On February 5th, a major update for Call of Duty: Warzone was launched. Experts found a number of hidden changes, but the official adjustments are also extensive. What is currently known is shown to you here on MeinMMO.
The Warzone experts and YouTubers “TrueGameData”, “TheXclusiveAce”, and “JGOD” have looked at the hidden and official changes:
They found that almost all weapons that came from Black Ops Cold War into the Battle Royale have different values for their barrel attachments.
XclusiveAce has looked at the adjustments for reloading the weapons from Cold War and also found extensive changes here.
MeinMMO has informed itself about the currently known changes and shows which weapons you should now choose a different barrel for and how the changes affect reloading.
Many weapons from Cold War now need different setups
Why do I need new setups? The barrels are important for the “Cold War” weapons in Warzone as they often increase bullet speed. The firearms from Modern Warfare often have an advantage here, leading many of the weapons from CoD MW to feel better in Warzone, as you can land hits at longer distances more easily.
We show you which barrel attachment you should now use for the strong “Cold War” weapons in Warzone according to the opinion of the CoD experts:
Groza Assault Rifle – 16.2″ GRU Composite
+ 72% bullet speed
FFAR 1 Assault Rifle – 19.5″ Special Operations
+ 51% bullet speed
Stoner 63 Light Machine Gun – 17.8″ Ulan
+ 80% bullet speed
M16 Tactical Rifle – 15.9″ Assault Team
+ 51% bullet speed
AUG Tactical Rifle – 18.2″ Assault Team
+ 113% bullet speed
DMR 14 Tactical Rifle – 17.1″ Ulan
+ 51% bullet speed
Bullfrog Submachine Gun – 7.4″ Special Operations
+ 76% bullet speed
MP5 (Cold War) Submachine Gun – 9.5″ Special Operations
+ 77% bullet speed
MAC-10 Submachine Gun – 5.9″ Special Operations
+ 77% bullet speed
As of now, at least 10 weapons have been changed in this way, which now have different values for their barrel attachments. The difference is particularly noticeable with the burst-fire rifles AUG and M16. Previously, the Titan barrel was the best choice, which now offers no bonus to bullet speed at all.
The two English videos from JGOD and TrueGameData on the subject can be found here:
Reload behavior of many “Cold War” weapons adjusted
How was the reloading changed? This change was once mentioned in the patch notes – the reloading of the weapons from Cold War now goes significantly faster than before the patch. However, this only applies if you empty the magazine of the gun completely and then reload.
The Warzone expert “TheXclusiveAce” has released a short English video on this, which you can watch here:
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Ace explains that many weapons from Cold War now reload significantly faster. If you previously had to wait for the entire animation to finish before the bullets were ready, you can now, for example, interrupt the reload with a sprint, saving you about half a second of reload time.
It is important to look at the bottom of the screen to see when the bullets are in the magazine. As soon as the number at the bottom shows the bullets in the magazine, you can interrupt the remaining animation and start shooting.
After this change, over 15 weapons from Cold War likely have a new reload behavior.
M16
FFAR 1
MAC-10
Many popular weapons from Cold War can now be reloaded faster.
Experts criticize poor patch communication
What is the problem with the Warzone patches? All three CoD experts mentioned in this article criticize the patch communication of Warzone as insufficient. They deal a lot with the values of the weapons and determine the concrete numbers based on elaborate testing procedures that often take several hours.
For them, it is outrageous that the patch notes never provide comprehensive hints about what adjustments have been made. They don’t even have to be the exact changes in percentages. However, a hint about the modified barrels, like in the reload animation, would have been sufficient.
TrueGameData states that the current patch has caused significant changes to the balancing of weapons from Cold War and says, “It’s crazy that this isn’t mentioned in the patch notes.”
Despite the many weapon changes, XclusiveAce does not believe this justifies the size of the update, which on some platforms reached almost 14 GB. He suspects that future content has already been added to the game, possibly even the new large map for the battle royale, which might be released in March for the one year anniversary of Warzone – Here you can find everything we know about the possible new map.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A Czech player was cheated out of selling a weapon skin in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. He was deprived of around 1,000 euros. The police in Pilsen have started an investigation.
A Czech player, on the other hand, found the rare knife skin Talon Knife | Fade. He agreed with the buyer on a price of 30,000 Czech crowns, which is equivalent to 1,163 euros.
However, the sale went wrong, and the buyer kept a large part of the money. The police are now investigating and have issued an official statement on the matter.
This weapon skin was the subject of the fraud.
Sale went wrong, police warns against online purchases
How did the sale happen? According to the police in Pilsen, the buyer and seller had agreed in advance that 4,000 crowns, about 155 euros, would be transferred upfront. Afterwards, the skin was to be sent, and the remaining money transferred.
But the second part of the transfer did not happen. The buyer kept the remaining 1,008 euros and did not get back in touch.
What exactly is the police doing? In a statement, the police announced that they have initiated criminal proceedings on suspicion of fraud and will continue to investigate the case (via policie.cz).
The official statement of the Pilsen police translated into English.
The fraudster could even face a prison sentence. Fraud against the property of another can, according to the Legislationonline website, be punished in the Czech Republic with up to 2 years of imprisonment.
The police also warns in the statement against buying or selling things online from strangers.
Why is this so interesting? The internet is seen by some users as a lawless space. Insults and fraud are a problem in online games and should be reported just like other crimes.
What can be done against crime in online games has been discussed by MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski with cyber criminologist Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger in a podcast:
Are the players of World of Warcraft spoiled? Cortyn from MeinMMO thinks “Yes,” because there is a lot of complaining.
With World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, it seems Blizzard has redeemed itself somewhat with the WoW fans. Even months after the release, players are still actively gaming, and according to the latest “Earnings Call,” more is being played than in comparable periods of other expansions. Nevertheless, WoW is never perfect, and not all players are ever happy.
However, what has been read as “whining” in recent weeks and months annoys me tremendously.
It’s about the claim that there is supposedly too little loot in WoW and that content doesn’t feel worthwhile as a result. There is allegedly too little loot from Mythic+, too little loot in raids, too few world quests with loot as rewards, and from all other sources as well. Except for PvP, where players seem to be happy.
Loot is currently rare – that’s why you are even happier when something drops.
However, I believe this is more of a perception problem than a real one.
In the past, there was less and it worked
I know it sounds like Grandpa and Grandma reminiscing about the war, but: Back in the days of Vanilla or “The Burning Crusade,” it was quite normal to go out with the raid group 2-3 times a week to tackle the raids. There were often several weeks in a row during which I received no upgrades. Weeks in which I did not get a new T-set item or had to participate with my blue quest reward from Netherstorm because others were ahead of me in the loot distribution.
It’s quite similar again right now. Since my raid group is relatively small with 10-15 people, we only get 2-3 loot items per boss. With 10 bosses, that means 20-30 items per week, averaging 1.5 items per player. Of course, statistics don’t always apply, some players go empty-handed, while others receive more. A large portion of the items is also no longer needed and is just sold to vendors.
But even if I should have terrible luck and go 4 weeks in a row without getting anything from the raid – it is impossible to come away completely empty-handed.
That’s taken care of by the Great Vault in Oribos.
Everyone can work on their own reward.
Once a week, I am guaranteed an item. The more I play and the harder the content, the greater the selection and the better the gear.
Yes, even at the Vault, you can have bad luck and only be offered “trash” one week. But the chance is there. And the very fact that there is a guaranteed item whose value you can also influence is pretty good and solves almost all problems.
Anyone who plays actively has surely opened their Great Vault 8 or 9 times already and has solid gear for almost half of all armor slots.
Once a week, you get an item from the vault. Guaranteed.
The social aspect would solve so much
I firmly believe that most people would benefit from finding a stable group or guild. With a fixed group, the significance of one’s own character diminishes, and a sense of community is created, which has a much more positive impact. The performance of one’s own character becomes secondary, while the overall result of the group takes center stage.
Sure, my shadow priest doesn’t deal more damage if our tank gets a better helm or our healer scores a new trinket.
For my individual DPS, it is completely irrelevant whether the rest of my group gets better.
Playing with a fixed group is much more fun – and you enjoy it more often.
Still, an effective tank and an even better healer is an upgrade for the whole group. It makes us more efficient as a team and advances us as a group.
After all, I play an MMORPG, and belonging to a stable group makes it possible to appreciate upgrades that other players receive. Because what benefits the group will ultimately also help me individually since harder content becomes achievable, which in turn attracts better loot – perhaps even for me.
Anyone who embraces the idea that every improvement from another player in the group is a win for the whole group can be 400% more joyful – as long as they can accept it.
Therefore, I can only recommend to everyone: Find yourself a group. Play with fixed people. It makes World of Warcraft better in every conceivable way.
Items gain significance again
However, with this controversial change to loot came a nice side effect. In Legion and Battle for Azeroth, it was often criticized that loot felt so arbitrary. You were constantly bombarded with items everywhere. Through additional bonuses like “Warforged” or the Corruption effects, every item could somehow become important. Everything was interchangeable, and anything could be an upgrade.
This is no longer the case. For the first time in many years, I have unconsciously started to remember the names of items I am keen on.
I know that my priestess is itching for the “Robes of the Cursed Commanders” from the generals of the Stone Legion.
I know that the “Ocarina of the Mistcaller” from Tirna Scithe has a cool group buff that our tank is keen on.
I know that “Endlessly Shareable Slime” drops in the Plaguefall and makes players run around with little slimes in tow.
Denathrius has the “Shroud of the Penitent” – I know this by heart because I want it.
This is already more than from both previous expansions combined, where I couldn’t name a single item my character wore. It didn’t matter. It was arbitrary because you were overwhelmed with loot that had no relevance.
There is criticism that I understand
One point of criticism that I can certainly understand is the difference in item level from the weekly chest compared to what is available at the end of a dungeon.
The reality is simply that the majority of players who can complete a dungeon with “Mythic +14” in time likely have little use for items with item level 207 – or only in exceptional cases.
In comparison, the weekly chest after completing a “M+14” provides an item with an item level of 226. This difference of 19 item levels is quite high and contributes to the completion of the dungeon often feeling unrewarding – and indeed for the entire group. It might help to lower this difference by about 10 levels, meaning: to increase the item level of loot from Mythic+ a bit.
The relation is also not optimal. In my opinion, completing a “M+15” within the time limit is significantly tougher than a large part of the bosses in Castle Nathria on heroic. Accordingly, the item level should at least match – but in no case should it be lower.
In summary, I am currently extremely happy with the loot situation in Shadowlands. I feel like I am consistently improving and can effectively do something to increase the chance of good loot.
Yes, I haven’t amassed my “Best in Slot” gear across the board in 4 weeks and can’t complain in the trade channel that there is “nothing to do.” But I can do without that. A pace for acquiring gear that aligns a bit more with the pace of the patches suits me just fine.
I also understand that the criticism likely comes from a small but loud segment of the player base. However, it is clear to me that Blizzard should not yield this time. Because the loot system needed to “shrink healthily” and has taken an important step in that direction. Even if this might not please some players in the short term.
In the depths of the ocean of GTA Online hovers a gigantic skeleton that was recently discovered. But where does it come from?
What kind of find is this? The player H4ckerxx44 encountered a creepy giant skeleton during a dive, floating in the depths of GTA Online. The skeleton looks like it could belong to a whale.
Where was the skeleton discovered? According to the player, he swam quite far out to sea and found it at these coordinates: X: 5667.83 Y: -6076.61 Z: -29.47. According to H4ckerxx44, the skeleton can only be found in GTA Online and not in single-player mode.
While similar examples have already been discovered on the seabed of GTA 5, they were found at the bottom and not floating freely in the depths. So how did the skeleton of the sea giant end up there? Players have wildly speculated via reddit.
The skeleton ominously hovers in the depths of the ocean. via reddit
“GTA Subnautica” hint or just a glitch?
What players suspect behind the floating skeleton: In the corresponding reddit post some (not so serious) ideas about the origin of the floating skeleton are circulating.
The user weiserthanyou3 suspects:
I am curious whether it is just an Easter egg, or a hint. GTA Online: Rise of the Leviathan (aka GTA Subnautica)
However, a less fantastic assumption is much more likely. This is related to the recently released Cayo Perico DLC . The floating skeleton is probably a glitch.
This indicates: In the same reddit post, numerous players write that the coordinates of the find are approximately where the island of Cayo Perico is likely to be. However, this island is only accessible via the Cayo Perico Heist, where you can earn more money than ever.
There is a lot to discover underwater around the island.
In the free mode of GTA Online, this island is not available. Nevertheless, it seems that some objects from the island are appearing in the sea.
H4ckerxx44 writes: “Short explanation: This skeleton is just a whale skeleton that can be found in the map of GTA 5. […] I assume I just swam far enough to be where the island [“Cayo Perico”, note of the rep.] spawns” (via reddit)
Other players also report similar finds around the suspected spawn point of Cayo Perico. Whale skeletons have also been found on the island itself. Therefore, this is likely the most probable explanation for the creepy find.
Have you also come across such curiosities? Share your experiences with us.
In Pokémon GO, on February 8, the raid hour with Suicune is taking place today. However, it didn’t work properly for the first players and the start times were missed.
What kind of event is this? Normally, raid hours in Pokémon GO take place on Wednesday evenings. However, this time Niantic has launched a special event that is supposed to give you all another chance at legendary raids with Suicune.
The countries where the raid hour has already taken place today report incorrect start times. So whether it will start on time here today remains to be seen.
What is happening today on February 8, 2021?
When does it start? As you are used to from raid hours, the event is supposed to start at 6:00 PM local time. For one hour, you can find many 5-star raids with Suicune at the gyms.
The best counters: To ensure you don’t make any mistakes during the raid hour today and defeat Suicune, we show you an overview with the best counters. It is advisable to use attackers of the Grass or Electric type, as these are particularly effective in battle against Suicune.
Pokemon
Attacks
Zekrom
Charge Beam Thunder Shock
Electivire
Thunder Shock Thunder Punch
Raikou
Volt Switch Thunder Shock
Zapdos
Thunder Shock Thunderbolt
Magnezone
Spark Charge Beam
Roserade
Razor Leaf Leaf Tornado
Venusaur
Vine Whip Flower Shield
Ampharos
Volt Switch Zap Cannon
Mega Gengar
Lick Shadow Ball
Cherrim
Razor Leaf Flower Shield
New Zealand and Australia with incorrect start times
What were the problems? Initially, the event started later due to the time difference in New Zealand. However, at 6:00 PM New Zealand time, there was still no sign of the raid hour. It took about 20 minutes after the scheduled start for the Suicune raids to appear.
On Reddit, user geocean writes, “Niantic messed it up for New Zealand again” and explains that Suicune only appeared in the gyms at 6:20 PM (via reddit).
Similar problems occurred for players in Australia. However, the event did not start late, but too early. In a screenshot from user Cosmicmooshroom in Sydney, you can see that at 5:43 PM, many Suicune raids have been active for minutes. You can find the screenshot on reddit.
What players are asking: After these events, some trainers are now wondering whether the upcoming raid hours will happen on time and whether there really will be Suicune raids in Germany at 6:00 PM today.
The new survival game Valheim (PC) is becoming a Steam hit thanks to high player numbers and very good reviews. The title is so well-received that it has even surpassed the survival giant ARK: Survival Evolved.
What is Valheim: The new survival game Valheim focuses on co-op rather than PvP and places you in a randomly generated game world where you, as a Viking, must fight the enemies of Odin. You start with nothing, which is typical for a survival game, and you must craft equipment and weapons from resources.
You can team up with up to nine other players to defeat the monsters and bosses in the world of Valheim together. You can build ships to reach islands and also construct buildings as a refuge and for defense. Essentially, it is a classic survival game, but with a Viking scenario and a focus on co-op gameplay. The trailer gives you a glimpse of the game:
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This is how Valheim is performing on Steam: The Steamcharts show (as of February 8 at 12 PM) a peak of 130,370 concurrent players. The ratings on Steam are at 96%.
Thus, Valheim has even managed to surpass the successful and popular survival game ARK. In the past 30 days, the peak player count for ARK was only “just” at 89,428 concurrent players (via Steamcharts). And the ratings on Steam are currently at 90%.
However, Valheim is still not catching up to the survival trend hit Rust. Rust currently has 244,394 players at its peak (via Steamcharts). Nevertheless, the success of the new Viking survival game with over 130,000 players shows that there is a chance to possibly catch up with Rust.
Although Valheim is still an Early Access title and the developers already have a whole range of new features planned, the survival game is already receiving very good feedback. This is partly due to the fact that the elements that are currently playable feel good and are fun.
Here are some positive reviews:
KENTOBi writes (via Steam): ‘A really beautiful, atmospheric survival game that provides a lot of fun both in co-op with friends and solo. Overall a great Early Access game that is already worth buying, but it can still get better.’
Cliffy says (via Steam): ‘Finally a survival game that is sometimes challenging but never too hard. You can take your time or play quickly, provided you know what to do. Co-op works great, just like solo play.’
Jerry explains (via Steam): ‘I had so much fun playing and I’m looking forward to many more hours and updates, as this has been the only game that has united our entire Discord channel in one game. Everyone found something to enjoy in this game, whether they like Vikings chopping down entire forests, living in a lonely forest hut, exploring a huge world, or fighting moose on crack.’
Straw Hat Adi is totally thrilled (via Steam): ‘Every day I consider quitting my job so I can play longer. Friends are no longer greeted with ‘Let’s play’ but only with a blunt: ‘Grinding?’ We are now in-game at day 60 plus and have no time to learn about the third boss since we are all just building. What I want to say is? Why are you wasting your time reading my comment? Buy the game!’
The few negative reviews on Steam criticize the graphics, which have a unique so-called “low-poly” style. Additionally, Valheim is said to be quite grind-heavy and there are still some technical issues here and there, for example, with hit detection in battles.
Here are some negative reviews:
Robulus Maximus says (via Steam): ‘Dude, this game is soooo weird. I don’t know… it doesn’t feel well-rounded. It has strange hitboxes, the spear has a ridiculous range, the first few hours it’s just a hunting grind… If you compare the game to Skyrim, Minecraft, or Terraria, it simply doesn’t hold up.’
Unpairedelectron01 writes (via Steam): ‘This game could be fun if you like games that look like they were developed in 1995. Absolutely terrible graphics. You move in third-person but it always takes ages to do something. Very grindy and some of the monsters can kill you with one hit.’
Merican Zealot would probably prefer a solo game (via Steam): ‘Valheim could be fun. But solo, everything stretches out so much and it has the same repetitive start as every other survival game. There isn’t enough to do, and you have no personal goals or friends to go on an adventure with. The first days are all about grinding and that’s a no-go. It could be good, just not when playing alone.’
This is how you play: You can get Valheim in the early access version via Steam. It costs 16.79 Euros.
Have you also had the opportunity to check out Valheim? What do you think of the game?
A fan of the online role-playing game Genshin Impact (PC, PS4, Mobile) has rebuilt the harbor city of Liyue Harbour as a model, investing about 1,000 hours into this project.
What kind of project is this? A Chinese player of the co-op RPG Genshin Impact set out to recreate the harbor city of Liyue Harbour. And in great detail. In a video, he shows you how he went about it.
The video, however, is in Chinese, but you can see well what he had to do and how the result looks. You can watch the video on the platform bilibili.
This is what Liyue Harbor from Genshin Impact looks like as a model.
1,000 hours for a Genshin Impact model
How much work is involved in the project? The player invested around 1,000 hours in the preparation and planning of the project, the design, 3D printing, and finally painting and setting up the models.
As you can see in the video, the city has been recreated down to the last detail. You can even see crates and barrels on the streets and the shingles on the roofs of the houses.
At first glance, it could simply be a video from the game. However, upon closer inspection, you can tell that it is a model.
What kind of city is it? Liyue Harbour is the capital of the Liyue nation. It was founded after the Archon War, when Rex Lapis led his people to the south of Mount Tianheng and established the harbor city there.
What does the model remind us of? The Japanese development studio Mistwalker is currently working on a new JRPG called Fantasian, which is scheduled to be released exclusively for Apple Arcade at least in 2021.
The special feature of the game is that all environments are created as models and then photographed. The characters move in modeled landscapes. This creates a unique and special atmosphere.
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Activision Blizzard has a huge cash cow: the brand “Call of Duty”. The model of the shooter franchise is now to be applied to its other major game series. This refers to Blizzard’s giant titles like Warcraft (WoW) or Diablo (Diablo IV, Diablo Immortal). But what exactly is this model supposed to look like?
This is what Activision Blizzard says: On February 4th, Activision Blizzard’s “Earning Call” took place. They reflected on the 4th quarter of 2020 and painted an even rosier future for investors.
One of the central sentences of the call was that Activision Blizzard is on thePath to “One Billion Players”is, the big goal of Bobby Kotick, the boss of Activision Blizzard.
To reach this magical number, they want to transfer the “model” of Call of Duty to their other major brands: This refers to Blizzard’s game series, Overwatch, Diablo, and Warcraft.
Kotick says about the “Call of Duty” model:
The process always starts with inspiration and creativity
They bring great games to all customers through Free2Play
offers an experience on mobile phones
regularly supplies the games with content and premium content
Bobby Kotick: The head of Activision Blizzard.
More Mobile, more Free2Play for Diablo and Warcraft
Which game series does Kotick have in mind? Kotick speaks of the 3 major franchises at Blizzard:
A free mobile version with Immortal is supposed to be coming for Diablo. This is intended to make Diablo successful worldwide. Diablo 4 is on the “horizon”. They expect a lot from the game in the coming years.
In Overwatch, they want to revitalize the community with Overwatch 2 and strengthen the player base on all platforms with “growth initiatives”.
From 3 billion-dollar franchises to 5 – Hello, Diablo
This is the goal: Activision Blizzard says that at the moment they have 3 game series that generated over a billion US dollars in revenue in 2020. These are apparently Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Candy Crush.
The goal is to bring two more franchises to that level in the coming years: They seem to have Diablo and Overwatch in mind.
This is what it’s about: The model of Call of Duty, which excites Activision Blizzard, is three-pronged:
With the annually released main part (2020: Cold War), they have a premium title that Activision Blizzard sells at full price
With CoD Warzone, they have a constantly active free “Games-as-a-service” title that is continually expanded
With CoD Mobile, they maintain a mobile spin-off that reaches a different audience
Here, synergy effects arise. The brand keeps growing, and they cover different markets. While “full-price titles” are popular in the USA, Europe, and among core gamers, mobile gaming is booming specifically in Asia, where not everyone has a console or gaming PC at home. Warzone then reaches casual players and others who are not regular Call of Duty players and for whom a “Cold War” is not an automatic must-buy.
In Warcraft, Activision Blizzard has tasted blood with WoW Classic and seen that having a second active game for Warcraft is truly worthwhile. However, the plan with “Warcraft 3 Reforged” backfired, as they sought to further expand the brand. Apparently, new mobile titles are now to come, which have been in development for ages.
Only for Overwatch is it still unclear how exactly Activision Blizzard wants to expand the franchise. It is only known that the team is working on Overwatch 2 which is supposed to have a stronger PvE focus than its predecessor. However, not much more is known yet.
Mike Morhaime represented the “good old days” at Blizzard.
New course from Activision leads to upheaval at Blizzard
Are there dissenting voices? This development, that Activision wishes for more games from Blizzard for their major brands, has been known for a long time from insider reports. Activision is allegedly pressing the gas, paying more attention to expenses, and demanding higher speed and efficiency from Blizzard. Blizzard is known for its philosophy “When it’s done” and traditionally wants to release games late, but polished. The new focus on results, efficiency, and speed has apparently led to some conflicts internally at Blizzard.
Blizzard’s core fans have reacted rather skeptically to this new path so far. They apparently want a focus on the respective “main titles” of the game series. The announcement of a “mobile Diablo” at BlizzCon 2018 was received horrendously. Fans had wished for the announcement of Diablo 4.
Destiny 2 bids farewell to Season 12 on February 9. You must say goodbye to tokens, bounties, and weapons. We clarify what is disappearing and how you can prepare for the Season of the Chosen.
That’s why the rush: The Season of the Chosen launches in Destiny 2 on February 9. This will smoothly replace the outgoing Season 12. The new Destiny chapter brings new loot and fresh activities for the Guardians to enjoy.
At the same time, many things will also disappear from the game. So that you are not suddenly caught off guard, but make optimal use of the last hours, we at MeinMMO have compiled a list of things you should do today.
We will clarify, among other things, such questions:
Bounties are disappearing – but which ones are exactly going away and why?
What about all your tokens and materials, and is it worth turning them in now?
Which weapons are retiring in Season 13?
This is the deadline: Season 13 starts, as usual, with the Weekly Reset, but before that, you must download Update 3.1.0. In preparation for this, the Destiny servers will go down on February 9 at 5 PM German time – that is your absolute deadline.
These tokens must go: Bungie confirmed again (via Bungie.net) that only your Crucible tokens from your inventories and vaults will disappear at the start of Season 13. Your Iron Banner tokens are not mentioned and should be safe.
Depending on the number of tokens you have collected, it can be a pretty long and tedious task to redeem all those tokens with Lord Shaxx.
Between the hot phases when you turn in tokens in batches of 10, trips to the Postmaster and your inventory are necessary to break down many of the items.
You will receive a huge amount of Legendary Shards, Upgrade Modules, and surely a god roll or two.
The materials belong to the locations that have moved into the Content Vault with Beyond Light and have no value from Season 13 onwards. You should exchange them now with Banshee-44 in the Tower or Spider in the Tangled Shore. After February 9, no NPC will want these resources anymore, and only Spider should give you some Glimmer, but significantly less than currently.
Preparing for the level phase in the Season of the Chosen
With Season 13, the maximum Power Level of your equipment rises to 1,310. Currently, the upper limit is 1,260 (without artifact). This is not as significant a jump as at the start of Beyond Light, but the last levels are drawn out and can only be achieved with pinnacle loot.
That’s why you should go to Banshee: The gunsmith Banshee-44 in the Tower always offers upgrade materials. If you don’t know where to spend your Glimmer and still have planetary materials to turn in, you should invest here. Especially upgrade modules go like hotcakes during the leveling phases.
Invest your planetary materials in useful upgrade modules
If your Guardian is as poor as a church mouse, it’s not the end of the world. In the next season pass (including in the Free2Play lane), many resources can be found in the early tiers that will make infusing and upgrading equipment easier for you.
Should I exploit the old season pass?
What to do with the remaining content from the Season 12 pass is a hot topic:
Some say: Get everything from the pass now! The highlights are: Legendary Armor with high stat values, the Ascendant Shard, and Exotic Engrams.
Others say: Leave the stuff in and “save” it for Season 13. In the new season, you can still claim your items and will have more current gear. However, you need to go to the Bungie.net website: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/Seasons/PreviousSeason.
None of these options are wrong. It all depends on whether you want and need the items right away or whether you are well-equipped at the start of Season 13. Just remember the second option, and don’t forget your earned items entirely.
The season pass from the Season of the Chosen also offers resources
Are bounties worth it? Many Guardians hoard completed bounties to redeem them in the new season. The experience benefits the fresh season pass and the artifact. Bungie has been steadily reducing this preparation method over the last few years – and it continues in Season 13.
Many weekly bounties will disappear as Destiny 2 transitions to the new challenge system starting in Season 13. Therefore, these bounties will vanish into thin air on February 9 and will not return:
Strikes
Crucible
Gambit
Gunsmith
Crow (all bounties)
Is it worth collecting daily or repeatable bounties? To some extent, as they provide significantly less experience than weekly ones. In the past, bounties transferred from one season to the next negatively impacted the power level of the rewards.
Therefore, we would recommend not putting in too much effort here. Your current Iron Banner bounties seem to be keepable, but at your own risk.
Say goodbye to 22 weapons and more tasks
With the start of Season 13, sunsetting and weapon retirement will again become relevant. 22 weapons from the Saint-14 era (Season 9) will no longer be able to compete in current activities.
Those suffering from chronic vault space shortage can part with these weapons. Alternatively, you can still use them in the regular Crucible or run them in low-level content.
Get some war loot: Even for solo players without raid experience, a trip to the Deep Stone Crypt raid is worthwhile.
At least the first chest from the Deep Stone Crypt can be looted alone in a few minutes.
You will only gather 10 Conqueror loot per character, but you just need to enter the raid and do some sparrow driving.
This way, you will eventually have enough resources to obtain powerful Exotics like Anarchy without ever defeating a raid boss.
Currently, looting is still very easy, who knows how long this will last. So make use of this: Here, MeinMMO explains to you how to easily get to the raid chest solo.
Season 13 brings weapons in the Cabal style
What’s still to come before Season 12 ends
Claim titles: If you earned the two prestigious titles “Flawless” (Trials) and “Conqueror” (Grandmaster) in Season 12, make sure to claim them. If you miss this, you will have to unlock the titles again in the next season. Since the title system is being revised, many Guardians will eventually do this anyway.
Cash in your rewards: Some content from Bungie Rewards can no longer be claimed. The expiration date has mostly been set to February 12. So if you’re eyeing a Hawkmoon replica, shirts, or other goodies from the store, you need to hurry.
Secure rocket launchers: As mentioned in our article “6 things you should do in Season 12 before it ends“, you should get a good rocket launcher. Power weapons will receive a 30% buff, and swords will be weakened by 15%.
If you reach Gambit rank 2, a very good roll of “Bad Omen” is waiting for everyone to purchase from the Drifter. Otherwise, “Under Zero Salvo” from the Europa arsenal (Variks) could be a real hidden gem.
Have you done everything and are you well prepared for the new Season 13? Or are you taking it easy and starting the next Destiny chapter relaxed? If you have any additional tips for your fellow Guardians, feel free to share them in the comments.
A developer of League of Legends has explained that the “Jungle” position is currently too influential in LoL. Therefore, with patch 1.14, there are some changes that will make the Jungle less important for the game.
This is the Jungle in LoL: League of Legends is essentially a pure PvP game: 5 players fight against 5 others. However, there are some NPC mobs that spawn regularly. Killing them gives money, experience points, and important buffs.
These mobs are located in fixed camps in the “Jungle” between the lanes: The player who kills them professionally is the Jungler.
What is the problem? According to Riot Games, the position has become “too important” in LoL in recent months. It has “too much influence” on the game.
This was evident at Worlds 2020, where a “Carry Jungle” meta emerged. In this meta, the Jungler is the team’s main damage source.
At Worlds 2020, the Jungler from world champion DAMWON Gaming, Canyon, dominated the competition with aggressive picks like Graves and was even named MVP of the finals.
The clip shows Canyon’s stats at Worlds 2020. He was simply number 1 in everything:
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Here are the upcoming changes: The design chief of LoL, Mark “Scruffy” Yetter, announced on Twitter what changes will affect the Jungle in patch 11.4: The Jungle will give less gold and experience.
4 camps are affected by the changes:
The big frog Gromp and the Raptors from Razerbeak will give less experience, each 10 gold less, and their HP will increase by 100.
The “Stonebeasts”, the Krugs, are also hit by the nerf: Soon there will be less gold and experience points, but at least the HP will remain the same.
This is the reaction: Fans are actively discussing the change. It is believed that the change will primarily force Junglers in LoL to go back “into the lanes” and seek ganks.
In the current meta, it was apparently possible for Junglers to avoid ganks and only level in the Jungle to shine later in team fights where they could exploit their power advantage:
Some oppose the change. They say: No wonder nobody plays Jungle when you make it so unattractive. Even if the Jungler is strong, it would still be an unpopular role. Something needs to change here.
Other LoL players welcome the change. They say: The Jungle nerf is necessary because currently every game is decided by the “Jungle Gap”: Who has the better Jungler wins.
Riot Games has already hinted that they want to strengthen the Midlane in the next patch.
Tyler1
The largest Twitch streamer for LoL is Tyler1. He is a trained ADC but has complained terribly about Junglers and said: It is the easiest role in LoL but played by no-talents. He then set himself the goal of climbing to the highest ranks in the role that was new to him.
Next Wednesday, February 10, EA will release the new TOTW 20 (Team of the Week) in FIFA 21 Ultimate Team. But which players could be part of the Team of the Week?
What is the Team of the Week? Every week, EA assembles a new TOTW. This team consists of 23 players who stood out during the football weekend with goals, assists, and strong performances.
For this, they receive a spot in the Team of the Week as well as upgraded Inform cards that can be found in packs for a week in packs .
These are TOTW Predictions: Every week the FUT community tries to guess which players might make it into the TOTW. The performances of the players are closely examined, and predictions are made.
However, it is important to note that the predictions are not a guarantee for the final TOTW 20.
They provide an excellent overview and can also be used to earn some coins in FUT 21. How this works can be found here:
These Bundesliga players could be seen in the new TOTW:
Angeliño had a strong game against Schalke 04 and contributed 2 assists to the 3-0 victory. This could finally earn the Spaniard his first Inform card in FUT 21.
Elvis Rexhbecaj scored 2 goals in the win against Borussia Mönchengladbach. A fantastic performance that could be rewarded with a TOTW card.
Kerem Demirbay played a key role in the 5-2 victory of Leverkusen against VfB Stuttgart. In the end, he was able to score 2 goals.
There should finally be larger supplies of the PlayStation 5 this week. We at MeinMMO will tell you the current status and what to watch for in the coming days.
When will the PS5 be available for purchase? So far in 2021, there have been no major offers, but only small isolated sales. However, that should change this week.
Although the overall supply is expected to be large, it still will not be enough for all interested buyers. According to Gameswirtschaft, 3 million units are expected to be sold in the first quarter of 2021 (by the end of March). In 2020, 4.5 million PS5 consoles were delivered to players.
To maximize your chances of purchasing a PS5, we will tell you what to watch for in the coming days.
When will consoles be available? The PS5 is often offered for sale in the morning and around noon. Therefore, you should keep an eye out particularly between 8:00 and 11:00 and at Amazon also at noon from 13:00 to 15:00.
In the afternoon and especially in the evening, there are usually no new offers. Only technical problems occasionally caused shops to offer their goods later than planned.
These shops you should watch: Also in February, PS5 sales are likely to take place only online. Additionally, you cannot order directly from Sony. The largest retailers for German customers are:
Alternate
Amazon
Euronics
Expert
Otto
MediaMarkt
Saturn
GameStop
Medimax
Spielegrotte
Conrad
Cyberport
It may also be worthwhile to install the apps of the respective providers in addition to the desktop version to increase your chances. A customer account is also helpful, as it reduces the time needed for orders.
Warcraft 3: Reforged recently turned one year old. But somehow, everyone seems to have forgotten – even Blizzard.
Yes, the story of Warcraft III: Reforged is certainly not a shining moment for Blizzard. Even over a year after the release, the remaster of the strategy classic looks bad. In fact, it seems like they completely forgot the birthday and don’t even celebrate the game with any goodies for the company’s anniversary. After all, Reforged turned one year old on January 28, 20201. What is going on with Warcraft III: Reforged?
Is the game still alive? Particularly bitter for the remaining players is that Warcraft III: Reforged does not seem to appear as if it is still being supported by the developer. Anyone browsing the “News” section for current games in the Blizzard launcher sees the last entry for WC3 from August 27, 2020. That was nearly half a year ago.
“Current news” – from August 2020.
The last patch, which mainly fixed minor issues, was released in October 2020. Since then, there has been silence.
Nothing for the anniversary: Another negative point is that Blizzard seems to have simply “forgotten” about Warcraft III: Reforged, as it is not supported like an active game. At least that is suggested by the current anniversary package released by Blizzard to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary. Players can buy digital goodies here for up to €60, spread across all major titles like WoW, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Diablo 3, or even the now-completed StarCraft II and remaster of StarCraft 1.
However, Warcraft 3: Reforged is missing here. There are no goodies for this game. It would have been suitable for Reforged, as there is a system for alternative skins or player avatars. The fact that absolutely none of this is included in the anniversary package, as if the game has been simply swept under the rug, is a bad sign.
Is there still work being done on it? This is not entirely clear. A few days ago, there was news that the team behind Warcraft 3: Reforged was disbanded and reassigned to other projects. A new team is now taking care of the “remaster” games, former employees of Vicarious Visions. Whether they will continue to work on Warcraft III: Reforged or focus entirely on other projects like the rumored remaster of Diablo 2 remains to be seen.
Whether Blizzard can still turn things around with Warcraft III: Reforged remains to be seen. It would be desirable for the game to be revised and improved, since Warcraft is firmly part of the company’s DNA. It would be regrettable if this game were to be quietly buried.
What do you all think? Do you believe that Blizzard will revive the game?
The player was just in his landing approach with his glider. Suddenly, he releases the glider and crashes to the ground. The replay shows that it was the Mandalorian who shot the player out of the air.
That’s why it’s so nasty: The match hadn’t even started properly yet, and it was already over for the Reddit user unless his teammate revived him.
What’s nasty about it is that you can’t defend yourself. Right at the beginning, you don’t have a weapon and are generally defenseless in the air. Moreover, the Mandalorian fired a shot that was immediately fatal. So there was no chance to react and dodge incoming shots.
What you should pay attention to: To avoid becoming a victim of the Mandalorian, you should not land too close, but rather keep some distance. So if you see him from the air, fly a wide circle around the Mandalorian.
There is currently also stress about a skin in Fortnite. It is said to give unfair advantages. More information can be found here:
MeinMMO author Philipp Hansen finally got his PS5. However, he is struggling to add a friend and shares his story of suffering so that you have it easier.
That’s why I should be happy: My PS5 was ordered back in September 2020, paid for, and awaited. I’ve only been a proud owner since January 2021. And honestly, I didn’t even expect that.
Of course, the joy was immense, and I really hope that all waiting pre-orderers and interested parties will soon manage to get their delivery as well. My gaming experience has noticeably improved.
Since then, I’ve finally been experiencing buttery smooth FPS and noticeably faster loading times as a hardcore console gamer. What PC gamers might scoff at is an eye-opener for me.
The “horrible stuttering” of the past – which was just a few weeks ago – I can only imagine as torture after a short time.
Now I’m shooting and fighting my way through the prettier next-gen versions of Destiny 2 or God of War and I am very positively surprised.
What is my problem now? It’s about the unnecessarily complicated menus. But not in general. Specifically, I’m talking about the function to add a new friend.
Despite my casual 25 years of gaming experience, most of which I spent on consoles, I suddenly felt like a helpless idiot. I want to share this experience with you and help ensure you don’t have to go through what I did.
What other problem, which I can relate to, my colleague Sven Galitzki has with the PlayStation 5, you can read here:
This was the specific situation of my failure: In Destiny 2 a cool mission surprisingly went live: It’s quite difficult and designed for team play, but it offers no automatic player search. The clan roster was empty late at night, so I grabbed the official Destiny app, because it has a useful LFG tool (Looking for Group).
And lo and behold, my created group with the requirement “No microphone needed, just play Omen” (in the original English) was filled within seconds. And I was already clearing space in my inventory for the new loot. Unfortunately, the app occasionally has its problems, and none of my found teammates could be invited via mobile. So, I received notifications like “Invite me!” or “Add me on PSN”.
Is making friends so hard? It shouldn’t be that difficult. Just search for the person on the PS5 and add them. But however I turned it, I simply couldn’t find the function for that.
With a key press, I saw friends who were online, playing other games, but nowhere was there anything like “New friends” or “Search players”.
I found parties of old acquaintances, and the “Game Base” only spoke of parties. Here you can search, but I didn’t want to create a chat.
A jump to the home screen doesn’t show any friends anymore, unlike on the PS4.
More and more often, my smartphone rang with notifications that a user had left my team. Not surprisingly, the mission was new, and many wanted to play it, not wait for a fool like me.
That really put pressure on me – which didn’t improve the situation.
Why not so easy? I felt sorry for having ripped the good PS4 so smoothly. No matter if PlayStation button or home screen – it boldly states “Friends” each time, and a key press jumps to the screen, where a magnifying glass is directly shown at the top, and the search function connects me to the rest of the world.
The PS5 can surely still learn a trick or two from its predecessor
I had to do it: Then I did what I had dreamed of and grabbed my smartphone. I typed into the search engine “How do I add friends on the PS5?”
And lo and behold, I’m not such a big idiot after all. Others also had the same question and wondered about the nested menu structure. After some research, I was finally able to fill my team with new friends and complete the mission in Destiny 2 – but somehow that left its mark.
Adding friends on the PS5 – Here’s how
So that you don’t have to go through the effort of searching for it yourself, I’m providing you here with the result of my friend-search-adventure:
Time required: 1 minute.
Add friends on PlayStation 5
Press PlayStation button
Press the PlayStation button in the middle of the controller
Select Game Base
Select “Game Base” in the bottom menu (The icon with 2 people, next to the bell)
Option 1
Press the options button (3 lines next to the triangle button) and select “Go to Game Base”
Option 2
Navigate all the way down and click on “Show all friends”
Enter Name
Enter the gamertag/name of the new friend in the “Search” field on the right
Add Friend
Select their profile and press “Add Friend” at the top (just below their name) – then send the request with “Send”
I hope and think that Sony will improve here. How was your start with the PlayStation 5? Did years of habit trip you up, do you have a similar “luxury problem” or have you had no issues transitioning to the next-gen? What features do you think Sony should improve? Let me know in the comments.
Building a secure base in Rust can be very complex and time-consuming. MeinMMO shows you how to build a secure base in no time. Our author Florian Franck received support from MeinMMO reader “PaTToN”, a Rust veteran who has played over 1,000 hours of Rust since 2020.
The guide shows you how to build a base as a solo player or as a duo. The layout is compact to keep upkeep as low as possible. The larger you build your base, the higher the upkeep, which means the costs to maintain the base.
In addition to the actual construction of the base, you should note some important points beforehand. If you follow these steps, you can swing the hammer and construct the site into your own home.
The best places for your base
For your own base, you need resources. You should also carry enough food and water with you. We will explain in detail which resources you need. You will also learn why the location of the base is extremely important and why you should take your time when searching.
This is what you need for your base: Two resources are essential when building a base in Rust: wood and stone. You need about 10,000 pieces of both so you can fully concentrate on the construction. You need wood for the foundation, which initially consists of twigs. The stones are needed to upgrade the foundation, walls, and roofs.
How to find the right location for your base: When searching for a suitable location for the base, several factors play a role. Check if all the conditions of the following checklist are met:
There are no cliffs or rocks in the immediate vicinity
A river or freshwater lake is reachable within two minutes
There are edible plants or wild boars in the immediate vicinity
The location is not in close proximity to an NPC camp
The location is not in sight of another base
The location is not in a snow or desert biome
Other players do not walk past or fly over the base on their way to the oil rig
Why the checklist is important in PvP: On a PvE server, you can build your base freely without needing to pay attention to all the points on the checklist. On such a server, it is important that water and food are accessible and you have enough space for building. In PvP, however, you should adhere to the points mentioned above. Aside from the obvious reasons, such as having enough space to build and food sources nearby, your base in PvP should not be discovered by chance.
NPC camps are often visited by other players because they have shops. Larger groups and clans frequently roam the snow biome as more and especially higher quality resources can be found there. A small base is a found distraction on a loot tour and is often raided.
A good neighborhood is rare in Rust. For this reason, you should not build your base within sight of other dwellings. You can see the locations of the oil rigs on the map. These are popular destinations in the endgame. If players are on their way there, they often attack bases along the way. As a solo player or in a small group, these attacks can become tiring quickly.
In addition to the right location for the base, you should also be clear about how the base will look like before you start building. As a solo player or in a small group, you should build as space-saving as possible, as the maintenance costs for the base depend on its size.
In this guide, we will go into one of many different variants and explain it in detail.
The YouTuber “Evil Wurst” showcases many more layouts for bases in Rust on his channel. He goes into great detail about each design. An example of a layout can be found in the following video:
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This guide is about a more compact and smaller base that can also be built quickly by beginners and is well secured at the same time.
This is how the construction begins: First, place two square foundations as a base and add a rectangular foundation on the longer side. On the outside of the rectangle, place a doorframe; this will later be the entrance to your base.
The foundation for a secure base in Rust is laid.
A doorframe is also placed on the longer side of the rectangle. This is the first step for a later airlock. This airlock provides you with additional protection against hostile players.
Place walls from the inside in the remaining corners. In Rust, walls have a soft and hard side. The soft side gives in faster under attacks. Make sure the hard side is facing outwards. If you place the walls from the foundations, the reinforced side will automatically face outward.
The difference between a hard and soft side stone wall.
Start directly with upgrading the structures: Once the layout of your new home is set, you should immediately begin upgrading the structures. Look at the structures with the hammer in hand and perform an upgrade with stone.
Next, place the doors in the airlock. The entrance door should be placed inward. The second door is installed from the inside of the base. Secure the doors immediately with a combination lock. Set a code right away and make sure the red light is on. The green light indicates that the door is open to everyone – and you definitely want to avoid that in Rust.
Example of an airlock for the base in Rust
Once the doors are in place, put down floors to secure the roof. These should also be upgraded with stone once placed. Only at this point is your base secured for the beginning.
The resource cupboard goes in the corner: The resource cupboard (english “Tool Cupboard”) is placed in the corner of the base. Secure this with a combination lock and assign a code immediately. Otherwise, other players can gain direct access to the cupboard and also build in this area.
This is how you can build on two levels inside: To build a rectangular floor at half height inside, you first need to place a rectangular foundation outside. On this, place half-height walls and a floor. Then you can place a rectangular floor on the inside. This allows you to place chests on two levels for more storage space.
The double roof: To ensure that attackers do not have to destroy only one wall to enter your base, additional reinforcements are needed. Place half-height walls and more floors on the roof. If someone tries to break into your base from the roof, they will have to destroy two floors at this point.
With this technique, attackers must destroy two walls to enter your base.
Two walls at every point: Place triangular foundations around your base. The point of the triangle should always face away from the base. Place walls there and do not forget to upgrade all foundations and walls with stone. Additionally, place floors on the walls. This way, attackers always have to destroy two walls to reach your home. When building the outer walls, be sure that the hard side faces outwards.
Left hard side, right soft side stone wall. Make sure that the hard side faces outwards when placing.
Optional ways to enhance the entrance area: The entrance area can be additionally expanded with a triangular foundation. This is useful if you want to create a shopfront for trading with other players or place a research station. This area is also secured with a door. You will not gain additional protection unless the attacking team really wants to blow through three doors. Most teams commonly use C4, which is one of the strongest items in Rust. The third door is also placed inward. This way, you have built another airlock.
Building out the Rust base from the inside
Once your base is secured from the outside, start the interior construction. Place the chests in the back corner of your base, also utilizing the rectangular floor placed at half height. Placing the chests can be a bit tricky, but in the end, you will have sufficient storage space and make optimal use of the base’s area.
Sleeping bag, workbench, campfire and furnace: There is enough space next to the door to place a workbench. Opposite the door, you can place two furnaces and a campfire. Place the sleeping bags opposite the workbench next to the chests. If you use the space well, you can fit two sleeping bags in the base.
If you follow these steps, you will have a secure base in Rust and can survive as a duo or solo player.
Esports has been growing for years and is becoming more professional. The best example is League of Legends, which set a viewer record in 2019 and held a World Championship in 2020 despite Corona. However, not every game manages such success. What makes LoL different?
This is the situation: Esports is now a huge market and continues to grow:
According to Statista, about 223 million people enthusiastically watched esports in 2020, while another 272 million tuned in irregularly.
The revenue around esports increased by 15.7% in 2020 to 1.1 billion dollars. The forecast is rising (via Newzoo). This is also due to the fact that more and more online games are hosting tournaments and attracting sponsors and advertisers.
The biggest games in terms of viewer numbers and prize money are LoL, DOTA 2, and Fortnite. However, they differ significantly in their style and the implementation of their tournaments.
While LoL has grown with esports and has become increasingly professional, Fortnite has particularly tried to force tournaments by offering high prize money. DOTA 2 also has prize pools that are significantly higher relative to viewer numbers and the structure of the tournaments compared to LoL.
What is the situation with LoL? League of Legends has a well-organized pro scene. There are clear leagues in various regions that take place in spring and summer. These leagues are held offline, so teams meet in person and play against each other (due to Corona, however, everything is currently being held online).
The best teams from each region are then sent to a World Championship in the fall. There, the strongest team in the world is determined.
The massive events are sponsored by well-known brands such as MasterCard, Bose, Mercedes, Red Bull, or KIA. With the luxury brand Louis Vuitton, skins and merchandise have even been created. The entire structure resembles professional sports, where sponsors also play an important role.
In LoL, there are superstars like Faker, who are known worldwide.
The 2020 final is said to have been watched by 45.95 million people at its peak (via Sportsvideo.org). For comparison: About 160 million people watched the Super Bowl in 2019 at its peak (via Statista).
Overall, more than 1 billion hours of LoL were watched live during Worlds 2020. The replays were not counted.
But even the general league operations attract massive numbers of viewers. An average of 231,000 people watched the first LEC weekend from January 22nd to 24th. This was a new record for the European league.
LoL tournaments impress with their event character: Another distinctive feature of League of Legends is the event character of the tournaments.
The World Championship, except for 2020, has filled huge arenas and not only offered exciting matches but also a special feature every year.
In 2014, the band Imagine Dragons performed with their song Warriors. In 2018, Riot Games brought the virtual band K/DA to life on stage. The opening ceremonies of the LoL Worlds somewhat resemble the halftime shows that occur during the Super Bowl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36dx0wpLtmU
What is LoL doing for the next generation? In addition to the pro league, there are numerous amateur and youth leagues and tournaments. In Germany, for example, there is the Prime League, which is just below the LEC.
There, teams like Gamerlegion, Mousesports, and second teams from major organizations like Schalke 04 Prime and SK Gaming Prime compete. Players from these teams regularly make the jump to the pro scene.
In addition to these established leagues, there are thousands of amateur tournaments and also the 5v5 ranking system, where teams can prove themselves.
LoL has “low” prize money at the World Championship
As prize money for the World Championship, there was with 2.5 million dollars last year the lowest amount since 2013. But for many players, this prize money is not necessarily what matters:
In the LoL leagues, teams are committed to a minimum compensation for every registered player.
Through advertising deals, players earn additional money.
Most pros are active on Twitch/YouTube and have considerable viewer numbers due to their fame.
Even in league operations, there are prize pools that are distributed during the season. The pros also earn a share from them.
Fortnite creates e-sports out of necessity, has high prize money
This is the situation with Fortnite: While in LoL mainly teams with big names and sponsors in the background take part, in the Fortnite Champion Series, there were also players who had no organization behind them:
There is no classic league system like in LoL. Instead, one could qualify for solo and duo tournaments in regional online events.
Over 40 million players are said to have participated in the qualifications (via NYTimes).
How many watch Fortnite? The finale of the World Cup 2019 was watched by 2.33 million people at its peak (via ESports Charts), excluding viewers from China and smaller streaming services. However, the number of viewers from China is likely to be significantly lower as Fortnite is primarily successful in the West.
Looking at the tournament winners, only 6 Asian players were in the final 100. This is rather unusual for esports, which are often dominated by Chinese or Korean teams in international tournaments.
What is the problem with Fortnite? The entire tournament series seemed somewhat hastily put together because Fortnite is not a classic esports game:
There is no balanced situation on the battlefield and too many variables that can lead to elimination.
While in CS:GO, DOTA, and LoL, personal skill is essential, in Fortnite, it is wiser to keep out of everything to survive as long as possible.
Additionally, illegal collusions are possible regarding who lands where and whether they do not attack each other. This is much easier to manage for individual players and harder to trace than in 5v5 matches in LoL or other games. Even collusions have been accused against the world champion.
Fortnite has also significantly reduced its prize money since then. While there were still 30 million dollars in 2019, only 3 million were played for in 2020. For 2021, no prize money was announced at all.
This is particularly difficult for Fortnite pros because they do not have structured leagues and income. Although some esports organizations provide youth development, it is not supported by Epic itself.
Dota 2 also attracts with large sums but gets fewer viewers
This is the situation in DOTA 2: There are also similarly large sums for tournaments as in Fortnite. Valve hosts “The International” every year. This is effectively the World Championship. One can qualify by participating in certain tournaments held throughout the year. These tournaments also take place offline.
The most striking aspect of “The International” is the prize pool. It started at 1.6 million in 2019 and was then driven up by community crowdfunding. Overall, the prize pool was 33.3 million.
The team OG won The International in 2019. As a reward, they received 15.6 million dollars in prize money.
How many watch Dota 2? The most-watched event in Dota 2 is The International 2019 with 1.97 million viewers at peak (via ESports Charts). Again, viewers from China and certain smaller platforms are excluded.
Even though the prize pool is larger, only about half as many viewers watch the tournament.
The event with the second most viewers, The International 2018, only had 1.21 million peak viewers and therefore lags behind some regional championships in LoL.
What is the problem with DOTA 2? Even though DOTA 2 has larger prize pools, significantly fewer viewers tune in in the end.
Additionally, DOTA 2 lacked traditional leagues for a long time, which resulted in viewers being able to watch regularly and on the same channels. The leagues were only introduced in 2021 but are somewhat smaller than those in LoL (via Liquipedia).
This is what makes LoL so successful: LoL manages to create the most professional impression despite the relatively small prize pools:
The league system can become a routine for viewers. Thus, one can admire their favorite team every weekend, similar to how it is done in Bundesliga.
Because Riot Games oversees the leagues, professional contracts and compensation are now being taken into consideration.
There are leagues for youth development and official amateur tournaments.
The final of the World Championship has an event character comparable to large sports events.
One has the feeling that events improve year after year.
Other titles like CS:GO, FIFA, or Smite cannot compete, despite being actively involved in esports as well. The closest competitor to LoL is DOTA 2, which, however, lags slightly behind its big brother.
How is esports evolving in general? While the three games presented here dominate in the West, mobile games have been gaining popularity among the overall viewers in recent months.
After the world championships in 2019 and 2020 in LoL, the PUBG Mobile Championship currently occupies 3rd place in the ranking for the most simultaneous viewers (via ESports Charts).
To concede as few goals as possible in FIFA 21, you should defend strongly. Here are some tips on how to make defending in FIFA 21 more effective.
How important is defending? Of course, you can try to score as many goals in FIFA 21 as possible so that the opponent doesn’t have enough chances to defeat you. It doesn’t matter if the opponent scores 20 goals as long as you have one more. But the reality looks different.
Usually, matches are closely contested, and every single goal can decide victory or defeat. That’s why it’s important to have a good defense and to prevent goals. Even a few simple tips can help elevate your defensive game to a new level.
In FIFA 21, just like in FIFA 20, you have to do quite a bit for the defense yourself and cannot rely on AI defending. However, every action you take should be well thought out because a mistake can allow the opponent to gain space easily and, in the worst-case scenario, suddenly be free in front of the goal.
Defend with the midfield
To intercept the opponent early, you should start in the midfield by stopping the offensive players from the other side. If your opponent has the ball and is on the way into your half, use your midfielder to close passing lanes and possibly win the ball early through a tackle.
Players like Goretzka are offensively useful but also hold it together at the back
Which values are important? You should have at least one central midfielder with the necessary physical and defensive attributes to be an obstacle for your opponent. A good pace value and sufficient stamina should also be present to keep up with fast strikers for as long as possible.
Keep the center-backs in the defensive line
This tip arises from the first and is crucial. Because: If you manually rush a center-back from your defensive line forward to intercept an opponent, you take a risk. If the opponent uses one or two strong skill moves, your center-back can suddenly be outplayed – leaving you vulnerable at the back. Then, in the worst case, your opponent is only in front of the goalkeeper and can act freely.
How to do better: Use your center-backs more passively and attack the opponent with midfield players. Only at the last moment should the center-back be brought into play if there’s no other way.
In FIFA 21, there is a defensive mechanic that is more essential than in previous years: auto-blocks. This means that your players, depending on their values, block shots quite reliably on their way if they are in the flight path of the ball.
If you have many players standing in front of the goal, your opponent has to find a gap through which they can take a shot. If your center-backs are in the way, there is a good chance that even strong shooters will fail against your defenders’ blocks. Positioning is crucial here: It may be worthwhile to place the center-back more in the potential shot path instead of going for a tackle.
In FIFA 21, the timing of a tackle is extremely crucial. If you attack too hastily or too late, you probably won’t win the ball. Rather, you might cause a penalty, free kick or let the opponent pass by. Patience is required.
Wrong timing can lead to fouls
How to defend passively: You must pay close attention to the opponent and their movements. You challenge the opponent in a duel until the right moment. This means: You take your defending player and press the L2/LT and R2/RT buttons. Now your player moves with side steps and covers the passing and running paths. Now the opponent has only the option to outsmart you with a clever trick – which isn’t that easy – or to pass the ball.
Use the right stick
Normally, you switch the active player with the L1/LB button. However, you can also use another input: the right stick. Depending on the direction you push, you can actively select the player you want. This gives you the opportunity to get exactly the player you need for a defensive maneuver instead of switching with L1/LB through possibly poorly positioned players.
Defensive tactics
If you generally have problems in defense, you should give your players some defensive instructions.
Tactical instructions for your players determine how they behave on the pitch
You should always align them according to your own style of play, but some that have proven effective include:
“Stay back while attacking” for the full-backs, who otherwise would join the offensive.
“Stay back while attacking” or “Drop back into defense” for one of your central midfielders. This strengthens the defense instead of focusing on moving forward.
“Cover center” for CDM/CAM: Using this instruction, your CDMs will not focus on winning the ball in the wide areas, but will cover the central area directly in front of the goal. Especially when you want to intercept opponents who may shoot early or draw through the middle, this instruction is worthwhile.
The Season 13, starting on February 9, is now bringing back 9 of these catalysts that have been unreachable since November 2020 into the game. MeinMMO will tell you which Exotics can finally enjoy their final form again and what bonus each Masterwork grants you.
Why hunt catalysts? The special Exotics naturally awaken the collecting instinct in Guardians. Some of them can be elevated to a higher level with a masterwork catalyst.
An Exotic with a catalyst can generate orbs – these recharge your Super and are needed for the powerful mechanism “Charged with Light”.
Additionally, each Exotic receives individual bonuses such as an extra perk or significantly increased stats.
Many Guardians see perfecting the Exotics as a rewarding and appreciated task.
New players or Guardians who took a break have so far had no chance to give some of their exotic weapons the final polish and have faced a weaker version of the Exotics compared to veterans.
All returnable masterwork catalysts from Season 13
Exotic Weapon
Bonus
Bad Karma
Extends the duration of “Curse of the Falling Rain” (5 seconds)
Izanagi’s Burden
Increases the damage of “Sharpened Edge” (20%)
Sleeper Simulant
Increased charge rate (+75) and reserve ammo (+2)
The Huckleberry
Kills completely refill the magazine
Worldline Zero
Reduces the time until “Tesseract” teleport can be activated
Polaris Lance
Precision kills create a solar explosion (Dragonfly)
Telesto
Increases magazine size (+3) and ammo reserves
Legend of Acrius
Increases magazine size (+4) and reload speed (+40)
Heaven’s Burning
Increases range (+30)
The Sleeper Simulant.
The catalysts listed here will receive new locations and upgrade prerequisites. Currently, the updated tasks are not known. MeinMMO will provide these as quickly as possible.
Some upgrades even required participation in raids as well as loot luck and have therefore been quite rare – many veterans are likely to be pleased about the Sleeper catalyst.
These top weapons go (still) empty: The catalysts for the mission Exotics Whisper of the Worm and Perfected Aggression are also missing. Bungie plans to add the catalysts in a later update.
The two catalysts are among the best that Destiny 2 has to offer in terms of Exotic masterwork. You currently cannot get the Exotics themselves either.
That changes with Season 13: At the Exotic kiosk, Whisper of the Worm and Perfected Aggression will be available for purchase.
The PvP-dominant shotgun Felwinter’s Lie will also be found at the kiosk in Season 13.
Have you made all Exotics to full masterwork and are eager to chase the catalysts? Which exotic weapon should receive its upgrade next? Or should Exotics not be reliant on something like a catalyst – let us know in the comments.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Gaming is a huge topic on YouTube and there are quite a few German content creators who reach several million viewers. Here we show you the gaming YouTubers with the most subscribers.
This is what is shown here: In this list we take a look at the YouTube world and present to you the 10 YouTubers who currently have the most subscribers.
Current views of the YouTubers are not taken into account; it is only about the number of subscribers. This provides a good overview of the biggest YouTubers in the country.
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Rank 10: Arazhul
Who is Arazhul? Roman “Arazhul” Fink captivates viewers on YouTube mainly with videos about Minecraft. He regularly tests mods and often tells stories in his videos.
The YouTuber also runs a second channel where he uploads Roblox videos. However, his main channel, which generally brings in more views, mainly revolves around Minecraft nowadays.
These are the numbers: The YouTuber has impressive statistics. Here’s the overview:
Currently, Arazhul has 2.12 million subscribers
On his main channel alone, he has generated almost 2 billion views
Two videos from Arazhul have already surpassed 10 million views
What has the YouTuber made news for? Arazhul is generally popular among younger viewers. His videos often feature challenges or curious events that viewers also want to experience. It’s not just about Minecraft; he also showcases games that are not well-known. Through this, he gives his viewers glimpses into games they otherwise wouldn’t know about.
The content creator is not only a successful YouTuber but also a bestselling author. Arazhul has already written several comics that are designed in the Minecraft style.
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What is the most popular video? The most successful video on Arazhul’s channel is not really about gaming but is a music video. The YouTuber raps, which a proud 13.2 million people have seen so far:
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