In Pokémon GO, you can secure a free box daily. Now trainers on social media are showing that a brilliant trick is finally back, making these contents better. We at MeinMMO will show you what it’s about and what items other trainers have received through it.
What kind of boxes are we talking about? In the in-game shop of Pokémon GO, you have the option to purchase various boxes. Typically, this costs a certain number of Poké Coins. However, you also receive a free box every day, known as the “Daily Box.”
This usually brings you rather uninteresting items, like Poké Balls, berries, or potions. But now trainers in the reddit community have discovered that a brilliant trick is back, which makes these boxes better. We will show you what happened.
What trick have trainers found?
A few weeks ago, some trainers reported that the contents of their Daily Boxes changed throughout the day. In the morning, they had the usual uninteresting items in the package, and in the evening, suddenly really good stuff, like Snorlax, Up-Grades, or Ultra Balls.
For this reason, it was sensible to wait before opening the free boxes. Meanwhile, this mechanism has calmed down. However, this brilliant trick is said to finally be back.
What happened to the boxes? As numerous trainers report on social media, their Daily Boxes have improved throughout the day again. The reddit user kpopthrowaway101 writes that he has already received a really strong box for two consecutive nights.
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Accordingly, he received 2 Elite TMs, a Super Incubator, a Snorlax, and 3 Lucky Eggs one day. The other day, there were 3 Rocket Radar, 2 Incense, and 2 Sinnoh Stones in his free Daily Box.
These gadgets are very helpful in the game and greatly enhance the free boxes. For example, by feeding your buddy with Snorlax, you can earn more hearts. Additionally, Sinnoh Stones help you evolve various Pokémon. A list of all evolution items can be found in our related article:
What experiences have other trainers had with the brilliant trick?
But other trainers can also confirm this change. In the comments, numerous reports can be found stating their boxes suddenly improved (via reddit.com):
big_sugi: “From three accounts, two received a Super Incubator and half a dozen special candies, and one received a Remote Raid Pass and seven special candies.”
Pinkbeans1: “I thought this was a scam because I never noticed a renewal. Today, 4 Poké Balls in the morning, I didn’t collect. Just now, 3 special candies, 2 Metal Coats, and 2 something I can’t remember. Quite cool!”
jdpatric: “HOLY COW! I hadn’t checked my box today. When I went to claim it, my bag was full, so I ignored it. It got updated and changed to: 2x King’s Rock, 2x Premium Battle Pass, 2x Up-Grade, 1x Incense”
However, not all trainers have such luck. There are also reports from players whose box contents have not changed so far (via reddit.com):
Frostblue4711: “Like every day Poké Balls, potions, if I’m lucky I get a few Great Balls. Since the boxes came, I’ve never received anything else.”
blubberblabla: “Wow, and I get 4 Poké Balls here every day”
Heavy-Background-217: “Cool, I got 4 Poké Balls yesterday and today it’s not much better.”
But when do the contents of the boxes actually change?
After numerous trainers have already benefited from the changed contents in the Daily Boxes, they are now trying to find out when these will change. There is no official statement from Niantic on this. Therefore, reddit users are formulating their own theories and have already made a speculation (via reddit.com):
thebetabruh: “Mine definitely reset at 1 PM PST”
kpopthrowaway101: “In the last two days, it happened to be 10:55 PM CET. Seems to be after the alleged reset time of 1 PM PST.”
Teban: “Hypothesis: Does the Daily Box have a chance to change after Niantic time (1 PM PST)? Or 4 PM local time?”
KuriboShoeMario: “I also made a speculation, mine was reset after 4 PM EST and changed. Mine also changed yesterday (April 5th) and I claimed it at 5 PM EST because the game literally wouldn’t let me pick up the usual junk box, so I had to close and reopen the shop to find a restocked box.”
When exactly the Daily Boxes are restocked is not known. It is best to wait until the evening to open your boxes. If there really is a box reset at 1 PM PST, that would correspond to 10 PM German time.
Moreover, it is not clear whether all trainers can benefit from this trick or if it is a test run by Niantic with a selected group of players. Alternatively, a bug could also be conceivable. Should there be new information regarding this, you will naturally find out here at MeinMMO.
Have you also noticed an improvement in the contents of your daily free box? What items have you been able to get? Or have you had less luck in this regard? Feel free to share your opinion and experience here in the comments on MeinMMO.
Playing solo and getting tier sets? You can do that in World of Warcraft. We will tell you how to get the cool set pieces.
Tier sets are among the most popular items in World of Warcraft. No wonder, as they not only provide extremely strong bonuses but also usually have a really nice design and look impressive. Almost “secretly,” Blizzard has now implemented a new way for players to earn tier sets – without having to do any group activity at all. We explain how this works.
Which items are we talking about? We’re talking about the items that you can buy for “Sandy Relic.” These are badges that you can earn in the open world of Zereth Mortis – especially in the desert area, there are relics, from rare enemies, a daily chest, and sometimes also through daily quests.
The items that were available for the badges were already out of favor with the community. Many players didn’t understand what purpose these items were supposed to serve, which led to severe criticism.
What has Blizzard changed? With a hotfix, Blizzard has now adjusted the items sold by the vendor Rafiq so that they can also be used with the Creation Catalyst! This means that you can now create tier set pieces from items with an item level of 246.
This is especially beneficial for players who do not participate in group content at all, only visit the LFR, or simply have no drop luck.
Since you can buy specific items with the relics, you have full control over which slot you want to convert into a tier set.
The “Creation Catalyst” – reachable with the flying mount.
How do you create tier sets from it? You simply need to travel to the Creation Catalyst once it is unlocked. That should be with the next maintenance, on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.
You can find the Creation Catalyst at coordinates 48 / 89 – you have already visited it as part of the Covenant campaign to charge a key stone with energy.
The Creation Catalyst allows you to convert items from PvP or Mythic+ into tier set pieces – or from “Open World Content.” The item level of the item remains, but it takes on the stats that would be appropriate for the corresponding set piece.
You have obtained the set helm of your tier set from the LFR, but only at item level 239. However, you received a great helm with item level 265 from a “Mythic+” dungeon. You can now go to the Creation Catalyst and turn your 265 Dungeon Helm into a tier set helm at level 265.
Or perhaps you just have no drop luck with tier set pieces, but have earned a strong shoulder at item level 265 in PvP. You can throw the shoulder into the Catalyst and create a tier set piece from it.
However, the Catalyst has a cooldown. You can initially use it only once a week, but the cooldown will become shorter over the weeks. Later, you will be able to create a tier set piece every other day. Thus, the Catalyst is a mechanism designed to help mitigate particularly bad luck, but it is not the sole way to obtain tier set items.
Also note that each use of the Catalyst requires the resource Cosmic Flux. However, anyone who has farmed somewhat diligently since the release of the patch should not encounter any issues soon.
What do you think of this mechanism? A cool thing to help those who have bad luck? Or should one have to “work hard” for tier sets and only obtain them from raids?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The PvP system of Elden Ring is unusual but very popular in parts of the community. However, more and more players are revealing a major weakness and are using it unfairly to farm AFK runes.
This is how PvP works in Elden Ring: There are 2 different types. The invasions and duels. In this case, it is about the invasion mechanics.
Players can invade the worlds of other players as intruders. And here, more and more “invaders” are encountering a problem: players farming AFK runes. They have set up a kind of trap for intruders, which the developers probably did not intend at all.
Start video
Everything you need to know about the multiplayer in Elden Ring
This is the problem:
Some players exploit a kind of loophole in the PvP of Elden Ring to farm AFK runes and rune arcs. They deliberately accept ruining PvP for others.
They simply sit at a specific spot and leave their character there while they go about their business.
The spot is crucial, as it must only be reachable by horse. Because that is not available online.
If the player is visited by an invader, the invader cannot reach him.
Now the only way out for the intruder is: capitulation and return to their own game world. There are two ways to do this: you either jump into the next abyss or use a special item.
If you simply jump to your death, the host of the affected world gets runes, and your death counts as a kill. AFK players exploit this and continuously collect runes from unsuspecting PvP players who eventually give up and jump to their death. However, they want to fight back now.
This is how players are reacting to AFK farmers: Especially PvP fans who enjoy invading other game worlds are not at all happy with this method.
On Twitter, RKirby808 writes that the problem is getting bigger. If the developers at FromSoftware don’t do something soon, soon “fewer and fewer will care about fairness.”
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Primarily, PvP players are simply annoyed by this trick and the players who use it. Many point out that the method isn’t even particularly efficient.
Because you need “luck” and have to attract enough intruders to get runes. If there are few players on the servers, the yield is minimal.
The game also offers plenty of more effective farming methods for runes. Though you have to actively play for this, you can gather a multiple of the runes in a shorter time – without ruining PvP for others.
“Thanks for the heads-up! PvP is in such a sad state…. I hope things get smoothed out soon and all these lame bugs get fixed,” writes Adam Barker.
Fia’s Frenzied Champion says: “Oh my God, thank you for this post. […] This definitely needs to be fixed.”
Most like vibing in the deadlights hope for quick patches: “It would be nice if they could do something about this as well. This is probably the third time I’ve come across something like this.” Overall, many PvP fans are rather disappointed with the current state of Elden Ring.
Because besides such issues, there are also other bugs and exploits that players exploit in multiplayer.
Is there a trick to avoid this? Unfortunately, you cannot control whose game world you invade. You only have two options to “punish” AFK farming.
Fortunately, if you are lucky, you can still catch the host depending on their hiding spot using the corresponding spells, abilities, and summons that have a high range. Like in this case:
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The hero Zarya in Overwatch received some adjustments to her skins. Blizzard has not commented on this further, but it is obvious why the symbols have disappeared: One symbol worn by Zarya became a pro-Russian symbol of the war in Ukraine.
What happened to the skins? In Overwatch, a new event started on April 5. Fans noticed that Blizzard had altered Zarya’s skins. Previously, there was a “Z” on the skins, which Blizzard has now removed.
We show you on MeinMMO what the background of this change is and how players are reacting.
Two Zarya skins have been modified
Why did this happen now? In the new Overwatch Anniversary Remix event, old skins that were particularly popular with players have returned. Reddit users quickly noticed that two of these old skins are now altered in the game. The Russian hero Zarya (according to lore, she belonged to the Russian defense forces) has a wide variety of skins. The Arctic skin and the Siberian Front skin have now been changed – the letter “Z” has been removed from them.
The differences in the skins are shown by Reddit user Proto_VI. Below the fur collar, the old versions of the skins reveal the white “Z”.
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What is behind this? On the skins in Overwatch, the letter Z originally stood for Zarya, but in connection with the current war in Ukraine, the letter has received a lot of attention:
The letter was already seen on tanks and other military vehicles in recent weeks.
The “Z” is considered a symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In Germany, displaying the symbol may be punishable as it can be perceived as public approval of the Russian war against Ukraine (via Tagesschau.de).
Our expertise at MeinMMO relates to gaming. If you want to learn more about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, we recommend checking official sources or news magazines:
– Ukraine Live Blog (via Zeit) – War in Ukraine (via nzz) – Solidarity with Ukraine (via auswärtiges-amt)
Important Note:If you are struggling with dark thoughts due to the current situation: You are not alone. Please seek help. For example, from the telephone counseling service at 0800/111 0 111 or the online counseling, where you can also use a chat. It’s free and applies nationwide.
There has been no public statement from Blizzard regarding the changes to the skins. However, it is believed that Zarya should not represent the symbol of the invasion of Ukraine and that the change to Zarya should make it clear that they are distancing themselves from it.
What does the “Z” stand for? There are several theories about why a “Z” is used as a symbol:
Tagesschau believes that the “Z” stands for “Za Pobedu” – “For Victory” (via tagesschau.de)
others think it might stand for “Zapad” (West)
or it is speculated that the “Z” is a reference to the name of the Ukrainian president Zelenskyy (via dasding.de)
In 2021, Blizzard made changes to a hero previously known as McCree. After a sexism scandal involving allegations against the namesake employee Jesse McCree, Blizzard wanted to clearly distance itself.
In Lost Ark, there are six attributes you can have on your gear. However, most players only find three of them truly useful in PvE endgame, while the others are referred to as the “bad stats”. We will tell you which attributes you should avoid and why.
Which attributes are the “bad” ones? The bad attributes are:
Mastery
Competence
Toughness
At least that’s what user Civocivocivo says, who just created the reddit thread with the most upvotes on Lost Ark (via reddit). He criticizes that even players with high gear scores often rely on the wrong stats. In the comments, he receives a lot of support for his statement and his overview.
He even calls the three attributes useless and claims that in Korea, players are immediately sorted out in endgame if they use these attributes. This should slowly catch on in the West as well.
What exactly is the problem? While the other attributes – Crit, Specialization, and Agility – significantly increase damage, the three “bad stats” provide specific or defensive bonuses. However, that is supposed to be unimportant and counterproductive in the later dungeons.
Start video
Everything you need to know about Lost Ark’s endgame – in the video
More damage and fewer cooldowns are the best defense
What exactly do the attributes do?
Mastery increases damage to enemies that have been knocked back, staggered, and/or inflicted with debuffs. The problem is, however, that bosses in PvE are often immune to CC.
Competence increases the duration of debuffs and the damage you inflict with them. Moreover, the duration of debuffs on yourself is reduced.
Toughness, on the other hand, increases your defense, shields, and healing.
Toughness still sounds interesting on paper for the support classes Bard and Paladin, but even they focus on Specialization and Agility in endgame, as they strengthen class abilities and reduce the cooldown of skills.
Crit increases the chance of a critical hit.
Specialization enhances your class-specific abilities on X and Y, as well as the damage of the Awakening ability.
Agility increases your movement and attack speed and also reduces the cooldown on skills.
How big is the difference between the stats? Enormous. The reddit user mentioned two examples in his thread.
As a Shadow Hunter with only 200 Specialization, you deal 17% more damage with abilities in Demon form and the duration of the form is increased by 8.5%. In contrast, someone with 1,200 Specialization deals 103% more damage and extends the duration by 51.5%.
Those who use the rotation correctly are said to be able to deal a total of 83% more damage and also return to Demon form after each rotation of the regular abilities.
As a second example, he shows the damage of the Death Blade when attacking with the Surge skill from behind the enemy. With 200 Specialization, it deals 1.72 million damage, while with 1,200 Specialization it deals 3.38 million.
This is an example with the Death Blade from the reddit thread.
As a rule of thumb, many say: The faster you deal damage and the fewer cooldowns on your abilities, the less you have to deal with boss mechanics. Attack is, therefore, the best defense in Lost Ark.
Mastery plays a role in PvP
Can the “bad stats” not be used at all? In PvE, the stats don’t matter and should be ignored by you. In PvP, it’s a bit different.
Especially the attribute Mastery plays a more important role there, as you generally want to incapacitate enemies with CC. It is practical to deal more damage at the same time. For example, Paladins, War Dancers, or Soul Fist utilize Mastery.
Some guides and builds also suggest skilling some Toughness when doing PvP. However, this varies from class to class and build to build.
However, in arena PvP, gear doesn’t matter; instead, you simply choose your preferred attributes before the fight. So you don’t need gear with the appropriate attributes.
What do you think about this statement regarding attributes? And will you only use the three good stats in the future, or will you not let that dictate your choices?
In Pokémon GO the Spring Event will start in a few days. You can look forward to many special spawns, cute costumes, and cool bonuses. Also, a new monster will be making its debut in the game. We at MeinMMO have looked into what you can look forward to.
What kind of event is it? In line with the start of spring and the upcoming Easter festivities, a special Spring Event is taking place in Pokémon GO. You will primarily encounter monsters that fit the theme. Additionally, the debut of a new legendary Pokémon awaits you.
Mini-event for the Special Research “Egg Report: Spring Surprise”
When does the Spring Event take place? The Spring Event starts on April 12, 2022, at 10:00 AM local time and runs through Easter weekend, ending on April 18, 2022, at 8:00 PM local time.
Kapu-Toro and new costumes for the Spring Event
With the start of the Spring Event, the journey in the Alola region continues. For this reason, Kapu-Toro, the guardian of the Ula-Ula island, makes its debut in the game. The legendary Pokémon is a monster of the Grass and Fairy type. It has no pre-evolutions or evolutions.
You can recognize Kapu-Toro by its black, sturdy body and dark horns. On its head, it also wears two red shells that it can close for protection, just like you know from Kapu-Riki and Kapu-Fala.
Additionally, the golden bell on its tail as well as its golden hoof-like hands are distinctive. As a Shiny, it will not be available in the game yet. You can find Kapu-Toro in Level-5 raids starting April 12.
Kapu-Toro as a new legendary raid boss
The new costumes for the Spring Event
Besides the newcomer Kapu-Toro, you can also look forward to new costumed Pokémon. As you could already see in the first finds of the Easter Event, Togetic, Togekiss, and Schlapor will appear in the game with flower crowns during the event.
While you can encounter the costumed Togetic in the wild, you can secure Togekiss and Schlapor by evolving a costumed Togetic and Haspiror.
The new costumed Pokémon
All spawns for the Spring Event
As you know from other events in Pokémon GO, numerous spawns will also be adjusted for the Spring Event. The following Pokémon can be found during the event period:
In the wild:
Pikachu with flower crown*
Nidoran male*
Nidoran female*
Pummelluff*
Evoli with flower crown*
Flurmel*
Haspiror with flower crown*
Scoppel*
Chaneira with flower crown*
Togetic with flower crown*
From 2 km eggs:
Pichu with flower crown*
Fluffeluff*
Azurill*
Mampfaxo
Wonneira with flower crown*
Togepi with flower crown*
Owei*
Klingplim
Riolu*
In Level-5 raids:
Kapu-Toro
All Pokémon that you can also encounter in their Shiny form are marked with a star (*).
All bonuses for the Spring Event
During the Spring Event, you can again look forward to numerous bonuses. We have summarized what to expect below:
double candy when hatching
half hatch distance for eggs
Lucky Eggs last twice as long
you will encounter more Rocket Grunt with Crypto-Flurmel and Crypto-Owei
Event field research
Encounter with Evoli with flower crown*, Pikachu with flower crown*, Haspiror with flower crown*, Chaneira with flower crown*
Special research for the island of Ulm-Ula starts
flower collector challenge
Reward: 2,000 XP, 2,000 Stardust, encounter with Togetic with flower crown*
Mini-event for the Limited Research “Egg Report: Spring Surprise”
GO Battle Day: Beginner’s Paradise
New stickers from gifts and at PokéStops as well as in the in-game shop
These are the new stickers
The mini-event for the Limited Research “Egg Report: Spring Surprise”
What kind of event is this? Around the Limited Research “Egg Report: Spring Surprise,” a mini-event will take place on Saturday, April 16th. During this, you will receive additional bonuses and altered spawns. The following bonuses and spawns await you:
double XP when catching
Tasks for limited research can be obtained by spinning PokéStops (encounter with Owei*)
Owei can be evolved into Alola-Kokowei* during the mini-event
Alola-Kokowei gets the event charge attack Draco Meteor when evolving
the ongoing bonuses of the Spring Event continue
All wild spawns during the mini-event:
Bisasam*
Myrapla*
Paras*
Knofensa*
Tangela*
Endivie*
Sonnkern*
Geckarbor*
Samurzel*
When does the mini-event start? The mini-event for “Egg Report: Spring Surprise” takes place on April 16, 2022, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM local time.
What do you think of the spawns and bonuses for the Spring Event? Which monster are you particularly looking forward to? Or do you find the contents rather boring and hoped for other Pokémon and special features? Feel free to share your opinion here on MeinMMO in the comments and discuss with other trainers.
The PlayStation 5 combines powerful technology with modern design. However, due to the design of the PS5, it is not entirely clear how to properly insert a CD into the drive. MeinMMO clarifies the issue and shows which side is the top and which side is the bottom – for versions with and without a drive.
PS5: How do you insert the CD? Look at your PS5 and find the cut-out PlayStation symbol in one of the corners. The side with the symbol indicates the top side.
Accordingly, the side with the drive is the bottom side. The printed side of a CD must face towards the black front.
This can be quite confusing if you always have the PS5 standing vertically.
What happens if I insert the CD the wrong way? You don’t need to worry that it will cause any damage.
The PS5 will try to read the disk for a while and then give a message that the CD was not recognized:
Is the side with the PlayStation symbol always on top? Yes, without exception. You can remove the side plates, but they can only be reattached in the correct position.
In the PS5 version with a drive, this is more obvious: The CD drive has a cut-out for the slot to insert.
However, in the digital version without a drive, the side plates are very similar. However, the plates can also only be reattached as intended.
The cut-out PS symbol is always the top side. Under the side without the symbol, the drives are installed.
The fish stick pizza roamed as a meme through Twitter Germany for three years. Since April 1st, it has become a reality. Since then, MeinMMO‘s editor-in-chief Leya has been repeatedly wandering around the refrigerated section and has finally decided to grab and try the trend pizza.
Pizza is one of the most essential staple foods at LAN parties and thus part of gaming culture. That’s why most of us hanging out on a gaming website probably have a special relationship with the Italian flatbread.
The fish stick pizza is something very special. Let me tell you about the dream of a young man who was brave enough to voice his questionable genius idea – and that in public on Twitter – before I get to the review of the pizza.
On November 12, 2018, Stullen-Andreas was outraged: “We have 2018 and there is still no fish stick pizza”
From there, everything developed a strange dynamic for more than three years. Andy and his community repeatedly bugged the manufacturer Dr. Oetker and whined and demanded the fish stick pizza.
The fish stick pizza meme enjoyed great popularity in the gaming bubble
Since pizza holds a special status in the gaming community, it fueled the meme surrounding the fish stick pizza in recent years. Part of it is Fabian Döhla, who famously leaked the final design of Microsoft’s Xbox in a Giga TV show in 2000. Today, he is responsible for PR at CD Projekt Red and has also become a gaming influencer himself.
There is always banter between the Twitter channel of Dr. Oetker Pizza and Fabian Döhla. Part of the banter also included the fish stick pizza: Fabian Döhla called for it, Dr. Oetker Pizza acted annoyed. Very serious fan theories even suggest that Döhla himself operates the Twitter account of Dr. Oetker Pizza.
One definitely gets the feeling that the person behind the channel is deeply embedded in gaming, as they consistently engage in the bubble on Twitter. They probably just know their target audience well.
On April 1st, the meme pizza hit the market
A week ago it finally happened, and Dr. Oetker actually brought the fish stick pizza, together with the supermarket chain Edeka, to market.
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Since then, this cursed pizza has been seductively staring at me from the refrigerated section every time! Of course, I have been following the meme over the past few years. In the first days, I internally resisted giving in to the internet hype.
This old pizza with fish sticks surely wouldn’t taste good anyway. Who comes up with such an idea?
However, after 6 days I capitulated. I HAD to try this crazy combination now.
This is how my culinary experience with the fish stick pizza went
Now that you know the whole backstory of the pizza, I obviously don’t want to withhold the details of my munching on the fish stick pizza from you.
The pizza comes out of the packaging as chaotically as its creation is.
When I freed the pizza from its cardboard box, I saw sticks scattered everywhere and pure chaos. The sticks lie on a bed of spinach and cheese mixture. Before I put the pizza in the oven, I rearranged the sticks so that, like on the packaging, they formed a circle around the pizza.
At that point, I was already quite hungry, pacing around the oven like a tiger, waiting. Observing. How would the crust of the sticks develop? Would they become crispy?
Baked to perfection, the pizza actually looks appetizing.
The fish sticks on the pizza actually develop a nice golden brown crust and do not become soggy. This, of course, only applies to the top side. The bottom side becomes soggy and merges with the cheese and spinach. You must already like the consistency of that.
The moment of truth had arrived. How will the fish stick pizza taste?
Initially, the fish stick pizza is strange, then somehow awesome.
Since I am not a professional food critic, I don’t know how to evaluate and describe food professionally.
I can only say in an amateurish way that the fish stick pizza tastes somehow awesome.
What I particularly like is the combination of spinach and fish. It’s just that the spinach and cheese underneath soften the fish stick slightly, allowing the three flavors to intensively merge together, creating a round taste.
If you don’t gross out too much at the thought of eating fish sticks in combination with pizza, I can already recommend trying it at least once. The taste is definitely unique.
Also, the story behind the fish stick pizza is simply absurdly delightful.
However, Andy’s fight is far from over! The fish stick pizza is currently just a limited edition. Whether the pizza will get a permanent place in the product range is still up in the air.
In almost every open-world game, there is a map feature that provides an overview of the respective game world. In Elden Ring, the map also plays a very important role. All information about it can be found here in our map guide.
Anyone who plays open-world games regularly knows the typical maps that these titles provide to help navigate the world.
Here you have all sorts of forms, from rough models like in Cyberpunk 2077, detailed interactive maps like in Skyrim, to real maps like in GTA Online.
While most maps show many, if not all, important points in the game world beforehand, the map in Elden Ring is almost empty at the beginning. How you gradually reveal it, how to use it, and why you should do so can be learned here.
Update, April 7: We have updated the article and linked another interactive map.
Elden Ring – Uncovering the Map and Discovering the Lands Between
At the start of the game, the map of Elden Ring looks like this:
Initially, you haven’t seen anything of the game world, the Lands Between. However, you will find map fragments in the game to gradually reveal all areas and make visible what awaits you in which regions.
How can I unlock additional sections? First, you should just get started and explore the game world. There are several factors that will guide you along the way.
For example, when you rest at Sites of Grace, you will see a golden aura floating in a certain direction.
This roughly indicates the direction you need to go for the next story objective.
Traveling in the game world won’t reveal the map, but you can at least make a “cloud cover” disappear, under which faintly drawn paths will emerge.
You should take a closer look at these paths because you will keep finding these pillars:
You will find map fragments at these pillars.
How do I find these pillars? This guide will not list the exact locations, but we will give you some tips that will help you find the map pieces yourself.
The pillars are usually not far from areas where the region can be accessed.
Normally, when exploring and following visible paths, you will come close to such a pillar sooner or later.
So keep an eye on your map while exploring a new area. Once you discover roads, you can assume they will lead you to a map.
However, in later areas, it might become more difficult to reach the map fragments. However, it’s worth it because the map is a very valuable tool in Elden Ring. Not only for navigation but also for finding interesting places and important things.
The Map of Elden Ring and Its Functions
What is the map actually for? Unlike other open-world games, even an uncovered map is not a universal tool.
Unlike in games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or The Witcher 3, the map isn’t filled with question marks. The game world is packed with optional dungeons, bosses, interesting places, and loot, but you have to discover them yourself first.
The map only shows you a drawn picture of the surface. Dungeons located underground are usually not visible on the map.
Numerous ruins and buildings can be recognized directly even without markings. Once found, they will be displayed to you permanently.
Thus, it’s up to you to study the map and consider, based on the geographical features, where a secret might lie. However, the map also provides sufficient means for this.
These are the map’s functions:
You can make manual markings at specific points using various symbols that indicate something.
This can be, for example, a skull that marks an optional boss you want to return to at a later time.
You can also plan routes using number markings from 1 to 5 that lead you to the next objective.
How do I find interesting places? The combination of the tools listed above and the drawn map allows you to figure out where the next dungeon might be based on the landscape and buildings.
Some buildings also have recurring architectural structures, which allow you to gauge what encounter or type of reward may await you. Simple ruins are usually inconspicuous but often hide a valuable treasure.
They are very easy to spot on the map. The same applies to many other things.
Interactive Map for the 6 Huge Areas of Elden Ring
How big is the game world of Elden Ring? The expanse of the Lands Between, with its vast open areas, elaborate legacy dungeons, and optional locations, is gigantic.
Thus, it is difficult to say how large it actually is.
There are 6 large areas, each with a main boss, which are also the target of the main story.
In addition, there are dozens of caves, ruins, fortresses, and other places that you can visit regardless.
Furthermore, there are also some secret and optional areas that expand it even more.
The website mapgenie.io specializes in maps for game worlds and has published a work-in-progress map for Elden Ring. It can give you more detailed insights into the various places in the world:
Here you can see the full map. If you prefer to be surprised, avoid this box.The map is still a work in progress. mapgenie.com
Alternatively, there is also the interactive map from Elden Ring-Wiki Fextralife.com.
For those who absolutely have no issues with spoilers, you can take a closer look at this video to see the scale of the surface world:
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The Cycle: Frontier is the latest shooter hope, even before it hits the market. The closed beta thrilled players and viewers on Twitch. As part of Find Your Next Game, MeinMMO author Marko spoke with the game designer and community & player support lead from the Berlin studio YAGER.
Genre: PvPvE shooter | Developer: YAGER | Platform: PC | Release: April 2022
When the Berlin development studio YAGER launched a game called The Cycle in early access, it was the year 2019. It was the year of Battle Royale: Fortnite had its first world championship, a new blockbuster appeared on the market with Apex Legends, and fans of Call of Duty were eagerly absorbing rumors of an upcoming battle royale mode.
Also, The Cycle was such a battle royale and aimed to stand out from its PvP competition with PvE and survival elements. A storm made the map smaller over time, but you could also simply collect crystals or complete missions to succeed.
This attempt at the battle royale formula had fans, but it was unsuccessful. But instead of completely giving up on The Cycle and turning to new projects, YAGER found another way.
The Cycle: Frontier invites you to the final beta in the trailer, for the first time with story events
Currently, The Cycle: Frontier is in closed beta 2, with the release tentatively scheduled for April 2022 – but they do not want to commit to a specific date.
During a one-hour gameplay session, I talked with 2 developers about the consequences of this radical decision and pondered why this type of game seems to have become a German specialty.
The Cycle is dead – Long live The Cycle: Frontier?
In the lively interview, my conversation partners Mando and Flo from YAGER were present. Mando is the game designer at The Cycle: Frontier, and Flo is the community & player support lead.
With this combination, I was able to gain many insights about The Cycle: Frontier from very different perspectives. But whether it was about the gameplay or the community of the shooter, both Mando and Flo spoke very openly about particularly 2 other games: Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown.
Insights from my gameplay session with the developers of The Cycle: Frontier
Because both games have a major similarity with the new “The Cycle”: The gameplay loop around the right gear before a match, the search for loot as the core element, the extraction at the end of the round, and the constant danger of losing everything with a wrong move.
Game designer Mando describes the optimal player experience in The Cycle: Frontier as follows:
Ideally, I imagine the gameplay loop to be that a player logs in, checks their missions, and reviews the loot drops. Maybe they also check where they are in the battle pass. Then they make their plans and consider what they want or should do on the planet. The player then makes a conscious decision about which map they want to play.
In a match, the player then has 3 ultimate goals:
To find and collect better loot such as weapons, armor, resources, and valuables.
To complete missions assigned by 3 factions beforehand.
To successfully and alive leave the map by extraction.
Especially the last part is the most difficult, because during a match, players are faced with several dangers: “These include events like a falling meteorite, the dangerous storm brewing, being attacked by creatures, and of course, also through the biggest ‘wild card’ of all: other players.”
This nasty monster is called Jeff by the fans. I shouldn’t have attacked Jeff here – not with my weapons.
If you die in a match due to any of these dangers, you lose almost everything you had – the equipment you packed before the match and all the loot from the round itself.
We got so much attention in closed beta 1 that it’s absolutely crazy. Suddenly we had 100,000 viewers on Twitch and were ahead of Fortnite, Minecraft, and Valorant. At times, it was absurd and gave us a lot of confidence.
“High Stakes” gameplay like Tarkov, but “essential for the broader mass”
Anyone who has played Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown will probably find this recipe for success very familiar. Although neither of the two games has meteorites or deadly storms as fixed events, the core gameplay of loot and risk is the same.
But as clear as the reference games like Hunt: Showdown and Escape from Tarkov are named, the name for this type of shooter itself is much less clear. A popular designation is “PvPvE” – that is, player versus other players and NPCs.
However, for YAGER, this is only part of it. The development team does not see itself as a survival game, as Flo tells me. Instead, he and his colleagues internally use the term “High Stakes.” This, by chance, evokes memories of a round in the casino, as Mando reveals to me:
For me, the essential thing is that in every match of The Cycle: Frontier, you can choose your stakes yourself. To me, it almost has poker elements: It’s up to me whether I go in with expensive gear; whether I dare to risk not losing it.
The Cycle: Frontier aims to tease a willingness to take risks out of the players. Through in-depth and extensive decisions with gear before a round and the approach in the match itself, this is supposed to be rounded off.
That this kind of game comes from Berlin with The Cycle: Frontier is amusing to me. Because the other famous example, Hunt: Showdown, was developed in Frankfurt. Therefore, I asked my teammates how ‘German’ such a “High Stakes” game mechanic is in their opinion. Mando replied:
Basically, I do find that this type of game fits Germany very well. If I look back and see what has been created in Germany in terms of pen-and-paper role-playing games or role-playing games that are very table-intensive and in-depth, then this kind of deep gameplay, which is so multifaceted, really fits perfectly.
That the developers themselves love this type of game was clearly audible in the interview. The fact that they are fans of Hunt and Tarkov is just as undeniable as the clear inspiration that these two games provide for The Cycle: Frontier.
But it was also important for the developers of YAGER to emphasize why these references are so clear:
Just to be clear: Yes, Tarkov and Hunt are indeed huge references, especially in game design for The Cycle; I won’t lie about that. I would even consider Tarkov our primary reference – at least regarding the core formula. For everything else, we have tried to really reach a completely different target audience than Tarkov, with a different development philosophy.
This different target audience is for YAGER “mid-core shooter players”, so players who come from Apex Legends, Sea of Thieves, PUBG, maybe Fortnite. The Cycle: Frontier does not want to be a military simulation with super-realistic systems to capture the hardcore Tarkov fans.
“We’re fundamentally different from Tarkov,” says Mando, “and the entry friendliness is of course a huge difference for us. We never want a player who, to learn the game, has to study any Excel sheets.”
The right equipment before the match is immensely important.The missions are the primary form of progression in the gameIn the hub station, you can equip yourself with missions and gear.
Thus, The Cycle: Frontier is fundamentally designed for a broader audience than Tarkov and offers itself to a group of players who might not otherwise play such a type of game. For Mando, this represents a “market gap” that “couldn’t be clearer.”
Flo summarizes it as follows:
We pack the fun into ‘high stakes’. You can quickly drop into the “match,” you can also get into the game very quickly. It explains a lot to you at the beginning, and you can get into it very quickly.
Also, the matchmaking is significantly faster than that of the competition: Since the servers usually run for about 6 hours before the maps are refreshed with new loot, players can enter and exit these games almost any time. Only during events like the storm is this not possible.
For the events specifically, YAGER wants to be like Sea of Thieves: “It should happen as much unforeseen as possible on the player’s way to the goal. Every drop, every adventure should feel personal and unique.”
“We have communicated very openly that the old game didn’t work”
But this market gap was not the audience discussed from the old The Cycle 2019. Therefore, I wanted to know what had to change to be this kind of game that The Cycle wants to be with the addition of “Frontier.” The biggest change concerns the philosophy around competitiveness:
From a game designer’s perspective, the most important difference for me is that the word ‘competitive’ has been removed. That changes everything in game design.
You no longer have to ensure that the weapons are perfectly balanced against each other as you do in a competitive game. Instead, they just need to be balanced for their tier level.
As radical as this change in game design was, the surrounding context is still The Cycle – just better, says Mando: “I would say that almost everything except the game design could actually be retained or even improved and amplified.”
That The Cycle in its original form did not have the success that the developers wanted became clear quickly. It was also clear that a rethinking of the core gameplay must take place. However, it needed to be explained to the players, which, however, had significant stumbling blocks:
We have communicated very openly that the old game didn’t work. But the communication of the announcement at that time didn’t go smoothly.
There was particularly “a minority of super-toxic players who came from the competitive scene and didn’t understand why something they loved was being taken away from them.”
From a player’s perspective, that’s frustrating, of course,” says Mando. But the changes were so well received after the implementation in the closed alpha that many skeptics could be convinced of the new direction that YAGER has taken with The Cycle. Flo confirms this with his view of the community:
The community growth since the change is so much higher than anything we had before, so in the end, this core group of old community members can guide the new players. Our Discord moderators are almost all still from the old game, who have walked this path with us.
This community should also be a core part of the development of The Cycle: Frontier. That the final release still has no fixed date is also due to the wish to continue responding to community feedback.
“Of course, you can’t implement all feedback, not in a game like ours. But we want players to feel heard,” says Flo. Therefore, “everything that the majority of players want is either planned or already in the game.”
The future of The Cycle: Frontier
For the full release of The Cycle: Frontier, currently planned for April 2022, the game will be completely free-to-play for everyone. “It will also have seasons, with a battle pass (or Fortuna Pass, as we call it), with cosmetics and the usual F2P monetization mechanics.”
What they do with the wipes in Path of Exile is just right. You think, “Wow, I definitely want to check that out again because I can discover new things.”
Over time, YAGER wants to thematically design these seasons, “even if that won’t work perfectly for the first season.” So one season could revolve around the storm, while another could focus on new weapons or mods.
These seasons are intended to last about 3 months, and the goal is to combine the progress resets and seasons: “After 3 months, everything will be wiped, and the new battle pass will come out – that would be cool, but we need to see if that can be combined.”
At the end of the interview, I asked my teammates and conversation partners why The Cycle: Frontier should be the next game for our readers. Mando’s answer was that their game is a kind of antidote to the consequences of shooters like Call of Duty:
I personally feel that I and other players have become a bit dull lately because players face very few consequences for losses in shooters. When a defeat can’t be bad, no victory can feel that fantastic.
And games like Hunt: Showdown or Tarkov have shown that people really want strong emotions. People want to be afraid of failure. They also want to be punished a bit when they played poorly. And then it’s even more valuable, emotionally speaking, when you make the right decisions and play well.
The Cycle: Frontier is currently in its 2nd closed beta. The full release as a free-to-play game on Steam and Epic Games is currently scheduled for April 2022.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Starting today, April 6th, the Closed Beta of Fractured Online is playable. We from MeinMMO will show you what kind of game it is, what is included in the beta, and how you can participate.
What is Fractured Online?
This is an MMORPG with an open-world sandbox. The setting is classic, Western-style medieval fantasy.
There are PvP and PvE elements, played from an isometric perspective, as seen in Lost Ark or Diablo.
The combat system takes place in real-time and is action-focused. It is supposed to depend on skill and dexterity, not on equipment or player level.
Here you can watch the introduction video from the developers at Dynamight Studios:
Start video
New sandbox MMORPG starts the closed beta in a few days – Here’s how to participate
Fractured Online starts Closed Beta
This is what to expect in the Closed Beta: Apparently, a fairly large part of the game will be included. According to the announcement, you can explore various biomes. These include:
Snowy mountains
a hot volcanic region
a steppe region with heavy rain
a tundra region where weather anomalies are less frequent. However, there are many more monsters to fight, such as mammoths, Jotunns, arctic wolves, and elementals.
During the Closed Beta, there will be several events across different channels of the developers.
When does the Closed Beta start and how to participate? The beta has been available since today, April 6th. To participate, you need to buy the Founder’s Pack from the official website. It costs 24.99 Euros for the Bronze version, the most expensive variant costs 129.99 Euros.
In addition to participating in the beta, there will be other in-game rewards.
More details are expected to follow in the future. According to the developers, Fractured focuses more on skill than your level and gear. Cleverness and competence are to be rewarded.
You can choose to play PvE and PvP content, either solo or in a group. The economy also plays a significant role, as is common in most MMORPGs.
The game does not give you directives; you can choose your path. Whether you want to be a farmer, craftsman, or shepherd: In Fractured Online, that should be possible. Just as being a looter can make the trails unsafe.
CoD Vanguard has been struggling with some serious and strange bugs since release. On reddit, a user shared a clip showing the curious effects of a motorcycle explosion. It resembles the best scene from a Hollywood hit. MeinMMO tells you what it’s all about.
A clip is currently making the rounds in the CoD Vanguard subreddit, where a player suddenly stands on a wall and can shoot at their opponents from there.
What was once a feature in the sci-fi installments of Call of Duty is completely out of place in the World War setting of CoD Vanguard. This “Wall Run” was a result of a bug that turns a player into Spider-Man due to a motorcycle explosion.
Player sticks to the wall like Spider-Man thanks to bug, sees the world from a curious angle
A player of CoD Vanguard stands next to a motorcycle and shoots at it, causing it to explode. However, the character does not die as expected. Instead, something absurd happens, as the player sticks to the nearby wall like Spider-Man, seeing the world from a whole new angle:
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How does this bug happen? Anyone who has played Call of Duty may have noticed that the angle of the viewport tilts slightly when you die. This happens here too – but the player does not die.
Instead, at the moment they should die, they are transported alive to a nearby wall. They stick to it like a fly and can continue playing from a curious 90-degree angle.
It looks cool and is reminiscent of perhaps the best scene from the Hollywood hit Inception featuring Leonardo DiCaprio:
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But in practice, this bug is extremely annoying. It has already appeared in the zombie game mode in CoD Black Ops Cold War, with the same causes. It can even become worse than in the clip. A reddit user explains how annoying this can be:
It can deviate by only 15°, but the more you move or move the mouse, the more tilted the view angle becomes. At first, it may be fun and amusing, but a deviation of 90° is just terrible. Even worse is when the view angle flips by 180°.
The only way to fix this without quitting the game is to enter or exit a vehicle.
The player from reddit mentioned that he did not play sober in this match. Therefore, his ability to shoot accurately was not really the focus. A pro with tactics like “shoot at a motorcycle next to me for no reason to make it explode” probably wouldn’t be successful anyway.
Meanwhile, the competition in the professional scene has just thinned out:
A CoD player has won prize money in several tournaments and has vehemently denied any cheat accusations. To prove his innocence, he set up a camera on his monitor – but unfortunately forgot one small, important detail:
As expected every Wednesday, we have the new TOTW 29 (Team of the Week) in FIFA 22. Here on MeinMMO, we show you the current Team of the Week.
Update, April 6, 2022: The current Team of the Week is now available. With cards like Neymar (93) and Sterling (91), there are even exciting candidates for your team. You can see the complete TOTW 29 here:
Here you can see the current TOTW 29
This is where you can continue with the original predictions article. This way you can see which cards actually made it into the TOTW.
What is the Team of the Week? Every week EA presents a new TOTW in FUT 22. This team consists of 23 players who performed strongly in the last football weekend.
For this, they receive a spot in the Team of the Week as well as improved Inform cards that are available in packs for one week in packs .
What are TOTW predictions? TOTW predictions are community forecasts that try to guess which players might land in the Team of the Week.
However, it is important to note that the predictions are not a guarantee for the final Team of the Week 29.
As Konami has confirmed, eFootball 2022, the free-to-play spin-off of Pro Evolution Soccer, will receive a sort of re-release. Although version 1.0 already launched, a “proper” version 1.0 is now being introduced. They express regret and claim to have learned from their mistakes.
What is eFootball 2022 anyway? After PES 21, fans were actually expecting a PES 22 as a successor, as usual. But Konami had other plans: eFootball, a free football game that offers crossplay from mobile to current consoles and PC. At least, that was a bonus compared to FIFA, which still has no crossplay.
eFootball is intended to become a kind of long-lasting football platform that will be continuously expanded. For this purpose, there is an in-game shop where various items can be purchased with real money, as is now familiar from almost every free online game.
Now Konami has announced a comeback attempt, and eFootball will receive its second version 1.0 already in April.
eFootball 2022 introduces new version 1.0, aims to improve everything
This is what the developers say about the new update: In an open message to players, Konami shows remorse and provides insights into the mistakes made at launch. Back then, the developers already apologized and took a stance, which they are now doing again.
According to them, they failed to meet their ambitions and prioritized punctuality over quality. As a result, they brought the game to market too early:
We want to offer football fans worldwide the chance to enjoy a new football game that is as realistic as never before. With this intent in mind, we began the two-year development period of eFootball 2022. However, we were too focused on getting the game to market on time to keep our most important priority in mind – the quality. Of course, we were rightly scrutinized by disappointed fans.
They are working hard to restore trust. Players have played a significant role in this, and their feedback will help improve the game.
Now, 6 months after release, they feel ready and want to release a proper version 1.0. This means eFootball is finally in the release state they had wished for.
The update, however, is just the beginning of the actual plans for eFootball 2022, for which there is now also a roadmap.
What’s coming in the update? The version 1.0 includes a long list of improvements and fixes. Here’s a brief overview:
The defensive controls and behavior of the defense have been revised.
Passing has been improved, and there is now a command for a “stunning pass”
Improved shooting
Improved dribbling
Better stability of online networks
Additionally, there is a new mode “Dream Team” in which you can build your own team.
According to Konami, this is just the tip of the iceberg in the patch notes. You can find the previously known content in the developer’s post.
At the same time, however, there was also bad news for mobile players. They will have to wait longer for the update to arrive.
When is the new version 1.0 coming? The update arrives on April 14 for all platforms except mobile. When this will be updated is unknown.
While some are tentatively hopeful and look forward to the update, many do not believe that eFootball can be saved by it.
The reason for this is the lack of offline content. There are also no cooperative modes in the F2P game. Especially this point is a disappointment for PES veterans and also one of the reasons why they still prefer PES 21 to this day.
Some fear that Konami will primarily focus on the new Dream Team mode. They also suspect that the lagging mobile version will consume much of the developers’ time and thus delay new modes and content for the other versions.
However, there are also positive voices. They are pleased with the new content and hope that the football simulation can go up from here.
What do you think of the announcement? Have you even engaged with eFootball? Or did the game pass you by due to its troubled start?
Boc is not the only example of an NPC in Limgrave who surprises players. Gostoc, the gatekeeper at Stormveil Castle, pretends to be a kind soul. In reality, however, he is cheating you all the time in the most brazen way:
However, since experienced players are also likely to ignore this part of the map during new playthroughs, even after the patch, the chances remain slim that Boc will be found by these players.
Ironically, new players who will most likely follow the main path now have the best chance of finding Boc.
After the patch, Boc has become much louder with his desperate cries, so he can now be heard much better from a distance. Newbies carefully making their way down the first main road will thus hear these cries most likely.
The extent of the difference is shown in this tweet:
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Boc’s quest is also heartbreakingly tragic after the update
What role does Boc play in the game? From a purely gameplay perspective, it’s absolutely no problem to miss the half-human tailor. Because Boc can adjust your clothes – something you can later do yourself at any site of grace.
However, from a narrative perspective, it’s worth starting and completing Boc’s quest. Without revealing too much: Boc is a sympathetic soul who has become an outsider for several reasons and desires nothing more than a fresh start.
In Elden Ring, however, few things are as easy and uncomplicated. This also applies to Boc. If you missed the NPC or don’t feel like completing the quest yourself, you can see all scenes and necessary steps in this video:
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Did you discover Boc? If so, was it before or after the update? And how did you do it? Did you find his quest good? Let us know in the comments.
Boc is not the only example of an NPC in Limgrave who surprises players. Gostoc, the gatekeeper at Stormveil Castle, pretends to be a kind soul. In reality, however, he is cheating you all the time in the most brazen way:
The vast world of Elden Ring is filled with all sorts of curious moments and interesting secrets. However, many fans who have been playing the action RPG since the beginning have completely missed a sad quest. Instead, it’s now new players who will have their hearts broken by the NPC Boc.
The authors who primarily write about Elden Ring at the MeinMMO editorial team had a joint Aha moment a few weeks ago. We had completed FromSoftware’s action RPG 6 times among ourselves and only then found an NPC who appears right at the beginning.
The half-human tailor hides right by the 3rd site of grace that players will visit on purpose. He is actually located just a bit east of the spot where most players get the horse Stormwind.
However, because he was unknowingly well hidden, most completely missed him. Ironically, it’s the new players who find him much more easily, and thus get to experience his heart-wrenching quest.
Boc is louder after the update, but new players are most likely to hear him
Where is the NPC hiding? The poor guy Boc was unknowingly turned into a bush near the telescope in the starting region Limgrave. As such, he is waiting to finally be noticed.
Before the big update 1.03, this waiting was mostly in vain – players would simply ride past him without even thinking that one of these bushes could actually be a kind NPC.
About here in Limgrave, Boc is hiding.
Why do new players find him more easily? Before the patch, players had to stray from the main path and stand almost directly next to Boc to hear him. However, anyone who does not suspect anything hidden here will unwittingly play through the entire game and then forever miss the chance to find Boc before New Game Plus.
However, since experienced players are also likely to ignore this part of the map during new playthroughs, even after the patch, the chances remain slim that Boc will be found by these players.
Ironically, new players who will most likely follow the main path now have the best chance of finding Boc.
After the patch, Boc has become much louder with his desperate cries, so he can now be heard much better from a distance. Newbies carefully making their way down the first main road will thus hear these cries most likely.
The extent of the difference is shown in this tweet:
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Boc’s quest is also heartbreakingly tragic after the update
What role does Boc play in the game? From a purely gameplay perspective, it’s absolutely no problem to miss the half-human tailor. Because Boc can adjust your clothes – something you can later do yourself at any site of grace.
However, from a narrative perspective, it’s worth starting and completing Boc’s quest. Without revealing too much: Boc is a sympathetic soul who has become an outsider for several reasons and desires nothing more than a fresh start.
In Elden Ring, however, few things are as easy and uncomplicated. This also applies to Boc. If you missed the NPC or don’t feel like completing the quest yourself, you can see all scenes and necessary steps in this video:
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Did you discover Boc? If so, was it before or after the update? And how did you do it? Did you find his quest good? Let us know in the comments.
Boc is not the only example of an NPC in Limgrave who surprises players. Gostoc, the gatekeeper at Stormveil Castle, pretends to be a kind soul. In reality, however, he is cheating you all the time in the most brazen way:
The horse “Stormwind” is a constant companion in Elden Ring. But how do you get it and how can you summon it? MeinMMO gives you an overview of the spectral horse.
Elden Ring offers a significantly larger game world than previous games from the developers, such as Dark Souls or Bloodborne. That’s why the game gives you the spectral horse “Stormwind” as a companion.
With its help, you can not only progress faster. The horse has the important double jump. This allows you to reach places that would be out of reach on foot.
Additionally, you can fight from your horse’s back, which can be a huge advantage in certain situations and can even make boss battles easier. However, it can be confusing for new players to find it at first.
In this guide, we explain how you can get your horse, how you can summon it, and what else you should keep in mind.
Start video
Everything you need to know about Elden Ring – in 2 minutes
How to find Stormwind and summon the horse
You start the game without a mount. To get it, you first need to complete the tutorial. After that, you need to fulfill a few requirements.
How to find the horse in Elden Ring: After you have completed the tutorial, you must activate three Sites of Grace. These are the glowing resting points where you can level up, set spells, and do other things.
It’s best to follow the route that was also intended by the creators:
Avoid the dangerous tree guardian who is wandering just outside the tutorial dungeon, below the Site of Grace.
Continue north until you reach the church of Elleh. Rest there and also visit the merchant who is sitting there. You will also find a smithing stone on an anvil.
Now move on and follow the path behind the church until you encounter a large gate.
Right in front of the gate waits the third Site of Grace. Here you need to rest and the first encounter with Melina will start.
Complete the dialogue and you will receive the spectral steed whistle from her. This is the key to using Stormwind.
Here you can see the “normal” path that you are also progressing along in the main story.
Of course, there are many other Sites of Grace in the area. So you have several options. You can see a large part of the remaining resting points on the map.
This is how you can summon the horse: Once you have received the whistle, you can place it in the quick select or in your pouch.
For the quick select, you need to go through the pause menu to your equipment, select an appropriate slot, and assign the spectral steed whistle to it.
Equally practical and often better is to place the whistle in the pouch. You do this by selecting one of the 6 boxes on the right edge of the pause menu.
Four of these boxes correspond to a direction on the directional pad with controller or arrow key on the keyboard. If you press triangle (PlayStation), Y (Xbox), or E (keyboard) followed by the appropriate direction, you will activate the pouch item.
In this image, you can see where to find the pouch. In this example, I am using the spectral steed whistle with Y (Xbox) / triangle (PlayStation) and the right directional pad.
You can summon Stormwind almost anywhere on the surface. There are also occasionally underground areas that can be traversed on horseback.
However, in dungeons, you will have to do without Stormwind. These are usually narrow and complex areas that are easier to explore on foot.
What you should know about Stormwind in combat: Aside from faster movement, Stormwind is also useful in combat. The horse partly acts as a shield against damage, as it can take hits for you.
Thanks to a sprint function, you can become very fast and also dodge attacks through the boost.
Additionally, you can also use your weapons, spells, and summons in a limited form from the back of the horse.
You can perform light and heavy attacks with each hand.
Charged heavy attacks are also possible.
Depending on the type of weapon, the attack movements and range also differ.
Heavy weapons are slower on horseback but can launch entire groups into the air.
Light weapons are significantly faster and can hit enemies that get too close more easily.
Here’s the controller controls
Light attack, right: RB/R1
Heavy attack, right: RT/R2 (To charge: Hold down)
Light attack, left: LB/L1
Heavy attack, left: LT/L2 (To charge: Hold down)
Depending on the region and types of enemies, these things should be taken into account and it is advisable to always carry light and heavy weapons with you. This way, you are prepared for anything while on the go.
Some boss fights in the open world are even easier when you use Stormwind. Therefore, it is also worth practicing with the horse so that riding becomes second nature.
This is how Stormwind helps you explore the game world: Thanks to your spectral horse, you can reach significantly higher places and also leap over larger chasms via double jump.
This gives you a great advantage in the vast and very vertically designed game world. You can also survive deeper falls thanks to the horse in ‘fall damage.’
What happens if Stormwind dies? Your horse is a spectral horse, so it cannot die. If the health points are depleted, Stormwind simply disappears. You can only summon it again until the next rest at a Site of Grace if you sacrifice a purpur beverage for it.
As long as you have healing potions, you can summon your horse in combat indefinitely.
Can Stormwind be healed in combat? Yes. In the game, there are plenty of crafting materials and items that can also be used to heal the horse. The most common are the Rowa fruits, which you can gather almost everywhere.
There are also more powerful healing items that you can craft using various recipes.
As a new light in Destiny 2, it can be hard to figure out how to get exotics. The game world is large and overwhelming, and it’s easy to get lost in it. That’s why we show you all the ways to obtain exotics and what else you should know.
How to get exotic weapons? Destiny 2 offers you many options for obtaining exotics. We will show you all available sources and how to find them in detail:
By completing activities like PvP matches or strikes
These are all the ways to obtain exotics. However, not all options are the best. Therefore, we will show you three ways to efficiently and effectively get the rare exotics.
The three best ways to get exotics
You can use all the methods we listed, but not all are suitable for efficiently obtaining many exotics. That’s why we will show you three of the best ways to get exotics:
You now have the choice between four difficulty levels:
Master – Rare chance to get exotics
Hero – Average chance to get exotics
Legend – Good chance to get exotics
Grandmaster – Good chance to get exotics
Nightfall – Good chance to get exotics
It is advisable to choose either the “Legend” difficulty or ideally “Grandmaster”, as the challenge is manageable and you also have high chances of getting an exotic. Now you need to farm the activity.
After each completion, start a new run with your team, collecting your exotics gradually. Additionally, you have chances at catalysts that improve your exotic weapons after completing the requirements.
Monument to Lost Lights
How does the monument work? A safe but costly way to obtain exotics is the Monument to Lost Lights next to the vaults in the Tower.
Once you arrive, you can choose from a whole range of 36 exotic weapons that can no longer be earned. However, you will need the necessary resources for a purchase. These are as follows:
150 – 200 Planetary Materials
100,000 Glimmer
1 Ascendant Shard
1 Exotic Cipher
Xur, the quirky black market vendor
This is Xur
What can I do with Xur? Xur offers three exotic armors, one weapon, and various legendary items every Friday to Tuesday until the weekly reset. The armors can be obtained for 23 legendary shards and the weapons for 29 shards. You can also purchase a random exotic engram for 97 shards, but only twice a week.
You can also additionally purchase a quest for an exotic cipher. If you complete the requirement, you will receive a cipher from Xur. With it, you can either shop in the Monument to Lost Lights or exchange it at Xur for a random exotic engram.
What do you think of our suggestions? Do you have better ways to easily obtain exotics? Let us know in the comments what you think!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Bellatores is the latest game from the developer Nyou. They are already known for several mobile MMORPGs. However, their latest work is set to release only for PC on Steam and will be developed using Unreal Engine 5.
What kind of game is this?Bellatores was originally announced as Project N1 in 2020. It is supposed to be a fantasy MMORPG focusing on a medieval world. Although the developer is based in Korea, the primary target audience is the West.
The world is intended to mix a rather realistic medieval scenario with fantasy elements.
You will be able to make decisions throughout the story that impact its course.
Expect a “survival adventure” with massive PvP battles. Various continents in the game world are set to compete against each other.
The characters are all designed in a more Western style, and there will be no sexualization or gender lock.
When will the game be released? There should be a playable version of the MMORPG in 2022. However, whether it will be the final version or more of an alpha or beta is currently unclear. The developers emphasized that the global release and the international market are important to them.
However, there is still no gameplay footage of Bellatores. Here we have embedded a gallery with current screenshots:
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Bellatores receives a lot of funding for development
What is special about the MMORPG? The developers recently announced that they have received a funding boost of around 23 million euros to advance the development of Bellatores. Already in 2020, more than 30 million euros were said to have been provided by investors for development. They are also supposed to help with distribution and the service infrastructure, providing their expertise.
These investments represent large sums, which many Western studios attempting new MMORPGs can only dream of. In addition, Nyou has its own revenue from mobile games.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, on the other hand, seems to constantly operate at the limit. After an initial Kickstarter campaign didn’t even reach 700,000 euros from backers, there was later a seven-figure sum from a private investor. Packages on the website, according to the developers, were bought by over 8,000 people by 2021 (via Pantheon).
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These are currently the 7 most popular MMORPGs 2022
However, such large sums are not uncommon, especially with Korean MMORPGs. The small theme park MMORPG Astellia is said to have cost around 27 million euros.
The latest game from NCSoft (Blade & Soul, Lineage, Aion) is also reportedly quite expensive and is set to release for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The first gameplay trailer looks really good as well:
You are looking for a strong build for the Graveborn class in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands? Here you will find a variant that focuses on powerful companions and high damage.
This class is about: In Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, you have a total of six classes to choose from. One of them is the “Graveborn”.
This class relies on dark magic and support from companions, such as the half-lich who aids in attacks. The latter point is fundamental for the following build.
What kind of build is this? YouTuber “Moxsy” has created a video that shows how powerful the Graveborn can be with a focus on numerous companions. We embed it here for you:
In the video, you can immediately see how bosses simply melt away against the build. Moxsy combines the Graveborn with the “Spore Warden” class. This is possible thanks to the multiclass system that you unlock as you progress through the game.
We will show you what the build looks like here.
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This is the most important skill: In the Graveborn skill tree, you will find the ability “Loyal Minions” quite early on. You can invest up to three points in this if you are only working with skill points. However, Moxsy uses a Class Mod to bring the ability up to six points.
The skill is crucial as it increases all damage per companion you have. This applies to all damage types, including weapons and spells. Additionally, the companion respawn rate is increased.
To get the most out of this skill, it is advisable to summon as many companions as possible.
The Graveborn attacks with monsters
What companions are used? Moxsy not only relies on the half-lich that is already there, but also tries to get more companions through weapons.
For example, there is the weapon “Snowballing Doodad of the Warrior” from Feriore. When thrown during reloading, it transforms into an additional Hydra companion. You can throw several of these, so the skill “Loyal Minions” gets additional stacks at the same time.
There are Feriore weapons that turn into “flying weapons” when thrown. They deal damage independently but also count as stacks for “Loyal Minions”.
Additional Feriore weapons can transform into flying fairy companions when thrown. These then deal extra companion damage but do not count as “Loyal Minions” stacks.
Furthermore, there are various spells that can summon Hydras – sometimes even 4 at a time. These also increase your “Loyal Minions” stacks.
Which abilities are used? Especially skills that increase companion, spell, and ability damage are interesting. For this, Moxsy relies on the following skills in the Graveborn build:
Essence Drain (4/3 using Class Mod)
Loyal Minions (3/3)
Dark Pacts (5/5)
Harvest (3/3)
Soul Leak (1/5)
Dark Hydra (3/3). This skill is particularly important as it can summon powerful Dark Hydras when you defeat enemies.
Ascension (4/3 using Class Mod).
In addition, Moxsy uses abilities from the “Spore Warden” tree. Here, he gets the mushroom companion and some strong abilities for companion damage.
Connected Heart (5/5)
Affinity (5/5)
Porthole (4/5)
Medical Mushroom (1/1)
Thrill of the Hunt (3/3)
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Trailer for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands shows the wonderfully absurd world of the shooter with gameplay
The majority of abilities focus on increasing damage through your companions and skills that also ensure that your overall damage skyrockets. Additionally, the resilience of your companions is increased, and the mushroom companion can even save your life.
New World was released on September 28, 2021, and has experienced some highs, but even more lows since then. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch summarizes all the important milestones and explains why he is still excited to play New World.
Genre: MMORPG | Developer: Amazon Game Studios | Platform: PC | Release: 09/28/2021
New World has only been on the market for just under 6 months but already has a very eventful history behind it. At the start, there was a huge hype with over 910,000 concurrent players during the weekend after the release on Steam. A milestone that many didn’t expect before launch.
However, there was already much criticism at release due to long queue times, bugs, and exploits. Gold dupes and bots were a nuisance for many players. Later on, there was criticism regarding the equipment system, the leveling process, and especially the lack of endgame content.
Since then, much has changed. A lot has improved, some things are still bad and hard to understand. Yet, New World holds a special place in my heart and it is no coincidence that I have accumulated well over 500 hours of gameplay.
What captivates me the most are the atmosphere of the world, the combat system, and the constant carrot in front of my nose that is so easy to obtain yet never disappears.
Who is speaking here? Alex is the MMORPG expert at MeinMMO. He has spent several thousand hours in Guild Wars 1, Guild Wars 2, and ESO. In addition, he tries every new MMORPG, whether Asian games like Elyon and Lost Ark or indie titles like Crowfall and Broken Ranks.
New World, however, has particularly captivated him since the alpha, and he still actively plays it.
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New Weapons, New Dungeons, and Many Bug Fixes
Since the release, New World has received a major update every month. In between, there have also been dozens of small patches, mainly containing bug fixes.
But that’s just the rough overview of the many changes that New World has undergone in recent months. Especially in terms of “Quality of Life”, the combat system, and the bugs, much has changed.
Anyone who found leveling to level 60 annoying will notice that the required XP has been reduced in several updates. Travel costs have been significantly reduced, and storage can now be accessed globally from anywhere.
However, the biggest leap took place regarding endgame equipment. There you can see how rough the MMORPG was at the beginning and how much fine-tuning the developers had to undertake to create a somewhat functional and simultaneously unique system.
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Everything you need to know about the New World endgame – in 2 minutes
Finally, A Structure in Equipment and Clear Goals in the Grind
The first stages of equipment were clear and understandable from the start. You received better gear drops with higher levels and could equip them. However, around item score 500, it became opaque. The reason was an invisible “watermark system”.
Each player had a fixed item score for each equipment slot that was increased by farming mobs and opening chests. This value determined what you would typically drop for an item score.
The longer there was no increase in this invisible value, the higher the chance of getting a drop with a higher item score. If this was the case, the invisible watermark adjusted to the new value and you had to grind again to level up. Sounds complicated, and it was.
In December, this system was replaced by the so-called “competency”. This value is now clearly visible alongside the equipment, and there are precise percentage indications for increases, as well as the gypsum system.
The pink numbers next to the equipment indicate which competency you currently have.
Through the gypsum system, you can complete daily tasks, such as finishing a dungeon, playing two rounds of Outpost Rush, or completing events in the open world. As a reward, you receive special diamonds through which you can create a gypsum version of your current equipment.
This gypsum version guarantees an increase in competency, allowing you to specifically work towards item score 600 and later even 625.
In my opinion, the system is successful, albeit somewhat grind-heavy. For progress to be made, you often have to repeat the same tasks over and over. Many daily tasks are quick to complete, and it creates that constant feeling of progress.
The Wrong Order in Content
New World was opaque at many points at launch and made many unusual decisions. Much of this has been corrected in recent months, but it is by no means perfect.
Players had wished for bug fixes or new content like new areas or new story content instead of directly receiving more grind for equipment. There were also fears of balance issues in PvP, which have not turned out to be significant so far.
Nevertheless, some players were left with an unpleasant aftertaste.
This unpleasant aftertaste has also persisted through further releases, as New World still regularly encounters bugs and issues that shouldn’t usually occur on live servers:
Server merges and transfers are still chaotic, resulting in some companies being split. Some servers are also on the brink of extinction but have yet to be merged with any other world.
With the February update, adjustments to the combat system were introduced that not everyone appreciated. There were problems with the “ability queue” whereby, when activating multiple abilities, they played out in sequence. This made it impossible to react to current situations. However, a fix has since been implemented.
Even the latest March update had problems. Originally, it was supposed to launch on March 30 in the morning our time. Then it was hastily postponed to March 31 in the morning. The release finally took place on March 31 at 7:00 PM, right in Europe’s prime time.
Opinions divided on the combat system
New World has made several adjustments to the combat system over the past months. Some have even worsened the battles, including the aforementioned “queue system”.
Since the latest update in March, however, the combat system feels better again and is overall smoother than it was at release.
An Atmosphere and Gameplay That Convince Me
Despite the launch errors and the many problems that New World still has, I am a big fan of the MMORPG. This is mainly due to:
The unique atmosphere of the world
The combat system
The incredibly satisfying crafting system
The constant progress I can achieve in New World without having to invest much
I like medieval settings. The fights over the settlements and the choice of weapons in New World fit perfectly. This is complemented by a mysterious and enigmatic world that I have understood in its basics by now but leaves plenty of room for more stories.
What exactly lies behind the Azoth, and which mysterious areas await beyond the currently known, intrigues me greatly.
Moreover, I love fighting in New World. The attacks have considerable weight, and I constantly have to plan my steps in advance. Due to the long animations and the limited abilities, I can’t just spam a mindless rotation that I learned by heart.
I am constantly challenged, especially in PvP battles. There, I have never felt that I am lacking additional abilities. On the contrary, six abilities, two different types of attacks, blocking, and dodging are more than enough to keep me on my toes.
In general, I am a fan of having to dodge attacks and actively aim. I also enjoy being challenged in my reaction speed and the fact that I can combine completely different playstyles with two weapons. The combat system of New World offers me all of this.
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New World zeigt neue Donnerbüchse im Trailer – Ist viel mehr als eine stinknormale Schusswaffe
What I can also spend a lot of time on without much pressure are crafting and the grind for new competency levels. Both are indeed grind-heavy, but they are very well manageable.
Either I am with my colleagues in voice chat, running a dungeon or a few events together, or I join a large group of players. Then I can zone out a bit and watch series while we slay hordes of corrupted enemies or simply run around looting chests.
For me, New World offers a robust combat system, an exciting world, and paired with plenty of relaxation and grind for which I don’t have to think much outside of dungeon mutations or PvP. I previously enjoyed this mindless grind in Black Desert:
But I also really enjoy the PvP. I have participated in numerous wars and almost play a round of Outpost Rush every day. I enjoy competing against other players and measuring my skills against them. Additionally, we have to coordinate in both modes and achieve secondary objectives.
I am also motivated by the news that new PvP arenas are expected to be introduced in the spring of 2022.
I also view the developers’ communication positively. Every month, there is a video with explanations for the new update, featuring background on design decisions and future outlooks. This transparency is something I only know from FFXIV and recently Lost Ark, but not from large western games like WoW, SWTOR, or ESO.
The Future of New World Remains Uncertain Despite the Roadmap
After 6 months, the player count of New World is far from its all-time peak. Instead of the 913,000 players from October 3, only about 37,300 were online at peak on April 3 (via SteamDB).
Thus, New World is likely still slightly above the level of Lord of the Rings Online and DC Universe Online. Both have between 100,000 and 400,000 unique players who log in at least once a month. These MMORPGs show that ongoing development over the years is possible, but major leaps like graphics or engine updates do not necessarily have to happen there either.
A similar fate could befall New World if there is no significant turnaround.
The 3v3 PvP arenas and new PvP rewards, which are scheduled to appear in spring.
An automatic group search feature for dungeons and a new dungeon in summer.
The first new area and the “Great Sword” weapon in autumn.
Various events, including a summer event and something for Halloween.
Especially the PvP arenas and the group search for dungeons could spark some renewed interest. Both are content that the game’s fans have urgently requested. However, Amazon would have to ensure that these updates are rolled out flawlessly.
New World had a very rocky start and remains far from being a perfect MMORPG even 6 months after its release. Bugs are still present, issues surrounding empty servers are unresolved, and errors still occur after new updates, just like with the Valentine’s skins or the recent gold dupes.
But New World has changed significantly in the last 6 months. Leveling is faster, there are more weapons, more quests in the endgame, more rewards, and more clarity about how the various systems in the game work.
Those who couldn’t stand the fundamental system of New World, the world, or the combat will not find a reason to check out the MMORPG again in 2022. However, those who were particularly bothered by bugs, missing “Quality of Life” content, or a lack of endgame should definitely visit the world of Aeternum again.
Especially the new dungeons, the dungeon mutations, and the PvP content offer diverse tasks. Additionally, one can lose oneself beautifully in the grind of crafting materials or equipment. The player count has also solidified significantly by now, although at a lower level than many had hoped. However, the very small servers quickly foster a familial atmosphere, so you eventually get to know your friends, group leaders, and even enemies from other factions, even if you don’t engage in any company.
I still have fun and can continue to recommend the MMORPG to all my friends and readers here.
Alexander Leitsch
MMORPG expert at MeinMMO
If you are still not convinced despite the many arguments in favor of New World, we invite you to check out Find Your Next Game for more MMOs and MMORPGs. Black Desert, for instance, has changed with its latest expansion and gained some new content:
