Although fewer people search for WoW content on Twitch.TV, the streamer Asmongold remains in first place there. And that’s precisely with live streams of World of Warcraft.
What is happening at TwitchTV? In recent weeks, some big name streamers have left Twitch and have been streaming on other platforms since. Ninja made a grand exit, followed by Shroud and Courage.
Viewers on TwitchTV who were attached to these channels now either follow the streamers to other platforms or look for other channels on Twitch to follow. It seems that the WoW streamer Asmongold has greatly benefited from this. As a solo streamer, he was watched the longest in October 2019. Close behind was the Fortnite streamer Tfue.
WoW streamer Asmongold
How well did it go for Asmongold? As Dexerto reports, things went really well for Asmongold in October. He was the only streamer to break the 6-million mark in “watched hours.” This is based on analyses from the website SullyGnome and StreamElements.
In the following month of September, Asmongold continued to secure the top position among the most viewed streamers. Tfue was in second place. Another WoW streamer, Sodapoppin, found himself in third place.
That Asmongold was also so successful in October is remarkable because the World of Warcraft category on Twitch has greatly diminished since then. According to SullyGnome, the hours watched dropped by 60% from September to October.
Now it remains to be seen how long Asmongold can maintain his top spot. He seems to have loyal viewers who still want to watch WoW with him.
Many players have stopped playing Conan Exiles in recent months. However, the developers have cool features in store that should make a return interesting.
These new features are offered by Conan Exiles: Developer Funcom has announced several features for Conan Exiles that are set to be added to the game soon. These include:
Mounts
A leveling system for slaves and animal companions
New cosmetic content
Fans have been looking forward to mounts for two years. Even before Conan Exiles was officially released, mounts were already being discussed. Now mounts are finally coming, albeit a little late.
Mounts as a long-missed feature
What are mounts for? Mounts serve not only as a means of transportation in Conan Exiles, but also offer mounted combat. You can ride different animals and fight with all sorts of weapons from their backs.
This is how mounts work: So far, only horses have been announced as mounts in Conan Exiles. However, it is possible that other animals, such as rock noses, elephants, or even spiders, may also become mounts – such are the hopes of the fans. Nothing has been confirmed yet.
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Mounts will likely be tamed similarly to animal companions. You will either have to catch them in the wild as a juvenile or find eggs and hatch them. They will also be customizable with cosmetics.
More detailed information will follow before release. Mounts are set to appear in December as a free update for Conan Exiles along with the DLC “Riders of Hyboria”.
Why is this feature worth it? Fans have been demanding mounts for years. The Exiled Lands are vast, and a horse helps you to progress faster. Mounted combat also offers completely new possibilities to overwhelm NPCs or engage in PvP.
Levelable Slaves and Animals
This is the new leveling system: In addition, Funcom recently announced that a leveling system for slaves and animal companions will be added. This is based on the existing leveling system for players:
Animal companions and slaves level up through combat, up to level 20
Level ups grant them improvements in status values (distributed automatically)
Crafting slaves cannot level up
Equipped gear influences the stats
Animals and slaves can learn skills (“perks”) when leveling up
Limit for slaves: At the same time, the maximum number of slaves will be reduced. Alone, you can have a maximum of 55 companions (animals and slaves, crafting slaves do not count). For each clan member, this limit increases by 5, up to a maximum of 100.
However, you may still have only one companion with you at a time. Mounts count as companions. The leveling update is currently scheduled for early December. You can find more information about the system in a FAQ on Steam and in the official forum.
Why is this feature worth it? The “new slaves” will be much stronger than the old ones, and you will have the opportunity to search for the “perfect companion”. If you want to breed the ideal archer or the ideal animal, you can do that with the new system.
New Content for Returnees
What has been added recently? In September, a new update for Conan Exiles was released, surprisingly introducing a cool PvP feature. With this, you can now create arenas and specifically engage in fights with other players.
On October 8, Conan Exiles also received the newest DLC, Debaucheries of Derketo. This brings new cosmetics in the wild style of the jungle in the east, where the followers of Derketo reside.
What has been happening to Conan Exiles recently?
This is how the player numbers look: The player counts on Steam dropped significantly over the summer of 2019. In May 2019, there were still an average of 9,549 players. Now, in the last 30 days, there are still 6,153 players, which is nearly a third less (as of November 8, via steamcharts).
Conan Exiles hit its lowest point during this period in August with 5,254 players. After that, the numbers rose a bit again – presumably thanks to the PvP update and the new DLC “Blood and Sand”.
Players on other platforms such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One cannot be accounted for in this statistic due to lack of data.
Is it worth taking a look? Since more players are returning now, there is certainly a bit more going on on some servers.
If you want to check out the new features in December, now is the right time to start a new character and build a base in a suitable location so that you can immediately start with mounts and leveling slaves.
In the future, Conan Exiles could even receive support from China:
The MMORPG Astellia has released a new patch. This brought new legendary dungeons. However, one piece of content that many players are eagerly waiting for is still not included.
What did the new update bring? The patch from November 7 brought Astellia three major innovations:
The new Astel Ignagon
Three new legendary dungeons
New costumes for players and skins for Ignagon in the real-money shop
Additionally, with the patch the Halloween event ended. However, the associated vendor will remain for another two weeks so you can exchange your currency.
The new Astel Ignagon
What are the players actually waiting for? The innovations are generally well received by the fans of the MMORPG and the new dungeons are praised in the forum.
However, many have been waiting since release for the PvP area Avalon. In the world PvP, 3 factions meet in an open area with up to 300 people each. The fights are for outposts and points, which are reset at the end of the week.
Some players are correspondingly disappointed:
Forum user Zwiebel: “I had hoped that Avalon would come out. But I guess, more legendary dungeons are fine for a few weeks too.”
Forum user Pirylio: “Avalon? But thanks for the dungeons with low drop rates.”
Reddit user Federeal: “The developers said Avalon should be released a month after the release. What happened?”
How are the dungeons received? At the beginning of October, the first three legendary dungeons were released. However, they were not challenging enough for many players.
The new legendary dungeons, on the other hand, are praised in the forum. User Kilvovrian writes:
Thank you for listening and bringing out the new dungeons with exciting boss fights. When the servers came back online, we assembled some groups in the guild and expected the same boring content.
Fortunately, we were wrong. Archdukes is the funnest dungeon now and Marcazin the hardest. [..]
Kudos for the entertaining boss fights, where you don’t just have to sit and press buttons until the boss is dead.
Other users agree on the issue of difficulty. However, the extremely low drop chances are criticized.
What can Ignagon do? Ignagon, the new Astel, is a Guardian and Warrior and has the trait of Passion. What that means exactly, we explained in the Astel guide.
It deals physical damage, has a longer attack chain, but in return has no combo attacks. Ignagon has very good base attributes and seems strong at first glance.
In addition to Ignagon, another Astel is also planned for 2019.
MMORPG fans can look forward to new games from Pearl Abyss, the developer of Black Desert, in the coming years:
The new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has only been on the market for two weeks and is already bringing fresh content to the players. One of the maps is reminiscent of earlier titles in its design. However, it is currently still a bit hidden.
What is coming today for Modern Warfare? Just barely two weeks after the release of CoD: Modern Warfare, developer Infinity Ward is already providing new content for the multiplayer mode.
Patch 1.07 with new maps
When is the new patch coming? The update has already arrived today, on Friday, November 8th, and brings along two new maps, some balancing updates, bug fixes, and two additional multiplayer modes. The content is free for all players and was also part of a leak a few days ago.
Many fans are complaining that the new modes are not playable yet. We checked and at the moment there is no new mode in the multiplayer menu. Currently, at 1:30 PM, the new modes are still not available, even though the patch has already been applied.
In particular, the map “Shoot House” should appeal to current critics of the title, as it is based on the design of earlier CoD maps and allows very little room for camping.
The new map is based on the layout of older titles.
Krovnik Farmland brings variety for the eyes
What are these new maps? The maps both bring some variety to the rotation. Shoot House is a relatively small map and Krovnik Farmland adds visual flair to the Ground War mode.
Shoot House
Map with 3 lanes / 6 vs. 6 players
Based on the design of earlier CoD maps. Very small and little verticality.
Krovnik Farmland
Map for the large Ground War mode
Offers a new setting for large-scale battles
The popular map Nuketown was often part of a 24/7 rotation in the past.
Shoot House in 24/7 mode
What do the new multiplayer modes look like? With Hardpoint, a familiar mode returns to the new Call of Duty. The rules of the game are similar to those of Headquarters. The second mode features the new map Shoot House with a 24/7 rotation.
Hardpoint mode
A target must be captured by the teams
Holding the target earns points
Enemies can capture the target, then it changes position
After a while, the target changes position by itself
Respawn is enabled during holding
24/7 Shoot House
Rotation where only one map is played
The modes rotate
Included modes – Team Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed, and Headquarters
How can I play Shoot House and Hardline? Both modes are now playable. You can select them directly in the multiplayer menu or start private matches.
Non-Stop Action for Close Combatants
Why is there a 24/7 mode? Even in earlier CoD games, there were periodically Non-Stop rotations where only the game modes change. The new map offers hardly any space to hide, and combat occurs mostly on one level.
This map is likely to play out significantly differently than the spacious current maps and is designed for quick gunfights in close quarters.
With the 24/7 mode, Infinity Ward is now catering precisely to players who find the large maps too convoluted, and that too 24/7 without a break.
However, it remains to be seen how long the mode will be available. It may just be a test to gauge acceptance.
What do you think about one of the new maps reminding you of the design of earlier CoD titles?
With the new addon Shadowlands, World of Warcraft aims to make it more enjoyable for twinks again. This emerged from an interview with the developers. Changes in the leveling system and new features are intended to benefit fans of second characters in World of Warcraft.
Progress for “endgame content” will be unlocked while leveling
Thus, twinks become a kind of “New Game+”, where you have more choices and can enter the endgame more easily.
How long does twinking take now? Additionally, leveling is expected to be 60-70% faster. Along with the level, the required experience is also adjusted, so you will reach level 50 or 60 faster in the future.
From level 1-10, you will play through a starting area as usual or, as a new player, through “Exile’s Reach”. Afterwards, you can choose any expansion and can reach level 50 with that (new players must quest in Battle for Azeroth).
New players must play in BfA.
Once you reach level 50, you can venture into the Shadowlands and continue leveling there up to level 60.
“Party Sync” – For Group Play
This makes cooperation easier: Blizzard also has a solution for the problem of cooperation, as the leveling areas are fixed for at least the first characters.
According to the developers, the new “Party Sync” tool offers the solution. Higher-level players will be scaled down to the level of their friends and can easily play with them.
In Destiny 2 today, on 08.11., there is once again a visit from the mysterious Exotic vendor Xur on the agenda. We will tell you which items the noodle-faced vendor has and what else he offers to the Guardians. All about Xur’s location and inventory on November 8, 2019.
What is happening right now in Destiny? At an unusual time, the update 2.6.1.1 for Destiny 2 was released yesterday. This hotfix revises, among other things, the pinnacle rewards and ensures that the Guardians can finally obtain the top sniper rifle “Izanagi’s Burden”.
You can find all the information about the update here:
But today, there are exotic items for sale from Xur. What is available for sale?
All information about Xur on November 8, 2019 – PS4, PC, Xbox One
Does Xur have armor pieces with useful perks this time? And which exotic weapon will he offer to the Guardians? We look forward to his visit and will examine his inventory closely.
When does Xur appear?
This is Xur’s time: Today, at 6:00 PM, the mysterious vendor appears on a planet of his choice. He will remain there until the next Weekly Reset on November 12 and offers the Guardians exotic items during this time.
Where is Xur? This is his location this weekend
Xur’s location: The vendor is located in the EDZ in the area “Twisted Cove”.
Xur’s position in the EDZ
Xur’s inventory from 08.11 to 12.11. – An overview of all exotics
Weapon:Zer0berus+1 – Auto Rifle for 29 Legendary Shards
Update: The Auto Rifle was exchanged for the exotic SMG “Risky Business” shortly after Xur arrived. Some players were still able to acquire the Zer0berus.
In FIFA 20 the Champions League event “Path to the Final” begins. Included: The Road-to-the-Final cards. Here you will find all the information about the RTTF special cards in FUT.
When does RTTF start? The Path to the Final, or “Road to the Final”, begins this Friday evening at 7 PM. A countdown is running in the game as usual, leading up to the start of the event.
What does RTTF bring? The event brings 14 dynamic Champions League RTTF cards and 3 dynamic Europa League RTTF cards in the first week, available in packs from 7 PM.
Additionally, there are SBCs and weekly tasks with further RTTF cards as rewards. Next Friday, there are supposed to be more special cards.
These are the new RTTF cards
RTTF Champions League cards:
Kante (90)
Mane (89)
Dybala (89)
Handanovic (89)
Son (88)
Allan (86)
Coman (86)
Dembele (86)
Sancho (86)
Mahrez (86)
David Neres (84)
Eder Milatao (84)
Wass (83)
Wendell (81)
RTTF Europa League cards:
Dumfries (82)
Jimenez (83)
Juan Jesus (81)
These are the SBCs and tasks available:
Gomez (83) – Squad Building Challenge
Mbabu (81) – Weekly Task
Path to the Final lets you experience the excitement in the Champions League
This is special about RTTF cards: The event is designed so that individual players from Champions League teams receive dynamic cards. The further the teams progress in the Champions League, the better the cards become.
This creates excitement, as similar to the TOTW, the RTTF cards are tied to real performances. This also allows for speculation. Both Liverpool and Ajax and Tottenham significantly impacted the market last season.
This is what the RTTF cards looked like last season
This is how you get RTTF cards: The dynamic cards will be available in packs for a certain period at the start of the event. Additionally, there should also be the following possibilities:
Specific event cards from SBCs
Specific cards from weekly tasks
Cards on the transfer market
As usual, it will likely be difficult this time to pack the event players. You will need a lot of luck. And even on the market, the popular cards are expected to become quite expensive.
New objectives will also come this Friday evening. What does the new season bring?
The YouTube channel of Ahman “ApoRed” Ahadi for the game Fortnite was deleted. Developer Epic had issued copyright strikes against the channel “RedSama”. There was probably nothing more to be done. Thus, one of the largest German YouTube channels for Fortnite has been deleted. However, the YouTuber has a replacement.
What kind of channel was that? The channel was called “RedSama” and belonged to YouTuber ApoRed.
The channel existed since April 7, 2014. It had 1.48 million subscribers and was thus the 126th largest channel on YouTube in Germany. (via socialblade)
On the channel, primarily Fortnite videos were uploaded:
The channel generated about 300,000 new views daily until recently – that amounts to 9 million views a month
Its peak was in spring 2018, just like Fortnite itself. In March 2018, the channel reached almost 30 million views in a month.
A typical thumbnail of the channel.
Epic lifts copyright strikes against YouTube channel
Why was the channel deleted? As the YouTuber said in a video on November 2, developer Epic Games had issued several copyright strikes against the channel. This happened on November 1.
Afterward, a countdown of 7 days ticked down until the channel was suspended.
Having “red” in strikes is not a good sign. The channel is set to be deleted, according to YouTube status display.
Apored subsequently deleted all Fortnite content from his channel, removing over 246 million views from the statistics. Additionally, he wanted to involve his lawyer. But that apparently did not help.
Meanwhile, it is November 8, and the channel is indeed suspended. The explanatory video from November 2 is also no longer available.
The message can now be found where a channel used to be.
How relevant was the channel? The channel RedSama was among the largest Fortnite channels in Germany. Larger gaming channels with Fortnite content are:
However, these are mostly general gaming channels that also feature other games besides Fortnite.
ApoRed claimed to have been one of the first YouTubers in Germany to discover Fortnite and helped to make it “big”.
This is what ApoRed’s channel looked like on November 6 when he was still trying to save it.
Epic does not provide reasons – But it was probably advertising for skin sellers
Why did Epic go after ApoRed’s channel? This is not entirely clear. ApoRed repeatedly insisted that he had done nothing that others had not done as well.
However, ApoRed admitted to having advertised websites where players can purchase skins for Fortnite.
This might have upset Epic.
For such pages, RedSama apparently advertised – at least he shows the screen of another YouTuber who does the same.
Earlier, there had already been speculation that Epic did not wish to collaborate with the YouTuber.
The reasons were not entirely clear here either. However, ApoRed had earned a certain reputation with a “prank” video.
In 2016, ApoRed released a video where he threw a bag at people and pretended there was a bomb inside the bag. He called out: “You better run if your life is worth something.”
For this “prank”, he received a seven-month suspended prison sentence and 200 hours of community service (via spiegelonline). About half a year before the “prank”, 130 people had died in an attack in Paris.
What happens next? ApoRed has launched a new channel for Fortnite, which is again called “RedSama”. It currently has 122,000 subscribers.
Our author Benedict got really excited about the new games from Blizzard at BlizzCon 2019. However, impressive things are also brewing at the competition: at “League of Legends” developer Riot.
Blizzard has always been my favorite game developer, where I first got into it with Lost Vikings back on the SNES, but I have really revered it since Warcraft 3. I have been playing titles from this gaming giant for over 15 years and have enjoyed almost every (PC) game the company has released since – except Starcraft 2 – for many hours.
To me, Blizzard has always represented innovation, fan service, and was a name I could rely on for good new games. Through BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard has shown me again, after many shitstorms, that there are grand ideas behind the company.
Almost at the same time, however, Riot, the developer of League of Legends, has transformed into a company that is gaining more and more attention. I see a lot of what has made Blizzard so successful all along – and I hope for its success for several reasons.
I’m really looking forward to these Blizzard games
This will be the highlight: At BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard presented several innovations, most of which were already known through leaks beforehand. Nevertheless, one game has particularly excited me.
Through its open world, Diablo 4 will feel more like an MMO than a classic ARPG. A feature that I’m looking forward to as an MMORPG fan. I’m curious to see how that develops, as it will still take a while until release.
What I’m looking forward to: Overwatch 2 looks like a game where I will sink many hours.
What makes Blizzard the king? Whether Blizzard is now the “best game studio” is a highly subjective assessment, and many fans of Rockstar, Bethesda, or Ubisoft will probably disagree with me.
Nevertheless, Blizzard has had years of success and has a portfolio of games, almost every one of which has become a hit. This is also reflected in the financial status of the company, even though Blizzard experienced difficulties lately.
An report from twinfinite summarizes the revenues of the 10 largest video game publishers in the fiscal year 2018. Activision Blizzard comes in fourth place with $7.2 billion (2017). Only Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony can place ahead of the company, each also being able to offer their own consoles.
Riot as a competitor: Whether Riot has already become a real competitor is not certain at the moment. So far, Riot can only show League of Legends as a game – here, Blizzard has only a foothold with Heroes of the Storm.
Additionally, six new games that Riot has announced are coming. Among these are shooters, card games, and a game that looks like an MMORPG – all genres where Blizzard has firm roots.
The current success of Riot
This is how Riot grows: The story of Riot’s success began with League of Legends, its own adaptation of the popular Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients (DotA). LoL was released on October 27, 2009 – almost exactly 10 years ago.
After its release, LoL became one of the most successful MOBAs ever and remains strong at the top of the genre, even ahead of Dota 2 (measured by viewers on Twitch).
This is how Riot stays relevant: Although LoL was for a long time the only game from Riot, the company has held its ground and is now exploring new avenues. Recently, Riot jumped on the autobattler hype train.
With Teamfight Tactics, the LoL developer not only created its own autobattler but also offers severe competition to Valve’s Dota Underlords and the original and now standalone version of Auto Chess.
Legends of Runeterra is now also in development and is already being played. The new card game is “Riot’s Hearthstone” with a twist – even though card games are not currently the big hype genre.
Already now, LoR is popular among many Hearthstone streamers, even if there are dissenting voices. Competitor Valve has previously attempted to enter the genre but suffered a major failure with its attempt Artifact.
What does Riot do with the success? Riot is leveraging its current success to continue evolving. Riot has already introduced six new games that will be released in the coming years.
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Both markets currently exhibit a tangible hunger from fans for new content. Frustration over new shooters like Breakpoint shows that players want great new games here, and the success of WoW Classic proves that players want new and, above all, good MMORPGs – even if they are already 15 years old.
The “Blizzard way”
to success?
This is how Riot proceeds: Riot does not reinvent the genres. The developers only take already successful concepts and add their own character to them. This was already evident with LoL, which is essentially just its own version of DotA with a different name.
Three lanes, one jungle, ten players: League of Legends.
Instead of annoying fans with innovations that nobody asked for, popular systems are taken and polished until a state is reached that delivers a great game.
That’s what made Blizzard great: Blizzard has been following a similar approach over the years. The most successful games from Blizzard are not completely original inventions but improved versions of popular games.
Could Riot become the “best game studio”? Riot shows readiness to grow and challenge Blizzard. The methods for growth are the same that made Blizzard great, as highlighted by colleague Maurice Weber from Gamestar:
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After over 20 years in the business, Blizzard shows itself through the current developments and the dissatisfaction of many players to be in a position where it can easily be overtaken.
Even though Riot does not yet belong to the “big players” and EA is still significantly larger, Riot could capture part of the disappointed fans that Blizzard leaves behind. If Riot adheres to its successful recipe, it could rise to the top in a few years.
Conclusion: To me, Blizzard is the king of game developers – and it will likely always remain that way in my heart. However, after the company has lost many employees, including some to Riot, I feel that some of the old charm is missing.
Riot is now filling exactly the space that Blizzard has left empty in recent years or at least trying to. Personally, I don’t really care which of the two game studios ultimately occupies the “throne”.
If Riot does indeed develop into the next “Blizzard,” I expect many great games to come from that direction in the future. Should Blizzard see Riot’s success as a cautionary tale to weave its own essence more strongly into its games again, I look forward to fresh air with tested methods.
What do you think about the future of Blizzard and Riot?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Activision Blizzard has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will receive a new season and a Battle Pass in December 2019. The company is a bit later than planned.
What has Activision Blizzard announced? In the latest earnings call, where Activision Blizzard informs investors about the progress and status of their products, the company also talked about Modern Warfare.
They announced the “new in-game system for Modern Warfare”, referring to the Battle Pass and the new season. New content for Call of Duty will be coming soon.
When will the season and Battle Pass be released? Activision Blizzard did not provide a specific date. It was only mentioned that the content will be released in December and “later than planned.”
New Season and Battle Pass – What you need to know
How does the Battle Pass work? The Battle Pass in Modern Warfare is a replacement for loot boxes and drops. You are supposed to earn rewards and not rely on luck. You will see beforehand what you get.
What you can earn in the paid pass will not affect gameplay. They will be purely cosmetic items. Specific rewards are not yet known.
What will happen to my progress? Once the new season starts, your level will be reset to level 55 if you have already reached it. From level 55 onward, you will continue to level up in the “Officer” area, which is available at the release of the season.
So far, there are 100 additional levels available to you, which serve as a replacement for the prestige system that Modern Warfare did not adopt.
However, level 55 is the “base level” at which you have unlocked all weapons and equipment in Modern Warfare. Each new season then resets the level to this point and starts again with an expected 100 additional levels.
The Team Rocket event in Pokémon GO has started and brings new raid bosses associated with the villains. We will show you which bosses are worth it.
Why are there new bosses? The Rocket event, which started last night, promised new raid bosses. After some initial problems, the new bosses have now appeared.
These include mainly bosses that fit Team Rocket or their leader Giovanni.
Overview of all raid bosses in the “Team Rocket” event
Raid Level
Pokémon
Level 1 Raid (red egg)
Smogon* Rettan* Mauzi* Tragosso* Zubat*
Level 2 Raid (red egg)
Austos Magneton Sleimok Kingler Sandamer
Level 3 Raid (yellow egg)
Onix* Machomei Snobilikat Alola Raichu*
Level 4 Raid (yellow egg)
Absol* Alola Knogga* Nidoking Geowaz Rizeros
Level 5 Raid (black egg)
Kobalium
All bosses with a star (*) can also appear as Shiny.
Which bosses are worth it? There are only a few really strong bosses among them. For example, Machomei still has a strong counter against Kobalium in the Level 3 raids.
Two other good bosses are Kingler and Magneton. Kingler is the water attacker that deals the most damage. Magnezone, the evolution of Magneton, is one of the best electric attackers.
If you enjoy shiny hunting, you should mainly focus on Zubat in the Level 1 raids. This is still one of the rarest Shinies in the game. Mauzi is also brand new, so those looking to increase their chances for a Shiny can invest a pass here as well.
Shiny Mauzi is available in the game for the first time
How long are the bosses here now? Niantic announced that these bosses will be available until the end of the event. The event ends on November 14 at 10:00 PM German time. After that, there will be the old bosses from November again.
It looks like you can now complete a special research with Giovanni every month:
According to Creative Director Sebastian Stępień, you can expect a huge world in Diablo 4. The hack ‘n slash is starting to sound more and more like an MMO.
What did Creative Director Sebastian Stępień mean? Sebastian Stępień spoke a bit at BlizzCon about the size of the game world of Sanctuary.
He mentioned rather casually that there will be more than 100 villages and similar places at the launch of the game.
He said this in relation to how Diablo 4 wants to tell its story. Players are supposed to interact with the “common folk” they encounter in the form of NPCs. These non-player characters reside in the “over 100 villages and locations”. Players should think of characters like the Waypoint from Diablo 1 or Marius from Diablo 2 when it comes to these “NPCs from the common people”.
Who is Sebastian Stępień? The developer previously worked at CD Projekt Red on The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 before Diablo 4.
Furthermore, a few new items from the Bungie Store were announced. The highlight among them is definitely a cool Hive sword.
Crota, Raid Boss, values swords
Slicing like Crota: Swords have held a special place in the hearts of Guardians since Destiny 1. Initially, players could rarely wield a Hive sword themselves. The swinging of a melee weapon was only possible in special missions, such as in the Crota raid.
Since the major expansion ‘The Taken King‘, there has been a dedicated sword in players’ loadouts. These exotic swords were extremely powerful and popular. Destiny 2 continues this tradition. A sword can be equipped in the Heavy slot at any time. However, its impact cannot currently match the glory days from D1.
The presented sword replica is made of latex-free foam. The size dimensions listed on the store page are:
Length 42″ (approx. 106 cm)
Width 9″ (approx. 23 cm)
Thickness 2.75″ (approx. 7 cm)
Pay attention to the fine print
This is how you get the sword: To be able to hold the Hive weapon in your real hands, you must prove yourself in Destiny 2. If you visit the official Bungie Store, you’ll find the frightfully high price of 777,777.77 $ waiting for you.
This absurdly high number is a kind of placeholder. The digit 7 is essentially Bungie’s lucky number. For example, ‘Bungie Day’ takes place every year on July 7. If you want the sword for a considerably more affordable 173.99 € or 159.99 $ (plus shipping), you must request a code via Bungie Rewards. Be sure to check whether the product comes from the EU or the States and inform yourself about any customs costs.
To qualify for this exclusive discount code, you need to complete the new dungeon “The Pit of Heresy” once. The dungeon run and the code request must take place before December 31, 2019. This offer is only valid until that date.
Sword bearers await you in the dungeon
Are you keen on the Hive sword? What creative Destiny fans build for replicas, you can see in this post:
For a long time, players struggled with the many patches in Borderlands 3. And the number of patches has not decreased – however, they have been much better received by the community for some time now. Instead of heavily altering the balance, the updates address specific issues.
That was the problem: Since the launch of Borderlands 3, Gearbox has consistently released patches aimed at fixing various issues. However, these rarely focused on bugs like performance issues, but rather often targeted weapons and abilities of the vault hunters.
This led to some popular builds suddenly becoming unusable. Favored weapons by fans suddenly no longer had the same power as before.
This is what the current patches look like: For several weeks, weapons and skills have been less of a focus in the hotfixes than before. And that is well received by the community:
For example, with the patch at the end of October, the Bloody Harvest Event was launched – and stability issues were addressed as well.
In another patch, Bloody Harvest was further adjusted, while nerfs were absent. This also aligns with the announcement from Gearbox developers that they hope to largely be done with balancing the vault hunters.
Even the latest patch ignored weapons and skills, instead adding more loot to Haunt and making blessed enemies easier.
Gearbox addresses the problems and wishes of the community in the new patches – creating a positive atmosphere.
Captain Haunt is finally throwing around weapons
What the players say: “These are great patch notes,” stated Reddit user “Holy_Jumper” about the last patch: “I am very excited about the adjustments to the blessed enemies.”
“I really appreciate that the ‘Terror’ loot is now more assigned to event enemies,” said “Zubriel” about the fact that a notable issue of recent weeks has been fixed.
Overall, the reaction is positive – and there is definitely a more optimistic outlook for future patches. After all, Gearbox announced some time ago that they want to tackle other key issues. These include:
In Pokémon GO there are news about Rocket Boss Giovanni. Niantic reveals that you can meet the boss again every month and challenge him in a special research.
The special research “A Long Shadow” is here and gives you an encounter with Rocket Boss Giovanni at the end. This means that you cannot meet Giovanni daily, and you only have the chance to do so in this research.
But this will not be your only Giovanni research, as Niantic has now revealed that you can meet the head of Team Rocket every month.
Meet Giovanni Every Month – Why?
This is what Niantic revealed: On their support page, Niantic explains the process against the Rocket bosses. However, they also mention a part at the bottom that had not been known so far.
Trainers can receive the Giovanni special research once a calendar month. For example, if you complete your September Giovanni special research in mid-October, you will shortly thereafter receive a new special research. If you complete the September research in mid-September, you must wait until October 1st (local time) at midnight to receive the research again.
What does this mean for the players? You will definitely receive a special research to complete every month if you have already completed the old one. It remains to be seen whether the quests will change or remain the same.
The fact is that you can encounter Giovanni at least once a month.
Why should you encounter Giovanni multiple times? According to Niantic, Giovanni battles with the 3 legendary birds in their Crypto version. After the battle, you can only catch one Crypto Pokémon.
You would not be able to get the other birds this way. However, if you can fight Giovanni every month, you have the chance to obtain more legendary Crypto Pokémon.
Here you can see Giovanni with the 3 Crypto Legendaries
Are there any other ways to get to Giovanni? You can always find the Rocket bosses if you have built the components beforehand. Giovanni, however, does not appear there so far.
The special research is currently the only way to reach Giovanni. It remains to be seen whether there will soon be more ways.
Currently, there is also an event around Team GO Rocket. These are the bonuses:
The wait for Izanagi’s Burden has finally come to an end. In Destiny 2 yesterday a hotfix went live that fixed the buggy quest for the top sniper. Therefore, players can now get the exotic sniper rifle, and they should.
Here is the background: At the launch of Shadowkeep (early October), Bungie overhauled the forges of the Black Armory. Since then, the quest for the exotic sniper Izanagi’s Burden has practically been unsolvable. We reported that new and returning players cannot complete the required tasks.
The Destiny developer wanted to solve the problem, but the released patches and content updates were not able to really fix the quest line.
Some of the existing inconsistencies were rectified, but new problems crept into the game with the patch.
Izanagi’s Burden is currently one of the strongest weapons in PvE. Therefore, many players were disappointed that the quest was so buggy for so long. Both Destiny veterans and new players couldn’t finish the exotic quest.
The Black Armory wasn’t functioning properly
Hotfix provides relief
The quest is fixed: Last night, Update 2.6.1.1 went live as a hotfix. In addition to changes to your top reward – this now allows you to grind towards 960 significantly easier – the tedious bugs in the Izanagi quest have been eliminated.
These problems have now been fixed:
A bug was fixed where the forge key did not count towards the quest progress of “Mysterious Chest” (Izanagi’s Burden). Affected players should see the corresponding task marked correctly after logging in.
A bug was fixed where the Obsidian Crystal did not grant any quest progress. Affected players must accept a rare Black Armory bounty, complete it, and redeem it to receive a new Obsidian Crystal.
Thanks to the changes, all Guardians should now be able to complete the exotic quest and finally claim Izanagi’s Burden as their own.
The Hunter proudly presents his Burden
Top sniper Izanagi’s Burden
What makes the sniper so special? The sniper Izanagi’s Burden is an absolute top weapon and is among the best that the Guardians currently have in their PvE arsenal.
The exotic sniper rifle is equipped in the primary slot (requires special ammo) and can therefore be used in combination with the Recluse SMG and a grenade launcher – a top loadout for PvE.
This projectile then has additional range and deals higher damage – depending on how many rounds are currently in the magazine (maximum 4). The effect can be stacked up to 4x. This way, the sniper deals enormous damage in PvE and can kill with just one body shot in PvP.
Activision Blizzard has announced its financial results. The subscriber count for the MMORPG WoW has never increased as much as in Q3 2019. The success of WoW Classic was crucial for this record growth.
This is the announcement from Activision Blizzard: The business report states: World of Warcraft Classic saw the largest quarterly increase in subscriber numbers in the history of the “Warcraft” brand in Q3 2019, both in the West and the East.
The reach of WoW continued to be utilized in October. It was significantly above the level of “before Classic.” There was high activity in both Classic and Retail WoW.
Therefore, it is unclear at what level the subscriber numbers were overall in 2019 – it is only known that they must have increased significantly.
After all, the MMORPG WoW has been around for 15 years – so every “record in the history of the franchise” is remarkable.
Player numbers at Blizzard far below the previous year
How is everything else going for Blizzard? Blizzard measures the number of active players on the scale of “Monthly Active Users,” the MAU.
Blizzard counts how many players have logged in at least once a month across all games. They calculate the numbers for all three months of the quarter and then divide them by 3. That gives them the MAU:
This number was 33 million in Q3 2019, from July to September;
in Q2 2019 it was 32 million;
in Q3 2018 it was still 42 million.
So it can be said: WoW was a hit, but because there wasn’t much happening in Blizzard’s other games (Overwatch, Hearthstone), Blizzard could only maintain its overall level, but not substantially improve it.
Financially, an increase in subscriber numbers is significant. WoW is also explicitly praised in the financial report: Q3 performed better than expected for Activision Blizzard – thanks also to WoW.
What’s behind it: An increase in subscribers for WoW was to be expected. However, the magnitude of the increase is indeed surprising.
WoW Classic was a mainstream phenomenon in gaming in August and September 2019, especially because nothing else was happening and Twitch discovered the MMORPG.
For a month, a retro wave swept through the gaming landscape as gamers discovered or rediscovered the “WoW from 15 years ago”.
He was partly responsible for the upswing of WoW Classic on Twitch: Asmongold.
That the increase in subscriptions was even greater than during the times of “The Burning Crusade” or “Wrath of the Lich King” is already remarkable.
However, it can be doubted whether WoW Classic can maintain this hype in the long term. It should normalize quickly. The new games from BlizzCon also seem to be even further away.
Pearl Abyss, the company behind the MMORPG Black Desert Online, has announced four new MMOs. Among them are MMORPGs and an MMO shooter.
What is Pearl Abyss announcing? In a press release, the developer of Black Desert announced that they are currently working on four new games, all of which are set to be presented at G-Star 2019.
The G-Star is the largest Korean gaming expo, taking place from November 14 to 17. Pearl Abyss will be present and has its own announcement event, which will be streamed on Twitch and YouTube on November 14 at 5:00 AM our time.
Why are the MMOs interesting to us? Pearl Abyss has published dedicated websites in English for all four games. Apparently, the Koreans want to quickly bring the new MMOs to the West.
All four games have their own distinct direction and target audience. We will reveal what lies behind the MMOs.
What new games are these? The first new announcement is Crimson Desert, an open-world MMORPG. It is set in a fantasy world where three tribes fight for control of the continent of Pywell.
Crimson Desert has been in development since 2018 and is produced by Jason Jung, the former game designer of RYL Online. He is joined by Eter Lee, also a developer of RYL Online, who is responsible for the action combat system of the new MMORPG.
It could be that this is Project CD. This game is expected to differ from traditional MMORPGs and mainly be released for consoles.
What MMORPG is coming next? The second MMORPG is called DokeV and is said to be a collection game for all ages. The project is overseen by a former animation director and a game design director from Black Desert.
DokeV is likely the Project V announced in March 2019. The game is set to receive a brand-new engine and become a “lovable family MMORPG.” The first images show a colorful world that could be used for VR.
DokeV – A Family MMORPG?
The first shooter from Pearl Abyss? The third MMO will be a shooter and is named Plan 8, which was previously known as Project K. It is being developed by Minh “Gooseman” Le, who, together with Jess Cliffe, developed the Counter-Strike mod for Half Life. An environment director from Black Desert is also involved.
The world of Plan 8 is expected to be futuristic and rather dark. The new engine, which is also used for DokeV, will be utilized. A first trailer is planned for the announcement on November 14.
MMO shooters are rather unusual for Korean companies, so we are curious to see how Pearl Abyss implements the game.
Image of the new engine used by DokeV and Plan 8
The Shadow Arena returns: A fourth game being presented at G-Star is Shadow Arena. This is a standalone version of the battle royale from Black Desert.
Only a few hours after the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC, modders were already hard at work. They are developing quirky mods that replace your cowboy with eagles, wolves, or other animals.
What is this mod? On the platform Nexus Mods, there is this tool that frees you from the body of Arthur Morgan and transfers his soul into a wild animal.
The software is simply called “Model Swap” and is still a work in progress. Nevertheless, you can already download and install the unfinished project to swap bodies. It works with various characters or animals from the world of Red Dead Redemption 2. The mod uses files that you can easily load and apply.
So if you want to explore the world as an eagle, you just load the corresponding save game and take to the skies. However, the controls may take some getting used to, according to Eurogamer .
Are there any issues? The creator of the mod, TanyaeNorth, explains that not all models work. So you have to experiment a bit to see what works. Crabs are currently unfortunately invisible, but panthers are said to work. All adult male models are reportedly not functioning.
Additionally, it is important that you first back up your save file elsewhere, so you can restore it if needed. You should also not enter the online world, Red Dead Online, with these mods, but only play singleplayer.
Here’s how to swap your save game: Open your Rockstar Games Launcher, click on Settings, click on Red Dead Redemption 2 under your installed games, and then click on “View save files” and “Open”. It’s best to create a backup of this folder now.
Now download the mod from Nexusmods.com. Open the folder you downloaded from the mod platform, select the appropriate model, and copy and replace it in the target folder. That should complete the swap, and you’ll have a new model to play with in RDR 2.
What models are you using? There’s so much to see in the PC version!
The open beta of the MMORPG Bless Unleashed has launched on Xbox One. Everyone can join now. The initial reactions are quite positive.
When did the open beta start? On November 7th, developer Neowiz opened the gates to the free, open beta of the MMORPG Bless Unleashed. Now anyone who wants to check out the online game on Xbox One can join.
How long does it last? The testing phase ends on November 21st. The official release of the MMORPG is expected in early 2020. The developers did not specify an exact date. They want to implement feedback from the open beta to further improve Bless Unleashed for the official launch.
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Surprisingly, the feedback for the open beta is quite positive.
annie14229 states on Reddit: “Overall, the game is really nice. I’m playing on an Xbox One X.”
jollyhitman writes: “The game feels a million times better than the first beta!”
Wuseline believes: “I’ve played for several hours now and I’m surprised at how good the game is.”
Kaladinar explains: “I’m afraid there’s still a lot to improve. The combat isn’t feeling great yet and the performance is disappointing even on an Xbox One X.”
The open beta has made improvements in this area. But apparently not enough, as the combat continues to be criticized. It is said to feel better than in the closed beta, but still not as quick as some players would like.
zGnRz says: “The combat still feels slow, considering it’s supposed to be an action-packed combat system.”
Just play along
How do you play along? Here’s how to quickly and easily join:
