Summoners War: Lost Centuria is here – Offers mobile battles where you should be fully involved

The new mobile game Summoners War: Lost Centuria has launched today, on April 29, 2021, for free on Android and iOS. Here you can expect strategic real-time PvP battles that you shouldn’t run in the background.

This is Summoners War: Lost Centuria: The new spin-off of the “Summoners War” series was released today for mobile devices and is available for free on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. In “Lost Centuria”, direct PvP duels take center stage, which you should complete in real-time. You take on the role of a summoner who sends different monsters into battle against other players.

The official trailer looks like this:

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Tactical combat system will challenge you

Here’s how the battles unfold: You build a team of a total of eight monsters, each bringing their own unique abilities and can be enhanced with skill stones. These monsters must be tactically positioned in formation so that you can fully utilize their attributes.

Each monster has an attribute. They are divided into:

  • Water
  • Fire
  • Wind
  • Light
  • Dark

Furthermore, they are classified into the grades “Normal”, “Rare”, “Heroic”, and “Legendary”. If you collect multiple cards of the same monster, you can use these to level up your monsters. You can also equip each monster with 3 runes, which allow you to further adjust their stats.

Summoners War Lost Centuria
In battles, timing can also be crucial

In addition to the monsters, you can use spells from your summoner to attack your opponent. With these, you can gain buffs, heal your monsters, or weaken the enemy. However, the actions cost mana, which is generated during the battle. You need to think carefully about when to use which action.

No auto-battles: The timing of your actions can also be decisive. If you use a monster skill precisely when an opponent attacks, you can counter it. So you need to pay close attention to the opponent’s actions.

The developers emphasize that this is a manual combat system, where you must always keep an eye on the duel. It does not rely on automated battles or processes that are present in some other games.

This game is therefore suitable for anyone who enjoys direct duels in a fantasy setting on their smartphone. By the way: An MMORPG set in the world of Summoners War was also presented in 2020.

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

Swords of Legends: We explain the story of the MMORPG that you will soon play

In summer 2021, the new MMORPG Swords of Legends Online will be released here in the West. We at MeinMMO have delved into the lore and spoken with the publisher Gameforge about the story. In this article, we have compiled everything about the game’s history.

What is Swords of Legends about? The MMORPG tells a classic tale of good versus evil. The focus is on a particularly powerful sword, the Ancestral Sword, and other similarly powerful swords. They give the game its name.

900 years ago, the five swordmasters of humanity fought against a dark and malevolent army with these weapons. Although the good side was able to win, it came at a heavy cost. The remaining evil was subsequently sealed away, and this seal is guarded by the Qin League.

As a player, you are one of the chosen ones of the Sword Hearts and join the fight against the evil that is awakening again.

A first glimpse into the story is also provided by an official lore trailer from Gameforge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aBXm1KUAOg

The Creation of the World and the Forging of the Swords

Where does the game’s story begin? The lore of SOLO goes back to the creation of the world. Thus, Pangu created the sky and the earth. From his dead body arose the pure and the dark Qi, which in turn created gods and pestilence gods – the good and the evil.

A world developed that split into three parts:

  • The Sky World with the Gods
  • The Upper World with the Humans
  • The Underworld, where Spirits and a few Humans live

However, the humans were not satisfied with their role in the Upper World. They wanted more power and created the “Ancestral Sword,” which could even injure gods. Later, more powerful swords were crafted, imbued with the essence of so-called Sword Hearts.

However, the gods were not pleased with these weapons, prompting them to banish the blacksmith to the Underworld. His skills fell into oblivion in the Upper World.

The Battle for the Qin Mausoleum

What kind of battle was it? 900 years before the MMORPG, the malevolent Eternal Army planned its breakout from the Qin Mausoleum to attack the Upper World. A battle erupted that is also mentioned in the game’s intro sequence.

The Immortal Lan Yaoqi then gathered 4 other swordmasters and fought the Eternal Army with them. Just when the battle seemed nearly won, the demon dragon Liaosha appeared and attacked from the shadows. He severely injured the swordmasters and even killed 3 of them.

The Founding of the Qin League: To banish the evil once and for all, Lan Yaoqi created a floating island to seal the Qin Mausoleum. This seal is the city of Wolkenstieg, which has already been seen in images and the trailer. It also serves as the central hub of Swords of Legends Online.

The Qin League, in turn, has made it its mission to protect this seal and fight against evil. And this is where the story of the MMORPG begins 900 years later.

Chosen of the Sword Hearts to Fight Against Evil

What happens in SOLO? Without the swordmasters, the hearts of the legendary swords have lost their power. Therefore, students of the Qin League are regularly summoned to the Heavenly Mountain Ridge to try to revive the swords there.

As a player, you are one such chosen person and must prove yourself to the Sword Heart during the tutorial. Depending on your class, you then bond with one of the three hearts. These Sword Hearts will accompany the player as “companions”.

Initially, they appear as a small orb that hovers beside the player. Later, you can unlock additional skins for the companion.

SOLO Pet
One of the possible skins for the companion.

What happens after the tutorial? While players get to know the Sword Heart, creatures of the Eternal Army attack the world. From then on, you find yourself in the midst of a battle of good versus evil.

How exactly the story continues in the game, we do not want to spoil at this point, although there is information available in Chinese.

However, as we learned from our conversation with Gameforge about the endgame, players later can explore the Underworld and experience more adventures there. What exactly the Underworld is and what other gameplay content awaits you, you can find out here:

New MMORPG Swords of Legends comes in summer – This is what the endgame looks like

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

The biggest LoL team in Europe could break apart after a poor season

Fnatic is still the nominally largest LoL team in Europe when it comes to followers on social media. However, after the next season in League of Legends, the core of the team could fall apart. According to a report, jungler Selfmade and top laner Bwipo have declined contract extensions. They could leave at the end of 2021.

Fnatic’s size: Fnatic was founded in 2004 in England and won the first world championship in LoL in 2011. No team that is not from Asia has managed to do that since.

For years, Fnatic has dominated the European LoL league until they were overtaken by G2 Esports.

Nevertheless, Fnatic remains the most important and largest esports organization in Europe in terms of followers on Twitter and Facebook. They have the most resonant name.

This is now the news: According to the Riot database, the two main players Bwipo (top lane) and Selfmade (jungler) will become free agents on November 15, 2021. Their contracts will then expire. Supporter Hylissang also only has a contract until November 15 (via riot).

As Esportmaniacos reports, Bwipo and Selfmade have decided not to extend their contracts after Fnatic made both an offer (via twitter).

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Star Team Fnatic only reached 5th place in the LEC in 2021

This is how it went for Fnatic in 2021: In the Spring Split in the LEC, Fnatic did not convince in 2021. They finished the regular season tied on points with Schalke 04 in 4th place and started the playoffs right in the loser’s bracket. Fnatic was able to win the first game, but then lost against Schalke.

Thus, Fnatic only finished fifth in the LEC in 2021.

Without their long-time star player Rekkles, Fnatic seemed to struggle, especially since two young teams, Rogue and MAD Lions, have now emerged. It is no longer a foregone conclusion that every year G2 and Fnatic decide among themselves who will be the European champions in LoL.

Fnatic suffers from “Rekkles” flashbacks

This is how it is being discussed: Fnatic fans are controversially discussing the news that Selfmade and Bwipo reportedly declined the contract extension. In the worst case, they believe the team could fall apart completely:

  • Because if Bwipo leaves, support player Hylissang may leave the team as well.
  • It would be even worse if the talented jungler Selfmade (21) left – Fnatic could face a second situation like with Rekkles and Perkz: Jungler Jankos (25) could move from G2 to the USA while Selfmade would then move from Fnatic to G2 to continue there.
LoL Fnatic Skojz advertising
Fnatic could lose some of its players.

Others, however, say: The news is not yet concerning. The players have only declined a first offer. Surely they are just testing their market value and will then decide to stay with Fnatic.

After Fnatic lost the AD Carry Rekkles to G2 last year, which few could imagine before it happened, some Fnatic fans feel uncertain about this.

Bwipo confirms report

Update: April 29, 15:40: The top laner of Fnatic, Bwipo, has now confirmed in his Twitch stream that he did not extend his contract with Fnatic. It also doesn’t sound like he plans to stay with Fnatic.

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He says he does not want to be in a team like Fnatic if he is not performing well. He has other opportunities arising and perhaps another top laner could now bring results to Fnatic.

Bwipo seems to be dissatisfied with his own performance. He says it does not feel good as a professional to disappoint expectations.

The rivalry between Fnatic and G2 has been palpable in recent years, with the German coach of G2 being right in the end:

LoL coach takes a jab at Fnatic: “The chance is high that they will collapse”

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

ESO: The new expansion Blackwood is much more fun than Greymoor

For almost a week, the new expansion Blackwood has been on the test servers of The Elder Scrolls Online. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch has played it extensively and is very satisfied with Blackwood. Only the long running distances and the empty area are a thorn in his side.

What is behind Blackwood? The new expansion for the MMORPG ESO will be released on June 1, 2021, for PC and a week later (on June 8) for the consoles PlayStation and Xbox. However, anyone who wants can already try out the new content on the test server.

Blackwood introduces the areas of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and also references it in the story. In the story, you encounter Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric Prince from the single-player game.

In addition to the story and the new area of Darkroot, Blackwood offers several innovations, including:

I myself have played Blackwood in advance at a press event and now also on the test server. And I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, I find the new expansion much better than Greymoor in 2020, even though not everything has run smoothly on the test server.

Especially the story, I would like to highlight without spoiling too much.

Blackwood keeps me in the dark for a long time, and that’s a good thing

What is Blackwood about? The new expansion is shrouded in mystery. The already playable prologue quest revolves around the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon and his cultists. They are trying to find some writings of the Emperor and use them for their own purposes. Because the Longhouse emperors and the Daedric Prince once made a pact, which now poses a threat to the world of Nirn.

In a hideout, I come across secret plans and letters from the Emperor that draw my attention to this pact. Piece by piece, a picture comes together, but just before the person who could help me solve it is murdered. And this murder is just the beginning.

The story in Blackwood is primarily a murder mystery story at the beginning, which even misleads me several times. The longer you play the story, the closer you come to the conclusion. But at the beginning, it is not clear who is good and who is evil.

We are accompanied by Lyranth, a Daedra, with whom we have already dealt in the main story of ESO. She behaves as arrogantly and snippily as we are used to. The second character, closely intertwined with the story, is Eveli Sharp-Arrow. The Wood Elf was already part of the events surrounding the DLC Orsinium and is somewhat overzealous and hyper.

However, throughout the story, completely new and interesting characters are introduced. An insight into the story is provided by the announcement trailer for Blackwood:

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Trailer for the new expansion on YouTube.

What makes the story better than Greymoor? In Greymoor, I found the entire story very predictable and everything built up to a big showdown against a vampire boss from the beginning. The transition between the main story of the expansion and the upcoming DLCs was anything but exciting.

In Blackwood, it looks a bit different:

  • Time and again I am surprised by the story, and it is not clear for a long time where this whole thing is actually headed.
  • There is also an interesting rivalry between the Argonians and the Imperials in the area, even if they basically live peacefully together and mainly want to survive in the area. This makes some of the side quests in Darkroot really interesting, some even become my favorite content in the entire expansion.

The main story of Blackwood also ends with a cliffhanger that already makes me very curious about the continuation. This will come with the two DLCs in quarters 3 and 4 of 2021.

The Darkroot has everything a good area needs

How is the new area structured? The Darkroot is located directly between the areas of Northern Elsweyr (to the east) and Shadowfen (to the northwest). In terms of size, it is comparable to northern Elsweyr and is also divided into two biomes:

  • Idyllic hills and forests that remind one of content from Cyrodiil
  • To the south, however, a swampy region dominates the picture

In addition, there are abandoned ruins and ancient Argonian temples throughout the Darkroot, which I can explore little by little in the story and side quests.

Visually, the Darkroot looks beautiful due to the different biomes and colors and offers surprisingly much verticality in the form of hills, mountains, and bridges, which is not disturbing at all. Everything also appears mysterious due to the swamp landscape, which perfectly fits the story and the cultists within it.

However, the new area cannot quite compete with the impressive Blackreach from Greymoor. However, I found the change between the Western Skyrim and the Blackreach in Greymoor always a bit exhausting. The now contiguous map of the Darkroot simply appeals to me more.

ESO Swamp
In addition to green hills, there are also dark swamps in the Darkroot.

The new cities offer: In the Darkroot, there are two new cities that you can explore that will immediately remind veterans of TES IV:

  • Leyawiin has just regained its independence after being occupied during the Three Banners War. The city is beautiful, but you can feel the tension between the Argonians and the Imperials there the most. This is where your adventure in Blackwood begins.
  • Gideon, on the other hand, is a city of Argonians and slightly smaller than Leyawiin.

Both cities have something in common that I really appreciate: They are logically and simply built. Especially Markarth, the capital of the eponymous DLC, was a bit confusing due to its verticality and poor structuring. So those who had trouble finding their way around there will like both Leyawiin and Gideon.

The Deadlands are the highlight

While Greymoor offered the Wailing Storms as special events in the open world, Blackwood focuses on the Oblivion gates. However, unlike previous world events, they are no longer displayed on the map. So I have to actively search for them.

However, they offer a nicer challenge, bring me to a visually appealing area, and provide good loot.

A completely different setting than the swamps and hills of Darkroot.

How are the world events structured? The portals appear randomly in the world, together with some cultists. After defeating some minions of Mehrunes Dagon, I can then step through the portal and explore the Deadlands.

There I travel from island to island and fight again against the followers of the Daedric Prince and even small mini-bosses. They are a challenge for players without good gear, and my companion has died several times there. Movement plays a role in many fights as you have to avoid red fields on the ground.

In the end, good loot awaits me, including some pieces of the new sets. A rewarding and varied content that I like much better than the Wailing Storms in Greymoor.

This is what it looks like when you travel to the Deadlands.

New daily and weekly quests for avid players: Also new with Blackwood are the endeavors, daily and weekly quests through which you can receive the new currency “Seals of Endeavor”.

These quests revive old content or let you complete fun tasks, such as pickpocketing or using certain weapons and abilities in combat. A nice side effect is that you can earn items from the Crown crates through them. Otherwise, you would have to pay for those in the shop.

You can learn more about the new quests here: ESO introduces new quests with which you earn shop items.

The hitch of Blackwood: A large, but empty and stretched area

What problems does Blackwood have? The area is beautiful, the story interesting, and the Oblivion portals are a lot of fun. But all three points struggle with a problem: the large and sometimes empty area of Darkroot.

During my quests, I have to cover huge distances again and again in an area that has relatively few teleport points. This aspect is also criticized by many players in the ESO forum. The wish for additional shrines has already been expressed here, as 2 of the 8 points are almost right next to each other (via ESO Forum):

ESO Map Shrines Darkroot
The red shrines are the existing ones, the green are what many players desire.

But it’s not just the teleport points that are a problem. When I want to actively search for the Oblivion portals, I often ride for 15 minutes or longer through the area without a direct goal. Since the gates are not displayed on the map, you need luck to stumble upon one.

You can also feel how empty the Darkroot still is at the moment. While the developers have already said that fine-tuning will still be done on Blackwood – after all, this is a report from the test server – whether this problem will be fully resolved remains to be seen.

Companions, Trial, and new Mythic Gear

What is the special feature of Blackwood? In addition to the story content and the new area, the new expansion also brings companions into the game. They basically replace the major new feature of the expansion, such as the new class Necromancer in Elsweyr or the antiquities in Greymoor.

The companions are NPC companions that you unlock through a quest and can summon at any time. They count as group members and can be used everywhere, even in dungeons or trials. The only exceptions are PvP content and solo dungeons.

The companions can be skilled, equipped, and they offer some interesting story quests. I’ve already presented the individual features and peculiarities in detail in this article: I tested the new companions in ESO and promise: Everyone will use them.

ESO Companion System
The two companions Bastian and Mirri.

What is there for group players? For group players, especially the new trial is interesting. The Rock Grove is designed for 12 players, and you will encounter 3 bosses, each with its own hard mode. In addition, you will receive new equipment sets and a special mount if you successfully complete all the achievements of the trial.

What about new gear? With Blackwood, 10 new sets come into play. You can find out their exact values and how to obtain them in this article: ESO gets 10 new armor sets with Blackwood – Here’s what they have to offer

Also new are 4 Mythic items. You can find all the information about this most easily in the official patch notes for Blackwood on the test server (via ESO Forum).

ESO finally makes the entry better

The last feature I tried in the test is the new tutorial. This is completely overhauled with Blackwood. I wake up in a new cell and can immediately choose which weapon I want to use for the first fights.

After that, I can get to know combat against an enemy and repeat it as often as I want to practice mechanics like blocking, escaping, or heavy attacks.

At the end of the tutorial, there is a major innovation: I can choose which campaign I want to experience, including the base game or the different expansions. At the same time, the NPC gives me an overview of the general history of Tamriel. A big plus compared to the old tutorial, where you could only go to the starting area or to Greymoor.

Blackwood is better than Greymoor, but not perfect

After dozens of hours on the test server, I must enthusiastically admit: Blackwood appeals to me much more than Greymoor, the expansion from 2020. Blackwood convinces especially through the story and the Oblivion portals, which have greatly impressed me. 

The story is dark and mysterious and leads me astray, which I really like. The cliffhanger for the upcoming DLCs is also very well done. In addition, I can recommend the side quests, which tell good stories and, as usual, are fully voiced. The portals, in turn, provide action, a bit of challenge, and interesting loot. The Deadlands, to which the portals take me, are an absolute eye-catcher with their impressive fire theme.

The special feature of the companions I see as really useful, even if it is viewed quite controversially overall. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran, in my opinion, they bring a benefit. Thus, you get a new form of progression, beginners get a companion, and veterans can complete more content solo or with fewer players. However, I can understand the criticism that veterans especially would have preferred another feature like a new class instead of companions.

My only concern is currently the area of Darkroot, which is rather frustrating than particularly enjoyable due to the distribution of teleport shrines, the general emptiness, and the difficulty in finding Oblivion portals. ZeniMax can and should definitely work on this before the release.

Anyone who has not yet tried ESO and is looking for a new MMORPG should definitely take the release of Blackwood. With the new tutorial, the companions, and the new storyline, it is perfect for newcomers.

Alexander Leitsch

MMORPG expert at MeinMMO

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

Streamer feels sexually exploited – considers quitting Twitch

30-year-old streamer Sweet Anita feels like she is being exploited sexually by others. She cannot prevent it and says she does not even know why she is still on Twitch.

This bothers Sweet Anita now: The streamer is upset that viewers reduce her to her sexuality and spread clips on the internet about her that are used as templates for masturbation.

These are out-of-context excerpts from longer streams, where her butt is visible or her breasts are emphasized.

“They sell my body without my consent. Honestly, it annoys me, I just don’t want to be here anymore. I put my all into this, I invest heart, blood, time, and soul into what I do. […] And all they do is jerk off to it. I don’t know why I’m still here.”

Sweet Anita

“7 seconds of my butt get 500,000 views”

These are the clips she means: It’s about so-called “Creep Clips” or “Thicc Clips”. She shows, for example, how a streamer simply gets up or bends over, showing off her curves.

Sweet Anita says she gets up from her chair to go to the bathroom. And someone makes a clip “Sweet Anita completely naked” and uploads it to YouTube. This creates a completely false image of her.

She says:

  • A 10-minute video, where she spends weeks or months sharing her thoughts, gets a few thousand views.
  • A 7-second clip of her butt reaches half a million views in a day.

It is important to understand that Sweet Anita neither creates, nor uploads or distributes these “Creep Clips”, but other content creators do this and make money with her body.

Sweet Anita believes: “There are already so many butts on the internet”; hers is not needed. This leads to further problems, as viewers come into her channel with clear expectations that she does not want to fulfill.

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Is it the same for others? Yes, this is actually a problem on Twitch. Unlike the streamers who choose to showcase their bodies, such as in “Hot Tub Streams”, there are also streamers like Sweet Anita or Pokimane who consciously refrain from it.

However, such “Thicc Videos” circulate from those, in which they are clearly sexualized.

More on the topic
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Many female streamers are bothered that in their “most popular clips” the ones at the top are those in which they actually do nothing, but you can see their butt particularly well.

Sweet Anita says: She can do nothing about it. Even if she disables the clip function on Twitch, people would simply download the full videos and make YouTube videos from them, earning money on YouTube with them.

Sweet-Anita-Thicc
Some channels specialize in this content.

This is Sweet Anita: The 30-year-old Englishwoman became famous in 2018 as an Overwatch player. She has Tourette syndrome and some motor and verbal tics that are triggered more frequently by viewer actions.

In 2019, there was a controversy when users in her Twitch chat tried to repeatedly entice her to say racist slurs. Other Twitch streamers subsequently called for her Twitch ban. But black streamers supported her, stating she is in no way a racist. And Twitch ultimately decided: Streamers with Tourette are welcome on the streaming platform.  

Sweet Anita is seen as a streamer who helps break down prejudices against those with Tourette syndrome. Someone who helps overcome barriers. But she seems to be struggling with the barrier of how Twitch treats women:

Some call for a ban on the streamer with Tourette – Twitch clearly takes a stand

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

We are giving away keys for the closed beta of Elyon – Secure your access to the new MMORPG now

On May 6th, the new MMORPG Elyon starts its first English beta test. We are giving away 1,000 keys for beta access, and you can secure one immediately if you are quick.

What is Elyon? The MMORPG has undergone many changes since its announcement as Ascent: Infinite Realm. The combat system has been almost completely reworked, removing tab-targeting and becoming more action-oriented. The classes and skills have also been extensively revamped to provide more depth for builds.

In the MMORPG, the two major factions, Vulpin and Ontari, fight for control of the mysterious portal Elyon, which is said to lead them to paradise. You will hack your way through raids, dungeons, and especially the large “Realm vs. Realm” battles, which are expected to be one of the highlights of Elyon.

Learn more about Elyon and its development here:

What to expect in the beta: During the beta test, you will be able to try out the various functions and features of the game. This includes the 5 different classes of the MMORPG and their skill trees. They are:

  • Warlord
  • Assassin
  • Mystic
  • Gunner
  • Elemental

There is no gender lock. Each skill of the classes has 4 different customization options that often significantly alter the effect of the skill. Fans of builds and skill setups will certainly find plenty to work with. A socket system provides further build variety.

Additionally, you will explore the world of Elyon, complete dungeons and quests, solve puzzles, and participate in the “Realm vs. Realm” battles where up to 300 players can smash each other’s heads.

The progress from the beta will not carry over to the finished game but will reset. An overview of the class gameplay can be found in the trailer:

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Join the Beta Test

What can you win here? In collaboration with Kakao Games and Blue Hole, we are giving away 1,000 keys for access to the closed beta of Elyon.

  • The beta test starts on May 6th at 2:00 PM
  • and ends on May 10th at 10:00 AM

It is no longer possible to register for the test. The deadline for registration was April 25th. However, you can still secure your access to the beta in our giveaway if you are quick.

The preload for the beta starts on May 4th at 2:00 PM. The beta is fully in English, but there will also be a German language version upon release.

How do I get a key? To participate in the giveaway, you have the following option:

  • You register in the giveaway tool below. The codes will be randomly drawn among all participants there

Update: The giveaway is over.

The keys will be sent by email to the winners in time for the start of the beta.

Good luck and have fun testing!

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

CoD Warzone missed Pay2Win skin got a nerf – but it probably isn’t enough

The Roze skin is considered controversial in Call of Duty: Warzone. It is so dark that some players label it as Pay2Win. After a nerf, things were supposed to get better, but there are still negative voices.

This is the Roze skin: This skin was available a few seasons ago in the paid Battle Pass and is completely black. This allows players with this skin to hide well in dark corners and surprise opponents who usually see them only at the last second, if at all. This has caused discontent for a while, so the skin has been labeled Pay2Win.

For months, there has been criticism of this skin, leading the developers to release a nerf for the skin. The outfit is supposed to be more recognizable and no longer blend in as much with the environment. The problem is that even after the nerf, the skin is still very hard to see and many players felt the nerf wasn’t strong enough.

Roze skin still too dark

Here you can see the difference: YouTuber “TheXclusiveAce” took a closer look at the skin before and after the patch. We embed the video here:

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The YouTuber found that the skin remains almost invisible in many places. Only when getting very close can one recognize the player.

However, there are some areas where the skin is now easier to recognize. This mainly depends on the angle of the light. Thus, the skin appears somewhat brighter in some places and can be recognized faster.

The YouTuber notes that visually nothing has changed about the skin. There are no brighter spots on the body that make the skin stand out. It is much more the reflection in the light that has changed. So at least sometimes the skin stands out a bit more.

Is this nerf sufficient? This is now being discussed. There is hardly any other skin in CoD Warzone that is as dark as the Roze skin. Players would have wished that the skin at least gets some brighter spots somewhere on the body. Other operators, for example, can be recognized by their faces, which are at least only partially camouflaged.

YouTube user “CringeXD” writes under TheXclusiveAce’s video about the nerf (via YouTube): “The change to Roze is just like removing a person from ‘Where’s Waldo?'” Generally, many players do not understand why the entire map has been brightened in some places instead of simply adjusting the Roze skin.

What’s next? This remains to be seen. The renewed criticism of the Roze skin is loud, so the developers are certainly aware of it. Now the question remains whether they deliberately left the skin this dark or if the nerf was simply too weak. This should become clear in the coming weeks.

Until then, you should avoid dark corners and always look carefully to see if there is still a skin hiding in a shadow. More nerfs are at least underway elsewhere. You can read more about it here:

CoD Warzone: New update fixes the map and announces more nerfs – Patch notes

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

New Survival MMO on Steam appeals to those who find Stardew Valley too easy

With CryoFall, a new survival title celebrates its release on Steam and hardly anyone has it on their radar. That’s a pity, because the approach is quite good – at least that’s what MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus thinks. However, one must also be willing to warm up to CryoFall.

Since April 2019, CryoFall has been playable in Early Access on Steam. Since then, it has been in constant development and the devs are continuously working on new content, features, and systems. Now, on April 29, 2021, CryoFall is celebrating its official release.

The survival game comes from the studio AtomicTorch and is published by the German story specialist Daedalic from Hamburg. Daedalic is actually known for excellent point-and-click adventures like Edna 's Escape, The Whispered World, and the Deponia series.

With this, the Hamburg team mainly caters to a niche of loyal fans, and CryoFall is more of a niche game. The approach is unique and tries to find a route between casual and hardcore, which proves to be a difficult mix.

This mix, however, makes the charm of the survival MMO. As part of Find Your Next Game, we want to introduce you to CryoFall in more detail.

Isometric Survival with Mixed Reviews

What is CryoFall? In CryoFall, you play as a survivor of a catastrophe in the distant future. You land on a foreign planet virtually naked and are to rebuild civilization.

You play on official or private servers with up to 200 players either in PvE, completely without contact with other players, or in PvP as a competition for survival. In addition to simply surviving, CryoFall places a central focus on building your own house and even industry, similar to Factorio.

CryoFall comes with an isometric 2D perspective (“shaded from above”) and offers a timeless comic-style graphics. Gameplay and graphics remind a bit of a middle ground between RimWorld or Stardew Valley and Conan Exiles or ARK.

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The visuals and the various building systems such as agriculture and trade primarily remind of Stardew Valley. However, CryoFall combines these with hardcore survival elements that are missing in Stardew Valley.

In addition, the survival game offers high modifiability and its own map editor. CryoFall is 100% open source, allowing anyone to create and share their mods freely.

How is CryoFall received? The reviews on Steam are “mixed” to “mostly positive.” Overall, the game has received 79% positive ratings across all reviews. In the last 30 days, it has dropped to only 69% (as of April 29, via Steam).

The player base is relatively small. In March 2021, an average of 177 players played CryoFall, peaking at 385 (via steamcharts). Since 200 players fit on a server, the population is thin.

The Typical Survival Problem: Too Little PvE?

This is criticized: A major criticism of CryoFall has been that PvP has been too much in the foreground. This is something that many survival games are often accused of. When you log out, you remain in the world and “sleep,” which makes it easy for trolls to ambush other players.

In addition, the PvE content is said to have been quite sparse. There was little to explore, and the wildlife and enemies were either non-existent or too aggressive at the beginning, resulting in little atmosphere.

Steam user SirArghAlot even describes the PvE servers as a “demo” and there is criticism of the absence of a solo mode for players who prefer to explore the world alone.

Cryofall monster
Cool monsters, but previously too little happened with them.

This is what CryoFall does better: We sent the developers some questions in advance, which they answered for us. Among them was the question about the changes CryoFall has received. Since the Early Access release in 2019, many new contents and features have been added, such as:

  • a electricity system
  • vehicles
  • factions
  • a completely redesigned map with ruins to explore
  • world events and bosses
  • fishing

This is primarily intended to enrich the PvE content, which was previously regarded as too thin. According to the developers, there are even several players with over 1000 hours in CryoFall, who apparently find enough to do.

Everything a Survival Game Needs

These are the features of the game: CryoFall particularly plays with the fact that you continuously earn progress. The main core of the game consists of research, crafting, and industry.

You start as a “primitive” player and experience a development up to the technology level of science fiction with exo-suits, outlandish weapons, and cybernetic bio-implants. These features are strongly reminiscent of RimWorld, except that you control a single character here and not an entire colony. In the process, not only do you improve your character, but you also expand your base:

  • you start with a simple house
  • later, you provide for yourself through agriculture and thus secure your survival
  • with industry and production chains, you drive technological progress
  • sciences such as chemistry, physics, and medicine then turn you into a futuristic superhuman

Additionally, there are the classic survival aspects such as hunger and thirst, which are however expanded by numerous status effects. You must not only pay attention to food and drink, but also to radiation, poison, and injuries. For every status effect, there are also items that can counter them.

Cryofall Medicine and status effects
In CryoFall, there are plenty of status effects with corresponding countermeasures.

What makes CryoFall special? The unique selling point of the survival game is that it takes elements from both casual games and core games and mixes them into something of its own. CryoFall tries to strike a balance in all aspects:

  • the graphics are pretty and detailed but kept simple in 2D
  • enemies are deadly, yet you can easily avoid them
  • the systems are complex but intuitively easy to learn and build on each other
  • various status effects weaken you but can be avoided with proper preparation
  • when you log out, you can still be killed but are protected in your own home

However, this puts CryoFall on a difficult path. For the survival casual player, the systems may be too harsh, while they may seem too easy for the survival pro. Exactly this intertwining of various systems makes it appealing and encourages a deeper engagement with the game.

Who is CryoFall For?

If you have played Stardew Valley or Terraria but find nothing more to do there or are looking for more of a challenge, you should give CryoFall a chance. The MMO aspect differentiates this survival game from Stardew Valley and Terraria, while its operation and interface remain quite similar. However, CryoFall does not provide a story like Stardew Valley.

CryoFall is also suitable if you find hardcore survival games like Rust or Conan Exiles too harsh, but still seek a certain level of difficulty. CryoFall offers a somewhat easier entry and is much more forgiving of mistakes.

Even newcomers will find CryoFall worth a look, especially if you tend to enjoy strategy and management games. Base building and industry in CryoFall remind a bit of Factorio or simulations like RimWorld.

CryoFall base
The base building reminds a bit of RimWorld.

However, if you are looking for a chill survival game to relax or the absolute competition with other players, you are in the wrong place with CryoFall.

By the way: The requirements of CryoFall are extremely low. With just 700 MB of required storage, 3 GB of RAM, and a Dual-Core processor at 2.2 GHz, even an old computer with a weak graphics card is sufficient. A resolution of 720p is already adequate.

If you are still unsure, CryoFall even offers a demo. It includes the full game, is free, and you can play for 8 hours. Just use the “Download Demo” button on the CryoFall Steam page.

What’s next for CryoFall

The developers revealed their plans for the future. For the modifications, the Steam Workshop could be implemented, making it even easier to get mods for CryoFall and customize the game.

A major goal is to improve single-player and co-op content. At the moment, there is no option to play CryoFall completely alone or with a friend without running your own server. The developers want to introduce a way to start a private server directly through the game and play with friends when everything goes well.

When asked if there would be a battle pass, add-ons, or DLCs, they only said: “Everything is possible, but right now we are focusing on expanding the core of the game. There are a few other things we are considering, but we would like to keep that secret until we are sure we can pull it off.

Niche game with hidden gem potential

With its crazy intertwining of casual and hardcore elements, CryoFall definitely appeals to a very specific group of players, and I am still not quite sure who that should actually be.

So far, I have played only a little, but what I have seen I liked. The approach sounds incredibly interesting, and I would really like to explore the world further – if only the mechanics didn’t look so strenuous.

I like to read up on systems, but CryoFall sounds a bit too complex for a relaxed survival game. However, it may well be that understanding comes naturally while playing. The tutorial was definitely good already, and I can recommend everyone at least check out the demo. However, I think you have to be a certain type of gamer to really immerse yourself in CryoFall.

Niche games are not bad at all. Studios that know only a small group of enthusiasts will play their game can tailor it much better for exactly that group. I hope that this is exactly what happens with CryoFall and think that AtomicTorch has the right publisher in Daedalic to help them achieve this goal.

asks meinmmo benedict

Benedict Grothaus
Freelance author and survival expert at MeinMMO

Whether the developers’ plans will work and what the new content will look like remains to be seen. However, it sounds like there is enough for the studio to do to further improve CryoFall. In our list, you will find more survival games worth a look:

The 25 best survival games 2021 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC

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

With bunkers, you can earn a lot of money in GTA Online this week

The weekly bonuses for GTA Online are here and bring numerous discounts, extra cash, and RP for players. Right now, bunker owners can make a lot of extra money. MeinMMO shows you what’s worth it this week.

Why is it worth it this week? With the weekly bonuses, you will now receive double RP and cash rewards when you complete selling missions starting from now (April 29).

If your bunker business is running, you can sell the products produced. Normally, you earn around 1 million GTA$ with a full bunker. However, with the bonuses, you can now earn around 2 million.

What if I don’t have a bunker yet? Then you should consider purchasing one this week. In addition to the bonuses for selling missions, there is also a 50% discount on the purchase of a bunker. All renovations are also reduced by 50%.

GTA 5 Online Gunrunning Sales
This is what the bunker menu looks like.

What are bunkers anyway? With a bunker, you can research weapon upgrades and sell products that your staff produces for you in GTA Online.

Additionally, you can play bunker missions, which this week offer particularly many rewards. Bunker missions are among the best ways to earn money in GTA Online in 2021.

In total, there are 11 different buildings priced between 1,165,000 GTA$ and 2,375,000 GTA$. You can find more information in our summary of the Gunrunning DLC for GTA 5 Online: Gunrunning DLC – All Bunkers and Vehicles.

New podium vehicle and discounts on laser weapons

What else is there this week? As always, you will find a new podium vehicle. This week it’s the Übermacht Revolter. Additionally, there are bonuses for the adversary mode and discounts on various vehicles. Here are all weekly bonuses listed:

Podium Vehicle

  • Übermacht Revolter 

Bonus GTA$ and RP activities:

  • 3x GTA$ and RP in adversary mode – Motor Wars 
  • 2x GTA$ and RP in adversary mode – Missile Base 
  • 2x GTA$ and RP in adversary mode – Bunker 
  • 2x GTA$ and RP in adversary mode – Diamond 

Discounts:

  • 40% off the Ocelot Ardent  
  • 40% off the HVY APC
  • 40% off the Bravado Half-Track
  • 40% off the Enus Paragon R
  • 40% off all laser weapons

What do you think of the bonuses this week? Did you wish for something different? Let us know in the comments.

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

Riot kills a ‘LoL Classic’ of the fans – But embarrasses itself terribly

Riot Games has forced a fan project for League of Legends to cease operations: Some fans had been working on a LoL Classic for 5 years. However, an employee of Riot threatened the developers in a way that is perceived on the internet as “extortion” and behaved in a cringe-worthy manner.

This is the project in question: The project was called Chronoshift. It is essentially the same idea as private servers for WoW, before WoW Classic existed. Chronoshift was intended to be a privately operated server where you could play LoL as it was 10 years ago.

Back then, LoL had far fewer champions, and the systems were not as refined. It was a different game.

The developers of Chronoshift say:

  • They had been working on the project for 5 years
  • Invested thousands of hours
  • Had never made money from it, covering all expenses themselves. They had declined offers of thousands of dollars from people who really wanted to join the server.

The fans apparently hoped to operate in a gray area and that Riot Games would let them be. They thought their work harmed nobody. However, that hope was dashed.

Fans say: Riot extorted them to hand over LoL Classic

This is the controversy: 5 days ago, the developers of the project turned to the public on reddit (via reddit). An employee of Riot Games named Zed supposedly invited them to a conversation on Discord and pressured them to abandon the project.

They posted a long chat log with statements from “Zed,” who behaved like a sort of “mafia extortionist” and made particularly bold statements to get the fans to end the project.

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A long chat log with Zed shows a “Riot employee” on a power trip.

Zed immediately threatened with a lawsuit, but that is “long and complicated”; hence he wanted to resolve the problem this way to “spare everyone the trouble.”

If the fans complied with his demands, then “everyone could go home without feeling bad about it.”

The demands from Riot were:

  • Hand over the website to us
  • Hand over the complete source code
  • Provide us with all important information

This was the offer. If the creators of Chronoshift complied, they wouldn’t be sued. If they refused, Riot would file a lawsuit.

Zed explained: He works for the security team. He finds things and people. They could resolve this today to settle the matter or take it to court. It ultimately didn’t matter to him.

He ended the conversation with the words: “I wish I could say it was a pleasure.”

Fans consider alleged Riot employee a fraud and charlatan

This is what was discussed: On reddit, people believed “Zed” was a fraud posing as a Riot employee, but was just a troll.

It was hard to imagine that a guy with such a deliberately cool persona truly worked for Riot. Clearly, this was a guy on a power trip. No one speaks like this in a real professional environment if they have any self-respect.

More on the topic
WoW: BC Server Felmyst had too much hype, will be shut down
von Schuhmann

Riot sends a cease and desist, kills the fan project

This is now the turning point: Zed actually works for Riot Games. The developers of PC Gamer explained this. Riot Games states they had already asked the developers in 2020 to read the terms and cease work on the project.

They have now sent a cease and desist letter to the developers of Chronoshift.

Riot Games admits that the conversation with “Zed” did indeed take place, but says they are “disappointed with the tone of the conversation.”

They will now address it internally. They often first approach people in good faith before going to court, but in this case, they opted for the official route.

The team has ceased work on the project, but expresses being “incredibly disappointed.”

Is LoL going to make a LoL Classic now? No, it doesn’t look like it. According to Ghostcrawler, they theoretically could do it. However, it would be a mountain of work that probably isn’t worth it. They prefer to invest the technologists’ work into the current game.

They have nothing against the idea of an “older version of LoL” and it would certainly be fun for a short time, but they would quickly find that there were reasons to release Season 2, 3, and 4 after Season 1 and it is quite possible that it simply isn’t worth investing much developer work into the project.”

Sounds quite similar to what Blizzard said for years about “WoW Classic”:

New Blizzard head was the hate figure of WoW Classic fans

Sounds quite similar to what Blizzard said for years about “WoW Classic”:

New Blizzard head was the hate figure of WoW Classic fans

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

Nvidia makes mining significantly harder so you can soon buy a graphics card

If you want to buy a graphics card like the GeForce RTX 3080 or RTX 3060, you are having trouble getting one. Because the cards are either sold out or very expensive. Nvidia now wants to make mining unattractive so that gamers can also buy a graphics card.

Anyone looking to buy a graphics card must currently pay very high prices. This has various reasons:

  • Many graphics cards are bought up by resellers and resold at high prices. Also, many retailers are now setting prices significantly above the recommended retail price.
  • A second reason is the current attractiveness of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Nvidia had developed a mining lock for the RTX 3060, but this mining lock on the RTX 3060 was quickly hacked.

Now there are rumors and information that Nvidia is working on a new version of its mining lock. For this, Nvidia is developing a new chip that is intended to be unattractive for miners.

What is the goal? Nvidia wants to make future RTX 3000 graphics cards useless for miners. Because Nvidia wants to revise the graphics chip. Gamers looking for a graphics card should therefore have a significantly better chance in the long term of getting a new GPU for their gaming PC.

Nvidia is probably also hoping that miners will instead prefer the mining graphics cards that Nvidia currently markets under the abbreviation “CMP”. Behind the update is therefore also financial calculation.

What are cryptocurrencies?
These are digital currencies that are traded online. They are anonymous and usually decentralized. The downside is that the currency can fluctuate extremely in value and that mining requires a lot of energy.
Currently, there are more than 4,500 different currencies, but the most important ones are Bitcoin and Ether (via wikipedia.de).

Nvidia revises old mining lock for newly produced graphics cards

What kind of lock was that? Nvidia wanted it to be not worth it for miners to buy RTX 3060 graphics cards in the future. Nvidia had configured the software for the graphics cards so that it should recognize certain mining algorithms. Once the software recognized that people wanted to mine cryptocurrencies, it would halve the hashrate. Mining was hardly worth it anymore.

What is a “hash rate”?
Simply put, the hash rate indicates how quickly the many complex calculations for unlocking a new block are performed. The higher the hash rate, the faster mining can take place.

That’s why the old lock didn’t work: The old mining lock on the RTX 3060 could be bypassed with some simple tricks that required little technical skill.

At the latest when Nvidia released a software update for the graphics cards, where the mining lock was disabled, this lock no longer mattered (via GameStar.de).

This is what Nvidia wants to do now: According to unofficial sources found by Videocardz, Nvidia is said to have informed its board partners that it wants to change its graphics chips (via Videocardz.com). The new chips are adjusted so that they only work with graphics card drivers that limit cryptocurrency mining.

This new graphics chip is to be installed in all future RTX 3000 graphics cards. However, this will not be marked as a new chip.

Are all graphics cards affected? According to Videocardz, there should at least be one exception that will not receive a mining lock. And that exception is the GeForce RTX 3090.

  • The RTX 3090 offers significantly worse efficiency than other graphics cards like the RTX 3060 or the RTX 3060 Ti, even though the hash rate is better.
  • Additionally, the RTX 3090 costs at least $1,499. This makes it unattractive for many miners.

Availability of graphics cards is currently quite poor

This is what it looks like currently: Graphics cards like the RTX 3080 are currently hardly available or only at very high prices. The GeForce RTX 3080 was already sold out within moments at the time of launch and ended up fetching high sums on Ebay. Other people, like a user are installing a whole half dozen RTX 3000 graphics cards in a BMW and are not necessarily making themselves popular.

Due to the poor availability, especially older GPUs are in such demand that you can even make a profit with old graphics cards. This is partly because many are turning to gaming to spend time with friends or relatives due to the strict Corona restrictions. This suddenly makes older hardware important again.

Our readers at MeinMMO have told us that they are willing to spend a lot of money on a graphics card. This is also because graphics cards are currently hardly available at normal prices.

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

WoW boss talks about the return of the tier sets that you all wish for

The popular tier sets in World of Warcraft (WoW) were removed with the Battle for Azeroth expansion. Now players are waiting for their return – but that might take some time, as Blizzard revealed.

Why were the tier sets removed? The removal of the tier sets in Battle for Azeroth didn’t sit well with every WoW fan. Blizzard made this decision for design reasons, as the developers did not want to see “the thirtieth iteration of a mage-specific set.”

Tier sets also had the disadvantage of significantly restricting players in their equipment choices. Some items forced players to decide whether to use the items based solely on their raw stats or as a combined bonus in the set. Should an old set be replaced directly, or should several parts of the new set be collected first?

Nonetheless, players miss the ability to collect these tier sets and the designs of the individual classes. With Shadowlands, sets were actually supposed to return. Players expected this to happen at the latest with Patch 9.1 – but they are still missing in that set. Now there’s new information from the director.

You still have to wait a little longer for the return of tier sets in WoW

Will the tier sets return? In an interview with WoW expert and streamer Preachlfw, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas said that the sets will definitely return (via Twitch; at 1 hour, 20 minutes, 40 seconds). However, WoW fans will need to be patient. Ion Hazzikostas explained that the return of the sets is expected only after the upcoming Update 9.1 “Sanctum of Domination.”

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With Update 9.2, 12 different armor sets are supposed to come into the game, each with interesting set bonuses for every class. However, where you will get them and what exactly they will do is still open.

How are players reacting to this announcement? Even though some WoW fans hoped that tier sets would return with Update 9.1, the excitement is still high.

  • FishOnTheFloor says (via wowhead): “At least they are coming back and even have cool bonuses. I’m really looking forward to seeing what exactly they bring.”
  • Skilful writes (via wowhead): “Patch 9.2 is going to be the best!”
  • Sepulchre778 is very excited (via wowhead): “Yes! I can’t wait!”
  • veeco is somewhat frustrated (via wowhead): “That’s typical. First, they take a feature out of the game that has been around for 12 years. Fans get angry. And then they bring it back and are celebrated as good developers.”

What do you think about the return of tier sets in WoW? Are you excited or do you find the sets unnecessary? Did you hope they would return sooner? Let us know in the comments.

MeinMMO presents you the most beautiful tier sets of all time from WoW – for each of the 12 classes.

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

Pokémon GO: All new Raid bosses for the Snap Event and their counters

The new Snap event in Pokémon GO brings new, current raid bosses to the arenas of Pokémon GO. We show you who you will encounter at levels 1, 3, 5 and in Mega Raids and which counters you should have ready.

What’s going on in Pokémon GO? On April 29, the “New Snap” event started. Due to the release of New Pokémon Snap on the Nintendo Switch, it is also being celebrated in Pokémon GO. This includes different spawns in the wild, shiny Farbregal and also altered raid Pokémon.

Here we show you the current raid bosses in Pokémon GO.

Current Raid Bosses in Pokémon GO (from April 29)

What you need to know: We list the bosses of the various difficulty levels one after the other. Names marked with a star (*) indicate that you can encounter these Pokémon as shiny as well.

DifficultyRaid Boss
Tier 1Bulbasaur*
Fangor*
Shinx*
Piccolente
Psiau
Tier 3Venusaur*
Vaporeon
Meganium
Tyranitar
Sharkpedo
Hippowdon
Tier 5Landorus (Incarnate Form)*
Thundurus (Incarnate Form)*
Tornadus (Incarnate Form)*
Mega RaidsMega-Venusaur*
Mega-Lapras*
Mega-Blaziken*

The Best Counters

Tier 1: At the first level of the raids, you can defeat the Pokémon quite easily, even if you don’t have the ideal counters.

Tier 3:

  • Against Venusaur, Fire-type Pokémon such as Flampivian, Moltres or Blaziken are suitable.
  • Against Vaporeon, Electric-type Pokémon like Raikou or Zapdos are suitable. Grass-type Pokémon like Venusaur are also effective.
  • Against Meganium, you can use Fire-type Pokémon like Charizard, Entei or Reshiram (in addition to the counters for Venusaur).
  • Against Tyranitar, Fighting-type Pokémon like Lucario, Machamp or Machoke are effective.
  • Against Sharkpedo, use Electric-type Pokémon like Electivire or Raikou in the raid. But also fighters like Gallade and Machamp hit hard.
  • Against Hippowdon, Water and Ice are effective. Use attackers like Mega-Blastoise, Shadow-Mamoswine or Mega-Gyarados.

Tier 5: In the level 5 raids, legendary Pokémon await you, which have been available individually for weeks. We have special guides for Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus that provide you with the most important information such as counters.

Mega Raids: The Mega Raids reward you with Pokémon that you can activate the Mega Evolution for.

In the battle against Mega-Venusaur, other Mega Pokémon such as Mega-Charizard X and Y are suitable. But also Shadow-Mewtwo, the regular Mewtwo, and Shadow-Moltres are very potent attackers in battle.

In the raid against Mega-Lapras, you are well served with Mega-Pokémon such as Mega-Pidgeot, Mega-Lapras, and Mega-Charizard Y. Also helpful are Shadow-Mewtwo, Mewtwo, Shadow-Moltres, Shadow-Machamp, or Shadow-Gladevoir.

When facing Mega-Blaziken, attackers like Mega-Charizard X and Y as well as Mega-Houndoom are strong options. As Shadow attackers, you are well served with Shadow-Moltres, Shadow-Charizard, and Shadow-Entei.

If you are looking for more counters, we show you the strongest attackers sorted by type in Pokémon GO.

Shiny Farbregal Pokemon GO
You can find Shiny Farbregal now

You can only take advantage of the Snap event for a few days. It ends already on Sunday evening at 8:00 PM local time. But until then, there are some bonuses that ensure a lot of fun. Especially shiny hunters should get a move on, as you can now catch Shiny Farbregal.

Everything you need to know about the Snap event in Pokémon GO.

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

Blizzard is causing trouble again – This time due to a skin in Overwatch

The gaming company Blizzard is currently in the spotlight regarding its diversity. After women complained about their treatment in Hearthstone, Blizzard is now facing criticism for a skin in Overwatch : Blizzard has now given the Asian character Mei cornrows. Some black women find this offensive: They have missed having a black female character in Overwatch for 5 years.

What’s going on at Blizzard? It’s a strange transformation that Blizzard is undergoing:

  • With Overwatch in 2016, Blizzard wanted to make a statement for “more diversity” and move away from the fact that the hero figures in their games are predominantly muscular men with broad shoulders or sexy women in battle bikinis: They aimed to develop a game with a diverse cast of heroes.
  • However, in recent months, criticism of Blizzard has been accumulating, accusing them of disadvantaging and belittling groups of people with their decisions. Blizzard has been sharply criticized for inviting only 2 women and 18 men to a tournament with 20 grandmasters in Hearthstone.
  • This time, the criticism is focused on a skin for the hero Mei in Overwatch.

This is the problem skin: The legendary skin “MM-Mei” depicts the frost heroine Mei as a “Mixed Martial Arts” fighter. Apparently, this skin is modeled after the UFC fighter Zhang Weili, who also wears her hair in cornrows.

Cornrows are a braided hairstyle originating from Africa. Some famous black basketball players wore cornrows in the 2000s, such as Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, or Latrell Spreewell. The hairstyle is popular among female mixed martial arts fighters because long hair does not obstruct vision during fights.
Overwatch-Mei_Mei

Blizzard commented on the skin: “Since the May Melee is the first Overwatch tournament of the year, we wanted to design a skin that represents the pinnacle of competition. We feel that combat sports like boxing or mixed martial arts capture that tone very well and therefore started creating this legendary skin.”

Blizzard chose Mei because many fans amused themselves with the wordplay “May Mei” in 2020. Therefore, it was clear that Mei should be the hero for the “Mixed Martial” Arts skin.

https://twitter.com/xoxogossipgita/status/1387483743460470784
Journalist Gita Jackson calls it a “PR blunder” to have a black hairstyle for a black heroine in Overwatch.

Black hairstyle in Overwatch, but no black heroine

What’s the problem? The problem that Twitter users have with the skin is:

  • While there are all kinds of characters in Overwatch, there is no black woman. Since the development of Overwatch 1 is practically finished, there will also be no black woman – Sojourn is only coming for Overwatch 2.
  • However, the new skin features a hairstyle that many directly associate with black women. This, it is said, rubs “salt in the wound” for Blizzard.
More on the topic
A year full of shitstorms – Blizzard runs headlong into the next
von Cortyn

Users on Twitter, especially black women, criticize Blizzard for the skin. Many note that Blizzard clearly lacks black developers and their perspective; otherwise, they would have noticed how inappropriate this is.

The skin is perceived as a “PR blunder.”

The Twitter account “Black Girl Gamers” pointed out that Blizzard was already criticized in 2018 for having no black women in the ensemble of 29 heroes in Overwatch. They called it “lazy and misogynistic” back then.

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Do some see it differently? Yes, others say: The hairstyle is simply common among MMA fighters and thus appropriate for the skin.

They point specifically to UFC fighter Zhang Weili, who wears cornrows as a “real-life example” that the skin is not culturally offensive.

tweet-blizzard-mei-cornrows

Some comment under the skin: “This is the reason why Jeff Kaplan left” or “Jeff saw this and submitted his resignation.”

The example of skins for Mei clearly shows how the discussion in gaming has shifted. Five years ago, in the release year of Overwatch, there was also a discussion about a skin for Mei. This feels like a relic from older, innocent days:

Overwatch: Mei Christmas skin is “not as cool as thought”

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Source(s):
  1. pcgamesn

CoD Warzone: New update fixes the map and announces more nerfs – Patch notes

The first update of the Call of Duty: Warzone after the season start is here. The developers are fixing some nasty bugs and already announcing the next big weapon balancing. MeinMMO shows you the details.

What is this update? On Wednesday evening (April 28), Call of Duty: Warzone released a new update. With the patch, the developers are fixing some annoying bugs and announcing nerfs for strong weapons after the season start. The key points:

Additionally, there were a few other fixes for small bugs that had crept into the game. MeinMMO shows you the complete patch notes in German.

CoD Warzone: Update 28.04. fixes the map and the eagle event

Do I need to download anything for the update? The patch came in the background and does not have its own version number. You only need to download a small amount or your game will do it automatically upon starting.

What do the patch notes say? The highlights are definitely the fix of the current live event “Eagle Hunt” and the map repairs. But there are further adjustments:

  • Progress for the “Eagle Hunt” event should now be counted correctly
  • Tasks of the Eagle event no longer spawn outside the map
  • Various locations on the map Verdansk ’84 repaired where players fell under the map
  • Removed a bug that kept showing the gas mask overlay even though the mask was used
  • Epic M82 blueprint was displayed with thermal scope
  • MP5 blueprint “Barbed Wire” from CoD MW is no longer box loot
  • Reload audio of the Shadowhunter crossbow restored
  • Fixed issues with the plane in the battle royale practice mode
  • Visual background bug of the explosion in the north fixed

The developers reacted relatively quickly to issues with the new map Verdansk ’84. Players were glitching under the map and could easily eliminate fair players.

If you want to take a look at all the changes yourself, you can find the link to the English patch notes (via ravensoftware.com) here.

Warzone announces AMAX nerf

At the end of the patch notes, the CoD creators provided a small preview of upcoming changes. Since the start of Season 3, the weapon meta has been broader and more open than ever – but it’s still not enough for the developers.

Warzone is announcing nerfs for three weapons that they currently consider a bit too strong:

Furthermore, the developers mention that there will be “adjustments to the ADS fire rate of “Cold War” attachments”. Currently, the weapons from Cold War are considered more mobile and faster in battle royale. The firearms from Modern Warfare cannot keep up in some cases. Apparently, changes are planned to tweak the aim-down-sight speed of some attachments.

Adjustments to the sights themselves might be possible here. Currently, the value reductions of most Cold War sights are minimal to hardly noticeable. In contrast, the sights from Modern Warfare all come with significant drawbacks in sight speed.

When the nerfs will come is left open by the patch notes. However, it is possible that an implementation could occur with the regular playlist update today, Thursday (April 29). Because at least they have apparently been working on the AMAX nerf for a while. There was already a note about the weapon in the patch notes for Season 3: “No king reigns forever”.

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Pokémon GO starts Snap event with new quests, spawns and new research

In Pokémon GO the big Snap Event around Shiny Farbedeagle has started today. We will show you the new Field Research, the Timed Research, and special spawns here.

How long does the event last? Since today, April 29th at 10:00 AM, the big Snap Event is running. You can benefit from the bonuses until May 2nd at 8:00 PM local time. So the event does not last too long.

Nevertheless, there are numerous bonuses that you can snag. To make sure you don’t miss anything, we provide you with an overview here.

Spawns, Quests, and Research for the Snap Event

These are the new quests: A total of 4 different tasks await you, all of which give you the chance to obtain several Pokémon:

  • Use 5 golden Razz Berries while catching Pokémon
    • Encounter with Lapras or Alolan Vulpix (both can be Shiny)
  • Get 5 snapshots of wild Pokémon
    • Encounter with Panzaeron (can be Shiny), Dodri, or Mantax
  • Use 5 berries while catching Pokémon
    • Encounter with Wurmpel, Felino, Glibunkel (all can be Shiny), Skunkapuh, or Flunschlik
  • Get a snapshot of a wild Pokémon
    • 3 Sanana or Razz Berries

In 3 out of 4 quests, you have the chance to get various Shinys. Depending on which Shinys you are still missing, you should pursue the quests. All tasks are easy to complete, allowing you to finish several Field Research during the event.

This is how you take snapshots in the wild: Click on any Pokémon in the wild. Do not catch it, but switch to the camera. You then just need to take a photo and the quest is complete. In doing so, you also have the chance to encounter a Farbedeagle, which appears thanks to the snapshot.

These are the spawns: Numerous different monsters appear in the wild. For Shiny hunters, interesting ones are Loturzel, Lampi, Sandan, Griffel, and Knacklion. If you are still missing these Shinys, you should take your chance during the event.

The new Shiny Farbedeagle, by the way, does not appear in the wild. You can only obtain it through snapshots. Overall, Farbedeagle appears 15 times per day through a snapshot. You have several opportunities for the new Shiny.

Shiny Farbedeagle Pokemon GO
On the right, you see the Shiny form of Farbedeagle.

This is the Timed Research: In line with the event, there is also a Timed Research with a total of 4 steps. We will show you here:

Snap Event (1/4)

  • Use 3 berries while catching Pokémon
    • Encounter with Haspiror (can be Shiny)
  • Take a snapshot of Griffel, Loturzel, or Toxiped in the wild
    • 5 Poké Balls
  • Take 3 snapshots of wild Pokémon
    • Encounter with Mauzi (can be Shiny)
  • Rewards at the end: Encounter with Dodri, 5 Nanab Berries, and 750 XP

Snap Event (2/4)

  • Take a snapshot of Sandan, Knacklion, or Tuska in the wild
    • 10 Poké Balls
  • Use 5 berries while catching Pokémon
    • Encounter with Sandan (can be Shiny)
  • Take 3 snapshots of wild Ground Pokémon
    • Encounter with Onix (can be Shiny)
  • Rewards at the end: Encounter with Panzaeron (can be Shiny), 5 Razz Berries, and 1250 XP

Snap Event (3/4)

  • Take a snapshot of Lampi, Finneon, or Piccolente in the wild
    • 10 Great Balls
  • Use 7 berries while catching Pokémon
    • Encounter with Wailmer (can be Shiny)
  • Take 3 snapshots of wild Water Pokémon
    • Encounter with Baldorfish (can be Shiny)
  • Rewards at the end: Encounter with Mantax, 5 Sanana Berries, and 2000 XP

Snap Event (4/4)

  • Take 15 snapshots of wild Pokémon
    • 10 Ultra Balls
  • Take a snapshot of Dodri, Mantax, or Panzaeron in the wild
    • Encounter with Pionskora (can be Shiny)
  • Use 5 berries while catching Pokémon
    • Encounter with 1000 stardust
  • Rewards at the end: Encounter with Perlu (can be Shiny) and 8000 XP

What’s next in Pokémon GO? The event around Shiny Farbedeagle marks the end of April. However, numerous events will continue in May. You can find a detailed overview of all the events in the upcoming month here:

Pokémon GO: All events in May 2021 – Which ones are worth it?

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New shooter Scavengers is live on Steam – here’s how you can get keys through Twitch Drops

The early access version of the multiplayer shooter Scavengers has launched. We will tell you how to participate in the battles and obtain a Steam key.

What is Scavengers? The free-to-play shooter Scavengers combines survival with PvP elements. You are a scavenger searching for data on a frozen Earth that is vital for the survival of humanity. To do this, you are repeatedly shot from an orbital bunker down to Earth for missions.

In the match with 60 players, you are in teams of 3 – internal tests even allowed for 9,000 players. You need to find data points and reach a dropship with the collected data. You will face not only wild beasts but also the other teams. Additionally, the weather will challenge you with severe storms. It is important to seek shelter during such a storm, as otherwise you receive a nasty debuff and slowly lose max HP, which cannot be healed.

It is also important to equip yourself well with weapons beforehand, and you can improve your character over time. The trailer explains what you can expect during the early access phase:

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Get a Steam key for Scavengers

How to participate: Currently, a simple access to the early access phase of Scavengers via Steam is not possible. However, you can obtain a key. And that is via Twitch Drops. Here’s how it works:

  • You need to watch one of the live streams of Scavengers on Twitch that has Twitch Drops activated. You can see which streams those are on the game’s Twitch page (via Twitch).
  • Authorize your Twitch account (via Twitch Auth Page).
  • You will now be redirected to the Scavengers website where you need to create an Improbable account.
  • Confirm this account. You will receive an email for that.
  • Now you need to watch one of the Twitch streams for the shooter for at least 30 minutes. For this, you will receive a Twitch drop.
  • You will then receive a Steam key for Scavengers via email. This can take about 10 minutes.
  • You redeem this key through Steam and can then try out the shooter.

This PC is required to play: You should of course ensure that you have a PC that meets the minimum requirements of Scavengers. These are as follows:

  • Operating system: Windows 10
  • Processor: Core i5-6500 or similar
  • Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 / AMD Radeon R9 380
  • RAM: 8 GB
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage space: 15 GB

Will you be getting a Steam key for Scavengers via Twitch drop? Or are you perhaps already involved and can share your experiences with the shooter? Let us know in the comments.

We from MeinMMO have categorized Scavengers as one of 7 unique MMOs and multiplayer games that have no real alternatives.

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Source(s):
  1. MMORPG.com
  2. Steam

Find Your Next Game: Check out our program with multiplayer games in spring

Find Your Next Game is now available as a Spring Edition. Once again, we will present you the latest games as part of the event and show you what is currently happening in established multiplayer games. Check out our streams!

This is FYNG: At Find Your Next Game (short FYNG), we from MeinMMO, together with our colleagues from GameStar and GamePro, present the hottest and most promising games. From April 20th to April 29th, we will provide you with reviews and previews, streams and videos, and exclusive information about established and upcoming titles.

This time, the Spring Edition is upon us, where we want to introduce you to a huge batch of new games and will show some exclusive gameplay from upcoming titles. And of course, a whole range of MMOs and multiplayer games will be included:

  • Hood: Outlaws and Legends
  • The Elder Scrolls Online
  • The Day Before
  • Valorant
  • Conan Exiles

The games will be presented to you in streams by MeinMMO Editor-in-Chief Leya Jankowski and MMORPG Editor Alexander Leitsch, as well as our colleagues from GameStar and GamePro. And of course, you will also get various articles to read, authored by the editors and writers of the three Webedia gaming sites.

All Important Information at a Glance

This is the schedule for April 27th to April 29th

fyng program 29.04

On Tuesday, April 29th, we have the following program points for you:

  • 3:00 PM: Editorial AMA: Ask us anything!
  • 5:00 PM: React Live – YOUR topics in the talk
  • 6:00 PM: Expeditions: Rome – An RPG in ancient Rome?!
  • 6:30 PM: Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition – How much better is the new version?
  • 7:00 PM: Raytracing 2021 – What does the future of graphics look like?
  • 8:00 PM: Hidden Gem Games: Compound Fracture, Airhead, Endling, etc.
  • 9:00 PM: CryoFall – Played live!

Where can I watch the streams? You can always watch the streams on our streaming channels:

Where can I find the articles? You will be able to see the daily FYNG articles in the corresponding hub directly in an overview:

So check it out, chat with us in the stream chat, and share your opinion about the games we will cover.

We look forward to seeing you!

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