In recent years, there has been little hardware, with the few graphics cards and consoles being sold at high prices. Now, there is enough hardware available, which puts scalpers in trouble.
Our title image is a symbolic image.
What was it like a few months ago? Scalpers buy in-demand items when they are only available in limited quantities to later resell them at a high price. During the Corona pandemic, they increasingly bought the highly sought-after PS5 console as well as graphics cards and resold them at much higher prices. Instead of the MSRP, one paid an additional 250 euros. And it went so well, that some scalpers were able to afford a good life from PS5 sales.
What does the current situation look like? Since the end of 2022, the world looks different. Sony launched a major sales campaign, and since early January, you can buy the PS5 in almost all common stores. And that is a problem for scalpers who still have garages full of PS5 consoles. Because now, no one wants them anymore.
On reddit, numerous players report that resale prices at scalpers have dropped significantly. Instead of the previous 750 – 800 euros, in many cases only the MSRP is being asked: On Facebook Marketplace and other platforms, sellers are now offering the consoles at significantly lower prices.
Prices are also falling in Germany. For example, those looking on eBay can find PS5 consoles that are “new and sealed with a receipt” for under 450 euros. The days when one paid 800 euros for a PS5 are now definitely over.
Especially for opportunists who wanted to try scalping, this action is likely to become expensive now.
Why is no one buying them? By now, you can buy the PS5 from any retailer at the suggested retail price with a receipt. This means you also get the warranty and guarantee from the retailer. If you buy a console that has been sitting in some garage for years, you are very likely to no longer have a warranty. Most users therefore opt for official offers.
Oops, unfortunately this affiliate widget is no longer available.
What are the reactions like? Smug and biting. Most are happy about the development of the situation and hope that the unpopular scalpers will end up stuck with their expensive goods. Because who would buy an old PS5 model from a scalper, where the warranty has long expired, when one could buy a brand new console in the shop?
Others are more thoughtful and explain that scalpers must have made enough profit in recent months. Thus, the current losses might balance out (via reddit.com):
For those who think that this person has lost money, I would like to remind you that the PS5 was sold in the USA for over 1,000 dollars. That means, if they sold enough of their inventory earlier, they could have covered more than the losses that might arise with these last units. So it’s not a good idea to buy these devices, even if the prices continue to drop or you think you need a backup device. Just give them no reason to scalp.
Most agree that one should not buy a console from such people to give them no reason to scalp at all. Even if the prices might sound tempting when official dealers would ask even more.
If you want to buy a PS5 console, you now have very good chances of getting a console at the suggested retail price. A PS5 Pro or PS6 have not yet been announced, and some speculate that a possible release might still take 4-5 years.
Instead, Sony might introduce a handheld for the PS5 in the future, but that might not appeal to many:
In FIFA 23 the servers are currently unavailable. What EA says about the maintenance work and when it will continue, we summarize here.
What is the server status in FIFA 23? Anyone logging into FIFA 23 right now receives the message that they cannot currently access the servers.
It says: “Unfortunately, the EA servers seem to be unavailable at the moment. We are working on the problem. Please try again later.”
Online games are currently not possible. The Companion App and the Web App are not affected at this time.
However, EA has already commented on the issue and explained when it will continue.
Maintenance work on the FIFA 23 servers is expected to end at noon
This is what EA says about the server downtime: Through the Direct Communication channel on Twitter, EA announced that maintenance work is currently being carried out on the server.
This started at 08:00 in the morning and is expected to end at 13:00.
Already half an hour earlier, matchmaking was disabled. This affects not only FIFA 23 but all titles from FIFA 18 to 23.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
How can I play FIFA 23 right now? It is still possible to play career mode and for example sign some of the best talents in FIFA 23. The career mode runs without an internet connection and is therefore not affected.
Additionally, kick-off matches against friends in couch co-op or against AI are still possible. However, if you want to play FUT at the moment, you can only use the Companion App and Web App. Here you can manage your club, sign or sell players, complete SBCs, and collect rewards from objectives.
There are again problems at World of Warcraft. A producer explains that there is more and more crisis planning because people are leaving.
World of Warcraft Dragonflight is running quite well and new patches are coming at regular intervals. However, that might change because Activision Blizzard is still losing important employees. The blame is said to be on “someone up there” who simply does not want to listen to the game directors.
Where does the information come from? On Twitter, the game producer Adam, whom some may know as “Glaxigrav”, explained that something is going wrong at Activision Blizzard. He said:
I am loud because I lost another person this week.
Blizzard is losing fantastic talent because someone in power is not listening to the game directors who create its products. Diversity, fairness, and inclusion also means diversity of thought, especially when it is backed by data and finances.
And, look: I don’t want to fight.
I just want to make video games. I want to make fantastic bestsellers that are loved by critics. I want to make better dragonflights. I want to create better experiences.
We cannot do that if we get rid of everyone who created it.
A final thought: “some talent” undermines the point I want to make.
We are creating crisis maps with the things we can publish and those we cannot publish. THAT is the extent of the loss we are facing.
What is the problem? There were already new conflicts at Blizzard a few weeks ago. Because Activision Blizzard has decided to lift the home office rule from the Corona pandemic. Developers may spend a maximum of two days a week in the home office; the rest must work in one of the offices.
This, however, leads to several conflicts. Many employees who are employed at Blizzard only joined during this home office period and cannot afford to make the long journey every day. Employees have warned for weeks that this will lead to resignations that will ultimately affect the products (like World of Warcraft).
Whether and when that will have an impact on World of Warcraft remains to be seen. But when developers call for help, it is usually a bad sign.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Suddenly, the livestream for Diablo 4 on April 20 becomes much more interesting. The Diablo head hints at an announcement, and fans are already making wild speculations.
When will the announcement come? On Thursday, April 20, Blizzard will host a stream with developer updates for Diablo 4. It has now been revealed that the event will run for a full 90 minutes.
So make sure to free up your Thursday starting at 8 PM German time, as the developers will discuss the endgame and also the classes.
Tweet from Diablo head raises excitement for the livestream
What will happen in the stream? On Twitter, Adam Fletcher reminds us of the livestream. He writes that the stream will last 90 minutes and will provide a deeper insight into the endgame. The topics will also include beta insights on the classes and dungeons.
Live to view are:
Adam “PezRadar” Fletcher, Global Community Development Director of Diablo
Joe Shely, Designer for Diablo
Joseph Piepiora, Associate Game Director of Diablo 4
Rhykker, streamer and YouTuber focusing on Diablo
What does the boss say: In response to PezRadar’s tweet, Diablo head Rod Fergusson writes:
Wait, wait, wait… PezRadar, is that the [stream] with the secret announcement or are we not talking about that yet? I would hate to give it away.
By the way, I’m glad I’m using Slack right now and not something public like Twitter to ask that. That would be the worst.
Where can you watch the stream? If you want to join in, you can do so directly on the official Diablo channel on Twitch.tv. However, co-streaming is also allowed, so your favorite streamers might watch and comment on the event live.
What could the announcement be? The tweet is causing a lot of excitement in the community. In a Reddit thread, over 130 comments have already gathered within a few hours, discussing the announcement.
“The next class will be announced! Remember my post so you can laugh at me when I’m completely wrong,” writes brutalicus6
This assumption is shared by many players hoping that the Paladin will be announced as a class
In the comments, it is repeatedly mentioned that it could be about a “Cow Level”
Others suspect another beta phase that may focus on the endgame
The desire for the Paladin in Diablo 4 is strong. This is more than evident in your community as well. This is shown by our survey on your class wishes. Perhaps you will be heard and Blizzard will present this special announcement in the livestream.
However, players also warn that the tweets may just be typical marketing and that one should not set their hopes too high. This way, one cannot be disappointed by the stream.
A new dating trend is going around in China: Women pay cosplayers to dress up as their virtual favorites and go on dates with them.
Note: The title image is a symbolic image.
What kind of trend is this? As reported by the Stern, women in China pay money to go on dates with their favorite characters from video games. To do this, they hire cosplayers to dress accordingly.
What is behind this? A particular type of dating sim, called “Otome Games,” is currently very popular among Chinese women. In these games, you take on the role of a female protagonist and pursue romantic relationships with one or more male characters.
The possible romantic options are often diverse, catering to every taste: from the quiet bespectacled guy to the hot-headed temperamental type to the friendly sunny boy or the cool guy with a mysterious past.
The genre usually falls under the category of visual novels, which are mainly text-based. The Asian video game market is notorious for mobile games with aggressive monetization, so it is not surprising that many Otome games offer in-app purchases to boost virtual relationships.
According to the Stern, many women spend quite a bit of money on their digital favorites. For those who find that insufficient, they can take it a step further and hire a cosplayer for dates.
If the digital favorite cannot come into the real world, maybe one day it will be possible to visit him instead in the virtual world with the Deep Dive:
Start video
The “Deep Dive” is supposed to immerse us into MMORPGs deeper than ever before – What is it actually?
Affection as a commodity
How did this come about? A precursor to the phenomenon became evident as early as 2019: Chinese women paid “Virtual Boyfriends” to exchange messages or make phone calls with them. Real-life meetings were not part of the services offered.
The lockdowns during the Corona pandemic have likely led to an increase in users of such Otome games and strengthened the desire for a virtual relationship.
“People have figured out how to turn affection into a commodity,” says Chris K.K. Tan, a professor at Nanjing University who researches this phenomenon (via Stern).
How does this work? It is now different: Usually young, single, and financially independent women post ads on the Internet seeking dates. In the ads, they specify what the costume should be like, what the payment is, and whether physical affection, such as kissing, is desired.
However, these services are not supposed to have a sexual nature. Rather, the clients yearn for a listening ear, a flirt, or emotional support. This also leads to some women preferring female cosplayers who transform into male characters: they feel safer with them.
On the other hand, the women often feel disappointed by “real” men and prefer their virtual friends. They pay cosplayers between 100 and 200 Yuan, equivalent to about 13 to 26 Euros, per hour for the dates.
Additionally, they cover the costs for shared meals or activities. Some women are even willing to offer cosplayers large sums to ensure that “their” favorite does not go on dates with other women.
The trend for virtual relationships is not limited to China. In Japan, a man famously married a hologram of the virtual singer Hatsune Miku, the mascot of the eponymous singing software. Artificial intelligence now offers entirely new possibilities for digital romances.
With Patch 1.2, Gypsum and the Expertise system were introduced in New World. We at MeinMMO explain how Gypsum works, how to level Expertise, and where to find the Gypsum ovens.
What is Gypsum? It is a new material that can be earned through various in-game content and was introduced with Patch 1.2.
There are 8 types of Gypsum:
Obsidian Gypsum – Earned by defeating bosses of level 60+
Sapphire Gypsum – Earned by defeating the final bosses in the Lazarus Instrumentality and Garden of Genesis dungeons
Ruby Gypsum – Earned during Outpost Rush
Emerald Gypsum – Earned from chests in crafting beyond level 200
Citrine Gypsum – Earned from boss arenas
Amethyst Gypsum – Earned from Corrupted Events
Topaz Gypsum – Requires a special potion that can be crafted at camps of level 5. After that, you must defeat mobs of level 55+ and have a small chance for this drop
Garnet Gypsum – As a reward in the 3v3 arena. 100% chance on victory, 50% chance on defeat.
In addition, there is an eighth version dependent on various events: Diamond Gypsum. You can currently earn this during the Easter event by killing rabbits:
This article was last updated on April 19 with new information about Garnet and Diamond Gypsum.
What can I do with Gypsum? Each of these types of Gypsum can be earned up to a maximum each day. Once you reach the maximum amount of each type, you can form a Gypsum Orb.
From the orb, a Gypsum casting for the respective equipment slots can be made.
If you then use this Gypsum casting, you will receive items for the respective equipment slot that have a higher armor value and thus increase your Expertise by 1 to 5 levels.
Note: For each type of equipment (chest armor, leg armor, each individual weapon type, etc.), only one Gypsum casting can be made every 18 hours. Each of these slots always requires exactly one Gypsum orb.
In the Gypsum oven, a Gypsum cast can be made for each type of equipment exactly once a day.
How much Gypsum do you need and how do you find the Gypsum ovens
How much Gypsum do I need for an orb?
You need 3 Obsidian Gypsum for one orb. They also drop randomly from bosses.
You need 1 Sapphire Gypsum. You must complete one of the two endgame dungeons.
You need 1 Emerald Gypsum. You must earn a chest in crafting beyond level 200. This is easiest through fishing, lumberjacking, or skinning.
You need 1 Citrine Gypsum. You need to play a round in the boss arena.
You need 7 Amethyst Gypsum. You must definitely participate in multiple Portal Events with the Corrupted.
You need 2 Ruby Gypsum. You must play exactly two rounds of Outpost Rush.
You need 10 Topaz Gypsum. The drops are random, so you may need to farm mobs of level 55+ for a longer time
You need 1 Garnet Gypsum from the PvP arenas.
You need 3 Diamond Gypsum.
Where can you find Gypsum ovens? The Gypsum ovens are located in all outposts, that is, in the towns that CANNOT be controlled by a faction, such as Edenhain or Bruchberg. They are automatically at level 5 and have a symbol on the map, as with other crafting stations.
Gypsum ovens are available in every outpost.
What should I farm daily? Currently, it is extremely easy to earn the 3 Diamond Gypsum. It takes less than 2 minutes, and you should take advantage of this every day.
Also, the Emerald Gypsum, the Citrine Gypsum, and the two Ruby Gypsum can be acquired quite quickly and easily. Obsidian Gypsum drops from named bosses at about 70%. You need to defeat about 5 named bosses for the 3 orbs.
For the drops of Amethyst and Topaz, we had little luck on the first day despite a portal run and a chest run in Edenhain. Here we earned about half of the possible Gypsum per day in 90 minutes. Additionally, the potion lasts only one hour, but can only be crafted every 18 hours. The effort seems to be a bit higher because there is no guarantee of the drops.
The Sapphire Gypsum should make the endgame dungeons more attractive again, but a group and an orb are required for this. This also makes earning it a bit more difficult.
Improving Expertise – Here’s how it works
What is Expertise? Expertise is the armor value at which you receive dropped equipment items, provided the area you are in has the appropriate level. Each player at level 60 starts with an Expertise of 500. This means that you receive equipment with an armor value of 500 dropped from mobs of level 55+.
The higher your Expertise, the better the armor value you receive on drops.
The pink value next to the equipment indicates the Expertise level (here 520).
How to increase Expertise? There are now various ways to do this:
You can increase your Expertise by grinding mobs and chests in endgame areas.
How does grinding work? If you defeat mobs and open chests in the appropriate level area, you have a chance for loot with your corresponding armor value. However, you also have a chance for a drop with a higher armor value than your Expertise.
The chance for each drop and each chest is exactly 1%.
However, each time you do NOT get a better drop that corresponds to your Expertise, the chance increases by 0.1%. After 990 drops, you have a 100% chance of increasing your Expertise. Typically, this happens much sooner.
Expertise will determine your armor value starting in 2022
Why is the Expertise value so important? Expertise is important for two reasons.
On one hand, this value determines the loot you receive in the open world.
On the other hand, there will be a change in 2022, where Expertise also determines the value of your armor. So if you have an Expertise of 520 for the chest, but buy an item in the auction house with an armor value of 600, it will be scaled down to the average – in this case, 560. This will remain until you also increase your armor value.
This system is meant to prevent players from simply buying the best armor with money.
There have been some adjustments to the system, such as with self-crafted items. These are not scaled down because that would be a punishment for the players. More on this here:
Today, Destiny 2 will release the big and much-anticipated midseason patch version 7.0.5. Players can expect not only a server downtime in the evening but also a changed sandbox. MeinMMO reports on what is included in the update and, most importantly, when you cannot play.
What you need to know today: As with all online games, there are also times in Destiny 2 when the game is not available to perform updates, patches, and maintenance. Although such downtimes can be frustrating for many players and the times never seem to fit, they are still necessary.
However, today there is not a normal update, but the big midseason patch 7.0.5 on the agenda, which will bring players not only the usual bug fixes but also a changed sandbox. In this regard, Bungie made extensive announcements on March 30.
The update includes a large number of weapon tunings for PvE and PvP, Crucible playlist changes, a new Crucible divisions emblem, matchmaking tuning, and much more.
MeinMMO first lists the downtime and then, further down in this article, the most important highlights included in the midseason update.
Update history for Midseason Update 7.0.5:
11:15 PM: The servers have just given a sign of life. The login to Destiny 2 is working again. Also, check in the H.E.L.M. to play the mission “Vengeance”.
9:20 PM: Bungie is again reporting via Twitter an extension of the downtime. However, it did not indicate how long. Further information should follow as soon as they are available. It looks bad for the guardians’ gaming evening in Destiny 2.
7:30 PM: Important note! The downtime for the update of Destiny 2 has been extraordinarily extended. Players can load the update, but the Bungie servers will not be reachable until 10:00 PM. (via Twitter) Time to find some grass to touch!
7:15 PM: The patch notes are now available. We will link them in the appropriate section of this article.
7:00 PM: The midseason update has just been completed and can now be downloaded by players. The download size on PC is 494.8 MB. Once you have downloaded it, you can log back in. However, keep in mind: The background maintenance will continue until 8:00 PM – so there may be queues and continued unreachability or disconnections at first.
5:45 PM: The servers have just gone offline. You will not be able to log into Destiny 2 until 7:00 PM now. During this time, it is advisable to look for other activities or try other games. How about this new shooter?
5:00 PM: The developers at Bungie have just started background maintenance on their servers. Players will be kicked from all activities in 45 minutes and the downtime will begin.
Start video
New gameplay of Destiny 2: Lightfall takes you to spectacular heights – “This moment was made for Guardians”
Maintenance on 18.04. – All times for the Midseason Update
These times are important today: As usual, Bungie informed via Twitter of the exact times and keeps them, despite the big update, as brief as ever. If everything goes optimally, you should only have a slight limitation on today’s gaming evening.
This is the exact schedule for the maintenance:
At 5:00 PM German time, background maintenance starts on all platforms.
From 5:45 PM the servers go offline and players will be automatically kicked from all activities.
The midseason update 7.0.5 will be rolled out on all platforms and can be downloaded.
Officially, the servers will be back online at around 7:00 PM.
However, the ongoing background maintenance will not end until 8:00 PM if everything goes smoothly. During this time you can already play again, but you must expect server issues.
Important: Even if you have downloaded the update and are back in the game, there may still be connection problems until the maintenance is completed. You may also have to expect queues when logging in.
The highlights of the midseason patch will change a lot.
What the hotfix bringstoday: The midseason update is always an important milestone for Destiny 2 as it contains many changes.
MeinMMO lists some of the most important changes included in the midseason update 7.0.5. From activity adjustments to balance changes, these are the highlights players can expect.
The most important changes for the midseason update 7.0.5 at a glance:
The difficulty of activities, such as the Nightfall “Battleground: Mars” will be decreased.
Reduction of fighter spawns at higher difficulty levels in the tower phase and addition of another ammo crate.
Scores in Guardian ranks will be adjusted again to make them easier to achieve.
For “Legend” at rank 8, you now only need a high score of 115,000 instead of 130,000, for “Grandmaster” at rank 9 180,000 instead of 200,000 and for rank 10 “Top Tier” 210,000 instead of 230,000 points.
The point multiplier for the strike “Sea of Shadows” will be increased to 1.0.
A whole range of weapons will be adjusted in PvE and PvP.
The damage from fusion rifle volleys will be increased by +15 in PvP.
Submachine guns are expected to deal increased damage in PvP, but the precision hit multiplier will be reduced.
Sniper rifles with rapid-fire frames will receive more ammunition but also reduced recoil.
In PvE, the damage of primary weapons against enemies with red and orange bars will be increased:
Auto rifles +25%
Pulse rifles, hand cannons, and sidearms +20%
Scout rifles +10%
Some exotic weapons, such as “Tarrabah” and “Revision Null”, will receive a compensatory overhaul
The amount of energy that Tarrabah generates with “Greedy Beast” when taking damage will be reduced from 3% to 1% and the zoom will be reduced from 16 to 15.
With “Revision Null”, the perk “All good things come in fours” will now reset when Hunter’s mark is active.
Additionally, the PvE damage of heavy Häkke volleys will be increased by 75% and of Hunter’s mark ammunition by 25%.
This is what the new overview map in PvP will look like after the update
“Conflict” will leave the quick play playlist, leaving only the more popular mode “Control”.
In casual SBMM (skill-based matchmaking), the filters for skill and connections will be adjusted so that the latency windows are expanded as slowly as possible. However, please note that this will not fully eliminate lag in PvP.
All remaining freelance nodes have been removed, and fireteam matchmaking will be introduced.
In addition, the current rotation will be split into two separate playlists.
Crucible Merciless Rotation: Conflict, Rift, and Zone Control. Here there is connection-based 6v6 matchmaking (CBMM).
Crucible Chaos Rotation: Shatter, Scorched, Dynamic Control
The competitive divisions, rumble, and private match options will remain active at all times.
Lord Shaxx will have a new badge for you if you are Ascendant III or higher.
What do you think of the changes in the midseason update?
Next sandbox change in Season 21: In “Season of the Depths,” which is Season 21, further adjustments are planned. Among them is the reduction of damage from submachine guns with aggressive frame.
It is likely that the currently most successful weapon in PvP from Season 20 will be targeted:
Although the downtime can be frustrating for many players, it is necessary to ensure that the game runs smoothly and without interruptions.
Error codes ruined the last Destiny weekend: It remains unknown whether Bungie will also address the problem with the terrible outages from the previous gaming weekend in today’s update.
Here the Xbox servers apparently acted up and caused Bee-, Weasel-, and other error codes during gameplay. Some players on other platforms were apparently affected as well. However, Bungie Support has not yet commented in detail on the incidents and what happened.
What is in the patch notes? The comprehensive list of all changes to Update 7.0.5 will be released by Bungie in the form of patch notes. However, they will be released later today.
As soon as they are published, we will link them in this article, as they may change afterwards.
What changes in the midseason update of Destiny 2 do you think are the most important, and which ones are you most looking forward to? Feel free to share your thoughts and wishes in the comments and discuss with other players in the German Destiny community.
No longer part of the Destiny 2 community is currently a well-known Twitch streamer and content creator, as he was banned by Bungie for serious breach of trust. Now his creator colleagues are mobilizing under the hashtag #FreeEkuegan:
The former Overwatch professional Félix “xQc” Lengyel (27) is one of the biggest streamers on Twitch, but when it comes to approaching a “real celebrity”, he gets nervous. ChatGPT is supposed to help.
Which rapper is it about? In a stream, xQc watched the new music video of the American rapper Isis “Ice Spice” Gaston (23) for her song “Pincess Diana”.
A verse from the 23-year-old goes: “He gon’ hit hit up my ‘Gram, If he smart, h gon’ act like a fan”, which translates roughly to “He will hit me up on Instagram if he is smart, he will act like a fan.” xQc took this to heart and wanted to immediately arrange an interview with Ice Spice.
While composing the message, the streamer, who is usually known for his fluency, struggled to find the words. He promptly asked the chatbot ChatGPT for help.
Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was famous enough in his prime to even play with the rapper Drake. What happened to him, you can see in the video.
Start video
Through Fortnite to the largest streamer on Twitch – Who is Ninja and what is he doing today?
xQc seeks help from ChatGPT
What did xQc aim for? The streamer explained he would love to do an interview with Ice Spice, it would definitely be “pretty cool”. He quickly decided to follow the “instructions” from the music video, visited the rapper’s Instagram account, and started writing: “Hey, big fan!”
However, he is still not quite satisfied. After asking his chat for advice, he decides to seek professional help: in the form of ChatGPT. In his message to the chatbot, xQc writes that he is a lowly “E-Tier” celebrity or content creator who wants to start a conversation with a famous singer. He says the message should come from a fan.
The GPT-4 model immediately gets to work and churns out paragraph after paragraph. However, the result does not convince the streamer. A compilation of the stream can be watched here in English:
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
What was the problem? It seems that the chatbot overdid it a bit. In the message, ChatGPT lays it on thick: He wants to express his deep admiration, the artist’s music is the soundtrack of his most precious memory, and the new album is nothing less than a masterpiece.
When ChatGPT is still not finished after three paragraphs and is just talking about knowing the challenges of the industry as a colleague, xQc gives up: “What the heck, I’ll just send a private message.”
What does xQc write in the end? After careful consideration, xQc finally finds just the right words:
I write “Hey” with eight Y’s, and I write “What’s up?” And then I add an emoji: ice emoji, blushing emoji, and then cowboy emoji. Done. I’ve already sent it. What do you think, is that bad?
His message is at least creative and funny, the streamer says. Even if the rapper doesn’t respond, he will probably make her smile; she will remember it – even if she should feel embarrassed.
xQc seems currently interested in expanding his social circle. The new contacts don’t necessarily have to be human, as his attempts to befriend a squirrel outside his window demonstrate. The result is a drama in three acts:
xQc seems currently interested in expanding his social circle. The new contacts don’t necessarily have to be human, as his attempts to befriend a squirrel outside his window demonstrate. The result is a drama in three acts:
In Destiny 2, the so-called “Weekly Reset” is the event that marks the beginning of a new week in Bungie’s free-to-play shooter. In this article, we take a closer look at the latest updates and changes that come with the weekly reset on April 18.
This week: Once Destiny 2 has completed the Weekly Reset this evening, players will be faced with several changes. Not only are there the weekly activity rotations, but the mid-season update has also been introduced today.
So the update includes a large amount of weapon tuning for PvE and PvP, Crucible playlist changes, a new Crucible division emblem, matchmaking tuning, and much more.
MeinMMO has listed some of the most important changes included in the mid-season update 7.0.5 in this update article:
In the following, we take a closer look at the changing activities and challenges this week and show what players can expect.
The important info on activities from April 18 to April 25
[toc]
Vanguard: Nightfall – The Trial of Fire
“Mars: Battleground”
The Mars: Battleground is the first season activity that made it into the Nightfall strikes. In Escalation Protocol 2.0 you have many enemies, get scorched by lasers, and in the end, you are locked in a room with a horde of enemies. The challenge is there – even if Bungie is making it slightly easier for you this week with the Update 7.0.5.
Earn this week the Nightfall weapon: The shotgun “The Pursuit of the Thought Twister” is available to you as a master reward in Nightfalls.
Endgame: Raid Challenges and Dungeon Rotation
Farmable endgame on a weekly rotation: In further endgame, the legacy rotations await. Both the rotating raid and the rotating dungeon are farmable. This means you can complete the individual encounters repeatedly in order to receive various items and complete your collection, including possible exotics that can be found in these contents.
The weekly legacy raid is the “Garden of Salvation” with the “Divinity”.
Additionally, in the dungeon “Duality” there is extra prime loot and the sword “Heartshadow”.
You can get this elegant exotic this week in the raid rotation.
These activity rotations of content will be further expanded by Bungie starting in season 22. Then players will be able to play not only raids and dungeons as “legacy”, but also old exotic missions.
Crucible – This is the rotating PvP activity:
Lord Shaxx has updated his overview for you and offers “Zone Control” and “Momentum Control”.
Where is there a bonus this week?
Bungie is adding a bonus to the Crucible ranks this week. You can level up faster and earn engrams and resets and grab the loot there.
Weekly Activities
With the weekly reset on April 18, several activities and challenges have been updated again, providing players with a variety of rewards and progress and making them better guardians through repetition.
Lightfall – Weekly Campaign Mission
“First Contact”
In the first mission, you establish first contact and get to know Strand for the very first time while you roam through Neomuna with your Guardian. Strand is the new subclass from Lightfall and then there is something you need to do…
Ascendant Challenge – Dreaming City
So if you still need triumphs from the Dreaming City, pay attention. The corruption reveals new accesses with a sip of “Queen’s Leaf Tincture”.
Petra Venjhas the 2nd Ascendant Challenge for you this week. You can find Petra and her quest offer at the location “The Shore” in the Dreaming City. Here, Savathun has her hands in the game, as the curse begins to reclaim the holy city of the Awoken on level 1.
All sources for prime loot in season 20 of Destiny 2
So you know where you can effectively grab your prime loot, we provide you with a quick overview of activities each week.
This is the new max level: In the new season of Resistance (season 20), the power level rises drastically. The maximum power level of your equipment is 1,810. This means that the power level at the start of the new season 20 has risen by +210 compared to the previous season 19.
In season 20 of Lightfall, guardians start at power level 1600.
The soft cap is at 1750.
The powerful cap is at 1800.
With prime loot, you can reach the hard cap of 1810.
We list the currently known activities that give you prime loot and thus power level so that you can level up quickly, even if something may soon change in this system:
Complete bounties at the strategy table via “The Liberator Path” (+1)
Weekly Lightfall campaign mission on Legendary (+2)
Complete 3 Resistance Battlegrounds in the seasonal playlist
Complete 3 Gambit matches (+1)
Complete 3 Crucible matches (+1)
Complete Vanguard Operations Strikes with the appropriate Wave (+1)
Hawthorne’s clan quest: Grant 5 appreciation cards to other guardians (+1)
Trials of Osiris (from April 21)
Glimmer Highlights in the Eververse
Lastly, the best part of every week: the rotation in the Eververse, where you can endlessly splurge your glimmer, the in-game currency of Destiny 2, for stylish cosmetics. This week, not only is there the chest of the seasonal armor ornaments, but also a peculiar ship named “Golden Drifter”.
The Eververse highlights this week.
This is what you can get this week for glimmerfrom Tess:
Exotic ship “Golden Drifter”
Seasonal armor ornaments “Chest” for all classes
Hunter: “Limitless Collapse” chest armor
Titan: “Convincing Rhythm” armor
Warlock: “Technological Robe”
Exotic emote “Touch Grass”
Legendary emote “Little Cardio Exercise”
Exotic Sparrow “Clear Dream”
Exotic Sparrow “Sweeper Simulant”
Exotic weapon ornament for “Wishender” called “Mood of the Clamp”
Exotic ghost shell “Sweep Shell”
Legendary ghost projection “Side Eye Projection”
Shader “Timeworn”
Shader “Grayscale Underbrush”
If you want to have a complete collection, you should also check in Season 20 at Ada-1, as she is now selling old shaders you may not own yet.
That was all the information on today’s weekly reset, the central component of Destiny 2 that ensures new challenges and rewards every week. It is a great way to ensure that players can improve their skills in changing activities.
Which of the changing activities this week is your favorite challenge? Do you perhaps have a specific strategy for the Mars: Battleground that you would like to share with other players? Then feel free to leave us a comment.
The course of today’s downtime of the Destiny 2 servers and all changes from the mid-season update can be found here:
Blizzard is also feverishly working on changes and adjustments after the beta of Diablo 4 just before the hack & slash is released. While a lot of feedback has been taken into account, there will not be a key core feature for better overview at release.
What feature are we talking about? This is the helpful feature of the map overlay. This function allowed players to overlay the respective map they were in, making it larger but visually transparent over their screen. This way, players could look at the map while controlling their hero.
Blizzard was thus asked whether this feature would also make it into Diablo 4, but the developers have no good news for now.
Here we have taken another important look at the endgame of Diablo 4:
Start video
Diablo 4: Insight into the Endgame
No Map Overlay at the Launch of Diablo 4
What has Blizzard said about this? Twitter user Anundir asked Diablo chief Rod Fergusson if a TAB overlay would be implemented in Diablo 4, as he missed looking at his map while traveling through the new Sanctuary.
Rod Fergusson then replied with a short but direct answer: “No plans at the moment.” (via twitter.com)
This is what the map overlay looks like in Diablo 2: Resurrected
Despite the response from the Diablo chief, it is not entirely clear whether Diablo 4 will exist without a map overlay in general. The feature has been an important and useful part of the hack & slash for two titles. Whether the developers will implement a similar feature at a later date is currently unclear, but it cannot be entirely ruled out.
What are the fans saying? Opinions are divided. Some players don’t find it bad at all that Blizzard is taking new paths. Other fans, on the other hand, are annoyed by the decision and are instead demanding an additional option in the settings:
“This should definitely be an option. A mini map in the corner is not enough, and constantly opening the map while moving is tedious.” – says DecayingBlond
“[…] You at least need to create an optional overlay so that people can decide whether they want to use it or not.” – thinks BaconX43507728
“It would be cool to at least have the choice. I don’t keep it open all the time in D2, but it was extremely helpful for the flow of the game and I missed it a lot in D3.” – says xWILLOFD
It remains to be seen whether Blizzard will decide to deliver the feature after the release.
The new strategy game for Minecraft is being released today. We will tell you what time you can play and what you need to know about the content.
Minecraft is one of the most successful games of all time and has been trying to advance into the gaming market with further games for a while now. This is also the case now with “Minecraft Legends”. We will tell you everything you need to know about the new game from Mojang.
Update 8:00 PM: Meanwhile, the game is running smoothly for most.
What time does Minecraft Legends release? The release of Minecraft Legends is on April 18 at 6:00 PM. However, the developers are already warning that there may be a few minutes of delay.
What is the gameplay of Minecraft Legends like? Minecraft Legends is fundamentally an action-strategy game. You control yourself as the “hero” of this story, as well as numerous troops made up of various Minecraft creatures. These include:
Creeper
zombies
Skeleton archers
Various golems
You do not only direct individual units, but command entire troop formations and send them against the enemies.
Building also plays a role in Minecraft Legends, as you can erect small forts to have solid defense. However, this does not proceed as meticulously as in the original Minecraft; instead, you give building orders that are then handled by your loyal servants.
Start video
Minecraft Legends neuer Trailer von der gamescom 2022
What is the story of Minecraft Legends? It is quite simply explained. The “Overworld” of Minecraft lives in peace and harmony. The villagers have befriended the zombies, the creepers are nice neighbors, and the skeleton archers are friendly visitors. But this utopia is abruptly shaken when the forces of the Nether attack. The piglins – and other creatures – open a portal and flood into the Minecraft world to conquer it.
As the “hero” of the story, the player must now lead the various peoples of the Overworld into battle. He can take hordes and creepers with him or bring zombies into the fight to stand against the piglins and their minions.
On which platforms will the game be released? Minecraft Legends will be released on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation, Steam, and Nintendo Switch. Moreover, the game is directly part of the Xbox Game Pass or the PC Game Pass from Microsoft.
Do you have to have played Minecraft? No, it does not seem necessary. Although Minecraft veterans will of course recognize many creatures like the zombies, piglins, or the notorious creepers right away, it is not necessary to understand the story or gameplay – especially since there are also some deviations.
After all, Minecraft Legends also introduces new creatures that do not exist in regular Minecraft. Furthermore, many of the beings behave a bit differently, as they all fight together against the piglins.
A content creator from Destiny 2 is currently facing a ban from Bungie that threatens his career and reputation. Now, more and more fellow streamers are taking his side because they believe in his innocence and are calling for a reevaluation of the decision as well as the restoration of his reputation.
Update: We have updated this article on April 18 with an update from Bungie on the subject. You can find it at the end of the article.
What ban in Destiny 2 is being discussed? Recently, there was a secret meeting at Bungie to which various content creators were invited, including the well-known Twitch streamer and YouTuber “Ekuegan”.
He is mainly known for his carries of other players through tough PvE content, such as the Nightfall Strikes, and has already spent over 14,000 hours playing Destiny 2.
After the aforementioned meeting, however, extensive information about the upcoming Season 21 leaked through various and also rather blurry screenshots on a Discord server, prompting Bungie to investigate.
Did Ekuegan risk his reputation with a leak or not?
After a public warning on Twitter regarding strict compliance with NDA confidentiality clauses and the reminder that this is a breach of trust by developers, Bungie ultimately held “Ekuegan” responsible for these leaks.
A soft ban was imposed on him, banning him from further Bungie meetings and citing a blurred taskbar on the leaked photos and desktop icons as the reason.
Friends and streamer colleagues consider his ban unjustified
It’s about good reputation and a lot of income: After the ban became known through an article by Paul Tassi, friends and well-known streamer colleagues of Ekuegan have now also spoken out.
They are publicly taking his side now with the hashtag #FreeEkuegan, speaking of an unjustified ban and lamenting the lack of transparency in the decision.
Well-known Destiny 2 content creator Gladd writes: “I have always found Ekuegan to be friendly to me and the community. He is a support. I trust him; take that for what it’s worth. At least Bungie needs to take a closer look at this.”
MegsOnTwitch also comments on the situation and says if he were guilty, he wouldn’t lie to us, his friends and colleagues.
Ekuegan was close to tears when I spoke to him about it earlier. You could literally hear the pain and frustration he feels about it in his voice. If he were guilty, he wouldn’t go so far as to lie to close friends. I hope the truth will come to light. […] If enough of us, who believe he didn’t do it, speak up, maybe [Bungie] will notice and take a second look at all the pieces.
Is this justice or favoritism? While the support from the streamer community gives Ekuegan hope, there are also critics. Destiny 2 players are talking about favoritism.
It is complained that the streamer colleagues of the banned creator simply believe him without knowing the facts. They see the solidarity of the streamers as a threat to the objectivity and transparency that should actually prevail in the streaming industry.
DynasticReign has this to say:
Why should Bungie be obligated to reveal the facts of their investigation into him? If it happened that quickly, it means that it was pretty obvious that it was him. Stop with this ‘Oh, he’s a nice person, so it’s impossible he could have done it.'”
The player Tim Dunn also argues: “Do you think Bungie hasn’t looked at this closely? I noticed he never denied that the information came from his PC, he just denied that he shared it.”
One thing is already clear from the case of the banned Twitch streamer in Destiny 2. The reputation of a content creator can become endangered incredibly quickly.
UPDATE 04.18.2023:Will Bungie review the case again now? No. The Bungie team has made it clear on Twitter that nothing will be reviewed again. They shared the following message with the players:
Our security and legal teams have examined irrefutable evidence, including video recordings, verified messages, and images that show a timeline pattern confirming that the same person has leaked confidential information from community summits over several years.
We are very disappointed that we received this information and wish that things with this person had gone differently. We do not take these measures lightly, and we are confident in our decision.
Ekuegan’s streamer colleagues will therefore likely not be able to achieve a re-examination of the case.
What do you think of his ban? Do you believe Bungie investigated properly and rightly suspended him? Or do you think his friends and colleagues are right that he would never risk his career as a content creator and the associated reputation in the industry and that someone must have set him up? Do you think Bungie needs to take another look at the case? Let us know in the comments.
There is currently also movement on the cheating front in Destiny 2, as the manufacturers of the nasty hardware cheat devices are now warning of the new detection systems from the developers:
The survival game Valheim will soon have new modes. For example, you can play in hard mode or much more relaxed. There will also be a building mode.
That the modifications will be available soon was announced by the developers Iron Gate Studio back in January 2023. On Twitter, director Jonathan Smars is now revealing more detailed information about the new feature.
Very difficult or very relaxed
“Are you ready for the hardcore mode in Valheim… or do you prefer it more relaxed?” tweets Smars and shows a short video of the upcoming modifications for your Valheim worlds. The following presets are available:
Easy: Fights are easier and there are fewer attacks on your base
Hard: Fights are more difficult and monsters attack your base more often
Hardcore: Fights are much more difficult and monsters attack even more frequently. If you die, all your items and skills are lost forever. You cannot use portals.
Immersive: Here, you cannot use a map and also no portals.
Hammer Mode: In this mode, you can build all buildings for free. There are no attacks on your base, the difficulty settings are normal – this is basically the new creative mode.
Casual: Monsters only attack you if you provoke them. There are no attacks on your base. There are more resources than usual, and when you die, you don’t lose any items or skills.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
If you don’t like the presets and instead want to select all settings yourself, you can do that below. You can exactly specify how hard fights should be, how many items you lose upon death, how many resources there are, and how often your base is attacked.
Additionally, you can set that you do not want a map, no portals, free building, and so on. Everything can be customized to your wishes and should also be changeable later in your existing worlds when the update comes.
In the trailer, you can see Valheim’s new area:
Start video
Survival hit with Vikings gets its first new area – Valheim shows Mistlands in new trailer
Players are excited and express further suggestions
Under the tweet, there are numerous responses to be found. Players have more suggestions, ask questions, complain about performance issues of the survival game, or simply look forward to the mods. Some of them say that they now want to return because they appreciate Valheim more again.
We summarize a few of the voices for you:
the_swizzler: “Looks like cool options. I like the game as it is, but playing this kind of game is often helped when they offer different options.”
Coni: “OMG this is so cool.”
Rufus West: “This is great for Xbox. Newer players find it easier to learn the game. I wanted a beginner mode at first to change the difficulty level.”
JZBeasty: “Seeing this makes me extremely happy. Not just the presets, but also the individual settings to really customize the experience.”
quietscribe: “I wish for an option to build skills faster. Learning the skill Spellcasting takes so long, and it would be great not to have to grind so much.”
MiniHerc: “Please tell me there’s an option that you don’t lose items/skills when you die. Then I could start playing the game again.”
When is the update coming? When the developers of Valheim will bring the modifications into the game is currently unclear. As soon as there is a date, we will of course inform you.
What do you think about the various modifications? Are you looking forward to being able to play Valheim in a different way? Are you then more in hard mode or casual? Feel free to let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO!
You can find the most popular games for survival fans here:
Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore is an upcoming MMORPG on Steam. It focuses on hardcore elements and gives players a lot of freedom.
On May 1, 2023, Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore is set to be playable on Steam. It is developed by Gellyberry Studios and published by Freedom Games.
An old-school hardcore MMORPG where you can lose everything
What kind of game is this? It is an old-school MMORPG that visually initially resembles Tibia, Ultima Online, or even Minecraft. You create a character and enter the world of Irumesa, which holds many secrets to discover.
The developers do not want to make it easy for players, instead offering them a challenge: Those who fall in battle lose their equipment. So it pays off to have friends around to quickly pick up your items should you die.
Teamwork with others is therefore very important in Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore. You choose a guild and compete against others in PvP. Alternatively, you can tackle PvE content together.
Here you can see the trailer of the MMORPG:
Start video
Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore MMORPG Trailer
These are the additional features:
A comprehensive skill system where every decision matters
All items can be crafted by you
Various biomes such as mountains, deserts, and snowy landscapes for you to explore
Endgame challenges such as raids and world bosses
8 different dungeons that you can complete before the endgame
A story with over 100 quests
Additionally, the developers promise to continuously develop the MMORPG. They intend to provide it with updates and further expand existing systems.
Who is it worth for? Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore is aimed at MMORPG fans who are looking for a challenge and can live with having to take risks and possibly lose.
Moreover, you should not place much value on modern graphics, as this MMORPG is definitely not for you. However, if you want to reminisce about games like EverQuest, UO, and Tibia and indulge in nostalgia, you are in the right place.
You want to try role-playing in World of Warcraft? Then just choose the right realm so you can find other role-players.
If PvE no longer excites you, arena matches have lost their shine, and even collecting mounts and battle pets is no longer fun, it’s time for something new. Many just want to take a peek into role-playing. However, from the outside, the “RP community” can seem quite closed off, and getting started is not that easy. Therefore, we want to clarify the most important questions for getting started and especially: On which server or realm should you actually begin?
On which realm should you look for role-playing? There are a total of 15 realms marked as “RP”. For getting started, it is recommended to visit the realm “Die Aldor”. If you want to start role-playing, that is the best place to meet other players.
Why “Die Aldor”? The reason for this has less to do with personal preference and is rather historically grown. In the role-playing community of World of Warcraft, it was common back then to flock to a new RP realm when it opened. A new realm meant a new start and hopefully many new, interested role-players.
“Die Aldor” is simply the last German RP realm that was opened – thus one of the “youngest realms” in the German-speaking area. Therefore, most role-players are gathered there and have also stayed here.
When “Die Aldor” was opened, there were plans by several RP guilds from different realms to switch together to “Die Aldor”. Even today, you can feel the effects of that, because in the German-speaking area, Aldor is significantly busier than other RP realms.
This does not mean that the total number of players on Aldor is particularly large – but of the players who are there, a very large part are role-players – significantly more than on other realms.
Additionally, there is the fact that “Die Aldor” is a unique case and has not been connected to a realm cluster. You will only meet players from other realms if they have been invited to the server via groups. Accordingly, the proportion of role-players is particularly high and the number of “non-role-players” correspondingly low.
Is there no role-playing on other RP realms? Yes, of course. However, the number of players who engage in role-playing is significantly lower. It is much less likely that you will “just stumble into” RP. Anyone intending to play on one of the other RP realms will likely need to find groups in advance to join.
On Aldor, it is easier, because there – at least in theory – anyone can stumble into RP in Stormwind or Valdrakken and try it out.
What else do you need? Apart from the correct choice of realm, you should also download at least one role-playing add-on. This is helpful because role-players can recognize each other. Furthermore, you can set a last name for your character, note their physical characteristics in the description, or even scan the map for other role-players to interact with.
Where do you find role-playing? The easiest way is probably in the Alliance city of Stormwind. Here, traditionally, most role-players are engaged in “open” RP, and the city is well-suited for gathering initial, casual experiences and getting a feel for RP.
This way, you can easily make contact with players who can then refer you to other projects or small groups that play certain storylines in other locations.
Just dare to get into RP and give it a try – because only then will you find out if it is fun for you.
Richard Bartle is one of the co-founders of MUDs (Multi User Dungeons), which are considered the precursors to the first MMORPGs. He also wrote the well-known book Designing Virtual Worlds. In recent months, he has spent over 350 hours in New World and summarized his experiences.
What does the developer think about the game? On Facebook, Bartle shared a long post summarizing his experiences with New World. Overall, these sound very positive, although he points out some criticisms.
He especially praises the world design, the freedoms given to players, the action combat system, and the gathering.
Criticism is directed at the empty servers, the often “terrible quests,” and limited weapon design.
Additionally, he discussed the UI, which he considers too focused on PC. However, he sees New World as an MMORPG that would be perfect for consoles.
His overall conclusion: “All in all, New World was much better than I was led to believe. I liked it more than Lost Ark, which I also really liked because it was something different.”
What has Bartle achieved? In his 350 hours of gameplay, he has raised his gear score to 619 out of a possible 625 points. He has brought his gathering skills to 200 (except for logging at 190), and the majority of crafting skills to 150+. In PvP, he experimented with a few things, but he was primarily active in PvE. There, he completed the main storyline and tried his hand at dungeons as a healer.
Start video
5 Tips if you want to start with New World in 2023
New World feels like a step back for PC players
What exactly does Bartle criticize? His biggest criticism relates to the interface and the overall structure of New World. Here, he posits that New World would be better suited for consoles than for PC:
Normally, interfaces don’t bother me too much, as I am more interested in the world and the gameplay. But when an interface has negative effects, it does bother me. New World is one of those games that was developed for consoles and feels like a step back for PC players (of which I am one). That alone is not a big problem, but one of the consequences is that you can use only a very limited number of available actions.
Basically, there are only three actions per weapon, and you can only equip two weapons at a time; if you want to use an action for the other weapon, you first have to switch to that weapon – there is no automatic switching because, due to console interface reasons, there are only three and not six slots.
The result is a rather exciting action combat that is interrupted by unnecessary flailing around.
Additionally, he emphasized multiple times that there were far too few players online on his server. This led to deserted events and problems with finding groups for dungeons and PvP.
The quests and the lore receive a mixed conclusion. Many quests were labeled “terrible” by the developer, while the lore and worldbuilding are overall very coherent.
What does the developer praise? The many freedoms. He found it great that players have earned their own chest runs and still do them regularly 1.5 years after release. In this, they run in a large group of players through elite areas to open chests and obtain loot and equipment.
He also highlighted that although he had to accept limitations due to fall damage, he never died. He had a negative experience with that in The Secret World.
He also praised the combat system as very action-packed.
What do you think about the conclusion of the developer legend? Is New World really better than its reputation? And what holds you back from returning to the MMORPG? Recently, the game received the first major update of the year:
MMORPGs are known for creating special gaming moments. One such moment is remembered by MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch. As a student, he trained a group of players in PvP and learned a lot about leadership and respect.
Competitive games have always fascinated me, whether it was FIFA 99 in a one-on-one against my father or later titles like League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. But my best times were in the MMORPG Guild Wars 1, where I had the privilege of training a group of PvP players for over two years.
This group was very diverse, with players around my age, but also several individuals over 30, a father in his mid-40s, and an older gentleman over 50. And let’s be honest, for a 15-year-old, anyone over 30 seems ancient!
They all listened to my commands, which my mother still cannot comprehend to this day. She always shook her head when I told her that even a dad would take time for our training and that she should please prepare dinner earlier!
The team managed to transform from an uncoordinated bunch into a regular winner of the Hall of Heroes through regular training. And that, even though I myself was not the best PvP player and lacked many “skills” as a leader in the beginning.
Who is speaking here? Alex is the MMORPG expert at MeinMMO and has spent over 10,000 hours playing Guild Wars 1. However, he has also logged four-digit hours in other games like Guild Wars 2 and New World.
Toxic leader was so exhausting that I wanted to build my own team
My entry into PvP began just 7 months before I founded my own team. At that time, I became part of a so-called R-Spike, which met twice a week. The focus of the team composition was on three rangers and one paragon who together attacked a target. The goal was to “spike” this opponent so quickly that the healers had no chance to save him. This was gradually done with the entire opposing group.
There was also the caller, who would count down: “Target log in, 3, 2, 1, attack.” I would say this combo thousands more times in the coming years.
The team I joined as the third ranger, however, quickly became frustrated and the caller was very toxic. There was way too much yelling, and games were given up far too quickly. That really bothered me.
Especially with our healers, I saw great potential and decided to build my own team with two of them – without really having an idea of how to train such a team and keep it motivated. Most of the members who joined were from my former guild.
You can get an idea of what an R-Spike roughly looks like in this 15-year-old video from YouTuber Jgregoire108:
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
The start was rocky, as the group could hardly have been more different. We three had some prior experience, our new ritualist was actually a very successful PvP player, but we also had three complete PvP newcomers and a player who had only played Guild Wars 1 for a few weeks.
Still, we decided to train twice a week and, if necessary, venture out on the weekends with random groups to learn from it.
Our first rounds in the “Rise of Heroes” mode were a disaster, also because the gameplay is extremely demanding and completely unsuitable for us:
The first match is always played on the map Underworld. One team plays against another. The goal: Eliminate all enemy players.
As a winner, you advance to the next map; as a loser, you have to re-register and start again in the Underworld.
The second map still follows the same gameplay principle, but from then on it gets wilder. There are maps with priests who resurrect, maps with control points, or with relic runs. These are sometimes entirely different modes that present totally new requirements and tactics to a group.
The maps with relic run or King of the Hill were reached much less frequently, so we could train much less there, which is why we lost there much more often. A vicious cycle.
Frustration set in after a few months of intensive training. Would we ever get to see the big finale in the Rise of Heroes?
I felt the mood shift, but definitely wanted to prevent the team from becoming as toxic as my old one. So, I resorted to “team-building measures”.
So, on one training evening, we didn’t even play in the Rise of Heroes but instead dueled in two four-player teams in the team arena. Another time, we played in the guild-vs-guild mode, which also completely disrupted our training routine, although at least here the entire group of 8 players faced another group of 8 players.
One day, we all swapped our roles and played a completely unfamiliar class. It didn’t lead to great success, but it had a huge learning effect.
On another training day, after two unsuccessful rounds, we simply played hide-and-seek in the guild hall with the interface turned off. It was probably one of the best evenings we ever had.
Start video
Here is gameplay of the 5 best MMOs coming out in 2023
The reward after over 9 months
With the weeks, the motivation returned and after almost 9 months of training, we achieved our first victory in the Hall of Heroes. One would reach it at that time after about 6 to 9 consecutive wins in the Rise of Heroes, depending on how busy an evening was.
The Hall of Heroes also has the peculiarity that three teams play against each other. I personally had little experience with this last map but had read a few guides and spoken with other callers. The most important rule was: Stay back so that two teams do not team up against you right at the beginning.
The round became legendary. In the relic run, the team that brought the most relics to the center after time runs out wins. We were behind by two points for a long time, so we allied with the team in second place against the leaders.
Three seconds before the end, both opposing teams had brought the same number of relics to the middle. We were one behind. However, the team that secures the point last wins in case of a tie – potentially us. In the last seconds, the two other teams played against us, but our runner narrowly triumphed and secured the victory for us.
The Hall of Heroes, the target of our PvP dreams.
I will never forget that moment, the cheers in Teamspeak, the joy as a group, and our name in the all-chat. Because in Guild Wars 1, the winning team is named in the Hall of Heroes.
We earned the victory – and also the dozens of hall wins we gained afterward – mainly through diligence, friendship, and respect for one another. Everyone stood up for each other, no one was particularly loud or rude.
That had a strong impact on me as a 15-year-old. Even today, I remain calm in PvP in Guild Wars 2 or New World or in matches in TFT.
MontanaBlack tested the new “Call of Duty” competitor XDefiant and subsequently shared his first impressions of the shooter.
Which game is it about?
XDefiant is a free-to-play arena shooter from Ubisoft, set to be released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. An official release date has not yet been announced.
In XDefiant, you play different factions from Ubisoft games, each bringing different abilities.
Combat takes place in various PvP modes such as Domination and Payload.
There is no skill-based matchmaking in casual playlists.
You can watch a trailer for it here:
Start video
XDefiant Game Overview Deep Dive Trailer
“Doesn’t excite me at all, way too sweaty”
What does he say about XDefiant? In his first rounds of XDefiant, MontanaBlack primarily fought with his controller, the sensitivity settings, and the time-to-kill (ttk) of the new shooter. He personally feels that it’s a bit too high and that he has to hit his opponent with too many bullets before they are defeated.
The streamer had praise for one of the maps he played. He found it excellent and even described it as a “feast for the eyes.”
Less complimentary words were found by the streamer for matchmaking or his opponents: “Even though there is no skill-based matchmaking, the lobbies are excessively sweaty.”
Even though he believes this is due to the closed beta and that the game should be judged fairly again when the open beta runs, he reiterates how little fun he had in the matches and compares XDefiant to Call of Duty in that regard:
“It’s way too sweaty for me, dude, no desire at all. Doesn’t excite me at all, way too sweaty. […] It feels like a new CoD, with skill-based matchmaking and a ton of people sweating for their mother’s life.”
You can see a compilation of MontanaBlack’s XDefiant test and his first thoughts on the game on YouTube:
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
Who is it about? Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris is one of the 5 largest streamers in Germany as of April 2023 and streams on Twitch with an average of 25,000 viewers.
In his early years on Twitch, MontanaBlack also regularly showcased the football simulation FIFA and various installments of the “Call of Duty” series. Accordingly, the streamer also took a look at the new CoD competitor XDefiant, which is being developed by Ubisoft.
Escape from Tarkov challenges its players with hardcore gameplay. One of these challenges has now been significantly eased by the developers, making the game easier.
What defines a hardcore shooter? As a hardcore shooter, Escape from Tarkov (EFT) focuses on a challenging and, to some extent, as realistic as possible gaming experience.
A single headshot can kill your character, and even a wound in the upper body has a greater effect than just losing some health points.
Your protection consists of bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets that your opponents counter with appropriate ammunition.
Hardcore shooters do without aids like a crosshair, a minimap, hit markers, or kill confirmations.
What has EFT changed? On April 16, EFT developer Battlestate Games announced on Twitter that the vertical recoil of all weapons in Escape from Tarkov will be reduced by 15%.
A reduction of 15% in recoil is a noticeable difference, making every fully automatic weapon in the game easier to control than before. This is especially noticeable with weapons like the M4.
The recoil has been a topic in the Escape from Tarkov community for quite some time. Already three months ago, there was a thread on Reddit with over 900 upvotes where players wished for a reduction in recoil (via Reddit).
Start video
Escape from Tarkov Gameplay – Battle for Concordia
What do players say about the change? The initial reactions to the reduction in recoil are very mixed. Some players are very pleased with the change and hope that it will allow them to play with other weapons besides just the strongest meta rifles.
Other players, on the other hand, believe that Battlestate Games missed the mark with the patch. The initial recoil of the weapons, meaning the first 1-3 bullets, as well as the weapon behavior during single-fire should also be adjusted.
DweebInFlames: ‘Good change. Hopefully, this means weapons like the FAL can finally be used outside of full meta builds (via Reddit).’
jssanderson747: ‘Definitely a necessary change (via Reddit).’
Lonely_Scylla: ‘Cool change, but I believe Battlestate Games is still missing the point here. If they want the game to feel better, they should try to make single shots more attractive. At the moment, it’s not worth it with so many weapons because it simply takes too long to reacquire the target (via Reddit).’
XF270HU: ‘A good thing that will make some weapons like the SA-58 usable again (via Reddit).’
If you are currently unhappy with Escape from Tarkov or its weapon recoil and want to play a game that is similar, we have a list of six alternatives for you.
Among the six games, you will find both hardcore and extraction shooters, depending on which aspect of EFT you particularly enjoy.
Sunkenland is an upcoming survival game on Steam. The gameplay trailer already shows a first glimpse of the new game, which resembles a mix of the two popular games “Raft” and “Rust”.
Sunkenland is a survival and exploration game set in a post-apocalyptic world. It is located in a near future where a large part of the Earth is covered by water.
As players, you will explore sunken cities, gather resources, and build a base. At the same time, you must also fight for your survival and defend yourself against hostile pirates and mutants.
The game is a single-player title but will also feature online co-op.
Here you can see a trailer for Sunkenland:
Start video
Sunkenland Gameplay Trailer – Upcoming Survival Game 2023
Survive in a water world full of dangers
What does the gameplay look like? In Sunkenland, you explore the post-apocalyptic environment, complete missions, and trade with allies.
You explore islands on foot, race across the water on jet skis, or dive down. In the depths, you will find the sunken remains of cities, such as skyscrapers or subway tunnels.
Using the resources you gather on your tours, you craft equipment and build your own base on water or land. However, you must protect it with defenses against nasty pirates and mutants.
You have access to melee weapons, firearms, and explosives to defend yourself in the style of a first-person shooter.
You will experience all of this not only solo but also with your friends in co-op mode.
When is the release of Sunkenland?On Steam, no fixed release date has been provided for the new game yet, but it is said to be “available soon”.
An early access launch is initially planned to interact with the community and incorporate player feedback and ideas into the game’s development. The early access is expected to begin this summer (via YouTube).
How does the community react to the trailer? Many reddit- and YouTube users are expressing very positive opinions under the gameplay trailer of Sunkenland, saying the game looks promising. Some players compare it to other game titles:
reddit user Sid51: ‘Looks great! It’s already on my wishlist!’
YouTube user SubtleMischief: ‘So Rust meets Raft. Basically a Rusty Raft.’
YouTube user Classic Red Eye: ‘I can see the inspiration from other games here and I’m looking forward to it. Rust and Atlas are among my favorite games and the combination of the two is great. I really like the modern pirate ship vs. ship warfare and the bases on the water.’
