Graphics cards like the RTX 3000 are currently in high demand, yet people want to buy one for their PC for various reasons. MeinMMO author Benedikt Schlotmann has bought an old graphics card instead of an RTX 3080. He explains why he did this and why it might also be worth it for you.
Why did I even buy a graphics card? Over the weekend, I usually visit my girlfriend. For everyday tasks, I set up a computer there to be able to complete important tasks and game a bit.
Since I upgraded my main computer with a Ryzen 5 2600 X, the old processor and motherboard ended up in this PC. Here, there is only a Ryzen 3 2200 G with an integrated graphics chip and no dedicated graphics card.
With this, I can complete my daily tasks in Genshin Impact with medium settings and play my event tasks in Overwatch at about 30 FPS. More than that is not possible.
Currently, however, I also have other titles that I play: In Apex Legends, the new Season 9 has started, and I enjoy playing several rounds in the evenings. However, the processor’s graphics unit is not sufficient for this without becoming a burden to my teammates due to missed shots.
These were my criteria:
Playing at Full HD is completely sufficient
More than 60 FPS doesn’t matter since the monitor can only handle a maximum of 60 Hz
I rarely play competitively/ranked on my PC, as I want to relax on weekends.
So I already had clear ideas about what I needed before the purchase to draw enough performance from my old box.
These difficulties arose during the graphics card purchase
This is what the current situation looks like: Currently, graphics card prices are really high and seem quite daunting. Especially the new graphics cards entice with very good efficiency and performance. The RTX 3080 was sold out immediately upon release. There were various reasons for this, such as availability and especially scalpers and bots.
Moreover, certain components for graphics cards and consoles are currently scarce, which likely won’t improve the availability. Even by mid-April, the graphics card market has not calmed down.
What alternatives are there? The alternative is to look for used graphics cards with enough performance that meet my needs. But even here, prices are noticeably rising. Because old graphics cards can currently be sold for good money, as we explain in detail in this article:
This is how I proceeded: I dedicated a weekend to comparing graphics cards, looking at their performance, and monitoring price trends.
Afterwards, I checked various platforms such as Amazon, eBay, but also classifieds offers and the ratings of the sellers and placed first offers on my watch list.
Finally, I made a purchase from a seller who seemed trustworthy to me and already had ratings from other buyers. The costs were around 100 euros plus a few euros for shipping.
Why I chose this graphics card
Which graphics card did I buy? I bought a Radeon R9 380. This is a mid-range graphics card that was released on June 18, 2015.
This is still officially supported by AMD, and there are also current drivers for the graphics card. The graphics interfaces DirectX 12, Vulkan, and OpenGL are easily supported.
Features like FreeSync are also included. My version of the Radeon R9 380 also offers 4 GB of video memory and can easily handle demanding titles.
Carefully packed, the graphics card arrived at my place.
What is the performance sufficient for? On paper, the R9 380 is about 30% faster than the RX 560 and is about 30 – 40% behind the RX 570 / RX 5500.
In practice, I can currently easily play modern titles on medium to high settings with the R9 380:
In Apex Legends, I usually have a consistent 60 FPS, on my 144 Hz monitor I can even achieve 15 to 20 FPS more.
Overwatch now also offers stable 60 FPS.
Civilization VI runs smoothly with high settings.
This is how I tested the graphics card to see if it runs properly.
These things helped me with the purchase
It has definitely been helpful that I have been assembling computer systems for several years. This allows me to compare prices with my order history. I already had a few used dealers on my list with whom I had good experiences.
This way, I could at least estimate how much money I had spent in the previous year and had a few suppliers I could check out.
These risks existed: Purchasing used goods naturally carries risks, which one should be aware of. You have to rely on the seller’s statements and be willing to pay money. However, you have no real guarantee that the purchased item actually works. Usually, there are no guarantees or warranties.
Buyer protection systems from eBay, PayPal, or Amazon offer protection for sellers and buyers, but conflict resolution may take weeks.
Most private sellers are usually just ordinary people with no evil intentions. It helps to discuss the sale or clarify details.
This is my conclusion: Anyone who wants to game in the current situation does not necessarily have to invest hundreds of euros and pay the exorbitant prices currently demanded. If you have patience and observe the market, you can find some good offers.
It also helps to be able to assess your own needs. Depending on what I mainly play currently or how often I play, it can certainly be important to opt for an older device instead of a new model.
Currently, you should not buy certain graphics cards anyway and should instead look at the used market:
As soon as the new map in CoD Warzone went live, there are already players who prefer to hide underneath it. From there, they take out unsuspecting opponents who have no idea where the fire is coming from.
The problem is: A glitch allows cheaters to move beneath the map Verdansk ’84 at different locations and take out their opponents.
For instance, videos are being shared from the airport and the stadium where players are suddenly shot through the ground. Or they somehow land in the otherwise inaccessible area.
This applies, for example, to a Reddit user who showed in a video what it looks like under the map. The player moves beneath the actual ground on textures that give them some freedom of movement beneath the airport.
Among other things, they shoot at walls and vehicles to show: From here, you can actually deal damage in the “normally accessible” area of the map.
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Cheaters lurk under the Warzone map for the first time
How dangerous this is for players: Since it is apparently possible to participate in battles from below the map, cheaters can cause quite a bit of trouble under the map.
This can be seen in videos of other users who are taken out by less peace-loving players from below the map. This happened, for example, to this Reddit user in the stadium, who was quite annoyed by the sudden attack:
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This is not the first time players have faced this problem in CoD Warzone. For instance, there were already glitches under the map in the old subway station where cheaters could wait for Easter egg hunters and complete the last step of a search.
Now, there is again a comparable problem on the new Verdansk-84 map. Currently, one should be especially careful at the airport and in the stadium and avoid the places if sudden attacks come out of nowhere.
In the week from April 19 to April 25, new beta launches and releases for MMORPGs were announced. We at MeinMMO summarize all the important news of the week for you.
The highlights of the week: This week there were 2 interesting news items regarding new MMORPGs:
The controversy of the week: Amazon has halted work on the Lord of the Rings MMO. There were reportedly contractual issues between Amazon and the Chinese giant Tencent. The article received over 72 comments from our readers.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, the expansion Blackwood has been released on the test server. However, players are not celebrating the general new content, but a small change to an NPC.
Guild Wars 2 is getting its final patch of the Icebrood Saga next week. You can find the trailer on YouTube. This concludes the current Living World and there will be a transition to the upcoming expansion “End of Dragons”. We will likely learn how exactly that will look next week.
FFXIV received the first part of patch 5.5 last week. This week, however, there were details about the upcoming Fan Festival. A preliminary schedule was released (via MMORPG.com).
RuneScape is finally coming to smartphones. This summer, the mobile version will be available to everyone after years of development (via MassivelyOP).
The new SWTOR patch 6.3 will be released on April 27 (via Twitter).
Wurm Online is an old MMORPG that has now introduced a new update. The introduction of some new animals, including donkeys as mounts, is planned (via MassivelyOP).
Aion has released patch 7.9. This brought a redesign of the legions, the return of Pangaea, and a new dungeon (via Aion).
These were the news of the week from the world of MMORPGs at a glance. What was your personal highlight? Did you experience something exciting this week? Or did we forget something important? Let us know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Many MMORPG fans in Germany have developed a dislike for games from China and South Korea over the years, believes MeinMMO author Schuhmann. They will have to overcome this if they want to play a new MMORPG in the next few years. Because all the big new hopes in 2021 and 2022 will likely come from Asia.
Why do Asian games have a bad reputation? With MMORPGs from Asia, it’s a bit like pineapple on pizza:
For some, it’s a treat, it fits perfectly together and one can imagine nothing more delicious than a Hawaiian pizza
For others, it belongs straight in the trash
MMORPGs from Asia have not exactly been shining in Europe in recent years.
Particularly the South Korean MMORPG Bless broke a lot of porcelain. Bless came to Europe in 2018, having already failed and been shut down in its home country. However, the developers promised: Here in the West, everything would be new and different. Spoiler: It didn’t work.
Many wanted to love the South Korean MMORPG Bless in 2018, but it did not reciprocate.
Other MMORPGs like Kingdom under Fire 2 or Devilian only came to the West after they were already dead or nearly dead in their home countries. Content quickly dried up, and further development practically did not take place.
Those who invested time in the games upon release quickly found themselves disillusioned: Not much happened after the release.
And Bless was an MMORPG that still received a lot of attention. Many Asian MMORPGs that come otherwise remain almost completely under the radar in the West. The taste in Asia differs significantly from ours. Some MMORPGs that are big hits in South Korea and China are not even known to us in the West. When they do find the courage to make it to Europe, hardly anyone pays attention to them:
The 15-year successful Dungeon Fighter Online in China is wilting somewhere in the farthest corner of Steam.
Even the “WoW from Korea”, Lineage, plays no role for us.
When MMORPGs from Asia are successful, like ArcheAge in 2014, Western publishers still mess it up. Trion Worlds cranked the Pay2Win screw on ArcheAge, blamed the Korean partners, appeared completely overwhelmed by the huge player influx, made mistake after mistake, until ultimately the servers virtually collapsed at the push of a button and the hype around ArcheAge faded.
ArcheAge caused a boom for a few months in 2014 with a focus on building, PvP, and trading.
Even if there are major hope-bearers in South Korea that many are looking forward to here, the games seem to be cursed. While we were still battling the Lich King in WoW, news reached us of fantastic new games from the Far East: Blade & Soul looked like a game from a distant future upon release in 2012. By the time it actually came to Europe in 2016, the anticipation had long since faded.
Even the few successful MMORPGs from Asia that have managed to secure a long-term place in the top 5 have to contend with prejudices. The art style of Black Desert does not appeal to many: too much naked skin, too much oil on the character’s bodies and the constant danger that they might still go crazy and become Pay2Win.
Even the fan-favorite Final Fantasy XIV polarizes in Germany. Although the game has many fans here, it is significantly fewer than in the USA or Japan. When looking at Google’s numbers, Germans love the “classic fantasy MMORPGs” The Elder Scrolls Online and Guild Wars 2 – Final Fantasy XIV remains more in the niche.
MMORPGs from Asia are too foreign, too cash shop-heavy, and too grindy for many in Germany.
Worldwide, Final Fantasy XIV is clearly more interesting for Google users than ESO and Guild Wars 2.
For Germans, ESO is significantly more exciting than Final Fantasy XIV, which is at about the same level as Guild Wars 2.
No new MMORPGs have come to the West since 2014
That’s why MMORPG players still have to give Asian games a chance: They have no other choice.
The established Western gaming industry has not produced any new MMORPGs since 2014. The new online role-playing games that are still being developed here are indie MMORPGs by small teams that often rely on crowdfunding to bring their grand visions to life.
Often, small teams with little money work on gigantic projects, that promise a lot to fans to gain support and money. However, these promises often fall apart. Even though Ashes of Creation and Crowfall look good, they are currently beating each other to push back the start dates for alphabets, betas, and releases. And these are still the two most hopeful new MMORPGs – there are even bigger question marks over Camelot Unchained, Pantheon, or even Chronicles of Elyria.
No question, anyone who wants to play a new MMORPG on PC or consoles will have to look to Asia.
The beta for the new MMORPG Elyon starts here in May.
4 hopeful MMORPGs from Asia are waiting for us
That’s the good news: Until a few years ago, it still looked like the stream of MMORPGs from Asia would dry up. Because there were two trends there that we can hardly relate to in the West:
Furthermore, large MMORPGs from South Korea apparently were not intended for the West at all. The Koreans brought their players first to Japan, then China, and finally to numerous other countries of the world, even to Russia, before considering an English, “allegedly global” version.
Although it does not look like an MMORPG and rather resembles a Diablo with more classes. But Lost Ark is a celebrated and excellent action MMORPG that has made a mark in Korea and has been brilliantly developed further.
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The other big hope is Crimson Desert, from Asia’s “westernmost” studio, Pearl Abyss. They developed the most exciting MMORPG of the last 5 years with Black Desert and clearly orient themselves towards the West because they have realized here that they can earn money as long as their MMORPGs look fantastic, have a great combat system, and provide players with a good supply of content and a lot of grinding material.
Crimson Desert does not look typically “Asian”, but rather like a mix of “Game of Thrones” and Red Dead Redemption. The game is supposed to be not really an MMORPG but rather a single-player experience with a multiplayer component attached. This has presumably been recognized as the mix that fits our taste in the West best.
The main character from Crimson Desert looks like Jon Snow (Game of Thrones) – and that is certainly no coincidence.
The likelihood is high that either Crimson Desert or Lost Ark will replace one of the “5 big MMORPGs in the West” and will rise to the top league.
Anyone who looks forward to a new MMORPG in the next few years will have to come to terms with the fact that there might be a bit of pineapple on the pizza.
The battle royale game Naraka: Bladepoint is currently conducting its first beta test, with over 100,000 players participating. It stands out from the competition through parkour elements and Asian martial arts.
This is Naraka: Bladepoint: As is classic in battle royale games, you land in Naraka: Bladepoint on a mysterious island and must fight against other players to survive. However, Naraka does not focus on the shooter genre, but rather on melee combat and parkour elements.
You have complete freedom of movement:
Climb high towers, rocks, or trees
Use grappling hooks to swing quickly through the air
Climb loudly along thick chains or ropes
You can choose from 6 classes. While the combat styles of these classes are fixed, you can almost completely customize the appearance of your character. The major exception is the gender lock.
While you explore the island, you gather new equipment and items at every corner that will help you in your fight for survival. In addition to swords and ranged weapons like bows, you will also receive potions that heal you and provide various boosts.
The combat system itself is heavily action-packed. While you can use bows and rifles, the focus of Naraka: Bladepoint clearly lies on melee combat with swords, staves, or simply your fists. You can perform combos with your weapons and also utilize particularly strong abilities.
You can watch actual gameplay from a complete match fresh from the first beta here:
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Here’s how you can join: If you are interested in Naraka: Bladepoint and want to participate in the open beta, you just need to go to the Steam page of the game (via Steam).
There, a box will be displayed that informs you about participation. Press the green “Request Access” button and you’re in. But hurry, the first beta ends on April 27.
So far, over 110,000 players have participated in the beta and the number seems to be continuing to rise (via SteamCharts).
When will Naraka: Bladepoint be released? The developers have not yet provided a specific release date. However, you can expect that the global release is set to happen in summer 2021.
How do you like the gameplay from the beta? Will you give it a try? Are you generally interested in a melee battle royale, or is the genre completely uninteresting to you? Let us know in the comments.
The loot shooter Outriders receives another patch addressing a problem in the game. This time, it concerns the connection issues that have existed since the demo and annoy many players. Additionally, the update addresses a number of other bugs.
This is the problem: Currently, in Outriders, many players are plagued by connection issues that significantly diminish their enjoyment of the game. Reports on reddit and social media indicate that it often takes an eternity for them to log in.
Players report waiting times of over an hour, during which they are stuck on the login screen. Many of them give up and close Outriders.
The problem primarily affected players on PS4 and PS5, but some Xbox players have also reported issues. Now, 3.5 weeks after the game’s launch, there seems to be a breakthrough that should fix the connection problems.
What will be fixed: In a post on reddit, the Senior Community Manager of Square Enix announced that these connection issues will be addressed by the developers next (via reddit). The following will be fixed:
The problem where players get stuck in the login screen
A number of bugs and crashes that led to the game collapsing
A number of bugs and crashes occurring in Outriders multiplayer
What else will be addressed: In addition to the connection issues and crashes, the restoration of the items lost by players due to the loot bug will also be addressed. This bug caused players to find an entirely empty inventory and a naked character after logging in, which was extremely frustrating.
The testing of the restoration process will take place this weekend, and the developers plan to present a detailed schedule for it soon. The following issues will also be addressed:
The difficulty of sniper enemies
The strength of the knock-back effect in the Stargrave expedition
Many bugs related to the resolution of gear, mods, skills, lighting, and other aspects of the game.
The team has also heard the feedback from players regarding the balance in the game. Extensive discussions are taking place internally about this, but it is a complex issue that requires longer planning. The developers therefore plan to discuss it more in the future.
When is the patch coming? The developers have not yet provided an exact date for the fix. The reddit thread merely states that the patch “is coming soon” and is already being tested. Players can therefore expect it likely within the next few weeks.
Are you also affected by the connection problems? Share your experience with us in the comments.
Sony has announced a partnership with Firewalk Studios. The prominence from Destiny and the former head of Bungie are also involved.
It was announced: Sony has announced that they have a new ally on board: Firewalk Studios. They are working on an unannounced online multiplayer game for the PlayStation 5 – it is supposed to be a completely new IP.
Never heard of Firewalk Studios? Not a problem. But if we tell you that the former head of Bungie, a lot of Destiny developers, and other shooter elites want to save AAA gaming, you should pay attention.
The new multiplayer IP is being led by:
Tony Hsu is the head of Firewalk Studios and also the former General Manager and Senior Vice President of Destiny
Ryan Ellis is the Game Director and was Creative Director at Destiny
Elena Siegman is the Executive Producer and was a producer at Bioshock Infinite, the Destiny titles, and Guitar Hero II
Firewalk Studios is also part of ProbablyMONSTERS, a company that refers to itself as “A Family of Gaming Studios”. Here, developers from Apex, Halo, God of War, F.E.A.R., and the former head of Bungie also reside.
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Nothing is actually known about the announced AAA game. The multiplayer title with a big budget, because that’s what AAA stands for, will even be the studio’s debut work, which was founded only in 2018. We know neither the name of the project nor the setting. A screenshot or a targeted release are also unknown variables.
What does IP mean? When talking about a new IP, in the context of games, “Intellectual Property” is meant. Translated, this means “intellectual property”. It refers to a fresh brand or franchise that has nothing to do with previously known games.
No one has managed to shoot together as well as Destiny.
Will the PlayStation 5 finally get strong exclusives for multiplayer?
What is Sony planning? With Sony, Firewalk Studios has chosen a strong partner with deep pockets, who is making waves with its exclusive titles. God of War, The Last of Us, the Uncharted series, Spider-Man, and Ghost of Tsushima are the most well-known among them.
However, what Sony lacks are prestigious multiplayer titles in its exclusive portfolio. With Godfall, they had an interesting candidate in the running, but it quickly ran out of steam. It seems that this gap is now to be closed by Firewalk Studios in the future.
Sony and Firewalk Studios have been in contact since 2018 and entered into a partnership early after the studio was founded. As indicated in an interview with IGN (via IGN.com), it is mentioned that the new IP will also have a strong focus on story.
This is what the studio head has to say about it:
Today, we are excited to announce a partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment for our new multiplayer game. For our team, the opportunity to create new worlds and enable even more fantastic moments for players around the globe is the fire and motivation that drives us.
Firewalk Studios is part of the “family” of ProbablyMONSTERS. This is the company of Harold Ryan. Ryan was the head at Bungie until 2016. Why he left Bungie and started over is not entirely clear. However, it is rumored to be due to too much influence from Activision-Blizzard.
This is the new concept: ProbablyMONSTERS is not a traditional game developer but more of a kind of umbrella for AAA indie games. Ryan has continuously expanded his roster with experienced developers. Many former and well-known Bungie collaborators have now found a new home at ProbablyMONSTERS.
In April 2020, ProbablyMONSTERS reached 100 employees.
Here, different smaller studios work on individual projects. They have a lot of freedom but still have as much money as only the biggest players. The focus is on artistic aspects, realizing visions, and a collegial atmosphere with a “people come first” philosophy.
Destiny 2 is currently struggling with PvP and is receiving criticism for the new transmog feature. However, the feeling of gunplay, the mix of individual weapons, recoil, the flow of combat, and abilities make Destiny 2 nearly unique for years, which is why the game continues to have many fans.
When there are news about the AAA game from Firewalk Studios, you will of course find them on MeinMMO. Are you excited about the new IP being developed in collaboration with Sony? Or do the big names and talented developers leave you indifferent because it is too early for a judgment?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The former streamer James “PhantomL0rd” Varga (League of Legends) has sued Twitch after the streaming platform banned him. He recently stated on Twitter that he has won the lawsuit on all counts. Instead of the $35 million in damages he demanded, he was awarded just over $20,000.
This was the initial situation: James “PhantomL0rd” Varga was one of the first Twitch stars, with thousands of viewers on his channel. He played League of Legends professionally starting in 2011 but had previously made a name for himself in competitive games like Quake 3 Arena or Counter Strike.
Varga’s career on Twitch ended in 2016 when he was permanently banned. Here is a summary of the events:
The streamer was involved in a scandal regarding gambling with weapon skins in CS:GO on a website. The accusation was that he had used and promoted this site in his Twitch streams without disclosing his connections to it.
Twitch permanently banned Varga for this, even though, in his view, they could not present any evidence of his involvement. He filed a lawsuit in February 2018 in San Francisco.
This is how the court trial ended: The streamer announced a breakthrough on his Twitter channel. He claims to have “won on all counts” in the case against Twitch.
Phantoml0rd wins, but only receives $20,000, not $35 million
The charges against Varga accused Twitch of breach of contract, as he was not given 30 days to correct his behavior. The accusations also pointed out that Twitch never communicated a specific reason for his ban, making vague allegations that Varga had violated Twitch’s rules without providing concrete evidence.
The jury ruled in favor of the streamer.
For the lawsuit, Varga received compensation from Twitch amounting to $20,702.34. However, this sum is far from the $35 million the streamer initially wanted.
His ban will likely remain in place, and he will not be able to continue streaming on Twitch.
“Twitch can no longer bully, lie, and treat streamers unfairly”
This is behind it: Varga’s lawsuit is a precedent case. Observers of the trial have mixed opinions regarding the outcome of the case; although Vargas won, the low amount of the damages awarded was still a partial victory for Twitch.
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The policy regarding bans and suspensions from Twitch has been criticized for a long time. The streaming platform does not communicate the exact reasons for the bans to the streamers, and many of them often do not know why they received a penalty like streamer GeorgeNotFound.
Streamers could file an appeal, but the chances of success seem to depend on how big the streamer is and how vocally their community protests. Twitch has often been criticized in the past for this lack of transparency and apparent arbitrariness regarding its banning policy.
With Varga’s success in court, other streamers and viewers hope that changes will follow. Either Twitch will become more transparent and communicate the specific reasons for the ban, or more streamers will dare to take legal action against their bans.
If this [the court ruling] has any consequences, I hope it will lead to greater clarity around Twitch bans in the future when they decide to ban streamers.
reddit user DingleberryBeard (2,703 Upvotes)
This led to numerous comments in the subreddit r/LifestreamFail (via reddit) about the possibility that Dr. Disrespect’s ban could also go to court. The popular streamer lost his contract with Twitch in 2020 very suddenly and without public explanation and was permanently banned.
In World of Warcraft, there are many tens of thousands of items. Some are nice, others are cute, and some are just particularly nasty and mean. Today, it’s about such a nasty item. Because you can rip the souls from your fellow players and desecrate their bodies. At least a little. Time for the Item Spotlight: Soul Inhaler.
What is the Item Spotlight? The Item Spotlight is a new, regularly recurring format on MeinMMO. Every few weeks we want to highlight a special item from one of our managed games and clarify the most important questions. Where does the item come from? What is its use? What is its story? We hope to point out a few cool items you may have overlooked.
What is the “Soul Inhaler”? The Soul Inhaler is a toy with a 5-minute cooldown. You can select the corpses of almost all creatures in the game – including players – and then use the Soul Inhaler.
Black wings sprout from your character’s back as they begin to channel a spell. The soul of the dead victim is torn from the body and slowly flies toward your character, who consumes it. Meanwhile, the corpse shrinks further and further as it simultaneously loses its color. In the end, your character screams in exhilaration, while the corpse is just a tiny pile of misery.
What does the Soul Inhaler do? Basically, the Soul Inhaler does not provide any gameplay advantage. However, it is perfect for showing a pesky boss just how annoying they really are after defeating them. There’s little more satisfying than consuming the soul of a boss you’ve died to many times.
However, you can also use the Soul Inhaler on friends, acquaintances, and enemies. The mage in the dungeon is stuck in the void zone again? Steal their soul to humiliate them a bit more.
That one warrior in PvP keeps trying to gank you and fails? Steal their soul to clearly show who’s really in charge here.
The Soul Inhaler is simply a small but visually cool gadget. Especially since many players dislike changes to their character being made against their will – but you already know that from the Reflective Prism.
This is how dark your character gets when you rip someone’s soul out.
Are there any restrictions? Yes. The Soul Inhaler cannot be used on players who have already released their spirit, as there is no valid target then.
Additionally, the Soul Inhaler has been banned in raids for several years. This is because some bosses become part of the environment after their death and pave the way for the players – like Tortos. If you shrink Tortos’ corpse, the displayed path no longer matches the boss’s model, causing players to run into invisible walls, making progress harder.
How do you get the Soul Inhaler? You can obtain the Soul Inhaler in Frostfire Ridge on Draenor. It drops from the rare enemy “Tor’goroth”. He is located at coordinates 44 / 9 – so far north on a small island. Note that Tor’goroth has a fluctuating spawn timer of about an hour and may therefore not always be present. Also, it is not guaranteed that he will drop the toy the first time. The drop chance is only about 14%.
As with all Draenor rares, you can only loot the rare enemies once per day. If you have multiple characters, you can try again.
Furthermore, keep in mind that there are two phases for each area – once in War Mode and once without. Tor’goroth can spawn in both, which can drastically reduce the waiting time.
Do you use such toys frequently? Or do you think it’s too cruel to tease or humiliate your fellow players with them?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
On today’s Friendship Day in Pokémon GO, you can earn more than 350,000 experience points. Niantic fixed a bug related to Lucky Eggs.
What was the bug? In Pokémon GO, the Lucky Eggs were recently broken. They only inconsistently doubled the gained experience points, causing a lot of frustration among trainers. The developers even warned against using Lucky Eggs – especially in relation to friendship level-ups.
Now the developers have given the all-clear and confirmed that the eggs are functioning as intended again (via Twitter.com). For today’s Friendship Day, that means you can earn more than 350,000 XP and still make use of many friendship level-ups.
What known issues are there? Developer Niantic writes to trainers that there is still a visual bug with the experience points. In the trainer’s journal, the total amount of experience points is not displayed correctly when experience points have been doubled using Lucky Eggs. However, this is only a display error. The double XP is still credited, the developers assure (via Twitter.com).
Earn 350,000 XP through Collector’s Task
How do you do this? Part of Friendship Day in Pokémon GO is the collector’s task. For this, you need to catch various Grass-type Pokémon that spawn in the wild. These are:
Bulbasaur,
Tangela,
Chikorita,
Sunkern,
Treecko,
Tropius,
Turtwig,
Snivy,
Whimsicott,
Foongus,
Chespin
If you catch these Pokémon during the time period shown by the task, the collector challenge is considered completed. Normally, the task would reward you with 175,000 XP. But if you activate a Lucky Egg before collecting the experience points, you will receive 350,000 experience points all at once.
On reddit, trainer Kiwi1234567 shows that this combination works (via reddit). Before submitting the task, the account had 6,160,928 XP. After submitting the task, it had 6,510,928 XP. Due to the time difference, trainers like Kiwi1234567 could already participate in the Friendship Day event.
Here’s how to get even more XP: Keep in mind that a Lucky Egg doubles all your earned experience points. Since you already receive triple experience points for catching Pokémon during the event, with a Lucky Egg you will get six times the amount.
If you then coordinate with your friends to receive the friendship level-up at a specific time, you will also get double experience points for that with the Lucky Egg. For Ultra Friends, that’s 100,000 XP with the Egg. For Best Friends, it’s even 200,000 XP.
Boss battles against the Primals are one of the central gameplay aspects of Final Fantasy XIV and are popular among players. But which of the Primals are your favorites? Let’s rank them together.
Here’s the point: The Primals, also known as Eikons, have been at the center of the story and gameplay of FFXIV since the beginning. We encounter them not only during our journey through the storyline of the MMORPG but also in numerous exciting and fantastically staged boss battles.
They are powerful beings made of concentrated aether and manifest through the will of their summoners. Accordingly, they can take on many different forms: from legendary god-like creatures to weapons that possess their own will.
And of course, these Primals resonate differently with everyone. Each of you will have your own favorite battles that you like to revisit and also those that you absolutely cannot stand. Therefore, we want to know from you which Primals from FFXIV you favor. Let’s create a popularity ranking together!
Attention: Possible spoilers for the story of FFXIV follow.
The criteria by which you decide which Primal you like the most are up to you:
It could be the appearance of the Primal that is decisive
The mechanics in battle and how much fun you had while playing
The backstory of the Primal appealed to you
Perhaps you particularly enjoy the music that plays during the battle
You associate special memories with the battle because you did it with your friends
However, it could also be a combination of several of the aforementioned reasons. After all, the Primal battles are often a highlight among the content of the new patches.
However, this survey does not include absolutely all Primals from FFXIV, but most of them. Excluded are:
Primals from the Eden raid (due to duplicates)
Primals that we have not yet fought in the game (for example, Valefor)
Primals about which there is little information (for example, Ostralltach and Moralltach)
The composer Masayoshi Soken and his band (they are simply too OP)
More about Final Fantasy XIV on MeinMMO can be found here:
How can I vote? You can cast your vote in the survey tool. Since there are now many Primals in FFXIV, you can choose three favorites from the list below and vote for them.
Update: The voting has ended.
So tell us: which Primal do you like the most and why? Have your favorites changed over time or have they remained the same?
Write it to us in the comments and have fun voting!
In FIFA 21 the Team of the Season has arrived. The Community TOTS and the EFL TOTS mark the start of the event and bring some seriously powerful and strong cards.
This is the TOTS: The TOTS event began at 7:00 PM on April 23, 2021. This is one of the most important events in FIFA 21: The best players of the season are now rewarded with extremely strong cards.
The event will now continue over the coming weeks and regularly introduce new special cards into the game. Each week, we can expect the “Teams of the Season” from different leagues. Today, the first teams are the EFL, which is the second English league, and the Community TOTS. And even though these are not one of the “big” leagues, the cards have pretty brutal stats.
This is what Community TOTS and EFL TOTS look like
Both teams are extremely strong. The community selection includes a lot of standout cards. Among others, Bayern defender Alaba is represented with a 92-rated card. Leverkusen’s Bailey also received a 90 rating. He also fits perfectly with the Bundesliga representatives Nkunku (89) and Mukiele, who also received a 90 rating.
In addition, there are very strong cards from various leagues. Right-back Wan-Bissaka was already an extremely strong TOTS card last year, and the card for Valverde (92) looks absolutely brutal. Here you can see the complete team:
The Community Team was chosen by fans
In addition to the Community TOTS, the EFL also received an extremely good team. Here, especially the card for Buendia stands out (91), but Toney also looks incredibly strong (90). With Pukki, there’s also a familiar face from the Bundesliga (89). Here is the entire team:
This is the TOTS from the EFL
In addition to the event cards, new Weekly Objectives also start with the TOTS. There are also special Squad Building Challenges that you can now solve.
This is how you get the cards: The TOTS cards are included in packs as mentioned; however, the chance of pulling one of them is very low. You can also get them on the transfer market, but they will likely be very expensive at first.
The best way to get TOTS cards is currently actually the Weekend League. Because, unlike other promotions, the TOTS cards are directly included in the Player Picks, which you can earn with as many wins as possible. So the Weekend League is really worth it again!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Destiny 2 will be visited by the iconic vendor Xur on April 23rd. What Exotics does he bring to the Guardians? You will find everything about the powerful weapons and armor here, as well as his current location. If you’re looking for the Trials of Osiris, you’ll also find it.
What’s happening in Destiny 2: This week, the Guardian Games 2021 started. This is the last event of the ongoing season, which is meant to keep you busy for 3 weeks.
The special twist here is that you compete against other Guardians – Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters fight in a competitive sport for glory and loot. We will cover the event on MeinMMO so that you and your class can gain an advantage:
This morning, Destiny 2 sparked a lot of conversation with a preview of the upcoming Season 14. Guardians have been waiting for true Transmog, the upcoming implementation is heavily criticized. The feature is said to be too complex, the artificial boundaries disruptive, and the Eververse as evil as ever. MeinMMO’s comment section was also quite heated.
To calm us down, we should take a look at Xur. The exotic rock in the loot surf delivers his gear to you as usual today.
All info about Xur on April 23, 2021 – PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia
When does Xur come? Xur appears every Friday at 7:00 PM on a random planet. He spends the weekend here and returns to the unknown on Tuesday, April 27. So you have time until the next weekly reset (7:00 PM) to browse his inventory.
What does Xur have to offer? Xur sells you exotic weapons and armor. The items change every week. With a little luck, he will sell exactly the Exotic that is missing from your collection or armor with perfect stats.
Where is Xur? This is his location this weekend
Xur’s location: You can find Xur in the Tower. Check the back in the hangar.
Xur’s current position in the Tower
Xur’s inventory from April 23 to April 27 – All Exotics at a glance
Weapon: Prometheus Lens – Trace Rifle for 29 Legendary Shards
Titan: Citians Ward – Gauntlets for 23 Legendary Shards
Mobility: +16
Resilience: +14
Recovery: +7
Discipline: +15
Intellect: +9
Strength: +7
Total: 63
Hunter:Orpheus Rig – Boots for 23 Legendary Shards
Which map is active? The Trials of Osiris are contested by Guardians every week on a random map. This time the popular map “Javelin-4” is in play.
Keep in mind that with the Endgame bounty from Saint-14, you only receive the loot for this week’s 3 wins just for participating (or “dying through”). We will list what you get for your wins and flawless runs throughout the evening.
Pokémon GO starts on Saturday, April 24, the event “Friendship Day”. There are plenty of experience points to earn and plant Pokémon to catch. We will show you the start time, duration, and the bonuses.
What kind of event is this? The Friendship event will take place on April 24 for the very first time in Pokémon GO. However, it will be a recurring event, which will only slightly modify its bonuses at the next iteration. As Niantic explains, this first event focuses on plant Pokémon.
We will show you here an overview on MeinMMO of everything you need to know about the event.
Start, End, and Bonuses of the Friendship Event
Then it starts: As usual at the weekend time at 11:00 AM, the start signal for the Friendship event will be given. You already know this from events like Community Day, which also start at the same time.
You have this much time: The Friendship event will partially end already at 2:00 PM. Some bonuses will run until 5:00 PM.
What bonuses are there? The event is all about experience points and interaction with friends.
The trade range is increased to 40 kilometers
You will receive three times as many experience points for catching Pokémon
Incense and lure modules will last for 3 hours during the event
Additionally, the probability of receiving a lucky Pokémon after a trade is increased. This increased probability will remain active until 5:00 PM. So you can still trade Pokémon and obtain lucky specimens with a higher probability even after the event. However, how high the chances are then is unclear.
Update from April 24: Trainers on reddit report on their event experiences. Due to the time difference, they were able to play Friendship Day before it started in Germany. Trainer Aggravating-Fly1356 reports that he conducted 100 trades and received 13 lucky Pokémon (via reddit.com). Others report that the chances are currently doubled.
Additionally, the limit for special trades has not been raised. It remains one special trade per day, even on Friendship Day.
The increased trade distance and the increased lucky Pokémon probabilities, according to Trainer Aggravating-Fly1356, both still work for 3 hours after the event (via reddit.com). You should be able to use these until 5:00 PM local time.
You can expect 350,000 XP!
What is special: In addition to the bonuses, special features await you at the event. By completing a collector’s task, you can earn a whopping 175,000 XP. This is especially interesting for players who are currently on the way from level 40 to level 50 in Pokémon GO.
Additionally, more plant Pokémon will appear in the wild during the event. Which exactly they are is now known from the first trainers who have already been able to participate in the event.
These are the spawns:
Bulbasaur
Gloom
Alolan Exeggutor
Tangela
Chikorita
Wurmple
Sunkern
Surskit
Treecko
Lotad
Shroomish
Wingull
Feebas
Snivy
Scatterbug
Swablu
Rowlet
Bruxish
In line with the plant Pokémon, it will rain green confetti during the event.
The Collector Challenge: For the collector’s task, you should catch the following Pokémon:
Due to the changes, you now receive more XP during the event. Are you excited about this type of event? Which Pokémon type should appear more frequently at the next event of this kind? Please share your opinions here on MeinMMO in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Outriders, mods are an essential part of the game. They significantly influence your build, improve your skills and stats, and sometimes completely change the functionality of weapons. We show you 10 weapon and armor mods that are particularly useful for the endgame.
This is how mods work in Outriders: Starting from the rare (blue) item level, weapons and armor have mods. Blue items have only one slot, while epic (purple) and legendary items have two mod slots each.
The modifications are divided into three ranks. For weapons, the rank-1 mods initially seem worse, especially regarding the mods that cause status effects. However, this does not make them useless overall, as we demonstrate in our mod guide for the path to the endgame: The 10 best weapon mods that you should use at the start of Outriders. In the endgame, mods play a crucial role.
Why are mods especially important in the endgame? The reason lies in the crafting system of Outriders. It allows you to add mods to your collection when you extract them by dismantling items. Then the modifications are stored, and you can place them on other gear at any time.
However, you must sacrifice another modification for this. So, it is not only about the choice of weapon or armor piece, but also about which mods you use and how they create a useful build with your equipment.
Now we will show you some particularly powerful modifications that you should definitely try in the endgame of Outriders. First, we start with the weapon mods.
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Have you unlocked all the mods yet?
10 Weapon Mods for the Endgame
This is what you need to consider: How useful a mod is mainly depends on your build and class. A mod for melee is particularly good for Assassins and Devastators, but can also help a Technomancer or Pyromancer with the right set.
Therefore, we will choose rank-2 and rank-3 mods here that are useful across classes.
Rank-2 Mods for Weapons
Where to find rank-2 mods? You can find them on epic (purple) items that you can obtain partly through quest rewards and partly through drops from enemies. You can also get epic items as rewards by leveling up the world tiers.
These are the mods:
Bone Shard:
Killshots cause enemies to explode. Enemies within 5 meters take damage and a bleeding effect. Cooldown: 1 second
Bone Shard deals massive damage and makes enemy groups explode. The bleeding damage is a nice bonus, but the explosion is the main source of damage.
Claymore:
Hits create an anomaly blade that hits individual enemies and deals damage. Cooldown: 4 seconds
Claymore has a high cooldown of 4 seconds but deals massive damage to individual enemies. If you combine this with debuffs like vulnerability, you can further increase the damage.
Chains of Death:
Shots wrap enemies in chains that deal damage for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 2 seconds
Chains of Death work best with weapons like assault rifles, submachine guns, and anything else with a large magazine and a high rate of fire. This way, you can maintain the effect constantly and deal massive damage to your enemies.
If you play as a Pyromancer or Technomancer, or use corresponding status mods, you can further increase the damage over time.
Perpetuum Mobile:
If you kill an enemy while having 35% or less of your magazine, you instantly reload the magazine.
Perpetuum Mobile is perfect for all players struggling with ammo shortages. Especially in expeditions, enemies become tougher as you progress through the challenge tiers. That can quickly get expensive for your ammunition supply.
Gain up to 43% damage bonus based on your armor value.
This mod gives you a large damage bonus without you having to actively do anything. You just need to increase your armor value. The bonus applies to everything, not just your weapons.
However, the functionality of the mod is described somewhat inaccurately.
According to some players who have tested the mod, you need at least 20,000 armor to fully utilize the buff (via reddit)
What you need to keep in mind: It is important to maintain a balance between offense and defense. Dealing a lot of damage is crucial, but if you can’t withstand any hits, you will quickly be overwhelmed by groups of enemies. You need to weigh how many offensive and defensive mods you place on your armor.
Fortunately, there are numerous options for this, many of which are not even legendary gear but epic. Here is our selection of mods.
Rank-2 Mods for Armor
Weapon Bonus Mods:
+10% for assault weapons, sniper rifles, shotguns, handguns
You can unlock one such mod for each weapon type.
Emergency Status:
If your health points fall below 30%, you receive a golem effect for 4 seconds (Cooldown: 10 seconds)
Golem is actually a skill of the Devastator, which typically absorbs 65% of damage
This is particularly practical in emergencies to survive.
Protective Death:
Killing enemies while aiming through a scope grants you an armor bonus. Can stack up to three times.
Unless you’re using shotguns and firing from the hip, this skill is a lifesaver.
You can continue to play offensively while surviving longer, as you reinforce your armor.
Ice Trap:
If your life drops below 30%, all enemies within 10 meters are frozen.
This skill can give you breathing room in tight situations, as frost makes enemies temporarily completely immobile.
Individual Distance:
Increases damage at close range by 15%
As you are constantly bombarded by enemies trying to rush you in expeditions, this bonus is not to be underestimated.
Critical Accumulation:
Critical hits build a bonus for weapon damage and anomaly damage for 5 seconds, which can stack up to 5 times.
If you can aim well, you get a decent temporary boost for your skills and your weapons.
Ammunition of the Persistent:
Increases your weapon damage for 5 seconds when your health drops below 30%.
If you want to fight for survival with even more damage instead of resilience in an emergency, you should check out this skill.
Status Mods:
Increase damage for status effects like poison, frost, etc. by 15%
This is particularly important to note if you are building a build around such status effects.
Rank-3 Mods for Armor
Sharp Eye – Legendary Shoes of the Ice Ruler
Increases damage when you kill enemies while aiming. The effect can stack three times and decreases over time.
This is the offensive counterpart to Protective Death.
This mod is an almost guaranteed damage buff that can also stack.
Captain Hunter – Legendary Gloves, Cannonball Set
Increases damage against elite enemies by 25%
A simple damage buff that allows you to inflict more damage to elite enemies with weapons, skills, and effects.
Many elite enemies will stand in your way during expeditions.
How to get rank-3 mods? This will require quite a bit of time since you need to be lucky. Legendary gear takes a central role only in the expeditions, the endgame of Outriders.
Previously, there are missions like the Hunt, Wanted, and Historian quests that reward you with a legendary item after completing the entire quest line. However, the pool of items there is limited. Thus, you cannot get them all.
In GTA Online, there is a fast car on the podium that you can win. We provide tips on how to win and explain why the RE-7B is so good.
What’s happening in GTA Online? On April 22, a new bonus week started in GTA Online, activating new money bonuses and rewards. At the same time, the podium vehicle was changed, which is located in the casino. The new car, which will be rotating there over the next few days, is the RE-7B.
If you don’t have it in your garage yet, you can secure the car for free now. You save a whopping 2,475,000 GTA dollars. We’ll show you what makes this car so good.
What makes the RE-7B so good?
This is what the car can do: The Annis RE-7B is a two-door supercar that seats two people. It has been a staple in GTA Online since the release of the major Cunning Stunts update in 2016. Visually, it is based on race cars such as the Nissan R390 GT1, the Mazda 787B, and the Aquila CR1.
Its above-average top speed makes it a true beast on racetracks when there are many straights on the track. In addition, it has strong acceleration, providing you important advantages over other supercars after turns or at the start.
Even in wide, long curves, the RE-7B is a favorite. Based on lap times, the RE-7B belongs to the top 15 of the fastest cars in GTA Online.
Fun Fact: The RE-7B is not street legal in GTA Online, as it has no license plate.
These are its weaknesses: Tight and slow curves are not the RE-7B’s strengths. It cannot utilize its sophisticated aerodynamics and clearly loses against the competition. Additionally, the car is built very light, which results in low traction.
So use the RE-7B mainly in races that have few curves and focus more on top speed.
How to increase your chances of winning the podium vehicle
This is what you can do: If you visit the casino in GTA Online now, you will find the RE-7B on the podium in the main room. Just a few meters away is the lucky wheel, which has exactly one field that promises the win of the podium vehicle.
Once a day, you can spin the lucky wheel for free. There are no more chances, even for money. So it’s worth visiting the casino daily to make this hot sports car your own while saving 2.5 million dollars.
If your spin lands on the field with the car, you have won the RE-7B!
You have the chance to win the RE-7B at the lucky wheel until April 28. On April 29, a new bonus week will start, which will bring another car to the podium.
Season 3 has changed the face of Call of Duty: Warzone. There is a new map and the weapon meta is changing due to nerfs to the best and most popular weapons. MeinMMO shows you 4 weapons as alternatives to the weakened frontrunners M16, AUG, Mac-10, and FFAR.
With Season 3, there have been significant changes in Call of Duty: Warzone. The new map Verdansk ’84 offers fresh locations for combat and the war equipment is also likely to change. The strongest weapons from the last season have been nerfed across the board.
Currently, it is not yet certain which firearms will dominate your loadouts in the near future. However, MeinMMO wants to offer you 4 alternatives to the former meta weapons that you can’t go wrong with.
How severe were the nerfs? The two close-range beasts of Season 2 had to take a significant hit. They were not completely broken by patches, but are noticeably weaker – as both now deal less damage.
In the case of the Mac-10, this meant that you now need one more shot for a kill at the shortest distance. The time-to-kill with body shots is now about 540 milliseconds for 3 plates. That’s a significant increase from 486 milliseconds before the patch (via YouTube). The rapid-fire SMG ranks in the middle of the pack with that value. If you are comfortable with the weapon, it remains a strong support at close ranges – but is no longer a top weapon.
The increase in time-to-kill for the FFAR is even more noticeable. Now, with chest shots, you need 10 shots for a kill and 594 milliseconds. Before the update, the value was an unmatched 462 milliseconds (via YouTube). Since mobility has also decreased somewhat, the assault rifle has lost some of its appeal and falls significantly behind.
AK-47 from Cold War as a New Meta Contender
The AK-47 from Cold War first appeared on the weapon radar in Warzone after a buff to its barrels in Season 2. It has strong stats and can take out enemies with chest shots within 500 milliseconds.
With Season 3, you can now effectively bring this strength to the battlefield. The recoil of the AK-47 is much more vertical and thus easier to control. In close combat, it has a good chance of becoming the first Kalashnikov assault rifle considered a meta weapon in Warzone.
CoD Warzone: AK-47 from Cold War Setup
Muzzle: GRU Suppressor
Barrel: 18.2″ VDV Reinforced
Optic: Microflex LED
Underbarrel: Spetsnaz Grip
Ammunition: 45 Round Fast Mag
CR-56 AMAX as a Tried-and-True Alternative
This assault rifle has long been part of the meta but led a life in the background after the FFAR 1 took over. Its time seems to have come. The developers even state in the patch notes for update 1.36: “We are keeping a close eye on the AMAX. No king reigns forever.”
The AMAX can take down an enemy with chest shots within 486 milliseconds, offering one of the top stats among automatic weapons in Warzone. It also has the potential to be effective at longer ranges. If it feels slow with our suggested setup, swap the long barrel for a stock or laser. However, the control will suffer.
CoD Warzone: CR-56 AMAX Setup
Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor
Barrel: XRK Zodiac S440
Underbarrel: Commando Foregrip
Ammunition: 45 Round Mag
Grip: XRK CR-56 Patterned Grip
Replacement for the Tactical Rifles AUG and M16 at Long Range
How severe were the nerfs? Both weapons had to undergo nerfs, but particularly the AUG has suffered.
Overall, the developers have adjusted the Austrian over rifle of Season 2 3 times already, and it is significantly weaker. With Season 3, the pause between bursts was increased by another 33%. For fans of strong burst rifles, it is still an exciting choice. All others should stay away for now.
The case is somewhat different for the M16. The weapon remains very stable, plays comfortably, and takes down enemies easily and quickly. If you liked the M16 during its peak at the end of the second season, keep it in your loadout. You never know. Here is the setup guide for the M16.
Krig 6 as a New Meta Contender
The assault rifle benefits from a damage buff and is now a strong alternative among long-range weapons. It has a feature that gives it an advantage over most assault rifle competitors: its belly shots are as strong as its chest shots. You can neglect the otherwise important chest shots with the Krig 6.
The weapon is very stable, and it offers a strong time-to-kill value of 644 milliseconds among automatic weapons with high range. The range of the first damage area ends at just under 40 meters without attachments.
CoD Warzone: Krig 6 Setup
Muzzle: Agency Suppressor
Barrel: 19.7″ Ranger
Optic: Axial Arms 3x
Underbarrel: Field Agent Grip
Ammunition: STANAG 60 Rounds
M4A1 as a Tried-and-True Alternative
The M4A1 has been a true staple since Modern Warfare, and this continues with Warzone. The weapon has never really been off the radar and has consistently been part of the meta weapons.
This assault rifle is not the absolute best in any discipline but offers the best mix of damage and stability – and that makes it so strong. It is harder to control than the Krig 6 or Grau 5.56, but its time-to-kill with chest shots is under 600 milliseconds (593 ms).
Whether the new Season 3 will again be dominated by a few weapons remains uncertain. This will only show in the coming days when many players have had time to process the changes. During this time, it’s best to rely on tried-and-true methods, as you can’t go wrong there. Except perhaps with your sniper weapon.
You should leave the meta weapons of Season 2 behind. Also because the developers have already announced that they will be making further changes soon if they do not like the meta development.
Which weapons are you pulling out of the closet now? Do you rely on old favorites or try out new companions?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The sea in Sea of Thieves has been quite rough over the last few years. Some almost forgot the pirate MMO by Rare. The game has been continuously improved and feels like a full-fledged title since the first season began in January 2021.
In the pirate MMO, you and three others traverse the eponymous Sea of Thieves to become a pirate legend. Along the way, you dig up treasures, transport goods, and take down skeletons and other enemies. For your adventure, you choose one of three ships, which differ in size, speed, and layout.
The game mixes PvP and PvE together. You never know what awaits you beyond the horizon – yet that’s what makes Sea of Thieves so entertaining. All players have the same equipment and there is no character level. Thus, theoretically, you always have the same chances in combat. Unless you encounter a large galleon manned by four pirates as a solo player.
That was the problem with Sea of Thieves: After the release on March 20, 2018, there was a lot of criticism. In particular, the lack of endgame content and monotonous quests were at the forefront. Developer Rare promised to continue working on the title and to supply it with new content for several years. And they kept their word.
The pirate adventure now has, in addition to events, a free Battle Pass and a proper story, a progression system that rewards you for many of the activities. But what is there to do in Sea of Thieves? What makes the game so special that it becomes the perfect candidate for “Find Your Next Game”?
How Sea of Thieves has improved over the years
In the last three years, the game has been supplied with new content, new game modes, events, and a progression system. With the start of the seasons in January 2021, there is also a “Battle Pass”-like system, with one peculiarity: The over 100 rewards are free. Optionally, there is a paid pass that allows you to secure exclusive cosmetics.
Since May 2018, Sea of Thieves has been regularly supplied with new content. Some of these, like “The Hungering Deep,” were time-limited, and only old sea dogs can now tell you about that adventure. In addition to the regular events, there is content that still can be played in 2021. The story mission “Heart of Fire” was released in March 2020 and introduced the most legendary villain in the game, “Captain Flamehart.”
If you prefer to take things a bit slower, you can travel the sea as an ambassador for one of the companies since April 2020. With the update, cats as animal companions found their way into Sea of Thieves. In addition to the cute cats, you can now also take other companions, such as parrots, dogs, and monkeys on your adventures.
The companions follow you everywhere.
Do you love to sail and want to become as famous and notorious as the old pirate legend Klaus Störtebeker? Besides Sea of Thieves, there are other sailing MMOs for pirates and seafarers. Which ones are worth playing in 2021 can be found in our overview:
Many players missed a coherent story. Sea of Thieves has gained this with the “Tall Tales.” It serves as a red thread throughout the game, and crews experience longer adventures together in the game world. The “Tall Tales” themselves are quite something: you solve puzzles, sometimes under time pressure, and use texts from books and scrolls to find the next goal.
One of the stories leads players to a hidden cave on a deserted island. Once there, fire bowls are ignited in a concealed chamber, the chamber closes, and the exit of the room is blocked. Water streams from the ceiling into the room and quickly covers the floor. Only those who solve the puzzle and arrange the symbols on the pillars correctly will not end up as a water corpse.
The mysterious stranger gives you the first quest of the “Tall Tales”
The story is triggered by NPCs. The first quest is received from the mysterious stranger, who waits for you in the tavern. Your main task is to follow clues in the form of travel descriptions in diaries, smudged map drawings, or symbols in the sky to one of the many islands, where you search in caves or other special corners for statues, medallions, or other plunder.
A repetitive task is finally exciting: To earn gold and become a pirate legend, you complete various tasks. One of them is the search for hidden treasures. For this, you receive treasure maps from the gold collectors. The maps often show an island that you must look for on the map table on your ship. And this task repeats itself very often and becomes not only boring but also exhausting over time.
With the “Tall Tales,” you are offered more variety. You read the puzzle on scrolls and books and thus determine your course. This eliminates the need to cross-reference between the map and the map table.
You begin your adventure at an outpost. There you will also find trading companies that provide you with missions. If you sail under their respective flag, you gain additional reputation and rewards.
With the ambassador flags, you represent the respective company
At the release, there were already the gold collectors and the soul order that provided you with missions. However, the missions became repetitive, and there was a lack of variety. Through content updates, the cutthroats, the hunter’s call, and the reaper bones found a new home in Sea of Thieves. With each of the five companies, you receive commendations for successful voyages, and some try to win your favor with reputation and promotions.
Action on the high seas in PvP
In the interview with MeinMMO, Executive Producer Joe Neate and Creative Director Mike Chapman revealed to us that Sea of Thieves will always be a mix of PvE and PvP. There is now a standalone PvP mode with the Arena. In this mode, you compete against other crews and fight for glory and honor.
In the regular mode, PvP will always be part of the adventure, despite the arena mode. Players are therefore constantly exposed to danger and do not know what waits for them beyond the horizon. It is not uncommon for your treasure-laden ship to be sunk by another crew just before reaching the safe harbor. This is extremely frustrating, and even someone who reaches one of the outposts unharmed should quickly unload and sell their cargo.
Just let your soul dangle
After a hard day at sea, one longs for relaxation. You find it in the game by fishing and cooking. The caught fish is stylishly fried in the ship’s galley. But you shouldn’t forget the food on the stove while you are standing on the bowsprit watching the sunset. If you’re not careful, the ship catches fire, and such a fire on the high seas can turn quite ugly.
The ships in Sea of Thieves can look quite nice.
The ships have been fundamentally overhauled and now possess a better and more comprehensive damage model after various updates. While before you just had to patch holes in the ship’s hull with planks, now you also take care of broken masts and fires. It gets particularly critical when you are being shot at by an enemy ship with cannonballs that have special abilities: they can make you dance or even make you drunk.
This is how Sea of Thieves is doing today with Season 2
With the start of the second season in Sea of Thieves, a long-awaited feature is being released: You no longer need to search for crates for planks, cannonballs, or food at the outpost, but can buy them directly from the Trading Alliance. This will cost you some gold, but it saves you from the annoying search for consumables before departure.
A season lasts about three months in Sea of Thieves. Every player receives free access to the content of the new season, and there are nearly 100 rewards on offer. Most of these are cosmetic in nature and are intended for your character, weapons, and ship.
The new rewards from Season 2
The companies also provide you with new cosmetic items. When you complete missions for them, you increase your reputation and esteem. Those who reach the highest level with them unlock impressive skins for their ship.
In addition to cosmetic items, there are also new challenges: Rare skeleton forts appear all over the map, which are supposed to test you. On the small islands, skeletons roam and want to get their hands on you. If you want to succeed, you should make use of appropriate items like firebombs and the ash skulls – a kind of flamethrower. And they are powerful: with a fire beam, you carve your way through hordes of skeletons. If you survive as a crew, you may open the treasure chamber and grab the riches.
If you want more gold, you’ll be rewarded on other islands. Even if skeletons in Sea of Thieves don’t carry much: in Season 2, some of them carry bags of gold with them.
The trailer for Season 2 in Sea of Thieves gets you excited for the new content:
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This has changed: Until the start of the season, you received no rewards for typical pirate activities. Covering nautical miles, going ashore, taking down skeletons and their forts, cooking fish, digging up treasures – there was previously nothing for all this. It was a necessary evil to improve your reputation with the respective companies.
With the “Loot Pass,” there is still a paid pass that includes additional items from the Pirate Emporium. However, you do not gain any gameplay advantage. Some of the items offered will also be available later for purchase from the merchants and the Pirate Emporium. The developers emphasize that they respect the players’ time and want to give everyone the opportunity to acquire the respective items. The Loot Pass costs 999 ancient coins, equivalent to about 10 euros.
Sea of Thieves is finally a full-fledged co-op adventure
I couldn’t wait for the release of Sea of Thieves in 2018. After the release, I was bitterly disappointed. The tasks were repetitive, and I found it simply not challenging enough to sail from one island to another to dig up a treasure there. Or to transport animals from A to B.
So, it happened that I set the game aside and only installed it again at the end of 2020. I was more than positively surprised. The game runs smoothly, there are a lot of tasks and content, and yet at no time does it feel overwhelming. Developer Rare emphasizes time and again that they respect players’ playtime. And this is not a marketing phrase, but a fact. If you only have an hour, you’ll find enough tasks in the game that match that time allocation.
With the “Tall Tales,” there is an exciting story that is a lot of fun in co-op. The tasks are demanding and require a lot from crews. Through joint coordination and much communication, you experience an adventure together that is gladly reported on even after its conclusion.
With the introduction of the progression system, you will also be rewarded when you fail. I experienced it myself: The ship filled with treasure chests is heading towards an outpost, and suddenly a ship appears on the horizon. Hostile players – great. What had to happen, happened: After an intense battle on the high seas, the ship was sunk just before the outpost and we could only salvage a few chests in the dinghy. Before the introduction of the progression system, the frustration would have been enormous. You search several hours through islands and get nothing in the end.
The new system rewards players for covering nautical miles, exploring islands, killing skeletons, cooking fish, and much more. This keeps the frustration to a minimum, and a rage quit followed by uninstalling Sea of Thieves is avoided.
The pirate adventure is included in Microsoft’s Game Pass. According to developer Rare, after three years over 20 million players have explored the Sea of Thieves. So if you’re unsure, you can subscribe to the Game Pass for a month and test Sea of Thieves.
Florian Franck Author at MeinMMO and self-proclaimed captain of a galleon in Sea of Thieves
Sea of Thieves offers plenty of stories. The developers helped a father create a pirate adventure for his son. However, it was not an adventure in the game, but a real treasure hunt!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Pokémon GO, for nearly 2 weeks, you could not battle Rocket members. Now the Grunts, Bosses, and Giovanni are back, and the developers are apologizing with a box and a bonus event.
What’s going on in Pokémon GO? Since today, April 23rd, you’ll find Grunts, Bosses, and even Giovanni from Team GO Rocket again in Pokémon GO. They were disabled on April 10th due to an error and have been untraceable since then.
These compensations are available
Grab this box: When you open Pokémon GO now, you will find a new box at the top of the shop. This box is styled entirely in the dark theme of Team Rocket. It contains 30 Poké Balls and a Rocket Radar. You can pick up the box for free. This is the first part of the compensation for the absence of Team GO Rocket in recent days.
A bonus event with Zapdos: In recent days, you had no chance to defeat Giovanni and secure Crypto-Zapdos. To give you another chance for this Pokémon encounter, a bonus event will take place for this purpose.
From Tuesday, June 1st at 00:00 until Thursday, June 17th at 00:00, you will encounter Crypto-Zapdos after defeating Giovanni. The best counters against Giovanni in Pokémon GO can be seen here.
What does Niantic say? On Twitter, the Niantic team addresses the players and thanks them for their patience. It is reported that you can now encounter and battle Team Rocket in the game again. We can confirm this on MeinMMO.
Players are asking Niantic on Twitter how it looks with another serious bug. “I’m sitting here with 3 potential best friends and 3 potential Hyper Friends just waiting for the Lucky Egg to work again,” writes trainer Lori Perez.
Niantic explains that they are still working on this bug (via twitter.com).
This was the problem: Trainers noticed that their game froze when starting encounters with Team Rocket. The freezing caused the app to crash. Apparently, so many trainers on Android and iOS had these problems that the nasty opponents were completely disabled in the game.
This followed: It was unclear how long Team Rocket would stay away from Pokémon GO. Days after their disappearance, trainers grew restless and complained that they couldn’t level up. Because for level 45 in Pokémon GO, you must battle with Team Rocket.
In the meantime, you can again complete the tasks for level 45 or your special research with Team Rocket. Are you satisfied with the compensation from Niantic, or would you have liked something different? Let us know here on MeinMMO in the comments.
No one in the world has more viewers on Twitch streaming World of Warcraft than the streamer Asmongold. He recently asked his chat who still plays and who has already stopped. The result left him incredulous.
Who is it about? Asmongold is the largest WoW streamer on Twitch and has been a well-known figure in the community for many years. With nearly 2 million followers, he even ranks in the top 100 largest streamers overall.
With his nerdy style, he polarizes viewers and fans strongly, but still reaches an average of almost 36,000 viewers simultaneously (via sullygnome; as of April 23). While WoW Classic was in hype, Asmongold even reached number 1 in the Twitch charts.
Now Asmongold has problems again with WoW and his stream, thinking that the MMORPG “will kill his stream.” In a survey, he wanted to know from his viewers who still plays and seems stunned by the result.
Survey shocks Asmongold
In one of his recent recordings, Asmongold asked his viewers very specifically: “If you played Shadowlands or the end of BfA, have you stopped playing WoW?” Battle for Azeroth is the least popular expansion of WoW and looking into the community, frustration is slowly spreading with Shadowlands as well.
This is the result: To Asmongold’s surprise, over half of the participants stated that they no longer play or not at all. Out of 5441 responses, the answers were
39 % Yes[, I’ve stopped]
26 % No[, I still play]
19 % I play WoW Classic
17 % I don’t play WoW lol
The streamer reacts in astonishment. Asmongold says: “Over half of the people aren’t playing the game. Wow, wow. That’s crazy. I don’t know what to say. Really not.” You can find the survey in the embedded YouTube video starting at 11:28:
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“I would rather kill my stream than watch WoW die”
The survey came about because Asmongold has doubts about the success of his stream if he continues to show only WoW. He believes: WoW is a dying game. Everyone knows that, and he sees the danger that his stream could also lose viewers or even die as a result.
He would rather switch to other games, even if his viewers do not support him in doing so. He specifically says:
I think many people would rather see me try something new. Maybe not, and then I’ll look like an asshole. But it is what it is. But I would rather try it and see what happens. […]
I would rather kill my stream trying something else than sit in WoW and watch [the game] die.
His stream is doing incredibly well, but according to Asmongold, that won’t last. If he continues to stream only WoW, he believes that it would kill his channel. By now, he is even trying out other games and recently frequently showed “ALT F4”, a game designed to make its players rage:
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For a dying or dead game, those are pretty good numbers. Nevertheless, there is a certain dissatisfaction to be found in the community, especially regarding Blizzard’s creativity. Recently, there have been repeated complaints about how the story of Sylvanas Windrunner is being milked, one of the antagonists in Shadowlands and one of the most well-known figures in Warcraft.
A book about Sylvanas is even being released, and many players are fed up with the Banshee being “shoved in their face” time and again (via reddit). Nevertheless, many players hope that with Patch 9.1 more will come that they can do.
In the background, however, noticeably more is changing. Many of Blizzard’s old faces are leaving the studio and turning to new projects. Most of the “fathers” have already left, and the latest loss for Blizzard is the charismatic Jeff Kaplan, who was previously the Game Director for WoW:
