New reactions from current and former Blizzard employees continue to emerge regarding the incidents – and this will likely continue for a while.
What do you think of Metzen’s statements?
Chris Metzen, a former top employee of Blizzard and an icon in WoW, also speaks out. In his statement, he regrets what has come to light.
The last few days have cast a dark light on Activision Blizzard and especially the team around World of Warcraft. More and more allegations from employees are coming to light as part of a lawsuit. They involve sexism, sexual harassment in the workplace, and many other forms of oppression against women.
Who is Chris Metzen? Chris Metzen was the “Senior Vice President of Story and Franchise Development” at Blizzard. Until his departure in 2016, he was largely responsible for the story of many Blizzard games. He shaped the Warcraft universe and is – to this day – also the original English voice of several characters, such as Thrall or Ragnaros.
For many, he was the great “story guru” and an extremely charismatic personality who often opened BlizzCon. At the same time, his departure from Blizzard in 2016 marked the “beginning of the end” for many in the game developer. It was a departure that would be followed by many other high-ranking developers.
Chris Metzen now works at “Warchief Gaming” and creates tabletop and pen & paper games there.
Chris Metzen was long the story chief at Blizzard – and still voices Thrall today.
What did Metzen say? Metzen commented on the scandal in a statement on Twitter.
We have failed, and I am sorry. […]
There is no excuse. We have disappointed too many people when they needed us, and we had the privilege of not noticing, not trying, and not creating the necessary space for our colleagues who needed us as leaders. I wish my apology could make a difference. But it cannot.
Later, he explains that he finds it difficult to connect these stories of Blizzard with what he loved about the company.
I feel the same shock, disgust, and anger as many of you – and I struggle to reconcile the place I knew, loved, and worked at for so long with the harsh reality that has been revealed in recent days. It feels like I am staring at two different worlds.
But that is not the case. It is just this one world, and the vast chasm between my perception from the top and the jarring reality that many of you have experienced fills me with deep shame.
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He further explains that as a father of two daughters, he hopes that they will one day find a workplace where they can freely express themselves. However, he notes that he should not think only about family, but about all women.
It’s not enough to say “I see you” and “I hear you” when terrible things happen to women, whether at work or outside of it. We must be present enough and willing to ASK what their everyday experiences are – and then do everything we can to support them with the respect, dignity, and opportunities they deserve.
He concludes by stating that such change can only happen if not only one acts this way, but also if these perspectives and values are shared in the environment. We must hold each other accountable – and be willing to be held accountable.
More about the current Blizzard scandal can be found in these articles:
Community divided, uncertainty prevails: Although Chris Metzen enjoys a good reputation among many fans, there is also some criticism of him. Many find it hard to believe that Metzen knew nothing of the behavior of Afrasiabi, who allegedly harassed several women. Afrasiabi succeeded Metzen in terms of story, and the two have worked together a lot in the past.
Regarding Alex [Afrasiabi]. I enjoyed working with him […]. I had a lot of respect for him in terms of work, but we did not interact outside of the “story jams”. I was never his boss. We had little to do with each other outside of work or shared smoke breaks, and we have not worked closely together [since] WotLK. I never heard a peep about him, other than that he could be tough on his team and at times an asshole. Learning all this over the past week was very shocking for me. That is just reprehensible shit.
New reactions from current and former Blizzard employees continue to emerge regarding the incidents – and this will likely continue for a while.
What do you think of Metzen’s statements?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The well-known streamer Cr1TiKaL has put 100 dollars into Pokémon Unite and invested in strong items. He wants to show how unfair it can be in the new MOBA and how obvious the advantages are that you can acquire with ‘Mom’s credit card’ faster than everyone else. You can see how he dismantles entire lobbies single-handedly and feels so dirty due to Pay2Win that he doesn’t dare to go to church anymore.
Who is this about?
Charles White Jr (26) is better known online as Cr1TiKaL or MoistCr1TiKaL. On YouTube, his channel pengiuz0 has 8.6 million subscribers, and on Twitch, he has 2.9 million followers as moistCr1TiKaL. His fans love him for his dry humor on serious topics.
He streams a variety of games, most recently the suddenly mega-popular Final Fantasy XIV. However, he has now dedicated himself to Pokémon Unite, the new MOBA where the cuddly pocket monsters bash each other’s heads in 5 vs. 5 battles.
On Twitch, he is the 3rd largest streamer for Pokémon Unite and is also among the top 100 streamers across the entire platform, based on the viewing hours of his content (via Sullygnome). Cr1TiKaL is therefore a big deal and reaches many people when he speaks.
What has the streamer done? Cr1TiKaL has put down some serious cash and shown in a stream how much stronger his Pokémon are after an investment.
Here’s the background: In recent days, there have been Pay2Win accusations in Pokémon Unite. This concerns the held items (Hero Items) that can be permanently leveled up from Trainer level 9 onwards, thus increasing the stats of your monsters. Leveling costs “Item Enhancers”, which can be obtained in-game through missions or by playing, but also much faster through resources from the real-money shop.
“Tonight I will be number 1, all thanks to the credit card”
Cr1TiKaL says at the beginning of the stream: “I hate it, but I want to see where this goes”. You can then see how he pumps a ton of upgrade materials into his held items.
The “Muscle Band” at maximum level 30 gives him +15 attack power and 7.5% faster attack speed.
Additionally, there are items that increase movement speed, heal passively, or increase his crit chance.
All nicely pumped up, and depending on the match, he selects 3 of the expensive and powerful items.
When he joins the match, he feels a bit disgusted with himself because it’s really “dirty” and therefore, he can’t go to church this Sunday. With such jokes, he lightens the otherwise serious topic again and again.
He has fun shopping: “The strongest Pokémon will be Mom’s legendary credit card”, he yells every time he has to return to the shop to convert real money into resources, he keeps playing the mom card: “Mom, mom, I need more money!”.
While shopping, Cr1TiKaL sarcastically notes that Pokémon Unite did not think of the whales – whales are the biggest spenders in a free-to-play game. Because the upgrade materials are only available in 50 packs, but he needs hundreds of “Item Enhancers”.
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In the second part of the video, he then shows the effects of his investment, which, according to his – of course, very serious – statement, will definitely earn him a contract as a pro (from minute 3:15).
“Spend money, you poor noobs” – Clip shows how clear the differences are
How strong is he thanks to cash? Critical plows through his enemies in the lower ranks. He chooses Absol, Zeraora, and Machamp, Pokémon that already deal significant damage and become real killing machines through the items.
When a team gives up after a short time, he comments dryly: “I can understand that, they could feel the money my character sweats out”. Due to his high advantage in the early game, he diligently collects experience and is then so strong later that he almost farms the whole enemy team in their base, again and again.
His devastating verdict on Pokémon Unite is finally: “This is the worst pay-to-win I have seen in my whole damned life!”.
That’s why it’s annoying: Sure, any player can pump an item to level 30 with enough time invested, but currently, that might not even be really possible without spending money. Because the missions that give “Item Enhancers” are limited. Only in weeks can you reach such a high level on several items purely through playtime.
I still have 120 Item Enhancers left, that will never be enough for level 30
Until then, as a stingy (or normal?) player, you have to hope not to encounter a whale who tramples you into the ground just because mom’s legendary credit card struck. But really big worries should only concern players from level 9 onwards, only then can you upgrade items and encounter such opponents… but that doesn’t really make it better.
This is how MeinMMO author Philip Hansen sees the pay-to-win nature of Pokémon Unite:
I myself, Philip Hansen, have now played a lot of Pokémon Unite and am several leagues higher than Cr1TiKaL, in Expert 2 and have played over 100 matches. So far, I have not invested a cent in Pokémon Unite and my 3 held items are at level 10 – all through materials I obtained through normal play and quests. However, this has cost me almost all my saved up wealth, and level 30 is far away.
Currently, I can still keep up quite well. But now and then, you have the feeling that the enemy with their Pokémon is significantly stronger, whether that’s due to held and significantly leveled up items, it’s hard to say in the heat of battle.
My level 10 “Muscle Band” only gives +5 attack power and 2.5% attack speed. Cr1TiKaL’s maximum item’s stats are three times as good. Such a difference is definitely felt.
Philip Hansen Freelance author at MeinMMO
What do you think, have you also felt like you were only losing because the opponent invested a lot of money? Do you find the Pay2Win accusations in Pokémon Unite justified or do the players and the big streamer overreact? Let us know in the comments.
The YouTuber Spieletrend has been banned in Pokémon GO for 30 days. If he receives another ban, his account will be permanently gone. The YouTuber maintains his innocence but foresaw the current punishment.
Who is it about? Daniel “Spieletrend” Schilling is the largest German-speaking YouTuber on Pokémon GO. Currently, more than 368,000 subscribers follow him on the video platform YouTube.
What happened? On July 24, the Austrian announced that his Pokémon GO account was suspended for 30 days. In a video, he explains that he anticipated the suspension. And this, even though he insists he did not break any rules.
“A bit embarrassing already”
The reason for the suspension: In the message from Niantic, it states:
“Your account has been temporarily suspended because you violated the terms of service. The suspension will be lifted in about 30 days. Another violation will result in the permanent suspension of your account.”
This is what Spieletrend says about the ban: In a new YouTube video, the YouTuber speaks about the suspension. About a month ago, he had already received his first warning from Niantic in Pokémon GO.
The reason for the first warning was that Niantic allegedly found “activities on Spieletrend’s account indicating that he was using modified client software or unauthorized third-party software.” However, the YouTuber denies having used anything like that.
This “strike” remained on his account. If you collect three strikes, your account will be banned. Spieletrend appealed the ban in Pokémon GO with a “ban appeal,” “but whenever you do that, you only receive the automated response and nothing else,” he explains.
He compares his ban to that of Brandon Tan, the player who was the first to achieve a billion XP in Pokémon GO. “He was banned for 30 days a few days ago because he publicly, for months, without in any way hiding or concealing it, offered a paid catching service. […] For that, he received a 30-day ban.” Spieletrend himself says that he did “nothing” and still receives a 30-day ban.
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He saw it coming: “I’m not really sad about it. I really saw it coming. It’s no surprise.” Since his first strike was not removed, he knew that with the next “mistake from Niantic,” he would be banned for 30 days. “That was predictable. But it is a bit embarrassing, somehow,” the YouTuber adds.
This is currently happening: On Twitter, many trainers report about the support from Niantic regarding their accounts being warned or banned over the past weekend. The support usually replies with instructions on where to submit a ban appeal.
Comments and threads about players being unfairly banned are also increasing on reddit. For instance, a user named GloomySelf writes (via reddit.com) that he received a 30-day suspension about a month ago because he played with iOS 12. Many players were affected by these false suspensions (false flagging).
Now, a week after his 30-day suspension expired, his account has been permanently banned. He writes that he only receives the same copy-paste response from support when he tries to appeal his ban.
Do you also know players who are affected by the last wave of bans and warnings, but actually did not violate the game’s rules? What do you think of the ban system of Pokémon GO with its 3 strikes?
Share your opinion on the topic here on MeinMMO in the comments and discuss with other trainers from the community.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Does WoW Burning Crusade Classic secretly lower the drop rates when you farm for a long time? Many players are reporting just that.
Farming for resources is part of every WoW player’s daily life, especially in Burning Crusade Classic. After all, many recipes require different particles, such as mana particles or fire particles. But something seems off about the probabilities of the drop rates – is WoW manipulating the chances to make farming less attractive?
What happened? In the WoW Classic subreddit, user Mercon made a post detailing his observations while farming mana particles (via reddit). According to him, a system seems to be active that massively lowers the drop chances of items over time. At first, he consistently received mana particles, but over time that decreased significantly.
In the end, he even killed 100 of the mobs and did not receive a single mana particle – with a drop chance of 30%, that is nearly impossible. The conclusion: The drop chance must be lowered over time.
Other players confirm the observations: Other players also share these experiences. For example, thunderstriken explains:
Man, I knew I wasn’t crazy. When I was farming the particles for my best weapon (I think I needed about 20 primal items, so 200 particles), I got incredibly low drop rates towards the end. For the last 4 particles, I farmed for over 1.5 hours. Thank you for confirming my sanity.
At the beginning, there is plenty of loot – but it gradually decreases.
Pancrat also confirms this theory:
I noticed this while solo-farming the Black Marsh during trash (200 or more mobs, level 67 / 68), every day I get between 6 and 7 green items, and then no more.
MeraxusM also shares his experiences and observations:
I farmed about 200 primal fires at the beginning of the expansion and noticed 3 things that consistently proved true, so it can’t really be random:
1. The first few kills of each session had very high drop rates. 2. There were always periods of 15 to 30 minutes in which the drop rates were either extremely good or extremely bad. 3. The longer the farming session lasted, the more the drops per hour decreased. This seems to reset when you return the next day or a few hours later.
More news about WoW Retail and WoW Classic can be found here:
That such manipulations of the drop chances exist is actually an old hat. It was primarily known in Retail WoW. For a while, there were extremely many farming bots that occupied coveted spots 24/7, making gold and then selling it. Already several expansions ago, Blizzard had implemented protection mechanisms to prevent certain materials from being farmed permanently in the same place.
That these mechanics are now also active in Burning Crusade Classic bothers many players. After all, it was part of the “old experience” for many to farm for many hours at the Elemental Plateau in Nagrand or in the Netherstorm to craft good equipment. The fact that this is now restricted even for honest players is not well received.
What do you think about this? Are these farming protection mechanisms good and sensible? Or is there a better way?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
This can be seen in the latest tweet about WoW. It is actually about a tournament in WoW Classic – but the responses are full of biting allusions and questions about the current situation at Blizzard.
The allegations against Blizzard are similar to accusations against game companies in recent years:
This is further inflaming the situation: In recent days, some former bosses at Blizzard have spoken out, such as Chris Metzen or Mike Morhaime. They took part of the blame and apologized for allowing such things to happen under their supervision. They emphasized that they were not aware of the extent of the occurrences.
They faced harsh criticism on Twitter. They were accused of having ignored the occurrences.
Internal emails have also leaked to the public, including those from Blizzard CEO J Allen Brack or from Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. They labeled the behavior described in the lawsuit as “unacceptable,” announced investigations, and many discussions.
However, the statement from Fran Townsend, who worked for US President George W. Bush and is now “Chief Compliance Officer” at Activision Blizzard, thus actually responsible for such allegations, particularly stood out. Townsend has only been with Activision Blizzard for 4 months. She stated (via twitter):
the allegations paint a distorted and false picture of the company
some allegations are factually inaccurate, old, and taken out of context – some over 10 years old
Activision is a great company with good values today
This email apparently particularly upset employees. Townsend’s statements were sharply criticized publicly – just like Activision Blizzard’s official statement.
In recent days, some former employees of Blizzard have come forward:
At Blizzard, not much work is being done at the moment, says one of the developers there: The work on World of Warcraft (WoW) is currently almost completely at a standstill. The staff are too angry about how Activision Blizzard is handling the lawsuit regarding sexism. The huge social media channels of all “Activision-Blizzard” games from Call of Duty to Overwatch have also been silent for 4 days, since July 21st.
Who is speaking? The developer Jeff Hamilton is speaking. He is a “Senior System Designer” at WoW and works in Irvine, California.
Here’s what he says:
“I can tell you, almost no work is being done on World of Warcraft at the moment while this obscene process is ongoing. And that helps no one – not the players, not the developers, not the shareholders.
Activision’s response to the incidents has taken a group of the best developers in the world and made them so angry and traumatized that they are unable to work on a great game anymore.”
Jeff Hamilton
What does he criticize? Hamilton finds especially the response from Activision Blizzard to the lawsuit “absolutely unacceptable.”
Activision Blizzard had responded to the lawsuit in a statement, claiming the allegations were “false and twisted.” Between the lines, they even threatened to leave California. The agency’s lawsuit was labeled “irresponsible.” They also criticized the agency’s officials.
According to Hamilton, it is terrible to take the story of a victim and wield it as a rhetorical club. It is disgraceful to respond to such allegations with anything other than a well-thought-out plan to stop the abuse.
According to developer Jeff Hamilton, almost nothing is being done at WoW at the moment.
Activision Blizzard is silent on social media
What else is noticeable: Not only is work on WoW currently on hold, but there is an oppressive silence surrounding all of Activision Blizzard, as reported by the US site Kotaku.
All social media accounts have been silent since July 21st. This applies to:
Call of Duty
Crash Bandicoot
Diablo
Overwatch
World of Warcraft
and many more.
Either hardly anyone is working there right now or Activision Blizzard understands that any tweet or Facebook post would provoke a strong backlash at the moment.
This can be seen in the latest tweet about WoW. It is actually about a tournament in WoW Classic – but the responses are full of biting allusions and questions about the current situation at Blizzard.
The allegations against Blizzard are similar to accusations against game companies in recent years:
This is further inflaming the situation: In recent days, some former bosses at Blizzard have spoken out, such as Chris Metzen or Mike Morhaime. They took part of the blame and apologized for allowing such things to happen under their supervision. They emphasized that they were not aware of the extent of the occurrences.
They faced harsh criticism on Twitter. They were accused of having ignored the occurrences.
Internal emails have also leaked to the public, including those from Blizzard CEO J Allen Brack or from Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. They labeled the behavior described in the lawsuit as “unacceptable,” announced investigations, and many discussions.
However, the statement from Fran Townsend, who worked for US President George W. Bush and is now “Chief Compliance Officer” at Activision Blizzard, thus actually responsible for such allegations, particularly stood out. Townsend has only been with Activision Blizzard for 4 months. She stated (via twitter):
the allegations paint a distorted and false picture of the company
some allegations are factually inaccurate, old, and taken out of context – some over 10 years old
Activision is a great company with good values today
This email apparently particularly upset employees. Townsend’s statements were sharply criticized publicly – just like Activision Blizzard’s official statement.
In recent days, some former employees of Blizzard have come forward:
In the mid and endgame, New World offers some content especially for PvP fans, including duels in the open world, fortress wars, and the new Outpost Rush mode. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch presents 3 strong PvP builds in this guide: a selection of skill trees for rapier and bow, spear and musket, and war hammer and life staff that you should definitely try in New World for solo and group PvP.
What are these builds? The builds compiled here are primarily intended to help you succeed in your first steps in PvP.
All three are well suited for the instanced content War and Outpost Rush. The two duel builds also work great alone in the open world. However, the war hammer build also focuses on healing for teammates, so you should only play this when you are in a group.
The finished skill trees, which you see embedded as images, come from the website Newworldfans.com, which already has a tool for creating builds.
Who is speaking here? Alexander Leitsch is the MMORPG expert at MeinMMO. He feels at home in games like Guild Wars 2, Black Desert, and ESO. In New World, he has already invested over 100 hours of gameplay.
[toc]
Rapier and Bow – Duel Build in New World
Why is this combo played? The combination of rapier and bow is so strong in PvP because you inflict damage over time (DoTs) on the enemy while avoiding many of the opponent’s attacks yourself. You have abilities like Evade on the rapier or Evade Shot on the bow, as well as numerous passive effects that help you evade damage.
Moreover, the bow is excellent for inflicting damage on enemies who are only equipped with melee weapons before they can even reach you.
However, this is a so-called glass cannon build. If you are bad at dodging, you will have problems with this setup.
How do I distribute the attributes? Dexterity is the main attribute for the bow and the rapier. Accordingly, you invest 300 points or even more in this path. You can complement it with points in strength or constitution if you want a bit more health.
Basically, you first skill the respective lines of the three abilities down to the bottom. It is noticeable that you do not select any of the passive abilities from the highest tier. Both increase your direct damage, but that is not what matters with the rapier.
Your focus is on inflicting bleeding on the enemy, thereby causing damage and otherwise evading enemy attacks. Therefore, you also skill in the bleed tree the passive abilities Unerring, for more damage to targets that have bleeding, and Deep Stick, which extends the duration of bleeding through heavy attacks.
In the Grace skill tree, you focus on Swiftness for more haste after a hit.
The skill trees of the rapier.
Which skills do I use with the bow?
Evade Shot
Poison Shot
Shard Shot
Similar to the rapier, the focus is on inflicting poison on the enemy, which in turn causes damage over time. Again, you have the Evade Shot ability to evade enemy attacks.
In the Skirmisher tree, you have both damage and survival. Through the passive effect “Marking,” you inflict more damage on targets that have a debuff—in this case, bleeding, poison, or slow. The slowing comes from the passive ability Knee Shot at the end of the tree. Also strong is the passive Precision Shooting, which increases the duration of debuffs. The last strong passive from the tree is Evasive Tactics, which increases your damage after you have dodged.
In the Hunter tree, you mainly skill the ability Shard Shot all the way down. Also included are the passives Arrow Range and Hit the Mark.
The skill trees of the bow.
What does the equipment look like? The build focuses heavily on damage and evasion. Accordingly, you should use the lightest equipment you can find. As for attributes, you should mainly focus on dexterity and dexterity + strength.
What does the rotation of the abilities look like? Typically, you start the fight with a Poison Shot, followed by light attacks and an Evade Shot as soon as the enemy gets too close.
In melee, you use the Slice ability on the rapier to inflict bleeding on the enemy. Cutting Torrent provides additional damage while you try to evade enemy attacks. The Evade ability also helps you by making you temporarily invulnerable while dodging.
Why is this combo played? The combination of spear and musket primarily focuses on strong ranged damage. In wars, you can effectively defend a fortress from the wall or take out defenders on the wall.
The spear, on the other hand, is used for crowd control and the powerful ability Throwing Spear.
How do I distribute the attributes? The build focuses on dexterity, which is also the main attribute of both weapons. Additionally, you allocate 200 points in constitution to have a bit more defense.
Which skills do I use with the spear?
Throwing Spear
Leg Sweeper
Jump Kick
All three abilities from the spear bring you crowd control. The Throwing Spear knocks enemies to the ground, the Leg Sweeper also knocks them to the ground, and the Jump Kick stuns them for 1.5 seconds.
You skill in the zone domination tree both abilities down to the bottom. In addition, you use the passive abilities Deadly Reach and Ruthless Strength for more damage, as well as Evasion for less stamina consumption when dodging backwards.
In the Puncturer skill tree, you skill all talents from Jump Kick and also focus on the passives Precise Stabs and Death Strikes for more damage against enemies, as well as Aggressive Manoeuvres, which reduce the cooldown of your spear abilities when you hit an enemy right after dodging.
The skill trees of the musket.
Which skills do I use with the musket?
Powder Burn
Shooting Stance
Traps
With Powder Burn, you inflict burning on enemies, and through the passive effect of Smoke Gas Explosion, you inflict 12% more damage to burning targets. After that, you want to quickly get off as many shots as possible. The Shooting Stance helps with this.
In the Precision Marksman skill tree, you will also find the passive effects Empowering Headshot for additional damage after a headshot, Critical Reload for skipping the reload after a headshot, as well as Ballistic Advantage, which allows you to hit targets that are more than 50 meters away.
From the Trapper tree, you primarily focus on the passive effects Tactical Reload, which allows you not to have to reload directly every 6 seconds, and Salting the Wound for extra damage to targets that have less than 30% health. You should also skill the trap nearly all the way down.
The skill trees of the spear (Note: The ability Double Trap could not be selected but should be used).
What does the equipment look like? For the equipment, you should opt for light to medium armor, as your focus is on damage and evasion. Useful attributes are dexterity and constitution.
What does the rotation of the abilities look like? Basically, you spend most of your time with the rifle. There you deal a lot of damage through the mentioned combo of Powder Burn and Shooting Stance. It is also useful to set traps between you and the opponent if they try to attack you.
With the spear, the strongest ability is the Throwing Spear. Through Deadly Range, the damage increases significantly when you hit distant targets, and it is further increased when you have full stamina. In addition, you also have the crowd control of knocking down. Otherwise, use the spear mainly when enemies get too close to control them with crowd control.
War Hammer and Life Staff – Team Build in New World
Why is this combo played? The combination of war hammer and life staff turns you into a PvP healer who can take a lot of damage while stunning the opponent and inflicting debuffs. A useful combo when you are in a group during wars or in the Outpost Rush.
The life staff provides healing and buffs for yourself and your group. The war hammer, on the other hand, has damage, debuffs, and crowd control.
How do I distribute the attributes? You should invest 200 points in focus. This gives you additional healing, more mana, and longer buff duration. However, it is usually not worth putting more points into focus.
Instead, put 100 points in constitution for more health and armor and the rest in strength for additional damage with the war hammer.
Which skills do I use with the war hammer?
Armor Breaker
Powerful Hammer
Shockwave
The Armor Breaker ability is ideal for reducing the opponents’ defense, from which the entire group benefits. With the Shockwave, you stun enemies in your vicinity.
In the talent tree Moloch, you skill the Powerful Hammer all the way down, while in the Armor Breaker you skip the last talent Opening Act. The bonus is usually not worth it. The other passive effects are Crashing Spawn for more damage, Exhausting Attack to hinder enemies from dodging, and Strength through Pain, a very strong passive for more damage.
In the Crowd Crusher tree, you skill the two talents under the Shockwave, as well as Shattering Strike for more damage and Undying Spirit, which heals you for the damage from Shockwave. Also strong is Enabled Expedition, which grants you movement speed when you hit a weakened target. Weakness refers to debuffs caused by Armor Breaker and generally all War Hammer abilities.
The skill trees of the war hammer.
Which skills do I use with the life staff?
Blessed Ground
Embrace of Light
Beacon
The Beacon ability is your damage with the life staff and simultaneously heals allies between you and the target. With Embrace of Light, you have a strong healing skill for allies, while you use Blessed Ground mainly just before switching to the hammer and attacking enemies in melee.
In the Guardian tree, you skill the lines of Embrace of Light and Beacon all the way down. The general rule is that you should dodge before a heal to activate the passive Lightbreaker. After dodging, your healing is increased by 20% for 5 seconds. Also strong is the ability “Protector’s Touch,” which grants you Fortify after an attack with the life staff, thereby reducing incoming damage.
In the Healing tree, you skill the ability Blessed Ground through. You also use the passives Absolution, so your attacks cost no mana, Strike of Joy for passive healing from attacks, and Enchanted Justice, which gives you a passive aura that heals you and nearby allies.
The skill trees of the life staff.
What does the equipment look like? It should be more medium to heavy. This reduces incoming damage. Useful stats are constitution and strength to increase your survival and damage.
What does the rotation of the abilities look like? This varies greatly. The general rule is that you want to stand back with your staff to hit enemies and heal allies standing between you and your enemy. If damage is needed or enemies attack you in melee, Blessed Ground from the healing staff will help, and then you switch to the hammer.
With the hammer: First use Armor Breaker to reduce the target’s armor, then follow up with Shockwave. If the enemy is stunned, use the attack Powerful Hammer.
The raids in Final Fantasy XIV are among the popular activities that players engage in at the endgame. The game now has a variety of them. To ensure you don’t miss them, we’ve put together a guide on how the raids work and how to unlock them all.
What is this all about? Raids are instanced content where a group of players fights individual bosses or embarks on a longer adventure with 24 players against various bosses. Raids are part of the endgame content and can be challenging, especially when played close to their release.
In Final Fantasy XIV, there are two types of raids. On one hand, there is the “normal raid,” designed for groups of 8 players. That’s why it’s also called an 8-player raid. In addition, there is the “alliance raid,” which consists of 3 groups of 8 players each, making it a 24-player raid.
If you want to jump directly to the unlock quests of the raids and their locations, you can use the “Content” feature at the top.
8-player raids and how they work
8-player raids come in two difficulty levels: Normal and Savage. The normal difficulty can be completed in the content search with randomly assembled players, while the savage difficulty is aimed at experienced players.
What are normal 8-player raids? The 8-player raid usually consists of a single fight against a strong boss opponent, often protected by a few small groups of additional monsters. This type of raid consists of 4 individual instances.
They also each tell their own exciting story. This means that before and after completing such content, you will pursue a quest line in the open world consisting of several missions.
A total of 12 individual pieces of content will be released in an expansion. An exception is the normal raids in “A Realm Reborn,” of which there are 13.
Ultimate Raids: There is also the special case of the ultimate raids. These are the hardest content in FFXIV, completed by only a small fraction of players. There are 3 of them: Bahamut, Alexander, and Ultima. They do not drop gear but offer particularly beautiful weapons and a title instead.
Various battles from 8-man raids in FFXIV
What rewards do you get in normal 8-player raids? In normal difficulty, you receive items that function like vouchers or collectible tokens. Upon completing a piece of content, you can obtain them and then roll for them with your group. You collect a certain number of these and can exchange them for high-quality items, such as armor or jewelry.
There is one particularity: When a raid like this is published, you get one token per week from each piece of content. You will therefore need to think about which one you want, as they have different prices. For example, a piece of jewelry costs only one token, while a chest plate costs four tokens. Pets or music rolls are not subject to this rule. The rule disappears after some updates.
What are epic 8-player raids? Epic 8-player raids are significantly harder than their normal counterparts and are geared towards experienced players. However, they are completely optional. They usually need to be trained for several hours to achieve a completion. By the way, in English, the epic raid difficulty is called “Savage.” There are 12 of them per expansion – each normal 8-player raid has an epic difficulty.
What rewards do you get in epic raids? The gear obtained in epic raids is stronger than that in the normal version. Additionally, in some epic raids, a special mount is offered as a reward.
The gear drops both as individual gear pieces as well as in the form of crates from which you can receive the desired gear.
24-player raids and how they work
What are alliance raids? Alliance raids are essentially an XXL version of a dungeon. You make your way through the raid with 24 players and fight against a final boss at the end. The 24 players are divided into 3 groups (A, B, C) with each consisting of 1 tank, 2 healers, and 5 damage dealers (DDs). Along the way, you will encounter smaller groups of monsters, mid-bosses, and various tasks.
For example, you might need to activate a pressure plate separately from each other so that the other groups can proceed, or you might team up to beat down a single boss. The tasks vary depending on the alliance raid or even the group.
Currently, there are a total of 12 alliance raids. A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers each feature 3 separate pieces of content. Like normal raids, alliance raids tell a story with their own main characters.
Various 24-man raids in FFXIV
What rewards do you get in alliance raids? In alliance raids, you can obtain gear pieces. It’s important that each of the three groups receives their own loot – so you do not roll against the other groups.
The drops are random, meaning there is no guarantee that you will immediately get the gear you want. After defeating the final boss, there are additional rewards like pets, music rolls, and sometimes hairstyles. All players roll for these.
There is also one particularity: When an alliance raid is released, you will receive just one gear piece from the content per week initially. So you need to think about whether you want to roll for one item or repeat the content and “save up” for something more appropriate. This rule disappears after some updates. Pets, music rolls, or hairstyles are not subject to this rule.
Additionally, you also receive an item once a week that you can exchange with NPCs for upgrade items for gear obtained by Allagan stones.
These are Allagan stones: The Allagan stones are an extra currency that you can exchange for various items. They come in different varieties.
The upgrade items can improve both armor and jewelry, and later there will also be upgrades for the weapons obtained through Allagan stones.
Here are a few more useful tips:
Older raids can be started “unsynched.” This means you retain your current level and gear. The old raids thus become much easier.
The Twisted Shadows of Bahamut and the Savage raids of Heavensward and Stormblood are hardly played anymore, as their gear is no longer relevant. If they are done, it’s for special loot or for gear glamour (transmog).
The level 50 raid Crystal Tower was made mandatory content only during the course of Shadowbringers patch 5.3.
The next pages will explain how you can unlock normal raids and alliance raids.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa is the largest streamer on Twitch. In an interview, she says: She is swatted so often that she talks to the local police on “First Name Basis.” But she feels insecure and is considering getting a weapon.
This is the situation:
Amouranth is the largest streamer on Twitch but also the most controversial. It is known that she provokes with her content, as her streams often balance on the rules of Twitch for sexually explicit behavior.
Amouranth says she has been experiencing this “swatting” excessively for a long time.
“Multiple police responses a week”
This is what Amouranth says about “swatting”:
“To be totally transparent: Recently xQc mentioned that he gets swatted extremely frequently. I’ve been dealing with that for quite some time now – several times a week.”
Amouranth
She says she has a guard dog as a partial solution to the problem of so many strangers knowing where she lives. But swatting remains an issue.
In the meantime, the sheer volume of swatting calls has led her to have a good relationship with the local police department. Typically, they still show up in full force, but they only ring the doorbell and ask if she is okay before the police leave again.
It is said that she is on a “First Name” basis with the police, which means they address each other by their first names, corresponding to the German concept of “Duzen.”
In swatting, people call the police and describe a threatening emergency, such as a hostage situation, intending to send a SWAT team to a streamer’s address. This is a highly dangerous situation: People have already lost their lives in such incidents. Offenders have received long prison sentences.
What does she think about the situation? Amouranth says she is considering getting a gun to protect herself. But she is also afraid, because if the police come knocking at night, it could be really dangerous to have a weapon:
“Armoring oneself is not something a popular streamer can do without exposing herself to a reciprocal risk of getting hurt when it comes to swatting.”
Amouranth
Amouranth views herself as an heir to “Ice Poseidon” on Twitch
There she meticulously analyzes data and responds to trends. She says she wants to fully embrace the “hot E-girl” persona as long as it is “physically possible” for her. Because she says she knows that this “Hot Girl” thing physically cannot go on forever.
However, she approaches the “Hot Girl” thing with a lot of ambition:
“Just being an E-girl is really not a great thing, so I always wanted to stand out and have the same work ethic as an investment banker or a partner at a law firm.”
Amouranth
Her manager Devin Nash speaks highly of Amouranth. He sees her as “the best-monetized creator on Twitch.”
But Nash also sees the difficulties that Amouranth currently faces. Viewers regularly call restaurants where Amouranth is present to have her thrown out.
E-Girl on Twitch until the shelter situation is resolved
Why is she doing all this? She says she set herself the goal of opening a shelter in 2017. The turning point came from the death of her dog. The dog died from a twisted stomach: Amouranth could not find a veterinarian in the middle of the night and had to watch her dog die.
Back then, she vowed to dedicate her life to this cause. At the moment, she wants to save money to reach that goal: She wants to finance the shelter without relying on anyone.
In a tweet, she said she is working toward a transformation into a butterfly. Until then, she remains a “Full E-Girl” because you can’t expect a caterpillar to just grow wings.
And apparently, the caterpillar really has the police over often.
Warframe experienced a boom after the announcement of new content at TennoCon 2021, resulting in two records on Steam and Twitch. Interest in the game is higher than ever before.
What’s going on in Warframe right now? Last week, the developers of Digital Extremes and their fans celebrated the digital TennoCon, where new content for the MMO shooter Warframe was presented as usual. Among them were:
a new expansion
Cross-Save and Crossplay features
a ton of cosmetic items and more.
This has caused quite a stir in the gaming community.
During and after the TennoCon, Warframe set two new records for itself. On July 17, the day of the convention, over 550,000 fans watched the announcements in the streams surrounding Warframe on Twitch (via Twitchtracker). It was the highest number of simultaneous viewers for the game at that time.
In the following days, a second record was set. On Steam, there were 181,509 simultaneous players, reaching a new all-time peak. This brought Warframe into the top 10 of the most played games on Steam, where it now frequently resides.
The strong increase around July 21 is clearly visible
So many players have gotten really excited about Warframe in the lead-up to New War. The total number of players interested in Warframe will likely be even higher, as SteamCharts does not account for players on consoles in Steam.
If you’re interested in Warframe, you might also enjoy these games:
This was announced: Among the biggest announcements of TennoCon is the new expansion, New War. Its release marks the beginning of a new era in Warframe, as the evil Sentients have now arrived in the solar system and want to destroy all life.
The new expansion heavily focuses on narrative missions, which are accompanied by many cut scenes, and are based on a complex progression system. In New War, you will also be able to play not only your Tenno but also several other characters. This allows you to view the events of the story from different perspectives.
This can be seen, for example, in the thick 30-minute gameplay demo, which you can watch here.
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The feature was well received by many players. In the Warframe subreddit, the playable character KAHL-175 from the demo was quickly named the absolute MVP (most valuable player) and the legend of TennoCon 2021 by the community with over 11,000 upvotes.
Other features and innovations that were announced:
New Warframe variant Nidus Prime
A new Warframe based on Sentient technology
Unlimited crossplay and cross-save features for the various platforms on which Warframe is playable
A mobile version of Warframe for those who like to play on the go.
The major updates for Warframe will also be released simultaneously on all platforms starting with the New War expansion. Console players will no longer have to wait several days.
When will the updates come? A specific release date for the New War expansion is not yet available. However, it is expected to be released in 2021, so we can expect an announcement relatively soon.
Did the announcements from TennoCon get you excited for Warframe? Are you among the players who have checked out the game or is your interest limited? Let us know in the comments.
Micheal “shroud” Grzesiek(27) is one of the biggest streamers on Twitch. He is known as a “human aim-bot” or “shooter god”; however, his professional days in CS:GO are 4 years behind him. Now the 27-year-old wants to prove himself again. He is forming an eSport team in Valorant out of streamers and will also play himself. But is that enough against young, ambitious professionals?
What’s with shroud and pro-gaming? The Twitch streamer “shroud” is often introduced as a former pro-gamer from CS:GO. That is true; however, he was only active as a professional player for a relatively short time and quickly made a name for himself as a streamer.
Shroud played professionally in CS:GO from 2013 to 2017. His most significant time was when Cloud9 acquired his then organization and continued in CS:GO. As part of Cloud9, shroud won two titles in the ESL in 2015.
However, by 2017, at the age of 23, shroud’s professional career was over. He only wanted to be a substitute player for Cloud9 and soon became a full-time streamer.
How shroud benefited from his professional time: However, shroud has been living off his reputation as a “legitimate, really good shooter player” since his time in CS:GO. Unlike entertainers like DrDisrespect (Claims to be the greatest) or TimTheTatman (Claims to be a 30-year-old dad going bald), shroud is known as an absolute expert.
Even though he himself doesn’t make much fuss about his shooter skills, fans rave even more about the “human aim-bot” and “shooter god”.
Now it has become known: shroud is assembling his own team for the shooter Valorant, which many compare to CS:GO.
And he will play in Valorant himself.
His team includes several Twitch streamers who are known for Apex Legends and CS:GO and who were previously professionals:
Timmty “iiTzTimmy” An (21) – known from Apex Legends
Leonardo “Laski” Arroyo (24) – was a pro in CS:GO
Shawn “ShawnBM” Myers – is a content creator for Valorant
Skyler “Relyks” Weaver (26) – ex-pro in CS:GO
and he himself: Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek (27) – shooter god on Twitch
shroud’s fun team wins round 1 – and that’s it
Can shroud still do it? With Twitch streamers, it’s similar to television chefs. Essentially, they are professionals who no longer practice their original job as they used to.
Therefore, there were some doubts whether a team of Twitch streamers who used to be professionals can still compete against active, young professionals. It could very well have been that shroud would have been overwhelmed.
However, shroud’s team won their first match at the Open Qualifiers in Valorant decisively. They defeated their opponents in the NA VCT Stage Three Challenger Two Open Qualifier with 13-6 and 13-4 on the maps Haven and Bind.
Papa Shroud secured 11 kills on Haven, with strong 12 assists, while dying 10 times. On Bind, he played 16 to 11 with six assists, he used the new Valorant hero Kayo.
However, in both matches, one of his new streaming buddies stepped up and put up killer numbers. That was the first round of the qualifiers, with 128 teams participating.
However, in the next round, the team’s success came to an end. They were eliminated 2-0 against team EZ5.
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In the second match, shroud did not look as strong. His stats were at 13/15/5 and 9/15/4.
It becomes clear that such a fun team trying to compete with the pros quickly encounters its limits. Even if shroud can walk away from the situation with his head held high.
Even if things are not going well in pro-gaming anymore, shroud does not have to worry about his future. If he ever needs money, he can simply auction himself off:
For crafting in New World, you need various materials. One of the crafting materials is saltpeter, which is not so easy to find. We at MeinMMO will tell you where to get saltpeter in New World.
What is saltpeter used for? If you landed on this guide, you have probably tried to craft ammunition for the musket. Because that’s exactly what you need saltpeter for early on. However, there are also some other crafting recipes that contain this resource. Learn more about crafting in New World here.
Where can you find saltpeter? You can mainly find the material on the floors of caves or in nests of creatures. It is not easy to recognize because it looks very similar to the ground. Only the white spots stand out a bit. However, you can mine it as usual if you are close enough to it.
In Everfall and Windsward, you hardly find any saltpeter, but there are some sources in the King’s Cradle and in higher areas like Brightwood and Restless Shore.
This is what saltpeter looks like, for example.
A good overview of the resources is generally provided by the map in the game. There you can see where various raw materials are located and also recognize based on the terrain of the map what kind of landscape you are in. However, this does not apply to every material. Saltpeter, for example, is not displayed.
Helpful in the search for saltpeter is this interactive map from players (via neworldfans.com), which clearly shows where you can find fibers, oil, saltpeter, and other raw materials.
What do you need to craft gunpowder?
5x Charcoal
2x Flint
1x Saltpeter
At what level can you mine saltpeter? You can theoretically mine saltpeter directly at level 1.
New World is currently in its closed beta, which will end on August 3rd. The release of the MMO from Amazon is scheduled for August 31st. We at MeinMMO will closely follow the MMO in the coming weeks and months with many guides.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
After a lawsuit by a California agency over sexism against Activision Blizzard, the gaming studio Blizzard is particularly under fire. After the lawsuit, some former employees of Blizzard spoke out and shared their experiences with the renowned game manufacturer (WoW, Overwatch, Diablo, Hearthstone).
This is the background:
A few days ago, the lawsuit from a California agency against Activision Blizzard was made public. This followed a two-year investigation. The lawsuit repeatedly accused Activision Blizzard of paying and treating women worse than men. Additionally, there were numerous cases of sexual harassment in the company that were not properly addressed. Many of the allegations were directed at Blizzard, specifically at the WoW team.
On Twitter, some former developers from Blizzard have come forward to share their experiences in the company.
“It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t seen cocaine being used”
This is what former employees of Blizzard say: On Reddit, there is a list of 29 former employees at Blizzard who have commented on the tweets (via reddit).
An employee, Cher Scarlett, was at Blizzard for about a year from 2015 to 2016. She works as a software engineer. Scarlett writes about the allegations:
“This was long overdue. I would really struggle to find someone who hasn’t witnessed how sex happened in the gamer lounge, how cocaine was used in bathrooms during a cube crawl, or who hasn’t at least once seen a woman being sexually harassed.
Blizzard has claimed that the agency’s report is false/misleading/irresponsible. I can tell you: I knew what was in the report before I read it, from my time there. And I was only there for a year. I saw ‘ALL THESE THINGS’.”
Cher Scarlett, Software Engineer, 1 year at Blizzard
The developer says she spoke with employees and cried with joy that everything was finally coming to light. She had even received a complaint from one of her harassers after she had complained about harassment herself.
She had to witness how some of her closest friends were repeatedly traumatized. It was terrible for her that the “men in power” were repeatedly rewarded over the last years. Seeing their names in the report means everything to her.
The developer now works for Apple.
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“I made up many excuses to stay at Blizzard because it was so cool to work there”
Another employee was at Blizzard for 6 years until she left the company in April 2019. She says:
“It’s been 2.5 years, and I still carry a lot of pain from my time at Blizzard. I stayed too long (7 years) and held onto the label ‘Blizzard’. Now I’m finally at a company that pays me fairly and treats me fairly.”
Nicki Broderick, Producer, 6 years at Blizzard
She says that she started at Blizzard as an intern at 20 and thought it was normal to be treated that way – that’s just how it is in the gaming industry. When she complained, she was told by HR: “You’re acting like a brat.”
For a long time, she believed she had to endure this to get ahead and get promoted. Ultimately, she made up a lot of excuses to keep working at Blizzard because it was so cool to work for Blizzard.
A male former employee of Blizzard is now at Riot. He says:
“I saw a lot of these things and more happening to my female colleagues during my time at Blizzard: Many cases of discrimination and harassment were swept under the rug. We were told the problematic people were ‘too high up’ to do anything about. Some things never change.”
Bret Forbes, Community Manager, 3 years at Blizzard
The developer says there are also many great people in the company who are fighting hard for change. He believes Blizzard is currently in a phase of change.
The allegations against Blizzard are similar to those against gaming companies in recent years:
What is the general tone? The tone in the news is very personal, often split. Many seem to struggle with their time at Blizzard. Some say they admire the courage of the women who are now coming forward. They themselves are not ready for that yet. Others regret that they endured things during their time at Blizzard to avoid jeopardizing their jobs. One employee says, for instance, that she is currently being laid off by Blizzard and therefore does not want to speak up.
However, there are some things that stand out from the postings of the nearly 30 former employees:
Many emphasize that there are great people at Blizzard, they love the games there and loved the job itself
But some people in power positions really behaved poorly
It is repeatedly emphasized that victims of sexual harassment and discrimination felt helpless because they could not turn to HR
Many cases had already been reported years ago – but the reports had resulted in nothing. They had rather backfired on the complainants
One person says: “You only go to HR if you want the whole company to talk about the topic” (via twitter)
It is also made clear that these complaints had nothing to do with Activision, the problems did not only start with the acquisition by Activision, but this is actually a ‘Blizzard’ problem
In WoW, players protested against the behavior of some Blizzard employees:
In Red Dead Online, horses have been unleashed since the last update. You will encounter stray horses all over the map, either just standing around, wandering, or dead.
This is what happened: The Blood Money update in Red Dead Online brought a surge of new content for players, including new missions and long-awaited train heists. And apparently, new bugs have also crept on board.
Since the update, players have encountered various horses appearing out of nowhere all over the map. Some of them are just standing around, others lie dead on the ground, while others run over unsuspecting cowboys and girls or throw them into the air.
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There you ride peacefully through the plains and get run over by a horse out of nowhere.
These are obviously not wild horses. They clearly look like they were created by players and belong to someone since they often carry full gear and cosmetic items. However, these mysterious horses cannot be mounted or taken over by other players.
The strange bug has led to confusion among players who have recorded the bizarre appearances in videos and uploaded them online.
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Players show in their video the various wild horses that are standing around everywhere.
A glitch that duplicates horses?
This is what it’s about: Apparently, the Blood Money update caused a glitch that duplicates players’ horses and randomly places them somewhere in the plains. These likely are not actual player horses, as there have been no reports of mass horse losses. So you don’t have to worry about logging in after the Blood Money update and finding your loyal steed suddenly gone.
However, one player on reddit noticed that these stray horses only appear under certain conditions.
Yes, I noticed it. When my friends started a “Blood Money” mission, a copy of their horse was left behind and just wandered around on the map until they finished the mission. Then it disappeared again.
Whether this is actually the cause of the horse glitch can’t be said for sure. But you can try to pay attention to it the next time you are in the game and play the new missions from the Blood Money update with your friends.
Have you ever encountered such an unattended horse or been run over by such a horse? Let us know in the comments.
In Final Fantasy XIV there are certain player types that each of you has encountered at some point. Here are 7 of them.
Veterans know them all. These specific types of players that you will encounter in FFXIV whether you like it or not. They are everywhere and have become almost part of the gaming experience.
Some of these player types can certainly be found in other MMORPGs, while others are exclusive to FFXIV. However, you will encounter them sooner or later in the game. If you are new players who just recently started in the MMORPG, you can mentally prepare for them already.
The AFKers
They are probably the first people you will encounter in FFXIV. The AFKers do exactly what you would expect from them. They stand around all day and are AFK. The most popular places to park one’s character are usually in the capitals, preferably right next to the teleport crystal.
The fanciest projections come out (bonus points if you have an Ultimate weapon) and a spot is chosen where as many people as possible can pass by, especially if they want to visit the market board. Alternatively, instead of cool poses, loop emotes like never-ending dances are also used. A legend says that the playtime of these people is so long that it could be a phone number.
The number of AFKers has currently decreased drastically because they are automatically kicked from the server after 30 minutes.
The Speed-Runners
This slightly hyperactive player type emerges when a squirrel downs a can of Red Bull. You won’t notice the Speed-Runners at first when you end up in a dungeon with them. This is because they immediately activate sprint and are over the hills before you even understand what’s happening.
But don’t worry, once the Speed-Runner realizes that he or she is alone, they most often go back. Unfortunately, often with a big pack of mobs in tow. With a bit of luck, the whole group survives the action and continues at the same pace.
Sometimes it helps to write in party chat at the very beginning of the dungeon that you are new and doing the content for the first time. But only sometimes.
The Explainer Bears
The Explainer Bear is basically the opposite of the Speed-Runner. If you, as newcomers, end up with this player type in a content, they will show you step by step exactly what you need to pay attention to during the fights. Whether you want it or not.
You can’t be mad at the Explainer Bear. This player type just wants to help and make sure that you have a lot of fun in the game. And in the end, hopefully receive all the honors for being the most valuable player to get that fancy Chocobo mount.
So grab a coffee and cookies and prepare for a longer text explaining to you that red circles on the ground are bad for your HP.
The Invincible Bot Army
They are everywhere. They suddenly appear in front of you or teleport to an Aetheryte and immediately vanish into thin air. They come in large groups, all look the same, wear the same gear, and have exotic-sounding names like Hoasihsda Tsoabsfknf.
It is the army of bots that farms the same routes uninterrupted every day. They infest MMORPGs like locusts and even FFXIV is not safe from them. When you’re out in the open world, you will eventually encounter a group of clones standing still and performing the same actions. Do not fear them, as they cannot harm you. It is best to report them one by one and continue on your way.
Every week, Square Enix bans thousands of accounts for illegal activities, but even the developers cannot keep up with the invincible bot army. It is pure Sisyphean work that will probably never stop as long as there are MMORPGs.
The Billionaires
If you encounter the billionaire in the game, you probably won’t notice it at all. Unlike billionaires in real life, they don’t drive Bugatti cars or fly into space (at least not before the Endwalker expansion).
Often, the billionaires in FFXIV are invisible. It could be one of the AFKers dancing next to a teleport crystal. It could be one of the crafters sitting unobtrusively in the corner producing something for 7 straight hours. It’s almost impossible to recognize them in the crowd of players.
But when you open the market board, you quickly find their traces. It is their assistants who dominate the free market and place countless amounts of an item for sale. And lower the price by 1 Gil every time you put your own items in.
The couple can be found both in the wild and in the instanced content of FFXIV. This player type always operates very subtly. In the cities, they stand so close to each other that it looks like their characters are almost kissing. Alternatively, one character sits on the lap of another, and they have targeted each other or spam emotes.
In dungeons, they can be recognized by their same last name, and they usually appear in the healer-tank configuration. They decide how the dungeon goes, and if one half of the couple dislikes something and leaves the dungeon, the other is immediately gone as well.
And you then have the choice: Sit and wait for a replacement. Or leave the dungeon and go back to the long DPS queue.
The One Guy in a Frog Costume in the Background
Every newbie runs into this player type at the latest when they arrive at the 8-man instances Castrum Meridianum or Praetorium. The cutscenes to the story in these dungeons cannot be skipped. Accordingly, many players have seen them so often that they could recite the text in their sleep backward.
To at least have a bit of fun, some experienced players dress up in silly costumes to add a touch of humor to the serious cutscenes. However, the costumed character does not necessarily have to be a frog. Alternatively, it can also be a fat Chocobo, a Namazu, an Easter bunny, or a chicken. There is plenty of variety in FFXIV.
So, if you wanted to take cool screenshots of your first encounter with Livia or Gaius van Baelsar, you should expect that a pink frog will likely be visible in the background.
What about you? Which of these player types have you encountered the most? Let us know in the comments.
The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is a special MMORPG with many unique features. But which games offer a similar service? Here at MeinMMO you will find various MMORPGs that are good alternatives to ESO.
How was the selection made? ESO impresses with a massive amount of content and a focus on regular updates that expand the game world and advance the story. Therefore, we have focused on high-quality MMORPGs with plenty of content, constant expansions, and a strong story focus for the alternatives.
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Guild Wars 2 (GW2) – A vibrant world that constantly changes
Developer/Publisher: ArenaNet/NC-Soft | Release: August 28, 2012 | Model: Buy-2-Play | Platform: PC | Download: GW2 Homepage
What kind of game is this?Guild Wars 2 is a large MMORPG with a huge, colorful fantasy world. It revolves around the awakening of gigantic dragon beings threatening all existence, as well as the resulting conflicts between the peoples of the region.
The game is continuously updated and offers a particularly original selection of playable races. These include cat monsters, cheeky tricksters, and plant beings. Guild Wars 2 provides exciting PvE content as well as large PvP battles and some fresh new ideas that are rarely seen in the MMORPG genre.
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What are the highlights? The major feature of Guild Wars 2 is that it can be played largely freely. Level caps and missing group members are usually not a problem. The game world scales your heroes accordingly, and Guild Wars 2 has always dispensed with the “Holy Trinity” of tank, DPS, and healer. Each class can manage alone outside of thick raids.
Additionally, there is a dynamic combat system where you are not just hitting your rotation statically, but are required to actively hit and dodge.
The story is another highlight as it continuously evolves, bringing new chapters over time. It recounts the global story and the narrative of the residents, and you regularly meet new and familiar NPCs.
It can also happen that the world is fundamentally changed and is never the same again. For example, a major city was once destroyed and then rebuilt.
Also cool: Guild Wars 2 has no classic quests. Instead, you frequently discover events in the game that you and other players can participate in. Depending on success or failure, the zone will temporarily change. For example, an outpost may suddenly be overrun by centaurs and become unusable until you manage to reclaim it.
This creates an unprecedented level of immersion in the vibrant game world.
If you are too lazy to walk into the ice cave, you can also have the beer barrels thrown to you.
Why is it a good alternative to ESO? Fans of ESO appreciate, among other things, the story and the vast regions within the game. Guild Wars 2 offers all of this as well. After two major expansions and numerous updates from the story chapters, the game has an impressive amount of content waiting for you to explore.
Since you don’t have to consider level and equipment limits, as with ESO, you can explore almost everything freely and won’t be artificially constrained by the game.
Additionally, the world and the story continue to evolve, even more intensively than is currently the case with ESO. ESO fans are definitely in the right place if they are looking for alternatives.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the week from July 19 to 25, one topic dominated here on MeinMMO: New World. The MMO is doing well in beta. Also, we summarize the most important news of the week.
In Guild Wars 2, there were first glimpses of the upcoming announcement stream for the expansion End of Dragons (via GW2). Additionally, information about the development of the Canthan language was shared (via GW2).
In ESO, celebrations in Elsweyr have started. The event began on July 22 and runs until August 3 (via ESO). Furthermore, our author Melli released an article about add-ons in ESO.
Blade and Soul 2 now has a release date – it will be released in August in Korea (via MassivelyOP).
This concludes this week’s news from the world of MMORPGs. What was your personal highlight? Did you experience something exciting this week? Or did we forget something important? Let us know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Since the beginning of the week, the beta of the new MMO New World by Amazon has been running. What is your opinion on the game so far? Let us know in this survey.
Here’s what it’s about: After a long wait and many delays, the first closed beta for the MMO New World launched on July 20. Players could either apply for a key or pre-order New World. It included a free key with the pre-order.
By now, the situation has calmed down, and many players have already gathered their first impressions from the beta, which they shared on reddit and social media.
But what do the MeinMMO readers say about Amazon’s new game? Many of you have been eagerly awaiting New World. Tell us how you feel about it so far.
Here’s how you can vote: You can tell us your opinion on New World using the survey tool below. Each of you can only cast one vote, and the choice cannot be undone, so be careful what you click.
So, tell us: What do you think of New World so far? Are there specific features you particularly like or find especially bad? What is your general impression of the beta? Write it in the comments and discuss whether New World will be a hit or fade into obscurity.
Battlefield 2042 has not yet been released, but the well-known leaker Tom Henderson claims to have already found out what new features and upgrades await you in the game after launch. There is supposed to be a seasonal model that offers a lot of free content.
Who leaked it? None other than Tom Henderson, previously known as “LongSensation”, has released another new leak about Battlefield 2042. Henderson is considered well-informed and has published several accurate predictions. Among them was the release of a Free2Play “Battle Royale” for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. As we now know, Warzone actually came shortly thereafter.
But that’s not all. In his new leak, there are promising contents for post-launch.
New maps, vehicles, specialists, and much more for free every season
What has been leaked? Henderson claims in a Twitter post that after the release, there will be a seasonal model for new content. A model similar to what current games like Fortnite, PUBG, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty offer.
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An update for the hazard zone that should run over a story
6 to 8 new weapons for each mode
2 to 3 new vehicles for each mode
100 seasonal levels
The latter is likely to hint at a kind of battle pass, a system through which you can unlock new goodies like cosmetics and other things through achievements and accomplishments in the game.
What will it cost? In another tweet, Henderson reveals that all of this will be free. Apparently also the “battle pass,” which would indeed be unusual. Such passes are usually available separately in a premium version, where the really good skins and cosmetics can be found.
Henderson’s statement here may only refer to a free, stripped-down version – if the leak should actually be true.
What does the community say? Henderson’s leaks have often been accurate, making them a source of joy for BF 2042 fans. Therefore, there is great excitement among the players. Here are some reactions via Twitter:
NoxCaelo: “[I] LOVE [it] that they give us a larger weapon selection. If they now give us the weapon customization options from Battlefield 3 and 4, I’ll be in heaven.”
Battlefield 2042 will not be released until October 22, 2021. But you can already start beforehand, as the developers will hold a beta test phase. How to get in and when the open beta of Battlefield 2042 begins, you can find out here.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
New leak about Genshin Impact reveals some of the content that will be released with Update 2.1. This includes the new character Raiden Shogun, about whom there is now more information.
This has been leaked: As soon as the new major Update 2.0 arrives in Genshin Impact, the leakers are already busily publishing new information about the next patch. With Update 2.1, which will be released in September, the new character Raiden Shogun is coming. A leak now reveals her abilities.
The information from the leak comes from the test servers of Genshin Impact, where new content for upcoming updates is tested. You should therefore take it with caution, as it may change before release.
New Character: Raiden Shogun
This is Raiden Shogun: Raiden Shogun is the undisputed ruler of Inazuma, also known as Baal, the Electro Archon. She rules the land with an iron fist and has even ordered a hunt for vision bearers to obtain their visions.
Weapon: Polearm
Element: Electro
Rarity: expected 5 stars
Constellation: Imperatrix Umbrosa
This is what Raiden Shogun can do: With her normal attack, Raiden Shogun performs consecutive strikes, while the charged attack delivers a powerful upward blow.
Her elemental skill is called Baleful Light. It summons an eye above Baal’s head, which performs an Electro area attack against enemies. Group members near Baal receive the buff “Eye of Stormy Judgement.” When they attack enemies, the eye will perform a coordinated attack at the point where the attacked enemy stood. The duration of Baleful Light is 25 seconds, with a cooldown of only 10 seconds.
The abilities of Raiden Shogun and her stats at Level 10
Raiden Shogun’s ultimate ability is called Musou Isshin and is influenced by the ults of other group members. When someone from the group uses their ultimate skill, Baal receives the buff called “Shogan Byakugen no Rin,” which can be stacked up to 60 times.
When Baal then uses her own ultimate ability, these stacks are consumed. The more Shogan Byakugen no Rin has been collected, the stronger the character’s first area attack becomes.
Musou Isshin also allows her to summon an Electro sword as a weapon. During this time, she only deals Electro damage with all attacks. With each attack that deals damage to an enemy, she regenerates energy for all group members. The effect can trigger up to 5 times during the skill duration. Raiden Shogun appears to have a kind of “battery” function for the rest of the group.
You can watch Raiden Shogun’s skills and other animations in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6EbS5taNWI
More about Genshin Impact on MeinMMO can be found here:
What else comes with Update 2.1? Leaker Sakuna on Twitter also claims that players will see La Signora again in Update 2.1. She is one of the Fatui agents from Snezhnaya, who already appears during adventures in Mondstadt. She will now return and become a weekly boss in the game.
In addition, players can expect two new bosses: You will be able to fight Hydro Hypostasis and Electro Oceanid as new world bosses.
Two more characters from Update 2.1
It is also officially confirmed that two more characters will be playable alongside Raiden Shogun starting from 2.1:
Kujou Sara is a 4-star Electro character who may use a bow in combat. She is a close confidant of Raiden Shogun and leads the hunters who take visions from other residents of Inazuma.
Sangonomiya Kokomi, a Hydro character. She belongs to the resistance that has risen against Raiden Shogun and her vision hunters. Despite her fragile appearance, she is a strong fighter and a military genius.
What do you think of Baal and her skills? And how do you like the other characters that will be released with 2.1? Let us know in the comments. You can pass the time with the big Update 2.0.
On the official PlayStation site, Sony has released the upcoming games for PS Plus in August. The actual reveal is not supposed to happen until next week.
This is shown on the PS site: The official PlayStation site currently shows (June 24, 12:50) an interesting image. In addition to the well-known games for PS Plus in July, the line-up of games for August 2021 is also visible. You just need to scroll down a bit to view the games.
The new PS Plus games are normally announced only a week before their release on the first Tuesday of the next month and are kept strictly secret beforehand. It seems to be an oversight here.
Screenshots of the PlayStation site
Update July 24, 14:25: The display of the August games has been removed from the PlayStation site. We have attached the screenshots above for you.
1st Game in August – Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
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Trailer for Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
The first game is Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (PS4). It is a third-person shooter based on the popular strategy game Plants vs. Zombies, and can be played in both single-player and multiplayer modes.
You control a plant or a zombie and jump into battle. You have up to 23 customizable classes available, divided into Attacker, Supporter, Defender, and Swarm. Our colleagues from GamePro rated the game 87 points in their review. You can read the review here.
2nd Game for August – Tennis World Tour 2
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The second game for PS Plus in August is the sports game Tennis World Tour 2 (PS4). In it, you can take on the role of a professional tennis player whose appearance you can customize, and play through the various modes and tournaments.
You compete against real players from the professional tennis circuit, who come from all around the world. In March 2021, next-gen versions for PS5 and Xbox Series X and S were also released for the game.
3rd Game for August – Hunter’s Arena: Legends (PS5)
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The last game on the list is a Battle Royale of a different kind. In Hunter’s Arena: Legends you can choose from 17 different characters and compete against other players in a mix of Battle Royale and MMORPG.
The game offers, beside PvP, dungeons, a leveling system, and even a kind of “raids” with boss battles. The combat system is action-oriented, and you use melee weapons like swords, spears, or simply your fists. You must use your combos wisely, parry or counter the opponent’s attacks to ultimately emerge victorious.
The games will be available for download at no additional cost for all PS Plus members starting August 3.
Is the information reliable? Since the leak came from the official PlayStation site, there is a high probability that we will actually receive the games listed above in August. Hunter’s Arena: Legends also coincides with an announcement from the PlayStation Blog, which announced the game as one of the PS Plus games for August. However, with the difference that it would be available for both PS4 and PS5 players.
However, this could be a mistake, so take the information with caution.
What do you think of the line-up of games? Do you believe they will come as stated, or is it simply an error by Sony and we will receive something different? Let us know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
