Gigantic contract with US military makes Microsoft richer, but employees angry

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

Microsoft has signed a major contract with the US Army: They plan to deliver 120,000 “Augmented Reality” headsets, modified versions of the HoloLens. This will allow Microsoft to earn up to 21.9 billion US dollars, but employees are protesting against the collaboration.

This is the contract:

  • The contract between Microsoft and the US military lasts for up to 10 years, during which Microsoft will deliver 120,000 headsets of the brand “IVAS” (Integrated Visual Augmentation System) to the military
  • The IVAS headset is a variation of the HoloLens headset and provides soldiers with additional information embedded in an overlay over their field of view (HUD). This tactical information is meant to help soldiers identify enemies, assess the combat situation correctly, and make better decisions
  • The value of the contract could amount to as much as 21.9 billion US dollars, according to Microsoft

This is the concept: The regular HoloLens headset costs around $3,500. It allows for overlaying holograms onto the real world. People can interact with the system using gestures and voice. The IVAS headset is a customized version of this headset and is additionally supported by Microsoft’s cloud technology, Azure.

Soldiers are now expected to use this one system from Microsoft to train with and ultimately to fight. The army hopes that through Augmented Reality, soldiers can now conduct “realistic scenarios” before actually encountering enemies.

When they encounter “current and future adversaries”, the system is supposed to ensure that US soldiers have the advantage.

In a video, the US Army emphasizes that this time they approached product development differently to tailor the headset to the actual needs of soldiers:

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the YouTube content
The headset is supposed to tell soldiers: Here are your friends, there is the enemy.

Employees protested against the deal years ago

This is the protest: Some employees of Microsoft had already urged management in 2018 not to finalize this contract and not to even apply for the US military’s contract. In an open letter, they wrote:

“We did not join Microsoft to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used.”

From an open letter by Microsoft employees from 2018

This is Microsoft’s response: Management had already stated back then that they had made the “fundamental decision” not to withhold technology from those institutions that have chosen to protect their freedom.

The army stated at that time that the “Augmented Reality” technology could help soldiers identify their enemies as targets, thus avoiding the killing of civilians.

More on the topic
Augmented Reality and MMORPGs – The Future of the Genre?
von Andreas Bertits

This is the impact of the deal: As CNBC reports, Microsoft’s stock rose by 1.7% after the announcement of the news.

It is said that the deal shows that Microsoft can generate significant revenue with futuristic products that involve years of work.

In gaming, there has been a wait for the breakthrough of “Virtual Reality” headsets for several years. The technology of “Augmented Reality” is particularly familiar from the hit game Pokémon GO.

This is what Pokémon GO could look like with AR glasses – Would that be something for you?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. CNBC
  2. US-Armee
  3. Microsoft
  4. Medium (Offener Brief)

Banshee has a super offer in Destiny 2 today – But you really have to be quick

Philipp Hansen Philipp Hansen Reading time 3 minutes

In Destiny 2 you can get rare mods from Banshee-44 today, on April 1st. One offer has a drop chance of under 1%. MeinMMO explains why a visit to the Gunsmith is worthwhile and why you need to be quick.

For this offer, you need to be quick: Today, on April 1st, the Gunsmith Banshee-44 is selling very rare and good items in Season 13 of Destiny 2.

  • Included is the modification (mod) “Powerful Friends.” It has only been available for purchase 3 times since 2020, resulting in a drop rate of 0.82%. This mod is essential in many builds, and Guardians often complain that they are missing it.
  • The second mod “Dynamo Spec” is also quite rare – it has been sold 7 times since 2020 (drop rate 1.92%). With this, you can improve the explosive properties of your weapon.
  • The drop chances are sourced from the bot “Banshee-44’s Daily Mod” (via Twitter). The program monitors the Gunsmith and his offers every week.

The catch with the offer: The deal only applies on April 1st. Ironically, today marks the new update 3.1.1.2. You should visit Banshee by 6:00 PM, as maintenance will begin afterward – you will be kicked out of the game at the latest by 6:45 PM. The servers will go down and will only be accessible again after the reset when Banshee offers different items.

How do I buy from Banshee? Visit the friendly Exo in the Tower, right next to the landing point where he has his workshop. At the bottom of his inventory, you will always see the daily mod offers. For each mod, he wants 10 mod components from you.

Today Banshee has a strong offer with “Powerful Friends” and “Dynamo Spec”

If you lack the necessary resource, dismantle other mods in the menu (inventory 2nd tab). Don’t worry, for some time now you don’t need copies of mods anymore – the game has saved them automatically as soon as you had them once. You can then mount them infinitely on weapons and armor.

The mods are rare, but what are their capabilities?

What makes the mods so good: “Powerful Friends” ranks high on the list of coveted modifications. Not only because of its rarity but also due to the effects that the armor enhancement provides:

  • When you charge yourself with Light, you also charge all nearby allies with Light.
  • With the “Charged with Light” mechanic, extremely powerful builds can be created that make you almost immortal or significantly increase damage output.
  • However, for many, the second function is more important: The mod boosts your mobility by +20.
  • This allows you to jump higher, dodge faster in battles, and Hunters recharge their dodge more quickly. Due to the considerable increase in values, you can prefer other stats on armor over mobility.
  • To activate the +20 bonus, you need another Arc mod in the armor (any) or another “Charged with Light” mod in your entire loadout.
More on the topic
3 Loadouts from the Pro that will help you dominate in Season 13 of Destiny 2
von Philipp Hansen

The “Dynamo Spec” is installed on weapons. This improves guns with the perk “Dynamo”:

  • The explosion after precision kills becomes larger and stronger due to the mod.
  • Unfortunately, the improvements in the explosion are barely noticeable in gameplay.
  • Among Guardians, there is a rumor that the new quest weapon “Plunderer’s Salvo” is enhanced by the mod. However, tests have debunked the myth – the explosion radius of the grenades does not increase here (via YouTube).

So is it worth it? The highlight of the offer is definitely the mod “Powerful Friends.” Therefore, under the post of the Banshee Twitter bot, comments are piling up recommending everyone to take the plunge. Some users even say that you shouldn’t complain under all build videos that you are still missing this mod.

Have you already taken the plunge or is today’s update ruining the rare offer for you? Let us know in the comments.

Also interesting:

In Destiny 1, weapons with explosions like those from Dynamo (then Fireball) were regarded as the best to use in PvE. Do you find it a shame that this play style is not as popular now? Then you’re in luck, because soon the most prominent explosive weapon, the Fatebringer, will return: Destiny 2 finally brings back the coolest weapons from part 1

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. GameRant
  2. Banshee-44's Daily Mods auf Twitter

3 things you must do during the April Fools’ event in Pokémon GO

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 3 minutes

In Pokémon GO today, on April 1st, the Tricky Event has started. This event revolves around April Fool’s and special bonuses are active. We will show you which things you should take advantage of.

How long does the event last? It runs for exactly 24 hours. So you can still take advantage of all bonuses until today at 23:59.

Despite the brevity of the event, you should not miss it. There are especially 3 things that are worthwhile for many trainers.

Tricky Event in Pokémon GO – What is worthwhile?

Get the 5 snapshots: Only today you can secure 5 instead of one snapshot. There you may encounter Griffl or Glibunkel, both of which may appear as Shiny.

The snapshots are also worthwhile for your medal. You need to get at least 400 snapshots for the Platinum rank. The 5 pictures today are at least a good start. Keep in mind that for level 49 you need at least 35 Platinum medals and the snapshots are quite easy for that. Alternatively, you might end up like MeinMMO editor Noah Struthoff, who had to fight against himself 2500 times.

How can you take a snapshot? For this, you must select any Pokémon from your box. You will find a camera symbol in the upper right corner that you need to click. Just take a photo of your Pokémon and another monster will jump into the picture. When you close the camera again, a Pokémon will appear in the wild that you can catch. You obtained this monster through the snapshot.

Catch Felilou for the Mew quest: In the second step of the Mew quest, you need 20 Pokémon of each type. The types Dark and Dragon are particularly tricky. At least today, Dark Pokémon can be caught quite easily, as Felilou is of this type.

So anyone who needs some Pokémon for the special research should take action. There will hardly be a better chance for Dark Pokémon.

Get the Super Rocket Radar: Until April 8th, there is a Limited Research in Pokémon GO that gives you an encounter with Giovanni. You will receive a Super Rocket Radar as a reward.

In the Limited Research, you only need to complete one stage and defeat 6 Rocket Grunts and one Rocket Boss. This is particularly easy today, as Team GO Rocket appears more frequently in the game. Take advantage of this bonus and secure the Super Rocket Radar for your encounter with Giovanni today.

April Fool's Pokémon GO
You must solve this research by April 8th.

Is there anything else to take advantage of? In general, the event is quite nice. In the wild, Felilou, Griffl, Glibunkel, and Ditto appear. Griffl and Glibunkel can at least be Shiny, and if you still lack the Pokémon in their shiny form, you should take advantage of these spawns.

More exciting articles about Pokémon GO

What’s next? This Sunday, the next event in Pokémon GO starts: The Spring Week. This event focuses mainly on Easter-themed Pokémon, and monsters with flower crowns appear in the wild. You can find all the information about this event in Pokémon GO here:

Pokémon GO starts Spring Event with new Shiny and these strong bonuses

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

New map of CoD Warzone has really been leaked – Activision is currently deleting everything

Maik Schneider Maik Schneider Reading time 3 minutes

Players have long suspected that a new map is coming for Call of Duty: Warzone. And just as long, there has been hardly any solid information on the subject. However, a leak could actually show the first images of a new Warzone map.

What happened? There was a big leak regarding the new Warzone map. An unfinished live-action trailer is currently circulating on the internet and shows the seemingly first images of the new map for the battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone.

What does the leak show? It seems to be a commercial for Warzone that is not quite finished. The spot features real actors playing a round of battle royale in Verdansk.

In the beginning, you see a guy jumping out of the window facade of a high-rise building with an ATV. He jumps off his vehicle and grabs onto a helicopter piloted by another “player”. 

The state of the trailer suggests that the spot is not fully completed. The backgrounds are not complete, and there are even production markings visible in the video.

After an explosion, a sound reminiscent of “rewinding” or backward played sounds occurs. This is likely an indication that the map Verdansk is going back in time. Because afterwards, images of locations from the current Verdansk are shown that “transform” in the trailer and seemingly depict the same location at a different time:

  • The stadium is not yet completed and resembles a construction site
  • The dam has not been built yet, and there is a railway bridge
  • An image of downtown shows unknown buildings with the Warzone interface

Additionally, there is briefly a large metal structure visible that strongly resembles the Duga signal stations which CoD players might know from the map “Grid” in Black Ops 1 or the “evil” ending of the “Cold War” campaign. This is a clear nod to the Cold War.

This suggests that the new map plays in a version of Verdansk during the Cold War, the scenario of the current CoD premium title Black Ops Cold War. Until now, speculation leaned more towards the new map being set in the Ural Mountains and combining several fire team maps from Cold War into a larger map. This now seems to be at least partially disproven.

At the end of the clip, the live-action players are seen again having fun in a Warzone helicopter. Here, too, the backgrounds are unfinished and show that the trailer is likely not complete yet.

cod warzone cold war ashes to ashes mission map-leak
The Duga-2 signal station from the “Cold War” campaign. Source: CoD Wiki

When did the leak appear? The “trailer” surfaced during the night from March 31 to April 1.

Where did the leak appear? The leak came from the US site “videogameschronicle” via the Twitter account “On Thin Ice“. However, the Twitter account is not the source of the video; the clip was just noticed there for the first time.

“On Thin Ice” writes: “When we shared the Warzone video, our intention was not malicious. We noticed it was already circulating on several Discord servers and thought it was already public.” So far, it remains unclear where the leak originates. However, the video itself is so compelling that it is regarded as “authentic” by many fans and content creators.

Current news about Warzone:

How “real” is the leak? There might be something real about the leak. The entire clip indeed feels like a Warzone trailer that is not completely finished. The Warzone logo is visible at the beginning, and overall, the production seems professional and in line with Warzone PR, except for the “unfinished” scenes.

Additionally, Activision is actively blocking sources for the video. This could be an indication that confirms its authenticity in a certain way.

However, nothing is certain so far. It may also be a version of a trailer that has been scrapped and is no longer part of the plans. As long as the developers and responsible parties do not clearly comment on it, the authenticity of the new information remains unclear. Nonetheless, this is a significant leak and redirects speculation about the new Warzone map back to “Verdansk 2.0.”

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

Outriders starts today – All information on start times, download, and Day-1 patch

Tarek Zehrer Tarek Zehrer Reading time 3 minutes

Today, April 1st, is the official release of Outriders. MeinMMO summarizes the key launch details for you.

What is Outriders? It is a third-person shooter by People Can Fly and Square Enix. Outriders is a mix of RPG, loot, and story shooter.

You can choose from four classes, experience a dark sci-fi fantasy story, and collect valuable gear to build your characters. You can find more information in our overview of Outriders: All Info about the Loot Shooter.

When does it start and who can play? The loot shooter starts today, April 1st. Outriders is available on PC (Epic, Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, and Google Stadia.

Update, April 1st: We have removed the preload section as the game is now regularly available everywhere. The links to the stores have been updated.

Here you can find a trailer from the developers that summarizes all the content of the game:

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the YouTube content

Can you download the game beforehand? Is there a day-one patch? When do the servers start? We will clarify this in this article.

Download Size and Platforms

What is the download size of Outriders? This varies from platform to platform:

  • PS4: approx. 67 GB
  • PS5: approx. 46 GB
  • Xbox Series X|S: approx. 48 GB
  • Xbox One: approx. 61 GB
  • PC: approx. 70 GB

Where can I buy and download Outriders? Outriders is not yet listed in the Google Stadia store. Here are the links to the other stores and standard prices:

Start Times of Outriders

When does it start? The start times also vary from platform to platform:

  • Xbox and PlayStation: The official start is April 1st at 00:00.
  • On PC, the game starts on April 1st at 18:00 our time.

This image provides an overview of the different time zones:

These are the start times worldwide. (via Twitter)

Day-One Patch at Release – What changes compared to the Demo?

When will the patch be available? People Can Fly hopes to integrate the patch into the download of Outriders before release. However, it may not be achieved on all platforms before release. For those platforms, the patch will be available at release.

What is the download size? This also varies depending on the platform. Xbox players report an extra download of around 10 GB.

This is included in the Day-One Patch:

  • Many bug fixes and improvements, focusing on the last sections of the game
  • Improved performance
  • Improvements to the in-game camera during cutscenes to reduce stuttering
  • Adjustment of frame rate during cutscenes:
    • On PC, you can choose between 30, 60, 90, and 120 FPS
    • Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5: 60 FPS
    • Xbox One and PlayStation 4: 30 FPS

Additionally, there are already built-in improvements compared to the Outriders demo.

These are the biggest differences from the demo:

  • Numerous bugs from the demo have been fixed, including issues with legendary weapon mods not functioning properly.
  • There are some balance adjustments to items, mods, enemy stats, and loot
  • Crossplay leaves beta status and is enabled by default
  • Improvements to the cover system that was previously criticized

The next patch is already in the works. This will address loading times on Xbox One and PS4. A summary from the developers can be found in the subreddit about Outriders (via reddit).

More about Outriders:

If you are still undecided, you can test Outriders for free at any time. It includes the first chapter of Outriders and lets you try out all four classes. All information about the demo can be found in our overview on MeinMMO.

Will you play Outriders? On which platform will you join? Or would you rather wait? Let us know in the comments.

Currently, there is also our survey on MeinMMO regarding the classes that you can participate in. We want to know from you: Which class of Outriders will you play at release?

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

Twitch streamer cries as he sees he is now part of LoL: „I am no longer a random“

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

The Twitch streamer, caster, and analyst, Nick “LS” De Cesare (27), has made it into the League of Legends with an Easter egg. When he sees this, tears come to his eyes. He can hardly grasp the honor of now being a part of LoL forever. Because Riot doesn’t usually do that anymore.

Who is that? The 27-year-old American was never a professional LoL player but comes from the card game and strategy corner. He started with Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, and eventually landed in Starcraft.

When LS got his first job in League of Legends in 2014, he started as a coach and analyst. So, he made a name for himself in LoL with his intellect and analyses, not with his skills on mouse and keyboard. He became known because he was the commentator for the excellent Korean LoL in the English-speaking world. His path to LoL is unusual: most coaches were former players themselves.

The American currently lives in South Korea and has made it there as a streamer for the top team T1. At one point, there was even talk of him becoming a coach for T1, but this apparently failed due to the resistance of the Korean fans, who did not believe that a relatively unknown American could train their beloved LoL team around Faker.

LS is known for his analyses and ideas that exist outside of “what everyone knows.” His opinion is highly respected by many professional players. And with one analysis, he has now even made it into LoL.

This is the Easter egg: If you type “Last Shadow” in the LoL shop, two items appear: Morellonomicon and Liandry’s Anguish.

When LS sees this for the first time in a livestream on Twitch, tears gradually come to his eyes. It overwhelms him emotionally.

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from Twitch that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the Twitch content

LS was against an item in LoL 3 years ago – That made him famous

What is special about these items? Three years ago, in Season 8 of LoL, the item “Morellonomicon” was a standard item in builds for AP users. However, LS argued back then that Liandry’s Torment was the clearly better alternative. And he did not stop mentioning this opinion at every opportunity – for years.

LS went so far in the English broadcast of the LCK to call the item Morellonomicon, which he despised, the “forbidden book.” He felt that since the rework in LoL Patch 8.4, the item was simply no longer good enough, and it was useless to save up for it, as it only provided an advantage against a few champions. According to him, it was sufficient to use the much cheaper item “Oblivion Orb,” as that was enough to obtain the main effect of the much more expensive book.

He argued that “Liandry’s Torment” was the clearly better item, which even earned him the reputation of being “the Salesman” for this item.

On Twitter, he once explained to a defender of the “forbidden book”: That had nothing to do with opinion. It was simply mathematics. Anyone who believes in the Morellonomicon might as well claim that the Earth is flat.

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the Twitter content

“Riot saved my life”

This is what he says now: In an interview with Inven, LS is excited that Riot has dedicated this Easter egg to him. Some would say it is the first time that Riot Games has honored a content creator in LoL, since the late Total Biscuit.

Normally, Riot doesn’t do things like this anymore. Actually, you can only get into the game if you win the Worlds and receive your own skin.

LS says he has gone through tough phases in his life. He was unemployed, had problems, had no place to go. He even once gave up League of Legends and wanted to switch to Heroes of the Storm, but ultimately LoL and Riot Games saved him. He says, “Riot saved my life with the game.”

If he ever questions whether he means anything to LoL and the community in the future, he now knows the answer: “I am no longer just some random.”

The grand saga surrounding LS took place in 2020 when it seemed for a few weeks that LS would become the coach for T1, probably the most important LoL team in the world:

LoL: Coach set to train the most important team in the world – Wave of hate washes him away

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

You can now test the MMORPG ESO for free and play the Prologue of Blackwood

Andreas Bertits Andreas Bertits Reading time 3 minutes

From now on, you can experience the beginning of the new story in the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online (PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S), which awaits you in the big expansion Blackwood. Additionally, a new Free2Play event has started.

What can you expect in the prologue to ESO Blackwood? A Daedric cult is planning something sinister. What exactly, you will find out in the prologue quest. You will join forces not only with the Wood Elf Eveli Sharp-Arrow, but you must also trust a Dremora named Lyranth. The prologue is now available to play for free.

What are Dremora? Dremora are essentially a type of demon and belong to the Daedra. They reside in Oblivion, the realm of forgetting, and are particularly loyal to the Daedric Princes Mehrunes Dagon and Molag Bal. Dremora are enemies that you will have to fight against.

This makes it so interesting to team up with a Dremora in the prologue quest to ESO Blackwood. Can you really trust Lyranth and what does she have planned? You will find that out from now on – on PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

What is the reward for completing the quest? You will receive a memento in the form of the Daedric Amulet against protective spells. This piece of jewelry may become useful later in the story of Blackwood and the year-long overarching story “Gates of Oblivion”.

How to participate: On all platforms, visit the Crown Store of ESO and find the free prologue quest to Blackwood titled “Touch of a Mortal” under the “Quests” category. Activate it and you can get started.

New gameplay for Blackwood: New scenes from the next ESO chapter have also been shown. Check out the video here:

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the YouTube content

Play ESO for Free

It is now also possible to participate in a new Free2Play event from ESO. If you have not yet tried the MMORPG and want to dive in, you have until Tuesday, April 13, to jump into the adventures for free. The Free2Play event is available on PC, PS4/PS5, as well as Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Where can you sign up? You can do that here on the official website.

You will gain access to the area from Morrowind (Vvardenfell) and the base game of ESO, including the four classes of the base game and 23 areas. It is also possible to play the prologue of Blackwood. You can even continue for free from where you left off in the last Free2Play event.

If you jump in directly, you will also benefit from the currently ongoing 7th anniversary of the MMORPG. You will receive double EXP and other rewards.

More interesting facts about ESO Blackwood:

In addition, you can get the Standard Edition of ESO at 60% off in the sale. The chapter Greymoor is reduced by 67%. The offer is valid on PC and Google Stadia until April 15. On Xbox, the sale lasts until April 16, and for PlayStation, the offer for Greymoor ends on April 14, while the offer for the Standard Edition lasts until April 28 (via official ESO website).

Moreover, there are also Crown packages on sale during the sale period. You can buy the currency Crowns cheaper to purchase items like houses, mounts, or pets in the Crown Store.

In ESO Blackwood, you will face a very special enemy, the coolest villain from The Elder Scrolls.

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

New World is currently testing PvE dungeons – Here’s how they run

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 2 minutes

In the current alpha of New World, there are two active dungeons, called “Expeditions”. In a blog post, the developers explained the goals they pursue with the PvE experience and what players can expect.

What are Expeditions? There is a lot of work being done on Amazon’s MMO “New World”, and just recently there was a huge alpha update that changed a lot of content.

In the alpha, “Expeditions” are now available. According to the developer update, these are instanced dungeons that can only be tackled with teamwork. Originally, alternatives to such PvE dungeons for New World were planned, but now the developers presented this type of challenge.

This is how the Expeditions are supposed to work in New World

These are the current Expeditions: In the alpha, which is under NDA, the currently available Expeditions are “Amrhein Excavation” and “Garden of Origins”.

  • The Amrhein Excavation is playable from level 25 and is intended to serve as an “introduction” to the Expeditions. It is an excavation site where players investigate the disappearance of an archaeological team. The dungeon is expected to offer puzzles and AI enemies that should be gentler compared to the second expedition.
  • The “Garden of Origins” is the second expedition, aimed at players at level 60. The developers describe it as an endgame expedition featuring different types of puzzles, various AI enemies, and further challenges.
New World Expedition

This is what makes Expeditions special: What these Expeditions have in common is that they are always aimed at multiple players. The dungeons are generally expected to require groups of three to five players, with the difficulty level aimed at five players of the recommended level.

So teamwork is essential if players want to secure the loot from the dungeons. However, it should be worth it as the Expeditions offer unique loot and equipment as rewards.

Gameplay-wise, these challenges should provide a change of scenery from the rest of the game world. Each Expedition tells its own story, and the gameplay content should vary: “From expedition to expedition, the enemies do not just become tougher, but there are also different game mechanics and puzzles. For example, Expeditions have different AI settings for bosses and minibosses, and each has unique loot tables.”

The developers emphasize in the post that they want to use the data from the alpha test to optimize the content and add further Expeditions to New World. So, there is likely to be more content in the pipeline.

The Expeditions are just one of many changes that New World has recently undergone: MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch summarized how New World is increasingly transforming from a PvP MMO to a theme park MMORPG.

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

Genshin Impact shows off stylish new PS5 version in trailer – Here’s what’s inside

Tarek Zehrer Tarek Zehrer Reading time 2 minutes

Developer miHoYo has announced a PS5 port for the F2P co-op RPG Genshin Impact . The new trailer shows familiar scenes with sleek visuals. But what makes this version better than the PS4 version?

Update April 18: It is now known that the PS5 version will be released alongside Patch 1.5.

Here’s what it’s about: A new trailer announced an optimized version of Genshin Impact for PlayStation 5. This version is said to receive several upgrades over the older PS4 version.

The video features some scenes from the story of Genshin Impact. These are from the announced version for PS5.

You can watch the trailer here:

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the YouTube content

The improvements of the PS5 version

These are the announced features: Besides fancier graphics in the form of better textures, the developers also promised significantly faster loading times. There is also talk of a “sharp 4K resolution”. The DualSense controller will also be supported.

While the PS4 version already has its advantages when played on PS5, the upgrade is expected to enhance the gaming experience further. According to developers, the PS5 is the ideal platform and they wanted to achieve the best results.

When will the PS5 version be released? miHoYo has mentioned “Spring 2021” as the release window. Players can expect the release to be sometime in April or May.

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the Twitter content

What is Genshin Impact? It is a free-to-play online co-op RPG for PC, PS4, and mobile. The game features a huge open world. You initially take on the role of the “Traveler”, the main character of the story. With this character, you journey through the vast world of Teyvat.

You then choose from various classes and characters, explore the world, complete quests, and can engage in various activities. You can experience all of this alone or with up to three other players, thanks to a cross-play feature across all platforms.

The game is constantly updated with new content, and there is always something happening through events. Genshin Impact also features a real-money shop. Genshin Impact incorporates a so-called gacha system.

What is a gacha system? It is a specific type of monetization for in-game content. You can read more about it in our FAQ on the gacha system – How Pay2Win is it really?

More about Genshin Impact:

What is currently happening in Genshin Impact? In early March, the last major update, Patch 1.4, was released. This brought the Windblume Festival and allows players to go on special dates with characters.

For the next update, Patch 1.5, there is already plenty of information – Genshin Impact: Everything we know about Update 1.5 – Release, characters, housing

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

FIFA 21: TOTW 27 is live and brings 4 damn fast players

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 3 minutes

The new TOTW 27 in FIFA 21 Ultimate Team is now available. Here you can see the best cards in the Team of the Week.

When does TOTW 27 come? The new Team of the Week 27 is now available. It was released on March 31, 2021, at 7:00 PM and will remain available for a week.

To get cards from the TOTW, you can try it with packs in FIFA 21. However, you need a lot of luck here. You can also buy them on the transfer market, but they can be quite expensive. Finally, they can also be obtained as Player Picks in the Weekend League rewards.

The complete TOTW 27 – with Davies and Kimmich

This is the TOTW 27: In the new Team of the Week, there are many players who can impress with good stats.

FIFA 21 TOTW 27

TOTW 27 Starting XI:

  • GK: Dubravka (85)
  • CB: Chiellini (89)
  • CB: Söyüncü (85)
  • RB: Mario Fernandes (84)
  • CDM: Kimmich (92)
  • CM: Soucek (87)
  • CAM: Shaqiri (84)
  • CAM: Kudus (84)
  • ST: Aubameyang (89)
  • RF: Dembélé (85)
  • LF: Alphonso Davies (84)

TOTW 27 Bench:

  • GK: Hennessey (81)
  • RB: Aurier (83)
  • CAM: Jovetic (81)
  • CDM: Sergi Darder (81)
  • ST: Yilmaz (82)
  • ST: Pukki (81)
  • ST: Clarke-Harris (81)
  • CM: Lletget (78)
  • LM: G. Rodrigues (76)
  • LM: Noone (76)
  • LF: Damsgaard (79)
  • ST: Kalajdzic (76)

The 3 strongest cards in TOTW 27

FIFA 21 TOTW 27 best cards

Here we take a brief look at the top 3 in the current Team of the Week.

  • Kimmich is at the top with his 92-rated card. The Bayern star is a thoroughly reliable midfielder and is capable in both offense and defense. He is the perfect all-rounder for Bundesliga teams.
  • Chiellini offers an 89-rated card in defense. Unfortunately, he lacks a bit of pace, but his defensive and physical stats are impressive.
  • Aubameyang, on the other hand, has plenty of speed to offer. The Arsenal forward is nearly unstoppable in attack and knows how to find the back of the net. But: The former Dortmund player isn’t even the fastest sprinter in the TOTW.

Speed, Speed, Speed in TOTW 27

The pace stat is one of the most important stats on a player’s card. Many now even prefer outside backs in central defense because they are faster. And if you’re into speed, you’re in the right place in the new TOTW.

Besides Aubameyang, there are three more top cards in TOTW 27 with a lot of speed:

FIFA 21 TOTW 27 Davies
  • Alphonso Davies from FC Bayern is in and comes with an impressive top speed of 99. Especially brutal: This card is not a full-back, but a left winger. So if you always wanted to send Davies towards the opponent’s goal, this is your chance.
  • Kudus from the Eredivisie embodies the speedy playmaker. The offensive player not only has speed but also good stats in dribbling, shooting, and passing.
  • The next super sprinter is Barcelona’s Dembélé, who is already known as a nasty meta card. The Frenchman is two-footed, skillful, and – logically – incredibly fast.

In fact, that’s not even the end. Among the TOTW cards with lower ratings, Rodrigues and Clarke-Harris also offer strong speed stats.

If you’re looking for more players for your team, you can find the best players in FIFA 21 under 200,000 coins here.

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

CoD: Warzone secretly nerfs FFAR – With this setup it remains strong

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 2 minutes

In the current update for Call of Duty: Warzone, there is more than what the patch notes suggest. Among other things, players are noticing that the FFAR is not as reliable as before – even though it is not explicitly mentioned in the patch notes.

Update April 22: With the start of Season 3, the damage of the FFAR has been nerfed, among other changes. The effect of these changes still needs to be seen. You can view the patch notes for update 1.36 here.

What kind of update is this? The Mid-Season Update of Season 2, which just recently appeared, was quite substantial in terms of data size. Content-wise, it included things like a nerf for the AUG, ping functions on the Tac-Map, and bug fixes for operators.

However, the update in the game is apparently not exactly as expected. The nerf for the AUG, which even DrDisrespect hated and coldly deleted the game from his computer because of it, was received as hardly noticeable. This is not the case for the popular and strong FFAR.

What happened to the FFAR? It is important to note that the update is still fresh and analyses are ongoing. However, it seems that strong magazines for the FFAR have been adjusted so that they are no longer as powerful as before.

The fast burst fire magazine, for example, improved the reload time and magazine capacity of the weapon without negatively affecting the ADS time. This has apparently been fixed – resulting in a weakening of the weapon. Additionally, the 20.3″ access barrel, one of the most popular attachments for the FFAR, has been nerfed, as noted by YouTuber JGOD in an analysis. We embed the English video here for you:

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the YouTube content

Whether and to what extent the weapon itself has been nerfed will be shown in the coming days as players spend more time with the update.

This is how the FFAR remains strong

You can use this setup: If you find that you are no longer handling your FFAR as well, it might be worth switching your setup. Here is a setup suggestion that allows the FFAR to continue to perform strongly.

It is crucial to change the barrel and the magazine if you have previously used the 20.3″ access and the fast burst 50-round magazine. Then, for example, switch to the 19.5″ special forces barrel and the STANAG 50-round magazine. A strong setup might look like this:

cod warzone weapons ffar setup after nerf season 2 new
  • Muzzle: Agency Muzzle Brake
  • Barrel: 19.5″ Special Forces
  • Stock: Looters Stock
  • Underbarrel: Field Agent Grip
  • Ammunition: STANAG 50-Round

With this setup, the FFAR remains effective at least. Whether it continues to be one of the top alternatives in CoD: Warzone will only be shown in the coming days when the changes from the update are fully revealed.

A cheater in CoD: Warzone caused better mood than the FFAR recently did. Everything was going anything but smoothly for him at the end of a round.

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

With a trick you can already play Outriders – But only on Xbox

Tarek Zehrer Tarek Zehrer Reading time 3 minutes

Some players can already play Outriders , even though the official release takes place here tomorrow, on April 1st. This is possible due to a simple trick.

Update: Previously, we reported that the trick also works on PlayStation. That is not the case. On PS4 and PS5, Outriders can only be played as planned from midnight.

What happened? The loot shooter Outriders is officially set to be released tomorrow, on April 1st. Just recently, official preload and launch times were announced.

It seems things are not quite going as planned. Because on consoles, Outriders is already playable, as numerous players report in the Outriders subreddit (via reddit) and also readers on MeinMMO. To do this, you just have to apply a small trick, which does not require much effort.

What is this trick? You just need to change the region of your console to New Zealand. There, it is already April 1st and the servers are probably already online.

Earlier start on consoles due to time difference?

How can this happen? Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S should officially start at midnight, that is, at 00:00 from March 31st to April 1st. But because there are time differences, some servers are probably already online in countries like New Zealand.

Due to the already available preload, many players have already installed Outriders and can get started.

What about PC? The official launch on Steam and Epic according to our time zone is tomorrow, April 1st at 6 PM. It is not possible to just change the region and play earlier.

Here you will find an overview: Outriders starts tomorrow – All information about preload, day-one patch, and launch times

These are the actual times for Outriders.

Xbox players are happy, some PC players are angry

This is how players react on reddit: Many are naturally happy that they can already get started. Some jokingly call themselves “Kiwis.” This does not refer to the fruit, but is a common nickname for people from New Zealand.

For some PC players, however, it seems to be less funny. Because they are left waiting. SoeyKitten writes: “It’s absolutely unbelievable that people can play the game already and PC players have to wait 26.5 hours [as of 3:30 PM] until they can join. I can play the demo on the same servers […]. What’s the point of that? It’s completely arbitrary. […]” (via reddit)

Does this count as cheating? One player was concerned that they might be seen as a cheater due to the trick. They directly contacted the developer People Can Fly via Discord and asked if there was a risk involved. (via reddit)

There it was said: “It should not trigger any anti-cheat measures. Those come into play when you use time exploits in the game to manipulate in-game mechanics like vendors.” At the moment, it does not seem that there will be any problems for this reason.

More about Outriders:

What is Outriders actually? It is a third-person shooter that combines story, loot, and RPG mechanics in a dark sci-fi fantasy setting. You can either fight alone or with a group of up to 3 players.

You choose from four classes and develop your characters further throughout the story. In the endgame, there are numerous expeditions, better loot, and greater challenges waiting.

In our overview, you will find the most important information: Outriders: Release time, classes, preload, system requirements – All information about the loot shooter

If you are still undecided, you can also try the free demo that includes the first chapter of the story. This also includes all four playable classes and the first 7 levels. The progress can also be transferred to the game.

Are you already playing? Or do you want to wait for the regular release? Feel free to write us in the comments.

If you are still wondering whether Outriders is interesting for you, take a look at this: 9 things you should know before buying Outriders

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

Graphics cards like RTX 3080 and RX 6700 XT could even become more expensive

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 3 minutes

Graphics cards are currently expensive and prices could rise even further. A manufacturer might increase the cost of a component. This will affect graphics card and processor manufacturers. GPUs such as the RTX 3080, 3090, RX 6700 XT or Ryzen processors from AMD may become more expensive.

Anyone looking to buy a graphics card right now knows the problem: the GPUs are either sold out everywhere or being resold at high prices by dealers or resellers. Scalpers have made over 15 million euros in profit from graphics cards. However, prices may continue to rise in the future due to rising costs.

What exactly is at stake? The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) produces certain materials needed for semiconductor chips. These chips are used in almost all electronic devices. There are rumors (via Tweaktown.com) that the prices for the material could increase by up to 25%.

Where do the rumors come from? This information comes from the analysis firm IC Insights (via icinsights.com) based in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. It specializes in studying the semiconductor market and has been dealing with prices and costs since 1997. The firm has focused on TSMC’s profits and developments.

Component prices to rise, affecting graphics cards, processors, and consoles

What could become more expensive? The manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) produces so-called wafers. These are discs made of high-purity silicon onto which circuits are applied in a complex process. Companies like AMD or Nvidia need these wafers to manufacture semiconductor chips.

Now, TSMC may apparently increase the prices for wafer discs. Reasons for higher prices at TSMC may vary. Currently, there is a significant water shortage in Taiwan, and TSMC requires large amounts of water for production (via Computerbase.de). Additionally, there are internal issues with overworked staff and the COVID-19 pandemic. All these problems are expected to affect the prices of the products.

Moreover, TSMC is likely switching from older chips to newer versions. As a result, the price of older models may also rise. Manufacturers typically pass such price increases on to end customers, who can be system builders or private individuals.

Are there not other manufacturers? TSMC is the third-largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world after Intel and Samsung. Furthermore, the company is the largest contract manufacturer for semiconductor products (via Wikipedia.de). Companies like AMD and Nvidia have chips manufactured for their graphics cards and processors.

Just at the end of 2020, there was a rumor that Nvidia would prefer to have its new chips manufactured by TSMC rather than Samsung (via Hardwareinside.de). AMD has been a client of TSMC for some time, having chips for Next-Gen consoles (Xbox Series X|S and PS5) produced there (via Winfuture.de).

What are the implications? This would be yet another issue at a time when semiconductors are already in high demand, presenting a challenge for those looking to buy a graphics card or processor. If this happens, prices for graphics cards and processors will likely rise.

If TSMC raises prices for its products, it could also have long-term effects on other products supplied by TSMC. Such price increases would not be surprising, as manufacturers like ASUS have already announced plans to increase prices for certain products in 2021.

Availability of graphics cards remains poor

Rising prices are likely to exacerbate the current shortage of semiconductors. Semiconductors are used in many other products such as cars, refrigerators, and smartphones. The poor availability is further intensified by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

That’s why even the possible launch of the RTX 3080 Ti in May 2021 leaves many gamers indifferent since the current graphics cards are already scarcely available. The Ti version of the RTX 3080 is said to be significantly faster than the standard RTX 3080 but offers less graphics memory.

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

Cheater dominates round in CoD Warzone, dies totally stupidly and is laughed at

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 2 minutes

A nasty cheater in Call of Duty: Warzone caused laughter among numerous viewers. The cheater was on the way to victory but made a fatal mistake and still lost.

This is the situation: A user shared a clip from a Warzone match on reddit (via reddit). He had already been eliminated and was watching alongside 11 other players a cheater who was slicing through opponents. With an aim bot, he mowed down an enemy next to a truck and threw a grenade in that direction.

The victory seemed within reach, as there was really no competition that could stop the cheater. However, in the end, he still lost.

Burning truck took down the cheater

This is the clip: The video has now received over 4,800 upvotes in the subreddit and numerous comments that mockingly commented on the action:

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from Reddit that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the Reddit content

How did the cheater die? While he was shooting at his opponent in the truck, he damaged the vehicle so much that it started to burn. This is always a sign that the vehicle is about to explode. However, the cheater ignored the burning and cheerfully collected his opponent’s loot.

The truck exploded after a while and took the cheater with it. The aim bot was of no help there, and the cheater had to concede defeat in this match.

How can you tell if someone is a cheater? As an outsider, it’s always telling when so many players are watching a teammate after their elimination. In this case, there were even a total of 12 spectators. A player who is playing normally usually doesn’t have that many viewers.

It’s definitely evident when aiming at the opponent. The crosshair moves as if by magic to the enemy and he hits almost every shot afterwards. That’s a classic aim bot that cheaters like to use.

A final hint is the cheater’s behavior. He is already deep in the endgame of the match and running around carelessly. This is because he can win every 1v1 with his aim bot. A fair player would probably play much more cautiously and wouldn’t be standing without cover.

What do viewers say? The clip elicits many laughs and the viewers are gleeful. For example, simpsonstimetravel says: “At the moment when I saw the truck burning, I knew that the idiot would die from it.”

The user BenditlikeBenteke states: “You simply can’t cheat your way into basic situational awareness. I guarantee that any person who has played Warzone for more than 5 minutes recognized the burning truck and knew what would happen.”

If you’re interested in more about Call of Duty: Warzone, you might also like this:

What is Warzone doing against cheaters? A lot and yet too little. The developers repeatedly report that they have banned thousands of cheaters. While that sounds good, it’s usually just a drop in the bucket. After all, CoD Warzone is free and cheaters can easily create new accounts and continue cheating.

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

How to tame dinosaurs in Fortnite – But is it worth it?

Eilyn Rapp Eilyn Rapp Reading time 3 minutes

In Fortnite: Battle Royale there are now dinos that you can hunt or tame. We will show you how taming works and whether it is worth it for you.

What’s happening in Fortnite right now? Season 6 has started in Fortnite and brought some new features to the game, such as hunting wild animals. After the Update 16.10, which was released on March 30, there are now Velociraptors on the Season 6 map. The dinos have hatched from their eggs and are roaming the island.

These new predators can also be hunted for materials. But you can also make them your allies by taming them. But how does that work and is it worth the effort? We will take a closer look at these points here in the guide.

More on the topic
Fortnite Season 6: All 4 new wild animals on the map
von MGG

How to tame the dinos

What do you need to do? When you encounter a Velociraptor, you should not be unprepared, as they will attack you. It is best to craft a hunter’s cloak first, so the dino does not see you as a direct enemy – this way you can prevent an attack that could even be lethal.

After that, it gets a bit tricky, as the Velociraptor will no longer attack you, but you are still not connected. The dino will continue to explore the area, but to tame it, it must stand still. It is best to stand right in front of the dino and block its path – as your walls as barriers can be easily destroyed by the Velociraptor!

Once you have stopped the dino, you can interact with it to tame it. After taming, small hearts will appear above the dino’s head for a moment, and it will then follow you everywhere. The data miner MikeDulaimi posted a map showing where the Velociraptors usually hang out (via Twitter).

Before taming, Velociraptors are very dangerous and attack anyone

Is taming worth it?

What advantages does taming bring? Besides the fact that it can never be bad to have more allies in a round, taming the dinos brings several advantages. An important point is that they will no longer attack you – since the dinos can take you out with 3 bites, that would certainly be a significant advantage.

However, you can utilize their attacking instinct, because once you have tamed them, they will attack your enemies. They do not only attack your player opponents, but also all wild animals that want to attack you, including other Velociraptors. So if you have always wanted a dino as a bodyguard, this is your chance!

When is taming not worth it? If you do not have enough materials to craft a hunter’s cloak, you should avoid the Velociraptors. If you cannot fend off the dino, the encounter will likely not end well for you. It is up to you whether you want to use inventory slots for bones, meat, and a hunter’s cloak – but remember that you will then have fewer weapons with you.

Whether taming the dinos is worthwhile always depends on the situation you find yourself in. However, if you have the chance to tame, you should take the opportunity to get a cool ally.

Imagine you are out with a whole squad of Velociraptors in Fortnite

If you prefer not to mess with the dinos, you can also hunt the chickens. The small wild animals provide you with bones and meat when you kill them. But if you pick up the chickens alive, you can even fly with them. Players use this chicken trick for insane rotations, which can also provide an advantage in the game.

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

Diablo 3: Which class will you play in Season 23? Ask the Wheel of Fate

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 3 minutes

The start of Season 23 in Diablo 3 is just around the corner. Only a few days separate players from the new chapter. Vote here and let us know which class you want to play, or ask the Wheel of Fate what class you should play.

What happens in Diablo 3? On Friday, April 2, 2021, Season 23 in Diablo 3 starts. This comes with the big Patch 2.7.0, which significantly alters gameplay. Now players wonder which class they should play in the new season – after all, there are seven to choose from.

We want to find out in this article which class you have chosen. If you’re not sure yet, just spin the Wheel of Fate and let it assign you a class.

What you need to know for class selection in Season 23

The starter sets: Many players base their choice on which starter sets the classes come with. Because at the start of a season, you can earn a set by completing minor tasks.

In Season 23, the distribution of starter sets is as follows (via diablo3.com):

Diablo 3 Season 23 Headrigs Gift
This is what the sets look like that you receive with Season 23 from Haedrig’s Gift

Balance changes: On the test servers of Diablo 3, players have been diligently testing the new Patch 2.7.0. Due to feedback from testers, a few balance changes have been made. Especially for the Necromancer and Wizard, there have been significant adjustments. You can find the patch notes for Patch 2.7.0 in Diablo 3 here.

Important for solo players: Those who limited their class choice based on how solo-capable it is can try a lot in the new season. Because Patch 2.7.0 revamps the companions, making Diablo 3 much more attractive for solo players starting with Season 23. With the improved companions, many new builds can be played since you can simply equip part of the gear to the Templar, the Rogue, or the Enchantress.

More about Season 23 in Diablo 3:

Which class will you play in S23?

Vote now: Only a few days separate you from the start of the new season. Participate in the survey here on MeinMMO now and show us your favorite class for S23.

For those undecided among you, we will include a “Wheel of Fate” below the survey. It features all seven classes. Spin it and find out which class you should play.

You have one vote per user for the survey. If you want to play multiple classes in Season 23, just vote here for the class you are most looking forward to.

Ask Fate about your class for S23

Here you can spin: The Wheel of Fate can be found embedded in the article here. Okay, this is actually just a random wheel that spits out one of the seven results in a few moments. But the decision will be taken from you.

You simply click on the embedded wheel, and it will start spinning. The class it stops on will then be your choice for Season 23. You can then vote for it later in the survey above.

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the external content

If you can’t see the wheel here in the article, you can also find it on the website (via wheeldecide.com).

Have you decided on a specific class in Season 23 of Diablo 3? Then feel free to write us here on MeinMMO in the comments which one it is and why you chose it.

We spoke in an interview with Diablo veteran Leviathan about the major changes from Patch 2.7.0. The expert reveals how your solo farming will change starting with Season 23 in Diablo 3.

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

Players feel cheated by Destiny 2 – Where is the promised new mission?

Philipp Hansen Philipp Hansen Reading time 4 minutes

Destiny 2 has made false advertising claims, according to some players. They are concerned that a mission, which was advertised as being freely accessible to all, is now only fully available to paying users. Bungie now states who is allowed to enter the Crucible.

This is what the Guardians were looking forward to: In Destiny 2, a new Strike named “Crucible” was set to open its doors on March 30. Owners of the Season Pass were able to face the Cabal champion and save the world early, since March 23.

At the same time, the third and final Strike of Season 13 was also supposed to be featured for one week in the Nightfall: The Ordeal. To make it even more enticing, Guardians can expect double loot in The Ordeal for a week and a chance to obtain a coveted weapon.

The rude awakening: The new Strike Crucible cannot be played by Free2Play Guardians in The Ordeal. Only in the regular Strike playlist, where all available Strikes can randomly come up, do non-paying players have a chance for Crucible to be in the rotation.

This is frustrating because excluded Guardians cannot play any Nightfall this week and miss out on the double loot. The prestigious title “Conqueror” is also off the table, as the Strike needs to be completed in Season 13 as a Nightfall.

Well, that means only the owners of the Season Pass and the newest expansion Beyond Light have full access to the mission. Extra content for paying players, what’s the problem?

Players accuse Bungie of false advertising

These are the accusations: Players are now upset that Bungie has marketed the Strike incorrectly. Before the start of Season 13, it was mentioned that all Guardians would be allowed to play the mission in the Nightfall – regardless of whether they paid or not. This is also evident from the official roadmap:

Here is an excerpt from the roadmap for Season 13

In this image, you can see that each entry in the roadmap has been assigned a symbol. The symbol indicates what requirements must be met to access the content.

On March 30, the familiar Destiny icon appears next to the entry “Crucible is coming to the playlist for all players” and “Crucible Nightfall.” The icon stands, according to the legend, for “free for all players.” In contrast, there are two additional icons indicating whether one would need to purchase the Beyond Light expansion or Season 13.

Also interesting:

Another accusation of false promise from Bungie is that it also states on the Destiny 2 site (via Bungie.net) that all 3 new Strikes of Season 13 are available to all players:

The other two Strikes listed alongside Crucible can also be played normally in The Ordeal. The two other missions are not entirely new but adaptations of Destiny 1 classics.

Here it is explicitly mentioned “Vex Strikes,” a reference to the playlist. However, the fact that now the only new Strike is treated differently without prior notice is frustrating for the players.

This is what Bungie says: It wasn’t until the Strike went live, and the first Guardians noticed they couldn’t play The Ordeal, that Bungie responded. The Destiny developer announced on the morning of March 31: It was a mistake to list the Crucible Strike as a freely accessible Nightfall for all players. Requirements are ownership of the Beyond Light expansion and the Season of the Chosen (Season 13).

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the Twitter content

The Guardians are initially confused, then angry

These are the reactions: Some Guardians are quite angry about Bungie’s communication. They are not really concerned about whether the new Strike is playable or not. According to them, it is outrageous to present false information for months on the website and the roadmap and then just say “that was a mistake.”

The YouTuber Cheese Forever describes this as the most expensive “Free2Play” Strike. After all, one would now have to cough up $50 if they want to play the mission as a Nightfall. Cheese Forever also makes accusations of misleading marketing (via YouTube).

Also on MeinMMO, some Guardians were quite surprised by Crucible. Just like many others, they thought they would be able to play the new Strike normally in all modes. In the comments under the “Weekly Reset” article , we can read comments like:

When I press the Nightfall button, a purchase recommendation for Beyond Light pops up. And when I want to select [the Strike] from Nessus, it says something about the Season Pass! So what is it now? […]

Baujahr990 via MeinMMO

Did you also expect that you would be able to play the new Strike in The Ordeal and are now really annoyed that you are missing out on the loot? Or do you think that Guardians shouldn’t always complain and should be happy that Bungie is bringing many contents for free? Share your opinion with us in the comments.

The new Strike is also causing a stir for another reason: New mission in Destiny 2 was first laughed at – is now the hardest in the game

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

Pokémon GO: Today Raid Hour with Boreas – The best counters

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 2 minutes

Today, on March 31st, the first Raid Hour with the Therian Form of Tornadus starts in Pokémon GO. We will show you the best counters and tell you whether you should take advantage of the hour.

What is a Raid Hour? This event takes place every Wednesday in Pokémon GO and highlights legendary raids for one hour. This way, you can complete a lot of 5-star raids.

This week’s Raid Hour focuses on Tornadus. It is the first event that highlights the Therian Form of this legendary Pokémon.

Best Counters and Info for the Raid Hour with Tornadus

When does the Raid Hour run? It starts at 6:00 PM local time. A few minutes before, black eggs will appear on the gyms, which will hatch at exactly 6:00 PM. By 7:00 PM, most raids will be over and the event will be concluded.

Here are the best counters: Tornadus is weak against Electric, Ice, and Rock types. So you should focus on these three types. The best counters are:

PokémonMoveset
ZekromCharge Beam and Thunder Shock
Thundurus (Therian)Volt Switch and Thunderbolt
RampardosHead Smash and Rock Slide
RaikouThunder Shock and Thunder Shock
ElectivireThunder Shock and Thunder Shock

Looking for more info about the Raid Boss? Then check out our detailed counter guide: The best attackers in the Tier-5 Raid against Tornadus

How many trainers are needed? The Therian Form of Tornadus can be easily defeated by three players. However, during the Raid Hour, we recommend a group size of 5 to 6 players, so you can quickly get through the raids and complete more raids within the hour.

Keep in mind that you can invite trainers via Remote Raid. This way, you can easily adhere to the current contact restrictions.

This is the story of Tornadus: The Pokémon belongs to the trio “Forces of Nature”. It represents the storm, while Thundurus represents the thunderstorm and Landorus represents the earth. Tornadus is considered a mischievous monster in the Pokémon world. It has devastated fields with gigantic storm gusts, and farmers worry repeatedly about their harvest.

Should you take advantage of the Raid Hour?

How strong is Tornadus? Both forms of Tornadus do not play a significant role in the meta of Pokémon GO. The Therian Form is even weaker than the Incarnate Form. Additionally, the flying type is rarely needed. From a usability perspective, Tornadus is not recommended.

Are there Shiny Tornadus? No, you cannot encounter the Therian Form in its shiny form. Shiny hunters will not benefit during the Raid Hour.

More exciting articles about Pokémon GO

So should you be there? Tornadus is not really worth it, so you can skip the Raid Hour. Save your raid passes for the Therian Form of Landorus instead. That one will be really strong, and the raid hours of the legendary Pokémon will be much more useful.

You can find the exact times for the appearance of Landorus and all other events in April here:

Pokémon GO: All events in April 2021 – Which one is worth it?

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

Dead by Daylight, after 5 years your bugs are just embarrassing

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 4 minutes

Even after 5 years, Dead by Daylight still has so many issues that Cortyn is pulling their hair out. Something needs to be complained about.

With the return of Mecker-Mittwoch, I take the opportunity to rant a bit about the game, with which I have a rather ambivalent relationship. After all, I have a long-standing love-hate relationship with the horror game Dead by Daylight.

I believe that I am quite lenient when it comes to bugs and errors. While my fellow players in WoW tend to get upset and complain about small details after the release of an addon, I remain quite relaxed. This was generally true for Dead by Daylight for a long time.

But there is no game that has developed such a embarrassing tradition when it comes to the density and impact of errors in patches.

With absolutely – and I mean that literally – every major patch, bugs come into the game that are simply unbearable. Bugs that affect the game in such a way that the enjoyment of the game is massively hindered, unfair situations arise, or mechanics simply do not work at all.

Dead by Daylight Anime Trickster Crazy
Facial expression of a DbD player after being confronted with the 19th bug in 3 minutes.

The different bug epochs of Dead by Daylight

That Dead by Daylight is in a certain way “special” is something I also notice repeatedly when talking about the game with my friends. In other games, when reminiscing, people talk about major releases: a raid in World of Warcraft, a new hero in Overwatch, or a new, cool DLC.

With Dead by Daylight, it’s different. There, we associate different epochs of the game not with new highlights, but with the bugs and errors that existed at a certain time. Examples include:

  • “Do you remember when Trapper could place their traps on the ground and you couldn’t see or disarm them?”
  • “Do you remember the time when destroyed pallets had no gravity and flew hundreds of meters into the sky, so you could immediately see where the killer was?”
  • “Do you remember the time when you could continue repairing generators, even while you were already fleeing from the killer?”
  • “Do you remember when you could spawn right next to burning cursed totems and disarm them before the killer even arrived?”
  • “Do you remember when we sometimes started a game with 2 killers and only 3 survivors?”
  • “Wasn’t that around the time when killers could sometimes start without their power and Michi could pick up the chainsaw from Hillbilly?”
  • “Do you remember when survivors could fly through the map and lock the killer in lockers?”

Okay, the last one was made up. But the fact that you had to think for a moment about whether that really happened shows just how serious the problem is with Dead by Daylight.

That these bug periods have become so ingrained in my memory is pretty sad. With Dead by Daylight, I only think in intervals where I know what is currently bugged and not functioning.

This is quite unfortunate for a game that I genuinely enjoy at its core and has given me hundreds of hours of fun – even if half of my playtime has surely been marred by bugs.

Trickster brought new bugs

Unfortunately, the newest “All-Kill” chapter is no exception. It has only been out for a day, but what annoying bugs I have discovered so far is massively bothersome to me.

Currently, there are a lot of graphic errors related to the new killer Trickster. For instance, if you click on the shop to check out his outfits, you’ll see images like these:

Pretty good job so far from r/deadbydaylight

For a killer who focuses more than anyone on style and good looks, it’s just damn embarrassing when he fills the screen in a torn T-pose. All of the coolness vanished with a click.

However, worse are the bugs that actually affect gameplay. In my first rounds with the Trickster, I was already surprised that I was hitting with the throwing knives surprisingly rarely.

Well, I thought, maybe it’s due to latency or I’m just really aiming poorly. However, after about 5 matches, I still had problems consistently hitting survivors with the knives, so I checked the forum to see whether it was my personal inability or a problem many players were experiencing.

You can guess what I found.

In the subreddit, I immediately found a post that showed the hitboxes of the knives in relation to the survivors. The Trickster can simply throw his knives straight through survivors in a continuous fire without hitting them.

Anyone aiming for the head – something that has been practiced for years in shooters – will simply throw through the survivors when they are crouched or working on the generator. See for yourself:

I Hope The Trickster Gets A Buff from r/deadbydaylight

I believe I should slowly transition to playing Dead by Daylight only in fixed intervals. The first four weeks after the release of a major chapter should be avoided – unless you’re up for “Dead by Buglight”.

After 4-6 weeks, the mid-chapter patch usually comes, which resolves balancing issues and rectifies major design errors. After that, you wait another 2 weeks for the bugs that were brought in the bug fix patch to be sorted out again.

Now there is a period of 4 weeks where everything – as far as possible in Dead by Daylight – works as intended. The golden time to play.

At least until the next chapter comes and the whole theater starts again.

More about Dead by Daylight can be found here:

I really have no problem with occasional bugs. I understand that games have growing pains and that they can’t always be avoided in today’s development.

But when a game gets new growing pains nearly 5 years after its release, even though it should already be mature, it bothers me. But you probably could read that in the last lines.

What is your relationship with Dead by Daylight? Do you have a problem with the bugs too? Or don’t you mind because it’s kind of funny in a way each time?

In the last Mecker-Mittwoch, I ranted about a very special kind of WoW players…

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

If you liked Fall Guys at release, you will love it now

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 4 minutes

The Battle Royale Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout created a huge hype in August 2020. A few weeks later, however, it became quieter again and many players missed new content. 7 months later, the game is hardly recognizable, as MeinMMO editor Noah Struthoff noted.

What is Fall Guys? The Battle Royale was released in August 2020 and quickly thrilled thousands of players. You play a small, round character who stumbles through various mini-games in search of crowns. If you survive enough mini-games and all other players are eliminated, you receive the coveted crown.

At launch, the game thrived especially on the streaming platform Twitch. Thousands of people watched the big streamers fail there. This was primarily the greatest entertainment: the favorite streamer failed, exploded, and made the audience laugh.

But the game itself was also fun, as it was quick to understand, the levels were at least varied in the beginning, and you could be wonderfully nasty to your friends and opponents.

What is the current situation with Fall Guys? Almost 8 months after release and about 7 months after the big hype has passed, Fall Guys is doing great. The 4th season is now underway, bringing new game modes and placing fans in a futuristic setting.

I myself haven’t checked in on the game since the hype period in August and was completely thrilled by what has changed. Since then, I’ve been eagerly chasing the crown again and annoying my fellow players, who probably all hate me by now.

Fall Guys rewards teamwork and that’s awesome

What is new in Fall Guys? The list is long. If you actually only played the first season, you would hardly recognize the game. New maps have been introduced with each season that you have to master. In my first 10 rounds, I played just 3 modes from Season 1. All other mini-games were completely new to me.

New group modes have also been introduced. You can now compete in a 4-player team and hunt for the crown together. After each mini-game, the teams that solve the task the fastest will continue. After each round, more and more teams are eliminated, so that in the end only two 4-player teams compete against each other. Holding, pushing, and shoving is completely allowed, and the team that works best together wins and collects the crown.

If you played Fall Guys last in the summer of 2020, you are now presented with a completely new game. New maps, modes, and mini-games excite with entirely different settings.

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the YouTube content
Here you can see the new contents of Season 4, which was released in March.

Why is Fall Guys so much better now: Above all, the 4-player mode gives Fall Guys a completely new gaming experience. You could already play with friends before, but you were enemies at least in the final round.

Now you can cooperate and reach the crown. In general, the 4-player group can support each other. While one player excels at one mini-game, the other player does better in another game. Especially in the final rounds, teamwork is easier than fighting alone.

Additionally, a problem that many players had after a few rounds in the summer was resolved: there was simply too much repetition. At least after the third round, you had played at least one mini-game a second time. Now, even after 10 rounds, you can still encounter new games that you haven’t played before. The variety is therefore significantly higher, and that increases the fun of the game.

This is what I still wish for from Fall Guys: For me, Fall Guys is not a game that I can search through for months. I enjoy playing it for a few hours, but then I can also set it aside for a few days. This is simply because you quickly tire of the modes.

I would therefore wish that the modes actually rotate more frequently. It often feels like you have a mini-game in almost every round, and can only play another mini-game once in the evening. Each game should simply have the same probability of appearing so that the variety feels even greater.

Otherwise, Fall Guys should continue where they left off: bring new modes and settings into the Battle Royale that change the gaming experience again.

If you are interested in more about Fall Guys and Battle Royale, this might interest you:

Should you check out Fall Guys now? Definitely! The Easter days are coming, and due to the Corona crisis, large trips and visiting marathons are anyway limited. Instead, it is worth checking in on Fall Guys again after a long break.

The big advantage: Fall Guys is suitable for all ages, and at least PS Plus users should still have Fall Guys as a free game in their library if they downloaded it as a free PS Plus game in August. The conditions are therefore good that you can play Fall Guys online with friends or family. I can say from my own experience that even parents enjoy Fall Guys.

There’s a reason why Fall Guys is one of the games we recommend in April 2021:

5 MMOs and online games that we recommend in April 2021

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