Hobby-Monster Cortyn shares insights and explains why the death of the asymmetric shooter Evolve (2015) has left a mark even after years.
Anyone who has been following MeinMMO for several years knows that we have accompanied a variety of games. These are not always just the currently trending games, but also those that the authors had a particularly high interest in. For this reason, out of personal interest, I reported on Evolve for a while in 2015.
And Evolve was, in my view, nothing less than the perfect game.
For those who have no idea: Evolve was a pioneer in the field of modern asymmetric games. Four hunters had to work together against a monster, all five characters were controlled by players. At the beginning of a match, the monster was weak, had to hide and feed to mutate into new “stages.” Later, the balance of the round shifted, and the hunters were on the defensive if they didn’t take out the monster early.
I was not just good – I was damn good
I was not good at Evolve. I was damn good. So good that at one point I was ranked number 2 in Europe as Goliath the monster, only because the player in first place always quickly faked a disconnect when facing a looming defeat, and Evolve did not count that as a loss (So much for “The game was perfect” – You can probably tell, I tend toward nostalgic glorification).
I knew every rock, every bush, and every wild animal on the map.
I knew exactly which route I needed to take to get the strongest buffs and initiate the next stage’s evolution right at the hunger point. I was so efficient that on half the maps, I could initiate the mutation before the hunters had even landed.
I knew where the perfect spot for an ambush was, where I could hide in a bush so that the hunters would simply run past me. I knew exactly which slope was just a jump for me, but the hunters would nearly exhaust their entire jetpack.
In Evolve, beating hunters and being “the monster” – never has it been so much fun.
When the monster breathed, I breathed too
I knew every trick. I knew which attack animation I had to time just right when a hunter went down, so that my Goliath would briefly lift him and then carry him a few meters. That could be enough to let him fall off a cliff. And I knew every single one of those places where that was possible.
I breathed the game.
No, not just in a metaphorical sense.
When my monster inhaled to “scan” the world around for hunters and other prey, I also took a deep, tense breath in front of the PC.
After 2 weeks and much closer to the “200-hour playtime limit” than I care to admit, there was simply no one who could beat me. At least not unless I imposed a handicap on myself. More and more often, I played matches only with restrictions like “I may not use creature buffs,” “I must win by stage 2,” or “I can only upgrade 2 of 4 abilities.”
I was confident, but also had an extremely high gaming level. And you know: Level only looks like arrogance from the bottom.
All jokes aside. I was really good and truly proud of it. I had an immense amount of fun.
More gaming experiences from Cortyn about special games can be found here on MeinMMO:
Was that a bit unhealthy? Well, probably. I structured almost my entire day around maximizing my playtime in Evolve simply because I had so much fun like never before in a PC game. I planned my article writing for work so that I could quickly cook something while a colleague reviewed my article. I completely wrote off any other gaming ‘obligation,’ such as my WoW raid, during that time. And I didn’t see sunlight in those two weeks either.
Still, I enjoyed every minute of it. I have never “felt” a game as thoroughly before or after as I did with Evolve. Whether it was an exciting horror game, an engaging JRPG, or more cinematic games like Heavy Rain or Detroit: Become Human. Not even my beloved RPG in World of Warcraft came close to this immersive experience of Evolve.
Cortyn also played during the Evolve Stage 2 beta – and devoured everything.
Terrible communication first ruined Evolve’s image – then the whole game
Unfortunately, the dream of my beautiful Evolve began to fall apart much faster than I would have liked. Even though I, even now in retrospect, found the DLC policy quite acceptable, the publisher executed it terribly poorly. Evolve felt like a “rip-off” due to poor communication, where every content had to be purchased additionally, and one would have to invest hundreds of additional euros into the game. That was not the case and it had nothing to do with Pay2Win. But Evolve never recovered from that reputation.
The player numbers crashed, but for other reasons as well.
While it was possible to play very well alone as a monster, it was not the case as a hunter. The group of 4 players had to coordinate extremely well.
A single troll in the team could completely ruin the game for everyone involved. Whether from the monster’s perspective or the other hunters’: If a hunter went on an “ego tour,” the fun was gone.
If you wanted to have fun as a hunter in Evolve, you needed a group of friends who all had similar skill levels. If that was achieved, there were the best and most exciting rounds, exactly what Evolve aimed to be in its most glorious moments. Whether as a monster or hunter – when the hunters’ group comprised a team that communicated, then Evolve was unparalleled.
It was all the worse when that was not the case. Evolve was simply not a game that you could just play a few rounds with “randoms” – at least not as a hunter.
The Kraken was the second monster of Evolve and had clear C’thulhu vibes.
To save it, the developers made Evolve a shadow of its former self
To counter this trend, the developers drastically restructured the game. In Evolve 2.0, many mechanics changed. The game became not only free-to-play, but also many of the core mechanics changed or disappeared. Feeding on creatures suddenly provided no or significantly weaker buffs, hunters became faster, monsters lost some cool abilities, there were significantly fewer “mind games” and everything was geared towards finding the monster much faster and engaging in longer fights.
Complexity and strategy were sacrificed to create more fast, simple action. That was fun for a while, but for me, it was only a shadow of what Evolve once wanted to be.
And then it died an ignoble death. The servers became emptier, players from both sides increasingly left the still ongoing matches, and no one played the glorious campaign mode anymore.
Early fights, where the monster is still small, are particularly demanding for the monster player.
I miss that thrill that Evolve gave me. I even miss having a game that completely captivated me to the extent that I structured much of my life around it for a while.
It affected me more than I care to admit. Evolve was for me the personal peak of gaming. I automatically measure every other game against Evolve in my mind and almost always conclude: It is just not as good. Whether I draw on some of my current favorite games with at least a similar theme, like Dead by Daylight, or play JRPGs like Persona 5 or Tales of Arise – I always think inevitably: “As good as it is, it doesn’t draw me in the way Evolve did.”
I’m always afraid that a game could die soon
This “Evolve trauma” leads me to simultaneously lack the willingness to immerse myself unconditionally in a game. I always have the nagging thought in the back of my head that the game could be dead in a few weeks. Even though, rationally speaking, I know that I could still have a lot of fun beforehand, it’s a barrier that I find hard to overcome mentally.
I hope to experience this “Evolve phase” again someday, where a game completely blows me away to the point that I don’t want to do anything else. At least for a while. Until then, Evolve remains a painful memory that I hope will one day be overshadowed by something new and better.
Did you ever have such a connection to a game? Or can you not relate to that?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The YouTuber “echohack” is part of the Diablo service site maxroll.gg and claims to have spent 1,200 hours in Diablo Immortal. Together with his team, he seems to have found loot limits that may restrict your rewards. MeinMMO shows the most important information about it.
The key points at a glance:
Diablo Immortal is a full-fledged Diablo game for mobile, which also employs some typical mobile mechanics.
At one point, Diablo Immortal received praise at the beginning – unlike many other mobile titles, you are not restricted in your playtime and do not need to gather any energy to play a dungeon.
However, the YouTuber “echohack“ claims, together with his team and thousands of hours of gameplay, to have found that progress is indeed limited, and Diablo Immortal does not provide any clues about this.
“One should celebrate avid gamers, but they are punished”
The YouTuber “echohack” has been following the development of Diablo Immortal for over a year and has been part of every testing phase he could participate in. He claims he has already spent over 1,200 hours in the game, most of it before release. He says that he and his team were the first in the world to reach level 60.
He is part of the maxroll team, a popular English service site for Diablo, where you can find builds, guides, and various information about the games in the series (via maxroll.gg). Our own Tier list for the best classes in Diablo Immortal is partially based on the information from the site.
As in previous testing phases, he has grinded hard after the release and was already at the server Paragon a few days after the launch of Diablo Immortal.
And in his endless quest for experience points, he and his team noticed that many activities in the game are highly limited.
He says he finds it great that Diablo Immortal targets casual players in many parts of the game who are not playing 10 hours a day. But unfortunately, it goes so far that the avid gamers, and thus the biggest fans, are punished.
Legendary Gems are also widely discussed. Information on this is available in the video:
Start video
Diablo Immortal: What are legendary gems? Facts and locations in 3 minutes
echohack says: Almost every world activity has a soft cap
What are these caps? The YouTuber lists many caps that he claims to have discovered with his team. This starts with legendary equipment and extends to almost every activity in the open game world.
This means: If you do something too often, your rewards significantly decrease. However, Diablo Immortal provides no hints about this in the game.
What are “Caps”? It stands for limits in a game that cannot be defined by specific mechanics. One distinguishes between “Soft Cap” and “Hard Cap”.
In this example, we usually have a Soft Cap, because activities can still be played despite limited rewards, but they do not disappear completely. With a Hard Cap, you could no longer play the activity or there would be no loot at all.
In many RPGs, there are such caps for certain character stats. If you reach the Soft Cap, then the skill points you invest do not matter as much anymore. With a Hard Cap, the value can no longer increase.
Furthermore, echohack criticizes the low limit for the Paragon level. Once you reach the current server Paragon level, you lose a lot of your accumulated experience points and level up much slower.
If you are 11 levels above the server Paragon, you only receive 20% of the usual XP. No leveling tips will help, it takes forever. By the way, the server level increases by 2 levels every day.
Unlike the activities above, the Paragon level is communicated within the game. But even here, an avid player quickly reaches this Soft Cap and is punished for their grinding passion, criticizes the YouTuber.
If you want to hear echohack’s criticisms for yourself, we embed his English video here. He also explains how he thinks these problems could be solved:
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How can one bypass the caps? For the average player, many caps may rarely come into play. However, after reaching level 60, you should rely less on activities in the open game world.
Dungeons, raids, portals, and generally instanced activities appear better, although the soft caps for legendary equipment and normal gems also apply here, according to echohack.
He finds it unfortunate that apparently the players with the most passion for Diablo Immortal are punished by the action RPG.
Have you also had experiences with the loot caps and wondered why no chest came after an event? Or do you even think it’s a good thing if the most intense grinders are somewhat slowed down? Feel free to leave us a comment.
At the Epic Games Show, a new “Lord of the Rings” game was surprisingly announced. Return to Moria is exactly what one wouldn’t expect from Lord of the Rings: a survival game. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus could hardly be happier.
But the new Lord of the Rings game has proven me wrong. Dwarves, beards, beer. The gameplay of Return to Moria showcases all the things that make every game better and builds a new survival game around them.
The trailer for the new game lasts just 1:16 minutes, but even the first 30 seconds grab me as a fan of the Lord of the Rings. The films and books are for me the best fantasy epic ever and Return to Moria directly lures with the legendary “Friend” door.
Right after that comes what every survival fan wants to see: crafting and building. The game doesn’t just show boring pickaxes and wooden huts, but true dwarven art: intricate, sturdy armor and weapons, hopefully made of mithril, and massive stone constructions for protection.
Everything that makes the heart of dwarven ancestors soar. And as a cherry on top, there are also enemies to test the new blacksmithing products. Wonderful! After a thunderstorm of horror trailers, Return to Moria is just right. But see for yourselves:
Start video
Der Gameplay-Trailer zu Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
Surviving on Gimli’s Command from 2023
What kind of game is this? Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes place in the world of the Lord of the Rings. At the behest of Gimli himself, a group of dwarves returns to Moria, or Khazad-dûm in their native tongue.
We are that group, can create a dwarf according to our preferences, and play alone or in co-op with up to 8 players. Apparently, the focus is on PvE and exploration.
In the game itself, it’s mainly about exploring the Misty Mountains and securing the lost treasures and resources. Ores and precious metals can be found in 3 different mountains, all procedurally generated for more variety.
The main feature, however, is the noise system. When mining rock, you make noise and noise awakens things you would rather let sleep. This causes enemies to appear, which we must defend against – or we hide in the shadows until we can continue.
But every fan of the Lord of the Rings knows what happens when dwarves dig too deep…
Will the Balrog also be seen in Return to Moria? He is definitely present in the MMORPG HdRO, and that has now many contents completely free.
When will the game be released? So far, there is no concrete release date for Return to Moria, only “Spring 2023” is targeted. The game is to be released for PC on the Epic Games Store. Other platforms are not yet known.
Return to Moria is being developed by Free Range Games, who have already worked on Oddworld: Soulstorm and are currently supporting The Callisto Protocol, which was presented at the Summer Game Fest.
The studio is supported by North Beach Games, who have also helped the developers of Stranded Deep and 7 Days to Die with their releases. So we have some experienced, albeit smaller studios on board. I hope for success!
7 Days to Die is already one of the best survival games ever. Let’s see if Return to Moria can also find its way onto that list:
Shooters sometimes have the undeserved reputation of being mindless shooting games. But not every game with weapons is the same as Moorhuhn. Nevertheless, in modern shooters like CoD Warzone,Fortnite or Valorant, really dumb things can happen. We at MeinMMO will tell you the 3 dumbest things you can do.
No matter how different shooters can be, the basics are almost always identical. Grab a weapon, aim at the opponent, and pull the trigger at the right moment. Sounds simple, but it’s not always.
Amid all the chaos and complex mechanics of modern shooters, even the biggest pros can make really dumb mistakes. And let’s be honest: which of these 3 incredibly dumb things have you committed the most?
Especially in Fortnite, many silly things can happen. The trailer for Season 3 showcases many new features that will cause a lot of (unintentional) chaos:
Start video
Fortnite: Trailer for Season 3 shows crazy parties and a huge amusement park
1. The chain of unfortunate events
Occasional bad gameplay in shooters is part of the experience, even for the absolute pros, because no one is 100% flawless all the time. It gets particularly dumb when multiple blunders happen in succession.
Just recently, a clip of xQc went viral, perfectly summarizing this chain of unfortunate circumstances. The world’s most popular streamer and former shooter pro plays in CSGO so horrifically poorly in just a few seconds, and all of it affects his teammate.
First, he throws a Molotov at the window frame instead of into the building, causing it to bounce back and land on his teammate.
Then he throws such a bad flashbang that he blinds himself and his team.
Then he tries to save himself with shooter basics and starts shooting but only hits his poor teammate’s head.
As a crowning blow, he gets killed without any resistance.
You can admire the hilarious clip and xQc’s very relatable reaction here in all its glory:
A really bad gameplay sequence like this has happened to every shooter fan at least once. There’s not much more you can do than what xQc does here: try to hide in your own palm and take it all with (gallows) humor.
2. The thick finger
The plan is perfect. Your ultimate ability is charged, the whole team is ready for a gigantic combo that will send every single enemy flying and demoralize them for the rest of the game.
You gather, wait in ambush for the enemy team, want to sit up straight in your chair one last time… and then it happens.
You don’t know exactly how, but you’ve pressed that one button you weren’t supposed to press. Your character screams loudly, a fireworks display of deadly effects erupts on your monitor, but all the rockets only hit a completely harmless wall.
Your teammates stand behind you, questioning the events, unable to believe it. In the team chat, it now says “WTF”, “???”, “wow” and “SilentKiller47 has left the game.” You look down at the keyboard and don’t quite understand why that damned finger is resting on the Q key. Before you can find out the answer, your team is dead.
Extremely stupid. Now you’re stuck in the keyboard settings and have completely changed the function. Surely this won’t happen again! That’s at least the idea. Then you have to press Q in the next match and frantically hammer on the key while nothing happens. And the chat fills up with question marks again.
Damn.
3. The reloading madness
You and your beloved submachine gun with the perfect meta loadout have fought your way to the base. You are exactly where you need to be. All that is missing is some patience and resilience so you can take this base and win the match.
With your excellent headphones, you hear that there is a motion sensor in the corner of the room that could reveal your position. Easy. You aim, fire exactly one silenced shot – BOOM. The sensor is destroyed, no one will know where you are, and your defensive position is brilliant. You are the perfect ninja, and you aim for the only entrance in front of you. Whoever walks through there will be taken down immediately.
But something feels wrong. You have an extremely bad feeling. Your hand starts to sweat, your index finger twitches nervously, and you already know what it is. In the bottom right corner, the worst picture in the world shows its cruel face:
Ammo: 59 of 60
You haven’t reloaded after shooting the sensor. Why would you? You have more than enough bullets in the rifle to take down the entire team.
But what if not? What if exactly one bullet is missing to win?
You hear the footsteps of several players approaching your position. “Screw it,” you think, “I’ll reload just to be safe! I’ve been sitting here for ages, and nothing has happened, what are a few seconds?”
With perfect sight on the door, you’ve been staring at the whole time, you press square on the controller with confidence. Just as it must be, the nearly 98% full magazine falls from your SMG while the whole enemy team runs through the door.
The first player sees you panicking, aims for your head, and pulls the trigger once. In a near coma-like shock state, you watch his killcam. He only needed one bullet to kill you. His magazine wasn’t even full when he entered the room.
Now only one question swirls in your head with full clarity. It’s the one sentence that always brings back your full confidence: “WHERE WAS MY TEAM?!”
Do you recognize any of these situations? Which shooter crime have you committed the most? And do you have any other foolishness you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments!
If these silly moments happen to you too often, you might even be the shooter player that no one wants on their team. We also have a list for you that outlines a few general observations in shooter’s games:
Together with Bethesda, a music video and a new song by Saltatio Mortis for the MMORPG Elder Scrolls Online is being created. Thematically, it fits with the new expansion High Isle and the pantheon of gods. We from MeinMMO were able to talk with the band and learn what fascinates them about the MMORPG.
What happened with ESO? On June 6, the latest expansion for the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, High Isle, was released. But it brings not only new items, an exciting story, and open dungeons but also exciting developments outside of the game.
For instance, the band Saltatio Mortis was brought on board to produce a new song fitting for ESO. Included is an elaborate video and an event supported by Bethesda. The event and the song itself are titled “Pray to the Hunter.” Among other things, you can win tickets for gamescom and a sailing trip with the band.
Update: We conducted the interview on June 7 and updated the article on June 10 with current links and the final video.
The premiere of the song and the accompanying video took place on June 10. However, fans had the opportunity to watch the new clip together with the band at the Schauburg in Karlsruhe on June 9 and then chat about it (via schauburg.de).
In the video, you will also see very similar armor as in the new trailer for High Isle:
Start video
The latest ESO expansion High Isle is here – Shows exciting battle with powerful knight in the launch trailer
Who are Saltatio Mortis? The currently seven-member band has focused since its founding 22 years ago on the Middle Ages and always accompanies exciting stories with rocking tones and groovy bagpipes. In 2020, they released “Für immer frei,” their fourth consecutive number one album.
However, the group is not far from the gaming world either. At the beginning of the pandemic, they became active on Twitch, streaming not only Dark Souls but also in the Just Chatting category, and had an appearance at the medieval camp of streamer Knossi and rapper Sido.
And perhaps you have also heard of them outside of their music, as some band members lent their voices and names to NPCs in the role-playing game The Dark Eye: Drakensang. Because besides their real names, the members of Saltatio Mortis are often known by their stage names.
Who talked to us? As part of the collaboration between Bethesda and the band, we also had the opportunity to conduct this interview. Answering our questions were singer and multi-instrumentalist Jörg Roth aka Alea, the Humble, as well as shawms and hurdy-gurdy player Gunter Kopf, better known as Falk Irmenfried von Hasen-Mümmelstein.
They tell us what fascinates them about MMORPGs, why The Elder Scrolls Online serves as the template for the song, and how a fishing quest can become the most beautiful MMORPG experience.
[toc]
“I now sit on tour with a laptop and play Elder Scrolls Online”
MeinMMO: In the medieval and fantasy world, you are known to feel at home. But how did the leap to gaming as inspiration for your music come about?
Falk: It’s actually not that far away. Most of us are also roleplayers, at least pen & paper and board gamers. Each of us has also gone through one or another online adventure. This has always been a topic that we wanted to do something with.
We just never found the right partner who said, “Okay, let’s take the risk and work with a band as intensively as Bethesda has done with us now.” And it’s just so extraordinarily great. We can basically do whatever we want, and we receive good feedback. It’s a fantastic collaboration that couldn’t have gone better. So maybe it was also good that we didn’t just try it before.
Alea: What one can also say at this point – Falk and also Timo, who used to be in the front row with us, our lyricist. They even wrote stories for pen & paper games, namely for Shadowrun and The Dark Eye.
Falk: Exactly, the old dark eye. And they even released Aventurian PC games and we were actually voice actors for that. I voiced at least 30 complete branches. It was terrible, not terrible, but terribly great.
Alea during the shoot for “Pray to the Hunter”
MeinMMO: Going from pen & paper to MMORPG is quite a bigger leap, especially in terms of the number of players. What are the top 3 points you like best about the MMORPG genre?
Alea: I have to say that until I started playing Elder Scrolls Online a year ago, I always said: “I’m someone who wants to experience this story alone.” The first game I really got immersed in was Daggerfall back then. You ran from village to village in real time! For a few hours, nothing happened, but you got a few steps closer.
During the Corona times, I fully discovered gaming for myself. That fever I had back then has totally caught me again. And then we had this event with Bethesda, where as a Skyrim and Daggerfall fan I thought: “Wow, how did that happen?”
Then we played Elder Scrolls Online for the first time in the stream. And it blew me away so much that I now spend hours in ESO several evenings a week. The guys have already experienced that I now sit backstage on tour with my laptop and play ESO. It has to be that way.
Therefore, and that’s the absolute reason for me why I play ESO – the community. The community is incredibly nice, it’s unbelievable. I have never experienced anything like it. I recently mentioned in one of my streams that I want to save up for a werewolf bite and briefly asked if someone could give me one. It took less than 2 minutes, and the messages came flooding in. It was really no problem at all.
Not only real players, but also exciting NPC companions are waiting for you in High Isle
Or when you are in fights. Help is given; someone you don’t know applies their healing abilities, so you don’t die. Or revives you if you mess up, because you, like me, are a noob. And I haven’t experienced that in any online or multiplayer game before. I have only experienced that people who log in as a team support each other. Whether in Battlefront or Alien Fireteam Elite – I always had the feeling that someone would get annoyed quickly if you played poorly.
And here, you get messages giving you tips. There is simply a generated name. I don’t get these messages because I am Alea, but because someone notices that there is a new player starting who hasn’t leveled up far yet, and they’ll help me out. That’s beautiful.
Falk: That’s definitely one reason. For me, the second reason: I believe it was 1997; we are in the times of Ultima Online. That was my start with MMORPGs; back then no one really knew what it was or what you were doing. But you were online with other people, and you could communicate.
There’s nothing cooler than interacting with other players. And when you play on an RP server and can roleplay, that’s just good. What excites me about it is that you don’t just play for your high score at home on your computer, but you create something that is larger than the game you are playing.
Falk has been part of the scene since the days of Ultima Online
You deal with people, with emotions on the other side. You create memories. And I will never forget how I sat at the “campfire” in Ultima Online and talked with people about everything. There were really things happening that made me spoiled for everything that is single-player and goes beyond Diablo.
Alea: As a third point, for me, also because I am currently so active in ESO, is the story depth and the sheer size of it all. I have already completely played through Vvardenfell, and the story was amazing. It had exciting twists and cool situations.
It’s a playable world in itself, with great people, and I simply believe this size, the different countries, the various quests that still connect and the mega lore that emerges from it fascinates me the most.
The community was the reason to leave World of Warcraft
MeinMMO: What was the most beautiful moment for you that you’ve experienced in an MMORPG?
Falk: Oh dear, I may not be able to say that here. But for me, it was when I fished Old Ironjaw. And anyone who knows the name I’m mentioning has really completed every fishing quest in WoW. That was for me the absolutely most unnecessary, but absurd moment. I can’t describe how great that was.
Because I was really half a year behind trying to finish this quest. And by coincidence, I then caught the first of two rare fishes you can fish in Orgrimmar as an Alliance player while we fought through. I cast my fishing rod into the lake, caught the fish, and thought: “Shit, now I need the other one too.” I just wanted to have them all. It’s such a mini-detail, but that was just the Pokémon effect.
Alea: For me, it was the first transformation into a werewolf in ESO. I was so excited and had so much fun just running around as a wolf. Just the feeling that enemies you have never been able to defeat before suddenly cower in fear when you howl as a wolf.
MeinMMO: Looking at the other side: Have you had particularly negative experiences in gaming or MMORPGs specifically?
Alea: Overwatch. Just Overwatch. I thought the design was so cool. I always played Genji and thought it was so cool and I really wanted to play this game, but I’m sorry. After the 30th insult from a stranger, I just thought no. No, then let it be.
I also believe that someone who brings a game to market should ensure that something like this doesn’t happen. Bullying happens, and I think that is terrible. It’s already terrible in real life, but when there are some tough guys, and you don’t even know who is sitting there, writing things like “go die,” that’s really awful.
You can’t know what moment you catch someone who is just playing who had a bad day and just wants to disconnect and play, and then they are told such things. I think that’s really terrible.
Falk: Yes, exactly for that reason I left World of Warcraft behind. After they changed it so that you are just randomly beamed into instances, the situation was such that you played with people who were just grinding and the whole talk just turned negative.
I continued to play because roleplaying is so important to me and it’s important for me to have cool encounters. When you meet an Alliance player as a Horde player at 3 am who is also mining for copper, and you enter into a role-play situation, that I always found incredibly beautiful, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.
I also think what Alea says that the people who post online and run the game have a responsibility to see what it’s all about.
On page 2 of the interview, we talk about the idea of writing music about video games and what fascinates the band about ESO the most.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Today is Friday and you know what that means for Destiny 2: Xur, the handsome vendor from another world, is visiting the Guardians again to bless them with rarities. What those are and whether they are worth it, you will find out here on MeinMMO.
Furthermore, Guardians can finally again venture into the Trials of Osiris, as opposed to Lord Saladin’s Rift mode, the Guardians in the mode of the 14th Saint can expect new weapons and armor, a Ghost shell, and a Sparrow. We have included the monkey-themed armor as an image for you.
The Hunter has an extraordinary armor
All info about Xur on June 10, 2022 – PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia
When does Xur come? The most famous vendor in Destiny 2 starts his sale every Friday promptly at 7:00 PM. Anyone bringing him some Legendary shards and other materials to trade can choose something from him.
Where is Xur? This is his stock for the weekend
Xur’s location: This time Xur is on the Tower in the Hangar.
Xur’s inventory from June 10 to June 14 – All Exotics at a glance
What does Xur have for sale? For all Guardians who do not yet know Xur: He is an exotic vendor of the “Nine”, a mysterious race in Destiny 2, and delivers new weapons and armor to players weekly on their behalf. All characters, so Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans, can shop from him.
Weapon: Doublescaled Fox – Rocket launcher for 29 Legendary shards
Titan: Falcon’s Strides – Leg armor for 23 Legendary shards
Mobility: +9
Resilience: +9
Recovery: +16
Discipline: +8
Intellect: +12
Strength: +11
Total: 65
Hunter: Fr0st-EE5 – Leg armor for 23 Legendary shards
Mobility: +28
Resilience: +2
Recovery: +2
Discipline: +7
Intellect: +13
Strength: +12
Total: 64
Warlock: Eye of Another World – Helmet for 23 Legendary shards
Mobility: +6
Resilience: +24
Recovery: +4
Discipline: +6
Intellect: +13
Strength: +10
Total: 63
This is what his inventory looks like for the weekend
Xur also sells Legendary items and offers unique rolls for Exotics from no longer available exotic missions from past DLCs every week.
Currently, he has these two weapons for sale:
The exotic hand cannon “Hawkmoon” with the perk “Paracausal”
The exotic scout rifle “Dead Man’s Tale” with the perk “Outlaw”
If you need a guide for Xur, Nexxoss has released a video about his current inventory:
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These are the costs for the weapons: For these two Exotics, the costs are 1 Ascendant shard, 1 Exotic cipher, 125,000 Glimmer, and 200 Legendary shards.
This is what Xur always has on him: You always get an Exotic engram for 97 Legendary shards from Xur, as well as the weekly quest to receive an exotic cipher.
Trials of Osiris from June 10 to June 14 – Map, Weapons, and Info
A new and cool Sparrow for the Trials of Osiris
Which map is on the agenda this week? Every weekend you play only on a fixed map. We will update you with the map as soon as it is known. This week Burnout on Mercury is on the agenda.
Watch out for the sniper shooters!
If you are interested in playing the Trials as a team, MeinMMO recommends the callout maps via Warmind. This way you can effectively inform your team where the enemies are on the map, which are useful information for the whole team.
This is how you get your loot: The Trials of Osiris feature a rank system. Your top loot reward from the PvP matches is currently available for:
Seven victories
50 rounds
as well as the infamous flawless run, which leads you to the Lighthouse
This is the reward for a flawless run: Every week, you can also expect a special weapon at the Lighthouse, which you receive for your flawless run, meaning 7 victories, as a master version. This week, the Void scout rifle “Aisha’s Embrace” is in line. You can earn the weapon until next Tuesday at 7 PM.
All trials weapons have a Trials origin perk: “Eagerness” – Improves reload speed, stability, aim assist, and range when you are the last surviving member of your fireteam or are fighting solo.
Once you have received your desired weapon, you can focus your Trials engrams on your desired weapon at the 14th Saint. On top of that, there are enhancement prisms and ascendant shards. Keep in mind that your rewards increase even further when you have a complete pass – even if you have lost one or two games.
When do the Trials start? The Trials (Trials of Osiris) start this Friday at the daily reset at 7:00 PM.
What do you think of Xur’s inventory at the moment? Do you now have reasons to finally visit the black market vendor again, or is it too cumbersome for you and you’d rather ignore the good guy? Let us know in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO on June 25, 2022, the Community Day featuring Kapuno will take place, bringing worldwide Community Meetups. There will also be some in Germany. We from MeinMMO will show you where.
What are these events? On Saturday, June 25, 2022, the Community Day June with Kapuno is happening in Pokémon GO. As you are used to, you can participate from anywhere in the world.
Recently, Niantic also introduced various Community Meetups worldwide. These are regional live events where you can meet other trainers, as well as special PokéStops that will give you improved bonuses during the Community Day.
Community Day Meetups on June 25 – All German Locations
In the overview that Pokémon GO published on its blog on June 10, you can see the planned live events and special PokéStops worldwide. For the Community Day featuring Kapuno, there will again be 11 German cities participating in the meetups (via pokemongolive.com).
In the following overview, we have first listed the locations where you can meet for a live event. In the second part, you will see where PokéStops with additional bonuses are located.
Do you need to register for participation? No, registration for the live event is not required. You can simply go to the specified locations and participate during the event period. These run, just like the Community Day featuring Kapuno, on June 25, 2022, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM local time.
If you don’t have a live event nearby or don’t feel like participating, you can still enjoy the event from anywhere as usual. You will also continue to receive the regular C-Day bonuses everywhere.
What do you think of the meetups? Will you attend one of the events? Or do you find it totally uninteresting and prefer to play alone? Let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO.
Get your key for the closed beta of the new MMORPG Fractured Online here. We at MeinMMO are giving away 600 keys. So grab one while they last.
What is Fractured: Fractured Online is an open-world sandbox MMORPG that takes inspiration from old school games like Ultima Online. It is played from an isometric perspective, like in Lost Ark or Diablo, with a classic medieval setting.
The combat system is action-oriented; you need to aim your skills and attacks at the enemies to make them effective. In the beta, you will explore the continents Myr and Aerhen, consisting of various biomes, and must adapt to the detailed weather system of Fractured.
The player characters are, indeed, differently sensitive to temperature fluctuations, depending on which race they belong to. They need to be properly dressed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6HK0zZ9Z8
You can watch gameplay from the beta here.
What you can win: In collaboration with gamigo, we are giving away a total of 600 keys for temporary access to the closed beta of Fractured Online.
Once you redeem the key, you can try the new MMORPG for free for 2 weeks. After that, access to the beta is only available through the purchase of a Founder’s Pack.
If you decide to continue playing, your progress will carry over, and you won’t have to start over.
How can I participate? To join the giveaway, you first need a MeinMMO account. Sign up with us, refresh the page, and a new window will appear at the bottom.
In the window, you can register for the raffle. The key will be sent shortly thereafter to the email address provided during registration.
The giveaway ends when all 600 keys have been distributed. So if you want to take a look at Fractured and gather your own gaming experiences with the MMORPG, act fast.
Good luck and have fun with the game!
Also, read our “Find Your Next Game” interview with the developers of Fractured:
On April 6, the MMORPG Fractured started its Closed Beta. Since then, there have been many adjustments to the game. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch spoke with Jacopo Pietro Gallelli, the CEO of Dynamight Studios, about the current state of the MMORPG.
Fractured is a sandbox MMORPG with an interesting idea. There are three different races, each with its own world and a different approach to PvP:
The Wildfolk are a peaceful race – here there are only duels.
The humans have PvP in the open world, but you have to mark yourself for it. Attacking unmarked players results in penalties.
The demons, on the other hand, have open PvP without penalties.
This system alone makes Fractured interesting for many players. Since a lot has changed in the MMORPG over the past 6 months, we spoke with the CEO about the current developments.
Gallelli: I would say a whole lot. We have, of course, received a lot of player feedback concerning the mechanics and balancing. In this regard, there is a lot to do. So we released many patches in the first one to two months after the launch that balanced the game.
For instance, there were major problems with attacks on cities, sieges, and the entire mechanics surrounding them. There were issues in PvP due to balancing. We had difficulties with player retention due to certain phases in progression, and so on. We have tried to consolidate the core of the game.
Additionally, we had problems with hackers attacking the game. Nothing major, nothing like stealing player data or similar. But there were a few duplicate bugs. We eliminated them. We closed all security loopholes. Then new ones emerged, so we closed even more security gaps.
But yes, a lot has been done to it. There have been many requests for improvements regarding the game chat, which we fulfilled with the latest patch.
Start video
Fractured in Gameplay
In total, there were a lot of changes, and I wouldn’t call them small. However, it wasn’t about releasing new features, but about improving the game’s functionalities.
That was the biggest part of our two months. Besides that, we also released a major feature, actually two major features: the temperature system and the weather system.
In different parts of the game, it will be cold at times, and hot at other times. This impacts your character. And then there is a weather system where clouds are generated in different parts of the world. Depending on the temperature, they can become larger or smaller. They can generate rain, sleet, snow, snowstorms, and so on, depending on the location in the world and the temperature at that moment.
So the two systems are interconnected, one with the other. This introduces a system that is meant to make exploration more challenging, especially in the most remote and difficult areas. Additionally, it visually enhances the game, as all the atmospheric effects contribute significantly to the player experience.
MeinMMO: The new temperature system has not only been praised by players. Some criticize that its effects on the character are even too slight.
Gallelli: So the idea was not to let people die from it. It should only make traveling to specific areas in PvE more challenging. Killing people outright would be – I don’t know. That’s something we didn’t want to do.
But aside from that, there was criticism that it is too difficult to find protection from the cold. Cold is much more effective and problematic than heat. Heat is not really relevant. Cold is significant because it slows us down. So there are things we still need to improve in the weather system.
We don’t want to kill players with it, but we want it to be significant enough that if you want to go to the frozen area up north on the northern continent, you need to have a certain armor or a skill that blocks the effects of cold. Or you use special materials for the armor that make it cold-resistant, like wool.
In the future, when alchemy is introduced, potions will be used to counteract the effects of cold and heat. So there are a whole series of countermeasures that players can take. But we don’t want players just to go and die.
It’s not a survival game, and we don’t want it to be punishing.
Certain materials help against heat or cold.
The Conquest of Cities Will Become More Difficult
MeinMMO: What have been the biggest wishes of the players? What is still not in the game that fans would like to have?
Gallelli: At the moment, there is a feature that was removed but is coming back soon. I think I’ve already mentioned it: raids and city sieges. We had to remove them because they were very poorly implemented. Exploits and bugs were some of the main issues that made it very unbalanced.
Additionally, it was criticized that it was too easy to conquer cities because players take a long time to build a city in Fractured. I know it can take three or four weeks. And then neighbors could take the city from you by winning just one conquest or siege, which in principle was not right.
So we are first implementing the raids with all the bug fixes. Raids only steal resources, so it’s not that critical. Then we will re-implement city conquests, but with a loyalty system that makes it much, much harder to conquer a city. You have to win several battles. That is, along with balancing, what the players currently desire the most.
When talking about new features, the other two races are probably the most important. This is also one of the three core functionalities of Fractured that are still missing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIkviZMyJPI
The New Races Are Coming in Summer and Late Autumn
MeinMMO: That brings me to the next question: How far along are you with the other races?
Gallelli: At the moment, we are working on Arborius [the continent] and the Wildfolk [the race]. We game designers are building the world. The artists are creating all assets, and the developers are implementing the other races.
And yes, basically most of the team is busy with that. The Wildfolk are supposed to come out in the summer. We haven’t announced a specific date yet. The demons will have to wait a bit longer because the Wildfolk are more important than the demons.
The Wildfolk’s planet is the one that comes without PvP, so without non-consensual PvP. You can engage in duels, but you cannot attack and kill other players. And there is a significant portion of players who will enjoy the non-PvP scenario.
That’s why we are also focusing on that first. The hardcore PvP players can also play on the human world for now. That’s why Tartarus and the demons have a lower priority. They will probably come out in winter or already in late autumn.
Is the World Currently Too Empty?
MeinMMO: During my own wanderings through Fractured, I felt that the world is still a bit empty. I missed diversity among the monsters, and in my opinion, there were too few points of interest. Are you adjusting the old areas again?
Gallelli: First, I have to ask you a question: On which continent did you play? Were you on the new one in the north or on the old continent?
MeinMMO: I think I played on the old one.
Gallelli: Okay, yes, there is a problem with this continent. It was our very first attempt to build a world. And we made many mistakes with the continent. First of all, it is too large. We just like big areas, and the new continent in the north is also very large. It is about 40 square kilometers.
But the old one is 60 square kilometers, so significantly larger. And that is – also from a technical standpoint – too big. It’s just not good for it to be that large. And also, populating and processing it took a long time.
The second major problem is that we do not offer a lot of variety in biomes. You may have noticed that when you walk around Myr, you see grass everywhere. Grass, grass. Grass. There are two types of grass. There’s the tall grass in the grassland. And then there are the mountains, which have a different shade of green. You can see that the trees are a bit different. You can see the difference between the mountains and the grassland, but they are still green and therefore not very impressive.
And especially if you are an explorer or a trader – a player who engages in trade – it can easily happen that you walk around for 30 minutes in something that looks the same. That is the big problem of Myr.
If you go to the other continent in the north, you find areas that are all whitish. And then there’s the tundra, which is completely red and very colorful. There’s snow, low snow, high snow, frozen caves. Then there’s the volcano where you only see ash. There’s a crystal zone full of crystals. And then the storm islands with the thunder and the crazy rocks and structures.
On the new continent, there’s more than just grass.
Things look really different, even without the sights. When you walk around in the world, you can see many, many different biomes, about eight different ones. Yes, I don’t think Myr lacks points of interest. I mean, when you open the map, you see all those pins with interesting points. You have thousands.
I think the biggest problem is that the biomes containing these interesting points are all the same. And, yes, it feels like it’s repeating. I would like to rework that as well.
In the meantime, we have also completely overhauled our procedural generation systems. When we previously created these new stations, we used some external tools. With our own additions specifically for the procedural world generation last autumn, we rebuilt the entire procedural generation systems from the ground up, completely internally. It’s great and super customizable. It took us two or three months of work to redevelop all that.
We would like to redo Myr, but the problem is that our development schedule is very tight. We still have the first continent of the PvE world, then the first continent of Tartarus. I don’t think we will have the time to redo Myr.
Release in Winter, But Not Necessarily in 2022
MeinMMO: That actually sounds like a lot of content you still need to finish. Last time you mentioned that you are aiming for a release by the end of 2022. Is that still the case?
Gallelli: Maybe 2023. Yes, the release was planned for 2022. When we published the roadmap, I believe we said winter. And winter starts in December and ends three months later. I think the release will happen during that period.
This is the current roadmap of Fractured.
The Number of Testers Was Low in the Meantime, But the Game Is Recovering
MeinMMO: How satisfied are you currently with the number of testers? In my own adventures, it often seemed very empty and underpopulated.
Gallelli: When exactly did you play?
MeinMMO: Early May.
Gallelli: Okay, yes, in early May we didn’t have many players. I believe the numbers even dropped a bit before we then brought in a new patch and the free testing week. We initially had a lot of players, but they stopped due to various issues.
So basically, there are three major problems.
One is a problem with retention after the tutorial because players don’t know how to proceed once they finish the tutorial. Fractured is a sandbox game. So if you have the sandbox mentality of users to use the global chat, Discord, or the wiki, then you research on your own and find out what you can do in the game. That’s good. Theme park players and also generally younger gamers feel lost once they finish the tutorial.
After the tutorial, players select the continent and land in the world. And then often the question arises: And now? What do I do now? You have zero guidance. And there are many players who give up in the first hours after the tutorial because they don’t know which character they should play, even if we explain it to them.
They need something to look forward to. Especially, someone to tell them that they should pursue certain goals that they need to follow. And we will work on that. So that is the main reason why the player base was low.
In Fractured, you can claim areas and build there.
In addition, we didn’t promote the start of the beta much because I think the publisher wants to spend the money only when the game is more polished and closer to release.
There were also some other problems, such as killing players, bugs, and the sieges. Thus, most PvP players stopped playing to wait for the raids to come back. Therefore, the game was quite underpopulated in May, that is, in the first three weeks of May.
But no, we were not satisfied at that moment. But we knew why players had stopped, and we are working on making corrections.
MeinMMO: The population of an MMORPG is always a tough topic. Do you think you can really split the player base across three worlds, and which world do you think will be the most populated?
Gallelli: That’s a very good question. I would bet on the human world because many players like the humans, and overall it’s the middle option, it’s the middle ground. So yes, I guess it will be the human world.
But it’s quite possible we will get many competitive large guilds that all go to Tartarus, the demon planet. Or maybe we will get many more PvE players than expected, and they will all go to the tree planet. Honestly, it’s very, very hard to say.
As for having a sufficient number of players, I mean, if we don’t get enough players to populate a world, a server, or let’s call it a shard, as in Ultima. So if we can’t populate those, that’s a big issue.
A continent, even 60 square kilometers, feels populated when there are 300 concurrent users. It would be better if we had 500 or 1,000 users; then it would feel really populated. But even 300 are enough to feel good. I have seen it myself when 300 users were connected on a continent. You find people everywhere. The cities are populated. Trading takes place.
Now imagine we have 300 continents. Multiply that by three worlds. That would be 1,200 systems. If we have less than 1,200 concurrent players, that’s a big problem, right? So yes, we definitely expect to fill everything to make it feel really populated. Our goal is to have around 4,000, 5,000, or ideally 6,000 concurrent players active.
MeinMMO: If it turns out that one race is more popular than the others, will you focus solely on that in development?
Gallelli: No. We treat all equally. I mean, from now on, the focus is on the other two races and planets.
Minor Graphic Updates, But There’s No Time for a Complete Overhaul
MeinMMO: What about graphic updates? There’s always criticism that the game doesn’t look pretty enough to entice players.
Gallelli: Honestly, we are constantly making graphic updates. I believe that has been seen in the last few years. We have made many updates, both in existing worlds and in creating new content. If you compare the game from two years ago to today, you will find that the biomes are prettier and more densely populated.
The grass, it has almost completely changed. When you look at details, no matter what, you see big differences in color. We have changed many environment effects. Also for the future, we are planning further updates, such as for the trees. The trees on Myr look worse than on the new continent.
So we have some graphic updates planned, but yes, ideally it would be best if we could just rebuild the old stuff. But that won’t be possible, at least not in the next few months.
MeinMMO: We thank you, Pietro Gallelli, for the detailed interview!
What do you think about Fractured and the development of the MMORPG? Feel free to share in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
As soon as the 60 on the level counter is up, the hunt for equipment sets begins in Diablo Immortal. This special equipment can be combined with other matching set pieces and grants bonuses the more pieces you wear. You can find all set items, along with bonuses and farming locations, on MeinMMO.
What are sets? In Diablo Immortal, you have a total of 12 pieces of equipment:
6 Primary Equipment Pieces
Can be Legendaries
Wear Legendary Gems
6 Secondary Equipment Pieces
Can be Set Pieces
Wear Normal Gems
While the primary pieces as Legendaries alter or enhance your abilities, the secondary equipment allows you to collect set bonuses. These consist of up to 3 strong effects, and the more pieces you wear from a specific set, the more effects will empower you.
At the release of Diablo Immortal, 8 sets are available, each with 6 equipment pieces. You will find each piece in a different dungeon and will have to grind a lot to complete a set.
Where you can find the sets and what bonuses they provide will be shown to you on MeinMMO. If you are looking for a specific set, you can click to the corresponding section of the article:
Important information about set pieces: Set equipment has a green background in inventory.
Once you own an item of a set, you can select the item and click on a small icon with a magnifying glass in the field with the set bonuses. There you can check where the remaining items can be found.
For found set pieces, the attributes and sockets on the items are random. Thus, it may happen that you find your desired piece, but the attributes do not fit your build. There is a lot of grinding to do, but the bonuses are powerful, and it is worth it.
Diablo Immortal Sets: Finesse of the Flagellant
What is this set? Barbarians and Sorcerers benefit from this set, but it is not particularly specialized. The first two bonuses enhance your damage; the 6-piece bonus is more of a defensive ability that attacks foes who attack you. Nevertheless, this set is considered very strong for the two classes with channeling abilities.
Drop List: Finesse of the Flagellant
Neck: Throat Cutter
The End of Destruction – Hell II+
Ring 1: Severed Thumb
Temple of Namari – Hell IV+
Ring 2: Broken Hand
Kirkurass Rush – Hell IV+
Hands: Bloody Hand
Cave of Echoes – Hell II+
Waist: Open Belly
Pit of Torment – Hell I+
Shoes: Torn Sole
Breach of the Mad King – Hell I+
Set Bonuses: Finesse of the Flagellant
2-piece set: Any continuous, channeled, and persistent area damage is increased by 15 %.
4-piece set: Whenever you deal damage to a single enemy 5 times, you deal an additional 630 damage to that enemy.
6-piece set: Each time you take damage, you have a 4 % chance to unleash a lightning strike that deals 3,780 damage to all enemies nearby and stuns them for 2 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 40 seconds.
Diablo Immortal Sets: The Shepherd’s Call to the Wolves
What is this set? A summoner set that is particularly well-suited for a Necromancer Build. It boosts your own attack but also enhances your summons.
Drop List: The Shepherd’s Call to the Wolves
Neck: Shepherd and Architect
Tomb of Fahir / Hell II+
Finger I: Shepherd and Mother
Breach of the Mad King / Hell IV+
Finger II: Shepherd and Father
Forgotten Tower / Hell IV+
Hands: Shepherd and Zoologist
The End of Destruction / Hell II+
Waist: Shepherd and Procreator
Kirkurass Rush / Hell I+
Feet: Shepherd and Leader
Temple of Namari / Hell I+
Set Bonuses: The Shepherd’s Call to the Wolves
2-piece set: Your summons deal 15 % more damage.
4-piece set: The critical hit chance for each of your summoned creatures is increased by 3 %, up to a maximum of 18 %.
6-piece set: Your summoned creatures go into a Rage state for 10 seconds each time one of them lands a critical hit. The Rage state increases their damage and attack speed by 100 %. This effect can only occur once every 40 seconds.
Diablo Immortal Sets: Permeated Issatar
What is this set? A strong PvE set for farming mobile DPS builds that many classes benefit from. However, since it depends on kills, its usefulness especially in PvP and against bosses with few small enemies declines.
Drop List: Permeated Issatar
Neck: Resting Issatar
Breach of the Mad King – Hell II+
Ring 1: Unleashed Issatar
Cave of Echoes – Hell IV+
Ring 2: Furious Issatar
Pit of Torment – Hell IV+
Hands: Issatar’s Open Hand
Forgotten Tower – Hell II+
Waist: Issatar Under Control
Tomb of Fahir – Hell I+
Shoes: Issatar the Whipper
The End of Destruction – Hell I+
Set Bonuses: Permeated Issatar
2-piece set: Each time you defeat an enemy, you gain 30 % increased movement speed for 2 seconds.
4-piece set: Whenever your movement speed increases by 5 %, you deal 2.5 % increased damage, up to a maximum of 25 %.
6-piece set: Each time you defeat an enemy, you have a 10 % chance to receive a swirling Soul Sphere for 10 seconds, which deals 577 damage to enemies on contact. You can only receive a Soul Sphere once every 40 seconds.
What is this set? If you focus on primary attacks, you should get this set. Especially Necromancers and Demon Hunters receive a heavy boost if you also specialize the rest of your build toward primary attacks.
Drop List: War Gear of Shal’baas
Neck: Burning Heart of Shal’baas
Pit of Torment – Hell II+
Ring 1: Resting Fangs of Shal’baas
Temple of Namari – Hell IV+
Ring 2: Intertwined Serpent of Shal’baas
Cave of Echoes – Hell IV+
Hands: Dozen Blows of Shal’baas
Breach of the Mad King – Hell II+
Waist: Storm Turn of Shal’baas
Forgotten Tower – Hell I+
Shoes: Wind Steps of Shal’baas
Tomb of Fahir – Hell I+
Set Bonuses: War Gear of Shal’baas
2-piece set: Damage from primary attacks is increased by 15 %.
4-piece set: Your primary attacks progressively increase your attack speed, up to a maximum of 25 %.
6-piece set: Your primary attacks have a 5 % chance to increase your attack speed for 10 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 30 seconds.
Legendary gems are also important for many builds. You can find all the information about them in the video:
Start video
Diablo Immortal: What are legendary gems? Facts and locations in 3 minutes
Diablo Immortal Sets: Package of the Gluttonous Baron
What is this set? Enhances control abilities (CC / Crowd Control) and is especially in demand in PvP. However, the 6-piece set bonus is dependent on kills, and it may be worthwhile to combine it with another set or choose attribute-based equipment.
Drop List: Package of the Gluttonous Baron
Neck: The Conqueror
The End of Destruction – Hell II+
Ring 1: The Key Holder
Tomb of Fahir – Hell IV+
Ring 2: The Captive
Forgotten Tower – Hell IV+
Hands: The Armored Fist
Kikurass Rush – Hell II+
Waist: The Dungeon Master
Temple of Namari – Hell I+
Shoes: The Tyrant
Cave of Echoes – Hell I+
Set Bonuses: Package of the Gluttonous Baron
2-piece set: Increases the duration of your abilities that cause loss of control by 30 %.
4-piece set: Increases damage from all sources against enemies under your loss of control effects by 15 %.
6-piece set: Whenever you defeat an enemy affected by your loss of control effects, you unleash an ice nova that deals 1,680 damage to nearby enemies and freezes them for 4 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 40 seconds.
What is this set? A very strong damage set for ranged fighters who tend to keep away from the fray. However, you must constantly pay attention to avoid taking damage.
Drop List: Perfect Wind Strength
Neck: Blade of Wisdom
Forgotten Tower – Hell II+
Ring 1: Beautiful Breezes
Breach of the Mad King – Hell IV+
Ring 2: Lazy Breezes
Pit of Torment – Hell IV+
Hands: Roaring Steel
Tomb of Fahir – Hell II+
Waist: Whiplash
The End of Destruction – Hell I+
Shoes: Blunt Bearer
Kikurass Rush – Hell I+
Set Bonuses: Perfect Wind Strength
2-piece set: Gain “Thousand Winds,” which increases your movement speed by 15 %. “Thousand Winds” will be disabled for 3 seconds when you take damage.
4-piece set: Increases your damage dealt by 20 %, while “Thousand Winds” is active.
6-piece set: Gain a shield that makes you immune to damage 5 times while “Thousand Winds” is active. This shield can only be gained once every 40 seconds.
Diablo Immortal Sets: Untouchable Charlatan
What is this set? For tank builds that specialize in high vitality. Shortly after release it is still unclear how good the set really is.
Drop List: Untouchable Charlatan
Neck: Ornament of the Charlatan
Cave of Echoes – Hell II+
Ring 1: Deception of the Charlatan
Temple of Namari – Hell IV+
Ring 2: Wonder of the Charlatan
Kikurass Rush – Hell IV+
Hands: Freeloading of the Charlatan
Pit of Torment – Hell II+
Waist: Bragging of the Charlatan
Breach of the Mad King – Hell I+
Shoes: Cunning of the Charlatan
Forgotten Tower – Hell I+
Set Bonuses: Untouchable Charlatan
2-piece set: Each time you take damage, you have a 20 % chance for a shield that absorbs damage equal to 13 % of your maximum life. This effect can only occur once every 9 seconds.
4-piece set: The damage absorption from the shield is increased to 33 % of your maximum life, and you can move unhindered through enemies while this shield is active.
6-piece set: Your shield has a 25 % chance to explode upon expiration, dealing 40 % of your maximum life as damage to all nearby enemies.
What is this set? The best set for supporters who specialize in strengthening their group in PvE content. The life drain effect of the 6-piece set bonus is extremely powerful.
Drop List: Vithus’s Desire
Neck: Urge of the Awakener
Kirkurass Rush – Hell II+
Ring 1: Shameless Urge
Tomb of Fahir – Hell IV+
Ring 2: Modest Urge
The End of Destruction – Hell IV+
Hands: Urge of the Beacon
Temple of Namari – Hell II+
Waist: Urge of the Model
Cave of Echoes – Hell I+
Shoes: Urge of the Lantern
Pit of Torment – Hell I+
Set Bonuses: Vithus’s Desire
2-piece set: Increases the duration of all positive effects for you or your group members by 30 %.
4-piece set: Whenever you use a skill that grants a positive effect to you or a group member, you increase the target’s attack speed by 30 % for 3 seconds.
6-piece set: Each time you use a skill to empower yourself or a group member, an area of Apotheosis is created for 12 seconds, granting you and all group members within the area a life steal of 12 %. This effect can only occur once every 40 seconds.
Which set is worth it for you greatly depends on your class and playstyle. However, all set items have one thing in common: a long grind and endless dungeon runs.
To have the highest chance of set pieces, you should grind on Hell IV. If you are specifically looking for a piece, focus on the indicated difficulty for that set piece – that is the fastest way.
To have the highest chance of set pieces, you should grind on Hell IV. If you are specifically looking for a piece, focus on the indicated difficulty for that set piece – that is the fastest way.
Since Season 3 of Fortnite was released, players have also had the opportunity to try out new weapons. We will show you who can benefit from the new weapons, what they can do, and whether using them in combat is worth it.
Which weapons are we talking about? In Season 3, players received not only a new map and finally peace, but also new weapons to continue annihilating in Battle Royale. These are the three weapons:
Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR)
Hammer Assault Rifle
Double-barrel Shotgun
We will give you a detailed breakdown of each weapon, explain where their best usage areas are, and show you all the information you should know to outsmart your opponents.
Update June 10, 2023: Epic Games implemented some nerfs and buffs that also affect the new weapons. We have replaced the old values with the new ones. This mainly concerns the Double-barrel Shotgun and its damage. The damage has been increased.
Important info about weapons – Damage, magazine size, and more
All weapons from Epic Games have strengths and weaknesses, but some guns should be ignored. They either fail to compete or are too unwieldy to handle. Here’s what these weapons can do:
Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR)
The DMR
Is it worth using, and if so, for whom? The Designated Marksman Rifle has its strengths primarily at a great range. With the generous zoom of the scope, you can take on a sniper shooter and even win. Due to the large magazine, you have more ammunition and thus more endurance than with a sniper.
The damage is also impressive. Although it is slightly less than a sniper rifle, the rate of fire and magazine size compensate for that.
A solid and appealing weapon that can find its place in the inventory of many long-range players.
Important information about the weapon:
Damage: ranges from 45.0 – 58.0 (depending on rarity)
Reload rate: takes 2.75 – 2.125 seconds (depending on rarity)
Magazine size: 10 rounds
Where to find it: Everywhere on the map, in chests, on the ground, at vending machines, and at reality saplings.
Pros
Good coverage for medium to long distances
Large magazine for a sniper hybrid
High damage
Suitable scope
High rate of fire
Cons
Not useful in close combat
Less damage than a sniper
Hammer Assault Rifle
The Hammer Assault Rifle
Is it worth using, and if so, for whom? The Hammer Assault Rifle should be your preferred assault rifle of Season 3. At any distance, the Hammer performs well. Its unusual recoil pattern can benefit you when counter-steering – giving you more precision.
Especially at medium range or when destroying buildings, the rifle shows its true strength. The high DPS value of up to 203 points obliterates everything in suitable range. Just be careful not to overreach, as a sniper can outmatch the gun.
If you’re looking for an assault rifle in Season 3, then give the Hammer a chance. It doesn’t carry this name for nothing.
Important information about the weapon:
Damage: ranges from 27.0 – 35.0 (depending on rarity)
Reload rate: takes 2.42 – 1.87 seconds (depending on rarity)
Magazine size: 20 rounds
Where to find it:Everywhere on the map, in chests, on the ground, at vending machines, and at reality saplings.
Pros
Can cover all distances excellently
High damage
Special recoil offers more precision
Cons
Slow rate of fire
Small magazine for an assault rifle
Double-barrel Shotgun
The Double-barrel Shotgun
Is it worth using, and if so, for whom? The Double-barrel Shotgun is difficult to master. In capable hands, it can mow down opponents. However, in a team fight, you would likely go down with it, as each round fired causes a delay.
You will need to wait a few seconds before each subsequent shot, which makes you vulnerable.
Combined with an SMG or an MP, you can certainly score a few kills, but don’t expect too much from it. There are other shotguns on the map that far outclass the Double-barrel in range and reload rate.
Important information about the weapon:
Damage: ranges from 80.0 – 99.0 (depending on rarity)
Reload rate: takes 9.24 – 7.14 seconds (depending on rarity)
Magazine size: 8 rounds
Where to find it:Everywhere on the map, in chests, on the ground, at vending machines, and at reality saplings.
Pros
High damage
Fires two rounds
Large magazine
Cons
Delay after a volley
Slow reload
Short range
We have now looked at all the new weapons for you and tested in battles how well they perform compared to their predecessors.
More information about Fortnite can be found here:
Note: This list is a compilation of the new weapons, which, although rated by me and many other players – does not necessarily have to hold true for you. As always, it ultimately depends on personal taste, individual preferences, and simply on whether you can handle the respective weapon or not.
Just because many people find them good or the stats are top, it doesn’t automatically mean that you will perform well with them.
Feel free to let us know in the comments how you feel about the new weapons and whether you agree with us or have had different experiences.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On June 9, the Summer Game Fest 2022 took place and showcased numerous trailers to the world. MeinMMO has looked at the event and summarized the five hottest trailers of Summer Game Fest 2022for you.
How was the list created? At the Summer Game Fest 2022, a wide selection of games showed plenty of trailers. Some of them were announcements for previously unseen games, while others showcased initial cinematics or gameplay scenes from titles that many players are eagerly waiting for.
We at MeinMMO have watched the event and compiled a list of the 5 hottest trailers. As a starting point for the list, we analyzed the view counts of the trailers on YouTube across various channels.
Place 5: Nightingale Gameplay Trailer
How many times has the trailer been viewed? On the official YouTube Channel PlayNightingale, the gameplay trailer reached 172,000 views (as of June 10, 12 PM) and therefore takes the distant fifth place on our list of the 5 hottest trailers of the Summer Game Fest.
What does the trailer show? The trailer showcases the first gameplay of Nightingale, the new survival game from Inflexion Games, focusing on PvE battles against fairy beings, crafting, and building shelter or entire cities, as well as cooperative play with friends.
The setting of the title also reminds in the new trailer of a mix between industrialized England and a world full of fantasy beings, which is why MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus compares Nightingale to the MMORPG New World.
Nightingale shows new trailer with PvE gameplay, looks more and more like Valheim
Place 4: The Last of Us Part 1 – PS5 & PC Announcement Trailer
How many times has the trailer been viewed? The announcement trailer for the PS5 and PC version of The Last of Us Part 1 received 714,000 views on the PlayStation YouTube Channel.
What can be seen in the trailer? The new trailer for The Last of Us Part 1 reveals the release of a PS5 version of the popular game on September 2, 2022, showing how beautiful the game looks on the new console generation.
Additionally, the trailer announces that a PC version of The Last of Us Part 1 is also in development, marking the first time this successful title will be available on PC.
Start video
One of the best PS4 games of all time is getting a remake on PS5 and PC
Place 3: Street Fighter 6 – Guile Gameplay Trailer
How many times has the trailer been viewed? On the YouTube channel of Street Fighter, the gameplay trailer for Guile reached 735,000 views (as of June 10, 12 PM).
What does the trailer show? With Street Fighter 6, not only does the popular fighting game series return, but also the character Guile.
At the Summer Game Fest, first gameplay of the fighter with the unique hairstyle was shown, who combines his characteristic moves with new attacks in Street Fighter 6. Additionally, Guile has the ability to keep his opponents at a distance in battle and make use of his long reach.
Street Fighter 6 is set to release in 2023 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam. Already at the PlayStation State of Play, Capcom showcased Street Fighter 6 in the trailer and revealed modern graphics with fast-paced gameplay.
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Street Fighter 6 introduces Guile – Shows gameplay of the fighter in the trailer
Place 2: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
How many times has the trailer been viewed? On the “Call of Duty” YouTube channel, the new gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 achieved an impressive 2.7 million views (as of June 10, 12 PM), placing it in second place on our list.
What can be seen in the trailer? Activision provided new insights into the gameplay of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 at Summer Game Fest 2022, showcasing an entire level of the campaign.
A team featuring the legendary CoD character Ghost takes out opponents quietly and together. Particularly impressive is the incredible level of detail.
CoD: Modern Warfare 2 shows gameplay of a full level – looks more realistic than ever before
Place 1: Marvel Midnight Suns
How many times has the trailer been viewed? On the official Marvel YouTube Channel, the trailer for Marvel Midnight Suns reached an unmatched 3.8 million views (as of June 10, 12 PM), making it the number 1 most viewed trailer of the Summer Game Fest (via YouTube/ Marvel Entertainment).
What does the trailer show? The new trailer for Marvel Midnight Suns showcases numerous well-known and beloved Marvel characters like Venom, Spiderman, and Hulk in action-packed battles.
The release of Marvel Midnight Suns is on October 7, 2022.
Start video
Midnight Suns shows new trailer, enticing with a true thunderstorm of Marvel stars
You missed the Summer Game Fest 2022 and want to check which games were shown outside of the 5 hottest trailers? MeinMMO has kept track in the live ticker of what happened at the gaming event and which games or trailers were shown.
The Summer Game Fest was, to put it mildly, disappointing. Although the expectations of MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski were already low, they were still undercut.The horror lies not (only) in the event itself.
For almost two hours, we were bombarded by the Summer Game Fest with game trailers that aim to entice us with plenty of action, atmosphere, and strong presentation. There is little room for gameplay here.
The journalist and host Geoff Keighley has been hosting the event since 2020, providing an alternative to the E3 press conferences.
I love discovering new games and being entertained by cool trailers. The entire gaming community comes together, and you really feel the joy and passion for the shared hobby.
This year was different.
Little expected and still disappointed
We are indeed in a challenging gaming year. In 2022, the industry is feeling the impacts of the pandemic. The last few years have already been characterized by delays of significant titles.
The big highlight this year was undoubtedly Elden Ring, which exploded on Metacritic and received stunning reviews. Our current major highlight is Diablo Immortal, which we currently see as the strongest release in the MeinMMO editorial team. And that, despite Blizzard’s mobile title being heavily criticized for pay-to-win mechanics.
And what’s coming now in the AAA segment? Nothing for a long time.
Hogwarts Legacy is still a glimmer of hope, set to release in winter 2022. And here too, a further delay to 2023 wouldn’t be the biggest surprise.
Update: The same applies to Forspoken, a fantasy action RPG set to release in October 2022.Here, rumors are already circulating about another delay.Forspoken slipped through as an exciting blockbuster in the original version of the article, which Canelloni pointed out to me in the comments.
Unfortunately, you could really feel that at the Summer Game Fest. The event can’t even be blamed for it. What can they show that’s truly new when there’s simply nothing available?
Even though I was already aware of all this in advance, I still had hope that there would be that one surprise. That one thing that none of us expected and would make us cheer.
That one thing did not happen.
The biggest highlight that quickly stormed the Twitter trends was the announced remake of The Last of Us. Unfortunately, that was leaked shortly before, otherwise I would have cheered during the event.
Just when the music starts at minute 00:30, I feel it in my stomach and get goosebumps:
Start video
One of the best PS4 games of all time is getting a remake on PS5 and PC
But now, that a remake is the big highlight of the Summer Game Fest really says a lot.
Many dark horror trailers with oppressive atmosphere
After dealing with what was missing from the Summer Game Fest, let’s take a look at what was there: strikingly dark vibes.
Perhaps it’s because most of us have collectively been plagued by dark thoughts for the last two years. This also applies to the people who create our games. Out of around 35 trailers shown, at least 25 had something dark, with rooms filled with monsters or aliens or something oppressive.
I’ll let a few example trailers speak for themselves:
Start video
Layers of Fears Reveal Trailer
Layers of Fears is a horror game in the classic sense. The predecessor, Layers of Fear, is known for its psychedelic horror, where exploring dark places and narratives is a major focus.
Start video
Aliens: Dark Descent reveals first trailer at Summer Game Fest – Promises action-packed squad battles
Aliens: Dark Descent basically looks like a tactical shooter, but it also looks more like a nasty horror game – narrow corridors, aliens, fear.
Start video
New horror game comes from a developer of Dead Space and looks exactly like that
Callisto Protocol is from the creators of Dead Space and looks appropriately so. Here too, many classic horror elements with nasty tentacle monsters that latch onto heads.
Start video
Ex-Blizzard employees introduce F2P strategy game – Show battle between huge monster and combat robot
Yes, even in the newly introduced strategy game Stormgate, I had the feeling I was seeing more of a sci-fi horror.
These are just four exemplary trailers that capture the evening’s atmosphere quite well. Of course, there were also contrasting programs, like the announced DLC for the humorous cartoon game Cuphead. Such things were rare, however.
Even though I generally like dark atmospheres, the sheer volume of it may have influenced my perspective of the event.
We don’t have to view the gaming year as dark
Apparently, we can expect a few horror scenarios in gaming in the coming months and one to two years, along with few AAA titles.
On a purely professional level, this is indeed difficult for us. Because big, new releases, like recently Elden Ring, Lost Ark, and yes, also Diablo Immortal, always enliven our MeinMMO! But that’s not as relevant to you, dear readers, as it is to me.
Because we can view the drought in the AAA area as a great opportunity. There will be cool releases, but they won’t make as big a splash as an Elden Ring.
This means that smaller productions have a chance to shine in their full glory without gigantic competitors. Perhaps we will look at these games more consciously in our constant search for something new.
A counter-program to this is the Wholesome Direct, which is dedicated to showcasing small indie titles that provide a comforting feeling. Last year, for example, Unpacking was presented, which became a real hidden gem.
In Fortnite the popular Imposter mode was introduced in 2021. However, upon closer observation, it was found that the mode was heavily copied from Among Us. Now, after the developers of Among Us and Epic Games have communicated, a collaboration should take place soon, and therefore we will show you the items and how to get them.
What was stolen from Fortnite? Not only the gameplay was designed in a similar environment, but the map was also copied. The tasks, as well as sabotages, could also be traced back to the deduction game “Among Us”. Gary Porter, a Twitter user, put a comparison online showing how similar the two modes look.
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After this dilemma, the developer of Among Us explained on social networks that he would have preferred to enter into an official collaboration instead of letting it unfold so sneakily.
Fortnite then responded online on Twitter with the “Among Us” tag, asking whether they would be interested in entering into a collaboration.
This has now been realized, and many players have long awaited that the items would finally be made available in Fortnite. We will show you which items those are and how to get them.
What items are available in Fortnite for Among Us? Players in Fortnite have the opportunity to unlock two items from Among Us. They are as follows:
Distraction Dance – Emote
Crewmate – Back accessory
The back accessory is special because you have the choice of 10 different colors of the Crewmates if you have unlocked it.
How do I get the items? To get the items, you must purchase Among Us in the Epic Games Store. The game costs €3.99 and needs to be purchased while logged in with your linked Fortnite/Epic Games account. This way, Epic Games knows which account the items should be assigned to.
If you have already purchased Among Us, you will either get the items for free or you will need to purchase a star package for Among Us in the “Addons” section in the Epic Games Store. It is sufficient to choose the cheapest package.
Will they come to the Item Shop? That is still unknown, but it is quite possible that the items might appear in the Item Shop at a later date.
How much time do I have to get the items? The offer runs for quite a while. You have until June 9, 2023, to purchase Among Us and receive the items.
What do you think of the items in Fortnite? Do you think they are cool or are they not for you and would you rather stick with your familiar backpacks and dances in Fortnite? Feel free to let us know in the comments what you think!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The small throwing hammer in Destiny 2 is popular, but evidently also hard to control. Several times already, the powerful melee ability of the Titan was supposed to be adjusted. But this week it turned out that the damage was not reduced at all. MeinMMO tells you what Bungie has now communicated retroactively and what impact this has on the damage of the small throwing hammer.
What adjustment did Bungie forget to mention? Already in December 2021 and in the big update 4.1.0. from May 2022, Bungie announced changes to the small throwing hammer, one of the melee abilities of the Titan.
At that time, the much too strong combination of “Roaring Flames” and a few melee exotics like “Synthoceps” or “Wormgod’s Touch” was supposed to be adjusted. They caused more damage than intended. Yet even after the updates, the small throwing hammer was hardly weaker, and Titans continued to forge ahead solo through the toughest endgame activities.
Now Bungie explained on Twitter that they simply forgot to reduce the damage. The community manager informed with a statement on Twitter:
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Is it a “stealth nerf”? Although it was initially changed without further information in the patch note, it was actually not a nerf. The change was already known, it just didn’t work.
What does this mean for the damage? First of all, it can be stated that the damage now behaves as Bungie had planned.
Roaring Flames:
Now activated by solar ability kills and kills with solar ignitions.
Now causes 20 instead of 30 % increased ability damage to combatants per stack.
The melee damage bonus will therefore be reduced when the perks from Falcon’s Mark, Double-Punch, Wormgod’s Touch, or Synthoceps are active. In PvP, this means 13 instead of about 25 % increased ability damage to players per stack.
Typically, you receive a 1.2x multiplier per stack through Roaring Flames. If you added one of the mentioned melee exotics prior to the patch, you were receiving roughly 1.31x per stack, with the difference culminating in an increase of ~33% at Roaring Flames x3 with Syntho versus the expected interaction.
After the patch, this was fixed to properly reduce the damage at each stack. So if you add Synthoceps, you get a 1.1x multiplier from Roaring Flames for each stack.
The difference at x3 is about 23%. When you switch from the erroneous increase to the intended decrease, you receive a 0.77x / 1.33x = 0.58x multiplier or a 42 percent nerf for the combination of Syntho and Roaring Flames x3.
Titan hammer melee still strong enough: Even after this change, Titans have nothing to worry about. Even if some solo endgame activities can no longer be completed in Easy-Mode, the small throwing hammer of the Titan with “Roaring Flames” x3 and an exotic still deals decent damage and feels immensely strong.
This is also explained by the German YouTuber Miftaka, who sweeps through a Lost Sector with his Titan:
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What do you think about the retroactive information? Did you even notice the change to your Titan? Or did you not notice anything at all? Feel free to leave us a titan-strong comment and let us know what you think about the adjustments of the small hammer or if you prefer to use other options.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Are you looking for a cheap and simple upgrade for your desk that will improve your workspace or gaming setup in the long run? MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann bought a small upgrade for his setup, and it was definitely worth it.
I often sit at my desk in the evenings reading, working, or playing my current favorite games. However, looking at a monitor in a dark room can eventually tire your eyes. That’s why I had already bought a great lamp for my desk, but the room itself remained dark.
I was therefore consciously looking for an option to illuminate my desk better. However, I didn’t want to constantly turn on the ceiling lights or get a desk lamp that only lights up my desk in one spot.
Eventually, I bought an LED light strip that costs just 12 euros.
A simple light strip significantly improves the desk and costs hardly anything
What kind of product is this? The furniture giant IKEA has now entered the gaming world and offers furniture for gamers in collaboration with ASUS. However, IKEA has been selling LED light strips for several years now, which are sold under the name “LEDBERG”. These are usually glued or attached to drawers so that you can see your laundry or other items inside. The light strip is then connected to the power outlet with a plug.
I bought one of these light strips at IKEA and placed it on my desk behind my monitors. The light strip costs only 12 euros and can be installed in a few minutes. The version from IKEA can be interconnected, allowing the light strip to be extended as needed. You can connect a total of three pieces (each 25 cm long).
What’s so great about it? The improvement is immediately visible, and I’ve attached a photo for you. When I sit at my desk in the evenings and don’t have the ceiling light on, I have a soft backlight. Since my desk is in a rather dark corner of the room, the lighting makes a big difference.
My desk with the LED strip. It provides quite a bit of lighting.
This is much more comfortable for the eyes than staring at a bright screen. Because the eye has not just a single light source (my monitor), but it has significantly more light to work with.
I also combine this LED light strip with a monitor lamp, which I additionally mounted on my right monitor. You can read why such a lamp is also recommended on MeinMMO:
Are there any disadvantages? I had to take some time for the setup at first. Because my mouse and keyboard cables were in the way, and the rigid version cannot be attached to the monitor. With flexible strips, I quickly found myself at 30 euros at IKEA.
The second thing that could also be bothersome is the appearance. A loose light strip on the desk may first appear cheap. This hasn’t really bothered me so far, but I could consider buying the flexible version in the future. This version can be attached to the back of my monitor and will then also disappear from my tidy desk.
Other manufacturers also offer LED strips, but with more features
Is it only available from IKEA? IKEA is not the only company that offers such LED strips. You can also find smart LED strips from various providers on Amazon that you can control a bit with a remote control or via an app. Govee and Philips Hue are probably the most well-known providers:
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I deliberately opted out of this app control option since I was only looking for a simple but effective solution for my desk. And I found that solution in this light strip.
Aintracht Spandau, the LoL team of YouTuber HandOfBlood, remains unbeaten after the fourth matchday in the Prime League. A significant contribution to this was made by the supporter Olivier “Prime” Payet (cover image, via Prime League), who delivered a fantastic game on the champion Ashe against Penta 1860.
What was so special about the performance? Prime, the supporter of Aintracht Spandau, used an unusual champion in the match against Penta 1860. He played with Ashe, a classic marksman or AD carry.
While it is not uncommon for Ashe to be played as a supporter with a special build, it is rather rare in major tournaments. However, Prime delivered an outstanding game with Ashe:
He landed several great stuns with the Crystal Arrow (“R”)
He helped dominate the bot lane with good moves
In the end, he finished with Ashe at 3/2/9
However, the highlight was the dragon steal with a volley (“W”). It is no wonder that Prime was chosen as the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the match.
Start video
Everything you need to know about the LoL team Eintracht Spandau – in 4 minutes
Prime blind steals the dragon, continuing an important tradition
What’s the deal with the dragon steal? The jungler Rulfchen from Penta 1860 started the dragon just before minute 9. He pulled it out of its lair to deny Aintracht Spandau vision and prevent a steal.
However, Prime was roaming in the jungle with Ashe and fired a volley over the wall without vision and unaware of the health points – promptly stealing the dragon to the surprise of everyone:
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What was also special about Prime’s performance? Besides the outstanding dragon steal, Prime managed everything that evening. He shot countless Enchanted Crystal Arrows across the map, securing even kills that should have been impossible.
This way, she could use volley and the Enchanted Crystal Arrow more often.
On the 5th matchday, Aintracht Spandau will face Team WAVE. They have so far achieved two wins and two losses, but surprisingly managed to defeat MOUZ.
Anyone interested in the course of Aintracht Spandau’s spring split can find a summary of all important events here:
Why play support Ashe? Ashe is designed as a classic AD carry but offers some slows and a stun on her ultimate. This allows her to be helpful to her team even as a supporter.
The core element of the build is the item Imperial Mandate. This grants mana regeneration and additionally deals magical damage when abilities slow or incapacitate enemies. This is then combined with a lot of ability haste, which reduces the cooldowns of abilities.
This way, she could use volley and the Enchanted Crystal Arrow more often.
On the 5th matchday, Aintracht Spandau will face Team WAVE. They have so far achieved two wins and two losses, but surprisingly managed to defeat MOUZ.
Anyone interested in the course of Aintracht Spandau’s spring split can find a summary of all important events here:
On June 08, The Cycle: Frontier finally launched on Steam. The shooter from Germany sees itself as a competitor to Escape from Tarkov, which aims to attract more casual players. The beta was very well received, but after the release only 52% of the reviews on Steam are positive. What happened?
The shooter year 2022 is off to a slow start. The major releases from the end of last year – such as Halo Infinite, Battlefield 2042, and CoD Vanguard – have disappointed across the board. Additionally, service games like CoD Warzone are in an identity crisis.
Because of this, The Cycle: Frontier was for many perhaps the biggest shooter hope of the year, next to Modern Warfare 2. After two beta tests that were very successful and where the game received a lot of praise, many thought this would be the big hope for shooters in 2022.
However, the release is going differently than many had hoped. Currently, after almost 3,500 reviews on Steam, only 52% of them are positive (as of June 10, 9:51 AM). What is the reason?
Watch the gameplay of The Cycle: Frontier in the trailer:
Start video
The Cycle: Frontier gameplay in the trailer
The Cycle: Frontier is a “Free Tarkov, but in Space”
What kind of game is this? The Cycle: Frontier has a turbulent development history. The German developer YAGER had little success with an initial version of the game that was a battle royale.
The game was switched to a PvPvE gameplay, which is most similar to Escape from Tarkov. In this form, the game received the addition “Frontier” in the title and is meant to be a F2P alternative to Tarkov. Additionally, The Cycle: Frontier targets less hardcore players than the military simulation Tarkov.
The philosophy with which The Cycle: Frontier was developed was revealed to us by the developers a few months ago in an interview:
How do players find the shooter? In the two closed beta tests that were available for a few months, the game received generally positive feedback. This was rewarded with strong player numbers and great success on Twitch.
Accordingly, many were eagerly awaiting the full release, which was only announced when the developers felt the game was ready. On June 08, it finally launched. However, the positive atmosphere could not be smoothly maintained.
Only 52% on Steam: What the players say
Player numbers are strong enough to frequently be at the top of the Steam trends, and the all-time peak of around 27,000 players simultaneously is not bad. It is also going well on Twitch. But only about half of all reviews on Steam are positive.
What do players praise? Those who read these reviews recognize a clear trend. There are indeed several things that are well received across the board. They include:
Solid gunplay.
Good sound design.
Relatively long time-to-kill (TTK) ensures exciting, strategic gunfights.
Exciting balance of risk and reward.
Minimal wait times when joining matches (which is a major drawback in Tarkov).
Players refer to The Cycle: Frontier as “Free Tarkov, but in space” and mean that as a great compliment. However, there are also many issues that disturb the community. These include both bugs and fundamental design problems.
What do players criticize? Criticism has been directed at several glitches, bugs, and crashes that are present in the game and in some cases “steal” players’ hard-earned loot. Many negative reviews read as if frustrated players are venting due to lost gear.
However, more fundamental problems are often criticized. The game is said to be hardly fun for solo players, as the long TTK gives them a significant disadvantage and players with better loot have an excessive advantage.
One user writes in the Steam reviews:
The number of duos that you encounter as a solo player makes the game incredibly frustrating BECAUSE the TTK is so long. Long TTK creates very exciting 1v1’s but makes a 1v2 annoying because you are simply destroyed if you can’t surprise the opponents.
The equipment balancing is non-existent. Weapons and armor become drastically better from level to level, and there’s almost no variance that allows for counterplay. Weapons that are blue or better have no trade-offs to balance the strengths, and armor is a very shallow “X amount of shield”; nobody will trade shield strength for stamina recovery, that’s simply nonsensical.
Even players from the beta are frustrated. Many of the major bugs that the community believed needed to be fixed at release are still in the game. The fact that expensive DLC packages are in the shop instead is particularly annoying for some. A player on Steam says: “They haven’t done anything to improve the game, but hey, at least they’ve added €100 in DLC” (via Steam)
How are the developers reacting? On Twitter, the developers at YAGER have already communicated that they are keeping an eye on the bugs. A hotfix is supposed to be released today, with a larger patch to follow at a later date.
However, whether and when the larger design problems mentioned will be fixed is currently unknown.
This type of Tarkov-like shooter is becoming a trend in the industry. The upcoming CoD should also have a mode that plays like The Cycle or Escape from Tarkov. Here you can find out what is known about it:
At the end of June, the next Community Day will take place in Pokémon GO, bringing back a special form of level-4 raids. We at MeinMMO have looked into what these raids will be, what restrictions there will be, and what the trainers have to say about it.
What kind of event is this? On June 25, 2022, the Community Day featuring Kapuno will take place in Pokémon GO. The Dark and Dragon Pokémon from the 5th generation will be found everywhere in the wild, as you know from other C-Days.
In addition to the numerous spawns of the rather rare Pokémon and some bonuses, the event also has another special feature for you: level-4 raids. However, these will be a bit different from what you are currently used to from other raids and will therefore also have a significant restriction. We will show you what to expect.
When will the C-Day and raids take place? While the actual Community Day with Kapuno will take place on June 25 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM local time, you will be able to find the level-4 raids immediately afterwards from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM local time.
These are the level-4 raids for the Community Day in June
What kind of raids are these? In Pokémon GO, you can participate in various raids with different difficulty levels. Since the end of 2022, there have only been raid levels 1, 3, 5, and Mega, but now there will also be a raid boss returning to level-4 raids for the first time in a while.
During the Community Day in June, you can encounter Duodino, the evolution of Kapuno. But that’s not all; not everyone can participate in the raids as usual. However, you will be rewarded with a special bonus when you play these raids.
What restriction is there? Unlike the other raids, you can only join the level-4 raid on-site. Participating with a remote raid pass is not possible. To fit with the Season of GO, Niantic wants to lure you outside again.
You will need to walk directly to the gym as before the introduction of the popular remote raids and use a raid pass or premium raid pass to participate.
Earn a special bonus: Besides defeating the raid boss, you can also expect another special bonus. After the raid, you will unlock additional Kapuno spawns for 30 minutes, 300 meters around the gym. The same shiny chance will apply as during the three-hour Community Days.
Kapuno, Duodino, and Trikephalo normal and as Shiny
Contrary to the first event announcement in the game, there will be no minimum number of trainers needed to earn this bonus. You can basically play in smaller groups (via twitter.com).
How difficult is a level-4 raid? In the past, level-4 raids have been relatively difficult to complete alone. Niantic has now announced in a statement on Twitter that the level-4 raids with Duodino will be even a bit harder.
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They recommend bringing at least 2-5 other trainers. How difficult the raids will actually be and whether Duodino can possibly be defeated alone remains to be seen.
Trainers are asking, “Is this a joke?”
In social networks, the return of level-4 raids is a big topic. The restriction regarding the use of remote raid passes is particularly criticized, as some trainers are hardly connected with other players on-site, making it difficult to coordinate for raids.
Starwars9629-: “Where am I supposed to find other trainers?”
Plus-Pomegranate8045: “Ahhh yes, the mythical creatures known as ‘other trainers’. I have a better chance of encountering Bigfoot”
bobnbill: “Their solution for the problem they created (returning to 3-hour community days, i.e., less accessible for many people due to work, weather, location, etc.) is to make people raid in groups (thus spending money) to extend the event by 30 minutes at a specific location. Because that is the best way to maintain the magic of such events. I am unimpressed.”
Worried_Patience_117: “Is this a joke?”
Baron: “This whole in-person raiding nonsense would make a little sense if Niantic were trying to make it easier to connect with other trainers or somehow guide trainers to the same gyms. I see familiar names in gyms, and sometimes when I attack a gym, those folks actually dive in, but unless I’m walking around and shouting for 4 city blocks, I will never know who those people are.
10 gyms in this 4-block radius and 3 raids going on, even if everyone were to head out for a personal raid within a 20-minute period, there is a 0.05% chance that all players would gather at the same gym and engage in battle within that same 2-minute window. Everyone just walks past each other in this game like ships in the night.”
HexOfTheRitual: “I am a solo player in a rural area, I have literally never seen another player conducting a raid near me. RIP.”
As the community reactions clearly show, a lack of communication options with other trainers in the game plays a decisive role. For years, the community has been demanding an in-game chat in Pokémon GO. Whether Niantic will implement this in the future remains to be seen.
What do you think about the new level-4 raids? Are you well-connected in your local community and able to participate in the raids without issues? Or are you more on your own and having trouble finding other players now? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments here on MeinMMO and exchange ideas with other trainers.
Many players are now diving into the endgame grind of Diablo Immortal. As in every part of the series, you need to kill hordes of enemies to acquire loot and XP. A player recently showed his record on Twitch and came up with insane numbers.
This is the record: The Twitch streamer and YouTuber Rob2628 has been farming diligently in Diablo Immortal during a live stream. Quite a few kills accumulated in a massacre: he killed 7,748 enemies in a row without a break.
A massacre bonus occurs when you kill many enemies in succession and then continue fighting more, without ever leaving the battle. They are a popular method to farm experience points and shorten grind phases in the story.
Rob2628 received a whopping 303,000 experience points for his killstreak. And there could have been even more, as he plays above the “server paragon”. Every day, the “level” of the server increases by 2. If you are significantly above it, you receive up to 50% less XP. If you’re below it, you receive up to double the amount of XP.
In fact, the amount farmed here is around 600,000 experience points. It could be even over a million.
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How did the player do this? Rob2628 was in the archives of Zoltun Kull with a group of 4 players. There, you will find The Hidden Niche in the northeast.
The niche is quite small and many enemies spawn repeatedly, which he dealt with along with his team. The place is one of the alternatives to the best farm spots in Diablo Immortal, which another player has already presented.
However, this spot also seems to work well for others. The player FKP2W showed on reddit a picture of his personal massacre record. There, his killstreak of 3,679 enemies can be seen. He even received 342,000 XP for it. His simple answer to the question of how: “We ran in a circle.”
More guides and information about Diablo Immortal:
Massacre – The best method for leveling, although tedious
Why it’s worth it: Massacre bonuses are widely regarded as the best method for leveling. Especially beyond level 60 for paragon levels, when you can no longer follow the story. Massacres increase the amount of experience points you receive per kill.
However, another player explained that massacres beyond 100 kills do not provide any further advantage. Massacres apply a multiplier to your kills that grows with each kill. However, the maximum is reached at 100.
Each additional kill over 100 does give more experience than without a massacre, but does not increase the multiplier anymore. Simply put: 10 massacres with 100 kills grant the same experience as one massacre with 1,000 kills.
Here you can find gameplay for all 6 classes. In our tier list for Diablo Immortal, you can read which class is the best:
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Diablo Immortal: All 6 Classes in Brief Overview with Gameplay
What other advantages are there? As some players explain in the reddit thread of FKP2W, massacres in the open world have two more advantages:
with so many enemies, legendary loot is sure to be found
the grind is worth it for monster essences
Monster essences can be submitted in the Horadric Codex, and for 10 pieces, you receive another batch of XP. Additionally, the codex entries contribute to the battle pass, for which level progression you receive even more experience points. Another reason why the grind is so popular.
If you are still having trouble farming or want to try higher hell levels, you should probably increase your combat rating:
