A safe victory in Dead by Daylight often leads survivors to arrogance. But that can quickly backfire – and then it becomes embarrassing.
Dead by Daylight is a game where things often get heated. There is often tension until the last second, whether and how many survivors can escape the killer player – but not always. Sometimes survivors are also arrogant and want to humiliate the killer they just defeated a little more. But one should be wary of this, as this arrogance can ultimately cost them the victory.
What is the problem? When the gates are open and the survivors could actually escape, there are still cases where the survivors do exactly that. Instead of quickly ending the match so that everyone can move on to the next round, they wait at the exit. They try to “force” the killer to take a look by the exit and to humiliate him a little more. Usually, this is done through teabagging or using the few emotes.
When Arrogance Leads to Defeat
However, this trolling can also backfire significantly, especially in games against certain killers. This example against Michael Myers (The Shape) strikingly shows what overconfident survivors do to themselves and their team. It shows how Yui still “teabags” for a while instead of leaving the match. This gives Michi the opportunity to fully charge his ability and thanks to an addon, to simply catch the next survivor while running and kill them with a Mori. Even then, Yui continues to troll and teabags during the Mori animation – only to be caught shortly after.
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Another example is shown in the clip from AsapKendrick. He appears as Deathslinger and is trolled a bit at the end by a Meg. She hides at the exit gate and is startled. However, instead of fleeing after the first hit, Meg positions herself right in front of the exit again and starts self-healing – apparently completely forgetting who she is playing against. A few seconds later, she is hooked:
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This clip is almost just as beautiful. It shows the killer as a Witch. Actually, the survivor would have easily escaped, but she pauses right before the exit gate. The Witch’s strike causes Meg to go down – but she can no longer reach the escape route. The reason is that her bleed-out timer had already progressed so far that she dies instantly. Warning, loud:
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The last example is particularly amusing. It shows Jane standing on the Hatch (an alternative exit for the last player). She sees the Wraith coming and teabags him a few times to troll him. What Jane apparently forgot: The Wraith can interact with the environment even while cloaked. He simply closes the Hatch and leaves the once-trolling survivor with a rather dumbfounded expression in front of the PC.
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What can we learn from this? This is quite simple: Leave as soon as it is ensured that all survivors can escape. This not only ensures that all players quickly move on to the next round but also eliminates those embarrassing moments where you throw away your own survival just to troll and humiliate the killer a little. Furthermore, it shows that you, together with your teammates, are good winners – and not idiots who must humiliate defeated players.
Do you also know such annoying survivors? Or are you even one of them?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A mod from the new seasonal artifact of Season 14 was so broken in Destiny 2 that Bungie quickly disabled it. But what is the exact reason?
What is the reason for the deactivation? As the official Help account of Bungie communicated on Twitter on May 16 via Twitter, the studio has completely deactivated a mod from the new seasonal artifact of Season 14 until further notice. More information is expected to follow.
This is the artifact mod in question: It is the mod Energy Accelerant. This mod causes explosions through the explosion perks Libelle, Chain Reaction, and Firefly to deal more damage.
The explosions of the Telesto bolts were “a bit” too strong with the broken mod
Mod breaks PvP with Telesto and Symmetry
What exactly was the problem with Energy Accelerant? In short: The mod was buggy and not only affected the 3 intended perks, but also increased the damage of other explosive weapons – such as the infamous exotic fusion rifle Telesto. Due to the mod, Telesto’s bolts dealt around double damage – even in PvP.
This was not intended by Bungie and was quickly disabled – likely also in light of the Trials of Osiris.
The scout rifle Symmetry also became too powerful due to the broken mod
Another possible reason: Some believe that not only the PvP, but also the upcoming Vault of Glass raid including the World-First race starting on May 22 could be another possible reason for the deactivation. If Bungie does not manage to implement a fix by then, a fair competition for the World-First clear may not be guaranteed.
What’s next for the mod? According to Bungie, the mod remains disabled for now until the developers release a hotfix for it. No specific timeline was provided.
Apart from this broken outlier: What do you think of the mods from the new seasonal artifact of Season 14 so far? And about the season in general? Feel free to let us and other readers of MeinMMO know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
According to YouTuber and streamer Bellular, some WoW fans are not useful for the game. They should urgently stop loving Blizzard so much.
Many players view Blizzard’s development over the past 10 years critically. The company’s nearly flawless image, which aims to satisfy players and primarily develops good games that are fun, accessible, and reasonably priced, has begun to crumble.
The last straw was the expensive character copy in WoW Classic, where Blizzard reduced the price after massive criticism. Some celebrate this as a success and praise Blizzard, but some warn, like YouTuber Bellular.
What happened? Anyone who wants to play a character in both Classic and BC Classic in WoW Classic must purchase a character copy. The price was initially set at $35, which led to massive criticism from players. Blizzard relented and later reduced the price to $15.
Who is speaking? Streamer and YouTuber Bellular addressed the topic. He is mainly active on YouTube, reaching between 100,000 and 400,000 viewers with his videos about World of Warcraft. He not only analyzes the current state of the game but also points out general problems and developments at Blizzard or spins interesting theories about the future of Warcraft’s story.
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What did he say? Bellular starts his video by highlighting the reduction of the price for the character copy. He briefly comments on the Blizzard post, but states that one “doesn’t need to read that” because it would just be “PR nonsense.” Actually, he sees the whole thing this way:
$35 is the price they set at the beginning because that is what they wanted to sell. Right? They wanted to get away with that if they could. This is not a case where they acted well, kindly, or considerately. They did not listen to the community. No, forget that. This is a case where they were caught with their bullshit and then clearly pointed out.
Further, Bellular explains:
So to all the people whose response was: “Oh, it is a company. Companies want to make money. I don’t care, it doesn’t affect me.” Think about it. You are like a little corporate pet. Something like a useful idiot. That is the situation. I mean, if all you do is be suitable and useful for a big corporation, then … I mean, come on!
Love the developers, love the art, love the work, love the game. Yes! But do not love the corporation.
Maybe we would have said something different 15 years ago. But now? No.
For Bellular, it seems clear that the “yes-sayers” who accept every price and demand from Blizzard do not contribute to the improvement of the game for everyone. Even though one loves a game, one should still be vigilant towards the company that brings that game to market. Because if you lose sight of that, in the end, all players will be worse off.
What do you think of Bellular’s demands? True words to be guided by or just nonsense?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Ultimate raids like Alexander are a highlight in FFXIV, with viewer numbers for the MMORPG drastically increasing upon their release. The percentage of players who master them, however, is often in the single digits.
The current state of content
The status quo of the MMORPG is therefore a result of the changes in the past and the fundamental philosophy of the game. FFXIV is a live service game that receives new content at very regular intervals. The composition of this content is almost always the same, with casual content heavily prevailing.
These are content that do not require a high skill level. One does not need to learn rotations or openers and deal high damage to get through this content. This includes, for example, the treasure dungeons Lyhe Ghia, where players fight against a handful of enemies or a weaker boss per room and receive rewards.
In FFXIV, an opener refers to a predetermined sequence of skills used at the start of a fight. Openers are often designed to deal as much damage as possible in a short time and are extremely important for DPS.
Even the 24-man raids are not a major challenge, as the bosses in them usually do not have an enrage timer. Therefore, it does not matter how low the damage of the raid groups is. This type of raid primarily serves to allow casual players to upgrade their gear to the highest gear level. This way, they do not fall behind the raiders and do not have to complete difficult raids to obtain good gear.
Often, fighting is not even involved in casual content. Especially with the creative features of FFXIV, players can spend countless hours. A huge community has formed around the popular screenshot mode /gpose over time.
Accordingly, /gpose also receives new features with almost every major update. One of the latest is the dungeon exploration mode, which allows players to enter dungeons and use spectacular skills like Limit Break for screenshots.
Gposers are a community that specializes in taking cool screenshots.
This is the type of content that FFXIV focuses on. It can certainly be completed by hardcore players as well, and I am sure many of them enjoy it. However, if one is looking for challenge in this MMORPG, the situation looks rather bleak:
Every 6 months an epic raid with 4 bosses
2 times per addon an ultimate raid with a boss fight
One extreme trial per patch (every 3-4 months)
Special dungeons like Delubrum Reginae (epic) once per addon.
The 4 bosses of the epic raids are defeated by the top players in less than a week and then farmed. Midcore players like me need 1-3 months at a slower pace to clear the entire tier.
Progress in Ultimate, the hardest type of fights in FFXIV, typically requires about a week of constant gaming for top guilds. Extreme bosses rarely take longer than a few hours and are generally not worth mentioning for many top players.
Numbers, please
That’s why the player base of FFXIV is casual: When looking at the development of nerfs and the current state in FFXIV, the course of director Naoki Yoshida becomes very clear. He is doing his best to win over the target audience of casual players for his MMORPG.
And for good reason. They make up the absolute majority in Final Fantasy XIV. While there are no official numbers for raid clears within the game, it can be estimated based on the unofficial player census.
The Japanese player Lucky Bancho (via Lodestone) is known in the FFXIV community for his statistics. Based on character data from the official Lodestone site, he regularly creates census statistics that record how many players have reached certain milestones within the game, such as how many level 80 characters there are or how many have reached the latest patch.
This estimate was made using the FFXIV page Lodestone. Every registered character from the game can be found in the database. Their guild affiliations, companions, and especially their mounts are also visible.
Using mounts, Lucky Bancho created his estimate. Epic raid tiers have consistently rewarded a mount for the final boss fight for several addons. Bancho counted the number of mounts on all Lodestone characters to create his statistics.
The ownership of the mounts was presented in a graphic that shows the distribution across the various data centers of the MMORPG (as of February 7, 2021). Accordingly, the minimum percentage of players who have cleared the final fight of the epic Eden raid in the data centers is:
Mana: 30.1 % (Japanese region)
Gaia: 26.0 % (Japanese region)
Elemental: 24.3 % (Japanese region)
Aether: 15.4 % (US region)
Chaos: 14.8 % (European region)
Primal: 12.6 % (US region)
Light: 11.4 % (European region)
Crystal: 7.8 % (US region)
The actual number will be slightly higher. On one hand, because only one player from a group receives the mount after a kill and others have to wait a week. On the other hand, because his statistics are already 3 months old. However, the number will not be high enough to make a significant difference.
In general, it is clear that even on the comparatively very successful Japanese servers, at most one-third of the players complete the hardcore content. In the USA and Europe, this number drops even further.
The future: Delays and announcements
This course is also evident in the news regarding the MMORPG and the new addon Endwalker. It was supposed to be with the patch 5.5 on April 13, that the ultimate raid against the Knights of the Round, eagerly awaited by hardcore players, would arrive.
The disappointment was correspondingly great when a delay of the raid was announced. And not just by a few months, but until patch 6.1. This is after the release of the addon Endwalker, which will be released on November 23, 2021. At the earliest, players could expect the raid only in February 2022. That is a year without new hardcore content.
The decision was justified by director Yoshida, stating that development was delayed due to COVID. When prioritizing which content to work on, they decided against the raid, likely because it is utilized by only a very small portion of players.
In parallel, new special content called Sanctuary Island was announced for the Endwalker addon. According to Yoshida, it should be a more relaxed and calm solo content reminiscent of Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley.
Players will be able to take care of animals and grow plants there. Companions and mounts they obtained while playing will roam freely on the island. Yoshida said in an interview with MeinMMO:
Even though this content was designed for an MMORPG, the intention behind it is for players to pass the time while engaging in solo activities. They do not have to worry about the progress of other players.
There is no reason to hurry, and there are no elements that would put pressure on the players. Our goal here is for players to enjoy the slow life by carefreely playing with their companions, taking screenshots in their favorite locations, and so on.
Director Naoki Yoshida
The key artwork for Sanctuary Island could have come from a farming game.
Sanctuary Island is the first completely new feature announced for the Endwalker addon. With other announcements such as new jobs or new dungeons and raids, players were already expecting. Here, too, it shows that the developers’ priorities lie in casual content.
I believe that all forms of entertainment should be considered competition. Modern gamers are very busy – they need to divide their limited time into the various types of entertainment they consume alongside gaming.
Director Naoki Yoshida
The director believes this is the reason why MMORPGs have a hard time establishing themselves in our time and adjusts the content of his game accordingly. Many contents in Final Fantasy XIV come in quick, easily digestible bites or in the form of extended tasks that can be completed over a longer time in a relaxed manner, such as the relic weapons.
I therefore think that Yoshida and his team will continue to maintain the current course. This does not mean that hardcore content will eventually disappear from FFXIV, but its priority is clearly below the content preferred by the larger portion of players.
More stories about FFXIV on MeinMMO can be found here:
I would like to point out here that I do not use the term “casual player” negatively. The word “casual,” which means carefree or laid-back in English, is often equated with “bad” in the gaming context. Especially gamers from older generations often look down on casual players because they are not “hardcore” enough. They would not burn for their hobby, do not put effort into it, and want everything to be spoon-fed to them.
For me, it is simply a description of players who either do not invest much time in gaming or just want to play casually without placing much emphasis on performance.
As for Final Fantasy XIV: The game will undoubtedly continue to grow and generate more revenue due to its focus on light content for casual players. It is a strategy that has, from a purely financial perspective, worked well so far. The financial reports from Square Enix’s investors have shown a steady growth of the MMO division for years, largely thanks to the sales and subscriptions of FFXIV (via cogconnected).
For casual players who want to play FFXIV at their own pace and do not want to experience gameplay pressure, this is probably good news. They will continue to receive plenty of content tailored to their target audience, which they can play at a relaxed pace.
The hardcore and possibly midcore players will be less enthusiastic about this. I regularly read complaints on social media that Final Fantasy XIV is becoming more and more casual, that jobs lack diversity in builds, and that hardcore content is generally rather thin.
However, this is a course that is unlikely to change anytime soon.
When epic and ultimate raids in FFXIV, the hardest content by far, are released, they often remain unchanged. Even with the trials against primals and other bosses, which are now often considered “midcore content,” very little is changed.
Ultimate raids like Alexander are a highlight in FFXIV, with viewer numbers for the MMORPG drastically increasing upon their release. The percentage of players who master them, however, is often in the single digits.
The current state of content
The status quo of the MMORPG is therefore a result of the changes in the past and the fundamental philosophy of the game. FFXIV is a live service game that receives new content at very regular intervals. The composition of this content is almost always the same, with casual content heavily prevailing.
These are content that do not require a high skill level. One does not need to learn rotations or openers and deal high damage to get through this content. This includes, for example, the treasure dungeons Lyhe Ghia, where players fight against a handful of enemies or a weaker boss per room and receive rewards.
In FFXIV, an opener refers to a predetermined sequence of skills used at the start of a fight. Openers are often designed to deal as much damage as possible in a short time and are extremely important for DPS.
Even the 24-man raids are not a major challenge, as the bosses in them usually do not have an enrage timer. Therefore, it does not matter how low the damage of the raid groups is. This type of raid primarily serves to allow casual players to upgrade their gear to the highest gear level. This way, they do not fall behind the raiders and do not have to complete difficult raids to obtain good gear.
Often, fighting is not even involved in casual content. Especially with the creative features of FFXIV, players can spend countless hours. A huge community has formed around the popular screenshot mode /gpose over time.
Accordingly, /gpose also receives new features with almost every major update. One of the latest is the dungeon exploration mode, which allows players to enter dungeons and use spectacular skills like Limit Break for screenshots.
Gposers are a community that specializes in taking cool screenshots.
This is the type of content that FFXIV focuses on. It can certainly be completed by hardcore players as well, and I am sure many of them enjoy it. However, if one is looking for challenge in this MMORPG, the situation looks rather bleak:
Every 6 months an epic raid with 4 bosses
2 times per addon an ultimate raid with a boss fight
One extreme trial per patch (every 3-4 months)
Special dungeons like Delubrum Reginae (epic) once per addon.
The 4 bosses of the epic raids are defeated by the top players in less than a week and then farmed. Midcore players like me need 1-3 months at a slower pace to clear the entire tier.
Progress in Ultimate, the hardest type of fights in FFXIV, typically requires about a week of constant gaming for top guilds. Extreme bosses rarely take longer than a few hours and are generally not worth mentioning for many top players.
Numbers, please
That’s why the player base of FFXIV is casual: When looking at the development of nerfs and the current state in FFXIV, the course of director Naoki Yoshida becomes very clear. He is doing his best to win over the target audience of casual players for his MMORPG.
And for good reason. They make up the absolute majority in Final Fantasy XIV. While there are no official numbers for raid clears within the game, it can be estimated based on the unofficial player census.
The Japanese player Lucky Bancho (via Lodestone) is known in the FFXIV community for his statistics. Based on character data from the official Lodestone site, he regularly creates census statistics that record how many players have reached certain milestones within the game, such as how many level 80 characters there are or how many have reached the latest patch.
This estimate was made using the FFXIV page Lodestone. Every registered character from the game can be found in the database. Their guild affiliations, companions, and especially their mounts are also visible.
Using mounts, Lucky Bancho created his estimate. Epic raid tiers have consistently rewarded a mount for the final boss fight for several addons. Bancho counted the number of mounts on all Lodestone characters to create his statistics.
The ownership of the mounts was presented in a graphic that shows the distribution across the various data centers of the MMORPG (as of February 7, 2021). Accordingly, the minimum percentage of players who have cleared the final fight of the epic Eden raid in the data centers is:
Mana: 30.1 % (Japanese region)
Gaia: 26.0 % (Japanese region)
Elemental: 24.3 % (Japanese region)
Aether: 15.4 % (US region)
Chaos: 14.8 % (European region)
Primal: 12.6 % (US region)
Light: 11.4 % (European region)
Crystal: 7.8 % (US region)
The actual number will be slightly higher. On one hand, because only one player from a group receives the mount after a kill and others have to wait a week. On the other hand, because his statistics are already 3 months old. However, the number will not be high enough to make a significant difference.
In general, it is clear that even on the comparatively very successful Japanese servers, at most one-third of the players complete the hardcore content. In the USA and Europe, this number drops even further.
The future: Delays and announcements
This course is also evident in the news regarding the MMORPG and the new addon Endwalker. It was supposed to be with the patch 5.5 on April 13, that the ultimate raid against the Knights of the Round, eagerly awaited by hardcore players, would arrive.
The disappointment was correspondingly great when a delay of the raid was announced. And not just by a few months, but until patch 6.1. This is after the release of the addon Endwalker, which will be released on November 23, 2021. At the earliest, players could expect the raid only in February 2022. That is a year without new hardcore content.
The decision was justified by director Yoshida, stating that development was delayed due to COVID. When prioritizing which content to work on, they decided against the raid, likely because it is utilized by only a very small portion of players.
In parallel, new special content called Sanctuary Island was announced for the Endwalker addon. According to Yoshida, it should be a more relaxed and calm solo content reminiscent of Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley.
Players will be able to take care of animals and grow plants there. Companions and mounts they obtained while playing will roam freely on the island. Yoshida said in an interview with MeinMMO:
Even though this content was designed for an MMORPG, the intention behind it is for players to pass the time while engaging in solo activities. They do not have to worry about the progress of other players.
There is no reason to hurry, and there are no elements that would put pressure on the players. Our goal here is for players to enjoy the slow life by carefreely playing with their companions, taking screenshots in their favorite locations, and so on.
Director Naoki Yoshida
The key artwork for Sanctuary Island could have come from a farming game.
Sanctuary Island is the first completely new feature announced for the Endwalker addon. With other announcements such as new jobs or new dungeons and raids, players were already expecting. Here, too, it shows that the developers’ priorities lie in casual content.
I believe that all forms of entertainment should be considered competition. Modern gamers are very busy – they need to divide their limited time into the various types of entertainment they consume alongside gaming.
Director Naoki Yoshida
The director believes this is the reason why MMORPGs have a hard time establishing themselves in our time and adjusts the content of his game accordingly. Many contents in Final Fantasy XIV come in quick, easily digestible bites or in the form of extended tasks that can be completed over a longer time in a relaxed manner, such as the relic weapons.
I therefore think that Yoshida and his team will continue to maintain the current course. This does not mean that hardcore content will eventually disappear from FFXIV, but its priority is clearly below the content preferred by the larger portion of players.
More stories about FFXIV on MeinMMO can be found here:
I would like to point out here that I do not use the term “casual player” negatively. The word “casual,” which means carefree or laid-back in English, is often equated with “bad” in the gaming context. Especially gamers from older generations often look down on casual players because they are not “hardcore” enough. They would not burn for their hobby, do not put effort into it, and want everything to be spoon-fed to them.
For me, it is simply a description of players who either do not invest much time in gaming or just want to play casually without placing much emphasis on performance.
As for Final Fantasy XIV: The game will undoubtedly continue to grow and generate more revenue due to its focus on light content for casual players. It is a strategy that has, from a purely financial perspective, worked well so far. The financial reports from Square Enix’s investors have shown a steady growth of the MMO division for years, largely thanks to the sales and subscriptions of FFXIV (via cogconnected).
For casual players who want to play FFXIV at their own pace and do not want to experience gameplay pressure, this is probably good news. They will continue to receive plenty of content tailored to their target audience, which they can play at a relaxed pace.
The hardcore and possibly midcore players will be less enthusiastic about this. I regularly read complaints on social media that Final Fantasy XIV is becoming more and more casual, that jobs lack diversity in builds, and that hardcore content is generally rather thin.
However, this is a course that is unlikely to change anytime soon.
The fans of Final Fantasy XIV were excited over the weekend with some big news about the new addon Endwalker. However, MeinMMO author Irina Moritz believes that the hardcore players of the MMORPG should temper their excitement for Endwalker. This is because the MMORPG is becoming increasingly casual.
Every MMORPG player will know this: Every major addon brings great hopes for the players. One hopes that the game will become better, receive cool new content, and be able to keep players engaged in the long term.
It is currently the same with the new FFXIV addon Endwalker. However, hardcore players will not receive many gifts with the expansion. For years, the MMORPG from Square Enix has been pumping out more light and casual content, such as new features for the photo mode or the relic weapons, to keep the majority of its players happy.
I therefore expect that in Endwalker, hardcore players will receive little or no content tailored to them. Meanwhile, casual players will continue to receive the larger share of the pie.
How it all began: The first nerfs
I still remember the first nerf of the mandatory content well. Anyone who wants to progress in the story of FFXIV to the endgame must participate in a solo fight at level 15.
In this battle, players fight against a demon that poisons them. At the release of “A Realm Reborn” in 2013, this poison hit hard. The trick in this fight was to use an antidote to remove the status. The potions could be bought from the NPC for a few gil or obtained in a quest.
Players died in this fight like flies. In forums, there were questions about how to win the fight and complaints about the difficulty being too high for a mandatory quest. In response, the developers nerfed the DoT tick, which is now very low.
Other examples of such nerfs and changes include:
In the level 35 dungeon Sunken Temple of Qarn and the level 50 dungeon Ampdapor Keep and Pharos Sirius, various bosses were nerfed and the number of enemies reduced.
The boss fight against Vishap in Steps of Faith was heavily nerfed.
The level 57 dungeon Vault was also nerfed due to complaints.
The Echo buff was introduced for older content such as normal raids to make them easier and more accessible to more players, which is an indirect nerf.
Vishap is a huge dragon that players must fight on their way to the endgame. At release, many FFXIV players considered him far too difficult.
In the addons following Heavensward, around 2017, these nerfs became less common. At this time, the developers likely found their “golden mean.” Thanks to more experience, they could better assess what is considered “difficult” for the average FFXIV player.
However, there were still some stumbling blocks. For example, in the Stormblood addon, the boss Donnergott in the 24-man raid Orbonne wiped players out in droves.
What do these nerfs mean? When looking at the long list of content nerfs that have been implemented in FFXIV over time, a pattern emerges. There are almost never any difficult epic or even ultimate raids among them. Instead, almost exclusively content for casual players or mandatory content was nerfed.
These are dungeons that players run for their dailies or to level up and that normally take between 15 and 30 minutes. What we see here is another reduction in the difficulty of content that was actually designed to be easy from the start.
The developers attempted to accommodate the large part of their player base and make the game as enjoyable and barrier-free as possible for them. This is a trend that has visibly run through the patch notes since the release of “A Realm Reborn.”
When epic and ultimate raids in FFXIV, the hardest content by far, are released, they often remain unchanged. Even with the trials against primals and other bosses, which are now often considered “midcore content,” very little is changed.
Ultimate raids like Alexander are a highlight in FFXIV, with viewer numbers for the MMORPG drastically increasing upon their release. The percentage of players who master them, however, is often in the single digits.
The current state of content
The status quo of the MMORPG is therefore a result of the changes in the past and the fundamental philosophy of the game. FFXIV is a live service game that receives new content at very regular intervals. The composition of this content is almost always the same, with casual content heavily prevailing.
These are content that do not require a high skill level. One does not need to learn rotations or openers and deal high damage to get through this content. This includes, for example, the treasure dungeons Lyhe Ghia, where players fight against a handful of enemies or a weaker boss per room and receive rewards.
In FFXIV, an opener refers to a predetermined sequence of skills used at the start of a fight. Openers are often designed to deal as much damage as possible in a short time and are extremely important for DPS.
Even the 24-man raids are not a major challenge, as the bosses in them usually do not have an enrage timer. Therefore, it does not matter how low the damage of the raid groups is. This type of raid primarily serves to allow casual players to upgrade their gear to the highest gear level. This way, they do not fall behind the raiders and do not have to complete difficult raids to obtain good gear.
Often, fighting is not even involved in casual content. Especially with the creative features of FFXIV, players can spend countless hours. A huge community has formed around the popular screenshot mode /gpose over time.
Accordingly, /gpose also receives new features with almost every major update. One of the latest is the dungeon exploration mode, which allows players to enter dungeons and use spectacular skills like Limit Break for screenshots.
Gposers are a community that specializes in taking cool screenshots.
This is the type of content that FFXIV focuses on. It can certainly be completed by hardcore players as well, and I am sure many of them enjoy it. However, if one is looking for challenge in this MMORPG, the situation looks rather bleak:
Every 6 months an epic raid with 4 bosses
2 times per addon an ultimate raid with a boss fight
One extreme trial per patch (every 3-4 months)
Special dungeons like Delubrum Reginae (epic) once per addon.
The 4 bosses of the epic raids are defeated by the top players in less than a week and then farmed. Midcore players like me need 1-3 months at a slower pace to clear the entire tier.
Progress in Ultimate, the hardest type of fights in FFXIV, typically requires about a week of constant gaming for top guilds. Extreme bosses rarely take longer than a few hours and are generally not worth mentioning for many top players.
Numbers, please
That’s why the player base of FFXIV is casual: When looking at the development of nerfs and the current state in FFXIV, the course of director Naoki Yoshida becomes very clear. He is doing his best to win over the target audience of casual players for his MMORPG.
And for good reason. They make up the absolute majority in Final Fantasy XIV. While there are no official numbers for raid clears within the game, it can be estimated based on the unofficial player census.
The Japanese player Lucky Bancho (via Lodestone) is known in the FFXIV community for his statistics. Based on character data from the official Lodestone site, he regularly creates census statistics that record how many players have reached certain milestones within the game, such as how many level 80 characters there are or how many have reached the latest patch.
This estimate was made using the FFXIV page Lodestone. Every registered character from the game can be found in the database. Their guild affiliations, companions, and especially their mounts are also visible.
Using mounts, Lucky Bancho created his estimate. Epic raid tiers have consistently rewarded a mount for the final boss fight for several addons. Bancho counted the number of mounts on all Lodestone characters to create his statistics.
The ownership of the mounts was presented in a graphic that shows the distribution across the various data centers of the MMORPG (as of February 7, 2021). Accordingly, the minimum percentage of players who have cleared the final fight of the epic Eden raid in the data centers is:
Mana: 30.1 % (Japanese region)
Gaia: 26.0 % (Japanese region)
Elemental: 24.3 % (Japanese region)
Aether: 15.4 % (US region)
Chaos: 14.8 % (European region)
Primal: 12.6 % (US region)
Light: 11.4 % (European region)
Crystal: 7.8 % (US region)
The actual number will be slightly higher. On one hand, because only one player from a group receives the mount after a kill and others have to wait a week. On the other hand, because his statistics are already 3 months old. However, the number will not be high enough to make a significant difference.
In general, it is clear that even on the comparatively very successful Japanese servers, at most one-third of the players complete the hardcore content. In the USA and Europe, this number drops even further.
The future: Delays and announcements
This course is also evident in the news regarding the MMORPG and the new addon Endwalker. It was supposed to be with the patch 5.5 on April 13, that the ultimate raid against the Knights of the Round, eagerly awaited by hardcore players, would arrive.
The disappointment was correspondingly great when a delay of the raid was announced. And not just by a few months, but until patch 6.1. This is after the release of the addon Endwalker, which will be released on November 23, 2021. At the earliest, players could expect the raid only in February 2022. That is a year without new hardcore content.
The decision was justified by director Yoshida, stating that development was delayed due to COVID. When prioritizing which content to work on, they decided against the raid, likely because it is utilized by only a very small portion of players.
In parallel, new special content called Sanctuary Island was announced for the Endwalker addon. According to Yoshida, it should be a more relaxed and calm solo content reminiscent of Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley.
Players will be able to take care of animals and grow plants there. Companions and mounts they obtained while playing will roam freely on the island. Yoshida said in an interview with MeinMMO:
Even though this content was designed for an MMORPG, the intention behind it is for players to pass the time while engaging in solo activities. They do not have to worry about the progress of other players.
There is no reason to hurry, and there are no elements that would put pressure on the players. Our goal here is for players to enjoy the slow life by carefreely playing with their companions, taking screenshots in their favorite locations, and so on.
Director Naoki Yoshida
The key artwork for Sanctuary Island could have come from a farming game.
Sanctuary Island is the first completely new feature announced for the Endwalker addon. With other announcements such as new jobs or new dungeons and raids, players were already expecting. Here, too, it shows that the developers’ priorities lie in casual content.
I believe that all forms of entertainment should be considered competition. Modern gamers are very busy – they need to divide their limited time into the various types of entertainment they consume alongside gaming.
Director Naoki Yoshida
The director believes this is the reason why MMORPGs have a hard time establishing themselves in our time and adjusts the content of his game accordingly. Many contents in Final Fantasy XIV come in quick, easily digestible bites or in the form of extended tasks that can be completed over a longer time in a relaxed manner, such as the relic weapons.
I therefore think that Yoshida and his team will continue to maintain the current course. This does not mean that hardcore content will eventually disappear from FFXIV, but its priority is clearly below the content preferred by the larger portion of players.
More stories about FFXIV on MeinMMO can be found here:
I would like to point out here that I do not use the term “casual player” negatively. The word “casual,” which means carefree or laid-back in English, is often equated with “bad” in the gaming context. Especially gamers from older generations often look down on casual players because they are not “hardcore” enough. They would not burn for their hobby, do not put effort into it, and want everything to be spoon-fed to them.
For me, it is simply a description of players who either do not invest much time in gaming or just want to play casually without placing much emphasis on performance.
As for Final Fantasy XIV: The game will undoubtedly continue to grow and generate more revenue due to its focus on light content for casual players. It is a strategy that has, from a purely financial perspective, worked well so far. The financial reports from Square Enix’s investors have shown a steady growth of the MMO division for years, largely thanks to the sales and subscriptions of FFXIV (via cogconnected).
For casual players who want to play FFXIV at their own pace and do not want to experience gameplay pressure, this is probably good news. They will continue to receive plenty of content tailored to their target audience, which they can play at a relaxed pace.
The hardcore and possibly midcore players will be less enthusiastic about this. I regularly read complaints on social media that Final Fantasy XIV is becoming more and more casual, that jobs lack diversity in builds, and that hardcore content is generally rather thin.
However, this is a course that is unlikely to change anytime soon.
The first expansion of WoW Classic is coming soon and MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus is really excited about it. The Burning Crusade is one of his best memories of gaming. Only the release timing dampens the joy.
When Blizzard announced at BlizzCon 2020/2021 that they are remaking The Burning Crusade, I was totally over the moon. WoW Classic was already a cool thing, but Burning Crusade is the anchor for WoW for me and always will be.
In this expansion, I had my first real experiences with raids and met people with whom I still have contact today. There is a lot of memory and emotional value tied to TBC for me.
I am just happy to be able to reminisce once again. And soon it will happen, soon I can step through the Dark Portal again and fight the Burning Legion.
Illidan, Kael’thas, and Lady Vashj are the major antagonists of TBC.
When is TBC Classic coming out? It starts on June 2nd, and TBC Classic will open its doors. Two weeks earlier, on May 19th, the pre-patch begins, during which I will level up my Draenei, just like back then.
Actually, I am really looking forward to all of this. However, when I heard the release date, I was first confused, then a bit disappointed. The signal that Blizzard is sending with this is anything but good.
Patch 9.1 would be much more important for WoW
That’s why the date is so bad: In World of Warcraft, the new Patch 9.1 for Shadowlands and Burning Crusade are being developed simultaneously. Until the release announcement, it was still very unclear what would come out first.
The hope of many players – including me – was that Patch 9.1 would be released earlier. It sounds logical since certainly more people play Retail than Classic. Moreover, those who have completed the content of 9.1 can then spend time in TBC afterwards.
This “filler” function serves as an activity to bridge a longer content drought. The signal that Blizzard is now sending is that: You will have to wait a long time for Patch 9.1. In the meantime, you can play Classic.
Why is Patch 9.1 so important? Many players are already frustrated with Shadowlands. The new covenant system rubs some players the wrong way, and many are already finished with the content for themselves. Even Cortyn is running out of steam after the kill on the final boss.
Many of you may have already trampled Graf Denathrius into the dust.
At the moment, there is simply not much to do unless you are still chewing on the mythic final boss or engaging in PvP. Nevertheless, the content is being stretched somehow, says the biggest WoW streamer in the world. Too bad, because Shadowlands has been a lot of fun so far.
With 9.1, something new would finally have happened. A new raid, finally a fight against Sylvanas and new Legendaries. All things that I am looking forward to and want to see. Shadowlands had a strong start but quickly lost its momentum for me. 9.1 would have been the chance to reignite the spark from the release. But now, it seems, it will take a while longer.
What would have been much more important is the wait for the later Patch 9.2. The time until 9.1 has already been extended with a strange interim patch that brought some new content but not really much.
With TBC, the wait will be shorter, but I would have preferred that for after Patch 9.1. After all, class sets will finally return, which were taken from us in BfA – something I’m looking forward to at least as much as Burning Crusade.
TBC Classic would have been ideal to bridge the time between 9.1 and 9.2. But now I miss that bridge, as Burning Crusade comes too early…
I would have liked to explore Netherstorm later as well. It doesn’t have to be right now.
After 14 years, I could have waited a little longer
If Patch 9.1 had been released before TBC, I would have seen that Blizzard is making an effort with the current content and not just trying to keep us entertained somehow. Of course, I have no insight into the developers’ decisions, but as it stands right now, it leaves a very bland aftertaste.
Burning Crusade was released in 2007 – so 14 years ago. I could have easily waited a little longer to revisit the shattered world. What does a few weeks or months more or less matter?
To BC or not to BC?
Nevertheless, I am not one of those players who now sulk and completely quit WoW and turn their backs on the game. I will play Burning Crusade and even welcome the changes being made – such as the increased visibility for nameplates.
For me, it’s not about getting the original Burning Crusade back, but a version with which I can have just as much fun as before. If that means the game makes some things easier for me, then so be it.
Nonetheless, I would wish that Retail WoW would get a little more love. I still spend a lot of my free time in Azeroth and would like to continue doing so in the future. But when my only real activity is riding in circles in Oribos, that’s also not great.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Amazon is also considering a “battle pass-like” program, according to Lawrence. However, these changes in the shop will be tested in advance to ensure that they offer high value and do not significantly influence gameplay.
The Creative Director of Ashes of Creation, Steven Sharif, expressed his strong displeasure on Discord about the upcoming MMO New World from Amazon. Now he has apologized for the “unprofessional” remark.
This is what the director said: In a post on Discord, the Creative Director of Ashes of Creation commented on the MMO New World and its in-game shop. It was revealed through a leak that the shop would contain possible Pay2Win elements in the form of boosting items for experience and crafting.
He did not hold back his frustration about the shop:
I thought it was really funny how it was said that they would add “Quality of Life” items like LeVEl BOOsTs AnD TRadE SkilL BOoSTs, but nothing that would affect the competitive aspects of the game… ?!?!? Why are you doing this, Amazon? I was flattered that they drew inspiration from some of my designs, but honestly, who made this decision? I just want something new in the genre, damn it.
Notably, the director used the “Mocking Spongebob Meme.” The meme image is usually accompanied by text that quotes something previously said, alternating between lowercase and uppercase letters.
This writing style has become self-sustaining on the internet and is now used even without the accompanying image. It is generally understood to be mocking or offensive.
This was the apology: Although some fans of Ashes of Creation agreed with the director and celebrated his comment, he later backtracked and apologized. In a reddit thread, he wrote the following (via reddit):
I admit that my comment was unprofessional and I will strive to be less temperamental when responding to things that are very important to me. Sometimes it’s difficult when you’ve been looking forward to their MMO and everything it brings to the MMO genre. […]
Furthermore, Sharif admits that his MMO is not free from faults. He mentions, for example, that there was trouble with the pre-order system of Ashes of Creation, which he had to explain to the players personally. In the end, Sharif emphasizes that it is important for the company to be direct and open in its communication about monetization.
This is what Amazon says: Meanwhile, Amazon has responded to the leak and published a statement. Studio Director Rich Lawrence emphasized that the shop will only contain cosmetic items at launch. These include skins, colors, and special items for guilds.
Our goal with all items of any kind is that they do not provide benefits that would cause a poor balance in the game. We understand that this is a matter of interpretation for players. Therefore we ask for your patience while we test in alpha and listen to your feedback.
Amazon is also considering a “battle pass-like” program, according to Lawrence. However, these changes in the shop will be tested in advance to ensure that they offer high value and do not significantly influence gameplay.
Destiny 2 finally got transmog with Season 14, but the grind is more tedious than Guardians feared. If you want to look good in the MMO shooter, you have to work hard, spending up to 180 hours per season.
It’s worse than feared: Destiny 2 kicked off the new Season 14 on May 11. One of the main attractions of the Splicer Season is transmog – which also plays a prominent role in the cool trailer. Guardians were really excited for it, as they have wanted transmog like in other MMOs since 2014.
Now guardians are testing transmog and finding out that the artificial limits are the least of the problems, as the grind requires an unreasonable amount of work.
It should take up to 180 hours to reach the limit of – uh – transmogifiable in Season 14. A whole gaming evening should go for each item, and a complete outfit easily requires 24 hours of gameplay.
What is Transmog? Transmogrification (short transmog) refers to a system where armor and clothing are visually altered. Equipment pieces can take on the look of other earned items. Transmog is useful when the new armor is stronger or at a higher level, but you don’t like its appearance. This way, players can run around as they like without sacrificing the power of new items.
“180 Hours of Torture per Season”
Why does it take so long? The high time investment goes hand in hand with another criticism: Transmog is too complex. To transform even just one item and unlock your favorite look permanently, you have to put in a lot of effort.
Armor synthesis, the Destiny term for transmog, requires 3 new resources for each item, a bounty, and a visit to a gigantic sewing machine.
A visit to the space-filling synthesis weaver and of course bounties are mandatory for transmog.
Here are all the steps and how long they take:
Defeat enemies to earn synthetic threads. Guardians have discovered that these synthetic threads drop everywhere, but are practically stuck behind a kind of time lock.
Every 2 minutes a kill gives you such a thread and you need 150 of them – so that’s 300 minutes or 5 hours. The calculations come from eager guardians on Raidsecrets (via reddit).
After 5 hours of berserk killing enemies, you then pick up a bounty from Ada-1 in the Tower that costs 150 synthetic threads and provides you with more materials for synthesis.
But wait, these bounties are quite involved. Tasks like defeat 40 champions or capture 30 zones in the crucible must be mastered – some of them take several hours (you choose the activity yourself).
After the grind of at least 6 hours, you then visit Ada’s oversized sewing machine in the Tower and convert everything into the final material “synthetic fabric plate,” which is only usable for the class with which you converted it.
Finally, use synthetic fabric to convert a single unlocked armor piece from your collections into a universal armor ornament.
If we assume at least 6 hours of grind for one item, we come to over 24 hours of gameplay for an outfit, which is a set of 5 armor pieces.
In one season, you can normally earn up to 10 syntheses through bounties. That makes 60 hours per character – or 180 hours per season if you want to max out the transmog cap with all 3 characters. However, the cap is likely still a long way off for most players.
That’s why the hard grind only becomes apparent later
It looks pretty at the start: To properly hook the guardians, you get enough synthesis material through the seasonal quest to afford 11 transmog processes per character. Even the first, usually very expensive bounty is on the house.
And transmog itself is truly impressive. You can neatly see all available items in a new menu, finally apply shaders as a preview for the entire outfit, and have many options to make your guardian look stylish.
Different preview options for every armor piece let you tweak the look.
But if you want more from transmog, you face the monstrous grind we described above. Or you reach for the silver wallet. Because with the premium currency, you save a massive amount of time. This shortcut in the cash shop is understandable, but the Eververse has always had a bad reputation among players.
Is the frustration exaggerated? With all the criticism, however, two points should not be forgotten:
Transmog is purely cosmetic, so it has no advantage or influence on gameplay. Although some guardians swear that you fight better when you look unbeatable.
The transmog samples are surely enough for some guardians to easily create 2 stylish looks per character, which they can then apply to any legendary armor.
If you’re content with a bounty per season, which you earn alongside multiple sessions, you may hardly notice all the grind.
What do you think of transmog in Destiny 2? Do you agree with the majority of guardians, saying that the grind is absolutely exaggerated and that Bungie wants to motivate players to shortcut through the Eververse? Were you excited about the cosmetic feature and don’t know what to wear first, or do you think the look of the guardian is anyway secondary? Let us know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard loses another employee. The former lead artist of World of Warcraft and Diablo Immortal, Glenn Rane, is moving to a new studio. Rane’s works have likely been seen by each of you at least once.
Who is the employee? Glenn Rane worked for over 19 years, first at the parent company Vivendi and then directly at Blizzard. He started as a concept artist, eventually becoming a supervisor and even lead artist.
Which artworks has he created? During his time, he worked on almost all projects at Blizzard. You know his artworks from many games, from BlizzCon and the box cover of The Burning Crusade. His portfolio includes, among others:
Key arts for various WoW expansions such as Battle for Azeroth and Mists of Pandaria
One of his most famous works is likely the Lich King Arthas Menethil, as he sits on his Frozen Throne with his sword Frostmourne in the ice before him (cover image). He also immortalized the later Lich King Bolvar Fordragon and the Warchief Garrosh Hellscream. You can find his gallery on his official website (via glennrane.com).
Arthas on his throne.
The key art of Battle for Azeroth.
The Demon Hunter in Diablo 3.
Garrosh kills Cairne Bloodhoof.
The Hearthstone card “Assassinate”.
The cover of The Burning Crusade.
Garrosh Hellscream.
Some of the works of Glenn Rane. Image sources: Glenn Rane.
Employees leave Blizzard and start their own studios
Where is Rane now? On May 12, Glenn Rane announced that he will be working as Art Director and co-founder at Lightforge Games (via Twitter). Lightforge Games is an indie studio founded by several ex-employees of Blizzard and Epic.
The studio is currently planning a new role-playing game, consisting of elements from Minecraft or Roblox and tabletop RPGs. The developers promise a “revolution” of the RPG genre.
Their experiences in the gaming sector include work on WoW, SWTOR, Overwatch, Fortnite, and The Elder Scrolls Online (via PCGamer).
What is happening at Blizzard right now? Rane is just the latest in a series of well-known employees who have left Activision Blizzard recently. Before him, others had already left:
David Kim, a former game designer for WoW, StarCraft 2, and Diablo 4
Many of the employees who recently left Blizzard had previously worked at the game studio for well over 10 years. After such a long time, it is relatively normal to reorient oneself. Nonetheless, many fans and players are saddened to see familiar and beloved faces leave.
At Blizzard itself, however, there has also been a rather negative development in recent years:
Fortnite: Battle Royale was once the favorite game of MeinMMO author Jürgen Horn. However, he stayed away from the game for a long time and has now checked back in after many months. But what was once a colorful battle royale now feels more like an MMORPG to him. And it evokes mixed feelings.
How long has it been since Jürgen was last in Fortnite? When Season 4 of Chapter 2 launched on the servers in August 2020, I decided to play Fortnite again. My favorite Marvel hero Thor was in it, and I didn’t want to miss out. However, it remained just a quick visit because I had other priorities in my games and preferred generally faster battle royale shooters without building. Like Apex Legends, which is still rocking hard in the current season.
Fortnite, on the other hand, felt increasingly outdated and sluggish back then and could no longer captivate me like it did at launch.
Nevertheless, about 9 months after my last visit to Fortnite, I wanted to check it out again. But this time the return turned out to be rather bizarre, as I do not recognize “my” game anymore.
Colorful Chaos, Dead Bananas, and Annoying Shop
This is how my return began: Shortly after starting Fortnite, it gets quite confusing. There is a bizarre trailer for an event in Season 6 of Chapter 2 that makes me think several times, “WTF, what is this?”.
The banana buddy Jonesy, whom I still remember, flies towards a kind of tower, and then a lot happens all at once. Suddenly, Xenomorphs from Alien, Terminator robots, the Predator, and the poor Banana Schali appears, who is then brutally crushed by Ryu from Street Fighter. Um… yeah?
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After that, the asteroid known from the early Fortnite days falls from the sky, and again a strange space guy emerges from it, doing something. What the hell is going on? I catch myself saying, “I’m too old for this shit.”.
After restarting the system and the cat safety, I immediately arrive at the menu selection, and everything looks different from what I remember. I have to search for a while before I can even get to the main menu and make it clear to the game that I don’t want to buy either the battle pass, or any bizarre Batman special skins or anything else.
The shop was not as intrusive last year. I just want to play!
Fortnite 2021 – Is it still a Battle Royale?
So many quests: I intentionally read nothing about the current Season 6 in Fortnite to experience the pure newcomer experience. At first, however, it turns out to be a great confusion. Already in the main menu, I am bombarded with a bunch of tasks. Every idiot seems to want something from me. “Hit X items with the hammer on the weak point”, one guy demands. Another dude wants ten headshots, and yet another demands that I heal myself while in the storm. Sure…
Well, I still remember the weekly challenges from my old Fortnite days, but they were not so intrusive and annoying back then. The sheer number of quests overwhelms me. I really just want to play!
So. Many. Quests!
That was my first session: At some point, I pull myself away from the endless list of quests and start a solo round. Luckily, my beloved Thor skin along with the hammer is still there. I land somewhere on the unfamiliar but strangely familiar map and search for the first weapons.
They are surprisingly familiar as well. The current season seems to have a kind of retro theme; I find old favorites like the pump shotgun and the old submachine gun.
With that, I harvest bloody yields among the opponents. They are – as I still remember from my visit nine months ago – mostly dumb bots that can’t do anything. They are so predictable that I just have to stand still and wait until they do their obligatory dodge jump. Meanwhile, they regularly shoot in the air above me, and when they land again, I land a perfect headshot with the pump. Every time!
Since there is no danger from these opponents, I disregard all caution and just wander around aimlessly, exploring the map. I really like that now you have to explore the hot spots before they become visible on the map. Exploring is simply fun.
Quests in a Battle Royale? But the annoying NPCs who want to peddle me numerous quests in the main menu are apparently also in the game now. Seriously, a farmer chases me in a farm wanting to give me some quest! But I don’t want to! I want to shoot opponents, not complete some nonsense for farmer buddies.
But the guy keeps following me, and I run into a pigsty, where I am attacked by the hog! Die, you pigs! Meanwhile, a bot comes along and wants to see what’s happening too. He almost gets me because I’m dealing with the pig gang. But the tried-and-true “do-nothing-and-give-headshot” tactic works narrowly here too, and I win again.
Die, you pigs!
But the quest givers keep appearing, and I finally avoid places where I can see the icons of these annoying fellows. It may well be that the quests unlock something cool, but honestly, I primarily just want to shoot and kill opponents in a battle royale shooter. Not read and follow some tasks.
They only mask a problem that Fortnite has always had: Boredom in the mid-game. Because I still run for minutes through the countryside and encounter no one. Sure, I could do quests now, but if I want to complete annoying collection tasks, I’ll play an MMORPG and grind leisurely. A battle royale game is, for me, a genre that’s all about excitement and nerve-wracking action, and unfortunately, those MMORPG elements do not help me at all.
Is Fortnite a bad game for Jürgen now? No, because after the dry spell in the mid-game, it becomes really exciting in the endgame as usual. The zone is now small enough that the last scattered opponents inevitably come together.
And things get really intense. The last opponents – perhaps they weren’t even bots anymore – build absurd fortresses like crazy and provide me with a tough battle. I still refuse to build. I’ve never warmed up to that in Fortnite. My opponents build like crazy, but I blow their fortress to bits, and my opponents fall one after the other, receiving a few loads of buckshot.
Instead of building, I prefer to shoot!
So I win my very first round after 9 months of absence with an epic victory. Wow! In the end, all of this turned out to be more fun than I initially thought. I think I will give Fortnite a few more chances. As a colorful alternative to Apex Legends, it’s definitely fun, and I will have to take a closer look at the quests and NPCs. I’m kind of curious about it, even though I still prefer to play my battle royale games as shooters rather than MMORPGs.
Do you feel addressed by my text or do you see it differently? Then write it in the comments! And if you – like me – want to start playing Fortnite again, you will surely like our article for new Fortnite beginners. Read here if it’s worth starting in the colorful battle royale Fortnite in 2021. Have fun!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO, the small panda monster Pam-Pam has appeared and brought along its evolution Pandagro. But how strong are they and what can this duo do?
This is Pam-Pam: Pam-Pam was introduced during the Xerneas event and can currently be found in level-1 raids. Starting from the beginning of the Yveltal event, it will be available in 12-kilometer eggs.
It is from the sixth generation of the main series and is a Fighting-type Pokémon. Pam-Pam itself, as can be anticipated, is not really helpful in raids, gyms, or PvP. But what about its evolution?
This is Pandagro: You can get Pandagro through the special evolution of Pam-Pam, where you select it as your buddy and then need to catch several Dark-type monsters. Once you’ve done that, a much larger panda awaits you – and it brings a small type change. Compared to Pam-Pam, Pandagro gains the Dark type along with its Fighting type.
Pam-Pam evolves into Pandagro – what can it do?
How strong is Pandagro in Pokémon GO
These are Pandagro’s stats: Pandagro can reach an attack value of 226, which is similar to the values of monsters like Brockoloss, Togekiss, or Melmetal. Its defense value of 146 is comparable to monster values like Mamutel or Fasasnob. Its HP value can reach a maximum of 216, which is on par with monsters like Kokowei, Morlord, and Mewtu. It can reach up to 3281 CP.
As mentioned, Pandagro has the Fighting and Dark types, which is an interesting combination. It has resistances against Dark-type monsters as well as Ghost, Psychic, and Rock. However, it struggles particularly against Fairy-types, as well as Fighting and Flying monsters.
Overall, it is rather an average Pokémon. You can use Pandagro in gym or raid battles as an attacker that can take some hits, but it is generally overshadowed by the best attackers in Pokémon GO.
However, Pandagro is somewhat more interesting in the PvP league.
How good is Pandagro in PvP? Based on the simulation-based rankings from PvPoke, it can be determined that Pandagro fills a similar niche to Irokex, which also comes with Dark and Fighting types.
In the Super and Hyper League, Irokex may also be the better choice. It ranks 13th and 38th in the PvP ranking, while Pangoro lands at 174 and 98 (via PvPoke).
While Irokex is a good option in the Super and Hyper League, it cannot hold its ground in the Master League due to its low CP. And this is where Pandagro comes in.
In the Master League, Pandagro can impress with a moveset consisting of the fast move Body Slam and the charge moves Close Combat and Night Slash. These moves are all boosted due to Pandagro’s types and can deal significant damage to some of the most popular monsters in the Master League.
Among others, it defeats the strong Steel-types Dialga and Metagross, as well as achieving victories against the Giratina forms and Snorlax – all monsters that would typically rank above Pandagro in the PvP rankings. Overall, Pandagro reaches 53rd place in the Master League PvP ranking. While it may not be among the absolute top monsters, it can be a surprising obstacle for your opponents.
In conclusion, Pandagro is indeed an interesting monster for PvP – especially in the Master League.
Pam-Pam is not the only Pokémon that recently came with a special type of evolution in Pokémon GO. For example, Parfi appeared, which requires a bit of extra effort to develop – but there is a trick to evolve Parfi into Parfinesse.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Chinese MMORPG Swords of Legends Online is set to release soon. Developer Gameforge now provides insights into the dungeons in the form of new gameplay and screenshots. MeinMMO shows you what to expect.
What kind of game is this? Swords of Legends is a Chinese MMORPG that was initially released in 2019. It is now coming to Europe. The game emphasizes story and quests, which are heavily based on Chinese mythology and folklore.
There are dungeons, raids, various PvP content, and housing.
Gameplay footage from the game’s dungeons has now been released, coming from the alpha version. The gameplay provides insight into the atmosphere and the battles that await you. There are also some screenshots.
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This is what the gameplay shows: In the video from MMORPG.com, you can see the dungeon “Raging River Ruins” at the highest difficulty level. Players fight through groups of enemies, delving deeper into a dark ruin. Effects race across the screen.
The whole experience is reminiscent of classic MMORPGs. There are buffs, debuffs, area attacks, and the enemies seem to withstand quite a bit. Especially against bosses, it can take minutes before they finally go down.
There are several stages, each with a miniboss, before you face the final boss of the dungeon at the end. For each boss you defeat, there are rewards in the form of gear.
In another video from developer Gameforge (via YouTube.com), the dungeon “Nightmare Temple of Mercy” is shown, which proceeds in a very similar fashion.
Apparently, each dungeon is divided into three stages.
The first two have a miniboss each.
In the third stage, the final boss of the dungeon awaits.
On the official website, developer Gameforge has also released a PvE trailer for the dungeons:
https://youtu.be/k_VR7JLvFH0
Swords of Legends Introduces 5 Dungeons
These dungeons are currently known: On the official website, the developers have also published some details and descriptions of the dungeons (via gameforge.com).
In total, 5 dungeons are presented there:
Yemo City in Wuzhao
Nightmare Temple of Mercy
Frostbitten Path
Chou Prison
Raging River Ruins
Each dungeon differs primarily in appearance and enemy types and has its own background story.
When do Alpha and Beta start? The alpha has been running since May 14. However, to play it, players need keys, which are hardly obtainable for “normal” players.
The first beta runs from May 21 to May 25. All players who possess a key, which has been given away by Gameforge and some content creators, can participate. Additionally, anyone who has pre-ordered Swords of Legends is also eligible.
A player of the new The Division game Heartland has broken his silence. He shows over 20 minutes of gameplay, and what can be seen resembles the new PvEvP survival Scavengers, but with two game modes.
What does the leak show? Actually, Heartland is still in closed alpha. Only a few players have access, and it is under strict NDA, meaning confidentiality. Nevertheless, gameplay has surfaced (via Vimeo).
It shows how an SHD agent fights through the small American town of Silver Creek and tries to escape. The gameplay showcases both the tutorial and the player hub with Battle Pass, some options, and a full round in the PvE mode “Expedition.”
The graphics and general gameplay primarily resemble The Division 2. The player frequently takes cover, and loot and weapons seem to be taken from the cover shooter.
What is Heartland about? The air of Silver Creek is contaminated, and there are scavengers everywhere who are hostile to the agents. As a player, you must escape from there. There are two game modes:
Expedition: Pure co-op PvE with teams of one to three players
Storm: A PvEvP game mode with 45 players (15 teams of 3 players)
The lead game designer Tayler Epperly already talks about the two modes in a previous, smaller leak. The descriptions and gameplay strongly resemble the new survival PvEvP game Scavengers.
What is similar? Some mechanics from Heartland may seem familiar to you if you have played Scavengers before. It’s not just about the PvEvP aspect, which isn’t seen in the leak yet, but more about some of the features:
Crafting: In both games, you can craft items, and in Scavengers even during rounds. How Heartland implements this is still not shown
Classes: “Assignments” in Heartland and “Explorer” in Scavengers are classes with unique abilities and perks that can be leveled up
Preparation: Before a match, you can choose a variety of items to take with you or craft during the round
Survival: In Heartland, your “filter” runs low, which filters the virus from the air. If it runs out, you take damage. Scavengers has a similar mechanic with cold
Storm: The “Storm” mode apparently has a shrinking circle or a virus cloud, like in a Battle Royale. In Scavengers, this is a snowstorm
Scavengers offers different characters, while Heartland only offers “Assignments” – both are a kind of character class.
In Heartland, you will also be able to loot properly, similar to Outriders, for example. You can take the loot back to your base and equip it as loadout, although this feature has not been elaborated on.
Keep in mind that this is an early alpha of the game. A lot can still change, and it is not certain that everything will remain the same. You can learn more about Scavengers in our preview article: Scavengers is the Fortnite for older people – Slow and strategic
When is the release of Heartland? Heartland is set to release in late 2021 or early 2022. A specific release date has not yet been announced. However, it is now apparently clear that it is a shooter and not a collectible card game.
If you want to participate in the tests, you can find the registration form on the official Ubisoft page. The leak states that earned content from the Battle Pass will be carried over to all tests and even to release.
Participants in the tests are said to receive an exclusive “Alpha Dog” skin for their backpack. However, little is known about cosmetics and other similar features. You can learn more about the new part of The Division in our special:
From May 10 to May 16, players could experience the new MMORPGs Elyon, PSO 2 New Genesis, and Bless Unleashed for the first time. New World also showcased gameplay from the dungeons. We at MeinMMO summarize all the important news of the week.
Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis started its first beta. The new version is receiving positive feedback in early threads on reddit, particularly praising the combat system and improved movement (via reddit).
Bless Unleashed launched its final beta before the release on PC. If you want to learn more about the game, here is a report on our experience with the first beta: Here’s how the new MMORPG Bless Unleashed plays on PC.
Blade & Soul received the update 12.1, which brought a new dungeon, new events, and rewards (via Blade & Soul).
SoulWorker, a Korean MMORPG, was recently taken off Steam by its publisher. Now the Korean developer Lion Games has released it themselves (via MassivelyOP).
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has started a discussion about alpha 1 and revealed initial information about it (via MassivelyOP).
These were the news of the week from the world of MMORPGs at a glance. What was your personal highlight? Did you experience anything 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 mid-April, the PS5 beta of Final Fantasy XIV. Now the chief of the MMORPG, Naoki Yoshida, has announced the release date for the PS5 version, and it will be released in May.
When is the release? The PS5 version of FFXIV will be released on May 25, so in less than two weeks. It offers graphical as well as performance updates such as:
Faster loading times
4K resolution
More FPS, although there will still be drops in areas with a lot of players
A revamped interface with sharp textures
3D audio
At the launch of the PS5 beta on April 13, Yoshida announced that the duration of the beta test had not yet been determined. They would test until all issues were resolved and they were ready for launch.
Since then, the feedback on the beta has been mostly positive. Colleagues from mmorpg.com wrote that the beta plays “like a dream” (via mmorpg.com). The test went so smoothly that the PS5 version is already ready for release after just over a month.
Screenshots of the PS5 version of FFXIV
This is what PS4 players get: For owners of the PS4 version of FFXIV, there is good news. If they were lucky enough to get their hands on a PS5, they can upgrade their PS4 version of the game for free.
What’s coming in the future: In an interview, the Lead Project Manager of FFXIV, Shoichi Matsuzawa, explained that the PS5 version is the first step in a series of graphical upgrades (via PlayStation Blog). In the future, the graphics of the MMORPG will be gradually polished.
Especially the in-game textures, which in FFXIV do not look very pretty due to their age, are to be improved. Matsuzawa did not specify when exactly further graphical updates would be released.
The PS5 version comes with patch 5.55
What else is happening on May 25? In addition to the release of the PS5 version, patch 5.55 of FFXIV will also be released on May 25. It will bring new quests that continue the story of the MMORPG and transition from the current addon Shadowbringers to the upcoming one called Endwalker. Players can expect a juicy cliffhanger.
New boss battles on the Bozjan front
Additionally, the final part of the quest line about the Queen’s weapons will be released. At the Bozja front, the area of Zadnor, which is located on the border with the Kingdom of Dalmasca, will be accessible. There, players will be able to level up their rank and raise it to 25.
There will also be new boss battles, and of course, the quest line that will reward you with the highest tier of the Queen’s weapons. You will need to work for your first fully upgraded weapon, but upgrades for further weapons will be easier, according to director Naoki Yoshida.
More info about FFXIV on MeinMMO can be found here:
What happens next? After patch 5.55 concludes Shadowbringers, there will be half a year until the release of the next addon Endwalker on November 23. FFXIV has released a schedule with events for these months:
June to July – Patch 5.57
July – the Gold Saucer event
July to August – Patch 5.58
August – Firemoon Dance event and the anniversary event
September – The coop event with FFXV returns
September or October – The press tour with new info about the Endwalker addon
November 19 – Early access to the Endwalker addon for pre-orders
November 23 – Release of Endwalker
So there is plenty of time to get into FFXIV before the new addon:
In Pokémon GO there are many opportunities to spend money. In our survey we want to know anonymously from you how many euros you have already invested. Vote now!
What is this about? Since the release of Pokémon GO, new ways have continually come into play to buy content for real money. This can include tickets for real-world events like the GO Fest or items like raid passes that you can buy in the in-game shop.
Almost 5 years after the release of Pokémon GO, we want to know from you how much money you have spent on the game during this time. And whether you are satisfied with it.
How many euros have you spent on Pokémon GO?
We are embedding the survey here, where you can cast exactly one vote. Since there is no way in Pokémon GO to check exactly how much money you have spent, a rough estimate is sufficient here.
We roughly categorize here in the different money categories. From our Facebook group on Pokémon GO, we know that some players among you are very strict and do not spend any money on the app.
Others earn a little money for the Play Store with survey apps, which they then exchange for PokéCoins.
Some buy tickets for real-world events like safari zones or the GO Fest.
Vote here anonymously on how much money you have roughly spent on Pokémon GO so far. This includes purchases of coins as well as event tickets. Gas for the car you drive to the gyms does not count. Only items that are directly related to Pokémon GO.
If you want, feel free to write to us in the comments how much money that has been for you and what kind of items you spend money on in Pokémon GO. On the other hand, we would also like to know why you do not spend any money on Pokémon GO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In FIFA 21 the TOTS is in full swing. At the same time, prices on the transfer market for many cards are dropping. So much so that some top players are now really cheap.
What’s going on? In FIFA 21, the Team of the Season is regularly bringing extremely strong new cards into the game. Every week, special cards with very high values are released and can therefore be quite expensive.
However, the transfer market also still features older cards from top players that are becoming cheaper. With some of these players, you can still improve your team – or at least use them in an SBC. That’s why we are looking at some top players who have become really affordable.
Virgil van Dijk (Gold)
Price: approx. 55,000 coins
Virgil van Dijk is one of the best center-backs in the world and also one of the highest-rated cards in FIFA 21. At its peak, his card was worth a full 540,000 coins, but it has been steadily decreasing over the past months. Currently, there are some cards that have surpassed the golden van Dijk – but the Liverpool defender is still a strong center-back.
Mohamed Salah (Gold)
Price: approx. 60,000 coins
Salah’s highest price was around 400,000 and now has only a fraction of that amount. This may appeal to many players who could use a dribbling winger on the right side. Salah’s gold card impresses with pace, finishing, and dribbling. Although he does not have 5-star skills, he can still maneuver into dangerous situations and finish successfully with his 4 stars combined with quick runs.
Joshua Kimmich (TOTGS)
Price: approx. 58,000 coins
With his performance in the Champions League, Kimmich earned a Team-of-the-Group-Stage card, which previously cost just over 250,000 coins. Today, it is available for about 60,000 coins, but it still impresses as a strong card in midfield. Kimmich can make an impact defensively and offensively.
Sadio Mané (Gold)
Price: approx. 55,000 coins
With Inform, Freeze, and TOTY nominations, Mané has created significant competition for himself through various special cards. However, the normal gold card still has the deadly combination of pace, finishing, and dribbling that defines Mané. It is now available for 55,000 coins – compared to the 500,000 coins he cost at the beginning of the game, it’s a real bargain.
Kevin de Bruyne (Gold)
Price: approx. 65,000
Kevin De Bruyne even has a 91 overall rating, primarily due to his fantastic playmaking skills in midfield. De Bruyne is the perfect playmaker and can also look for goal with significant power if needed. While the Belgian initially cost nearly 400,000 coins, he is now only around the 60,000 coin mark.
Robert Lewandowski (Inform)
Price: approx. 90,000
Robert Lewandowski is delivering one of the strongest Bundesliga performances in real life right now, which is why he has collected several special cards throughout FIFA 21. One of them – his first Inform card – has just dropped below 100,000. The goal-scoring striker is nearly a guarantee to score when he gets a touch in the box. For those looking to spend less, they should look for Lewandowski’s gold card.
Ilkay Gündogan (TOTS)
Price: approx. 77,500 coins
The impact of the current TOTS cards on the transfer market is evident as even TOTS cards come with prices that were hardly conceivable a few weeks ago. One example: Ilkay Gündogan, who received a really strong TOTS card. The ManCity midfielder has everything you could need in the center. The price: just 88,000 coins.
Michael Laudrup (91)
Price: approx. 81,000
Michael Laudrup represents another group of cards that actually had a rather stable price: icons. However, many legends are also dropping in price nowadays. Laudrup’s prime icon card has now reached 83,000 coins. The values of the CAM are quite usable, and like all other icons, he has the unique ability to link with all teammates.
Of course, other icons could fit your team or playstyle even better. The Icon Swaps 3 are perfect for that – there you can earn some really good icons.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO a big challenge has started, and you should definitely participate. The bonuses you can unlock are really worth it for you.
What kind of challenge is this? In a few days, the big “Illuminating Legends Y” event starts with Yveltal and Team GO Rocket. During the event, you will encounter Yveltal for the first time, Pam-Pam will hatch from strange eggs, and some Dark-type Pokémon will invade the wilderness. But Team GO Rocket is also involved, and quietly a challenge started on May 15.
From now on, you have one week to battle as many grunts as possible. If you succeed, you will receive a significant XP bonus, a Shiny, and an addition in Level 1 raids.
Defeat Rocket Grunts and earn 3x XP
This is the task: The challenge has been running since midnight on May 15 for all trainers worldwide. Together, 25 million Rocket Grunts must be defeated. You have until May 24 at 01:59 to achieve this.
These are the rewards: If you reach the goal, the following rewards will be unlocked for you starting Tuesday, May 25:
Until the end of the “Illuminating Legends Y” event, you will receive three times the catch experience points
Until the end of the “Illuminating Legends Y” event, you will encounter Galar Zigzagoon in Level 1 raids
You have the chance to encounter Shiny Galar Zigzagoon. This bonus will also remain after the event ends
The “Illuminating Legends Y” event ends on Monday, May 31, 2021, at 8:00 PM local time.
Here you see the shiny Galar family of Zigzagoon with Geradaks and Barrikadax
What else is happening? On May 18, the event officially starts with Yveltal and brings Dark-type Pokémon like Hunduster or Kanivanha into the wilderness. There will also be a limited research task with Team GO Rocket that rewards you with Galar Zigzagoon. During the event, you can use a Charge TM to make Shadow Pokémon forget the move “Frustration”.
Starting from May 25, the second half of the event begins, which introduces the new Eevee evolution “Feelinara” into the game. Eevee and its evolutions will be the focus of the event during this time.
This is known: There was already a similar global challenge during the “Illuminating Legends X” event with Xerneas. You were challenged to catch 500 million Fairy-type Pokémon. However, the progress was not displayed in the game. Niantic explained on Twitter that updates on the current status would be communicated via tweet (via twitter.com).
It is reasonable to assume that the interim results of the Rocket Challenge will also be announced through Pokémon GO’s Twitter channel.
How do you like the challenge with the Rocket Grunts? Is this finally a reason to battle them again, or do you regularly fight against them and take on every battle?
A trainer showed his idea of how he would tackle the monotony of the Rocket battles. He shared his brilliant Squirtle idea with the Pokémon GO community and is being celebrated for it.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At the start of the new Season 14, many are annoyed by Stasis in PvP from Destiny 2 and are demanding further adjustments. Now a sandbox manager from Bungie has spoken out.
This is the current situation in PvP: The Stasis is a problem for many in PvP, which is nothing new and has been pretty much known to everyone since the introduction of the element. And even though Stasis has already been nerfed multiple times and was nerfed again at the beginning of the new season: The Crucible remains unplayable for many Guardians – whether they are casual or hardcore players – due to the icy powers.
In short: PvP has received very little to no love for years and Stasis takes away the last bit of fun for many. It has even gone so far that shortly after the launch of the season of the splicer, #NerfStasis trended on Twitter. Calls for further balance adjustments or even Stasis-free modes and playlists are growing louder again.
What is Stasis actually? Stasis is a relatively new damage type introduced with Destiny 2: Beyond Light and is present as both a focus for Guardian powers and as a damage type on a few weapons in the game. It embodies ice and frost. You gain these icy powers after completing the campaign of the Beyond Light expansion and mastering some additional tasks. Afterwards, you can unlock additional specializations of this power and tailor Stasis to your playstyle.
What is so bad about Stasis? Many players generally enjoy the PvP of Destiny 2, but Stasis is simply game-breaking. The Twitter user @Menakkee sums it up well for the prevailing sentiment: Getting frozen in PvP every 30 seconds just isn’t fun for most.
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For some time, you’re either significantly slowed down or completely immobilized, unable to defend yourself or counter in any way. Using Stasis requires little to no skill, according to the criticism. Therefore, Stasis is virtually omnipresent in PvP, as it is still vastly superior to all other older focuses in terms of effectiveness and customization variety.
Work on Stasis continues – Your weapons should matter more
What does Bungie actually say about the whole thing?
Where do the sources come from? The studio has noticed the whole discussion and the renewed flare-up at the start of the season. A developer responsible for the sandbox, the Sandbox Discipline Lead Kevin Yanes, has now spoken out – someone who is basically right at the source.
This is what Bungie says about Stasis: Yanes said that he can’t say much yet, but Bungie is actively working on adjustments for the controversial element. The studio knows that Stasis is “too hot” and needs to be significantly toned down.
The next few balance updates are intended to shift the focus in PvP more and more [from abilities] towards weapons. More information will come.
Why this statement is important: Well, while Yanes might not say much, he does say something very important. One of the main criticisms of PvP for some time has been the excessive focus on abilities and that the use of weapons has, in the eyes of many players, too little impact on gameplay.
This is apparently something Bungie wants to change – even if they are not yet specific about how it should look in detail. But generally, Bungie’s plan seems to be: The focus is shifting from abilities towards gunplay.
What do you think about this announcement? Do you also wish for a stronger focus on weapons over abilities in the Crucible? And what are your current thoughts on Stasis? Do you think it also needs further nerfs, or should this element perhaps be completely removed from PvP (or at least from some modes)? Let us know in the comments section, along with other readers from MeinMMO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Armored vehicles can often save your life in GTA Online. But which ones should you buy and for what situations are they suitable? MeinMMO presents the 5 best armored vehicles.
What are armored vehicles? These are cars that you can upgrade for combat situations, better protecting you and your vehicles from enemy attacks.
For this purpose, armor plating and bulletproof windows can be installed in the vehicles. However, this comes at the expense of speed. Armored vehicles are therefore not found on our list of the fastest cars.
What you should watch out for: Before acquiring one, you should consider that there is no “perfect” armored vehicle. Some offer strong protection against explosions, such as from rocket launchers. However, these have limitations when it comes to protection against firearms.
Others, on the other hand, are better protected against gunfire from weapons like assault rifles, while they can withstand little to no rocket hits.
We will show you the strongest armored vehicles and also give you tips on which of these vehicles excels in what situation. Keep in mind that there is no one “best” vehicle that fulfills all characteristics. Each vehicle has its own advantages and is suitable for different situations. Therefore, the ranking from 5 to 1 can be seen differently by each player, as the cars differ according to their intended use.
These are the key features: The Paragon R stands out with its twin machine guns, primarily due to its armament. Additionally, it is one of the fastest armored vehicles and overall solidly armored.
However, it does not provide comprehensive protection against explosions or gunfire. It will explode after 2 explosive attacks, and gunfire can break through the protective glass after a certain number of hits.
How to obtain the car? You need to complete all six Casino Heist missions as a host. Here you can find our guide to GTA Online: Casino Heist Guide – How to get rich
Pro
One of the fastest armored vehicles
Heavily armed
Free if you complete the 6 heist missions
Contra
Only 2 seats
Little resistance to explosions
4. Insurgent Pick-Up Custom
Price: 202,500 GTA$ as an upgrade at the Mobile Operations Center
Shop: Warstock Cache & Carry
Vehicle class: Off-Road
Vehicle type: Military/Civilian vehicle with armor
Seats: 9
These are the key features: The Insurgent is an especially thickly armored vehicle. Its greatest strength is its resistance to explosions and seating capacity.
It can withstand up to 11 shots from a rocket launcher when no player is in the vehicle. With passengers, the Insurgent can withstand significantly more shots.
However, players must make compromises when it comes to protection against firearms. The Insurgent cannot be upgraded with bulletproof glass.
In firefights, the vehicle is therefore only conditionally suitable, but it can defend itself in case of doubt with a minigun or turret. If you also want to transport many people, it is a good choice. With up to 9 seats, the vehicle offers plenty of room.
You need to upgrade the standard version in a Mobile Operations Center for the vehicle. The standard model, the Insurgent, costs 897,750 GTA$. However, if you complete the Humane Labs Heist, you will receive a discount and only have to pay 675,000 GTA$. Nevertheless, the investment is worth it: For these reasons, the Insurgent should not be missing from any garage in GTA Online.
Pro
High explosion resistance
Lots of room for your team
Can also be reinforced in terms of weapons with the pick-up version.
These are the key features: The Duke O’Death is particularly well armored against explosions. It can take up to 5 explosive hits before blowing up.
Additionally, it is quite fast. Although it has no armament, you can fire your weapons out of the window while driving. Overall, it is a robust car and reasonably priced. Returnees even have the option to get the car for free.
The Duke O’Death was part of the “Cunning Stunts” update for GTA Online, which introduced a crazy stunt mode to the game. This allows players to build all sorts of crazy tracks and test their driving skills.
How do you get the car for free? Anyone switching from an old console (Xbox 360, PS3) to PS4 and Xbox One gets the vehicle for free. All others must purchase the Duke O’Death in the shop.
Pro
Well armored
Among the fastest armored cars
Relatively inexpensive
Contra
No armament
Only 2 seats
2. HVY Nightshark
This is what the Nightshark looks like.
Price: 1,245,000 GTA$
Shop: Warstock Cache & Carry
Vehicle class: Off-Road
Vehicle type: Civilian vehicle
Seats: 4
These are the key features: The Nightshark is the fastest among the larger heavy armored vehicles. Although its armor is not as effective as the Insurgent’s, the Nightshark’s higher speed makes it more versatile.
You can find a direct comparison of armored off-road vehicles on YouTube in the video by Onespot Gaming (via YouTube.com). In time trials, the Nightshark is significantly faster than other armored vehicles like the Insurgent, Insurgent Pick Up Custom, Menacer, Nightshark, Barrage, and the Zhaba.
As with all heavy armored vehicles, the Nightshark lacks protection against firearms as the windows cannot withstand any hits. Otherwise, it is a fast and very robust SUV.
Additionally, it has stylish machine guns under the hood. Unfortunately, their damage is rather limited. Overall, you can’t go wrong with the Nightshark.
These are the key features: The Kuruma has long been one of the most popular armored cars in GTA Online. Although cars like the Paragon R or Duke O’Death can reach higher speeds, the Kuruma’s speed is sufficient.
Its decisive advantage is its nearly bulletproof armor, and the windows are almost completely sealed. However, the vehicle cannot withstand an explosion attack.
For heists, the Kuruma is ideal, as NPCs primarily attack you with firearms. With four seats, you can take colleagues along, and the armor also protects beginners from an early demise.
Pro
Fast
Almost bulletproof
Ideal for heists and other missions where vehicle battles with NPCs occur
Contra
No resistance against explosions
Ultimately, the choice also depends on your preferences and the purpose for which you need the vehicle.
Heavy SUVs like the Insurgent or Nightshark are particularly practical in open gameplay, as their explosion resistance can protect against rocket launchers from other players.
But they are also very helpful in heists, especially if you need more seats and want to keep your team together.
After the outcry from the community about the in-game shop in the MMO New World, the team is now speaking plainly. They address fans’ questions, explain what can be bought in the shop, and that they are considering a Battle Pass.
What’s going on with New World? A few days ago, a screenshot from the alpha forum was shared on Reddit despite the NDA. It shows how Amazon introduces the in-game shop of their MMO New World for the first time. Items like boosters for crafting and experience points quickly raised concerns among fans that it could be pay-to-win.
Shortly afterward, Amazon alleviated concerns regarding pay-to-win allegations. A few hours later, they wrote a text that addresses further open questions from fans and reveals the planned future of the shop model for New World.
Only cosmetics in the shop at launch, but more later
The team writes: On Twitter, the New World account published a message to the community, signed by Studio Director Rich Lawrence (via twitter.com). Initially, they clarify: The store of New World will offer players items that they consider fair and for which they would like to spend money.
At the same time, the team emphasizes that the items in the store should “never” feel like they are necessary for enjoying the game. “All players will have the opportunity to experience the full game without having to make purchases in the shop.”
Furthermore, they state:
At launch, the items in the shop will be exclusively cosmetic
In the alpha, the items in the shop and their value will be tested
The costs for shop items in the alpha are not final
Testers can provide feedback on each offered item in the alpha
What will the shop offer after launch?
This is still being tested: In the future, they want to offer “Quality of Life” items for mechanics like “Rested XP” and “Fast Travel”. These are planned to be available in the game and also purchasable in the store. When these items will be released depends on how players progress in the months following the launch, the team writes.
Our goal with all types of items is that they do not provide advantages that cause poor balance in the game. We understand that this is a matter of player interpretation. Therefore, we ask for your patience as we test in the alpha and listen to your feedback.
This is currently known: At the end of the letter to the community, it discusses a feature that is still being discussed. A Battle Pass. This should be valuable to players but not disrupt others who do not use it.
“To make plans for the future transparent, we are also considering a ‘Battle Pass’-like program that would periodically combine items from the shop. This will also be tested in advance to ensure it provides high value without disrupting gameplay for those who do not participate. There is also the possibility of optional expansions that would have a separate price.”
Why is Amazon now presenting the shop system so openly?
This is the story behind it: After a leak of the alpha shop reached the community on May 13 and players read about “boosters”, concerns about pay-to-win arose. Because Amazon’s New World is a buy-to-play MMO that had not yet commented on its shop.
After the first glimpse of the shop, players feared that such crafting boosters could be purchased right at launch. Which would allow players who invest more money to progress faster in crafting professions and sell crafted armor at high levels for high prices. The Pay2Win allegations were quickly denied by the developers of New World.
In response to these fears, New World emphasized in their new statement on Twitter that the purchasable items that players find in the shop at the start of the game are only cosmetic. So, boosters are not.
How do you like the insight into the plans of the New World shop? Would you like a Battle Pass system in the game, and if so, what should it look like? Please share your opinion here in the comments on MeinMMO.
