Xur is also popping the corks today in Destiny 2 to provide you with exotic goods to defend humanity over the New Year. Bring him some champagne when he arrives on December 31. Where to find him, as always, can be found on MeinMMO.
What happened this week in Destiny 2? Titans in Destiny 2 are currently melting bosses with their tiny throwing hammer and the right Exotic. With the right technique and loadout, this is still possible, despite a triple nerf. Will Bungie make a fourth adjustment soon?
Destiny 2 itself looks confidently into the new year 2022, as players trust Bungie to meet their expectations with the upcoming expansion. At the start of the pre-order phase in August 2021 on Steam, the nearly 100 Euro DLC “The Witch Queen” propelled Destiny 2 to the top of the Steam sales charts.
However, due to the new DLC, players will have to forgo other content again. What exactly has Bungie published this week in the Destiny 2 Content Vault Guide for Year 5?
All info about Xur on December 31, 2021 – PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia
When will Xur come? Xur will grab some champagne this evening and will be there for you right on time for the daily reset at 6 PM. He will then remain until January 4, 2022, 6 PM, until every Guardian can purchase his goods.
After that, he disappears again for a whole week on vacation and will only return on the weekend in the universe of Destiny 2.
Where is Xur? This is his location for the weekend
Xur’s position: If you want to visit Xur, check the EDZ. He is waiting for you in the winding cove.
Xur is in the EDZ: Winding Cove.
Xur’s inventory from December 31 to January 4 – All Exotics at a glance
What does Xur have on offer? As always, Xur will have an exotic weapon and armor for all characters, so for Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans. This week you can get these items from Xur.
Weapon: Wings of the Watcher – Kinetic Pulse Rifle for 29 Legendary Shards
Xur always has with him: An Exotic Engram for 97 Legendary Shards is always available from Xur, as well as the weekly quest for an Exotic Code.
The Trials of Osiris on December 31 – Map, Weapons, and Info
Which map is in play this week? You can also participate in the Trials of Osiris over New Year’s Eve and play on the Titan map “Wormhaven”. You will also receive additional Trials rank points to level up faster.
The Trials map from December 31 – January 4: Wormhaven
This is how you get your loot: You are guaranteed to receive your loot in the Trials, but not anymore through three, five, and seven wins, but now with:
Seven victories
50 rounds
as well as the notorious flawless run that leads you to the Lighthouse.
This is the reward for a flawless run: The weapon this week is the Hand Cannon “Igneous Hammer”. Earn it in the Master variant with a flawless run.
Bring champagne: Xur will also be there for you over New Year’s Eve.
If you’ve received your desired weapon, you can focus your Trials Engrams specifically on it. On top of that, there are enhancement prisms and ascendant shards. Remember that your rewards increase even further once you have a full pass – even if you’ve lost one or two games.
When do the Trials start? The Trials start as usual at the daily reset at 6 PM.
What are you bringing into the new year? Will you use the New Year’s weekend to play Destiny 2? Otherwise, all we can say is: Have a great evening, and most of all, the entire MeinMMO and Destiny 2 teams wish you a happy new year 2022 – “See you starside!”.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The community of The Elder Scrolls Online is considered to be very warm and helpful in Tamriel. From December 17, 2021, to December 19, 2021, there were numerous charity streams by many ESO streamers. The project: Collecting donations for homeless people in the spirit of Christmas. Here you will learn what the community and we streamers have achieved together.
Christmas is a time of giving for many. However, some people are often neglected or find themselves in a difficult situation. We streamers wanted to slightly diminish this stark contrast with the event and strengthen the camaraderie.
I speak of “us streamers” because I was allowed to be part of the project and participated in the action with my streams. The whole initiative was originally sparked by the Arkays Charity Event last year. A part of this year’s team has already contributed to a fundraising campaign for the German Children’s Cancer Foundation.
However, since the Arkays Charity Event does not take place every year, our stream team member Alex (known as AlexOs) came up with the wonderful idea of organizing our own event. Initially, the idea was only discussed in the chat of the official ESO stream team (DE), but we quickly decided to involve more ESO streamers.
Everyone involved took on a task for the action, and with our combined efforts, we were able to kick off the event. You will also find out which other streamers participated later. Our ESO Community Manager Kai Schober and all our mods also took part.
For what were donations collected? Tafel Deutschland e.V. and Berliner Obdachlosenhilfe e.V.
The donation campaign has now ended, but you can still view the amount raised and details about the event (via betterplace.org).
Our intention was to particularly support people who are struggling financially. Especially homeless people often have a hard time during the Christmas season, while the image of Christmas is often a beautiful gathering with family in a cozy living room under the Christmas tree.
But for many, this is simply not possible in reality. We wanted to take a small step in the right direction and sincerely thank all participants!
ESO streamers raised over €17,000 in their streams on Twitch
The following streamers streamed a weekend with full force for a good cause:
In a total of 22 streams from Friday, December 17, 2021, to Sunday, December 19, 2021, donations of over €17,000 were raised. I was speechless in between; none of us expected that. Particularly in light of the pandemic, we had rather shy expectations.
It’s incredibly heartwarming to see that many people have the strength and willingness to help even in difficult times.
The joint event conclusion brings everyone together again
On December 19, 2021, at 10:00 PM, (almost) all participating streamers and Community Manager Kai Schober met on Discord. Several streams were running in parallel. Anyone who wanted was invited to a group and could participate with their ESO character.
For the joint conclusion of the event, many players gathered in ESO and took stunning photos.
We did not count the exact number, but there were incredibly many players, causing our meeting to attract attention. First in Windhelm, the capital of Deshaan, and lastly in Elden Root, the capital of Grahtwood. In the chat, many players asked in surprise “What’s going on here?” and were made aware of the event.
As in the previous year at the Arkays Charity Event, we met at a walkable mushroom ledge at the giant tree of Elden Root and took great group photos.
Anyone who had a bit of time can watch our joint conclusion in my video (via. Twitch) “ESO – Christmas Magic 2021 (Joint Conclusion)” here:
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“The ESOFam is and remains the best! You can’t say otherwise.” – says @Fufuns in this video, and I think I can only agree with that again and again.
Bethesda participates with a proud sum in the donations
A huge thank you to Bethesda for adding nearly 10% to our collected donations. I personally did not expect that and am thrilled by how much charity actions are valued in the community.
I must also personally say that I find this truly wonderful. Bethesda had already participated in the event with numerous giveaways, and this generous donation at the end of the event is not something to be taken for granted and is for me a sign of the closeness of the company and its employees to the community.
Tafel thanks on Twitter for the donation campaign
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I smiled broadly when I discovered the Tafel Deutschland e.V. thanking us on Twitter. Our project has not gone unnoticed. It’s nice to see that we could bring joy to some people.
We wish everyone a Happy New Year 2022!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa is a controversial figure on the platform Twitch. She is known for appearing scantily clad and licking microphones during ASMR streams. Now, in a major interview, she explains that she earns around 1.3 million euros a month and details how her conservative parents reacted when she started her streams.
What does Amouranth do on Twitch? In a lengthy video interview on YouTube with the magazine VICE, Amouranth describes herself as a “Variety Streamer” (via youtube).
Typically, “Variety” streamers on Twitch are people who play various games – Amouranth defines the term a bit differently. She sees herself as a Variety Streamer because she engages in a variety of activities during her sometimes 12-hour streams:
She dances to “Let’s Dance” video games – matching her type of shoes to the songs. Some songs are clearly made for high-heeled shoes, others are not.
There is also some truly strange stuff she has done with a bird or horse mask on her head, but she does not list that as one of her preferred activities in the interview, even though the video includes extensive images of her bird escapades.
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However, her existence as an influencer not only involves streaming, but is a total artwork.
Thus, Amouranth operates a variety of social media platforms; besides established mainstream platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, she also utilizes platforms like Onlyfans, Patreon, and Fansly, where non-pornographic images of Amouranth can be seen, but are hidden behind a paywall.
1.3 million euros a month – and secretly chats while working
How much does she earn right now? According to recent statements, she earns 1.5 million US dollars a month in recent months – that’s about 1.3 million euros.
This is how Amouranth grew up: In the video interview with Vice, Amouranth explains that her parents were initially not very excited about what she was earning her money with. They would also know her house, but not the room where her hot tub pool is located.
She spent her childhood primarily in front of the television, as her parents worked a lot. Amouranth says that she felt her childhood was relatively lonely, without many friends, and she spent a lot of time playing video games. Amouranth says she often felt alone and dissatisfied during that time.
She also developed her penchant for costumes and clothing changes during this time; it was a way for her to slip into new roles and escape everyday life. She also spent a lot of time with animals, first with the neighbor’s dogs and then with her own dog.
Today, her love for animals drives her to put so much energy into her Twitch career. She wants to earn as much money as possible now to care for animals later.
Parents were skeptical until they saw the bank statement
What do her parents say about her activity on Twitch?
She says:
My parents are very conservative. I can’t exactly remember what they said when I started [streaming]. They didn’t support me very much at first. But when I showed them my account balance, they somehow felt much better. It’s really strange what that does to people.
Amouranth
What’s behind it: Amouranth cultivates her image in the interview as a cool calculating businesswoman who plays the “shameless e-girl” for her mostly male viewers to make a lot of money, which she will then use for something meaningful and very good.
From her perspective, everyone actually underestimates her while she operates at a level that is significantly higher than her online presence suggests. It is evidently important for her to highlight, “I am underestimated by everyone” – “I am not what you think I am.”
She also says in the interview that this is only possible now while she is still young and has a lot of energy. Later in life, she will not do this anymore. Then she wants to focus on rescuing dogs.
Amouranth says that the death of her dog “Viggo” motivates her today to work so hard to rescue more animals later.
At the moment, she also motivates herself with the idea that she is earning so much money in her current situation to rescue dogs later. She says that if she streams for one hour longer today, it can bring in enough money to save 50 dogs later. Amouranth says her love for animals comes from the experience of one of her dogs – a mix of husky and German shepherd – getting sick.
We explain what’s behind this in our article on MeinMMO:
The year 2021 is over, and several new and particularly interesting MMORPGs have been released. We at MeinMMO present to you the new games in more detail.
What kind of MMORPGs are these? The games on this list are titles that were released in 2021. However, they must have had a full release or been published in Early Access. Titles in Alpha or Beta have not been included.
The article was created by MMORPG expert Alexander Leitsch, who has already played all of these titles for at least 20 hours.
The article was originally written on July 17 and last updated on January 3, 2022, so that the list can now be timeless.
[toc]
Wild Terra 2 (Early Access)
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Juvty Worlds | Platform: PC | Release Date: January 28, 2021 (EA) | Model: Buy2Play
What kind of game is this? Wild Terra 2 is a sandbox MMORPG that focuses on freedom rather than quests and a linear story. Everything revolves around content such as crafting, housing, and PvP against other players.
The game does not offer classes, so during character creation, you can only choose between gender and a few visual features.
It is played in an isometric perspective, where you can move around with WASD or mouse clicks. The developers provide a first look at the game with this gameplay trailer:
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What makes it special? Wild Terra 2 is reminiscent of sandbox MMORPGs like Black Desert or the also-in-development Fractured in terms of its core principles. However, there are also some unique features:
You can build in the open world and thus construct a huge city together with other players
There are dungeons with interesting end bosses, which is not very common in sandbox games
The food system is interesting as it ensures that you have a balanced diet with grains, fish, meat, fruits, and vegetables.
How has it performed since release? Wild Terra 2 was released in Early Access on Steam, but could not achieve significant player numbers there. At release, a peak of 1,244 players simultaneously viewed the MMORPG. On average, there were still almost 700 players online in February 2021 (via Steamcharts).
In recent months, however, player numbers have been declining significantly. In the last 30 days, there were on average only 121 players online.
Players rate Wild Terra 2 overall as only 55% positive (from 586 reviews):
Praise goes to the many freedoms, the crafting system, the dungeons, the community, and the fact that while there is PvP, it is not full loot, meaning you do not lose your equipped gear.
On the other hand, criticism is aimed at technical issues, high grind, and the fact that there is PvP everywhere.
Anyone wanting to play Wild Terra must currently pay €29.99 on Steam. The full release is stated to be expected by the developers at the end of 2021.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard explains in Patch 9.2 of World of Warcraft where Incubi actually come from. It’s just a short passage, but it answers pretty much all questions.
With Patch 9.2, World of Warcraft offers Warlocks a small but nice upgrade. The spell “Summon Succubus” is renamed and its function expanded, and is now called “Summon Sayaad”. Sayaad is the “demonic” name of the species that also includes Succubi. Instead of a Succubus, an Incubus can now also be summoned. However, this raised some story-related questions. Where do Incubi come from? Have they always existed? Do they just pop up out of nowhere?
Blizzard has hidden an answer in a new quest: Sayaad are and were “genderfluid” – they choose their gender as they see fit.
Where does the info come from? From the PTR for Patch 9.2. When Warlocks summon their Succubus in Patch 9.2, it has a small quest that can be accepted and subsequently leads to the Warlock trainer. The quest not only provides hints on how to switch between Succubus and Incubus – but also clarifies where the Incubi actually come from.
Sayaad choose their gender – according to the master’s preference.
What exactly is being said? The quest “Whatever You Sayaad” is currently only available in English because it does not yet have an official translation on the PTR. Translated by us, the text reads as follows:
As my master, you should know – I am quite flexible when it comes to… suitable preferences. <The demon gestures to itself.>
If you don’t like that, I can also take on a single form that will haunt your dreams. One of your mentors should be able to teach you how to adjust the summoning ritual accordingly.
But of course, if you want to leave that to me… well, I guarantee you a good time either way.
The quest then leads to the Warlock trainer, where the spell “Summon Sayaad” can be adjusted so that either only the Succubus, only the Incubus, or randomly one of both is summoned.
From the quest text, it is also clear that in both cases it is the same demon – one and the same form. This means that Sayaad, at least those under the control of Warlocks, are likely to be considered “genderfluid”, thus fluidly assigned to a gender. Sometimes male, sometimes female, or something completely different.
More news around World of Warcraft can be found here:
Alternatively, one could argue that these demons are entirely genderless and choose an appearance that pleases the Warlock (or rather the victim) – entirely without their own preference or identity.
In any case, Blizzard has easily solved the “problem” of the suddenly existing Incubi – they are simply Succubi in another form.
What do you think? A good solution to retroactively implement a “new” demon? Or should it have been handled differently?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On December 29, there were major issues in Fortnite. The servers were down for about 5 hours – many players could not play one evening between Christmas and New Year. Scandal! Demands for “compensation” quickly emerged, with players even demanding rare skins or V-Bucks as restitution. In fact, it seems that there will be some kind of compensation for the downtime in 2022.
What was going on in Fortnite?
On 12/29 around 5:13 PM our time, there were connection issues with Fortnite. Long queues formed, and players couldn’t smoothly get into the game.
Starting at 7:13 PM our time, nothing worked anymore. The servers were down, and Fortnite couldn’t be played at all.
The problem lasted until around 0:30 AM, after which the issue was resolved.
Start video
Fortnite: The End – Event for Chapter 3 in the Video
Epic Games plans to explain Fortnite issues in 2022
What caused it? That is still unknown. Epic Games only reported: “The Fortnite game servers are back, and you can continue celebrating the Winterfest.”
It is said that they will provide information in 2022 and explain how they plan to ensure that this does not happen again.
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Green is always good – there should be exact information in the first week of 2022.
Epic Games will help to “make up for lost time”
Is there a compensation? Epic Games says: “We will let you know what we will do to help you make up for lost time.”
It sounds like Epic Games wants to give players something, but it might be more like bonus EXP or progress in the Battle Pass than what they desire.
Players demand V-Bucks or extremely rare skins as compensation
What doplayers want? The biggest demand is clearly for “V-Bucks,” which is the in-game currency that players can use to purchase all sorts of cosmetics they want.
There are also requests for certain extremely valuable skins that were available in Fortnite years ago, but hardly anyone has: Like the Renegade Raider, the reward skin for Season 1.
What was there in the past? In the past, in 2018, it was the case that players received “Battle Pass Stars” as compensation for server downtime, which was more like a “purpose-bound compensation.”
There was also a time when all players were given a single specific cosmetic item as compensation for downtime, such as a “Back Bling.” Everyone then had that.
It will be interesting to see how Epic Games will compensate players this time for not being able to play Fortnite for 5 hours. It doesn’t look like it will be V-Bucks.
Can a second monitor really influence everyday life so much? Yes, it can – MeinMMO author Benedikt Schlotmann explains how his second monitor has completely changed his daily routine.
“I don’t want to give up my second monitor anymore!” That’s what my friends and colleagues have always told me. But I always wondered: Is that really true? Can a second monitor be such a big improvement that I wouldn’t want to miss it?
By now, I believe that this was one of my best decisions in 2021. Because the second monitor has made my everyday life at the desk much easier. By the way, I chose a Full HD monitor for my purchase, even though my colleague Patrick Freese has been totally thrilled with his WQHD monitor since 2020.
A second monitor has improved my productivity and my overview
This is the problem I had: With one monitor, I previously had a limited workspace. I often lost track when many tasks came my way or when I had to sort things out.
Many operating systems also offer you multiple virtual workspaces, but at some point, I lost track of what I had moved where.
Basically, you can imagine my problem like a desk: If the desk is full, you will start stacking things on top of each other and probably put bookmarks or similar on the items. In the worst case, you find nothing again, put everything in a box, and start over again. This happens to me when I have 120 tabs open in my Firefox and actually don’t know what I’ve opened.
This is how my everyday life has changed: With my second monitor, I double this space. Instead of using one desk, I can now spread my items over two areas. I can move unimportant things to the other monitor and don’t start piling everything on one desktop.
And this has significantly improved my work and workflow:
Previously, I had dozens of windows open in the background. Now I can comfortably spread things across two monitors and switch much faster.
I can now type text on the left side while I see the email I want to answer on the right.
I don’t have to constantly switch between dozens of windows in my workflow since I have multiple windows open side by side. This eliminates many unnecessary clicks.
On the left side, I can open an important presentation while I see my colleagues on the other monitor.
Not all games support dual monitors
While working with two monitors is a real pleasure and a significant improvement for my everyday life, gaming is a bit different.
The real-time strategy game Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, for example, supports a dual monitor setup, and I can command thousands of units around. The racing game Need for Speed: Payback also supports two monitors. However, my graphics card also has to work accordingly. So it only makes sense if you have a graphics card in your computer that delivers enough power for two monitors. Alternatively, you can also use technology like AMD FSR to get more FPS.
However, the dual-monitor setup does not work with all games: Especially many indie titles like Kingdoms: Two Crowns or the Pokémon clone Temtem do not support this. Here I might encounter ugly artifacts or the option is not even offered to me. In the end, I have started to use the second monitor for Discord or similar. This is especially interesting for all those who want to turn their setup into a streaming room.
Consider early enough whether you want a second monitor
Due to the deal on Black Friday, I now combine two monitors from different manufacturers at my workplace. In desktop operation, the differences are hardly noticeable at all, as texts or websites look the same on both monitors.
In gaming, the differences are particularly noticeable when using different display technologies. My primary monitor offers significantly better contrast and black levels, while the other monitor produces more vivid colors. One option is to calibrate the monitors so that the colors match again.
Another thing is more of a personal inclination, as I usually pile work and new windows on the left monitor and then push things to the right side. Even while gaming, I often do almost everything on the left side. The enemies overrunning my outpost on the right side of the screen? No problem, I’ll just move my left view to the right.
If you are more interested in hardwarethis might also interest you:
Hardly anything has changed my everyday life as much as a second monitor. That may sound very exaggerated at first. But if you have been working with one monitor for years and suddenly have two devices to work with, it makes many things significantly easier.
In everyday life, I save a considerable amount of time that I can now invest in other and more meaningful things. In gaming, I am still a bit divided. On the one hand, I enjoy being able to play games in a larger format, but not all games support that.
What do you think about it? Do you already have a second monitor at your workplace and can share similar positive experiences, or do you think my view is overrated? Discuss with us in the comments and tell us what you think!
Many gaming companies are now publicly traded and subject to the fluctuations of the stock market. Today, on December 31, 2021, we take a look at the stocks of major gaming companies like Activision Blizzard, Capcom, and Electronic Arts, and ask: What would have been the most profitable investment if you had invested your money on January 1, 2021?
What is the list about? We look at which video game stock would have made or lost moneyif you had invested your money in it on January 1, 2021. We assume that someone would have invested €10,000.
Activision Blizzard
How much money could you have made? If you had invested €10,000 in Activision Blizzard on January 1, 2021, you would now have lost about €1,900.
The stock price has dropped by 19.01% over the year.
How much money could you have made? If you had invested €10,000 in Electronic Arts on January 1, 2021, you would now have made about €393 in profit. The stock has risen by 3.93%.
Why is that? EA had a relatively unstable year with many ups and downs. APEX Legends, The Sims, and FIFA are still considered cash cows. However, the sentiment against microtransactions is worsening worldwide.
What is the recent development? In the last month, the stock has recovered from the setback after the release of Battlefield 2042. It has risen by 6.78%.
Take-Two
How much money could you have made? Over the year, you would have lost about €373.
Why is that? Take-Two has major game franchises in its portfolio, such as GTA, Red Dead Redemption, NBA 2K, and many others.
However, relatively little happened during the pandemic year 2021. GTA 5 is still extremely successful. However, there are currently no major releases planned.
What is the recent development? In the last month, the stock has increased by 8.96%.
Anyone who invested early in Roblox is likely celebrating right now.
Roblox
How much money could you have made? Roblox went public in March. If you had invested €10,000 at the start on March 10, you would have made a profit of €4,465.
Why is that? Roblox is one of the major winners on the stock market for video games. The game is trending because a new marketplace is emerging where customers create content for other customers. Roblox also fits into the narrative of the ‘metaverse.’
Roblox fits perfectly with the zeitgeist of investors.
How much money could you have made? Those who invested in Capcom would have been a bit less well-off at the end of 2021 than at the beginning of 2021.
You would have lost about €2,081.
What is the reason? Capcom also had a relatively weak year in 2021 with new releases. In the past, games like Monster Hunter have been very successful. In 2021, relatively little happened due to the pandemic.
This is how the recent development went: Capcom lost about 5.58% in the last month.
Graphics cards were a huge topic for gamers in 2021.
Nvidia
How much money could you have made? Anyone who invested in Nvidia can count themselves lucky. They would have more than doubled their investment.
With an investment of €10,000, the graphics card manufacturer would have delivered €14,333 in profit.
What is the reason? Business reports were extremely good and exceeded Wall Street expectations. Profits increased by another 50% compared to 2020 – and there are still high expectations for the future (via fool.com).
Nvidia is simply huge in the graphics card sector.
This is how the recent development went: In the last month, the stock fell by about 6.7%.
An ETF
What is it? An ETF is an investment instrument that seeks to replicate the value development of an entire industry. So you do not buy the stock of a single company, but an instrument that reflects the stocks of several companies in one industry.
How much money could you have made? If you had invested €10,000 in the VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF on January 1, you would have made about €516 in profit.
What is the reason? The ETF also includes hardware manufacturers such as NVIDIA, which performed very well in 2021 – while some values in Asia lost value due to stricter restrictions in China.
This is how the recent development went: In the last month, the ETF fell again by 6.46% – after it had looked very good in November.
Many would have loved to invest in Riot Games (LoL) – but they are not publicly traded. Riot Games belongs to Tencent, the Chinese corporation.
2020 was a hype year for gaming companies on the stock market – 2021 rather a correction
This is how 2021 was overall: 2021 was a rather mixed year for investors in the gaming sector.
This was also due to the fact that stocks had gained significantly in value during the pandemic year 2020. The ETF, which only gained 5% in 2021, had increased by about 60% in 2020.
In 2021, gaming companies felt the “disadvantages of the Corona pandemic.” Production cycles slowed down as developers worked from home, everything became more difficult, and the stores of games and content were empty. The release of major games was missing, and the business figures looked less rosy compared to the previous year, leading to stock value corrections.
However, Roblox shows that certain concepts that strongly resonate with the zeitgeist can create high values. Especially in the areas of NFT and Bitcoin, there is a huge hype that has captured gaming in recent months.
Anyone who invests in the stock market can experience enormous fluctuations in stock value. This is not for the faint-hearted or for those who want their money to be available at all times. Because overnight, large parts of wealth can lose significant value:
In the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, housing has been present since Update 13 Homestead in 2017. This introduced a massive feature to the game that continues to be supported with new content. Regularly, there are new homes and furnishing items. MeinMMO author MiezeMelli spoke with housing icon Fufuns.
Housing has existed in ESO since 2017. Nevertheless, it is not an old, boring content. On the contrary, housing flourishes as ESO ages and more content comes in. Especially, the textures of furnishing items have improved enormously. Recently, it has been energized by the ability to place house guests.
A large community has formed around housing since 2017
A community has even formed around housing. Setting up one’s own home, decorating, and redesigning has become a game within the game and continuously attracts attention at events or competitions. Bethesda even organizes housing competitions where players can express their inner interior designer.
A well-known name in the housing community is @Fufuns, who brings enthusiasm to the community with lovingly designed homes or entire cities. We want to travel through her housing world and hear what the community is currently working on regarding housing.
The snow globe home in festive style by Fufuns.
What came first for you, ESO or housing? “I have been playing ESO since the beta and haven’t had any interruptions apart from a short exam phase of two months. When Homestead came, I knew: This will be my main content. “
Where is the housing community currently strongest? “The community is quite large and the interests vary widely. For example, I set up my own Facebook group years ago, where housing enthusiasts can come together, share their projects, and exchange ideas.
Even the occasional crafting request happens within this group, and we now have over 1000 members. You can also find housing areas on my Discord and various others, as well as in-game guilds that focus explicitly on housing. I also count the streaming platform Twitch as a ‘meeting point’ now.”
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Do you see a similar development as we do, that housing has evolved with the game? “Definitely! I have been fascinated by the housing system since day one. I can only speak for myself, but I find that so much has developed since release. Be it the variety of items, the textures, or the building system itself.”
These are Fufuns’ favorite building spots and houses
What is your personal favorite home and item? “I actually prefer empty plots where I can let loose and create unique buildings. For example, the rather dark plot “Surreal Spot” in Kalthafen, which I have rebuilt countless times.
But I also find the “Moon Sugar Grove” in northern Elsweyr to be a great plot. If it comes to a plot that already has a house standing on it, I would actually choose one of the Breton houses.
I can’t mention a single favorite item, but I can say that I am a fan of the first walls and floors that came into the game with Summerset. Since then, I am delighted to see more and more building components coming with each DLC, allowing one to design their own unique house.”
How many hours do you invest on average in a housing project? “I work on many projects simultaneously. My inner procrastinator always wants to reflect perfection in my projects, which is why my projects often take several months until I am finally satisfied with the result.”
“My first small presidential suite”
What are your current or recent projects? “A few days ago, I completed a smaller project that creatively challenged me in a “different” way this time. Normally, I build large and extremely spacious projects, so there is much to see. But in this case, I was inspired by the housing community and tried my hand at a completely new building style.”
In the small 100-item house (with ESO+ 200 items) “Twin Arch,” I wanted to build a modern hotel room. The idea came to me because of another project I completed about two years ago. I built a small harbor town in the “Psijik Villa,” which includes a hotel. Unfortunately, the individual hotel rooms aren’t accessible due to item limits. So I thought I would just build the hotel rooms into the smaller houses.”
A modern project by @Fufuns: The presidential suite in Twin Arch.
“Thus, just a few days ago, my first modern, small presidential suite was created. However, the setting is more of today’s time and has little to do with ESO, as this suite contains modern furniture put together from individual parts, a large TV, an espresso machine, and a stereo system. I just wanted to try something completely new and am amazed by how well it has worked out.”
How do you finance your housing? It’s quite expensive, as some wallets get emptied. “In addition to housing, I also play other content that ESO has to offer. Through dungeon runs, raids, or relaxed farming rounds, a little something accumulates for the wallet. Due to the recurring ‘I’m broke’ status, my projects also take longer than they should. Occasionally, I receive a small donation of gold, items, or materials, which then allows me to finish more quickly.”
Do you use add-ons for setup? If so, which ones? “For building itself, I no longer use any add-ons. In the past, I liked using the Essential Housing Tool add-on to align walls at specific angles. With the introduction of precision editing, this tool is no longer necessary, and therefore, I no longer use this add-on.
However, I really love using an add-on called ‘Magic Carpet,’ and I can no longer do without it for larger builds. It allows you to move freely in the house and reach higher areas that you wouldn’t normally be able to. Normally, for building roofs, you would need a structure made of platforms and stairs to move around up there. But these take up many item slots, which you might not have left because you are already nearing the limit. The add-on only requires a single item slot. You just need to select one item to ‘fly’ on.”
Outlook 2022: What housing fans wish for
What are your plans for 2022? “My plans for 2022 are almost endless. Not to go too far off-topic, I would like to mention only two points that are close to my heart:
1. That would be to finish my website. In the past, I have had many attempts, and again and again, problems arose with my site, causing all my work to be lost, which has been very frustrating for me. My personal time invested in this project is quite limited. However, for the new year, I have brought in a professional who will build the website himself, ensuring that none of the work is lost. I am very much looking forward to it and am excited to see how it will turn out in the end. The website is intended to be a resource for the community that covers all questions about housing. From information on where to find which item to addressing initial questions in the housing area, I want to cover it all.
2. The second larger project I want to tackle is “competitions related to housing WITH and FOR the community. I have been on Twitch for a year and have seen many projects from the community. In the new year, I would like to instigate smaller challenges and organize competitions that reward the winners. Details are still not finalized, but I am looking forward to it.”
Is there anything that bothers you about housing? “In general, I really enjoy the housing system in ESO. However, there are certainly things that annoy me and constantly get on my nerves. One would be the item limit. I think it is clear to everyone that a limit is necessary for performance reasons. If everyone could suddenly place 10,000 items in a house, it would not be viable.
But I find that the houses or plots are becoming larger, and we never have the chance to set up the houses so that every corner looks beautiful. You constantly have to think about the item count and either cleverly build over some corners or simply leave them empty in the end. Therefore, I believe that if it is not possible in the foreseeable future to provide us with expanded item slots, the houses should be smaller accordingly.
If you are more interested in ESO, you might also be interested in this:
On the other hand, it bothers me a lot that we accumulate countless companions, mounts, and etc. over time, but can only place a tiny number of them in houses. This significantly limits some projects where, for example, you could build an entire zoo, but in the large houses, you can place a maximum of 10 animals, and that’s it. I find this very unfortunate.”
Do you have special wishes regarding the future of housing? (or community wishes?) “Yes! As mentioned, the item limit is probably THE wish that everyone from the community has expressed at some point. But if we are at ‘wishful thinking,’ my personal list is quite long.
The wishes of the housing community are quite uniform:
a free camera control in the housing editor
scalability of objects (or at least beams, walls, floors, etc. in different sizes)
to be able to choose between multiple color/texture options for building components
a revision of the texture of the old items that came into the game with Homestead
It would be highly desirable if there were more houses or empty plots that could be earned and funded with gold. Because to be honest, the huge crown store houses look nice, but with the item limit, they can never be designed to 100% according to one’s wishes.
For the fact that houses otherwise serve no purpose in ESO, the proud price of ~14,000 crowns is quite high and doesn’t motivate me to buy anymore. On the contrary, it rather deters me because I know exactly that I will never be able to design this beautiful house according to my preferences.”
In these wishes, I can only agree. In these points, the community seems to be united, based on my experience. I’ve also criticized the prices in the crown store, not solely because of housing, although it stands out with particularly high crown amounts.
But where is there still a need for improvement outside of housing, or what doesn’t even exist in ESO? In our article “9 things that the MMORPG ESO urgently needs to bring in 2022,” we talk about new ideas for the MMORPG in the coming year.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Players are rightfully envious of this spot in Pokémon GO. One trainer shows what insane luck he has at home. The wild Pokémon are literally stacking up there.
On reddit, a player shared a screenshot from his Pokémon GO game at home. The special thing about the picture is that many wild Pokémon are visible on it. Usually, significantly fewer spawn at one spot on the map, and trainers need to visit stops and gyms to catch many Pokémon.
The trainer’s insane luck makes other players envious. Many would also love to have such a hotspot right at home.
The trainer doesn’t understand how he got so lucky
This is what the player says: On reddit, ChiefOfAllChiefs writes, “I love being in the middle of nowhere, but for some reason my house is a crazy hotspot for Pokémon. Does anyone know why?” He also posted a screenshot with many Petznief, Tauros, Schneppke, and Botogel.
This screenshot was published by ChiefOfAllChiefs in his post on reddit
What is seen in the image? The spot in the game shows about 28 Petznief, two Schneppke, one Tauros, and one Botogel. All gathered in one place. This screenshot apparently comes from the spotlight hour on Tuesday. However, even away from such events, there are still incredibly many spawns at the player’s home.
Another screenshot shows a mix of Shnebedeck, Quiekel, Tauros, Pikachu, and many other wild spawns:
This is how trainers react: The comment with the most upvotes says: “You are the chosen one,” and many trainers agree. Some ask if they can visit the trainer.
Others wonder if the spawns have always been like this – ChiefOfAllChiefs confirms: “It’s been like this since 2016. Friends and acquaintances even came to my house because it always looks like this.”
Trainer Iconicism tries to explain: “It might be a glitch. Or you might be the only person in a large radius, so all the Pokémon that would otherwise spawn elsewhere appear in one spot with you. But that’s wild, haha.”
But with all the nice spawns, there are also problems. Because as the trainer already wrote, he lives in the middle of nowhere. His problem is the Poké Balls that can be collected from stops and gyms. “Unfortunately, the nearest stops are about 10 minutes away. It’s both a curse and a blessing,” explains ChiefOfAllChiefs.
Do you have any crazy Pokémon hotspots in your area or know of even better places? Then share your experiences here on MeinMMO in the comments and exchange views with other trainers from the community.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
2021 was nothing less than a catastrophe for Blizzard. We reflect on all the incidents – so that one does not forget so quickly.
The year 2021 is drawing to a close, and a lot has happened in the video game industry. Unfortunately, much of it was quite unpleasant. Especially around Activision Blizzard – with a special focus on Blizzard – there were many, many scandals. Not only have the games mostly fallen in the community’s esteem, but the company itself has as well. A major sexism scandal and continued allegations and reports from victims have come to light. Something that has not ceased even to this day.
We take another look at the “scandal year” 2021 and list the key incidents in order. The perfect overview for anyone who maybe didn’t catch every incident – or has forgotten what actually happened.
The Year 2021 for Blizzard – A Horrifying Year Without Joy
Note that this listing does not claim to be exhaustive. The incidents and allegations are too numerous to list them all individually. However, this timeline should provide you with a good overview of how much happened at Activision Blizzard in 2021.
Many know his work from World of Warcraft, as he was one of the original quest designers of the base game.
Jeff Kaplan was one of the most recognizable faces of Blizzard for many. A friendly man with plenty of self-irony, who always engaged with the community. He was seen during Christmas with his “Yule Log.” But even outside of that, there were always funny and entertaining stories about him – such as the parodies of his Overwatch announcements or the incident where an employee didn’t know his name.
Jeff Kaplan – for many one of Blizzard’s most popular faces.
The lawsuit followed a long-term investigation. It revealed that “male colleagues drank a lot of alcohol at work” and then moved from office to office of the female employees.
There were also reports of inappropriate advances and sexual harassment at events, such as BlizzCon.
July 21: Blizzard’s First Statement
The shitstorm on the internet was already raging when Blizzard released its first statement. They found the allegations outrageous. Many points there were simply wrong or heavily outdated. Blizzard claimed to have cooperated during the investigation and met all demands.
Especially the incident of a suicide within the company led to criticism. According to Blizzard, it was misrepresented, despite having nothing to do with the other incidents.
Indirectly, Blizzard also threatened the state of California – incidents like this and such “unjustified” lawsuits had repeatedly driven companies out of California in the past.
The statement led to over 2,000 current and former employees signing an internal letter. They no longer trusted the current leadership, which “placed employee safety” beneath corporate interests.
July 22: Blizzard CEO Speaks Out
The then Blizzard CEO, J. Allen Brack, wrote an internal email to all employees. He condemned the incidents that had occurred. He explicitly spoke out against the “Bro Culture” and stated that he had fought against such things throughout his entire career.
Almost simultaneously, Fran Townsend sent an internal email to the employees. The email stood in stark contrast to what Brack had written. Townsend claimed that the lawsuit painted a “distorted and untrue picture of the company” and that many of the incidents mentioned had been “taken out of context or were very old.” Such an accusation should not undermine the “culture of respect and equality” currently prevalent at Blizzard.
J. Allen Brack – the former CEO at Blizzard.
Blizzard employees then organized a “walkout” – they protested and expressed dissatisfaction with the leadership’s response. They felt that the problems and accusations were not being taken seriously, turning victims into perpetrators simply for speaking up and making accusations.
July 25: Work on World of Warcraft Comes to a Halt
Jeff Hamilton, the Senior Systems Designer of World of Warcraft, stated that due to the incidents work on the MMORPG is currently at a virtual standstill. He explained that the accusations needed to be taken seriously and addressed.
The team around World of Warcraft is currently unable to work due to Activision’s response. They would talk a lot among themselves and work through the situation internally. Hamilton said:
“Practically no work is currently being done on World of Warcraft while this obscenity unfolds. And that helps no one – not the players, not the developers, and not the shareholders.”
July 27: World of Warcraft Changes Game Content
The developers announced that they will be changing “inappropriate” content in World of Warcraft and WoW: Classic. Initially, this only affects the names of developers mentioned in the lawsuit. Particularly the many references to Alex Afrasiabi will be removed from the game.
But more is happening: Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, sends out his own statement, stating that the previous statement did not consider the concerns and problems of the employees. He promised that the company would investigate every allegation thoroughly and put its processes to the test.
On this day, the “walkout” also took place, where the Blizzard employees protested against the actions. They published a list of demands for changes.
References to Alex Afrasiabi were removed – both in WoW Classic and in Retail.
August 3: The Blizzard CEO Resigns, Two New Leaders Step Up
J. Allen Brack resigned as president of Blizzard. According to his statement, he wants to “pursue other opportunities.” The leadership of the company transitioned to a dual leadership structure. Mike Ybarra and Jen Oneal were to jointly lead Blizzard.
The fact that a man and a woman took over leadership together was intended to send a message of equality and diversity in the company.
On the same day, the regular “Earnings Call” also took place – the ongoing lawsuit and the allegations were largely ignored at that meeting.
August 11: Blizzard Fires 3 Key Developers
It became known that 3 key developers at Blizzard no longer work there. They are Luis Barriga, the Director of Diablo 4, Jesse McCree, the Lead Level Designer, and Jonathan LeCraft.
The exact reasons for the departure of the employees were not disclosed, but it was strongly suspected that it was related to the current incidents. After all, McCree and LeCraft were also involved in the incident surrounding the so-called “Cosby Suite,” where some Blizzard executives were said to have enjoyed themselves with women after BlizzCon and behaved rather sexistly.
August 27: Overwatch Renames a Hero
After the allegations against Jesse McCree, after which the cowboy in Overwatch was named, the Overwatch team spoke out. They said they would be renaming McCree in the coming days and weeks. A new name was not revealed at that time, but they wanted to give the community a little lead time.
The renaming of a hero was controversially discussed and also led to delays in Overwatch content. Both caused frustration, although there were also many players who understood why the renaming had to happen.
Jesse McCree will become Cole Cassidy.
September 14: Activision Blizzard Supposedly Suppresses Unionization
The employees of Activision Blizzard had previously formed the “ABK Worker Alliance,” which is now expressing criticism. Activision Blizzard has repeatedly tried to prevent the formation of a union, as efforts to do so were thwarted by management, and individuals with such thoughts were harassed to ensure that the formation did not succeed.
September 21: One of the Overwatch Heads Leaves
Although Overwatch 2 has not yet been released, Chacko Sonny has also left Blizzard. He was the Executive Producer of Overwatch (2) – a game that has been postponed indefinitely.
Chacko Sonny’s departure, however, seems not to be related to the ongoing investigations – there are no known complaints against him. Nevertheless, it must have been a heavy blow for the Overwatch team.
October 19: Blizzard Fires 20 More Employees
Fran Townsend stated that in recent weeks and months, after the allegations of harassment became known, over 20 employees have been let go. Although there are no name mentions of which employees exactly are affected, this should signify that they are taking the allegations seriously and are implementing consequences.
At the same time, it was announced that the “Ethics and Compliance” team has been expanded, and additional positions will be created in the coming years to oversee corporate culture and such allegations.
October 26: BlizzConline 2022 Is Canceled
Another bombshell news comes as BlizzConline 2022 has been canceled. This was a digital event, the online version of BlizzCon. New games were presented or upcoming releases were prepared, and information was exchanged with the communities of the games.
The cancellation of BlizzCon suggests to many players that no new games from Blizzard will be forthcoming anytime soon. The year 2022 is likely to be very sparse for gamers and Blizzard fans.
November 2: The Blizzard Co-CEO Resigns After Just a Few Months
Jen Oneal, who had just taken over Blizzard alongside Mike Ybarra as a leadership duo a few weeks ago, is leaving.
She is stepping down and leaving Blizzard to pursue new goals. The reason for her departure seems strange. In her announcement, she writes that she wants to “pursue new goals” and hopes to make an even greater impact on the industry elsewhere to promote diversity, inclusion, and the strengthening of women in the gaming industry.
Many are puzzled by this step.
Jen Oneal leaves Blizzard – the true reasons will be revealed later.
November 16: CEO Bobby Kotick Comes Under Fire
The “top boss” Bobby Kotick is now under scrutiny for the scandal. A lengthy report from the Wall Street Journal reveals that Kotick has allegedly known about the abuse allegations for years but has kept them quiet.
Allegations also emerged that Kotick allegedly threatened a female employee with death.
November 17: Jen Oneal Reveals Salary Details
The departure of Jen Oneal apparently had other reasons. It has now been revealed that she was paid less than her colleague Mike Ybarra in the same position. Both had insisted on receiving the same salary for the position – but this was repeatedly denied.
Only when Oneal threatened to resign did they offer her an equal contract, which she then declined – her decision had already been made.
To employees and the community, it is clear: Activision Blizzard is not truly interested in equality and diversity if they do not even treat their two CEOs equally.
November 18: Employees Demand Kotick’s Resignation
In a petition, over 1,000 employees at Activision Blizzard are demanding the resignation of CEO Bobby Kotick. They believe that he is unable to address the problems since he has downplayed and covered them up for years.
Bobby Kotick considers resigning if he does not achieve his goals.
December 5: Activision Blizzard Fires Many QA Employees
It was announced that Activision Blizzard will be letting go of numerous quality assurance employees between December 3 and 8 – a shocking development for those affected. Anger and confusion are being reported from many sides.
December 6: Game Awards Exclude Activision Blizzard
The Game Awards are an annual event that not only honors the best games, but many developers also showcase new trailers and announce games – the perfect venue for PR in a positive atmosphere.
What Happens Next in 2022?
This is quite an exciting question. It is clear that the pressure on Blizzard will not let up anytime soon. Whether it’s the employees, the gaming community, the investors, or other figures in the industry – the focus on Activision Blizzard will remain for quite a while.
Whether Bobby Kotick will still be CEO at the end of the year remains questionable. The pressure is increasing from all sides. If Activision Blizzard cannot turn its corporate culture around by 180° in the next 12 months, Kotick will likely become untenable – especially since he has already hinted at resignation if he cannot solve the problems in a timely and efficient manner.
Above all, 2022 must be a year of healing for Blizzard.
However, aside from all the scandals, Blizzard must diligently work on its games to rekindle the old fans’ enthusiasm. Overwatch 2, Diablo IV, and the next WoW expansion are all likely not to be released in 2022, but they should all be in the peak of their development.
2022 will be the year in which no major leaps from Blizzard are expected to be visible externally. It is basically the “grace period” and healing phase that must be given time.
Only in 2023 will it be determined whether Activision Blizzard can impress with its games again and has managed to get a handle on its corporate culture.
However, whether the time will return when one could say with a clear conscience: “So I only play Blizzard games!” … that is more than questionable.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Patch 2.4 in Genshin Impact is coming on January 5, 2022. On December 26, the official livestream of the game took place, announcing a variety of new monsters, the map Enkanomiya, and of course the brand-new characters Shenhe and Yun Jin. MeinMMO summarizes what awaits you in the upcoming patch.
Update from December 31: All upcoming banners of Patch 2.4 have been officially announced by Genshin Impact on Twitter. We have linked the information in the relevant section under “Upcoming Gacha Banners in Patch 2.4“.
Here are the highlights and official information from Patch 2.4 of Genshin Impact:
Character banner with the 2 new characters: Shenhe and Yun Jin, their talents and abilities.
Who is Shenhe? Shenhe is actually just the pupil of the swan adeptus “Princess of the Standing Clouds and the Silent Wind”, but her intelligence and overwhelming physical condition also convinced other Adepti. The Cryo warrior comes from a family of exorcists, but she has completely isolated herself in the mountains of Liyue.
Her Japanese voice actress “Ayako Kawasumi” voices the main character “Saber” in the famous anime “Fate”.
What can Shenhe do? The 5-star spear-wielder is referred to as a support character by Genshin Impact. She summons a clone to assist her in battle.
Elemental ability “Spring Spirit Summoning”: Grants team members the “Icy Quill” effect. When characters with this “Icy Quill” effect deal Cryo damage, that Cryo damage, based on Shenhe’s attack, is increased.
If the skill is held or pressed it has different effects, which have not been officially named. If you are curious, you can find the values and effects in the leaks below.
Special ability “Divine Maiden’s Deliverance”: A “Talisman Spirit” along with a field is summoned, which causes periodic Cryo damage within the field. Additionally, the Cryo and physical resistance of enemies within the field of the Talisman Spirit is reduced.
Shenhe’s passive talents:
“Spirit Communion Seal”: After you have used Shenhe’s elemental ability, she grants all nearby team members the following effects depending on whether you press or hold the ability:
Press: Increases damage from elemental and special abilities.
Hold: Increases damage from standard attacks, heavy hits, and falling attacks.
“Deific Embrace”: The active character in Shenhe’s special ability field receives a Cryo damage bonus.
“Precise Coming and Goings”: You receive more rewards when sending Shenhe on a Liyue exploration lasting 20 hours.
Geo User Yun Jin – Here are her abilities
Who is Yun Jin? Yun Jin is one of the most famous directors from Liyue, who oversees the Yun-Han opera troupe. The singer not only dresses uniquely but also has a personality that sets her apart from everyone else.
Her performances usually take place at the Heyu Tea House in Liyue.
While Yun Jin naturally receives different voice actors for different languages, she retains her Chinese voice for her singing voice.
What can Yun Jin do? According to Genshin Impact, Yun Jin is considered a 4-star Geo support character. Especially those of you who use heroes with standard attacks are expected to benefit from her.
Elemental ability “Opening Flourish”: If you hold the ability, Yun Jin charges up to Level 1 or 2. When you release, Yun Jin swings around and unleashes the charged energy as an attack. While using the ability, the Geo heroine creates a shield to protect herself.
Special ability “Cliffbreaker’s Banner”: Deals Geo area damage upon activation and grants all nearby team members the “Flying Cloud Flag Formation” effect. Characters with the effect deal additional damage with standard attacks, based on Yun Jin’s defense.
Yun Jin’s passive talents:
“True to Oneself”: If you use Yun Jin’s elemental ability at an appropriate moment while being attacked, she activates the ability in maximum charged state.
“Breaking Conventions”: If you have many different element types in the group, Yun Jin can benefit from this, as the “Flying Cloud Flag Formation” effect can be enhanced by the various elements. What exactly this means has not been officially disclosed; however, you can browse the leaks below if you’re curious.
If you perfectly cook buff food, you have a chance to double the buff food.
Yun Jin’s constellations:
Constellation “Stylized Equestrianism”: The cooldown of the elemental ability is reduced by 18%.
Constellation “Myriad Mise-En-Scéne”: While the effect from the special ability is active, characters deal 2% more damage with their standard attacks. The effect can be triggered every 0.3 seconds and stacked up to ten times.
Constellation “Seafaring General”: The talent level of the special ability is increased by 3.
Constellation “Ascend, Cloud-Hanger”: If Yun Jin triggers a crystallization reaction, her defense is increased by 20% for 12 seconds.
Constellation “Famed Throughout the Land”: The talent level of the elemental ability is increased by 3.
Constellation “Decorous Harmony”: Characters with the effect of the special ability receive an increased attack speed for their standard attacks. The increase is 12%.
More info about Yun Jin:
Splash art once you pull her from the banner (via Twitter).
Name card once you reach maximum friendship (via Twitter).
January 5 – January 25: Primordial Jade Spear and the “Calamity Queller” as 5-star weapons (via Twitter). Both come with these 4-star weapons:
Favonius Warbow
Flute
Favonius Greatsword
Millelith Spear
Landstrider Notes
January 25 – February 15: Amos’ Bow and the Rainbow Spear as 5-star weapons (via Twitter). Both come with these 4-star weapons:
Favonius Codex
Sacrificial Bow
Dragonspine Spear
Antique Millelith Greatsword
Favonius Sword
In addition to the 2 new heroines, a new 5-star spear “Calamity Queller” will also be introduced, which will be Shenhe’s signature weapon (via Twitter).
Here’s what “Calamity Queller” can do at Level 90:
741 base attack
16.5% attack as sub-stat
Effect: Increases damage of all elements by 12%. Grants the effect “Consummation” when triggering an elemental ability for 20 seconds. During these 20 seconds, attack increases by 3.2% per second. This effect can be stacked up to 6 times, granting you a total of 19.2% additional attack bonus. If the character equipped with this weapon is inactive, the attack bonus is doubled.
Xiao, Ganyu, and Zhongli are among the strongest characters in Genshin Impact.
Events in the new update of Genshin Impact
The huge annual Lantern Festival brings several events this year that you can master:
“Flameplume Starflowers”: Build your own fireworks. You can choose the color, size, and height. Make sure to stay close to a specific zone during crafting to receive a high rating for your fireworks and earn more rewards.
“Wondrous Shadows”: A recurring event that presents shadow plays. You must achieve the specified shadow image by turning a wooden model.
“The Great Gathering”: You must collect remains or materials from Ningguang’s castle. This takes place on the sea or on land in camps of reinforced treasure hunters.
“Oceanic Defender”: A new boss stands in your way. He is said to be quite strong, and you must defeat him to earn rewards.
“The Stars Inscribe the Year’s Wishes”
“May Fortune Find You”: Log-in event that gives you 10 intertwined fates and other goodies.
Additionally, Ningguang and Yun Jin will receive Hangout events; you can soon hang out with both and perhaps find out more details about the two beauties.
During the Lantern Festival, you can earn Original Resin and other goodies.
Rewards of this year’s Lantern Festival:
A 4-star character of your choice after completing “The Stars Inscribe the Year’s Wishes”:
Xingqiu
Yun Jin
Beidou
Xiangling
Ningguang
Xinyan
Yanfei
Chongyun
Two brand new skins for Ningguang and Keqing. The Ningguang skin will be available for free as a reward for completing “The Stars Inscribe the Year’s Wishes” event, while Keqing’s skin will be paid. However, Keqing’s skin will be offered at a lower price until February 14, after which it will increase. Both wear a stylish outfit for going out at night.
XP cards, Mora, Original Resin, and other rewards.
At least one Crown of Wisdom, which is among the rarest items in Genshin Impact.
“A Study in Potions”: Help the alchemist Timaeus craft a legendary potion and test various potions. You must complete different challenges against enemies using them. You can earn Original Resin, purple XP cards, weapon ores, Mora, and more.
“Eight Locales Over Mountains and Seas”: Besides the harder challenges, this event is more relaxing. You will receive a Bake-Tanuki from the forest of Inazuma, with which you are meant to travel through Mondstadt and Liyue. At well-known locations, you must take the right photos of him to collect rewards. Among other things, you can expect Original Resin, Mora, and purple XP cards.
“Windtrace”: A recurring event that sends you hiding. You are with a maximum of 4 players on a map, while 3 hide and can even disguise as objects, the last one must find the players. Original Resin and other materials await you.
New Region in Patch 2.4 of Genshin Impact: Enkanomiya
Where is Enkanomiya? A new area to explore: Enkanomiya. It is an island that has sunk into the deep abyss and lies beneath Inazuma. It has a rather dark, melancholic, and mystical atmosphere.
The inhabitants of this island have built a small village for themselves and live in complete isolation. Due to the island’s location, there is no natural light source and no natural transition between day and night.
The special thing about Enkanomiya: Enkanomiya features a unique mechanism that allows you to switch between day and night. Depending on your choice, the appearance of Enkanomiya changes. Additionally, you can only solve certain puzzles on the island using the day-night mechanic.
Impressions from Enkanomiya.
New monsters in Enkanomiya: Since Enkanomiya is an island sunken under the ocean, there are new monsters waiting to battle you. Some may seem familiar as they have encountered you in the Abyss before:
Abyss Herald of the Pyro attribute as a new enemy + the already existing Abyss Heralds.
Dragon Lizard of the Electro, Cryo, and Hydro attributes.
Twins Dragons as bosses.
System Optimizations from Update 2.4
What are system optimizations? Genshin Impact refers to “Quality of Life” updates as system optimizations. We at MeinMMO briefly summarize what has changed:
In the Spiral Abyss, the challenge guidelines in the user interface (UI) on the left side of the screen update: You will see the stars you will receive upon completing the challenge. No more calculations while you fight.
In the Spiral Abyss, you can see which monsters you will fight during team creation.
The shortcut menu can be customized by yourself – you decide where each shortcut is located.
On the map, you can choose which region you want to jump to on the right side of the UI. You no longer need to swipe back and forth with the mouse.
The alchemy table has been adjusted: The materials are no longer listed individually but now appear in rows of 4. You no longer have to scroll as much to find a specific item.
In the housing system from Patch 2.4, there are “music furniture” that you can place. When you interact with the furniture, you can play in-game music that you have already unlocked. You can unlock music by purchasing it from the traveling merchant in the teapot or “through other means” that have not been elaborated upon.
Leaks for Patch 2.4 Summarized – Not Discussed in the Livestream
In the following sections, you will find all leaks for the new Patch 2.4 that were not officially mentioned in the Genshin Impact livestream.
Warning: Leaks can turn out to be false at any time. Furthermore, they may differ significantly from the official release. MeinMMO takes information from public leakers who have proven reliable in the past.
Shenhe’s abilities, constellations, and talents
The information on Shenhe’s abilities, talents, and constellations comes from leaker Dimbreath, who deactivated his account on Twitter shortly thereafter. SaveYourPrimos shared the leaks again (via Twitter).
Shenhe is expected to be a 5-star character who will bring buffing opportunities for the team.
What abilities does Shenhe have? With her standard attacks, she can execute up to five consecutive strikes with her spear. Shenhe dashes forward with her heavy strike and damages all enemies in her path.
Shenhe’s elemental ability “Spring Spirit Summoning” deals damage in two different ways when activated:
Press: Dashes forward with a Talisman Spirit and deals Cryo damage to enemies in her path.
Hold: Commands the Talisman Spirit, which then deals area Cryo damage. Generates 3 elemental particles.
Additionally, the elemental ability grants the “Icy Quill” effect to all nearby team members:
Press gives you 5 stacks.
Hold gives you 7 stacks.
The damage of all abilities and attacks that deal Cryo damage is additionally increased based on Shenhe’s attack.
One stack per enemy hit is consumed when attacks deal Cryo damage.
Each team member receives the effect, and the stacks are counted individually.
Depending on whether you pressed or held the elemental ability, the damage, cooldown, and duration of the skill change.
Shenhe’s special ability “Divine Maiden’s Deliverance” deals area Cryo damage and creates a field that reduces Cryo and physical resistance. Additionally, it inflicts Cryo damage to enemies within the field every 2.5 seconds (via reddit).
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Shenhe needs the material from the new world boss in Enkanomiya.
Shenhe’s passive talents:
“Deific Embrace”: The active character in Shenhe’s special ability field receives a 10% Cryo damage bonus.
“Spirit Communion Seal”: After you have used Shenhe’s elemental ability, she grants all nearby team members the following effects depending on whether you press or hold the ability:
Press: Increases damage from elemental and special abilities for 10 seconds by 15%.
Hold: Increases damage from standard attacks, heavy strikes, and falling attacks for 15 seconds by 15%.
“Precise Coming and Goings”: You receive 25% more rewards when sending her on a Liyue exploration lasting 20 hours.
Shenhe’s constellations:
Constellation “Clarity of Heart”: Shenhe’s elemental ability can be used one more time.
Constellation “Centered Spirit”: The special ability lasts 6 seconds longer. The active character within the field of the ability deals 15% more Cryo critical damage.
Constellation “Seclusion”: The talent level of the elemental ability is increased by 3.
Constellation “Insight”: If you activate the bonus effect of the special ability with one or more characters, Shenhe receives a “Skyfrost Mantra” stack for each. When you then use the elemental ability, Shenhe consumes all collected “Skyfrost Mantra” stacks. Each stack grants her an additional 5% damage for using the elemental ability.
Constellation “Divine Attainment”: The talent level of the special ability is increased by 3.
Constellation “Mystical Abandon”: When characters trigger the “Icy Quill” effect by using standard attacks and heavy strikes that deal Cryo damage, no stacks are consumed.
More info about Shenhe:
Splash art once you pull her from the banner (via Twitter).
Name card once you reach maximum friendship (via Twitter).
The information on Yun Jin’s abilities, talents, and constellations comes from leaker Dimbreath, who deactivated his account on Twitter shortly thereafter. SaveYourPrimos shared the leaks again (via Twitter).
Yun Jin is expected to be a 4-star character.
What abilities does Yun Jin have? With her standard attacks, she can execute up to five consecutive strikes with her spear. Yun Jin dashes forward with her heavy strike and damages all enemies in her path.
Yun Jin’s elemental ability “Whirling Opener” has two properties:
If you press the ability, Yun Jin adds Geo damage to enemies. Generates 3 elemental particles (via Twitter).
If you hold the ability, Yun Jin creates a shield whose lifespan is based on her maximum HP. Generates 4 elemental particles.
The shield can absorb elemental damage and physical damage 150% more effectively.
When you use the shield, its duration ends, or it breaks, Yun Jin converts the absorbed damage and uses it to deal Geo damage to enemies.
Depending on how long you charge the ability, you deal increased damage.
The cooldown is 9 seconds.
Yun Jin’s special ability “Cliffbreaker’s Banner” deals Geo area damage to enemies and grants a “Flying Cloud Flag Formation” effect to all nearby team members. The “Flag Formation” has the following properties:
If you attack with standard attacks, it deals bonus damage based on Yun Jin’s defense.
The skill effect ends after 10 seconds or a certain number of stacks have been consumed. Yun Jin starts with 30 stacks.
Each team member receives the effect, and the stacks are counted individually.
One stack is consumed per enemy hit.
The cooldown is 15 seconds.
The skill costs you 60 energy points.
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“True to Oneself”: If you use Yun Jin’s elemental ability at an appropriate time when attacked, she activates the ability in maximum charged state.
“Breaking Conventions”: The bonus damage from standard attacks during the special ability increases by 2.5%/5%/7.5%/11.5% based on Yun Jin’s defense when the team consists of 1/2/3/4 elemental characters.
“Light Nourishment”: If you perfectly cook buff food, you have a 12% chance to receive the buff food twice.
Yun Jin’s constellations:
Constellation “Stylized Equestrianism”: The cooldown of the elemental ability is reduced by 18%.
Constellation “Myriad Mise-En-Scéne”: While the effect of the special ability is active, characters deal 2% more damage with their standard attacks. The effect can be triggered every 0.3 seconds and stacked up to ten times.
Constellation “Seafaring General”: The talent level of the special ability is increased by 3.
Constellation “Ascend, Cloud-Hanger”: If Yun Jin triggers a crystallization reaction, her defense is increased by 20% for 12 seconds.
Constellation “Famed Throughout the Land”: The talent level of the elemental ability is increased by 3.
Constellation “Decorous Harmony”: Characters with the effect of the special ability receive an increased attack speed for their standard attacks. The increase is 12%.
More info about Yun Jin:
Splash art once you pull her from the banner (via Twitter).
Name card once you reach maximum friendship (via Twitter).
Electro-Sigil shop in Inazuma will open and sell furniture (via reddit).
You can fish for rays starting from patch 2.4 (via reddit).
The monsters of level 12 of the Spiral Abyss (via Twitter).
Exclusive name card from the Battlepass in 2.4 (via Twitter).
New furniture for the housing system (via reddit).
What do you think about the upcoming patch? Is your Original Resin in danger or are you not interested in the characters? Are you saving for other reruns? Feel free to tell us in the comments – here at MeinMMO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Today, on December 31, 2021, the New Year event begins in Pokémon GO. Many costumed Pokémon, Shinies, and fireworks will appear on New Year’s Eve. We will show you all the bonuses of the event here.
When does the event start? Today, on December 31, the event starts at 10:00 PM local time. It will run until next Tuesday, January 4, 2022, at 8:00 PM local time.
What does the event bring? We will show you some of the bonuses here in the overview and discuss them in more detail in the article:
Special research for the season of origin continues
You will see fireworks in the game
The event bonuses are related to eggs
A new time-limited research begins
Costumed Pokémon will appear in the wild, in raids, from eggs, and as research rewards
New avatar items and stickers
All bonuses for the New Year’s event at a glance
Special research continues: Since the beginning of December, you have been researching the special research for the season of origin in Pokémon GO. It is set to continue during the New Year’s event. You will find details here on MeinMMO as soon as they are known.
In addition, there will be a new time-limited research that starts with the event.
Fireworks: As you may have seen from other events, there will be fireworks in the game. This will start on December 31 at 11:00 PM local time and will be active until January 2 at midnight.
Event bonuses: The bonuses of the event focus on the hatchable eggs;
Which costumed Pokémon are there? The following Pokémon can be caught during the New Year event with their costumes:
Pokémon in the wild:
Pikachu with New Year’s hat*
Jurob*
Flegmon with 2020 glasses* (Yes, Flegmon is wearing outdated glasses)
Hoothoot with New Year’s hat*
Damhirplex*
Waumpel with party hat*
Krakeelo
With luck, you might encounter Ibitak
Field research with these rewards:
Flegmon with 2020 glasses*
Hoothoot with New Year’s hat*
With luck, you might encounter:
Bisasam with party hat*
Glumanda with party hat*
Schiggy with party hat*
Pokémon from 7 km eggs:
Bisasam with party hat*
Glumanda with party hat*
Schiggy with party hat*
Flegmon with 2020 glasses*
Hoothoot with New Year’s hat*
Pichu with New Year’s hat
Waumpel with party hat
Raids:
Pokémon marked with three white stars in the overview can be caught as Shiny
Avatar items and stickers: To decorate yourselves for the event and adorn your gifts, there are new stickers in the shop, from gifts, and from PokéStops. To dress up your avatar, you can find special items in the shop.
These are:
2022 glasses
New Year’s headband
New Year’s jacket set
New Year’s pants
New Year’s shoes
How do you like the New Year event in Pokémon GO? Did the developers choose good bonuses and costumed Pokémon, or would you have preferred something different? Let us know here in the comments what you are looking forward to the most.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Destiny 2 will shift parts of the H.E.L.M, certain destinations, activities, and quests into the content vault at the beginning of Year 5, on February 22, 2022. MeinMMO informs about the upcoming changes so you can prepare for them.
Bungie is in the midst of preparations for the next big DLC “The Witch Queen,” and that also means the content vault will soon strike again. To help players prepare, Bungie has now released the Destiny 2 Content Vault Guide for Year 5 detailing all the upcoming changes.
In addition to the already known contents, both wings of the social hub H.E.L.M. (Hub for Emergency and Logistical Maneuvers) will be moved to the content vault – as well as the Umbral Decoder.
These contents are coming to the Content Vault in 2022
Destinations
The Tangled Shore Spider must leave, which also ends his black market trade in the Tangled Shore. What happens to him is still unclear. However, to allow players to continue purchasing materials, his trade will be taken over by Master Rahool in the Tower starting February 2022. Whether this will include a price increase is still uncertain.
H.E.L.M The two seasonal wings in the H.E.L.M. will be cleared. Mithrax with his Eliksni (Season 14) and the Awoken with their queen Mara Sov (Season 15) must move out. The two wings in the H.E.L.M. will be freed up. Also, the location “Last City: Eliksni Quarter” as well as Mara Sov’s Chambers will no longer be available.
What happens to the strategy table in the back area of the H.E.L.M. is not known. However, it is not ruled out that the entire social hub H.E.L.M. could disappear. Bungie has at least made the Battlegrounds activity from Season 13 permanently accessible through the Vanguard playlists.
Campaign: Forsaken Players who have not purchased Forsaken can play this campaign one last time and for free. It will also leave the game when the new DLC launches. Until then, players have time to say goodbye to the gunslinger Cayde-6.
However, it is currently unknown how the campaign will be replayed, as players have not yet found a way to reacquire the quest involving Cayde-6. Bungie has not commented on this yet. We have inquired and will update this information for you as soon as we know more.
Note for Forsaken owners: All players who have already purchased Forsaken can collect Forsaken engrams at the Monument of Lost Lights and exchange them for exotic Forsaken weapons or Ascendant shards. However, this is only available if they were previously in possession of the Forsaken DLC.
All 4 seasonal story contents from the last DLC Beyond Light Beyond Light brought players 4 new seasonal stories. Starting February, the story contents of the Season of the Hunt, Season of the Chosen, Season of the Splicer, and the Season of the Lost will no longer be available.
Activities
Various seasonal activities will also leave Destiny 2 in the upcoming year to make way for new challenges. This includes seasonal and repeatable content from old DLCs and the last seasons that most of the Destiny 2 players have already completed.
Forsaken: The 8 Baron Hunts formerly led by Uldren Sov/ Crow
Season 12: Chosen Hunts The activity from the Season of the Hunt (Season 12) can no longer be played. This includes hunting Savek and HKD-1, the Fallen Chosen, hunting Dul Arath and Xillox, the Hive Chosen, and hunting the High Celebrant, the leader of the Chosen.
Season 14: Override missions and Purge The seasonal Override missions in Europe, on the Moon, in the Tangled Shore, and in the Last City will be removed. Also, the accompanying Purge missions Labyrinth/ Corrupted Labyrinth, Styx/ Corrupted Styx, and Tartarus/ Corrupted Tartarus.
Season 15: Astral Alignment and Shattered Realm The seasonal activity “Astral Alignment” from Season 15 will also be put on hold. It will disappear along with the locations Forest of Echoes, Ruins of Dreams, and the Shattered Realm.
The eight Barons from Forsaken
Chosen Hunt from Season 12
The Purge activity from Season 14
The Shattered Realm in Season 15
The Vanguard playlist will be renamed
The Vanguard strike playlist will be renamed to “Vanguard Ops” in the coming year. This new navigation point on the map will then include strikes and the battleground arenas.
The strikes “The Hollowed Lair” and “The Hollowed Hideout” will temporarily leave the Vanguard strike playlist.
Exotic Quests
Some exotic quests will also no longer be available to you in the coming year. If you have unfinished exotic quest bounties in your inventory, you should check which ones you want to complete before the launch of the new DLC “The Witch Queen.” Unfinished exotic quests will be automatically removed from your inventory in February 2022.
Lord of Wolves, exotic solar shotgun through completion of Wanted bounties
Chaperone, exotic kinetic shotgun and the quest “Holliday Family History.” In the future, Shaw Han will offer this quest in his inventory. However, this raises the question for players why Amanda Holliday will no longer offer it.
How can you earn the weapons starting February 2022? Bungie has stated that the above-mentioned weapons will remain obtainable in other ways within the game.
Only the hand cannon “The Last Word” via the quest “Like the Crow Flies” as well as the scout rifle “Tale of a Dead Man” via the quest “The Voice on the Other Side” will not be obtainable at the beginning of Year 5. If you want these weapons, you must complete the quests before February 22, 2022.
These earnable items will also leave Destiny 2 soon
Season 12: Exotic ship “The Fourth Sign” (Coup de Grâce)
Season 13: Exotic ghost shell “Gilgamesh Shell” (Notations)
Season 14: Exotic ship “Forbidden Memory” (Path of the Splicer) and Zeroneiro Ghost Shell (Unforeseen)
Season 15: Exotic sparrow “Eternal Return” (Journey of the Pathfinder) and the exotic ship “Riffborn Warbird” (Remaining Devotion)
Earnable exotic items from the seasons are leaving the game, like the “Zeroneiro Ghost Shell”
The content vault is a major hate topic in the Destiny 2 community:
This list includes not only many weapons and items that Destiny 2 will soon lose, but it also means that players will have to say goodbye to a few beloved NPC characters. Xur will also soon stop being the showman and test your courage with his trusty horse.
Xur will also soon forget everything: Once you reach Rank 16 with Xur in the “30 Years of Bungie” anniversary activity, he will tell you that the cosmically impossible star horse will eventually leave. When that happens, the “Eternity Challenges” will also cease to exist.
According to Xur, this event will strip him of all memories of his time as a host of a unique game show. He therefore asks players to keep a souvenir to remember that time, as he will no longer be able to.
To prepare you for the new DLC, we will share some preparation tips here:
What will you miss the most and the least? Were you able to earn all the content from Year 4 or are you still missing items? What do you think will happen to Amanda, and do you think the H.E.L.M. will completely disappear?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the online game Fortnite , the servers went down on December 29. Since around 5:00 PM German time, there have been many error messages, people are stuck in queues and are frustrated. Since 7:00 PM, the Fortnite servers have been offline. We at MeinMMO are keeping an eye on what Epic says and the timeline of the outage in Fortnite. What could be the reason that the servers are now offline? Also, on December 30, there are again issues in Fortnite: The game is not connecting properly.
This is the timeline of the server outage in Fortnite on December 29:
At 5:13 PM German time, Epic Games reported via Fortnite that there were issues with login, matchmaking, and other difficulties. Epic is looking into it.
At 7:13 PM German time, the message came: “Fortnite is currently unavailable,” players are unable to log in. They are investigating the issue and will inform once the servers are back online.
For those who cannot play Fortnite at the moment, it should be noted: It’s not you, your Internet provider, or the new traffic light coalition in Berlin – these are global issues right now.
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Fortnite experienced issues starting at 5 PM and was then unavailable from 7 PM.
The message from Epic Games aligns with the timeline of the issues, which can be observed through Google Trends: Search queries for Fortnite spiked starting from 4:50 PM German time, reached a peak at 7:08 PM, and have remained at a consistently high level since then.
Fortnite’s servers were regularly down during peak times
What is the reaction? Players who have been involved with Fortnite for a few years are familiar with server outages.
During the “growth phase” of Fortnite, around 2018, there were regular server outages. At that time, Fortnite was flooded, so popular was “Fortnite: Battle Royale,” a hastily built emergency game back then.
In recent years, however, such problems have become less frequent.
What could be the cause of the server outage? If the problems began at 5:00 PM German time and escalated at 7:00 PM, this suggests some sort of overload or “high demand,” as around 7:00 PM European prime time is expected, during which the most users worldwide are likely online in Fortnite.
However, there is no evidence that Fortnite would have an extreme player peak at the end of 2021. The last major spike in interest occurred on December 5, when Chapter 3 of Fortnite began with a major event.
Epic provides an update at 9:10 PM with a new message
Update 9:13 PM: At 9:10 PM, the latest message from Fortnite came. They stated that they are “working on a fix” to bring Fortnite back and thank everyone for their patience.
Currently, Fortnite’s game servers are offline while they look for solutions to the stability issues. They will provide updates when they have more information.
Update 10:00 PM: There have been no new updates in the last 50 minutes.
In the comments on Twitter, people say:
“This is completely crazy. Your servers have been down for 4 hours while kids are on winter break.”
A user empathizes with Epic and says: “Sucks for you, that you now get a break and then still have to work there.”
At the moment, it seems that Epic Games is still working on the issues with the server down in Fortnite. In the USA, in North Carolina, where Epic Games is located, it is currently 4 PM. This will likely be a hot afternoon for them in emergency staffing, as many responsible technicians will also be missing during the holiday season.
Update 11:00 PM: There is still no news from Epic Games. The servers remain down. The worldwide interest in Fortnite even reached another peak at 10:56 PM. This indicates that the situation is becoming even more critical.
Update December 30, 12:00 AM: Even at midnight, there is still no news. It looks like the problem is going to take significantly longer.
Fortnite servers back online at 12:20 AM, first users report
Update 12:30 AM: There are now increasing reports that the servers in Fortnite are coming back online. On Twitter, first users are reporting they are getting back in. The search interest in Fortnite has also significantly decreased since 12:22 AM. The situation seems to be easing.
Around 12:50 AM, Fortnite officially announced that the servers are back online. They will discuss compensation with fans next week.
Problems in Fortnite continue on December 30
Update December 30, 6:14 PM: No good news for Fortnite fans on December 30. There are again problems today. At 5:39 PM German time, Fortnite reported that they are investigating the login issues in the game.
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Since around 5 PM German time, the global interest in Fortnite has shown that there are again problems in the online shooter – just like yesterday on December 29. The issues started at 5 PM and led to a server down in Fortnite at 7 PM.
Hopefully, this will not repeat itself today.
Update, December 31, 2:40 PM: Epic has now hinted that there will be compensation:
In South Korea, MMORPG giant Nexon has introduced a new online role-playing game for PC and mobile called “Project ER,” where it is supposed to be possible to capture or defend castles “around the clock, 24 hours a day.” They aim to popularize siege combat. An initial trailer shows 4 classes and looks fantastic.
What kind of game is this?
Very little is known about “Project ER” – there is only a YouTube video from 08/05/2021. During that week, Nexon introduced a whole series of titles, so the games partially got lost in the shuffle. However, Project ER seems to be crystallizing as the most exciting game among the flood of new games.
It is said that Project ER (working title) will be released for PC and mobile platforms. There is no release date yet – it will probably take a while until the game is released.
This is seen in the first trailer: The only trailer for the game apparently shows 4 classes of the MMORPG in a medieval Western look. It can probably be assumed that the classes are “genderlocked“:
a male archer
a male warrior with sword and shield
a female swordswoman with a magic touch
a female character relatively lightly dressed without armor – could lean towards mage or rogue
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New MMORPG feels like “Dark Age of Camelot meets Mount & Blade”
This is the game’s claim: The little that is known is that the game aims to popularize “siege battles.” It is said that in other games, battles for castles are only reserved for top players. In Project ER, the battle for fortresses is open to everyone. It will be a game where anyone can occupy a base – this is supposed to be the end content.
It is said that it will be possible to capture and defend castles 24 hours a day. There are massive battles in a single game world, without boundaries. Players can enjoy battles with a collision system and unique ground features.
It sounds like Project ER is heading towards “Dark Age of Camelot” meets “Mount & Blade”.
The emphasis that siege combat is always possible is supposed to set Project ER apart from games where siege battles are only possible at certain times, as special events.
The first trailer indeed looks fantastic. One can be curious about what else is to come.
Recently, Nexon made headlines because they went against a private server:
The US team Cloud9 discovers the Korean in itself in League of Legends. They have recruited two new Korean players and brought in the American Nick “LS” De Cesare as coach from Korea. He is considered a LoL mastermind with his own unique ideas. One of his first actions: He has thrown the team’s star bot laner, Jesper “Zven” Svnennigsen, out of the roster, there is no place for Zven even in the academy team. The 24-year-old is considered one of the best bot laners in the USA.
This is how it went for Cloud9 in 2020:
For 2020, Cloud9’s strategy was more or less: We bring in the best players from Europe and then it will work out. Alongside the strong ADC from Denmark, Zven, played probably the best player in Europe, the Croatian Perkz, in the mid lane. Perkz is said to have cost around 5 million US dollars.
However, the team had major problems in 2020. ADC Zven was banished to the academy team due to issues with his attitude – there he went completely berserk and demolished the talent pool of the US league LCS until he was allowed back in the team.
Cloud9 then recovered and made it to the Worlds, where they at least survived the group stage – as the only US team. But it ended in the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, the team with Perkz and Zven actually looked quite good. Jungler Blaber was considered a weak point – allegedly a mistake by him caused an outburst from Zven, who was then banished from the team.
Cloud9 will be the “branch office” for Korea in 2022
What’s going on now in 2021? Superstar Perkz is gone – he has left for Europe again after a year. He apparently did not have a good year at Cloud9. The whole drama surrounding Zven seems to have bothered him.
For Perkz, the previous top laner Fudge is now supposed to move to the mid lane, which is already a pretty strange decision. You replace one of the best mid laners in the West with someone who has never professionally played the role.
In addition, they have brought in two new South Koreans, Summit (top lane) and Berserk (bot lane), even though there wasn’t much room left for foreign players. Because there is a “foreign limit” for non-US players in the LCS. On the bot lane, with Zven, there was also an outstanding player – on the top lane with Fudge a key player. So they have brought in 2 players for positions for which they actually did not need new players at all.
Furthermore, Cloud9 has hired analyst “LS” from Korea as the new head coach. The American is known for his controversial views. He thinks of LoL completely differently than most others. For example, he believes that players and coaches in LoL have no idea how the draft actually works. It requires specialists from strategic card games – like him.
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400,000 views has the new announcement from Cloud9. There is some explosive content in it.
New coach throws star player out of the team – relies on “old” academy team
This is LS’s first action now: Cloud9 has now presented the starting lineups for the main team and the academy team. And the surprise: the Dane Zven is in none of the two teams.
In the main team, he was replaced by the 18-year-old Korean Berserk.
In the academy team, the Australian K1ng is supposed to play. However, he is already 23 and thus 5 years older than the main player, which seems somewhat strange for a “junior talent”. “Normally” players of the academy team should be younger than the main players they might one day replace.
LS explains that they already have 2 Koreans in the main team, Summit and Berserk, hence they only have one “import slot” left. However, this is needed in the academy team for “Malice”, a 24-year-old Swedish jungler. He needs game experience.
Zven will be available in the academy team for practice matches.
Has hot, innovative ideas – hopefully he will also be successful: Nick “LS” De Cesare.
Having a sister team is like cheating
What’s behind it: The decision is – to put it mildly – really bold.
Basically, one is sidelining one of the best players in the USA and citing a really strange justification that a 24-year-old substitute jungler needs game practice. Zven is then supposed to participate in scrimmages, which will lead to the actual substitute ADC, K1ng, not getting any training and not developing further.
It is obvious that Cloud9 simply does not want Zven in the team anymore – sports reasons do not seem to play a role, but rather some kind of atmospheric difficulties.
Also, having some players in the academy team who are significantly older than the players in the main team goes against the usual convention. For example, the top laner in the academy team is already 27 years old. LS explains that they want to have a strong academy team to ensure strong practice matches so that everyone can develop.
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He considers US junglers to be quite bad and believes he will dominate the academy league.
Substitute jungler as a new impulse opponent – Malice considers US junglers weak
The new academy jungler Malice (24) is seen as a friend of LS and was with him in South Korea at bbq Olivers. The Swede is regarded as a “failed LoL super talent”, whose attitude has always caused him problems.
Malice says: They plan to introduce new types of scrimmages that they bring from Korea, which should ensure that the teams develop optimally:
If there are problems in the early game, they will conduct blitz scrimmages
If there are difficulties with communication, they will have silence scrims
If there is trouble in team fights, they will play ARAM with 10 people
Having a sister team is like cheating, Malice says (via inven). He believes that in the USA, almost only weak junglers play, whom he will easily dismantle. Only Inspired, the Polish jungler of Evil Geniuses, seems to be the only one he takes seriously.
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Cloud9 will be something like “Korea9” in 2022, says Blaber.
Academy team as a sparring partner, not as a nurturing ground
From the lineup and decisions, the idea speaks that Cloud9 no longer has an academy team but has assembled a “sister team” as training opponents for the main team. Therefore, they are not using the team as a nurturing ground but as sparring partners.
It is a quite strange situation brewing at Cloud9. Should the team under LS not find success, calls to bring Zven back into the lineup are likely to arise quickly.
Much will now depend on how well Fudge performs in the mid-lane and how strong the two new Koreans really are. The decision to place 23-year-olds and 27-year-olds in the academy team will hopefully prove to be a stroke of genius.
Cloud9 is reinventing itself every year. They had much success with that in 2020:
The cowboy epic Red Redemption 2 is experiencing a small renaissance on Steam in December 2021. The game has the most players there since February 2020. Reviews rave about the game, with 91% of player ratings in the last 30 days being positive. Despite this, not much actually happens in the game, even though it was supposed to be a vibrant MMO. What’s going on?
How has the player count on Steam developed?
This concerns the player numbers of Red Dead Redemption 2 on Steam. This includes the single-player and multiplayer parts; although there is also a discounted standalone version of “Red Dead Online” for €10, we will not consider it here.
Red Dead Redemption 2 came to Steam late – because of the exclusivity deal with Epic Games. In December 2019, the game had an average of 28,626 players at launch. By then, it had already been playable for over a year on consoles and had been released a month earlier on the Epic Games Store and in its own launcher.
In the following years, this player count plummeted to 11,600 (June 2020) – but now in December 2021 it has risen again to 22,495. This brings it back nearly to the strength it had at Steam release and is the best average player count since February 2020.
Why is this so strong? It is somewhat puzzling, as Red Dead Redemption 2 is treated so poorly by Rockstar. It was established early on that there would be no expansions for the single-player mode, only the online part was to be further developed.
But for half a year, the development of Red Dead Online has practically stopped. Rockstar’s focus has shifted back to GTA Online in 2021, where big updates are still being released, although the game is already 8 years old. In any case, GTA 5 is one of the big winners of 2021 – a vibrant role-playing scene on Twitch fuels its success.
It seems that amidst all the commotion around GTA Online, Rockstar has pretty much forgotten and neglected their western epic.
Cowboys also have fun alone in the open world
Why is Red Dead Redemption 2 still so successful? Red Dead Online is an unusual MMO: Because it works so well as a single-player game and “few players” match the feeling of the lonely cowboy, RDR2 seems somewhat immune to content poverty and can work wonderfully even without much new content.
This makes it an extraordinary phenomenon: An MMO that hardly needs developer attention, yet still works:
The game is now available at 50% off.
The reviews for the last 30 days are a strong 91%.
Apparently, the concept “Once you are done with the story, just continue playing it as an MMO” works perfectly.
A game that follows a similar concept to Red Dead Online could be Crimson Desert:
Genshin Impact has been around for over a year now, and maybe some of you are taking a break from the game. Perhaps you are also complete newcomers considering starting with Genshin Impact? MeinMMO presents you with 5 reasons to start (again) with the game right now.
The Patch 2.4 of Genshin Impact releases on January 5th and brings a lot that could persuade you to dive back into the gacha game. During the annual Lantern Festival, there are numerous rewards and challenges to keep you entertained.
Why start now and not wait until January 5th? Newcomers among you can only benefit from all the rewards and events during the festival after reaching Adventure Rank 10. This can be done relatively quickly, and on January 5th you can participate directly in the events.
Returning players who had reached at least Adventure Rank 7 can collect a juicy 1,600 Primogems from their in-game mail until January 4th. In addition, current events are running that will also grant you a lot of Primogems. Armed with this, you can pull on the current or upcoming strong gacha banners.
Moreover, Genshin Impact grants all players additional rewards for the annual Lantern Festival.
1. Genshin Impact gives you a character of your choice
You heard right: If you participate in an event during the Lantern Festival, you have the chance to choose a 4-star character to accompany you on your adventures from now on.
The following heroes are available for selection:
Xingqiu (Hydro)
Yun Jin (Geo)
Beidou (Electro)
Xiangling (Pyro)
Ningguang (Geo)
Xinyan (Pyro)
Yanfei (Pyro)
Chongyun (Cryo)
Yun Jin is even a brand new character that will be introduced with Patch 2.4, and you can get her for free. Additionally, Xingqiu, Xiangling, Ningguang, and Yanfei are incredibly strong characters that can greatly assist you, whether you are a newcomer or a returning player.
Even if you already own the respective character, it is worth unlocking constellations for them, as they make the hero even stronger.
If you do not want Yun Jin as a new character, we highly recommend Xingqiu, Xiangling, Ningguang, and Yanfei. You can get a general overview of the strengths of each hero in our tier list:
Xiao is an incredibly strong main DPS who can hit many enemies at once with his spear and abilities. With him on your team, you will handle many challenges with ease.
Ganyu is also one of the strongest main DPS in Genshin Impact. With her bow, she deals high Cryo damage to enemies from a distance.
Zhongli is the support among the three. He generates incredibly strong shields for your team and protects you from attacks by the monsters waiting for you in the overworld or dungeons. However, if you equip Zhongli appropriately, he can also deal strong attacks.
3. Free Primogems for some wishes on gacha banners
In line with the three reruns and the new Cryo heroine Shenhe, you will receive free Primogems and intertwined fates.
160 Primogems and 1x intertwined or predetermined fate grant you a pull on the gacha banners. The intertwined fate allows you to pull on event banners, while the predetermined fate is for the standard banner available at any time in the game.
What can returning players expect? Especially as a returnee, you can benefit greatly: If you have not logged in for more than 2 weeks, you will automatically receive several bonuses:
400 Primogems, weapon ores, Mora, and purple XP cards.
A free 4-star weapon.
3x double loot from spheres and elemental growth.
If you also qualified for the 1,600 Primogems via in-game mail, you will receive a total of 2,000 Primogems upon your return.
By logging in daily, you can even receive fragile resin as a return bonus.
What can newcomers expect? If you are starting Genshin Impact now, you will have a variety of areas to discover. You will also receive many materials and a ton of gacha currency through quests, puzzles, and challenges that longtime players have already picked up.
These materials and the Primogems perfectly prepare you for the upcoming characters.
What can all players expect? Numerous materials to upgrade your heroes or pull new figures from the banners. An event is also taking place, which allows you to earn up to 10x intertwined fates through daily logins.
In addition, you will receive a Crown of Wisdom, one of the rarest items in Genshin Impact, which allows you to maximize a character’s talent.
4. Numerous events during the annual Lantern Festival
What events can you expect? Around 10 events are expected in Patch 2.4. They range from simple photos on a sightseeing tour with a Tanuki to a fierce battle against a powerful sea serpent.
You can also create your own fireworks in various sizes and colors to launch and admire your artwork.
If you want a bit more action, the “A Study in Potions” event sends you into a dungeon with various strong monsters that you need to defeat.
Even for coop fans, there will be something this time, as the event “Windtrace” sends you to a map where you can play hide and seek with 3 other players. You will also be able to take on the form of an object to blend in better.
Whether you prefer it relaxed or challenging: There should be something for every taste.
5. New island(s) to explore
What can returning players expect? In Patch 2.4 of Genshin Impact, a new island is coming to the Inazuma region: Enkanomiya.
This island is located under the ocean and brings a whole new mechanic to the game. In Enkanomiya, day and night can be determined manually, and depending on the time of day you choose, certain puzzles can be solved on the overworld.
New enemies and a new boss are waiting to be defeated by you. Furthermore, over 200 new treasure chests await discovery by you explorers.
What can newcomers expect? 5 different areas that contain over 2,000 treasure chests and numerous puzzles. The main areas of Genshin Impact are inspired by Europe (Mondstadt), China (Liyue), and Japan (Inazuma). Together, they form the world of Teyvat.
Starting with Patch 2.4, there are also 46 different characters who can accompany you on your adventures through Teyvat.
In Teyvat and the respective areas, there are also plenty of quests and challenges that you, as a newcomer, will need to tackle.
All in all, Patch 2.4, along with the Lantern Festival, definitely presents a good opportunity to take a look (back) at Genshin Impact.
Hardly any challenge in World of Warcraft is as demanding as raids. We present you the 5 best raid instances of all time.
If you want to have the best gear for your character in World of Warcraft or face the toughest challenges, you can’t avoid raids. These raid instances were designed for groups of 10 to 40 players during the long runtime of World of Warcraft. Without coordination and communication, nothing could be done. It was indeed an art to have enough reliable players at the right time and place.
But which raids in World of Warcraft were the best? Where was the most fun and the greatest memories? We present our Top 5 raids of World of Warcraft.
Note: The article originally dates back to 2018. We have updated it and refreshed it again at the turn of the year 2021/2022.
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The Night Hold
Expansion: Legion
Number of Players: 10-30
Number of Bosses: 10
The Night Hold formed the grand finale of the story surrounding the area of Suramar. The uprising of the nightborne reached its peak and ended here with the overthrow of the leader Elisande. All the bosses were interesting and had some of the coolest visual effects in World of Warcraft. The encounter against Star Augur Etraeus, which already provided a glimpse of what was to come in WoW, is one of the most impressive scenes ever.
But also the finale against Gul’dan at the peak with the great end cinematic leaves wonderful memories. However, no boss compares to our favorite …
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The lines of hardly any other boss have stuck in my head as much as those of Trilliax. The boss with the split personality, who wants to kill his master in various ways and feeds the raid with cake, will remain forever in memory.
