10 Things WoW Could Easily Use to Win Players in Patch 9.1.5

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 7 minutes

What can Blizzard deliver in Patch 9.1.5 of World of Warcraft to appease players? We have 10 easy-to-implement things.

Update August 28, 09:00 AM: In the meantime, WoW has confirmed many of these wishes and will bring them in Patch 9.1.5!

Original article: World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is currently not doing very well. Not only is the sexism scandal at Blizzard affecting player numbers, but the current content is also unpopular. Next up is the Patch 9.1.5 for WoW – this is a small “interim patch” that brings few major changes and mainly improvements to gameplay mechanics.

We present to you here 10 things that are relatively easy to implement and could keep the heroes and heroines of Azeroth busy until the big update 9.2 and prevent them from being overwhelmed by boredom.

Please note that this is mainly about “Easy Wins”, meaning easily implementable improvements that require little effort. Therefore, you won’t find major wishes like “a new raid” or “a new campaign” here – it’s solely about things that would be easy to implement and would make a portion of the player base happy.

1. Torghast as a Leveling Option

It was already possible during the beta, but it never made it into the final game: Torghast as a place where characters can level from 50 to 60.

It would be relatively simple to design it in a way that actually provides some benefits and rewards experience points. This way, players could do something for their progress during the leveling phase, allowing twinks to catch up to the main character faster. Some ideas could be:

  • Soul Ash during leveling, so that one can craft a Legendary at level 60 right away.
  • Level equipment through tokens at the end of Torghast.
  • Korthian Armor Tokens that can be used at level 60.
  • Glory as a possible reward at the end of a run to skip the initial glory levels during the leveling phase.

There would be many possibilities, and it would be the perfect option to supplement the “Threads of Fate” as a leveling option and bring a bit more variety to the game.

WoW Glory in Torghast title title 1280x720
Torghast already provides glory – but it could also serve as a leveling phase.

2. Abolishment of Conduit Energy

A simple adjustment that many players desire. Those who regularly change their conduits, for example because they play 3 or even 4 (in the case of druids) specializations at the same time, are hindered by “Conduit Energy”. The same problem affects those who need the same Soulbind partner for multiple specializations.

Conduits can only be swapped a few times before having to wait for the Conduit Energy to restore.

Players have deemed this limitation unnecessary since the beta, as few see any purpose other than “nuisance” in it. A simple change that requires little effort and would allow more players to experiment with new conduit combinations.

3. Simplification of Legion Raids for Solo Players

Due to the level squish to Shadowlands and the many lost powers from the “Legion” and “Battle for Azeroth” expansions, the raids from Legion are not as easy as they would be with raids that are already two expansions back.

Here, Blizzard could make some fine-tuning to make all raids completable by solo players. This would entice some inhabitants of Azeroth to collect some old sets and enrich their wardrobe. After all, Legion had some of the coolest armor sets, and especially in the Tomb of Sargeras or Antorus, there is some really nice stuff to grab – if one didn’t always need a group because some fights simply require multiple players.

WOW antorus Coven of Shivarra Screenshot wowhead
Legion has some of the coolest sets and great bosses – but they are often hard or even impossible alone.

4. Return of Bonus Events

This point is simple as well. When there was a long content drought in Battle for Azeroth, Blizzard simply activated bonus events. Double experience, double reputation, and similar. Such events should return.

Why not simply activate timewalking permanently for 6 weeks and change the selected expansion each week? Why not increase experience points by 50% or 100% for a few weeks so people can try out more classes and covenants?

Especially in conjunction with other adjustments from this list that make playing twinks easier and more rewarding, this would be a simple trick to at least cushion a content drought period.

More on the topic
In patch 9.1.5 WoW listens to its players – Gives them exactly what they wanted
von Cortyn

5. More Rewards for Anima

What Blizzard has done with Anima leaves some players shaking their heads. From “There is not enough Anima, I can’t buy anything” it turned into “Oh my God, I am at the Anima cap and can’t buy anything” within two weeks.

Although you can now invest excess Anima in some crafting materials, it would be easy to extend that further.

Some ideas for trade offers could be:

  • Exchange Anima for Stygia, which could then be invested in Korthian Armor Tokens for twinks.
  • Exchange Anima for relics for the Archivist to unlock sockets and conduits.
  • Make Anima account-bound, so you can send it to twinks.

The exact exchange rates would naturally still need to be determined and discussed, but considering that Anima is the crucial resource in the Shadowlands that everyone relies on, there is quite little one can purchase with it.

By the way, one could also simply remove the cap on Anima. It serves no purpose.

WoW Anima Void Elf title title 1280x720
Many players are at the Anima cap – and there is little meaningful to buy with it.

6. Justice Points in PvE

An old currency for PvE players could make a return. Although there are already Valor Points, they are weekly and seasonally strictly limited. If someone spends their Valor Points early in a season, they are jeopardizing their gaming future.

The smartest approach currently is to save Valor Points and only spend them when you only need to fill 3 or 4 gear slots.

Justice Points could help mitigate this problem. Much like Honor Points in PvP, Justice Points could serve to upgrade items in the early tiers. This would especially benefit second characters that need to collect gear. Since you would get Justice Points after every dungeon, every dungeon would inevitably be progress for your character – at least, until you have caught up to the current state.

To ensure that Justice Points are not useless for high-level characters, one could also introduce a vendor to trade the points for crafting materials, transmog, or other fluff.

7. Skip the Maw Starting Experience

This is self-explanatory. As cool as it is the first time to fight through the Maw with Jaina, Thrall, Baine, and Anduin, it becomes tiring on the second, seventh, or twentieth time. Again and again, one reads in the subreddit and forums that twinks simply never go beyond the magical level barrier of 50 because they have no desire to do the introductory quest in the Maw.

It would be relatively simple to just implement a “I know the story, send me directly to Oribos” option at the beginning in Icecrown. A small but good change for the majority.

WoW Korthia Human Female Yawn title title 1280x720
Starting off in the Maw – that kills the motivation of many twinks early on.

8. Currency on Pickup

Currently, anyone playing World of Warcraft and exploring Korthia knows the problem. After about 5 minutes, the inventory overflows. There are a dozen different items for Archivist relics and countless various items for Anima.

Here, a simple change could be made, similar to what helped in Legion: the resource could simply be credited upon looting without items cluttering the inventory. Most players would surely appreciate 30 to 40 more slots in their bank or inventory, and not everyone wants to keep going back to the Sanctum or to the Archivist just to redeem the various tokens.

A simple change that has worked in previous expansions and has improved things a lot.

9. Improvement of Mythic+ Gear

The gearing system for Mythic+ is already relatively solid – at least up to an item level of 246. For the final push to item level 252, one needs one thing: luck. This item level is only obtainable from the weekly reward chest and is random. If someone is searching for their “Best in Slot” item, they have to complete 10 dungeons on Mythic+15 and higher every week to ultimately receive 3 items offered from a selection of over 100. It can take weeks, months, or simply an eternity to get that one item that one wants.

A simple step could help here: Allow upgrading gear with Valor Points up to item level 252.

Valor Points are already strictly limited. So, there is practically no risk of a player completely reaching the maximum item level with these points.

This is especially sensible when compared to PvP or raids – there, players can access the best possible gear much easier and don’t have to wait on luck from a large lottery.

More current news about World of Warcraft can be found here:

10. Easier Covenant Switching

Covenants remain an important feature in Shadowlands, and many systems are tied to them. However, choosing a covenant is also an important decision, as they provide special abilities and access to different sub-systems and cosmetic rewards.

However, switching covenants is associated with a lot of hassle. Not only does all accumulated Anima expire, but also the glory levels must be painstakingly farmed again. A process that can take days or weeks depending on available playtime.

The covenant switch should therefore be made easier. A limitation is fine, but the effort required to switch when one is simply not having fun with their covenant is too great.

What suggestions do you have for Patch 9.1.5? What “Easy Wins” should Blizzard definitely include to elevate the mood and morale of the community in Patch 9.1.5?

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

There is a new game on Steam that looks like “For Honor meets Warhammer”

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 3 minutes

Kingshunt has recently launched in Early Access on Steam and brings a massive amount of fantasy content. It is also an arena PvP game that represents a mix of For Honor, a MOBA, and the style of Warhammer Fantasy. Find out here how it plays and what is included.

What is Kingshunt? According to the description on Steam, Kingshunt is a 3rd-person online multiplayer action game that combines elements of tower defense and hack-and-slash.

In fact, the game looks like a version of For Honor, into which the developers have packed pretty much every fantasy creature from the last decades. The NPC enemies resemble all kinds of beings and creatures from Warhammer Fantasy.

Also, the playable heroes are tree beings, dark elf creatures, or a seductive sorceress that evoke memories of Warhammer.

Who are the developers? Behind the game is the Finnish indie studio Vaki Games, founded in 2016. Kingshunt is currently the studio’s only project.

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MOBA gameplay and fantasy content – The features of Kingshunt

What are the special features of Kingshunt? The developers described their game as a mix of tower defense and hack-and-slash. But what exactly does that mean? We at MeinMMO have taken a look at the game on Steam:

  • The gameplay is similar to that of a MOBA, such as LoL or Smite. At the start, you select a unique hero and must either destroy a large beast in the enemy camp as an attacker or protect it as a defender.
  • Unlike in LoL, where the towers and minions are predefined, here you can set up the defenses yourself and determine the marching direction of the minion hordes.
  • So, if you want a flamethrower turret right in front of your base or a company of orcs in the right lane, you can do all of that yourself.
  • Additionally, you can further enhance your heroes in the game with runes. You collect the resources for this in the game.
  • kingshunt-screen01
  • kingshunt-screen03
  • kingshunt-screen02

How does it play? As an attacker, you must escort a kind of siege engine to the enemy base in a 5vs5 format. It plays like a typical payload mode, and the rolling monstrosity only moves when you keep its surroundings free of enemies.

When the thing reaches the enemy, it gradually dismantles their central NPC. Along the way, you fight the enemy minions and fend off disruptions from the opposing players. In the fights, you use primary and secondary attacks as well as three unique skills that are subject to a cooldown. Once you unleash them, you have to wait a while before you can use area attacks or powerful fireballs again.

As a defender, it works similarly, except that you must keep the payload free of enemies and thus prevent it from rolling forward.

All of this plays out quite quickly and dynamically, but don’t expect a polished opus with the budget of an AAA title like For Honor. However, for an indie title, it plays pleasantly quickly, and the dark fantasy aesthetics evoke the flair of Warhammer Fantasy.

When is Kingshunt coming out? Kingshunt recently launched in Early Access on Steam on August 25, 2021, and is expected to remain in this state for about a year before it is fully released.

A similar game with brutal action and a dark setting is the newly released in open beta Blood of Heroes.

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

So many asked about Lost Ark at gamescom that it became a banned term on Twitch

Mark Sellner Mark Sellner Reading time 4 minutes

On the evening of August 25, the gamescom 2021 Opening Night Live took place on Twitch. This is an event where, similar to E3, new games and new content for well-known games are presented. However, those who wrote the name of the MMORPG “Lost Ark” were quickly kicked from the chat. We at MeinMMO summarize.

What happened at the gamescom ONL? At the event, new games and new trailers for well-known games were shown. Many fans were eagerly awaiting new information about the MMORPG Lost Ark. This action MMORPG has been running in South Korea for several years now and is extremely successful there:

  • Amazon plans to bring it to the West in 2021.
  • Originally, it was said that a beta for the Western release of the MMORPG would come in July.
  • Additionally, just one day prior, the last class in the MMORPG was introduced by the developers.

The fans were therefore excited about Lost Ark and made this known in the chat. However, so much so that after a short time the phrasing “Lost Ark” was banned in the official stream on Twitch. Anyone who mentioned their favorite MMORPG in the making was banned for a short time.

This alone was a no-go for many fans, and some began to complain in the forums, but it was about to get worse. Both Smilegate, who originally developed Lost Ark, and Amazon Games, who are supposed to release the game here, were at gamescom. But there was no sign of Lost Ark.

Smilegate showed their new shooter Crossfire X and Amazon Games announced a further beta for their other MMORPG New World. While many fans were hoping to get new information about Lost Ark at gamescom, they were not only disappointed by the event itself but were also not allowed to write about the MMORPG anymore.

In this clip, streamer Stoopzz_TV shows that one can indeed be muted for using the words “Lost Ark” and the message is automatically deleted:

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Accusation against Amazon: You are hiding Lost Ark because of New World

How did the community react? In the channels of Lost Ark, disappointed and angry fans soon gathered, especially the Steam forum became a heated source of discussion. People complained that they hadn’t heard anything from Lost Ark for too long.

Many suspect that Amazon Games is deliberately delaying Lost Ark in order to promote their own MMORPG New World. This suspicion was only reinforced by the banning of the words “Lost Ark.” User Peejeha writes on Steam among other things: “Of course, people spam because they want to know more about the game, and the best reaction is just to ban everyone. Brilliant.”

One of the biggest points of criticism from fans is that they have not received new information about the game since the closed alpha in June. The closed beta was supposed to start just a few weeks after the alpha, but no date is known for it yet. This is making many fans angry.

The pressure from the community continued to rise until an Amazon Games employee who works on Lost Ark joined the discussion and apologized.

Such term bans are common on Twitch. As the organization of the gamescom moderators explained, it is a normal process to ban certain terms when they are written too frequently in the chat. This is a measure to prevent excessive spamming and to ensure better control of the chat at such a large event as gamescom. For a time, terms like Battlefield 2042 or the residentSleeper emote were also banned.

“You have our full understanding

What does Amazon Games say about this? The developer Roxx from Amazon Games spoke in two topics in the Steam forums. He attempts to diffuse the situation and clarify. Regarding the mutes on Twitch, he writes the following:

Just to clarify and to prevent any conspiracy theories from arising – Twitch and Amazon Games are both under the umbrella of Amazon, but we operate as independent companies. This was not a planned move from us and we did not ask to mute Lost Ark. I think it happened because the chat was spamming too much. It would have happened with any spammed phrase. So, in a way, thank you for loving Lost Ark so much that you made it spam.

via Steam

The fans mostly reacted to the message understandingly. However, some believe that Amazon should not have let it come to this and that no one would have complained so much if there would have simply been more information.

In another forum post, the user who created the post even personally addresses Roxx and asks for more information and for the massive silence surrounding Lost Ark to finally be broken. After this post also received a lot of attention, developer Roxx responded here as well and showed understanding.

Hey, I can clearly hear you and I have forwarded everything to our teams and raised awareness. You are absolutely right to be disappointed, frustrated, and even angry about the silence that has surrounded Lost Ark for some time now.

I know my words here don’t mean anything as long as we can’t show you anything, but we have developed a plan to continually present new content and updates. And to prevent such incidents in the future. It was definitely a rocky start, and I don’t think this comment makes up for anything. But I want you to know that you have our full understanding. Please don’t stop being so engaged when the game launches. We always want to improve.

via Steam

Especially the last post from Roxx is met with much understanding from the community. User Derpy Moa responds gratefully: “Thank you for that. Especially after the gamescom stream, this really helps a lot.” Other comments are similar.

More about Lost Ark on MeinMMO

What’s next?

What is the status of Lost Ark? Well, nobody really knows at this point. After the alpha in June, there has been silence from the developers. A beta was supposed to start “just a few weeks” after the alpha, but that timeframe has passed. There is also still no release date, other than fall 2021.

Various sources have leaked October 21 as a possible release date, but this information is not official and can change at any time. Amazon’s other MMORPG New World has also been delayed multiple times, most recently to the end of September.

How do you see this? Are you also waiting for Lost Ark or were you completely satisfied with the beta of New World? What do you think of Roxx’s statement? Feel free to share it in the comments.

While you wait forever for Lost Ark, it is breaking many records in the motherland of MMORPGs.

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

Bless Unleashed would be a really cool MMORPG if it didn’t have these 2 problems

Alexander Leitsch Alexander Leitsch Reading time 11 minutes

Bless Unleashed is a new MMORPG that was released for PC on Steam in August. MeinMMO author Alexander Leitsch has tested it extensively and even had a lot of fun. However, 2 problems make it likely that he will not play Bless Unleashed permanently.

What kind of MMORPG is this? Bless Unleashed is a classic theme park MMORPG:

  • You experience the game’s story through linear quests
  • You explore an open world
  • You have 5 different classes to choose from
  • In the endgame, the focus is on dungeons, world bosses, PvP, and grinding for the perfect equipment.

Bless Unleashed is free-to-play and offers a shop and a battle pass through which it finances itself. There are also founder packs that provide some bonuses at the start.

Is Bless Unleashed really fun? Yes, and that surprised me a bit. I am well aware of Bless’s past, and the name is justifiably tarnished. Bless Online started catastrophically and was shut down after just under a year.

The new Bless Unleashed, which comes from a different studio but essentially from the same company, is by no means flawless. Anyone who looks at the game with an open mind can have many hours of fun with it. However, this fun is somewhat clouded in the endgame.

Who is talking here? Alexander Leitsch is the MMORPG expert at MeinMMO. He has spent hundreds to thousands of hours in games like Guild Wars 2, ESO, Black Desert, and WoW. He has already played Bless Unleashed in the beta for about 25 hours and has a similar amount of time since the release. He has also tried out the version on Xbox.

Good start and fun time questing

This is how the start of the game goes: At the start, you have the choice of 5 different classes, which are partially bound to specific races:

  • Light Knight – Only Human or Ippin, a small and cute race
  • Berserker – Only Warg, a mix of Human and Wolf
  • Ranger – Only Elf
  • Wizard – Only Human or Elf
  • Priest – Only Human or Ippin

The cool thing about the start is that each class is played at max level during the tutorial. This way, you can already use combos and skills that are unlocked much later. This is ideal for getting to know the class and deciding on a main class. If you are not satisfied with the class, you can delete it right away and try another one.

There isn’t a classic holy trinity, although the melee fighters Light Knight and Berserker usually act as a kind of tank in dungeons, while Priests can heal and shield allies. However, Priests primarily have offensive abilities that deal damage.

We have already compiled some tips on classes and builds for beginners from MeinMMO.

Bless Unleashed Classes
The various classes in character creation.

Caution at level 30 in Bless – PvP becomes active

This is what you can expect while leveling in Bless Unleashed: With your freshly created class, you can experience the leveling process. The max level is 45, with important milestones in between:

  • With level 5, you can face the first bosses in instanced content with other players.
  • The first dungeon for 5 players comes with level 15.
  • At level 25, the first main chapter of the story ends, and features such as housing are unlocked.
  • From level 30, there is then PvP in the open world, which is difficult to defend against. This is one of the aspects that unfortunately makes the game worse than it actually is.

The leveling itself is fairly linear but offers some interesting side aspects. You follow a main quest (blue) that tells you the story and is exactly the same for every class.

Everywhere in the world, you encounter numerous side quests that are partially quite entertaining. For example, you have to listen to a bard sing, go fishing, sneak through an area, or find the right “Bambi” among hundreds of deer.

The quests are not mega innovative, but they aren’t the worst that MMORPGs have ever produced either.

That’s why side quests are worth it in Bless Unleashed: An interesting aspect of the quests in Bless Unleashed is that they provide different amounts of experience points:

  • There is classic experience that increases your level
  • There is skill experience, through which you get skill points that can be invested into your abilities

Some side quests provide a lot of skill experience and little XP for your level. But this is exactly what makes them important, because it can happen that you eventually reach a high level, but your skills haven’t developed at the same rate. Therefore, it’s worth taking on side quests and even returning to old areas to complete them afterwards.

You can find more useful tips here: 15 tips for Bless Unleashed that I wish I had known earlier.

What else happens while leveling? All over the world, there are bosses and small world events. These are time-based, so they don’t always take place. However, Bless Unleashed uses a channel system, so there are multiple versions of each map.

This means that certain bosses and events may be active on other channels or that there are more players there. Those who switch cleverly can experience some exciting challenges in addition to the main and side quests.

Some of the small events are also excellent for obtaining useful equipment.

Bless Unleashed Events
Events are marked on the map. Through the event “Missing Supplies,” I quickly got new gloves that improved my current gear.

The combat system makes you want more – Bosses bring a real MMO feeling

How does the combat system work? Bless Unleashed relies on an action-packed combat system. You need to target enemies and can use different skills and combos. The MMO also uses a dodge roll and offers the option to sprint.

In general, you have 10 active abilities per class. However, you can only pull 4 into your skill bar and use them in battle. Additionally, there are about 15 other abilities that you can use through combos.

Combos are created by pressing the left and right mouse buttons. Depending on the order in which you press them, you use different abilities. This system is clearly optimized for consoles, for which Bless Unleashed was first released, but over time you get used to it on PC as well.

Bless Unleashed Combos
This is what the combos in Bless Unleashed look like for the Light Knight.

With the dodge roll, actively targeting enemies, and the sometimes really heavy attacks, fighting in Bless Unleashed is really fun.

However, the best thing about the combat system isn’t how I fight myself, but how the enemies are designed. All enemy attacks are clearly marked with telegraphs and animations. This makes dodging easy but also necessary, as these attacks can easily take away 50% or more of my health.

I really need to play actively and can’t take my hand off the keyboard to eat. Especially not against world bosses and in dungeons.

Boss fights are the most fun: The world of Bless Unleashed is full of bosses. Already in the starting area, you encounter a wolf that cannot be defeated alone at level 3. However, many players usually gather there to defeat it together.

This system runs throughout the entire game world. At level 7, there’s a giant, at level 11 another boss, and at level 14, you encounter the harpy, which has probably claimed the lives of every player at least once.

The harpy is part of the main quest and is an incredibly strong boss. The fight against her often takes 15 minutes or more. Usually, dozens of players gather there, some even already level 20 or higher. Rarely have I seen so many players working together to defeat a boss in modern MMOs. This gave me a real MMO feeling.

Bless Unleashed Harpy
The Harpy Queen is a real challenge for dozens of players.

But the open world doesn’t only offer interesting boss fights. Already at level 5, you can defeat the first boss together with another player through a kind of dungeon finder, a holy soldier. There are further 2-player bosses at levels 7, 10, 13, and 17.

From level 15 – The Goblin Cave – there is the first dungeon for 5 players. Leveling up to that point takes about 4 to 8 hours of gameplay, depending on how quickly one progresses. There are 2 more dungeons and 5 boss instances for 5 players. Additionally, there are time-limited dungeons that are only available at specific times.

A little highlight for me was the final boss from the Goblin Cave. He is a clear reference to chef Gordon Ramsay and has a nasty ability where Ramsay drums on the floor with a pot for a short time, dealing a lot of AoE damage around him. If you don’t run out fast enough, you quickly find yourself in trouble.

  • The map of the first dungeon.
  • Bless Unleashed Ramzy
    Chef Ramzy.

What else does Bless Unleashed offer? In addition to the previously listed content, there are:

  • 3 additional story campaigns after reaching level 25
  • A taming system for mounts that can be tamed either through achievements or in the open world
  • Various professions through which equipment, buff food, and potions can be crafted
  • A system through which you can upgrade your equipment
  • A simple housing system
  • A 15v15 PvP battlefield
  • A 3v3 PvP arena
  • Open-world PvP from level 30

Some of this content is extremely cool, such as taming or the PvP arena, which is also set to receive seasons.

However, other aspects, such as upgrading equipment or open-world PvP, are some of my major points of criticism.

More reports on new MMORPGs:

Equipment and PvP ruin the fun in Bless Unleashed

What’s the problem with the equipment? Equipment in Bless Unleashed is rated based on several aspects:

  • There is equipment ranging from “E” (very weak) to “S” (super great), with “S” being released on consoles only in spring 2021.
  • Each tier comes in different rarities, gray to red (mythic), unlocking additional effects.
  • The respective equipment can be upgraded, allowing better stats or an upgrade to a higher rarity.

The upgrade system itself is pretty cool, as you get the materials for the upgrade by dismantling old equipment. However, while the equipment is always upgraded 100% at lower levels, there is only a certain chance for higher-level equipment. This system bothers me a lot.

It’s well-known from other MMORPGs like Black Desert or Elyon. In Bless Unleashed, equipment can be damaged or even destroyed when attempting to upgrade it. And nothing is more depressing than grinding for hours only to lose equipment and end up weaker than before.

There are definitely better alternatives, like Swords of Legends or older games like Guild Wars 2, WoW, or FFXIV, which do not feature such negative mechanics.

Bless Unleashed destroyed equipment
This can happen if you want to upgrade your equipment (via Bless Unleashed).

Another negative aspect regarding the equipment lies in crafting. Crafted items receive random rune colors. However, for certain builds and effects, you need specific runes. Therefore, you can only get these combos by chance when crafting.

For €1.50, you can buy an hour of peace in PvP – To me, that’s outrageous

What’s the problem with PvP? The PvP requirement in the open world is a double-edged sword. Active skirmishes must activate PvP, but even if you haven’t activated it, you can be killed by other players, with the exception of safe zones like cities.

For these players, there are penalties, including the fact that city guards will attack you. However, as in many other MMORPGs, this doesn’t bother the “griefers” much. I just reached level 30 and haven’t had any intense PvP encounters yet. Only once did a higher-level player take me out.

However, the most absurd thing about the PvP system is that the developers themselves have realized that some players don’t like open PvP. Therefore, there’s an item in the shop called the Peace Declaration. It disables PvP in the open world for 1!!! hour. It costs 200 Lumena (about €1.50). To me, this item is an absolute disgrace and an insult to any PvE player.

Fairly, it must be said that there is no PvP at bosses and in areas below level 30, so you can avoid open PvP if you want.

Bless Unleashed Peace Ticket
If peace lasted forever, I would probably pay the €1.50.

How is the rest of the shop? The rest of the Bless Unleashed shop is quite fair, albeit expensive. For example, there are:

  • Bag expansions (10 slots for around €20)
  • Name changes (for around €15)
  • Various elixirs and healing scrolls, which can also be purchased in-game
  • Costumes and weapons ranging from €15 to €30

Some might consider the buffs for experience points, skill points, and gold somewhat controversial. These provide 50% more than when playing without buffs. However, the prices for these are outrageous: If you want all 3 buffs and some in-game currency, you have to pay about €9 – but per week!

Additionally, there’s the option to buy and sell shop items in the marketplace. This way, you can obtain all content without spending real money, but players can also trade real money for in-game currency.

On top of that, there’s a battle pass with both a free and a paid version. The paid version contains in-game currency, cosmetic items, and additional experience points for abilities.

Bless Unleashed Battle Pass
The battle pass for Bless Unleashed

Positive development since the first beta on PC

How has development been lately? Since the first beta in September 2020, a lot has positively changed in the PC version of Bless Unleashed and the game itself.

There have been several adjustments to quests, drops, and the leveling process in general, making it faster and more straightforward. New content has also been introduced in the form of a new equipment tier and new story content.

Adjustments have been made specifically for the PC version regarding hotkeys, auto-run, and UI. Overall, it has been a fairly positive development in recent months.

Conclusion: 30 hours of fun, but little desire for the endgame

Pro
  • Very cool start
  • Action-packed and fun combat system
  • Lots of MMO feeling in the open world, as players gather for world bosses
  • Good boss design
  • A completely open world without loading times
  • Partly funny side quests and events
  • Meaningful QoL adjustments in recent months
Contra
  • Partially race-locked
  • The combos are designed more for controllers and less for mouse and keyboard
  • Grindy equipment system with the possibility of losing items
  • Open PvP and cheeky item in the shop

Bless Unleashed captivated me in the first hours. Leveling and fighting were fun for me, and especially the bosses in the open world are tough and attract many players. I haven’t felt such an MMO feeling in a long time, especially as more and more MMORPGs focus on smaller player counts and separated areas in the world. The many treasure chests you can find in the open world encourage exploration.

While I still had a lot of fun with the dungeons and quests in the midgame, I’m slowly approaching the endgame and am losing fun for that precise reason. Especially regarding equipment, I am annoyed that you can lose entire pieces of equipment when upgrading. Such a mechanic is simply unnecessary in 2021.

I see the open-world PvP as two-sided. While I could still live with the basic system, I am annoyed by this brazen peace letter that I hope no player ever buys. This item diminishes game fun for me because I prefer optional PvP in the open world, like New World aims to offer.

Overall, Bless Unleashed has given me a lot of fun and will likely bridge the time until the release of New World. It is also by far better than its predecessor Bless Online. Both the performance and gameplay have convinced me. But in the long term, it will not be my game because the two problems around equipment and PvP represent insurmountable obstacles for me.

Alexander Leitsch

MMORPG expert at MeinMMO

What are your experiences with Bless Unleashed? Have you already tried the new MMORPG on Xbox, PlayStation, or PC? Where do your criticisms lie? And did you hope that it would be significantly better than Bless Online? Feel free to let us know in the comments!

More about new MMORPGs that have just been released can be found here: These 4 new MMORPGs have already been released in 2021.

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

New multiplayer on Steam looks like fantasy Among Us with more features – free demo now playable

Benedict Grothaus Benedict Grothaus Reading time 2 minutes

At gamescom 2021 many smaller titles with great potential were highlighted. One of them is Eville, a new multiplayer game from a German indie studio. The gameplay is based on a popular concept: Werewolves of Düsterwald.

What kind of coop game is this? Eville is developed by the German indie studio VestGames and is the team’s first project. You play in a medieval fantasy village with playful comic graphics.

However, the village is not as peaceful as it seems, as murders keep happening – and no one knows who it was. Your job is to find that out. Or to murder yourself.

Eville was presented some time ago, but received a new gameplay trailer at gamescom 2021.

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The new gameplay of Eville.

How does the game work? Like in “Werewolves of Düsterwald”, you are assigned a role at the beginning of a round. You are either one of the conspirators or the innocent citizens who want to defend themselves.

The conspirators try to kill the citizens without being noticed. Citizens must try to uncover who among them the murderers are. There are special roles with unique abilities, such as:

  • Detective
  • Axe Murderer
  • Shapeshifter
  • Medium
  • Slanderer
  • Trap Maker
  • Seer
  • Mayor
  • Thief
  • Guardian
  • Smuggler

You play in rounds with and against other players. If you get killed, you can still complete quests in the afterlife and help your teammates – or sabotage them.

A similar gameplay concept has already been used by the Twitch hit Among Us – and also recently by Fortnite. However, Eville offers several new roles, which in Among Us are only available through mods.

More on the topic
The developers of the Steam hit ‘Among Us’ react to Fortnite simply copying them
von Christos Tsogos

Free demo available at gamescom 2021, release in 2022

Where can I play Eville? Eville will be available for PC on Steam and will be available as a free demo until August 29 (via Steam). So you can just take a look and get an impression of the game.

The release is planned for 2022, but there is no specific date yet.

What else is there at gamescom? Eville was presented more closely as part of the indie showcase at gamescom 2021 on Thursday, August 26. However, numerous new announcements were made throughout gamescom.

More about gamescom 2021 on MeinMMO:

All articles about gamescom

One game that has particularly excited many fans is DokeV. In the new game from Korea, you see Pokémon-like creatures and fight with them. Especially the cute graphics and the wacky monsters have brought a lot of joy. Even personalities known for their tough style have enjoyed DokeV:

Even the grumpy Asmongold and the tough Dr Disrespect celebrate DokeV

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

Trainer creates new catch backgrounds for Pokémon GO – thousands of fans celebrate him for it

Franzi Korittke Franzi Korittke Reading time 3 minutes

A trainer from Pokémon GO has designed several new catch backgrounds and is now being celebrated by the Pokémon GO fans. We from MeinMMO took a look at the images and show you why the community is so excited about them.

Which images are we talking about? Some graphics, like the backgrounds of the catch screen or the map view, have remained unchanged in Pokémon GO for a long time. This seems to have been evident to reddit user Sahil-Garg-110, who created images revolving around the theme of Pokémon GO.

He regularly publishes these on social networks. Now he has shared 9 different backgrounds as drafts for the catch screen with the community, which have sparked much enthusiasm among other trainers.

Here are the catch backgrounds

The 9 images created by reddit user Sahil-Garg-110 all revolve around the catch screen in the game. In the foreground of all of them, a Geodude can be seen, which is to be caught (via reddit.com). However, the backgrounds themselves differ significantly from one another.

Instead of the green meadow that is usually shown to trainers in Pokémon GO, his graphics feature various motifs. These range from sandy beaches to city centers to mountain, desert, and forest landscapes. Below you can see one of the backgrounds in city view:

Catch screen in city view (Graphic by reddit & Backgrounds by Novel)

But why does he create these backgrounds? Sahil-Garg-110 answered this question himself in his post on reddit:

I tried to create different backgrounds for the catch screen (just a concept), depending on the area you are currently in. This will help reduce the monotonous forest/tree background and enhance the feeling of catching Pokémon in real life. With the skies update, we can also have day, night, and dusk backgrounds for a specific area.

Sahil-Garg-110 via reddit.com

He also explains that the images were not entirely his idea, but that he looked for one or another template on Google. However, that does not detract from the popularity of his graphics. As of August 27, 2021, they had already been liked over 2,900 times.

Will new backgrounds come to the game?

In the reddit community, Sahil-Garg-110 receives a lot of support from Pokémon GO fans. This is also reflected in his like numbers. Many trainers find it sad that there is still only this one catch screen. ZekromFPS writes that there have been suggestions for new backgrounds for 3 years and he feels sorry that nothing has happened in that time (via reddit.com).

The desire for change in the catch screen has been evident in the community for more than 3 years on reddit. For instance, the user duskyxlops, as seen in the following reddit post, presented his ideas for new catch backgrounds as early as the beginning of 2019. He also received enthusiastic support from trainers (via reddit.com).

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The majority of the community, however, sees little chance of a change to the catch screen. For instance, desperate writes: “Because Niantic wants to push AR+, this will never be implemented.” (via reddit.com). Many trainers agree with this.

DaNorris1221 feels similarly. He finds the idea of the catch backgrounds great, but also does not believe that it will be introduced in the game. Like him, he sees the reason for it in the AR mode, which is constantly being promoted by Pokémon GO. Nonetheless, he would like to see a revision of the current background (via reddit.com).

Whether new backgrounds for the catch screen will be introduced in the future or whether Niantic will fully focus on the AR mode is currently unknown. Should Pokémon GO take a position on this, you will find out here on MeinMMO.

More about Pokémon GO:

What do you think of the suggestions for the new backgrounds for the catch screen? And what motif would you wish for the most? Feel free to leave us your opinion in the comments and exchange ideas with other trainers on MeinMMO.

Trainers believe that Pokémon GO has secretly adjusted the shiny rate. We looked into it and show you what it’s about.

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

Old Exotic Duo in Destiny 2 is now so strong that some bosses melt in seconds

Christos Tsogos Christos Tsogos Reading time 2 minutes

Destiny 2 brings exotic changes with a new season. Some of these are minimal, while others significantly alter gameplay. We at MeinMMO show you which exotic duo you definitely should try.

This pair of exotics is about: The Last Word and the lucky pants. Through the new sandbox changes that came into effect with the Season of the Lost, the old hunter exotic “The Lucky Pants” received a new coat of paint. This change ensured that a specific weapon type now perfectly harmonizes with the old exotic.

But what makes these two exotics DPS monsters?

With the revision of the exotics in the Season of the Lost, the previously less relevant hunter exotic “The Lucky Pants” was revamped. Now, the wearer of these pants benefits not only from the perks “Opening Shot” and “Quickdraw,” but every shot that hits the same target increases the damage of the next shot further until the buff expires.

  • The Lucky Pants
  • Destiny2-Letztes-Wort
    The Last Word
The new power duo?

Here’s why both exotics complement each other: The Last Word has always featured the intrinsic perk “Fanned Fire.” This perk allows you to shoot automatically from the hip. Every hip shot grants bonus precision damage. With every hip fire hit, you achieve faster reload speed and increased accuracy.

As the Lucky Pants now provide a 5-second buff that can stack up to 10 times, with each subsequent shot on the same target dealing more damage, a dangerous combination is created with The Last Word.

Here’s a small demonstration of the duo:

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The new unbeatable duo

The video from DestinyTracker illustrates how drastically the damage increases.

Could both exotics prove themselves in the endgame? It’s possible. The only issue here lies with the 5-second buff. When this buff expires, a debuff appears that lasts for 10 seconds and indicates that you no longer have luck. During this time, no significant damage can be built up.

Also interesting:

Thus, this exotic combo is definitely worth a try. One could equip The Last Word with a slug shotgun and a linear fusion rifle, both of which possess self-loading chambers and a Vorpal weapon. This would provide a good loadout for the Templar from the Glass Chamber.

Have you already tried the new duo? If so, what have you sent to the virtual beyond? Feel free to let us know in the comments.

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

Nvidia is selling the RTX 3060 so cheaply that even the trip to Cologne is worth it

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 3 minutes

Nvidia is offering graphics cards at particularly low prices on the occasion of gamescom. You can only get them in Cologne, but the prices are really good. It’s even worth a trip to the metropolis on the Rhine.

Graphics cards are currently a rare and expensive commodity. If you want to have a graphics card, you have to pay a lot of money for it. Especially at times when graphics cards are sold for thousands of euros on eBay, fair offers in the hardware market are a rarity.

This is the offer: Now Nvidia and Xperion Saturn have come up with something special. Xperion Saturn is a gaming exhibition on the Saturn site at the Kölner Hansaring. Together, the sellers and manufacturers are offering various RTX-3000 graphics cards at particularly low prices.

This is the disadvantage:

  • If you want to take advantage of the really good offers, you have to travel to Cologne. The offers for the graphics cards are only valid at Xperion Saturn at Hansaring in Cologne.
  • The sales strategy is intended to prevent greedy scalpers from stocking up on dozens of graphics cards to resell them.

However, the current offers from Nvidia and Saturn are so good that the trip to Cologne could be worthwhile. MeinMMO has taken a closer look at the offers for you.

How long is the offer valid? The offer has been valid since 12:00 PM on Thursday, August 26. According to Nvidia’s PR agency, the promotion runs until Saturday, August 28. The promotion ends earlier if all graphics cards are sold out.

In Cologne, you can get the GeForce RTX 3060 at the best price

This is what you currently pay in Cologne: At the fair, you pay either 349 euros (ASUS model) or 399 euros (ZOTAC model) for the GeForce RTX 3060.

What does the RTX 3060 cost elsewhere in retail? If you want to buy a GeForce RTX 3060 in retail, you have to pay at least 650 euros. On Geizhals, prices start at around 600 euros, but you may need to calculate shipping costs for some offers (via geizhals.de)

This is why the offer is so good: Nvidia’s official recommended retail price for the RTX 3060 is 329 euros. The offers at Saturn are therefore in the range where graphics card prices are usually found.

For custom models (graphics card models from third-party vendors), prices are usually slightly above the recommended retail price, as they often offer a higher clock speed or a better cooler.

Currently, you pay less for graphics cards in Cologne than ever before and pay the prices one would expect from a graphics card. In retail or on various websites, you would pay at least double the price that you would now have to pay in Cologne.

For whom is the RTX 3060 worthwhile? The graphics card is particularly interesting for gamers who want to play at Full HD with high FPS. If you play fast shooters at Full HD and need high frame rates, the RTX 3060 is definitely a good choice. In WQHD, you can also play with over 100 FPS, but you will have to forgo graphical details.

If you want to try ray tracing, the RTX 3060 is also worth a look. However, for games and full ray tracing features, the RTX 3060 is a bit too weak. You should then look for more powerful models and aim for at least the RTX 3060 Ti or the RTX 3070.

A comprehensive analysis of the smallest RTX-3000 graphics card can also be found here at MeinMMO:

More on the topic
GeForce RTX 3060: Who is Nvidia’s new mid-range interesting for?
von Benedikt Schlotmann

Where can you find the offer? You can only buy the offers at the Xperion Saturn in Cologne. There is no online offer or reservation options. Xperion Saturn lists on its official website whether the graphics cards are still available. So if you’re considering traveling to Cologne for the offers, make sure to regularly check the offers page (via xperion-saturn.de). You can also always find the current status on the official Twitter account of Xperion:

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For around 400 euros, you definitely get a fast gaming graphics card for Full HD resolutions. We would generally advise against many online offers if you had to pay more than 700 euros for the GeForce RTX 3060, as that is only worth it to a limited extent:

RTX 3060 currently costs 700 € – Be careful, that is by no means worth it

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

Even the grumpy Asmongold and the tough Dr Disrespect celebrate DokeV

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 3 minutes

The trailer of the action-adventure DokeV, which was released at the gamescom 2021, excites the gaming community. And although the material shown is rather “cute”, even professional grumblers like Asmongold or the macho Dr Disrespect are melting away.

What kind of game is this? During the Opening Night Live, which took place on Wednesday at gamescom 2021, the game DokeV presented a trailer. Originally, it was supposed to be an MMO, but the genre changed to an “open-world action-adventure” during development.

The colorful trailer impresses fans mainly through the visuals with which the world, attacks, characters, and monsters were designed. But gameplay is also an aspect that players praise.

How Asmongold and Dr Disrespect react to DokeV

This is the trailer: If you haven’t seen the video yet and want to get an impression of the game, we embed the latest trailer of DokeV here.

DokeV Gameplay Trailer | gamescom 2021

Asmongold on DokeV

This is what the streamer says: In one of his livestreams, Asmongold watched the gamescom trailer of DokeV together with his viewers. After the first scenes, the Twitch streamer says: If he were 9 years old, this game would be just right for him. Then the trailer picks up pace – showing skateboarding and more action. Asmongold says “The game looks really cool.” When a character rides an alpaca, he surprisingly asks “Oh, are there mounts?”

Then he says: “This is kind of cool. It sounds crazy, but this game appeals to me more than many of the others I saw before. It’s so crazy, but somehow also cool.”

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Asmongold is known in the community for his grumpy demeanor, often complaining about aspects of games. That he likes the trailer of DokeV and watches it with wide eyes and mouth is particularly remarkable.

Dr Disrespect on DokeV

This is what the streamer says: Dr Disrespect watched the trailers of gamescom 2021 on YouTube with his stream. Known for his macho persona, it took only a few seconds after the start of the DokeV trailer for the streamer to give his “snooze-fest” stamp. So a “yawning judgment”. But his chat disagrees and writes how good the game looks.

The streamer asks: “Yeah, you like that? Okay wait. Was I too hasty? That looked really good just now. Wait, I must have been too hasty”. Then he sees more gameplay: “I like the world. That looks pretty cool.” Then he summarizes “Okay, I change my judgment” and gives the game a “Hot Caka” rating.

We embed the stream here for you. If it doesn’t start at the timestamp, skip to 2 hours, 46 minutes, and 10 seconds.

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Dr Disrespect says that some scenes in the trailer look like they have low FPS. They need to fix that. But he also likes how the character looks in the world.

More about DokeV and gamescom

How do you like the material shown about DokeV? Can you agree with the big streamers and find the game good so far, or have the large colorful world and animations not convinced you yet?

Let us know your opinion here on MeinMMO in the comments. If the game doesn’t appeal to you at all, we have a special tip from our editor-in-chief for you: “If you have such a questionable taste as I do, remember Cult of the Lamb from gamescom”

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

World of Warships insults streamer with message in bonus code – employee fired now

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 2 minutes

There is a new scandal in World of Warships. A critical streamer was recently insulted by a hidden message in a bonus code. Wargaming reacted quickly, apparently fired the responsible employee, and humorously apologized.

Who is it about? The Russian streamer Turry (link to his YouTube channel) regularly streams Wargaming’s game World of Warships.

Turry was previously a Community Contributor. However, unlike many prominent streamers who voluntarily left the program to protest against what they perceive as unfair pricing policies from Wargaming, Turry was allegedly excluded by the developers according to statements from the Wargaming forum (via forum) because he had sharply criticized them multiple times. He allegedly accused them of not even playing their own game.

What was the insulting code? In an official Wargaming World of Warships stream, bonus codes for free goodies were recently distributed – a completely normal action at such events. The bonus code was “W0LAXU5FKUTURY5” and soon English-speaking users in the forum (via forum) asked if no one noticed that the code basically says “FUCK YOU TURRY”.

The letter combination “FKUTURY” seems quite obvious and cannot be just a coincidence.

Wargaming acknowledges the insult and fires the responsible person

Was it really intended? While there was still debate about whether the letters were a malicious parting shot at the inconvenient streamer or just a bizarre coincidence, Wargaming dispelled the rumors with an official statement revealing that there was indeed malicious intent behind the code.

However, it was not an official action by the company, but rather the act of revenge by a single employee. The message translated from Russian from the Wargaming forum (via forum) reads:

Friends!

As you know, last Friday a bonus code with inappropriate content was distributed on our official stream, which insulted our player and popular streamer Turry. Such behavior is absolutely unacceptable. We conducted an internal inspection and found that this situation arose from the actions of an employee. He has been suspended and the strictest measures have been taken against him following the review.

On behalf of the “World of Warships” team, we would like to apologize to the players, the viewers of the Friday night stream, and especially to Turry. We made a completely unacceptable remark about him and are fully aware of our responsibility.

We understand that words alone are not enough, and we would like to offer you a bonus code: TURRYWEARESORRY.

Is the streamer reconciled now? Turry, who initially felt upset and angry according to his statement to PCGamer (via PCGamer), is now at least partially reconciled. He appreciates Wargaming’s honest statement and also the additional bonus codes he received exclusively for his community.

On the other hand, he does not know if Wargaming’s measures are genuinely truthful. He is unsure who this mysterious employee was and whether he was really fired or punished in any other way.

Turry, by the way, was also not brought back into the Community Contributor program, but the streamer noted that he did not want to return there anyway.

You can play World of Warships on consoles, PC, and via Steam. It is among the 7 largest Free2Play MMOs.

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

Destiny 2 rebuilds old focus models based on Stasis – Here is a first taste

Sven Galitzki Sven Galitzki Reading time 5 minutes

Destiny 2 has a lot in store with the recently introduced new Witch Queen expansion – also concerning the old Light subclasses. These are finally set to become as modular and customizable as Stasis. Now there’s finally a first concrete insight into what this will look like.

This is something many have wished for: This change is likely to please many players. With Stasis, a specially designed customization system was also introduced – and it is far ahead of the old Light subclasses in terms of customization options, offering much more freedom and possibilities for creating individual builds.

Many have wished for this system for the old classes as well, and Bungie is indeed going to fulfill this request. In the current “This Week at Bungie” blog, the studio has for the first time provided a concrete look at the upcoming revision.

Also important: In the course of TWaB, Bungie also stated:

  • There will be no new Darkness subclass as part of Witch Queen or Year 5. In Year 5, the focus will be entirely on the old Light subclasses, their revision, and their new possibilities.
  • As part of the recently started Season 15, there will be no new Stasis aspects or fragments.

Subclasses 3.0 – How the old Light subclasses will change with Witch Queen

The plan in brief: With Witch Queen, the studio will begin to massively revise the neglected old Light classes based on the modular model of the new Stasis system – including their own aspects and fragments.

This whole thing is referred to by Bungie as “Subclass 3.0”. This is what the Stasis system was internally called and it is now being extended to all other subclasses. The Void subclass will lead the way with “Void 3.0” in Season 16, while the other elements, namely Solar and Arc, will follow in subsequent seasons. 

With Void 3.0, they want to shake up the subclasses you know and love – essentially reinterpreting them. New abilities and mechanics will be added, while some old ones will be left behind, overhauled, and/or expanded to allow for new cool and fun combinations of which you may not even know yet that you want. The characteristic playstyles of this subclass will be preserved – just maybe in slightly different forms.

General information about Void 3.0: Just like Stasis, which is defined by the 3 keywords “Slow, Freeze, and Shatter”, Void 3.0 and the other old subclasses will soon specialize in 3 such keywords. In the case of Void, these are “Suppression, Weaken, and Volatile”.

These terms should not be really new for seasoned players, but they will now become an important part of a broader, systematic framework – essentially the foundation for the orientation of the revised subclasses. They will not only appear in the subclass menu, but also on weapon perks, exotic armor, or mods of the respective seasonal artifact. Here are the central elements of the Void system:

With Void, there are 3 negative status effects that can affect enemies: 

  • Suppression – All active abilities are interrupted, and no abilities or movement modes can be activated while Suppression is active. Affected AI enemies cannot fire weapons.
  • Weaken – The target takes increased damage, and its movement speed is reduced. Affected AI enemies shoot less accurately.
  • Volatile – The target is affected by unstable Void energy and explodes when it takes additional damage or dies.

In addition, there are 3 positive effects you can apply to yourself and your allies:

  • Void Overshield – A protective barrier of Void light that reduces incoming enemy damage.
  • Invisibility – You become invisible and do not appear on enemy radar.
  • Devour – You feast on the energy of your enemies. Kills fully restore your health, grant grenade energy, and extend the duration of Devour.

First Preview of Void 3.0

Keep in mind that these are just some initial, exemplary changes.

Example Nightstalker Hunter:

  • Shadowshot – Moebius Quiver Super 
    • You fire 2 volleys of 3 Void arrows each in a cone-shaped area, which seek out enemies and create Void anchors upon impact. Shadowshot makes the tethered enemies volatile and deals increased damage against tethered enemies.
    • One of the most annoying things about the current version of the Moebius Quiver is that you often need to press the input to activate the super many times to shoot each arrow individually. This takes a lot of time and often misses the intended target. Now that multiple arrows can be fired at once, it should be much easier to flood an area with traps in preparation for a fight or for burst damage against a boss.
  • Stylish Executioner – Aspect 
    • Defeating a weakened, suppressed, or volatile enemy grants invisibility and True Sight. After executing a stylish execution, your next melee attack (while invisible) will weaken enemies.
    • This is a twist on the revised perk “Flawless Execution”. With this aspect, the Nightstalker can specialize in defeating debuffed enemies and thus maintain invisibility.

Example Sentinel Titan:

  • Overwatch – Aspect 
    • Summons a Void barricade to grant you and nearby allies a Void overshield. This barricade also slowly regenerates the Void overshields of allies seeking cover behind it.
    • This is intended to highlight the role of the Sentinel as the team’s protector at the front line. Overwatch is just the right tool for that.
  • Shield Toss – Projectile melee attack
    • Throw your shield at an enemy. The shield can bounce off enemies and surfaces and provides you with a bit of Void overshield for each enemy hit.
    • Titans are to receive more options for projectile melee attacks. This shield throw represents a good choice for aggressively pushing into enemy groups. This allows you to soften them up a bit and stay in the game a little longer.

Example Shadebinder Warlock:

  • Pocket Singularity – Projectile melee attack
    • Unleash a seeking unstable ball of Void energy that explodes when it approaches an enemy. This throws the targets back from the explosion site and makes them volatile.
    • This is meant to knock enemies out of cover. A well-placed ball can launch enemies into the air so you can make the then volatile enemies explode with a headshot before they even touch the ground.
  • Child of the Old Gods – Aspect 
    • Place your Rift to summon a self-thinking Black Hole that hovers beside you, waiting for a target. It will dashes at enemies, starting to siphon their energy and weaken them. Defeating enemies affected by this aspect grants you back some Rift energy depending on the type of Rift (Empowering Rift or Healing Rift).
    • Child of the Old Gods is a powerful debuff tool that allows Shadebinders to have another means to control an area while sustaining themselves.

Also interesting:

What do you think about what Bungie is planning with Subclasses 3.0 and how do you find the first examples based on the revised Void subclass? What features of Witch Queen are you looking forward to the most? Let us and other readers of MeinMMO know in the comments.

By the way, we are currently looking for support. Would that be something for you? MeinMMO is looking for a writer (m/f/d) working from home for multiplayer shooters

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

Bless Unleashed: The Best Builds for Beginners in Every Class

Matthis Dillmann Matthis Dillmann Reading time 8 minutes

In the MMORPG Bless Unleashed, players can choose from five different classes. As starting the game can be challenging for new players, we would like to present each class build in this article, with which you can dive into the adventure.

What are these builds? The builds are based on recommendations from the official subreddit for the Steam version of Bless Unleashed, which have been widely discussed and received positive feedback. Additionally, the author has watched several YouTube videos and other community suggestions and has spent several hours analyzing possible synergies between blessings and skills.

The builds are primarily designed for entry into the game and only include builds for PvE. They are all aimed at dealing damage so that you can progress quickly in the game. You should be able to manage well up to level 30 with them. Whether there are better builds later in the game remains to be seen – you can find some tips in the corresponding builds. The version of the game has changed with the release for PC, and builds from the console version could not be simply adopted.

How are the builds structured? In the sections for the individual builds, the class is briefly introduced first and what you can do with it. Then you will find the blessing used in the build, compatible skills, and some information on how they work.

What about equipment and certain stats? Specific pieces of equipment are not mentioned in the builds, as these will change over time anyway. There are no special stats to look out for during the first hours. Stats only become really important in the endgame.

Basically, you should take equipment for the builds that enhances your attacks. You can focus on choosing equipment with a higher item level than your currently equipped one.

Who is speaking here? Matthis Dillmann is a passionate MMORPG player. He has spent several thousand hours in various representatives of the genre for almost 15 years and has also created various builds.

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The “Gift of Valor” Lich Knight: Hybrid class with burst damage

This is the Lich Knight: The Lich Knight (engl. Crusader) is the first class in Bless Unleashed. He can deal good damage with his sword, and also block attacks with a shield. The Lich Knight feels a bit like a hybrid between tank and DPS, potentially having the best damage prevention of the 5 classes. His combo attacks are a mix of dodging and striking.

What role does the build fulfill? With this build, you should do well on your own. It can deal damage and quickly eliminate enemies. Therefore, the build is aimed more at players who like big damage numbers and not at those who prefer to take a lot of damage.

Which blessing is used here? In this build, you use the blessing “Gift of Valor” (engl. “Gift of Valor”). It appears at the top of the blessing list. The skill “Deadly Strike” particularly benefits from the blessing, and the build is built around it.

The blessing Gift of Valor significantly enhances your Deadly Strike.

Which skills do I use with the Lich Knight?

  • Bold Charge
  • Deadly Strike
  • Fearless Charge
  • Wild Battle Cry
  • Class Skills: War’s Bind and Defense

Deadly Strike is particularly strong in PvE, as you have the opportunity to charge the strike long enough to deal very high damage. With a hit, you also reduce the cooldown of your charge abilities through the blessing. You should also equip a battle cry, as this activates a fully charged Deadly Strike with the passive blessing effect Powerful Cry.

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Skill Points in Bless Unleashed – Everything about Farming and Resetting
von Mark Sellner

Before level 18, instead of Fearless Charge and Wild Battle Cry, you can take Determined Battle Cry and Counterattack. However, this build is not very suitable for PvP. Your opponents can quickly identify Deadly Strike and dodge it intentionally.

Is the build worth it in endgame? In the later phases of the game, builds could improve where you need to swap your damage potential for better defense, so you can endure more in group play. In that case, you serve as a sort of tank with the class.

“Mark of the Wolf” Berserker for High Damage in Melee against Many Enemies

This is the Berserker: The class is characterized by its pure strength. The Berserker wields a large axe and charges into battle with fury to knock down his enemies. What’s important with the Berserker is to position yourself well on the battlefield, so you can deal a lot of area damage and finish your combos uninterrupted.

What role does the build fulfill? The build is a pure damage build that can be used both solo and in groups. With the skills presented, you can not only defeat single enemies but also larger groups.

Which blessing is used here? This build uses the blessing “Mark of the Wolf” to make the skill Relentless Cleave as often usable as possible. The skill can deal a considerable amount of damage, quickly taking out your enemies. Preheat ensures that you charge it to maximum immediately, Charging Grip reduces its cooldown, and Crushing Blow increases the damage even further.

Preheating charges your Relentless Cleave directly to maximum.

Which skills do I use with the Berserker?

  • Leap Attack
  • Whirlwind
  • Relentless Cleave
  • Guillotine
  • Class Skills: Frenzy and Shoulder Charge

With Relentless Cleave, you have a skill that can deal massive damage. With Whirlwind, you should ensure you position yourself well on the battlefield so you hit as many enemies as possible. This will generate more Fury, which you can then turn into a damage boost through Frenzy.

Guillotine is also very strong and benefits from the bonus damage from Crushing Blow, but you unlock the skill only at level 26. As an alternative, you can use Wild Earthshaker for more area damage until then.

Like this build, it is more geared towards PvE rather than PvP, as other players can recognize your abilities and dodge them before they are fully charged.

Is the build worth it in endgame? The build should generally work in later phases of the game, as you are primarily responsible for damage as a Berserker.

The “Half Moon” Ranger for Ranged Damage

This is the Ranger: The Ranger is the first ranged class in this guide. He attacks his enemies from a safe distance with bow and arrow, dealing powerful single shots as well as multiple enemies at once with a hail of arrows.

What role does the build fulfill? The build is designed for damage against single enemies and smaller groups. Additionally, with the chosen skills, you have the ability to keep your opponents at a distance.

Which blessing is used here? The blessing used by this build is the Half Moon. It particularly improves your Lightning Arrow skill and the Storm Salvo by reducing the cooldown and increasing the damage. Especially “Green Behind the Ears” is worthwhile at the beginning, as it increases the charge of Lightning Arrow and reduces the arrow costs.

Green Behind the Ears lets your Lightning Arrow charge further.

Which skills do I use with the Ranger?

  • Lightning Arrow
  • Storm Salvo
  • Separating Shot
  • Sign
  • Class Skills: Refill and Storm Shot

Lightning Arrow allows you to hit multiple enemies at once, and Storm Salvo deals massive damage. Separating Shot is included in this build so you can create some distance from your enemies when they come too close. Since you unlock “Sign” only at level 18, you can effectively use the Bottomless Quiver in conjunction with Lightning Arrow until then.

If you don’t need Separating Shot to create distance from enemies, you could also consider later on taking the skill Thunderous Arrows.

Is the build worth it in endgame? You can still use this build in the later game, although there could be other worthwhile options. However, it is sufficient for dealing damage.

The “Mark of the Wolf” Mage – Spell DPS with Area Effects

This is the Mage: Mages are primarily there to deal significant damage. They rely on ice, fire, or arcane magic and use mana as a separate resource. This build primarily focuses on ice magic.

What role does the build fulfill? This build is also damage-oriented and is especially interesting for players who want to eliminate large groups of enemies at once with so-called AoE spells (“Area of Effect”).

Which blessing is used here? The blessing used in this build is the “Mark of the Wolf.” However, this primarily affects frost abilities, making it not very worthwhile to bring along fire or arcane spells for damage. Especially Blizzard is a good passive blessing, as you summon a small Blizzard with each Frost Nova that deals additional damage.

With each use of Frost Nova, you create an additional Blizzard for extra damage.

Which skills do I use with the Mage?

  • Frost Spike
  • Frost Nova
  • Arcane Burst
  • Blizzard
  • Class Skills: Empower and Focus

The build revolves around using Frost Nova in connection with the passive ability Blizzard and later the skill Blizzard. The spells are strengthened by the passive blessing effect Frostwolf and made cheaper by Absolute Zero as long as you stand in the fields while casting. Especially during the leveling phase, the build is worthwhile due to the high area damage, allowing you to defeat multiple enemies at once.

More about Bless Unleashed can be found here:

If you find yourself in a tight spot, you can reposition with Arcane Burst. Additionally, until Blizzard is unlocked at level 22, you can use Arcane Flash. This allows you to push back enemies that have come too close to you.

Is the build worth it in endgame? This build should accompany you through the leveling phase into the endgame. After that, it may be more beneficial to switch to a build based on the “Half Moon” blessing.

“Gift of Valor” Priest for Heavy Crits

This is the Priest: Priests channel the power of the gods to influence the battlefield around them. They use magic to protect, heal, and enhance allies. However, they also have abilities to destroy their enemies. They are thus a hybrid of a classic healer and DPS.

What role does the build fulfill? This build is not a healer build. Rather, it targets players who want to deal damage with their priest. If you prefer to go solo outside of group content, this build provides you with the necessary firepower.

Which blessing is used here? The blessing used in this build is the “Gift of Valor.” This allows you to enhance your shattering-type skills and apply the state “Trance” to your enemies. This, in turn, increases your critical hit rate and your critical hits reduce your cooldown. The passive blessing effect Just Judgment restores your consumed energy.

The “Gift of Valor” blessing works with critical hits.

Which skills do I use with the Priest?

  • Holy Flame
  • Divine Strike
  • Swords of Regret
  • Judgment
  • Class Skills: Swords of Justice and Faith Shield

This priest build is less focused on healing and more on damage. Therefore, it is more suitable for solo play in PvE. However, if you need more healing, you can pack the Healing Sphere – you unlock Swords of Regret only at level 18. After that, it’s better not to trade the sphere for the swords, but for Holy Flame.

If you only need a little self-healing, then the healing through the state “Judgment” that you apply to your enemies with the same-named skill should be sufficient. The higher your damage, the better the healing. Just because the build focuses on damage doesn’t mean you can’t self-heal. It works even with larger groups.

Is the build worth it in endgame? This build is more worthwhile because of the focus on damage when you are playing alone. If you need to focus more on the role of healer or supporter, other blessings are stronger.

What do you think so far about the Steam release of Bless Unleashed for PC? Have you had a chance to try out the different classes and some builds? Or have none of them convinced you so far? Then you should perhaps check out this article, which presents 7 MMOs and online games that we recommend in August 2021.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. reddit
  2. bless.wiki

Today starts the Pre-Season Event – With rewards for FIFA 21 and FIFA 22

Julian Schröder Julian Schröder Reading time 2 minutes

In FIFA 21 the Pre-Season Event starts today, on August 27, promising FUT players their first rewards for FIFA 22. Here you will find out what to expect from the new promo.

Here you can find the rewards of the event:

More on the topic
FIFA 21: Pre-Season has started and brings rewards for FIFA 22 – Is it worth it?
von Julian Schröder

What is the Pre-Season Event? Last year, EA launched a Pre-Season promo in FIFA 20, where players could secure their first packs and additional rewards for the yet-to-be-released FIFA 21. However, there weren’t many strong rewards for FIFA 21 last year.

Players could earn the following items among others:

  • Packs
  • Consumables
  • Loan Players
  • Cosmetics

Additionally, through Objectives and SBCs (Squad Building Challenges), players could secure Coin Boosts, kits, and Chemistry Styles.

We are curious to see how the event unfolds this year and whether FUT players can earn even stronger rewards and cards for FIFA 22. As soon as the event starts, you will find out on MeinMMO what content is available.

When does the event start? EA announced the start of the event with the loading screen in FIFA 21 Ultimate Team. It will begin when the Futties Event ends: Today, Friday, August 27, at 7:00 PM.

Everything about the FIFA 22 release can be found here.

More strong cards are on the way

These contents could come: In addition to the rewards for FIFA 22, the Pre-Season Event will likely bring back more strong FIFA 21 cards into the game. It was like that last year. Back then, strong TOTY- and TOTS cards and other extremely powerful cards came into the packs.

Additionally, there were new top transfer cards, where recently transferred players received particularly strong cards. So Messi could again be outfitted with a special card.

What do you think about the Pre-Season Event? Will you play it to secure rewards for FIFA 22? We will let you know what will change in FIFA 22 here:

14 exciting innovations in FIFA 22 that everyone should know about

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

After sexism scandal: McCree from Overwatch is being renamed

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 3 minutes

The popular cowboy from Overwatch, McCree, is getting a new name. Blizzard is responding to the sexism scandal of the past few weeks.

In recent weeks, much has been revolving around the major sexism and discrimination scandal at Activision Blizzard. In World of Warcraft, consequences have already been drawn, and references to the former developer Alex Afrasiabi were quickly removed from the game. Now Overwatch is following suit and is also making a significant change: the cowboy McCree will be renamed.

What happened? The Overwatch team has released a message revealing a decision that many have been longing for or fearing for weeks. The cowboy McCree in Overwatch will receive a new name. However, this is a process that will take several months until all related adjustments are made. After all, not only must the name be changed in written form, but also in sound files and on graphics, such as spray logos or skins.

How exactly McCree will be named in the future is not yet known and will probably be revealed by Blizzard in a few months.

Why is Blizzard doing this? In the course of investigations by a California agency, many Blizzard employees came under fire. Among them was Jesse McCree, after whom the cowboy was named. Jesse McCree recently worked as the lead level designer on Diablo 4 and was seen in a photo of the controversial “Cosby Suite.” He left Blizzard a few weeks ago.

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The exact reasons for the renaming were revealed by Blizzard on Twitter. We have translated the full tweet for you:

We have created the Overwatch universe around the idea of inclusion, equality, and hope as building blocks for a better future. This is central to the game and the Overwatch team.

As we continue to discuss how we can best stand by our values and demonstrate our commitment to creating a game world that reflects this, we believe it is necessary to change the name of the hero currently known as McCree to something that better represents what Overwatch stands for.

We understand that any change to such a popular and central hero in the game world takes time to be done correctly, and we will keep you updated on the progress of this work. In the short term, we had planned to release a story arc in September with new lore and game content, in which McCree was a central component.

Because we want to incorporate this change into the story arc, we will postpone it to a later date this year and instead release an FFA map in September. In the future, in-game characters will no longer be named after real employees, and we will be more thoughtful when incorporating references to the real world in Overwatch.

This will help us clarify that we are creating a fictional universe that is distinctly different from the real world. It should better show that the creation of Overwatch is a team effort. Work on these updates is already underway, and this is just part of our ongoing commitment to honest reflection and the effort to make all necessary changes to build a future worth fighting for.

We recognize that actions speak louder than words, and we hope to demonstrate our commitment to making Overwatch a better in-game experience and providing the best possible experience from our team.

More about Blizzard and Overwatch can be found here:

Community reactions: The player base in the subreddit and on Twitter has mixed reactions to this announcement. Many understand and welcome this step. While it may not be the most important thing at the moment, it’s a good signal and a sensible rule for the future.

Others are outraged by this change and wish that the character’s name remains. They have known him as McCree and do not associate him with a Blizzard employee. For some, it’s a “big change to the story” or a sign that decisions are being made based on “political views.”

Still others take it humorously and suggest silly names like “Unnamed DPS Hero” or “Shooty McShootface”.

Finally, some explain that the payload driver on the Hollywood map was right all along. Because he has been saying since the release of Overwatch: “Jesse McCree? A terrible name for a cowboy!” Who would have thought he would be so right.

What do you think about this matter?

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

New tactical shooter on Steam is fast, different and could become really good

Maik Schneider Maik Schneider Reading time 7 minutes

Genre: Shooter | Developer: Redhill Games | Platform: PC on Steam| Release: 08/26/21 (Early Access)

The Free2Play tactical shooter Nine to Five launches in Early Access on Steam as part of the gamescom 2021 and relies on some fresh mechanics to be “different”. MeinMMO has played a round with the developers and introduces you to the 3vs3vs3 shooter.

What is Nine to Five? The first-person shooter Nine to Five focuses on an unusual 3vs3vs3 concept and puts your tactical considerations at the forefront. You play as a mercenary hired by one of the major corporations that dominate the world. Nations have become obsolete.

However, in Nine to Five, tactical shooter does not mean that every hit immediately results in a kill – teamwork takes precedence over raw violence and quick reflexes. Nine to Five interprets tactical shooting through thoughtful approaches and requires good teamwork to succeed. The shooter follows a realistic approach with slight science fiction elements.

Due to the special structure of the game modes in “phases” and “flows,” the matches offer great variety and last a maximum of 15 minutes. The phases influence each other, and a victory in round 1 can bring a benefit in round 2.

MeinMMO played a few matches with the developers of Redhill Games, gives you the first impressions, and shows who should download the current beta of Nine to Five. Among those present were Redhill Games CEO Matias Myllyrinne and producer Jari Hokkanen.

We embed the new trailer for the start of Early Access here:

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Teamplay and Tactics Win in Nine to Five

What makes Nine to Five special? The shooter defines itself through small peculiarities that ultimately make the difference from the competition.

So, Nine to Five focuses on three 3-man teams that compete against each other on a map. Depending on the flow of a phase, you have certain tasks, such as taking control of an area. There are different flows with various tasks for the first phase. The same flow can also differ in the first phase as the target points vary.

If you win phase 1, you get an advantage for phase 2. When playing, we had to wait for a drop in the second round, and we already knew the position of the drop. The other teams had to scout the point first. Thus, the outcome of one phase often influences the next.

A match is also supposed to last around 15 minutes. The phases are designed for 5 minutes and may finish earlier.

Also special is the loadout composition. Currently, you can choose from 19 weapons from 4 weapon classes and determine your gadget selection through your “armor kit.” Each of the 18 armor kits offers a different combination of equipment and tactical toys. 

This starts with a regular grenade and some healing and does not stop at shields, decoys, and healing packages for your teammates. The setting of Nine to Five plays slightly in the future but is not far off. Due to this soft science fiction, there are more technical possibilities with the equipment.

Through the different phases and the wide selection of equipment, you can put your stamp on every round and achieve your goals in a different way each time.

nine to five introduction gamescom 2021 soldiers and gadgets
Nine to Five draws fully on gadgets and equipment.

What else defines Nine to Five? The shooter is available for free on Steam with a Free2Play model. Funding is intended to run through an in-game shop that only sells cosmetic items. Overall, Nine to Five offers two currencies: You use credits to buy gameplay equipment, and with Platinum (real money), you buy cosmetics. A “Battle Pass” system is also planned.

Regarding gameplay equipment, Nine to Five gives you gas. You can acquire endless amounts of gear, weapons, and attachments for the unlocked weapons. The developers stated that maintaining a healthy balance between beginner weapons and later unlocks is important to them. The advantages of veteran players over newcomers should thus be somewhat limited.

Comparing the shooter could most likely be done with Rainbow Six: Siege. The graphical and tactical demands can be well compared, although the time-to-kill in Nine to Five is higher. Every soldier starts with armor, causing the first firefights of a phase to last longer. Once the armor is gone, you cannot rebuild that protection, and the time-to-kill in the next encounter is therefore lower.

When will Nine to Five celebrate its full release? There is currently no release date. The developers emphasize how important player feedback is to them, and many aspects of the shooter have been and will be influenced by the testing phases.

With the start of Early Access, the shooter will remain available on Steam for now. All other testing phases were time-limited. If you join in Early Access, you do not have to worry about resetting your progress – the developers have confirmed that you can keep your unlocks for the full release.

For those always looking for new shooters, we embed a video here with an exciting selection of what awaits you this year:

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How Does Nine to Five Play?

How were the first rounds? The gameplay concept around the phases and flows is very intuitive, and everyone immediately understands what to do. Staying together is the motto, and good communication is necessary. In the beta, there are 2 maps that we tried out in the test round.

The gameplay concept with the three 3-man teams usually works well and slows down the phases. Aggressive teams take the risk of quickly losing allies and then have to face the second opponent team with fewer players. In contrast, cautious teams often arrive late at the target point and might have a positional disadvantage.

In each round, your tactical plan is crucial, and because you can adjust your loadout between phases, you must constantly coordinate to rock the next phase. On a map, you can even mark a path between rounds that will be visible on the match map.

This played well and is fun when you are on the same wavelength as your teammates. In the playtest event with the developers, we were guided by the more experienced team, had a good balance of restraint, aggression, and equipment use, and could win almost all phases – although the opposing teams were also filled with Redhill employees.

nine to five introduction gamescom 2021 3-man team
3vs3vs3 requires new tactics from you.

Positive and Negative Impressions – With Comments from the Developers

What stood out positively? The mechanics in the game support the teamplay character of Nine to Five and provide interesting gadgets for your tactical skirmishes.

Nine to Five is a military playground and gives you great freedom in fulfilling your mission objectives. Through the ping system or the use of drones, you support your teammates in spotting enemies or get help yourself. The interplay of gadgets and communication among each other is the most crucial aspect of Nine to Five, and that worked really well.

Furthermore, the mix of the rather slowed-down gameplay and the simultaneous time pressure is a big part of what Nine to Five can offer.

What do the developers say about it?

The matches with the three 3-man teams represent a fresh approach in the genre. The mission- or flow-based gameplay is “different.” [Nine to Five] is not meant to be a team deathmatch, and thus an additional tactical component is added. You don’t have to be the type with the fastest reflexes – a good team can outsmart the others.

What stood out negatively? The gunplay and the feel of firing the weapons felt “restrained.” The weapons do not feel very powerful when firing, and the hit feedback is also not yet optimal.

The otherwise coherent gameplay when advancing, holding positions, or suppressing opponents has suffered a bit from this.

What do the developers say about it?

For us, this is more of a constant effort than something that has a concrete goal. We have already undergone a significant overhaul of the weapon feel and are continuing to work on it. It is a combination of all elements that the player sees on screen – audio, visual, effects. It is also a matter of timing, how all the effects work together.

We have already learned a lot about what the eye sees and how it feels when firing from a mouse click. There is still much to do, but we are making progress and continuing to work on it.

Who is Nine to Five For? 

With the launch of Early Access on Steam today, you can try the Free2Play shooter anytime and have a look for yourself.

If you are a fan of shooters with sophisticated tactical options, then check out Nine to Five. As already mentioned, players from Rainbow Six: Siege could also find a home in Nine to Five. Many of the gadgets will likely be familiar to you, but the 3-man teams and the division into flows and phases offer different tactical approaches and thus provide a new “different” experience. In addition, Nine to Five follows a more realistic approach and avoids superhuman skills or overly wild gadgets.

The comparatively high time-to-kill and the increased tactical requirements make Nine to Five also optimal for players who define themselves more through their approach than through their reflexes. For players who enjoy delving deep into the mechanics of a shooter and scrutinizing every section of a map, Nine to Five offers a lot of depth. However, the short rounds keep Nine to Five engaging, and prolonged camping is rarely advisable when you’re playing for victory.

If you want hardcore deathmatch action with many animations, explosions, and a high pace of battle, Nine to Five is probably not for you.

Exciting Shooter for Team Players

Nine to Five aims to be different and utilizes fresh approaches in gameplay modes and equipment without reinventing the shooter genre. This sounds interesting and plays well. However, the relentless focus on teamplay is not for everyone.

If you think “Oh, I know who I could play with” when it comes to 3-man teams, then give Nine to Five a try. With a well-coordinated trio, the advantages of the mechanics unfold best, and Nine to Five promises many hours of multiplayer fun.

Additionally, there are extensive possibilities for how you support your playstyle with unlocks, which also provides motivation to start the next 5 rounds outside of matches.

However, it still remains to be seen whether the game 3vs3vs3 has a reasonable balance and whether the developers will improve the gunplay and the feel of the weapons. Aside from these two points, I give the title a clear thumbs up – for all fans of first-person shooters with tactical depth.

maik author profile

Maik Schneider
Freelance author at MeinMMO

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

Bizarre law prohibited young gamers from playing online at night – To disappear after 10 years

Benedict Grothaus Benedict Grothaus Reading time 2 minutes

Gamers under 16 years old are not allowed to play at night in South Korea. This has been banned by law. Now the responsible ministries have acknowledged that this rule is unnecessary and are abolishing it – after 10 years.

What is this law? The “Youth Protection Revision Act”, also known as the “Shutdown Law” or “Cinderella Law”, was a law in South Korea. It blocked access to online games for youths under 16 years old between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM.

The law was passed in May 2011 and came into effect in November of the same year. A similar law was also enacted in China in 2019, which prohibited young gamers from playing at night or for too long.

The reason for the law was apparently the fear that excessive gaming could lead to addiction or even suicide.

Why has it been changed now? The law led to the problem that it was difficult for game manufacturers to properly regulate who plays when. This led to absurd consequences such as Minecraft, loved by children, receiving a rating of 19+.

Moreover, only online games were affected; mobile and regular console games could still apparently be played. Nevertheless, some console services, like the PlayStation Network, restricted their services in Korea (via Kotaku.com).

How effective the law actually was in combating possible gaming addiction in children remains open.

There was also criticism from parents who wanted to decide for themselves how to raise their children and what freedoms to allow them. They could ask for exceptions for their children, but this rule was only invoked in 1% to 28% of cases depending on the game (via KoreaHerald.com).

Other bizarre laws in gaming:

Young gamers in Korea are allowed to play at night again – Hopefully

How is it now? The law is set to be abolished, although the decision needs to be reviewed again at the end of the year before it is enforced. Parents or guardians will then be allowed to decide for themselves when their children can play.

The Korean game industry society now also wants to advocate for educating parents about the possibilities for youth protection in games.

By the way, a law was supposed to be changed in Korea earlier, which would have prevented one of the world’s most famous gamers from playing:

Politicians want to change the law so that Faker can continue playing LoL

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Korea Herald
  2. PCGamer

Genshin Impact: Leak shows all characters from the next banner

Irina Moritz Irina Moritz Reading time 2 minutes

A leak about Genshin Impact reveals which characters and weapons will be included in the next banner. Alongside the 5-star character Baal, there will also be 3 additional 4-star characters and two new weapons.

These characters are coming in the next banner: In less than a week, on September 1, the next update of Genshin Impact will be released. In Chapter 2 of Act 3, you will once again be able to pull new characters from the banner.

It was already known that the 5-star character Raiden Shogun and her devoted servant Kujou Sara, a new 4-star character, would be included. Now, two more 4-star characters have also been announced, who will join the two ladies in the banner. They are

  • Sucrose – Element: Anemo, Weapon: Catalyst
  • Xiangling – Element: Pyro, Weapon: Polearm

Both are characters that have been playable since the release of the game a year ago. For most long-term players, the banner is rather an opportunity to pull new constellations of the two characters and further develop them.

As is always the case with leaks: Enjoy this information with caution. A large part of the leaks of Genshin Impact has proven to be true in the past. However, that does not mean that this will necessarily be the case here.

https://twitter.com/dailybaal/status/1430848712767512578

These weapons will be available in the next banner: In the weapon banner, two new 5-star weapons await you. The first weapon is Engulfing Lightning, a polearm with a base ATK value of 46 and elemental energy regeneration of 15% at level 1.

The second weapon is a Liyue claymore named The Unforged. It also has a base ATK value of 46 and an additional status of ATK 10.8% at level 1.

As with the weapons, this is leak info, so don’t get your hopes up too much if you find one of the weapons particularly cool and really want to have it.

More about Genshin Impact on MeinMMO can be found here:

What else is coming with 2.1? Regardless of whether the leak information is true, next week, along with the new character and weapon banners, Genshin Impact’s update 2.1 will be released. The update brings among other things the following contents:

  • The story quest of Chapter 2: Act 3
  • 2 new islands from Inazuma – “Watatsumi” and “Seirai”
  • New bosses
  • The new mechanic: fishing
  • The burden of the kettle of immortality will be increased
  • All recharge bonuses in the “Recharge Crystals” window will be reset once

What do you think of the possible characters and weapons in upcoming banners? Do you still need Sucrose and Xiangling, or are you tired of both? Let us know your opinion in the comments.

Genshin Impact: Patch 2.1 brings 3 new characters and 2 new islands

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

Blood of Heroes plays like a hardcore Dark Souls multiplayer – We have already tried it out

Jürgen Horn Jürgen Horn Reading time 7 minutes

Blood of Heroes boasts catchy slogans, a dark world, and brutal close combat like in For Honor. But is it fun? Just in time for the beta launch, we at MeinMMO played it together with the developers and can tell you what to expect in the game.

What kind of game is this, anyway? Blood of Heroes features brutal combat scenes and the slogan “Kill them quickly and brutally!” It sounds like a hearty action game, and it is. Like in For Honor, you fight with medieval weapons in archaic arenas against other players and smash each other’s heads in (or off).

At first glance, the game resembles For Honor in its visuals and gameplay, but according to the developers, Ubisoft’s medieval slaughter was not the inspiration. Blood of Heroes was, according to their statement, already in development when For Honor had not even been announced.

Rather, the hardcore multiplayer mode of Dark Souls was the inspiration. Many players would have liked more of that, but Souls was primarily focused on single-player, and the multiplayer was more of an afterthought. Therefore, they at the developer Vizor devised a plan to develop a PvP multiplayer game that captures the feeling of Souls PvP.

Who played? For MeinMMO, our action and Viking fan Jürgen Horn ventured into the dark expanses of Blood of Heroes. On the other side were several developers from the Vizor studio in Belarus, including chief developer Dmitry Voronov, who gave valuable tips and put up fierce resistance in the arena.
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Difficult to learn and hard to master – but good

So these were the first steps: Since I have the developers as wise advisors by my side, I skip the otherwise boring tutorial and jump straight into the battle. How hard can it be?

And indeed, it gets intense right away. I grab one of the three starter heroes – a grim dude in armor and shield – and stomp off. I immediately notice: Man, this guy is taking his time.

While in other games, agile elves flit lightly about, my warrior stomps through the bushes in his heavy armor like an elephant. You can feel every pound of steel covering his mighty body.

Here’s how the gameplay goes: But my hero doesn’t have to crawl around for too long, as my enemies kindly oblige by attacking me right away. Since the devs had just explained the basics to me, I hold down the button to block, and the opponents’ attacks bounce ineffective off my shield.

But I can’t celebrate for too long because one of the opponents winds up and delivers a heavy attack that breaks through my shield coverage.

blood of heroes screens - 01
The hefty tank warrior can take a lot but is still slower than the rest of the gang.

“You have to dodge,” says a developer in the role of Captain Obvious dryly from off-screen. But dodging in Blood of Heroes is also a leisurely affair. While in other games, you can perform spectacular flips, the muscle-bound brutes in this game only minimally hop to the side. Every unnecessary movement is avoided. I’m used to something different, and I have to get accustomed to this movement economy.

Still, I evade most attacks, which is also due to the fact that I can temporarily make myself invulnerable. Each hero has 2 skills that help him in battle. My hefty tank-type has, besides invulnerability, a special strike that knocks down opponents.

In addition, there are various strikes and combos that can knock enemies over, kick them off cliffs, or stun them. If you don’t cleverly block or dodge and plan your own attacks – which often have very long animations – properly, you won’t win anything, let alone a glorious victory!

Every hero plays differently

Here’s how the different characters play: After actually winning the first round – I mainly tanked, and my two comrades flanked and hacked the enemies with their axes – I start further rounds and try out the other heroes.

They differ not only in appearance but are all also different in gameplay:

  • There is a Viking guy with two axes. He is relatively quick and hits hard but is considerably more fragile than the tank-type.
  • Another hero is a muscle-bound brute with a large axe, who dishes out heavily and is quite tough.
  • Another warrior can engulf himself in flames and ignite opponents. Magic also plays a role here.
  • There is also a guy with a staff who looks like a Viking priest and specializes in healing and support.
  • The last hero for the start differs from the previous warriors as he is not a Nordic type but rather a kind of Zulu warrior who throws spears and is currently the only ranged fighter in the selection.
blood of heroes screens - 02
Here, the flame warrior Wold takes down the mighty axe wielder.

I try them all out and recognize a few fundamental truths of the game:

  • Whoever doesn’t wear armor is very quickly dead – dodging and blocking become really important.
  • Ranged combat is indeed tricky.
  • Having the healer in the team who knows his craft gives a massive advantage.
  • There is damn friendly fire!

Especially the last point is something that one has to understand first. Whoever mindlessly swings around while comrades are standing around them might hit them. And as you can only heal in the regular 3vs3 mode when a healer is also playing, every lost hit point is a catastrophe!

Also interesting: When you die, you can only respawn in the next round. However, the previous hero remains dead, and you have to play a different character from the selection. So the game forces me to grasp all heroes at least to some extent. There are therefore no pure “mains.”

More about wild Vikings and gamescom 2021 on MeinMMO:

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This is how team play works in the domination mode: In addition to the 3vs3 and a 1vs1 duel mode, which I have not played, the developers want to show me the big domination mode. In it, 5 players face off against 5 players to capture magical locations in order to score points. The first to reach 1,000 wins the match.

You can also respawn during the round, and heroes that are dead for a while become available for selection again after a few minutes.

More than in the 3vs3 mode, tactics and planning are the focus here. Rushing around without a plan will get you mercilessly outmaneuvered. Pure combat successes pale in comparison to tactical maneuvers, where a clever rogue sneaks around and captures points. This way, I can log a win or two, even though I often lose in direct combat against the much more experienced developers and playtesters.

Customizable arenas and lack of women

This is what’s up with the arenas and crafting: Crafting and the arenas have been roughly touched upon. You can gather crafting resources through various challenges and achievements and then create all sorts of things.

These include cosmetics, new weapons, and arena modifiers. The weapons are not just decorative but also change the first skill you have with the corresponding hero. The arena upgrades, in turn, change the appearance of the arena, as every second battle takes place in your own arena, and you can then boast with your personal battlefield.

What is still to come? For the future, the developers are primarily planning new heroes from all sorts of cultural backgrounds. Unlike in For Honor, which takes place in a bizarre mixed world, the battles in Blood of Heroes, according to the developers, take place in “a proto-Germanic underworld.” So a kind of Valhalla, where the souls of dead heroes eternally beat each other up and go drinking between battles.

Therefore, in the future, there should also be heroes from Celtic, Roman/Greek, and even Slavic cultures.

blood of heroes screens - 01
The spear-throwing “Zulu warrior” is the only exotic in the selection so far.

What is there to criticize: The game already makes a solid impression, and I had to force myself not to keep playing one round after another. But if you want to play Blood of Heroes well, you have to immerse yourself in the tricky gameplay that forgives few mistakes and can end quickly in death. Casual gamers might not get as much out of it.

For Honor Apollyon
In For Honor, there are also brutal female fighters, but in Blood of Heroes there are none.

There were also a few smaller bugs, such as the fact that my hero sometimes had no head but still lived. Moreover, the camera perspective is sometimes a bit too close to the fray, making it hard to distinguish between enemies and allies, which is especially problematic in conjunction with friendly fire.

Curiously, all heroes are men. And although the setting could easily accommodate tough shield maidens and fierce amazons, there is currently not a single woman in the hero selection. When asked about this, none of the developers wanted to comment.

Conclusion – A game I’ve been waiting for a long time

Even the first trailers and images of Blood of Heroes piqued my interest, and I was not disappointed. The game has a rather leisurely and tactical feel, and you must engage with the material to achieve something.

Wild button-mashing rarely leads to anything, just like stubbornly hiding behind shields or cover.

Moreover, there’s the cool underworld Valhalla setting, which even explains respawns coherently in the world. If you are already an immortal warrior spirit who engages in battles for eternity, you can just go down for a while and then resurrect.

Additionally, there are countless possibilities to customize the heroes, their gear, and even the arenas themselves. So, whether you are into housing and fashion play (like me), you will have fun here, just as much as fans of hardcore PvP action like in Dark Souls.

fragt meinmmo jürgen

Jürgen Horn
Editor at MeinMMO

When can you play it? From today, August 26, the open beta for Blood of Heroes has started, and you can check out the game for yourself and start playing.

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

10-year-old superhero MMORPG is now free with all DLCs

Irina Moritz Irina Moritz Reading time 2 minutes

The superhero MMO DC Universe Online now delivers more Free2Play content and you get all episodes of the game for free. This also applies to the latest episode 41: House of Legends.

This is now free: With the major summer update, there were several changes to the Free2Play area of DC Universe Online. Players can now play all 41 episodes of the game for free without a subscription, as announced in the spring. This also includes the latest episode number 41 titled “House of Legends.”

In spring, the developers released an episode of DC Universe Online for free as a test. Based on this experience, it was decided to make all other DLCs free as well. In a statement, it was said:

The experiments showed us many good reasons to bring more players into the new content without barriers. So we will keep it this way.

Thanks to a revision of the various sub-levels, Free2Play players also receive additional benefits. These are intended to make it easier for FTP players to get into the game:

  • The daily free “Doctor Fates” login rewards. This allows players to earn rewards worth about €20
  • Full access to the housing and utility belt systems (a bonus item for trinkets)
  • The maximum amount that an FTP player can have has been increased from 2,000 to 50,000
  • 7 additional inventory slots

As compensation, the premium and member ranks received their own bonuses, including even higher cash limits and more inventory slots.

If you are interested in MMOs and MMORPGs, check out our listicles:

This is House of Legends: In the latest DLC, all heroes and villains are summoned by the Monitor into the House of Legends. It is a new player hub that can be used by both factions together. The house is located in a rift between worlds, from where the Multiverse of the game is monitored.

Why exactly you have been summoned to the House of Legends is not entirely clear. But the goal is initially to train together with all other heroes and villains to stop a mysterious threat that is haunting the Multiverse.

A completely new system is also being introduced: the Allies. These are allies like Cyborg or Flash, who will accompany you into battle and can be leveled up by you.

When is the content available? All episodes have been playable for free since August 25, which means you can jump right into DC Universe Online and try them out. This also applies to episode 41: House of Legends.

The best MMORPGs of 2021 – Which one is right for me?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
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gamescom Offers: 4 Gaming Laptops that you can currently get cheaper

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 4 minutes

Currently, there are some gaming laptops on offer. We present to you 4 devices that provide enough power for gaming and home office.

What do we present to you? Currently, there are various gaming offers at Amazon, MediaMarkt, and co. In this article, we present to you 4 gaming notebooks where you can currently save good money.

  • Two devices come with the current RTX 3000 graphics card. This means that you can use both ray tracing and Nvidia’s DLSS technology with these devices.
  • The other two devices come with a GTX 1660 Ti. For smooth gaming, this is completely sufficient, but you will have to do without ray tracing. However, these devices are cheaper than the RTX 3000 beasts.

The offers at MediaMarkt run until August 30, 2021, and the Amazon offers go until August 31, 2021.

Is a gaming laptop worth it at all? Depending on the device and performance, you can easily pay several thousand euros for a gaming laptop.

Therefore, you should consider what you need the device for. If your future notebook is mainly going to be on the desk, then you should look more towards a desktop PC. These are significantly cheaper than mobile technology and are easier to upgrade if you later want faster technology.

What you generally need to pay attention to when buying a gaming laptop, we have explained to you here in detail:

More on the topic
What should you consider when buying a gaming laptop?
von Benedikt Schlotmann

Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop 2020

This is what the device offers: With the Razer Blade 15 (2020), you get the successor to the 2019 model. According to Notebookcheck, the 2020 models mainly consist of a revision of the 2019 models (via Notebookcheck.com).

Inside is an Intel Core i7-10750H processor from the 10th generation combined with a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti. The device has a 15.6-inch display with Full HD and 120 Hz. According to the testers from Notebookcheck, you get a good gaming device with a poorly calibrated display. So you’ll have to take matters into your own hands to make the colors look good.

Who is this device suitable for? With the GTX 1660 Ti, you get a fast graphics card that performs only slightly below the RTX 2060. If you can do without ray tracing, you’ll get a fast and high-quality device for everyday use and gaming.

Pro
  • sturdy, high-quality case
  • upgradable RAM
  • appealing design
  • good touchpad
Contra
  • processor falls short of expectations
  • loud fans
  • poorly calibrated display

Where can you buy the device: On Amazon, you can currently get the device for 999.99 euros instead of 1599 euros, which is a really good deal if you’re looking for a fast device without ray tracing technology.

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Lenovo Legion 5 Laptop with RTX 3060

This is what the device offers: The Lenovo gaming laptop offers you a 15.6-inch display with Full HD resolution and 165 Hz.

Inside works a Ryzen 7 5800H and a GeForce RTX 3060. With this, you can easily handle all modern titles and also use Nvidia’s ray tracing and DLSS technology.

The tester from Ultrabookreview praises the high processing quality and especially the numerous upgrade options (via ultrabookreview.com). Because on the back, you can easily access most components and replace the RAM or hard drive.

Who is this device suitable for? Are you looking for a fast gaming device that is also suitable for home office thanks to a good keyboard and offers upgrade options? Then you should consider the Lenovo notebook if you can overlook a weak webcam.

Pro
  • Good build quality
  • comfortable keyboard and touchpad
  • upgrade options
  • decent battery life (4 hours)
Contra
  • average speakers
  • weak webcam

Where can you buy the device: On Amazon, you can currently get the device for 1149 euros. This means you save 21% compared to the original price on Amazon, which is 1449 euros.

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ASUS ROG Strix G15 with RTX 3060

This is what the device offers: The ASUS gaming laptop relies on an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor and a GeForce RTX 3060. In addition, it has 16 GB of RAM. With the Rog Strix G15, you get a 15.6-inch display with Full HD.

Who is this device suitable for? With the Asus ROG Strix G15, you get a good device with plenty of power at a fair price.

Pro
  • Good, fast display
  • appealing design
  • high-quality construction
  • maintenance options
Contra
  • no webcam
  • no card reader

Where can you buy the device: At MediaMarkt, the device costs 1549 euros, but you get a direct discount of 200 euros when you purchase it. In the end, you only pay 1349 euros.

Buy ASUS ROG Strix G15 at MediaMarkt*

ASUS TUF Gaming A17 FA706IU-H7241T with GTX 1660 Ti

This is what the device offers: The laptop offers you a 17.3-inch display with Full HD resolution. Inside work a Ryzen 9 4900H and a GTX 1660 Ti. With this, you can easily play all current titles at high settings.

With 16 GB of RAM, the device is also well-equipped for the future.

Who is this device suitable for? Notebookcheck describes the device as a good gaming laptop, whose biggest weakness lies in the noise level (via notebookcheck.com). On the other hand, you get long battery life, good upgrade possibilities, and stable processing. With the GTX 1660 Ti, you have to be prepared to do without ray tracing, as the GTX series from Nvidia cannot handle it.

Pro
  • high-quality processing
  • plenty of performance from Ryzen 9 and GTX 1660 Ti
  • multiple upgrade options for RAM and hard drives
Contra
  • awkward arrow keys
  • high volume during gaming
  • no Thunderbolt 3

Where can you buy the device: At MediaMarkt, you can currently get the device for 1299 euros instead of 1699 euros, saving 23%. Additionally, thanks to a direct discount at the checkout, you can save another 150 euros. In the end, you only pay 1149 euros for the gaming laptop.

Buy ASUS TUF Gaming A17 at MediaMarkt*

Matching accessories for your notebook: If you are still looking for a suitable gaming mouse for your laptop, take a look here: we present you the best gaming mice that you can currently buy.

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