No game franchise represents loot in video games like Diablo. Two of the main designers of Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 now explain how they invented loot with color codes, sound effects, and the addictive effects we know today.
Erich Schaefer was, along with his brother Max Schaefer, one of the founders of Condor/Blizzard North, was the Art Director, Senior Designer for Diablo 1, and contributed to the story. He was the Project Lead for Diablo 2.
The two discuss in a podcast with Kotaku what makes loot in Diablo and in video games so special (via kotaku). The original Diablo was released in 1996 – many of the loot systems that were first seen so pronounced there were invented about 25 to 30 years ago by David Brevik and the Schaefer brothers.
The topic is also relevant today because Blizzard wants to bring back the magic of Diablo 2 with Diablo 2 Resurrected.
Getting loot in Diablo was like pulling a lever on a one-armed bandit
This is what loot looked like in Diablo 1: Brevik explains that it was decided early on in the design of Diablo to focus completely on loot:
The RPGs at the time, like Ultima or Might and Magic, placed great value on story and character development, asking players countless questions, giving players a background, and telling a grand story.
In Diablo, it was always about loot from the beginning and how to obtain it. Brevik says: The design of Diablo was “Let’s skip all the fluff and get straight to the killing and looting.”
Only after a while did they realize that they had actually built a one-armed bandit with Diablo: Every time you killed a monster, you pulled the lever and either nothing came out, or you got your stake back or actually a win. It was like a mini-jackpot, says Brevik. Every time a strong item dropped from the mob, it felt like you had hit the jackpot.
It was already addictive back then to kill monsters and pull the lever. That was exactly what they wanted to achieve with Diablo and they tried to amplify the effect by giving the player auditory and visual stimuli to enhance the feeling of “I just hit the jackpot.”
In video games, loot refers to the items you can take from an enemy after defeating it. These are usually items you can equip to become stronger yourself and defeat more powerful enemies that drop even better loot. This is called the “loot spiral.” Which items a mob can drop is random. The items are selected from a “loot table,” which can vary for each enemy.
This is why items are blue, green, or yellow today
And he believes they retroactively introduced “gray” for poor loot.
Quickly they then arrived at the idea: “Wait a minute, how about we introduce something stronger than blue loot? Maybe golden loot.”
Brevik adds: He believes they started with “blue items” back then because blue stood for mana and magic. Therefore, it made sense that magical items in Diablo had to be blue. Later, they would introduce more colors to mark different item types.
Eventually, they had a system where “green items were the set items,” magical items were blue, rare items were yellow, and golden items were the unique, especially cool items that are called “Uniques.” This was how it was even in Diablo 1.
In Diablo 2, they moved away from the idea and made colors a sign of quality: Blue items had one or two affixes, yellow items had three or four – this system from Diablo 2 (2000) was later adopted and further developed by the MMORPG WoW (2004). Ultimately, many games, such as Destiny (2014), adopted this system from WoW, which in turn was based on Diablo 2.
The legendary loot cave from Destiny shows what evolved from the color code that Diablo invented in the 90s.
This is how Diablo made loot even more exciting: The more the team experimented with ideas like the color system, the more people enjoyed playing Diablo. The team realized they were on the right track.
They complemented the moment of the loot drop with sound: At first, rings were rare in Diablo. If a ring dropped, it should be marked by a special sound. This sound stood for “Something cool just dropped. I need to check this out.”
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As a special twist, they introduced “Identity Scrolls” in Diablo: a system where it turned out later whether it was really a main prize or just a secondary prize. Players then knew that they had found an item of a certain type, but did not know exactly what it was.
This was like having to pull the lever on the one-armed bandit twice: once to get the item, and once to see what it was.
Brevik says he saw it as “a gift in a gift.”
Schaefer admits: This system did not catch on. Later games did not adopt it. But back then they were so convinced of the idea that they would have even introduced a “third pull on the machine” if they had known how.
Every system can be abused for evil
Do the fathers feel guilty? In the podcast, the Diablo developers are asked if they feel bad. They themselves made the comparison of loot to slot machines.
But the developers explain: They have no guilty conscience. Erich Schaefer says he would never implement such systems in his games. Ultimately, any system can be twisted for good or evil.
He does not believe that “loot should never have been unleashed on the world.”
Brevik feels the same way: He wanted to create the “addictive feeling” of wanting to kill one more monster, get one more item. That was the goal. It was not about raking in as much money as possible.
However, this is clearly the intention of some people today. However, Brevik says this is only done because it works. If people did not buy these games that offer loot for money, they would not exist. That is sad. But these games would not exist if they were not so effective.
The developers of Diablo 1 and 2 view their former employer Blizzard critically now:
You should definitely check out the new weapons of Season 3 in Call of Duty: Cold War and Warzone. We will show you how to unlock the PPSh-41, Swiss K31 Sniper Rifle, and the Ballistic Knife.
What’s going on in Warzone and Cold War? On April 22, 2021 Season 3 started in CoD Warzone and Cold War. There are now some new content for you to discover in-game, including new weapons that you can unlock.
In this overview, we show you the new weapons PPSh-41, K31, and the Ballistic Knife. You can unlock both firearms through the new Battle Pass of Season 3. For the knife, you need to complete a challenge.
Unlock PPSh-41 in Warzone and Cold War
This is the weapon: The PPSh-41 submachine gun will be familiar to veterans from Call of Duty: WWII. Its damage per shot is rather average. However, the high rate of fire and large capacity make it quite powerful in close combat.
How to unlock it: You can unlock the PPSh in Season 3 through the Battle Pass. Just reach level 15 there. Once unlocked, you can use it in the multiplayer matches of Warzone and Cold War.
Unlock Swiss K31 Sniper Rifle in Warzone and Cold War
This is the weapon: You can unlock the K31 sniper rifle later in the Battle Pass. The bolt-action rifle has high accuracy and aims quickly. It also has room for a lot of ammunition. For quickscope players, the Swiss could become a really good friend in Season 3.
How to unlock it: You only need to reach level 31 in the Season 3 Battle Pass in CoD Cold War and Warzone.
Unlock Ballistic Knife in Warzone and Cold War
This is the knife: The Ballistic Knife is the third weapon that you can unlock in Cold War. You can fire the blades of the knife and pick them up again, or use it for melee attacks directly.
However, in Warzone, the knife will only come later. The flashy weapon will be included in the Battle Royale in the mid-season update.
How to unlock it: To unlock the knife, you must earn a “One Hit, One Kill” medal and get a melee kill without dying in between. Do this in 15 different matches (via Dexerto.com).
A player has made it their mission to find out how strong champions can become at maximum. With the LoL heroine Senna, he notices something amazing: She can even kill the Baron from the safety of her own base with exaggerated high stacks.
That is the idea. A reddit user plays some champions with scalable buffs to extremely high values in the practice tool of LoL. Because some champs in LoL have abilities that become stronger when certain conditions are met: For example, when they kill creeps or champs.
The user shows in his videos how strong these selected champs become after about 50 minutes of extreme farming.
In a normal LoL match, these buffs often only reach values in the range of 10-100 – but much higher values would be possible at maximum. On the LoL test server, you can see what monsters the “known, normal champs” turn into when they are fed this way.
Senna with 5000 Stacks Absolution becomes a sniper in LoL
This scales with Senna: Senna joined LoL in November 2019, she has the passive buff “Absolution” – she collects souls from units that die near her. The more souls she has collected, the higher her attack damage, attack range, and critical strike chance become.
In the meantime, this has become a tactic in LoL: The “Fasting Senna” strategy focuses on collecting many souls and thus turning the match in her favor.
This looks extreme with Senna: With 5000 units of this buff, Senna deals enormous damage and achieves an enormous range. In the demonstration, the reddit user shows what Senna can do now:
The creep that grants the red buff is eliminated from the base with one shot
Actually, Valheim is intended as a coop game for up to 10 players. However, a group of modders has set out to increase this number. Over 1000 players at the same time should be possible. The project sounds promising, as the creators apparently have experience.
What kind of project is this? Under the name VaLNGOS (short for: “Valheim Large Network Game Object Server Suite”), a huge Valheim server is currently being built for more players than ever before possible. With VaLNGOS, more players should be able to play together at the same time than has been the case so far.
The creators, a group of modders, are already running their own server called “Comfy Valheim,” where up to 64 players can play together at the same time. Normally, your own Valheim servers only have a capacity of ten players.
The creators now aim to accommodate over 1000 players simultaneously. Valheim would thus become a real MMO – and the world would surely be large enough so that no one gets in each other’s way.
A “Vanilla” server is planned, meaning a server without mods and with settings as intended by the developers. Just with significantly more players. This is supposed to work with a special code that redirects processes from the players’ computers to a server.
If you combine this with a 1000-player server, you would directly have a new Viking MMORPG at hand. Whether that will all work out, however, is still in the stars. First, VaLNGOS needs to launch and run smoothly.
Meanwhile, things are going quite well for Valheim itself. The initial hype has faded, but the developers are working hard on new content. Just in April, Patch 0.150.3, which was supposed to make building cheaper, actually had the opposite effect.
The developers also already have plans for the future, including for new biomes, bosses, and content. Next up is the “Hearth and Home” update with new recipes and building pieces.
In Pokémon GO the Friendship Day starts this weekend. Niantic made two important changes to it. You will earn more XP for completing the research, and a Global Challenge is canceled.
What kind of event is this? The Friendship Day in Pokémon GO is an event that will repeat with various bonuses. The first Friendship Day takes place on Saturday, April 24, from 11 AM to 2 PM. During this time, you will encounter Grass-type Pokémon more frequently in the wild. There will also be a Collector Challenge.
Originally, the Collector Challenge was supposed to reward you with 100,000 XP. However, Niantic significantly adjusted the event before it started.
The changes for Friendship Day
What was planned: Initially, a Global Challenge was supposed to start right at the beginning of Friendship Day, changing every hour. A successful completion was planned to yield 20,000 XP each time. In total, there would have been a chance to earn 60,000 additional XP (once from 11 AM to 12 PM, then from 12 PM to 1 PM, then from 1 PM to 2 PM, each time 20,000 XP). Additionally, the 100,000 XP for completing the Collector Challenge.
What’s new now: The Global Challenge is canceled, and with that, the potential 60,000 XP are gone. Instead, completing the Collector Challenge now grants you a hefty 175,000 XP.
The Friendship Day at a glance Start: Saturday, April 24, at 11:00 AM End: Saturday, April 24, at 2:00 PM What’s special: Various Grass-type Pokémon spawn more frequently in the wild – Complete the Collector Challenge and receive 175,000 XP – During the event, green confetti will rain Bonuses: The chance to receive a Lucky Pokémon through trading is increased until Saturday at 5:00 PM The trading range will be increased to 40 km You will earn triple XP for catching Pokémon Incense and Lure Modules will last for 3 hours during the event
Why are the changes important?
These problems occurred: Recently, there were issues with Lucky Eggs and experience points. Niantic warned players against using Lucky Eggs. This caused some problems in conjunction with Friendship Level-ups, which deprived players of their experience points.
That you now distribute more XP for trainers completing the Collector Challenge is likely to please some players. Additionally, you should know that Lucky Eggs double the experience points from all sources. If you use it before completing the Collector Challenge, you will earn a whopping 350,000 XP instead of the originally planned 200,000 XP.
Moreover, there were problems during the last Global Challenge. Some times were displayed incorrectly (via reddit.com). The exact reasons why the challenge was canceled are not known. Perhaps Niantic wants to iron out the errors first and not risk offering you a buggy challenge.
This helps you: Timing the use of the Lucky Eggs can now be better planned with the cancellation of the Global Challenge. Moreover, the entire XP yield for you has increased. Those who properly exploit the event can secure a lot of experience points and Lucky Pokémon on Saturday.
Season 3 of Call of Duty: Warzone is live and kicks off the new content cycle with a major update 1.36. The patch nerfs the key weapons, changes some attachments, and unlocks content for the new season. MeinMMO shows you the patch notes with the most important changes in English.
What’s happening in Warzone? Season 3 is live and brings a significant amount of changes and new features with update 1.36. A changed Verdansk map was introduced through a live event, and besides the changed map, there were several new features:
New Battle Pass
Changes to ground loot
A handful of bug fixes
Change to the Roze skin
Weapon adjustments
DLSS for Nvidia graphics cards
Particularly, the adjustments to weapons are likely to be closely monitored by many players. Season 2 was characterized by burst-fire tactical rifles at range and the FFAR 1 in close combat. The key weapons have been significantly nerfed, and there have also been a few buffs. Here you can go directly to the weapon adjustments.
CoD Warzone: Update 1.36 – Battle Pass and Patch Info
With the new update comes the usual season routine since the launch of Black Ops Cold War:
You can once again unlock 100 tiers in the Battle Pass and you have just under 1,200 season levels to climb. There are new prestige emblems and challenges that will grant you additional rewards.
In addition, there were adjustments to gameplay, a few important bug fixes, and a new feature for PC players with Nvidia graphics cards:
Gameplay – The loot system in Verdansk has been overhauled and now exclusively offers “Cold War” weapons as loot from crates or ground loot. Additionally, only legendary weapons now come with an attachment blueprint. It appears that you can only find legendary (orange) or common (white) weapons in Verdansk – so either completely without attachments or with all 5 slots filled.
Players with a riot shield no longer take damage when deflecting a thermite grenade with the shield. Additionally, enemies will now always go down when you stick a semtex grenade to them.
Roze Skin – The skin is very dark and often hard to see. The developers are adjusting its visibility and stated in the patch notes: “We have adjusted Roze to improve visibility when light sources are available”.
Bug Fixes – Errors, bugs, and glitches have been a problem in the Battle Royale over the past weeks and months. With the current patch, at least some of them disappear from the game:
The running attachments of many Cold War weapons unintentionally worsened hip fire and aim stability
Some sights of the powerful sniper ZRG 20 mm had issues with holding breath
Some operators had no head while aiming with the FFAR 1
Nvidia DLSS – Players with a newer Nvidia graphics card can enjoy the DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) feature for Warzone. This is an upscaling technology developed by Nvidia to upscale textures while saving performance. Especially graphics cards like the GeForce RTX 3060 benefit greatly from DLSS.
In resolutions beyond Full HD like WQHD, enabling DLSS can boost performance by 30 to 40%.
Update nerfs key weapons – and buffs exciting alternatives
Overall, Warzone directly adjusts 11 weapons and brings further adjustments through modified attachments into the game. Here are the balance changes in detail:
FFAR 1 – Nerf
The crosshair was adjusted to better align with the other assault rifles
Minimum damage reduced from 30 to 27
Damage range decreased by 15%
Neck damage multiplier reduced from 1.1 to 1.0
Chest damage multiplier reduced from 1.1 to 1.0
ADS speed slightly decreased
AUG from Cold War – Nerf
Delay between bursts extended by 33%
Neck damage multiplier reduced from 1.8 to 1.3
M16 – Nerf
Delay between bursts extended by 10%
Neck damage multiplier reduced from 1.8 to 1.1
AK-47 from Cold War – Buff
Recoil revised – easier to control
FARA 83 – Buff & Nerf
Minimum damage increased from 25 to 26
Maximum damage reduced from 33 to 31
Damage range increased by 17%
Recoil behavior revised
Groza – Nerf
Slightly increased recoil
ADS speed slightly decreased
Chest damage multiplier reduced from 1.3 to 1.1
Krig 6 – Buff
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.4 to 1.5
Neck damage multiplier increased from 1.0 to 1.3
Chest damage multiplier increased from 1.0 to 1.1
Stomach damage multiplier increased from 1.0 to 1.1
QBZ-83 – Buff
Movement speed increased
Movement while ADS improved
Neck damage multiplier increased from 1.0 to 1.2
Chest damage multiplier increased from 1.0 to 1.1
LC-10 – Buff
Bullet speed slightly increased
Mac-10 – Nerf
Maximum damage reduced by 1
Pellington 703 – Buff & Nerf
ADS speed increased
Time to pull slightly extended
How the balance adjustments will impact the gameplay remains to be seen in the coming days. At first glance, the changes to the M16 do not seem sufficient.
However, the developers have also made adjustments to the attachments, particularly recalibrating the strong tactical rifles from Season 2, as well as the Sykov pistol.
M16 Attachments
16.3″ Rapid Fire – Fire rate increased by 58% less
15.9″ Task Force – Fire rate increased by 66% less
16.3″ Titan – Fire rate increased by 61% less
AUG Attachments
18″ Rapid Fire – Fire rate increased by 56% less
18.2″ Task Force – Fire rate increased by 64% less
17″ Titan – Fire rate increased by 59% less
Sykov Attachments
Sorokin 140mm Auto – Minimum damage decreased from 23 to 19
Sorokon barrel and Akimbo together – Minimum damage decreased from 19 to 14
Laser Attachments
Yellow Dot – ADS penalty reduced by 20%
SOF Target Designator – Flashlight is now visible during ADS and hip fire
Magazines
Fast Fire Magazines – ADS penalty reduced by 20%
Pistols: Speed Load Magazines – ADS penalty reduced by 40%
SMGs: Speed Load Magazines – ADS penalty reduced by 30%
Snipers: Speed Load Magazines – ADS penalty reduced by 20%
Sights
SUSAT MultiZoom – ADS penalty reduced by 10%
Ultrazoom Custom – ADS penalty reduced by 20%
Vulture Custom Zoom – ADS penalty reduced by 20%
As a small bonus, there is a brand new value for muzzle attachments: Position concealment. The SOCOM Eliminator or the muzzle brake 5.56 now possess this value. This way, you remain less visible on the mini-map or compass after firing.
In the end, the developers explain their strategy on how they plan to proceed after these extensive changes: “Given the scale of the balance changes in this patch, we may make additional adjustments shortly after the launch of Season 3 to ensure that the meta remains healthy and stable. Please give us your feedback as always!”
In some other adjustments, the developers also commented on their motivation. Check out the complete patch notes in English if you want to know more about it (via ravensoftware.com).
After the start of the new season 3 in Warzone, many players are looking at the ongoing live event and waiting for the map update of Verdansk. At least with the weapons, the developers have delivered and made some interesting adjustments to the meta weapons of Season 2. We will keep an eye on MeinMMO and update our list with the best weapons of Warzone as soon as conclusions can be drawn.
What is your impression of the patch notes for 1.36? And what do you think which weapons we will use in Season 3 in Warzone? Discuss with us in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The new MMORPG Swords of Legends Online will be released in Summer 2021 in the West. It is planned as a Buy2Play game with an in-game shop. But what does this shop contain and will it be Pay2Win? The publisher Gameforge has now commented on this in a livestream.
What is in the SOLO shop? The MMORPG is supposed to have a shop that only offers cosmetic content. This includes:
Outfits
Hairstyles
Weapon skins
Accessories
Character appearance customization
Mounts
Housing content
All skins that you unlock will automatically be activated for the entire account. However, there are certain outfits that only male or only female characters can wear. For weapons, on the other hand, the skins are unlocked for all types of weapons.
Will there be an optional subscription? No, there is only the shop and the cosmetic items.
What about convenience items? Most MMORPGs offer convenience items like XP buffs, level boosts, and additional inventory or character slots. All of this is not available in the Swords of Legends shop.
However, there are items that allow you to change your name or gender.
Interestingly, we will have 6 classes at launch but only 5 character slots. So you cannot play all classes at once, even if you wanted to spend money for it.
This is what the shop for Crimson Coins looks like.
Can I sell items for in-game currency? No. Selling shop items is used in some MMORPGs to enable “indirect Pay2Win” and thus to acquire in-game currency for real money.
In Swords of Legends Online, the purchased shop items are directly bound to you. However, there is a gifting feature that allows you to buy skins directly for your friends or guild members.
How much does the shop cost? It was revealed in the stream that for 25 Euros you get a total of 4,250 Crimson Coins. This is the currency in the shop:
Costumes cost between 2,250 and 3,850 Coins
Mounts cost between 1,950 and 3,850 Coins depending on the skin
Weapon skins cost between 1,950 and 2,250 Coins
Smaller accessories for the character cost between 350 and 1,250 Coins
A name change costs 1,350 Coins
How much does the MMORPG itself cost? Those who want to play Swords of Legends must purchase access to the game. This costs between 40 and 100 Euros depending on the package. Details about the pre-order packages and the release of Swords of Legends can be found here: The beautiful MMORPG Swords of Legends will be released on Steam in 2021.
Anyone who wants to know how Swords of Legends plays in Taiwan can find a preview report here:
What is special about the shop? For every Crimson Coin spent, you earn a “Loyalti” point. It doesn’t matter whether you purchase something for yourself or for others.
Loyalti points can be used in another shop to unlock more skins, although this shop seems to have a smaller selection than the one for Crimson Coins. Items there cost between 2,950 and 20,000 Loyalti points. So you can essentially shop twice with your Crimson Coins.
This is the Loyalti Shop in Swords of Legends.
What is the Crystal Shop? This third shop allows you to buy cosmetic content as well. However, you can earn the currency for it in the game through daily quests, events, and other activities.
However, the selection in the Crystal Shop seems to be smaller than in the Crimson Shop.
Is there a Battle Pass in Swords of Legends? Yes, in both a free and a paid version:
In the free version, you can earn items with progress. However, these are the same for all players
In the paid version, there are only cosmetic items
However, the Battle Pass is not supposed to be available at the game’s launch. Accordingly, only the Chinese version was shown in the stream:
The Battle Pass of Swords of Legends.
Why is the shop such an important topic? MMORPGs are developed as a game that is to be supported and updated over the years.
However, these costs need to be covered, which is why games rely on either a subscription model like WoW, a shop like in Guild Wars 2, or an optional subscription model like ESO+.
Especially the German publisher Gameforge has not had the best reputation in terms of shops so far. However, the contents listed here are more than fair. If they are maintained, the shop of Swords of Legends Online will be one of the fairest in the genre, also because it does not rely on convenience items like inventory expansions or XP boosts.
What do you think about the shop of Swords of Legends? Are you now a bit more reassured and interested? Or are you ignoring this MMORPG?
The Twitch streamer, Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris, is considering leaving Germany and relocating to Malta. He believes he pays too much tax in Germany, and “Father State” is now bothering him with new streaming regulations.
That’s why MontanaBlack is thinking about escaping from Germany: The biggest Twitch streamer in Germany is currently considering leaving Germany and emigrating to Malta. There seem to be mainly 3 reasons that he is contemplating emigration:
The state bothers him in Germany with the “broadcast license” and instructs him on how he should stream
These are the financial reasons: In a Twitch stream, the 33-year-old explains that he received an offer from a casino years ago to emigrate to Malta. Back then, he decided against it because he did not feel ready to go abroad.
MontanaBlack said:
I received offers to go abroad 2 years ago. Pay less tax, do casino streams, and so on. […] I would have even become a partner in a casino. It would have been only 2 or 3 percent, but had I accepted those percentages back then, it would now be about 20 or 30 million euros, as far as I know; I would have to check again. And that’s not a lie, that’s absolute real talk.
MontanaBlack
The financial benefits of moving to Malta are clear for MontanaBlack. He explains this in a calculation example:
If he earned a million euros per year, he would have to give the state in Germany 50%, or 500,000 €.
In Malta, he pays a little more than 10%.
“I earn a million euros a year, and in the end, I give away 100 and have 400,000 € more in my account.”
That’s just “crazy, my great-grandfather, dude.”
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What makes the decision even more attractive now? The financial aspect that MontanaBlack extensively illuminates is not decisive for him, says the Twitch streamer later. Because money does not make you happy in the long run.
But now he is quite annoyed by the new rules for streamers. It seems that MontanaBlack is bothered by the fact that he can no longer do casino streams.
In Malta, he could bring casino content. There is always something there, it’s varied, explains MontanaBlack, whereas in the gaming market, he is too dependent on the release situation. And in gaming, there hasn’t been anything to play on his console for a year and a half.
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Above all, the rules about the broadcasting license seem to preoccupy MontanaBlack now. He says:
the “pigs” are making his life hell with the broadcast license
“Father State” suddenly tells him how he should stream. “Father State” demands that he only plays games rated 18 and above after 11 PM, and he won’t put up with that
That is now the biggest reason why he is once again considering the idea of emigrating. Previously, the idea had actually gone away; he built a house, settled down, and felt comfortable, but now “Father State” leaves him no choice.
Further articles about MontanaBlack’s adventures on MeinMMO:
MontanaBlack now feels that he has built something big over 8 years, but now “Father State” is putting such huge obstacles in his way with the broadcasting license that it is making him depressed. He now has problems getting out of bed in the morning because the topic burdens him so much.
MontanaBlack says: He won’t put up with all this anymore. He has to escape; he has no other choice.
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What’s up with the broadcasting license? A new law stipulates that livestreamers on Twitch and YouTube are subject to the same rules as for television. However, channels that reach an average of fewer than 20,000 simultaneous viewers are exempt from these rules.
MontanaBlack is one of the few German streamers who reaches more than 20,000 viewers and falls under this new rule.
MontanaBlack has apparently tried to dilute his program on Twitch through repeated streams and bring his average viewer count below the 20,000 mark in order to avoid the need for a broadcasting license.
But that didn’t work: His popularity becomes his downfall, as he puts it.
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The compilation of a Twitch stream shows MontanaBlack’s thought process about having to leave Germany.
Whether MontanaBlack will actually emigrate to Malta is still unclear at the moment. However, the topic is clearly on his mind.
He recently pointed out another advantage: In his hometown Buxtehude, it was 5 degrees on Wednesday night, while Malta lured with lovely 21 degrees. He’d rather be there, he says.
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MontanaBlack raves in his Twitch stream about Malta, praises the weather and the good internet there. He says that from there he would produce less gaming content and more “IRL” content, meaning streaming from real life.
The last time he streamed “IRL” content from Malta, it didn’t go so well. He faced a 30-day ban on Twitch:
In Destiny 2, you can find the “Daily Focus” in 2 ways. There is a good reason why players are confused about this in the Guardian Games and cannot upgrade their event-exotic.
In Destiny 2, the Guardian Games 2021 are taking place for the next few weeks, and you should prove yourself in the event, among other things, in the “Daily Focus Playlist” and the “Daily Focus”. Both refer to the same thing, but it is not as easy to find as it initially seems.
Some players are really upset because they spent a lot of time in the wrong modes. We will show you the benefits you have with the Daily Focus Playlist in the Guardian Games and why this is so confusing. Of course, after this article, you will also know how to find the Daily Focus in seconds.
This is what the Daily Focus brings:
You will receive more Glory here. The special items are your currency in the event. You use them to buy from Eva, need them to complete Triumphs, and for Bounties.
Players are excited about the event-exclusive exotic “Inheritance Appearance“. It will get stronger with the new catalyst; however, it requires kills in the Daily Focus Playlist.
We read in the comments at MeinMMO that many of you are getting massive kills with Inheritance Appearance, but they do not count towards your quest progression. This is because Destiny 2 confuses you with the playlist.
This is why it is confusing: In the Guardian Games, you also have access to a special playlist: “Guardian Game Strikes”, which you start in the Tower. Many assume that this is also the Daily Focus Playlist. After all, this mode was created specifically for the ongoing event. However, here you are “only” matched with guardians of your class – theoretically, the Daily Focus could take place here.
Additionally, it adds to the confusion that in Destiny, Focus usually refers to the subclass element. Each week, for example, there is top loot if you equip an Arc, Solar, or Void class according to the strike modifier (appropriate focus). It is understandable to wonder what the “Daily Focus” and “Daily Focus Playlist” in the Guardian Games refers to suddenly.
You have 2 options in the game to find out which playlist is active today.
Search in Orbit: When choosing planets in orbit, you will find the Guardian Games symbol – a flower with 3 circles. Select it from the left corner, and under “Daily Focus,” you will see which mode brings extra glory today and where you can level up the new catalyst. You will also find the symbol in orbit next to the milestone indicator.
Finding the Daily Focus in Orbit
This is what the Medal Box says: In the quest menu, you will find the new item “Medal Box”. All your medals and glory go into the box – it also shows the “Daily Focus”.
By the way, you should regularly check the Medal Box in the Guardian Games, because if you collect more glory or medals than you have free spaces, your efforts are almost in vain. So if the box is full, hurry to the Tower and turn in your achievements. This will help your class win in the competition.
The Medal Box reveals the Daily Focus
When does the playlist change? Every day at the Daily Reset, the Daily Focus changes. Throughout the Guardian Games, this is at 7:00 PM. If there was a playlist that was not beneficial for you throughout the day, you can then check in the orbit or Medal Box after the reset to see if you are lucky this time.
Quickly get machine gun kills in the Daily Focus Playlist
This playlist is the best: If you want to level up your catalyst quickly to the max, you should venture into Strikes.
Today, on April 22, the Crucible is the Daily Focus. This is rather unfortunate, as there is very little Power Ammo here and Guardians are not as easy to kill as PvE enemies. Gambit is not really recommended either, as the enemies here can take a lot of damage and you harm your team significantly if you take the Power Ammo before the invader.
In Strikes, you can complete all necessary kills in one go with the right modifier and suitable mods, like Machine Gun Scavenger and Reserves. So if you want to keep your nerves, check at every reset which mode is up and hope for Strikes.
Have you also wondered what exactly the Daily Focus or Daily Focus Playlist is? We hope we could help you in this case. If you have any other questions, let us know in the comments – also tell us what you think of the Guardian Games 2021 in general.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Call of Duty: Cold War and CoD Warzone Season 3 with the new Battle Pass has launched. We show you the most exciting tiers and rewards.
This is happening now in Call of Duty: On April 22nd, Season 3 started in Cold War and Warzone. Accordingly, there is also a new Battle Pass, which is partly even free.
You can find the most important information about Season 3 here:
What do you get with the Battle Pass? There are a total of 100 tiers in the Season 3 Battle Pass. You can unlock various cosmetic items, such as new skins or blueprints.
There are also new weapons and gameplay-relevant content available for every player, regardless of whether they purchased the Battle Pass or not.
How much does the Battle Pass cost? You pay 1100 CoD Points (approximately 10 Euros). Otherwise, you can also buy the Battle Pass plus 20 tier-ups for 2400 CoD Points.
What exactly is included in the Battle Pass can be seen in the YouTube video from Whoisimmortal:
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What’s available right at the start: Those who purchase the Battle Pass will receive some nice cosmetics right from the start. These include:
Disruptor skin for the new operator Wraith
Stinger, a skin for the operator Woods
Wellington Ash, a watch as an epic accessory
A seasonal XP boost of 10 % throughout the entire season
These weapons are available: In total, you will unlock 2 new weapons through the Battle Pass. They are free for everyone – no purchase of the Battle Pass is necessary.
At tier 15, you will receive the first weapon: PPSH-41. This is an SMG with relatively low damage per shot. However, it excels with its rapid-fire and high capacity. This allows it to fire many shots quickly, making it particularly useful in close combat situations.
The second new weapon is the Swiss K31. You unlock it at tier 31 in the Battle Pass. This is a sniper that has very high accuracy and can reload very quickly. Additionally, it has a high ammunition capacity.
Official screenshot of the Swiss K31.
These are more highlights: To keep you informed about the content of the Battle Pass, here are some highlights:
Tier 5 – Blueprint Anodized Carbon
Tier 8 – Derby Racer skin for your vehicles
Tier 10 – Breakpoint skin for Beck
Tier 18 – Blueprint Field Infantry
Tier 20 – Battle Tested skin for Park
Tier 21 – Blueprint Vex Lord
Tier 24 – Blueprint Damascus Elite (free for all)
Tier 27 – Blueprint Gilded Rose
Tier 30 – Security Details skin for Sims
Tier 35 – Blueprint Rat Tail
Tier 38 – Blueprint Factory Stainless
Tier 40 – Encroachment skin for Song
Tier 45 – Blueprint Go Getter
Tier 42 – Blueprint Forsaken Trinity
Tier 50 – Stronghold skin for Vargas
Tier 51 – Blueprint Rattler
Tier 55 – Blueprint Slow Death (free for all)
Tier 59 – Blueprint Elegant Alloy
Tier 60 – Black Slate skin for Powers
Tier 65 – Blueprint Glow Catalyst
Tier 70 – Pathfinder skin for Hunter
Tier 71 – Blueprint Space Probe
Tier 76 – Blueprint Roman Opulence
Tier 80 – Rally Cry skin for Zeyna
Tier 81 – Blueprint Big Game Hunter (free for all)
Tier 85 – Blueprint Fast Leak
Tier 89 – Blueprint Drab Deputy
Tier 90 – Violent Nature skin for Garcia
Tier 95 – Blueprint Loud Pipe
What’s available at tier 100: For the final tier, there is the White Queen skin for the new operator Wraith. Additionally, there is the Roman Standard skin for the sniper and the “Fortress” skin for vehicles. There is also an emblem for Season 3.
Is the Battle Pass worth it? If you are already playing a lot of Cold War or Warzone, then you can’t go wrong with the Battle Pass. If you reach tier 100, you get enough CoD Points to buy the next pass. You won’t have to spend any more money.
Otherwise, keep in mind that you don’t gain any gameplay advantages from the paid Battle Pass. The new weapons are also available without purchasing the paid Battle Pass. So be aware that you are only spending money on cosmetic items.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard has launched a new alpha test of the mobile game Diablo Immortal. The focus is on PvP and endgame content.
Who is the alpha for? The freshly launched alpha is aimed at players living in Australia. Additionally, selected members of the Diablo community, some influencers, and representatives of the press have been invited.
What is the alpha about? There are some innovations compared to the test that took place last December. These include:
The new class of the Crusader as a hybrid between the wizard and melee fighter
New zones and dungeons, including Mount Zavian, the home of the monks, and the Frozen Tundra, as well as the dungeon Cave of Echoes
PvP
Endgame content
Diablo Immortal’s Game Designer Wyatt Cheng talks in the video about the new alpha of Diablo Immortal:
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This is the focus of the alpha: The test centers around the endgame, which is also closely linked to the PvP of Diablo Immortal. We will introduce you to the endgame content in more detail.
Here is what the endgame looks like: The endgame content revolves around earning the Crown of Eternity to become an Immortal. Those who can claim this coveted crown in the PvP war can make the other members of their faction complete tasks as their leader. We will reveal how you can obtain the Crown of Eternity soon in a separate article on MeinMMO. First, we will present the tasks that you may assign as soon as you possess the crown.
To start one of the endgame missions, it is necessary for the members of your faction to complete daily quests. This allows them to collect the resource Essentia. If you have enough Essentia, these tasks become available to you:
Kion’s Trial – Up to 48 players from your faction can attempt this raid. Within 30 minutes, you must defeat four boss opponents. As a reward, you receive loot along with Daedass’s Blessing. The buff grants you a strengthening effect and a bonus for Elder Portals. Additionally, it fills the treasure chamber of the Immortals.
Defense of the Treasure Chamber – Your enemies attempt to attack the treasure chamber of the Immortals. Then your faction must push back the thieves.
What else is there to do in the endgame? Another endgame content is the Hell’s Reliquary. After the main quest, you can use this machine to seek out particularly powerful demons. If you defeat the monsters, you feed the machine with the remains so that you can absorb a part of the demons’ power and thus become even stronger.
This is what the Hell’s Reliquary machine looks like.
It is possible to upgrade the Hell’s Reliquary, for which you need to collect the material Scoria, which you can find at the Honor Vendor and in Bounty Chests. NPC Charsi then crafts Hellfire Scoria from it, which you use to upgrade the machine. This grants your character more power from the collected remains of the demons.
What do you think of the endgame in the mobile game Diablo Immortal? Do you find it interesting?
Genre: MMORPG | Developer: Pearl Abyss | Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Release: March 3, 2016
On March 3, 2016, Black Desert was released in the West and recently celebrated its 5th birthday. We from MeinMMO conducted an interview with the developers in this context. We look back at the past, present, and future of the MMORPG.
What’s going on with Black Desert? The Korean MMORPG Black Desert is one of the most well-known games in the genre and is particularly popular in the West.
As part of our initiative Find Your Next Game and the 5th birthday of the game, we interviewed the developer Pearl Abyss. Our questions were answered by Executive Producer Kim Jae Hee.
The conversation focused on the development of Black Desert, the current state, and where the game sees itself in the coming 5 years. The region of Europe is to play a particularly important role in that future.
What exactly is Black Desert? Black Desert is a sandbox MMORPG that offers you a lot of freedom. In return, quests and story play a subordinate role. You can level up endlessly, improve life skills, build a network of workers, and even craft a ship to sail the world.
In this context, the MMORPG offers a completely open world, where there is also open PvP. Additionally, there are the so-called Node Wars, where you can fight against other players and guilds for control of certain zones.
A highlight is the action-packed battles and the 22 different classes you can choose from.
“A continuous stream of updates is key to success”
MeinMMO: Black Desert celebrated its 5th anniversary in March 2021. What have you learned in the last 5 years?
Kim Jae Hee: MMORPGs are a genre that is typically operated over the long term. It is accessible at all times and is always there for us. Therefore, the biggest lesson we have learned in the last 5 years is “Never stop.” In terms of consistency, we want to emphasize that some of our loyal adventurers have played the game every day for several years.
If the game had not undergone changes or adjustments over the years, it would certainly have become boring for the players. That is why we have offered a new update almost every week for the last 5 years. We are well aware that providing new thrills – from major updates to small adjustments in detail – plays the most important role in entertaining the players.
We would like to cautiously assume that most of our adventurers are in tune with our constant stream of updates, so they may be disappointed sometimes, but never lose complete faith. Therefore, we will not shy away from anything but continue to work on improving Black Desert.
Nonetheless, there is a “teacher” from whom we have learned on our journey over the last 5 years: the love of the adventurers for our game. With the increasing number of years, we see more and more adventurers who genuinely love and enjoy our game. To give back the incredible love and heartfelt laughter we have received from our adventurers, we can’t help but do our best.
We would like to thank our players once again for their valuable feedback and support, and we will work hard to develop a better and more exciting game in return.
Executive Producer Kim Jae Hee at an appearance related to Black Desert (Source: PR)
MeinMMO: MMORPGs have been constantly changing in recent years. What do you think is the future of the MMORPG genre in the next 5 years?
Kim Jae Hee: Every genre – not just MMORPGs – has its downtime. It’s about trends, and we can’t predict the future trend precisely. Many players have favorites in one genre and enjoy various genres simultaneously instead of playing just one genre.
In 7 years of live service, we feel that we have to maintain the genre’s core rule, but at the same time, we can also go beyond the genre. We focus on the question ‘what we can do for Black Desert’ instead of ‘what we should do for an MMORPG’, and we have learned how to take some aspects of different genres and apply them to the Black Desert franchise.
We will continue to develop solely for the enjoyment of Black Desert, and one can see the answer to this question when playing Black Desert in 5 years. We do not predict anything, but we experiment. We are confident that we can adapt to the rapidly changing situation as we have done in the last 5 years.
MeinMMO: What role will Black Desert Online play in the MMORPG market in 5 years?
Kim Jae Hee: Of course, we hope that Black Desert becomes an MMO with its own, unique identity, and we give our best for that. We envision Black Desert becoming a game that is so special and stands out from others that people will continue playing it or keep returning after a break.
The advantages of Black Desert lie especially in the vast open world, the highly perfected, action-based narrative, and the endless offerings of content. These advantages are constantly evolving, and the degree of perfection increases over time, contributing to the unique value of Black Desert. We reaffirm that our continuous stream of updates is key to enable this.
The world is changing faster than we expected. The era of electric and autonomous cars is approaching, and cloud gaming is no longer a dream but a reality. We will strengthen the foundations of the game and never stop experimenting.
We do not want to spend time on predictions, but rather spend more time reflecting on the feedback from adventurers through constant updates. If we do that, Black Desert will essentially be the same game, but with brand new features.
For Black Desert, it’s not just about developing the game and bringing it to market. The live service of the game is about constant updates and growth with the adventurers.
We want Black Desert to be a lifelong partner for them.
Black Desert is often praised for its beautiful graphics.
Europe is so important to Pearl Abyss that a local branch has been opened
MeinMMO: How important is Europe for Black Desert? How many players come from here compared to Korea?
Kim Jae Hee: Europe is one of the most important service regions for Black Desert. We recently established a branch in Europe and opened our own server there. Furthermore, the game is offered in French, German, and Spanish for European adventurers, and we actively support communities in these languages.
We see that our adventurers in the EU region really enjoy our game, and we are looking for different ways to give back to this positivity. I would avoid comparing the EU service to the KR service, as all statistics need to be viewed in their own context. However, I can confidently say that the numbers we receive from the EU service are among the most successful in all the regions we manage.
Nonetheless, we try to look beyond the numbers and connect with the actual experiences or true feelings of the adventurers, which we value more than just a few proud data entries.
Black Desert should become even more professional and the story more captivating
MeinMMO: Can you name one thing you are really proud of in Black Desert Online and one thing you want to improve in the future?
Kim Jae Hee: We have countless things we can be proud of. We can start with our top-notch graphics, breathtaking and exciting action with simple controls, and smooth animations. Then we also have visual effects of great quality, obsessively perfected and renewed sound effects, and our unique content like the knowledge system and the Node Wars. We could literally go on for days just talking about the things we are proud of.
Regardless of all these features, I want to express my gratitude to all the members of our Black Desert studio who have made all these developments and achievements possible.
It’s not easy to bring massive content updates every week (such a case is almost unprecedented and has no parallels around the world), to solve emerging problems in real-time, and to prepare the update for the next week. Additionally, various operational issues may arise during live operations, which we solve promptly and accurately while also addressing long-term issues like game balance and the remastering of graphics and sound effects.
We started with 8 classes 5 years ago and now have 22. Moreover, we have added a number of new regions: Mediah, Valencia, Kamasylvia, Drieghan, the Great Ocean, Port Ratt, and O’dyllita. Nevertheless, we still see room for improvement.
At the moment we are working on improving the direction/production of scenes and making the story more captivating.
The story of Black Desert is partially told through the Black Spirit.
Kim Jae Hee: We view Black Desert as a living world. We ask ourselves these questions as we continue our journey: How would we adapt well in this world? What would make this world more viable and lively? What would make the adventure here even more exciting? These are our fundamental considerations in developing the world of Black Desert.
We tried the generally known “instance” type of dungeon before our closed beta test, but we would like to emphasize once again that the Black Desert we envision is a world where adventurers live together, interact with one another, and build relationships in a single, unified dimension.
Having different experiences with other adventurers in a single world will be an exclusive fun that no other open-world RPG can offer.
Instead, we offer many options to compensate the “convenience” a bit.
Although they are not instances, the battle arenas, the Arena of Arsha, and the Crimson Battlefield provide adventurers with instant access. Since we recognize the advantage and practicality of the system, we also offer Blood Altar as an instance, which serves a completely different purpose than the rest of the content in Black Desert.
Overall, we do our best in the development of the game to expand the world of Black Desert and increase its proximity to reality while simultaneously opening the doors to many new possibilities.
New classes will not hinder other content and are expected to arrive regularly in the future
MeinMMO: You bring about three to four new classes to the game each year. Most recently, the Sage as the 22nd class was introduced. How will you ensure that the many classes are distinct enough from one another?
Kim Jae Hee: A central point when designing a new character is what concept, fun, or fantasy it will offer to the players. We would call this the “unique identity” of each character; while there may be some similar traits, each class has its own concept and playstyle, aside from its level of competitiveness.
As evidence that this variety does indeed attract all players, our player population is quite evenly distributed across the classes.
To go into a bit more detail, we have extensively studied what type of action style would best suit each new character, especially since one of the biggest advantages of Black Desert is its action (combat) system. Meanwhile, we also refer to various data and consider the interaction or chemistry of the new character with the previous characters.
For the Sage, we had these concepts or keywords in mind:
Ancient
Magic
Creation
and good aesthetics.
From this foundation, we extended the concept of time and space manipulation in relation to the actual functionality of the character and composed the skills accordingly. In hopes of realizing the concept of a “time and space” manipulator, we gave them a unique cubical weapon and unprecedented animation effects for skills.
Every component is designed to build the “unique identity” of the Sage, just as we have done for all other heroes up to this day. We focus on the unique identity of each character and hope we can diversify not only their outward concept but also their actual performance or style in combat.
The new class, Sage, is inspired by the ancient.
MeinMMO: Are you planning to slow down the release of classes at some point?
Kim Jae Hee: We introduced about 2 classes per year until 2020 and do not intend to slow down the development of new classes as it does not hinder the development of other content.
We always want to have classes or content that offer adventurers new experiences, and we have tried many things based on user feedback or staff ideas.
We can’t say how many more classes will be released, but we do our best. People from so many different cultures enjoy Black Desert and also have many diverse needs regarding the classes. We will create fun and unique classes based on that feedback.
Self-publishing is intended primarily to strengthen direct communication and support
MeinMMO: In February 2021, you started self-publishing Black Desert in the West. What has changed as a result?
Kim Jae Hee: The most important change is that we from Pearl Abyss can now communicate more closely and directly with the users. Direct and transparent communication with users plays a vital role in enhancing the quality of service and user experience. Therefore, we hope to offer a more welcoming and user-friendly service through self-publishing.
Editor’s note: The questions were submitted before our article regarding the support issues. Here, there is considerable criticism from Western players. Pearl Abyss subsequently made a detailed statement regarding support, as you can read in that article. There it was promised to work on current issues.
MeinMMO: What advantages does it bring to be the publisher in the West?
Kim Jae Hee: So far, we have seen more advantages than difficulties. We have received significantly more and open feedback, and if we agreed with it, we immediately set out to improve. We believe that self-publishing is the biggest advantage.
I must emphasize again that there have not been any “difficulties”, but heavy responsibility comes closest. We have the heart to provide better service and receive even more love from the adventurers of Black Desert.
As much as we feel responsible, we translate that energy into motivation to serve a top-notch game.
MeinMMO: After taking over publishing, you made significant changes to the loyalty system. You doubled the prices of many items. What was the reason for that?
Kim Jae Hee: The previous products of the loyalty shop served their purpose and proved helpful for the adventurers, but they needed to be gradually revised to meet the pace of our content updates and the growing needs of our adventurers.
Rather than simply replacing some products, we conducted a complete but necessary overhaul. We also plan to introduce special items that will rotate periodically, allowing players to have a broader range of support with greater convenience. We will continue to present this type of update to support adventurers and do our best to create a more enjoyable gaming environment.
Crossplay between PC and consoles is not planned yet, but possible
MeinMMO: In 2019 you brought Black Desert to consoles, and they quickly received content updates. Do you believe they will ever reach the same status as the PC version?
Kim Jae Hee: They are almost identical except for some content that still needs localization. We are aiming for the global service of the game with a global version, and that is one of the reasons for fast and constant updates. However, the speed of updates is based on the playstyle of the regions.
We have tried many different ways to add entertaining content to the game. For example, we released a new class simultaneously on different platforms. The knowledge we acquired over the past 7 years in various regions will be transferred to the console version.
MeinMMO: Can players expect crossplay between consoles and PC at some point?
Kim Jae Hee: We haven’t thought about that yet. However, we always keep possibilities open. The crossplay between Xbox and PS was not planned at all, but the active suggestions from adventurers eventually led us to support crossplay.
Implementing it between a console and a PC would definitely require a lot of research and consideration, but we see no reason to avoid the challenge as long as it is desired by many adventurers.
MeinMMO: We thank Kim Jae Hee for the detailed answers to our questions.
What do you think of the MMORPG Black Desert and its development in recent years? And when did you last play it?
Those who want to know more about Black Desert can watch the livestream on Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM as part of Find Your Next Game, where MeinMMO will present the MMORPG more specifically for beginners and discuss the development of the game.
In a livestream on April 21, the publisher Gameforge provided insights into the future of the Buy2Play MMORPG Swords of Legends Online. The information about the start of the Alpha and Beta, as well as the shop, was particularly interesting.
When does Swords of Legends start? As Gameforge has announced, the Alpha for Swords of Legends Online will start next week. Selected media and content creators will participate in the test. This Alpha is expected to last about 2 weeks.
After the Alpha, “a few weeks” will pass before the first Closed Beta begins. The start will likely fall between late May and mid-June. Anyone who has pre-ordered the MMORPG or obtained beta keys will be able to participate. It is expected to last a few days.
The second Closed Beta is scheduled to take place 1-2 weeks after the first. Again, pre-orders and beta key holders will be allowed to test the game. The second beta is expected to last about a week.
Will there be a wipe after the beta? Yes, all players will start fresh at release. That is why there will also be a name reservation shortly before release, allowing players to create characters in advance.
The phases of development of Swords of Legends.
What else was covered in the livestream? The following content has been or will be shown in the stream:
The character creation – you can use numbers in your name
This is what the shop in Swords of Legends offers: The developers emphasize in the livestream that the shop will only contain cosmetic items. This includes:
Outfits
Hairstyles
Weapon skins
Accessories
Character reskinning
Mounts
Housing content
All skins will be unlocked for the entire account. However, there are outfits that can only be worn by male or female characters
Additionally, there are general comfort items like name changes or gender changes. Real money items cannot be sold to other players, but there is a gifting mode to directly gift an item to friends.
Screenshot of the shop from the livestream.
How much do the contents in the shop cost? For 25 euros you get 4,250 Crimson Coins. For 25 euros, you can thus get about 2 weapon skins or one outfit.
What is the Loyalty Shop? For every Crimson Coin spent, you also receive Loyalty Points (ratio 1:1). It does not matter whether you buy for yourself or gift the contents. The Loyalty Shop is a kind of second shop where you can unlock additional skins. However, there are no Pay2Win items found here as well.
The Loyalty Shop, where you can access additional skins.
What is the Crystal Shop? Through dailies and other set activities, you can earn the currency Crystal. Certain cosmetics can also be unlocked through this.
What else? Swords of Legends will feature a Battle Pass. This allows you to earn more cosmetics. The free version will also include items that grant progress, but these can all be earned through gameplay.
The paid version will receive special cosmetics that can only be obtained through it.
Can you still watch the livestream? You can watch the recording on Twitch (via Twitch).
What do you think about Swords of Legends and the new information? Are you pre-ordering it or ignoring the MMORPG?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Since the release, the co-op shooter Outriders has been struggling with several issues. One of these is a quest bug in the side mission “Old Powers”, which can still occur. MeinMMO shows you how to circumvent it if it happens to you.
What kind of bug is this? The error occurs in the side mission “Old Powers”. You can find the quest in Chapter 10 of the main story in the old ruins. You receive the task from Dr. Zahedi to locate and examine some obelisks in the ruins.
What is the problem with this mission? It may happen that the quest marker does not update correctly. This causes players to be misled and get stuck at a certain point.
Fortunately, there is a way to circumvent this bug. We will show you how it works.
How to find the 3 obelisks
How to reach your goal nonetheless: During the quest, you need to visit a total of three obelisks. This will take you across the area of the old ruins. However, the quest marker does not lead many players to the respective obelisks and does not update.
Nevertheless, it is not complicated to get to the obelisks:
You need to start from the camp “Distorted Sculpture”.
You can find the “Obelisk in the Courtyard” by orienting left from the flag. Go back a little towards the river and then turn right.
You can find the “Obelisk of the Forgotten Ruins” by going up the stairs from the flag and turning left.
You can find the “Obelisk of the Valley Ruins” by turning around from the flag, heading towards the river, and then turning left. Keep to the left by the wall, and you should find the entrance to the area.
It is important that you follow the order. Otherwise, the respective paths are blocked, and you will end up in a dead end.
You can also watch the whole quest in this video from the channel Game Guides Channel:
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Initial complaints about the bug arose as early as the release of Outriders in the associated subreddit (via reddit).
However, the bug still apparently exists, as the latest posts below are 6 days old (as of April 21) and thus have not yet been resolved. The reason was possibly the other issues that Outriders has been struggling with.
Did you experience the problem as well? Did the description help you? Or did you go through the quests without any issues? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
As Xbox announced, over 50 Free2Play online multiplayer games are now truly available for free: no ongoing “Xbox Live Gold” subscription is required anymore. Among the 50 Free2Play games are well-known titles like Apex Legends, Fortnite, or Warframe. With this, Xbox continues to expand its offerings around Game Pass, Xbox Live Gold, and its Xbox Network.
What’s going on? As Xbox announced on Twitter, over 50 F2P games on Xbox are now truly free.
Weren’t they already Free2Play? Theoretically yes, but on Xbox, these titles previously required a Gold membership to play online.
This means Xbox consoles now have a significant increase in online games that are available to everyone without restrictions.
How did this decision come about? According to the official website, where the announcement and the list of games can be found, they listened primarily to fans’ feedback.
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The complete list can be found on the Xbox website under the announcement (via Xbox.com).
The announcement could also mean that the multiplayer of Halo: Infinite will also be completely free for everyone to play. This should be released separately from the main game as a Free2Play title.
“Better late than never”
This is how fans are reacting to the announcement: At the current time (April 21, 18:00), there aren’t many responses yet. Overall, the replies are positive, but some feel it was long overdue.
Andy writes: “There’s no applause for this, it should have happened 10 years ago!” (via Twitter). Others, however, are happy about the decision.
Even the “Master Chief” himself expresses his gratitude, although it is likely to be the Twitter account of a fan: “Incredible what you are releasing right now! A big thank you to the whole @XboxDACH team for this outstanding generation so far” (via Twitter).
What do you think of this step? Are you excited, or do you think it was long overdue? Let us know in the comments.
A major update for Call of Duty came this morning, April 21st. We look at the patch notes for the Season 3 update at Call of Duty: Cold War.
When is the new update coming? The update is already available, but the contents of the new season will go live tomorrow morning at 06:00 AM. The changes have been active all day today, and now the developers have released the patch notes. Here are the patch notes for Warzone.
3 New Weapons at the Start of Season 3 – More Coming Later
These are the 6 new weapons: For Season 3 in Call of Duty: Cold War, 6 new weapons are being introduced. 3 of the weapons will be available right at launch:
The submachine gun PPSh-41, which Treyarch considers the “Most Popular Submachine Gun in the entire Call of Duty series”
the Swiss sniper rifle K31
and the “Balistic” Knife – this weapon is set to bring back the “Stick and Stones” mode from the original Black Ops
With further updates, three additional weapons will follow in Season 3:
The tactical rifle Carv.2
The submachine gun AMP63
And a baseball bat as a melee weapon
Here are more highlights from the patch notes: A new Battle Pass is coming with 100 levels that promise content. Call of Duty tempts with the “Wraith” skin which is already active at Tier 0. This skin will only be active from the morning of April 22nd.
Additionally, they promise 4 multiplayer maps throughout Season 3, of which 3 will be “6v6” maps. The first will be Yamatau (set in the U.S.S.R.) and Diesel (Mexico). The iconic map “Standoff” will appear during Season 3.
The fourth and even larger map is expected to be “Duga”, which Outbreak players have already enjoyed.
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The new TOTW 30 is now available in FIFA 21 Ultimate Team. However, two players that many had on their predictions are missing.
When the TOTW 30 arrives: The TOTW 30 has been available since 7:00 PM on April 21, 2021. It will remain in Ultimate Team for a week before being replaced next Wednesday.
This is the TOTW 30: The new Team of the Week features a colorful mix of players. However, two players who were also expected in the TOTW 30 predictions are missing from the new Team of the Week. Despite each scoring two goals contributing to their teams’ victories, both Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland are absent from the Team of the Week.
The two top strikers would have certainly improved the rather average TOTW. Here you can find all the players that are included this time.
TOTW 30 starting XI:
GK: Courtois (91)
CB: Ginter (86)
LB: Günter (84)
CB: Kjaer (83)
CM: Eriksen (88)
LM: Sigurdsson (86)
RM: Berardi (85)
RM: Greenwood (84)
ST: Immobile (89)
RF: Volland (87)
ST: Nsame (86)
TOTW 30 bench:
GK: Omlin (81)
RB: Trimmel (81)
CAM: Lucas Paqueta (84)
ST: Yaremchuk (86)
ST: Maclaren (82)
ST: Hernandez (82)
ST: Prevljak (82)
RB: Long (74)
CAM: Johnson (77)
LF: Cebula (74)
ST: Turgott (72)
LF: C. Gomes (69)
The Top 3 in TOTW 30
Here you can find the 3 highest-rated cards in TOTW 30:
The highest-rated card in the current TOTW goes to goalkeeper Courtois. The keeper from Real Madrid is already among the best in the game. His TOTW card is even slightly better.
Immobile offers a 89 overall rating and especially impresses with his strong finishing. The other stats look decent too, but the Italian is not great at defending.
If you are looking for a CM behind Immobile, Eriksen is the right choice. The Milan player has received a 88 overall rating and shines especially as a playmaker for the offense. Again, the deficiencies are more on the defensive side.
The Bundesliga in TOTW 30
Several Bundesliga teams have made it into the new weekly squad.
Matthias Ginter received a CB card with an overall rating of 86, which is well-rounded in physical and defensive attributes. Only the pace is lagging behind, making the card somewhat less useful.
In contrast, Freiburg’s Günter has plenty of pace, also excelling in the other defensive stats. Not a bad card for the fullback.
On the other side of the defensive backline, Union’s Trimmel is included. However, the right back received a rather weak Inform card.
Yesterday Blizzard announced that Jeff Kaplan will no longer work for the company. He was most recently the head of Overwatch. But it’s not just the Overwatch professionals that are affected by his departure; Kaplan also played an important role for WoW players.
Kaplan started his career at Blizzard as QA for Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
Later he became a quest designer for WoW and was Game Director along with Tom Chilton and J. Allen Brack
After that, he was involved in Project Titan, which was then canceled
Most recently, he was the head of Overwatch. He became the face of the shooter, as he recorded the developer videos himself
Kaplan was always seen as close to the fans and brought laughter and good cheer. Accordingly, players, professionals, and shoutcasters who have worked with the developer have reacted emotionally.
“His commitment was remarkable”
How does the Overwatch community react? A very moving action was carried out by several professional players and teams. They included the word Jeff in their Twitter names and changed their profile pictures. This resulted in creations such as:
Dallas JEFFuel – the team that is actually called Dallas Fuel and plays in the Overwatch League
Seoul JEFFasty – actually Seoul Dynasty, a Korean esports team
Jefflanta Reign – actually Atlanta Reign, an American esports team
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But some shoutcasters and players from the past also spoke up:
Grand Marshal Reinforce, a current shoutcaster, thanked Kaplan for the time spent around Overwatch: “I owe him a lot of incredible gaming experiences, and I feel lucky to have had great conversations with him personally” (via Twitter).
Jake Lyon, the coach of the Outlaws team, expressed much gratitude toward Kaplan: “Thank you for daring so much. Thank you for creating a world in which we can see ourselves as part of it. Thank you, Jeff Kaplan” (via Twitter).
Brennon Hook, also a shoutcaster for Overwatch, praised Kaplan’s passion: “The man had a passion and an aura of charisma around him that was so obvious whenever I visited the office. He always made me feel welcome, even though I came from a different side of gaming” (via Twitter).
Malik Still, a former Overwatch pro, particularly praised Kaplan’s closeness and passion: “Since the alpha days and even before that, Jeff Kaplan’s commitment to the OW community was remarkable. He is truly an amazing Game Director and just a great guy.”
Kaplan was previously an avid MMORPG player and a notorious flamer
Kaplan has not only touched the Overwatch community. Even before his work on WoW, he led a guild in Everquest.
In this context, he was very similar to many players who love their MMORPG. Even today, there are still screenshots from old forums, where he, under the name “Tigole Bitties,” called out the developers of Everquest in surprisingly aggressive language to fix their “goddamn, bugged, half-finished bosses”:
An old forum thread where Kaplan complains about problems in an MMORPG (via web-archive.org).
Just a few weeks after this rant, Kaplan announced that Blizzard Entertainment had hired him as a developer. He said at the time:
“I hope my connection to World of Warcraft serves to make MMORPG fans feel more comfortable now that ‘One of us’ is on the other side of the garden fence and cares about the interests of the players.”
Jeff Kaplan in April 2002, before joining Blizzard
In WoW, Kaplan made a name for himself as one of the first quest designers alongside Pat Nagle. Many of the iconic original quests that we know today from WoW Classic come from Kaplan.
In WoW itself, there are still numerous reminders of Kaplan. For example, there are the items Tigule’s Harpoon and Tigule and Foror’s Strawberry Ice Cream, named after his nickname.
How does the WoW community react to Kaplan’s departure?
In the official WoW forum, there are several threads in various languages discussing Kaplan. The user Ricochet also praises Kaplan’s charisma there: “Kaplan was very popular in the community, he had a certain charismatic charm that people liked. Almost everything he said was worthy of becoming a meme” (via Blizzard).
In the WoW subreddit, there is a thread about Jeff Kaplan that has been in the top 3 for almost 20 hours with over 4,500 upvotes. Many players there thank Kaplan for the great gaming experience he provided them in Vanilla WoW (via reddit).
The well-known website WOWHead has also posted about Kaplan’s departure (via WOWHead).
Where is Kaplan headed now? That is currently unknown. However, it is possible that he is being drawn to one of the projects at Mike Morhaime’s studio. The former Blizzard president left the studio in 2018 and founded two of his own studios, which sound like the “Blizzard of old”:
The football team of Schalke 04 has officially been relegated from the Bundesliga. This could already have a negative impact on the e-sports team in League of Legends. Because in LoL, Schalke is now selling one of the best players: midlaner Felix “Abbedagge” Braun (21) is considered a great talent.
This is the sale: Schalke announced on April 19 that Felix “Abbedagge” Braun is leaving the team. As is known, he is moving to the USA to “100 Thieves”. They finished 4th in the spring season and apparently had a need in the midlane.
The 100 Thieves have not yet made a big name for themselves in sports, but they are nevertheless well-established as an e-sports clan. The team’s leader, Matthew “Nateshot” Haag, is himself a well-known streamer, and 100 Thieves has several strong content creators under contract, who bring money and prestige, such as Valkyrae or CourageJD.
The 21-year-old German mid-laner had been with Schalke since 2018 and had developed well in the last 2 to 3 seasons after appearing somewhat overwhelmed at the start of his career.
According to Bild newspaper, Schalke received one million euros for the transfer.
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Is Schalke now selling the LoL team and the spot in the LEC?
What’s behind it: It is known that Schalke’s relegation from the Bundesliga could also impact the LoL team. Apparently, they need money.
In February 2021, there was even talk that Schalke could sell its spot in the LEC pro league if it were necessary to strengthen the “core business football.” There was no decision made yet, but it was said to be within the realm of possibility at that time from Schalke.
In February, Schalke’s relegation from the Bundesliga was a nightmare scenario; now it is reality.
“Best decision for the overall club”
It is quite possible that the sale of the talented Abbedagge is already a step towards a “cheaper future” for Schalke’s e-sports. The fact that they do not want to replace the 21-year-old with a transfer but with an academy player speaks for this.
The precarious situation in football is likely the decisive factor for the sale of the LoL player. As the gaming head of Schalke says, selling the LoL player was the best decision for the “overall club” – it is not just about the perspective in e-sports.
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The “one million euro” transfer fee is certainly peanuts compared to the sums paid for footballers. However, one could cynically ask whether Schalke’s LoL roster might actually be more valuable than the football roster, as some players from Schalke have probably destroyed their market value with their performances in the Bundesliga in recent months.
Not only Schalke is plagued by financial problems, the currently strongest team in the world apparently cannot pay its stars enough to keep them:
