It should already be known that content creators and influencers have to pay a lot of money to the tax office. However, there is a cheat code for taxes that Twitch streamer NoWay did not take advantage of and had to pay 800,000 euros.
Why did NoWay have to pay so much in taxes? In a new video on his YouTube channel, the Twitch streamer and LoL player received a letter from the tax office. He told the chat that he was afraid of the tax office.
NoWay explained himself and talked about his high tax payments in 2025. According to him, 85% of his income would have been used for this payment. NoWay mentions in his video the “three-year trap” which can become a downfall for many self-employed individuals. He explains the term using his own example.
The YouTuber explained that his income had skyrocketed three years ago. When he submitted the tax return for that year, he faced extremely high back payments and an adjustment of the advance payment. Additionally, he was supposed to pay a general tax payment and a trade tax payment.
At the end, there was a huge back payment reported NoWay. For him, that amounted to 800,000 euros in one month.
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Former German LoL Pro is Now One of the Most Successful Twitch Streamers – This is NoWay
There is a cheat code for Twitch streamers to avoid these taxes
What is the cheat code? According to NoWay, moving to Madeira, an island in Portugal, is the cheat code to save on taxes. There, there are no income taxes for influencers, allowing them to almost double their income, says NoWay.
In the past, many influencers and content creators emigrated to Madeira to enjoy the beautiful nature or to save on high taxes.
Would NoWay emigrate to Madeira? No, for NoWay personally there is no reason to move to the island other than tax evasion or, as he calls it, tax optimization. According to him, he has the luxury of being able to afford to pay so many taxes. However, he already said in a stream in 2023 that it would be foolish not to move to Madeira, as the careers of content creators can be very short.
Are there other reasons? Yes, he was born and raised in Germany and has benefited from the infrastructure. Furthermore, he has many viewers from Germany, and for them, taxes are indirectly something he can give back to his fans. The biggest point will probably be that his family lives here in Germany and they are doing well.
Are you also unsure how to unlock the mystical skill Phantom Steps in Where Winds Meet? MyMMO reveals it to you in this guide!
How do I unlock Phantom Steps? To unlock the mystical skill from Where Winds Meet, follow these steps:
You need access to the Spirit Market in the Kaifeng region and a Spirit Mask. You can land there through various routes. One option: the exploration event Coffin Shop in the Abandoned District in the southeast of Kaifeng City. Just interact with the namesake coffin in the shop.
To the southeast of the Spirit Market, you will find a Divinecraft dungeon that you must enter. Fall through the hole and follow the path down into the cave until you reach individual wooden crates positioned at a height.
From one of those wooden crates, you can jump onto a platform that leads to a side area. Watch out for collapsing wooden floors there. Follow the path to explosive crates that you can detonate with fire arrows. This way, the next jumping opportunity opens up.
There will be many more jumps, including a passage where you need to hurry due to a timer. There will be no time left for leisurely exploration.
At the end of the dungeon, you will finally find the chest from which you draw the mystical skill Phantom Steps. To open this, you DO NOT need to find all the other chests in the dungeon. However, they grant you additional rewards.
The following gallery will help you reach the dungeon:
Here you find the Coffin Shop.The dungeon entrance.The reward for the last chest.
Tip: If you should get injured from a fall, there are several options available to cure this.
Visit the Evercare Clinic and have Yao Yaoyao heal you – this costs coins.
Look for a player in chat or multiplayer mode who has enough knowledge as a healer to treat your injury. Since there’s a whole sect specialized in healing fellow players, you should be able to find someone to help you fairly easily.
Here is a gameplay trailer for Where Winds Meet:
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Where Winds Meet zeigt im neuen Gameplay-Trailer die Aktivitäten in der Open World und … Hunde, die Mahjong spielen?
Strong option for PvP
What is the worth of Phantom Steps? The mystical skill provides you with the Mirage status at the push of a button, lasting 20 seconds. This effect reduces the stamina costs of your ground dodging abilities by 40 percent and extends the duration of undetectability as you move like a fleeting shadow.
This advantage is particularly strong when you have to dodge frequently, for example in PvP situations. However, when leveling and doing quests on normal or low difficulty, you can do without this mystical art and better maximize your offense.
Where Winds Meet belongs to the type of games that only somewhat guide you. The number of systems, mechanics, and currencies is large. Many important pieces of information get lost in the jungle of menus. If you are looking for tips and tricks for the open-world adventure, check out our guide overview – maybe we already have the solution for your current problem: Where Winds Meet: All guides, tips, and builds in overview
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A mother has bought a gaming PC for her child. The community is excited about the mom and wants to belong to the family. Because the hardware of the purchased PC is very powerful and features a RTX 5070 Ti among other things. A graphics card that alone costs between 700 and 800 euros.
A mother posted a picture on Reddit, showcasing the features of a gaming PC. At the same time, she wants to know if the computer is appropriate for a 13-year-old child. In another post, she explains that she bought the PC with a discount.
Specifically, the system is a pre-built PC from MSI, which officially costs $2,499.99. The mother bought the PC on sale for $500 less. The offer mentioned by the mother can be found directly at the US provider Costco.com, where more details can also be found:
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
RAM: 32 GB DDR5 (2x 16 GB)
Storage: 2 TB NVMe-SSD
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Valve presents the Steam Machine in the new trailer
Community is excited about the mother and the computer
Why is the community excited? The PC is very powerful and according to the community outperforms most gaming PCs that many players use daily. For example, if you look at the official Steam Hardware Survey, which some users refer to, you can see that the majority of players primarily opt for affordable graphics cards.
The most popular graphics card on Steam, the GeForce RTX 3060, is priced between 200 and 250 euros. As a user aptly points out under the mother’s post:
A 5070 Ti is better than what the majority have. This [PC Master Race, ed. note] is a niche community that is not representative of the world of PC gaming. Most people use budget cards for $250 to $350. A 5070 Ti alone costs over $700. He is a lucky boy to have such a PC at his age. A 5070 Ti will serve him well for many years to come.
And many express that they would also like to have such a PC and would love to be adopted if it means having such a powerful gaming PC:
I am 7 years older than you and also want to be adopted. OP is about to have a house full of adults who want a good PC.
What is certain is that the child with the gaming PC will likely not have major problems even in the coming years being able to play new games on high settings, while other players may have to reduce settings or even resort to a console. Because many players have long feared that PC gaming could soon become unaffordable.
Especially in light of rising prices, first for graphics cards and now for memory, which are driving up computer prices further. Even the new Steam Machine could end up being much more expensive than expected, according to a well-known YouTuber who asked Valve about the price.
In 2015, Studio Madhouse captivated the world with the first season of the action-comedy series One-Punch Man. Now, the third season is already out for the anime, but not much remains of the original hype. MeinMMO explored the background of the production – so why has one of the most popular series in the world become so poorly received?
One-Punch Man is the story of Saitama, a resident of City Z. He supposedly trains every day by doing 100 squats, 100 sit-ups, and running 10 kilometers. As a result, he has become so strong that he can defeat any opponent with just one punch – hence the title One-Punch Man. However, he is actually just a hobby hero and is completely uninterested in saving the world.
In 2015, the anime adaptation of the first chapters set new standards for action animations and created a massive hype around Saitama. Now, two more seasons have been released, but the excitement has completely flipped: Fans are shocked by season 3.
MeinMMO has thoroughly examined the series and its production, attempting to find answers in this article to the question of why.
Who is writing here?
MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiss began her journalistic career in 2016 as an intern at the German anime and manga magazine AnimaniA. After two years of training, she worked there as a permanent editor until the end of 2019. During this time, she became familiar with the industry and delved deeply into anime productions and manga publishing. Since 2020, she has been working for Webedia GmbH, the parent company of MeinMMO. Since mid-2023, she has been active again in journalism, writing as Managing Editor for MeinMMO.
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One-Punch Man Staffel 1 ist eine der beliebtesten Anime-Serien aller Zeiten
High expectations for One-Punch Man, and Season 1 is to blame
Before One-Punch Man became a series, it was an immensely successful webcomic with over 7.9 million views alone by 2012 (Anime News Network) and then a very successful manga that has been printed and sold millions of times. Volume 34 from August 2025 currently has 34 million printed and sold copies (Manga Watch).
The serial adaptation with 12 episodes in Season 1 began in October 2015. It was produced by Studio Madhouse under the direction of Shingo Natsume. As a studio, Madhouse can boast over 200 produced anime series since 1981. Some of these include action blockbusters like Black Lagoon, Devil May Cry, Highschool of the Dead, and the popular Hunter X Hunter from 2011.
Shingo Natsume, on the other hand, had produced two seasons of Space Dandy for Studio Bones before One-Punch Man. He worked with some now almost legendary animators: Yutaka Nakamura, Arifumi Imai, and Yoshimichi Kameda. All three also contributed to the production of One-Punch Man Season 1.
Specifically, Nakamura is credited on Sakuga Booru, a site tracking animators works, with some of the best fight scenes. Imai, on the other hand, is responsible for the animation of the training fight between Saitama and his student Genos (Sakuga Booru).
Several success factors came together for Season 1: An action-experienced studio adapted a popular story with a director who could attract unique animation talent. Thanks to this perfect storm, the first season became a celebrated feast for the eyes.
On Rotten Tomatoes, where the series has achieved 96% on the popcorn meter with over 250 reviews, it is stated: With its cutting-edge animation, unconventional hero, and gut-busting comedic jabs at the shōnen genre, One-Punch Man is simply a home run.
This success of the first season may have been the reason that Season 2 and now also Season 3 can’t even come close to the set bar. From here, we need to speculate a bit: Behind every anime stands a production committee that decides when the series will be produced by which studio. The production committee holds nearly all the strings.
One-Punch Man Season 1 was a huge hit. Successful products should not be allowed to fade away, and as a result, they probably tried to push the second season as quickly as possible – which may not have even been planned when Episode 1 aired. They first want to see if the product resonates with the audience.
Since the middle of the 2010s, many anime studios have been heavily burdened. An article from the Hollywood Reporter cites Ted Sarandos, the then Chief Content Officer of Netflix, who stated that they currently have over 30 anime series in production. That’s a lot for just one client, especially since traditional buyers like TV networks also had productions commissioned.
It is therefore very likely that Studio Madhouse had to give up Season 2 due to capacity reasons. From the first season until 2025, Madhouse has also released 34 new productions – a mountain of content, in which One-Punch Man might simply not have fit anymore.
In addition, Shingo Natsume was no longer available as a director for Season 2. He left the project, among other things, for Boogiepop and Others or the award-winning Sonny Boy (Anime News Network). Of the artistic talents who worked with Natsume on the first season, only Yoshimichi Kameda returned for one episode.
The production of Season 2 ultimately went to J.C. Staff. However, J.C. Staff is not a studio known for particularly well-animated action animes. Their strength lies in rom-coms, slice-of-life, and magic – as can be clearly seen in Toradora!, Maid-Sama, or Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?.
Without Shingo Natsume, a new director was also needed. Chikara Sakurai took over the season. One-Punch Man Season 2 was his directorial debut. Previously, he was primarily active as an animation director and assistant director.
Season 2 thus did not have the same conditions as the first: A studio that is not known for its action productions, paired with an inexperienced director and the absence of the animation talents that Shingo Natsume had managed to attract.
Upon release in 2019 – only two years after the first season – the new episodes still achieved a popcorn score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even then, there were loud voices criticizing the downgrade in animations. On YouTube, for example, a viewer compiled the worst animations. And even three years ago, the production quality was being discussed on Reddit.
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One-Punch Man: Special Announcement for Season 3 of the Anime
Season 3 was the perfect storm leading to failure
Season 3 of One-Punch Man started only in October 2025. A full six years after the release of the second season. And especially after such a long wait, many viewers are frustrated that the animation quality seems to have dropped again. The popcorn meter stands at 6% at the time of this article, with over 500 ratings (Rotten Tomatoes).
J.C. Staff continues to produce the series. However, a new director has once again been brought on board for the new episodes: Shinpei Nagai. His projects primarily include comedies like Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san or I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying. Action, however, has not yet appeared in his repertoire. His project before One-Punch Man was the sex comedy Dogeza de Tanondemita.
The remaining staff from the second season was at least back in key positions. However, the director’s competencies are relevant because he holds the strings during production and must guide his series ship to a safe harbor. Season 3 thus faced the same problems that Season 2 had.
On top of that, since 2019, the demand for new anime has not decreased, but has rather grown. Studios are currently trying to produce more series in shorter periods. It is also likely that attention to budget has increased, and the budgets are not always high enough.
This is at least suggested by Shinpei Nagai – the very director for One-Punch Man Season 3. Even before the release of his production, he stated that the quality would likely not match that of the first. In a post on X.com, he railed against small production budgets and the lack of animation talent. This must have further complicated production, as cutting corners might have been necessary.
The result is a third season that, as noted on Rotten Tomatoes, is far from well-received. Major issues include detail-poor fight scenes, fluctuating proportions in character designs, and inappropriate shine effects on metallic surfaces.
In retrospect, it is easy to say that One-Punch Man Season 3 never had a chance to reignite the hype. Still, it is sad.
Unfortunately, One-Punch Man is just a symptom of an overstretched anime industry. Here, a very high demand currently meets overworked production facilities and talents. Additionally, the budgets may not always suffice for high quality.
The outrage here is probably particularly loud because the manga is still enjoying very high popularity. Many pure anime viewers will of course also want to know how the story continues. And due to the originally very high benchmark, current expectations remain high as well. Whether these can ever be met again remains to be seen. However, something seems to be going quite well with a live-action adaptation: Netflix shares news about Season 3 of One Piece, possibly revealing more backstory about a character
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The platform Twitch has recently added a new feature that allows streamers to earn even more money at once. Viewers can now donate even more money at once. Not everyone is satisfied with this feature.
How does Twitch allow streamers to earn even more money? On Twitch, you can subscribe to a streamer of your choice. For an amount between 5 and 25 euros per month, you receive exclusive stickers for the chat and can watch the stream or ads.
Subscriptions can also be gifted by viewers. The money from subscriptions still goes to the streamers, but one of the viewers is selected at random to receive the benefits of the subscription.
On November 26, 2025, Twitch introduced a new maximum limit for gifted subscriptions: 1,000 subscriptions can be gifted to the streamer at once. This totals approximately $6,000 (about 5,100 euros) – that is the fixed price that Twitch sets for 1,000 gift subscriptions. However, Twitch offers a discount: when gifting 1,000 subscriptions at once, the giver can save $1,000 and pays “only” around $5,000 (about 4,300 euros).
Although this was a significant change from Twitch, the platform did not announce it widely anywhere.
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These are the 5 most relevant German streamers on Twitch in 2024, according to Google
Criticism from the Community
How does the community react? Twitch streamer Emiru was one of the first streamers to be confronted with the new feature from Twitch. In her stream on November 26, 2025, she was playing Dispatch, when she incredulously paused the game and looked at her Twitch dashboard. She had just received 1,000 gift subscriptions at once.
The new feature was criticized across platforms, even by Twitch streamers themselves. The feature was partially described as “irresponsible” and a “risk for fraud” (Source: X).
Streamer Ludwig Ahgren stated, for example, on X, that every new Twitch feature only exists to get more money from the viewers. He appealed to the platform: “Dude, just make a decent mobile/TV app, I’m going crazy.”
Twitch streamer PointCrow also criticized the action on X: “The crazy thing is that if they really wanted to make money, they would earn more with a good mobile app than with all these [features] combined […] They’re so blind, it’s crazy.”
Meanwhile, it seems that the 1,000 gift subscription feature has been disabled by Twitch again, as also reported on X. This option no longer appears on the German website of Twitch.
Twitch now allows streamers to earn even more at once with gifted subscriptions, but it also carries potential for conflict. Viewers could initially give a lot of money to the streamers, but through Twitch’s refund functionality, they could just as easily take it back. This could lead to a situation like with Twitch streamer lightedits: Twitch streamer fights with debt because an upset viewer did not want to accept his chat ban – fans rush to help
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In addition to your companions, summons that fight by your side are a great help in Baldur’s Gate 3. A player found out that a specific group of characters in the game represents the summons that are stronger than all others if you just recruit them correctly.
Which characters are being referred to? The player Morgana Evelyn discovered that a group of characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 produces the most powerful companions when they fight by their side. We are talking about the children you can encounter at various points in the game.
Whether Tiefling, human, or a completely different race – children are the probably most powerful fighters in the entire game for a simple reason: they can be made to fight permanently by your side with a specific sequence of spells and other actions. We want to present to you how the player achieved this and how you can replicate it.
Here you see the animated short film for Patch 8 of Baldur’s Gate 3:
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Der animierte Kurzfilm zu Patch 8, dem letzten Update für Baldur’s Gate 3
Children may seem harmless, but they are unkillable
Why are the children in Baldur’s Gate 3 so powerful? The extraordinary power of the smallest fighters in the game comes from a specific reason: they are immortal. Children cannot be killed in Baldur’s Gate 3 (unless they are unfortunate enough to be born as goblin children). Furthermore, they are not involved in the turns of a battle and can hit your opponents as often and whenever they want.
This is because games that depict physical or emotional harm to children cannot be advertised or marketed in any way. For this reason, killing children in many games – including Baldur’s Gate 3 – is generally not possible.
However, Morgana takes advantage of exactly this rule. Although you cannot kill children in Baldur’s Gate 3 (my condolences to all goblin children), you can recruit them indirectly to create an indestructible army of child soldiers. Whether this is morally much better is for you to judge.
How do you “recruit” the children? In her clip on YouTube, the player shows how she proceeded to build an army of immortal children by her side:
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Here we list all the steps again in case you want to try it yourself:
To recruit a child, you need a companion (not yourself!) who can cast the spells “Dominate Beast” and “Polymorph”.
First, select a child and transform it into a sheep using “Polymorph”. Immediately after, use the spell “Dominate Beast” so that the child in sheep’s clothing obeys and follows you.
Then you travel to your camp and best switch to turn-based mode so that the spell durations don’t run out too quickly.
Once there, send out the spellcasting companion from your party and wait until you see the notification above their head that the concentration for the spells has ended.
Then you re-recruit the spellcaster, quickly leave your camp and save the game immediately, and restart the save file. Then your child should be permanently by your side.
“Children are the strongest summons in the game,” the player explains in her clip, even though they can only be recruited through a small workaround. If you don’t have as much fun recruiting children for your own purposes in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can also rely on other summons that truly fight by your side completely voluntarily. Here on MeinMMO, we have summarized the best summons in Baldur’s Gate 3 in a ranking: The 6 best companions from Baldur’s Gate 3 that actually aren’t – Which summons are particularly strong?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Some situations in Dungeons & Dragons result in advantages or disadvantages for players according to the rules. An expert on bows has taken a closer look at one rule and explains why it has a significant logical gap.
Which rule is being discussed? Content creator and archery expert Blumineck takes a closer look at the rules for ranged attacks in the condition “Prone” in his video on Instagram. In his opinion, there is a logical gap in these rules.
Some attacks and actions cause characters and opponents to fall to the ground and remain there until their turn, thereby suffering from the “Prone” condition. When a character is prone, the following rules apply according to the basic rulebook:
Limited Movement
You can only move by crawling or spend a movement distance equal to half your speed (rounded down) to stand up and end the condition. If your speed is 0, you cannot stand up.
Impaired Attacks
You have disadvantage on attack rolls. An attack roll against you has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of you. Otherwise, this attack roll has disadvantage.
According to Blumineck, the part regarding advantages and disadvantages in attacks has a significant weakness, which leads to this rule being inherently illogical and misapplied when considering realistic advantages and disadvantages.
Start video
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – Second Official Trailer for the Movie
Disadvantage for ranged attackers against grounded targets, yes – but not always
What weakness does the rule have? As Blumineck explains in his video, it is generally true that a prone position significantly complicates attacks with a bow from various distances, but not always.
Historically, shots at high angles, as often seen in movies, have been somewhat rare, and most attacks with a bow and arrow were made either flat or at slight angles. Therefore, it is generally possible to hit targets lying on the ground, especially if the attacker kneels as flat as possible.
Nevertheless, aiming is so complicated that a disadvantage for ranged attackers is justified. The logical gap mainly lies in attacks from elevated positions.
Why should ranged attacks from height against prone targets have an advantage? Blumineck argues that attacks made from above against lying targets should actually have an advantage. According to the basic rules, ranged attacks from height also regularly have an advantage on their attack rolls, as long as the target is standing.
However, following the rules for the “Prone” condition, the advantage provided by the resulting disadvantage would actually negate itself, and ranged attackers would thus have to make a normal attack roll. From his perspective, this is where the logical error lies.
For targets that have fallen to the ground, the rules and logic state that they are restricted in movement and cannot easily react to incoming attacks, which is why melee attacks have an advantage against these targets. However, it should also be easy for archers from an elevated position to aim at such opponents, so they should also have an advantage if one plays under realistic conditions.
From Blumineck’s point of view, the “Prone” condition almost provides a sort of protection for those on the ground, which could even prove advantageous against groups containing multiple ranged attackers. Meanwhile, an expert on longswords has taken a closer look at rules that turn fighters into true attack machines: Longsword expert explains whether 8 attacks in 6 seconds in Dungeons & Dragons are realistic
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Where Winds Meet entices with a Free2Play model and enormous scope. The new open-world RPG aims to fund itself through a Battle Pass, in-game shop, and a gacha mechanic. But how fair is the monetization? Are there any Pay2Win pitfalls lurking?
How does Where Winds Meet finance itself? You can download and play the new open-world RPG for free on PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile. There is no paid version (for example, one that would make the start easier or unlock cosmetic skins) available for any of the platforms.
So how do the people at Everstone and NetEase earn their money? Well, mainly through the following monetization pillars:
Paid path from the Battle Pass, through which you receive additional items and currencies, such as various skins, Echo Jade, cosmetic chests, Resonant Melody, dye powder, or tokens for the Battle Pass shop.
Through the Elite (€9.09) or the more expensive Premium Battle Pass (€18), you also unlock advantages like +2 carrying limit for medicine, +12 equipment slots, portable merchant, -10 requirement points for all equipment, exclusive access to skins and rewards like Resonant Melody.
In-game shop, where you can purchase various cosmetic items (like armor and weapon skins, special mounts, or weapon effects) with different currencies (Harmonic Core, Echo Pearls, Sound Jade, Essence of Heaven, Essence of Earth).
Monthly card for €4.59, which promises 300 Echo Pearls, 3,000 Echo Jade, 90,000 coins, and 1,500 campaign XP upon purchase, plus daily in-game rewards and a Resonant Melody after 20 days of logging in.
The sale of real money currency Echo Pearls – the offer ranges from the smallest package of 60 pearls for €0.90 to 12,000 pearls for nearly €182.
Currently, there are several cosmetic sets with hairstyles, outfits, and decorative items for hair or face, each costing 2,322 Echo Pearls. Anyone purchasing the package with 1,800 Pearls along with the package with 600 Pearls pays €36.58.
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Where Winds Meet zeigt im neuen Gameplay-Trailer die Aktivitäten in der Open World und … Hunde, die Mahjong spielen?
A lot of game for little money, but still criticism
Therefore, I also treated myself to the Premium Battle Pass to at least support the developers financially with €18. The resulting advantages such as additional equipment slots or the increased medicine carrying limit are nice, but not game-changing.
So far, I believe I have only invested in the Resonant Melody draw from all the supplemental items of the paid path. No money has landed in the shop otherwise. And I have not felt that I am missing out or that my gaming experience is negatively affected.
With the current version of monetization, I can live well (even if I’m generally not a fan of Free2Play models or gacha systems).
Pearl prices in Where Winds Meet
Why is there still criticism? Due to the sometimes very high prices in the shop of the western version, and because the draw is linked to an annoying element of chance that automatically adds a gambling level to payment offers. Anyone who cannot control their spending can quickly spend a fortune on a few cosmetics.
The discussion is currently heated by various reports from players stating that the Chinese version is reportedly fairer:
KnightXzero reports on Reddit that content that is only available here through the gacha version can be directly purchased in China for a set price. Additionally, there is said to be a trading option among players in the home market, allowing interested parties to buy cosmetic outfits with one of the earnable currencies. This trading is absent in the West.
No_Method2914 is bothered in his post on Reddit by the fact that certain outfits in the Chinese version are reportedly much cheaper than in the West – although we currently could not find a set that costs 7,440 pearls as claimed in the discussion.
SeaViolinist6424 criticizes on Reddit the rising prices for special draws in the gacha system, where you need to draw 8 times to receive all rewards. Unfortunately, the price does not stay at 60 pearls per draw, but increases with each draw (the second draw apparently already costs 180 pearls).
Mounts from the shop, such as this goose, can be upgraded (allowing you to travel with up to 5 geese).
Is Where Winds Meet Pay2Win?
The content creator TuanMax claims this in his video on YouTube from November 26, 2025. His argument: In Where Winds Meet, there is a merchant where you can buy scrolls for upgrading passive martial arts skills with Echo Jade.
Moreover, you can buy the very powerful Inner Path skill, Moral Song, from a merchant with 5,000 Echo Jade, which represents one of the four best options for practically any build. Those who spend money in the shop for the Battle Pass or monthly card can acquire these advantages more easily or earlier, according to TuanMax.
What the YouTuber does not mention: The purchase of upgrading scrolls is heavily limited. Furthermore, you can earn plenty of Echo Jade through exploration of the world. This allows Free2Play players easy access to buying Moral Song early or upgrading important skills.
What is not possible in Where Winds Meet: To significantly outpace Free2Play players in leveling and equipping to the maximum level, thereby dominating various PvP content.
Likewise, players who spend money cannot buy advantages for their character strength that can only be earned through hard grinding or not at all. From our perspective, the payment model of Where Winds Meet is therefore not Pay2Win in its current form. What do you think? More general information about the game can be found in our comprehensive overview: All info on release, start time, price, and gameplay of Where Winds Meet
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
ARC Raiders has released a new update, and this actually fixes an exploit that has undeservedly rewarded many Raiders. Anyone who still tries to outsmart the system will now justly be punished.
When was the patch released? The patch was recently released on November 27, 2025, at 10:30 AM German time across all platforms. On Steam, the update is about 1.7 GB and brings some improvements to the game.
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Trailer for the community event “Breaking New Ground” in ARC Raiders
Patch Notes 1.4.0 Overview
What changes with the patch? On the official blog post by ARC Raiders, the patch notes for update 1.4.0 are listed in English.
There are several bug fixes and a solution for the glitched areas. Recently, we reported on a fix for the locked areas in Patch 1.3.0. But as it turned out, Raiders could still access these areas using barricades – the exploit had not been fixed yet. This time, it looks different.
Embark has come up with something interesting, because according to the patch notes, your character will be fried if you attempt to exploit it. We can’t show you exactly how it works, but we advise you to steer clear of the exploit at this point. Unless you want to lose your loot. Here’s what you can expect:
Content and Bug Fixes
Exploit mitigation mechanisms have been added for all locked rooms across all maps.
Fixed the gun exploit that allowed you to shoot quicker than intended by swapping to a quick use item and back.
The exterior access to Spaceport’s Control Tower locked room has been blocked off.
Fixed the issue that sometimes caused low resolution textures in the Main Menu.
Fixed players being able to push each other by jumping on each other’s backs.
Fixed lighting artifacts that would sometimes occur upon entering maps.
Raider Voice now correctly respects the selected voice option after restarting the game.
The developers have been tirelessly working since the release to keep players satisfied with their support. They are also taking action against cheaters, and if you happened to be in a game with them and lost, you will even get your loot refunded. You can find out more about it here: ARC Raiders not only bans cheaters in the game, but also compensates the victims
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The release of Chapter 7 Season 1 won’t be long. The developers of Fortnite have diligently published new teasers for the season, and one of these teasers revolves around the upcoming Battle Pass.
What skins can I expect in Chapter 7 Season 1? Epic Games has already released the entire line-up of the Battle Pass for Chapter 7 Season 1. The developers have prepared three female and five male skins, and here’s how they look (Source: x.com):
You can expect to see these skins in Chapter 7 Season 1
A lion as a surfer
Beatrix “the Bride” Kiddo from Kill Bill
A female skin with black hair and sunglasses
A male skin with a black tank top
Marty McFly from Back to the Future
A male skin with nunchakus and black hair
A blue-haired female skin with a pink bandana
An astronaut with a golden cube on the visor
Which tiers the skins will be available at is still unknown. This information will likely be released during the downtime after Fortnite has completed its live event.
What skins might appear? It is already known that Fortnite will have a collaboration with Kill Bill, and accordingly there is a free skin to earn. If you log in between November 27 at 3:00 PM and December 1 at 3:00 PM, you will receive the outfit “Yuki Yubari” as a gift.
Aside from that, the well-known leaker Shiina has shared further details about upcoming collaborations, but enjoy this information with a pinch of caution, as these have not been confirmed by Epic Games (Source: x.com):
LISA
Ninjago
South Park
Harry Potter
Playboi Carti
Back to the Future
Christmas Hatsune Miku
SpongeBob SquarePants
When does Chapter 7 Season 1 start? According to Epic Games, Chapter 7 Season 1 is set to start on November 29, likely a few hours after a downtime. However, there should be a major live event beforehand in which the old chapter will be farewell and a massive battle will be demonstrated. What you can expect soon can be found here: Fortnite: Chapter 7 is starting soon – All about the live event, leaks, and battle pass for Season 1
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
If you don’t feel like cheesy Christmas movies during the cold season, you might find a different suitable entertainment in Scandinavian crime dramas. There is currently a whole series available for free and without a subscription. Kenneth Branagh plays the lead role.
Which series is it about? In the 1990s, Swedish author Henning Mankell created the character Kurt Wallander. He is a commissioner who must solve various cases in the Swedish town of Ystad in several novels.
Several of the novels have been filmed multiple times. Between 2008 and 2015, the series “Kommissar Wallander” aired with 12 episodes, in which Kenneth Branagh plays the lead role of Wallander. Most people probably know him as the worst teacher from Hogwarts, Gilderoy Lockhart, or the charming detective Hercule Poirot from Murder on the Orient Express (2017).
If you’re more into dark crime dramas from Scandinavia during the cold season, you’ll have plenty to do with the “Kommissar Wallander” series, as you can currently watch a total of 11 episodes for free and without a subscription.
You can watch a trailer for the first season of “Kommissar Wallander” here:
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Melancholic, dark, and cold
What is “Kommissar Wallander” about? The series is divided into 4 seasons, each consisting of 3 episodes. In each episode, which lasts about 90 minutes, a different novel by Henning Mankell is adapted. Each episode deals with a different case.
As in many Scandinavian crime dramas, a conscious contrast is created between brutal murders and the idyllic scenery. Wallander himself is a melancholic figure who struggles with personal issues and doesn’t always adhere to legally correct paths. He is emotionally impacted by the cases.
The perpetrators are usually not purely evil people and act out of tragic motives such as revenge.
Where can I watch “Kommissar Wallander” for free? Currently, there are 11 out of the 12 Wallander episodes with Kenneth Branagh available for free and without a subscription in the ARD media library. Most of them will be available until summer 2026. You can go directly there via this link.
Only the case The Man Who Smiled is missing in the media library; if you have a Netflix subscription, you can catch the film there.
If you want to see more of Wallander after the films with Kenneth Branagh, there is another Wallander series in the ARD media library, this time with Krister Henriksson in the lead role. You can find more cold crime series in this list: 5 strong Nordic crime series for a gloomy TV evening
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The internet relies on a few major providers. However, this poses significant risks. If a provider fails, millions of users can be affected. Providers and states are already seeking alternatives to solve this dilemma.
The major Cloudflare outage a few days ago affected numerous well-known websites and services: from X.com to private websites to ChatGPT, thousands of services were impacted.
These outages also highlight a significant problem that our internet currently faces: large portions of the infrastructure are concentrated among a handful of providers. When disruptions occur here, many thousands of services are affected at once. This has been reported by various sources, including the English-language magazine TomsHardware.com.
Concentration reduces costs but poses significant risks
What is the problem? If you use an online service, such as a website or simply ChatGPT, you are most likely using one of three major providers: AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. According to various reports, about two-thirds of the cloud infrastructure market is attributed to these providers.
If one of those services fails, millions of users could be affected because many companies rely on one of these three services.
This bundling of so few services reduces costs and complexity, but it creates a significant risk: a single error, misconfiguration, or targeted attack can disable thousands of services at once.
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Practical solutions and alternatives are already being sought
What can be done about it? The major providers AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud have been discussing alternatives for some time should outages occur again. For example, by distributing critical services and content across multiple data centers, network operators, and DNS providers to minimize damage.
In Europe, there has also been ongoing discussion about whether to create independent infrastructure under the term “digital sovereignty” to reduce dependence on the large US providers.
In countries like the United Kingdom, competition authorities are already examining whether the market power of large cloud platforms weakens competition and stifles innovation. This has been reported by magazines such as Itpro.com.
Many websites rely on Cloudflare to protect their sites. However, this protection was recently bypassed by ChatGPT. They are intended to keep bots and AI away from content. Experts’ major concern: Fraudsters could exploit this to disseminate massive amounts of false content and comments on the internet: ChatGPT can now impersonate humans and bypass an important security mechanism on the internet
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In Pokémon GO is heading to Kalos! The big Kalos Tour 2026 has been officially announced. What is included?
When does the Kalos Tour take place? The global version of the Kalos Tour will take place on February 28 and March 1, 2026. It runs from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM each day. Before that, there will be two local versions of the event in Los Angeles (USA) and Tainan (Taiwan).
What is the Kalos Tour? The GO Tours in recent years have always been held at the beginning of the year, showcasing Pokémon from a specific region. Now it’s Kalos’s turn from the games X/Y and Legends Z-A.
Does the event cost money? The event offers free content, but also content that is only available with a ticket that can be purchased in the shop.
Start video
Pokémon GO shows its new season in the trailer
What is included in the Kalos Tour 2026 in Pokémon GO?
We will show you the contents of the Kalos Tour with and without a ticket.
Without Ticket
Increased shiny chance for four costumed Pokémon: Pikachu, Igamaro, Fynx, and Froxy
New shinies: Resladero, Clavion, and Gramokles
Gramokles can be found in raids
Clavion and Resladero are in 10 km eggs, with increased shiny chance
Raids yield:
Costume Pikachu
Gramokles
Xerneas
Yveltal
You will encounter various Mega Pokémon in Mega Raids at hourly intervals on both days.
There will be hourly changing habitats with different Pokémon in the wild.
The eggs yield:
2 km: Larvitar, Kindwurm, Tanhel, Kaumalat
5 km: Flabébé (various forms)
10 km: Kangama, Skaraborn, Resladero, Clavion
In the incense, you will encounter Icognito A, K, L, O, and S
Mega evolutions will receive a CP boost
Eggs take only half the hatching distance
Up to six special trades per day
50% lower stardust costs for trading
Additionally, there will be a focus on the routes feature in Pokémon GO. There, you will encounter various Flabébé variants, but you can also collect Zygarde Cells and Mateo Encounters at 25 routes per day.
Is there more content? This is to be expected; in the past, additional features have been announced as the major events in Pokémon GO drew closer. We will keep you updated!
What else is happening? November is coming to an end, and December is approaching. Therefore, you can already prepare for the upcoming season in Pokémon GO. It is called “Valuable Paths” and has a lot of content in store. All information on Valuable Paths in Pokémon GO can be found here.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The orcs in World of Warcraft make a peculiar decision. A hero betrays everything he actually stands for.
Even though the upcoming expansion Midnight makes an extremely good impression, there are a few points of criticism, especially regarding the story of some major NPCs. We have already talked about questionable statements from Lady Liadrin, but another Horde character acts strangely as well. The orc Etrigg (in English “Eitrigg”) joins exactly the group that was created to kill orcs like him.
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What happens in Midnight? In Midnight, we meet Etrigg in the Arcantina – a new hub, a large tavern where heroes gather. There, Etrigg tells that he has joined a group: the Sons of Lothar.
The Sons of Lothar were originally founded during the Second War (Warcraft II), by Turalyon, Danath Trollbane, Alleria, and some other Alliance members. The clear goal: to completely stop the threat posed by the orcs on Azeroth and even pursue them back to their homeworld, so that they no longer pose a danger.
Even though the Sons of Lothar are now a “new” group dedicated to hunting Xal’atath, their origins clearly trace back to wartime, when orcs were to be exterminated.
Etrigg acts without apparent reason and motivation
Why does it feel wrong? To understand this, one only needs to look at the story of the Arathi Highlands in recent years. During Battle for Azeroth, Etrigg was not just an enemy – they were direct opposing commanders in the warfront in Arathi. This was not about a small skirmish, but about total control over the Arathi Highlands. There are several voice lines where Danath Trollbane says to “slay Etrigg” and “sink his corpse in the castle ditch.”
Anyone who wants to see a longer analysis of this should check out Bellular’s video on the topic:
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In summary, it feels strange when considering Etrigg’s story. He was imprisoned for a long time and essentially perpetually in conflict with humans. Although there was a rapprochement in a novel that was published shortly before Warcraft III, it only makes the whole situation more absurd. At that time, Blizzard showed how such a rapprochement could work without being forced. However, this is currently not the case in Midnight.
That Etrigg now joins exactly this organization that was originally founded to exterminate all orcs – this simply feels wrong and inappropriate. It could have been a cool story if it had been told well and reasonably. Yet, nothing in the quests makes it clear why Etrigg makes this decision or what has led to it.
Of course, it is possible that more context about this decision will be given in the coming months. But as a member of the Horde, it may simply feel curious that one of the oldest and most significant orcs, who has served as an advisor to the Warchief since Classic, now joins an Alliance group that originally wanted to kill him. In the case of another hero, implementing new story elements worked much better.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The legend of a possible release of Half-Life 3 on Steam has been alive for many years, and thanks to countless rumors and leaks, hope remains high among fans. We have examined the most plausible and significant ones and explain what they entail.
Many fans also speculate every year that a sequel could be announced at the Game Awards – including in 2025. Of course, Valve has not confirmed anything, and all these rumors remain just rumors for now.
Nevertheless, we have not missed the chance to wade into this swamp of uncertainty and list the most plausible information that the communities surrounding Half-Life have to offer. Who knows, maybe one of the leaks and rumors from fans is secretly true; we just don’t know yet.
Start video
Half Life 2 – Trailer
2012: Concept Art of Half-Life 3 (or Half-Life 2)
In 2012, numerous new concept artworks for Half-Life appeared that no one had seen before. These depict various scenes of a snowy landscape as well as a crash site of a Soviet helicopter. In the scenes, two unrecognizable figures can also be seen gazing into the distance while wearing winter clothing.
In addition to the winter scenes, there are also some shots of more abstract structures that could be attributed to the Xen. In these, one of the people in winter clothing is in a bubble while an alien with tentacles moves past it. Additionally, the well-known aerial platforms of the Xen are illustrated again.
Finally, there are also some drawings of Alyx Vance seen in winter clothing with longer hair. There is also one variant in which she wears her father’s vest.
According to a statement requested from IGN, these are concept sketches created in 2008 – a few months after Half-Life 2: Episode 2 was released.
Actually, Half-Life 2 was supposed to receive a third episode, but this was then canceled. It is quite possible that Valve still had the idea of a sequel in mind at that time, which is why these concept sketches were developed. Even in the second installment, there were scenes of ice and snow concerning the icebreaker “Borealis”. A return to this place would have been plausible.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The umbrella is one of the most popular and original ranged weapons in Where Winds Meet. We will show you how to unlock and master it.
In Where Winds Meet, there are two umbrellas whose combat skills you can unlock in various ways:
The Vernal Umbrella
A pure damage weapon
The Soulshade Umbrella
Perfect as a secondary weapon for healers alongside the All-Healing Fan
In our guide, we will show you how to easily unlock the weapons and their abilities.
[toc]
Start video
Schnelle Gründe, warum ihr Where Winds Meet zocken solltet
Unlocking the Vernal Umbrella
Where do you need to go? Curiosities Merchant Qi Sheng or the Temporal Pavilion in Kaifeng
How do you unlock it? Currently, you have two ways to unlock the DPS umbrella.
Option 1: You choose it at the Curiosities Merchant Qi Sheng early in the game as your preferred weapon and unlock it along with its martial art directly.
However, we do not recommend this option for beginners, as we advise you to choose the All-Healing Fan there to heal yourself in case you run out of medicine
Option 2: You steal the martial art through theft at a banquet in the Temporal Pavilion in the city of Kaifeng
(Option 3: Currently not available, but you will also be granted the martial art upon joining the “Velvet Shade” sect. However, you cannot currently join this sect, so you will have to wait for an update to make this option available)
If you choose option 2, you have to start and complete a quest line that rewards you with not only items but also the Vernal Umbrella along with its martial art. You will find out how to do this in the next section.
Solving the Quest for the Vernal Umbrella in Kaifeng
When you are in Kaifeng and at the Temporal Pavilion, look for the page named Wang Ping’an in a passage just outside. Speak with him, and he will give you the needed quest. Then follow these steps to complete it and unlock the Vernal Umbrella:
Go into the main building of the pavilion and climb the stairs
Speak with Jiang Ting’er, who guards the passage to the banquet you wish to enter
She requires a token from you to allow you to participate in the banquet
To find the token, you must collect a total of 5 clues:
A person guarding the door on the mezzanine when you go back down the stairs
Two ladies chatting behind a privacy screen in a side room on the ground floor
A cat to the southwest when you cross the main building, just behind it
Two women playing a board game in another pavilion to the southwest
Two more women can be reached through the half-roof via a window on the second floor, where the banquet also takes place
Once you have all the clues, you need to combine two related statements until only one clue remains
This clue will tell you that the token is located in storage
A man near the door will tell you where to get the key
For this, you must cleverly jump over the stairs to a height and go around the corner to a shelf
Once you have the key, go back to the door and go straight left in the room behind – there you will find the token
Once you have the token, all you need to do is return to Jiang Ting’er and hand it to her. After that, you will be allowed in and can enter the banquet. Through the ability theft, you can then learn the martial art for the Vernal Umbrella from the person on stage and unlock the weapon. This also completes the quest.
The Vernal Umbrella is perfect for everyone who loves ranged combat.
Unlocking the Soulshade Umbrella
Where do you need to go? Curiosities Merchant Qi Sheng or the village west of the Mistveil Forest and east of the city of Kaifeng
How do you unlock it? You currently have two options to obtain the umbrella and its martial art:
Option 1: You choose it at the Curiosities Merchant Qi Sheng early in the game as your preferred weapon and unlock it along with its martial art directly.
However, we do not recommend this option for beginners, as we advise you to take the All-Healing Fan to heal yourself in case you run out of medicine
Option 2: You steal the martial art through theft in a village near the Mistveil Forest
(Option 3: Currently not available, but you will also be granted the martial art upon joining the “Hollow Vale” sect. However, you cannot currently join this sect, so you will have to wait for an update to make this option available)
Unlocking the Soulshade Umbrella with Ability Theft
This umbrella, which is a perfect support addition for healers, is unlocked in a village near Kaifeng using ability theft, unless you chose it earlier at Qi Sheng. You should follow these steps:
Find the entrance to the village
To the left of it, you will find a house whose roof you can use to access the building across the way and quickly take out the guards there
Then go down the stairs and look for a hidden ladder in a coffin
Climb down and follow the path illuminated by torches
Follow it until you encounter a master with an umbrella and use your ability theft
Tip: If you want to unlock the umbrella this way, it is advisable to acquire abilities that allow you to move stealthily, such as Invisibility (Veil of Silence) or Assassination (Death’s Touch). These abilities will make this task significantly easier.
Where Winds Meet is one of those games that doesn’t hold your hand. Many players often encounter content, features, or questions that can’t be easily solved within the game itself. If you are one of those who don’t like to puzzle things out themselves or just can’t solve a problem, then check out our guide overview – perhaps we already have the solution for you: Where Winds Meet: All Guides, Tips, and Builds Overview
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A mini-PC manufacturer showcases its latest achievement. Thinner and more powerful than a PS5, the new computer from Minisforum is set to impress. However, the price also differs.
What kind of PC is this? The PC is sold by the manufacturer Minisforum on their website. It currently costs $1,439.90 for the 32GB RAM variant, which is approximately 1,243 euros (as of 26.11.2025). Delivery to Germany is currently not possible.
Two configurations are offered. One is a 32-gigabyte RAM configuration with a 1TB SSD, and the other is a barebone option without memory and SSD. The price of the barebone variant is $1,039, which amounts to about 900 euros.
Minisforum specializes in small form factor computers and has been in business since 2012. With the new Minisforum AtomMan G1 PRO, the company aims to create a PC for both gamers and creators at the same time.
Memory: DDR5 RAM with 5200 clock (size varies depending on the configuration)
Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
The PC is even slightly thinner at its 215 x 57 x 315 mm dimensions compared to the PS5, which measures 216 x 89 x 388 mm.
Larger and blocky is the upcoming Steam Machine, which is also supposed to serve as a PC console. You can see its announcement trailer here:
Start video
Valve presents the Steam Machine in the new trailer
Game tests between PS5 and RTX 5060 are clear
How good is the PC compared to the PS5? Of course, the performance of the mini-PC is crucial. However, the performance is not directly transferable to games. Hardware differences such as graphics memory, clock frequency, and power consumption also play an important role.
In the benchmark from Digital Foundry, it can be seen that the graphics card of the mini-PC delivers about 20 percent more performance in games. For example, the RTX 5060 achieves around 60 FPS in Black Myth: Wukong at 4k resolution using DLSS, while the PS5 only reaches about 40–50 FPS in performance mode at full HD. However, PCs and consoles can only be compared to a limited extent, as not all settings can be adjusted identically.
PC and console are similar, but not the same
What differences are there between mini-PC and PS5? Performance is one thing, but there are many other differences between PC and PS5. For instance, a PC is suitable for both office and gaming. A PS5, on the other hand, is primarily used for gaming and multimedia.
A console is easier to operate with a television, as the user interface is specifically designed for that purpose. On a PC, you usually need a keyboard and a mouse to use it comfortably with a television.
The PS5 also comes with a DualSense controller, which offers features like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Many PC gamers, for example, prefer a mouse and keyboard in shooters, as it makes aiming easier; on consoles, there is sometimes help with auto-aim to make it easier.
The PS5 also regularly receives exclusive games like Astro Bot or the remake of Demon Souls. However, it is quite possible that after some time these games will also come to PC, as happened with the The Last of Us series. The PS5 also has different versions: PlayStation 5: What PS5 versions are there?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Where Winds Meet focuses on agile martial arts and provides you with a wide range of weapons. MeinMMO summarizes everything important about the swords, spears, shields, fans, and rope arrows.
Where Winds Meet is an action RPG with a Wuxia setting. Weapons and martial arts play a big role here. After character creation, you start with the unnamed sword. Even in the tutorial, you can find the Nameless Spear. This fits well, as you are able to switch between two weapons at any time with a button press during combat.
However, you are not forever bound to this weapon combination. Below, we will introduce you to all the weapons you can find throughout your adventure and tell you which roles they are suitable for and what skills they bring. We also provide information on where you can obtain each peacekeeper and which weapon combo is recommended.
Update from November 27, 2025: We have updated the article in detail and added information about the best weapon combinations.
[toc]
Our initial impression of Where Winds Meet in video form:
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The sword is the weapon of the nobility and offers a balanced performance for all situations. In addition to the unnamed sword, several other blades fall into this category:
Unnamed Sword
Role: Melee DPS
Obtained: at the start
Recommended weapon combo: Nameless Spear, All-Healing Fan (strong combination for beginners)
The weapon has the following abilities:
Fearless Lunge: Throws a flying sword to deal light damage to the struck enemy, then rushes forward to follow the sword. Press again on the rush to trigger up to 2 strikes that deal increased damage. After the second strike, you will receive a Qi shield that lasts for 3 seconds.
Shadow Step: Evades backward to release sword energy. Sword energy damage decreases with each hit. Press the skill again within 3 seconds to jump forward and execute a strike.
Light Attack: Performs up to 4 light attacks with the sword.
Homeless Storm Attack: Charge the attack to release sword Qi forward. The charge level increases over time and enhances the damage and range of sword Qi.
Strategic Sword
Role: Melee DPS
Obtained: Skill theft in the southernmost area of Qinghe.
Recommended weapon combo: Sky-Shaking Spear
The weapon has the following abilities:
Inner Path Cut: Charges at an enemy and performs a quick slash that deals light damage and causes bleeding. You can then follow up with up to 4 additional slashes that also cause bleeding.
Inner Balance Strike: Evades backward to gain distance from the enemy. You then perform several strikes on the previously occupied area. If the struck enemy has 5 stacks of bleeding, you deal high damage and remove all bleeding. Each hit adds bleeding.
Light Attack: Performs up to 4 light attacks with the sword.
Second Track Strike: Dashes forward, dealing massive damage to enemies on the way. While rushing, you are invisible and immune to damage; each hit causes bleeding.
Upgrade and switch weapons Each weapon can be upgraded at multiple levels, which requires you to invest a lot of resources. Additionally, you can – similar to your character – activate breakthroughs to increase its maximum level and unlock special bonuses.
The good news: If you want to try another weapon, you can reset the level of your previous weapon and get a large part of the resources back that you invested. This way, it is possible to look at other weapons without a lot of farming effort.
Start video
Where Winds Meet zeigt im neuen Gameplay-Trailer die Aktivitäten in der Open World und … Hunde, die Mahjong spielen?
Spears
Spears and lances offer a good balance of defense and offense. You have access to fast attacks, but also powerful strikes.
Stormbreaker Spear
Role: Tank
Obtained: Received by mail after a few level-ups
Recommended weapon combo: Thundercall Blade (for pure tanks)
The weapon has the following abilities:
Storm Roar: Releases sound waves that provoke nearby enemies (builds aggro) and shocks them for 8 seconds (causes 20 percent less damage). Additionally activates 20 percent damage reduction (40 percent for multiplayer campaign bosses) for 16 seconds. Grants tenacity (immune to everything except crowd control).
Thunder Shock: Uses 2 bars of the resource battle spirit to perform a forward spinning kick followed by a somersault that knocks the target down and causes vulnerability for 8 seconds. Grants tenacity during the ability.
Light Attack: Performs 4 light attacks with the spear.
Wrath Spear: After charging, unleashes a series of thrusts that deal high damage. You gain the effect Drumbeat on the last hit (increases damage of charged abilities by 15 percent for 6 seconds).
Nameless Lance
Role: Melee DPS
Obtained: at the start
Recommended weapon combo: Unnamed Sword
The weapon has the following abilities:
Qiankun’s Bond: Immobilizes the target for 2 seconds on hit. Restores 30 stamina and reduces stamina consumption for 5 seconds by 10 percent.
Legion Breaker: Deals high damage. Transitions to Wushuang stance on hit, making the charged ability Storm Dance reach its swinging phase faster.
Light Attack: Performs 4 light attacks with the spear.
Storm Dance: Whirls the spear in place to unleash an unstoppable series of attacks that hit nearby enemies multiple times. While charging, you are immune to projectile damage.
Spears are available in multiple variants in Where Winds Meet.
Sky-Shaking Lance
Role: Melee DPS
Obtained: Skill theft in the Wrathful Flood battle sanctuary, east of Qinghe
Recommended weapon combo: Strategic Sword
The weapon has the following abilities:
Sobering Sorrow: Spins the spear with full force and performs 6 consecutive attacks against nearby enemies, dealing massive damage. At the end of the sequence, you gain buffs for 12 seconds based on the number of combo hits achieved (fewer than 5 hits: increases HP damage by 10 percent / 5 to 10 hits: increases HP damage by 15 percent / more than 10 hits: increases HP damage by 20 percent).
Around Strike: Deals damage to nearby enemies with a spin. The attack is stronger if one of the buffs from Sobering Sorrow is active.
Light Attack: Performs 4 light attacks with the spear.
Glide Thrust: Charges your weapon for a series of thrusts that deal multiple hits to the opponent. Grants tenacity during charging.
Fans
The best weapon to channel your Qi, allowing you to inflict high damage from a distance or heal.
All-Healing Fan
Role: Healing
Obtained: From the curiosity merchant Qi Sheng / joining the Silver Needle sect / skill theft in the Silver Needle battle sanctuary in the southeast of Qinghe (Green Wilderness)
Cloudburst Healing: Generates 20 points of dew drops. Summons a water shape that heals allied units nearby once per second and restores a small amount of health for 7 seconds. If dew drops are full after use, the perception ability can be triggered.
Light Dust after Morning Rain: Only the Chinese tooltip was available in the early access build.
Fourfold Inquiry: Performs 4 quick ranged attacks with the fan.
Emerald Dust Touch: Only the Chinese tooltip was available in the early access build.
Obtained: Skill theft in the northern part of the first region Qinghe, at the Silver Needle battle sanctuary
Recommended weapon combo: Spring Shield (pure ranged fighters)
The weapon has the following skills:
Jade Wind Shield: Pushes back nearby enemies with the fan and creates a wind barrier that blocks all non-boss and enemy projectiles for 8 seconds. You simultaneously jump backward. Grants the effect Enhanced Ballistics, increasing your skill damage by 20 percent, stackable twice.
Mountain’s Sleepless Silence: Only the Chinese tooltip was available in the early access build.
Light Attack: Performs up to 4 quick ranged attacks with the fan.
Heavy Attack: Only the Chinese tooltip was available in the early access build.
The weapons of Where Winds Meet in action (source: X):
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Confused Mind: Performs a ranged attack with both blades with a rotating jump that deals multiple damage to enemies. Can have up to 3 charges.
Greed of Misfortune: Stabs the long blade into the air, causing it to spin rapidly and hit enemies multiple times. Use the ability again before the blade returns to unleash a far-reaching horizontal slash. When catching the blade, you gain the state Enlightenment. In this state, the ability triggers 2 far-reaching slashes. Successful execution reduces the cooldown of the martial arts ability Ignorance.
Light Attack: Swings the double blades in up to 4 consecutive attacks.
Flame Strike: When you have built up the resource Karmic Flame, you can reveal your Wrath form and during this time gain tenacity and reveal light attacks to Heavenly Rage. Attacks drain life, the critical hit rate increases by 10 percent, and the bonus for critical damage increases by 20 percent. When Karmic Flame is consumed, you return to your normal form.
A light and graceful weapon that turns any movement into a deadly or healing dance.
Spring Shield
Role: Ranged DPS
Obtained: From the curiosity merchant Qi Sheng / skill theft on North Ma Xing Street in Kaifeng
Recommended weapon combo: Inkwell Fan (pure ranged fighters)
The Spring Shield offers the following attacks:
Spring Sorrow: Fires a flying petal forward that deals damage and immobilizes non-bosses.
Unfading Flower: Can be used with 50+ petals. Throws the shield into the air and pulls out a hidden sword. Your shield hovers in the air and follows you to automatically shoot projectiles at nearby enemies. Meanwhile, you can strike with the sword or switch to your other weapon. If your target is in the air, the shield consumes additional petals to deal higher damage and prolong time in the air. When insufficient petals are available, the shield returns to you.
Light Attack: Performs up to 3 attacks that deal ranged damage.
Apricot Heaven: Charged attack that allows you to fly forward a bit to deal high area damage upon landing.
The shield is a competitive weapon in Where Winds Meet, even when it doesn’t rain.
Soulshade Umbrella
Role: Healing
Obtained: Skill theft in the abandoned station in the Hollow Valley, east of the city of Kaifeng
Recommended weapon combo: All-Healing Fan (pure healers)
The healing umbrella has the following skills:
Floating Grace: Grants you and nearby allies 15 percent increased damage for 8 seconds, plus some healing.
Echoes of a Thousand Plants: Throws the umbrella into the air and pulls out a hidden sword from the grip. Increases healing by 15 percent and generates up to 60 dew drops over time. The umbrella hovers and follows you to automatically heal allies with the lowest health. In self-healing, the value is increased by 50 percent. During this time, you can attack with the sword or switch to your other weapon.
Light Attack: Performs up to 3 attacks that deal ranged damage.
Pallid Bloom: Only the Chinese tooltip was available in the early access build.
Often referred to in the tooltips as rope dagger or rope dart, you can expect an agile, precise weapon that can deal deadly damage from a distance as well as in direct confrontations.
Mortal Rope Arrow
Role: Melee DPS
Obtained: Joining the Sect of Nine Deadly Paths / skill theft in the Hall of the Nine Deadly Paths, in the city of Kaifeng
Rodent Rampage: Consumes a token of gratitude to summon a rat to aid you in combat. Your light attacks result in coordinated strikes from the rat. The effect lasts 10 seconds.
Blade Thread: Throw the rope arrow forward. If you hit a boss, you are pulled towards it. Smaller enemies are drawn towards you. If you cast the skill again within 2.5 seconds, you perform a combo kick that knocks the target down. Hit targets receive a Vendetta token, causing the rat to deal 50 percent more damage and granting you the resource token of gratitude.
Light Attack: Performs up to 4 consecutive strikes.
Rodent Resilience: Rushes forward and releases sword energy. The damage of the sword energy decreases with each hit by 20 percent to a minimum of 50 percent of normal damage. Higher charge levels increase the damage and range.
The author of these lines would definitely take himself out with this weapon. In Where Winds Meet, he can become the master of the rope arrow.
Mo Blade
A heavy sword with a wide blade that is slow but intimidates opponents and deals solid damage.
Thundercall Blade
Role: Tank
Obtained: From the curiosity merchant Qi Sheng / joining the Skywell sect / skill theft in the south of Kaifeng
Recommended weapon combo: Stormbreaker Spear (for pure tanks)
The weapon has the following skills:
Predator Shield: Grants an 8-second shield worth 25 percent of your maximum health and increases the battle spirit resource by 2 charges. If you have activated Drumbeat, this effect is removed to trigger the perception ability.
Sunstorm: Consumes 2 charges of battle spirit to drive the Mo Blade into the ground and create a whirlwind that draws nearby enemies (not bosses). You then spin the blade for a powerful attack. You gain concentration, causing the next charged ability cast within 5 seconds to charge 50 percent faster.
Light Attack: Performs up to 3 quick attacks.
Avalanche: Strike up, then down to deal high damage in a small area. You can move while charging. The ability has 3 strength levels. At level 3, you consume 1 stack of battle spirit to increase damage by 20 percent and unlock a heavy attack combo.
What about the bow?
You obtain a bow very early in the game and can switch to it at any time in addition to your two main weapons. However, it often deals too little damage for combat. It usually comes into play only when you, as a melee fighter, have no other way to deal damage.
However, you can use flaming arrows to blow up explosive barrels or cut a rope with an arrow, causing a stack of boxes to crash down on enemies.
Which two weapons have caught your eye? Let us know in the comments! Where Winds Meet is so complex that you can miss a lot of things. If you want to make your life as a Wuxia hero as easy as possible, check out our starter guide: 15 Tips to make your start in Where Winds Meet noticeably easier
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The developers of Dune: Awakening have asked players in an email to nominate their game for an award. However, they find it rather cheeky.
What is this award? The developers of Dune: Awakening have called on players in an email to nominate their title for the award for “most innovative gameplay” at the Steam Awards. Games that particularly excite through their mechanics are to be honored here.
Last year, the innovative “Liars Bar” won the award, as it reinvented Russian Roulette and turned it into a social deduction game. Other nominees included games like the production simulation Satisfactory, the co-op shooter Helldivers 2, the post-apocalyptic shooter Stalker 2, and the card rogue-like Balatro.
This year, the developers hope the award will go to Dune: Awakening, but their own community has something to say about that.
Learn more about the relationship between fans and developers here:
Start video
1,000 hours of love-hate: Why angry fans are the biggest hope for Dune: Awakening
Wrong Award for Dune: Awakening
What do fans criticize? Fans primarily have nothing against the email that calls for voting. That’s now customary and nothing to be upset about. However, the award they are asked to vote for is considered wrongly chosen by the players.
Dune: Awakening has struggled tremendously with its gameplay this year. The game suffered from a sort of identity crisis, during which the developers had to make strong adjustments repeatedly to satisfy the players:
To this day, there is a lack of an interesting gameplay loop in the endgame, which functions beyond PvP and provides exciting moments for players in PvE.
This new gameplay loop is expected to come with the next update in early 2026, as the developers recently announced on duneawakening.com.
Which category fits better? For players, the award for best sound design is much more fitting instead of the gameplay award. They write on Reddit:
quantumfloatboat: “I would choose them for sound design if I could. The worm sounds so good, and the soundtrack is fantastic as well.”
ExtensionOpening3388: “Agree 100%: sound design plus the content of the radio stations.”
ZamazaCallista: “Oh yes, the sound and a lot of the visual elements are great. But the actual gameplay? Definitely not innovative.”
Psychrite: “I mean, the building system was cool, but not innovative. The combat was decent, but not innovative at all. The endgame was… the exact opposite of innovation; I wish they had drawn inspiration from a more successful game instead of doing what they did with Dune.”
The sound design of Dune: Awakening is well received by players, while much criticism is directed at the gameplay. Whether the title will even be nominated for an award remains to be seen.
A well-known tech YouTuber wanted to recreate the Steam Machine. It even worked, but the price doesn’t please the viewers– as it is clearly over 1,000 euros.
The YouTuber went to the electronics store and assembled a setup that should compete with the Steam Machine. But in the end, the price turns out to be very high, higher than feared. However, there are several reasons for the high price.
Start video
Valve presents the Steam Machine in the new trailer
YouTuber searches for hardware similar to the Steam Machine, stumbles over power supply and high RAM costs
Which hardware did he choose? For the case, he chose the smallest available case, the Fractal Terra. But it is still somewhat larger than the case of the Steam Machine.
For the CPU and graphics card, he chose components that should offer similar performance to the Steam Machine: an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and an AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT. He deliberately opted for the variant of the graphics card with 8 GB of video memory, even though 8 GB of VRAM is no longer future-proof.
What problems arise in the selection? He faces a first problem with the power supply: There is only a specific power supply that fits his system, but it is both very expensive and offers far too much power. JayzTwoCents refers to it as a “placeholder power supply” because there is simply nothing else available.
Another problem is the high prices of RAM, which also drive up the overall costs.
The selected hardware:
Case: Fractal Terra
Mainboard: MSI MPG B850I Edge Wifi
CPU: Ryzen 7 7700X
Cooler: BeQuiet Pure Rock LP, 100 Watt
GPU: AMD Radeon Rx 9060 XT
Power Supply: Asus ROG Loki 1000 Watt Platinum
RAM: 32 GB DDR5
Storage: M.2 SSD with 1 TB storage
What does the entire system cost? In total, he paid about 1,500 to 1,600 US dollars for all the hardware, as he calculates in the video. That converts to about 1,300 to 1,400 euros. He himself explains that he is not happy with the selection of components, but even with perfect parts, the price would only be about 250 dollars less. That would still be 1,350 US dollars or about 1,166 euros:
Case: 199 US dollars
Mainboard: 300 US dollars
CPU: 169 US dollars
GPU: 299 US dollars
Power Supply: 230 US dollars
RAM: 169 US dollars
Storage: 85 US dollars
He emphasizes: Just for RAM and case, he paid nearly 200 US dollars each, which is already a substantial amount of money. But small (ITX) cases and components are simply more expensive than normal sizes.
Even the viewers who stand in front of him in the video, following his explanations and the assembly of the PCs, find the price far too high.
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What is his conclusion? The YouTuber explains that the Steam Machine and gaming PC are hard to compare. He adds that the Steam Machine is more between a PC and a console, between casual gamers and enthusiasts. He says:
The Steam Machine will have a hard time keeping up in terms of PC building. But I don’t think that’s the intention. I don’t think it’s supposed to replace a PC.
And he once again emphasizes the biggest advantage of the gaming PC compared to the Steam Machine, which is the upgradeability of the PC. An advantage that the Steam Machine has not inherited from the PC:
A PC build like this is somewhat better than buying a fully soldered and assembled device, as there are no upgrade options for that. But this device here can be upgraded.
