressly encouraged. As the German streamer Staiy revealed, the contracts are said to include that streamers must stream for 30 minutes on Twitch before going live on Kick to bring their viewers over.
xQc and gambling
How are the reactions? The enthusiasm among fans of the “streamer “Juicers” seems to be limited. A thread about the record deal in his subreddit reached 4,500 upvotes and 1,400 comments.
Viewers doubt xQc’s promises that his content would not change and seem to have little interest in following him to a new platform. The comment with the most likes states that he will probably watch recordings of the streams on YouTube.
Another user responds that xQc would still spend the first minutes of his streams on Twitch and that he would only watch him for the intros anyway (via Reddit).
Many fans fear that the 27-year-old is switching primarily to show gambling in his streams again (via Reddit). We have compiled some reactions for you:
ilyasil2surgut writes “The entire gambling arc was so miserable, no content, just brain-dead staring at the slot machines.”
TrollTrolled bids farewell: “That was probably my last xQc stream, I’m finally free.”
BurntPoptart fears: “This feels like the beginning of the end.”
Where does the concern come from? Behind Kick is the head of the notorious online casino Stake. The platform was announced just a few months after Twitch implemented new gambling policies and subsequently attracted numerous casino streamers.
In May 2023, xQc apparently accidentally showed a conversation with ChatGPT in which he asked the chatbot for advice. The 27-year-old wrote: “I am the biggest streamer in the world and have signed with a new platform, Kick. How do I tell my viewers?”
Afterward, xQc allegedly asked how to handle the controversy that would surely follow if he showed gambling on Kick. However, the streamer denied having written the prompts (via Dexerto).
xQc seems to want to embark on a new chapter in his life. Recently, he had especially made headlines with his ugly breakup from the streamer Adept and seemed generally unhappy with his situation:
Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria has shown new gameplay. The survival game in the LotR universe lets you play as dwarves reclaiming their former home. MyMMO editor Benedict Grothaus is excited about the new images.
What is Return to Moria?
In the new survival game from Free Range Games (Oddworld: Soulstorm, The Callisto Protocol), you play as dwarves in the universe of Lord of the Rings.
Gimli himself sends you to Moria to explore various mountains alone or in co-op with 8 players and search for treasures.
The game features the legendary craftsmanship of the dwarves in the form of crafting and base building, as well as exploration and a special sound system designed to prevent you from waking ‘something in the depths’.
This is what the gameplay shows: In the latest gameplay from Summer Game Fest 2023, the creators have shown in a video for the first time how exactly Return to Moria plays. What excites me as a survival fan especially: there is terraforming!
You can see how a dwarf actively digs through stone with a pickaxe, creating a tunnel and uncovering huge, ancient structures. Another builds bridges over chasms, and together a group creates a small mining post with beds, chests, crafting stations, and storage.
Dodge rolls, various weapons, and enemies like krakens, spiders, and trolls promise exciting battles that are typical in a tough survival game. This makes it even more fun to explore the area and experience adventures together. And that’s one of the reasons why Conan Exiles is still so popular today.
Start video
LotR Return to Moria – Summer Game Fest Trailer
Return to Moria coming in 2023 for PC, Xbox, and PS5
The first gameplay convinced me in a minute, and now I find Return to Moria even better. There is now more information about the game’s release. Return to Moria is set to be released in autumn 2023 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and on the Epic Store for PC.
A survival game relies on having a lot to explore and build, not only to ensure survival but also to make it enjoyable. Being able to play as strong dwarves, the best blacksmiths in the world, sounds even more exciting to me.
I consider it highly likely that Return to Moria will land on our list of the best survival games come autumn:
In Pokémon GO the Day and Night event is currently running, bringing you a really strong Stardust bonus after a long time. We at MeinMMO show you what this bonus is and which monster you can particularly benefit from.
What event is it about? Yesterday, on June 16, 2023, the Day and Night event started in Pokémon GO. This brings you not only a number of wild spawns and special research tasks but also a really strong bonus that you can use throughout the entire event.
You can particularly utilize this bonus with a monster. Below we show you what bonus it is and which Pokémon you should keep an eye out for.
You can see an insight into the current Pokémon GO season “Hidden Gems” in the following video:
Start video
Pokémon GO shows the new season ‘Hidden Gems’ in the trailer
How the Stardust bonus really benefits you
What bonus are we talking about? Throughout the entire Day and Night event, which runs until June 25, 2023, at 8:00 PM local time, you can benefit from a Stardust bonus when catching in Pokémon GO. Instead of the usual 100 Stardust for most Pokémon, you receive double the amount for every caught monster.
Considering the number of days, you can already farm quite a bit of Stardust this way, especially if you also use a Star Piece. This is particularly worthwhile if you have just activated a Lure or Incense and are catching quite a few monsters.
However, with one of the spawns, catching in the coming days is particularly worthwhile; we will show you which one and why. Furthermore, we will provide you with additional tips on how you can effectively accumulate Stardust in the coming days.
Tarnpignon brings you additional Stardust
Catch Tarnpignon: To maximize your Stardust, you should keep an eye out for the Grass and Poison Pokémon Tarnpignon in the coming days. This monster from the 5th generation of games will be roaming in the wild during the event. You can find it particularly in the evening hours. So pay special attention when the moon symbol is visible in your game.
Why is Tarngipnon worthwhile? The small mushroom Pokémon offers you a special feature, as it belongs to the 22 Pokémon in the game that grant you more Stardust when catching. Under optimal weather conditions and depending on the use of Star Pieces, you will receive the following Stardust when catching Tarnpignon without the event bonus:
Catching Tarnpignon …
Stardust
without Star Piece
500
with Star Piece
750
without Star Piece and Weather Boost
625
with Star Piece and Weather Boost
938
With the event bonus, you can even double this amount. In the best-case scenario, you can get up to 1,876 Stardust per caught Tarnpignon.
What is a Star Piece? With this purple, star-shaped item, you can increase your Stardust in Pokémon GO while the item is activated. After use, you will receive 50% more Stardust for 30 minutes. You can find it in your item bag or alternatively purchase it in the in-game shop for 100 coins.
Star Piece (left) and symbol for the Weather Boost in the catching interface (right)
How can you farm more Stardust?
Monsters from Field Research: In addition to the wild Tarnpignon spawns, there is currently another way to get such a special monster in the game: The Field Research in June. You can receive these by spinning your PokéStops.
With a bit of luck, you can look forward to an encounter with the Poison Pokémon Unratütox. This hides alongside other monsters, like Scoppel or Haspiror, in the quest Hatch an egg and grants you, just like Tarnpignon, more Stardust by default.
So during the event, when catching the monster without a Star Piece, you get 1,500 Stardust and with a Star Piece even 2,250. Usually, there is no Weather Boost when redeeming research tasks. However, you can stack your encounters and retrieve them later in one go. This makes the Star Piece even more worthwhile.
To do this, first complete the quest but do not catch the monster; instead, exit the catching interface using the corresponding symbol in the upper left corner. This way, it lands on the stack above your tasks and can be retrieved later. Be aware that the oldest encounters will always be shown first.
So if you have older monsters on your stack, preferably also with a special Stardust bonus, now is the optimal opportunity to redeem them.
Monsters from Research Breakthrough: And also in the June Research Breakthrough you can find two of these special specimens: Zobiris and Ohrdoch. With a bit of luck, you can catch one of them and secure up to 2,250 Stardust with a Star Piece (1,500 without Star Piece) with Zobirs in the coming days. For Ohrdoch, it is even up to 6,300 Stardust or 4,100 Stardust without Star Piece during the event.
It’s best to combine redeeming the breakthrough with a Star Piece here too while redeeming Pokémon on your quest stack – or alternatively with the relevant Incense and Lure Modules.
One downside is that during the event you will only have the opportunity to do this a maximum of twice, since you can only unlock the research breakthrough after 7 completed field research tasks.
What do you actually need Stardust for? Stardust is one of the most important resources in Pokémon GO. You need it to level up your Pokémon. This is important to use them optimally in battle. Therefore, you should especially bring the best attackers in Pokémon GO to level 50.
But a lot of Stardust is also needed to trade your monsters or change their forms. So you should take the opportunity to build up a good stock in the coming days.
How do you like the Stardust bonus that is currently available in the event? Will you take the opportunity to actively farm some? Or do you already have enough Stardust? Feel free to let us know here on MeinMMO in the comments and exchange ideas with other trainers.
Some players in Diablo 4 are currently complaining that Blizzard releases a new nerf to classes, items, or dungeons almost every other day. The developers have now spoken about why this is the case and what will change in the future.
Which nerfs are we talking about?
Since the release of Diablo 4 on June 2nd and 6th, the game has already received 11 hotfixes.
During this time, there have been some adjustments to classes, including 2 items for barbarians being adjusted because they were dealing unintendedly high damage.
Why is Blizzard doing this? In the ‘Campfire Chat’ on June 16th, Diablo chief Rob Fergusson explained that the team’s principle is class balance. Every build and class should work, even if they may not be precisely equally strong.
As seen in the tier list of the best builds in Diablo 4, this is actually working quite well. However, it requires that overly strong builds are toned down, even if it is uncomfortable for those affected.
Otherwise, the problem arises that the game presents no challenge anymore, and that is not the plan. There are additional difficulties. Game Director Joe Shely explains: If you buff everything else for balance, quickly there will be more balance issues. And you will quickly reach the point where you deal about 64,000% more damage, which is something we actually want to avoid.
The same applies to dungeons. Fergusson draws a comparison to the famous loot cave from Destiny. If good loot is too quick and too easy to obtain, the ‘power creep’ is too large.
The term describes the problem that new items render old ones completely useless. Too much loot in a short time leads to rapid upgrades – until the end is quickly reached, and without new content, nothing can proceed. However, that takes time.
Diablo 4: A build is so strong that Blizzard has directly disabled 2 items – even kills the hardest boss
Big buffs coming – Until mid to end of July
Game Director Joe Shely and Associate Production Director Tiffany Wat have already spoken about that it won’t just be nerfs, but that buffs are coming relatively soon. Among them are many things that players desire.
One of the most important points is dungeon design. As it currently stands, it is often better to repeat the same dungeon over and over for efficient leveling instead of playing the actually harder nightmare dungeons.
According to Joe Shely, this value drops significantly more in higher world tiers than planned. However, this is supposed to change around Season 2. Before that, it is not feasible, especially since Season 1 is already almost finished, as Fergusson explains.
Class buffs are also coming, although Wat and Fergusson joke about their favorite class, the necromancer. However, there were no concrete announcements on what to expect. Further MMO features are also under discussion, where details are still missing. These have recently been a controversial topic in the community:
He told me that I would spend a million dollars this year, double what was expected. He sent me this table with all the red numbers, and I realized that the section about the income was hidden. I asked him: ‘Why did you hide that?’ He said: ‘Well, it’s not hidden; it’s just that there’s nothing there. You’re not making money.’
Why is Disguised Toast losing money? Wang sees the reason for the modest financial situation in the market itself, specifically in e-sports. It starts with sponsors wanting to distance themselves from e-sports because the teams have not kept their promises to the investors in the past, Wang says in a video on YouTube.
Among the unkept promises of the teams, Wang lists missing triumphs in important tournaments like the Worlds as well as low view counts on YouTube videos and similar content produced by the teams. According to Wang, sponsors are simply making losses and want to leave the scene after their current contracts with the teams expire.
The lack of sponsors, according to the streamer, leads to not just his team, but all teams in North America being in a poor financial position: “If you look at any e-sports organization in North America, they are all either bankrupt or going bankrupt. And I mean all of them,” says Wang, adding, “Believe me when I say that everyone is losing a lot of money. Many people are being laid off, no organization is safe at the moment.”
What is Disguised Toast doing to offset the loss? In the YouTube video where Wang talks about his financial situation since entering e-sports, the content creator also shares what he is doing to still earn money for the team.
He now accepts more sponsors for his own non-e-sports related videos, as every sponsor allows him to pay one player’s salary for another month. This gives him more time to figure out how to “make things work.”
Additionally, he is working on merchandise that he can offer. Organizations like Team Liquid and 100 Thieves show that this can be a viable business model.
However, Disguised Toast is not the only content creator who owns an e-sports team. With Elias Nerlich and his “Focus Clan” as well as HandOfBlood’s Eintracht Spandau, two German creators have also taken the plunge.
On June 16th, the heads of Diablo 4 talked about the biggest concerns of players after the release during the first “Campfire Chat”. They provided some information about Season 1 and how the game will continue. You can find the most important info from the stream here.
What happens in Season 1? We already knew beforehand that Season 1 would bring new content and that the seasons are supposed to last 3 months. You can find the general overview in our information about Season 1 of Diablo 4.
In the community, there were major concerns that the long grind for renown has to be done again. Through renown, you gain important skill and Paragon points, but it takes many hours to farm the entire reputation.
Now there is some new information about the things you can keep in seasons and on secondary characters:
Altar of Lilith will be retained
the map is revealed in seasons as far as you have revealed it on your “main” in the eternal realm
Fast travel points to the capitals will be retained, all others are visible, but you have to activate them first (which brings renown)
some rewards for renown, but there is a new system here
Game Director Joe Shely explains that part of the renown from explorations and co. transfers to season characters. Some of the explorations and Lilith statues contribute to your renown, unlocking the first levels. Later rewards such as Paragon points must be unlocked again.
Note: We made a mistake in the first version of the text as Fergusson himself made a mistake in the explanation. We apologize, the information is now corrected.
When does Season 1 start? There is still no specific date, only that the season is supposed to start between mid and late July. Before that, there will be a major patch that is supposed to change many things. According to Community Head Adam Fletcher, the patch notes are already 13 pages long.
In the next dev stream, which is supposed to take place in early July, we will learn more about Season 1.
Your inventory is supposed to be limited – What about gems?
Another major problem according to the community was that gems clutter the inventory. There were demands for a special tab in the inventory dedicated solely to collecting gems.
This will remain the case until around Season 2. From then on, gems will be collected in your material storage in the inventory, according to Joe Shely. You can then craft “higher” gems as usual and subsequently use them.
Are gems still clogging your inventory? Here is a trick:
Start video
Diablo 4: With this trick, you save inventory slots
It is indeed intended that the inventory is to be managed in general and is not infinitely large. This way, you have to prioritize when you can continue farming and when you need to return to town.
During the course of the stream, the heads explained why there have been so many nerfs since release and what buffs can be expected in the future. There are significant changes to the nightmare dungeons, among other things.
You can watch the entire stream on YouTube at any time. There will be another dev stream in July. Unlike the Campfire Chat, the dev streams will also be used to discuss major announcements – such as expansions that are also on the agenda for the future. Because even now, there are people who think there is not enough content:
In the world of Destiny 2, there is a mysterious figure that appears only at certain times and offers the Guardians unique and powerful items. We are talking about Xur, a mysterious agent of the Nine.MeinMMO tells you what he is selling this week.
What happened in Destiny 2 this week? The Guardians are struggling with their identity. What does it mean to be a Guardian when your favorite game is going through tough times?
Countless hours have been invested to perfect skills, win epic battles, and obtain legendary gear. However, when the developer’s decisions make one unhappy, all these accomplishments can suddenly lose their shine.
There is always the chance that things will turn for the better. Especially when not just complaining and cursing is done, but voices are raised constructively to help make the game the experience that can excite one again.
Thus, Bungie in the last TWiD (This Week in Destiny blog) has already answered many player questions that were asked honestly and constructively, revealing how the current state of content production in Destiny 2 is.
Season 22 has just been completed. Changes to exotic weapons are coming, such as the long-awaited PvP nerf for the exotic bow Le Monarque, an improvement for the raid exotic “Malicious Touch” and a few minor changes to other Exotics, as well as some improvements to legendary perks.
Season 23 is also in full production. And with “The Final Shape”, the last DLC of the Light and Darkness saga, the developer is now going into early development.
This means that in Season 22, much player feedback could have already been processed, and one will have to wait and see if Bungie has taken the players’ mood to heart. In August 2023, more will be known.
Start video
Destiny 2: New dungeon “Ghosts of the Deep” from Season 21 brings the Ghoul into play
All information about Xur on June 16, 2023 – PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
When does Xur come? Xur, the agent of the Nine, appears in Destiny 2 every Friday at 7:00 PM. His visit ends again on the following Tuesday at 7:00 PM. During this time, all Guardians can purchase exotic items from him.
Where is Xur? This is his camp for the weekend
Xur’s location: Xur’s whereabouts change every week, which presents a small challenge for players to find him. MeinMMO posts his location every Friday.
Here is where Xur is: In the Tower Hangar in the Last City
Xur’s inventory from June 16 to 20 – All Exotics at a glance
What does Xur have on offer? Xur, the cosmic seller with a penchant for the mysterious, returns with an enticing offer of exotic treasures. MeinMMO shows you what he has to offer. You can then decide for yourself whether you like it, especially since this time two really high armor values are included.
What Xur has this weekend
Xur’s inventory from June 16 to 20.
Weapon: Hard Light, auto rifle for 29 Legendary Shards
Titan: Actium War Rig – Chest armor for 23 Legendary Shards
Mobility: +17
Resilience: +17
Recovery: +3
Discipline: +6
Intellect: +23
Strength: +2
Total: 68
Hunter: Sealed Ahamkara Gloves – Arm armor for 23 Legendary Shards
Mobility: +11
Resilience: +13
Recovery: +10
Discipline: +7
Intellect: +6
Strength: +20
Total: 67
Warlock: Eye of Another World – Head armor for 23 Legendary Shards
Mobility: +2
Resilience: +18
Recovery: +13
Discipline: +19
Intellect: +19
Strength: +2
Total: 64
Legendary Armor Set: “Lost Pacific” set
In addition, you will find unique rolls for Exotics from no longer available exotic missions from past DLCs in Xur’s offers each week. However, note: You can only buy the weapons if you own the corresponding expansion.
Currently, he has these two weapons on offer:
The exotic hand cannon “Fallen Moon” (Beyond Light DLC) with snapshot sight
The exotic scout rifle “Tale of a Dead Man” (Beyond Light DLC) with lawless
The Trials await with an Impressive Glow
Who already has the emblem?
The 14th Saint does not like to be silenced – not even this weekend. So you can again wreak havoc in the Trials this weekend. And here is news about the special Trials emblem.
Starting with the Trials of Osiris on June 16, the emblem “Impressive Glow” will no longer drop from the flawless chest for players who have not earned the “Dove Flight” medal in every game.
Players who previously received the emblem without earning the “Dove Flight” medal in every game still have it unlocked in their collections, but can only equip the emblem once the medal requirements are met.
Which map is coming up this week? Unlike in regular PvP, where maps rotate, there is only one fixed map to play on every weekend in the Guardian vs. Guardian endgame.
This week you will play on the map: Wormhaven
PvP map “Wormhaven”
This is the reward for a flawless run: For a flawless run to the lighthouse, not only a special emblem awaits you. Also, a very special weapon, which you get for 7 victories, drops as an exclusive Master version. You can earn it until next Tuesday, June 20, at 7:00 PM.
The Adept weapon this week is: The pulse rifle The Messenger (Master)
Focus on what you want to have: Through the focusing system, players can also focus on old armor and weapons from the Trials that they want or are missing.
Your earned Trials engrams can be focused at the 14th Saint on your desired weapon. In addition, there are upgrade prisms and ascendant shards.
Remember that your reward increases even more once you have a full pass – even if you have lost one or two games.
Additionally, Bungie has changed the “Pass of Grace” for Season 21.
The “Pass of Grace” now forgives 2 losses if one has not been flawless that week.
If one achieves flawless status when resetting the pass, one loss will be forgiven on each pass again.
This gives everyone a better chance to become flawless for the first time each week, and for those who can become flawless without having to use both pardons, there are extra chances to earn additional rewards while keeping their first pass flawless.
When do the Trials officially start? The Trials of Osiris begin today, June 13, 2023, at 7:00 PM and end with the weekly reset on June 20, 2023, at 7:00 PM.
And if all else fails, a little break can help clear the mind. Just like with Datto, the Destiny veteran:
In FIFA 23, the Shapeshifters event in Ultimate Team starts today. Here you will find all the information about the new promo and which new special cards are available.
Update, June 16 at 7:00 PM: The new Shapeshifters Team 1 has now been released in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team and brings a whole range of crazy cards. Among them is a selection of new Shapeshifters Icon cards and normal Shapeshifters cards, with Pele standing out with a whopping 99 rating and unusually playing on the left wing.
Additionally, there is an exciting CDM card from Van Dijk (98), a center-back version of Becker (94), a striker card from Rüdiger (96), and a CM card for Depay (96).
What’s special about the new cards: Unlike normal special cards, the new Shapeshifters cards provide unique chemistry properties for your team. The Shapeshifters cards provide full chemistry and are comparable to Hero cards.
You can see the complete team here:
Here you can continue with the original post.
When does Shapeshifters start? The new Shapeshifters event starts today, June 16 at 7:00 PM. From that time onward, the new cards will be available in FUT 23 packs.
How long the event will last is not known yet. Last year, Shapeshifters lasted four weeks and brought four teams with new cards into the game.
What is Shapeshifters? The Shapeshifters event is known for releasing cards with completely crazy positions. For example, strikers can get defender cards. Or players who usually attack from the wings can end up in the center. A lot is possible with Shapeshifters.
How to get Shapeshifters cards? The majority of the cards will be available in the packs of FIFA 23 but you need a lot of luck to pull one of the cards. Furthermore, there will likely be event players in the objectives and SBCs as well.
FIFA 23 Shapeshifters – First leaks about the new cards
If you look at the Twitter account of the notorious FUT leaker FUT Sheriff, you can already discover some leaked players who could supposedly appear in the final Shapeshifters team.
New cards are rumored to be available for:
Upamecano (FC Bayern)
Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)
What new positions the players could get is not revealed by the leak. Maybe we might see a tall, bulky striker in Upamecano? We’ll stay tuned.
However, keep in mind that these are leaks and the information has not been confirmed and ultimately, completely different cards could end up in the game.
As soon as more leaks surface, this post will be updated.
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FIFA 23: Use the power shot correctly – This is how you score epic goals
Weekend League will be changed to Shapeshifters
This is what happens in the Weekend League: During the TOTS event, there were new playtimes for the Weekend League, it ran noticeably longer. Now it’s going back to the old times.
The Weekend League starts on Fridays at 10:00 AM
And it ends on Mondays at 10:00 AM
Additionally, the rewards for the Weekend League will be adjusted. However, exactly how is not yet known.
What do you think about the Shapeshifters event? Are you looking forward to new top cards? Let us know in the comments.
If you want to know which players from the FIFA successor EA Sports FC will no longer be there, then take a look here:
You will find a build for the Druid from Diablo 4 focusing on the powerful skill “Trample” complete with build, aspects, and recommendations for your gear in English. This build originates from our French partner site MGG and has been translated by us.
What kind of build is this? In this article, we focus on the specialized Druid with the skill “Trample”. He is one of the most successful Druids at very high levels, and we will show you everything you need to know about it.
The Druid with “Trample” has great robustness but mainly suffers from being perceived as quite boring in the medium term. On the other hand, he benefits from not being reliant on unique items, making him much more accessible at the beginning of the endgame.
Note: The build is a base that you can further specialize. You can use it from level 50 onward and continue to build synergies. Here’s a leveling build for Druids.
If you need tips for leveling, here starts our video on the subject:
Start video
Diablo 4: How to quickly reach level 100
Diablo 4: Druid – Trample Build
How does the build work? The basis of the build is the skill “Trample” along with the lootable aspect “Aspect of Trampled Earth”. The shape of the Werebear is your best friend.
Legendary aspects provide synergies with the central passive skill “Wrath of Nature,” which unleashes free storm skills while firing your earth skills at enemies and regularly poisoning them.
Pro
Very robust tank build
High damage for a tank build
Focus on Werebear
Easy to play, low risk
Contra
Rarely spreads the important debuff “Vulnerability”
Dependent on cooldowns
Important aspects only via loot
Trample Build – Skill tree / Skills
Here are the skills for your first 47 skill points, without the points earned through the renown mechanic and the blessing of spirits:
Basic
Wild Charge – 1/5
Core
Heart of the Wilderness – 1/3
Wild Impulse – 3/3
Predator Instinct – 1/3
Ironfur – 3/3
Defensive
Preserving Earth Fortress – 1/5
Preserving Weakened Howl – 4/5
Power of Ancients – 1/3
Vigilance – 3/3
Companion – 1
Cruel Venom Vines – 1/5
Wrath
Primitive Hurricane – 1/5
Natural Trample – 1/5
Shattered Earth – 3/3
Stone Guardian – 3/3
Safeguard – 3/3
Nerve Venom – 1/3
Poisoning – 3/3
Ultimate
Defiance – 1/3
Natural Disaster – 3/3
Passive Skill
Wrath of Nature
Stag
Suspicion
Eagle
Wrath of the Birds
Wolf
Pack Leader
Snake
Obsidian Strike
Calm Before the Storm
Through your “Renown” in the different areas of Diablo 4, you can gain and distribute 10 more points.
Here are some recommendations for the stats on your gear:
Weapon: Emerald
Armor: Sapphire
Jewelry: Diamond
Ranking of primary stats:
Willpower
Dexterity
Intelligence
Strength
Here are some important secondary stats for your gear:
Cooldown Reduction
Critical Hit Damage
Damage Reduction
Overwhelm Damage
Skill Damage
Armor
Maximum Life
Resource Regeneration
Critical Hit Chance
Pay attention to the different value distributions on the gear pieces. Boots can provide movement speed, gloves have a chance of the critical hit chance stat.
Use the following glyphs on the boards in the following order:
Exploitation
Spirit
Chaser
Werebear
This article originally appeared on MGG page, our partner. MGG, like MeinMMO, GameStar, and GamePro, belongs to the Webedia network. We have translated it into English, added a bit more, and included further MeinMMO links.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The community in Diablo 4 is currently having a big argument. Core gamers are demanding improvements and criticizing mechanics. Casuals are annoyed by the constant and loud criticism. Two players have now taken action and stood up to the critics. Successfully, they are backed by tens of thousands of fans.
What is the argument in the community:
Diablo 4 was released on June 2nd in Early Access and has been very well received since then.
However, about a week after the release, the first criticisms emerged. Especially avid players complain that there is too little to do in the endgame.
This is what the “casuals” say: In the Diablo 4 subreddit, threads often arise, but they usually revolve around the same 2–3 topics. Different people complain about the same content. But the sheer number of posts floods the forum.
This apparently bothers some people who just want to have fun. In a post with over 12,000 upvotes, a user writes: He is a man with children and little time. He just reached level 40, while on Reddit some nerds with 150 hours in the game criticize mechanics he has never seen.
People seem so dissatisfied that he would rather be a casual. That is more fun – and he receives a lot of support. Another user even gathers over 23,000 upvotes and over 9,000 comments. He is married, has friends, and responsibilities, and also takes an evening off from Diablo 4.
The user states: most players are like him on average. Not core gamers. The upvotes and our survey on age show: most players are actually rather in the “dad” age and no longer youthful “no-lifers.” In his post, the user explains:
The story is excellent – why should one buy the game if they intend to skip it?
The reputation grind is part of the game, not an obstacle. It is not just about getting as much XP per minute as possible for the general public.
Empty spots in dungeons are breaks where you can talk with your friends, not annoying “backtracking” issues.
To directly declare someone an enemy because they like the game and disagree with a criticism is not helpful in achieving anything.
Diablo 4 is neither work nor a race for anything, not even competitive. There are other games for that. Diablo is aimed at casuals, and if Blizzard only listens to core players, a large part of the player base will drop out.
Some players are absolutely taking it to the extreme. A Barbarian was able to defeat the hardest boss in the game in just a few minutes, while others have to flee after 24 minutes:
Start video
Diablo 4: A build is so strong that Blizzard has directly disabled 2 items – even kills the hardest boss
First no one wants MMO features – Now everyone wants more MMO features
Between the parties, a growing gap seems to exist. However, critics are now tearing each other apart and fracturing into arguments about what they should find good or bad. Recently, the criticism of Diablo 4 has even become quite contradictory.
Especially before the release, the idea of a shared world in Diablo 4 was strongly criticized. Players did not want strangers in “their” Diablo but wanted to play solo. Now core gamers are demanding features that one typically knows from MMORPGs, such as:
Behind this lies the thought that one wants to keep the time between the grind of dungeons as short as possible, have to exchange as little as possible, and get all bonuses with one click. Diablo 3 perfected this towards the end – which is again a strange twist.
For the majority of players, however, Diablo 4 seems to be just as good as it currently is. Aside from a few bug fixes and minor balance adjustments, casuals seem to need nothing right now and appear satisfied. Some are not even able to cope with the increasing difficulty:
An announcement trailer for the game Dungeon Stalker on Steam has been released, showcasing a free game in an interesting medieval setting.
The developer Action Square (Studio HG) is known for games like the rogue-lite Metallic Child and the “Virtual Reality” game Overturn. They have now introduced another game that strongly resembles Dark and Darker or Escape from Tarkov in a medieval setting.
Dungeon Stalker is expected to be released in December 2023 on Steam and mobile and will be free to play. You can watch a trailer here:
Start video
Dungeon Stalkers Official First Trailer
What kind of game is this? Dungeon Stalker is a third-person dungeon crawler with PvEvP, where you explore areas in classic RPG style.
You fight your way through different areas in the dungeon crawler alone or with friends, defeating various monsters that stand in your way. However, the greater challenges come from other adventurers, as they are real players who are also on an exploration tour.
You must hold your ground against them to ultimately claim the loot for yourself.
A very similar game is currently no longer available on Steam:
By exploring various dungeons, you obtain rare and legendary weapons that you can use to strengthen yourself against even greater dangers. The areas change with each start, so you are continually faced with new challenges.
Additionally, you will encounter so-called witch curses in the dungeons that impose various effects on you, forcing you to adjust your strategy to the conditions of each run. However, the weather, time, and climate can also present handicaps that you should prepare for.
If you are looking for other games in the style of Escape from Tarkov until the release, we have put together 6 alternatives on Steam for you.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With the Kone Air, Roccat offers a simple gaming and office mouse. Mid-range sensor and the well-known ergonomics of the Kone. MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann has tested the mouse.
The new Kone Air is getting closer to the Aimo Remastered again, but gives up the great design of the Aimo Remastered. In the test, I looked at how well the Kone Air plays and works. The mid-range sensor in the mouse is used by Roccat in all its current mice.
Who tested it?
I have a penchant for gaming mice and now own over 20 gaming mice personally. I have been testing hardware for MeinMMO since 2019 for our readers. Mice, along with gaming headsets and keyboards, are among my absolute favorites when it comes to peripherals for PC and console, and I have accordingly extensive knowledge.
Roccat provided the Kone Air for me to test.
Benedikt Schlotmann Hardware Editor MeinMMO
Features and technical details:
Sensor
Owl-Eye sensor, based on the Pixart 3370, optical sensor
Resolution
Up to 19,000 DPI
Switches
Optical Titan switches, 100 million clicks
Buttons
9 buttons, up to 17 different functions programmable
Design
Black mouse without RGB lighting
Gliding feet
4
Cable
No cable
Weight
130 grams (with 2 batteries)
Price (RRP)
69.99 Euro
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Contents, design and assembly
What does the scope of delivery look like? The scope of delivery includes the mouse, a slim manual, and a single battery. With this battery, you can use the mouse right away. The mouse can fit two batteries, but the model works with one.
How is the mouse built? The model either features a black or white design:
On the top of the mouse are the main buttons, with an unlit scroll wheel in between. On the top is a small switch to adjust the DPI. Otherwise, a small light lights up here to indicate whether the mouse wants to connect or is connected.
On the left side, there are three more buttons in the thumb area. There are no additional buttons or a sniper button.
The model features a rough surface. The entire surface is rubberized and thus offers a very good grip in the hand.
The Kone Air, by the way, does not have a USB connection. You can really only use the mouse with batteries and via Bluetooth/radio.
Roccat is orienting itself with the Kone Air to the popular Kone design. Accordingly, you get an ergonomic mouse for right-handers with a thumb rest.
In comparison to other Roccat products, the design, however, is extremely understated: there is no RGB lighting or other playful details.
Scope of delivery of the Kone Air: mouse, manual and one battery.
Processing
The processing can largely convince me. Although the mouse is made exclusively of plastic, it still feels robust. This is mainly due to the pleasant haptics of the model. During the shaking and pressure test, nothing rattles, and everything stays in place.
However, there is one weakness, and that is the compartment for the batteries/accumulators. The flap is only secured by two thin plastic knobs, and it is a real hassle to remount the flap for the compartment. However, anyone who wants to store the mouse’s dongle inside again after each day may not enjoy this in the long run. A magnetic holder or a simple mechanism would have been preferable to me.
Overall, quite a pity, because with the Kone XP Air, the dongle could still be stowed away at the bottom of the mouse. Why they didn’t choose the same method for the Kone Air is a mystery to me.
The flap is held by plastic parts. Putting the part back is extremely fiddly and nerve-wracking.
Software
The software also used in the Kone Air is “Roccat Swarm”. At the beginning, it is somewhat confusing, but works without problems and delays with me. Inputs are recognized quickly, and by now the software suite is also fully in English.
Roccat’s “Swarm” remains unchanged. Somewhat confusing, but after a short time, you get used to it quickly.
On the next page, I will discuss weight, ergonomics, and battery life. In the final conclusion, you will read whether I can recommend the mouse and what alternatives you can buy instead.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
