The interplay with a random team is not easy in most games. Now, two fans report their experiences in The Division 2 and receive a lot of agreement. How annoying randoms can be.
What is the problem? Two players report in the subreddit of The Division 2 about incidents with random teammates.
While the user GOTPOTENTBUD was kicked from his group by his 3 teammates, Benderanomalous is annoyed by teammates who call for backup but then just stand around absent.
Being kicked from clans? It can happen
This is what GOTPOTENTBUD criticizes: The user reports how he played a stronghold with a random group. The post has now (as of April 2, 16:57) over 1,400 upvotes.
I just spent my time in a daily, challenging stronghold and was kicked just before the end by a “clan” after a vote. Probably to let a friend join. Someone who is not AFK and does a lot of work for the team should NOT be kicked.
Additionally, he writes that he apparently had to carry his team and revived them multiple times.
This is how the community reacts: Over 300 fans respond to the post and some share similar experiences.
The user Nightwing__x writes: “Yes, when I see 3 people in my mission who are in the same clan, I just leave them behind. They are usually so toxic.”
Many think, however, that clans should not be generalized because of this. The majority of clans probably aren’t as bad as in this case. Generally, it’s worthwhile to play in a clan, even without such actions.
Some members of clans also stated that they would never do such a thing.
Moreover, the system also has many advantages, as it allows players who are simply absent to be removed from the group without problems. At least most of the time.
So-called AFK players can still become a problem, as the next case shows.
This is what Benderanomalous criticizes: The next story seems to happen much more frequently and affects more players. The post has (as of April 2, 16:57) over 2500 upvotes.
Stop calling for reinforcements when you’re actually not doing anything. It wastes the time of people who just want to help.
Over 700 people reacted to this post and shared their comments, which prompted the user to make a call: “I feel like I’ve hit a nerve. I’m just doing it, people – call for reinforcements when really necessary, turn off the call when you’re done and move on. It’s really not hard and anyone can either play the game alone or try to help.”
This is how the community reacts:
Many recognize the problem and are also annoyed by it. They agree with Benderanomalous’s demand and would wish that players would use this search function correctly.
A possible reason for the problem is seen by the user beastking9, who thinks that people call for reinforcements, complete a mission or something similar, then go away from the screen and often leave the call function activated.
Some players are therefore calling for a timeout of the reinforcement call. Once a mission is completed, the player search should simply be disabled. This would probably avoid many such cases.
In general, you need to be quite unlucky to encounter such situations frequently. Usually, the voting function is more helpful than annoying and the calls for reinforcements are useful for many players.
A little bit of fine-tuning here and there could, however, benefit the system, as players agree.
What do you think about all of this? Have you had similar problems and what would you improve?
On April 1, 2019, the major tech companies of the world made an effort to create particularly clever or simply silly jokes. We present to you 5 spots that we at MeinMMO found the best and laughed the loudest about.
Now tulips can speak: From Google Netherlands comes a video that is quite serious. The Google scientists have apparently achieved a breakthrough in “human-plant” communication.
As a result, we humans can finally talk to the beloved tulips. At first, it seems helpful; the plants can tell us what they want (“More water” especially). But when deep philosophical questions arise, talking to “plants” may not be such a good idea after all.
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PlayStation as a keychain: From Sony comes a completely obvious idea for the 25th anniversary. A collection of anniversary keychains in original size.
The biggest Sony fans describe how the keychain has become an integral part of their everyday life. After all, the PlayStation is fully functional and one even trains one’s arm while unlocking doors. Sony is of course selling the accessories separately.
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Razer eliminates speaking: For those who have always found speaking in everyday life annoying, Razer has the solution. One simply pings wildly through the app, marking what others absolutely need to know.
It’s just a shame when they don’t follow the instructions – but pinging is wonderfully efficient and fast. The video also contains a little homage: a PC is marked as “Apex for Dummies.” Apex Legends recently made pinging popular.
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Asus builds the ultimate monitor: From Asus comes, on April 1, the monitor to end all monitors. The ROG Swift 360 now offers complete visibility. Of course, with 360 Hz refresh rate.
A little self-irony shines through, as one wonders where the journey with monitors will still go. For some hardware enthusiasts, the all-round gaming monitor with the super chair probably cannot come soon enough.
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T-Mobile introduces the ultimate alternative to the mobile phone: T-Mobile introduces the ultimate solution to today’s smartphone user’s problems with a wink.
Since one cannot have a private conversation anywhere in peace anymore, one needs a retreat for long-distance calls in public. The “Phone BoothE” astonishingly resembles the phone booth of yesteryear. But of course, it is much fresher and cooler, so it fits into the year 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veGkOhffvy8
Which April Fools’ jokes did you laugh at in 2019?
Even in the gaming world, there was quite a bit going on on April 1, 2019. These were the gags from the gaming world that we covered:
The Borderlands fans are angry that the new title is not immediately available on Steam. The “review-bombing” has at least confirmed the Gearbox CEO.
A few days ago, Gearbox released the Psycho from the dungeon and revealed Borderlands 3. This was accompanied by the announcement that Borderlands 3 would be available exclusively on the Epic Games Store for several months on PC. Fans responded with negative reviews of the predecessors. However, they only confirmed the CEO of Gearbox.
What happened? Following the announcement that Borderlands 3 would not be released on Steam, harsh criticisms of the predecessors flooded Steam. Especially on Borderlands 2, there were hundreds of negative reviews that did not criticize the game itself but the release of the sequel. It is a shame that the Steam fans are left out in the rain this way and forced to use the Epic Games Store now.
This is how the Gearbox CEO reacts: Randy Pitchford from Gearbox reacted rather calmly and explained via Twitter that such a reaction has led him to welcome the publisher’s decision. He stated:
“Ironically, the fact that this abuse [the review-bombing] is possible and that Steam has no interest in correcting it makes me somewhat satisfied with the decision of 2k. And it makes me reconsider Gearbox Publishing’s current stance regarding the platform [Steam].”
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Steam filters negative reviews: However, Pitchford also makes a small mistake, as Steam is not completely inactive. Whenever a large number of reviews come in within a very short time that deviate from the general picture, these are excluded from the overall rating and listed separately. Thus, such a “review-bombing” can be marked without deleting the individual reviews.
What do you think about Pitchford’s reaction? Is it a logical reaction from the perspective of the development team? Or is he just pouring oil on the fire of the discussion? Is it important to you on which platform Borderlands 3 is released?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A new gameplay trailer from Bethesda gives a glimpse of the story and the enemy types in the upcoming The Elder Scrolls Online addon Elsweyr: There are cat zombies to be seen.Our author Dave takes a look at the ESO trailer and is optimistic about what is coming our way.
This is shown in the trailer: The trailer starts where the recently released prologue quest ends: Abnur Tharn and Khamira must helplessly watch as the dragons are unleashed.
Although the throne thief plot is not particularly original, I am curious to see how it continues and find it very commendable that well-known characters like Abnur Tharn are being included.
In a newsletter, Pokémon GO has now scheduled the upcoming Ground Event. It will take place at the end of April and will last for four days.
These are the dates: In its newsletter, Niantic provided a start date for the Ground Event in Pokémon GO. The event will start on April 29 and will run until May 2.
What is the Ground Event? This event is directly related to Earth Day. In order to receive bonuses for this event, you must collect trash with your community and clean up the world. If enough players sign up, bonuses will be unlocked.
This is the Ground Event 2019
What has been announced so far? Niantic had already set a period for the event from April 13 to April 28. However, it appears that these dates only apply to players who clean up with their community.
During this period, enough volunteer players must sign up so that bonuses for Pokémon GO can be unlocked on April 29. The event period was only announced now.
Here, Niantic confirms the event times. Source: Reddit
How to get the bonuses: To unlock the bonuses, you have to do something. New Shinies or the return of Groudon will only be unlocked if up to 7,000 players participate in the clean-up event.
2,000 players or more participate
Reward: Ground Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild
5,000 players or more participate
Reward: Shiny Diglett will be available for the first time in the wild
7,000 players or more participate
Reward: Groudon as a Raid Boss in gyms + double Stardust and candies for all event spawns
Groudon will return as a Raid Boss if enough players participate
What do the event times mean? The Ground Event will not last very long. There will only be 4 days in which you will find Groudon, Diglett, and more frequently.
Niantic confirmed: In a tweet on April 5, Niantic Support reiterated that Groudon will return to raids if 7,000 players or more help clean up.
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How can I participate? If you want to support Niantic’s clean-up event, you need to register on the developer’s website and indicate how many people from your community will participate.
If you want to take advantage of an event right now, you should go out for the Bug Event:
The CEO of the Sci-Fi MMORPG EVE Online, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, talks in an interview about the future of EVE. Apparently, huge battles are planned and Chinese space travel could play an important role.
What Pétursson discusses: The colleagues from venturebeat conducted an interview with the head of EVE Online shortly after the Game Developers Conference (GDC). In this, they asked Pétursson several questions about a new technology that is supposed to support EVE.
It was mainly about the Aether Engine and the underlying Hadean OS. Both are intended to help EVE Online serve the iconic mass battles of the MMORPG even better.
We had the largest battle in EVE Online last year, with 6400 people in one battle. We are now hoping for 10,000. We expect to learn a lot about the capabilities of the engine, something we need to focus on. I hope we find the next era of technological evolution for EVE, as I call it.
The head of CCP, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson. Image source: venturebeat.
This is how the future plans should succeed: Pétursson also spoke about how everything should work in the future. He dreams of a system composed of the Hadean OS and the recently unveiled Stadia by Google :
What we are doing with Hadean and what Google is doing are two complementary things. Combining these would allow for some really cool things to happen. One of the elements of the fleet battles in EVE is that people are interested in participating.
But when you tweet: “A battle in EVE is happening right now!”, the first step to participate is to download the client, create an account, and find the location of the battle. I have often talked about “deep linking”, where during a fleet battle you just tweet a link, people click on it, and are in right away.
Pétursson sees the limit for such a technique significantly higher. He dreams of “something like 100,000 players” being able to participate in or watch the battles.
Why are the Chinese so important? In the interview, Pétursson also talks about how the current political developments in the world could provide an advantage for EVE. He specifically mentions the efforts of the Chinese space program:
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are operating for-profit companies to get into space. This has transitioned from science fiction to science fact. A space game like EVE Online is much closer to our current reality. […]
If a country like China sets its sights on space, I think that will also bring America back into the “space race”. We have the most legendary space MMO ever. I think there’s a significant opportunity for EVE to get a new upswing in growth.
EVE Online now belongs to the creators of Black Desert
According to Pétursson, the future of gaming in the West is already seen today in Korea:
Korean companies are living in the future. […] Korean society and games have progressed much further than the West. Gaming is so integrated into Korean life. […]
During my career, which has now lasted almost 20 years, you could see what was happening in Korea. And five years later, that happened here. Look at eSports, Free-to-Play, or even MMOs in general. […] The role that Lineage plays in Korean culture is much greater than what WoW means for the West.
Similarly, Pétursson remarked in September 2018 about the current mobile trend. EVE Online is already planned for mobile platforms and according to Pétursson is even already well developed. Whether his claim that something that was in Korea five years ago will come to us later will remain to be seen.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Capcom has introduced a new product in their E-Store. The sword pillows from Monster Hunter World could soon go on sale if enough people pre-order.
What’s going on at Capcom? As part of the special “Limited Request Projects,” a new product has appeared in Capcom’s e-shop. It is about Dakimakura pillows in the shape of swords from Monster Hunter.
The designs of the pillows are based on the great swords “Red Wing” and “Giant Jawblade” and are about 1.5 meters long. They also have a solid core and can actually be swung like real swords.
However, these good pieces have a hefty price. The pre-orders in Capcom’s e-store are a hefty 32,400 yen, which corresponds to about 258€.
The pillows will only go on sale if enough pre-orders are made within a certain time frame.
What are Dakimakura? These “hugging pillows” come from Japan and are closely associated with Otaku culture. Normally, these large pillows are covered with images of anime and video game characters, which are rarely suitable for all ages.
This way, fans can cuddle live with their waifus and husbandos and fall asleep together with them.
While this may be less true for Capcom’s pillows, I can certainly imagine epic pajama parties and battles with these Monster Hunter swords.
At the end of March, the developers of Albion Online announced that their MMORPG will become free-to-play. However, although this will take effect on April 10th, player numbers are already skyrocketing.
From January until March 10th, between 9,500 and 11,500 players played Albion Online daily. There is again a graph in a new blog post to remind players about the change.
This shows that player numbers have rapidly increased to between 14,000 and even 17,000 daily players after the new patch and announcement.
The patch also plays a role: In the graph, one can also see the release of the Oberon update. This patch revamped the tutorial and brought randomized dungeons. These dungeons appear randomly in the game world and consist of random layers and enemies.
They have been well received in the official forum, although the dungeons apparently appear too frequently and in some places are so easy that one can simply run through to the final boss.
Developers anticipate queues for the free-to-play release
The high demand on the servers has the developers feeling positive. In a post, they thanked the fans and provided more information about the free-to-play release.
When will Albion Online become free-to-play? The transition to free-to-play is expected to take place on Wednesday, April 10th at 12:00 PM our time.
From their experiences with the buy-to-play release in 2017 and also from the Steam release in May 2018, the developers know that there can be problems and particularly large player numbers, especially in the first few days.
Therefore, they have already drawn up plans in case the influx becomes too large.
Queues for free players: It could happen that there might be a queue when logging into Albion Online.
This primarily affects free-to-play players, as owners of a premium account are given priority. The developers want to ensure that the existing players and fans of the MMORPG do not suffer from the transition.
What happens next? The developers of Albion Online have already made plans for the long term. Since both the patch from November 2018 and the Oberon update this March have been well received by players, the developers have published a roadmap in the forum.
In it, they discuss a major overhaul of the Outland map, changes to the faction war, further adjustments to the open world, and generally more for PvP.
How are MMORPGs doing in general in 2019? Schuhmann reveals it to you:
In Fortnite there will be a test tournament “Fortnite World Cup Warm Up” for 500,000 dollars. Not only the winners will receive prize money, but many participants as well. It seems that Epic wants to calm the pros a bit.
What is all this money for? The money must be earned by the pros themselves. A test tournament will take place on April 6 and 7, inviting the best players of the new Arena mode.
The tournament is called “Fortnite World Cup 2019 Warmup.”
In this tournament, not only the winners will receive prize money, but even the players who finish in 500th place. So basically, everyone who makes it to the second round on Sunday gets a piece of the money.
The 1st in Europe receives $5000 – the five-hundredth is still in with $300. It is played in “Duos.”
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due to the removal of the “Aggro” rules, Fortnite has become slower again
there is now an Arena mode for competitive Fortnite, but this mode is plagued by long wait times
therefore, pros complain that they can no longer train for the World Cup – because different rules apply in normal matches than during the World Cup, and they wait too long before arena matches
This is what Epic aims to achieve with the tournament: With the test tournament, Epic is throwing a bunch of money at the problem:
The test tournament allows the pros to practice again before the qualification for the World Cup starts in the coming days.
Additionally, players can win some money and entertain their fans, which could make many pros more conciliatory after all the recent criticism.
Pros can already train for the World Cup in the test tournament
From next week on, it will be 1 million $ every week
What is interesting about this: This test tournament is surprisingly for many players. The action was actually supposed to start on April 13 – the “qualification tournaments” for the World Cup were supposed to award $1,000,000 each.
Nevertheless, it is impressive that Epic is offering a prize pool of 500,000 dollars just for a test.
According to the US site Kotaku, the e-sports department of Fortnite probably has more money than it can spend.
The amount of the prize money comes together because
the tournament will be held in 6 regions, each region has its own prize pool
the large regions Europe and North America East can have up to 500 winners – smaller regions like Oceania (50) or Brazil (75) are cheaper
Most World Championships of other games do not deal with so much money. However, the World Cup in Fortnite will involve $30 million.
How the pros are reacting to this: Ahead of the tournament, most are still talking about “Revert”, meaning that Epic should revert the last patch 8.20.
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In The Division 2 you can get the exotic LMG Pestilence. Where to find it and what the Exotic can do, you can find out here in overview.
What is Pestilence? Since the “Tidal Basin” update it is the first exotic LMG in the game. This one is called Pestilence. The light machine gun specializes in PvP due to its special talents, where it spreads a “plague of the Outcasts”.
Location of Pestilence
How to find Pestilence: Since it is primarily a PvP weapon, you must march into an area that involves PvP to obtain Pestilence. Specifically, into the Dark Zone.
Pestilence is a random drop in one of the three Dark Zones. Which Dark Zone you go to is up to you.
Kill named enemies with yellow health bars. You have a chance to obtain the Exotic from them.
You can quickly find these enemies at (challenging) landmarks.
Pestilence is an Outcast weapon; however, it should not matter which named boss you kill. It does not have to be an Outcast boss. True Son bosses have also been confirmed as a source by users.
Pestilence should be able to drop in “normal” and occupied Dark Zones. In occupied Dark Zones, you can get to it more efficiently (occupied Dark Zones have been confirmed more frequently as locations).
Contaminated Pestilence
The Pestilence can be a contaminated drop. This means you should exfil it as soon as you get it, so it safely belongs to you. In other words: You can also get to Pestilence by killing other players who have obtained a Pestilence but have not exfiltrated it yet.
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The Talents of Pestilence – What the Exotic can do
This is Pestilence: It is an exotic light machine gun with a fire rate of 550 and a magazine size of 100. Pestilence is based on an M249; however, the base damage is quite low. This is compensated by the talents.
The Talents of Pestilence:
The Plague of the Outcasts: After hitting the same enemy 20 times, they become afflicted with the plague of the Outcasts. When a contaminated enemy is killed, they leave a poison cloud for 10 seconds, adding 200% weapon damage and “Pestilence” to anyone caught within it per second.
Pestilence: This debuff reduces healing received by 50% for 10 seconds. If an enemy affected by the Pestilence debuff is incapacitated, they die instantly. An enemy can remove Pestilence if they fully restore their armor.
The Pestilence talent is purely a PvP talent. If an enemy goes down, they die instantly – this effect is ineffective against PvE enemies, as they die immediately anyway.
Outcast Resilience: This is the third talent. As long as the weapon is in the holster, you gain a 20% bonus armor for 5 seconds if you are blinded, on fire, or have a bleeding wound. This talent is practical in both PvP and PvE.
Is the weapon worth it? According to initial user opinions, the weapon is not worth it at all in PvE. The base damage is simply too low and the talents are too focused on PvP.
In PvP, Pestilence is also not recommended. The strong talents require 20 hits to activate at all. With a normal M249, you can easily kill enemies with 20 hits without needing the talents.
If you like to play with LMGs and occasionally hang out in PvP, you can definitely try the weapon. Because there are also user opinions that Pestilence is pretty cool in PvP.
Have you played Pestilence yet? What do you think of it?
Those who spend a lot of time in FIFA 19 inevitably come across opponents who seem unbeatable. What can be adjusted to improve in Ultimate Team? FIFA 19 pro Marcel “DonChap28” Deutscher has given us some interesting tips in an interview.
This is Marcel “Donchap28” Deutscher: The progamer (@donchap28) has been playing FIFA 19 professionally under the banner of “L4K eSports” since 2017 and competes for “Team Paranoia”. “Donchap28” is now considered one of the best players in Germany – although the pro originally did not aim for a career in eSports. Nevertheless, he will soon be competing in the Grand Final of the Virtual Bundesliga 2019, among others.
Therefore, you should take breaks: The mentality when playing FIFA is one of the biggest points that distinguishes a pro from casual players. Concentration is crucial in a tournament – or in the Weekend League.
“There are many games that just go weirdly. We pros can often turn that to our advantage – casual gamers maybe not so much,” Deutscher emphasizes. “You can quickly become very frustrated and enter what is called ‘rage.’ Then you go into the next game totally pissed off – and with that mood, you lose the game for sure.”
The mantra is: Drink something, take a break, attack anew: “Stay concentrated and most importantly, be relaxed,” says Deutscher. Many players approach the Weekend League too seriously: “They tell themselves, ‘I have to win 20 games today.’ No, you don’t. If you only win 18 today, you’ll get the 19 next week and then the 20. Have fun and always stay focused.”
Tip 2: Corners and Free Kicks
The alternative free kick: In the past few years, there have always been standard variations that directly led to goals. Will there be one this time too?
“There is no perfect recipe for success this year,” Deutscher says, but explains an interesting free kick variant: “I take free kicks from the wings a bit differently: Instead of crossing, I use the shot button (Circle/B).”
It’s like in real football: “If you whip a cross in hard, it’s enough if the ball gets deflected. The shot needs to be well-placed, but then offensive players react quicker than defensive players.”
This is how pros handle corners: “Typically, we take corners short and try to create chances from there,” Deutscher emphasizes, but admits: “The best way to score in FIFA 19 is Cristiano Ronaldo. If he’s at the near post, you just have to cross to him and he heads it in.”
For this variant, the pro has a solution too: “This year, there’s the opportunity to manually move the goalkeeper. I usually position him at the near post, then nothing happens there.”
Tip 3: Cross, cross, cross
This is the influence of FIFA updates: The many updates in FIFA 19 have been hotly debated in the community. And even on the pitch, a lot has changed: “Since the last major update, many play relatively deep and allow themselves to fall back,” Deutscher explains.
Due to the tactical settings, you often encounter real defensive fortifications: “Then you play like against a wall, they stand with 8 or 9 players in the center. That’s why we try to get to the goal through crosses and headers.” Especially the El Tornado cross often creates danger.
Tip 4: The favorite formation
This is the formation recommended by the pro: “I loved playing with the diamond last year,” recalls Deutscher. In FIFA 19, however, this has changed especially after the updates: “Since everyone is sitting so deep, it’s better to come from the sides.” He prefers the 4-2-3-1 formation: “This way, you are in a better defensive position and have a ten as a passing option.”
The broadly positioned 4-2-3-1 formation
If Deutscher is trailing, he usually switches to the 4-4-2 formation to apply more pressure with a second striker. It is also well suited for defense – switching to a five-man defense is not necessary: “You can adjust the team to be as defensive as needed with other formations. The striker then stands about 5-10 meters outside the penalty area and the rest are back.”
More tips on formations can be found in our guide:
Watch out for the price: “Players like Gullit, Ronaldo, or TOTY Mbappé are unaffordable for many,” Deutscher knows. However, especially in the coming months, the alternatives will become cheaper: “There are many players who are overpowered and will drop in price towards the end of the season. Additionally, the many Special Cards offer a lot of possibilities.”
Specific tips: “The normal Varane is no longer that expensive and is very playable,” Deutscher finds. Also offensively, he has some alternatives particularly suited for wing attacks and crosses into the center: “Offensively, Aubameyang wins many headed duels – and is fast. Also, a Werner surprisingly wins many headers.”
Varane: Now significantly cheaper than at the beginning of the season
In offense, two characteristics are crucial: “You should ensure that players have at least 4-star skills so that you are flexible in the front and can use a trick if needed.”
In addition, a good weak foot is also important: “For example, a new Robben card just came out. It looks great, but it’s not an option for me. He only has two stars on his right foot – just like in real life. Neymar has five stars on his weak foot – the opponent can’t plan for that. With Robben, I know: He can shoot with his right, but not much will happen.”
A nice card – but not necessarily universally applicable
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The developers of Apex Legends have once again brought out the ban hammer and banned numerous cheaters. This also affected the cheaters who repeatedly created new accounts.
This is what Apex Legends has done: A thread was created on Reddit indicating that Respawn has once again taken action against cheaters in Apex Legends.
This is why the ban wave is so severe: Some affected cheaters report that they have been banned and can no longer play even with a new account. Apparently, there was a “hardware ban,” so even a new account does not help.
This is how action was taken against the cheaters
How was it noticed? In online forums, some cheaters reported their bans. One player then shared these complaints on Reddit and mocked the cheaters. Almost 50,000 people found this post helpful.
Cheaters are now really in trouble
What do the cheaters report? The ban wave from Respawn seems to have been very large and severe this time. One cheater writes in a forum: “How they dealt with this crap, I don’t care. They can now detect the program or look for the IP for the software insert, because I have been banned on 3 accounts so far, because I just let it run in the background and that while it was temporarily offline.”
Another cheater reports that he had not used the cheating program for 3-4 days, but was still banned. Apparently, it’s enough if they have this program on their computer.
What does this mean for the game? It seems that Respawn has found an effective approach against cheaters. Until now, they were able to ban cheaters, but they could simply create new accounts and continue.
However, now the computers of the cheaters can be banned for Apex Legends. They can create a new account, but it will be banned again shortly after.
Most players should find this progress favorable.
This is Apex Legends’ stance on cheaters: For Respawn, cheaters are a real problem. They already conducted a large ban wave against cheaters weeks ago, and in a message to the community, they announced that the fight against cheaters is far from over.
What does Respawn say now? The developers have also commented on the thread on Reddit. An employee from Respawn wrote in the comments briefly and concisely: “We are working on it.”
The cheaters are not very happy about this change. A few days ago, they complained about unfair treatment:
Soon, players will be able to fly again in World of Warcraft. But does this also apply to the zones in Patch 8.2? The Game Director has answered.
The upcoming Patch 8.2 for World of Warcraft is likely to be one of the largest patches in the game’s history. Additionally, there is a significant burden on the shoulders of this update, as it aims to address many issues from Battle for Azeroth. In an interview with Polygon, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas revealed some details about flying in Patch 8.2.
Can you fly in Nazjatar as well? Many players suspected that Nazjatar and Mechagon, the two new zones in Patch 8.2, would be no-fly zones, as was the case with Argus. However, this is not the case! Both in Mechagon and Nazjatar, flying is allowed once it has been unlocked for the respective account.
How do you unlock flying in Battle for Azeroth? Currently, this is not possible. Players can, however, already complete the first achievement “Pathfinder of Battle for Azeroth,” which increases mount speed in Zuldazar and Kul Tiras. This achievement will be a prerequisite for the second part of the achievement that comes with Patch 8.2. Only once both parts are completed will players be able to fly.
What can players expect in Patch 8.2? We have already explained many details about Patch 8.2 Rise of Azshara in this article. Basically, in addition to the two new zones, there is also a new raid where players will face off against Azshara. In Mechagon, however, there is a “megadungeon” that is supposed to be roughly the size of the new Karazhan, potentially entertaining small groups of players for several hours. Apart from that, there are many improvements to the Azerite system, as well as new companions and reputation factions.
Are you excited about Patch 8.2 Rise of Azshara? Which feature has caught your attention the most? Or do you see few positive changes in the upcoming patch?
Stay informed: If you don’t want to miss any news about World of Warcraft, please give a like on our WoW Facebook page!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Large game worlds with many little things to discover irritate Cortyn now. A linear JRPG with time pressure brought back the love for gaming.
Anyone who follows our site a bit more closely will have noticed that I took a few weeks off last month. This was not just to escape work for a while. I also wanted to gain a bit of distance from gaming in general, as I felt burned out. And that from a hobby that I have loved for so many years and has filled a huge part of my free time.
Open-world games have become increasingly popular in the last 10 years. Most MMORPGs are considered “open world”, but this theme has also grown significantly in the single-player area. Notable representatives from recent years would include Skyrim, The Witcher 3, Final Fantasy XV, Mass Effect: Andromeda or Red Dead Redemption 2.
I don’t want that anymore. At least not at the moment. As great as it was the first few times to explore such gigantic worlds, it has become exhausting now.
Even The Witcher 3 Had “Open World” Problems
When I wrote the review for The Witcher 3, I had planned to play the game “completely” – that is, to complete every side quest and visit every marked point on the map. This also meant that I spent several hours sailing the seas of Skellige to get from one chest in the water to the next.
Each time, I pulled a saddle from the chest that was so heavy that I had to return to a village to sell it.
Sailing around Skellige by boat – more frustration than fun.
This whole sailing took me four or five hours back then and basically yielded no meaningful loot, no progress, and no joy.
Even back then, after completing the task, I asked myself: What the Nether am I doing here, anyway? This part of the game had nothing to do with fun.
Size for the Sake of Size in Final Fantasy XV
I experienced something similar a few months ago when I finally tackled Final Fantasy XV. The game was previously somewhat criticized as a “boyband road trip simulator”. But hey! I’ve been playing the series since FF VII, so I couldn’t skip it.
Unfortunately, the critics were right about that. Final Fantasy XV is, for all its love, not a bad game, but it has plenty of literal dry spells in which you drive for miles with a car, which usually plays out automatically.
At the same time, the game quietly informs you that you shouldn’t skip the long distances. Because sometimes the characters start talking, or a character discovers a special viewpoint during the drive that leads to a small quest.
The chance for that disappears if you simply skip the route. This is naturally poison for someone like me, as I want to experience “everything”, especially little snippets of story.
I’m quite sure I’m not exaggerating: Easily 30% of my 80 hours in Final Fantasy XV were spent watching a car completely automate its journey through the landscapes.
There was absolutely no need for that from a design perspective. The world of Final Fantasy XV is not “stuffed” with cool content, but largely empty. While the environment looks beautiful, it contains little to discover and even less that is useful.
You can find ores and treasures, but 80% of these items are only needed to give your car a new paint job. However, since I still had the “compulsion” to want to discover everything, I of course picked up every damn ore at least once here too.
How often did I repaint my car in Final Fantasy XV? Oh yes, never.
The entire game world of Final Fantasy XV could have easily been packed into a quarter of the space without harming the game – but that would have reduced the playtime of the players, and then it wouldn’t really be “open world”.
MMORPGs Have Become Even More Exhausting
A second problem is the factor of “too much choice”. Since some might now raise their eyebrows in confusion, I want to explain this, using World of Warcraft as an example.
Hardly any other MMORPG offers as many ways to obtain new equipment as World of Warcraft. I can complete world quests, visit dungeons with increasing difficulty, try my hand at raids in four difficulty levels, or improve my artifact necklace during island expeditions.
Many of these contents I can experience without natural restrictions. While I can only visit raids once a week, dungeons, island expeditions, and, to a lesser extent, world quests are practically available endlessly.
There is no “optimum”, there are no natural limits. Anyone wanting to get the best out of their character must play endlessly.
This is by no means just a problem of World of Warcraft, but of almost all major MMORPGs. This is also intended because those who can play a lot should be able to do so and feel the successes.
But it made me tired. None of this content felt really satisfying, and nothing gave me the feeling of having had a truly fun time.
Persona 5 Showed Me How Nice It Can Be Different
After a few days of “pause” from gaming (which I can recommend to anyone), I finally sat down at the PlayStation again to choose a game from the “pile of shame”. You know, the big mountain of games one buys during some sale and then lets rot on the hard drive for years.
My choice fell on Persona 5. And that might be the best decision I have made this year so far.
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Even though the story of Persona 5 is a major draw, I don’t want to go into it in detail due to spoilers – so you can read on without worry. It’s much more about specific game mechanics and the strong contrast that Persona 5 forms to “open world” games.
Persona 5 has a narrative style in which time is a significant factor, as there is always a limited amount of it. Yet, the range of possible activities is large, which leads to a dilemma: The player cannot do everything. He is forced to make decisions and thereby not only choose one thing but also decide not to do something else.
Each day basically consists of two free actions that the player can take. These are different activities that fulfill various purposes. For example, I can send my character to the gym, where he gains more health points. Or I let him work in a restaurant, which earns him money and maybe some charisma. Or should I have him read a book to become smarter and pass the next exams at school?
This is just a small part of the actions that are possible. At the same time, one can also maintain contact with friends and build a deeper bond to acquire new abilities. This also unlocks new story sequences in which we get to know the characters better and learn more about their backgrounds. All this costs time, which is heavily limited.
To learn more about the student council president, time is needed. Time that is then lacking elsewhere.
Even the “PvE” Part Has a Time Constraint
However, it’s not only in the “social” aspects of Persona 5 that there are time constraints. Even in the “combat” part of the game, time is an important factor. Although I can theoretically take as much time as I want to level up in battles. Because as long as I am in the “combat” area of the game, there is no time limit. It doesn’t matter whether I fight two, three, or seventy battles in a row; the stay in the “combat” area is always considered a complete day, regardless of how much I accomplish there.
Nonetheless, it is not possible to grind 10 levels in a row there, as there are natural limitations that do not feel forced. Eventually, my characters will run out of mana points (SP) due to using spells and abilities. Without SP, I can no longer target the enemies’ weaknesses, making even weak foes suddenly a serious threat.
SP can only be fully regenerated by leaving the combat area and transitioning to the next day.
Deadlines Create Positive Pressure
Almost all activities in Persona 5 cost time, thus limiting what I can experience and forcing me to make decisions.
At the same time, there are almost always deadlines in the game that I must meet. For example, there is almost always a countdown in the upper right corner of the screen that says something like, “13 days until you are handed over to the police”. This is some ultimatum by which I must solve the current problem of the story; otherwise, Persona 5 ends in a game over.
These ultimatums create a need to weigh my options even more carefully about what I really want. Because as the countdown gets shorter, the mental pressure increases. Will I complete the dungeon within the remaining five game days? Can I afford to spend a day going on a date to strengthen my character’s bond with his girlfriend? Can I still afford to craft lockpicks to open the chests in the dungeon? Or will that be too close?
“Take Your Time,” The Game Mocks
Indeed, this theme is also played on a meta level in Persona 5. Every time on the loading screen, it provocatively says, “Take Your Time” – which translates to “Nimm dir Zeit” or “Lass dir Zeit”. What sounds like mockery and sarcasm at first, given that time is such a limited resource, was for me an enlightening experience within the game. Take your time for what is important to you. Focus on what you want and live with the fact that you cannot achieve everything else.
Every decision to do something is simultaneously a decision not to do everything else and possibly to miss something forever. There is no optimal path in Persona 5. And this is so satisfying and simultaneously so liberating in its compulsion that I realized while playing how much I longed for something like this.
Conclusion: Persona 5 Shows That Less Freedom Can Help Games
Persona 5 has shown me what I have actually missed in games. The endless freedom of an MMORPG leads to frustration and dissatisfaction in the long run – at least for me. Having a clear structure and making decisions that have meaning and maybe aren’t optimal – that is liberating. It has caused me to spend nearly 80 hours in Persona 5 in just two weeks – and it has been a long time since a game captured me like this.
Anyone in a similar situation as I am, tired of their “standard” games, should simply look for something completely different. My “redemption” in this case was Persona 5, which I can only recommend to everyone. The game is worth every cent.
By the way, it has the best soundtrack of the past few years.
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BioWare has announced a new update for Anthem. It is supposed to address a particularly nasty loot issue: items for the wrong class.
This is the problem: Many players find that there is too little good loot in Anthem. Although they are usually drowned in epic rewards, the good stuff, Masterwork and Legendary, is quite rare.
You receive a legendary component and it is for the wrong Javelin.
These are the early patch notes for the Anthem update on Monday
Update should fix the problem: As community manager Jesse Anderson has now communicated via Twitter, a new patch for Anthem will be rolled out on Monday, April 8th.
This update is mainly supposed to address the issue with components for the “wrong” Javelin.
Moreover, the news in the game should be fixed: Players have not been shown any news at the start of the game since patch 1.04.
The update should be released around 4 pm our time. Before that, the complete patch notes should be published.
The rewards from the Elysian Store should now be displayed directly after the Stronghold.
This is what the players say: Most players are happy that Anthem is addressing the big issue with the components for the wrong of the four Javelin.
Some players wonder why they even receive drops for a Javelin they are not currently playing.
It is argued that this is a feature that was exactly planned that way. Players should also receive parts for Javelin that they do not play so that they do not only focus on one class and then have to farm loot with the others. However, the current chance of receiving components for other Javelin is considered too high.
Our author Schuhmann has compiled some bright spots for Anthem after the insider report:
In Fortnite the secret legendary skin of Season 8 was first shown. You can unlock it during week 8.
What is the legendary skin? In every season, there is a secret legendary skin. In Season 7, it was the Snowfall skin, which gradually thawed in the ice.
For Season 8, there is also such a skin that Battle Pass owners can unlock. Epic recently showed first images of it on Twitter.
This is the Ruin skin in Season 8
What does the skin look like? The skin looks like a lava knight. In the shown image, there are flames everywhere around the skin and the skin is glowing.
This is what the Ruin skin looks like
Epic itself calls the skin “Ruin” and explains that it can be obtained in week 8.
How do I get the skin? You need to complete tasks worth 8 weeks in Fortnite. So you can earliest get the skin in week 8. If you haven’t completed all tasks from the past weeks, you will be able to receive the skin later.
What can I do now? If you haven’t completed all tasks for week 6 yet, you should do so, as it is worth it for the skin. However, there are many tricky tasks this week. You need to visit the highest points on the map or find three figures on the map.
How does it work with the skin? Normally, there is always a story behind the secret skin. The Snowfall skin from Season 7 broke out of its ice prison and caused some unrest on the island for a few days. In the end, this skin also heralded Season 8.
This is how the Snowfall skin from Season 7 was teased
So it can be assumed that this secret skin will herald Season 9 in Fortnite. Perhaps it will have something to do with lava and the volcano. After all, the skin strongly resembles the fire world.
If you still need to complete the tasks for this week, check out our hub:
The following items can be found this week at World Tier 5. The items vary from World Tier to World Tier. Keep this in mind. If different items are displayed for you at World Tier 5, please mention that in the comments.
We are only presenting the high-end items for sale, as these are generally the best items.
Some vendors also offer blueprints. These are mostly blueprints for items you already own. The blueprint offerings thus differ from agent to agent.
The items on offer from the clan vendor should also differ based on your clan progress. According to user reports, you can quickly acquire items with a gear score of around 490 through the clan vendor at World Tier 5. It is well suited to boost the score.
The best weapons in the vendor inventories
The high-end weapons:
Vendor in the White House at the quartermaster – M870 MCS (Shotgun) with the talents “Pack A Punch” (3 consecutive body hits refill the magazine and grant +50% weapon damage for 7 sec), “Optimized” (+15% weapon handling) and “Oiled” (When the weapon is in the holster, weapon swap speed increases by 10%)
DZ West main entrance – FAL SA-58 (Assault Rifle) with the talents “Killer” (chance of critical hits increases by 50% when killing an enemy with a critical hit for 5 sec), “Distance” (+15% optimal range) and “Cannon” (When equipped, this weapon increases throwing distance by 10%)
DZ South main entrance – FAMAS 2010 (Assault Rifle) with the talents “Sadist” (+20% weapon damage against bleeding enemies), “Optimized” (+15% weapon handling) and “Sly” (When this weapon is in the holster, you can resist “Stick” attacks. Lasts for 5 seconds, can occur every 60 seconds)
DZ East main entrance – AUG A3-CQC (Assault Rifle) with the talents “Vindictive” (Killing an enemy with an active status effect grants all group members within 15 m a bonus of +20% for the chance of critical hits for 10 sec), “Extra” (+20% magazine capacity) and “Recharged” (When this weapon is equipped, it increases the duration of skills used at full armor by +25%, as well as charges and ammunition)
In addition, Cassie has weapons available, see below in the article.
The best armor pieces on offer
The high-end gear:
Vendor in the White House at the quartermaster – Backpack from Richter & Kaiser with bonuses on critical hit chance, critical hit damage, and skill strength. The talents are “Safety Measure” (Kill an enemy to gain a 150% bonus on repair and healing effects for 20 seconds) and “Capacity” (+20% skill duration)
Vendor in the White House at the quartermaster – Mask from China Light Industries Corporation with bonuses on skill strength and health. The talent is “Empowered” (+10% skill strength)
Vendor in the White House at the quartermaster – Holster from Richter & Kaiser with bonuses on critical hit damage and critical hit chance
Theater – Backpackfrom Alps Summit Armament with bonuses on cooldown reduction and critical hit damage. The talents are “Destructive” (+20% explosion damage) and “Vital” (+20% health) – pretty good!
Campus – Knees from Wyvern Wear with bonus on skill strength and the talent “Calculated” (Kills from cover shorten the active cooldown of skills by 20%)
DZ West main entrance – Holster from Airaldi Holdings with bonus on critical hit damage and the talent “Capacity” (+20% skill duration) – strong roll, good talent, get it!
DZ West main entrance – Knees from Wyvern Wear with bonus on cooldown reduction and the talent “Veiled” (When your armor is destroyed, the skills of nearby enemies are disrupted for 10 seconds. This can occur every 30 seconds)
DZ South main entrance – Gloves from Alps Summit Armament with bonus on LMG damage and the talent “Hot Served” (Grenades can now be “cooked” by holding down the throw button. This causes them to explode faster after throwing) – strong LMG damage roll!
DZ East main entrance – Vest from Providence Defense with bonuses on weapon damage, health, and bonus armor. Talent is “Isolated” (+10% threat protection) – strong stat roll!
DZ East main entrance – Backpack from Gila Guard with bonuses on health, critical hit damage, and weapon damage. Talents are “Efficient” (Using a repair kit has a 50% chance of not consuming the repair kit) and “Reinforcing” (+10% health on kill) – very high health, other stats are low for that
Holster from Douglas & Harding with bonuses on skill strength and the talent “Ruthless” (+15% damage against elite enemies)
M9 A1 Officer Version (Pistol) with the talents “Sadist” (+20% weapon damage against bleeding enemies), “Extra” (+20% magazine capacity), and “Rooted” (When this weapon is equipped and you are in cover, skill damage and healing are increased by +25% for 10 sec. The buff is lost when you leave cover. Can repeat every 25 sec)
Artist’s Tool – SIG 716 CQB (Rifle) with the talents “Marksman” (Headshots grant a stacking bonus of +10% weapon damage for 5 sec. The max stack size is 5. Additional headshots reset the duration. All hits that are not headshots remove the bonus), “Stable” (+15% stability) and “Stop, Drop, Roll” (When this weapon is equipped, rolling removes fire, bleeding, and poison status effects. Can repeat every 60 sec)
Converted SMG-9 (Submachine Gun) with the talents “Nimble Hands” (Critical hits grant a stacking bonus of 3% to reload speed. The max stack size is 20), “Distance” (+15% optimal range) and “Oiled” (When the weapon is in the holster, weapon swap speed increases by 10%)
This is our first vendor reset article for World Tier 5 of The Division 2. Please provide feedback in the comments on how you would like to see this article structured in the future.
Pokémon GO announced the Community Days for the upcoming months. This news is well received by many players. We will tell you why this is so important.
Players find this very appealing, as it allows for planning well in advance whether they can participate. On Reddit, many trainers express their gratitude for this action, but also fear that it may not happen again.
Why the announcements are so important
This is what players celebrate: The early announcement of the Community Days gives players plenty of time to plan. Oftentimes, such an event is announced at the last minute, and trainers have no time to take off work.
The early announcements are well received.
Now, players have up to 4 months to take time off for the events. This is well received, and already nearly 3000 people have supported a Reddit thread on the topic.
There has been something like this before: Such an advance announcement occurred once before. Last year, Niantic announced the Community Days for October and November in advance and received much praise for it.
What are players saying about it? There are many positive opinions on the subject. The thread on Reddit states: “Can we take a moment to appreciate that the dates for future Community Days have already been announced in advance?”
Over 100 comments agree with the user. Here is a small selection:
generalhan84: “This means that I can discuss things with my wife and family much earlier and set times and dates to participate in the Community Day without pressure.”
spoofrice11: “This is the only thing that was important to me from the announcement. I hope raid days/weekends will also be announced earlier in the future.”
Corgi610: “Events like the Community Day should always be announced earlier. Knowing the dates in advance is great and very helpful. I hope Niantic continues this way.”
The next Community Days
But there is also a concern: Some players worry that Niantic will not continue with the early announcements. This was already the case last year, and the events were again announced month by month.
The thing is, they did this last year too. We had 3-4 months of Community Day dates announced in advance. Then they suddenly stopped. I can’t really congratulate them for correcting their broken public information. They should never have stopped.
With the Reboot Van in Fortnite comes a feature that will change the entire game. You can bring eliminated team members back into the game. Players have been waiting for this feature since February, when Apex Legends demonstrated it.
When will the Reboot Van arrive? This vehicle has been shown many times in leaks and even in an official stream. With patch 8.30, which is expected to arrive next week (April 9 or 10), it will finally be here.
What kind of van is this? Several of these vans are positioned at various locations on the map. If team members are eliminated, you can collect a badge from them. This allows them to be revived at the van.
A mechanic that players already know from Apex Legends . Back in February 2019, many players had asked Epic if they were planning something similar – and Epic said that they were considering it.
Finally, it will be here next week.
In a video, Fortnite presents the new feature that will shake up Epic’s Battle Royale.
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Why is Fortnite introducing such a feature? Players and well-known streamers like Ninja have long demanded a respawn system.
For players, it can be extremely boring if they die early in a match and then have to watch their team play for 20 minutes.
Recently, there have been many discussions about how Fortnite can slow down the game to have more players in the endgame. With such a respawn feature, squads have a better chance of surviving and can fight their way back into the game after an early loss.
This way, at the end of a match, all squads with at least one surviving member will be back in action or have a chance to come back.
This is how it is now: If you are on a squad and a teammate goes down, you can revive them. However, if the teammate is completely eliminated, they have to watch and can no longer participate actively in the game.
What changes: If an opponent eliminates one or more members of your team after update 8.30, you can collect a badge from them. This is called a Reboot Card.
The Reboot Card can be dropped by your squad members when they are eliminated
With the collected badges, you then run to a van where you can activate the Reboot Card.
After activation, a certain amount of time passes, and then the teammates to whom the badges belonged will be revived one by one.
It is clearly visible to other players when a van is in use
While the revival is taking place, the corresponding van emits clear signals such as honking and a huge light beam. This makes it clear to other players when a revival is occurring and where it is taking place. Thus, reviving members is not easy.
Where are players revived? In the video, you can see that the squad members then appear directly at the used van. They do not drop in from above onto the playing field.
Keep in mind that revived squad members spawn without items.
Here spawns a squad member
How often can the van be used? After reviving a squad, the van is not available for a certain amount of time. However, there seems to be no maximum number of revivals in a match per van.
Even with this change, pros will have to deal with it:
