8-year-old Bryson Kliemann loves collecting Pokémon cards. He also has a little puppy that he cares for very much. However, when the dog fell ill with a deadly disease, the boy had no choice but to sell his cards to pay for the expensive treatment for the puppy. But things turned out better than expected.
What happened? The boy Bryson Kliemann from West Virginia has a loyal dog named Bruce. Although the 8-year-old boy has two older siblings, they only play together and not with him. Therefore, the dog is his only constant playmate. Besides the dog, Bryson also enjoys his steadily growing collection of Pokémon cards.
But then Bruce suddenly got sick, and the dreaded parvovirus (via Wikipedia) was diagnosed in the dog. This disease is especially dangerous for puppies and often leads to death.
Treatment is, however, possible but very expensive. The treatment to save the dog would cost around 700 US dollars. Bryson did not have that much money, and his family could not raise that sum either.
The title image of this article comes from the US news site Wcyb.
Boy Sells Pokémon Cards Out of Necessity, but the Community Supports Him
What did the boy do? In his time of need, Bryson remembered that Pokémon cards have experienced an absurd increase in value since 2020. There have been cases where cards and even unpackaged displays went for absurd prices:
Therefore, Bryson reluctantly decided to part with his cards to enable the life-saving treatment for his dog.
I know everyone likes Pokémon cards, so I decided to sell them.
The boy then set up an improvised stand by the roadside. A sign reading “Pokémon 4Sale” was meant to attract potential customers, while the boy stoically waited and managed to sell a few cards.
Mother Sets Up Online Campaign: Bryson’s mother decided to help her son and spread the word online. This led to a GoFundMe campaign, where only 800 US dollars were actually requested. In the end, more than double that amount was raised, and over 1,800 dollars ended up in the pot. With this, Bryson was able to save his beloved puppy, and there was still enough money left for further vaccinations and treatments for the dog.
Furthermore, the boy now does not have to sell all his cards. He now has both cards and the dog and can enjoy both. That selling valuable cards can also go horribly wrong is shown by another example. There, someone sent a valuable Pokémon card worth 60,000 dollars and the card then disappeared into the package limbo during shipping!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Only 6% of MeinMMO readers remain in World of Warcraft Classic. The rest are moving on or at least want to experience Outland as well.
For players of World of Warcraft Classic, a consequential decision is coming soon: They must weigh whether to transfer their character to an eternal Classic Era realm or continue into the Outland of Burning Crusade Classic. There is also the option to clone the character and play in both versions: an offer, the costs of which Blizzard has now drastically reduced, after there was much negative criticism of the price of $35.
However, in our survey it became clear: So many of you don’t want to play Classic anymore or at least want to juggle both.
The result of our Classic-BC survey. Status: 14.05.2021, 10:30 AM.
55% completely switch to Burning Crusade Classic
Of the over 2,100 participants in the survey, more than half decided to transition all characters exclusively to the era of Burning Crusade Classic. This seems to offer the greatest appeal for most players. After two years of Classic, the old game seems exhausted, and the new in the form of Burning Crusade is enticing.
However, it should be noted that back at the launch of Classic, many players said they hoped to be able to play Burning Crusade again on an official realm someday. That these players are now having their wish fulfilled and are therefore moving on immediately is not surprising.
Many are already greedily glancing at Burning Crusade – the allure is great.
The second largest group in our survey stated that they no longer play WoW Classic at all – and thus probably won’t start again anytime soon. 27% of you (577 votes) have turned their backs on WoW Classic. However, there was someone in the comments who explained that they are only taking a temporary break – they want to return only with WotLK Classic.
We had already analyzed why players stopped with WoW Classic in more detail in a previous survey.
12% of players want to take advantage of the new character copy and have a foothold in both WoW Classic and Burning Crusade. These players enjoy both the original version of World of Warcraft (with minor improvements from Classic), while also wanting to dive into Outland again.
A minority is solely tied to WoW Classic
The smallest group of players in our survey wants to dedicate themselves completely to a Classic realm. Only 122 votes were cast for this option – that is just under 6% and thus a clear minority. Even if you exclude the group of players who no longer play and only consider the still-active players, this number rises to just over 7%.
More about WoW and Burning Crusade Classic can be found here:
Most of you are either switching to Burning Crusade Classic or have already stopped. Only a small group wants to juggle both games and an even smaller group wants to focus entirely on Classic.
How this result and the change in mindset of many players comes about can likely only be answered individually. There can be many reasons for this, such as:
One wanted to experience Classic live only once, as they were not there back then.
Classic did not turn out to be the experience many players hoped for.
Classic was a nice game, but it could only captivate for a while.
However, it seems clear that the group of Classic enthusiasts who want to stay in Classic forever – at least among our readers – is only a small group.
Can you tell us why WoW Classic no longer appeals to you – or why you belong to the few who remain devoted to the game?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Streamers Jeff Leach and NitroLukeDX have both lost their partnership with Facebook Gaming. They accused each other and threw dirt so much that the conflict escalated. The two streamers are associated with Call of Duty.
These are the two streamers:
Jeff Leach is a comedian and streamer. He is also a voice actor for the “Call of Duty” series and voiced “Ghost”. He showcases games like Hood or Call of Duty: Warzone on Facebook (31,600 likes).
Luke “NitroLukeDX” Pickering is also a streamer on Facebook (273,700 likes). There, he showcases games like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. He also runs a YouTube channel for kids where he plays Minecraft.
The two had collaborated in 2020, but then a dispute arose. Leach accused NitroLukeDX of collecting donations and not forwarding the money to the charities. NitroLukeDX then had a legal notice sent to him, and the matter apparently escalated from there.
Mutual Accusations in Public
This is how the dispute unfolded: NitroLukeDX publicly accused Leach on Twitter on May 7 of making sexist statements. He also tagged “Activision Blizzard,” one of Leach’s employers.
He shared a montage of many statements from Leach, in which he spoke negatively and sexistly about women. This triggered a backlash.
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Leach responded by saying that these statements were taken out of context. Leach also shot back and shared a tweet from a streamer showing a clip of NitroLukeDX making fun of the mother of one of his viewers. He hinted that he had slept with the mother.
This tweet also tagged Facebook Gaming, an important source of income for NitroLukeDX (via twitter).
Facebook Gaming Kicks Both from the Partner Program
This is the outcome now: The result is not pleasant for both.
Leach has lost his job at Activision Blizzard as a voice actor. Additionally, three major sponsors have severed ties with him.
Facebook has also responded. In a statement, they said:
We expect Facebook Gaming partners to be role models for good behavior. Effective immediately, we have terminated our contract with Jeff Leach and revoked his partner status with Facebook Gaming. We have done the same with NitroLukeDX, based on his behavior in previous streams.
Facebook Gaming
The case of the two streamers is reminiscent of the current controversy surrounding former national football player Dennis Aogo. He had published an SMS message from his colleague at Sky, Jens Lehmann, in which he called him a “quota Black.” Shortly thereafter, Aogo himself got into trouble for using the term “gas chamber.”
Recent discussions about sexism have repeatedly heated the debate in gaming:
Dataminers have found a regional catch challenge in the code of Pokémon GO. Now there is hope that you will soon be able to catch more regional Pokémon in your area, even those that should not be there.
This is new: In the code of Pokémon GO, there are a few new texts that suggest changes. The “Regional Catch Challenge” particularly stands out. Trainers speculate that Niantic is planning to launch a new event with regional Pokémon.
We will show you here on MeinMMO what is known about the regional event and what else has been found in the code.
Regional Event in Pokémon GO?
Where does the information come from? On reddit, user martycochrane from PokeMiners wrote the post with the updates (via reddit.com). The PokeMiners have often pointed out changes in the code that were later actually integrated into the game. This dataminer group is considered trustworthy.
This was found: In the code, there is mention of a “Regional Catch Challenge” that is also intended to provide you with rewards.
Dataminers suspect that this challenge will be displayed in the “Today Overview” in the game. It is unclear how exactly the challenges will work, what tasks and rewards trainers will receive.
However, new rewards have been found in the code that may be related to the regional event.
What players suspect: In the comments, players express hope that the “Regional Catch Challenge” will provide opportunities to catch Pokémon from other regions.
“Giving us a chance to get regionals without having to travel/find someone who has traveled would be the best thing this game has ever added […],” writes Olli3popp (via reddit.com).
“It will be interesting to see this Regional Challenge. I wonder if they will introduce a regional event like they did for the regionals from Gen 1 but for Gen 2. Scyther and Kangaskhan are the only regional Pokémon that have Megas, AND Oricorio has a Galarian form. It would be interesting if they bring a regional event for Gen 2 and also include the Shinies […],” writes Flare_Blaze2 (via reddit.com)
User Maserati888 summarizes what the regional event will be for him in the best and worst case (via reddit.com):
“Worst case: Catch all the regional Pokémon from your region”
“Best/good case: Gives us a regional Pokémon that we do not yet have in the Pokédex. Or a new regional Shiny”
Clothing in Flareon style: The developers of Pokémon GO have already stated that with the release of Flareon, the new Eevee evolution, there will also be avatar clothing available in the shop. From the code, it is now known that it will likely be two headpieces, a hoodie, and shoes.
Raid logging: With this feature, you can, if you want, save data from your last raid and send it to Niantic. This could be used to locate issues.
Friends from contacts: This change will soon allow you to add friends from your phone contacts directly as friends in Pokémon GO.
In addition, there are a few smaller changes that will not have a major impact on your gaming experience.
How do you like the changes and what do you wish for from the regional event? Please share your wishes and speculation with us here on MeinMMO in the comments.
Grinding Gear Games has upset some players of the popular action RPG Path of Exile (PoE). A mouse cursor pack for 9 Euros is heating up discussions.
What has been announced? The developer studio Grinding Gear Games has introduced a new in-game item in Path of Exile. This is the mouse cursor pack. It offers you five designs for the cursor in the game, allowing you to customize your mouse pointer.
You can purchase the mouse cursor pack for 100 in-game currency points, which is equivalent to 8.80 Euros.
Here you can view the new mouse cursors:
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What is the purpose of the pack? On one hand, players can choose the cursor they like best and financially support the developers of PoE with a purchase. On the other hand, there is also a practical use. Because there are cursors included that offer enhanced contrast, making them better visible.
However, to ensure that this is not an advantage for paying customers, all players of the action RPGs find a free high-contrast mouse cursor in their accounts.
Nevertheless, it could be that one or another player prefers one of the paid mouse cursors.
How are players reacting to the pack? The mouse cursor pack has caused some criticism. We summarize a few voices from the community for you:
cosme7 explains (via reddit): “100 points is too much, GGG…”
Mobilerocks 121 provocatively asks (via reddit): “Is this a late April Fool’s joke?”
nevalopo thinks (via reddit): “Is a new interface design the next microtransaction?”
This_Mud8879 writes (via reddit): “Microtransactions for mouse cursors… That’s just ridiculous.”
Why are the reactions like this? On one hand, players find the price for a pack of new mouse cursors too high. On the other hand, some are also concerned that this might lead to the popular app Yolomouse being banned.
sentimentalwhore comments (via reddit): “And tomorrow we might get news: Half of the players have been banned for using an app called Yolomouse!”
Yolomouse allows PoE players to visually modify their mouse cursor using a free app (via DragonRise) so that it becomes more visible.
However, since Grinding Gear Games is now selling more visible mouse cursors, it is conceivable that the tool could be banned in the future – at least that’s the fear of PoE fans.
What do you think about paying extra for new mouse cursor designs in Path of Exile? Do you also fear that Yolomouse will soon be prohibited?
The Twitch streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was in 2018 the biggest content creator of the hit game Fortnite, which broke all records at that time. Now he says: In a single month he earned 5 million US dollars just with the creator code for Fortnite.
This is what Ninja says: The statement comes almost casually while he plays Fortnite:
I believe the most I have made in a month with the creator code was 5 million.
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins
After his conversation partner is taken aback by the 5 million US dollars, Ninja adds: “I’m not joking.” The other streamer says that is more than his entire family and lineage have ever earned.
It was also known that he reached an incredible number of Twitch subscribers due to the “Amazon deal” of Fortnite in one month, which brought him good money. He held the record for the most Twitch subs for 3 years, until Ludwig broke the record in 2021.
But the direct income from the “creator code” was not known. Ninja had mentioned that Epic tightly bound the streamers to Fortnite with 3 promotional actions. One of them came in February 2019: The creator code gave players a free “hearts skin” when they used the creator code. This apparently made the revenue flow.
Ninja had also often complained that he “received his own skin in Fortnite too late.” If the “Ninja skin” had come during Fortnite’s peak, he and Epic could have made much more money, Ninja repeatedly hinted.
Those who wanted the skin had to use a creator code in February 2019
This is the Fortnite creator code: Fortnite generates revenue through the cash shop. When a player spends money there, they can enter a “creator code”, and then the streamer to whom the code belongs receives 5% of the revenue. The code was introduced in October 2018.
The streamers and YouTubers have been trying for years to promote their code to the public.
This is the reaction: Everyone actually knew that Ninja made a lot of money at that time. But the exact sum is still shocking people now.
The streamer whom Ninja tells this looks completely shaken by the number. He is speechless.
Jake Lucky, who runs an e-sports channel on YouTube, says: “Mother of Lord almighty”
Some people also think: It just shows that life isn’t fair.
An expression says: The devil shits on the biggest pile. In streaming it applies: Whoever is big has opportunities to get even bigger. Ninja had another really big payday after his wedding with Fortnite:
The CoD Warzone still has a problem with cheeky cheaters. This is especially true for big streamers. However, after these reached out to the developers, the devs took swift action against the cheaters.
What happened? The well-known streamer CouRage was playing with similarly popular streaming colleagues TimTheTatman (who also recently had problems with cheaters), NICKMERCS, and Cloakzy. All these streamers are a prime target for cheaters who enjoy ruining the show for the streaming pros live.
Because no matter how well you play, you usually have little chance against aimbots, wallhacks, and other cheats. The situation eventually became so bad that CouRage, out of frustration, reached out via Twitter to the developers of Warzone and the publisher.
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Hey Activision and Raven Software. I think it would be extremely useful if someone from you could watch our livestream and ban the cheeky cheaters on the spot. There are currently two cheaters in our lobbies ruining our Warzone experience, which is being watched live by over 150,000 viewers.
Developers actually ban cheaters live – Streamers go crazy with joy
How did the situation end? At first, nothing happened, and the cheaters joyfully ruined the stream. Time and again, righteous players fell victim to the nasty cheaters, and frustration grew. Sinking the cheater in the sea – as another team did, was not an option here.
After a few rounds, it happened again: “The cheater wins again!”, was the fatalistic expression of one of the streamers, as they had to watch in annoyance and frustration how a blatant cheater was ruthlessly sweeping the lobby with his cheats.
But then the unexpected happened: Just when the cheater was at the height of his power, he suddenly disappeared, as if he had never existed. He was apparently banned live in the game!
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The assumption is that this was indeed due to CouRage’s call for help on Twitter and the streamers and their viewers went completely crazy. “They really did it! Oh my God, they did it! Let’s go!” were among the cries of joy from the streamers after their victory over the cheater.
If you want to succeed in Call of Duty: Warzone without cheats and unfair tricks, you need good skills in the game as well as an optimal loadout. Therefore, we have put together an article here on MeinMMO with 5 strong meta loadouts with weapon setups that are especially effective after the big balance update in Season 3 of Warzone. Have fun!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
If you want to travel together with your 8-member party to the next quest location, you can acquire the Moon Whale as a new mount. It is the largest mount currently available in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.
What kind of mount is this? As a reminder of the digital Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2021, you can get the Moon Whale as a new item in the online store starting today, Friday, May 14th, at 10:00 AM (via FFXIV Store).
The Moon Whale costs regularly €33. Currently, you can get it at a discount for €28.05. Thus, the whale without a discount is about €5 more than the Chocobo carriage, which is designed for “only” 4 people and costs €28.99.
The Moon Whale is the largest mount so far in the MMORPG FFXIV. It is designed for 8 players, allowing them to glide through the air on it. This makes it possible to travel in 8-player groups using only one mount. Previous mounts, whether in the cash shop or obtainable for free, were designed for a maximum of 4 players.
The characters must reach level 20 to be able to travel with the mount. The whale majestically glides through the air, can also land on water, and dive underwater. After all, it is a whale.
In response to our inquiry with Square Enix Germany, we were informed that the mount will remain at least temporarily in the Moogle Kiosk and will not be removed after the end of the Fan Festival.
In this video, you can see the gigantic Moon Whale in action:
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A Whale from Final Fantasy IV Makes its Way into the MMORPG
Where does the mount come from? The Moon Whale was actually introduced in Final Fantasy IV, which was released in 1991. There, it is the ultimate airship from the city of Mysidia. The whale is the largest means of transport in FFIV, but it moves slower than the others.
The Moon Whale was designed by the Lunarian Kluya to travel between the Earth and the Red Moon.
With the Moon Whale, Final Fantasy XIV creates a connection to Final Fantasy IV. You use a similar mount and off you go to the moon.
This is even reflected in the companions that are now also available as a reminder of the digital Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2021. Rydia, Edge, and Rosa also come from FFIV.
In Destiny 2, the exotic Sleeper Simulant deals much less damage than it should. Bungie now states whether a bug is to blame or if the exotic did not receive the promised buff from Season 14.
Players were looking forward to: The exotic linear fusion rifle Sleeper Simulant is a powerhouse known since Destiny 1. After a short charge time, the futuristic weapon fires a devastating laser beam that pierces targets and can ricochet for multiple hits.
Bungie has nerfed the exotic several times over the years, relegating Sleeper Simulant to the bench.
In the recently launched Season 14, linear fusion rifles received a significant damage buff (+15%) and increased ammo reserves (+20%).
Therefore, for many, it was clear that Rasputin’s aesthetically pleasing favorite weapon would fight its way back into the PvE meta.
On top of that, the masterwork catalyst has recently been easily found in nightfall strikes, granting the exotic a faster charge time and even more ammo reserves.
What is the problem? The high damage promised by the buff is missing on Sleeper Simulant. With high expectations, players introduced Sleeper Simulant into the new content of the Splicer season and were quickly disappointed.
Is Sleeper Simulant bugged or bad?
In response, guardians juggled numbers from the new and old seasons and conducted damage tests. The result: Instead of a buff of 15%, it looks more like Sleeper Simulant was forgotten during buffing or only received a small bonus of 3% (via reddit).
Sleeper Simulant
Especially the guardians who leveled the masterwork catalyst for Season 14 are lamenting their misfortune.
This is what Bungie says: Community Manager Cozmo joined the discussion on reddit and confirmed that the exotic did not receive the planned buff correctly:
It looks like [Sleeper Simulant] only received a small buff, but it was inadvertently less than other linear fusion rifles. The team plans to revisit the weapon in a future update.
This is how the start went: The launch of Season 14 on May 11 was overshadowed by more problems than missing damage on an exotic:
Players were continually kicked from Destiny 2 throughout the evening. It wasn’t until an emergency maintenance and a plethora of honeydew memes later (that was the error code) that most guardians were able to attempt the new activities.
On the night of May 14, the hotfix 3.2.0.0 was deployed, which should finally resolve the last login issues.
In Bungie’s weekly blog post, the TWaB, a long list of known issues was published as well (via Bungie.net).
Are you hoping that Bungie will soon resolve the annoying issues so that you can hack into the Vex networks in peace and finally strut the new cyberpunk weapons? Have you also used Sleeper Simulant and wondered where the promised kick is? Let us know in the comments.
New World will be a Buy2Play MMO, with Amazon having said little about the shop so far. However, some initial details have been leaked in the alpha forum, which have surfaced despite the NDA. But the announced content is not well-received by every player. In the meantime, Amazon has also commented and given initial reassurance.
What exactly happened? A screenshot from the alpha forum was leaked on reddit about New World. In it, Amazon presents the shop system of the MMO for the first time:
There is talk of cosmetic content in the form of skins, colors, special emblems for guilds, and emotes
Additionally, there “could” be quality of life content like boosts for XP and experience in crafting
During the tests in May, the shop is supposed to be activated. Players can still shop with in-game currency. Then in June and July, tests with “premium currencies” are planned.
What is the problem? Some players now fear Pay2Win in the shop. With boosters for experience points and in crafting, players could have a significant advantage right from the start.
A higher crafting level would, for example, lead to better equipment that could then be sold for a high price at the auction house. Thus, it would be possible at least at the beginning for players to have a lead in in-game currency, which would be seen as indirect Pay2Win by players.
The content became known mainly through the YouTuber KiraTV, who also raised concerns about in-game advantages (via YouTube). His video garnered over 35,000 views within 24 hours.
In the meantime, Amazon’s developers have also reacted and announced that there will be no boosters at launch.
Amazon gives reassurance, wants to explain details later
What does Amazon say about the allegations? On Twitter, the developers addressed the accusation regarding Pay2Win. It states:
We are aware that there are concerns regarding the shop test that is currently in the alpha phase. To clarify, at launch, all items in the shop will be focused on cosmetics. There will be no boosts of any kind available for purchase at launch.
We will share more about our vision for MTX [Microtransactions] soon.
Despite this statement, some players remain concerned. After all, quality of life items and boosters are at least planned for the future.
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Are boosters so unusual? Not really. Almost every MMORPG either possesses XP boosts or even directly an item that raises characters to a high level:
Guild Wars 2 offers XP boosts and direct Level 80 boosts
ESO offers XP boosts in the shop and bonus XP for a subscription to ESO+
WoW has level boosts and even gets one for WoW Burning Crusade Classic
SWTOR offers the option to start a character immediately at Level 70
FFXIV offers Jump Potions, which immediately raise a job to Level 60
The idea behind this is that players who join later can catch up to veterans faster. Veterans, in turn, can play additional classes without having to level them again.
Why is the outcry about New World so large then? New World is a completely new MMO. All players start at zero. However, those who purchase a boost at launch will have advantages over other players who level up without spending real money.
They can reach new content faster, fight for fortresses earlier, and craft the best equipment sooner to earn money from it.
Additionally, some players fear that the developers’ threshold for introducing boosters might lower if boosters were already present at launch.
Does the announcement also have any positives? Yes, because some players see the announcement about the shop as confirmation that New World is indeed supposed to release in August. Because that is precisely what Amazon has remained silent about, even though the start of the beta or even the planned release is only a few weeks away.
What comes next? An official announcement regarding the shop and microtransactions is expected in the coming weeks. After that, it will be clearer where Amazon wants to go with New World. We at MeinMMO will report on the information then.
What do you think about the content? Do you see boosts as Pay2Win? Or do you approach the planned shop of New World more relaxed? Feel free to write it in the comments.
After a community outcry, Blizzard is changing the cost for a character copy in WoW Classic. The price drops by almost 60%.
In recent weeks and months, the developers of modern World of Warcraft and WoW Classic have not earned much praise from the community. High prices for Burning Crusade Classic and the character copy have brought a lot of criticism. Now, Blizzard has surprisingly announced: It’s not as bad as it seems, the price is dropping significantly.
What happened? Blizzard announced that the price for a character copy (also called “character clone”) will be drastically reduced. From the original $35, the price is dropping to $15. That is a price reduction of almost 57%.
What is a character clone? With the launch of the pre-patch, players need to decide how they want to play their old characters in WoW Classic. Either players stay on their realm and move into the shattered world and the gaming experience of Burning Crusade, or they choose not to and switch to a new “Classic Era” realm where time does not advance.
If one wants to play both with the same character, a character copy must be purchased.
Some financial goblins at Blizzard might be unhappy about this. Or was this planned from the start?
What exactly was said? Community Manager Kaivax published a post about the clone issue in the official WoW forum, where he explains Blizzard’s motivations a bit further. It says:
This service […] is new to us. Our initial concept of the value for this service was based on how we had structured other optional items and services. We want players who choose Classic Era to feel that their decision comes with the possibility of finding friendships and guilds they can rely on.
The reason for the high price was, according to Blizzard, to create a barrier and encourage players to think carefully about their decision. The underlying thought was: Those who pay more money are more likely to play a character in the long term and thus be a reliable teammate.
More about WoW Classic and Burning Crusade Classic can be found here:
Players remain skeptical: Although there are many players in the official forum who are clearly happy about the drastic price drop, there are also many skeptics. Some theorize that Blizzard planned this step from the beginning. The goal was supposedly to set the price initially at $35, only to then lower it and present itself as a company that listens to customer feedback and is even willing to take significant steps like a cut of over 50% off the price.
Whether the whole action was a prearranged play by Blizzard or if it really was the feedback that led to the change will likely remain a question for each individual to answer for themselves.
One thing is certain: the character copy is now significantly more affordable for a larger number of players. And that should – at least for the wallet – be a good thing for every player.
What do you think of this drastic price reduction? A good decision by Blizzard that listened to feedback? Or was it planned from the start?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Cortyn from MeinMMO was able to take a look at “Mass Effect: Legendary Edition”. But is the remaster worth it? Or is it an empty shell?
The Legendary Edition of Mass Effect is just before its release. Starting tomorrow, May 14, the remaster will be available for purchase in a bundle that unites the entire original trilogy along with all story DLCs and many important updates. I was lucky enough to get an early look at the remaster of the PC version and get an initial impression.
Whether it was a pleasure or I wished the Reapers had consumed this version, you can find out here.
Astonishingly good graphics – unless they’re not
Honestly, I was a bit nervous before starting. Some other games have seriously ruined my joy with a remaster, and I didn’t want to let Mass Effect fall victim to such a disaster. After all, Mass Effect 1 looked much prettier in my memories than it actually was, and the remaster threatened to shamelessly reveal that.
But that was not the case. The developers did not promise too much when they announced that there were a lot of changes made to part 1 to visually align the game with the later parts. Especially the protagonist Shepard, who finally looks consistent in her female version across all three games, stood out positively here. But most of the important NPCs also look really good. Except for Kaidan Alenko, who still looks like someone hit him too many times with a wooden board and then dumped a tube of hair gel on his head. But he will anyway be “virmiret”. Veterans know what I mean.
The Turians look – once again – pretty good. Were they like this before?
The look with high-resolution textures looks really good for most main characters. So good that I thought for some Turians that they must have simply imported the textures and models from part 3 – whether that’s true, I don’t know.
Light reflections on hair and clothing, the slight sparkle in the eyes, all this feels more than solid and clearly better than I remembered.
However, the new graphics do not come across well at every point. Already in the first minutes on the Normandy, the fluctuating quality in the portrayal of the characters is noticeable. Mass Effect back then still had a rather wooden facial expression for many faces, and unfortunately, that hasn’t changed with the remaster at least for the less important NPCs.
This makes it even more frustrating when new textures and old models don’t harmonize. Especially for less important characters, there is a noticeable discrepancy. If a doctor’s clothing has high-resolution textures allowing you to see individual fibers, while the face distorts with its textures while speaking as if the head were made of jelly or being sucked in by a vacuum cleaner, then that is peculiar.
Especially this guy sometimes contorts his face as if he had a vacuum cleaner stuck in his throat.
Admittedly, this has only strongly stood out to me with two characters to the point where it seemed a bit unsettling – and both characters are minor figures that are not particularly important.
The same goes for details on the planets. Already at the first deployment, I looked more closely at the environments. Probably much more than I did when I normally played through the game over a decade ago. Even when zooming in with the sniper rifle, most textures look pretty solid. So good that it fits into the game world and is a clear enrichment.
Only interior designs still look a bit sparse and sterile, so when entering research facilities, you sometimes wish you could leave right away. But that is probably not due to the graphics overhaul, but simply also to the design that these places have always had. It fits well into this science-fiction world.
Our colleagues from GameStar also put the Legendary Edition to the test. You can read the test on GameStar Plus. GameStar Plus is the paid premium part of GameStar.
Meaningful updates, but also unnecessary gimmicks
Veterans will discover some updates. For example, you can choose what kind of level mode you want to play in the first part of the saga. In classic mode, there is a level system from 1-60. Just as it was back then. The legendary mode is the new alternative, where there are only a total of 30 levels. This changes nothing about the availability of skill points or the actual gain in strength, but it’s simply a bit more compact. Level ups are rarer, but they come with more rewards.
The choice between “legendary” and “classic” mode – no big impact, but a bit catchier.
Other meaningful updates are subtler and only become apparent when you think about them. The elevator rides on the Citadel, for example. Back then, they felt like they lasted half an hour. In reality, they probably lasted a good 30 seconds, but even those were still too long. Now it goes significantly faster; apparently, someone has packed out the oil can. This greatly helps the flow of the game.
Also new is a photo mode. Personally, I can’t use such a feature much, as it only tempts me to break out of the exciting flow of the game to take a screenshot. Sure, for streamers and other content creators, this is a nice thing and comes with numerous settings. The player, enemies, other NPCs – almost everything can be hidden or equipped with filters. A clear case of “Nice to Have”, but nothing that, in my opinion, is an enrichment. Especially since Mass Effect 1, even in the remaster, is not a game that can compete with the graphics of the latest generation.
First impression: It’s worth it and gets a lot right
For a final verdict on Mass Effect, it is still too early; after all, I’ve seen too little of the remaster, let alone part 2 or part 3. My first impression, however, is quite positive. Sure, there are minor flaws, but so far the game feels prettier and smoother with meaningful extensions.
Only at a few points, where the new graphics clash hard with the old ones, does it slightly break the flow of the game. However, you overlook that after a good hour by itself – because Mass Effect has always thrived on its excellent story, not on visual beauty.
The female Commander Shepard in part 1. Finally consistent with the appearance from parts 2 and 3.
I will definitely continue playing in the coming weeks and let you know whether a purchase is also worthwhile for veterans. Newcomers can, as much is already clear, definitely jump in to experience one of the best sci-fi stories of all time.
My interim conclusion is: I’m excited about the game. It’s not the rosy nostalgia goggles that make me say this, but the impression that the game has adapted more to what I have positively embellished in my memory.
A really good role-playing game that may be a bit dated, but can teach many modern games a lot.
Those who want to take advantage of the bridge day and the weekend will surely do nothing wrong with Mass Effect.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO the Community Day with Swablu starts on Saturday, May 15. We will show you the bonuses, shinies, and all the information about the event.
What is a Community Day? The Community Day takes place once a month in Pokémon GO. On this day, a specific Pokémon is always in focus – and that for a whole six hours. It appears everywhere in the game and also brings an increased shiny rate. Additionally, there is a special event bonus that you can take advantage of.
In May 2021, the Community Day puts the cotton bird Pokémon Swablu in the spotlight.
Community Day in May 2021 – Start time and bonuses
What? The Community Day with Swablu When? On Saturday, May 15, 2021, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM local time Pokémon of the day: Swablu appears more frequently in the wild Exclusive moves: Moonblast Bonus: Eggs hatch four times faster when placed in an incubator during the event Bonus: Incense lasts for three hours Bonus: You can evolve Swablu for up to 2 hours after the event so that Altaria learns the move Moonblast.
This additional bonus is available: In addition to the Community Day bonuses, there is also a hefty XP bonus that all trainers can earn by completing the Fairy challenge. Until May 17 at 8:00 PM, there is triple XP for every Pokémon caught. So this also applies on Community Day.
Moreover, on Saturday, Mega Altaria will also appear for the first time in Mega Raids. However, this will only be active after the Community Day, starting from 5:00 PM. You can find all Mega Pokémon in Pokémon GO here.
This is what the in-game shop has: The shop will also have some extra offers for the Community Day.
For one euro, there is a special research focused on Swablu
Additionally, there is a Community Day box for 1,280 coins. It contains 50 Ultra Balls, 5 Super Incubators, 5 Incense, and a Premium Battle Pass.
How to make the most of the Community Day in May
These preparations should be made: A Community Day mainly consists of taking advantage of the many spawns of the event Pokémon. Therefore, one should gather as many Poké Balls as possible before Saturday starts. We recommend at least 350 balls for the Community Day, so you don’t suddenly run out of balls. Especially if you are playing from home and don’t have a PokéStop nearby, having enough balls is important.
Additionally, you should sort through your Pokémon box and send any unnecessary Pokémon to the professor. Because if you have too few free slots in your box, you can quickly hit the catch limit on a Community Day and waste valuable time sending Pokémon away.
These items are worth it during the Community Day: You should have at least one free incubator in your inventory to take advantage of the egg bonus of the Community Day. Only eggs that are placed in the incubator during the Community Day will hatch faster. Therefore, it would be unfortunate to place a 12-kilometer egg from Team Rocket in the free incubator on Friday night and then not be able to get it out during the event. The more incubators you have, the more eggs you can hatch.
With the right items, you can make better use of the Community Day
To make the most of the ongoing XP bonus, a Lucky Egg is worth it. It doubles the XP for every Pokémon caught for half an hour. Thanks to the bonus, you can thus receive six times the XP for the Pokémon you catch. Therefore, it’s worth activating one of the Lucky Eggs if you plan to play actively for half an hour.
Furthermore, you should have some Silver Razz Berries in your inventory to maximize candy yield. Evolving Swablu into Altaria requires 400 candies – you need to collect several. The incense, which lasts for three hours during the event, also helps with that. Especially when playing from home, this item can provide you with the necessary spawns.
How worthwhile is the Community Day? The shiny variant of Swablu has been around for a while, but if you haven’t had luck with it yet, you can reliably catch the shiny version of the little bird during the Community Day. As long as you invest time.
Altaria is generally a popular Pokémon in the PvP league. If you still need a strong specimen here, you can secure one on Community Day. Because outside the event, it’s quite challenging to get the required candies together. Another argument for securing a strong Altaria is the Mega Evolution that comes into play after the Community Day.
Lastly, the bonuses around the event are good reasons to participate in the Community Day. Because the faster hatching eggs are a bonus that you don’t get too often. And the catch XP bonus can also be perfectly utilized thanks to the many spawns during the Community Day.
This is what the shinies look like: Shiny Swablu is clearly recognizable by its golden color, which is also adopted by Altaria after evolution.
This is what Shiny Swablu and Altaria look like
This is the chance for a shiny: The shiny rate is usually significantly increased on Community Day. The chance of encountering a shiny Pokémon is approximately 1 in 25, compared to the normal wild rate of 1 in 450. Thus, you can have good chances of getting a shiny Swablu even with little playing time.
Apex Legends is currently threatening players with bans if they exploit a bug with strange rocks in a new mode. Previously, some players had been kicked from the game – but without obvious wrongdoing.
What are bans for now? In the new Season 9 of Apex Legends, there were some problems and bugs with the update. One of these problems involved rocks on a new map called Phase Runner.
Phase Runner is one of the maps for the new 3vs3 arena mode in Apex Legends. Here, there are rocks that players could glitch into. This allowed them to shoot outside, but not get hit themselves. The glitch quickly became known as “ghost rocks”.
The issue was supposed to be fixed with a hotfix, which, however, was delayed a bit. By now, the glitch should no longer work, but there was a warning from Respawn beforehand anyway.
In a tweet about the fix, it says (via Twitter): “Exploiting this exploit is grounds for a ban!” Glitches and exploits happen more often in shooters, but it’s rare for developers to take direct action with bans.
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What other reasons are there for bans? Just before the ghost rock glitch, numerous players reported that they had been banned without obvious wrongdoing. They were just pinging weapons, climbing a tower, just being in the menu, or not even logged into the game when they received a ban (via dotesports).
EA confirmed that this was a mistake and players had not been banned intentionally (via Twitter). Apparently, a lot of innocents were affected. However, it was not revealed where the mistake lay.
The problem should have been fixed by now anyway. If you are still affected by an unjustified ban, it’s best to contact support directly (via EA Help).
Is Season 9 worth it? In the new Season 9 of Apex Legends, there are not only new bugs. There are also many new contents that have come to the game:
the new legend Valkyrie with a jetpack and rockets
the Bocek bow, a powerful weapon that has already been nerfed
Arena, a new mode where only two teams compete for victory
The demand for the new season was so great that players brought the servers to their knees. Right at the release on May 4, and shortly thereafter, playing was partially impossible because no connection to the servers could be established. MeinMMO author Jürgen Horn was lucky and could play:
Electronic Arts has presented its financial report for 2020. Especially FIFA 21 and Apex Legends impressed in the last 12 months. With microtransactions in the cash shops of EA games, the company earned 4.06 billion US dollars. This is as much as selling 130 million console games, explained the CFO. Next year, they plan to develop significantly for PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Where do the numbers come from? They are from the “Q4 2021 Earning Call” of EA. There, CEO Andrew Wilson and CFO Blake Jorgensen present EA’s financial figures every quarter and answer questions from analysts representing the interests of the investors.
The analysts work for Credit Suisse, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs: What is generally seen as “the global money flows”.
FIFA 21 and Apex Legends are the major money makers of 2020
This is how the year 2020 went for EA: The financial year from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, went excellently for EA, certainly also because of the Corona pandemic. The lockdown kept players at home and in the games:
Even though COVID is so terrible, it has brought a lot of people to gaming.
Blake Jorgensen, CFO EA
The CFO Jorgensen explains to the analysts that EA is not only bringing players into the games but also into the social networks around these games, whether in sports games, shooters, or the Sims.
EA has set a new revenue record. In no year since the company’s founding in 1982 has EA generated more money.
Revenue amounts to 5.629 billion US dollars (about 4.66 billion euros).
However, revenue figures fell in the last quarter.
Live Service is the money printing machine for EA
Where does all the money come from? A huge portion of the revenue comes from the “live service” sector, which consists of microtransactions in EA games, the income from the cash shop, namely:
FUT packs and coins in games like FIFA 21 or Madden
cosmetic skins in Apex Legends
revenue from the Sims
EA has earned a total of 4.6 billion US dollars from the live service. The CFO explained:
To put this into perspective: The 4.6 billion US dollars are equivalent to selling 130 million console games.
Blake Jorgensen, CFO EA
As the main driver for the revenue, Jorgensen highlights FIFA Ultimate Team and Apex Legends. Additionally, mobile titles like Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes or SimCity BuildIt performed better than expected.
What is EA doing with all the money? They are going on a shopping spree:
EA is buying back shares for 2.6 billion US dollars
EA has acquired new brands and teams with Codemasters and Glu
they are building new offices in Bucharest, Los Angeles, Orlando, and in the UK
EA is pouring a lot of money into research and development, especially for Battlefield and Apex Legends Mobile
the marketing for the new Battlefield and for Apex Mobile is expected to be quite costly
Apex Legends has been EA’s favorite for several years.
Apex Legends had player numbers in Season 8 as high as at release
This is how it goes for EA in 2021: Just like the last years.
They expect great success again from the next generation of sports games like FIFA 22. These are also supposed to be released for the console generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The games are expected to improve in physics, artificial intelligence, and immersion.
Apex Legends is set to come to mobile. It has an “incredible momentum and is growing in every way.” Season 8 has been exceptionally well received, with 1.2 million active players, the shooter has not seen this many games since its release in 2019. The game is also doing great in Asia, especially in Japan.
Additionally, EA apparently expects a lot from Battlefield 6. In June 2021, they plan to present the new Battlefield to fans. The financial model is said to be “conservative”: This likely means the game will cost 60 €. However, they also seem to be planning other “business models”: It sounds like EA is looking to Activision Blizzard and Call of Duty. A main game, a free spin-off, and a mobile title:
EA earns massively in 2020 even without a new Battlefield or Battlefront
This is what it is about: What EA is conveying to investors here is: We are making a crazy amount of money with the existing games, even if we do not release Star Wars Battlefront 3 and had no Battlefield 6 in 2020.
The ongoing revenue from the “live service” model is simply so enormous.
The financial reports from EA are nearly the same from quarter to quarter: FIFA, Sims, and Apex Legends are the cornerstones of profit, which continue to grow. Additionally, EA is planning an expansion to mobile and Asia.
The questions from analysts often revolve around things like: “When will we see the revenue breakthrough in Asia and mobile, which we are waiting for?” – Analysts are watching the markets “Asia and mobile” at every conference. EA does not want to commit here but still sees tremendous growth potential.
The clear winner at EA in recent years has been clearly Apex Legends. While the FIFA series and “The Sims” were planned hits, EA seems to be amazed every quarter how fantastic the free-to-play shooter continues to perform and how well it is developing.
The traditional blockbuster shooters and classic console games from EA like Star Wars Battlefront or Battlefield are still important, but are moving to the background. The revenue from live service is simply too good.
It makes sense that while Battlefield will continue as before, a free-to-play spin-off and a mobile version will also be brought out, just as Activision Blizzard succeeded with Call of Duty: Warzone and Mobile:
The Korean billionaire Kim Jung-Ju is the head of Nexon. The MMORPG company has now released its financial report and it does not look good: The share price fell by 14.4%. The CEO has therefore lost about 2.2 billion US dollars in market value. Backgrounds include a scandal surrounding the MMORPG MapleStory, the relaxation of the Covid situation, and the sudden devaluation of Bitcoin.
Who is this? Kim Jung-Ju (53) is the founder of Nexon, a huge Korean gaming company that he founded himself in 1994. He was one of the pioneers who established the so-called “freemium” model: Free-to-play games, where you have to pay for additional services. Even today, Kim Jung-Ju holds a significant share of the company’s stock.
Nexon was one of the pioneers of MMORPGs in the 90s. Also in the 2000s, the company was extremely successful: The online role-playing game MapleStory (2003) was until recently a huge hit in South Korea.
In 2011, Kim Jung-Ju brought Nexon to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
In 2016, he was involved in a scandal. He allegedly bribed a prosecutor with about $814,000, whom he had known since his student days. The scandal became known as “NexonGate”. The prosecutor received a four-year prison sentence. Kim Jung-Ju withdrew from the supervisory board of Nexon and publicly expressed how much he regrets his misconduct.
In 2019, everything became too much for him: He wanted to sell his shares in Nexon and withdraw from business. Since he did not want to pass Nexon on to his children, he planned to sell the MMO giant, preferably to the Disney company. However, when he could not find a suitable buyer, he took the company off the market again.
Stock price of MMORPG company plummets by 14.4%
Why did he lose so much in market value? Nexon presented its financial report for the first quarter of 2021 yesterday: It was received so negatively on the Tokyo Stock Exchange that the Nexon share price fell by 14.4%. Since Kim Jung-Ju, as the founder, holds significant shares in Nexon, he consequently lost 2.2 billion US dollars and is now worth only a measly 10.9 billion US dollars, as Forbes knows (via Forbes).
This is what a stock crash looks like.
Here’s why the stock price has fallen so deep:
The actual revenues in the first quarter of 2021 were excellent: Compared to the previous year, Nexon’s revenues increased by 7%, and the company also made 4% more profit.
But for the stock price, future prospects are more important and they have worsened: Among other things, as the Covid pandemic is receding in South Korea, it is expected that there will be fewer players in the short term and therefore the sales expectations for the next 3 months have decreased by 3%. It is even expected that they will make 19% less profit than in the previous year.
What is going on with Bitcoin? In December 2020, Nexon was a pioneer and invested about 2% of its assets in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
Bitcoin, however, lost about 10% of its value overnight in Asia after Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter yesterday that his company would no longer use “Bitcoin” as a means of payment. Musk has environmental concerns because the energy consumption when mining Bitcoin is so high.
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A tweet from Elon Musk sent Bitcoin’s price into a tailspin last night.
What is going on with the MMORPG? With MapleStory, one of the major MMORPGs from NCSoft, there was a scandal that we reported on at MeinMMO.
The studio had lied to players for years about the probability of stat distribution on certain items.
According to the financial report, the player numbers in MapleStory have now collapsed since the scandal became known. Therefore, high losses are expected for the next quarter compared to the previous year when MapleStory was still performing well.
In Destiny 2, you can upgrade a glove to earn more loot and craft keys for hacking. However, it is not an equipment piece but a complex quest item from the Season of the Splicer.
What is the Splicer Gauntlet, anyway? Although the item is named like an equipment piece and our Fallen friend Mithrax (featured image) wears the Splicer Gauntlet on his arm to hack, for us Guardians, it’s a different matter.
The gauntlet is an important seasonal item from the Season 14 of Destiny 2 that we only carry in the menu.
Think of the gauntlet as the successor to the The Trials Hammer from Season 13 – that was also not a weapon but a quest item in the menu.
You always have the gauntlet passively with you, can level it up, and gradually expand it to ultimately access the new loot of Season 14.
You actually receive the Splicer Gauntlet automatically throughout the seasonal story and cannot miss it.
In this article, we clarify how you should upgrade the gauntlet, where you can get the new resources Ether and Decrypted Data, and why you need to deal with all that complicated information.
[toc]
Ether and Keycodes in Season 14 of Destiny 2
The item can essentially do 2 things: create keycodes for Override and make your Guardian life in Season 14 easier when you level up the gauntlet to give it new functions.
Here’s how keycodes work: Select the Splicer Gauntlet in the quest menu. At the very bottom, you will see the option “Create Keycode”. This costs you 50 Ether by default (which is a new resource).
You can use the keycode itself in the new seasonal activity Override to open the second chest after the boss fight.
In the additional chest, you can find among other things the new weapons, Decrypted Data (the second new resource from Season 14), and cosmetics.
If you open the additional chest 3 times a week, you will receive top loot from the Override activity once.
The new seasonal weapons in a cyberpunk look
In short: Before you start a run in Override, select the Splicer Gauntlet in the menu, craft a keycode from Ether, and earn more rewards at the end.
The gauntlet shows you at any time in the menu how much Ether you have stored and how many keys you still have. Keep in mind that you can initially only carry a limited amount of both. However, you can significantly improve this with upgrades.
Finding Ether in Season 14: To find Ether, you just have to play Destiny 2. You do not need to search or collect Ether separately. It automatically flows into the Splicer Gauntlet when you kill enemies or complete activities.
A significant amount of Ether is available for the activity that the gauntlet presents to you as a bonus in the menu. In our example, Strikes are marked as a bonus. Upon completion, for example, 75 Ether flows into the gauntlet. Enough to craft 1.5 keys.
The Splicer Servitor in H.E.L.M improves your gauntlet
The benefits of the upgrades: We mentioned earlier that the Splicer Gauntlet can make your Guardian’s daily tasks easier.
Because you can add new functions that make excursions into the seasonal activity easier. More ammunition for power weapons or support in parkour sections are options.
Alternatively, more loot awaits in Override.
You can also increase the capacity of the gauntlet, allowing you to store more Ether or carry additional keycodes, increasing the chance of obtaining Ether after kills.
All upgrades to the Splicer Gauntlet are done at the H.E.L.M. base. You can reach it from orbit (above the Tower). Going down the stairs on your left from the spawn, you will see a large Servitor – this alien orb has the upgrades:
The mods below can be purchased when you rank up through Decrypted Data
The most important upgrades for the Splicer Gauntlet
You will see 3 rows with 7 improvements each in the upgrade menu. As you go down, the upgrades become more expensive and require the upgrade directly above it.
You cannot seriously mess up your Splicer Gauntlet build. However, there are upgrades that are more important than others.
Storage Expansion 1 to 3 is highly recommended, for example. This upgrade increases both the maximum Ether capacity and the portable keycodes. This way, you do not have to constantly play Override just because you have hit the cap again.
To obtain Ether quicker, Ether Filters and the corresponding upgrades of levels 2 and 3 are suitable once you have hit the cap again.
Override Efficiency 1 to 3 is also worth an investment, as ultimately it’s about the loot in Destiny 2. Here you receive more (Umbral) Engrams and seasonal gear from the chests and upon completion of the activity.
The other upgrades are currently hardly worth it. No annoying lasers or additional jumping platforms are nice, but essentially unnecessary, as only one Guardian needs to complete the obstacle course. Until heavier versions of Override are launched during Season 14, you won’t need additional power ammunition.
These 3 yellow upgrade paths are worthwhile
What lies behind the 5 hidden upgrades is still unknown. MeinMMO will accordingly update this article during Season 14.
Getting Decrypted Data in Destiny 2
When upgrading your Splicer Gauntlet, the 2nd seasonal resource, Decrypted Data, comes into play. Because you have to spend this resource for upgrades to the gauntlet.
These are the sources:
A medium amount of Decrypted Data can be found in the 2nd chest at the end of the Override activity (requires a keycode). If you want, you can farm unlimited amounts here.
Some enemies in Override drop Decrypted Data.
Seasonal challenges reward you with Decrypted Data. The challenges contain large amounts of the resource, and new seasonal challenges are added every week. If you miss a week, no worries, you can still tackle the tasks later.
There are also some Decrypted Data waiting for you in the Season Pass.
The new Umbral Engrams from Season 14 also cost Decrypted Data when focusing. So you need to be much more careful with this resource than with the Ether, which you only need for keycodes right now. Whenever you collect Decrypted Data, you also passively level up the Servitor in the H.E.L.M. – at higher ranks, you can then buy new mods there.
Do you now have more clarity about the initially quite complex functions of the Splicer Gauntlet? Do you have a must-have upgrade that we overlooked? Let us know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A total of 15 cards had to be adjusted in Hearthstone in the latest patch. We reveal what the changes mean.
Shortly after Blizzard started selling complete decks in Hearthstone for real money, there was a larger balance patch. The update nerfed some of the strongest cards and helped many of the weaker classes to ensure more deck variety in the current meta. It affects not only cards from the latest expansion Forged in the Barrens, but also older cards. We have broken down the changes for you and reveal what they mean individually.
Here are the new nerfs in Hearthstone
First, we want to discuss the nerfs. These are cards that appeared in almost every game and could often decide the game because their mana costs were too low. The cards mentioned here can be exchanged for their full Arcane Dust costs for 2 weeks.
The Mage spell Refreshing Spring Water receives a mana cost increase of one point. It now costs 5 mana instead of the previous 4 mana. This should slow down Mages in their turns, who have been able to draw many cards and benefit from massive mana recovery. The effect can still be achieved if the costs of Refreshing Spring Water have been drastically reduced beforehand, but that requires more effort.
The Paladin spell First Day of School is being revised. Its mana cost increases from 0 to 1, but the number of minions received increases from 2 to 3. Thus, the card generally becomes a little slower but offers more options to bring small minions onto the battlefield.
Hysteria is a spell for Priests and Warlocks and has been one of the biggest annoyances so far. For just 3 mana, the spell was far too strong as it forced an enemy minion to attack other minions until it died.
With good planning – or sometimes just luck – Hysteria could wipe the entire board for 3 mana. The cost of the spell now increases to 4, which means the card can only be played later and simultaneously restricts Priests and Warlocks in their options to play other cards after Hysteria.
The Crab Rider is a neutral Murloc minion for 2 mana, with stats of 1/4, Rush, and Windfury, which had devastating effects. In many decks, this minion was already buffed early on to finish the match in the first turns. This will no longer be possible, as the Crab Rider now only has Windfury in the turn it is played, as the bonus is transformed into a Battlecry.
Olgra, Mankrik’s wife, is the spell card summoned by Mankrik. Once the card is drawn from the deck, it summons a 3/10 minion that immediately attacks the enemy hero. This minion will be weakened to 3/7 as it proved to be too strong given that it can appear very early in the game as a “free” bonus.
A total of 10 buffs for multiple classes
In addition to the nerfs, the update also brought 10 buffs that should help the weakest cards and classes a bit. In most cases, these are simple adjustments to mana costs or increases in minion stats.
The Demon Hunter’s Blade Boar is upgraded from a 2/2 minion to a 3/2, making it a greater threat early on.
The legendary Priest minion Inquisitor Xanesh no longer only reduces the costs of cards with Corruption but also those that are already corrupted.
The unleashed Elemental of the Shaman is improved from 2/4 to 3/4.
The mana cost of the Shaman’s Tidal Wave decreases from 4 to 3. This strengthens both the attack against minions and the self-healing of the Shaman.
The Shaman’s Water Lily Stalker gets significantly buffed. Instead of 4/5, it will now enter the battlefield as 5/6.
The mana cost of the Warlock spell Fel Circle is reduced, dropping from 4 to 3.
The legendary Warlock spell Chaos Card Set is also made cheaper. Its cost decreases from 6 mana to 5 mana.
The Warrior minion Whirling Fighter gains an additional attack point, increasing from 2/6 to 3/6.
The mana cost of the Shieldmaiden decreases from 6 mana to 5 mana, making it usable earlier.
Finally, the legendary minion N’Zoth, God of the Depths is strengthened. Its mana cost decreases from 10 mana to 9 mana. This makes it playable earlier in the mid-game or allows using other cards after it has been played.
How the meta of Hearthstone will change with these adjustments will likely become clear in the coming weeks. It’s quite possible that Shamans or Demon Hunters will dominate the game.
What do you think of the changes?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Valheim has received a new, small update. While it does not bring the long-awaited new content, it improves what is already in the game. Among other things, some enemies now look prettier – or rather, more detailed. For instance, one boss is now even more disgusting.
Which boss is it? Bonemass is the third boss in Valheim. The living mass of toxic swamp, skeletons, and decaying corpses is considered the hardest boss in the game.
Until now, Bonemass was just a big green blob with a few bones and a lot of mud and slime. Quite ugly, but not too extravagant yet. However, with the new update from May 12, 2021, both Bonemass and the second boss, the Elder, as well as trolls, have received a graphical overhaul.
Bonemass now has a gaping wound in its body, from which bones are still protruding, a huge spine wrapped around its body, and remnants sticking out everywhere. There’s even a dragon’s head stuck in its shoulder.
Even the details are now better refined. The eyes of the monster are not made up of, well, eyes, but of two skeleton heads, whose empty eye sockets glow red. The “most dangerous” boss in Valheim now looks as it sounds.
Trolls are also looking a bit nicer.
Bonemass’s trophy also looks better.
The Elder has become a bit rockier.
This is what Bonemass looks like now.
A comparison to Bonemass’s old appearance can be found in the title image. The details were previously much less refined. If you want to visit the two new bosses, you can find out in our guide how to find and defeat all bosses in Valheim.
Update improves graphics and fixes bugs
What else is in the update: Along with the prettier look for some enemies, the update brought further improvements and, above all, bug fixes. Some of the most important changes include:
a bug with gamepad usage in the inventory has been fixed
stone stairs could previously cause issues – that should no longer be the case
the mechanics of the harpoon have been overhauled, the line does not seem to stretch as much now
However, most of the fixed bugs are quite specific. You can find the full patch notes on Steam (via Steam).
When will new content come? While the developers are still fixing bugs, many players are now eagerly waiting for new content. Next up is the update “Hearth and Home,” which is supposed to improve the building system and bring new cooking recipes.
In further updates, the already existing biomes in the game will also be usable. Some players have already done preliminary work and filled Valheim’s unused biomes with life.
Many Vikings have now achieved everything they wanted in Valheim and are now passing the time building new projects or engaging in crazy challenges. If you get bored but still want to spend time in the Viking world, you can find on MeinMMO 5 things you should try in Valheim after you defeat the final boss.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In 2021, there will finally be new MMORPGs that can captivate you again. But which one are you looking forward to the most?
This is how it was in recent years: From 2018 to 2020, there were basically hardly any new MMORPGs. The highlights were the re-releases of WoW Classic and ArcheAge Unchained. However, those were not completely new.
New releases, on the other hand, could hardly convince:
Project TL by NCSoft is also set to appear in 2021, although it is unclear whether this refers to the global release
In addition, Ashes of Creation is starting its first public alpha tests. There will be plenty of gameplay to see, and possibly some of you will even participate.
How many votes do I have: In our survey, you have 3 votes that you can distribute among the different MMORPGs.
We at MeinMMO will evaluate this survey in the coming weeks and present you with a closer look at the most anticipated MMORPGs.
Disclaimer: For this survey, we only included MMORPGs that are said to be released in 2021 in our Western region. Whether all these games will actually make their release in 2021 is questionable. Furthermore, there are other exciting MMORPGs like Blue Protocol or Tower of Fantasy that we did not include because there is no official statement regarding a release.
Feel free to tell us in the comments which MMORPGs you are most looking forward to in 2021 and why this particular game is interesting to you!
