Hey, CoD Warzone, your teasers are annoying – please finally blow up the map

Call of Duty: Warzone is the best battle royale on the market, according to MeinMMO author Maik Schneider. However, the slow content flow is starting to annoy him. The community is also suffering. For Maik, it’s time that Warzone finally delivers more or at least openly says what’s going on.

What’s going on with Warzone? In short: nothing at all. The battle royale shines with stagnation. The last truly big thing was the integration of Cold War with nearly 30 new weapons and the introduction of the small map “Rebirth Island” in December 2020. And even that was poorly received by many players.

Since then, Call of Duty: Warzone has been more about, nerfing overpowered weapons, repairing their broken attachments, and complaining about a zombie invasion that has so far been a major disappointment. 

The constant teasers, leaks, and hints are just plain annoying:

Currently, there is nothing from the official side that gives hope for better times, and that’s why I say: Do something! Offer us something! Or at least please tell us what we can look forward to. 

Warzone becomes a love-hate relationship – A bad sign

Why is it so intensely frustrating? I have been managing Warzone for MeinMMO since the release and am an enthusiastic soldier of the battle royale. For a long time, no title in the genre could really hold me, even though I desperately wanted to settle into a battle royale. PUBG, Fortnite, Apex – all just short excursions over a few weeks with a few dozen play hours per title.

In Warzone, I have now played almost 800 matches and accumulated just over 200 hours. And for most of those hours, I had a lot of fun. That’s why it bothers me so much that there’s no progress. I would love to binge it again for a weekend, try out new tactics, or do a little nonsense.

But the battle royale does not provide an inviting foundation for that. Much of it is still the same as it was at release. And, as much as I enjoy the game, it has worn thin. Like an old controller that still kind of works but you don’t really want to use anymore. Sometimes, though, it’s really good to have it around – a classic love-hate relationship. A recent meme on reddit describes the situation very aptly:

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As a sour cherry on top, there are the cheaters. The problems here are not quite as bad as on servers in other regions, but even here, hackers, cheaters, and exploiters are annoying side effects of the free-to-play Warzone. And here too, the developers come to us with their little “teasers” about anti-cheat updates, promising us something without saying exactly what is happening. Does it have to be like this?

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Developer Raven fights on all fronts against cheaters.

Warzone should open up and be honest

What should happen? Honestly – bombard us with content, events, and new modes until we’re dizzy. But hope is fading. If even new weapons come into the game so broken that they significantly shift the meta, I don’t want to know what happens when new mechanics are tried more often.

A less elaborate way would be better communication. Even the release of Warzone was mysterious – the first trailer for the battle royale came out only a week before the launch. Prior to that, only leaks and uncertainty. And this has continued right up to today:

  • No clear announcements about new content
  • If there’s information, it’s cryptic and barely decipherable
  • Updates constantly secretly change weapons
  • No concrete statements about the fight against cheaters

You don’t have to serve the whole feast right away. But the current tidbit strategy is slowly making me starve as a player and fan. On top of that, constant changes to the weapons in secret. After an update, it’s hard to tell if your current favorite weapon is still good or if you need to set up a new one again. It’s really stressful being a Warzone fan.

So, Warzone, please: Tell us what you plan. Blow Verdansk up, bring a new map, do something with the old one – I almost don’t care. Just something exciting for once. But don’t troll us with an in-game teaser that bombs the map and then keep us waiting for weeks for something to happen with the zombies. Thank you.

What do you think about the topic? Do you also think that Warzone should try harder with content and communication or are you satisfied with the game and its conditions?

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

Pokémon GO starts tomorrow Raid Weekend with Rayquaza – This is what you need to know

Tomorrow, on March 27, the raid weekend with Rayquaza starts in Pokémon GO. We will show you the best counters and reveal what to expect.

When does the raid weekend take place? It starts on Saturday at 10:00 AM. You can take advantage of the special event over the weekend until Sunday at 8:00 PM.

During the raid weekend, Rayquaza will reappear in level 5 raids for the first time after a long absence. We will show you what to keep in mind for its return.

The best counters and info for Rayquaza’s return

Use these Pokémon against Rayquaza: The legendary Pokémon is of the Flying and Dragon types, making it vulnerable to Rock, Dragon, Fairy, and Ice types. It even has a double weakness against Ice.

You should therefore use Ice Pokémon primarily. Here are the 5 best counters against Rayquaza:

PokémonAttacks
MamoswinePowder Snow and Avalanche
Galarian DarmanitanIce Fang and Avalanche
SnoruntIce Shard and Avalanche
GlaceonIcy Wind and Avalanche
MewtwoPsycho Cut and Ice Beam

How many trainers are needed? Only 2 trainers are required to defeat Rayquaza in the raid. This can be quite easy if you use the right counters. However, if you want to be quicker in the raid, it is better to participate with 4-5 trainers.

Keep in mind that you can also invite players to a remote raid. This way, you only meet a few trainers on-site and can adhere to the existing Corona measures.

How much CP does a Rayquaza in the raid need? If you catch Rayquaza after the raid and it has 2191 CP or 2739 CP with weather bonus, then you can look forward to a specimen with 100% IV.

Are Rayquaza raids worth it? Definitely! The legendary Pokémon is the best Dragon attacker in the game. For that alone, you should secure at least one strong specimen.

Additionally, Rayquaza can also appear in its shiny form. The chance for that is about 1 in 19. Shiny Rayquaza is black and looks significantly different from the normal form.

How does the raid weekend exactly proceed? During the previous raid weekends, the chance of a level 5 raid at a gym was usually increased. This means you could complete significantly more raids than usual over the weekend.

Whether this will happen this time is unclear. However, it is already known that the Therian form of Thundurus will also continue to be available alongside Rayquaza. You can catch both legendary Pokémon.

What happens after the weekend? After the raid weekend, the weather week also ends. It will make room for the next events in April. Niantic has already shown a large list that has already scheduled many events. We will provide you with an overview of all events for the upcoming month: Pokémon GO: All events in April 2021 – Which ones are worth it?

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

25-year-old gaming star reportedly attempted suicide – After Twitch ban and career end

The 25-year-old Chilean Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios was considered one of the best players of Super Smash Bros. until a year ago and had a successfully running Twitch channel. After allegations that he sent sexual messages to minors, his career collapsed in July 2020. Now, a former partner reports that the 25-year-old attempted to take his own life. This has caused shock among the fans.

This is known about the alleged suicide attempt: We only know the report from his former partner ZeRo. She writes on Twitter:

On March 23, Gonzalo attempted suicide. After being treated in the hospital, he was admitted for further treatment.

People are more than their mistakes, especially when they have brought so much good into the world.

I will always love you, even if we are not together. I pray that you see the light.

https://twitter.com/healinghalos/status/1375101513283084288

This was ZeRo’s gaming career: The Chilean began his career as a player in the Nintendo series Super Smash Bros. in 2011. He was considered the best player in the series on the Wii U because he won 56 tournaments in a row. This even earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. His winning streak occurred in 2014 and 2015. He was particularly known for his play with Diddy Kong and Fox.

He earned a prize money of $182,000 during his career, which is a significant amount for a player in the niche of “Super Smash Bros.” (via esportsearnings).

In addition to his career as a professional gamer, ZeRo was active on Twitch: Here he had an account with 521,900 followers. His YouTube channel was nearing the mark of one million subscribers.

After grooming allegations, Twitch ban and dismissal followed

This was the break: Barrios’ career ended in July 2020 after he was accused of sending sexually suggestive messages to two minors six years prior, in 2014. He initially denied the allegations but later admitted to them.

As a result, he was dismissed from his team “Tempo Storm”. He withdrew from esports and stopped uploading videos on his YouTube channel. Previously, he had created content about Super Smash Bros. that achieved millions of views. Twitch permanently banned his account.

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With this statement, Tempo Storm ended their collaboration with ZeRo in July 2020.

These are the reactions: Many fans express their dismay over the news. One user on Twitter says: ZeRo was a role model for them, who made a stupid mistake years ago when he was not doing well. Some are upset about how harshly the community treated ZeRo a year ago.

Other users, however, say: ZeRo acted incorrectly back then. They wished he had sought therapy to receive a second chance. The current situation is tragic but does not change the player’s previous actions.

“Grooming” or “cyber-grooming” refers to the behavior of an adult establishing contact with minors online with the intention of gaining their trust and subsequently leading them to sexual acts. In a MeinMMO podcast, we discussed the dangers of online gaming with cyber criminologist Dr. Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger.

In July 2020, we at MeinMMO addressed the allegations against ZeRo. At that time, the head of Tempo Storm, Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk, explained how difficult it was for him to deal with the situation.

Reynad referred to the wave of allegations of sexual harassment that emerged on Twitter as a “dangerous precedent”. While many things come to light this way, teenagers on Twitter become judges, juries, and executioners.

Reynad emphasized that it was important to support ZeRo with therapy offers. Rehabilitation is more important than punishment.

If you are struggling with dark thoughts, you can contact the emergency hotline at 0800/111 0 111 or 0800/11 0 22 for confidential support – this is free nationwide.

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

Diablo 3: Before the End of Season 22 – Which Class Tops the Rankings?

In a few days, the end of Season 22 of Diablo 3 is here. We are looking at the ranking of the current season to see which class is currently in 1st place.

What’s going on in Diablo 3? The current season has been running for a few months, and players are battling it out in the rankings. But in just a few days, Season 22 in Diablo 3 will come to an end.

We are checking which classes clear the Greater Nephalem Rifts at level 150 the fastest.

The best classes in Season 22

The current ranking: We are referring to the European solo ranking for Season 22 in Diablo 3. This pertains to softcore (not hardcore). The current status of the ranking is as of March 26 at 11:50 AM. It is quite possible that the ranking may change in the last days and hours of the season.

We link the respective hero profiles behind the times so you can view the players’ characters. Keep in mind that the currently equipped gear may not match what was used to set the record time.

  1. Necromancer – GR 150 in approximately 6 minutes and 37 seconds (Here’s the hero profile on eu.diablo3.com)
  2. Crusader – GR 150 in approximately 7 minutes and 46 seconds (Here’s the hero profile on eu.diablo3.com)
  3. Wizard – GR 150 in approximately 8 minutes and 43 seconds (Here’s the hero profile on eu.diablo3.com)
  4. Demon Hunter – GR 150 in approximately 9 minutes and 59 seconds (Here’s the hero profile on eu.diablo3.com)
  5. Witch Doctor – GR 150 in approximately 13 minutes and 10 seconds (Here’s the hero profile on eu.diablo3.com)
  6. Barbarian – GR 150 in approximately 13 minutes and 54 seconds (Here’s the hero profile on eu.diablo3.com)
  7. Monk – GR 150 in approximately 14 minutes and 31 seconds (Here’s the hero profile on eu.diablo3.com)

If you prefer to see a graphic on the topic, you can find the best of each class listed together here.

Diablo 3 Ranking Season 22 End
The currently best times of each class – Status: March 26: 11:50 AM

What stands out: The name MovingMan appears in 5 out of 7 places. A look at the profile shows the player with over 9,400 Paragon points. In comparison, the Demon Hunter player in 4th place on this list has only about 5,500 Paragon points. Such high Paragon levels provide players with improved main stats, making the heroes even stronger. They play a significant role when competing at the top of the leaderboards.

What’s next in Season 23?

This is known: We already know that the start of Season 23 in Diablo 3 will take place right at the beginning of April. In the new season, a lot will change for you, as Patch 2.7.0 brings the biggest changes in years to Diablo 3.

Blizzard is making these changes by completely overhauling the companions. They can wear more armor, and legendary properties equipped to the companions will affect your heroes. Additionally, Blizzard also adjusted the abilities of the NPCs.

In line with the new season, we spoke with a professional who has already accumulated over 10,000 hours of gameplay in Diablo. What exactly will change for you and all solo and group players in the patch is explained in the interview: Expert explains how your solo farming will change starting from Season 23 of Diablo 3.

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

Fortnite threatens to ban its biggest Twitch streamer if he continues to misbehave

The Twitch streamer Cody “Clix” Conrod received a warning from Epic to stop with “wagers”, meaning betting money on the game. If he does not comply, he could even face a ban from Fortnite. We will show you what happened.

This is what happened: The Fortnite streamer Clix posted on Twitter that he will now stop with “wagers”. He received a personal warning from Epic to do so. If he does not end his bets, Epic would ban him from Fortnite.

In the tweet, he warns other players: Clix mainly wants other players to be aware of this situation as well.

I will not play any more and will have nothing to do with wagers. I just received a personal warning from Epic and was told to stop or it would end in a ban. I also recommend others to stop.

Clix on Twitter

A ban from Fortnite would not be ideal for Clix, as he is currently the largest Fortnite streamer. In recent days, he had the highest number of hours watched on Twitch in the Fortnite category (via sullygnome.com).

The young streamer narrowly escaped a permanent ban on Twitch recently. A sexually suggestive folder image was visible in his Twitch stream for seconds. His fans probably played a big role in his escape:

More on the topic
Twitch permanently bans young Fortnite pro – Apparently due to an inappropriate image
von Schuhmann

No more wagers allowed in Fortnite?

What are wagers anyway? Wagers are a type of bets. Players and streamers meet in a game and play for money. These can involve small amounts, but also larger sums. The winner receives the winnings – with such games, some primarily young top players spend their time in Fortnite.

This “players gambling for money and betting” is somewhat of the “dark side” of eSports. This is also known among other professional athletes. They do not bet for the sake of money, but for the thrill.

These bets seem to be widespread among very young Fortnite players, as they seek direct duels and want to increase the excitement through money betting. Clix has already received a ban from Twitch for playing with a streamer who labeled himself as the “#1 Wagerer in the World”.

Now it seems Epic wants to address this by threatening the young Fortnite streamer with a ban if he does not stop with the betting. However, it is unclear whether Epic wants to impose a general ban on wagers or at least restrict games of chance and gambling among minors. After all, Clix is only 16 and thus not of legal age.

Clix is currently the poster child of Fortnite for a young generation of players. He plays in 2021 the role that Ninja used to have and later Tfue. He is currently “the face of Fortnite” on Twitch.

So far, there is no statement from Epic on how they plan to proceed with gambling. The young Fortnite streamer seems to be taking the warning seriously and will probably stay away from it. After all, he has invested $6000 in his gaming setup to be even better at Fortnite – a ban would not be worth it.

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

The MMORPG Oldschool RuneScape has an innovative idea to make fishing more exciting

In the MMORPG OldSchool RuneScape, there is a new boss enemy. Anglers fight it by catching fish.

What kind of boss is this? Tempoross was long considered a legend and guardian of the sea among the sailors of the very successful MMORPG RuneScape on Steam. But now it turns out, the stories are true. Tempoross really exists in the game and he is in a very bad mood.

RuneScape Tempoross Fight
To defeat the boss Tempoross, you must shoot with fish.

How anglers fight a boss enemy in Oldschool RuneScape

How do you fight the boss? First of all, it is necessary to reach level 35 in fishing. Then Tempoross appears. To fight him, you need to talk to the ferryman Sathwood south of Al Kharid. He will take you to the ruins of Unkah, where the monster resides.

Now it’s time to defeat Tempoross.

Phase 1

In the first phase of the fight, you find yourself on your ship and must operate the cannons. However, instead of loading bullets, you load fish into them. More specifically, the Harpoonfish, as it can deal damage to Tempoross with its sharp head. It is of course necessary to always ensure a supply of ammunition, which is why fishing is in order.

So you must always fish, load the cannons, and then fire at Tempoross. To accomplish this as quickly as possible, teamwork is essential.

The boss strikes back and occasionally sends huge waves at your ship. It becomes necessary to secure yourself to the mast with a rope to avoid being swept away. Furthermore, the boss also attacks with other blows and temporarily makes your cannons unusable.

Phase 2

In Phase 2, Tempoross submerges and attracts fish to regain his energy. You must now catch these charged fish before they reach Tempoross. This prevents the boss from regenerating. If you manage to ensure that Tempoross does not recharge to 100% within the given time, he will disappear. Otherwise, Phase 1 begins again.

In this video, you can see how the boss fight unfolds:

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What do the players say about it? The new boss fight just started a few hours ago. Accordingly, there aren’t many opinions on it yet. Players are still trying to defeat the monster and find the best strategies. However, there has been discussion about this feature beforehand:

  • link5114 says on reddit: ‘I am looking forward to it. I need something new to enjoy fishing again.’
  • BioMasterZap expected a bit more (via reddit): ‘The boss fight sounds good. The only part of the description I dislike is this “fun and social way to train fishing.” This type of skilling rarely happens with bosses. Therefore, some will surely be disappointed when there is a hype for a new PvM boss and it turns out to be just a “fun and social way to train.”’
  • qpshu criticizes Tempoross’s appearance (via reddit): ‘I think it’s not good that it’s just a water elemental. A white whale would have been cooler.’

Just to clarify: The fight against Tempoross takes place in the Old School version of RuneScape.

What do you think about the idea that professions like fishing also get a boss fight? Would you wish for more of this in an MMORPG or do you think boss fights are something that shouldn’t impact professions?

Old School RuneScape is highly successful. MeinMMO presents to you 10 MMORPGs on Steam with the best ratings.

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

Co-op shooter was hidden on Steam for 7 years, now you can play

Do you know the co-op shooter Sub Rosa? According to SteamDB, it has been in Early Access on Steam since 2014, but only now can most players see it.

What kind of game is Sub Rosa? In the shooter, it’s about finding data disks and selling them. You negotiate the terms of the trade with other teams. Whether you stick to those terms is up to you. Because if you deceive your trading partners, even more money can be at stake as a reward.

You can essentially trust no one. Usually, the matches lead to big shootouts where teams betray each other.

In another game mode, the Eliminator must eliminate a Savior. However, the Savior does not even know that he is the target. Another player, the Protector, knows this and must try to protect the Savior.

Played in a large, open game world, Sub Rosa somewhat resembles GTA Online or the films of director Quentin Tarantino in terms of gameplay. Visually, you shouldn’t expect high-end graphics. The shooter relies on a stylized low-poly look, as shown in the trailer:

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Sub Rosa has been “hiding” for many years

Why is the game only now appearing on Steam? SteamDB shows that Sub Rosa has been on Steam since January 6, 2014, and has even received regular updates there. The title was even played, as Steamcharts proves. However, until yesterday, March 25, the shooter was not officially listed.

The team explained that the previous version was an extremely early version. That’s why only a few players came to the servers. In 2017, there was a tweet that led to the hidden Steam page. Otherwise, players were only made aware of the title through word of mouth or YouTube videos.

Now Sub Rosa has reached a status where the team is ready to go public and present their online shooter to a larger audience.

How is the game received? Sub Rosa has an rating of 85% on Steam (with 1,809 ratings as of March 26 at 10:45 AM). The exciting gameplay is praised. However, there are currently significant performance issues, and the controls – especially for vehicles – could be optimized.

  • Towelie explains on Steam: ‘I have never felt the pain of betrayal so much in a game. I have never experienced a consensual deal ending in a blood tie. This game is fantastic!’
  • Haddock thinks (via Steam): ‘Like the movie Reservoir Dogs, only with blocky graphics.’
  • TheFartBall AKA Gout Leech writes on Steam: ‘There is no game like Sub Rosa. You create your own fun and there are so many ways to mess things up with your fellow players.’
  • caesarsalad is somewhat disappointed (via Steam): ‘I had to return it because the community treats it more like GTA 5 and not like Sub Rosa.’

If you want to play, it’s now available on Steam. However, it is still an Early Access version that still has quite a bit of work to do. If you are looking for a shooter where anything can happen and where you cannot trust anyone, then Sub Rosa is worth a look. The game costs €19.99.

Would you like to check out some other online shooters? In the MeinMMO list of the 14 best multiplayer online shooters 2021 for PS4, PS5, Xbox, and PC, you will definitely find a suitable game.

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

Leak about the new Call of Duty sparks heated debate: “Like Wolfenstein?”

A fresh leak is circulating about the next Call of Duty. It is set to be released in 2021, will carry the working title “WWII: Vanguard” and take place in an alternative version of our world where the Second World War never ended. This sparks a heated debate among players: What could such a Call of Duty look like?

This is the leak: The fan site “Modernwarzone.com” claims to have received more information about the new Call of Duty expected in 2021 from “sources”. Officially, all we know about the game so far is that Activision Blizzard plans to release it in late 2021. No further details have been provided from official sources yet.

The leak states:

  • The new Call of Duty carries the working title “WWII: Vanguard”
  • The game is primarily being developed by Sledgehammer Games: They last released the 2017 Call of Duty “Call of Duty: WWII” and prior to that, in 2014, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
  • The game is said to take place in an “alternative timeline” where the Second World War did not end in 1945, but continued into the 1950s
  • The game is expected to partially be set in the 1950s

Hope for new, fresh ideas in the 2021 Call of Duty

This is the discussion: The idea that the new Call of Duty is to take place during the Second World War has been circulating for a while. The information led to more of a “Not again?” reaction. It seemed to many that Sledgehammer was simply repeating what they did in 2017 with Call of Duty: WW2. However, the new information that the game will take place in an alternative timeline gives players more food for thought.

Currently, the discussion around the leak with 900 comments is the biggest topic on the general gaming Reddit (via reddit).

Many users seem to particularly appreciate the idea that Call of Duty could take place in the 1950s. One user says: Here, Call of Duty would have the opportunity to address conflicts that are rarely illuminated. Locations like Korea or North Africa are considered interesting settings.

Many fans of Call of Duty have studied the history of the world wars intensively and speculate on how an alternative Second World War could have played out. They suspect that in an alternative world, the Allies might have turned against the Soviet Union and see here a possibility for a conflict that they would like to replay. Numerous options are discussed on how the Second World War could have taken a significantly different course had certain events occurred differently.

cod_ww2
In 2017, Call of Duty took players into the Second World War.

Nazis could invade the USA and then be defeated

Some users on reddit draw a comparison to Wolfenstein: In the shooter series, the Nazis won the Second World War and conquered the world. One user simply asks: “So, like Wolfenstein?”

However, another disagrees: The leak does not say that the Nazis won, but that the war is still ongoing. He proposes as a theory that the Second World War could extend into the territory of the USA. If it’s up to Call of Duty, the Americans would of course eventually push back against the Nazis.

Opinions are divided on how the developers should approach the idea of an alternative timeline:

  • More light-hearted, with a bit of kitsch and humor?
  • or very serious and solemn, without Nazi robots and Tesla weapons?

Both camps find some support among interested players.

Reddit-Call-of-Duty-Albern
Kitsch and fun or serious, without Nazi robots and Tesla weapons? Both camps find a lot of support.

In any case, the idea that Call of Duty could turn to an alternative timeline seems to spark many discussions. If the leak is true, many options are open regarding the direction in which the game could develop.

While “Set in the Second World War” appeared rather clearly defined, “Alternative Timeline” now opens up the possibility for discussion.

This allows players to fantasize about their own “dream Call of Duty”.

More on the topic
6 strong multiplayer games on the PS4 for under 20 euros
von Benedikt Schlotmann

How seriously should one take the leak? The leak comes from a fan site and seems to combine two leaks that are both circulating: Call of Duty is set simultaneously in the 1950s and during the Second World War. The “alternative timeline” can explain this.

It is clear that nothing of this can be considered confirmed.

The studio “Sledgehammer Games” appears to be something of the troubled child of Activision Blizzard. The founders and heads of the studio left in 2018. One of the two, Michael Condrey, has been critical of Activision Blizzard and its influence on Call of Duty:

Former head of CoD studio believes: Modern Warfare is controversial because Activision wants PR

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

WoW: Burning Crusade has a problem with drums and makes it no better

The war drums in Burning Crusade Classic force players to become leatherworkers. Blizzard is aware of the problem – but makes it worse.

At BlizzConline, Blizzard stated that they want to make some changes to “The Burning Crusade” before the first expansion becomes available for WoW Classic. After all, players have become much more efficient, and there were also some mechanics in BC that simply weren’t good or sensible. Therefore, Blizzard wants to make changes to the war drums – but so far, they don’t look very good.

What are the war drums? In Burning Crusade, the war drums are items that can only be used by leatherworkers. When activated, they empower all nearby allies and grant them different effects – such as haste, attack power, spell power, or healing and movement speed.

Essentially, the drums count as an additional “Battle Rush,” allowing the whole group to deal much more damage and thus complete fights much faster.

What is the concern? The drums in Burning Crusade are way too strong. So strong, in fact, that it becomes almost mandatory for guilds to have nearly every single raid member become a leatherworker. Because when all players are leatherworkers, the war drums can be used “in succession” and ensure that the buff is kept active almost permanently. A single player has too long of a cooldown on the drums, but if all players are leatherworkers, the drums can be used continuously, thus permanently maximizing the performance of the characters.

All other professions become unattractive. Those who are not leatherworkers with drums may find it hard to find a decent guild.

Kael’thas can already prepare himself to be thoroughly pounded by drums.

What has Blizzard changed? Blizzard is approaching this issue in a rather unusual way. The original drums will be weakened. They still retain their strengthening effects but will only have a range of 8 meters. This means that players need to gather and “stack” each time they want to benefit from the drums. In some fights, this is simply not possible, which represents a direct nerf to the drums.

However, Blizzard has introduced a second version of the drums. These are as powerful as the original drums, meaning they have a 40-meter range but are a bit more expensive to craft.

These new drums, however, are only available in Zul’Aman, which is a later phase of Burning Crusade Classic.

Blizzard exacerbates the problem: Player criticism is quite loud. When Blizzard announced at BlizzConline that they were going to change the drums, players had hoped for something different. They wanted leatherworking not to be seen as the only viable profession.

However, that is not the case. With the current plans, the drums at the end of Burning Crusade Classic are just as strong as they were back then. Just with the slight difference that players must farm the recipes first and spend more resources per drum.

The effort for players has thus increased.

Players are angry, want changes: The disappointment of players over this change is significant. Most had hoped for more and wished that the drums were adjusted differently. Looking at the WoW Classic subreddit, many comments like this can be found:

  • “This change alone has killed my enthusiasm for BC.”
  • “They should just remove the drums. The simplest solution requires zero effort.”
  • “Name one thing that is ‘more Blizzard’ than making a change to a toxic system that just makes that thing even more toxic.”

How does Retail solve this? The drums also exist in modified form in WoW: Shadowlands (“Retail”). There, like all Battle Rush effects, they fall under a special rule. Those affected by drums receive a debuff for 10 minutes. During this time, one cannot benefit again from such strengthening effects.

Whether this solution would be more appropriate for Burning Crusade Classic is controversial.

However, Burning Crusade Classic is still in early beta, and developers can still make many changes. The drums will certainly remain a hot topic.

What solution would you propose for the problem? Or do you see no problem that needs to be solved?

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

New action RPG for Magic soft launches but is different from Diablo – Podcast

This week, the gaming community has two new beta tests and the Xbox Game Pass got a significant boost. We cover this and more in the new episode of the MeinMMO podcast.

These are our topics: The next round of weekly MeinMMO news in the podcast is here, bringing you up to date on what’s been happening in gaming and the community. This week, there was plenty of game content for Xbox Game Pass owners, and two new betas went live. For example, the beta for the ARPG Magic: Legends started, and there has been a lot of player feedback.

The complete overview of the topics we cover in the podcast is here:

  • Magic Legends has started Open Beta, playing differently than Diablo
  • The beta of “Burning Crusade Classic” is live in WoW
  • Rant Wednesday: The damn 13-Euro joker in WoW is slowly becoming obsolete
  • Xbox Game Pass: PC players get access to over 60 new titles starting tomorrow
  • Streamer gets rich because the Twitch chat has held him hostage for 230 hours
  • Kids are vying for the best Minecraft job in the world

As always, we won’t just rattle off the news, but will also take a critical look and share our own insights from an expert perspective. You are warmly invited to discuss with us. Share your thoughts in the comments, and we will respond.

Who is participating?

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Here you can follow the podcast:

In addition to the weekly recap, there are also occasionally topic-specific podcasts that cover larger events or games. Recently, we discussed in detail about the new ESO expansion.

Suggestions or critiques?

Here’s how you can contribute: You can actively participate in improving the podcast. If you have feedback such as suggestions or criticisms or simply want to submit a cool topic proposal that urgently needs to be discussed, feel free to visit our Discord server. Alternatively, you can also send an email directly to [email protected] and share your thoughts with us. Share your opinion and discuss with us!

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Tech YouTuber buys cheap gaming PCs on Amazon – Is it worth it?

The well-known YouTuber Austin Evans has looked for the cheapest gaming PCs on Amazon and purchased them. However, he is not really impressed by both devices.

The YouTuber Austin Evans (4.3 million subscribers) is among the most famous tech YouTubers currently on the scene, alongside Linus Tech Tips. On his channel, Austin tests crazy hardware or buys computers and examines them with a lot of expertise and humor.

In his video, he now has selected the cheapest gaming PCs on Amazon. 

  • One is a PC for 450 US dollars from the manufacturer Allied.
  • The other is a refurbished Dell PC for 399 US dollars.

In theory, both offer reasonable performance. But how does that look in practice? Austin Evans took a look at both systems and explains in his video what he thinks of the hardware.

We have embedded the entire video from Austin in this article. Here you can watch him as he deals with the gaming PCs:

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Austin Evans looks at the cheapest gaming PCs.

Gaming PCs for 450 US dollars – Too much money for cheap hardware

What’s inside the computers: Austin disassembles the PCs and looks at what is inside them. Here we briefly summarize what hardware is in both computers:

450-Dollar-PC “Allied”   399-Dollar-PC “Dell
550 Watt power supply, Allied   290 Watt power supply Dell
AMD Athlon 3000GIntel Core i5 4570   
Vega 3 Graphics (integrated graphics card)Nvidia GT 1030 (dedicated graphics card)
8 GB RAM16 GB RAM
240 GB SSD128 GB SSD + 500 GB HDD       
The two “gaming PCs” in technical comparison

This is what the 450-dollar PC looks like: The manufacturer relies on an in-house power supply, which does not impress Austin at first glance. This is also due to the provided performance. A USB port on the motherboard was not connected. Instead of a manual, there is only a thank-you letter from the manufacturer. 

Additionally, the computer does not start smoothly at first. Only after a BIOS update and new drivers does the device start as it should.

Out of curiosity, Austin now checks how much he would have to pay for the components on Amazon. He is surprised to find that he would have to pay 288 US dollars for a self-build. The manufacturer Allied demands a hefty 450 US dollars.

This is what the 399-dollar PC looks like: The case is functional and does without RGB lighting. Inside, there is a decent and, above all, efficient 290-watt power supply, which according to Austin “will last years longer than the super cheap part from the other PC.” The Dell PC also has a dedicated graphics card with the GT 1030, as the Intel processor does not have an integrated graphics unit like the Athlon.

Austin notes: “I’m not sure if it’s really worth 400 dollars, but at first glance, I like what I see much better than what I saw in the other PC.”

There are no starting issues here, by the way; the Dell machine starts without problems.

What is Refurbished? The Dell PC is actually a refurbished model. This means that the computer has been used before, but has now been overhauled.

Austin’s conclusion: Too little performance for 450 US dollars

The manufacturer Allied is asking too much money for its “gaming PC.” Not only can you buy most of the components on the open market for just under 290 US dollars, but the performance is also not really suitable for gaming. A mediocre processor and a weak integrated graphics unit do not make a gaming PC.

Even the many years old Dell computer offers more power than the Allied PC and that even for 60 US dollars less. Additionally, the Dell device also had no starting difficulties.

While the 450-dollar PC struggles to achieve 19 – 40 FPS in Fortnite, the Dell hardware easily reaches 60 – 80 FPS at medium settings. The game may not look prettier, but it runs noticeably smoother.

Buying a gaming PC does not always mean getting “gaming”

Austin Evans’ video demonstrates very clearly what you should generally pay attention to when buying a PC. You should not be misled by grand promises and especially not by the attribute “gaming”.

Also, a cool appearance or RGB lighting does not necessarily indicate a potent gaming rig. In the end, the components installed inside are what matter.

Because while the 450-dollar PC promises to be a gaming PC, in the end, Austin can only play a game like Fortnite on the lowest settings with 19 – 40 FPS.

What else should be considered? The video clearly shows that gamers should pay attention to purchasing at least a 4-core processor. A dual-core processor with hyperthreading like the installed AMD Athlon 3000G is only conditionally recommended in 2021 – at least if you want to game. Because complex tasks are better handled by a true quad-core.

What is Hyperthreading? With hyperthreading, processor cores can handle additional tasks. This means a dual-core processor can handle 4 tasks, a quad-core can handle 6 or 8. However, these virtually used cores are not physically present.
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In principle, performance with a quad-core processor is better, but it also depends on the rest of the hardware. This YouTube video contrasts dual-core and quad-core once again. While games like World of Warcraft benefit from the quad-core, a dual-core has hardly any effect on GTA V or Witcher 3.

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What can you buy? In general, we would advise you to spend a little more money. 450 euros can quickly turn into a trap: 

  • Manufacturers such as Shinobee, Megaport, or Memory-PC are generally reasonable manufacturers for complete PCs.
  • In general, you should always pay attention to the manufacturer’s ratings.

In this example, a Ryzen 7 2700X, 32 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 1660 SUPER are installed. With the GTX 1660 Super, you can play modern titles in full HD at full details. However, this graphics card cannot handle ray tracing.

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The complete PC from Megaport features the AMD Ryzen 5 2600, one of the most popular gaming CPUs. The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, while from 2016, can still render modern titles with medium details smoothly. However, this graphics card is of course not suitable for top titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or ray tracing.

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Our colleague Nils Raettig at GameStar took a look at Ikea’s new gaming furniture some time ago. In his column, he notes that the furniture also does not deserve the attribute “gaming.” So far, however, you can only buy the furniture in China. Ikea’s gaming furniture is expected to come to Germany in autumn 2021.

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

Who cheats in Outriders will be branded forever

In a new dev update, developer People Can Fly has thoroughly addressed the topic of cheating in Outriders. They explained how to deal with cheaters. MeinMMO summarizes the important information for you.

This is what the developers say: In the dev update published in the Outriders subreddit, People Can Fly has now released some information about cheaters in the demo. They also clarified how they plan to handle future cheaters.

They explained what counts as cheating and what does not. Initially, cheaters will not be permanently banned, but there will still be consequences. The penalties affect matchmaking, and moreover, cheating players who are caught will be made publicly visible.

Cheaters will be marked with a mark of shame

This is how they plan to combat cheaters: The developers emphasize that they have extensive means to identify cheaters. They write: “We see you all. Even those who have given themselves over 600 legendary weapons.” Especially with the 10 legendary weapons from the demo, most players cheated.

They provide a list of consequences:

  • Exposed cheaters receive a watermark as a mark that is visible to all other players
  • Cheaters themselves see this “branding” in the HUD, to clearly mark their recordings
  • Cheaters are excluded from the regular player search
  • The player search will take significantly longer to connect cheaters with others
  • As the Square account is affected, this applies regardless of the platform

The developers are currently refraining from permanent bans. However, anyone who has cheated in the demo must delete all their characters to “cleanse” their account. Otherwise, these measures will take effect at the release.

200 identified cheaters in the demo

The developers also address how many cheaters they caught in the demo. The number is around 200 identified cheaters.

At this point, the demo had recorded around 2 million players. People Can Fly assumes that the ratio of “normal” players to cheaters will remain the same after the release.

What is considered cheating? These are the criteria from the developers:

  • Playing without Easy Anti-Cheat or circumventing the protection
  • Modifying files to influence levels, skills, inventory, etc.
  • Manipulating in-game time to manipulate vendor offers
  • Using trainer programs to gain advantages in the game
  • Employing programs for aimbots, wallhacks, etc.

Tools that improve game performance and similar are not classified as cheating.

Farming items by exploiting game mechanics is not considered cheating. Even though the developers deem it ethically questionable how much the captain was mistreated in the demo: “RIPThatCaptain”.

The captain was a miniboss in the Outriders demo who was particularly often taken down by players. According to a tweet from Outriders, he was taken down over 30 million times – and the post is already several days old.

Killing the captain is the most popular farming method in the demo, which we have listed alongside others here: The 5 best farming spots for legendary weapons in the Outriders demo

People Can Fly also points out that these rules could be adjusted in the future.

What do you think about the anti-cheat policy? Would you like to see harsher penalties? Or is this the right approach? Let us know in the comments.

In the dev update, the developers also discussed start times and preload: Outriders reveals exact release times for all platforms and pre-load

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

Genshin Impact seems to give your Traveler a new element – This is known

A leak about Genshin Impact raises hopes that we will soon see a new form of the Traveler. The Electro Traveler has been found and could soon come to the game.

This is the leak: It comes from the Twitter channel Lumie, which is considered a reliable leaker regarding Genshin and has accurately predicted some other characters.

He now shows a video depicting an Electro Traveler. This is quite exciting, as so far the Traveler only exists in Geo and Anemo elements. The Electro element could soon be added. We are embedding the clip here:

https://twitter.com/lumie_lumie/status/1375183668252119041

Electro Traveler in Genshin Impact – Does it fit?

What exactly is in the leak? There isn’t much information in the leak. It only shows the appearance of the male and female forms of the character.

Lumie writes that the abilities of the characters have not yet been added, so no conclusions can be drawn there. How strong the Traveler will be in this form is still unknown.

What makes the Traveler so popular? In our tier list, both forms of the Traveler are not at the top of the list. The character has other advantages. He is free to obtain, since you start your adventure in Genshin Impact with the Traveler. Additionally, you get the Constellation of the Traveler for free at level 6. This is only achievable with a lot of luck or real money for many other characters.

When could the Electro Traveler arrive? In recent days, there have been numerous leaks around update 1.5. This is the next update coming up. Some characters have already been leaked that are likely to come with this update.

The data on the Electro Traveler is still quite thin. Other characters that are expected to appear in the next update are also coming. Because of this, it is suspected that the new Traveler will only appear in update 1.6 of Genshin Impact.

So we would have to wait at least a few weeks for the release. Update 1.6 is expected to arrive in about 10 weeks. Update 1.5 is still 4-5 weeks away, based on the current season pass.

This should accompany the new form: Travelers can only change their form at the statue in their respective region. For the regions of Liyue and Mondstadt, the elements Anemo and Geo are available for the Traveler. Now, a new element for the Traveler would also indicate a new region in Genshin Impact.

The new region currently being discussed is Inazuma. This area is expected by many players in update 1.5, as no major innovations have been added in the last updates. A new area would be due.

The Electro Traveler is expected to appear at the earliest with the release of the new area. Because so far, the Traveler can only change their elements at worship statues in different regions.

New characters in Genshin Impact also mean a lot of money for the developer. A report now shows that they earn several million dollars in just one day:

When Genshin Impact brings a new hero, they earn 12 million dollars in a day

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

ESO’s birthday event is your chance to easily earn a lot of money

The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online is turning 7 years old and you benefit from this anniversary. We explain what you can expect to celebrate.

When is the celebration? The anniversary of the MMORPG ESO starts on April 1 at 4 PM. The celebrations end on April 13 at 4 PM. During this time, there will be a lot for you to do to earn rewards.

What rewards are there? In the quests, you will find a free token for the anniversary cake under “Cake Hunger.” Travel to the baker Donolon, whom you can find at the harbor of Vulkhelwacht, Davons Wacht, and in the harbor district of Dolchsturz. You need to complete a quest for him to receive the treat.

If you eat the cake, you will receive 100% more experience points for two hours, just like during the Festival of Fools. This is interesting for newcomers, as they can level up quickly, but it also gives veterans the opportunity to earn more points for the new Champion System 2.0.

ESO birthday cake
Get the birthday cake during ESO’s 7th anniversary.

Why the ESO anniversary is so profitable for you

How do you make a lot of money? As part of the anniversary event, you will receive daily crafting writs. These will task you with crafting specific items. Each day and character, you receive one of the writs. On average, you can make around 4,500 gold per writ. However, this depends on its quality.

It is a lucrative business to take care of these writs daily, as you can quickly earn a lot of money through crafting. If you play multiple characters (alts), you can also collect more writs, craft more, and therefore earn even more money. However, this involves a lot of effort since you will need to craft items with each twink.

This, along with the EXP bonus, will help you progress quickly during ESO’s 7th anniversary. Because then you can invest the money in better equipment.

  • Pufferfoot explains on reddit why he is looking forward to it: “Oh boy. This is the only time of the year when I bring out all my 14 alts to collect the daily crafting writs.”
  • Jim-Pip agrees with him (via reddit): “It’s so profitable. I always join a few trading guilds at this time. After that, I’m so burned out that I need a break from the game. But it’s worth it.”

What other tasks and rewards are there? The birthday event of the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online has some additional things to offer, including the following tasks:

  • Daily quests for dungeons and world bosses
  • Daily quests for Alliance War and battlegrounds
  • Daily quests for trials and raids
  • Daily quests for heists and sacrament

And you will receive these rewards:

  • Crafting materials
  • Style pages for various crafting styles
  • Furniture plans
  • Crafting style pages for the Worm Cult
  • Costume style pages for the armor and weapons of the Jephre Paladin
  • Costume style pages for the weapons of the Imperial Champion
  • Transmutation crystals
  • Event tickets for fragments
  • The anniversary cake as decoration for your house
  • Group repair materials and more

What is special about this? As part of the event, you will get the first fragments needed to transform the flying companion “Unstable Transformation Stone” into the Wailing Deathadder in the Deadlands. The last fragment required will be obtained in later events.

If you plan to start playing the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, be sure to check out these 19 settings in ESO that you must enable.

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

Since yesterday, Destiny 2 has been using you as lab rats for better PvP

In Destiny 2, Bungie has modified the Crucible algorithm to ensure stronger players are now evenly distributed. You should feel this in the current Iron Banner.

This is what the experiment is about: If you have played in the Iron Banner of Destiny 2 on the evening of March 25 and wondered if something was different, there is a reason for that. Bungie has adjusted the PvP algorithm.

As the Destiny developer revealed in the latest TWaB (via Bungie.net), teams in a lobby are now divided differently – it is supposed to run fairer this way. This change is a response to the matchmaking adjustments from June 2020, which aimed to bring fun back to PvP. Since then, connection quality has been prioritized in the search for Crucible matches, while player skill only plays a critical role in “Survival” (Comp) during matchmaking.

Bungie and apparently the Guardians themselves weren’t entirely satisfied with the removal of skill-based matchmaking. The latest changes are based on your feedback and data collected by Bungie.

Crucible like in gym class

This is how you should imagine it now: Bungie itself writes: “With today’s changes, we’re giving our lobby balance formula in the Crucible an update to balance the teams through an altered algorithm.” Sounds a bit more tangible, doesn’t it?

It becomes clearer with a comparison to gym class: You should picture this as two team captains choosing players for their teams. First, Captain 1 picks the strongest player, then Captain 2 picks the second and third strongest players. Now it’s Captain 1’s turn again, who picks the fourth best warrior, and so on.

destiny 2 pvp
Balanced teams are supposed to ensure more fun and fairness

This is supposed to specifically ensure in PvP that no imbalance of strong Guardians exists within one team. It is important to note that matchmaking is not directly affected. The new balance only sorts the players already found in a round into both teams based on skill.

What is matchmaking? Matchmaking, or in German usually Spiele(r)suche, describes the process by which a game online selects players for you. In contrast, there is manual player search, where you specifically invite individuals yourself.
Matchmaking is often a controversial topic in PvP, as there are several criteria by which games distribute players: By skill, by connection quality, by local proximity, or by something like “who has how many wins in the Trials?” (card based). Often games also use a mix of methods.
Behind the scenes, complex algorithms are running, which developers occasionally tweak to improve the online experience – and sometimes make worse.

However, these are still tests that only apply to the two Iron Banner playlists for the moment. Bungie wants to review your feedback over the weekend. Later, depending on the player experience, the new algorithm will be expanded to other PvP modes.

Overrun or be overrun, that is the question

This is how Guardians feel about the Iron Banner: Whenever the monthly Iron Banner event is on the horizon, Guardians dust off their best PvP gear. Because here, just for participating, you get 4 times the coveted top loot, and with small quests, the event weapons are automatically added to your inventory.

However, matches often end extremely quickly. Either you overrun the opposing team, and within minutes the “Mercy Rule” activates, ending the round prematurely, or – which seems to happen much more often – you are mercilessly wiped out. This clear one-sidedness rubs many Guardians the wrong way. After 3 defeats in record time, motivation significantly decreases, and even as a winner, it’s hardly possible to complete triumphs.

Are these all Iron Banner issues? If the new balance addresses this specific imbalance within a lobby, that would certainly be a significant plus.

  • However, even though the Iron Banner generously distributes top loot, the weapons themselves have unfortunately only been re-skins for a long time. Sure, they come with new perks and can be quite appealing.
  • However, players can no longer see the event armor, which has simply been identical for years.
  • Players are also getting increasingly annoyed that the Iron Banner only caters to the Control mode. While there are campfires instead of flags, the blocking mechanic is mostly responsible for why good teams can march through so quickly.

Have you felt any changes in the Iron Banner yourself? Are the matches now more balanced or still very one-sided? Provide feedback to Bungie and discuss with other Guardians in the comments.

Our MeinMMO author Philipp Hansen has been wondering for a while: Where is the Iron Banner that I fell in love with years ago?

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

Pokémon GO is reportedly planning a new type of evolution – But only if it rains

In Pokémon GO there are new leaks regarding a lure module. We can expect the Rain Module soon, which is likely to function as an evolution item. At the same time, there are hints at a new type of evolution.

What is this find? The data miners from Pokéminers have once again scoured the code of Pokémon GO and shared their findings on reddit . They have come across more information about the Rain Module. This lure module was discovered for the first time a few days ago and now there is more data about it.

Contrary to previous assumptions, not only the Rain Module serves as a type of evolution item, but rainy weather in general. According to data miners, this weather is supposed to assist in evolutions in the future.

New Evolutions through Rain – How is this supposed to work?

What does the Rain Module entail? In the new data mining, text files related to the Rain Module were found. It states: “A wet lure module that attracts Pokémon for 30 minutes, especially those that love rain. It can also assist in the evolution of certain Pokémon.”

This makes it clear that the new lure module is likely to work similarly to the Glacier, Moss, and Magnet Modules. These also attract specific types of Pokémon and can be used as evolution items. For example, Leafeon evolves with the Moss Module and Glaceon evolves with the Glacier Module.

What role does the rain play? Now it gets exciting. Text passages have been found that are supposed to assist in evolutions. It states, for example, “Pokémon X can only be evolved at night” – something we know from Umbreon.

There is also a text passage regarding rain evolutions. It states, “Pokémon X can only be evolved when it is raining or when you are near X.” This means that certain Pokémon can actually be evolved when it is raining. Until now, there has been no evolution in Pokémon GO that was dependent on the weather.

A final text passage that causes confusion revolves around the “upside-down” evolution. It merely states in the files: “X needs some help to evolve! Can you find out how to assist?” So far, it is unclear what this evolution is for and how exactly it can be triggered. However, it seems that something is coming our way here as well.

Which Pokémon does this affect? In the 6th generation, there is a Pokémon that would fit the Rain Module. Viscargot evolves in the console games only into Viscogon when it is raining. This could also potentially be implemented in Pokémon GO.

Additionally, there are two monsters from Gen 6 that can only evolve during the day or at night. This includes Balagoras, which only evolves into Monargoras during the day, and Amarino, which only evolves into Amagarga at night. Therefore, the text files for the day and night evolutions could be intended for these two Pokémon.

You should keep this in mind: So far, these are just leaks and not official information from Niantic. So, consider the data with a degree of skepticism. Nevertheless, the Pokéminers’ leaks are always reliable and often reveal in advance what we can expect in Pokémon GO.

If you prefer to continue with concrete information, you can take a look at the details of the weather week. Here we show you all spawns, quests, and raid bosses for the current event:

Pokémon GO starts weather week with a new shiny and a big surprise

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

FIFA 21: FUT Birthday starts today – Predictions for the event

In FIFA 21, players are waiting for the FUT Birthday. When does the event start and what could it bring? We look at the predictions for the FUT Birthday event.

This is the FUT Birthday: The FUT Birthday is an event that takes place regularly once a year. The birthday of Ultimate Team is celebrated with new cards and various event content.

Update, March 25, 2021: It is now officially known that the event on Friday will be the FUT Birthday.

FIFA 21 FUT Birthday

Update, March 24, 2021: In the meantime, a new loading screen is available in Ultimate Team, announcing an event start for Friday evening, March 26, at 19:00. Although the name “FUT Birthday” is not explicitly mentioned, the color scheme, the confetti effect, and a gift in the bottom left of the image strongly suggest that the birthday event is imminent.

FIFA 21 FUT Birthday

When has the FUT Birthday taken place so far? Typically, the FUT Birthday starts at the end of March in Ultimate Team. Many players were already expecting the event on March 19 – the actual birthday of the mode, which would have fit well. However, a release was initially absent. Here’s a look at the past years:

It should also be considered this year that FIFA 21 has changed some familiar and well-known events. For example, from Ultimate Scream came the “Rulebreakers”, while “FUTmas” was transformed into “FUT Freeze”. It’s also possible that the FUT Birthday will be modified as well.

Predictions for event content at the FUT Birthday

What does the event bring? The FUT Birthday is not necessarily tied to a specific set of players or content. While “Future Stars”, for example, can only be expected from talents, the FUT Birthday has been diverse in recent years.

  • In FIFA 20, the FUT Birthday delivered two teams equipped with modified skill moves and values for the weak foot. For example, a Rashford appeared who also had 5 stars on his weak foot, or a Hazard with 5-star skills.
  • In FIFA 19, players with position changes were released. Suddenly Salah played as a left-back or Ibrahimovic as a center-back. This also happened in 2018.
  • In FIFA 18, the FUT Birthday focused on past favorites like Sturridge, Doumbia, or Esswein.
FIFA 21 FUT Birthday
In FIFA 19 positions of players were rotated

Which direction this year’s Birthday will go is still open – as well as which players will appear. However, past FUT Birthday teams brought real top cards, so one can presumably expect the same this year.

For example, a special card for Ferland Mendy could be possible as he is known as an absolute top meta card but still has no special version in FIFA 21. Additionally, Messi and Ronaldo were missing despite strong performances in TOTW 25, which some see as a hint that they might receive a special card in the next event.

What else could be pending? In addition to the promo teams, FIFA 21 generally always has additional event content, such as weekly tasks and SBCs. In the past, there were “FUT Favorites SBCs” for the FUT Birthday, which brought some classic FUT players improved cards. Last year, players could earn strong cards for Bellarabi and Lucas Paqueta through tasks. Similar content is also expected this year.

What is certain, however, is that on Friday the new season in Ultimate Team will start, bringing among other things the second batch of Icon Swaps 2. Therefore, it’s advisable to complete the missing tasks in time to avoid missing any tokens. You can find the best combinations for Icon Swaps 2 here.

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

WoW changes the sale of game time and some players are really angry

In World of Warcraft the sale of game time is being adjusted. Many options are disappearing, which drives some players to arms.

Anyone who wants to play World of Warcraft must somehow pay for the game time. This can be done via a subscription, a direct purchase of game time, or the WoW Token for in-game gold. However, the direct purchase of game time is now changing – the number of options is decreasing.

What has changed? In the Battle.net Shop, game time is now only offered in 60-day increments. The other options that previously existed – namely 30, 90, and 180 days – are no longer available.

Blizzard justifies this by stating that they have examined the “available services in all currencies” and based on the results, the other options were removed. There is no further explanation for this.

WoW Game Time Offer
The last remaining game time offer for Battle.net credit.

What has not changed? There is no change to the costs or settings for subscriptions. These can still be purchased at the normal cadence of 1, 3, or 6 months. For those who pay for their access to WoW via a subscription, nothing changes.

What impact does this have? The impact is likely to be minor and only affect a small portion of players. One group that is disadvantaged are players who, for whatever reason, purchase their game time solely through Battle.net credit and preferred to do so in 30-day increments. These players now have to opt directly for the 60-day option if they want to pay with Battle.net credit.

The second group consists of players who maintain their WoW accounts solely through in-game gold. For true auction house masters, it was more profitable to buy 5-6 WoW Tokens (depending on country and currency) for gold, convert the tokens to Battle.net currency, and buy the 180 days with that. This was cheaper than redeeming each token in the game individually.

These players now face a financial disadvantage and need to farm more gold to still be able to pay for their game time.

Players are angry: Although the changes may be insignificant to most players, there are loud voices of dissatisfaction (via reddit). It is suspected that Blizzard has eliminated the options to encourage more players to subscribe – in the hope that they will subscribe for a longer period or simply forget to cancel their subscription.

Anyone purchasing game time through the Battle.net Shop is considered a subscriber or “active player” for at least 2 months due to the 60-day option, which can slightly improve Blizzard’s quarterly figures for WoW if these players would otherwise have stopped after 30 days.

While it can certainly be debated whether such a plan is really behind this, one thing is clear: The abolition of the offers definitely does not bring any advantage to the players.

What do you think of this change? Understandable and at least a small step against botters? Or just a sinister plan to exploit players even more?

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

Ex-Blizzard employees raise nearly 10 million $ for new strategy game

The studio Frost Giant is working on a new real-time strategy game (“RTS”). So far, the developers have been able to raise $9.7 million from sponsors. Not much is known about the game yet, but the people behind Frost Giant know what they are doing.

What kind of strategy game is this? So far, there is no concrete information about the upcoming RTS. According to Frost Giant’s official website, the developers want to advance “epic storytelling, innovative co-op gameplay, and celebrated e-sports.”

It is quite possible that a game will come in the direction of StarCraft 2, which has already been able to combine all these nuances, but is no longer being developed. The fact that the developers behind the new RTS already have experience with Blizzard’s strategy games speaks for it.

In an interview with US site Forbes, the executives also mentioned that the setting should stand out because “some settings are already strongly associated with certain games.” However, their setting is supposed to be “unique.”

Who is working on it? Frost Giant Studios consists of many former employees of Blizzard Entertainment, including Tim Morten, Tim Campbell, and James Anhalt:

  • Tim Morten is CEO and Product Director, having previously worked as Product Director for StarCraft 2 and Command & Conquer: Generals 2
  • Tim Campbell is President and Game Director and was previously, among other things, the campaign designer for Warcraft 3
  • James Anhalt was the Lead Engineer on Starcraft 2 and is now working as Chief Architect at Frost Giant

According to Forbes, Frost Giant has already managed to raise $9.7 million from sponsors to make the game a reality. That’s another $5 million more than they were able to raise in October 2020. Among these sponsors is also Blizzard competitor Riot Games.

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In the new video, the developers talk about the pre-development of the game.

New food for an “underserved” market

That’s why Frost Giant is making an RTS: The fact that the studio chooses a seemingly niche genre has a good reason. According to Campbell, the market for strategy games is “undersupplied”:

Many companies are leaving this area. But there is a loyal and passionate audience and a lot of untapped gameplay potential. We see a truly great opportunity to create something special in this area.

Morten shares a similar opinion, saying: “There is an incredible community around real-time strategy […] that is hungry for more games.”

Indeed, the area of strategy games has been somewhat barren for years and is dominated by a few giants because strong sequels are missing. Titles like Age of Empires 2 or StarCraft 2 are many years old and still popular among players.

StarCraft 2 Sarah Kerrigan Zerg title titel 1280x720
StarCraft 2 remains one of the most popular and best RTS – and former developers are now working on something new.

Many studios are currently focusing on other projects. Even Blizzard, which owns two of the most famous RTS series with Warcraft and StarCraft, prefers to work on a new action game.

A good sign of how much players long for new or improved games is the new Total War 3. It showed a new trailer in February 2021 and immediately became a top seller on Steam.

When will the new game be released? In the interview, the two executives mentioned that the project will take several years. They are aiming for around four years, so 2025, but they are developing according to Blizzard’s motto: “It’s done when it’s done.”

To bridge the waiting time, fortunately, there are still other titles in the genre. Although some are already older, they are still good. We will show you the 13 best strategy games for PC with multiplayer 2021.

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

German top streamers start show on Twitch, intended to be like Joko & Klaas

The Twitch streamer duo of Trymacs and Amar will launch a new live show on Twitch this weekend. They plan to regularly compete against changing teams in various games.

Who is it about? A while ago, the two streamers Trymacs and Amar announced that they would be starting a live show on Twitch together. Both are among the largest streamers in Germany, with Trymacs recently achieving extremely high numbers.

Trymacs streamed a lot about Pokémon, but is also active in Just Chatting, Fortnite, FIFA 21, and other categories. Amar was recently mainly active in the new Season 6 of Fortnite. Additionally, both were seen in videos related to the preparation of their new show “Teammates”.

When does the show start? “Teammates” is a live show that will be broadcast on Twitch. It kicks off for the first time this coming Saturday: on March 27 at 6:00 PM, the duo’s first show will start.

What to expect with Teammates

What kind of show will it be? In early March, Amar and Trymacs announced that they have been working on the new live show “Teammates” for over six months.

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Trymacs describes the show as a mix between “Joko & Klaas” and “Schlag den Star” by Stefan Raab. The concept: The duo of Amar and Trymacs will compete against changing teams in each show.

Each show is planned to be 5 hours filled with changing games, where guests can win a prize of 30,000 euros – but only if they can defeat the two hosts. The games will come from various categories, ranging from sports and skill to gaming and quiz questions. It’s somewhat similar to formats like Schlag den Star.

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Who are the opponents? This coming Saturday, Amar and Trymacs will compete against the duo of Sascha “UnsympathischTV” Hellinger and Nicolas “Inscope21” Lazaridis. They are also among the largest German channels on Twitch and YouTube. In the future, streamer duos will be invited as opponents on Teammates.

It’s not the first time that larger show events have been hosted on Twitch. Among other things, the horror camp by Knossi and Sido attracted a lot of attention in 2020 and ranked at the top of the largest Twitch streams in Germany.

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