Free games on PS5 and Xbox could soon show you annoying ads

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 2 minutes

Those who want to play free games often get frustrated with “Pay2Win” or restrictions. There are allegedly plans to bring ads into free games on Xbox and PS5. MeinMMO explains what this is all about.

Many free games rely on certain payment systems or restrictions to be able to finance themselves. For example, you can only create a limited number of characters or have a limited cap on in-game currency.

With mobile apps, you often see ads as well, which the studios use to finance development. Now, both Sony and Microsoft are also considering bringing new ads to their consoles. At least that’s what the magazine Business Insider reports (via businessinsider.com, paywall article).

Is a new form of advertising coming soon to the PS4 and PS5?

Is there already advertising on Xbox and PS5? Advertising already exists now, for example on PS5. Developers can promote their games in the PS Store, and streaming services can also display ads in their apps on the next-gen consoles.

However, in the future there should be even more ways to insert ads into free games.

What ideas for advertising are there? Ideas are being considered to place ads on billboards in sports games, similar to a real sports arena. This is not entirely new, as the publisher Electronic Arts already uses in-game advertising on billboards in the “Need for Speed” games (via winfuture.de).

There are also other ideas, such as rewarding users for watching ads. Many users may already know this from apps on their phones, where you receive premium currency or other rewards for watching ads.

On Xbox or PlayStation, you could also be rewarded with in-game currency or skins for characters.

When is the new advertising expected? There are no concrete plans yet on when the new advertising will be implemented. Allegedly, Sony and Microsoft are still looking for the right partners for the ads.

Sony and Microsoft have big plans for the coming years

In addition to ideas about ads, Sony has big plans for the PS4 and PS5. For example, Sony has bought multiple studios that want to bring MMOs to the PS5. Nevertheless, Sony has stated that they still intend to produce single-player games like the Horizon series.

Microsoft and Xbox also have big ambitions. After just acquiring Bethesda a year ago, Microsoft announced in early 2022 that it aims to buy Activision Blizzard. Some were already concerned that some games might not come to the PS5.

The games that we believe are most deserving of a conversion to an MMO have been summarized in the following article. You might recognize a few games that we wish to see online:

Sony is developing more MMOs with Bungie – 5 games that deserve a conversion to MMO for PS5

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands gets its first DLC today – With a new boss that gets stronger every week

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 2 minutes

You have finished with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands? Then the new DLC “Coiled Captors” might be for you – it will be released on April 21, 2022.

This is the first Wonderlands DLC: “Coiled Captors” officially releases on April 21, 2022, and is the first of four additional content pieces that will be released in the coming weeks and months.

Coiled Captors sends you through a “Mirror of Mysteries” from the fortune teller Vesper. There you can face new enemies, gather more loot, and challenge a boss that is supposed to become more and more powerful.

How do you get the DLC? If you

you can simply download the DLC as soon as it becomes available. It is also supposed to be offered as a standalone purchase – but it is currently not available in the respective stores.

Once the DLC is available and the standalone purchase price is known, the article will be updated.

What’s inside the Wonderlands DLC “Coiled Captors”

What you can expect: Once you enter the Mirror of Mysteries, you will encounter the serpent-like “Naga”, who hold an ancient god captive: “Chums”.

You can also admire him in the new trailer:

Start video
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands new DLC ‘Coiled Captors’ in the launch trailer

Chums, in turn, is the most important part of the new DLC. He awaits you at the end of a dungeon and poses a tough challenge for your Fatebringers.

The catch is that you should challenge Chums repeatedly over the coming weeks – as he will become more powerful each time. The boss will have a total of four forms, each stronger than the previous one.

It’s apparently not just about extra health bars or something: Chums is supposed to bring new attacks and abilities each time.

Especially devious: If you die, you will have to replay the entire dungeon to fight Chums again. This is reminiscent of the tough takedowns from Borderlands 3 and is likely to offer a significant challenge.

The schedule looks like this:

  • Form 1 comes directly at the start on April 21
  • Form 2 on April 28
  • Form 3 on May 5
  • the final form on May 12

You can only challenge the new forms after you have defeated the previous ones – even if you start at a later point.

More about Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands on MeinMMO:

What do you get as a reward? If you defeat Chums, you earn “lost souls”, which you can exchange at the “Wheel of Fate”. This will reward you with new weapons, cosmetics, or other equipment.

Finally, Chums and various content from the DLC will also appear in the Chaos Chambers, which you can challenge over and over again.

More on this aspect of the Wonderlands endgame can be found here.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Pokémon GO: Problems with Collector Challenge – Where is Ultrigaria hidden?

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 2 minutes

In Pokémon GO the Environmental Week 2022 is running with a Collector Challenge. But which Pokémon does the Moss Lure Module attract and where are Weepinbell and Gloom?

What’s happening in Pokémon GO? On April 20, the big Environmental Week 2022 began. This brings special spawns, the new Pokémon Combee, and shiny Pidgey. With a Moss Lure Module, you should solve the Collector Challenge of the event, but trainers are running into problems.

Trainers are wondering where Weepinbell and Gloom are hiding.

Weepinbell and Gloom are causing problems

This is the Collector Challenge: For the challenges, you need to catch six Pokémon. You will be rewarded with 10,000 XP, 15 Ultra Balls, and an encounter with Bayleef. The rewards originally included a Moss Lure Module, but Niantic stepped in at the last minute. The six Pokémon you need to catch are:

  • Pidgey
  • Grimer
  • Weepinbell
  • Gloom
  • Slugma
  • Chelcarain
Pokémon GO Collector Challenge Environmental Week

What is special: Right at the start of the event, the Niantic team explained that you will only find two Pokémon of the Collector Challenge with a Moss Lure Module. They do not spawn in the wild. These are Weepinbell and Gloom. The other Pokémon can also be found in the wild.

More on the topic
All lure modules in Pokémon GO explained – With spawns and evolutions
von Patrick Freese

What is the problem? On reddit and in social networks, trainers are asking where Weepinbell is hiding. Despite having a Moss Lure Module activated, they cannot find the Pokémon with which they could complete their challenge.

Thus, trainer nerdyguytx says on reddit: “Moss Lure Modules do not attract Weepinbell.” He writes that he and his friend used their Moss Lure Modules at a PokéStop, but in the hour that the module was active, no Weepinbell was attracted.

Many trainers agree. One explains: “I saw a few people confirm that they got it. But I feel like you. I have used 3 Lure Modules so far and haven’t seen [Weepinbell].”

For other trainers, the problem is more Gloom. They say that while they were able to catch Weepinbell, Gloom would hide from them.

More about Pokémon GO:

It is quite possible that Niantic sees the problems and will offer a solution in the coming days that will help you with the Collector Challenge. Perhaps they will adjust the spawn rates of the lure modules again.

Have you had success with the Collector Challenge and managed to catch all Pokémon, or do you also have problems with Weepinbell or Gloom? Please share your experience here on MeinMMO in the comments.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Hardcore shooter on Steam relies on uncompromising realism – Breaks player record after 7 years

Maik Schneider Maik Schneider Reading time 3 minutes

The indie shooter Squad has been regarded as a little hidden gem on Steam for years and is growing bigger. After the latest update and a short Free2Play phase, the shooter doubled its number of simultaneous players and is more popular than ever. MeinMMO gives you a brief introduction to the title.

What kind of game is this? Squad is a team-based hardcore shooter on Steam that has been available on the platform for over 7 years. The title can be described as a mix between the military simulation Arma and the all-out shooter Battlefield.

Squad excels with a high degree of realism in its mechanics – the feel of the weapons, the sound, the behavior of equipment such as smoke grenades. However, it also uses casual mechanics like respawns in some areas.

Matches are played 50vs50 and to have fun, you need to engage with your 9-man squad and the entire 50-player team and pursue a tactic together. Communication is a crucial aspect of the shooter.

In addition, there are extensive “Fortifying” elements. With fortifications, you build positions, increase firepower, and protect yourselves from attacks.

For an impression of the gameplay, we embed an English video from YouTuber LevelCapGaming, who tried out the latest update:

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.

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Link to the YouTube content

Squad relies on teamwork and realism

Why is the game currently successful? Recently, the update v2.15 brought a new army faction into the game, and over Easter, Squad was playable for free for a few days.

Since the beginning of 2022, the title has seen a significant increase in player numbers and reached a provisional peak on Easter Sunday: with over 26,000 simultaneous players, it shattered the previous record of just under 15,000 players.

Since its release on Steam in Early Access in late 2015, the shooter has gradually become more popular and has built a loyal fan base (via steamcharts.com).

17_Squad_USArmy_Tallil-1
Squad is uncompromisingly hardcore in its equipment gameplay – but relies on spawn mechanics

What do players say on Steam about Squad? On Steam, the shooter is rated “Very Positive” – both in the last 30 days and in all reviews (90% positive / 75,563 reviews / as of: 20.04.22).

Particularly, the audio output is praised and draws many players in right away. Steam user “Ridoc” writes: “Holy shit, the sound grabbed me immediately! It stood out positively to me right away. The sound is impressive and that’s incredibly important, e.g., footsteps, panting from the enemy without stamina.” This was after the first few hours. By now, Ridoc has nearly 12,500 hours of playtime (via steam.com).

However, the core idea of the game, the unconditional focus on teamwork and equipment realism, is well received by many reviewers.

Nonetheless, some problems of Squad are also mentioned. According to some players, the community is very helpful. Still, it takes time to find a good squad with which you also play more often. This way, you get the most out of the shooter.

Additionally, there are some negative comments about the developers. There are complaints about lack of support and missing updates. The last truly significant update is said to be over a year old, and the latest smaller updates might have caused performance issues (via Steam).

More about shooters on MeinMMO:

Squad is an exciting niche game that has built a loyal and engaged fan base over many years. When someone spends 12,500 hours in a shooter, that’s quite significant.

If Squad appeals to you, keep an eye out for the next Free2Play event and check it out with your shooter buddies. According to the reviews on Steam, there are also well-visited German servers.

Hardcore shooters have gained popularity in recent years, and at the forefront of this development is Escape from Tarkov, which regularly takes the lead on Twitch: 5 reasons why Escape from Tarkov in January 2022 is bigger than ever

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

German veterans develop a new MMORPG – Launching Pre-Alpha for everyone

Alexander Leitsch Alexander Leitsch Reading time 2 minutes

Persist Online is a new MMORPG developed by CipSoft. This German studio has already celebrated great successes with the MMORPG Tibial Online. Now a new survival game is to build on that.

What kind of game is this? Persist Online is a Free2Play MMORPG focusing on zombies and survival. Currently, it is only playable on PC, but a mobile version is planned for the future.

At the beginning, you create a character and can assign a total of 14 different attribute points. These go into strength, intelligence, or charisma, for example. With this character, you will then explore a large, open world.

  • The game world has a polygon-like look and is set in a modern environment
  • You start in a bunker where you can see your progress and be safe
  • The further you move away from your safe bunker, the more dangerous the world becomes
  • You fight with firearms like revolvers, submachine guns, snipers, but also simple weapons like a baseball bat or a knife
  • There is a science tree where you can learn new skills
  • Through crafting, you can obtain new gear and repair old ones

Even in the first city, you will encounter trigger-happy NPCs, zombies, and other players who might attack you. However, at night, the entire world is said to become even more dangerous. If you die, you will be revived in a nearby hospital, but without items and with a “cloning debuff.”

Persist Online Ingame
This is what it looks like in-game in Persist Online.

Who can play the MMORPG? Everyone! Currently, Persist Online is in a pre-alpha phase, which anyone can participate in by creating an account (via Persist Online). The client is only about 2 gigabytes in size.

Developers had great success with Tibia Online

Who develops the game? Persist Online is developed by CipSoft, a German developer studio. They had great success with the MMORPG Tibia Online in 1997. The game is still popular 20 years after release and even reached new records in 2020:

  • Active player numbers on average in 2020 increased by a third to 100,000 concurrent players
  • Revenue from CipSoft grew by 10 million euros to a total of 25 million
  • The company’s profits doubled

Although they developed new games in the meantime, such as LiteBringer and Project: Battle Arena, neither was as successful, and Battle Arena has even been shut down in the meantime. Now they are trying their luck with the survival MMORPG.

More about MMORPGs on MeinMMO:

What do you think about Persist Online? Have you already tried the MMORPG? Are you generally interested in the concept and visuals, or do you prefer to stick with your established games?

For those more interested in the background of CipSoft and Tibia Online, here is an interesting interview we conducted with the developer at MeinMMO in 2020:

German MMORPG is booming right now: “At first, we were laughed at”

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

FIFA 22: TOTW 31 is now live – Brings Ronaldo and more strong cards

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 2 minutes

In FIFA 22 the TOTW 31 is now available. Who made it into this week’s Team of the Week, we will show you here on MeinMMO.

When does the TOTW 31 come out? The new Team of the Week will be available from Wednesday evening, April 20, 2022, at 7:00 PM in Ultimate Team.

You can now pull the cards from packs for a week before they are replaced again. However, you need a lot of luck to get top cards.

Who gets a TOTW card? A TOTW card is given to players who were able to impress with strong performances in real football over the past week.

These cards then have improved stats and can also fetch higher prices on the transfer market.

These players are in the TOTW 31

The current TOTW 31 in FIFA 22

The top players are: The top player in this week’s TOTW is Cristiano Ronaldo, who will receive a 93-rated card. His Ones-to-Watch card will also receive an upgrade.

Also highly rated are Joshua Kimmich (92) and Erling Haaland (89), who may meet in the upcoming weekend duel Bayern vs. Dortmund.

In addition, the cards for Kalulu (the current Featured TOTW card), Martinez (88, strong forward), and Goodwin (lots of pace) are looking good.

Starting eleven:

  • GK: Ledesma (86)
  • LB: Carvajal (86)
  • CB: Trossard (81)
  • RB: Kalulu (84)
  • CDM: Kimmich (92)
  • LM: Goodwin (84)
  • CM: Torreira (83)
  • CM: Bruno Guimaraes (82)
  • ST: C. Ronaldo (93)
  • ST: Haaland (89)
  • ST: Martínez (88)

Bench:

  • GK: Forster (84)
  • CB: Thomas (81)
  • CB: Hancki (81)
  • RM: Sallai (81)
  • LM: Kainz (81)
  • LF: Taremi (86)
  • ST: Dembélé (84)
  • CB: Beckles (75)
  • CAM: Wales (73)
  • FW: Bülter (78)
  • ST: Castellanos (78)
  • LF: Ilie (79)

More about FIFA 22 on MeinMMO:

In addition to the easily playable cards, there are also three 86-rated cards in the current TOTW with Ledesma, Carvajal, and Taremi, which could at least come in handy for solving some SBCs.

Start video
FIFA 22: 10 helpful tips that will improve your gameplay

At the same time, the TOTW still has the problem that other promo cards are now significantly stronger than the Team of the Week cards. The current FUT Captains event is just one example of this development.

What do you think of the current TOTW? Is someone missing, did you expect someone else? Let us know in the comments!

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Fortnite gives you 6 items during the lantern festival – Here’s how to get them

Maik Schneider Maik Schneider Reading time 3 minutes

Currently, the colorful shooter Fortnite is hosting the Lantern Festival, and since April 20, there is also a corresponding Lantern Trial. Through the trials, you will receive tasks that guarantee you up to 6 free items. You can find all the registration information and tasks for the Lantern Trial on MeinMMO.

What kind of event is this? The entire month of April in Fortnite is themed around “#Sharethelight” and the Lantern Festival.

It all started with an in-game photo contest, which has now ended. Now it continues with the Lantern Trials, where you can secure free rewards by completing tasks on specific days:

  • 4 Emoticons
  • 1 Wrap
  • 1 Back Bling

Here you will find all the information to secure the items. You can admire the wrap and backpack here:

fortnite lantern trials wrap and backpack

Fortnite: Lantern Trial – Registration and Rewards

How do I participate in the Lantern Trials? You must be at least 13 years old and have an Epic account. With your account, you can register on the Lantern Trials website:

On the page, you can see your progress in the various challenges and check what’s next.

Start video
Fortnite: The One Time a Black Hole Swallowed You All

How do I get the rewards? To secure all items, you must play on at least 2 of the event days and collect points. You earn points in the Battle Royale modes and “No Build” mode.

Set tasks give you points, which you use to unlock items. For each emoticon, you need just one point on the event days:

  • Day 1 – Emoticon “Bunny Hop”
    • April 20, 6 AM to April 21, 6 AM
  • Day 2 – Emoticon “Rook’s Eye Roll”
    • April 21, 6 AM to April 22, 6 AM
  • Day 3 – Emoticon “Sweaty Jonesy”
    • April 22, 6 AM to April 23, 6 AM
  • Day 4 – Emoticon “Ranger Shrug”
    • April 23, 6 AM to April 24, 6 AM
  • Day 5 – Catch up on all Emoticons
    • April 24, 6 AM to April 25, 6 AM
fornite emoticons lantern trials items gifts
The 4 Emoticons of the Lantern Trial

The tasks change every day and are not known in advance. On Day 1, you gain points through eliminations. If you registered for the event and get at least one kill on Day 1, you have already secured the “Bunny Hop”.

If you collect a point on Day 5, you will receive all 4 Emoticons from the event directly.

For the wrap and backpack, however, you need to achieve more and play on at least 2 days. Because to unlock the items, you must reach point milestones:

  • Wrap “Guiding Light”
    • 1 Point milestone
  • Back Bling “Dream Lantern”
    • 2 Point milestones

On the first day, you need to gather 35 points for the milestone, which means getting 35 kills. It is still unknown how the tasks will look on the other days.

More about Fortnite on MeinMMO:

There’s always something to do in Fortnite; an event is always happening, or something new is coming. Just on April 19 did the new weapon Ranger Shotgun come into play with Update 20.20.

This even leads to some envy in the MeinMMO editorial team: As a Warzone player, I can only look enviously at what Fortnite dares to do again.

Are you checking out the event? What do you think of the rewards? We’d love to hear your opinion on the topic in the comments.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Fortnite

Hay Day: How many cherries are there per tree?

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 2 minutes

In the mobile game Hay Day, you can place trees for cherries on your properties. But how productive are they?

How many cherries are there per tree? In total, you get 13 cherries from a cherry tree. The trees have 4 phases:

  • In the first phase, there are 2 cherries
  • in the second phase 3 cherries
  • in the third phase 4 cherries
  • in the fourth phase 4 cherries

What do cherry trees provide? You can plant cherry trees to harvest cherries. From the cherries, you can then make cherry juice or cherry jam. Cherry juice combined with syrup gives you cherry popsicles.

What you need to know about cherry trees in Hay Day

Where can you buy them? In the store where you buy the other trees as well. They cost 410 gold coins there.

When are they unlocked? As soon as you reach level 22, you unlock cherry trees.

What to do if they die? After the third harvest, the cherry trees dry out. You can then ask other players for help to revive the tree. This allows it to bloom for the fourth and final harvest. Alternatively, you can remove the tree with a saw after the third harvest. For 13 XP, players can revive dried-up cherry trees.

Hay Day cherry trees 2
So beautifully bloom the cherry trees in Hay Day

How long does it take for cherries to grow? A cherry tree takes one day and three hours to produce cherries.

Tips: Only harvest the cherries when you need them for orders or want to process them into other products. This saves space in the silo.

If you want other players to revive the trees, first put up help-wanted signs by the trees and then display items at your roadside stand. This will attract other players to your farm and they will come to help.

More about mobile games:

What other trees are there? In Hay Day, you can buy and plant various trees on your property. There are apple trees, cocoa trees, cherry trees, olive trees, orange trees, peach trees, plum trees, and even lemon trees.

Cherry trees are a nice addition to your farm in Hay Day. You need them quite often for orders.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

WoW shows new mount for Dragonflight, players spot: This was stolen from Guild Wars 2

Alexander Leitsch Alexander Leitsch Reading time 3 minutes

Blizzard has presented the new WoW expansion Dragonflight. Included is a new dragon mount that players can customize to their liking. However, the general design and animations strongly remind many players of the mounts from Guild Wars 2.

What kind of mount is this? With the Dragonflight expansion, every character in WoW will have their own dragon to fly over the new dragon islands. Over the course of the expansion, players will be able to customize this dragon more and more to their liking.

Additionally, the dragon will learn new abilities over time, allowing players to fly further and faster.

Accompanying this, a video clip of the dragon was shown. Many players immediately associate it with the Skyshard and the Griffin from Guild Wars 2.

What is identical? Both the general model and the flight animation have strong similarities with the Griffin from Guild Wars 2. Particularly during the dive and the subsequent speed boost, it is hard to tell the difference between the mounts.

Later, a roll in the air is also shown. This is something that the Skyshard from Guild Wars 2 can do as well.

The reddit user TheKound222 directly compared the mounts in a video:

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Link to the Reddit content

“Looks like the low-budget version of Guild Wars 2”

What do the players say? On reddit, almost all users agree that Blizzard was inspired by the mounts from Guild Wars 2. However, player reactions vary greatly.

The user Naholiel finds it unbothering, as the mounts in Guild Wars 2 are still better animated and the mount in WoW will be neglected anyway when flying mounts are enabled:

As a GW2 player, I don’t mind; this presentation really shows how much better GW2 animations are.
And since I know the rhythm of WoW expansions, this mount will be useless in 2 years for the next expansion or worse, in 6 months when they allow flying mounts.

Other users on reddit referred to the mount as “bad” or a “low-budget version” of the Griffin in Guild Wars 2.

Others see it as good publicity for Guild Wars 2, as the mount system generally receives a lot of praise and many players who previously played WoW are now getting a sense of what other and better mounts feel like.

The Griffin is the mount from Guild Wars 2 that bears many similarities to the new dragon.

Some users, however, wonder about the direct comparison. After all, there isn’t much room to design a dragon, at least that’s what user Practical thinks:

They are very similar, but that’s exactly what you would do if you were to build an active dragon-based mount in a game. You would implement a dive, roll, flap with the wings, and glide.

However, this explanation is not enough for some. User Kare_kano states that, even if one were to implement just a bicycle in a game, one would still want to put some personal and unique stamp on it. Here, however, it feels like there has been a strong copy, especially in the dive.

More on Guild Wars 2 and WoW:

Mount system of Guild Wars 2 is showered with praise

Are the mounts in Guild Wars 2 really that good? In the reddit thread, the mounts of Guild Wars 2 are praised in the highest terms. This starts right from mounting, as each mount takes a few seconds to reach maximum speed.

Moreover, each mount has its own maximum speeds, special attack abilities, and also different turning radii. Much of this is not available immediately but must be unlocked gradually through mastery, which WoW seems to be relying on in the future.

Generally, the mounts in Guild Wars 2 have their own specific uses:

  • The raptor can jump particularly far
  • The rabbit can jump particularly high
  • The skimmer can dive underwater and hover above water
  • The griffin glides through the air
  • The siege turtle is designed for 2 players and does a lot of damage

However, the highlight is the animations, which appear particularly “natural”. The mounts shake while stationary, look at their rider, and move very fluidly in general.

What do you think about the mounts in Guild Wars 2? And how do you feel about Blizzard being so heavily inspired by these mounts? Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments.

If you want to try the new mount in WoW, you can now register for the beta:

WoW Dragonflight: How to register for beta – This is how you secure a chance

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Rainbow Six: Siege gets a new map after 3 years – but no one wants to play it

Dariusz Müller Dariusz Müller Reading time 4 minutes

Ubisoft’s tactical shooter Rainbow Six: Siege has released the map Emerald Plains after 3 years without a new map. However, the map located in Ireland is rarely played as many players ban it in Ranked. What is the reason for this?

Why is the new map not being played? In Rainbow Six: Siege, the map ban system was introduced in 2020. Since then, it has become a problem that new maps or returning, revised maps are banned by players in Ranked or Unranked matches.

Some speculated reasons for banning new maps on social media include the lack of willingness to learn a new map in Ranked, as well as the fear of losing due to the unfamiliarity of the new map.

What is the map ban? Before the start of a Ranked or Unranked match, the competing teams receive a random selection of three maps from the current map pool. Each team votes for a map they want to ban. That map will not be played.

If both teams choose the same map, one of the two remaining maps is selected randomly and also banned.

The remaining, unbanned map is played by both teams.
Start video
Rainbow Six Siege releases a trailer for the new map “Emerald Plains”

Map Ban: “The whole system needs to be abolished.”

What does the community say about the problem? Players have also noticed that the new map is often banned in Ranked and Unranked. On Twitter and Reddit, some members of the “Rainbow Six” community expressed their displeasure with this behavior and hope that Ubisoft will remove the map ban system.

MeinMMO summarizes a few reactions from players:

Piles of reworks instead of new maps

Why hasn’t there been a new map for a long time? Ubisoft released only revised versions of old maps, known as reworks, between the “Rainbow Six: Siege” seasons Burnt Horizon (March 2019) and Demon Veil, instead of new ones.

During this period, a total of 10 complete reworks and three additional minor ones were released. Some reasons for the reworks were mainly balancing aspects and bug fixes that apparently did not matter at the release of the respective maps.

The gameplay of Rainbow Six, however, changed steadily over the years, and factors such as new operators, weapons, and gadgets made a revision necessary.

Furthermore, Ubisoft stated at the announcement of the reworks that another reason for the revision was to avoid having too large a selection of maps, making it easier for new players to learn the existing maps.

Emerald Plains combines classic style with modern design

What do we know about the new map? The new map in Rainbow Six is called Emerald Plains. According to Ubisoft, it is located in a hilly landscape in Northern Ireland and includes a country club as well as a private ranch.

When designing the overall two floors, the developers took care, according to patch notes, to enable precise callouts through the different design. The upper floor is in a classic style, while the lower one has a modern design.

Where can you play Emerald Plains? The new map can currently be played in the following modes of Rainbow Six: Siege:

  • Ranked
  • Unranked
  • Quick Match
  • Team Deathmatch
  • Newbie
  • Lone Wolf PvE
Rainbow-Six-Emerald-Plains-EG
Rainbow-Six-Emerald-Plains-OG
Rainbow-Six-Emerald-Plains-Dach
The new map of Rainbow Six is called Emerald Plains

If you want to know more about Rainbow Six:

Rainbow Six: Siege is characterized by its unique gameplay. This is mainly influenced by the design of the individual maps. The possibility of destruction and the adaptability of the maps are crucial for every round played.

Many players and even e-sports teams therefore prefer certain maps and intentionally avoid others. Can you understand why players ban a new map in Ranked because they are not familiar with it?

The strategy of Siege around reworks and new maps is well received by MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus: This popular shooter doesn’t need a successor

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Ubisoft.com

Final Fantasy XIV: New feature clearly demonstrates how inappropriate some players are

Irina Moritz Irina Moritz Reading time 4 minutes

With the 6.1 update of Final Fantasy XIV, the new feature of Adventurer Plates was introduced, a type of business card for player characters. However, it quickly became apparent that some players were using it for not safe-for-work content.

What are Adventurer Plates? They are special “character profiles” that players can create since patch 6.1 in FFXIV. They resemble business cards that can be customized in various ways.

Players can:

  • choose the background colors and patterns of their plates,
  • select and set different frames,
  • customize personal info like main job, activities, online time, etc.,
  • take a personal profile photo and more
The plates reflect the characters of the players: some are cool, others funny or cute.

Unless set to private, players can view the Adventurer Plates of others by inspecting them. Additionally, the plates of participants in the new PvP mode Crystalline Conflict are displayed before the match to introduce the teams.

Warning: Some links further down in the article contain explicit graphic representations of sexual content.

“This Plate will cause an emergency maintenance”

This is what some players are doing: After the launch of the new features, the first screenshots of player creations quickly appeared on reddit and social media. While most players present their characters as cool, cute, or funny, others have engaged in rather dirty antics.

During PvP matches, suddenly plate images appeared where characters are bending over with their nearly naked backsides, positioned in specific angles to make it look like they are having sex, or resemble “Dick Pics”, that is, images of penises.

https://twitter.com/bringbackfsjals/status/1513897314141851650
Images like the middle one belong to the more harmless category.

This type of plates quickly became a meme and found a large number of imitators who recreated their own images similarly. For several days, more and more screenshots of such plates appeared on reddit as the community searched for the “worst” image.

In fact, the absolute top post (Warning, explicit sexual representation) in the FFXIV subreddit with over 13,000 upvotes currently shows an adult Adventurer Plate. Users in the thread joked that this photo will cause an emergency maintenance to prevent such image settings in the future.

It is a situation that the dev team probably did not foresee. While there are specific usage rules for the portraits that kindly request not to create content that might be considered “offensive or inappropriate.”

A more precise definition of such content and the consequences for violating the rules are not included in the description. However, it is likely that these regulations will be further adjusted in the future, as FFXIV is actually a game rated for ages 12 and up.

More about FFXIV on MeinMMO can be found here:

“I want them in all types of content.”

This is how the plates are received: Generally, the mood around Adventurer Plates is very positive. In a reddit thread, which received over 3,000 upvotes, user Peregrine2976 advocated for them to be used in all types of group content.

When players enter a dungeon or raid, their plates should be displayed on the screen just like in PvP.

The streamer and YouTuber Preach, who has spent a lot of time in FFXIV in recent months, was also surprised and excited about the small feature. In his top 5 video about the new features from patch 6.1, he says:

The number one thing that shocked me to my core, […] is the Adventurer Plates. I’m amazed that I find this fun and enjoy looking at other plates. […] It’s so good because people in FFXIV are so creative with it. All plates are different. People are either serious or funny, or somewhere in between, but they make it fit their character. […]

Basically, the feature is still in the beta phase. The director of FFXIV, Naoki Yoshida, announced that the team plans to introduce more customization options in the future.

Regarding the not safe-for-work plate images, the devs have not commented publicly yet. They currently have their hands full with the broken housing lottery, which many players are frustrated about:

Final Fantasy XIV: There is still hope for participants of the housing lottery – Even if they have lost

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Destiny 2 brings an extra-hard raid for the brave – Is the Grandmaster mode worth it?

Christos Tsogos Christos Tsogos Reading time 3 minutes

Destiny 2 opened another Grandmaster mode in a raid on April 19. The Oath of the Student in the Throne World of Savathûn can now be tackled by true PvE experts to be rewarded with great loot. But is the effort worth it, or should you rather stick to the Legend difficulty? We will show you.

What is different in the Grandmaster mode? The Grandmaster difficulty offers modifiers that will make your life hell compared to the normal mode. Here’s what you need to expect if you want a harder experience:

  • Enemies have shields that can only be broken with the right element.
  • Additionally, you will face Champions that will crush you if you don’t have the right mods.
  • Moreover, your radar is disabled – thus, you won’t know if enemies are nearby.
  • Finally, the recommended power level is set to 1580.
  • Enemies take and deal more damage.

While the normal mode is like a walk in the park, the Grandmaster mode feels like a trip to hell. However, you will be better rewarded for it.

Winners receive raid weapons at Adept level and the armor has better attributes. But is the effort worth it, and is the loot as good as Bungie described it?

A lot of effort without appealing loot

Players had the chance to face the increased difficulty in the raid and yet the opinions are almost unanimously clear. They say the raid loot isn’t worth the effort that must be endured.

rhulk-destiny2-raid-endboss-witchqueen-schwurdesschuelers-vowofdisciple
Rhulk the final boss of the raid is waiting for you

Twitter user Colin (Legionless) describes on Twitter his thoughts on the matter:

It’s really a shame about the Grandmaster raid Oath of the Student. Adept weapons do not drop with curated rolls or improved perks. They can’t be crafted either. The only thing they have is a few more stats. […]

However, the weapons are not worth it, as they cannot be learned as blueprints to be crafted by Guardians to their liking. You receive a weapon with normal perks, an additional perk, and the ability to socket Adept mods into them. That’s all there is to it, and it simply doesn’t pay off for the effort.

The Guardian SeroiusMcDougal wrote on reddit that when he and his crew found out what loot they would get, they immediately switched to the normal difficulty of the raid. Many Guardians agree that they would rather tackle the normal mode than Grandmaster.

Find more about Destiny 2 here:

For whom is the raid worth it? The raid is worth it for collectors who want a good example of each weapon for their collection. Furthermore, title hunters will also dare to venture into this hell, as the Triumph seal “Student Slayer” requires you to complete the raid and its associated weekly challenges at Grandmaster.

However, if you just want to play the raid and have a good time, it’s better to go for the normal mode. This is less strenuous and even offers you better loot, as you can unlock the raid weapons as blueprints and then craft them to your liking.

But enough of our recommendation, we want to know if you dared to venture into the Grandmaster raid and survived it successfully. How did you find the increased difficulty? Was it worth it for you? Let us know!

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Lost Ark shows new skins in the Battle Pass – Players say: “You must really hate money, right?”

Mark Sellner Mark Sellner Reading time 4 minutes

In the reddit of Lost Ark, screenshots of the skins have surfaced, which our version will most likely receive very soon. However, they are not well received by the community at all, despite fulfilling a wish of the fans. We at MeinMMO summarize.

What are these skins? The skins shown on reddit are available in the Korean Battle Pass. Additionally, a costume is shown that is supposed to be available only for the Lance bearer. However, we cannot confirm at this time whether these contents will come to us exactly as they are.

Because Amazon accidentally leaked a Battle Pass for our version in a video previously. Furthermore, the skins that have appeared on reddit are also briefly visible in the trailer for the big April update.

The developers have already announced in the forum that the exact details of the Battle Pass, which will be called Ark-Pass, will be provided in the patch notes for the April update. It has already been officially confirmed that the pass is coming, that certain costumes will be included, and that there will be a special one for the Lance bearer.

However, whether these are exactly the contents that appeared on reddit and are in the Pass in Korea remains unclear at this time, but it is comparatively likely.

In the forum, Roxx confirmed that the Battle Pass and Lance bearer skin will be available for purchase separately.

What do the contents look like? The skins shown are a kind of elegant evening wear. They again take a completely different direction than they did with the Omen costumes or the cute animal onesies. As before with this issue, the community’s opinions here are rather negative.

Presumably, many different outfits are chosen here to quickly provide every type of player. Additionally, the new costumes address another issue frequently mentioned in the community – the overly sexualized female outfits.

The new costumes for female characters still show a lot of cleavage; however, some classes now receive real pants for the first time that are not a miniskirt or hotpants. This is well received by some fans.

Skins for the warriors
Skin for the Lance bearer
Skins for the assassin

You can find an overview of the skins in a reddit thread on the topic.

“This is really underwhelming”

How are the skins received? Although it is still unclear how they can ultimately be obtained and whether these will be the exact ones, the discussion on reddit about it is enormous. In three different threads of approximately equal size, the topic is being extensively discussed. However, the community does not have many positive words to share.

A Korean user has already assured that these skins can be dyed, which lightens the negative mood a bit. In general, many users are happy that there will be new cosmetic contents, regardless of whether they find them good or not.

However, fans do not seem to be particularly convinced by the skins themselves. The special outfit for the Lance bearer is received the best. However, it is supposed to be sold outside of the Battle Pass, which doesn’t seem to bother anyone.

More about Lost Ark on MeinMMO

What do the fans say? They are rather reserved with their praise, but are happy that new skins and costumes are at least coming into the MMORPG.

  • tiradium writes (via reddit): “Man, they look really boring and underwhelming.”
  • Also, ZedsBreadBaby agrees and gets 200 upvotes for it: “Maybe it’s just me, but except for the skin for the Lance bearer, they all look pretty boring.”
  • marcdel_ writes (via reddit): “Man, I really hoped that more skins would come with the Battle Pass, damn it. They must really hate money, right?”
  • sjthedon22 writes (via reddit): “At least you can dye them; otherwise, that’s pretty.. meh.”

What do you think of the new skins if they come to our game? Feel free to let us know in the comments here at MeinMMO. Are you happy that they are going in a completely different direction again and that female chars can finally wear pants? Or do you wish for something else?

Will you buy the Battle Pass for Europe, or are you not interested? Vote now.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. reddit
  2. reddit
  3. reddit
  4. Lost Ark Forum

3 easy achievements for Season 26 in Diablo 3 – How to get the snack demon

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 3 minutes

We show you 3 easy achievements from Season 26 of Diablo 3 in this guide. This way you can easily complete the season journey and secure the exclusive pet.

What is it about? Season 26 of Diablo 3 started on April 15. In it, you have the opportunity to complete the season journey to secure specific content as gifts. For completion, you receive a portrait frame as well as the companion “Nibble Demon”.

One of the tasks of the season journey is to complete three achievements. Here we show you three easy achievements that you can complete for that.

Flawless Victory – Complete these 3 achievements

Which achievements are these? We have chosen three achievements that you can unlock with little effort. For some players, additional achievements may be easy. Therefore, we provide an example here that you can use as a reference.

Diablo 3 Season 26 Rewards
The rewards for completing the season journey – portrait frame and Nibble Demon
  • Speed Demon
    • Complete a Nephalem Rift at “Torment X” difficulty or higher with a max-level character in under 2 minutes.
  • Mineral Collection
    • Upgrade three legendary gems to level 65.
  • Simply Divine
    • Achieve a Greater Nephalem Rift (solo play) of level 75.

Next, we briefly go into each achievement and give you tips for it.

Speed Demon

Diablo-3-Speed-Demon

How to complete it? For the achievement, you need a set that allows you to quickly clear rifts. Once you can speed farm at Torment 16, “Speed Demon” should be no problem anymore. It somewhat depends on your luck whether you find a suitable rift with many mobs. With bad luck, you get a rift with many narrow corridors that cost you time.

After a handful of attempts, you should have found a good rift and secure the achievement. Inside the Nephalem rifts, you should only collect the yellow progress orbs and leave the loot behind. This saves you a lot of time and helps with completing the task. After killing the Rift Boss, teleport directly to the city and close the rift (then the time is measured). After that, you can teleport back in and collect the loot – you have 30 seconds for that. Those who reduce the difficulty to Torment X can defeat the monsters even faster.

Check out our Tier List for Season 26 in Diablo 3 for strong builds that will make it easier for you to achieve success.

Mineral Collection

Diablo-3-Mineral-Collection2

How to complete it? This is a simple achievement to grind. Once you can farm confidently at Torment 16, you can repeatedly complete 75 GRs and upgrade your stones with them. For the season journey, you should anyway bring three stones to level 70. Therefore, the achievement with the stones at level 65 is an important intermediate step.

More on Season 26

Simply Divine

Diablo-3-Simply-Divine-S26

How to complete it? The achievement is part of your usual path through the season journey. Once you have a complete 6-piece bonus from a set and your build works, a Greater Rift of level 75 should be no problem for you. For the achievement, you need to clear it by yourself, without support from other players.

Keep in mind that starting from GR level 70, you will receive one guaranteed ancient item.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Manually update PS5 controller – Here’s how to install the Dualsense update on PC and console

Maik Schneider Maik Schneider Reading time 3 minutes

The DualSense controller of the PS5 has its own firmware and needs an update every now and then. This can be done either on the console or with a PC. MeinMMO shows you in the guide how to get the patch for the PS5 controller.

3 methods for the controller update: At the launch of the PS5, the update for the controller was somewhat difficult.

By now, however, you have 3 options to update the controller. With a click, you can go to the corresponding workaround:

MeinMMO presents the 3 methods to you.

Start PS5 controller update directly

So far, the controller updates have always come together with a PS5 firmware update.

If you start the PS5 after the update and connect a controller, the console will ask you if you want to patch the controller directly or if there should be a reminder in 24 hours.

Since you have to connect the controller to the console via USB-C and may need to get up from the couch, the “until tomorrow” option is quickly selected.

If you skipped the direct update, take a look at the next section.

You can also start the controller update in the menu of the PlayStation 5 later. Soon after the console’s release, this was not possible:

  • Settings > Accessories > Controller > Device software of the wireless controller

Here too, you need to connect the controller via USB-C to the console. You will also see immediately if you are using the current firmware.

ps5 controller update via playstation menu

Start PS5 controller update on PC

Another option is the update on the PC. For this, you need to download a small program, which you can get officially and for free from PlayStation: Page with the updater on playstation.com.

However, you need Windows 10 or Windows 11 for this.

Download the program, install it, and start it. The program will prompt you to plug in a controller (USB-C). The controller should be recognized without problems and the program will offer you the update.

However, you can only patch one controller at a time this way. Updating multiple DualSense controllers at once is not currently possible.

More on the topic
Connect PS5 Controller to PC – Use DualSense Features on PC
von Benedikt Schlotmann

More about PlayStation on MeinMMO:

What happens if I don’t update the controller? If you don’t feel like getting up from the couch to patch your DualSense, it won’t affect you.

So far, there are no reports that the controllers stop functioning correctly if you do not download the update immediately.

The updates usually fix issues with the controller and are not directly related to updates of the PS5. Previous updates fixed issues with the charging status display or provided fine-tuning for the adaptive triggers.

In general, it is always recommended to download the update immediately, whether you are having adventures with your DualSense on the PS5 or the PC.

If you are still looking for your PS5 adventure, check our availability ticker regularly: Buy PS5 – Keep an eye on these retailers today

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. PlayStation

Twitch streamer says: Instagram banned her – She was replaced by a much worse version

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

The Twitch streamer Amouranth is spitting venom and bile against the company “META”. She says her own profile on Instagram has been banned. She was banned for “nudity”. However, there is now a “fake” version of her roaming around that is much worse than she is herself. The false account with almost 120,000 followers is defrauding gullible love seekers out of several thousand dollars. This is unacceptable.

Who is Amouranth?

More on the topic
Twitch streamer licks microphones, makes 1.3 million € a month – What do the parents think?
von Schuhmann

What bothers her about Instagram? Amouranth is now venting her frustrations about Instagram on Twitter. There are several things that trouble her, which led to an outburst:

  • Her own account on Instagram has been banned for “nudity”.
  • Previously, an Instagram moderator even tried to extort her, who was supposedly hired as a contractor by META.
  • Since she was banned, a “fake account” has been operating on Instagram that is much worse than she was herself back then. Her ban on Instagram created a gap that is now being filled by the fraudster. She holds Instagram directly responsible for this.
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Amouranth vented her frustrations about Instagram on Twitter on Tuesday.

“Fake-Amouranth” is said to have defrauded people out of several thousand dollars

What is the account accused of doing? Amouranth says the new account there, “Amoruanth_Official”, which already has nearly 120,000 followers, is posting her pictures in underwear – even those very pictures for which she herself was banned from Instagram.

Moreover, the false Amouranth would be pulling a “romance scam” and has defrauded people of several thousand euros.

Amouranth says: this “fake account” is causing much more harm than she has ever done. It misuses her images and public image to criminally defraud people.

In a “romance scam”, a fraudster poses as a love-seeking partner who then ends up – unfortunately, unfortunately – in need and urgently needs money.

For Instagram, you don’t exist without an Instagram account

This makes the situation even worse for Amouranth: The streamer seems particularly outraged that she cannot get through to Meta with complaints.

She says: Because she herself has been banned from Instagram, she cannot do anything. Because Instagram tells her she cannot prove that she is the real one, since she does not have an Instagram account to show that she was the first to upload the photos.

Amouranth criticizes that this is a completely insane way of thinking: If you die on Instagram, you are also dead in real life. You cease to exist, and anyone can steal your identity. This appears to be the “short-sighted worldview” of Mark Zuckerberg, the guardian of the “metaverse”.

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How is she solving the problem? Amouranth has incited her followers on Twitter to report the fake account.

This apparently had success. After a few hours, the “evil Amouranth” was no longer reachable on Instagram.

What happened to Amouranth is indeed a phenomenon that occurs time and again. When a Twitch streamer is no longer active or streams only rarely, “fraudsters” appear, posing as that very Twitch streamer and try to make money this way. Whenever a vacuum appears on a platform, fraudsters seem to sense their great opportunity:

Fake streams of shroud and s1mple on Twitch want to scam you in CS:GO

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

TERA is considered one of the best action MMORPGs – But in 2 months it will close forever

Alexander Leitsch Alexander Leitsch Reading time 3 minutes

In The Exiled Realm of Arborea (TERA), a Korean MMORPG, was released in the West in 2012 and is appreciated by many for its action-packed combat system. However, in June 2022, the servers will be permanently shut down worldwide. This comes as a surprise, as a major update was released as recently as February.

Why is TERA closing? As the Western publisher Gameforge announced on April 20, the MMORPG is being discontinued because the developer Bluehole is no longer producing new content. Therefore, the company is forced to shut down the Western version as well.

Gameforge has been the publisher for the European version for over 10 years and later took over distribution in Russia and lastly in America in 2020.

When will the servers close exactly? On June 30, 2022, at 10:00 AM German time, TERA will be shut down. The service in Korea is also expected to end on June 30 (via Gamemeca).

Shutdown comes as a surprise to many

How was TERA doing recently? The MMORPG received regular updates. Just in 2020, we published a major report on the development of TERA, the upcoming companion update, and many adjustments. Shortly after, a new MOBA mode for PvP was released, which was quickly disabled due to poor reception from players.

The last major update came in February 2022. Three new dungeons were released, some old dungeons were revamped, and a new season with a season pass was launched.

In addition to new updates, there were regular events and rotations in dungeons. Therefore, it never felt like TERA was going to be discontinued anytime soon.

YouTuber Josh Strife Hayes reviewed TERA at the beginning of 2022 and praised the combat system, although he had some criticism:

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How was the player count? There are no exact player numbers for TERA since many played through the Gameforge client, which does not share information.

The Steam version was released only in 2017, but player numbers remained stable between 800 and 1,400 concurrent players for many years. Only in early 2022 did the numbers drop permanently to triple digits and below 600 concurrent players for the first time.

In Korea, TERA had been among the 50 most played online games for many years. It last appeared there in May 2021 at number 40 (via Gamemeca).

TERA was known for action-packed battles and plenty of PvE content

What kind of game is TERA? In TERA, you create a hero with which you can complete many quests and defeat enemies. There are 13 different classes to choose from.

Highlights of the game included the varied dungeons and the action combat system. When the game was released in the West in 2012, the action-packed battles were an absolute highlight, and they have aged relatively well, unlike other content in the MMORPG.

In combat, you must constantly keep moving, actively target enemies, and dodge or block their abilities.

More about MMORPGs on MeinMMO:

What criticisms are there? TERA has always been criticized for its aggressive monetization in the shop and the fact that there is no consistent style in the world. Alongside regular mounts, there are also flying carpets, pigs, or police cars as mounts.

Costumes also allow for anything, which significantly hampers immersion in the game.

How are players reacting? Although TERA is no longer among the major MMORPGs, it had a loyal community, as shown by the comments on reddit:

  • “This is sad. This game ruined the combat for me in most other MMOs.”
  • “TERA was so much fun in its prime, it’s a shame.”
  • “This is sad. TERA was my first introduction to action combat and I was extremely addicted for a few years.”
  • “One of the games I had the most fun with when it was full of players. I haven’t played it in recent years, but it’s still kind of sad to see it being shut down.”

What do you think about the surprising shutdown of TERA? Will you miss the game? Will you give it another look before the shutdown, or have you long since moved on from the MMORPG?

However, TERA is not the first MMORPG to be shut down in 2022:

2022 has already claimed 2 MMORPGs – One of them is now dying for the second time

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

WoW streamer praises Dragonflight: ‘This is everything I wanted to see’

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

Dragonflight is well received – at least by the WoW streamer Asmongold. He feels heard and sees a lot of good in the next Azeroth adventure.

The well-known streamer Asmongold is one of the biggest fans of World of Warcraft, but at the same time, he is also one of the biggest critics. Especially in the last few months, the criticism often prevailed, so he even took a break from WoW and devoted himself to other MMORPGs like Final Fantasy XIV or Lost Ark. However, he was back for the announcement of the new WoW expansion – and is thoroughly enthusiastic.

With all the announcements, Asmongold’s grin gets wider and he seems surprised at how often the developers say exactly what he wanted to hear:

Holy F*ck, man! Oh my God. I can’t keep up with everything. This is just crazy. Overall, this is damn great.

Asmongold is particularly excited about the overhaul of talents and the fact that there is apparently no “Borrowed Power” this time – meaning no system where players receive a temporary power that significantly impacts their playstyle and is lost at the end of the expansion.

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At the announcement of the “Dracthyr Callers”, the new race-class combo in Dragonflight, he is blown away:

This is a pretty bold step, bringing in a whole new race and limiting them to a single class. If they want to do that, I’m on board. The new dragon characters look damn great.

The other dragon features are also well received by Asmongold. The dragon riding, in particular, seems to him a meaningful expansion to flying and he particularly likes the possible customization:

I’m so glad they are doing this. Do you remember when I said they should do this with a basic version of the Alliance horse or Horde wolf? Now they are doing it and everyone gets a dragon!

However, there are a few minor uncertainties for Asmongold. He is not sure whether the overhaul of professions with the specializations and item quality levels will really pay off as Blizzard envisions. But even here he is satisfied that the developers are willing to experiment to bring fresh air to old features. After all, there is still plenty of time to fix problems or make adjustments – a beta hasn’t even started yet, but you can already sign up.

More about WoW and Dragonflight can be found here:

In summary, the announcement of Dragonflight seems to have said and shown all the things that Asmongold wished for World of Warcraft. As a long-time WoW veteran, he seems extremely pleased with the return to a more traditional story, less “Borrowed Power”, and a cool new class with a unique look.

Now WoW: Dragonflight just has to prove that what has been shown and the words of the developers hold what they have promised. Sooner or later, a look at the beta, which you can already sign up for, should provide clarity.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

User shows how dangerous a simple tool for your gaming PC can be

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 2 minutes

A user bought a new gaming PC, but he constantly received annoying electric shocks. He ultimately found the source of the problem in a household appliance.

Anyone buying a new gaming PC is initially excited about the new hardware and – in most cases – significantly more performance. However, a user had little joy at the start of his gaming career.

Because with every touch of his computer, he received severe electric shocks. He eventually found the solution to the problem in his air purifier, which he had plugged in the same room.

Air purifiers are supposed to ensure clean air but instead cause annoying problems

What exactly happened? A user invested money and bought a new gaming PC and new peripherals. But a few weeks later, the problems started. He writes in his post on reddit:

A few weeks later I touch the metal button and get an electric shock, no big deal, I think, probably a static charge. But it happens again and again, pretty big shocks. I work in the automotive industry and am a computer technician; I often get electric shocks from random circuits.

At first, he suspected that it must be his keyboard. But he also received an electric shock when he unplugged his headset from the PC. And the headset was connected via USB. He then feared that either his power supply was faulty or that his apartment was not properly grounded.

He checked the grounding of his keyboard with a multimeter – everything seemed to be in order there.

Eventually, he did replace his power supply. However, the problems persisted. As another step, he switched off all electrical devices in the room and plugged each one in individually in combination with his computer.

Here he found that the culprit was the air purifier. Because the user uses an ionized air purifier for his room where the computer is located:

Well, these little ionized particles probably settled on my PC, power supply, and so on, causing some of the weird little shocks I received.

In the meantime, he has turned off the ionization feature of the air purifier. Since then, he has had no more problems.

More on the topic
5 Euros and a screwdriver solved my biggest problem in the gaming PC
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Ionized air purifiers and their usefulness are controversial

Ionized air purifiers are considered controversial tools. The air purifiers are said to significantly reduce dust as the ions bind the dust. However, the problem is that ozone is produced in the process. The reactive gas ozone is germicidal but can irritate the airways even in small amounts. Because of its germicidal effect, the gas is mainly used in industry.

Furthermore, it has not yet been 100% proven how effective ionization actually is and how the feature affects viruses (via umweltbundesamt.de).

A well-known tech YouTuber has also shown that you shouldn’t use every cable in your computer. Because in the worst case, you not only damage your gaming PC, but you could even be facing a residential fire:

YouTuber shows how you can ruin your gaming PC with a single cable

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

The really good MMORPG about The Lord of the Rings is making many contents free starting today – Excites the players

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 4 minutes

For 15 years, Lord of the Rings Online has immersed players in the world of Middle-earth. To celebrate the anniversary, there is now a big birthday event – and plenty of gifts for the players.

This is happening for the 15th anniversary: In Lord of the Rings Online, there will be a big 15-year celebration featuring a new quest. Among other things, a fantastic fireworks display is set to be launched for the birthday.

Additionally, there are some new contents, such as the new Corgi pet. This dog will be available as a gift for the birthday event, and more can be obtained in exchange for anniversary coins, festival coins, or mithril coins.

Furthermore, the gifts during the event include collector’s editions of the Mordor expansion, Minas Morgul expansion, and the War of the Three Peaks, which will bring some content, as well as the “Horse of Starlight.”

These are just some of the many gifts that players can secure for the birthday event. You can find the complete list in the patch notes (via Lord of the Rings Online).

How do I get the gifts? To receive the birthday gifts, players just need to log in between April 20 (4:00 PM) and May 11 (9:00 AM) and be at least level 2.

Lord of the Rings Online Corgis
Charge into battle with Corgis – Soon an option

But there is much more to come: In addition to the birthday gifts, Update 33 also brings a major upgrade for F2P players since numerous contents will become playable from then on.

Quests, classes, and more: Lord of the Rings Online brings more content for F2P players

This is changing now: Several points are mentioned in the announcement of the new update. As stated in a producer letter a few weeks ago, all content released between the launch of HDRO and the Helm’s Deep expansion will be playable for free.

This also includes the entire High Elf race, as well as the classes Runekeeper, Guardian, and Beorning, plus much more.

Among other things, quest packs, instances, regions, and skirmishes up to level 95 will be playable for free. This includes content from:

  • The Shadows of Angmar (base game)
  • The Mines of Moria
  • The Siege of Mirkwood
  • The Rise of Isengard
  • The Riders of Rohan
  • Helm’s Deep

The detailed list looks as follows:

  • Expansion Quests: Helm’s Deep, Isengard, Mirkwood, Moria, Rohan
  • Instance Group: Isengard, Rohan
  • Instances: Hall of Night, Abandoned Inn
  • Quest Packs: Eriador Pack, Angmar, Enedwaith, Eregion, Evendim, Forochel, Great River, Lorien, Misty Mountains, North Downs, Trollshaws.
  • Raid: Draigoch’s Lair,
  • Skirmish: Assault at Dawn, The Defense of the “Prancing Pony”, Bruinen Ford, Battle at Amon Sûl, The Storm on Methedras, Survival: Barrow-downs, The Icy Chasm, Burglary and Mischief.
  • Eriador Pack includes: Quest Pack: Angmar, Quest Pack: Enedwaith, Quest Pack: Eregion, Quest Pack: Evendim, Quest Pack: Forochel, Quest Pack: Misty Mountains, Quest Pack: North Downs, and Quest Pack: Trollshaws.

Additionally, VIP players will also receive the expansions Mordor, Minas Morgul, and the “War of the Three Peaks” in the standard edition as a permanent bonus. The Gundabad expansion is still missing.

What’s coming next? In Update 33, the “Far Auen” will be released as a new adventure pack, which will focus on a Hobbit conflict. It is intended for characters between level 20 and 23 and will be available for free for VIPs or can be purchased in the shop.

Lord of the Rings Online Far Auen
The “Far Auen” expand the Shire

Players are excited about gifts

This is how players react: If you look at the Games or HDRO subreddit, the many contents that are now playable for free are well received.

  • “The fact that they are giving all this away to everyone is quite impressive. I can’t wait for tomorrow,” writes user “ACloudCastle” (via reddit).
  • “It’s hard to describe how much content is being given away here, but keep in mind that LOTRO has been regularly updated with new content since 2007. Basically, 75% of that is F2P (up to level 95) and another part is being given away during the anniversary event,” summarizes another user (via reddit).
  • “I wish I had started playing LOTRO again now instead of a few months ago when I bought all the stuff at full price,” writes one user (via reddit): “Nevertheless, it’s good news because I haven’t acquired everything yet!”

This is how HDRO is currently rated: If you take a look at the Steam ratings, Lord of the Rings Online is currently rated as “very positive,” with 81% positive ratings out of over 15,000 total ratings (via Steam). It is among the highest-rated MMORPGs on Steam.

The atmosphere in the game, which brings Middle-earth to life – including landscapes and locations from the books – is praised. Criticism, however, is directed at the somewhat outdated graphics, occasional performance issues, and various paywalls.

However, it is quite possible that this last point will not weigh as heavily in light of the new F2P content in the future.

What do you think about the MMORPG Lord of the Rings? Are you checking out the new update, or is that not for you? You can find some exciting alternatives in the list of the best current free-to-play MMORPGs.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.