It is indeed true! Valve has officially announced that Counter-Strike 2 (Steam) actually exists and is coming out this year. Testing starts as early as today.
What is Counter-Strike 2? Counter-Strike 2 will be an update to CS:GO, which is set to release in summer 2023. On the official website, it states:
Counter-Strike 2 is the largest technical innovation in the history of Counter-Strike and lays the groundwork for numerous new features and updates in the coming years. […]
Counter-Strike 2 will be released this summer as a free upgrade to CS:GO.
For weeks, leaks and rumors about Counter-Strike 2 have existed. For a long time, it was unclear what it was. Will it be its own game? Will it be an engine update? What does it improve? For many fans of the tactical shooter, it was the big topic, with many questions that are now finally answered.
What improvements does Counter-Strike 2 bring? Counter-Strike will improve several aspects of the game. On the website, Valve lists, among other things, the following content:
High-resolution effects: The game graphics, visual effects, and interface have been revamped
The sound effects have been overhauled and retuned
As an example of how the overhauls look, Valve has also released some videos, such as the new smoke grenades:
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Counter-Strike 2: Responsive Smokes
Testing begins today
What kind of tests are these? As of today, March 22, 2023, the first limited test phase is to begin, with which Valve aims to test various features before the release and address potential issues.
How can you participate in the test? You are at the mercy of your luck and Valve. In a FAQ on Steam, it states that players will be selected for the test by the developer team based on various factors. These factors include a trust factor and gameplay time on official Valve servers.
If you have been selected to participate in the CS2 tests, you will receive a notification in the CS:GO menu. The notification contains an invitation to start a download.
The first reactions: The Counter-Strike community is exploding with joy – who would have expected anything different? The comment section on Twitter is filled with statements like “Let go!” and “It’s really happening”. Of course, there are also tons of memes depicting a “freaking out with joy” scenario.
After nearly 45 minutes (as of March 22, 6:15 PM), the post has already received over 135,000 “likes”, been shared over 45,000 times, and seen by 4.5 million users.
The release of Counter-Strike 2 could not come at a better time for the tactical shooter. Just in February, CS:GO reached a new player record.
In recent weeks, rumors about a successor to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have been increasing. CS2 or CS:GO 2 are the names circulating. But what exactly is behind it and what leaks are there? We at MeinMMO have gathered everything.
Update: The article was updated on March 22, 2023, after Counter-Strike 2 was officially announced. It is an update for CS:GO. You can find out more about the announcement here:
You can read the leaks and rumors that have existed in the past weeks here:
What kind of game is it? That is still not clear at all. Currently, there are three rumors, all of which sound plausible:
It could be a direct successor to Global Offensive – thus CS:GO 2.
It could be Counter-Strike 2, a completely new game in the shooter universe.
It could merely be a port of CS:GO to the Source-2 engine. Because Source 2 was already released in 2014, and other titles from Valve, including Dota 2, have moved to this engine.
How is Counter-Strike 2 even coming up now? At the beginning of March, there was a leak in a new Nvidia driver (via GameStar). A new control panel named “Counter-Strike 2” was added. There were also two new files named csgo2.exe and cs2.exe.
Subsequently, Richard Lewis, a British e-sports journalist, commented on the leak (via RichardLewis). He claims the game is real and is supposed to launch in March 2023. Other insiders say that it is only an upgrade, but also indicate March for that.
For more new shooters expected to be released in 2023, you can find in this video:
Start video
Here is gameplay of the 5 best shooters coming out in 2023
New server, new matchmaking, and new engine?
This is what Lewis says about Counter-Strike 2: According to the journalist, the new game has supposedly been in development at Valve for some time now. A large part of the developers is reportedly working on it, while the rest of the team is taking care of the continued development of CS:GO.
The following details were mentioned for Counter-Strike 2:
The game is supposed to rely on 128 tick servers, as is already the case with Valorant and was demanded by many fans.
There is supposed to be a new matchmaking system.
The game is supposed to have been developed in the Source-2 engine, providing graphically significant improvements.
According to Lewis, Counter-Strike 2 is supposed to start a beta this month. However, he could not specify a concrete date.
How likely is that? That is difficult to say. Some sources on Twitter support the statement that a completely new game is released. But there are also indications that Counter-Strike 2 will not be something standalone.
The clues come among others from Gabe Follower, a content creator for CS:GO. He claims that it is merely Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in the new Source-2 engine. There will be no new game, no rebrand, and your skins should not be in danger.
According to Gabe Follower, Valve has reportedly been testing the new Source-2 version since December.
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Also, the CS:GO player Aquarius expects an upgrade to the new engine. He claims that it will be free and could appear “any day” (via Twitter).
What does this mean for CS2? What exactly is hidden behind Counter-Strike 2 is currently unclear. We have to wait until Valve speaks up. However, at the moment it is most likely that CS:GO will be moving to the Source-2 engine.
New information is expected from everyone in March. We will update the article accordingly.
What do you hope for from the leaks and rumors? Would you like a completely new Counter-Strike or is a modified version in the new engine enough for you? Feel free to write it in the comments.
The currently best free shooters have been collected for you here:
With Diablo 4, the main series of the franchise is also gaining more MMO features. Many long-standing fans reject this – especially the so-called “Shared World”. MyMMO author Maik Schneider was able to talk to the Diablo bosses about whether there are plans for an option to completely disable the feature.
Diablo 4 invited to the interview and with a view of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, I spoke with Joe Shely (Game Director) and Rod Fergusson (General Manager of the Diablo Franchise) about the new action RPG.
My first question revolved around the “Shared World” of Diablo 4 and whether it would eventually be possible to turn it off. In certain areas, you can encounter other players, which is not particularly well received by many Diablo fans.
Find out here what the bosses of Diablo 4 told me about it. More information about the multiplayer features is available in the video:
Start video
In Diablo 4 you can play with players from all over the world – All information about multiplayer
Shared World is part of the foundation of Diablo 4
Will there eventually be an option to disable the Shared World? Even though my interview partners dance around the answer a bit, I hear a “No”.
Why doesn’t one want that? The Shared World is an important core feature of Diablo 4. Certain things cannot be accomplished without other players – for example, the powerful world bosses.
But one still keeps an eye on the players who view the feature with skepticism. They have designed certain game aspects so that you encounter other players less frequently if you don’t want to.
This includes that you must complete certain missions during the campaign before the world becomes a Shared World. In social hubs, such as cities, you will always encounter others. Even after completing the campaign, there are other players everywhere in the open world. However, dungeons can be completed completely alone.
They made this decision because they see no disadvantages for the individual player. I then brought up the argument of immersion being disrupted when “HansWurscht69” runs through the image. Joe Shely refers to such players as “DancingBears” and states that they consciously accept this break in immersion because they expect more advantages than disadvantages from the Shared World.
Rod Fergusson added: The only reason to not implement the Shared World would be the fight for loot in a normal PvE environment. Since there isn’t any, he sees no real reason why there shouldn’t be a Shared World.
By the way, they are not quite sure how many players we can meet at most in the Shared World areas of the open world. Reports currently speak of 6 players, but they will keep an eye on the situation and make adjustments if necessary.
The American Twitch streamer MoonMoon (32) angered a German viewer when he criticized German levels in Super Mario Maker 2. Apparently, he was reported immediately.
What kind of streamer is this? The American Jesse, known as “MoonMoon”, is one of the so-called variety streamers, showcasing various games from the colorful block game Minecraft to the dark Elden Ring. He averages 15,000 viewers (via sullygnome).
Of all games, the seemingly harmless Super Mario Maker 2 caused the trouble. It’s a game where players can create their own levels of the classic jump and run game Super Mario and share them with others.
Twitch streamers seem to have a real knack for getting into trouble in the craziest ways. You can see what already resulted in bans in the video:
Start video
The 5 biggest Twitch bans that caused a lot of commotion
What trouble did the streamer get into? In a stream on March 21, MoonMoon was once again playing Super Mario Maker 2 when he stumbled upon a level that appeared to have been created by a German user.
He recalled a fitting anecdote: The streamer revealed that he had received an alarming email. However, he wasn’t quite sure what it was about: “I received a NetzDG complaint. Do you know what that is? It’s the name of the law in Germany that regulates the internet.”
What is NetzDG? The abbreviation stands for Network Enforcement Act, in full it is called the Law for the Improvement of Legal Enforcement in Social Networks. It came into force in October 2017 and requires providers of social networks to address complaints from users. This is intended to combat hate crime online (via bundesregierung.de). If a social network fails to comply with its obligation to delete or block illegal content, it can be reported to the Federal Office of Justice (via Bundesjustizamt)
How did it come about? MoonMoon has a theory. Previously, he had gone on a tirade about German levels in Super Mario Maker 2: they all were terrible. The streamer suspects that this must have upset someone in Germany.
We have embedded the corresponding clip for you here:
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Supplement 20:30 – What exactly did he receive? The streamer does not say, and he probably doesn’t know exactly either. It was likely a notification, similar to what you often see on Twitter.
In such messages, users of a social network, in this case Twitch, are informed that a complaint has been made regarding one of their contents. Since MoonMoon does not comment further, it is assumed that the content in question was reviewed, but no violation could be identified. Otherwise, there would be deletions and bans.
In German social networks, such messages are almost common. For an American content creator who had no previous contact with the law, this must seem quite strange at first.
Original report (continuation)
The streamer, however, stands by his words. German levels are simply worse versions of Japanese levels, which are also terrible. For MoonMoon, the email was the first complaint of this kind. It doesn’t seem to have affected him too much.
MoonMoon is not the only American streamer for whom distant Germany poses many puzzles. Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp, the LoL troll of the day, recently learned that not everything here is as it is back home. He just wanted to conquer the European servers and eat fast food.
In the beta of Diablo 4, five builds of the different classes have proven to be particularly popular. We at MeinMMO present them to you.
Where do the builds come from? The Reddit user “yayj” has created a tool that allows players to create various builds for Diablo 4, even when they are not in the game.
In addition, there is also a list on the site with “the most popular and strongest builds” from the first beta weekend.
Start video
Diablo 4: The Live Action Trailer for the Open Beta – Here a Church is Being Painted
The most popular builds of the beta
Which builds were popular? On D4build.gg, 5 builds are displayed that have proven to be strong and popular. Two of these builds are for the Sorcerer, two for the Hunter, and the fifth is for the Barbarian.
In the brackets behind the skills, you can see the rank to which a skill has been leveled in the respective build.
Optional Legendaries: Aspect of Might, Aspect of the Crowded Sage, Aspect of the Iron Warrior
You can find the tool with all builds on D4builds.gg. There you can also view the entire skill tree of a build if you want more details.
Other classes with the upcoming beta
What will change with the next beta? With the upcoming beta weekend, the classes “Druid” and “Necromancer” will be added to Diablo 4. They were not playable in the past beta weekend.
Once strong or popular builds emerge for the two classes, they will likely also be visible on D4builds.gg.
Moreover, it is foreseeable that builds will continue to evolve throughout the game, especially with regard to endgame content.
When does the next beta start? The next and last beta weekend of Diablo 4 starts this Friday, March 24, and will then be available to everyone who has downloaded the beta. The previous beta weekend was only playable for pre-order customers of Diablo 4.
If you want to unlock some rewards for the full game by playing the beta, you can find out what you need to do on MeinMMO:
The new co-op shooter Redfall (PC, Xbox Series) will celebrate its release on May 2nd and MeinMMO was already able to stroll through the open world full of bloodthirsty vampires for about two hours. Editor Maik Schneider had fun in this world. However, he also believes there is still a lot to be done before the release.
Publisher Bethesda and developer Arcane Studios invited us to the hands-on event, and in a hidden, quaint pub in a Berlin backyard, I immediately felt the vampire vibes.
I was allowed to play the new open-world co-op shooter Redfall for about two hours and then have a short interview with Game Director Harvey Smith.
I’ll summarize what you can expect from the game, what I liked, and where I see weaknesses.
At the play event, we were to explore the open world and complete a mission. Some of the gameplay clips we processed in our video:
Start video
Just shooting doesn’t bring anything – New gameplay from Redfall shows interesting combat system
About the author: Maik has been playing co-op games for 30 years and firmly believes that every game becomes better with a multiplayer mode. This is especially true for shooters. Therefore, he is responsible for the shooter section at MeinMMO and has a keen eye on Redfall.
A co-op open world awaits you
What kind of game is Redfall? A mysterious vampire plague afflicts the quaint town of Redfall, sealing the area off from the outside world. The story forms the foundation of the new co-op shooter for up to 4 players.
You fight in the open world with insane weapons and the well-thought-out abilities of the four playable characters against the ubiquitous bloodsuckers, collecting heaps of loot and unraveling the complex story behind the events in Redfall.
You can always choose whether your fights begin with a bang or whether you want to earn a better starting position through stealth passages.
At release, 4 characters will be available to you, each coming with their own skill tree and unique abilities. You loot and level up to the top of the strange food chain in the once idyllic American small town.
For more information on the story and another look at the characters’ abilities, I recommend the story trailer of Redfall:
Start video
Steam: Redfall shows the dark story of the co-op shooter in the new trailer, delights fans: “I love their creativity”
The open world is a highlight, the characters the stars
What did I like? Looting and leveling with crazy weapons and characters that bring their own skill trees? If you think of Borderlands, you’re right. Redfall changes the formula of the popular shooter series and has its own identity.
I liked that. Borderlands has worn itself out over the years, Redfall shakes up the market and doesn’t need to hide. I was able to look at two skill trees in detail and saw a lot of potential for creative co-op combos and different builds.
A complete skill tree in Redfall, the max level is 40.
The characters are impressive and are the highlight of Redfall. But the open world comes in a close second.
The world is very atmospheric, in single player at night it is almost oppressive, dark and creepy. Enemies lurk everywhere and since stealth mechanics are also part of Redfall, in a direct confrontation, I am usually at a disadvantage, but with a little sneaking, I can already take out many opponents before open combat.
A view over the townSometimes physics goes crazySneaking gives you advantages – almost everywhere
This “thrill” is somewhat lost in co-op mode, which Game Director Harvey Smith confirmed to me in the interview. However, in its place comes the cooperation and use of abilities.
The whole surrounding convinced me immediately: Story, characters, and abilities make you crave for more, the environmental storytelling pulls you into the game and I feel like the savior of the city because I am freeing Redfall step by step from the vampire plague.
What didn’t I like? At the play event, we were supposed to take a look at our weapons first and give the chosen characters a few skill points. The developers had prepared a build that starts in the middle of the game.
After soaking up the abilities of the class, I was pleased with the stake thrower and curiously inspected my UV weapon. Then I eagerly exited the menu and received a little shock. The controls with mouse and keyboard felt terrible, sloppy, and imprecise.
Then I discovered the controller at the test PC, switched to my usual input device, and fiddled a bit with the settings. This improved it a little, but my first impression of the gameplay was ruined.
The first battle made up for some of that. The different weapons provide variety in the shooter gameplay, and the executions of weakened vampires provide a brief “wow” effect.
The vampire executions are always fun
However, the shooter gameplay itself felt “bloodless”, if you forgive me the pun. The gunplay does not convey the usual feeling of power and action that I know from a Battlefield or Call of Duty.
The unusual controls intensified this effect. In addition, the enemies are partly real bullet sponges, which further reinforces the feeling of weak weapons. Abilities and executions provided the fun. As soon as it came to shooting, Redfall was rather mediocre.
Another point of criticism is the enemies. The normal vampire enemies are everywhere in the open world and teleport with incredible speed. They suddenly appear behind me, evade placed stakes, and surprise with unforeseen maneuvers.
As soon as they attack, all that is forgotten. I was attacked dozens of times with the same slow melee strike pattern, and a step back was enough to dodge. There wasn’t much excitement, and the normal vampires only became dangerous when suddenly there were too many of them.
Conclusion: Lots of potential with flaws in the foundation
Redfall has everything for a huge co-op hit. It expands the Borderlands formula with innovative ideas and offers a large, atmospheric open world.
But in the play test, the shooter fails in the fundamentals: The gunfights were hardly fun for me, and the controls felt strange.
Moreover, only bosses and special vampires apparently offer interesting attack patterns. The enemies I constantly encountered were just cannon fodder and are meant to make me stealth through the town instead of tackling every fight, as a seasoned shooter soldier like me usually would.
In co-op and on higher difficulty levels, elite vampires mix in among the normal enemies, bringing a special effect – for example, giving other nearby vampires a shield. This adds a bit of dynamism to the battles.
Currently, I am very conflicted.
On one hand, I see a world I want to explore. Characters I want to bring to max level to cause chaos among the vampires. On the other hand, the shooter gameplay could not convince me at all.
I will keep you updated on Redfall on MeinMMO. Currently, I would not recommend the title without reservations. But the potential is there, and there is still a bit of time until the release on May 2nd.
In the loot shooter Destiny 2, the Iron Banner was actually the focus after yesterday’s weekly reset. What many didn’t know was that a doubly shocking moment was waiting for the Guardians in the current story campaign of Season 20. And hardly anyone saw it coming.
Unexpectedly often happens in Destiny 2: This week, during the weekly reset in Destiny 2, not many story beats were expected.
The seasonal activity with the resistance battlefields continued as usual.
There was a new section in the Avalon mission to explore with the Asher-Mir key, the exotic “Vexcalibur”, which brought out more small details about the Lightfall story.
Otherwise, many players were clearly focused on the top loot of the Iron Banner.
However, no one initially expected things to be so intense in the ongoing story. Week 4 in Destiny 2 cleverly hid a shocking event that painfully reminded the Guardians: “It’s not safe to be out here!”.
Attention Spoilers: MeinMMO has captured the first reactions of players to the drastic story event. However, these contain some spoilers. So, if you haven’t had the chance to game this week, you should not read any further after this video.
Start video
Destiny 2: Lightfall – “Season of Resistance” trailer
Destiny 2 is experiencing losses like never before
Everything as usual? Not at all! After the weekly reset, some Guardians planned to quickly finish the latest battlefield mission of the seasonal story and then turn their attention to the top loot in the Iron Banner.
A quick look at the quest sent one to the H.E.L.M., where Amanda Holliday was already waiting with a radio message.
Again, it is about rescuing prisoners, and the shipwright of the Vanguard briefly raves about how great it is to work with Crow, Mithrax, and Devrim Kay as the “Queen’s Guard”.
Nothing particularly spectacular. One might think. This was followed by a short mission that left some Guardians speechless at the end.
Many had already forgotten that a harsh conflict was raging on Earth in the current Season 20, which is horrific, unfair, and unrelenting. Destiny 2 often conceals this fact, and players do not always notice it as a result.
But that has now cost the life of another beloved and long-standing character from Destiny 1 and 2 – Amanda Holliday. And she might not be the last.
Speechless looks as the fight in Destiny 2 claims its next victim: Amanda Holliday
That’s why Amanda’s death is doubly tragic: Just last week, players had to cope with a real loss when the voice of Zavala, Lance Reddick, was silenced forever. And now, the next proverbial blow of fate follows in-game immediately.
Of course, Bungie couldn’t change the timing of the story anymore. The end was all the more surreal when Commander Zavala is kneeling before Amanda’s laid-out body and mourning her with the Guardian’s creed “Dedication, Courage, Sacrifice”.
Since these story missions were planned months in advance, it is clear that Bungie did not look forward to this week after Lance’s death. Man, it must have hurt them when you consider how close they were to him.
Zavala kneels before the laid-out body of Amanda Holliday and mourns
Here’s what other Guardians say about the latest stroke of fate:
“Amanda is the mortal [in Destiny] who has fought for us [Guardians] the longest, even though she only has one life.” – honors Gripping_Touch
“Damn! Of all the ways the cutscene at the end of this week’s mission could have gone. That’s just too much.” – finds VisualReversal
“I stood next to [Commander Zavala] with my loyal dog for a long time. Didn’t want to leave.” – mourns evil_iceburgh
“Uff, I’m shocked. No, no, no. First digest that. I never thought something like this would hit me in-game. […]” – writes Paulo in the comments on MeinMMO
Can it get any worse? Possibly. It is said that death is not the end. But that does not apply to video games. There it is said: “Death is not the end unless you die in a cutscene.”
Some Guardians still have hope and believe that Bungie will bring Amanda back through the Traveler or the Witness. However, this is currently unlikely as the Traveler is deemed “dead” and it is unclear whether the Ghosts can still resurrect new Guardians.
However, some see Amanda’s death more as a new story beat for Uldren Sov, aka Crow, in the ongoing Season 20 and the Lightfall DLC.
This feels more like a setup for Crow’s story than anything else. It seems that Bungie has hinted at his significance in this story for a long time. Maybe he harbors a grudge against the Light and the Traveler or even against the Ghosts for not resurrecting [Amanda]? I think they are building him up as the main protagonist outside of our character. […]
Players fear further losses in the future: Amanda’s death has reminded many once again that loss has always been a constant companion in the Destiny universe. Some players even have a vague premonition that the new memorial area in the Tower could be full by the end of the year.
“This memorial area of the Tower will be full by the end of the year, right?” fears the player Anohrak
What do you think? Were you also surprised by the loss and do you also believe this is just the beginning? How did you feel during the scene with Zavala? We would love to read your feelings about this story beat in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO the new Rocket event is coming – and with it a change regarding Shinies. And this is supposedly going to last in the long run.
What kind of event is this? Currently, in Pokémon GO the new “Let’s GO” event is ongoing. As part of this event, a new Rocket takeover will also be initiated next Saturday, March 25, 2023, which will run until March 29, 2023.
However, another bonus from the announcement stands out and is well received by trainers.
Crypto-Ruffians now equipped with Shiny Pokémon – But for how long?
This is the change: In the announcement of the Rocket takeover, Niantic writes: “Among the Pokémon you rescue from Team GO Rocket Ruffians, there might even be Shiny Pokémon with a bit of luck!” (via pokemongolive.com).
This is an exciting change, as previously, Shiny Crypto Monsters could only be obtained from Rocket bosses, Giovanni, or special opponents like Jessie and James. The fact that the “normal” Rocket Ruffians can now also distribute Shinies regularly is new.
Particularly exciting is the fact that the change is supposedly not just to last for the event. Pokémon GO YouTuber “TrainerTips” reports in his current video that Niantic confirmed to him that the change is also supposed to last after the event. This would make Shiny Cryptos from Rocket Ruffians available in the long term.
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TrainerTips discusses the new feature in his video
On Twitter, the account “@PokeProfNet” also reported having received relevant information from Niantic (via Twitter). The well-known community website “Pokémon GO Hub” also shared information that it is supposed to be a permanent feature (via Twitter).
Why is it still uncertain? In the official announcement from Niantic, the bonus has only been mentioned officially in the context of the Rocket takeover so far, so the information should be taken with some caution. However, it looks like Rocket Ruffians could now potentially provide Shiny options in the long term.
The prospect of this opportunity is being received positively in the community, for example in the subreddit “TheSilphRoad”:
“Finally a reason to challenge each and every one” says a user (via reddit).
“That would be really cool. I already do many Ruffian battles for Stardust, that would be another incentive” comments another (via reddit): “Now I’m just waiting for Niantic to release the Pokémon of the 2nd and 3rd evolution stage that are locked with a Shiny lock for no reason.”
“That’s cool, I love a good Shiny hunt. I usually ignore Rocket balloons or stops because I already have a Shiny Crypto Metagross, and nothing else interests me with the leaders. But this opens up so many new opportunities” (via reddit)
This is still unclear: While the bonus itself is confirmed, and a longer period seems at least possible, there are still a few points unclear. This applies, for example, to which monsters can be Shiny when Ruffians send them into battle. Whether all are possible, or for example only those already available as Crypto Shiny from the leaders, is still unknown.
So it remains to wait – either until official information exists or at the latest by the start of the event. Then it should quickly become clear what the Shiny pool looks like. We will keep you updated here at MeinMMO.
What do you think about the change? Could the Crypto Shinies motivate you to a few Rocket battles? Let us know in the comments!
Asmongold gained fame with WoW and is considered the MMORPG nerd on Twitch. However, the streamer is also a big fan of the action RPG Diablo 3. It makes sense that he did not miss the closed beta of Diablo 4 last weekend. His verdict: A solid 8.5.
Like 1 million other players, Asmongold was drawn to the pre-order beta of Diablo 4. The Twitch streamer is a huge fan of action RPGs like Path of Exile and once loved Diablo 3 as well.
After a few days in the successor, during which he leveled 2 characters to the highest level, he now says: It doesn’t really change his life. In a 20-minute video, the streamer summarized his impressions.
More about Asmongold can be seen in our video:
Start video
Career and life of Asmongold in 3 minutes – What makes him special?
“Diablo 4 is a simplified version of Path of Exile”
How does Diablo 4 compare directly? Asmongold describes Diablo 4 as a simplified version of Path of Exile. However, this is apparently not meant as criticism, as Diablo doesn’t have to be so complex.
According to Asmongold, the art lies in being complex enough for players who should overcome such hurdles. At the same time, it should not be completely impenetrable for a newcomer:
Diablo 4 really needs to hit the right point: between boring and repetitive levels with mindless gameplay without real effort and at the same time not being so complex that people don’t understand it.
Regarding the attitude of some players that being complex and difficult is automatically better, the streamer thinks little of it.
Good at what it does
How does Asmongold rate Diablo 4? The Twitch streamer gives the beta experience an 8.5. He explains that he doesn’t feel particularly comfortable with a flat 8 or a 9. In his eyes, Diablo 4 has certainly not reinvented the wheel:
I don’t think it’s amazing, it doesn’t change my life. It’s not so innovative that it makes me think completely differently about the ARPG genre. But it is very good at what it does.
What did he like? In his video, Asmongold highlights some aspects of the beta of Diablo 4 positively, although he can’t resist adding a “but” at most points:
The cinematics are visually not breathtaking, but they stage the character well
The story really pleased him, at least until he arrived in the city
What is the conclusion? Overall, Asmongold rates his experiences with the game as “overwhelmingly positive,” but he also admits that the beta does not allow for a final impression yet. Therefore, he reserves the right to adjust his opinion on the final release.
The Twitch streamer is most concerned about the endgame. He fears having to run through the same dungeons every season, but he hopes that won’t be the case: “I really want to enjoy the game.”
Despite all the praise, there was also criticism from many players after the beta. In particular, the dungeons mentioned by Asmongold are already causing some concern. While Blizzard promises improvements by release, it hasn’t yet been able to truly convince the skeptics. You can read more about it here:
Today, March 21, 2023, the second phase of update 3.5 starts in Genshin Impact. You now have the chancefor 2 Cryo characters, including the very popular DPS Kamisato Ayaka.
Kamisato Ayaka is a 5-star character that has been available in Genshin Impact since 2020. With the current banner, “Crane Court,” Ayaka returns to the game today.
Moreover, there is “Return from Seclusion“ with Shenhe as a 5-star character. You have a chance for the 4-star character Mika in all banners of the current update.
Why Kamisato Ayaka is worth it
She wields a one-handed sword and is a Cryo element. If you want to deal a lot of damage in the winding abyss, Ayaka as a main DPS is a safe choice.
In the video, you can see the trailer for the current update in Genshin Impact:
Start video
Genshin Impact: Version 3.5 “Windblume’s Breath” Trailer
Here are Ayaka’s abilities: With her elemental skill “Kamisato Style – Hyouka,” Ayaka sends her enemies flying and deals Cryo area damage.
Ayaka’s special ability “Kamisato Style – Soumetsu” has a larger area of effect and continuously slices through enemies. Meanwhile, she deals Cryo damage and ends her attack with a Cryo AoE.
Additionally, Ayaka has a special sprint – the “Kamisato Style – Senho.” This grants her the Cryo attribute on her one-handed sword and applies Cryo to opponents nearby.
If you hit monsters with the sprint, you trigger the passive talent “Kanten-Senmyou-Segen.” This talent restores stamina to Ayaka and increases Cryo damage by 18%.
Once all her talents are unlocked, she even increases the damage of the special and elemental skills of all nearby team members when Shenhe activates her elemental skill.
Her special ability deals Cryo damage while Shenhe is not on the field, while simultaneously buffing team members that are present in it. However, if you want the buff, you must not leave the field.
When exactly does the banner start? In Europe, you can expect the banner on March 21 from 6:00 PM. You then have until April 11 to pull for Kamisato Ayaka and Shenhe.
Are you excited for the 2nd phase of the update? Which character do you want to pull for? Do you already have Kamisato Ayaka, or is she still missing from your team? Is Shenhe worth it for you? Feel free to let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO!
To upgrade your characters, you need materials. For that, you need enough original resin:
MeinMMO Demon Cortyn likes the chosen realm in World of Warcraft. However, one detail causes discomfort and the desire to never log in again.
I like my realm in World of Warcraft. “The Aldor” is the last truly active German RP realm where one can occasionally find roleplay in the open world and where there are also some larger events. Of course, RP realms have their own special kind of “specialists” who bring a lot of drama with them, but I can overlook that by now.
But there is one aspect of my realm that I find increasingly disgusting month by month:
The excesses that “Goldhain” exemplifies.
To summarize Goldhain briefly: Basically, Goldhain is the “eRP meeting point” on all RP realms. Like-minded players meet there to live out their roleplay sexual fantasies, which usually doesn’t bother anyone much, as two people can just chat in the Whisper channel. What they do is relatively indifferent to the rest of the world. This has been the case for almost two decades, and people have gotten used to it.
From the outside, it’s mostly amusing because roleplayers, including pure “eRPlers”, create a character flag. This is usually a brief description of the character, detailing aspects like appearance or obvious quirks.
What serves most roleplayers for general clarification of the character is primarily used in Goldhain to clarify personal preferences or to outline “rules” for (erotic) roleplay.
A lot happens in Goldhain – and most of it one might not want to know in detail.
When my guild gets fed up with “Mythic+” and the current affixes, we meet in Goldhain and read each other the particularly amusing or degenerate flags. It’s typically quite funny to see how often someone manages to use the word “markelos” or “femenin” in the description of a scantily clad elf.
Alternatively, we see how many adjectives someone can assign to a character that make them seem simply “perfect” while contradicting each other as quickly as possible. A few examples: Thin, curvy, reserved, lustful, naive, smart, and fit.
However, these “reading evenings” have become increasingly less amusing in recent months and much more often simply one thing: disgusting. As a “weeb” with clearly too much anime consumption, I can really handle a lot. But more and more frequently, one reads in Goldhain in the RP flag things like:
“Is a young, naive girl with whom you can do whatever you want.”
“Looking for age play, preferably minors :)”
“Little boy to do things with”
Or more clearly: There are also people who specifically seek sexual roleplay based on childlike characters.
This is obviously problematic for several reasons.
A major problem for me is the test accounts. As important as they are for letting new players try out World of Warcraft, they are terrible for everyone who thinks they don’t have to adhere to rules anymore.
The second problem is: I actually don’t want to deal with this. I have no desire to go there more often, to “search” for such flags and then report them. I actually want nothing to do with this topic and would be happy if Blizzard just sent a game master there every day to ban strictly – but with test accounts, that’s a difficulty and probably just not practicable.
There is no good solution – or is there?
Unfortunately, I also see no good, simple solution for the problem. Test accounts will not simply vanish, as that would make World of Warcraft as a whole less attractive for newcomers. Ultimately, it is also just a “small” issue that is spread across very few realms.
Actually, I could also not care – just as I have always been indifferent to what happens in Goldhain. If people are living out their fetishes in a whisper, what do I care? But increasingly, one can read things there that I can only call “pedophilia roleplay” for lack of a better word. Sometimes, you see these characters in Stormwind at the auction house, and every time it sends shivers down my spine that I would rather log out and do something else.
It feels disgusting to share a realm with such people. The thought that 99% of roleplayers surely condemn such things strictly and that only a few, bad apples exist does not help either. Unfortunately, those few are enough to cause me discomfort and make me feel that the realm is somehow “poisoned”.
The dream of making money with League Legends is not something many LoL players can achieve. Once you become a professional, you have to invest a lot of time to stay in the game. That’s why Ablazeolive’s retirement is something special.
Nicholas Antonio “Ablazeolive” Abbott has been active in the professional LoL scene since 2015.
Throughout his career, he has played for 8 different organizations, including Golden Guardians, and most recently was with Immortals.
In 2023, he was initially a substitute player before announcing his inactivity.
After 8 years, he is ending his career for personal reasons.
League of Legends has released a special cinematic for the start of Season 13:
Start video
LoL Season 2023: The Cinematic “The Brink of Infinity”
Why is the retirement so special? After LoL players reach the professional level, it is not uncommon for them to spend a lot of time in scrimmages against other teams. In addition to training, some players also invest their time in livestreams. A prime example is the streamer team “NNO”, which fought for promotion to the first German league.
Ablazeolive announced on Twitter that he wants to retire from professional LoL play:
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In his statement, he writes that he “can’t push important things in my life away any longer” and that there are aspects in his life that are very important to him.
Outside of the Rift, Ablazeolive likely has several things he wants to focus on and therefore retires from competitive eSports.
What’s next? Despite retiring from his professional career, the player does not plan to walk away from LoL. In his statement, he is considering being active as a coach for teams or starting out as a major streamer. He also mentions that he wants to continue working with League of Legends content through co-streaming or live viewing.
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Many players and opponents from his professional time have spoken up under his team. Among them were also offers for co-casting, so that he can take a first step in that direction should he wish to pursue it. His rivals also sent their congratulations for his future and thanks under his post.
Ablazeolive himself lastly thanks his teammates and the team that has supported him throughout the years and allowed him to realize his dream of being a professional.
The closed beta of Diablo 4 is over and pre-order customers had plenty of time to roam around Sanctuary and try out quests as well as some dungeons. The problem, however, is that many have complained about these dungeons. Blizzard promises improvements for the release, but players are not optimistic.
What is the problem with the dungeons? The dungeons in Diablo 4 are different from those in previous installments. Each dungeon has a different environment, enemies, and a boss. In addition, there are tasks like “Kill X enemies in the dungeon” or “Reach PLACE”. In the end, a boss is always waiting for you, which you can send to the afterlife for loot.
On paper, this doesn’t sound dramatic, but many fans who played these dungeons in the closed beta see criticisms that could hinder player enjoyment in the long run. These include:
The annoying backtracking to open or activate various doors or gates
The lesser number of monsters
Boring or too few tasks
Players have therefore voiced a lot of criticism towards Blizzard, and the developers have now addressed the “dungeon” problem in an interview. Blizzard promises improvements for the release, but fans remain skeptical.
Start video
Diablo 4: The German Trailer for the Open Beta
Solution for dungeons does not address the real problem
What solution does Blizzard propose? General Manager Rod Fergusson and Game Director Joe Shely sat down with the gaming site “Eurogamer” (via eurogamer.net) and discussed the key topics surrounding Diablo 4 and its beta. One topic was also the dungeons, which are hotly debated in the community.
When asked if the developers had noticed the community’s feedback regarding backtracking and enemy intensity, Joe Shely responded as follows:
We have seen it, yes. There are some elements. There are players who … we have added the option for players to teleport out of dungeons through the user interface, and some players do not know that it exists. But certainly, there are cases within the dungeon where you receive a key and then have to go elsewhere. We do not want players to run through an empty dungeon. In cases where you receive a key and have to walk back through an area, enemies should spawn to refresh things. One of our goals is that you never have to run through an empty dungeon. It can be okay for very short periods. […]
One of the design decisions we made was that we wanted the dungeons, a single dungeon, to have certain characteristics that are consistent and tied to this dungeon and this location (the environment) in the world. So when you enter a dungeon, things (enemies) are not randomly generated; there are some things that are consistent.
And the way players should approach it when they level up is to see it as: “I want to do each of these different dungeons,” and that is encouraged through things like the Codex of Power and the Renown system, which give you a kind of checklist for all the dungeons you can do. And then when you reach the endgame after finishing the campaign and gaining access to the Nightmare Dungeon system, we have the seals that modify the dungeons in really cool ways, with buffs and nerfs, and these modify the dungeon dramatically. […]
Blizzard relies here entirely on the power of the seals for the nightmare dungeons. All of these dungeons are also firmly integrated into the world of Diablo 4, not just externally but also narratively. It would not fit if dungeons were random areas, with a mix of enemies, where only wild slaughter is done to get loot.
The challenge and focus on looting should only come in the endgame of Diablo 4, when players can gather their seals and modify dungeons that way. According to Rob Fergusson, they should also change the number of enemies as well as their difficulty.
What do players think about it? Players on Reddit feel that Blizzard does not understand the criticism. They are relying too heavily on the full version of Diablo 4 and their nightmare dungeons and are not addressing the real problem of backtracking. Players therefore comment with the following opinions:
“Yes, I read that earlier and thought that they (Blizzard) do not really understand the complaints … The seals will not change the limited number of objectives or the limited pool of bosses.” – says kenm130
“I think they understand it; it’s just impossible to avoid the mountain of feedback dealing with it. But they know that they may not be able to fix these problems before the release, so they probably think it’s best to sidestep the issue until they have better news to share.” – thinks AllLimes
“People complained about this ages ago in the friends-and-family beta. This was nothing new; it was a long time coming with this feedback.” – says MisterMetal
It remains to be seen how Blizzard will handle the dungeons at release and later in Diablo 4. How did you find the dungeons in the beta? Were they too boring or exhausting for you? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
The Japanese company Hacoa has introduced a unique keyboard. Because it exclusively uses wood and avoids gaming features.
Some want it as colorful as possible, others as simple as possible and without frills. Gaming setups offer plenty of opportunities for expression. The Japanese company Hacoa has introduced a unique keyboard, the Ki-Board, a device that could particularly appeal to design lovers.
Ki is the Japanese word for spirit or energy, and Hacoa explains that the Ki-Board “gives warmth to inorganic computers” (via hacoa.net).
The keyboard is made of solid wood, uses blue switches and Bluetooth
What does the unique keyboard offer? The keyboard is made from solid wood and uses either walnut or cherry wood. This is supposed to ensure high durability. Additionally, wooden elements are considered premium by many users compared to plastic, which is mostly found on computers.
Under the wooden keys are blue mechanical switches. These accompany typing with an audible click.
The technology under the keys is rather unremarkable: inside there is a 1,000 mAh battery and the keyboard supports Bluetooth 5.0 or 2.4 GHz. A suitable receiver is included in the package.
However, for German users, there is a disadvantage: The keyboard does not come in ISO-DE layout. This means that the Enter key is smaller and some keys have a different shape. Additionally, there are no umlaut keys. Those who can touch type will likely only be somewhat hindered by this fact.
What does the model cost? The Ki-Board from Hacoa costs 99,000 yen, which is approximately 750 euros. This makes the keyboard very expensive, but you also get a model made of solid wood with a simple, elegant design. Those who want to order the device to Germany should also be prepared for additional customs fees.
Anyone who has looked around in the custom keyboard sector knows: You can spend a lot on self-made keyboards, and 500 euros for a single keyboard is not uncommon. A particularly unique keyboard costs about 750 euros. Therefore, spending a lot of money on a unique keyboard is not unusual.
By the way, a case from Fractal Design called “North” would fit well with the Hacoa keyboard. Because it features a similarly elegant wooden front. We have embedded the matching video here for you:
Start video
Manufacturer shows sleek case, gamers are thrilled: “Great design! Goes directly onto my wishlist”
What do you think? Would this be a keyboard for you and your desk or would you rather not want to give up RGB and other gaming features?
A YouTuber has now taken a particularly exciting gaming keyboard. This has caused quite a stir:
A new ring in World of Warcraft is the ultimate choice for many specs. We will reveal how to get the ring and upgrade it.
Patch 10.0.7 of World of Warcraft is live, along with the opportunity to earn a new, very powerful ring. The Onyx Annulet is likely the “Best in Slot” ring for most classes and specializations, at least until the start of Patch 10.1, Embers of Neltharion. We will tell you how to acquire the ring and equip it with effects that benefit you.
What kind of ring is this? At first glance, the epic ring might seem weak, as it only has stamina as a value and otherwise three socket slots. However, these slots cannot be filled with ordinary gems from jewelers but require very special “primal stones”.
These jewels have a variety of effects ranging from damage procs to healing to an increase in tertiary stats. As three sockets can always be combined with each other, you can achieve numerous different combinations.
Where do you get the Onyx Annulet? If you progress into the Vault of Zskera for the first time during the story, you will inevitably find an “unusual ring” on the ground that starts a quest. Simply accept it to eventually receive the Onyx Annulet.
In the vault, you will find the ring almost immediately.
What effects are there? In total, there are about 20 different effects:
Cold Frost Stone: You gain armor every 20 seconds, absorb damage, and slow melee attackers.
Deluging Water Stone: Abilities can douse allies in regenerative water that heals them over time.
Desirous Blood Stone: Dealing damage can drain health from the enemy, dealing shadow damage and healing you.
Echoing Thunder Stone: When you move, you build electrical charge that enhances your next damage ability with additional nature damage.
Entropic Fel Stone: The fire damage of your other primal stones is increased by 60% and instead deals chaos damage.
Exuding Steam Stone: Receiving healing can emit steam that heals you and two nearby allies.
Flame Licked Stone: Dealing damage can ignite the enemy, causing them to take fire damage over time.
Freezing Ice Stone: Dealing damage can chill enemies, causing them to take frost damage and be slowed.
Gleaming Iron Stone: If you stand still for 3 seconds, your determination strengthens, increasing your armor and damage from automatic attacks.
Harmonic Music Stone: Entering combat increases the tertiary stats of you and 4 nearby allies.
Humming Arcane Stone: Dealing damage can fire an arcane projectile for each school of magic you have used in the last 20 seconds.
Indomitable Earth Stone: Taking damage can shield you with earth, absorbing damage.
Necromantic Death Stone: Near a corpse, effects of Blood, Cold, and Pestilent stones are triggered.
Obscure Pastel Stone: Spells and abilities have a chance to trigger the effect of a random stone.
Pestilent Plague Stone: Dealing damage can infect the target with a plague that jumps to other enemies.
Prophetic Twilight Stone: Damage-dealing effects of your stones trigger your healing stones, and vice versa.
Raging Magma Stone: Absorbing damage can wrap you in lava, dealing fire damage to enemy melee attackers.
Searing Smokey Stone: Successful interrupts allow you to emit smoke that deals fire damage to all enemies in front of you.
Shining Obsidian Stone: When you receive a shield from a primal stone, the ground trembles and you deal split damage to all nearby enemies.
Sparkling Mana Stone: Frost effects of your primal stones regenerate mana over 3 seconds.
Storm Infused Stone: Critical strikes have a chance to shock your target and two other enemies, dealing nature damage.
Swirling Mojo Stone: Being near a dying creature drains some of their mojo and ultimately crystallizes it.
Wild Spirit Stone: Nature and healing effects of your primal stones additionally heal 5 nearby allies.
Wind Sculpted Stone: When you move, you summon the wind to your side, increasing your movement speed up to 5 times.
How does one get primal stones? You get primal stones from several events on the Forbidden Island. These include:
The event “The Trial of the Storms,” which you can complete once a week and open the corresponding chest
The storm events that you complete every few hours on the island
Opening chests in the vault and Zskera
You can upgrade the stones multiple times until your ring has an item level of 424. Additionally, you can dismantle unwanted stones and use them to purchase other stones, allowing you to specifically work towards those you want.
The stones themselves can be exchanged at will – they will neither be destroyed nor overwritten, allowing you to experiment at will.
Should the ring be this powerful? Yes. Blizzard has stated that the ring will likely be the optimum for many specializations until the start of the next season. However, as this period is currently estimated to last only 6 to 10 weeks, it shouldn’t be too dramatic.
A few players may now accomplish some challenges they previously failed at – before heading into season 2 of Dragonflight with a fresh start.
What effects do you use in your ring? Will you even wear it?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In China, a father wants to stop his son from secretly gaming at night – For this, he chooses questionable methods.
Since 2021, there are strict restrictions for minors regarding gaming in China. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, minors in China are allowed to play for one hour each, from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM (via ZDF).
The government aims to reduce the dependency of children and teenagers on online games. They argue that gaming leads to declining eyesight, poorer grades, and insufficient physical activity.
12-year-old has to game for 17 hours straight
A 12-year-old boy from China managed to get online at night. When his father caught him at 1:00 AM during a prohibited online session, he chose a punishment that seemed rather atypical: he told his son that he could play all day without stopping (via Metro).
The son was not allowed to pause even to sleep or for school – such were the conditions set by the parent. What exactly he aimed to achieve with this, the son did not yet suspect at that point.
Consequently, the child played for 17 hours non-stop. Eventually, he felt sick and broke down in tears. When the boy promised his father through tears to never game secretly again, the father saw his struggle as “won” and shared the story on Douyin, the Chinese TikTok.
The father explains that this method works with his son because he is an obedient child and gets good grades. He advises other parents to be cautious (via Jeuxvideo).
What do you think of the father’s “method” of getting his son to stop the forbidden nighttime gaming? What do you think about the restrictions for gaming minors in China? How much were you allowed to play online as a child? Would your parents ever have come up with such an idea? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments here on MeinMMO!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
If you are looking for Meltan with 4 stars in Pokémon GO, you have to pay attention to certain competition points. We will show you which ones they are.
In Pokémon GO the big “Let’s GO” event has started and is now bringing you many cool bonuses and content. Among other things, there is a chance to get many Meltan and even discover them in their shiny form.
Collectors are now looking forward to securing strong, shiny specimens for their collection. Because strong Melmetal can be worthwhile. We will show you here in the overview which Meltan you should definitely have assessed so that you do not send out any strong specimens.
Do not send Meltan with these CP right away
What you need to pay attention to: If you want to collect Pokémon with 4 stars so that you can make use of their strong battle values, then you need to look at the competition points (CP). At certain values, there is a chance that it is Pokémon with 100 % IV.
These values are different for each Pokémon. On Reddit, user Nplumb has compiled which CP values for Meltan have the chance of 4 stars. But these are only potential chances, as the level of the Pokémon and the IV must match in combination:
15
335
640
930
47
366
671
945
79
396
701
961
111
427
732
976
144
457
762
991
176
488
793
208
518
823
240
549
854
273
579
884
305
610
915
How can you still search for the perfect Meltan? The above method is especially suitable for players who do not catch every Meltan. Maybe they already have enough candies and are only looking for Hundos and Shundos. This way they can check before catching if a catch might be worth it.
But if you catch every wild Meltan anyway and then check if it’s good, the game’s filter function works well. To do this, open the collection of your caught Pokémon and type 4* in the search. Now select the sort button in the bottom right and display the latest catch date from top to bottom.
This way you have an overview of your caught 4-star Pokémon at a glance, sorted from newest to oldest.
Do you already have strong Meltan and Melmetal in your collection or are you now using the event to upgrade your collection with them?
Leveling characters is a mandatory task in most MMORPGs here that you complete before the game really gets going. But in South Korea, things work differently in some games. For example, in the online role-playing game MapleStory: For most players, it ends at level 275, but theoretically, you can grind almost endlessly up to level 300. But well, even ‘endless’ can eventually come to an end.
This is how it is in MMORPGs that we know: If you play western MMORPGs, you quickly reach an endpoint when leveling up:
If someone has declared World of Warcraft as their favorite MMORPG, they level up 10 levels every two years at the start of a new expansion. Leveling takes 2.5 hours to 200 days. Once that’s accomplished, the WoW fan can dedicate themselves to the endgame.
Leveling is a ‘short phase’ for most MMORPG players before they chase increasingly powerful items in the endgame of an MMORPG, killing stronger monsters, and developing their character in this way.
There are also some leveling junkies among us who love leveling so much that they start over whenever a character is ‘finished’ and build up a considerable number of secondary characters over time.
Start video
5 old MMORPGs that are still actively played
For most, it ends at 275 – One wants to play up to 300 in the MMORPG
This is how it is in MapleStory: It’s completely different there, as the game essentially has an ‘open level cap’ going forward.
Theoretically, you can level up to level 300, but the experience points needed for leveling up grow so drastically at some point that no normal person would do it or even consider it. Usually, for most players of the MMORPG, it ends at level 275.
Because from a certain level, there is no way to visit such a high-level area where ‘grinding’ would still be worthwhile.
Leveling to 300 in MapleStory has always been seen by even the hardest fans as ‘unrealistic’, as something that might be done in the distant future when new, tougher content is in the game, but certainly not at the moment.
A player has now succeeded: In South Korea, the player ‘Niru’ with the class ‘Bishop’ has become the first in the world to reach level 295 in MapleStory.
This is such a special achievement because 295 is a special level, with an extra-high EXP hurdle. To advance from 294 to 295, one needs almost as many experience points as needed to go from level 1 to level 290.
To reach level 300, the absolute maximum, Niru will have to push himself hard. Because reaching level 300 in MapleStory requires three times the amount of experience points he has accumulated up to 295.
The joys of exponential growth.
Even the biggest fans of grinding might lose their motivation.
The player himself believes he needs about 2 more years to reach level 300 if he continues at this pace. He expects to reach 300 by the end of 2024.
The last major story we had about MapleStory on MeinMMO dates back to March 2021:
The indie MMORPG Broken Ranks was released in January 2022 and impressed with its unique combat system. This is turn-based. The hand-drawn graphics also left a positive impression. We from MeinMMO spoke with Krzysztof Danilewicz, the founder of the studio Whitemoon Games, about the MMORPG, its successes, and its future.
What kind of game is it? Broken Ranks is an MMORPG with a 2.5D look, isometric perspective, and a turn-based combat system. When you encounter opponents, you will be placed in a special combat screen. Here, your chosen strategy plays a big role. You can adjust this every round within 10 seconds.
You take on the role of a character who has lost their family and home to the evil Utoren. Accordingly, the story of the game is rather dark. In addition, the game impresses with its beautiful, unique graphics and the following content:
At the start, you can choose from 7 different classes.
You level your character through quests, dungeons, and raids up to level 140. However, this takes at least a year, which is rather uncommon for modern MMORPGs.
In the endgame, the grind for equipment and trading between players play an important role.
There are also PvP content, which is now optional.
Next, we will look at what has changed since the release and how 2023 will continue with Broken Ranks.
Start video
Broken Ranks – Offizieller Launch Trailer
Developers are proud of their good start and their leveling system
How did the launch of the game go? Krzysztof Danilewicz told us that the developers are very satisfied with the release and the development after a year. They are especially proud of the engaged and critical community they have built.
However, there were also some stumbling blocks at launch:
At the beginning, we had some bugs that hindered the gameplay right from the start. We have fixed critical errors, improved the skin system to make it more user-friendly, adjusted prices in the cosmetics shop, and optimized the game itself to run faster.
We have also filled in the major content gaps that have accompanied us since the launch. There are more low and mid-level bosses and quests, and the gameplay is more varied – we are on the right track.
There are still some other items on our to-do list, such as questing, which our community has pointed out. It is (for an MMORPG) unusual, which is good on one hand, but on the other hand can deter players who prefer group-based questing. The narrative and quests are often not linear (like in cRPGs), but they make it difficult to track the progress of multiple people who have taken different paths.
A problem with group questing is that you can choose different dialogues, which affects follow-up quests and rewards, as you can sometimes finish quest lines early. Here, a group can quickly get lost.
What is the special leveling system all about? Leveling in Broken Ranks differs drastically from most new MMORPGs. The trend is generally to reduce the time required for leveling. However, in Broken Ranks, most players have not yet reached the max level of 140 – even though the game has been out for a year.
And this is quite intentional, although the developers are planning some adjustments:
In Broken Ranks, leveling up is unusual and contrary to the norm, but it fits perfectly with the character of the game. Here, the development of your character is a gradual process that is present from the very beginning. Thanks to the profound storyline and captivating quests, players do not simply rush through the game world. They can enjoy the immersion for a long time. Additionally, in Broken Ranks, some equipment items also need to be leveled up, which is especially important in the endgame.
On one hand, we have an unusual leveling and character development system, while on the other hand, there is also something for veterans of the genre. At some points, it would be better to speed up leveling, which can happen not only through increasing experience gained but also through new content – we think here of various scenarios.
A good time to level up is, for example, the upcoming Easter event. There, you get as many experience points in 5 days as you usually would in one to two months.
PvP becomes optional at the players’ request
What has changed since the release? One of the biggest changes since the launch of the game relates to PvP. Arenas have been introduced, where tournaments can be played, and there is even a ranking system with prizes.
However, the PvP in the game world itself has also been completely overhauled. At first, there were no real rewards, but the system was still used by high-level players to kill lower players. Now there are faction and PvP points, which are lost when you kill lower players. Additionally, in most areas, you can only attack players who have flagged themselves for PvP.
Krzysztof Danilewicz also revealed to us what other highlights were in the first year after launch:
Since the launch of Broken Ranks, we have added a lot of new features. We try to plan our actions so that every type of player can find something for themselves. In addition to four new boss instances, four events, and changes to PvP, we have also brought these important features:
Guild Lands: This allows players to establish their guild headquarters and take the first step towards building other buildings that provide additional bonuses (e.g. fast travel, buffs, or new pets). Additionally, the joint leveling of the guild strengthens the cohesion within the guild and positively impacts each individual.
The Marketplace: Until the introduction of the marketplace, trading could only be done via chats or outside the game. We decided it would be best to introduce a form of trading familiar to players from other games in the genre. Thanks to this, our players can buy and sell items very conveniently.
Achievements: In our opinion, this is one of the most important elements of MMORPGs – it motivates and provides a lot of satisfaction. We will continue to expand it to offer rewards for more difficult achievements.
However, there is still a feature that many are waiting for: guild wars. These were actually supposed to be in the game already, but were delayed due to the overhaul of the PvP system. “The overhaul of the existing PvP system was a logical first step before we introduce guild wars – we want them to be as attractive as possible, hence the delay.”
No more equipment downgrades and new endgame content
What will change in 2023? A major point of criticism, even among our readers, has been the gear system. If someone wants to upgrade their equipment in the endgame, they may find themselves with a downgrade. This is to be adjusted with a major gear overhaul. From now on, there will be a slow, safe, and a fast, but risky upgrade system:
Together with the planned overhaul of equipment, we want to introduce an alternative way to upgrade equipment that does not reset the progress already made. Both systems will operate in parallel, where the player can choose whether to take risks or continue to upgrade slowly but without risk. The system will be introduced in one of the later phases of the reform and will include items that can be placed in a special additional slot.
However, much more will change with the gear update. The biggest changes are to come in April:
Legendary equipment items will receive slots for the so-called Drifs, which provide useful modifiers. It will be up to players to decide which modifiers they want to use, upgrade, and combine. Of course, there will be diminishing returns for each modifier to prevent players from creating overpowered builds. The reform will give players more options – we want them to be able to customize their equipment to their needs.
Furthermore, a new region on the world map along with a city, new endgame instances, and an expansion of daily PvE and PvP activities are planned.
An increase in the current level cap will come someday, but it also poses risks. It doesn’t sound like this will happen in 2023:
We have been thinking about raising the max level for some time now. We are sure that new content for high-level players would be a good time to introduce something like this, but… it’s just not that simple. We need to think it through and consider the big picture because depending on which solution we choose, it would disrupt the balance of the entire game. In any case, the max level may be raised in the future.
What is changing with the servers? Currently, players choose a server with a specific language, and the client is set accordingly. In the future, however, you should be able to choose your language version regardless of which server you play on.
Mobile and Steam release planned to reach a wide audience
What about the Steam release? Besides the adjustments for the PC version, Broken Ranks will also be released this year for Android and iOS. Initial tests are scheduled for mid-year. Alongside the mobile release, the MMORPG is also set to be released on Steam:
Steam has been part of our plans from the beginning. However, we want to fix all major problems and bugs that have accompanied us since the release before we go to Steam. Most of these issues are already behind us, but the list is still not empty. For example, we want to overhaul equipment, expand the main story, add a new area and a new boss for the mid-game.
Initially, we wanted to reach hardcore MMORPG fans to improve our game with their help, and only then do a Steam release to reach a wider audience.
What happens next? In the near future, a new endgame dungeon and the first parts of the gear reform are planned. Additionally, on July 1, 2023, TaernCon will take place, a dedicated offline event for fans of the game. This convention will be held in Poland, where the developers are also based.
What do you say about Broken Ranks? Have you tried the MMORPG yet, or did it completely fly under your radar?
The new action role-playing game Diablo 4 is receiving much praise and recognition after the first closed beta. Blizzard is back in form. But some users say: It is unacceptable to forgive Blizzard for all scandals and wrongdoings just because they make a good game. Gaming journalist and scandal exposer Jason Schreier is a target of this criticism – but he sees it quite differently.
Female employees were said to have been discriminated against – paid less, given fewer promotion opportunities, targeted by sexual harassment
The culture of a fraternity prevailed in the company: Male employees would drink during working hours and make women do their work
The worst accusation of the lawsuit: A woman was driven to suicide in “a tragic example of sexual harassment,”
The company’s leadership, especially CEO Bobby Kotick, had been aware of it all, but swept it under the rug
Attempts by Activision Blizzard to resolve the issue failed. Initially, they brusquely denied everything. Later, they fired the head of Blizzard and promoted a duo of a man and a woman to the top of the studio. But Jen O’Neal resigned shortly thereafter when she realized she was being paid less than her male counterpart
The employees of Activision Blizzard demanded the resignation of CEO Bobby Kotick and criticized the board for standing so firmly by Kotick’s side
How did it end? Activision Blizzard maintained the narrative that there had indeed been problems at Blizzard in the past. But these problems were in the past. Today everything is much better:
Diablo 4 is well-received – Even celebrated by critical journalists
This is now the discussion: Following the open beta of Diablo 4, some prominent gaming journalists who had reported critically about Blizzard have now shown enthusiasm for the beta:
Especially Jason Schreier from Bloomberg (formerly Kotaku) wrote: The game is great, he will spend many hours of his life in Diablo 4
This sparked resistance on Twitter. One user wrote: “I enjoyed the 5 seconds in which we stood together against Activision/Blizzard.” The tweet has so far reached 1.6 million views, making it quite significant. Many share this view.
The idea behind the tweet is:
Gaming journalists act as if they are socially engaged and would stand against a company when it behaves immorally
But when the studio makes a good game, the protest quickly fades away and everything is fine again
Therefore, such criticism is not to be taken seriously – gaming journalists lose their credibility when they first criticize problems in the companies and then celebrate the games of the same company
Many agree with this criticism under the tweet. It is also said that gaming journalists do not follow moral standards but are just chasing “the next paycheck.” Schreier is criticized as “industry-friendly.” Some express disappointment in him.
A gaming developer also speaks up and says: It is okay to enjoy the work of “hardworking developers” while simultaneously calling on the bosses to improve working conditions. Both are not mutually exclusive.
Journalist says: Boycott does not work – Change must come from workers
Schreier does not want to accept the accusation of ignoring all problems as soon as Blizzard makes a good game.
Schreier says: Anyone who wants can avoid games, there is no need for a reason. That is everyone’s right. But a “boycott” is not a sign of solidarity with the employees – unless they themselves call for a boycott.
But the employees at Blizzard, from what he has seen and heard, have not called for a boycott, but for exactly the opposite.
To solve problems in the industry, workers need to organize, take drastic measures if necessary, and fight as hard as they can together. It is helpful if customers stand on the sidelines, applaud, and participate in actions when workers call for it, but that’s about it.
When addressed that Activision Blizzard is particularly bad because a woman committed suicide, Schreier responds:
The big difference between Activision Blizzard and other companies is that other companies settled their legal disputes out of court before they became public.
The difference between Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft, EA, Riot Games, Sony, Microsoft, or other companies that have also faced allegations of sexual harassment is actually just that it is easier for many to attack Blizzard.
A boycott of a game would not lead to a change in the behavior of the company bosses, but to the realization: “Our workers did poorly and delivered a flop.”
The case is reminiscent of Hogwarts Legacy, where some called for a boycott of the game:
