Call of Duty: 2020 is still waiting for its official announcement. Dataminers have now taken over the “unofficial” announcement and allegedly show information about the story, the multiplayer, zombie mode, and the future of Warzone.
What’s going on with CoD 2020? The wait for the next premium title from Call of Duty is entering the next phase. Since the launch of the CoD series in 2003, we have never had so little information about the newest title, which is supposed to be released this year, by July 20th. For example, the reveal trailer for the current Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was already released on May 30, 2019.
But things are slowly getting rolling. While the people responsible at “Activision” and the leading studio “Treyarch” have not released any new information, dataminers found many data in an alleged alpha of the upcoming CoD and think they are files for the new “Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War”:
Names of the story missions
Areas of a Warzone map
Names of MP maps
Hints of the zombie mode
As GameStar reported yesterday (July 19), some players were able to download this “Internal Alpha” called “The Red Door – Call of Duty: Black Ops CIA” from the Xbox Store, but could not start it. The new information comes from the analysis of this data. However, these are unofficial information derived by dataminers from the game files. So take this with a grain of skepticism.
Mysterious number codes and unexpected twists are part of the “Black Ops” series. This year, the data riddle starts before the release.
CoD 2020: “Red Door” Alpha shows possible content
What information is there about the story? That the new CoD title will be called “Black Ops Cold War” is already certain for many leakers. However, what is new is that the story seems to span nearly the whole world. Along with the names of possible missions, the dataminers also found the possible locations:
K.G.B. (Russia)
Siege (Russia)
Yamantau (Russia)
Takedown (Side mission)
Tundra (Side mission)
Hub (Germany)
Hub 8 (Germany)
Stakeout (Germany)
Armada (Vietnam)
Prisoner (Vietnam)
Revolucion (Nicaragua)
America (Russia)
Duga (Russia)
Apparently, missions in Germany are also planned. Germany was once one of the major conflict zones between the western states and the former Soviet Union. A story in connection with the GDR would be quite conceivable in a “Cold War” setting.
What information is there about Warzone? The YouTuber and CoD expert “TheXclusiveAce” allegedly shared internal information in an English YouTube video several weeks ago that more or less coincides with the current findings in the data. The leakers have now found information about “map zones” that they attribute to a large Warzone map:
Duga
Forest
Russia
Ski Slopes
The zones “Duga” and “Ski Slopes” were already part of the earlier leak. At that time, more than 10 zones of the Warzone were leaked, but the fact that the names now appear in the files of the possible alpha gives it more credibility. The English news with the earlier revelations can be found on “cod.tracker.gg”.
The new Warzone map could therefore be smaller than Verdansk and set in Russia. However, this is also unverified information.
What information is there about multiplayer? Overall, the dataminers found the names of 8 multiplayer maps in the “Red Door” files:
Black Sea
Cartel
K.G.B.
Miami
Moscow
Satellite
Tank
Tundra
“Tank”, “Tundra”, and “K.G.B.” were also part of an earlier leak. However, it is still not possible to say how many maps will be playable at the release of the new CoD.
What information is there about the zombie mode? Here, the leakers believe that the developer “Treyarch” follows its usual scheme for assigning file names.
The eighth and last zombie map of “Black Ops 4”, “Tag der Toten”, was called “Orange” in the files. The map “Alpha Omega” was called “White” and “Ancient Evil” was called “Red”. Now the color “Silver” has been found in the “Red Door”.
Why is “TheXclusiveAce” involved? The YouTuber has brought many details about the new CoD in recent weeks without showing leaks in his videos.
“Ace” says he has an internal source that provides him the information. Due to his serious working method in his videos and his excellent reputation as a content creator, many players believe that he indeed receives his information directly from the studio, even though he doesn’t show any footage to prevent his videos from being blocked.
This makes him currently the most trusted source when it comes to leaks for CoD 2020. The new information directly from the alleged game files now supports some of his earlier information and makes his statements even more credible.
What you can always trust “TheXclusiveAce” with are his explanations and backgrounds on CoD mechanics. Recently, he analyzed how the stun and flash grenades work. MeinMMO presents his findings and shows which of the two works better.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In a livestream from shooter pro Summit1g, Steven Sharif, the head of Ashes of Creation, spontaneously talked about the MMORPG. He reveals some details about his game and also shared a dig towards New World.
What was the conversation about? The Twitch streamer Jaryd “Summit1g” Lazar is primarily known for shooters. However, over the weekend, he watched the latest video on Ashes of Creation from YouTuber TheLazyPeon live on stream.
During the stream, the head of the upcoming MMORPG chimed in in the chat and was invited to a live conversation. The discussion revolved around the idea behind Ashes of Creation, its features, and the development progress.
During the conversation, a jibe was aimed at New World, the upcoming MMO from Amazon.
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.
The video from “TheLazyPeon”, who summarized many details about Ashes of Creation.
“Don’t delay the release by 1 or 2 years just 3 months before the beta starts”
What was the jab about? Steven Sharif also talked about the influence of players in the development of a new title during the livestream. In his view, feedback should be taken into consideration to develop a successful game. However, an early presentation also carries the risk that players become disappointed with the state of development.
In this context, the founder of Ashes of Creation couldn’t refrain from taking a jab at New World, which was captured in a clip. In it, Sharif says:
Not all games show an early development state like we do, because it’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, you have the advantage that players and the community get a chance to see content, provide feedback, and share their opinions.
This is great for us developers to make sure we steer our ship in the right direction. And that we ensure we don’t have to delay the release by 1 or 2 years just 3 months before the start of the Open Beta because there are systems that the community doesn’t like.
On the other hand, one must understand that it’s an active development process and the development of games is often not pretty.
Steven Sharif during Summit1g’s livestream
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.
Other users, however, do not take the statement seriously because there was also a delay for Ashes of Creation. Originally, it was stated that the MMORPG would definitely be released before 2020.
Sharif has since spoken in the reddit thread himself, saying this was not supposed to be a reference to New World, that he is a fan of the game, and that he respects the delay:
Hello friends. I want to clarify that this was not a jab at New World. I am actually a fan of what AGS wants to achieve, and I want them to be successful.
I also have enormous respect for my developer colleagues. My statements here were both a plea for a more transparent development process, as well as a moderation of players’ expectations regarding how schedules can change, and the pressure should be aimed at producing a quality product rather than rushing to market. ❤️
Together with some veterans from other MMOs, he founded the studio to develop a sandbox MMORPG that should be better than anything previously on the market.
Back then, Sharif had also tried ArcheAge among others and was dissatisfied with several aspects of the game. Therefore, he wanted to create his own MMORPG and initially financed it himself.
Sieges of castles are supposed to play an important role in Ashes of Creation.
In March, the first alpha gameplay was shown, which was already well advanced and surprised many viewers. The graphics and gameplay looked good even though the game was still in pre-alpha.
Since then, new blog posts have been published, and even the first details about the alpha launch have been revealed. This is set to remain online permanently from autumn and will take place without NDA.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
This year, Cosmic Break Universal, a shooter MMO, will launch on Steam, where you fight with combat robots in an anime scenario.
What exactly is Cosmic Break Universal? In the distant future, three powerful, intelligent robots known as Arks awaken and discover that a dark, chaotic power rules the universe. Since only one of the Arks can gather enough energy to engage in combat, the followers of these three robots are now in a competition to see who can harness this energy.
You belong to one of these three factions and participate in anime graphics in this competition. There are three game modes:
Arena – Up to 60 players fight in an arena. You can team up with others.
Quests – You accept quests where you defeat AI opponents of the Chaos Army with your team.
Missions – You travel to planets designed like mazes to find treasures guarded by AI enemies.
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.
In Cosmic Break Universal, everything revolves around mecha battles in an anime scenario.
What is special about the game? It is possible to acquire new mechas and customize your robot. You can build your own combat robots from over 300 parts. It is important to pay attention to the fact that the parts have various abilities and weapons, and you should always think tactically about which parts to use.
Additionally, you can step into the role of heroes in the quest mode and experience their personal stories.
Cosmic Break Universal improves the graphics compared to the original.
Is this really a new game? Cosmic Break was already released in 2008 in Japan, but it will be shut down on August 27, 2020, due to declining player numbers. However, an international version will launch later this year. This is a remaster that also represents a return to the “basics.” The online game will receive some graphical improvements to the models.
The game aims to return to the state of development when Cosmic Break was still successful, and from there, to evolve anew. The innovations integrated into the Steam launch include:
Improved balancing
Simplified controls
Adjustments to weapons
The weapon charging system has been revised
The speed of projectiles has been adjusted
When is Cosmic Break Universal coming out? The action MMO is expected to launch on Steam later this year. A specific release date is not yet available.
The main goal in Pokémon GO is to catch the little monsters. We will show you tips here on how to do that quickly and effectively so you can get the most out of it in a short time.
This is shown here: If you use the right tips, you can catch Pokémon much faster. Different approaches play an important role. Quickly catching, proper planning, and a smart approach are crucial.
We will show you tips here that offer you all of that. If you apply them, you will notice a quick increase in your catches.
Catch Pokémon Quickly – Tips, Catching Trick, Planning
Use the catching trick: Many players probably know this trick already, but it is essential for quickly catching Pokémon. This way, you save at least 10 seconds with each monster and progress much faster.
The trick works as follows:
Click on a Pokémon
Drag the Pokéball icon in the bottom right corner down to the left with your left hand and hold it there
You can now throw a Pokéball at the Pokémon with your right fingers
If you hit, let all fingers go off the screen
Then click on the flee symbol in the top left corner
Click on the Pokémon again – If you can’t catch it anymore, then it is in your box or has fled. If it appears again, repeat the trick because it has broken free
You should use the catching trick permanently. This way, you are always faster and save the most time.
Look for such clusters of Pokémon and add these places to your route.
Plan a route: A good route is a big advantage. So look around your area: Where do particularly many Pokémon spawn? Where are there enough PokéStops?
Design your route around these points. It should ideally be a circle and last for an hour. This way, you avoid walking through the same area twice and having already caught all the Pokémon there. The spawns regenerate every hour. So you can start over again after an hour and usually catch the same amount of Pokémon again.
Plan fixed times: Each spawn point brings forth a Pokémon at the same time every hour, which remains for 30 minutes or an hour.
So it can also happen that you catch a different amount of Pokémon at different times on your route. So test when the most Pokémon appear on your route and always start walking at the best time. This way, you can sometimes catch 30-50 Pokémon per hour – just because you started at a specific time.
You can save a lot of time if you quickly decide on a ball.
Decide quickly on a ball: When you click on a Pokémon, you should be able to decide within a second which ball is useful here. A Mogelbaum with 1400 CP should be thrown with a Hyperball, while a Hornliu with 10 CP should, of course, be thrown with a Pokéball.
Use Super or Hyperballs more often. This way, you have a higher catch chance and don’t have to click on the Pokémon repeatedly to catch it. Your goal should be to catch every Pokémon with the first ball.
Catch every Pokémon: The Mogelbaum mentioned above with 1400 CP may not be the favorite Pokémon when it comes to quick catching, but you shouldn’t leave it alone.
Try to catch every Pokémon that appears in front of you. Even if you only have a few Super or Hyperballs, you should at least throw a Pokéball at every monster. Sometimes you get lucky and it stays in. It’s worth a try.
Mogelbaum can be annoying, but should still be caught.
Prepare well in advance: An empty PokéBox is mandatory if you want to move quickly. It’s very annoying when you have to stop in the middle to empty your box.
You should always have around 200 slots in your PokéBox. Sort thoroughly before your round so that you are not too busy when you have to sort out while on the go.
Try to take every Pokémon quest with you: Sometimes Pokémon are not only in the wild, but also hide in quests. You should also keep an eye on those.
You should also manage your quests wisely. Look at which quest you can complete quickly and leave more complex quests aside – provided they don’t have a really good reward.
The MMORPG Rohan: Blood Feud, also known as Rohan Online, is closing its doors after 12 years. However, the developers give players hope with a cryptic statement.
What is Rohan: Blood Feud? The Free2Play MMORPG launched in the West in spring 2008. The MMORPG offers classic gameplay and immerses you in a world shaped by many wars. You follow a story told through events, through which you can obtain valuable rewards. Over time, you will improve your hero. Additionally, you explore a vast game world.
You create your characters from seven races and classes
Crafting plays an important role
Pets and mounts possess special abilities
PvP is also important and features a revenge system. On a list, you can see who has defeated you in PvP, and you can teleport to that player and take revenge
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.
Rohan: Blood Feud will shut down the servers in October.
The End of a Classic
What has been announced? The developers stated on the official forum that the servers of Rohan: Blood Feud will be closed on October 15, to make way for something new.
From August 11, it will no longer be possible to purchase in-game items, and after the closure of the MMORPG, all characters will be deleted. The in-game currency can still be used for other games operated by Playwith.
With deep sadness, we announce the closure of our beloved Rohan: Blood Feud, as we knew it, to make way for a grand “New Journey” at the end of October.
We are so grateful for all your support and continuous cooperation and would love to hear your thoughts on this new adventure. We will conduct surveys to gather all your feedback and involve you from the start in this new journey.
We hope you will join us on this new adventure!
We understand that you have many questions, and we will address them soon in a more comprehensive and detailed post; this will also include the special benefits that the Rohanians enjoyed in Rohan: Blood Feud.
Message on the official forum
What does this mean? Rohan: Blood Feud ends on October 15, but the developers are already planning something new. Whether this is a new version of the MMORPG or an entirely new game remains unclear.
On October 15, the battles in Rohan: Blood Feud will come to an end.
What kind of game could this be? For years, there has been talk of Rohan 2. This was originally supposed to be released in 2016. The developers wanted to merge the MMORPG principle with MOBA elements and focus more on PvP. However, for nearly four years, there has been no news about Rohan 2.
Perhaps the game concept has been revised, and the online game will start this autumn. However, this is not certain.
When did Rohan: Blood Feud have its time? The MMORPG was released in 2008 and was quite popular, especially in Asia and Eastern Europe. However, this popularity has greatly diminished over time, which is why the servers are now being closed.
Do you know Rohan: Blood Feud? Are you sad that the game is shutting down?
In WoW Classic there are many ways to troll. But this player takes it seriously – every day he does exactly the same thing and devastates an entire city.
In World of Warcraft Classic, there are a number of mechanics and ways to legally troll your fellow players or tease them. This ranges from dispelling World Buffs – even though that can lead to bans in bizarre cases – but also in other ways. One player pulls a dragon into the human capital every day and lets it sow death and destruction. He harvests hatred – but also a lot of applause.
What happened? The player Frond posted a large image in the WoW Classic subreddit with numerous reactions and chat messages from other players. These were comments or whisper messages that he collected over the past month. Because there he pulled the dragon Teremus from the Blasted Lands into the capital Stormwind every day.
Teremus is a quite powerful dragon at the “boss” level. Usually, you kill him together with many other players, but skilled players can kite him across the continent. Because Teremus has no “leash” range, meaning there is no point at which he resets and returns to his spawn. This makes it possible to kite Teremus right into the walls of Stormwind, where he then attacks players and NPC guards alike.
The action attracts accordingly many reactions from the players. This image alone shows players’ comments from a month at a glance – a lot of messages:
How long has Frond been doing this? According to his own statements, Frond has been kiting the dragon for over four months now, and that daily without exception. Every day he delights the residents of Stormwind with the arrival of a black dragon, which sends not only low-level characters to their certain deaths, but also causes some level 60 heroes to perish. Such a fight of “city against dragon” can last many minutes, and the longest one lasted according to Frond even a whopping 57 minutes.
Accordingly, the player base of his realm is also divided. Some comments clearly express the wish that Frond gets banned or that some other misfortune befalls him. The other part of the players finds the action funny and almost waits for the black dragon to come again today. Accordingly, Frond has already become a small (notorious) legend on his realm, with quotes like these:
“The rumors say that Frond is not kicked from the game during maintenance.”
“You are all in a medieval fantasy game and cannot handle it when a dragon attacks a city. Get over it.”
“One day I will tell my grandchildren the legend of Frond.”
Of course, there are also a whole bunch of nasty comments and insults that Frond has also summarized in the large image.
In the subreddit, however, Frond is celebrated for this endurance. With more than 4,500 upvotes and numerous awards, the post is one of the most popular in recent days. For many players, such disruptive yet entertaining actions are evidently a big part of what makes WoW Classic, well, Classic.
Is Frond allowed to do this? Frond justifies himself by saying that Teremus has always been able to be pulled to Stormwind. Although numerous players report him for this action daily, he has never received a punishment. However, if a Game Master were to tell him that this action is forbidden, he would of course abide by it. Bots, on the other hand, are finally being banned regularly now.
So far, however, this is not the case – so Frond is looking for more players who will fall victim to the dragon attack on Stormwind. He has endurance, after all.
What do you think of such actions? Cool thing and part of WoW Classic? Or clearly disruptive and should be punished?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Those who look closely at Destiny 2 will notice that a mysterious story about the spreading darkness has been told for years.
This is about the tree: In Season 11, players can advance the story weekly. In this so-called interference mission, the Guardians always start their hunt for the wicked Witch Queen at the foot of an ancient, silver tree.
Have you noticed that the Tree of Silver Wings has changed since your first visit? While the majestic tree once shone brightly to its tips, it now seems truly rotten, yes, corrupted. Week by week, this dark rot has spread from the canopy and is moving toward the roots.
Observant players have now noticed that there is a cool story behind this, which began 5 years ago and is far from finished.
The Tree of Silver Wings has changed since the start of Season 11 – Source: reddit
What do a tree, two Exotics, and an artifact have in common?
This old story is gaining momentum: Do the veterans remember the Exotic Ruin Wings from Destiny 1? The silver-glinting gloves told of exactly the tree that is now at the center of the Season 11 story – but nobody could have known that back then.
With the arrival of the darkness in our solar system, the rot is now spreading in the ancient tree, and its shine is fading more and more.
In the garden grows a tree with silver wings. The leaves are ruin, the trunk disaster. We won’t speak of the seeds.
Lore text of the Exotic Ruin Wings
What once caused puzzled head-scratching is now coming together. Even the reference to the “seeds” that no one speaks of is now a well-known item: Our seasonal artifact is called Seed of the Silver Wings and also changes as it becomes more powerful.
The increasingly decaying tree tells its story in a similar way as the Pyramid ships of darkness were announced in Season 10:
The item description refers to the Exotic from part 1 and warns of a wind “that will reshape this dead world”.
The gunsmith Banshee-44 warns that Withering Image will consume our light.
The weapon is mainly bright glowing in its standard form but the ornament shows it as completely black and makes it pulse ominously.
The Ruin Wings from Destiny 1, the artifact Seed of the Silver Wings, and Withering Image without and with ornament
All of this is also reflected in the story: Darkness is spreading through the solar system, consuming planets and increasingly corrupting us players. Do you have an idea of what might happen when the once radiant tree is completely devoured by darkness?
Riot Games, the developers of Valorant, have declared war on cheaters and hackers. But why not win over the best opponents for themselves?
What is recruitment all about? According to a report by Vice, two hackers wanted to dig deep into the code of Valorant’s anti-cheat software to find vulnerabilities. This is an important step to develop powerful cheats that can bypass the robust cheat protection Vanguard.
However, deep in the code, they found a file named Stubs.dll. It contained a mysterious message in ASCII format. Besides displaying the company logo, there was a clear offer to the hackers:
This message awaits the best hackers. Source: Vice
Protected by Packman, a Riot Games product. Developed with love by the anti-cheat team. We are always looking for talented individuals. If you found this message, we kindly ask you to take a look at our job offers. Maybe you will find something of interest.
Hackers are the best defense against hackers
Why is Riot doing this? An old saying goes roughly, “If you can’t beat them, let them work for you.” And that seems to be what Riot is aiming for here. Because anyone who is really good enough to crack the notorious anti-cheat code of Valorant – at least to this extent – would be a strong ally against less skilled hackers.
Riot Games already has one of the best anti-cheat teams in the industry in their crusade against cheaters, and they could certainly use more highly talented software artists to stay at the top. An employee from Riot commented:
The hope is that people who do [hacking] as a hobby or out of curiosity might want to have a chance to make it a career. The people who do it to sell cheats for profit would probably not be interested anyway.
So they only want the “good” hackers, those who do it purely for fun, not the “bad” ones who ruin the fun for other players by selling cheats to them.
How little fun Riot seems to understand in the fight against their arch-enemies, the cheaters, is shown by the draconian penalties. Because anyone caught cheating can say goodbye to Valorant forever.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The hardest PvE challenge is returning to Destiny 2. This time it should finally be more rewarding for the big streamers and players.
This challenge is coming: With the weekly reset on July 21, Destiny 2 is bringing back its ultimate Nightfall challenge. This is the Grandmaster difficulty for the Nightfall: The Ordeal.
The task is to complete a well-known strike mission while all adversities are cranked up: enemies well above the max level and more negative modifiers than usual in the game are supposed to break the challenger.
This mode is clearly aimed at hardcore players and big-name streamers. But hardly anyone found the challenge appealing in the last season. Will that change this time?
Grandmaster mode should be perfect for streamers, but it flopped
The mode was seen as ideal for streaming beforehand; it was supposed to be “watchable” – essentially the PvE counterpart to the PvP activity Trials of Osiris.
Viewers were supposed to watch streamers grind through, adjust their loadouts to the conditions of the mission, and then triumph against the odds – a classic hero’s journey in principle.
Players were supposed to watch streamers face familiar bosses with new difficulty
He was not alone in this. Generally, it was criticized that the loot did not noticeably differ from other difficulty levels in The Ordeal.
In the end, almost only title hunters struggled through the Grandmaster difficulty. Because anyone who completed every available Nightfall of the season was rewarded with the title “Conqueror”.
The exciting streams with cheering viewers fell by the wayside. Hardly any Guardians wanted to put themselves through that torture or watch others do it.
However, the big Twitch streamers were still doing well with Destiny 2:
That is changing now: In Season 11, Bungie wants to make the Grandmaster difficulty more attractive. And this for all Guardians. More loot should entice more players into the mode.
Masterwork material drops have been increased for the Grandmaster difficulty of The Ordeal.
Grandmaster completions at Platinum, Gold, and Silver levels now have a higher chance of exotic armor dropping.
A Grandmaster completion at Platinum level now guarantees one Ascendant Shard (and there is a small chance of another) and four Upgrade Prisms (and there is a moderate chance of 1-2 more).
A Grandmaster completion at Gold level now guarantees two Upgrade Prisms (and there is a moderate chance of two more).
A Grandmaster completion at Silver level now has a small chance of two Upgrade Prisms.
These changes are clearly aimed at encouraging players to replay the activity multiple times. Because the better you perform, the richer the material drop will be.
This way, streamers could showcase the best loadouts and routes through the Grandmaster difficulty, and viewers would eagerly follow their example and snag the rewards themselves.
What do you think about it? Will you try the toughest PvE challenge in Season 11? In Season 11, you even have (alas) more time for it. You can read what the extension delay means for you here: Destiny 2 extends Season 11 – Here’s what’s next for you
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Last of Us Part II is struggling with bad user reviews and review bombing on Metacritic. The platform has now introduced a change that aims to prevent such review bombing at the launch of a game in the future. Unfortunately, this comes too late – and for the wrong reasons, according to MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus.
Note: The title of the article has been changed because new information on the topic has emerged. You can find the corresponding update at the end of the text.
This is how Metacritic responds: The website Metacritic collects ratings for games from users and the gaming press. Both are listed on Metacritic separately as Metascore and user score. The site is an important resource for many users to get a first impression of a new game and read collected opinions.
Previously, anyone with an account could easily rate a game as a user. It didn’t matter whether they had played it, owned it, or even knew about it. One click was enough to give a new video game a grade.
However, that is no longer so easy – at least not at the launch of a game. Metacritic has introduced a rule stating that user scores will not be available for a certain period of time. Instead, users are asked to play the game for a while longer before forming an opinion.
I was not allowed to rate the new title “Ghost of Tsushima” directly. The US magazine Forbes had the deadline expire on July 18.
Why is the change coming? In the past, there were frequently cases where users rated games poorly to express their displeasure without considering the game and its content at all (“review bombing”).
One of the newest and most prominent examples of this behavior is The Last of Us Part II. Its social criticism polarizes the new story game strongly and provokes sometimes fierce reactions.
While critics give The Last of Us Part II a 94/100, rating it very well, it currently stands at only 5.5/10 from users. Many of the negative reviews with 0 points claim that the game has an “LGBTQ” agenda and promotes it.
Particularly the discussion around The Last of Us Part II and the many negative reviews right at launch is likely the decisive reason why Metacritic has chosen now to restrict reviews at launch.
I think: This is far too late, and the reason behind it is not pretty either.
This should have happened much earlier
This is why it comes too late: First of all: I think the change is good and right. Something like this has been necessary for a long time. However, Metacritic has taken too long, because:
The Last of Us Part II no longer benefits from it
Many other games before also had the problem of being bombarded at launch
The phenomenon of review bombing is old, and other providers like Steam have responded by simply excluding certain reviews from the meta ratings. The corresponding user reviews are simply marked as “off-topic” there.
This is how Steam deals with review bombing, here with Warframe.
Similarly, in 2019, the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare received tons of 0-point reviews due to propaganda allegations: It was said to be anti-Russian. These 0-point reviews also came without directly addressing the game itself and allowing for further criticisms.
Why does something need to happen here? All three mentioned games are good examples of why action should be taken against review bombing. The Last of Us Part II and Call of Duty have proven to be excellent games and top titles in their categories.
However, does this reflect in the user scores? No. Now, someone who prefers to trust other players rather than the press only looks at the raw number, they might be discouraged and refrain from playing the games, even though they could enjoy them.
Fallout 76 had a hard time dealing with bad reviews – yet the new ratings on Steam show that it has indeed become a good game.
Fallout 76 is in a similar boat. It certainly is and was not perfect and has struggled with many errors and bugs. However, it was never “0-points-bad”. Moreover, many of the reviews at that time didn’t even relate to the game itself but rather to the fact that some hardcore fans wanted a sequel to Fallout 4 – simply another single-player game in the series, not a multiplayer game.
The “hate train” against Fallout 76 has attracted many influencers, users, and forum visitors afterwards – much to the chagrin of the actual players. It went so far that players who liked Fallout 76 were vilified.
Preventing review bombing here would surely have helped to shape the entire narrative differently, resulting in less hatred from all sides. The harsh criticism of Fallout 76, in my opinion, would have been an even better reason for the introduction than what is currently the case with The Last of Us Part II.
When should this have happened? I cannot name a specific time. I can only say: Much earlier. Perhaps even upon the release of the website, but at the very latest at the first case of review bombing that ever occurred.
It should be a given that game reviews refer to the game itself and not to any circumstances and controversies that only tangentially relate to it. Therefore, it is clear to me: now is too late.
However, it is not only the timing that is an issue. The reason for the action that is being taken now, or at least the one that seems to be the origin, appears to be quite problematic in my view.
Regulation yes, but please no censorship
Why is the reason wrong? Many negative reviews of The Last of Us Part II relate to the game’s “political correctness.” If you take a look at the comments on these reviews on Metacritic, you will find:
Allegations of manipulation and “brainwashing”
Criticism of the treatment of homosexuality and LGBTQ
Dissatisfaction with the story in general
The lesbian relationship of Ellie seems to bother many, but is that really the problem?
I myself have not played The Last of Us Part II because the story did not engage me even in Part 1. Therefore, I do not want to rate the game, nor can I determine how justified the criticism of the story is, but I can already see in gameplay videos that these reasons alone are not sufficient for 0 points. Cortyn from our MeinMMO team is strongly convinced by The Last Of Us II.
A much larger problem than the criticism of the story seems to be for many of the “0-point” warriors the accusation of how The Last of Us Part II handles LGBTQ. Here I find myself caught between the fronts:
On one hand, I think it is good that such a topic is more prominently represented and that homosexual relationships are viewed as “normal” and self-evident in a game.
On the other hand, it annoys me greatly that more and more games make their diversity a selling point. A game should convince because it plays well, not because it showcases a wide selection of characters with various skin colors and sexual preferences.
Specifically addressing the treatment of homo-, bi-, and transsexuality, I find extremely critical. I myself am bi- or pansexual and had many years of questioning what was “wrong” with me, struggling until I finally came to “understand” myself better.
I do not want people to profit from it just because it is convenient. For me, this is not a respectful way to deal with the subject but rather “going with the wind.”
Moreover, if every game is now stamped with the diversity label, it will likely provoke stubborn reactions and resentment among gamers rather than actual inclusion.
What exactly is my criticism? The difficulty with Metacritic’s reaction to the entire issue, for me, is that it feels like Metacritic wants to introduce censorship based precisely on that review bombing and prohibit review bombing for exactly this political reason, while review bombings for other reasons have been tolerated.
Players who are dissatisfied with how developers and publishers market their games will now be silenced.
Many fans already have the impression that they lack the opportunity to express criticism and be heard. And the topic of diversity is as charged and current as very few others. However, those who want to talk about it lack an appropriate platform for discussion.
It feels as if this topic of diversity has become more and more prominently represented in games over the past months and years.
Therefore, I can understand the criticism of it and understand why people get upset, even if they are not inherently against it.
On the other hand, I find it wrong that the critics use user reviews to spread their opinions in this way. Reviews should evaluate a game as a whole, not just individual aspects of it.
Hardly anyone seeks dialogue anymore – users just want to vent their bad mood, and providers uncompromisingly suppress it. How are we supposed to find solutions together?
This leads to the problem that critics once again feel overrun because they can no longer express their frustration, and their opinions become even more entrenched. Clearer boundaries are being drawn, and no one is willing to talk reasonably. At the same time, it seems as though Metacritic has only reacted when a certain group screamed loud enough for it.
It also seems as if the occasion of The Last of Us Part II fits well. So it seems that Metacritic is not concerned with maintaining the integrity of the reviews, as was needed with CoD or Fallout.
I appreciate that action is taken against review bombing on Metacritic. However, I do not appreciate how it is being done and that it is sparked by The Last of Us Part II.
Update: The Last Of Us is not the reason
Metacritic has denied in response to an inquiry from gamesindustry.biz that a “specific game” was the reason for the introduction. The change is therefore not a reaction to the review bombing of The Last Of Us II.
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.
It is a general change for all games, in which one must now wait 36 hours after release to write a review. This only applies to games, not other sections.
The reason for this is data-driven information from critics and experts in the industry.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Thanks to today’s internet possibilities, you can basically offer or buy any service online. Game coaching is part of that too – but how does it work? MeinMMO spoke with a gaming coach and shows you here how it can happen.
If you find yourself cursing loudly after 2 minutes of gameplay in the Gulag of Call of Duty: Warzone or realize in Valorant after the 3rd round that you’re not making any progress, a bit of coaching can help.
Nowadays, almost everyone can get or offer any service online. A bit of tutoring for games is part of that too. However, since it is still not so common to quickly book a coach for your latest favorite MMO, MeinMMO took a closer look at the matter.
For this, we spoke with an individual coach who elevates CS:GO players to the next level and offers his services through an internet platform that has a variety of digital services available.
Who did we speak with? Our interview partner was Maks Trocha (shown in the title image), a professional CS:GO player who fights for the “Dr. Pepper” team. He lives in Germany and has successfully offered individual game coaching alongside his job as a pro gamer for several months now.
We asked him a few questions about his offer, how his coaching works, and also wanted to know what is important if one wants to work as an individual coach.
Individual Game Coaching for Everyone – What’s Behind It
How does his coaching work? Maks Trocha offers his “gigs” on “fiverr.com“. On this platform, basically anyone can offer anything for which you don’t need to be in the same room. If you want to benefit from the tutoring, you can find all the important information on the platform, such as prices and content of the coaching, as well as background information about the trainer.
The platform that Maks Trocha is on also provides information about how quickly the service provider typically responds and how long it takes until delivery. Most providers here offer 3 packages to choose from – Basic, Standard, and Premium.
However, the packages vary from coach to coach, and there are no real standards. You choose a package from your coach and then wait for the trainer to get in touch with you.
With him, you will discuss the details of the service. Here you have the opportunity to express wishes and agree on the final package together. However, you can also simply book, schedule an appointment, and get started.
Maks Trocha is a full-time CS:GO pro and also offers individual coaching.
Individual Shooter Coaching According to Your Needs
How is coaching done? With his Base and Standard package, Maks Trocha analyzes your gameplay and tries to understand your decisions while providing hints on how you can improve. In the Standard package, you join him in a chat and view your gameplay together. This way, you can ask questions, unlike in the Basic package, where you receive a finished video.
The Premium package is a real individual coaching session, where Maks Trocha dives deeper into your skills and enhances them. His coaching includes these two important elements:
Improvement of decision-making in matches
Better mechanical skills
He tries to generalize his training as much as possible so that you improve your game not just in a specific situation but also know how to apply your new skills to other situations. Tips for special situations are also available.
The Premium package from Maks Trocha costs about 55 euros for 2 hours of coaching.
You won’t learn everything in one day, and certainly not in those 2 hours. Like learning an instrument, you can use the coach’s services more often and train with him for as long as you feel strong enough. Maks Trocha states that most of his clients come back to get even better.
Every Coach is Unique
Does the coaching always work like it does with Maks Trocha? As already mentioned, there are no guidelines on how such coaching should look. On the platform, for example, you can find a coach for the battle royale game CoD: Warzone, who also promises 4 Warzone wins in addition to coaching with his premium package.
Providers here are more or less free to set their own terms as long as they do not violate the platform’s terms of use.
What does it cost? There are significant differences in prices as well, depending on the content and type of coaching:
A coach for the hardcore shooter “Escape from Tarkov” offers to introduce you to the difficult gameplay of the shooter for about 5 euros for 60 minutes.
An Overwatch pro offers you a 5-hour session for around 115 euros.
The Warzone coach’s offer with the 4 wins was just under 60 euros.
Depending on what you have in mind, you can choose your offers and also discuss them with the coaches. Maks Trocha’s offer is comparatively expensive, but a full-time pro stands behind the training. Offers from regular players are often a bit cheaper.
Whether CoD: Warzone, Overwatch, or Escape from Tarkov, you can find a coach for many online games.
Use Reviews to Find a Coach
What should I pay attention to when choosing a coach? When looking at coaching platforms, make sure the platform adequately protects you.
Professional freelance platforms protect your payments and often also provide a ranking of the provider regarding their reliability and quality. On “fiverr”, for example, providers are marked with a “seller level”. A “level-2 seller” must have already completed 50 services on time with a rating of at least 4.8.
Additionally, before a gig takes place, there should be the possibility to communicate with the coach about the training to clarify your exact expectations.
It’s also important to consider the coach’s language. Some platforms operate internationally, and many service providers do not speak German. Maks Trocha, for example, originally comes from Poland, and a training session with him would likely be in English or Polish.
Anyone Can Coach, but Good Coaching is a Challenging Art
Can I become a coach myself? Basically, yes. In principle, anyone can register on such platforms and offer their services. This does not stop at coaching; you could also offer yourself as a fellow player or chat moderator, as long as the services comply with the platform’s terms of use.
And also, Maks Trocha believes that anyone can become an individual coach. However, to help your clients properly, you need two things:
Expertise in the game
The willingness to be patient and help others
If you consider yourself good enough to coach another player and help them improve, nothing stands in your way. However, you should be prepared to listen to your clients and be patient with them.
Did the coach have a small tip? Of course, we don’t speak with a shooter coach without asking for a tip on how to get better. And Maks Trocha was kind enough to share some thoughts on it:
What would be the first general tip you would give to a shooter player who wants to improve? It’s a difficult question. However, there are a few things that I observe with my clients repeatedly. One thing that tends to be overlooked is one’s own mindset when entering the game. That is, how one approaches the match. I think when a player enters the match, they should always focus on playing the way they feel is right. It helps not to constantly think about how to play more efficiently or be the best. I believe they should play in a way that makes them feel comfortable and confident. They should play the way they like. But when a player trains outside of matches and tries to improve, they should aim to play as efficiently as possible and practice things they are not as comfortable with, so they can apply them more easily in the match.
What do you think about individual game coaching? Would this be something for you?
The interview with Maks Trocha was organized by the platform “fiverr”. However, the platform had no influence on the content or structure of the text.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The loot shooters Destiny 2 and The Division 2 were supposed to continue the success of the first installments. In both cases, this has failed, says MeinMMO author Schuhmann. The model of simply ending and continuing such endless games has failed.
This was the idea of the model: The franchises Destiny and The Division were to establish new game worlds and become shooter games with MMO elements for PS4 and Xbox One. The Division also launched on PC, while Destiny initially catered to PS3 and Xbox 360.
Moreover, they were supposed to provide the publisher with reliable, ongoing income. Publishers appreciate that, as we know.
The plan looked like this on paper:
A base game should start with the campaign and give players plenty to do, hooking them. Publishers marketed the base game grandly, like a normal AAA game for single players.
The game aimed to stay fresh and improve like an “MMO” with patches and balance changes. Continuous communication with players, raids, the loot spiral, and events were taken from MMOs that had already been successful on PCs for a decade.
Additionally, the games would be expanded through DLCs or even expansions for several years, just like classic blockbusters on consoles are expanded for a limited time after launch.
Ultimately, the plan was to stop further development after 2 to 3 years, end it, and continue with a part 2 that would then be back on sale at full price.
Activision and later Ubisoft wanted to combine the new idea of developing “endless games” for PS4 and Xbox One with the “old idea” of how large AAA blockbusters like The Witcher or Skyrim are maintained and monetized.
The franchise “Call of Duty,” which releases a new game every year, was particularly a model for Destiny in this context: This is shown by the megalomaniac master plan of Activision Blizzard.
Destiny opened new doors in April 2014. It was something entirely new.
This is how it looked in practice: Destiny was released in 2014, received 2 DLCs, 2 expansions, and several content patches. Then, Bungie halted further development in the summer of 2017 and released Destiny 2 in September 2017.
The studio had split into different teams. The expansion in 2016, “The Rise of Iron,” and free updates in 2017 were apparently developed by a “B-Team,” while the “A-Team” worked on Destiny 2.
The Division 1 captivated with an unusually dark story in 2016.
Sequel titles struggle to excite fans
This is how the sequels were received: Destiny 2 had a few weeks at launch where the game was praised. Sales figures were reportedly excellent as well. Especially many of the expensive special editions were sold.
However, criticism soon arose:
fans missed several features from part 1 and especially content from before
PvP was significantly less popular in part 2
there were not enough new elements
there was a lack of variety and content in the endgame
too much from part 1 was retained and recycled, such as weapons, enemy types, the classes, many NPCs, and almost everything else
especially the lack of technical advancement was criticized. Many veterans of Destiny 1 wished for 60 FPS or dedicated servers in the new game
Destiny was pretty down at the end of 2017 and much of 2018.
The Division 2 had about 2 months where it was praised and even celebrated: The campaign shone at the beginning, the game perfectly captured the atmosphere of Washington, DC; and the missions seemed well-designed: Especially the mission on Roosevelt Island was a highlight.
Then, however, frustration spread among the core players:
players also missed the special game modes from part 1
PvP was virtually non-existent in The Division 2
According to Ubisoft, The Division 2 fell short of sales expectations. Apparently, they could not convey why players should buy a new installment when they had already patched the first one so well.
With Warlords of New York, The Division 2 received a new expansion in 2020.
The future of The Division 2 is unclear. After a major expansion was released in 2020, a regular expansion with content updates is planned. A new mode is also being discussed. Whether the franchise The Division will continue is currently not known.
“Content model” shows many weaknesses in practice
These are the biggest problems with the model: The idea of a “game as a service” is to continuously improve a base game over the years, refine it, and provide players with more opportunities to express themselves. Players should also grow in the world, build a character and a social environment that binds them. They should put down roots.
Players should grow fond of and develop their hero over the years.
After games like Destiny or The Division have been refined and improved for over 3 years, it is not understandable for players why they should give this up and start over in the same world. Especially when there are hardly any new features, but just a new campaign.
This restart with empty hands stirred a lot of resentment. It was also difficult for the studios to promote the games, apart from the story and atmosphere, from being threatened by something powerful. In both sequel titles, there were few to no new unique selling points to be seen. It is a tough situation for the studios:
on one hand, part 2 should feel like the “old game” and provide all the features and comforts players have gotten used to
on the other hand, it should be “new and exciting” enough for players to feel they are genuinely playing something new and not just continuing the old game, as fatigue with the old had already set in
In practice, it has also proven problematic to consistently ask players to pay for small content. For every DLC, players are expected to shell out about 10€, for expansions again 40€, and for the new game then another 70€.
If DLCs disappoint and the mood is low, players simply stop buying new content: The player base splinters and shrinks. The problem is worsened when players are expected to buy new content just when the old content is exhausted and the mood is generally bad.
He had to take the fall for Destiny 2, even though he had little time at the helm: Luke Smith.
Additionally, there was a practical problem: It is apparently logistically extremely difficult to develop a new game while the old one is still being continued and developed:
Massive has seemingly managed this well with The Division 2. But only because other Ubisoft studios took over the continuation of The Division 1
Bungie was constantly in crisis mode because their content pipeline for Destiny 1 collapsed at the end of 2015, and they had to reboot and finish Destiny 2 under time pressure. This resulted in 3 of the 6 content years of Destiny being rather mediocre. Bungie has still not fully recovered from that mess.
This is why the model was used: The model of Destiny and The Division 2 still comes from a time when it was believed that game franchises needed to be available in stores every year or every two years to reach new players. Thus, classic game franchises were operated on PS4 and Xbox One. This is the model that, for example, Call of Duty relies on.
Therefore, Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft thought they needed new games to visually and through PR signal to players that they could re-enter the game and keep it relevant and in the conversation.
Thinking is changing now
This has changed: In the past 6 years, the market has changed dramatically. Thanks to such endless games as GTA Online, Fortnite, or Apex Legends, it is now clear that game franchises can remain in the conversation consistently, even without being “on the shelves” in a new box with display stands. Additionally, digital game purchases have gained significant momentum on consoles.
The Elder Scrolls Online is an example of how to go “without a part 2”: namely, also and better.
Games like Anthem are now released with the announcement: We are not going to provide any DLCs. Okay, that went horribly wrong with Anthem, but this changed thinking was already evident with new online franchises in 2019.
Studio Wildcard has stopped working on part 2 of ARK Survival Evolved, to continue developing ARK. They realized that existing fans do not want to stop playing and loving the old MMO.
Even Call of Duty now enjoys operating an endless game with Warzone and is in no hurry to introduce the new Call of Duty 2020 as in previous years.
With Destiny, it continues without part 3.
Actually, Destiny 3 was supposed to be released. That was Activision Blizzard’s wish, as can be seen from the contract. Especially the launch of PS5 and Xbox Series X would have provided an opportunity for that.
However, Bungie apparently resisted this and had a different vision. The two companies went their separate ways. Meanwhile, the studio and publisher have been separated for 19 months:
Building a strong Ultimate Team is not that easy – after all, it’s hard to get good cards. But after 6 years of FUT, MeinMMO author Max Handwerk has actually put together a team in FIFA 20 that is really strong. What was different this year?
This is my FUT club: When looking at German professional football, it quickly becomes clear that many clubs have their founding date in their name or crest. The emblem of Borussia Dortmund, for example, proudly displays “BVB 09”, referring to its founding in 1909, while Schalke 04 dates back to 1904 – just to name two examples. So, the clubs have been around for over a hundred years. Thus, it’s reasonable to refer to tradition in the title.
In the title of my Ultimate Team club, which was founded in February 2014, however, there is no number. After all, it is only six years old. Besides, “Lazy Dogs 14” just sounds much worse than simply “Lazy Dogs” – because that’s what my glorious FUT club is called. As you can see, this has little to do with professional football.
Strong players like Leroy Sané were not in my team before
Unfortunately, this also applied to my FUT squad for a long time. Because: Over the years, I avoided investing money in Ultimate Team. I generally play without purchasing FIFA Points, which makes it quite difficult to secure strong cards in Ultimate Team. Often, the packs you earn simply don’t provide what the team currently needs.
This year, however, everything went a little differently. I started FUT in FIFA 20 with the goal of getting at least two to three players with ratings over 90 into my team by the end of the season. Now I look at my team and see: No player is below the 90 rating anymore. In FIFA 20, my Ultimate Team is stronger than ever – how the hell did that happen?
This is what the current starting lineup of my “Lazy Dogs” looks like. A team I could only dream of in FIFA 17, 18, or 19.
In FIFA 20, everything was different
My current team includes many players from the good Weekend League rewards of the events “TOTSSF” and “Summer Heat“. These need to be viewed separately, as both events generally provided good opportunities to acquire strong players.
But even before that, my team kept gaining new members. The main reason: I fully focused on untradeable packs and players this year. I quickly abandoned the idea of acquiring the absolute top cards on the market. Consequently, I hardly sold any players on the market to earn coins and correspondingly bought few players. Instead, I looked at: What can you get if you primarily focus on SBCs and tasks?
Here are the results: Of course, I still don’t have crazy cards like Icon-Ronaldo, which will probably never happen. But for example, Icon Swaps 1 gave me a free icon in Roberto Carlos, who recently stood in my starting lineup. The Brazilian kept things tight at the back and played over 700 games. Later, it was Puyol that you could get from Icon Swaps.
POTM Vardy long provided goals in my attack
In addition, there were good SBC players like POTM Vardy and later POTM Werner. The fast striker scored goals for months until he was recently replaced. Otherwise, I always looked at SBCs that are worth it. While many SBCs aren’t worth it, some stand out with a good price/performance ratio.
Besides Icon Swaps, there were always weekly objective players who could improve the team. Scream-Özil, for example, came into play early and was extremely worth it. However, as the game progressed, it became increasingly difficult to secure objective players, as more and more strong players from the upper leagues were dropping into the divisions to complete the tasks more easily. There might be a need for a revision in FIFA 21 – perhaps in the form of a tournament mode.
The TOTSSF card of Alisson I got from Weekend League Rewards – and I never had to change goalkeepers again
Speaking of tournament mode: The Weekend League and its rewards also contributed to making the team stronger than before. However, two points are important here that already existed in FIFA 19.
In the Weekend League, I usually finish between Silver 1 and Gold 2 – not necessarily high, but enough to get some good rewards. Those, in turn, are at least suitable for SBCs.
My FUT 20 conclusion: Despite all the positive experiences this year, it is still clear: Those who do not invest money in FUT find it hard to get good cards. This remains a problem. Especially when looking at cases like the young man who lost all his study money on packs.
However, I must say: For the first time, I felt in FIFA 20 that I could build a good team without spending money. Thanks to Icon Swaps, thanks to weekly objectives, and thanks to SBCs. I hope these features will be further developed and improved in FUT 21. So that the weekly objectives might become fairer to complete, or SBCs offer a better value than they often do still.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Season 21 of Diablo 3, groups are currently using the season theme with an unusual method to become particularly strong. Players thought it was an exploit. Now Blizzard says that it’s intended – some can’t believe it.
What is happening in Season 21? The new season of Diablo 3 started on July 3 with issues. Shortly after the launch, some players noticed that the season theme was incredibly annoying. Complaints about this persisted for weeks – also that some group players were exploiting the new buff for enormous strength. There was a suspicion that it was an exploit that players were taking advantage of.
Now there is a statement from the Diablo team. However, it did not turn out the way some players in the community imagined. Blizzard has endorsed the method.
Blizzard says: “It works as intended”
What did Blizzard do? In a forum post on Diablo, Blizzard addressed the season theme of Season 21 on July 15. They announced that there was a hotfix and explained in the patch notes for the hotfix what this changed.
Among other things, they removed this annoying honking that was driving players crazy. They also took away players’ ability to collect stacks for the season buff outside of Greater Nephalem Rifts and then bring them into the rift. This apparently fell under the “exploit” category.
This strong effect is what the exploit is about
This group exploit is not an exploit: Essentially, the season buff works by building up stacks for the buff through killing monsters. The more stacks, the more powerful the effect, which occurs after 90 seconds. This effect manifests in-game as a large area damage ability that damages enemies and even rift bosses. Once the effect is triggered after 90 seconds of collecting, the stack collection starts all over again.
For solo players, this mechanic is simple and easy to handle. For group play, there is a mechanic to share these stacks among each other.
Players discovered that the system can be manipulated in a group to extend the time to collect stacks indefinitely instead of just 90 seconds. The great advantage of this is that with this method, thousands of stacks can be collected. When these then trigger the effect on the rift boss, it gets “oneshotted” – it simply drops dead.
This is Blizzard’s response: In the forum post that Blizzard published regarding the hotfix, players ask:
“Too bad that it doesn’t help against the people exploiting the stacks and completing GR150s”
“And the exploit continues, right? If that’s the case, I’m done with the season […]”
“So when will you fix the exploit of stacked buff stacks that has allowed many 4-man groups to run GR150s, thus earning them many gems at rank 150, 750 Caldesanns [through Kanai’s Cube] and a ridiculous number of Paragon levels?”
In response to all these questions about group play, Community Manager PezRadar replies in the forum:
“According to the design team’s intent, sharing the seasonal buff in groups works as intended.”
Players respond sometimes with surprise, anger, or make fun of it.
“Lol. Ridiculous. It’s not a bug, but a feature. GG.”
“Wait, you’re telling me that building and sharing stacks to finish GR150s is your ‘intended design’? Instead of my character killing mobs? LOL GG 150 for everyone. […]”
“I can’t find words. I literally can’t imagine how passing the buff is ‘intended’. This is ridiculous.”
“LOL. So the whole ‘exploit’ thing simply works as intended? I was wondering why I didn’t see anything about it in the patch notes. At least we know now. Some players were worried they might get banned for this.”
Others refuse to accept the statement. They suspect that Blizzard currently doesn’t know how to fix the problem. Therefore, they would declare it as “intended”.
Actually, Call of Duty: Warzone is free. However, you need to complete tricky challenges for two of the weapons that allow for currently the strongest builds. And that is nearly impossible without paying for it.
Which weapons are we talking about?The assault rifle Grau 5.56 and the LMG Bruen MK9 are currently among the top weapons in Call of Duty: Warzone. The loadouts of some of the strongest players are built around them.
The Grau has been in the game since Season 2 and was already available through the Battle Pass back then. The Bruen came shortly after, with Season 3.
What makes them so strong: The Grau is popular for its high range and high accuracy. It is slightly slower than most assault rifles, but it hits better even at long distances and is highly customizable.
The Bruen, on the other hand, is an LMG but can take on the properties of an assault rifle with the right attachments. This makes it more mobile and easier to handle while retaining the firepower of a machine gun. Even professionals consider it one of the best weapons.
The Bruen MK9 is considered one of the strongest weapons in Warzone.
The two weapons are played and recommended by many experts and professionals. They are easy to handle and stronger than most competitors – despite a nerf for the Grau. Both the Grau and the Bruen are at the top of the tier list by professional player Vikkstar.
Grau and Bruen behind a paywall?
Here’s how to unlock them: The catch with these guns is that you don’t just get them by leveling up. For both weapons, you need to complete a challenge:
The Grau requires 5 kills in a minute (25 times)
The Bruen requires 3 kills “near a smoke grenade” (15 times)
Why it’s so hard: Both situations practically never occur in Warzone. Hitting five opponents within a minute and then killing them all is highly unlikely in battle royale.
You would have to be among the absolute top players to unlock the Grau – and do so without being able to use those top weapons.
And even then, at least two opposing teams (in quad mode) would need to be in the same spot, and you would have to eliminate them entirely or partially without dying yourself. And that within a minute in a mode where everyone has more health due to armor.
The Bruen, on the other hand, is even less likely. You would have to bring smoke grenades since hardly anyone plays with them and then either partially obscure yourself through the smoke or make opponents stand near it. Stun and flash grenades or the powerful heartbeat sensor are simply better.
So where’s the paywall? Even if theoretically you could pull it off, the time investment would be enormous. However, if you buy Modern Warfare directly, you can dive into the multiplayer modes there.
In these, you have the option to simply create a loadout with smoke grenades and specifically play for the challenges in the rounds. Especially deathmatch rounds are excellent for this because here only kills are played for.
On Shipment, there’s always a lot of action – Here you can unlock the weapons particularly quickly.
The maps are smaller, you encounter opponents more frequently, and there are even maps that explicitly promote a lot of action. A few rounds on the small maps Shipment, Rust, or Shoot House are already enough to provide you with the strong weapons.
There are free weekends when F2P players can play the corresponding playlists or specific modes in which it is easier to unlock the weapons, but these are not always available.
Those who want to unlock the weapons more easily at any time without waiting need to buy Modern Warfare. You only have permanent access to Shipment and Co. if you pay.
Even though the Grau and the Bruen are two of the strongest weapons, you do not necessarily need to own them to win in Warzone. If you do not want to spend money (or really invest a lot of time), you’ll find here 3 strong setups to replace the Grau 5.56.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) can be a tough nut to crack, especially for returning players or newcomers. We want to share some really silly beginner mistakes that we made ourselves and that you can easily avoid.
The Elder Scrolls Online is a very versatile game with many DLCs and addons. If you haven’t played for a few years or are just starting out, it’s easy to lose track. Finding the start of the main quest can already be a challenge.
I, MeinMMO author Larissa Then, played ESO for the first time in beta. Then I took a break for several years, and when I returned, everything felt new to me. I just jumped in without really reading up.
As a result, I made some really silly beginner mistakes that I want to share with you. Some of these also happened to my guildmates and not just to me.
1. Spending too much gold on travel
This is the mistake: In ESO, there are various wayshrines on each map. You can use them to travel from point A to point B. This allows you to travel quickly, aside from the loading times.
If you teleport from the middle of the map to a wayshrine, you have to pay a fee. The more frequently you travel this way consecutively, the more expensive it becomes. In the beginning of your ESO career, traveling a lot can really add up in gold. Unless, of course, you avoid this silly mistake unlike I did.
You can see the wayshrines as little towers on your map
This is how it should be: You can also travel for free to a wayshrine of your choice. All you need to do is go to the nearest wayshrine on your map and click on it. Then the map opens and you can head to a previously discovered location. This way, you save money even if you have to travel several times in a row.
And since the wayshrines are easily accessible almost everywhere, it doesn’t really take much more time. Otherwise, you can also travel for free if you teleport to a group or guild member.
2. The stats must all be evenly distributed
This is the mistake: In ESO, you have three different stats that you can skill: health, stamina, and magicka. In other MMOs, these attributes are often distributed as needed.
You might take care of your health, but also focus on your stamina and mana. At least that’s what I thought at first, and I distributed my stats relatively evenly.
The three skillable attributes in ESO
This is how it should be: In ESO, however, this is less sensible. You typically pick one stat. There are different roles: tank, damage dealer, and healer. We from MeinMMO will tell you which classes are best suited for which role. If you choose the tank role, please play tank as well. The fake tanks in ESO are annoying.
If you want to play healer now, you only invest in magicka. As a DD, you choose either a stamina or a magicka-oriented build. Distributing points across all three stats is usually pointless.
3. Only skills that deal damage are important
This is the mistake: I am a big advocate of damage-over-time and self-heal skills. However, some members of my guild reported that in the beginning, they thought only pure damage attacks were worthwhile.
If the enemies are quickly defeated, there’s no need for healing or damage-over-time – logically.
This is how it should be: The races and classes in ESO are very versatile. You can play nearly any weapon and armor well with any class, and all roles are theoretically possible.
This gives you a wide range of attacks. But you should always be mindful of not just dealing a lot of damage but also maintaining good survivability.
In the fight against a Harrowstorm, it’s not just about damage; you also need to survive
Especially in longer fights or when a lot of damage is coming in, like during the new Harrowstorms that my colleague Jürgen Horn finds cooler than dragons, this is very important. At least if you’re playing them in small groups. A proper self-heal can help keep you afloat when no healer is present or is busy elsewhere.
4. Every piece of equipment must be maxed out
This is the mistake: In ESO, you can build your own equipment or ask your guild members what they can craft for you. Otherwise, you can of course also get armor and weapons dropped in large quantities.
Usually, your equipment is then exquisite or superior, two of the lowest rarity levels. In ESO, however, you can upgrade items. This can go up to a legendary level. The higher the level, the more materials you need for success.
Of course, I thought at first how great it would be if the dropped or crafted equipment were epic or legendary. Then you waste countless materials on an item you’ll soon replace anyway. Of course, I never reached Legendary.
This is how it should be: For your leveling phase, the first rarity levels are definitely sufficient. Only after level 50 and CP 160 should you seriously consider upgrading your equipment to legendary.
A crafted set piece with the ability “Teaching”
Find a nice guild member who can make you leveling equipment. There are sets with the “Teaching” ability that grant you increased experience gain. These items are not expensive to craft for the leveling phase, and you should have no trouble getting them.
5. Spending several weeks in first-person
This is the mistake: An absolutely avoidable and all the more amusing mistake happened to one of my guild members. He started ESO and somehow ended up in first-person perspective. He spent several weeks without switching to third-person.
This can of course be intentional for some. However, my colleague somehow fell into this and simply didn’t know that he could change it. Most players play MMORPGs from a third-person perspective, so it’s how many also play ESO.
I like to play ESO from an outside perspective; first-person isn’t for me in online games
This is how it should be: If you enjoy playing from the first person, that’s perfectly valid. However, if you actually prefer an outside view, you can easily change the camera mode with a key press.
The default keys for this are:
V on PC
Press the down arrow key on PS4
Press down on the D-Pad on Xbox One
Now you know about my newbie mistakes that make me think today: “Were you actually stupid?” My guild members and I talked about this topic over voice chat and laughed a lot about ourselves. How about you? Have you made silly mistakes at the beginning, or did you jump in as a pro gamer right away?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A stream by Jens “Knossi” Knossalla has broken the German viewer record on Twitch. The concert of rapper Sido at the Angelcamp reached over 310,000 viewers. For German Twitch, this is a new dimension. Even English-speaking Twitch viewers are wondering what’s happening.
This is how the record came about: To put it briefly: Sido rapped in a lively summer atmosphere and two of the biggest German Twitch streamers were there.
The longer version: Twitch streamer Knossi is currently hosting a 72-hour live event called “Angelcamp”. They are broadcasting from a swimming lake in Brandenburg an der Havel with high production quality.
At the event, there is a lively summer atmosphere, with lots of talking, joking, and fishing. The biggest star in the camp is certainly rapper Sido. There are also some other content creators or celebrities on site, who bring their own viewers with them, including musician Manny Marc from the group “Die Atzen” or YouTuber Sascha Hellinger from Unsympathisch TV. Although the moderator Klaas Heufer-Umlauf was absent, there was still a lot of celebrity presence.
In the Instagram post, someone quite rightly asked: How many subscriptions are actually in the picture?
Over the course of Saturday, the viewer count steadily increased throughout the day, until the event culminated in a concert by Sido, where he sang his hits like “Bilder im Kopf”.
In addition, the largest German-speaking streamer on Twitch, MontanaBlack, stopped by.
This, combined with a mild Saturday evening and the summer slump, provided Knossi’s stream with a viewer count that was previously unthinkable in Germany.
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.
This is what Twitch records in Germany look like (Source: Screengrab Knossi Twitch).
This is what the Americans say about the event: In the current summer slump in gaming, where no new games are released and the few that were planned have been postponed, Sido’s concert is a topic in the English-speaking community (via reddit). It is said:
recently, German Twitch is really taking off – although they don’t understand what Sido is singing, they think he really has talent
It’s a great idea to do something like this – why don’t other festivals throw similar parties?
310,500 viewers – this is a new dimension for German-speaking Twitch. Source: Twitter
it’s “weird and cool”; there’s a whole world out there of content from non-English streamers that are incredibly popular and about which nothing is known. Twitch has only scratched the surface of how big it can get
Indeed, there is a world on Twitch beyond the English-speaking streams. Twitch has 19 non-English speaking channels among the top 50 (sorted by hours watched). They broadcast in French, Spanish, Russian, German, Korean or Portuguese.
A debate about MontanaBlack occupied German Twitch in May.
Now, German Twitch is once again making positive headlines. A few months ago, it looked very different. German satirist Jan Böhmermann initiated a debate in a podcast when he dealt with Twitch and streamer MontanaBlack and his community:
For weeks, the apartment glitch has stubbornly persisted in GTA Online. Developers are trying to patch it, but players continue to cheat millions of GTA dollars with it.
What’s going on in GTA Online? For weeks, players have been using the “Apartment Glitch” to duplicate millions of GTA dollars (the in-game currency of GTA Online). Players aren’t earning the money as Rockstar intended, but are following a specific sequence of steps and need to disable the internet at a certain moment for the glitch to work.
There have already been several patches from the developers intended to remove the glitch from the game. However, these fixes never last long. It sometimes only takes a few hours for “workarounds” to be found and shared in the community.
Guide for the Apartment Glitch Keeps Getting Longer
This is the problem: Rockstar seems unable to fix the issue. So far, at least, there hasn’t been a patch that eliminates the glitch once and for all. This is a problem for Rockstar Games, as players are easily filling their pockets contrary to the studio’s intentions and becoming multimillionaires. The fastest cars in GTA Online can be bought without a second thought.
Normally, players would have to grind or complete many missions to earn millions. With the glitch, this can be done in minutes – and much easier.
Reports on reddit are increasing that the glitch has been patched and shortly after, a workaround is working again.
It’s becoming inconvenient for players: When the glitch became a topic in the GTA Online community back in April, it initially consisted of about 10 steps. Players are supposed to follow these steps one by one to make money with the glitch.
With the workarounds often come new steps or existing ones become more complicated. As Dexerto shows, one of the newest guides for the apartment glitch now consists of 15 steps. Players comment on reddit, “I hate that it gets longer every time there’s a workaround.”
This is what has happened so far: Shortly after the opening of the casino in GTA Online, players found a way to stuff their pockets significantly during horse races. The money glitch during horse racing was something Rockstar initially couldn’t get under control. Then a better detection system for this mechanic followed along with some bans – players then moved on and looked for money glitches elsewhere.
The question now is whether Rockstar Games will find a solution for this problem with the apartment glitch in a timely manner or whether the workarounds will eventually become so inconvenient for the glitchers that they’ll look for other areas to cheat money.
At this point, we strongly advise against using such glitches. You risk your account and, in the worst case, could get banned and lose everything you have ever earned.
In Final Fantasy XIV there are a number of mounts that are truly absurd. We present 10 of them and explain how you can obtain them.
When Final Fantasy XIV came back online almost 7 years ago, players could only choose from a small number of mounts. There were the classic Chocobos and a handful of other means of transportation.
By now, the MMORPG has more than 160 different mounts, and some of them are so absurd that they are actually great. Here are the 10 best of them.
The Spellbed
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.
According to legend, the flying bed was commissioned by a member of the royal family of Voeburt. The man was so lazy that he wished nothing more than to never part from his pillow.
As much as most of us can understand this longing (especially on Monday mornings), the mount is still a pretty absurd choice for the Warrior of Light. They are always eager to complete the latest fetch quests and deliver as many Allagan stones to Rowena as possible. Always…
How do I obtain the Spellbed? If you want to fulfill your character’s dream of always having a cozy bed with you, you need to craft it or ask your friends.
The bed requires:
10x Wind Crystal
10x Ice Crystal
4x Puffs of Cloud
4x Natural Velvet
3x Enchanted Elm Lumber
Alternatively, you can also buy the bed at the market board if you have the necessary funds.
Adaman-Taimai
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.
It is not a big deal that we are dealing with a flying turtle with Adaman-Taimai. After all, turtles glide through the water so elegantly that it seems like they can fly. The catch here is more about how Adaman-Taimai flies.
The dizzying spinning while flying not only looks ridiculous, but it should cause severe nausea for any Warrior of Light after no more than 15 seconds. Aside from that, Adaman-Taimai are not native flyers. Only with the help of thaumaturgic magic are they able to rise into the air. Science has clearly gone too far here.
How do I obtain Adaman-Taimai? This mount can be found in the casino of FFXIV, the Gold Saucer.
You can exchange 200,000 MGP for Adaman-Taimai at the receptionist in the Gold Saucer (X: 5.1 / Y: 7.6)
Whisper Gondola (Special)
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.
Just the first look at this mount makes it clear why it made it onto our list of craziness. Players of FFXIV sometimes affectionately refer to the grin as “Sperm.” Unlike most other mounts, it does not adjust its size to the player’s race.
A Lalafell might look cute in the gondola, but at the latest with a male Au Ra, it’s hard to look at without shaking your head or laughing. Not to mention Roegadyns.
Where do I get the gondola? Currently, it is unfortunately not possible to obtain the Whisper Gondola Special. It was tied to a limited-time collaboration event with Yokai Watch.
However, there is a possibility that the event will return to FFXIV. Then you can jump right into the grind.
Fat Cat
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.
When the fat cat first became available in FFXIV, it immediately became (for about 5 hours) the community’s collective favorite mount. It was dedicated to fan art and parades were held. And hardly anyone wondered where it came from and why it could even fly.
Even though the fat cat looks extremely comfortable and soft, Warriors of Light should beware. It is most likely a demonic non-entity or a bloated cat corpse controlled by one. In any case, it’s not a good idea to ride it, no matter how cute the mount appears.
How do I obtain the fat cat? Those who can’t resist all that fluffiness and have no fear of non-beings or necromancy can only purchase the cat in the FFXIV real-money shop.
The fat cat is available at the Moogle Kiosk for €16.80
Dhalmel
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.
While flying pigs in FFXIV are not so unusual and even make sense from a lore perspective, flying giraffes are a different story. Not even the game itself can provide a clear answer as to how Dhalmel learned to fly.
Reportedly, a Dhalmel once tried to reach the juicy leaves of a tree located on a neighboring island in the sea of clouds. However, it slipped and fell to the depths. Through sheer willpower to survive, it then spontaneously learned to fly. Let’s be honest, that sounds crazy.
How do I obtain the Dhalmel? If you absolutely want the giraffe, you will need a bit of luck or Gil in your pocket.
Dhalmel is available as one of the rewards for the Kupo Lottery during the reconstruction of Ishgard
Alternatively, you can also buy the Dhalmel at the market board
Dodo
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.
We’ll let you in on a secret: Not a single mount on this list can fly without any use of magic or technology. This also applies to the only real bird among them: the Dodo.
But that’s not even the reason why the Dodo made it onto this list. Dodos couldn’t fly in the real world either, and that was okay. The animations and appearance of the mount in FFXIV are simply so ridiculously absurd that there was no way around it. Look into its eyes. That silly look says it all.
How do I obtain the Dodo? To obtain the Dodo, you need to rely either on your drop luck or put some money on the table.
The Dodo is randomly available from the Platinum Radiant Treasure Chests found in the dungeon Heaven’s Pillar
Alternatively, you can also buy the Dodo at the market board for Gil
Mogry Moppel
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.
The Mogry Moppel had to fight hard to earn its spot on this list against another heavyweight from FFXIV: The Chocomoppel in all its color variations. However, the Mogry performed slightly better on the absurdity scale.
While the Chocomoppel as a bird has a certain affinity for flying, this is less the case for the Mogry. On the contrary. Even its in-game description states that its considerable body volume comes from overindulging in Kupo Nuts and that its little wings should not be able to hold it up in the air. And yet, they do.
How do I obtain the Mogry? The romantic souls among you who want to invite your partner for a ride with the Mogry Moppel need to go to the FFXIV real-money shop first:
The Mogry Moppel is available at the Moogle Kiosk for €21.00
Urn of the Water Serpent
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.
For countless years, the Great Serpent of Ronka, whose voice makes the earth tremble, lay in a deep sleep. Now it has awakened and decided to bless you with its divine presence. The fact that it appears in the form of a chubby worm or sits in an urn is of no importance to the chosen followers.
They are indeed able to recognize the divinity of the Great Serpent of Ronka, whose holiness outshines the sun, in any form! And whoever dares to mock the Great Serpent of Ronka, the holy protector of the forest, will feel its wrath.
How do I obtain the urn of the Great and Holy Water Serpent? The path to the urn of the serpent is long and dangerous. The chosen adventurers must travel to another world and fight against the flood of light.
The exact quest sequence is explained in this article:
In the dark age, there was a distinction in FFXIV between mounts that could fly and those that could not. Then the development team decided to give every mount the ability to fly. This led to the skies of the MMORPG world being filled with flying creatures that would normally prefer to stay on the ground.
At the top of that list was the Tyrannosaurus, which when flying looks as if it doesn’t quite know what the hell it’s doing. Of course, in FFXIV, everything can basically be explained with “It’s magic!” But then you should be prepared for the fact that some mounts will end up on our absurd list because of it.
How do I obtain the Tyrannosaurus? If you want to ride a flying dinosaur, you sadly must head to Eureka:
The Tyrannosaurus is a random drop from the Anemos Lockboxes in Eureka Anemos
Ufiti
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.
Even though flying monkeys haven’t been a novelty since The Wizard of Oz, Ufiti from FFXIV is a different caliber. This is partly because it is a huge flying gorilla and not a little monkey with wings and a hat.
On the other hand, we are indeed riding a mount whose species has been almost completely wiped out. By us. The influx of adventurers to the diadem, where Ufiti used to live, led to the monkey population being massacred. And now we use it as a mount.
How do I obtain Ufiti? To obtain your own monkey that carries you around, you need to be able to craft or have some Gil in your pocket.
Ufiti Horn can be exchanged for 8,400 Sky City Reconstruction Tokens at the NPC Enie in Ishgard (Sky City X: 12 / Y: 14)
or you can acquire it at the market board
So much for our ridiculous mounts in the game. Do you know of any other mounts that are similarly silly but funny?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
For the Community Day with Nebulak in Pokémon GO you can buy an event ticket “The Great Nebulak” for €1. This is a special research. We will show you what rewards such as Stardust, candies, and experience points are included.
What kind of ticket is this? Today, on July 19, 2020, the Community Day with Nebulak runs from 11 AM to 5 PM local time. In the Pokémon GO shop, there is a corresponding event ticket for a price of €0.99. By purchasing, you unlock a special research with Nebulak – “The Great Nebulak”.
Here we will show you what quests await you and what rewards there are. This special research offers 4 steps with 3 quests each.
The Great Nebulak 1/4
Task
Reward
Use 10x Power-Up on Pokémon
10x PokéBall
Catch 15 Nebulak
20x Nebulak Candy
Land 5 nice throws
Encounter with Nebulak
Reward for completing the stage: If you complete all three quests, you will receive 2000 Stardust, 1x incense, and an encounter with Nebulak.
The Great Nebulak 2/4
Task
Reward
Catch 15 Nebulak
20x Nebulak Candy
Send 10 Pokémon
Encounter with Alpollo
Evolve 3 Nebulak
1,000 experience points
Reward for completing the stage: If you complete all three quests, you will receive 2000 Stardust, 1x incense, and a Knursp.
The Great Nebulak 3/4
Task
Reward
Land 3 great curveball throws
10x Nebulak Candy
Evolve an Alpollo
5x Golden Raspberry
Send 10 Pokémon
1,500 experience points
Reward for completing the stage: If you complete all three quests, you will receive 2000 Stardust, 1x incense, and a Rocket Radar.
Reward for completing the stage: If you claim the rewards of all three quests, you will receive 2000 Stardust, 3 special candies, and an encounter with Gengar.
This is what you get for €1: Provided you complete all quests, you can expect plenty of content for the purchase price.
In total, that’s:
13,000 Stardust (Minus the Stardust needed for the Power-Ups in step 1)
4,000 experience points
50 Nebulak Candy (The candies from encounters are added)
10 PokéBalls
5 Golden Raspberries
5 Silver Raspberries
3x incense
3 special candies
1 Knursp
1 Rocket Radar
2 Nebulak encounters
1 Alpollo encounter
1 Gengar encounter
Is it worth it? The rewards are quite good and worthwhile for the purchase price. One point that receives criticism in the community is that you must use 10 Power-Ups and thereby spend some of your Stardust.
However, those who plan to push a few 100 IV Pokémon or strengthen their perfect Gengar during the event should have no problem with this investment.
