In Pokémon GO on April 16, the limited research “Egg Report: Spring Surprise” will run and bring Owei, Alolan Exeggutor, and additional bonuses.
What kind of event is this? In Pokémon GO, the big Spring Event has been running for a few days now. On Saturday, April 16, a mini-event will take place. It lasts for three hours and brings many Owei and Alolan Exeggutor for you.
We will show you all the bonuses and new research tasks of the mini-event.
Egg Event on April 16 – All Content
When does it start? The event starts at 11:00 AM. It lasts three hours and ends at 2:00 PM.
What bonuses are there? If you spin PokéStops during the event, you will receive research that rewards you with Owei encounters.
During the event, you can evolve Owei into Alolan Exeggutor, which will then know Draco Meteor as a move. Draco Meteor deals 150 damage in trainer battles and in gym and raid battles.
Additionally, you will receive double the amount of experience points for catching Pokémon and the event bonuses from the Spring Event are also active.
In the wild, the following Pokémon will appear more frequently during the three event hours: Bulbasaur, Oddish, Paras, Bellsprout, Tangela, Chikorita, Sunflora, Treecko, and Cacnea. You have the chance to encounter all of them as Shiny as well.
These are the research tasks: Trainers have already confirmed many field research tasks that belong to the event. All of the research tasks reward you with Owei encounters. Keep in mind that you have to obtain the field research during the event to receive the new rewards.
Catch 3 Grass-type Pokémon
Catch 3 Pokémon with weather boost
Catch 5 Pokémon with weather boost
Use 3 berries while catching Pokémon
Evolve 2 Grass-type Pokémon
Send 2 gifts with stickers
Spin 2 PokéStops
Take a snapshot of a wild Grass-type Pokémon
Land 5 great throws
Land 3 great throws in a row
Land 3 excellent throws
Land 2 excellent throws in a row
Land 5 curveball throws
Battle in a gym
Battle in a raid
Use a very effective charged move
In all these research tasks, you have the chance to encounter Shiny Owei. Keep in mind that you must evolve Owei during the event for Alolan Exeggutor to learn the powerful move Draco Meteor.
In Destiny 2, there are no more nasty surprises from Xur since Bungie tightened the screws. He will also be active during the Easter weekend and will hop to a random location to bring you his Exotics. MeinMMO knows where to find the spacey Easter bunny and what he has to offer.
What happened this week in Destiny 2? In the meantime, all raid challenges are known, so players can soon focus on the Grandmaster variant of the raid. This is already in the starting blocks and will raise the raid challenges to a new level, as well as offer improved loot.
On the other hand, this performance in the raid was truly impressive. The player Vendetta showed how he soloed the 2nd encounter in the “Oath of the Student” raid. He skillfully balanced the different puzzle mechanics to ultimately achieve success and gain the recognition of the community.
For fans of the exotic rocket launcher “Gjallarhorn”, it looks bleak, as a few dark statistical clouds are gathering on the horizon. Whether there will be a storm is still uncertain. However, Bungie has already announced weapon adjustments.
Lord Saladin has returned to the tower and is hosting the Iron Banner.
All info on Xur on April 15, 2022 – PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia
When is Xur coming? Of course, Xur is also active during the holidays. He will arrive tonight at 7 PM and is looking forward to your visit. You can snag the hottest Easter deals from him until Tuesday at 7 PM.
Where is Xur? This is his lair for the weekend
Xur’s position: His location is like Easter eggs: You never know where they are hiding beforehand. So we went on a search and discovered Xur in the tower hangar. Here is his exact position:
Xur has hopped into the tower hangar, making him easy to find.
Xur’s inventory from April 15 – April 19 – All Exotics at a glance
What does Xur have to offer? Xur sells an exotic weapon and armor every week for all characters, so for Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans. What he has exactly in stock can be seen here.
Weapon: The Queenbreaker – Arc Linear Fusion Rifle for 29 Legendary Shards
Xur always has: You can always get an Exotic Engram for 97 Legendary Shards from Xur, as well as the weekly quest for an exotic code.
Additionally, since Witch Queen, he also offers a unique roll for Exotics from no longer available exotic missions every week. Currently, he has these two weapons available each week.
The exotic hand cannon “Fallen Moon” with the perk “Fixer Action”.
The exotic scout rifle “Tale of a Dead Man” with the perk “Vorpal Weapon”.
The cost of the weapons: For these two Exotics, the cost is 1 Ascendant Shard, 1 Exotic Code, 125,000 Glimmer, and 200 Legendary Shards.
Lord Saladin has taken position at the Iron Banner in the tower
What’s going on with the Trials? Bungie changed the rotation of the PvP modes so that when an Iron Banner is active, no Trials of Osiris are held. Additionally, many PvP players are currently having great difficulties with the current matchmaking in PvP.
The Iron Banner is still active until Tuesday, April 19.
So you’ll have to forgo the 14th Saint this weekend and can play Iron Banner instead. This is Bungie’s way of ensuring that the two activities do not compete with each other and also bring more variety.
A new trailer for the MDI in World of Warcraft shows an exciting detail – is there a necromancer skin for Warlocks?
World of Warcraft has released a new trailer. It is meant to build excitement for the new dungeon tournament – and it does succeed. But a small detail fuels the hopes of many fans for a new customization. For a female Warlock looks suspiciously like a necromancer…
What kind of trailer is this? The trailer is for the upcoming “Mythic Dungeon International.” This is essentially the PvE dungeon tournament where the best teams in the world try to conquer absurdly high keystones within the given time. Often, this tournament then defines the new “status quo,” what is afterwards seen as the optimal group. But even the performance shown there is remarkable, and for all who enjoy “Mythic+” there are some tricks and tips to learn.
Start video
WoW shows bombastic trailer – Shifts hope for “Necromancers”
What was shown in the trailer? The trailer is basically a polished version of a dungeon run. It shows how several heroes arrive at Tazavesh via airship and approach this dungeon. Everything is depicted in a significantly more flawless manner than what the graphics of World of Warcraft allows.
One detail stands out immediately: In the first few seconds, we see a human female in close-up, who wears Warlock attire but has the skin color, eyes, and tattoos of a necromancer – just like many NPCs do in places like the Plaguelands or Scholomance.
Such a customization is currently not possible for player characters. Although the files are present in the game data – after all, they can be used by NPCs – they are not accessible to players.
That this detail is highlighted so prominently makes some players hope that necromancers will soon be a playable class – or at least as a kind of alternative “skin” for the Warlock. This would also align with a leak that speaks of the expansion “Dragonflight”. The leak mentions that some classes will receive alternative skins. Warlocks would be able to become necromancers, while Hunters will get a skin for Dark Rangers.
However, it is also entirely possible that the creator of the video, IKedit, simply allowed himself a bit of artistic freedom here – after all, in the past, he has created many videos about Warcraft, but this time it is a novelty that it is also shown directly by the WoW YouTube channel.
Regardless, the trailer is quite impressive and makes you want to participate in the Mythic Dungeon International – or just visit Tazavesh again.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
YouTuber Ben Phillips became famous with “prank videos.” But as another YouTuber reveals, Phillips reportedly lied to his fans about the crypto coin “Safemoon” for months while profiting himself with tips.
Which two YouTubers are involved?
Ben Phillips is a 29-year-old YouTuber from Wales. He became famous with “prank” videos: these are sometimes tasteless pranks played on others. In his most viewed video, he buys a pair of boxers for a friend in a sex shop and can make them vibrate with a remote control, laughing as he follows him and repeatedly causes a thrill in his pants during everyday situations.
Stephen “Coffeezilla” Findeisen is an American YouTuber who has made it his goal to track down “fraudsters” in the finance sector. He aims to expose what kind of fraud lies behind “Get Rich Quick” schemes.
YouTuber poses with fancy car and private jet
What the YouTuber is said to have done: As Coffeezilla reveals, Ben Phillips allegedly emphasized repeatedly that he owns the crypto coin “Safemoon” and believes in its continued success.
But in reality, he received huge amounts of tokens from the coin’s operator and sold them right after he assured on Twitter how absolutely sure he was of the coin’s success.
This is a typical pump: the coin is on its way to a new “all-time high.” After the tweet, Phillips is said to have offloaded coins worth 1 million USD.
In this way, Ben Phillips is said to have enriched himself by 12 million USD, for which he then:
Why is this critical? Cryptocurrency like “Safemoon” rises and falls in value depending on how many people are buying and selling the coin. What Phillips is said to have done is called “pump and dump”:
Through social media posts, people are encouraged to buy, meaning they invest their own money in the product, and the price goes up (the pump)
When the price is high, the fraudster dumps the product in large quantities, causing the price to plummet within a short time (the dump)
Because Phillips repeatedly received coins from the developers, artificially drove the price up, and then dumped them in mass, he is said to have enriched himself by this high sum of 12 million USD. On one day alone, he is said to have conducted transactions worth over 1 million USD.
Especially bizarre: Phillips is said to have repeatedly expressed anger on Twitter about people causing a crash in prices because they sold large amounts of Safemoon. To one of these “irresponsible whales,” he even wished death on July 30, 2021: he should be hit by a bus.
In the end, Phillips was this “irresponsible whale” himself.
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How did Coffeezilla find this out? Phillips once showed the address of his wallet, allowing the crypto detective to track the transactions and compare them with the Twitter timeline.
He became aware of the case through a tip.
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This is the current situation: After the exposé video, people storm to Phillips’ social media channels and confront him with the video and the allegations.
Phillips has not commented on it at the moment.
However, Coffeezilla believes he is onto something big and plans to continue investigating the “Safemoon” case. He also plans to confront the developers, who he believes must be involved (via twitter).
What’s behind this: Experienced financial jugglers pull their hair out when they learn that “amateur traders” are listening to the tips of such an untrustworthy person. It seems strange to trust someone who became famous for “Haha, your pants are vibrating” pranks. But viewers grow with an influencer over the years; they share their life, the new girlfriend, the vacation in the South Sea, first successes and setbacks, maybe a child or the grandmother who is dying.
It’s a very dangerous matter when this trust is then abused because influencers ultimately rise and fall with the trust of their followers. When it comes to light that this trust has been so blatantly abused, it’s a big problem.
In the past, there have been instances where influencers pushed such coins on their gullible followers. German streamers also had to face a lot of criticism:
There’s turmoil in the PvP of Destiny 2. The Crucible is heated, as many feel that Bungie is doing too little for its PvP players. Recently, more and more players have been complaining about the constantly unbalanced matchmaking in PvP. However, when Bungie directly addresses the issue, the community responds with toxic comments. MeinMMO brings you up to date.
What exactly have players complained about? Those who play PvP in Destiny 2 have several modes to choose from, such as Control (6vs6), Survival (3vs3), or the PvP event Iron Banner (6vs6) currently taking place this week.
Many players have gone to the Iron Banner this week and then criticized the matchmaking system of Destiny 2 again.
It apparently tends to form teams with very good and less skilled players far too often.
This leads to unbalanced matches that are either over very quickly or drag on like chewing gum.
Some players, including Antonius-GameSager via Twitter, have again suggested that they feel the skill-based matchmaking is still active and faulty.
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Antonius started the matchmaking discussion on Twitter.
This is what Bungie says: Bungie’s community manager Dylan “dmg04” Gafner responded to the player’s post with a clear clarification.
The current matchmaking system of Destiny 2 does not combine teams based on the skills of each individual player to create a match. In fact, skill-based matchmaking was turned off a while ago and, due to feedback from top-level players at that time, is still inactive for most Crucible playlists. This has been reviewed periodically by Bungie.
What does “Skill-Based Matchmaking” mean exactly? Skill-based matchmaking, short SBMM, helps to assemble lobbies in PvP games. When SBMM is prioritized during a match search, a player’s abilities (in Destiny 2, their K/D) are considered the most important factor in lobby creation. The player is thus preferred to be matched with players of similar skill levels.
The PvP community reacts extremely toxic: Consequently, a fundamental discussion about matchmaking in general erupted both on Twitter and Reddit.
The PvP players are clearly “not amused” and are increasingly letting their frustration run free. It seems that nothing can appease them anymore. Not even Bungie’s announcement that they will pass on the feedback for the development team to examine future improvement possibilities for the players.
For too long now, there has been turmoil in PvP at all corners, so that a spark is enough. Some players, like dakry on reddit, have just one wish:
Yes, that is […] more of an evasion. SBMM and the issue with the current lobby balancing are not the same. I wish they would just randomize the lobbies and not try to balance them based on their perceived assessment of player skills.
The mood is based on a mixture of frustration and general dissatisfaction with PvP. However, the problems with matchmaking are currently the most prominent.
Skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) often means that good players are punished for playing well and that some less skilled players have no reason to strive or improve in a match. Conversely, the latter enjoy significantly easier lobbies with skill-based matchmaking, even if the game search itself sometimes takes longer.
If connection-based matchmaking (CBMM) is used instead, players too often end up in matches where they have no chance at all, which significantly diminishes their gaming experience.
For example, when the win-based matchmaking was temporarily activated in the “Trials of Osiris,” a two-class society immediately emerged. At that time, primarily hardcore PvP players and streamers complained because their matches became ridiculously hard when they only faced their peers, while regular players were actually happy.
This influential protest nonetheless led to Bungie deactivating the system again.
The matchmaking is a repeating topic: Players blame the skill-based matchmaking when, in fact, as Bungie has now confirmed, it is not active at all.
But perhaps that is the right solution? At least Bungie’s latest statement could indicate that the developer is considering reactivating skill-based matchmaking in the Crucible.
Skill-based matchmaking is now the lesser evil
Balanced matchmaking is truly a science in itself. Destiny 2 is no exception and thus the topic is discussed heatedly. Especially when the assembly for players often feels too unbalanced and exhausting.
Without skill-based matchmaking, it is virtually impossible to prevent the current system from assembling lobbies and matches as before.
With skill-based matchmaking, assigning equal skill levels for players could become possible again, making games generally more balanced. It would have its disadvantages but would likely be the lesser evil.
Because their idea of balancing [currently] consists of putting a good player in a team of potatoes and expecting that good player to carry the potatoes through the entire game against a team of average players. No, we currently have that; SBMM would try to avoid this.
Most players agree: Certainly, Destiny 2 is not a game focused on competition. Nevertheless, many players confirm that a PvP match is most fun when the teams are evenly matched.
These topics are currently also interesting in Destiny 2:
The player Lorion97 therefore finds that Bungie needs to find a matchmaking system that “divides the different skill brackets and simply matches, instead of trying to find mythical unicorns to make accurate 50-50 splits… Therefore, dividing the player base into thirds or quarters should not be an impossible task.”
What would your solution look like? Would you welcome the reactivation of skill-based matchmaking? Or do you think the problem lies elsewhere? We want to know your opinion on matchmaking, so feel free to leave us a comment.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The test server of World of Warcraft is offline. This is said to be due to an error. But the community is sure: “It’s all a lie, you’re hiding something.”
What a coincidence. Just before the announcement of the latest expansion of World of Warcraft, Blizzard unfortunately, unfortunately has to take the PTR servers of the new patch offline. An update for patch 9.2.5 is delayed due to an “error” that was noticed too late. The community is sure: This is coldly calculated.
What was said? In a forum post, Blizzard announced that an error unfortunately occurred when installing the latest version of the PTR for patch 9.2.5. The consequence: The test realms have to remain offline for now. They will likely fix the error “at the beginning of next week” and then testing could resume.
Do you believe the story?
What does the community think? The players largely agree and comment on the announcement with sayings like:
“An error, sure. Who do you think you can fool?”
“Okay, keep your secrets … for now.”
“It couldn’t be more obvious, but nice try.”
The community is therefore more than skeptical that the temporary shutdown of the PTR is really an error, as Blizzard currently claims.
What’s behind these sayings? Most believe that there definitely wasn’t an error. It’s suspected that Blizzard intentionally took the PTR offline and delayed the next version of patch 9.2.5. The reason for this is said to be that next Tuesday (April 19), the next expansion of World of Warcraft will be announced.
The theory now is that the next version of patch 9.2.5 could already contain a whole series of game data that would make the next addon very clearly recognizable. Data miners would likely find numerous assets within minutes, which would make it abundantly clear how the story of Warcraft continues.
Therefore, Blizzard is waiting until the announcement of the new expansion has passed before turning the PTR back on.
More current news about World of Warcraft can be found here:
How likely is this? Pretty likely. That a PTR is offline for several days due to “an error” that is so dramatic that the servers cannot run at all is very rare in World of Warcraft. The timing is just too perfect to genuinely consider this a harmless coincidence.
In the last versions of the PTR, data miners have consistently discovered small details that slowly but surely hint at the future of WoW. To prevent further leaks, pausing the PTR seems to be a good option – especially since there is hardly any time pressure for patch 9.2.5, as the current season 3 of Shadowlands has only been running for a few weeks.
Do you believe this is really just a silly coincidence? Or do you not believe a word from the developers either?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Elden Ring was developed by FromSoftware, the makers behind games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Several spells, weapons, and armor from Elden Ring are reminiscent of the earlier games, some have been carried over. One of the most well-known weapons must, of course, be the Moonlight Sword. However, the weapon has existed for much longer, for about 27 years. MeinMMO presents its long history.
Update, April 15: The article was published on February 6, prior to the release of Elden Ring, and has now been brought back to the site for Easter. Among other things, we will introduce you to the new sword in detail.
What genre is referred to? Here we are talking about the so-called “Soulslike” genre. Its origins lie in Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, which established a huge trend with similar games. These come from FromSoftware and serve as a foundation for numerous subsequent games.
However, these two now-celebrated classics are not the first steps that the studio took in this genre, which did not exist at the time. The Moonlight Sword is a witness from the early days and can be found in almost every game from FromSoftware to this day.
What kind of weapon is this? The Moonlight Sword is typically a great sword with a green, ornate blade and a golden hilt. Depending on the variant, it sometimes has a green, faint glow, or it is rather dark.
One thing that almost all versions have in common is: The weapon has magical properties, and most variations can utilize magical ranged attacks.
So far, the Moonlight Sword has made appearances in almost every game that FromSoftware has developed since 1994:
King’s Field (1994 – 2001)
Armored Core (1997 – Present)
Otogi: Myth of Dragons (2002)
Demon’s Souls & Demon’s Souls Remake
Ninja Blade
Dark Souls 1-3
Bloodborne
And now in 2022 in Elden Ring
Here you can see some different variants in the gallery:
King’s FieldArmored CoreOtogi: Myth of DragonsNinja BladeDemon’s SoulsSekiroDark Souls 1Bloodborne
In Ninja Blade and Otogi, the blade of the sword is transparent and slimmer than many other versions. In Bloodborne, it is a trick weapon, meaning it can take on two forms. In Dark Souls 3, the Moonlight Sword is not found as a proper weapon but rather as a spell.
In FromSoftware’s latest game, Sekiro, there is no proper Moonlight Sword, but the weapon of the dragon boss resembles its look and abilities. The dragon’s sword utilizes the same magical ranged attacks as most variations of the weapon.
The Moonlight Sword has made an appearance in almost every game that FromSoftware has developed since 1994:
Legendary Moonlight Sword symbolizes the beginnings of FromSoftware 27 years ago
Why does the sword play such a big role? The Moonlight Sword first appeared in King’s Field. This is the first game that FromSoftware released in 1994, about 27 years ago. The release was on December 16, 1994, two weeks after the launch of the first PlayStation.
King’s Field laid the foundation for what would later become Demon’s Souls as an underdog and later the Dark Souls franchise. With Dark Souls, an entire genre was ultimately established, which inspired numerous other games besides the FromSoftware titles.
An entire genre was born, often described as “Soulslike,” which many today consider to be one of their favorite genres in video games.
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What exactly is King’s Field? It is an action RPG, like Dark Souls, with one major difference: It is played from the first-person perspective.
However, there are many parallels. It relies on a challenging real-time combat system, tells its story through exploration of the game world and reading descriptions. In King’s Field, you also fight with magic in addition to weapons and consume stamina with each attack and dodge.
The story revolves around the character Jean Alfred Forester, who is searching for his missing father. In the process, you learn about the background of the kingdom of Verdite. The kingdom suffered heavily from dark magic in the past and is full of dangers.
The game was initially only released in Japan and came to the West as a fan adaptation much later. Many of the elements we know today from Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Co. have their origins here. But what role did the Moonlight Sword play in King’s Field?
That’s why it’s so important: The Moonlight Sword played a central role in the story of the King’s Field games. In all installments, the player must find the sword to defeat the antagonist and restore peace. The description even mentions “Seath the White Dragon.” This dragon appears in the story of King’s Field.
Experienced Dark Souls players are likely to perk up at the mention of the name since Seath the Scaleless is one of the major bosses in Dark Souls 1. Due to this backstory, the Moonlight Sword is considered particularly important by fans, even though it isn’t necessarily among the most powerful swords in later games.
Here you can also watch some versions in gameplay:
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Elden Ring also has its version – The Dark Moon Greatsword
This is what the new variant can do: In Elden Ring, the iconic weapon received a particularly powerful variant. This is the Dark Moon Greatsword. It is considered one of the legendary weapons.
How do you get it? (Spoiler warning)
You will receive the Dark Moon Greatsword as a reward from the Ranni quest. You can find all the information about it in our guide.
The sword relies mainly on the attribute Intelligence, and thus is again one of the weapons used in magic builds. It belongs to the greatsword category, which is also standard for the Moonlight Sword.
In our tier list of all weapons in Elden Ring, the weapon received an S-rating. This is because the weapon deals high physical and magical damage. But that’s not all.
Here you can see the sword in detail.
Moreover, the weapon inflicts frost status, which brings an extra portion of damage. Additionally, the weapon art can create a buff that increases magic and frost damage.
When the weapon is in this buffed state, heavy attacks additionally fire frost spell projectiles that can deal high damage.
Thus, the sword is a package of physical damage, frost, and magic that can be used in both melee and ranged combat. While the weapon is somewhat predictable in PvP, it is one of the best options for magic builds in PvE.
RageGamingVideos demonstrates what potential the weapon has and how the buffs can be maximized:
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A comparison is difficult, but FromSoftware probably created one of the strongest variants of the Moonlight Sword with this version. The new abilities and the additional frost effect make the weapon even more versatile.
For such an important weapon, it also seems fitting that the Moonlight Sword is at least powerful in Elden Ring. However, whether it is “cooler” than, for example, the transformable sword from Bloodborne is something each person must decide for themselves.
So what do you think of the story and the Moonlight Sword? What do you think of the latest version of the weapon? Do you perhaps even use it yourself?
In 2005, ArenaNet released Guild Wars, the first part of a game series that remains very popular today thanks to Guild Wars 2. However, the player count for the first part has tripled in recent years. Therefore, new servers are now being launched in Korea.
What about Guild Wars 1?
Guild Wars 1 released its last expansion in 2009. Afterwards, the content updates became smaller until Guild Wars 2, the successor, was released in 2012.
In the first years after release, the first part of Guild Wars still received regular balance adjustments and smaller patches, but support was gradually scaled down.
In 2018, a fire occurred at the game’s servers, and they were subsequently completely moved to Amazon’s cloud. However, this significantly worsened the ping for players from Asia.
The Game Director of Guild Wars 1 has now come forward and provided insight behind the scenes. The player count is said to have more than tripled since 2018, which is why some adjustments are now being made.
New servers in Korea and the upcoming anniversary in April
What is changing? On April 26, Guild Wars celebrates its 17th birthday. In conjunction with this, a local data center for players from Asia was opened on April 14. The location is Seoul, Korea. This aims to reintroduce Asian players to the old title.
For years, the developers at ArenaNet have emphasized that Guild Wars 1 will not be shut down anytime soon. This new step reinforces that statement.
The YouTuber TheLazyPeon took a closer look at Guild Wars 1 again in 2021:
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In April 2020, new elite skills for PvE were introduced for the 15th birthday that are simply meant to be fun (via GuildWiki.) They can only be earned during the birthday event, which will also start at the end of April this year and last for two weeks.
Whether there will be a new feature for the birthday in 2022 is currently unknown. However, some on reddit hope for it due to the good player numbers in recent years.
Guild Wars 1 has a strong class system, but lack of content makes it unattractive
Should you still start Guild Wars 1 now? Maybe. It is clear that this game will not receive major content updates anymore. So it is not an MMO that you will play for years.
However, Guild Wars can especially impress with its cool build system. Each class has over 250 abilities, and you can also have a “secondary class,” which then provides access to an additional 250 skills.
In the combat zones, dungeons, and PvP you can only use 8 of these abilities. Therefore, you need to prepare a suitable build in advance.
Graphically, Guild Wars 1 has aged reasonably well.
Guild Wars 1 offers a lot of content for little money with all 3 campaigns and the expansion (the Complete Collection costs around the official shop for about 40 euros):
Just with the story quests and missions, you can spend over 100 hours of gameplay. Following that are numerous side quests and smaller stories.
There are many different ways to enhance your characters visually and gameplay-wise.
Some bosses and missions are really challenging and fun.
The game offers you plenty of elaborate achievements with its title system, including exploring all maps at 100 % or defeating all enemies on all maps in hard mode.
Another special feature is that you can exchange earned accomplishments in Guild Wars 1 for skins and achievement points in the successor Guild Wars 2 thanks to the Hall of Monuments.
More about the structure of Guild Wars 1 can be found in this special:
For 11 years, there have been world championships in League of Legends and only twice have teams from America made it into the top 4. The developers at Riot Games, who are based in America, have been trying for years to strengthen the competitive scene there. Most recently, the Champions Queue was introduced. But even that is currently facing ridicule.
Only in the first season in 2011 and in 2018 did American teams manage to reach the semifinals of the LoL Worlds, with no team ever allowed to play in a final. In Europe, there has at least been one title and twice a second-place finish.
Riot Games has therefore begun to strengthen the American LoL scene. For this, the Champions Queue was introduced, a dedicated queue for professionals, substitutes, young talents, and the best players of SoloQ. However, this very Champions Queue is currently under criticism.
Professionals use it too rarely, complain about voice chat
What is the problem with the Champions Queue? It was supposed to ensure that the quality of games and thus the challenge for professionals increases. This way, they should be able to improve, even when no official practice matches are scheduled.
However, many professionals do not utilize this offer at all. Former professional player Yilang “Doublelift” Peng complains that professionals tend to just hang out with their friends after training. Some professionals might go weeks without playing a single match there, even though this queue was a long-standing wish of the teams.
Which professionals are currently active in the queue is shown every week by Travis Gafford in a tweet:
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Furthermore, this special queue does not use a matchmaking rating, which especially American players who do not belong to any pro team criticize (via Twitlonger). It is supposed to be possible to rank up even with a win rate of 37%, and players often face the same opponents, regardless of whether they dominate them or not.
What happens now? Riot is taking the Champions Queue offline for now. Changes are to be made, including the introduction of a matchmaking rating. Additionally, the pool of participating players will be increased (via Riot Games).
One change that is particularly ridiculed in the community is the adjustment to the voice chat. According to Riot, the pressure in the Champions Queue is so high that players are reluctant to access the voice chat. Instead of having it automatically activated at the start, it is now set to be disabled by default.
“I’m curious what excuses will be given for NA this time”
How are the changes being received? In the reddit community for LoL, there is a lot of mockery and ridicule for the Champions Queue. Especially the section about the voice chat is frequently mocked:
sznfrk writes (via reddit): “Isn’t the goal to simulate competitive games where a random jungler doesn’t suddenly steal the cannon minion? Where coordination and coordinated moves play a role? 99% of competitive games require a voice chat. […] Play the damn game as if it were a competition.”
PostDifferentThings is also puzzled by the statement (via reddit): “Just to clarify: You created a special space where only professional players and highly qualified members of the community can play competitive games to improve their skills. You provided them a server with low pings, something these players have been demanding for years. And now these players say they don’t feel compelled to join voice chats?”
In the same thread, discussions can also be found regarding what the future excuses will be for why the professionals in America are playing worse than in other regions. One user compiled a list of past excuses that have been addressed with the Champions Queue, including high ping, one-trick ponies in SoloQ, bad matchmaking, and a lack of a competitive environment (via reddit).
What else is causing criticism? Another point of criticism from the community is the selected time frame for the downtime of the Champions Queue. It will be taken offline from now until May 31. This is approximately the period during which no regular league operation takes place.
This would actually be the ideal period for professionals to train in this leaderboard or for new talents to generate attention.
Especially in 2022, when the World Championship takes place in North America, many fans hope that their teams will not embarrass themselves. However, many now doubt whether the Champions Queue alone is enough to prepare the region.
A team that is currently exciting players in Germany is Eintracht Spandau. You can find out everything about the team here:
We are now looking for a JUNIOR EDITOR FOR SHOOTER GAMES (m/f/d) at our location in Munich – Mein-MMO.de
As a Junior Editor for shooters, you are well-informed about the general situation in the shooter genre. You know which shooters are currently the biggest, which trends are emerging in the genre, and you constantly discover new hidden gems for shooter fans.
You are able to recognize an exciting story and present it in an understandable way. Likewise, you can use the appropriate tools to identify which content should appear in the service area. You know when someone needs a specific guide or quick information.
WHAT YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO:
In close coordination with the editorial management and the rest of the team, you will assist in planning the editorial coverage.
You research, write, and edit contributions such as news, opinions, specials, or game recommendations (the focus is on shooters).
You gain an overview of the general topic situation in the shooter field and can independently generate article ideas that are unique, new, and relevant.
You help optimize editorial processes by questioning our workflows and discussing suggestions for improvements with the editorial team.
You analyze data with appropriate tools to find topics that are currently truly relevant.
You network with the industry and communities, for example at events like gamescom, or independently reach out to well-known content creators for interviews.
You assist in coordinating and onboarding freelance authors and provide them with support.
WHAT WE LOOK FORWARD TO:
You should already have experience in online journalism, for example through your own well-maintained blog or a position at a larger online magazine.
You possess broad knowledge in the shooter genre and have dealt with it in depth.
You know typical mechanics for the shooter genre, can recognize the next trends, and have an affinity for videos.
You enjoy putting yourself in others’ shoes, recognizing their needs, and helping them.
You should know with which tricks and tips you can really engage the audience and work supportively with data disclosed by Google, community indicators, social networks, etc.
You can understand the customer experience (Google, Discover, social media, Reddit, etc.).
You feel a strong drive to publish something when you recognize a story first or when something significant happens in your games.
You openly address problems and want to solve them in collaboration.
Experience with analysis tools like Google Analytics, Data Studio, Search Console, Google Suggest, Google Trends, and keyword tools is an advantage – you should at least have an interest in analyzing the performance of your contributions.
If you want to work from home, you are capable of working independently and can communicate digitally with your team at a distance.
ADDITIONALLY, YOU WILL RECEIVE FROM US:
The opportunity to work in an ambitious team that has grown into a major player in the gaming sector in just a few years.
With Webedia, you are in an environment where the biggest gaming brands in Germany are under one roof.
Quick communication, thanks to flat hierarchies.
The possibility to work from home and to structure your working hours flexibly.
We also welcome you to our location in Munich – there is very good public transport access and the Oktoberfest is within walking distance from the office (Munich city center, directly at the Heimeranplatz stop).
A comprehensive range of training opportunities tailored to individual needs and strengths.
An active role in shaping our vision and our work processes; your opinion and questioning are important to us.
Consideration of your individual skills and needs so that you can reach your full potential.
If we have piqued your interest, we look forward to receiving your complete German-language application including a cover letter (preferably with first information about your possibly blog and shooters you are passionate about), resume, and certificates through our online portal!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard has secretly snuck 5 items into the current game data of World of Warcraft. Suspicious, as there are also 5 dragonflights…
Encrypted files in the current patch of World of Warcraft always attract special attention. However, it is particularly interesting when Blizzard secretly “slides in” during the ongoing patch. This recently happened. In a “cloak-and-dagger operation”, suddenly 5 new items from the PTR found their way to World of Warcraft, giving new strength to the leaks regarding the next addon.
What sort of items are these? Since the game data is still encrypted and the textures cannot be read, the exact appearance of the items is still uncertain. However, it is already clear that these are items intended for the back – essentially a type of cloak.
In recent times, Blizzard has repeatedly experimented with new “cloaks”. There are now various backpacks, floating blades, small murloc babies, and even wings of the Kyrians. It is very likely that these back items will also have a very special design.
Cosmetics for the 5 dragonflights? It could be a pre-order bonus…
What does this have to do with the new expansion? Fans are already speculating tirelessly. The fact that these items were pushed into the “live game” shortly before the announcement of the new WoW expansion on April 19 suggests that these are pre-order or “Special Edition” items for the next addon that players can unlock immediately after a pre-order.
The catch of the matter: The fact that there are exactly 5 items.
Currently, many theories and leaks suggest that the next expansion will be called “Dragonflight” and will relate to the dragonflights, of which there are exactly 5. The number of new back items thus matches the number of the original dragonflights: Black, Blue, Green, Bronze, Red.
What kind of items could this be? The most common theory is that the item is a cosmetic dragon wing. Players have long wanted a type of wings as an additional character option, and a dragon expansion would be the perfect hook to introduce such cosmetic items – especially if the next addon could be about helping the dragonflights.
Of course, nothing is confirmed yet, and the encryption of these items will most likely be lifted on April 19, when the new addon is introduced. But until then, we all have time to dream a little and hope that the alleged Dragonflight leak proves to be true.
What do you think is behind the 5 back items? A pre-order promotion for the new addon? Or just a new shop item unrelated to the future of WoW?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The game “Oddworld: Soulstorm” was released in April 2021 for PC, PS4, and PS5. It was one of the first major successes for Sony’s new console PlayStation 5. Nearly 4 million copies of the game are said to have been downloaded. However, the studio’s founder, Lorne Lanning, now says that he made a mistake. The huge success of the game via PS Plus hit the studio hard.
What kind of game is it? Oddworld: Soulstorm is a side-scrolling platformer; it is the successor to a game from 2014.
On Metacritic, the game received only mixed reviews ranging from 73% (PC) to 66% (PS5).
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What makes the game so special? Oddworld Soulstorm was one of the first games for the PS5 that could be downloaded and played for free through the “PS Plus” service:
The 1st PS5 game via PS Plus was released in November 2020, it was “Bugsnax”
PS Plus is a paid subscription service you need if you want to play online on the PS4 or PS5. As a bonus, Sony includes free games every month that you can claim.
The developer hoped that hardly anyone would have a PS5 when his game releases
What was the problem? Developer Lorne says he made a mistake with the deal:
It was planned that Oddworld: Soulstorm would be released in PS Plus in January 2021. He thought: Then hardly anyone will have a PS5 and of the few who already own a PS5, maybe 10% – 20% would purchase the game. So it was not many units he would be giving away.
However, the game actually came out in April 2021. By then, significantly more people had a PS5. And due to the Covid pandemic, there was so much demand that millions of people downloaded the game.
We had the most downloaded game on the PS5, in the end, we were close to 4 million units – all for free. Because they are subscriptions. For us, it was totally devastating.
Lorne Lanning
As the developer recounts, Covid hit him and the studio three times:
Due to Covid, the developers had to work from home, which prolonged development, the studio ran out of resources, more money was needed for development, and they were forced to make the deal with Sony to offer the game for PS Plus.
Due to Covid, the release was pushed from January 2021 to April 2021 – a time when significantly more people had a PS5.
Due to Covid, the rush for Oddworld Soulstorm was so high.
For Lorne, the story of how he gave away 4 million units of his game for free is a sign of how things can sometimes go. Nobody had any ill intentions, such was the planet Earth in the years 2020 and 2021.
Grotesque situation: Hoping for as few downloads as possible
Here’s the scoop: Developers like Lorne apparently receive a “fixed sum” from Sony when they release their game for PS Plus. Lorne apparently hoped to achieve “as few free downloads as possible” so that later many would still purchase the game at full price.
So he now feels he has given away 4 million units and that he lost a lot of money.
However, it is questionable how many of the 4 million PS5 players would have actually bought the sidescroller. It is known that with such “subscription models,” many download a game and try it out, even if it does not suit their taste, simply because it is free:
The online shooter Destiny 2 suffers from chronic content shortage. With a change in Season 17 starting at the end of May, they aim to circumvent the problem: Old dungeons and raids are set to become more exciting through a new “rotation system”: elite loot will drop in alternating old dungeons.
What is the problem for loyal players in Destiny 2? Players of Destiny 2 simply have nothing left to do after a while. With an expansion, like the current one “Witch Queen”, only a limited number of strikes and new raids are introduced:
The “new” content is relevant and gets played. Because there are “elite rewards” there. You need these to advance your hero.
The old raids and dungeons are hardly visited anymore – because that’s where the coveted loot is simply not available.
Everything you need to know about Destiny 2 – in 2 minutes
Super drops in alternating old raids and dungeons
This is what Bungie is changing now: From Season 17, there will be a “raid and dungeon rotation” that offers an elite reward upon completion. Bungie announced this on their blog on Thursday night German time.
With this, they want to encourage frequent players to revisit old locations in the game like the “Garden of Salvation” to grab loot.
A special treat: With the new rotation system, all encounter reward locks for legendary gear will be removed.
Oh, wait, did I hear correctly that you like farming? We can help with the new rotation system. All encounter reward locks for legendary gear are about to be removed, meaning that all legendary drop items in raids and dungeons can be farmed 100%. You can now put on some chill lo-fi music, grab a nice drink, and just farm to your heart’s content. Or not. It’s your choice (that’s really what it’s all about!).
Bungie
This means: Players can farm all legendary drops in raids and dungeons as they please.
This is the reaction: On Reddit, people are especially happy about the lifting of the locks for legendary gear and that it can now be farmed. One player says: “Okay, this is great.”
Destiny 2 is notorious for restricting farming opportunities to keep players engaged with the content of the current season for as long as possible.
Overall, the reception of the system is positive, but there are still some details to clarify regarding how exactly this will work.
When is this supposed to go live? Season 17 and the new system are expected to launch around May 25.
Such bosses should soon become relevant again – Riven was the final boss of the 2018 expansion “Forsaken.”
Bungie expands Destiny 2 by making old content relevant again
This is what’s behind it. Destiny 2 aims to solve a typical “MMORPG” problem. These kinds of games, like WoW, are huge, but only a tiny part of the game is really relevant, the latest additions. Old content is basically “superfluous.”
Cruelly, one could say: Bungie is again proving to be a “master of recycling,” but this does seem like a logical evolution to make use of the dormant existing content during the long, long seasons. Other big games also utilize such methods to keep old content relevant: In WoW, for instance, you can farm cosmetic items in old raids through “timewalking.”
The “ideal world,” in which new strikes and raids are constantly introduced and players can always experience something new, is probably something we will never see. Although Bungie has announced that with Sony’s help they will now hire more new people again, it won’t be so many that content can be constantly produced:
In our level guide for Season 26 in Diablo 3 we show you how to quickly reach max level at level 70. This is a form of speed leveling. MeinMMO shows you the steps with and without Challenge Rift.
What kind of guide is this? Here we introduce how to quickly level your new seasonal character in Season 26 of Diablo 3 to max level 70. We especially target players who have already gained experience with seasons in Diablo 3.
If you are just entering D3 for the first time, you should take your time leveling and enjoy the experience.
[toc]
Level quickly in Season 26 – How does it work?
What you need to know: The leveling process has not changed much in Diablo 3 recently. In past seasons, we at MeinMMO have experienced that leveling in connection with a Challenge Portal is a lot of fun and particularly effective. You unlock Kanais Cube early and secure important rewards.
We will introduce the leveling method with and without the Challenge Rift here in the guide. This way you can decide for yourself which method you want to use to play at level 70. If you’re not in the mood for the Challenge Rift this week or have already completed it, simply skip the next section and continue reading afterwards.
Here’s how to start: After starting Season 26 in Diablo 3, create yourself a seasonal hero. You do this by checking the box at the green leaf in the bottom left when creating. Now enter the game with this character and then exit back to the main menu.
Now go to the game settings and click the option for the Challenge Portal on the left side. It is very important that you have selected your seasonal hero before starting the Challenge Rift and gone briefly into the game.
Note: This only works if you have already completed a Greater Nephalem Rift in Diablo 3. If you haven’t done this with your account yet, skip this step.
Why is it worth it? By completing the Challenge Rift, you’ll receive valuable resources right at the start of the season. These are:
Bounty Material (15 each)
35 Death’s Breath
475 Blood Shards
Crafting Material
and additionally 4.6 million gold
What comes next: After completing the portal, you have finished the first part of this method. Now you must still activate your advantages in the game. Proceed as follows:
Go back to the Diablo 3 menu
Now select the “Adventure Mode” in the game mode selection with the difficulty “Master” and start the game
Now open the reward pouch of the Challenge Rift in the game – You will see the symbol for it in the interface
Grab the Templar’s weapon or another companion’s and equip it
Optional: Now complete a boss bounty. Maghda, Zoltun Kull, Belial, or the Skeleton King are particularly suitable for this. If one of these bosses has a bounty, you should complete it. There powerful items are waiting for you.
Once you have unlocked Kanais Cube, travel back to the city and go to the blacksmith. With the rewards earned from the Challenge Rift, you can now fully upgrade and do that as well. Now you build a yellow armor or yellow weapon for level 70. What you choose depends on your class.
In the following table, we show you which items may be worthwhile for you depending on your class. The plan is to upgrade a yellow item in Kanais Cube to a legendary item and then extract the legendary power with Kanais Cube and activate it with you. You can learn how this works in the guide linked above about Kanais Cube.
This way you carry the legendary power with you already in the early levels.
Class
Blood Shards
Cube Upgrade
Barbarian
Bracers (lvl 1)
Powerful 1H Weapon – 6/8 Powerful 2H Weapon – 3/6
Crusader
Shield / Bracers (lvl 1)
2H Mace – 6/8 1H Mace – 4/7
Demon Hunter
Bracers (lvl 1)
Dagger – 2/2
Monk
Shoes / Bracers (lvl 1)
Fist Weapon – 8/12 Daibo – 4/8
Necromancer
Gloves (lvl 1) – Rings = risky
2H Scythe – 4/4
Witch Doctor
Mojo (lvl 1), Voodoo Mask (lvl 34)
Ceremonial Knife – 8/12
Wizard
Source (lvl 33) – Rings (lvl 28) = risky
1H Wand – 6/10
Explanation of the numbers: The Witch Doctor has 12 Ceremonial Knives that have a legendary affix that can be extracted, 8 of them are worthwhile. Hence 8 /12
Depending on your chosen class, there are certain items at level 1 that you can exchange at Kadala in the city. From the reward pouch, you have received Blood Shards. You can find out at what level which items drop for you at D3planner.com.
Level quickly from 1 to 70
Once you have obtained a strong, legendary power, you just need to equip the corresponding skills and then have a lot of fun leveling. Those who skipped the step with the Challenge Rift can start here with the level guide.
Here’s how to level: Decide based on personal preference whether you want to try farming with massacre bonuses or complete Nephalem Rifts. If you level with massacre bonuses, the areas of the Halls of Agony at levels 1 to 3 are suitable. However, it takes some practice to farm efficiently with massacre bonuses.
Solo players should progress quickly with massacre bonuses. Group players can do this until level 30, but should then switch to normal Nephalem Rifts, as it usually goes faster as a group.
This way you can level up to level 24 or 30. Keep in mind that:
You should visit the blacksmith every 8 to 10 levels and try to craft a stronger weapon
You should regularly visit the vendor in town and look for amulets and rings that offer “+ damage” – they are really strong in the leveling phase
You should equip a head item with a socket to plant a red gem for more XP – For weapons, red gems are good to get more damage during the leveling phase.
Update: The new Soul Shards are also quite interesting for your leveling phase depending on the bonus.
What difficulty for leveling? You should always adjust your difficulty so that you can take down trash mobs with 1-3 hits. If you’re just plowing through enemies, you can increase the difficulty. If you need more than three hits per enemy, you should decrease the difficulty.
Level 24 to 40
From now on, it is efficient to level with Nephalem Rifts.
Make sure to complete the portals as quickly as possible and adjust the difficulty accordingly
If you are playing in groups, communication is important. One player might teleport out during the fight against the Rift boss and close the portal immediately after the boss is down. In the 30 seconds until the closure, he returns to the group and they all continue to kill mobs together in the portal.
Level 40 to 70
Have you reached level 40? Then teleport back to the city and visit the Mystic there. You will now fully train her.
Then craft a yellow 2H weapon for level 70 at the blacksmith
Do this until a weapon has a %-affix (% chance to freeze, stun, etc.)
Now go to the Mystic and reroll the other secondary bonus (not the one with the %-affix). You want to get a level reduction as close to 30 levels as possible
Once you can equip these weapons, equip them and increase the difficulty properly. Ideally, you are already wearing a 70 weapon at level 40. Set it to Torment 6 and slowly work your way down if it should still be too hard.
With the high damage output of the 70 weapon, you should now progress well.
Leveling to 70: You will continue with the Nephalem Rifts until you reach max level. This works even if you don’t yet have a level 70 weapon equipped. Grind here until level 70.
Here’s how to proceed: After reaching max level, Season 25 in Diablo 3 really begins for you. If you want to progress quickly, it’s best to complete the first four chapters of the season journey (accessible on PC via Shift+J) to secure a starter set.
You will receive the starter set through Haedrig’s Gift. Once you complete it, you can easily play at high torment levels and gear up quickly.
Which leveling method do you approach the new season with? Are you a fan of the method with Challenge Rifts or do you prefer to level without them? Please share your approach and tips for leveling here on MeinMMO in the comments and exchange ideas with other players.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On Pokémon GO, the Environment Week 2022 starts on Wednesday and brings the new Pokémon Kommandutan and Shiny Kikugi. We show you everything about the start, bonuses, and the contents.
What kind of event is this? The Environment Week is an event that runs annually in Pokémon GO. This year, a new Pokémon from the seventh generation makes its debut. New Shinys will also be released. You will be rewarded for moving outdoors.
Here we show you everything you need to know about the event at a glance.
Environment Week 2022 – Start, new Pokémon, bonuses
When does it start? The Environment Week 2022 starts on Wednesday, April 20 at 10:00 AM local time. The event will be active for a few days and ends on Monday, April 25 at 8:00 PM local time.
New Pokémon: The Pokémon Kommandutan makes its first appearance in Pokémon GO. It is from the seventh generation and belongs to the Normal and Psychic types. It has no evolution.
Kommandutan in Pokémon GO
New Shiny: As a new Shiny, you will find Kikugi during the Environment Week. This Pokémon is from the fourth generation and has been in its normal form in the game for a while.
Kikugi, Kinoso in the cloud form and Kinoso in the sun form – Normal form and Shiny
The bonuses: During the Community Day on April 23 with Velursi , a limited research will take place. In each stage of the research, you should walk one kilometer. As a reward, you will receive Kikugi. For every trainer who walks at least 5 kilometers that day, Niantic will plant a tree (up to a maximum of 100,000 trees).
The collector’s task for the event focuses on nature. If you master the task, you will progress toward your top collector medal. There will be a moss lure module and 15 Ultra Balls.
In addition, during the event, you will receive double XP for the first spin of a PokéStop.
With luck, you will encounter: Alola-Digda*, Blubella, Nincada*
Field Research: Completing field research tasks will yield encounters with:
Chelast*, Kikugi*, Serpifeu*, Unratütox*, Igamarao or Paragoni
Also, for some researches, you will receive Mega Energy for Bisaflor or Rexblisar
What do you think of the Environment Event 2022 with its new Pokémon and new Shinys? Is this an event you definitely want to participate in or do you find the content not so exciting? Please share your opinion with us here on MeinMMO in the comments.
Palia is a new MMO in development that focuses on social interactions and side quests like housing, personal farms, and baking. The developers have now shared some images and stories from the Alpha. One story revolves around a player who simply baked too many cakes.
However, the developers have shared some images and community stories from the Alpha in a blog post. You can see the first areas, housing, and fishing, as well as some funny bugs.
1,023 cakes crash the game
What kind of stories are these? Most of these stories mainly revolve around chaos.
The player Berry, for instance, baked cakes with friends. A lot of cakes. With 1,023 of these sweet sugar bombs, the game reportedly crashed. A bug that is set to be fixed in the future.
This is what it looks like in Palia when the village bakes some cakes together (via Palia).
Players have also reportedly been using gathering tools to hit the ground to create cool photos from the dust effect. This wasn’t originally intended by the developers but could remain as a feature in the game, as they revealed in the blog post.
Furthermore, many new friendships are said to have been formed during playtesting, which according to the developers is also the core of the game.
What can you already do in the Alpha? The focus of the Alpha was on fishing, baking, farming, gliding, and housing. Some insights into these activities can be seen in the screenshots we extracted from the Palia blog post:
Palia sounds perfect for fans of Animal Crossing, aiming to offer fair Free2Play
The housing with thousands of different objects. Your friends should be able to come over and help you decorate.
Activities like fishing, cooking, chopping wood, or building your own farm.
You can constantly change the appearance of your character and give it cool outfits.
You can build friendships and relationships with NPCs in the surrounding area.
While there will also be the option to fight against creatures in the environment, this is supposed to be purely optional. It will mainly involve special hunting quests. The game does not focus on classes, but rather on a system of various skills.
What do you think of the concept of Palia? And what do you say about the first screenshots and stories? Would you like to participate in this Alpha? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
More about Palia and the minds behind the MMO can be found in this article:
The launch of Season 26 in Diablo 3 has begun. We show you the sets, the theme, and the most important changes.
When does Season 26 start? On April 15, 2022, it started. Season 26 began for PC players at 5:00 PM German time. Console players had to wait longer for the start. From past seasons, it is known that the starts were activated around 2:00 AM on Saturday mornings on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch.
Checklist for Season 26 – Season Theme, Starter Sets, Balance Changes
The Season Theme: For the new Season 26, Blizzard has come up with something really special. A new activity where you crush hordes of enemies. The Echoing Nightmare. This works by looting a “Frozen Shriek” from Portal Guardians in Greater Nephalem Rifts. You can then convert it to Kanais Cube, just like a Harvester Ring, which opens a portal.
Inside the portal, you will fight against waves of enemies that become increasingly stronger. You will fight for your survival and be rewarded in the end. Read more about the season theme of S26 here:
These sets are available: If you play a seasonal character in Season 26, you will participate in the free seasonal journey. For completing chapters 2, 3, and 4, you will receive Haedrig’s Gift containing parts of a set. If you open all gifts with the same class, you will receive a complete class set.
In Season 26 you will receive the following sets from Haedrig’s Gift:
What changes? Balance adjustments are made to the Barbarian, Crusader, and Monk.
Barbarians receive a revised Raekor set that excels with a stronger weapon throw. The playstyle is intended to feel better now, and the set has its own identity.
Crusaders playing with thorns now feel slightly different. The set of Norvald’s Angry Zeal was too strong for the developers, which is why they nerfed it. In compensation, the utility of Thorns of the Pursuer was improved.
Monks receive changes to the Inna’s Mantra set, as it performed too strongly with the fire attacker. Furthermore, “Mystic Ally” was adjusted for better gameplay.
How do you like the content and changes of Season 26? Do you think that Diablo 3 is worth playing again, at least for a few days? Or does the game need fresh wind in another way to excite you again? Let us know your opinion in the comments here on MeinMMO.
In the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, the release of the expansion High Isle is approaching. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch was able to speak with Game Director Rich Lambert about the new content, as well as the genre in general.
What will happen in 2022 in ESO? This year’s focus is on the Bretons, a major intrigue spun by a knightly order, as well as the two areas of High Isles and Amenos. A large part of this content will be released with the new expansion High Isle on June 6 for PC.
However, we were already able to take a first look at this expansion and tried out the new card game “Glory Stories”. You can find an article about it here.
Additionally, we spoke with Game Director Rich Lambert. He shared some interesting details about the card game as well as the High Isles. We also wanted to know from him why there hasn’t been a new class in so long.
The new card game has been planned since 2009
MeinMMO: The new expansion High Isle is just around the corner and I was already able to try out the new card game. I found it really good. But this content is not necessarily typical for an MMORPG. Why did you decide to release Glory Stories with the new expansion in ESO?
Lambert: To be honest, this is something we have always wanted to do. I remember presenting the concept of tavern games back in 2009. So it has always been on the list of things we would like to do someday. We just never had the right timing for it.
Before the launch, it was: Let’s make sure there is enough content to keep players engaged. And after the launch, it was: Well, this is not quite the game players want, so let’s make it the game players want.
And now it was kind of the perfect time because we have a lot of quests, we have a lot to fight, but we don’t really have many alternative activities. So this is another way for players to play ESO and, more importantly, to play in a relaxed way with their friends.
The card game is the big highlight of the new expansion.
MeinMMO: When I think of card games, I fondly remember my childhood and trading with friends. But you decided against such a trading feature. Why?
Lambert: Well, primarily we wanted to hit some of the cornerstones of what Elder Scrolls Online is all about in general. And one of those is that it really is up to you to carve your own path and do your own thing, and that the course of the story is based on your progression and not on the rest of the world.
The other side of the coin is that we wanted to make this game as accessible as possible for all players. And one of the ways to achieve that, and the path we chose, was this concept of everyone drawing from shared decks.
Yes, you can upgrade cards and yes, you can find new cards. But we didn’t want anyone outside the game to create a killer deck and then bring it into the game and wreck everything. We wanted strategies to unfold based on the cards played during the game.
MeinMMO: It is common in other games for a meta to develop.
Lambert: That’s right. And at that point, there is only one way to play it, right? In this game, however, I choose the decks, you choose the decks. And then we try to create the best possible deck based on the strategies we apply during the game.
New class brings balance issues and chaos
MeinMMO: Many players hope that with each new expansion a new class will be the big, new feature. So I just have to ask the question: Why hasn’t there been a new class in so long?
Lambert: Of course, you had to ask that (laughs). It’s because we’re simply not ready to do that yet. I think adding a new class is one of those things that can cause a lot of chaos. We want to ensure that balance is in a good state before we upend the balance and introduce new things like skill lines or classes. That’s the most important point.
The other part of it is that it just doesn’t make sense to create a new class now, based on some of the stories and other things we want to do. We only have a certain number of bullets we can fire. So we need to choose wisely.
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ESO announces new expansion High Isles with beautiful cinematic
MeinMMO: Since you have already touched on the development of new features, can you tell us a bit more about the decision-making process when it comes to developing such major innovations?
Lambert: Balance is an important part. You just have to look at the range of things you already have in the game. And we do this with the story as well. We look at where we’ve been, what we’ve done, what we’ve showcased, and then try to do something completely different. And the other big part of the decision-making process is asking what we are missing.
Right now we have a lot of quests in ESO, we have a lot of enemies, we have a lot of unique items, classes, and skill lines to play around with, but we don’t have many alternative activities. So ultimately, the card game made the most sense. Especially when you consider that there are not many alternative activities you can do with your friends.
This is one of those special contents that you can play with your friends.
Companions are also used by those who heavily criticized them last year
MeinMMO: Some players criticize that you confine yourself to such a rigid corset of updates and annual expansions, and therefore innovations fall by the wayside. How do you see this yourself?
Lambert: I think you can argue that to a certain extent. But ultimately, we are innovative. We are continually adding new things. I mean, companions were one thing that was innovative. Antiquities were something new that was innovative. The card game is something completely different.
I believe it really depends on who you talk to. And one of the questions I keep getting from people is about the right way to play ESO. And my answer to that question is always: “If I ask six people, I will get six different answers.”
Some people are only interested in PvP. And if they don’t see anything in PvP, then the game is dead for them. Other players just love the stories and want more stories. And if there is something other than stories, they are not happy. That’s kind of the balance, right? We have a huge player population. Everyone plays the game differently, and it’s really hard to support everything at once. So we try to do something for everyone over the course of a year.
The two new companions from High Isle.
MeinMMO: You have already mentioned the companions, two of which will be introduced in the new expansion. How do you see the companion system now? There was a lot of grumbling about it during the announcement of Blackwood.
Lambert: It is overwhelmingly positive. The vast majority of our players use the companions and have developed them, which is really cool. And that’s also one of the reasons we are including two new companions in the chapter because they have been so well received.
It’s very interesting to see how some of the loudest critics are actually enjoying the system and playing with it now.
In the story, there shouldn’t be too much of the same
MeinMMO: The story of ESO is concluded each year on its own. Are you satisfied with the system, or do you sometimes miss having an overarching, continuous story?
Lambert: Yes, currently we are satisfied with the system. But I think it needs to be done in moderation, right? The last few times, it was like the world is ending if I do something wrong. And that’s cool too. But everyone, even the developers, are slowly getting tired of telling the same stories over and over again. So we are trying to do things differently. And this year is a completely, completely, completely different story.
But to get back to your point: It is self-contained. We told an extraordinarily long story with the Three Banners of War at the beginning, which then led into Orsinium and the war that spanned across two additional chapters.
So we’ve done these long, convoluted stories and then we took a break from that. And who knows what we will do in the future.
MeinMMO: With the last expansion Blackwood, you revised the tutorial. This year you are making no changes to the onboarding. Are you fully satisfied with it by now?
Lambert: I think there is still a lot of room for improvement. We bring in an absurdly large number of new players to the game every year, and thus we get a lot of feedback about the experience of new players.
And I believe one of the biggest feedbacks we receive, which cannot necessarily be addressed in a tutorial and requires much more work, is the feeling of being overwhelmed. You come into this new game, and the first thing you do in the tutorial is choose the story you want to go into. That can be intimidating.
And then, when you first open the skills window, there’s a large, intimidating selection. And then the game is huge, and there aren’t many guides for the first ten or 15 levels. So I think we will spend a lot more time on these things in the future.
MeinMMO: In ESO, you release an expansion every year and three new DLCs. For the DLCs, you need the subscription to experience them properly. However, some players criticize the cost of ESO. What do you say to those critics?
Lambert: I mean, when you really look at it, it’s really fair. You know, we have an optional subscription that provides incredible value when you consider what you get. And it costs a lot of money to run the servers and pay the teams. You have to be able to recoup some of those costs. And that’s how you can make money. That’s why you monetize games.
If you break it down to value per dollar, you spend 40 dollars for a new chapter upgrade. Well, what do you get for that? 40 dollars over 60 hours. That’s about 0.66 dollars per hour. That’s a pretty good value, right?
It’s definitely a sensitive topic because everyone is struggling with the economy and the pandemic and so on. But ultimately I think it’s really, really fair.
Developing MMORPGs is risky, but new games need to be more social
MeinMMO: In the last 6 months, two new MMORPGs, New World and Lost Ark, have come onto the market and garnered a lot of attention. Do you generally look at the direct competition? Do you gather inspirations from them and learn from their successes and problems?
Lambert: I’m a big gamer and a big nerd, so I play games. I play games. So I play everything that comes out as direct competition. But I also play other games. I’ve put 130 hours into Elden Ring and another hundred hours into Forbidden West.
So when something new comes out, I want to play it and take it apart and find out why the team made some of the decisions they did and what works for me and what doesn’t work. I think that’s how you grow as a designer.
I hope more and more games will come out. It’s been great to have a bit more competition and to get a few new ideas.
This is what it looks like in the harbor city of High Isle.
MeinMMO: How do you generally see the future of MMORPGs?
Lambert: I believe, just because they are so expensive and risky to make, there will be more targeted games rather than those huge games that first hit the market. They will be smaller and more focused, and then grow in the areas where players want growth.
I’m sure that MMOs will have to become increasingly social over time, as developing social bonds and the ability to regularly interact with friends is the magic. And that is what keeps players coming back to this type of game.
MeinMMO: That’s super exciting because this trend towards more social interaction is something we’ve also noticed more, especially with titles like Embers Adrift or Palia on the horizon.
Lambert: Yes, I mean, there’s a balance, and you have to provide something for everyone. I believe if you only focus on one specific aspect, there will be a group that is really interested in that and they will then focus on that. But it’s hard to break out of that group or niche. So developing MMOs is definitely a challenge.
For those interested in the shift in MMORPGs, you can listen to our podcast on it here:
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MeinMMO: When we talk about the future, virtual reality is always a topic. What do you think about it?
Lambert: I think VR is interesting. The Holodeck is of course the holy grail of everything, right? But it has its challenges. I know that I personally suffer from pretty extreme motion sickness. And VR makes that absolutely ruinous for me.
I really get sick when I play VR games. So unless we can find a way to solve this problem, I don’t know if it will make its way out of the core markets and into the mainstream.
Performance is the biggest issue with ESO
MeinMMO: If you could change one thing about ESO – regardless of time and budget – what would it be?
Lambert: That’s undoubtedly the easiest question. It would be the performance. If we could go back and redo everything from scratch, we would definitely focus more on scalability and performance in high-traffic combat. I believe that’s really the only thing holding ESO back from exploding completely.
PvP players have a hard time during prime time, and if we can get a handle on that, there’s nothing out there that comes close to what we have. That’s why we are working on it. It’s just, it’s a tough problem.
MeinMMO: Thank you very much Rich Lambert for the interview!
Anyone who wants to read everything about the new expansion High Isle can do so here:
With High Isle, the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online gets its own card game. You can play against NPCs, but also against friends and in a leaderboard against other players. We at MeinMMO were able to try out the content in advance and reveal how the Tales of Glory work.
What kind of card game is this? The Tales of Glory are a very strategic game that differs significantly from card games like Hearthstone or Magic: The Gathering. While you fight 1v1 against someone else, the typical combat elements take a backseat. You also do not need to eliminate the opponent’s life points.
Instead, during the match, you build a deck whose goal is to win the game in two different ways:
You collect 40 prestige points
You gain the favor of all 4 patrons on the table
If you succeed in either, you win the match. In PvE, this primarily means following a small story or dueling for some resources as a reward.
However, there is also a PvP aspect where you can optionally challenge friends nearby or enter a queue to face another player.
Assemble a hand to win
How does the game proceed? At the start, your deck on the field only contains cards that give you either a gold coin or one power. You draw 5 each round.
You can use gold coins to buy the cards that are in the middle of the table.
Power, on the other hand, is converted into prestige at the end of your turn, with which you can win the match.
If you buy a card from the middle of the playing field, it goes to your discard pile. This discard pile gets shuffled back into your deck once you can no longer draw cards, which happens very quickly at the start as you only start with 6 cards.
The game is played alternately. If you have no cards left in hand, you can end your turn, and the opponent takes their turn. It is advisable to play all hand cards, as the hand will be discarded at the end of the turn anyway.
In this image, you can roughly see the setup of the table: In the middle, there are openly 5 different cards that can be purchased. Everyone has their assembled deck and 5 hand cards that are drawn each round.
What do the cards from the middle bring? The cards you buy from the middle can belong to one of three types:
Action Cards – These have an activation and a combo effect. Combos are activated when you play the respective number of required cards. Typically, these effects bring additional gold or more power. Some also let you draw additional cards or remove cards from your deck, such as the boring 1-gold cards.
Agents – They have similar effects to action cards, but they stay on the field until the opponent removes them. This way, their effect automatically activates gold or power each round. Some have the effect that they prevent enemies from collecting prestige points if they are not defeated. To defeat them, you must bring their life points to 0.
Contracts – These cards only work once; they are played directly when you buy them.
Within a match, you build the perfect deck to win the game. You start with boring cards and grow stronger from round to round.
How do I win now? The easiest way is to play a total of 40 power throughout the game. At the end of your turn, power is always converted into prestige. Whoever has 40 prestige wins.
However, there is a second way you can win. On the edge of the game are 4 patrons, from which each player selects two at the start of a match. You can “buy” these patrons with gold, power, or other effects.
They have the states:
Friendly
Neutral
Hostile
All patrons start neutral and become friendly or hostile depending on which player “buys” them. However, you can buy them back to neutral and later also friendly. Purchasing a patron is only possible once per round.
Additionally, each patron has a special effect when they are friendly or hostile towards you. These effects provide more gold or let you remove cards from your deck again. The exact effects will be supplemented in the future in this article.
The cards in the middle are determined by the players’ decks
How do the cards in the middle come about? The cards in the middle come from a total of 4 decks. Each player brings two of them into the round. However, these decks are fixed and cannot be changed.
At the beginning, you already unlock four different decks through the tutorial. You get another four decks by completing special quests or achievements. These decks contain about 20 different cards with various effects.
There will be no decks available in the shop and no trading or exchanging between players.
What are these quests and achievements for new decks? We will update this part of the guide as soon as we have more time to test the new expansion.
You can compete against NPCs and other players
How do I unlock the new card game? The unlocking takes place through a new tutorial quest that you can accept in the harbor town on the High Isles.
How do I play against other opponents?
In every tavern, you can challenge NPCs
You can play directly against friends
You can join a queue for the Tales of Glory in the group finder, where you also register for dungeons or PvP. There you can compete against other players in unranked or ranked matches.
As rewards, there are achievements, collectibles, furnishings, and gold.
What do you think of the new card game? Are you interested in the Tales of Glory or will you prefer to dedicate yourself to other contents of High Isle?
We have gathered everything about the new expansion here:
Christopher Nkunku of RB Leipzig is Player of the Month in FIFA 22 – once again. The Frenchman collects special cards so regularly that it has become a running joke in the community.
What kind of card is this? The Player of the Month for the Bundesliga is awarded for the previous month and also leads to a special card in FIFA 22. You can’t get that in packs, but rather through Squad Building Challenges.
Christopher Nkunku is the new, current Player of the Month for “March” with a strong 91-rated card. However, FIFA players will see his face in this category not for the first time.
In the previous month, February, Nkunku secured the special card, receiving a 90 overall rating.
In October, Nkunku was already Player of the Month. At that time he got an 88.
Nkunku continues to collect strong cards
But these are far from all the special cards Nkunku has been able to secure so far. In fact, he has already collected a total of 9 special cards in FIFA 22:
Two “Rulebreakers” cards – although you could only get at most one
One “Team of the Group Stage” card, for his performances in the Champions League up to this point
One Headliner card – such cards were given to the best players of the first half of the season
And additionally the 3 POTM cards, that is, “Player of the Month”
For comparison:
Lionel Messi has collected only 3 special cards in FIFA 22
Cristiano Ronaldo has 6
Kylian Mbappé is tied with 9 special cards – although this number is also due to a faulty card appearing twice in the game.
Players believe: There’s more to come
Nkunku is this strong: What stands out with Nkunku is that, apart from the “Rulebreaker” cards, all his special cards are related to his real-life performances. Nkunku has impressive stats in real life as well:
This season, Nkunku scored 17 goals in the Bundesliga and provided 14 assists (in 17 games)
In the Champions League, he has 7 goals and 2 assists (in 6 games)
In the DFB-Pokal, he scored 3 goals and provided 2 assists (4 games)
And one goal in the Europa League (1 game)
Furthermore, he has already scored two goals and provided three assists in just two games in April. Accordingly, players already see him as a “Player of the Month” candidate in April.
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FIFA 22: 10 helpful tips that will improve your gameplay
Fans are counting on more cards anyway.
“He will receive at least two more cards this year,” speculates one user (via reddit).
“Imagine if he got another promo card after the TOTS, like the Summer Stars or something,” says another (via reddit).
In the FIFA community, Nkunku cards have developed into a kind of running joke. Every time, at least one person writes “Finally! A Nkunku special card”.
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A player in the FIFA subreddit once created a theoretical team of Nkunkus, in which only one card would be missing (two if you count the Rulebreakers as just one).
However, he expects one more Nkunku card for the Team of the Season – and that is also relatively likely, as the best players of the season are awarded in each individual league.
Who do you think still deserves special cards? Let us know in the comments.
