We are giving away cool goblets from Conqueror’s Blade for Christmas. Each goblet also comes with a code for in-game items worth over €50.
What’s currently happening in Conqueror’s Blade? The action multiplayer game from Booming Games has launched its second season called “Wrath of the Nomads”. This season focuses on the legendary warlord Genghis Khan.
The new content of the season and the Battle Pass is accordingly fitting. This includes:
New units “Sons of the Steppes”
New cosmetic items that can be earned through challenges
3 new battlefields
Additional matchmaking features
Updates for the user interface
The season is now live, and you can jump right in since Conqueror’s Blade is free-to-play.
How can I participate? To enter the giveaway, you need to perform at least one action with the Gleam tool below. Additional actions are not necessary but will increase your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on January 1, 2020. Legal recourse is excluded as always.
Actually, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare offers you 41 weapons that you can unlock and equip by default. However, with a little tinkering, you can build 19 completely new weapons.
What are these “secret” weapons? The secret weapons are modified versions of existing weapons. Weapons can already be made into unique variants through blueprints. However, you can also redesign them into entirely new weapons.
This way, you can create weapons that actually do not exist in Modern Warfare, but in reality, some are derived in the same way from the standard models.
Update: This article was first published on November 24, 2019, and was expanded on December 23 with the G36.
The secret weapons of Modern Warfare
This is how the weapons are built: Through the Gunsmith feature, you can choose various attachments for the weapons and modify them. However, you often need to reach certain levels with the weapon first.
You level up the weapons by simply using them in the various multiplayer modes or in Coop. You only need the attachments mentioned by us for the weapons. All others are freely selectable.
A list of some weapons along with attachments in English can be found on reddit by user HeyoItsMrMayo. Most of the images of the weapons used here are from him.
What kind of weapon is this? The G36K sacrifices a bit of range and damage compared to the standard G36 and the Holger-26 for mobility and accuracy. It is worthwhile for faster playstyles.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: Holger-26
Barrel: XRK Ultra Light
Sight: FSS Integral Reflex
Ammunition: 30-round ammunition
G36C (Compact)
What kind of weapon is this? The G36C is the most mobile variant of the G36 and sacrifices even more precision, range, and even a bit of control for mobility. It is found more in the SMG category, offering slightly less mobility than the MP7 in the Run&Gun build, but with slightly more damage and range.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: Holger-26
Barrel: FTAC 8.98″ Spitfire
Stock: FSS Infantry
Ammunition: 30-round magazine
Gaz’s Modified G36C
What kind of weapon is this? Gaz’s modified G36C is essentially identical to the G36C. It only has an optic attachment that many strong players would do without. The special thing is that the operator Gaz used this weapon as a signature weapon in the old Modern Warfare titles.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: Holger-26
Sight: APX5 Holosight
Barrel: FTAC 8.98″ Spitfire
Stock: FSS Infantry
Ammunition: 30-round magazine
Colt 9mm SMG
What kind of weapon is this? The Colt 9mm SMG is the MP variant of the M4 assault rifle. It has a faster rate of fire than the M4 but deals less damage and has a shorter range. However, it is comparably strong like other SMGs.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: M4A1
Barrel: 11.5″ Commando
Stock: FORGE TAC Close Quarters Sight
Ammunition: 9mm Parabellum 32 round magazine
Beowulf AR 15.50
What kind of weapon is this? The AR 15.50 is a slightly heavier variant of the M4, shooting slower but with stronger ammunition. It is often used as a hunting rifle. You can eliminate enemies at longer distances with fewer shots.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: M4A1
Barrel: Corvus Custom Marksman
Stock: Singuard Arms Invader
Ammunition: .458 SOCOM 10 round magazine
M16
What kind of weapon is this? The M16 is similar to the AR 15.50, being slower and heavier than the M4. Its distinctive feature is a burst fire mode.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: M4A1
Barrel: M16 Grenadier
Stock: M-16 Body
Extra: Burst
Note: In this configuration, the M16 is nearly useless. However, if you add the .458 SOCOM ammunition, you get a burst mode that guarantees kills in Modern Warfare if 3 shots hit the body or 2 hit the head.
MCX SBR Rattler (“Honey Badger”)
What kind of weapon is this? The MCX SBR is basically the weapon that fans of the series might know as the “Honey Badger” from Call of Duty: Ghosts. It is a standard suppressed submachine gun.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: M13
Barrel: Tempus Cyclone
Stock: FFS Close Quarters Stock
Ammunition: .300 Blackout 30 round magazine
RPK
What kind of weapon is this? The RPK is the LMG version of the AK-47. As such, it is a kind of “light” light machine gun, generally stronger than the AK-47 and a bit faster handling than most LMGs. It is perfect for holding positions and even competes with the PKM.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: AK-47
Barrel: 23″ RPK Barrel
Stock: Field LMG Stock
Ammunition: 75-round drum magazine
Underbarrel: Bipod
AK-74u
What kind of weapon is this? The AK-74u is the MP version of the AK-47. It is lighter, fires faster, but is otherwise worse in almost all areas than the assault rifle. It has a shorter range, deals less damage, and is already very inaccurate at medium range.
This is how you build it
Base weapon: AK-47
Barrel: Compact 8.1″ Barrel
Stock: Base Stock
Ammunition: 5.45x39mm 30 round magazine
AK-12
What kind of weapon is this? The AK-12 is basically the modern variant of the AK-74, which in turn is an evolution of the AK-47 with new ammunition. The AK-12 is more precise compared to the AK-47 and has a higher rate of fire while maintaining similar range.
This is how you build it
Base weapon: AK-47
Barrel: Speznas Elite
Stock: FORGE TAC Ultra Light
Ammunition: 5.45x39mm 30 round magazine
RPD
What kind of weapon is this? The RPD is the predecessor of the RPK and also a light machine gun. Unlike the RPK, you cannot access an underbarrel attachment because of the different barrel, which makes the RPD a bit less flexible.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: AK-47
Barrel: 23″ Romanian
Stock: Field LMG Stock
Ammunition: 75-round drum magazine
Steyr AUG
What kind of weapon is this? The Steyr AUG is essentially the base version of the AUG available in the game. The AUG is derived as the MP version of the Steyr AUG assault rifle, but in Modern Warfare, it is better in all respects. The Steyr AUG can only kill at greater distances with fewer shots, but currently suffers from some calculation bugs.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: AUG
Barrel: 622mm Long Barrel
Sight: Integrated 3.0x Sight
Ammunition: 5.56 NATO 30 round magazine
MP5/10
What kind of weapon is this? The MP5/10 replaces the standard ammunition of the MP5 with 10mm rounds, making it somewhat slower and heavier to handle, but significantly improving its range and damage, especially at distance.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: MP5
Ammunition: 10mm 30 round auto magazine
MP5 Subsonic
What kind of weapon is this? This is again a variant of the MP5, fitted with subsonic ammunition. It offers the advantage of being able to operate unnoticed and leaving no traces when shooting. In return, the effective range is reduced.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: MP5
Barrel: Suppressor (integr., subsonic)
MP5K
What kind of weapon is this? The “K” in MP5K stands for “Kurt”. It is thus a shortened, more compact version of the MP5 that was often built into briefcases in real life for use as a concealed weapon. In Modern Warfare, it is quieter but also weaker in damage than the MP5. In return, you move much faster with it – it is suitable for a “Gun and Run” playstyle.
What kind of weapon is this? The L86 LSW (“Light Support Weapon”) is essentially a “real” MG version of the SAR-87, which in its standard variant resembles an assault rifle. It offers a higher firing capacity and range but sacrifices mobility.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: SAR-87 (SA87)
Barrel: SAR-87 25.4″ Factory
Stock: FFS SA87 Heavy Stock Pro
Ammunition: 60-round magazine
Underbarrel: Bipod
Mk14 EBR
What kind of weapon is this? The Mk14 EBR is the slightly stronger, more accurate variant of the EBR-14. It is stronger in combat at long and medium ranges but makes shooters vulnerable to short-range attacks.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: EBR-14
Barrel: FORGE TAC Precision 22 inch
Stock: FFS Raider Chassis Pro
Ammunition: 20-round magazine
Sight: Scope (or other sniper scopes)
Underbarrel: Bipod
Scar PDW
What kind of weapon is this? The Scar PDW is a lighter version of the heavy assault rifle FN Scar 17 and actually fires with 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition, which, however, is not available for the Scar in Modern Warfare.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: FN Scar 17
Barrel: FORGE TAC Close Quarters Pro
Stock: FTAC Folding Stock
Note: The Scar can even be transformed into a sniper rifle with a scope, 20″ barrel, XRK Obelisk Pro stock, and a bipod, similar to what’s known from Counter-Strike.
Bonus: “The Executioner”
What kind of weapon is this? The “Executioner” is a weapon that players might recognize from Black Ops 2. It is a .357 that has been converted to a shotgun.
The shotgun/pistol is extremely effective at short range and even outshines the best pistols in Modern Warfare for this purpose. However, since it is a sidearm, we only included it here as a bonus.
This is how you build it:
Base weapon: .357 (Revolver)
Ammunition: Shotgun rounds
How strong are these weapons?
Here’s how useful the “secret weapons” are: Many of the secret weapons are just a nice gimmick to create weapons that are not directly in the game.
Accordingly, some of them are not necessarily strong or as good as other configurations could be. The YouTuber Drift0r tested some of the weapons in his video:
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However, there are also exceptions, like the slightly improved M16, the “Executioner,” or the RPK, which are truly strong and offer a solid or even better alternative to existing weapons.
The streamer Gladd has released a video that gets by without many words. In the clip, he demonstrates the power of hand cannons in Destiny 2. This seems to create a small hype.
What kind of video is it? It is a one-minute video on YouTube: a simple DPS test. The biggest Destiny streamer on Twitch, Gladd, takes out targets with the Recluse in 23 seconds. The Recluse was long considered the best PvE weapon in Destiny 2.
After that, he switches to a hand cannon and gets through the enemies in 19 seconds.
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Why are hand cannons in focus now? It is a strange phenomenon with hand cannons in Destiny 2. The weapon class was introduced with House of Wolves and was never really taken seriously by many. Many swore by the auto rifles they already knew and loved.
In the last major patch for Destiny 2, hand cannons were only slightly improved: target acquisition was slightly enhanced. But otherwise, not much has changed about hand cannons.
Some content creators and players have come to realize that hand cannons are cool weapons that are stronger than their reputation. They seem to be slightly replacing SMGs in Season 9 now.
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Thus, the prominent YouTuber Mtashed extensively discusses the hand cannon “Last Hope” and asks: How can a hand cannon be this good? He talks about a “hand cannon meta.”
For several months, a conflict between Hong Kong and China has been escalating. The protest movement has now found its way to GTA 5, as players from both sides engage in virtual street battles.
What is the Hong Kong conflict? Anyone who has followed the news in recent months has certainly heard something about the protests in Hong Kong. Many, especially young people, are taking to the streets to demonstrate against China’s growing influence.
A part of the protest is now being acted out in GTA 5. There, Hongkongers roam around dressed like the protesters and cause unrest. Chinese players have taken notice and wear police clothing that seeks to quash such uprisings.
In GTA 5 Online, both groups then clash.
Players Call for Participation
How it all started: Since the last Heist update in GTA Online, there are new clothes. This includes clothing items that strongly resemble what those protesters are wearing who are currently on the streets of Hong Kong.
As reported by abacusnews , some players quickly disguised themselves as these protesters and set out in GTA Online. They set police cars on fire or vandalized public transportation.
This is how the protesters dress up. Source: LIHKG
How players organize themselves: In forums like weibo in China or a special forum in Hong Kong, LIHKG, the new trend in GTA 5 spread quickly. Players called on others to join their crew named “Stand With Hong Kong”.
However, many counter-demonstrators also reacted in these forums, forming the counterpart to the protesters: the Chinese police.
Players joined both groups and are now hunting each other in GTA 5.
This is how the China-aligned players appear. Source: Weibo
How it goes down: According to some entries in the forums, there have indeed been street battles in GTA 5. The players pretending to be police are hunting the demonstrators with water cannons. The demonstrators, in turn, are setting cars on fire or even seeking to vandalize a subway station.
According to various entries, the China-aligned players have gained the upper hand. They are reportedly simply many more, and the protesters have no chance.
The self-proclaimed policemen are using water cannons. Source: Weibo
How serious is this whole thing? It’s hard to tell from the outside. The whole action is not purely for fun. Looking at the comments in the forums, there is a lot of seriousness behind it.
After the defeat against the numerically superior Chinese, Hongkongers urged others on social media to join them in the fight in GTA 5 Online.
As one user said: “I don’t blame you for not having the guts to throw Molotov cocktails at the police in real life. But in the game, there are weapons and rocket launchers, and you don’t have the guts to kill these Shina players?”.
What could happen now? Many players from mainland China accuse Hongkongers of doing this just so that GTA 5 gets banned in China.
There are indeed many comments expressing fear of a ban on GTA Online from China. However, this has not happened at this time.
In WoW, for example, the curse filter in the chat is set so that everything related to “Hong Kong” is censored from the outset. There, they don’t want to have the conflict at all.
In the game menu of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, additional game modes have appeared, but they were only briefly visible. Players have taken screenshots to prove the coming of three new modes.
These game modes have been leaked: In the multiplayer menu of Modern Warfare, players have found three more while selecting the various multiplayer modes:
Fans of the series should already be familiar with Capture the Flag (CTF) and Grind. Hardcore Gunfight is likely to add new rules to the popular gunfight mode, after it was only available as OSP for a while.
New Game Modes in
Modern Warfare
How do the modes work? There are still no detailed descriptions of the modes. However, they are already known from older parts or can be derived. They probably work something like this:
Capture the Flag: Two teams protect their base with a flag. The objective is to steal the opponent’s flag and bring it back to your own base without losing your own flag.
Hardcore Gunfight: Gunfight with hardcore rules – fewer health points, deadlier hits, no HUD.
Grind: Similar to the “Kill Confirmed” mode, but the collected tags must then be brought to a collection point.
The realism mode also offers night maps – is it possible that hardcore gunfight will also take place at night?
When will they come? So far, Infinity Ward has not confirmed that these modes will come at all. A major leak has already announced the modes and this also includes maps that have already been implemented, such as Shoot House.
Players have also already found new maps, like Rust here.
Accordingly, there is no exact date yet for when they might be released.
However, since the Christmas event is currently ongoing with gifts and special versions of some maps along with Easter eggs, it may still take a while. Season 1 ends around February. It is possible that the new modes will only come as features with Season 2 afterwards.
New figures on the market share of various streaming services show that Facebook Gaming and Mixer can boast strong growth numbers in 2019. However, neither poses a serious threat to market leader Twitch – at least not yet.
Here is the distribution: According to a market analysis by the analytics site Arsenal.gg (via StreamElements), Facebook and Mixer claimed about 3% of the volume in the streaming sector in 2019. In 2018, it was still about 1% each. In numbers, this means:
Facebook Gaming: 356,242,965 hours watched (210% more than in 2018)
Mixer: 353,777,685 hours watched (149% more than in 2018)
Twitch: 9,340,229,175 hours watched (20% more than in 2018)
YouTube Gaming: 2,310,000,000 hours watched (16% more than in 2018)
It is clear that Twitch significantly leads at first place – despite the enormous growth of two to three times as many viewing hours for Facebook Gaming and Mixer: Twitch still holds about 73% of the market share in the streaming sector:
While Facebook and Mixer are growing relatively speaking at a very high level
when looking at the absolute numbers, these are just peanuts compared to the growth at Twitch
Success is coming, but it’s still taking time
Here’s how Mixer and Facebook have grown: To achieve these high growth figures, both Facebook and Mixer (Microsoft) have invested significantly. Both companies have secured exclusive contracts with major streamers:
On the new platform Mixer, shroud and Ninja do not have as many viewers as they did previously on Twitch. Nevertheless, they seem to be doing well enough there to stay on Mixer.
Can they pose a threat to Twitch? At the moment, it is still unclear if and when Facebook or Mixer will truly catch up to Twitch. The Chief Executive Officer of StreamElements, Doron Nir, says:
Even with huge influencer deals, there has yet to be a success overnight, as building a successful streaming platform takes time.
It is a good time to secure a piece of the pie and grow larger. The investments are definitely there, as at least Ninja and shroud are likely earning quite well:
In Pokémon GO the big Christmas event 2019 starts tonight. Players in New Zealand can already take advantage of the event, allowing for a good overview of Shinys, quests, and spawns.
What kind of event is it? A few days ago, Niantic announced the event for Christmas. There will be many bonuses and two new Shinys will be introduced. Additionally, there will be new Pokémon.
When does the event start? The festivities begin at midnight local time between December 23 and 24. So we have to wait a few more hours while players in New Zealand or Australia can already get started. The event ends on January 1 at 11:59 PM.
Everything you need to know about the Christmas event
What bonuses are available? The list of bonuses is long. There are new Pokémon, new Shinys, and even new field research and raids.
Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu with beanies and Damhirplex with bells around its neck will appear in the wild for the first time
Botogel, Schneppke, Sniebel, and other ice Pokémon will appear in the wild
For the first time, the ice Pokémon Petznief will appear in the wild and Frigometri in glacier lure modules
Pokémon like Alola Sandshrew, Alola Vulpix, Pichu, and Damhirplex will hatch from 7 km eggs
Raichu with beanies and Damhirplex with bells will appear in raids
Special field research will be available during the event
New Crypto Pokémon will appear in Pokémon GO, including Botogel
Shiny Damhirplex with bells and Shiny Shnebedeck will make their debut in Pokémon GO
Up to 40 gifts can be opened per day
You can carry up to 20 gifts at once
You will receive one free incubator per day from the PokéStop. It holds for one egg
There is now one incubator free per day.
In addition to all these bonuses, there will also be different bonuses on different days. So there are:
December 24 and 25: Double candies for trading and catching
December 26 and 27: Double stardust for catching
December 28 and 29: Double XP for catching
December 30 to January 1: Halved hatch distance
What are players from New Zealand reporting? The Christmas event is already underway there, and trainers can already comment on the bonuses.
For the first time since 2018, Botogel is again appearing in the wild. Additionally, the new Pokémon Petznief is available through quests. Pikachu with a beanie is increasingly found in the wild.
What bonuses are important in the event? Be sure to secure a glacier module. Only there will you have a chance to get Frigometri. So team up with friends so you can ignite such a module together. This way, not everyone has to deploy a module individually.
Additionally, the bonus with gifts is particularly important if you are still on an XP hunt. Through friendships, you can collect the most XP from a distance. If you need more friends, check out our Facebook group about the game or in this article about new friendships.
What new Pokémon are there? So far, there are only reports of Petznief and Frigometri. No one has seen Sesokitz or Kronjuwild yet. They can be found on the new loading screen in Pokémon GO. It is suspected that they will find their way into the game during the Christmas event.
You can now find Frigometri in the game. Source: reddit
When will there be more info about the event? Currently, the first players are playing the event. It is currently night there, so the evaluation of the event may take a little while.
By tomorrow morning at the latest, everything about raids, quests, and Shinys will be known. We will inform you as soon as possible here on MeinMMO.
Shiny Shnebedeck, Pikachu, and Damhirplex
What do the Shinys look like? Both Shinys will be easy to recognize. They differ clearly from the normal form.
How rare are the Shinys? Shnebedeck will likely be a normal Shiny with a rate of 1 in 450. Damhirplex could actually be more common, as it is normally rarer in the wild. This also includes Pokémon like Scyther or Sniebel. However, this has not yet been confirmed.
Is there a Shiny Pikachu with a hat? You can obtain Pichu with the winter hat from eggs in its shiny form. This has already been confirmed by players who are already experiencing the event.
Have you heard about these distances for the eggs?
Borderlands 3 has received its first major story DLC. And with it, a powerful legendary weapon. You should definitely get it and take advantage of its strength while you can.
This is the weapon: It is the “ION Cannon”. This is a rocket launcher from the Vladof brand. As is customary in Borderlands 3, there are again various versions. If you get the right one, you can almost one-shot anything that comes your way.
This is the problem: The “ION Cannon” is so powerful that many players are already worried about it. Especially regarding the hotfixes of Borderlands 3, a nerf of the new weapon is not unlikely.
5 million damage with one shot
What can the “ION Cannon” do? The rocket launcher fires a powerful beam with a projectile as soon as you release the trigger. It only consumes one ammo per shot. It has an immense boost to weapon damage. Additionally, it has a high radius for explosive damage and the projectile flies very fast.
With a ability from the Guardian Ranks, the weapon becomes nearly unbeatable. The more enemies you kill, the more damage it deals. Depending on your build, you can deal millions in damage with the second and third shots. The YouTuber Arekkz Gaming made a shot with 5 million damage in his test:
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As you continuously kill enemies in Mayhem 4, this is a significant additional damage boost. But even without this extra ability, the weapon is a lot of fun to use.
Is the “ION Cannon” also suitable for bosses? The new rocket launcher is great for killing regular enemies. It doesn’t melt bosses as quickly as you might be used to from other weapons. Nevertheless, it is still a good choice for this and is especially fun to use.
Where can you get the “ION Cannon”? It is currently only confirmed that the “ION Cannon” can be dropped by the boss “Fabricator MK II”. You can find him in the new DLC. Against this boss, you should have corrosion and shock damage. Whether you can also obtain the weapon as a world drop is unknown.
The players expect a nerf
If you are now excited to farm the new weapon, you should hurry up. At least, according to the community. Many fear a soon nerf of the powerful weapon.
Especially on YouTube, players often agree. Some of the comments have received many upvotes. One of them is by the user Gimpsickle:
Whether the “ION Cannon” will really be nerfed remains to be seen. However, while you can, you should still have some fun with it. And maybe it will remain completely accessible to players.
At a gaming fair in Shanghai, a special pair was present at the booth of Final Fantasy XIV. The two cosplayers gathered many fans overnight and delighted the community.
Which cosplayers are involved? A cosplay couple has caused quite a stir and excitement among the Final Fantasy XIV fans on Reddit and social media in recent days. They dressed as the characters Dulia Chai and Chai-Nuzz, who are a married couple in the game.
Although the male cosplayer playing Chai-Nuzz is the Product Manager for Final Fantasy XIV in China, the cosplay was not staged. It was a happy coincidence that one of the fans dressed up as Dulia Chai to match.
Eyewitnesses report that the Product Manager had to change back into his regular clothes for the photos and videos because he was wearing them.
For this, the couple received huge applause and many positive reactions on Reddit and social media:
Cuteness Overload! And incredibly great work with the costumes. It looks like they had a lot of fun.
Who are these characters? Chai-Nuzz and Dulia Chai are two NPCs from the latest expansion of FFXIV, Shadowbringers. They are a wealthy couple living in the city of Eulmore in lavish luxury with many others.
At the beginning of the story, they are portrayed as rich snobs who are indifferent to the cruel fate of their former employees and the people outside of Eulmore. However, they both undergo development and become some of the greatest supporters of the player by the end of the addon.
Why are they so popular? The Chais were very well received by the community right after the release of Shadowbringers. Especially Dulia Chai has become a favorite of many players from the community.
In a large thread, fans thanked the developers for not making Dulia Chai a joke character, as is often the case with overweight characters.
Thank you Square Enix for this character. You could have made her the target of every joke, but instead, she is a sweet, nice, and optimistic character. I love her!
Fans are also excited about the relationship between the two NPCs. Wealthy characters are often depicted as cold and selfish. Their marriages are often tied to calculations and money.
However, with the Chais, it is clear that it was a love marriage, and they support each other wherever they can. This feeling is also conveyed by the two Chinese cosplayers, which is certainly one of the reasons why they are so celebrated.
For Day 6 of the Winterfest 2019 in Fortnite, you need to dance at named locations by Christmas trees. We will show you all 6 locations of the fir trees on the map and what the reward for the challenge is.
What is the challenge? In Fortnite, the Winterfest celebration is currently ongoing, which regularly unlocks new tasks for you. Today, on December 23rd, the task starts revolving around 5 Christmas trees at named locations.
This task is not difficult, as all the locations where you need to dance are clearly marked. However, although there are a total of 13 named locations on the map, only 6 of them have a Christmas tree.
Keep in mind that you need to dance at 5 different Christmas trees. So remember which trees you have already visited, as they only count once.
This is what the Christmas trees look like in Fortnite
How to recognize the Christmas trees? You can recognize the Christmas trees by their festive decorations with many gifts and Christmas music. They are decorated fir trees in Fortnite.
Once you have found the Christmas tree, you should simply dance there. You need to do this a total of 5 times at different trees.
If you would prefer to watch the exact locations of the Christmas trees in a video, you can do so here:
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What reward is there for this task? Once you have completed the task, you will receive an emoticon as a reward.
This is what it looks like:
What’s happening in Fortnite right now? Currently, the Winterfest event is ongoing in Fortnite, where you can unlock a challenge at your winter sock daily.
Additionally, you can open a gift daily in the Winter Lodge, which brings rewards such as pickaxes, gliders, and skins. So check out the Winter Lodge and get your challenge and gift!
In February, the next big thing in Fortnite starts – A new season. What we already know about it is shown here:
In Destiny 2, the new NPC in the Tower, Saint-14, is currently exciting many players. A designer from Bungie now gives insight into his work and how difficult it was to get an important detail right. Because actually, the players’ favorite line had already been cut.
What line is it? When a player approaches the NPC Saint-14 in the Tower while wearing the “Helm of Saint-14,” the Titan reacts and says: “Hey, you look like me. Let’s confuse Zavala together.”
The line contributes to the mood of Destiny 2. Because Titans have had the “Helm of Saint-14” for many years, with its mohawk look, it has always been a special trademark. And now the original bearer of this helm is addressing you. That feels cool.
Tiny detail requires a lot of work
What’s behind it? The “Technical Dialogue Designer” Kareem Schuman explained on Twitter that this single line was actually already dead and buried.
Even though the line was recorded because the responsible designer thought it was a cool idea, it was technically not easy to ensure that Saint-14 actually says the line when appropriate.
Bungie uses filters in the dialogue system. They check whether a player has a specific class or race. In the Dreaming City, players will call an Awoken “Cousin.”
The idea that Saint-14 reacts to players wearing this specific helm seemed cool to Bungie, but they then realized it would mean “a lot of work” to bring this detail into the game. They initially didn’t want to spend so many resources on such a small detail and therefore cut the line.
The dialogue designer Kareem Schuman said he found the idea so cool that he quietly decided to work hard to get the line into Destiny 2. He sat down with a designer from the system team and they worked on getting this line into the game. Schuman also recruited an audio tester for his plan. Even though everyone had a lot of work, everyone thought the idea was so cool that they took the time for it.
Time was pressing as the code freeze was approaching. The filter for the line with the hero was included in the code as one of many possible lines that Saint-14 says when someone approaches him.
During one of the final tests, however, the audio tester stated that it did not work. Saint-14 refused to speak his line when approached wearing the helm.
So Kareem Schuman had to go back in and adjust the code so that the helm filter was checked first. At the very last moment, on the last day of testing, the voice line worked.
Kareem was able to tell the responsible designer, whose idea it was, that the special voice line would actually make it into Destiny 2. He had already given up hope on that weeks ago.
How players are reacting: The story is resonating on reddit and Twitter. Some say they didn’t realize what kind of stress it is to accomplish such a small change.
Others share their experiences working in IT jobs and how often it is difficult to solve such seemingly tiny issues.
There is a lot of praise for Kareem Schuman. Such examples show how passionate the developers at Bungie are about their game.
More insights into the actual development of Destiny 2:
In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare there seems to be a death zone. Players report a bush that eliminates you immediately if you get too close.
Where is this death zone? You can find it on the map “Port of Verdansk”. There is a bush at the edge of the map, right in front of the entrance to the docks. Anyone who runs into it seems to get eliminated.
At least that’s what some players report on reddit. There is a video showing multiple eliminations by the bush.
Deadly bush kills players
This is the clip: User Gotgo shows on reddit a video where he gets eliminated multiple times by the bush.
In the comments, there are some players who can agree. They were also eliminated by the bush and wondered what the reason was.
Are all players affected? This is not entirely clear. Currently, there are too few reports about the bug that makes the bush a hidden killer.
It may also be that only one platform or certain lobbies are affected. Nevertheless, one should be cautious and not get too close to the dangerous bush.
The MMORPG Guild Wars 2 has released plans for the first quarter of 2020. Despite many updates, many players are dissatisfied with the roadmap because some popular game modes are not mentioned.
What is in the roadmap? For the first quarter of 2020, Guild Wars 2 has some plans:
As early as January, the second episode of the Icebrood Saga is set to follow. It is named “Shadows in the Ice”.
The annual Lunar New Year event is returning, but with new content and rewards: a weapon set and a new armor piece.
For PvP players, the Swiss tournament system is to be implemented. This was already part of the roadmap announced in April 2019. Also, a major balance patch is on the way.
For WvW players, there will be a balance update for the Warclaw.
A small highlight is expected to be the new content “Visions of the Past”, which will also be introduced in the first quarter. In this, we can follow missions from the past from the perspective of Ryland Steelcatcher, a Charr, who had a significant role in the prologue to the Icebrood Saga.
ArenaNet has set high expectations for the early months of 2020 and seems to keep the promise that there will be a highlight every month.
Why are players still dissatisfied? Despite these interesting updates, some players are disappointed with the roadmap. They miss many contents, promised updates, and many are not thrilled with the “Visions of the Past”.
However, it also reflects the disappointment over a whole year 2019 from the fans, which turned out differently than many players had thought at the beginning of 2019. Issues such as the layoffs at ArenaNet and the content drought in summer have left their mark.
We have already taken a detailed look at the year 2019 here:
New contents that would otherwise have been saved for an expansion
Especially the last two points regarding alliance update and expansion contents are critical. Both were promises from ArenaNet that have not yet been fulfilled.
Players have been waiting for the alliance update for almost 2 years now. The current innovations are far from expansion contents like gliding, mounts, or elite specializations. It now looks like there will be no changes in the coming three months.
Guild Wars 2 on Mobile? This is currently being reviewed.
What is wrong with instanced content? The absence of new instances in the form of raids or fractals has already led many “hardcore guilds” to leave Guild Wars 2. The time gaps are getting longer:
Berlusinni: “I welcome the roadmap, but the new content is just more story in addition to the Living World, which is already the focus. Meanwhile, we hear nothing about fractals or raids; we don’t even know if there are still developers for them.”
Not all players are dissatisfied
What do players praise about the roadmap? Guild Wars 2 has not provided a real preview of upcoming updates that are more than two weeks away since its release in 2012. Many players are therefore happy that there is a roadmap at all.
Moreover, the rapid release of the second episode of the Icebrood Saga is praised. The prologue was released in September, the first episode in November, and it continues in January. This rhythm pleases many players.
PvP players are also looking forward to the upcoming balance patch, which according to Game Designer Cal Cohen, will make many significant changes and align the skills and traits of the classes.
What do you think about the roadmap? Is the criticism justified, or do the contents convince you?
The greatest praise in GW2 surprisingly went to a patch that brought only a little content
At 25 years old, Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong retires. He is one of the most well-known players in League of Legends. As a support, he revolutionized the game with Wards, control, and vision years ago. But the LoL player has big plans: he already has a job as a coach for a top team.
Who is Mata? Mata is one of the LoL players who achieved the greatest triumph early in his career. In 2014, he won the LoL World Championship with the team “Samsung White” and $1 million. He had essentially reached his goal at just 20 years old.
He then spent two years in China. At that time, half of Korea was playing in China: that was where the big money was to be made. His career then took off again at the end of 2016 when he returned to Korea and joined KT Rolster: they won the LCK.
This is the Thresh skin designed after Mata in 2014.
Mata had his great time in a phase when LoL was still at its tactical beginning. He and Hong “Madlife” Min-gi invented modern support play in LoL and showed how to gain vision and thus control over the map through Wards.
Mata will now be the head coach of RNG.
Back then, Mata could have a significant influence on the outcome of a LoL match as an individual player. However, in an interview with Inven, he says that LoL has changed significantly since that time:
“Back then I talked a lot and made calls. But I learned that the better way is for every player to know their role. Especially since eSports in LoL is much more developed today. All players need to be good, not just one. If just one player falls behind compared to the other 9, it makes a huge difference.”
Mata
Mata says he used to talk more. Only later in his career did he learn that it was better to listen to others.
Mata becomes head coach of RNG and aims for the title
What comes next for Mata? Right now, many LoL pros from the “glorious early days of LoL” are retiring, and Mata is also ending his active playing career. He says he planned to learn English, go to the USA, and continue playing – that’s what other former champs from Korea have been doing for years. But Mata’s progress in learning English has reportedly not gone as well.
However, since Mata has always been known as a tactically-minded player and a leader, he has received offers for some time now to continue as a coach. Initially, Mata always rejected these offers because he thought that coaches were not treated well in LoL:
“LoL is a team game. The players, the coaches, the support are all a team. But some think that if a team performs well, it’s because of the players. If a team performs poorly, it’s because of the coaches. I found that unfair.”
Mata
He is the star of RNG, Uzi. He is 3 years younger than Mata.
Nevertheless, Mata has now decided to become the head coach of his old team RNG. He is going back to China. His role model here? Zinedine Zidane, the footballer. He won the Champions League in his first year as head coach, after being a former champion. Mata says:
“There is no player who has won the LoL Worlds as both a player and a head coach. I want to be the first.”
The famous Twitch streamer DrLupo held a 24-hour stream to raise money for a children’s hospital. The biggest donor was Twitch itself, which surprised the streamer with a donation of over one million US dollars.
What kind of stream was that? DrLupo was live for 24 hours to diligently raise money for St. Jude Hospital in the USA. The stream was a complete success, as over 2 million dollars were raised.
One scene was especially touching. Twitch itself donated one million dollars. This surprised DrLupo so much that he even fought back tears.
Many streamers were big donors
Check out the Twitch donation here: While donations from viewers were coming in and DrLupo had already raised over one million dollars, he opened a gift from Twitch.
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For example, the Mixer streamer Ninja donated 30,000 dollars, and his streamer colleagues TimTheTatman and CouRageJD each contributed 5,000 dollars to the children’s hospital. DrLupo himself donated 25,000 dollars.
However, the largest donation received through Twitch came from the small streamer CCKun91. He donated 37,777 dollars during the stream, surpassing even his big streamer colleagues.
DrLupo has frequently acted as a fundraiser for the children’s hospital.
This time, it amounted to over 2.3 million dollars in total.
St. Jude Hospital is a world-renowned children’s hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, specializing in the treatment of cancer. No family receives a bill here. The treatment of children is therefore free of charge, which is something special in the USA. Many families are uninsured and cannot afford such expensive hospital visits.
The hospital relies on donations to continue providing free treatment for children.
Twitch does not only donate money. They are allegedly paying their top streamers a lot of money to keep them around:
For TOTW 15 (Team of the Week) in FIFA 20, there are now Predictions. We show you the predictions for the next Team of the Week and reveal which players could receive Inform cards.
These are TOTW Predictions: The predictions for the Team of the Week are forecasts from the FIFA community. It attempts to predict which players could be included in the next Team of the Week based on their performances.
In fact, fans occasionally hit the mark with their predictions and can often correctly forecast several players.
This week is different: This week, there were two matchdays due to the English week. Therefore, there are significantly more performances to evaluate.
Prediction for Team of the Week 15 in Ultimate Team
Rune Jarstein particularly excelled in the match against Bayer Leverkusen. The goalkeeper from Hertha BSC kept a clean sheet and shone with 7 saves.
Sven Bender was the best defender on the pitch in the match against Mainz 05. He defended strongly and played a major role in preventing Leverkusen from conceding a goal.
Jonas Hector had a really good game in midfield for Köln during the 4:2 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored a goal in the process.
Philipp Max, although defending in a three-man defense against Fortuna Düsseldorf, still managed to score goals himself. The Augsburg player achieved 2 goals and provided an assist during the 3:0 victory. He definitely deserved an Inform card.
Robin Quaison scored 3 goals against Werder Bremen. For this hat-trick, he could very well receive an Inform card. We will know more on Wednesday.
Then the TOTW 15 will be released: On Wednesday, December 25 at 7:00 PM, the new Inform cards will be released. These will be available in card packs for one week.
This is how you can use the predictions now: If you want to quickly earn some coins in FUT 20, you can use the predictions for that. Here we explain what you need to do:
The movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Star Wars 9) begins with the famous text that slowly drifts away. A passage of this text refers to something that only those who were at the Star Wars event in Fortnite experienced.
What is this reference? The “Opening Crawl” in Star Wars is now legendary. A writing appears slowly, drifting backwards, embedding the events of the film into the larger context of the Star Wars universe. Bombastic space music roars – this is how Star Wars films must begin.
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Currently, Star Wars 9 is in theaters and also begins with such an “Opening Crawl.” The first sentence reads (freely translated):
„The dead speak. The galaxy has received a mysterious transmission, a vengeance threat in the eerie voice of the late EMPEROR PALPATINE.”
From the Opening Crawl of Star Wars 9
Palpatine was, as a reminder, the Emperor of the original trilogy, whom Vader ultimately throws into the reactor of the Death Star. In the prequel trilogy, Palpatine was a seemingly nice senator who harbored dark plans.
This is the joke: This “vengeance threat” from Palpatine was not heard in the last Star Wars film or anywhere else in the cinematic universe, but in Fortnite of all places.
Palpatine declares that the work of generations is complete. The great error is corrected. The day of victory is near, the day of vengeance, the day of the Sith.
Actually, only a relatively banal scene from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was shown at the Fortnite event, but this transmission from Palpatine made the event feel much more important for the Star Wars canon than it seemed a week ago.
This is remarkable: As the US site Polygon says, it is unusual for a plot point important enough to open Star Wars 9 to be thrown out in Fortnite like this.
At Polygon, they suspect: Director J.J. Abrams had the actor Ian McDiarmid record the passage long ago but later found no place to incorporate the lines into Star Wars.
When Abrams was then asked if he had anything cool for Fortnite, he dug out this line.
More about the Star Wars event in Fortnite and the exclusive scene can be seen here:
The two Chinese megacities Beijing and Shanghai aim to become global gaming capitals by 2025. However, the tense situation in China against gaming is becoming a problem.
Is there already a gaming capital of the world? There is no single center for gaming worldwide, but rather regional hubs. Currently, three cities are viewed as the gaming capitals of the world:
Los Angeles, where the large gaming fair E3 takes place every year, bringing together the Western world
Seoul, as the capital of the e-sports nation of Korea, is the venue for many major tournaments in e-sports, in a city of 9 million inhabitants
Tokyo, the center of Japan, hosts the “Tokyo Game Show” and is home to many arcades – Japan is generally considered a “gaming-crazy” nation
Stars like Keanu Reeves can be seen at E3 in Los Angeles.
Beijing wants online gaming, Shanghai aims to dominate e-sports
These are the plans: But as abacusnews reports, two Chinese megacities have ambitions to become global gaming capitals:
The local government plans to make Beijing the “international capital of online gaming” – aiming for a timeline of 2025. Beijing has about 21.5 million inhabitants (as of 2018)
Shanghai wants to be the “International Capital of E-Sports” by 2025, according to the city’s government. Shanghai is even larger than Beijing with 24.2 million inhabitants (as of 2018)
These are the advantages of the cities: Generally, Chinese fans are considered gaming enthusiasts, and the economic boom has ensured that more and more money has been pumped into gaming in recent years. The gaming market in China is booming. In 2019, the market was 175 times larger than it was 16 years ago.
For a long time, the Chinese government has been open towards gaming. In 2003, China was one of the first governments to recognize e-sports as an official sport, analyst Daniel Ahmad states.
Tencent is a massive “global player” in China. The company owns LoL, among others.
Problem 1: Tencent and NetEase are elsewhere
What are the issues? One problem is that the center of the gaming industry in China is currently in Guangdong, a southern province with 106 million inhabitants. In the provincial capital Guangzhou is home to NetEase. The even larger company Tencent is also based in a special trade zone in the province.
The province of Guangdong is consequently responsible for three-quarters of the value of the gaming industry, as abacusnews reports.
All of this has given the Chinese gaming market a setback.
PUBG no longer exists in the form we know it in China. This is now the “Freedom Game.”
Many of the internationally largest gaming brands do not exist in China at all. Thus, the gaming sector in China is almost completely isolated from the rest of the world, with a few exceptions like LoL. Globally, only one version is played and the last 2 world championships were held in China.
We will see if the ambitious plans of Beijing and Shanghai come to fruition by 2025.
With the Season 1 refresh on December 18, a new mode was added to the playlist in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. In “Cranked” you are under constant stress and need to make kills to survive!
Why are there new modes in the current CoD? Players of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare regularly receive new content over time, and the current Season 1 brings CoD soldiers new maps along with changing modes.
The rules also remind a bit of the action movie “Crank”: Go full throttle or you’re done for! There is no place for campers, as anyone who does nothing for too long will blow up. That is one of the rules of the new mode.
A video from YouTuber KRNG Hero humorously shows what happens to campers in this mode and how it plays:
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What kind of crazy mode is this? This anti-camper mode comes with a new gameplay element and ruthlessly blows you up after 30 seconds without a kill.
These are the rules of “Cranked”
Gameplay rules like team deathmatch.
The team with 150 kills wins the round.
Match duration is 10 minutes.
If you get a kill, you are Cranked.
A bonus to your speed stats for 30 seconds.
You run faster, your weapon mobility stats are increased.
The buff resets to 30 seconds with each additional kill.
If the buff expires, your killstreak ends with an explosion.
The mode forces you to keep going after the first kill. Campers cannot simply guard a particular spot for long periods, as without enemy fire, the game is over quickly.
When the timer runs out, you can respawn.
How can I survive this? Adapt to the fast-paced gameplay and choose your loadout accordingly.
The mode demands high speed and improves your speed in the cranked state. If your setup is already optimized for ZV speed and mobility, you’ll have good chances in 1v1 situations.
What do the players say? The mode is really well received. The principle makes camping significantly more difficult, and that pleases the CoD soldiers. Here are some voices from the community:
SNFN: “Cranked makes the game so much more enjoyable. Definitely my favorite game mode.”
krohn7master: “Cranked is the game mode that saved MW for me.”
JeffCrisco: “Cranked is the best mode in the entire game.”
A lot of players agree that this mode is among the best you can currently play in CoD.
Players are afraid that the mode will be removed from the game again soon.
Will the mode stay in the game? The mode was introduced into the playlist during Season 1, and the developers frequently rotate here.
Players are now worried that the mode might disappear quickly and are already posting requests for “Cranked” to become a permanent part of public games.
A player has already completed the new league in Path of Exile and achieved a tough challenge – just a week after its launch. As a reward, there are now $8000.
How did he manage that? During the currently ongoing Metamorph league, the player Darkee killed the “Awakener”. Darkee is a streamer for the e-sports organization Method, which regularly achieves first kills in WoW. The Awakener is currently the hardest boss in the game.
Darkee played a Necromancer and relied on skeletons – he used a similar build to the build others have already used to defeat tough bosses naked. His necro is at level 98 and Darkee himself was quite careful during his kill of the Awakener.
You can find the video of his kills along with some comments on his Twitch stream Lightee7:
That’s why it’s so significant: Darkee killed the boss in “Hardcore Solo Self-found” mode, meaning without any interaction with other players and indeed “Hardcore”. If his character dies, the journey is over.
