The upcoming MMORPG Blue Protocol from developer Bandai Namco recently invited some players for a test. Twitch streamer Asmongold also wanted to participate, but the developers banned him immediately.
What kind of tests are these? From March 31 to April 2, Blue Protocol conducted a network test. Participating were allowed to try out the MMORPG and play content up to level 20. This was something the well-known Twitch streamer Asmongold also wanted to do.
During a stream on his secondary account “Zackrawrr”, Asmongold, the most famous MMORPG streamer on Twitch, mentioned that he had tried to participate in the tests.
However, Bandai Namco had stated from the beginning that no one outside Japan would be allowed to participate.
Asmongold still made an attempt
During his stream, viewers informed him that Blue Protocol allegedly immediately bans testers from other countries. Asmongold can confirm this: “That’s something that happened to me too.”
Although the streamer lives in Texas, he made an attempt to try out the MMORPG. “The account I used was banned,” he told his viewers.
For Asmongold, this is not a big deal. He knew that the developers would ban everyone outside of Japan. He is among them. He is not angry about it, Asmongold says (via Youtube).
Bandai Namco would surely have gained a lot of attention through an exception for the largest MMORPG streamer on Twitch. Asmongold has 3.4 million followers on Twitch.
Here you can see the gameplay trailer of Blue Protocol:
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Blue Protocol: Gameplay Trailer
Testers from Japan praise the MMORPG
Those living in Japan were allowed to try out Blue Protocol without being banned. The MMORPG mostly received praise from the Japanese testers. Compared to the last test, which took place in 2020, Blue Protocol is said to have developed significantly.
The combat system was particularly praised. Jumping and a dodge roll make it feel dynamic. Furthermore, the character’s abilities change by pressing additional keys. Thus, your character has more skills than testers initially assumed, as auto-attacks can be varied by pressing W-A-S-D.
Players viewed the strong grind of leveling the adventure rank and the side quests, which are said to feel very generic, as negative.
What do you think about Bandai Namco not wanting to make an exception for the largest MMORPG streamer? Do you think that’s right, or should they have let him participate in the tests?
To find out the current status of a global beta, you can find out here:
Destiny 2 has a new bug that equally amuses and confuses the community: bosses that suddenly kill themselves. The reason for this is an unusually toxic bug occurring in conjunction with the exotic weapon Osteo Striga.
What bug has been discovered? Normally, bosses in Destiny 2 present a challenge to players and require good strategy and coordination to be defeated. However, recently there has been a new trend in all activities: bosses now die on their own.
The culprit is a now-known toxic bug from Season 20, which occurs in combination with the exotic submachine gun Osteo Striga, the Strang subclass, and the perk “Vorpal Weapon”. It causes the toxic damage-over-time effect to persist nearly indefinitely.
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Destiny 2 shows new insights into Strand in its trailer – The focus in Lightfall
Destiny 2 has never been this toxic
How does the bug occur? In his latest video, YouTuber and Destiny 2 player CheeseForever goes into detail about the effect and shows its deadly impact on various enemies in Destiny 2.
Equipped with the Osteo Striga, he triggers the perk “Toxic Overload” through precision skills, which releases a burst that also poisons nearby targets
He then uses his Warlock melee “Arcane Needle”
Now he just needs to switch to a weapon with the Vorpal perk and occasionally deal damage to maintain the poison ticks
The bug now ensures that the effects continue indefinitely, and the poison tick from the exotic Witch Queen weapon does almost 50% more damage than normal.
This allows players to easily kill the various Destiny bosses, including raid bosses, as seen in the video:
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Poison, chill, kill – The new bug is quite mean to all foes
The bug seems to have existed for a while: After the bug became known, some players noted that they had already wondered why some activities in combination with the Osteo Striga were so easy to play since Lightfall. They didn’t want to believe it was a bug in the game and wished it had never come to light.
Basically, you only need to trigger the issue once and you can then cozy up in a corner while the bug does the rest. Specifically, the Warlock’s melee spawns infinite needle projectiles, which in turn infect nearby enemies.
However, the Warlock exotic “Necrotic Grip” works correctly and cannot be combined with the bug to cause even higher damage.
Usable for all classes: However, the bug is not limited to the Warlock. The other classes can also take advantage of it if they use the Grasp melee attack combo of Strang. This should make it clear that it is an extreme gameplay error if players in Destiny 2 are easily completing all activities solo.
Has Bungie commented on this yet? So far, there has been no response from Bungie. It remains to be seen if and how Bungie will respond to this bug. However, there is no doubt that it will happen, and this error will be fixed in the near future. We will update the article with more information as soon as it becomes available.
How about you? Have you noticed and secretly taken advantage of the bug? Or did you not notice it at all? Feel free to leave us a comment, as we are curious about your unique perspective on this toxic error.
Those interested in the current player numbers in Destiny 2 should definitely check out our latest article:
With Creative 2.0 in Fortnite, the creativity of players knows no bounds anymore. Or does it? A fan created many CoD maps for multiplayer and zombie modes, but they have now been taken offline for good reason.
What is Creative 2.0? Epic Games released a new feature for Fortnite on March 23, 2023, which many players had been waiting for. The Unreal Editor for Fortnite, or UEFN, is a system that players can use to create better and more diverse maps in Creative mode.
This allows maps to be created that resemble parts of GTA 5 or even areas from CoD. As cool as that sounds, it’s not that easy because Epic Games has set limitations for the players, showing them what they are allowed to create and what not.
Many creators, however, disregard Epic Games’ warnings and must now deal with the consequences. Just like the creator Mist Jawa, who had to delete all his CoD maps.
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Unreal Editor for Fortnite Release Trailer
Player Copies Most Famous Map from CoD – Now Faces Trouble
What has the player created? Mist Jawa is a content creator who created the famous CoD map “Rust” in Fortnite since the release of Creative 2.0. Additionally, there were also some zombie maps for survivalists. These could then be visited and played for free as soon as you had the map code.
The problem, however, is that Epic Games views such maps as violations of copyright regulations (via youtube.com). Now, Jawa had to delete all his CoD maps, along with all videos on his social accounts (via twitter.com).
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Why did he have to delete the maps? Creative 2.0 offers crazy possibilities to implement things from other games into Fortnite. As cool as that may sound, it unfortunately violates copyright regulations that Epic Games has established.
Basically, these are blatant copies of content that belong to Activision. When creators copy CoD maps 1:1 and even name them the same, they will be removed by Epic Games. Additionally, there are penalties such as a permanent ban from Fortnite, even for maps that have not been commercialized yet.
It’s a delicate topic, and even though the idea is cool to walk around with Fortnite skins in GTA 5, you should not risk a ban.
What do you think about Creative 2.0? Do you think it’s a big flop or a cool feature? Let us know in the comments!
Call of Duty has been working on its anti-cheat system RICOCHET for years and has now celebrated a major milestone. Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 now detect unauthorized third-party hardware. MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider believes this is good for all online shooters.
With CoD MW 2019 and Call of Duty: Warzone 2020, the rise of cheaters in the largest shooter franchise began. Cheaters had long been a problem in CoD. Even on consoles, lobbies were filled with hacked accounts that boasted about their undeserved max level.
But with the free-to-play Warzone, the cheaters stepped up their game. This is because the anti-cheat systems of Call of Duty were not prepared for how professionally the provider landscape had become by now.
Warzone was unplayable in some parts of the world for a time. In many lobbies – especially at higher gameplay levels – at least one cheater was around. It was a tough situation for all fair players.
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CoD MW2 & Warzone 2: Mid-Season 2 – Trailer
At the end of 2021, RICOCHET came and the tide slowly turned
At that time, 72% of cheaters were banned before they could play
Active cheaters were detected on average after 5 matches
The problem with these numbers: they were almost exclusively software cheaters. People with wall hacks, aimbots, or items that are not actually in the game.
However, hardware cheaters had become the big problem.
Such cheaters use specialized devices to gain an advantage. For example, one can manipulate the output of a controller so that the device compensates for all the recoil.
I have always considered this type of cheating to be a much bigger plague than software cheaters. This also led to distrust among players and creators.
Who is really good? Who uses such devices? Who can you still trust?
It cannot yet be said that all of this is over at once. But the announcement that RICOCHET will detect hardware cheaters feels like a liberation. For a long time, there were doubts about whether such a thing is even possible.
Now the world’s largest shooter franchise has set a new standard in combating cheaters. Others will have to follow suit. Already, players of Apex Legends are demanding on Reddit that they also definitely need this (via reddit.com).
How is this going now? Not everything is sunshine yet. They have now “laid the groundwork for detection” and are continuing to carry out updates to fight against hardware cheaters.
If you would like to inform yourself more deeply, then take a look at the English blog of the CoD security team (via callofduty.com).
If such devices are detected, affected players will first receive a warning in the main menu. If they continue to play, it can lead to an account ban that is valid across all CoD titles.
It remains to be seen how effective the measures actually are. But no one can spoil my good mood today.
Monster Energy wants to prohibit a developer with a small horror game on Steam from using the word “Monster” in their games. However, they seem to have taken on the wrong person. Because that person is not willing to accept this.
What kind of drink is it? Monster Energy is a brand of energy drinks that targets gamers. After all, they are known to need a lot of energy to game through the night. However, the brand, which now belongs to Coca-Cola, also has a reputation for being quite litigious.
So they apparently have it in their heads that they hold the exclusive rights to the word “Monster.” Ubisoft seems to have already felt this with their action RPG “Gods and Monsters.” However, Ubisoft officially states that they renamed the game to “Immortals: Fenyx Rising” of their own accord (via eurogamer).
Now, however, it seems that Monster Energy has taken on the wrong person, as an indie developer does not intend to simply give in.
The people behind Monster Hunter seem to have been spared so far.
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Monster Hunter World Trailer
“They must own the colors green and white”
Who has Monster Energy targeted? Coca-Cola and Monster Energy have set their sights on the indie studio Glowstick Entertainment. Because their horror multiplayer Dark Deception: Mortals and Monsters uses, you guessed it, the word “Monster.”
Moreover, they are apparently bothered by the design of the logo: it gives the impression that it is a product of the Monster Energy brand.
How does Monster Energy proceed? As reported by PC Gamer, Monster has already offered the developer a settlement. This would allow the studio to use the name, but only under a series of conditions:
The word “Monster” or variations like “monstrous” and “monstrosity” may never be used in a game title again.
Glowstick Entertainment may never again use a green-and-white logo on a black background.
The latter is commented on by the developer with a sarcastic: “They must own the colors green and white.”
Developer wants to show the “true face” of Monster Energy
How is the developer fighting back: Vincent Livings, founder and CEO of Glowstick Entertainment, reported on Twitter about the legal threats from the energy drink. He refers to Monster Energy as a “trademark troll.” This usually refers to individuals who register a trademark solely to threaten and sue others for use.
It is well known that Monster Energy is a notorious trademark troll. Unfortunately, they are at it again. For a company that likes to market its drinks to gamers, they also like to bully game studios with lengthy and expensive litigation, driving them into bankruptcy.
Livings also mentions that Monster Energy’s lawyers are currently after the studio because Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals is “confusingly similar” to the energy drink.
But Livings does not intend to give in. Instead, he plans to fight Monster Energy in court. Additionally, he wants to publish everything he has received from the brand, so that other game developers can gain insight into their methods.
The proposed settlement has already been made public by Livings, who said:
Dishonest companies like Monster Energy rely on being able to carry out their harassment in secret while presenting a clean image to their base (athletes and gamers). Publicly revealing their true face is the only way to stop them.
How does Livings plan to cover the costs? The developer has come up with a particularly nice plan: In a livestream, he wants to play games that all have the word “Monster” in the title to raise money for the legal dispute.
We have requested a statement from Monster Energy regarding the case and will add it here as soon as we receive it.
Whether it will ever come to that and the matter will be taken to court is still uncertain. By the way, Dark Deception: Mortals and Monsters is available for €3.99 on Steam.
The indie favorite Dark & Darker is also currently in a legal dispute with a larger corporation, but in this case, the matter is unlikely to be resolved with an apology on social media. A fundraising campaign should help cover the costs:
In New World on April 4, the latest patch was released. This brought new story content, a new dungeon, and the first season pass. However, there is also a new critical bug that simply deleted the entire equipment of some players.
What happened there? Shortly after the release of the new update, a thread was published in the forum where players shared screenshots of their characters (via New World). In these pictures, the characters are naked, lacking armor, weapons, bags, potions, and buff food. Only the gathering tools and the general inventory remained intact.
The exact cause of the bug is still unclear. However, since the equipment slots affected are related to the new storage system of the update, the bug was likely triggered by this. It mainly affects players who had logged out while they were dead.
Interestingly, the update was already postponed from March 28 to April 4 due to a critical bug.
Is there already a solution – Update 11:50 AM? Sort of. The developers announced at 10:30 AM that there will be maintenance today at 2:00 PM which will partially fix the bug (via New World Forum). This means that players who died before the update and have not yet logged in will no longer lose their equipment from then on.
However, players who lost their items will still have to wait. A second patch is supposed to come eventually to restore the items. As compensation, the affected players will receive 50,000 luck tokens, which is about 42 euros in real money. This is enough for about two complete season passes.
Here you can find information about the new patch:
Start video
New World – Video for Season 1
New World is notorious for bizarre bugs
Is this the first major bug that New World has experienced? No, quite the contrary. It has become a meme on the internet that new updates always come with a larger bug. Here is an overview of the biggest problems:
How is the future looking for New World? Amazon is currently planning to release a major update every quarter. Additionally, the first expansion is planned for the fall, which fans are eagerly looking forward to. You can find all the details here:
Supposedly, Sony is developing a handheld for the PlayStation. At least, this is what a well-known insider claims.
Under the codename Q Lite, a gaming handheld is said to be in development at Sony. This is at least reported by Tom Henderson, owner of Insider Gaming, who is known for often reliable insider information. The model is expected to feature the known attributes of the PS5, such as adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.
Insider Gaming assumes that it is meant to be a proper handheld device, similar to what we know from Valve or Logitech. Beyond that, little is known: it is unclear how the device will look, what the model will cost, or when it will be released.
Here too, the source only speculates that “the Q Lite is in the QA phase and is to be released before the PlayStation 5 Pro and after the Detachable Disc Drive PS5.”
Reserved reactions to a potential handheld for the PS5
The reactions are reserved and partly very negative. LCD display, no “real” gaming, but only “Remote Play” and a mandatory, constant online connection are considered outdated by many.
The criticism is particularly great because Sony had already offered gaming handhelds on the market with the PS Vita or the PSP that provided “real” gaming compared to just “Remote Play.”
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Some also explain: Why should I buy such an (presumably) overpriced device when I could use my phone for “Remote Play,” where I have a better display and better battery life?
A similar streaming device was also introduced by Logitech a few months ago. Here too, gaming works either remotely or via the cloud. The device is not yet available in Germany. And the company Razer has now also introduced a gaming handheld:
Rapper and Twitch streamer Snoop Dogg (50) was on the board of directors of the e-sports company FaZe Clan for a year. However, he has now stepped down.
The e-sports organization FaZe Clan is more successful on social media than any other team in this field. However, the clan has established a controversial reputation in the past with dubious stories. Nevertheless, last year they had big plans to go public and break into new dimensions. For this, they brought in a well-known figure:
In March 2022, rapper and Twitch streamer Snoop Dogg became part of FaZe Clan. He was listed as a content creator and board member.
Here you can read everything about Snoop Dogg’s entry and FaZe’s plans:
After about a year, Snoop Dogg leaves FaZe Clan again
FaZe Clan recently released financial overviews and provided insights into the current status of the e-sports organization.
In a SEC filing, Snoop Dogg’s exit is announced: “On March 29, 2023, Calvin ‘Snoop Dogg’ Broadus, Jr. informed FaZe Holdings Inc. (the “Company”) that he is resigning from the board of directors (the “Board”) of the Company, effective immediately.”
It is also emphasized: “Mr. Broadus’ resignation was not the result of any disagreement with the Company or any of its subsidiaries.”
What are the reasons for Snoop Dogg’s resignation? No specific reasons are given for why Snoop Dogg is stepping away from FaZe Clan.
However, it is speculated whether the rapper’s resignation is related to the Company’s current financial situation. Because things are not going well for the e-sports company at the moment.
The IPO was a huge flop for the e-sports organization and the financial reports also show that 2022 was not a good year for FaZe Clan: The company incurred losses of approximately $53.2 million, and the value of their stock has fallen rapidly:
In World of Warcraft the “great” Murloc holiday takes place. We will tell you what you need to do during the March of the Tadpoles.
In World of Warcraft there are many holidays, and the smaller ones are often unknown because they are only active for a single day. One of these holidays is the “March of the Tadpoles”. Here you can fulfill great wishes for a baby Murloc and will then be daily rewarded with “rewards”.
What kind of event is this? The March of the Tadpoles takes place on April 5th – and only on this day. When the event is active, the little baby Murlocs create chaos and take over their parents’ village. This is not only quite chaotic but also very dangerous for the little ones. Therefore, it takes “great heroes” to help the Murloc tadpoles.
What do you have to do during the event? Travel to the Borean Tundra on the continent of Northrend to the coordinates 43 / 13. There you will find a village of neutral Murlocs and should immediately see the chaos – baby Murlocs are running around everywhere, causing mayhem.
Talk to King Mrgl-Mrgl, who will then assign you the task of watching over one of the tadpoles. You can choose from 30 different baby Murlocs, but your choice has no lasting effects. Just pick the Murloc with the cutest name or the prettiest appearance, as he or she will accompany you for the rest of the quest series.
The little baby Murlocs are causing chaos. You must protect them from themselves.
The quest line is quite short afterward. First, you need to collect 10 shells, which you can find underwater right in front of the village. Then a large orca needs to be defeated, which the Murlocs are rightly afraid of. The orca scales with your level; at level 70, it has just over a million HP but is not particularly strong.
What rewards are there? Those expecting a really big or permanent reward may be disappointed by the event. However, if you participate in the event, you will receive a daily quest from your chosen baby Murloc every day. In this, the little tadpole rewards you with “great treasures” they have found – out of gratitude for your help.
The treasures are technically just “gray junk” that you can sell to the vendor for a little money. But that would be pretty heartless, considering how hard the little Murloc worked to find a piece of driftwood that looks like you…
However, in April 2023, there are some travel points that will grant vendor currencies when you help a little Murloc. So it’s worth a visit if you still lack rewards from the trading post!
If you want to do something “good”, check out the baby Murlocs in the Borean Tundra. It’s a nice little event that makes World of Warcraft a bit more colorful and gurgling.
The Elder Scrolls Online has finally installed new server hardware for Europe and PC. This aims to solve one of the biggest problems of the MMORPG: weak performance. The first impressions are positive, but that doesn’t say much yet.
What is new? On April 4th, there was a long server maintenance in Europe. Players could not log in from 2:00 AM until around 8:00 PM. The reason was the migration of ESO to new server hardware.
This hardware is important to get the performance issues under control. These have been discussed for years:
First players are optimistic, but the big prime time is yet to come
What is the first impression of the new servers? In the ESO forum, there are first statements about the performance from last night, and they are mostly positive:
The user Zeraw86 writes: “I have to say it runs great in Cyrodiil on Graue Schar (PC/EU), once in a while there is a stutter, but it is nothing compared to before.”
Even xMauiWaui is satisfied: “At least I haven’t had such good performance since 2014 as last night. Even though it wasn’t perfect.”
However, some players complain that the freeing feels a bit strange, which has also been criticized for a year in America. Additionally, some players apparently experienced ping issues, which were resolved during the evening (via ESO Forum).
However, for proper feedback, it seems generally a bit too early, some players point out. The servers only came back online after 8 PM and were correspondingly less populated – also because some had already given up hope of being able to play that day. The maintenance was originally supposed to end at 4 PM but was then extended by 4 hours.
The real stress test will probably take place only on the weekend when many want to log in simultaneously in the evening and explore Cyrodiil together.
Are you looking forward to the new servers in Europe? And how much have the performance issues annoyed you? Feel free to write it in the comments.
Lastly, ESO received two new dungeons in March. One of them has a really interesting mechanic:
Joy-Con drift is one of the most annoying problems when you want to play on the Nintendo Switch. Now Nintendo has offered free repairs. This is due to a years-long complaint.
Most users of a Switch are likely familiar with the problem: you play with your controller and feel like you’re always somehow moving to the left, even though you actually just want to walk straight ahead. This is the dreaded Joy-Con drift, which renders the controller unusable in the long run.
Nintendo has now agreed to offer consumers in the European Union lifetime free repairs for Nintendo Switch controllers that experience the dreaded “Joy-Con drift”.
European organization collected thousands of complaints against Nintendo
What’s behind this change? The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) had been collecting complaints against Nintendo and the broken controllers for years. According to its own statement, “almost 25,000 complaints” have been received. All come from individuals complaining about broken controllers.
In its formal complaint, the BEUC describes the Joy-Con hardware as “prematurely obsolete”. It is “high time that companies stop bringing products to market that break too soon.”
Nintendo now stated that it would repair models for free if such problems arise (via arstechnica.com):
Nintendo is very proud of developing high-quality and durable products and is continuously working on their improvement. Therefore, Nintendo offers consumers who purchased the product in the [European Economic Area], in Great Britain, and in Switzerland that, until further notice, repairs for reaction syndrome associated with the joysticks will be carried out free of charge by official Nintendo repair centers.
How do I report a repair? If you have a broken controller or damaged hardware, you can directly contact Nintendo’s customer support:
Here you then select your product from the corresponding category. If it’s stick drift, then select the tab “Joy-Con Controller”.
In the next step, select “Other Issues” and choose “No, I would like to apply for a repair” here.
Another option is to take the problem of drifting sticks into your own hands and fix the fun. For a simple trick, you only need a screwdriver, a bit of finesse, and a piece of paper:
After the two beta weekends, we wanted to know from you whether you have pre-ordered Diablo 4, will buy it later, or are completely opting out. Here’s what you revealed to us.
This survey is about: In March, two weekends hosted a closed and open beta, where players could get their own impression of the action RPG. Now it’s time for the developers and the community to sprint towards the release on June 6.
On this occasion, we asked you whether you will even buy Diablo 4 or if you have already done so. 2,815 of you provided us with your answer in a survey.
Here are the results:
“Yes, I have already pre-ordered” – 37.09% (1,044 votes)
“I will buy it, but will not pre-order” – 13.96% (393 votes)
“No, I will not buy it” – 13.89% (391 votes)
“I will only buy it during a sale” – 13.82% (389 votes)
“I don’t know yet” – 10.8% (304 votes)
“Yes, I will pre-order it soon” – 10.44% (294 votes)
With 47.58%, almost half of you will pre-order Diablo 4 or have already done so. This part of the community can hardly wait to play the game.
Another 25.78% will buy the game but not pre-order it. They won’t be able to start earlier because Early Access is a pre-order bonus, but they also avoid the teething problems like bugs and server issues. 13.82% also do not want to pay full price for Diablo 4 and will acquire it only during a sale.
About 10.44% of the community are still unsure whether they will buy Diablo 4, while 13.89% have decided against it. This part of our readers has no interest in the game, even if it should be on sale.
Start video
Diablo 4: The German Trailer for the Open Beta
Buy, not buy or even farm it?
This is what you said in your comments: In the numerous comments under our surveys about Diablo 4, you shared your buying plans with us. While some pre-ordered long ago and were able to participate in the pre-order beta, others want to wait.
Yes, I have already pre-ordered the PC, XSX, and PS5 versions. This way, I was also able to extensively test cross-play and cross-save/progression during the last two weekends. It worked wonderfully. […]
In terms of control, I must say that I preferred mouse + keyboard much more than the controller control, which I found very imprecise. Especially area-specific dots and attacks can only be vaguely placed in one direction with a controller and not as accurately as on PC.
Mihari
One of the main reasons against pre-ordering mentioned was the price of the game at 70 € in connection with the cash shop and the season model. For some of you, that was just too much money to invest or even need to have fun in Diablo 4.
Moreover, there are still major concerns regarding the contents of the cash shop. Although Blizzard has repeatedly assured in the past that it will only include cosmetic items, fans remain skeptical.
I will only buy it during a sale with a significantly reduced price at most. 70 € is way too expensive for this game, in my opinion. Then there is also the item shop and the battle pass. […]
However, there is another way to pre-order Diablo 4. You don’t have to pay a cent for the game but need an account with WoW and the Dragonflight addon. By selling gold, you can save up credit in Battle.net.
Our reader “Voice from the Off” (and probably some other readers) has used exactly this “trick”.
I said in a previous article that I find the price completely outrageous (still do). Now, it is quite easy to make millions of gold at the beginning of Dragonflight, and thus I was able to get Diablo 4 by exchanging WoW tokens for Battle.net credit, which I did some time ago. I tested both beta weekends and am now looking forward to the release.
Voice from the Off
Did you expect the results or were you surprised? Only a few months remain until the release of Diablo 4. Have you pre-ordered the game yourself or will you follow the example of the skeptical users and wait?
A new transmog set for World of Warcraft divides the community. Some find it great, while others consider it “overpriced rubbish”.
Most players have become accustomed to Blizzard selling some in-game content in World of Warcraft for an additional price in the shop. However, there is always a small outcry when something unexpected is offered again in the in-game shop. This time it is also the case with the “Regalia of the Waveborn Diplomat”.
What kind of set is this? The set “Regalia of the Waveborn Diplomat” has quite vibrant colors and a unique feathered hat. It also includes rather elaborate shoulders and plenty of decorations in the form of scrolls and books.
The set of the Waveborn Diplomat – it is being controversially discussed.
Many are disappointed: Many seem to be disappointed by the release of this set. While there are the usual comments that a single set is never worth 20 €, this time there are also voices gaining volume saying that the set should have had a different place. Many could imagine that the transmog set was actually intended as a reward for the monthly completion of the trading post in April.
For the month of April, there is a set of swords – they also look good, but cannot be used by all classes since not all can wield swords. Therefore, many already found the decision questionable on April 1st to bring such swords as the final reward of the month.
Set fuels new theories: Some fans believe they already see a first “teaser” for the expansion after Dragonflight in the new set. Even if some of the speculations are apparently not taken seriously, there have been several times in the past where items from the shop are a first, small indicator of what the next expansion could bring.
That an addon has to do with seafaring is also quite possible. After all, there are increasing hints that the journey soon feels over the sea west of Kalimdor, into the forgotten realm of Avaloren. It will probably take a while until there are concrete details on that.
How do you like the new transmog – and the price for it?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMORPG Galaxies of Eden wanted to fully focus on social interactions. Even classes that do not have to fight were promised, and those who wanted could have just built a city. Now the developers are shifting their focus and want to improve the game with artificial intelligence.
What is Galaxies of Eden? It is difficult to answer what the game currently is. Until recently, specifically at the end of 2021, the vision was clear. They wanted to be the most social MMORPG on the market, the developers promised.
For this, they relied on two different game modes:
An action mode, in which the whole game was supposed to play similarly to its third-person shooter
A social mode, which was supposed to focus on trading, housing, and building entire cities
There was to be no loot in the form of equipment in Galaxies of Eden. Instead, players could only scavenge crafting materials with which they could then create new items or have them created. Players who wanted to focus entirely on crafting should be able to do that too.
The cities in the game were supposed to be built and operated almost entirely by players. There would be NPCs, but overall they were supposed to be quite few in comparison to the entire game world. Originally, Galaxies of Eden was supposed to start an alpha in the second quarter of 2022, but that did not happen.
Here you see a first gameplay insight:
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Galaxies of Eden – Pre-Alpha Trailer
The focus of the game is supposed to change – AI writes better than real humans anyway
What is changing now?On Twitter, the development team has announced that the focus of Galaxies of Eden is supposed to change. Instead of focusing entirely on social features, artificial intelligence is now to be at the center of the MMORPG.
In the future, it will be responsible for “endlessly continuing the adventure” and continuously expanding the virtual universe with new content. In Discord, one of the developers even gets more specific: The new main feature of Galaxies of Eden will be quests that are completely generated by AI.
Why is this happening? As a reason for this drastic change in direction, developer Alkan explains mainly money problems. He justifies the new path as follows:
“No, this is not an April Fool’s joke, and to keep it short, developing a social MMORPG is not possible for us. One of our biggest problems we struggled with was funding. Due to a lack of funding, we were unable to hire people to develop content. Artificial intelligence has solved this problem for us. Currently, [the AI] can write stories and quests much better than the average employee.” (via massivelyop)
Fans are not thrilled – They think the course change is just an April Fool’s joke
How are fans reacting? Everything but positively. Galaxies of Eden was already a relatively unknown title, but now it seems to even frighten its previously loyal fans. The original post on Twitter currently has only a single comment, a picture of the game’s AI with the caption: “Don’t believe its lies.”
Many fans in Discord still consider the whole AI story to be an April Fool’s joke. Several users even repeatedly ask if this is really 100% sure not a silly joke. When the developers deny this multiple times, some quickly turn away.
One simply writes: “This is a shame, I was looking forward to a social MMO. Goodbye” and then leaves the game’s server. Another fan can only agree: “I think you will lose your entire player base with this.”
Currently, we could not find any positive opinions regarding this change during our research. One user merely comments on the studio’s open communication as good.
What do you think about it? Would you play an AI game? Feel free to let us know in the comments here at MeinMMO.
A gamer has bought a new graphics card. In order for it to fit in his system, he resorted to drastic methods. But this also shows a general problem: graphics cards are getting larger.
A user has bought a new graphics card. But the part doesn’t fit in his case. Instead of buying a new case with more space, he simply saws a hole in the right outer wall (via reddit.com).
The final result looks truly terrible and is sure to scare friends of “clean” systems and good airflow. The reactions under the pictures are very different: Some simply shake their heads in disbelief, while others say they have had similar ideas when the new graphics card didn’t fit.
One has to imagine that gamers have such battered computers under their desks.
Even if we cannot say for sure whether the user actually modified his computer as shown in the picture, the post nonetheless highlights a problem that many gamers are likely familiar with by now.
Most users actually agree on one fact: modern graphics cards are getting larger and bulkier and require a lot of space. Anyone who has bought a new graphics card from AMD or Nvidia in recent months will surely have noticed the general growth of these pixel accelerators.
In addition to the large circuit board, many manufacturers also introduce bulky cooling systems to keep the powerful chips cool.
Under the post, several users also share pictures of their gaming systems. And here it becomes almost everywhere apparent: the space between the graphics card and the case is extremely limited. Often, there are only a few millimeters between the case and the GPU. Some also say their graphics card feels as large as the entire PC:
“My GPU almost touches my front-mounted cooler… They are maybe 3 mm apart.”
You can check out a particularly cool case in the following video:
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Manufacturer shows sleek case, gamers are thrilled: “Great design! Goes directly onto my wishlist”
Buying a case should be well thought out
If you are putting together a system, think about whether you will want to upgrade later on right from the start. Especially when you later decide on a significantly more powerful graphics card or want to install water cooling, you will need sufficient space.
And here often applies the saying: when you buy cheaply, you buy twice. Because in the most frustrating case, your hardware won’t fit, and you will have to buy a new or different case.
A good case with plenty of space and options will accompany you in everyday life under all the installed components for the longest time, and for many years. While the interior often changes, the “case” usually remains. One more reason to take your time when choosing this component:
There is a new development regarding Pokémon GO about the Remote Raid Pass. Many players view the announced changes critically and are calling on developer Niantic in an open letter to reconsider the adjustments.
Pokémon GO introduced so-called Remote Raids during the Corona pandemic, allowing players to participate in raids from their couch. There were several measures back then to respond to the pandemic situation.
The next escalation is an open letter that has been shared, among other places, on Reddit to gain more attention from the developers (via reddit.com).
This particularly concerns the limitation of 5 usable Remote Raid Passes in one day:
We disagree with your decision and the majority of us wants you to know that the “limitation of Remote Raids to 5 runs per day” will harm some players:
Rural trainers who lack adequate support from the local community
Trainers with disabilities who cannot physically go outside to play
Trainers who suffer from severe social anxiety and have mental difficulties going outside to participate in raids
Trainers who work night shifts and cannot participate during the day
Single parents who manage children, a household, and a career with minimal time
And most importantly, the Remote Raid changes will restrict our global interaction with our trainers with whom we have built close relationships over the past 3 years.
Players see the Remote Raid Passes as more than just a comfort feature. It has become an important feature that enabled new ways of playing. It is argued that if developer Niantic really wanted players to go outside more, there would be other tools – including bonuses for regular raids without a remote pass.
The thread on Reddit also counts many content creators who support the open letter. Alone on Reddit, 1,600 users gave the thread a thumbs up within 4 hours – with a rising trend.
Unlike previous actions, however, the open letter does not call for a boycott. They want to be heard and hope for a response and changes.
What do you think of the letter and the topic of Remote Raid changes? Leave a comment on the topic.
The MMORPG Everquest 2 has now been running for almost 20 years and is still being developed. In March, the developers from Daybreak planned to introduce a new loot box system. This was criticized by players as “Pay2Win.” After a few weeks of intense protests, the developers backtracked.
What were the loot boxes? About two weeks ago, new loot boxes were introduced in Everquest 2. The idea was:
Players get more opportunities to loot raid gear if they buy the loot boxes in the cash shop.
Because the loot boxes bypass the actually strict rules for lockouts, allowing players to re-roll on boss loot.
Start video
5 old MMORPGs that are still actively played
Loot boxes yield about one raid item per $20
This is how the boxes worked exactly: The site MMOBOMB explains that while no “Smart Loot” can be obtained from the boxes, which means useless items may come out, those who buy the boxes get unlimited chances for a drop and bypass the strictly enforced 18-hour timer.
According to a source from the site, players were able to obtain a raid item for about $20 in this manner.
Fans call it “Pay2Win” – Predict the downfall of Everquest II
What was the fans’ reaction? The players of Everquest 2 were quite angry. In a thread about the items, there were comments like (via forums):
“Please remove this absolute cash grab. Disable all boxes that are currently on the servers and apologize to the community before it is too late.”
“Nobody likes these boxes. Please remove them.”
“These boxes will destroy the finely tuned itemization. Please disable them.”
Again and again, the boxes were described as “Pay2Win,” as a way to get better in the game by spending money.
A player said that the system is extremely dangerous for the game. Many would simply stop playing if it remained that way in the MMORPG.
How does the developer respond? About 2 weeks after the introduction of the loot system, the complaints were so loud that the developers made a post in the forums. They heard the feedback and decided to remove the items from the game. They are no longer selling them.
Furthermore, they stated that they will not offer this type of items in the future because they violate the “shared values.” However, they will offer other loot boxes that are based on previous boxes.
To avoid such problems in the future, they want to open a new forum to discuss class balance. Daybreak now wants to communicate more and faster with the players of their MMORPG.
It is nice to see that players with united feedback can bring about positive changes.
On March 30 and 31, the “Apex Legends” edition of the MFAM Gauntlet hosted by Twitch streamer and co-owner of FaZe Clan, Nicholas “Nickmercs” Kolcheff, took place. Among the 60 participants, there were only 2 women, which displeased some.
What kind of tournament is this? The MFAM Gauntlet is part of a series of tournaments organized by Nickmercs. On March 30 and 31, 2023, the “Apex Legends” edition of the tournament took place, featuring 20 teams of pro players and streamers competing in the new TDM mode for a prize pool of $200,000.
A team consists of a captain determined by the organizers, plus two additional players. The captains can choose these players themselves. This caused some trouble, as when all teams were confirmed, only two women had made the cut: Laurice “GuhRL” Habibi and Clara “ClaraAtWork” Gomez.
GuhRL is a player and caster with the American organization TSM. ClaraAtWork primarily works as a Twitch streamer; 90% of her streaming time is spent on Apex Legends (via TwitchTracker).
What are the opinions? The discussion was sparked by the streamer and competitive player lightlyrs. She pointed out the absence of women in the tournament on Twitter. This led to a larger conversation where several players expressed their positions.
Patrick “hundredz” Kwon, coach of the Orga SPIRE, explained that there are indeed women with enough talent to become professionals. However, they do not play at the same level as male professionals: “You can’t constantly post clips of yourself at the diamond rank, only play in the Celes Cup, mainly stream for content, and then expect to be picked in front of Sweet.”
For context: While diamond is not to be underestimated in Apex Legends, there are ranks above it: Master and Apex Predator. The Celestial Cup is a smaller tournament in Apex Legends. “Sweet” could refer to the Apex player Christopher “sweetdreams” Sexton, who, however, was not present at the tournament.
hundredz added that he would like to see more opportunities for women, but the marketing of some female players could lead to them not being taken seriously.
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The Twitch streamer Diegosaurs holds a different view: women simply do not get the same opportunities to showcase their skills: “If you would just play with a girl and treat her like a guy, you would see that it’s not different” (via Twitter).
Organizers invite whom they know
What do the women themselves think? GuhRL, team captain of one of the winning teams, explained that organizers of such tournaments mostly invite those they know and respect. The captains then either choose the most suitable teammates or their friends.
Ultimately, however, it seems more important to her to draw more attention to Apex as such: She has seen growing admiration for the game from some of Nickmercs’s friends, and that is nice. We have included their tweets here:
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ClaraAtWork, who finished in 12th place with her team, wrote on April 1 on Twitter that no one is entitled to anything just like that and one must work hard. However, she did not mention whether her post was related to the discussion, although it seems likely.
The organizer Nickmercs did not engage in the discussion on Twitter.
In Apex Legends, men and women compete together in tournaments. Some events, such as the 2022 TSM Invitationals, require that each team includes a female player. In the tournament organized by TSM, five of the ten best players at the end of the 60-player event were women, including GuhRL.
In Valorant, it’s different; there are the VCT Game Changers for women and marginalized genders. However, sensitivity is also required when forming teams:
The community of the Survival hit ARK is currently only discussing two topics: the upgrade from ARK 1 to Unreal Engine 5 and the postponement of the sequel ARK 2 to the end of 2024. Especially the upgrade is currently causing a lot of discussions.
ARK: Survival Evolved can be told as a romantic gaming story. A small indie developer brings one of the biggest survival games ever to market, struggles through all the problems, and after almost 8 years still ranks among the top on Steam.
But there is also the other side. The one with the problems. ARK has bugs and glitches that haven’t been fixed for years. Moreover, developer Wildcard hasn’t always ensured that players felt well taken care of with its communication strategy.
A recent example shows the problems with communication. A senior employee announced the new upgrade to Unreal Engine 5 as “free.” Now Wildcard has presented the roadmap and shows: The upgrade actually costs at least €40, and the DLCs must also be repurchased.
The community is discussing the topic vigorously, and we have looked at some voices regarding this.
ARK 2: Watch the 4-minute announcement trailer for the survival sequel
How was the upgrade supposed to happen? Jeremy Stieglitz is one of the founders of Studio Wildcard. He commented on Twitter as early as January 2023 about the upgrade to the new engine:
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Stieglitz wrote on Twitter: “To clarify: The UE5 teaser from a few weeks ago refers to a complete and free upgrade/remaster of ARK: Survival Evolved to Unreal Engine 5, which is currently in the works.”
In the comments on the tweet, initial assessments can already be found about how poorly this statement has aged.
What are the reactions like? Surprisingly mixed. There are currently some threads on Reddit discussing the topic (via reddit.com / via reddit.com).
The discussions are quite factual, partly peppered with memes, but not really angry about the announcement. In the two threads with almost 300 comments together, the most diverse opinions are collected.
Some frustration is sometimes palpable, such as from user Taolan13: “This somehow killed my enthusiasm for ARK 2, to be honest.” Or also from user CorbinDallas78: “My wife and I each have 5,000 hours and we will not pay for this rip-off.”.
But there are also many players who find the price for the upgrade completely reasonable. For example, user Ace_Wynter, who, however, sets conditions: “If they fix it – and I mean, if they really fix it – then I will buy it again.”.
Despite the chaotic announcement circumstances, ARK has managed to not turn its entire player base against it. With the retraction of a free upgrade suddenly carrying a price tag of €40, that’s already quite an achievement.
We also find your opinion on the subject exciting, so write us your thoughts in the comments.
In Destiny 2 it says this week: “Play it again!” Because the Iron Banner is back after just one week. MeinMMO tells you what the fastest Saladin of all time has planned and what else you can do in the game this week.
This week: For those wondering what’s up with Lord Saladin this week, we can reassure you. His schedule has been changed by Bungie, and so he only had one week off.
Thus, only one week passed between the first Iron Banner week ending on March 28 and the second starting today on April 4.
You can therefore don your Iron Banner armor again tonight and instill fear in other Guardians with the submachine gun “The Immortal”. The mode being played is “Eruption.”
In addition to the Iron Banner, the PvP mode “Trials of Osiris” is also coming into play. And in the Nightfall, it’s all about top loot with the revamped Strike “Sea of Shadows” on hard difficulty. With the start of the toughest activity in Destiny 2, the Grandmaster Nightfalls on April 11, Guardians can already test their new builds in the Grandmaster Nightfall.
New reset time valid immediately: Due to the time change in Germany, the reset times for Destiny 2 have also changed. The weekly reset now takes place no longer at 6:00 PM, but one hour later at 7:00 PM.
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Destiny 2: Lightfall – Gather all Guardians trailer
[toc]
The most important information about activities from April 4 to April 11
Vex: Nightfall – The Crucible
“Sea of Shadows” in the European Dead Zone
Your task is to free the water supply from the threat to ensure clean water for the population. Additionally, Bungie has spiced this activity up for Lightfall 2023, so you’ll need to adjust your gameplay somewhat.
Earn this week’s Nightfall weapon: “The Swarm” – Machine Gun
What changes in Lightfall for the Nightfalls: The challenges of the Vanguard will be adjusted to account for these changes in Lightfall. Additionally, Bungie will integrate a scoring system into the Vanguard Ops playlist. The higher your score is, the greater the multiplier for your Vanguard rank.
Complete Vanguard activities with the focus on waves.
These can either be seasonal waves for Nightfalls or weekly waves for Vanguard Ops.
Complete Nightfall activities.
Higher difficulties correspond to more progress.
A single Grandmaster Nightfall also completes this challenge. However, it will only be available in the game again from April 11, 2023.
Endgame: Raid Challenges and Dungeon Rotation
A free dungeon that everyone can play: “Prophecy”
The weekly legacy raid is the “King’s Fall”
Additionally, there is also extra top loot in the dungeon “Prophecy”
Tip: Both the rotation raid and the rotation dungeon are farmable. You can keep completing the individual encounters to obtain different items and complete your collection, including possible exotics available in these contents.
Bungie will further expand this content activity rotation starting with Season 22. Then players will not only be able to play raids and dungeons as “legacy,” but also old exotic missions.
Crucible – This is the rotating PvP activity:
Lord Shaxx wants to see you cook a super soup this week in the “Trials.”
Where is there a bonus this week?
In week 6, Destiny 2 grants you a bonus for your Gambit ranks. This means you will receive engrams faster this weekend from the Drifter in the farm.
Weekly Activities
Here are the most important activities this week. Guardians will no longer fight against Savathun, but rather the Witness as the main antagonist in Destiny 2 in year 6. Many questions remain to be answered, especially those regarding the ominous veil.
Lightfall – Weekly Campaign Mission
“Headfirst”
Osiris literally throws you headfirst into a huge Vex mixer as his “Strand student” and wants you to prove yourself. So run in circles, swing your strand skillfully from ledge to ledge, and kill the hordes of Vex units before they overwhelm you.
Ascendant Challenge – Dreaming City
If you still need triumphs from the Dreaming City, pay attention. The second tier of corruption reveals to you new access points with a sip of “Queen’s Leaf Tincture.”
Petra Venj can now be found in the Dreaming City right at the spawn point – as always during the second curse week. At the same time, the 6th Ascendant Challenge is active.
All Sources of Top Loot in Season 20 of Destiny 2
So you know where you can effectively grab your top 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 increases drastically. The maximum power level of your gear is at 1,810. Thus, the power level at the start of the new Season 20 has increased 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 top loot, you can bring yourself to the hard cap of 1810.
We provide you with a list of the currently known activities that give you top loot and thus power level so you can level up quickly, even if something might change in this system soon:
Complete bounty quests at the strategy table on “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 operation strikes with appropriate wave (+1)
Hawthorne’s clan task: Grant 5 appreciation cards to other guardians (+1)
Iron Banner
Shiny Dust Highlights in the Eververse
This week, there’s a new ornament for your stylish guardian legs for each guardian class. So if you have 1200 shiny dust left, you can purchase these timeless items from Tess.
This week you can also get the following for shiny dustfrom Tess:
Exotic multiplayer emote “Slot Machine”
Exotic ghost shell “Exo-tech shell”
Exotic ghost shell “Kit shell”
Exotic ship “Exohelian”
Exotic weapon ornament for the hand cannon “Unauthorized” named “Shiro’s Vigil”
Legendary weapon ornament for the hand cannon “Truth” named “Blind Faith”
Legendary ghost projection “Trick Projection”
Rare emote “I can’t anymore”
Shader “Lagune Cruiser”
Shader “Polished Sea Stone”
Additionally, Ada-1 is also offering old shaders this week that you may not yet have in your collection.
Do you think it’s good that the Iron Banner is back this week? Or is that too quick for you and did you actually have something else planned? Feel free to leave us a comment on what you think.
Going by the player numbers alone, you should have more opponents in the Iron Banner this week:
