Destiny 2: I am satisfied with Season 9, but the artifact disappoints me

Philipp Hansen Philipp Hansen Reading time 4 minutes

The artifact mechanics in Destiny 2 I actually think are good. But in the season of dawn, they do not convince me. Read what bothers me and why I see a light on the horizon.

This is how I see the season of dawn: The current Season 9 started in December and runs until March. Actually, I am quite satisfied with it so far. The centerpiece this time is the sundial. The PvE task for six guardians replaces the less popular Vex invasion.

In my opinion, the sundial does much better than the fight against the Vex. We can specifically farm good loot, switch bosses, and the mechanics of the activity are also more fun. Additionally, I personally just like the time travel setting better.

In our article about the paradox time travel theory, I have already gone into more detail about the story. The story, which revolves around Warlock Osiris and Saint-14, is simply great.

Destiny-2-Duo-1140x445

Also, the scope of the season is not a disappointment for me. Like most other guardians, it was clear to me that this season cannot compete with Season 8 plus the Shadowkeep expansion.

But what bothers me then? It is the seasonal artifact that rubs me the wrong way.

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Destiny 2: Everything about the artifact in Season 9 – Information, Mods, Unlocking
von Philipp Hansen

Wasted potential

What is behind the artifact? Artifacts are tied to the current season. With the start of a new season, it disappears and is replaced by another variant. The item grants a handful of different bonuses.

Artifacts level passively and thus increase your power level, theoretically even endlessly. In addition, you unlock unique and extremely powerful mods. These specifically support you against the dangers of the ongoing season. In Season 9, you have access to “the lantern of Osiris”.

saint-14-titel-destiny-2-1140x445
The legendary Titan is already one of the coolest Destiny characters for me

That’s why the artifact disappoints me: Through the artifact, we guardians gain access to special mods. I was curious what Bungie would pull out of the hat in Season 9. When I first saw the complete list of mods, I was not pleased.

Virtually all mods have been simply carried over. Only the element or weapon type was changed:

  • Instead of Void grenades, Solar grenades now cause disturbances.
  • Last season there were bonus glimmer from Vex, now it’s Cabal.
  • In Season 8 it was said that Hand Cannons reload faster, currently it’s rifles.
  • Anti-Barrier rounds are now on pulse rifles instead of submachine guns.

Some mods have been completely carried over unchanged. These include, for example, the ability “Disruptor’s Tip”. Artifacts should actually bring fresh wind into Destiny every season.

The 2nd seasonal artifact of Destiny 2 – The lantern of Osiris

Last season, champions appeared for the first time, which could only be effectively fought through artifact mods. This season, there were supposed to be new such elite enemies. But unfortunately, they are basically the same champions, just in the form of Cabal.

They still rely on their barriers or rush relentlessly towards the guardians. Additionally, I do not understand why the desperately needed mods are now almost only found on long-range weapons. I can only break the otherwise indestructible champion shields with scouts, bows, or pulse rifles.

Why doesn’t Destiny offer a mix? Both melee and distance weapons could be strong against champions in parallel. Also, artifact mods can only be found on primary weapons, some few exotics excluded. Speaking of exotic weapons, I wonder: Why can’t the showcase models be equipped with mods?

perfect paradox
No love for special weapons from the artifact

There is a glimmer of hope

What the new artifact does right: I did not want to give the impression that I boil with rage as soon as I see the seasonal artifact. I am just disappointed by the largely missing creativity.

The artifact also offers positive features in the season of dawn:

  • The guardian angel mod is fresh and interesting – you are basically an immortal fire shield from afar. You create healing spheres when you take down enemies with the currently favored long-range weapons.
  • Previously unpopular mods have been sensibly combined. Now you gain melee and grenade energy when breaking shields. Previously, these were two separate mods.
  • The mod “From the Deep” cost 5 energy last season, hardly anyone used it at that price. Now you can deal significantly higher damage with your void super for just 3 energy.

This mechanic is something new: Since Season 9, guardians can collect a new buff: “Charged with Light”. This hides a previously unused mechanic that is very creative.

To charge with light, guardians must equip special mods – these can be bought from the obelisks. The mods grant stacks of light charge for individual tasks, such as multi-kills with fusion rifles.

Once the light is gathered, guardians can sacrifice it for powerful abilities or traits. The new light mechanic allows for very strong and unique builds. However, the strongest obelisk mods demand their toll, for example, they reduce your stats.

Guardians must actively weigh their options and think about their configuration. I would have wished for such aspects from the seasonal artifact as well.

https://images.mein-mmo.de/magazin/medien/2019/12/etz-obelisk-destiny-2.jpg
For each obelisk, there are three of the creative mods

What do you think about Season 9 and especially the current artifact? Do you believe Bungie will expand the artifact system in the future – after all, potential is available.

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

Pokémon GO: Players waited months for party hat Wurmple – Now disappointed

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 2 minutes

Currently, the Egg Hatch Marathon is running in Pokémon GO, and you can get Party Hat Wurmple from eggs. However, the highlight for many players is now becoming a disappointment.

This is what the Egg Hatch Marathon brings: In addition to many bonuses related to eggs and Adventure Sync, there are also Party Hat Pokémon. Woingenau and Rattikarl can be found in raids and eggs, while Pichu and Wurmple can only be found in eggs.

For many trainers, Party Hat Wurmple is the highlight of the event, as it has been a long-awaited wish, but the rarity of the Pokémon is now disappointing many players.

Party Hat Wurmple disappoints hundreds of players

This is what’s behind the Pokémon: Party Hat Wurmple has been a kind of running gag in the community for months. While Niantic has released more and more Pikachu with different hats, players demanded variety with the Pokémon. Thus, Party Hat Wurmple was born.

Shiny Wurmple
Party Hat Wurmple is also available as Shiny.

The joke was kept alive again and again, and under almost every new Hat Pikachu, there was the question of when Party Hat Wurmple would finally come.

This is the situation with Party Hat Wurmple now: The announcement of the event Pokémon was celebrated. Many trainers could not believe that this joke Pokémon was actually making its way into the game.

However, the disappointment regarding the release is great. Party Hat Wurmple is not available in the wild but only in eggs. Thus, you have to buy expensive incubators to obtain this favorite.

This is what players are demanding: The complaints surrounding the event are numerous. If you look at the comments under the Tweet from Pokémon GO about the event, the majority of players demand that Wurmple also spawns in the wild.

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Other players even accuse Niantic of merely trying to extract money here. They believe that Niantic is exploiting the hype surrounding Wurmple for financial gain, claim angry trainers.

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Is the criticism of the players justified? Indeed, it is not entirely understandable why at least Pokémon like Wurmple or Rattikarl do not spawn in the wild either.

Only Pikachu with Party Hat can be found in the wild, but the spawn rate is only minimally increased there.

One must indeed spend a large amount of money to get all potential Shinies. Thus, the accusation of a Pay2Win factor is not completely unfounded.

Nevertheless, it must also be noted that all Pokémon can be obtained without spending money. Each day there is a free raid pass, and the infinite incubator can continuously hatch event eggs.

What do you think? Is it acceptable that most of the event Pokémon can only be obtained from raids and eggs?

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Twitch streamer collects donations for a good cause, keeps the money for himself

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

A French Twitch streamer pretended to raise money for the fight against multiple sclerosis for years. However, it turned out to be a fraud. He kept the money. This came to light at the end of 2019 – the consequences for the streamer are harsh.

Who is it about? The French streamer ANIS13K has been on Twitch since 2014 and is a mid-sized streamer there. He has about 80,000 followers.

Last year, he was on the air for 2700 hours. ANIS13K was involved in all sorts of games. These are the numbers of a full-time streamer grinding Twitch: Large, successful German streamers like MontanaBlack or Gronkh streamed only about 900 hours on Twitch in 2019.

Such entertainer streamers are rare – “grinders” are active on Twitch as often as possible.

On average, between 200 and 340 people watched the French streamer.

bloodborne yharnam
176 hours spent by the streamer in Bloodborne. On average, 200 people watched him.

What is the streamer accused of? A French Twitter account, “Reveal Truth”, accused the streamer shortly before the New Year of having deceived his community for 4 years. The “charity stream”, which supposedly served a good cause, was nothing more than a facade for a fraud.

The non-profit organization “French Association of Multiple Sclerosis” (AFSEP) received no money. It is said to involve several donations amounting between €1,400 and €5,000 that AFSEP has never seen.

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Twitch streamer also wanted “crazy equipment”

How the streamer reacted: ANIS13k went live on January 2nd. The title of the stream was “Fin”, the end. The streamer appeared distraught and desperate. He cried at times. ANIS13k was seen for about 20 minutes.

As Dexerto reports, he admitted in the stream that he made the wrong decision.

It is said that he got into a vicious cycle and owed people money. The streamer had to borrow money to pay off these debts. This continued. He saw how other streamers progressed on Twitch and bought crazy equipment. He wanted that for himself too.

Every time he did it, he knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway.

Streamer asks for forgiveness, announces withdrawal from Twitch

What’s next: The streamer apologizes for his behavior and hopes not to have cast a bad light on French streamers.

He says he is in direct contact with the non-profit organization to find a way to transfer to them the money that was intended for them. The streamer announces that he does not want to stream on Twitch anymore.

In a Discord server, a user said he donated during one of the charity streams and now wants to file a lawsuit. He is in contact with the non-profit organization, they wanted to join the lawsuit.

In contrast to this sad example of a charity stream on Twitch, the German charity stream “Friendly Fire” is considered exemplary. Here, some of the biggest German Twitch streamers gather every year to raise money for various charitable organizations. In 2019, over a million euros were raised during Friendly Fire 5.

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Destiny 2: Xur today – location and offer on 03.01

Julian Schröder Julian Schröder Reading time 2 minutes

In Destiny 2, the first visit of Exotic merchant Xur in the new year is coming up. What will he bring to the Guardians and where can you find him? We reveal everything about Xur’s location and inventory this weekend.

What’s going on in Destiny 2? Currently, Guardians can still engage with the content of the winter season event. There, cookies can be baked, and favorite NPCs can be gifted.

We have the recipes for you:

Otherwise, it will be a bit quieter in the first week of the new year. However, there is information that with the next Weekly Reset at least one new exotic weapon could come into play:

But first we will deal with Xur’s visit and are excited to see what the noodle face brings us this weekend.

All info about Xur on January 3, 2019 – PS4, PC, Xbox One

What does Xur offer the Guardians? Maybe he has equipment parts with good perks and high overall values?

Let’s take a look at his inventory this weekend.

destiny 2 Xur

When does Xur appear?

This is the Xur time: As usual, the merchant appears on Fridays at 6:00 PM on a planet of his choice.

He will remain there until the next Weekly Reset on January 7, selling his exotic items to interested Guardians during this time.

Where is Xur? This is his location this weekend

The location of Xur: The exotic merchant can be found today on Io in the area “Des Riesen Narbe”.

d2 xur io
Xur’s current location on Io

Xur’s inventory from January 3 to January 7 – All Exotics at a glance

Weapon: Lord of Wolves – shotgun for 29 Legendary shards

Titan: Dune Strider – leg armor for 23 Legendary shards

  • Mobility: +13
  • Resilience: +7
  • Recovery: +6
  • Discipline: +6
  • Intellect: +6
  • Strength: +12
  • Total: 50

Hunter: St4mp-F3R – leg armor for 23 Legendary shards

  • Mobility: +18
  • Resilience: +6
  • Recovery: +2
  • Discipline: +10
  • Intellect: +6
  • Strength: +6
  • Total: 48

Warlock: Blood Alchemy – chest armor for 23 Legendary shards

  • Mobility: +12
  • Resilience: +7
  • Recovery: +8
  • Discipline: +6
  • Intellect: +12
  • Strength: +6
  • Total: 51

Exotic Engram for 97 Legendary shards

Five of Swords, the free challenge card to modify the Nightfall strike

Invitation of the Nine for 9 Legendary shards, if not completed yet

A compact overview of Xur’s inventory can be found in this video from Nexxoss Gaming:

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Chris Roberts speaks to critics of Star Citizen

Alexander Leitsch Alexander Leitsch Reading time 3 minutes

The BBC spoke with Star Citizen founder Chris Roberts in the course of a report. In the conversation, he refers to critics as know-it-alls and comments on the long development time of the MMO.

What was the report about? In the 12-minute video, the question was raised whether Star Citizen is too ambitious of an MMO. Therefore:

  • The BBC interviewed former employees of Star Citizen
  • visited CitizenCon, a trade fair specifically for the MMO
  • the BBC conducted a short interview with Chris Roberts himself, the mastermind behind Star Citizen

Questions arose about whether Star Citizen would ever be finished and where the hatred of some players toward the MMO comes from.

Star-Citizen-Mantis-Flug

Roberts calls critics “Armchair Developer”

What does Roberts say about the questions? In response to the question about the “great negativity that exists online surrounding Star Citizen,” Roberts explained that it is easy to comment negatively on the game without knowledge of the subject.

He referred to the critics as “Armchair Developers,” meaning people who give tips without having any understanding of game development.

Regarding the long development time, Roberts has a fitting comparison:

Red Dead Redemption 2 was in development for over 7 years and with a much smaller world than ours. And they had thousands of people working on it.

It takes time to create games with such high refinement and detailed simulation, as players expect today.

How deep the details go and how the world of Star Citizen is built is described by Roberts with an anecdote:

I can get into a spaceship with a coffee cup, fly to an alien planet, walk around in a forest, set the cup down, and then fly away.

If I come back a month later and no other player has moved the cup, it will still be there.

What are the criticisms of Star Citizen? Star Citizen has been in development since 2012, yet a release is still not in sight. This is also attributed to Roberts and a supposed tendency toward perfectionism.

It is said that Roberts has many ideas, but not all of them can be implemented. He lacks focus, as at least one former employee claims.

The website Forbes published an exclusive story about this in May. The report accuses Roberts of mismanagement, as he meddles in every detail and thus hinders the progress of the project. His tendency toward public relations and the staging of CGI trailers is also said to not always be beneficial.

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Despite Criticism, 2019 was a Success for Star Citizen

Star Citizen reaches milestone: Even though the MMO is still in a testing phase, things went well for Star Citizen in 2019. The game set a new milestone and reached 250 million dollars in support.

The period between the end of November and the end of December represented a new record. In 39 days, Star Citizen took in nearly 20 million dollars and gained almost 63,000 new supporters.

Interesting stories from players and right expensive ships that are artificially limited in availability helped.

Image of Star Citizen development (via reddit)

How was the gameplay for Star Citizen? In 2019, several new areas, ships, and content were released. With Patch 3.8, performance was significantly improved in December, which MeinMMO reader Todesklinge immediately noted.

However, fans had to forgo the new campaign Squadron 42, of which there was only a teaser in 2019. The first gameplay demo for the campaign could be seen back in 2017. Since then, players have been eagerly awaiting the expansion.

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Pokémon GO: New offer boxes in January 2020 – Is it worth buying?

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 2 minutes

In Pokémon GO there are new offer boxes for January 2020. We show you whether it is worth buying this time again.

Why are there new offers? The Christmas event has ended and with it the holiday offers have disappeared. The normal boxes are back in the shop, but they contain different offers again.

This time, it revolves around incubators, as the Hatchathon is currently ongoing and incubators are in demand.

You can save this many coins in January 2020

This is the calculation: To arrive at the savings, we compared the prices in the boxes with the item prices from the shop. For items that are available in an 8-pack, we took the price from these bundles.

Pokemon Boxes
Box NameContentPrice/Savings
Special Box1x Raid Pass, 3x Super Incubator, 4x Star Piece480/470 (49.5%)
Hyper Box10x Raid Pass, 10x Super Incubator, 4x Lucky Egg, 4x Lure Module1480/2110 (58.8%)
Adventure Box13x Super Incubator, 5x Incubator, 4x Lucky Egg, 4x Lure Module1480/2460 (62.4%)

The value of the boxes

Pokémon GO Bronze Box

Special Box: For a special box, this offer is incredibly good. Rarely have so many coins been saved with this box. The items are all quite useful. So, if you do not spend money on the game or just have few coins, you can’t go wrong here.

Pokémon GO Gold Box

Hyper Box: The Hyper Box offers a good mix of items. Raid passes are currently not needed that much since an unattractive raid boss, Viridium, is available. If you want a bit of everything and save many coins while doing so, you should go for it.

Adventure Box

Adventure Box: Two incubators less than at Christmas, but a few more other items. In summary, the savings are larger, but everyone should decide for themselves whether they need Lucky Eggs or Lure Modules. If you only need incubators, you can wait for better offers.

Which box is the most worthwhile? In the end, all boxes are solid this time. The savings are excellent everywhere. The prerequisite is that you have a use for Lucky Eggs and Lure Modules. If you don’t need these items, you should wait for the next boxes.

However, we recommend the Hyper Box. It offers a good mix and you can refill your item stock.

3 new Pokémon were shown on the loading screen. We show you what they can do:

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LoL professional (23) explains how hard eSports is: “If you are not famous, you will be replaced”

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

The former LoL pro Yan “Letme” Jun-Ze explains how tough professional eSports is in China. The former pro of League of Legends states that if you are not famous, you will be replaced and forgotten. He also talks about physical injuries that arise from the intense training.

Where does the information come from? CNN visited the Chinese eSports team Royal Never Give UP (RNG). They spoke with the team manager and a former pro.

The focus of the report was on how hard Chinese players train to be successful eSports professionals in games like DOTA 2 or LoL.

In the current hype around gaming through Twitch and YouTube, some only notice the high prize money and salaries that eSports involves. But the reality also has its downsides.

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This is how RNG bid farewell to Letme in May 2019.

The dark side of eSports

What the pro says: “Letme” started his pro career in LoL as a teenager in 2014. Between 2015 and 2019, Letme was a top laner for RNG. However, he ended his career for personal reasons. Now he wants to become a fashion designer.

Looking back on his career, Letme says there are many positive aspects to being an eSports athlete. The career offers the opportunity to pursue your dream.

But Letme also says that due to the intense training, physical injuries occur, particularly in the head and neck:

“It is not as good as people think. If you are not famous, you are lost. And you don’t know what you should do. You can pursue another career, but by then your body has already suffered some damage.”

Letme

Letme says that only famous pro gamers receive opportunities for post-career roles, such as commentary:

“They will be forgotten. If you are not famous and have not achieved anything, you will be replaced.”

Letme
RNG-Topspieler
The current top players of RNG.

From 1 PM to 4 AM, everything revolves around LoL

This is what the daily routine looks like: The manager of the eSports team, Bi Lianli, talks about 14-hour days, 7 times a week during the peak season. Before the World Championship, the LoL Worlds 2019, the team prepared for three months with a demanding daily training program.

The players of RNG followed this routine in the three months leading up to the Worlds:

  • They wake up at 1 PM and squeeze in an hour of solo practice before team training until 5 PM
  • Then they eat, go for a walk, take a shower, and train again from 7 PM
  • Around 11 PM, they have training matches against other teams
  • Finally, the pros can train independently until 4 AM, before going to sleep

The team manager says it is common to train late into the night: that is the usual routine for all players.

A doctor and a physiotherapist are present and keep an eye on the players.

Did it help? The LoL Worlds have now been played. At the LoL Worlds, RNG was eliminated in the group stage despite the extensive training.

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Our goal is to win, not to have fun

Who wants to become that? According to the team manager, RNG has a training school in Shanghai, where hundreds of teenagers apply every year, but hardly anyone makes it through:

“Our goal is to win, not to have fun. Everyone wants to win. This also leads to group pressure. That is why nearly no one makes it through from 100 people who enroll. The process is so tough.”

Bi Lianli, Team Manager RNG

Career end for LoL pros at 24

When do players stop? The manager says that most eSports athletes in China are younger than 22. Many stop at 24:

“In general, a 24-year-old is considered too old to be an eSports athlete.”

Bi Lianli
LoL-eSport-Alter
The average age at which pro players end their careers. Source: Elias Sports Bureau, via ESPN

A problem continues to be that games can fall out of fashion. Then careers can end overnight:

“We have tried to transition athletes who are good in one game to another game. But we found out that it doesn’t work. They failed… it is very cruel.”

Bi Lianli
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New tank car „Zhaba“ in GTA Online – Cool or a waste of money?

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 4 minutes

The new Zhaba in GTA Online costs you at least 1.8 million GTA Dollars. But is the price for this armored vehicle worth it, or should you leave it standing at the dealer?

What kind of car is this? Since January 2, 2020, the “Rune Zhaba” has been available for sale at the Warstock dealer in GTA Online. This is an armored vehicle that belongs to the cars from the new Casino Heist update.

How expensive is it? The purchase price is 1,800,000 GTA Dollars. If you play the finale of the Casino Heist with it, this price gets unlocked. Regularly, the car costs 2,400,000 GTA Dollars.

GTA Online Zhaba

What is special about it? The Zhaba is a boxy vehicle that stands out with its huge tires. These have a strong tread designed to help the vehicle navigate rough terrain. Additionally, the unique tread pattern of the tires is necessary for the Zhaba to drive on water.

Moreover, it comes with strong armor that can withstand several rockets.

But are these points important enough to justify the price?

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The Practical Test – Is the Zhaba Worth the Money?

Patrick tested: In GTA Online, I have now reached over 600 play hours, spending a large part of it in vehicles. In time trials, stunt races, or even in free roam, I regularly test the new vehicles released in the game, assessing their speed, handling, and overall suitability in multiplayer lobbies.

So I had to grab the Zhaba immediately upon release and find out what the box is worth. I definitely needed this drivable cube in my collection. Keep in mind that this test took place on snow, as the online world of GTA 5 was still snowy at that time.

GTA Online Zhaba Garage 2
In its raw state in my garage – The Zhaba looks good

The Tuning: After purchasing the Zhaba, I took the car, like probably every other player in GTA Online, directly for tuning. Here you see the usual options for front and rear bumpers, paint, engine tuning, and so forth. You cannot install weapons.

How fast is the Zhaba? After tuning on the track, it’s quickly clear that the Zhaba is quite slow. In comparison with its direct competitor, the APC, the Zhaba is the loser. A similar picture is seen on the water. The APC is also faster when swimming than the Zhaba.

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Offroad Performance: With a vehicle that has such huge tires and strong tread, I had hoped for a more positive offroad experience. It struggles to climb steep hills and simply slides back down. Overall, there is little traction in the terrain.

GTA Online Zhaba Terrain

As an Escape Vehicle? For the Casino Heist , the Zhaba is suggested as a possible escape vehicle. To test it solo, I built up a wanted level of 3 stars in free roam and tried to escape from the police with the Zhaba. I encountered the following problems:

  • The ramming of other vehicles is unreliable
    • Sometimes the Zhaba flies into the air instead of pushing or crushing other cars
    • Ramming is only possible with large vehicles like trucks
  • The size and bulky shape make it difficult to hide in smaller alleys
GTA Online Zhaba Rocket

The Armor: One of the most important aspects for you when buying the Zhaba is probably its armor. And here the vehicle can score points. Especially in free roam when you are chased by annoying MK2’s. The Zhaba can withstand 14 rockets from these flying motorcycles before it explodes on the 15th. An Oppressor MK2 can have a maximum of 20 rockets onboard. If 5 of them have already been fired, you can survive an attack in the Zhaba.

The windows can withstand some shots before they shatter. So you are only temporarily protected from shots to your head while behind the wheel.

A downside is that the Zhaba can be thrown around quickly by explosive attacks or even flip over. Even if you withstand the rocket attacks, you will still be thrown off course.

Conclusion

Who is the purchase worthwhile for? Anyone who wants to buy the Zhaba needs to have a clear goal in mind. As an escape vehicle or offroad wonder, it is less suitable. However, the car scores points with its strong armor and the 4 seats.

Pros
  • 4 seats
  • Strong armor
  • Passengers can shoot from the rear doors
  • Drives on water
Cons
  • Poor escape vehicle
  • Loses control on explosions
  • Not good offroad
  • Rather slow

As a fun vehicle for free roam, I think the Zhaba is quite suitable. But, as suggested in the game, it is less so as an escape vehicle in the heist. It would require some buffs in terms of speed (on land and water) as well as traction.

Have you tried the Zhaba yet?

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WoW Classic: How Players Brilliantly Ruin a PvP Bot’s Day

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

PvP bots are rampant in WoW Classic. But you can really ruin their day – these players show how to do it.

Despite the ban wave from a few days ago, there are still plenty of bots in World of Warcraft Classic. Especially in PvP and on battlegrounds, this is annoying. These bots do not participate in the fight, but they take a lot of honor and occupy important spots. However, a group of players really ruined a botter’s day and destroyed all of his “work”.

What happened? Reddit user Lepantoe created a video discussing the current bot issue in WoW Classic. Especially in Alterac Valley, many players just stand around AFK or move automatically every few seconds to avoid getting kicked out of the battle. Furthermore, bots automatically accept invitations to the battleground – this is exactly what other players took advantage of.

WoW Undead Shadow Priest title

They invited the bot to a group. Since the group invitation window appears in the same spot as the battleground invitation, the bot accepted the invitation. With a warlock, the bot was then teleported to Southshore – the bot accepted this teleport as well, since this window also appears in the same spot.

The players then started attacking and killing NPCs in Southshore – this caused them to accumulate “Notorious Murders”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x8kb6DfFOs&feature=youtu.be

Why is this so genius? When characters are involved in killing innocent NPCs (like villagers), they accumulate “Notorious Murders”. This is then reflected in the PvP statistics and results in them receiving fewer rank points and likely dropping in rank. Exactly this happened to the “victim” of this strategy. Instead of ranking up through farming, he fell from rank 6 to rank 3.

Other players are also getting creative with bots and trapping them in dungeons.

A real player had to suffer for it: However, the whole action also has a catch. In order for the bot to gain the notorious murders, a player had to stay in the group with the bot and kill the NPCs. This player (the warrior in the video) also ruined his own statistics and honor level. The players were aware of this beforehand and considered it a sacrifice they were willing to make.

With this action, they ruined the bot’s “work” in just a few hours, undoing a whole week of AFK farming and even pulling it into negative.

Nonetheless, the video criticizes that Blizzard is doing too little against bots. The corresponding bot is still active today and was not caught by the ban wave.

What do you think of this action? A genius way to ruin botters’ day? Or too much effort for something that Blizzard should be taking care of?

More on the topic
WoW in 2019 – the best and worst year of the MMORPG?
von Cortyn
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. reddit.com/r/classicwow/

CoD Modern Warfare: Soon there will be more space for your classes – That’s why it is so important

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 2 minutes

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will soon allow you to create more of your own classes. Until now, this was limited to 5 classes, but an expansion is on the way.

This is the issue: You can create a total of 5 custom classes with which you can go into battle. For many players, this is too few, and that’s where Infinity Ward steps in.

On reddit, the developers promised a soon expansion of the class slots.

The importance of expanding your own classes

Why this is important: Modern Warfare shines through its detailed customization of weapons. Almost every part of a weapon can be exchanged.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare weapon types
There is a lot of choice when it comes to weapons

It’s just unfortunate if you build a lot of cool weapons but can then only choose between 5 different classes. More choices would be beneficial.

Similarly, Modern Warfare is incredibly varied. There are very small maps like Shipment or Shoot House, where close combat is primarily important, and then there are huge maps for Ground War. You need to adjust your equipment to the conditions, which is quite difficult with only 5 class slots.

You can find the best weapons from each category here.

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von Benedict Grothaus

What do the developers promise? On reddit a player demanded that Infinity Ward finally unlock new class slots and explained why he desperately needs it.

The developers have responded to this. The Art Director of Infinity Ward spoke out.

You and everyone else who has commented on this are right. It is in the mainline at the studio, and we have been tinkering with it. I’m not sure which update it’s in, but I think it’s the next one. Whether you believe it or not, it can cause terrible bugs if it’s not properly tested. I’m not sure about all this, so don’t be mad at me if I’m wrong. Since I have commented here, I will take care of the matter at the studio.

artpeasant on reddit
Call of Duty Modern Warfare m4a1

What does this mean for players? You can soon look forward to new slots for the classes. There is still no exact release date, but it should be happening in the next few days or weeks.

Recently, however, Modern Warfare also faced criticism as they removed a popular mode:

More on the topic
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von Noah Struthoff
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Dexerto
  2. Charlie Intel

This month, 2 new exotic weapons are coming to Destiny 2 – What we know

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

In January 2020, 2 new exotic weapons will come to Destiny 2 : the pistol “Devil’s Ruin” and the fusion rifle “Bastion”. We at MeinMMO are looking at when the weapons are coming, how Guardians will obtain them, and what the two weapons can do.

Where is the information from? There are two sources:

  • We know when the weapons are coming from the official roadmap by Bungie for Destiny 2
  • We know what the weapons can do and how to obtain them from datamining sites like light.gg. However, this is unofficial. This information might change, but is usually reliable.

Spoiler Alert: This is a spoiler alert of the kind “Caution, hot coffee is hot.” We will cover what is known about the weapons and their quests in the further article. Those who want to find out for themselves should not continue reading.

destiny-2-s9-exo-sidearm

New Exotic Pistol “Devil’s Ruin”

When is the weapon coming? The quest for the weapon is set to go live on Tuesday evening, January 7, with the Weekly Reset; along with the harder version of the Sundial activity.

How do you get the weapon? The pistol will be tied to an exotic quest. The steps that are already known suggest that the exotic quest will be related to the “Sundial” activity and Saint-14. The quest apparently takes place inside the Sundial and in the EDZ. So far, only two steps are known.

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This is what the weapon can do: Devil’s Ruin is an energy weapon that inflicts solar damage. The exotic pistol is supposed to use primary ammo and has two special perks:

  • The perk “Closing the Gap” allows the pistol to be fired in two ways:
    • A single press fires single shots
    • If the trigger is held, a highly charged laser beam is fired that staggers enemies
  • Pyrogenesis – The perk ensures that the magazine is replenished when a fully charged laser has been fired.

Sounds like an interesting laser pistol that is situationally useful for stopping enemies, thanks to the focus on “staggering.”

destiny-2-s9-exo-fusion

New Exotic Fusion Rifle “Bastion”

When is the weapon coming? It is a bit further away. The weapon is set to come to Destiny 2 on January 28: again, a Tuesday.

How do you get Bastion? Bastion will be tied to the exotic quest “The Spoken Word.” According to datamining, the quest starts with Saint-14 but quickly leads to Spider in the Tangled Shore. In the Tangled Shore, you will need to clear lost sectors, eliminate enemies, and ultimately conquer the strike “The Hollowed Lair.”

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This is what the weapon can do: The fusion rifle Bastion is a kinetic weapon that uses special ammo:

It has two special perks:

  • Fist of the Saint – Charge to fire three slugs of kinetic damage
  • Breakthrough – A portion of this weapon’s damage bypasses elemental shields
destiny-2-s9-exo-fusion-2

What do you think of these new weapons in Destiny 2?

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

How FIFA 20 is now solving the problem with the Weekend League rewards

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 2 minutes

The Weekend League Rewards last Thursday caused issues in FIFA 20. Now the developers are working on a solution. Players will still have to wait a bit.

This is the problem: The Weekend League Rewards on Thursday were faulty. Specifically, it was about the Player Picks: Instead of the red special cards from the current TOTW, FIFA distributed random gold cards.

During the day, the faulty picks were completely deactivated. Now EA Sports has announced when players can expect the correct rewards.

FIFA 20 Player Picks
Instead of special cards, there were normal gold cards

FIFA 20 Player Picks are coming – how will it work?

When will the Player Picks arrive? In a tweet from the communication channel created for such issues, EA Sports explains that they have started addressing the problem. Players can expect the correct Player Picks within the next two days.

What happens to the incorrect gold cards? In principle, all affected players will have the opportunity to select new players from the correct Player Picks. EA Sports stated that they are currently reviewing account data to find all affected cases.

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Anyone who has already moved the incorrectly distributed gold cards into their club will be allowed to keep them. Even if you have already selected picks without assigning them afterwards, you are allowed to keep them. So if you happen to have drawn a strong card from the wrong picks, you got lucky. 

FIFA 20 Player Picks
The red picks are coming soon

This is how the community is reacting: The affected FIFA players express their dissatisfaction on reddit and twitter regarding the issue. The duration of the correction is particularly causing frustration. Many players are hoping for compensation in the form of packs or an extra pick. However, nothing has been said about that from the official side. 

If you are currently waiting for the rewards, you can pass the time with Icon Swaps tasks. The rewards are worth it:

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FIFA 20: How to make the most of Icon Swaps 2
von Max Handwerk
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Pokémon GO: Big Incubator Marathon started – What you need to know

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 2 minutes

In Pokémon GO the Hatch Marathon 2020 has started. The event brings you many bonuses around eggs and also a new shiny.

How long does the event last? It lasts a full 2 weeks and ends on January 16 at 10 PM. During this time, you can collect many bonuses.

Accordingly, there are Pokémon with party hats everywhere. You can catch all of them as shiny.

Pokemon GO Party Hat Pikachu
Party Hat Pikachu is back.

All info about the big Hatch Marathon

These bonuses are available: The list of bonuses is long. It mainly revolves around egg bonuses and rewards in Adventure Sync:

  • Wurmple and Pichu with party hats can be found in 2 km eggs, Pichu also in 7 km eggs
  • Raticate and Woobat with party hats can be found in level 2 raids
  • Pikachu with party hat is available in the wild
  • The shiny versions of all party hat Pokémon are catchable
  • Double stardust and double candy when hatching eggs
  • Adventure Sync brings 50,000 stardust, 15 special candies and an Unova Stone when you walk 50 km in the week

What new shinies are in the game? The only completely new shiny is Wurmple. This Pokémon has not been available before and is now found in its shiny form for the first time.

Shiny Wurmple
Source: reddit

Raticate and Woobat have been available as shiny before, but never with party hats. Shiny collectors will find something here as well. The Pikachu family has been available as shiny with party hats before.

What about event spawns? There are no changed spawns. Pikachu with party hat can be found occasionally, but is quite rare. All other spawns are unchanged.

Are there new raid bosses? Only Woobat and Raticate are new in the raids. All other bosses are the same ones that have been available before.

Which bonus should you take advantage of? Even if it’s cold outside, try to complete the 50 km in the respective weeks. You can collect the Adventure Sync rewards twice and secure 100,000 stardust.

If you then activate a star piece, you’ll even earn a total of 150,000 dust. It’s rarely been easier to obtain a lot of stardust, so you shouldn’t miss out on the bonus.

Are you having problems with the camera prompt? Here are some solutions for you:

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

MMORPG Camelot Unchained finally announces something big – Already for January

Alexander Leitsch Alexander Leitsch Reading time 2 minutes

The developers of Camelot Unchained have reached out to the community in a letter. This was about a major innovation expected to be released in January.

What is it about? Mark Jacobs, the lead designer of Camelot Unchained, has unusually spoken out in a letter to the community about an upcoming innovation.

The fans of the MMORPG should see everything that the developers have been intensively working on since July 2019 in January. In the last few months, there have hardly been any major innovations or game updates.

It should be a “big, immersive experience” that will be different from anything shown before. Jacobs states:

I try to avoid exaggerations, but it truly is a significant update and its importance for our backers, Camelot Unchained, the Unchained Engine, and CSE will, well, be quite obvious.

What is behind the announcement? As grand as the innovation sounds, we already know that it does not involve a release date or anything similar. Camelot Unchained is currently not advanced enough for that.

The major topic over the past months has been NPCs and their implementation in the MMORPG. It is therefore highly likely that the innovation will head in that direction.

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A fun experience for everyone?

What do we know about the innovation? Mark Jacobs has shared some hints about the innovation and a poem with the readers in the letter. From this, it can be inferred that

  • The big announcement is intended to be a fun experience and not just a tech demo.
  • It includes a lot of “new and fun content”.
  • It revolves around big battles.
  • Not everything is currently optimized, so backers with strong hardware are being sought to test the innovation early.

The poem also suggests that the innovation paves the way for a more complete game. Currently, the Beta 1 primarily tests individual scenarios of the MMORPG.

What does this have to do with NPCs? The focus over the past months has been on the NPCs in Camelot Unchained. Although the game is a PvP sandbox MMORPG, the computer-controlled fighters still play an important role:

  • They are to defend the fortresses with you and even in your absence against enemies.
  • They are to escort caravans.
  • They are to serve as merchants from whom you can buy and sell items.

The developers of Camelot Unchained are working on a dynamic system called “The Overmind”, which aims to adjust the number of NPCs based on player activity.

It is quite possible that this system has now been completed and will be implemented in January. This may potentially be combined with a fully open world. That would at least bring Camelot Unchained closer to a finished game version.

In August, we looked at the development of Camelot Unchained in the first half of 2019:

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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
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Pokémon GO: New bug shows camera request for every Pokémon – What to do?

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 2 minutes

A nasty bug is causing problems in Pokémon GO, triggering a camera prompt every time a Pokémon is clicked. We show you what Niantic says about this issue.

What kind of bug is this? Players report that they are asked whether they want to use the AR mode each time they click on a Pokémon. No matter what they press, they are asked again for the next Pokémon.

It seems that especially Android users are affected since the latest update. This update has been a requirement to play Pokémon GO since January 2nd.

Update 11:20 AM: Many players have reported that the update has completely fixed the error. If you don’t have the update yet in the Play Store, it should be available shortly.

Niantic knows about the problem – Announces bug fix

This is what Niantic says: On Twitter, the developers are responding to angry players who are upset about the bug. They state that they will roll out another update addressing the AR function and the prompt related to it.

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Some players have already downloaded the APK of this version and claim that the update fixes the problem. So, if you can’t wait any longer, you can download the APK. Alternatively, the version should appear in the App Store in a few days.

Niantic itself is probably quite annoyed by the problem, as they are working hard on the AR mode to realize their true vision.

Are there already solutions? There is no general solution. Players report that simply reinstalling the app is necessary to fix the issue. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for all players.

Another solution is said to be revoking the camera permission for the app first. Here are the steps to do this:

  1. Disable the camera permission for Pokémon GO in the phone settings
  2. Start the app
  3. Keep the app running in the background and reactivate the camera permission
AR Mode
Actually, the AR mode should only come when one wants it.

This trick helps most players. However, if you close the app again, you have to start all over again. So, it only provides temporary relief.

All affected players will have to be patient and hope that the new update finally fixes the bug.

You can pass the waiting time with a funny story from the Canadian military:

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von Noah Struthoff
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
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WoW Classic: Crazy – Group of only 4 people kills Raid boss Onyxia

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

Onyxia is one of the raid bosses in WoW Classic – actually meant for 40 players. But it can also be done with four, although it takes a long time.

Those who think of Onyxia in World of Warcraft Classic probably have an epic battle with 40 players against a dragon in mind. But is that many players really necessary? No. Only a fraction of that is enough, as a group has now proven. Only four players – which is 10% of the actual group size – were needed to defeat the black dragon lady.

What happened? A group of four players faced Onyxia and emerged victorious from the battle. The group consisted of two healers (priest and paladin), a warrior as tank, and a hunter as damage dealer.

WoW-Onyxia

What makes this so special? It is remarkable that this kill was achieved by the four-player group, despite having relatively poor equipment in WoW: Classic so far. Particularly powerful items, such as those from Ahn’Qiraj and Naxxramas, are not yet available. These raids are supposed to appear only in Phase 3 and Phase 4.

But the costs of the fight and the duration are impressive as well. The battle against Onyxia lasted a full 56 minutes and demanded quite a bit of resources from the team. Logs show that the paladin and priest together consumed 49 mana potions and used 46 dark runes to have enough mana for this challenge.

Shortly before the end of the fight, the priest even died, but that was probably intentional to heal a few more seconds with “Spirit of Redemption.”

You can view the complete log here on warcraftlogs.com.

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Was there something like this before? Yes, even back in the days of Vanilla, there were many attempts to defeat Onyxia with as few players as possible. The then record was only three players, but that is hardly comparable to the current state. Because back then, players had much better equipment since Naxxramas and other content had already been released. At the same time, the “3-man kill” happened at a time when patch 2.0 had already been applied and characters already had access to the new talents. Strictly speaking, that wasn’t really “Classic” anymore.

In any case, this is quite an impressive achievement and probably not for players with weak nerves – because who can stand a boss fight lasting an hour?

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Ihr wollt mehr zum Spiel? Tolle Specials, heiße News und interessante Infos zu World of Warcraft findet ihr auch auf unserer WoW-Seite auf Facebook.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. reddit.com/r/classicwow/

In the new MMO New World, sword meets gunpowder

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

The unusual setting in the new MMO from Amazon, New World, brings an unusual mix of weapons. As revealed to us by MeinMMO, Game Director Scot Lane mentioned that in the game, the weapon categories “Sword and Shield” and “Gunpowder and Ammunition” will collide.

Since the first days of New World, we have seen two different technology levels in the weapon Concept Art images:

  • On one hand, there were archaic weapons like pikes, swords, spears, axes, or bows
  • But the images also showcased early firearms: war devices reminiscent of flintlock pistols or muskets

Even in the promotional trailer for New World, where conquistadors fought against legionaries, firearms and swords were shown used on equal terms.

New-World-Waffen
Here in the image, you can see the various weapons at a glance. Next to the archer is a character with an early pistol.

In a conversation between MeinMMO and the Game Director of New World, Scot Lane, in mid-December, we addressed this point.

This is what the Game Director told us: We asked Lane what is special about New World that everyone should know. Lane first pointed to the large battles and the combat system of New World.

If you like open-world MMOs, action combat, and massive battles, give us a try. Even if you only like one of those things, try New World.

Scot Lane
New-World-Zombies
Here, a firearm is also in action.

A special time when two technologies collide

Lane particularly highlighted the unusual setting. After all, New World is set on an Atlantic island in the 17th century:

I would also like to emphasize the lore; our version of an untouched, supernatural continent in the 17th century is really cool.

We refer to the world like this: It is the last moment when sword and shield are used, and the first breath that ammunition and gunpowder take. It is a special time when these two technologies collide, and that makes it exciting and fun for us.

Scot Lane

The “firearms” seen in older screenshots of New World are therefore still an important component of the new version of New World, so important that the Game Director highlights it as a special element.

In one of the first leaked screenshots from 2018, muskets were already visible.

In a Beta in April and a release in May 2020, we will surely learn more about New World.

More on the topic
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von Schuhmann
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

These are the 3 largest and most popular LoL teams in EU and NA

Alexander Leitsch Alexander Leitsch Reading time 4 minutes

2019 was a record year for League of Legends. Never before have more fans followed the games. Let’s take a look at which teams were particularly popular in Europe and North America last year: These are the largest and most popular teams.

Which teams were particularly popular in 2019? Based purely on the viewer numbers of league matches in the LEC and LCS, according to Esports Charts:

  • The European team Fnatic was the most popular LoL team here in the West. Their games in the LEC had an average of 262,000 viewers.
  • In second place is G2 Esports with 256,000 average viewers.
  • In third place sits Team Liquid, the first team from the LCS.
LoL-Doublelift
This is Doublelift, the star of Team Liquid.

People Watch Winners

What stands out: The three most popular teams are also the most successful teams nationally and internationally in recent years. The viewer numbers are on the side of the winners.

In Europe, G2 Esports and Fnatic are clearly dominant. Both teams have been vying for the LEC champion title for almost a decade. Between 2013 and 2019, either one or the other team won 15 out of 16 championships. In 2019, G2 Esports was more successful and even made it to the World Finals, yet Fnatic remains ahead.

In the USA, Team Solo Mid was considered “the biggest team” in 2017, having won 6 championships by then. Since 2018, however, TSM has handed over the favorite status to Team Liquid, which has been successful with a new team in the last two years and won 4 championships. Before 2018, Team Liquid was seen as a laughingstock in the USA, according to their own star Doublelift – that has changed.

It is striking in the statistics that more fans in the West follow the European teams than the American ones. In total, 7 teams from the LEC and only 3 teams from the LCS made it into the Top 10.

Teams ranked by viewers.

G2 eSports is the big winner of 2019

How does the development compare to the previous year? Last year, Fnatic clearly dominated the global ranking, which also includes the Worlds and looked at viewing duration rather than viewer counts.

Nevertheless, it is evident that Fnatic lost viewers due to the failure in 2018, the departure of midlaner Caps, and the performance in 2019.

In the 2018 ranking, Cloud9 was also in second place, ahead of G2 Esports, SKT1, and Team Liquid. That has changed in 2019 as well.

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Numbers are made up of Livestream Viewers

Where do the numbers come from? The numbers come from Esports Charts, a website that analyzes livestream viewers. For this statistic, the average number of viewers for matches of the respective teams was compared.

The website accesses data from over 150,000 different livestreams from various platforms.

Why do the numbers differ from those of Riot Games? Esports Charts evaluates only the livestreams for which they have access to statistics. Therefore, Chinese viewers are excluded from all the data. Additionally, any broadcasts outside of livestreams or on TV are not recorded.

2019 – A Year of Records for LoL

How did 2019 go for LoL? Compared to the previous year, significantly more fans watched the LoL European Championship in 2019. During the Summer Split, a record for the league was set with almost 840,000 viewers at peak, according to Esports Charts.

The big record for LoL was however set at the Worlds 2019, when almost 4 million people simultaneously followed the match between SKT1 and G2 Esports. This match is currently the most viewed esports event ever.

LoL also set a new record on Twitch. There, the final between G2 Esports and FunPlus Phoenix achieved the highest concurrent viewer count on the platform.

Riot Games itself also reports a record. At peak, 44 million people simultaneously tuned into the LoL Worlds 2019, when all available channels are included. Never before have so many people watched a world championship.

Faker, midlaner of SKT1 and one of the most famous LoL players in the world.

However, 2019 was a successful year for the game itself as well. With the new game mode Teamfight Tactics, LoL was able to increase player numbers by 33% and become the most popular game on PC.

What can we expect in 2020? This year could indeed see viewer counts rise again. Many interesting transfers have been made that could make the American LCS particularly exciting.

The LoL star Faker plans to make a comeback in the Worlds 2020 in Shanghai and win a title. Whether he will succeed may also depend on a special factor.

Additionally, League of Legends plans to release a mobile and console version with Wild Rift. The beta for it is expected to launch in 2020, but with significantly fewer champions than on PC. The release is also planned for this year:

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

FIFA 20: How to make the most of Icon Swaps 2

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 4 minutes

In FIFA 20 you can secure new legends for your team with the second round of Icon Swaps. Which combinations are the most worthwhile?

These are the Icon Swaps 2: Just like in the first round of Icon Swaps, you can earn tokens again to get new icons for your team. These cost again varyingly many tokens making it essential to complete several of the new tasks.

Among other things, you have to solve Owner Tasks again. If you succeed, the following icons await you for your efforts: 

  • Moore (5 tokens)
  • Rijkaard (5 tokens)
  • Hierro (6 tokens)
  • Van der Sar (6 tokens)
  • Raul (10 tokens)
  • Koeman (10)
  • Pires (10 tokens)
  • Seedorf (10 tokens)
  • Socrates (11)
  • Zambrotta (11)
  • Nakata (11)
  • Figo (13)
  • Campbell (14)
  • Blanc (14)
  • Lineker (14)
  • Barnes (19)
  • Hernandez (19)
  • Del Piero (20)
  • Ronaldinho (21)
  • Vieira (23)
  • Essien (23 tokens)

A large selection of icons. If one of your favorite players is among them, the choice is of course easy. But at the same time, there are many combinations possible to get the most out of the Icon Swaps. We show you the best. 

The best combinations for Icon Swaps 2

Moore – Hierro – Rijkaard – Van der Sar

Why this combination is worthwhile: This combo offers a lot of support for defense. With Van der Sar you get a strong keeper, in front of whom Moore and Hierro form a good combination in defense. Plus, you can deploy Rijkaard in midfield.

A four-player combination of legends

This combination is for you if: You want to get as many icons for your tokens as possible. Overall, you will spend 22 tokens and get four icons for it – more than in any other combination. If you’re just looking for legends to have more flexibility regarding chemistry in your teams, you’re in the right place. Only in attack does this combination fall flat. It also comes that the lower-priced icons can be obtained early, while you have to wait longer for more expensive icons to complete more tasks.

Alternatively, you can also drop two of the players and instead include Raul, Pires, or another offensive player if you want another attacker.

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Seedorf – Lineker

Why this combination is worthwhile: This combination costs you 24 tokens, but gives you two strong players that you can use for a long time. One of them is Base Seedorf, who has a “only” 85 rating, but represents a real reinforcement in midfield with his attributes.

The advantage: As a CM, he offers many combination possibilities for hybrid teams since you can use him as a hub with a lot of chemistry. Additionally, you get Prime Lineker, an attacker whose total score of 92 is still usable at the end of the season.

This combination is for you if: You are already well positioned defensively and are looking rather for midfield and attack. Although you only get two icons, both are usable in the long term. Furthermore, you get two central players whose chemistry bonus gives you many options when building teams.

Alternatively, you could replace Lineker with Blanc, who has significantly less overall rating and costs the same. However, you could also combine Figo with Seedorf for a similar price and get a good winger.

Zambrotta – Raul

Why this combination is worthwhile: For Bundesliga fans, Raul is probably one of the most exciting icons – after all, the Spaniard made a lot of impression during his time at Schalke 04. Even among fans who are not aligned with Schalke. Those who have him in attack get a technically strong striker.

Zambrotta, on the other hand, is intended for defense. With his 91 pace, he doesn’t need to hide from any defender or attacker on the right side – even if he has “only” an 86 in total rating. He forms the perfect defensive winger duo with Roberto Carlos from Icon Swaps 1.

This combination is for you if: You already have strong players in midfield and are rather looking for reinforcement in defense and attack. The combination will cost you 21 tokens. As an alternative to Raul, you can also afford Koeman or Pires with Zambrotta if you’re looking in other positions.

Who is worth it for the individual players?

These are the individual players: Four players in Icon Swaps 2 are so expensive that you can’t afford any other. They are:

  • Del Piero
  • Ronaldinho
  • Essien
  • Vieira

All four should be known to football fans. Especially Ronaldinho thrilled with his tricks for years – and is therefore something for skill players. Del Piero guarantees a lot of goals with his 90 shot rating, while Essien and Vieira are the perfect sweepers in midfield.

You should get these players if: You already have a strong team that only needs reinforcement at the top. These strong legends are extremely expensive. But if you have the time to complete the necessary tasks and at the same time have no use for additional icons, one of the individual players could be worth it for you.

What are your favorite combinations? If you’re looking for more good special cards, check here:

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

Pokémon GO: New loading screen shows these 3 Pokémon from Gen 5 – How strong are they?

Noah Struthoff Noah Struthoff Reading time 3 minutes

In Pokémon GO, there is now a new loading screen that also shows Pokémon from the 5th generation that are not yet in the game. We will show you how strong these monsters will be.

What is this loading screen? Even before the end of the Christmas event, the winter loading screen has disappeared and made way for a new one. It shows rocks above the clouds and numerous Pokémon.

Pokémon from all generations can be seen there, including Pikachu, Tyranitar, and Kaumalat. However, there are also 3 Pokémon that are not yet in the game. We will introduce them to you.

Loading Screen
This is what the new loading screen looks like

These 3 Pokémon from the Unova Region are shown

Milza: The Pokémon can be seen standing next to the trainer on the left. It resembles Dratini or Kaumalat from the 5th generation a bit. It then evolves into Maxax, a powerful Dragon-type Pokémon.

Milza

Maxax is then really useful. It has the same attack value as Rayquaza and is just slightly less sturdy in battle. So if you are looking for an equivalent replacement for Rayquaza, you will find it in Maxax.

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Cerapendra: The Bug and Poison-type Pokémon can be found at the top left of the image. It sits next to Kaumalat. In Pokémon GO, you will probably find its pre-evolution Toxiped instead.

Cerapendra

Cerapendra will not really change the meta of Pokémon GO significantly. There are clearly better Bug attackers and its attack value of 203 is not particularly good. Its other stats are unfortunately not better either.

Strawickl: This Pokémon sits at the bottom right of the loading screen. It is of the Bug and Grass types and has two further evolutions. Its final evolution is called Matrifol.

Strawickl

Matrifol has very similar stats to Cerapendra. An attack value of 205 is not a significant competitor to the top Bug attackers.

When might the Pokémon come? That is still not quite clear. However, the image at least hints that something could happen soon. Niantic announced new Unova Pokémon for January. So these 3 monsters could be part of the new wave.

However, you must also consider that Pokémon such as Sesokitz and Kronjuwild were already seen on the last loading screen. Both Pokémon are not yet in the game. Therefore, the loading screen does not necessarily have to provide hints.

There are also new field researches. We will show them to you with all the rewards:

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