In Apex Legends, there are several different types of ammunition. A developer has now provided insights into how these types work: In fact, they don’t differ as much as some players thought. However, energy ammunition behaves differently.
What are the differences? The developer Sean Slayback answered some questions about the game on Twitter and also addressed the question about ammunition.
Surprisingly, the types don’t differ as much as assumed. This particularly surprises players who have made a science out of choosing ammunition.
What has been said about the ammunition types
This is what the developer wrote: Slayback was asked three things about the ammunition types on Twitter. The developer answered all of them, sparking discussions.
Question: I heard that heavy ammunition slows down the opponent. Is that true?
Answer: All types of ammunition slow down the opponent when you hit them with it
Question: Is it true that light ammunition weakens the opponent’s shield?
Answer: Energy ammunition has no extra piercing power against shields
Question: Does energy ammunition have no bullet drop?
Answer: Energy ammunition has the highest velocity and is not slowed down
The ammunition does not influence the game as much as expected.
What does that mean? Many players have always come up with specific theories when choosing ammunition. However, the developer’s answers show that there is significantly less behind the types of ammunition in Apex Legends than the legends suggest.
So all ammunition slows the opponent, and no specific ammunition weakens the shield. These findings were previously unknown. Now we have confirmation.
Are there still differences? There are definitely still differences between the ammunition types. They are just not as significant as expected.
The YouTuber “staycation” illustrates in his video how the ammunition types differ:
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In Destiny 2 there has been a new endgame activity since Season 6 – the Reckoning. The third stage proves to be particularly challenging for Guardians. In our guide, we show you which weapons and subclasses are best suited for each of the 3 phases of the Reckoning.
This is how the Reckoning works: The Reckoning is a fast-paced PvE mode where you must fight against numerous hordes of Taken enemies. To complete the activity, you need to overcome 3 phases. It mainly involves defeating as many enemies as possible in the shortest amount of time.
There are three modifiers that change weekly. One of them is a scorching modifier that increases either all Void, Solar, or Arc damage. Additionally, there are two other modifiers that change daily.
These are the daily modifiers of the Reckoning:
Heavyweight: Power ammo drop rate is tripled, power weapons deal double damage.
Prism: Rotates between the three elements. When the respective element is active, your dealt damage increases significantly while the damage of other elements is reduced. Kinetic damage and incoming damage are unaffected.
Blackout: Radar is disabled and enemies deal significantly increased melee damage.
Bruiser: The charge rate and damage of melee attacks are doubled.
Grenadier: The charge rate and damage of grenade abilities are doubled.
Friction: Health regeneration is significantly slower. Defeated enemies drop health orbs.
In the Reckoning, you can wager particles to get Gambit Prime gear.
What power level do you need? The Reckoning at Stage 3 recommends a power level of 690 – and you need to be at least 680 to start the mode at all. Additionally, you must upgrade your synthesizer with the Wanderer to Stage 3.
In the following section, we will show you which subclasses and weapon setups are best for each phase of the Reckoning.
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Phase 1: Show Dominance
This is what you have to do: In the first phase of the Reckoning, you need to defeat as many enemies as possible to maintain your dominance. The more dominant you are, meaning the more kills you make as a team, the higher the percentage increases. If you defeat few enemies, your dominance disappears, and the percentage decreases. The goal is to reach 100 percent before the timer runs out.
To start the Reckoning, you must jump into this pit.
In between, mini-bosses spawn. If you defeat them, they give you a small boost to your dominance. If your dominance is high enough, you will need to defeat one last Taken boss before you can proceed to the next section.
These subclasses are suitable for Phase 1
These Hunter classes are the best:
Nightstalker with “Way of the Trapper” and the exotic leg armor “Orpheus Rig”
Arcstriders with the exotic chest armor “Raiden Flux”
Gunslingers with the “Way of the Outlaw”
With these setups, you can take out many enemies with your Super. The Nightstalker with the Orpheus Rig is generally very good for debuffing multiple enemies at once and also generates many orbs of light.
This is what “Orpheus Rig” does: With this leg armor, you get Super energy back for every enemy bound by the “Shadowshot”.
With Arc Scorch, it is worth switching to Arcstrider. With the exotic armor, you can stay in your Super for a long time and clear the entire map with enhanced damage. During the Bruiser modifier, your Arc staff is even stronger.
This is what “Raiden Flux” does: Rapid consecutive attacks with the Arc staff increase damage output and duration of the Super.
If Solar Scorch is active, you can use your recently upgraded Golden Gun as a Gunslinger to blast through many enemies. As long as you get kills, you continuously get your shots back. This Super is particularly good because it can instantly destroy distant enemies.
Voidwalkers with “Chaos Rift” and the exotic helmet “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”
Dawnblades with “Grace of the Dawn” and the exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol”
Stormcallers with “Storm Control” and the exotic leg armor “Geomag Stabilizers”
Generally speaking, the Voidwalker with the exotic helmet proves to be the most efficient Taken killer. Especially while Void Scorch is active, you can repeatedly launch enemy groups and mini-bosses into the air with Void explosions.
This is what “Skull of Dire Ahamkara” does: Provides additional damage resistance while activating the Nova Bomb. Kills with the Nova Bomb return Super energy.
The Voidwalker proves to be particularly strong in the Reckoning.
With the Grace of the Dawn, you can support your teammates and stay in the fight longer. Make sure to place the Well of Radiance reasonably centrally so you can defeat enemies from different directions.
This is what “Phoenix Protocol” does: Kills and assists while standing in the Well of Radiance return Super energy.
The Stormcaller is particularly helpful during Arc Scorch. With Chaos Reach, you can deal decent damage to mini-bosses and effectively wipe out enemy groups. The exotic leg armor helps you get more out of your Super.
This is what the “Geomag Stabilizers” do: When the Super meter is almost full, it is completely filled by sprinting. When you deal damage to enemies with Chaos Reach, the duration is extended.
These Titan classes are the best:
Sentinels with the “Code of the Commander” and the exotic arms “Doombringer Shoulder Armor”
Strikers with the “Code of the Juggernaut” and the exotic helmet “An Unyielding Skullfort”
Sunbreakers with the “Code of the Forgewrought” and the exotic chest armor “Mark of Alpha Lupi”
Sentinels with the exotic arms can maintain their Super for longer, promising higher kill potential. Through the small explosions of “Void Suppressors” from the Code of the Commander, you can eliminate whole groups of enemies with just a few shield strikes. This is especially helpful during Void Scorch.
This is what the “Doombringer Shoulder Armor” does: Void melee kills grant Super energy. While “Sentinel Shield” is active, melee kills recharge the shield throw, which extends the Super on hits.
If Arc Scorch is active, the recently improved Juggernaut Code is a great choice for staying in the Super for a long time and sweeping many enemies away with your knee. Especially during the Bruiser modifier, this subclass is highly recommended. The exotic helmet helps you stay alive.
This is what “An Unyielding Skullfort” does: Kills with Arc melee abilities trigger health regeneration and restore melee energy.
Sunbreakers are particularly effective in Solar Scorch with their hammers as good Taken killers. With your melee ability “Hammer Strike”, you can help your team eliminate mini-bosses faster. Optionally, you can equip the Mark of Alpha Lupi to support your teammates.
This is what the “Mark of Alpha Lupi” does: Generates additional orbs of light through Supers and a healing pulse when activating a barricade.
This is what you need to know: In the Reckoning, it is mainly about the so-called “Super Juggling”. This means that you should chain your Super abilities together to provide each other with orbs of light. This way, you can constantly refill your Supers and use them more often.
These weapon setups are suitable for Phase 1
Which weapons are good for Phase 1? Generally, weapons that allow you to quickly eliminate many groups of enemies at various distances are suitable. Here are some examples of setups that are particularly strong.
This is why these weapons are good: The “Halsbruch” is still one of the best PvE weapons in the kinetic slot and helps you deal with many enemies. The well-known “IKELOS” and “Threat Level” shotguns are always very good at quickly taking down tough foes.
The new star of the Reckoning is the exotic submachine gun “Ignited Orchid”. It excels not only in Arc Scorch but also offers a protection mechanism against Arc attacks from the Taken thanks to its exotic perk, making it a good choice.
The exotic fusion rifle “Telesto” is particularly good in Void Scorch. Since enemies appear in smaller groups during Phase 1, you can achieve many multi-kills without needing to reload. If you have the catalyst for it, you even generate orbs of light for your teammates.
Things to keep in mind: Always keep an eye on the weekly Scorch modifier before starting the Reckoning.
Depending on the element, you can adjust your setup accordingly. In the power slot, you can also equip the Avalanche, which is the only heavy machine gun from the Dawning event with a Solar property. When Arc week is on, you may also want to equip the Thunderlord or the new Gambit pinnacle weapon “21% Delirium”.
You can also make an impact with these weapons: The exotic hand cannon “Dienstvergehen” is particularly strong against Taken. If your entire team equips this weapon, you can melt the mini-bosses in no time.
If you are one of the lucky PvP players who already own the new pinnacle weapon “Solitude”, it is recommended to take this one into the Reckoning as well. Especially during Void Scorch, this weapon is a powerful means for pest control.
The Solitude increases its damage after each weapon kill.
If you are looking for an alternative to the Wardcliff Coil, you can also use the Two-Tailed Fox. The exotic rocket launcher is great for erasing enemy groups in one or two shots. During the Prism modifier, you can deal massive damage to bosses with this weapon, both with enhanced Void damage and enhanced Solar damage.
The exotic fusion rifle “One Thousand Voices” from the Last Wish Raid is one of the best Power weapons in every activity. During Solar Scorch, you can comfortably wipe the entire map without having to move much. This weapon is ideal for every phase of the Reckoning.
These team setups are suitable for Phase 1
What team setups should be used? If you have a team and can communicate, you should coordinate your subclasses to support each other and generate as many orbs of light as possible.
These are the best team setups:
A Nightstalker with “Way of the Trapper” and the exotic leg armor “Orpheus Rig”
A Voidwalker with the “Chaos Rift” and the exotic helm “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”
A Dawnblade with the “Grace of the Dawn” and the exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol”
A Striker with the “Code of the Juggernaut” and the exotic helm “An Unyielding Skullfort”
With this constellation, you can swiftly eliminate many enemies, regardless of which modifier is currently active.
The task of the Voidwalker and the Striker is to land as many kills as possible with their Supers. The Nightstalker and the Dawnblade support them with their support-heavy Super abilities.
In the Reckoning, you enter the Unknown Space: The territory of the Nine.
If you placed a raid banner at the beginning of the Reckoning, you start with full Super abilities and can immediately begin destroying and chaining your Super abilities.
Tip: There are pauses between the sections where you can switch your subclass and equip other weapons. Use this to your advantage and adjust your character for the upcoming phase. However, once someone enters the next section, the timer starts. This strategy usually only works in a closed fireteam.
This is what you have to do: In this section, you need to fight your way across the “Absurd Bridge” in stages. There are 6 zones that you must capture one after the other. Meanwhile, hordes of Taken thralls and mini-bosses will swarm towards you.
The mini-bosses are particularly tough at Stage 3 and require your team’s full attention.
The Absurd Bridge
Be careful not to be pushed off the bridge, as you will have to wait on the respawn timer and lose valuable time. Due to the limited time, the death of a team member usually means the end for the entire group.
These subclasses are suitable for Phase 2
These Hunter classes are the best:
Nighthawk with “Way of the Trapper” and the exotic leg armor “Orpheus Rig”
Gunslingers with the “Way of a Thousand Cuts” and the exotic arms “Galanor Fragments”
This Hunter class is a must-have: The Nightstalker with the “Orpheus Rig” is essential for this phase. With the Shadowshot, you can significantly weaken all enemies and slow down the annoying Taken thralls. This Super is particularly important for the mini-bosses that are approaching; if they are bound by the Shadowshot, you can take them out as quickly as possible.
With the Gunslinger and the “Galanor Fragments”, you can deal crucial damage against the bosses. Since all enemies come from one direction, you can hit as many as possible with Blade Barrage.
This is what the “Galanor Fragments” do: Hits and kills with Blade Barrage grant Super energy shortly after the Super ends.
With the Super ability “Blade Barrage”, you can wipe out many enemies at once.
These Warlock classes are the best:
Voidwalkers with the “Chaos Rift” and the exotic helmet “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”
Dawnblades with the “Grace of the Dawn” and the exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol”
Voidwalkers with the “Skull of Dire Ahamkara” are good for quickly taking down the approaching mini-bosses. The exotic helmet is particularly important for this section.
This Warlock class is a must-have: Dawnblades with the Well of Radiance are even more important. In the second phase of the Reckoning, you will take damage from all sides while defeating many strong enemies. Therefore, the Super is required for both offensive and defensive use.
The Absurd Bridge seems to be made for this Super, as there is a cube at each zone where you can dunk your blade. The exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol” ensures that you also have enough Super energy for each zone.
The Well of Radiance made all PvE activities significantly easier.
These Titan classes are the best:
Sentinels with the “Code of the Commander” and the exotic arms “Ursa Furiosa”
Sentinels with the “Code of the Protector” and the exotic helm “Helm of the 14th Saint”
Sunbreakers with the “Code of the Devastator” and the exotic arms “Synthoceps”
With the Code of the Commander, you can use the block function of your Super to protect your team from damage while simultaneously strengthening them. Thralls passing through the shield will be marked with a “Void Suppressor”, which will then cause a small Void explosion. This way, you don’t have to worry about each one of them individually.
This is what “Ursa Furiosa” does: You can move faster while blocking when Sentinel Shield is active. Damage taken while blocking is converted into Super energy after the Super ends.
The Sentinel proves to be particularly effective during Void Scorch.
If you don’t have a Well of Radiance available, the Code of the Protector is also quite effective for safely capturing the zones. When you hold the Super button longer with this talent tree, you place the shield dome “Dusk’s Protection”. The exotic helmet makes your dome even more effective.
This is what the “Helm of the 14th Saint” does: Enemies that enter the Dusk Protection are blinded temporarily. Allies passing through gain an overshield. Blocking with the Sentinel Shield blinds nearby enemies.
During Solar Scorch, the Super of the Devastator Titan is quite effective on the bridge. Due to its straightforward attacks, you can also damage distant enemies while trampling everything in your vicinity. The exotic arms make your Super even more powerful.
This is what the “Synthoceps” do: Melee jump distance is increased. When surrounded, the damage of the Super and melee attacks is increased.
These weapon setups are suitable for Phase 2
Which weapons are good for Phase 2? Here you need weapons that can quickly deal a lot of damage. Your biggest challenge will be the bulky mini-bosses that you have to stop among the swarms of thralls. Additionally, there are Taken snipers that can deal a deadly shot from a distance.
This is why these weapons are good: To quickly take down the mini-bosses, the power shotgun “Legende von Acrius” from the Leviathan Raid and the new top shotgun, “Lord of Wolves” are the best choices. Depending on the Scorch modifier, you can use one of them. The exotic “Tractor Cannon” provides a third option.
On the Absurd Bridge, hordes of Taken thralls rush towards you.
A good Void combo: The Tractor Cannon works excellently with the Nova bombs of the Voidwalker, as it makes the affected enemy more susceptible to Void damage. For this reason, the “Ignited Orchid” is recommended in the second setup (B). This hand cannon also has Void damage and can come with the surrounded perk.
This is what the Surrounded perk does: This weapon receives a 40% damage bonus when three or more enemies are nearby. With the weapon mod “Surrounded Spec”, this damage increases to 55% and lasts longer.
This perk is particularly good for Phase 2 of the Reckoning, as you are always within circles and thus always surrounded by enemies. The sword “Strykers Vermächtnis” and the shotgun “Threat Level” can also roll with this perk, which is why they are also recommended.
The scout rifle “Wandlung” from the Last Wish Raid is good for quickly taking down the annoying Taken snipers with a few shots due to its high range. The same goes for the pulse rifle “Hochofen” from the Schwarze Waffenkammer. However, these weapons are not necessarily crucial. For the kinetic slot, you can use your preferred distance weapon.
You can also make an impact with these weapons: Alternatively, you can use the exotic weapon “Jötunn”. This weapon has a short charge time and is equally effective for heavily hitting mini-bosses and quickly taking out the snipers. Especially during Solar Scorch, this fusion rifle deals significant damage.
If you do not own the “Legende von Acrius”, you can also use the exotic Arc grenade launcher “The Prospector“. This weapon is particularly strong nowadays and provides a lot of DPS – even without Arc Scorch. Just be careful not to blow yourself up with the grenades.
The trick with the Sleeper Simulant: If the charge time on the Sleeper Simulant does not bother you, this weapon is definitely worth your power slot. With the notorious boss killer, you can apply a specific trick to deal bonus damage to the mini-bosses.
All you need to do is aim at the ground beneath the opponent so that the laser beam splits. With the correct execution, you can hit large boss enemies multiple times with a single shot and deal massive damage.
The Sleeper Simulant: A legend among power weapons.
You can also take down the Taken snipers with the exotic linear fusion rifle. However, ask yourself if you really want to waste your power ammo on that.
Fun but effective: Those of you who managed to get the exotic grenade launcher “Anarchy” in the “Scourge of the Past” raid should definitely give it a try in the second phase. With the chaining mechanic of the sticky grenades, you can effectively barricade the bridge and set up an electric fence for your enemies. This weapon is especially optimal for the Absurd Bridge when Arc Scorch and Heavyweight are active.
These team setups are suitable for Phase 2
Which team setup matters here? In Phase 2, it is even more important to be synchronized as a team, as every second counts. If you do not have a Dawnblade available, the Sentinel Titan with the Dusk Protection is a good alternative for safely capturing the zones.
These are the best team setups for Phase 2:
A Nightstalker with “Way of the Trapper” and the exotic leg armor “Orpheus Rig”
A Voidwalker with the “Chaos Rift” and the exotic helm “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”
A Dawnblade with the “Grace of the Dawn” and the exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol”
A Sentinel Titan with the “Code of the Commander” and the exotic arms “Ursa Furiosa”.
With this constellation, you can safely secure the zones. The Dawnblade should place the Well of Radiance immediately after entering a new zone. The Nightstalker should keep the opponents at bay with the Shadowshot in the meantime.
As a Nightstalker, you need to keep a close eye on the enemies. In this phase, mini-bosses spawn in front and behind the zones. Therefore, you should always have a Shadowshot ready for both sides.
On the Absurd Bridge, you must not make a mistake: Every second within the zone is vital for survival.
The task of the Voidwalker is clear: Nova bombs, Nova bombs, Nova bombs. However, do not forget to stay within the zone. Exiting the zone for too long can have fatal consequences.
The Sentinel’s task is to repel enemy attacks and shots with his banner shield and shield his teammates. As a Sentinel, pay special attention to the Taken snipers and adjust the position of your shield accordingly. Occasionally, you can throw a shield to sweep away some thralls and place Void Suppressors on the boss enemies.
If Solar Scorch is active, it is advisable to bring a Gunslinger with the “Way of a Thousand Cuts” instead of a Sentinel Titan. Equipped with the “Galanor Fragments”, this class can deal significant damage with its Super.
Phase 3: The Pit
Note: The third phase of the Reckoning is in a weekly rotation. As the final phase, there is either the Pit or the fight against the Shadow of Oryx.
This is what you have to do: After you step through the portal, you find yourself in a dark pit. In it, you must defeat two Ascendant Knights that constantly rush at you. To deal damage to them, you first need to defeat a marked enemy. This enemy is hiding in one of the dark corners of the pit.
Once you have defeated the marked enemy, he leaves a bluish field on the ground.
This grants you a buff similar to the Well of Radiance. Be careful not to stay at the same spot for too long, as the Knights can easily overpower you. When their health bar reaches the last quarter, they lose their helmets and become even more aggressive.
It is recommended to focus on one Knight at a time. Once you take one down, the second becomes an easier challenge.
Note: There is a black pool around you. Avoid stepping into the water as it slowly drains your Super energy.
These subclasses are suitable for Phase 3
These Hunter classes are the best:
Nighthawk with “Way of the Trapper” and the exotic leg armor “Orpheus Rig”
Gunslingers with the “Way of a Thousand Cuts” and the exotic arms “Galanor Fragments”
These Warlock classes are the best:
Voidwalkers with the “Chaos Rift” and the exotic helm “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”
Dawnblades with the “Grace of the Dawn” and the exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol”
Stormcallers with the “Storm Control” and the exotic leg armor “Geomag Stabilizers”
These Titan classes are the best:
Sentinels with the “Code of the Commander” and the exotic arms “Ursa Furiosa”
Sunbreakers with the “Code of the Forgewrought”
Strikers with the “Code of the Rocket”
If Arc Scorch is active, it is worthwhile to also engage with the new Striker class. With its Super ability, Thundercrash, you can deal devastating damage. Under tight circumstances, this can be the decisive blow against the Knights. If you master the directional control of this Super, you can even hit both at once.
Power is everything: In this phase, it is essential to deal as much damage as quickly as possible to the Ascendant Knights. Since you do not have much time, you will primarily use your power weapons and Super abilities. Due to this reason, your primary weapons are secondary. The primary weapons from the recommended setups serve only as examples.
These team setups are suitable for Phase 3
A Nightstalker with “Way of the Trapper” and the exotic leg armor “Orpheus Rig”
A Voidwalker with the “Chaos Rift” and the exotic helm “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”
A Dawnblade with the “Grace of the Dawn” and the exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol”
A Gunslinger with the “Way of a Thousand Cuts” and the exotic arms “Galanor Fragments”
Phase 3: The Shadow of Oryx
This is what you have to do: In this section, you must face a well-known enemy from Destiny 1. At least, the shadow variant of it. You have 4 minutes for the battle against the Shadow of Oryx. While Oryx teleports from one corner of the platform to another, additional Taken will appear, including big ogres.
All you need to do in this section is to deal enough damage. After some time, Oryx will activate a countdown. If this reaches zero, he will unleash a devastating attack that inflicts heavy damage to your entire team. To prevent this, you must deal enough damage within the time.
Note: Do not go into the golden chalices that Oryx often teleports to. Just like the black water in the pit phase, these will drain your valuable Super energy.
These subclasses are suitable for Phase 3
These Hunter classes are the best:
Nighthawk with “Way of the Trapper” and the exotic leg armor “Orpheus Rig”
Gunslingers with the “Way of the Sniper” and the exotic helm “Celestial Nighthawk”
As this phase is mainly a boss fight, precise Gunslingers can choose the “Way of the Sniper” to deal a massive amount of damage with the Golden Gun. The exotic helm dramatically increases the effectiveness of your Super.
This is what the “Celestial Nighthawk” does: Modifies the Golden Gun to fire a single shot that deals 6 times damage. Enemies defeated by the shot explode and return Super energy.
These Warlock classes are the best:
Voidwalkers with the “Chaos Rift” and the exotic helm “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”
Dawnblades with the “Grace of the Dawn” and the exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol”
Stormcallers with the “Storm Control” and the exotic leg armor “Geomag Stabilizers”
Ammunition is important: In this boss fight, you must deal as much damage to the Shadow of Oryx as quickly as possible. It is advisable to save your power ammo until this point. Try to eliminate smaller enemies, such as the Taken Psions, exclusively with your primary weapons, so that you have enough special and power ammo left for the boss.
These team setups are suitable for Phase 3
A Nightstalker with “Way of the Trapper” and the exotic leg armor “Orpheus Rig”
A Voidwalker with the “Chaos Rift” and the exotic helm “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”
A Dawnblade with the “Grace of the Dawn” and the exotic chest armor “Phoenix Protocol”
A Gunslinger with the “Way of a Thousand Cuts” and the exotic arms “Galanor Fragments”
Things to pay attention to: In this phase, timing is crucial. Wait with your Nova Bomb and Blade Barrage until the Nightstalker has fired his Shadowshot. If you activate these Super abilities too early, it could have fatal effects on your damage output.
As a Nightstalker and a Dawnblade, you also have to be careful with your Super activation. The Shadow of Oryx might teleport away exactly when you activated your Well of Radiance or your Shadowshot.
That’s it! The Mein-MMO team wishes you good luck in the Reckoning!
Here, Ninja-Pups gives you more tips on how to master the third stage of the Reckoning and farm the new hand cannon:
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We have compiled 6 MMOs and online games that launched with a rocky start and were harshly criticized. However, these games worked on themselves and managed to turn things around.
One of the biggest advantages of “Games as a Service” games is that they are adaptable. The following games needed a transformation badly, as they initially had a rough launch after their release. This could have cost them their existence.
However, these games managed to turn the tide. Here are their stories.
Warframe
What kind of game is Warframe? The free MMO shooter is developed by Digital Extremes and is set in a futuristic setting. Warframe has a strong focus on coop, community, and fast-paced gameplay.
Players can choose from nearly 40 Warframes with unique skills to free the solar system from contaminated monsters, fascist clones, and greedy corporations. Warframe is one of the most popular free-to-play games and is known for its harmonious community.
Release: 03/25/2013 (PC), 11/25/2013 (PS4), 09/02/2014 (Xbox One), 11/20/2018 (Nintendo Switch) Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Year of Turnaround: 2015
When Warframe was released in 2013, the Free2Play model was still unusual for major publishers in the West. However, the indie studio Digital Extremes decided to adopt this business model at that time.
Warframe was meant to be financed solely through microtransactions. The problem was that Digital Extremes built hard payment barriers into the game:
In the closed beta, Warframe could be played for free up to the level cap. Once reached, players had to pay to continue playing.
Similarly, there were gameplay-relevant mechanics hidden behind paywalls. Players could revive four times a day. After that, a revival had to be paid for with real money.
This is what Warframe looked like in the Closed Beta in 2013
Although many critics agreed that Warframe had exciting gameplay at its core, it was not yet fully developed at that point:
The movement was choppy and the enemies provided poor hit feedback.
It was unclear what needed to be done at all. There were no mission markers.
It was also said that the activities were too repetitive. At that time, there were only three Warframes and a few linear levels.
At that time, Warframe received mediocre and poor reviews from critics. For example, Eurogamer only gave it a 4/10, and GameStar was not very fond of Warframe either, although they acknowledged the online shooter had potential. Other reviews were similar.
The payment barriers were hated among players, and the still clunky gameplay could not even justify them. Warframe was at risk of flopping hard and quickly losing its player base.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmdB8kznKIU
How did Warframe solve its problem?
Despite the criticism and the paywalls, a core group of players who loved Warframe formed back then. They found the gameplay fantastic and wanted to see the Free2Play shooter grow. The community at that time asked the developers to remove the paywalls.
Now, Digital Extremes faced a pretty tough decision in 2015. In an interview with Gamesindustry, the vice president once mentioned that this decision should forever influence the DNA of Warframe:
They chose to listen to the community and remove the paywalls, which was a frightening step for the studio. They now sought other ways to finance themselves with microtransactions.
This very decision was the turning point for Warframe. The community felt understood by Digital Extremes and helped promote the game. There was a Founder’s Pack available in 2012-2013, offered for a whopping €225, which included the exclusive Warframe Excalibur Prime.
Excalibur Prime – When players see this exclusive Warframe, you can still observe them bowing before him.
From then on, Warframe worked on a fair Free2Play model and gave players the choice to voluntarily pay for the game.
At Digital Extremes, they now wanted to give the community a voice and decision-making power.
A close bond formed between the community and the studio, as players felt heard and respected. This bond should shape Warframe to this day, 6 years later, and save it from flop.
Additionally, a new movement system was introduced in 2015 that gave players unparalleled agility: Parkour 2.0 – this was very well received by the players and became a hallmark of Warframe.
The payment model has remained fair. Those who wish can pay for things like cosmetic items or to speed up the crafting of items. There is even a level cap for certain items so that players cannot simply buy them too early.
For its future, Warframe pursues a different goal than genre-related Destiny 2 or The Division 2:
FIFA 20 will be released in the fall. What the new installment needs to do better than FIFA 19 and what innovations fans wish for can be found here.
There is currently no concrete information about FIFA 20. However, EA hinted in their latest quarterly report that we can expect major innovations for this year’s football simulation.
This is what Blake Jorgensen, CFO of EA, says:
„In fiscal year 2020, we will continue to supply our sports games with innovations. Particularly, FIFA 20 will receive significant new features, and we plan for both FIFA and FIFA Ultimate Team to continue to grow throughout the year.”
Update on 22.06.2019: We now know what changes EA was referring to. You can read the post here:
Unfortunately, no specific features are mentioned. But a few things come to mind that we FIFA players would like to see in FIFA 20, right?
The Career Mode is collecting dust
Here’s the problem: Fans have been wishing for a completely revamped Career Mode for years. The mode only receives minor changes year after year, which are mostly not worth mentioning.
Introduction of youth leagues: Youth leagues in Career Mode would allow young players to gain playing experience and improve. This would be much more realistic than before and much more practical for the manager’s daily routine.
Better transfer behavior of the CPU: It is often extremely difficult to sell players. The CPU clubs simply have no interest in the players on our transfer list. Thus, we wish for increased/realistic interest in the players we want to offload.
Online Career Mode: Many FIFA players surely know this: Playing against the computer loses its appeal over time. Especially when the CPU does not pose a challenge even at world class level. Online matches would be the solution. The NHL and NFL games set the example; in the so-called “Connected Career,” it is possible to compete against strangers or friends.
Pro Clubs needs more attention
Here’s the problem: The mode has many loyal followers who would like to see more love and features from EA. Unfortunately, the Pro Clubs mode receives less and less attention.
A good example of EA’s lack of love for Pro Clubs is the position bug in FIFA 19’s club mode. This annoying bug was fixed poorly at best, five months after release.
By the way, we already wished for new features for Pro Clubs even before the release of FIFA 19. Since there were none, our wishes can be perfectly transferred to FIFA 20.
What we wish for:
Gameplay for CPU teammates needs to improve
A more comprehensive progression system for your player
More customization options for the pro and the club
More modes: multiplayer training arena, social area
More information about the opponents
Ultimate Team – The management cards need improvement
Here’s the problem: Distributing player contracts and fitness cards in the team is super tedious. Yet the system has not changed for years.
We suspect that the cards will not disappear anytime soon. Because for EA, they are good filler material for packs.
What we wish for:
A better fitness concept: Why can’t the 100 fitness points of a player be fully utilized? It would be great to only have to use a fitness card again when the card reaches a fitness value of 0. Currently, a fitness card is urgently needed after at most 3 or 4 games.
Team player contracts: Just like with team fitness cards, it would be practical to be able to equip the entire team with contracts at once. Currently, you have to select each player individually to fill contracts.
Fans want to see a Street Mode
The longing for a Street Mode for FIFA is great. The last installment of FIFA Street was released in 2012. Since then, many fans have wished for a similar mode for the FIFA series.
Because the fast, arcade-like games focused on dribbling and tricks are a lot of fun and provide a break from the monotonous FIFA routine.
On The Division 2, you will find all our guides, tips, builds, and solutions at a glance. This guide collection is guaranteed to help you.
On March 15, 2019, Ubisoft’s shared-world shooter The Division 2 was released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
It is the sequel to The Division from 2016. Since the second part takes many features from its predecessor, many veterans will quickly find their way around The Division 2.
Here is an overview of all guides: However, this guide collection is not only aimed at new players. Seasoned agents will also find interesting guides – because The Division 2 has a lot to offer and brings a lot of new elements.
[toc]
Important Information for Beginners and Returning Players
What you should know before you buy The Division 2:
The developer Wyrmbyte announces the new space MMO Warp Nexus, which will be released on Steam in summer 2019. Consoles and mobile platforms will follow later.
What is Warp Nexus? The space MMO is the spiritual successor to the classic MMO Jumpgate. You will be able to travel and explore the galaxies with your self-built spaceship.
You can watch the first sneak peek trailer here:
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What features will Warp Nexus have? The developers at Wyrmbyte have big plans for their new game. According to their statement, it should become “a self-runner” in which players can occupy themselves for a long time.
Here are some mentioned features:
The world of Warp Nexus is connected by Warp Points, and you do not need a long travel time to get from A to B.
Players will be able to build their character and their ship themselves and upgrade with new gear and components.
Different types of content missions, including resource gathering, escort missions, bounty hunting, or surveillance.
Missions can be designed for solo players as well as for groups.
Various PvP modes, including a scalable battle royale mode.
The ability to, for example, issue your own quests for resources and bounty advertisements to other players.
Unlimited crossplay between all platforms.
Warp Nexus will be released this summer on Steam, with the release on consoles and mobile platforms to follow in 2019.
Can you also get lost in space here? This happened to a player in the space MMO Elite Dangerous:
Our author Dave was able to play The Elder Scrolls: Blades (iOS, Android) and surprise: he doesn’t hate it, even though it’s mobile! Read here how he liked the first hour and a half in the game in his small preview test.
“Sacrilege! Humanity is going to the dogs!” shouted the core gamer in me. “A free-to-play mobile game in the Elder Scrolls universe? Hell no!”
But then I thought: “Wait a minute, this is from Bethesda after all. And it’s free.” If there’s free beer, I also wouldn’t say no – even if it’s Oettinger. And you can take a look in the mouth of a gift horse before you turn it into sausage.
So I downloaded it, fired it up, beat a knight with the sword and… threw my phone out the window.
Okay, the last point was a lie. But I was eager to play, because after the super short and, in my opinion, uninformative tutorial, there was first a static screen with a thank you for downloading and the information that unfortunately you weren’t worthy to really get started.
Many hours later I was finally able to play and what can I say… Elder Scrolls Blades has everything I hate about mobile games. But it has turned out damn good.
Heydenreich and the Arsonists
This is how it started: Contrary to my expectations, The Elder Scrolls Blades grabbed me from the first second. I returned with my hero to his hometown and found it in flames.
After a little scuffle with the arsonists and a nice chat with one of the survivors, I soon ended up in the character creation menu. Here I could choose whether I wanted to be male or female and of course which race I wanted to belong to.
Khajiit, Dark Elves, High Elves, Nords, Bretons, Argonians, Imperials… all the well-known races and classes from the Elder Scrolls universe are included. You can also vary the body size and the look of head, eyes, nose, and mouth. Either through a movable slider or through numerous options to choose from.
Everything like in a “real” Elder Scrolls. I’m surprised.
Quests and Mission Design
Right after character creation, I got my first quests. Through the quest menu, these can be started and you are immediately in the corresponding level. Well, the quest design can’t be called particularly creative right now. Find and rescue person X, collect Y potatoes, kill Z goblins.
The next ninety minutes, I ran through catacombs or narrow outdoor areas, completed my tasks, and collected resources and gold. I have to say: despite the unimaginative mission design, it’s really fun. You find something useful all the time and the flow of play is never interrupted in The Elder Scrolls: Blades.
A nice detail: In every dungeon, there is a “secret room” or even several. There waits an extra chest for me. It was really fun searching the levels for this secret room – even if it didn’t pose a real challenge to find it.
The City
What’s there to do in the city? At the beginning, the city consists only of ruins that can be clicked and then expanded into a desired building. In the short time I played, I rebuilt a town hall and a forge.
In the forge, I could already upgrade my weapons and armor pieces. There are also many open spaces where you can place decorations. I’m curious about how it will continue.
The Chests
Here comes the catch! As a reward for completing quests, I received chests. While normal chests could be opened within five seconds, unlocking the silver ones already takes three hours and the golden ones a whole six.
Alternatively, I can spend gems, the in-game currency, to open the chests immediately. You probably guessed it: these gems cost money.
Additionally, gems are needed to increase your inventory and to resurrect you on the spot in battle; otherwise, you have to start the dungeon again from the beginning, which I personally have no problem with, as the levels are quite short.
In any case, I haven’t run into a paywall. Since you have ten chest slots available at the beginning and can expand these to twenty relatively quickly, you would theoretically need to get more than ten chests within three hours to feel compelled to spend gems. After my first two hours in Elder Scrolls Blades, only half was occupied. So for now, I was spared a nervous breakdown.
However, it is of course still annoying that you have to wait three to six hours to get your loot. The prices in the shop can, with a lot of goodwill, be described as steep.
A legendary loot box, for example, costs around twenty euros. It contains just one legendary item and a few materials. Mommies and daddies all over the world should be even more careful with their credit cards from now on.
Graphics and Performance
Is the graphics really that good? Oh yes! Right from the first moment when you start the game, you are immediately overwhelmed by the beautiful world. You stand in the forest, the sun is shining, and the trees are swaying in the wind. Sounds unremarkable but it had the ultimate WOW effect.
I have never seen anything like this on a smartphone. The screenshots only partially reflect what you see when playing the game on a Retina display.
And the performance? Is it lagging? I played for nearly two hours on an iPhone XS and could not detect any lags. There was also no crash. The device’s heating remained well below expectations. It got a bit warm after an hour, but at no point uncomfortably hot. Very commendable.
Is The Elder Scrolls Blades enjoyable to play? Absolutely. On the one hand, you can choose whether to play it in portrait or landscape mode. Thus, with one or two hands.
On the other hand, it offers both the classic touch control (left stick to run, right stick to look around) as well as a point and click control. Of course, it’s still not as pleasant as with a controller or with mouse and keyboard, but once you get into it, it’s fun. Yes, you read that right: fun.
I was positively surprised at this point too and did not wake up this morning with cramped hands.
That’s why I forgive you, Blades
The Elder Scrolls Blades, you entertained me very well in the first two hours.
The gameplay is nice, the graphics are excellent, the controls are good, and the flow of the game is not interrupted by ads or similar. That’s more than most mobile games can claim for themselves.
Still, you are still a mobile game. And if the chest situation should escalate later in the game, you’ll be removed from my storage. But for now… Holla die Waldelfe! I would say that the waiting time in front of public restrooms could significantly increase in the future if this game becomes a hit.
In Pokémon GO a new feature is coming soon! A dataminer has shown the first images of the Lucky Friends. We give you first insights into the upcoming change.
Now, the first images have been found. They roughly outline the function of the Lucky Friends and especially show how the screen looks during such a trade.
This is what the dataminer shows about the Lucky Friends
What can be seen in the images? The screenshots from Dataminer Chrales illustrate the animations during the trade with the Lucky Friend and how one will recognize such a friend.
How does one become a Lucky Friend? Not much is known about the functionality of the feature yet. The dataminer explains nothing specific about it. However, it can be assumed that one becomes Lucky Friends after making a few trades in advance.
This is how you recognize the Lucky Friends: If you are Lucky Friends with someone, you will recognize this directly. Already in the friends list, you can see golden circles around the player’s name. This is your Lucky Friend.
When trading with this friend, the entire background is gold and looks significantly different than usual.
What do Lucky Friends bring? When Chrales discovered the feature, he already found text passages related to it. These state that you can trade a Lucky Pokémon with a Lucky Friend for sure.
When will the feature come? So far, nothing is known about the release. However, it could come soon, as apparently all important details are already included.
This is important: Despite the images and the known details, it remains only a find from a dataminer for now. Perhaps Niantic will not bring this feature at all – or only much later. This remains to be seen.
It is possible that the decrease in Lucky Pokémon is related to the new feature:
Each of these specializations has a unique weapon and its own skill tree, where you can skill various advantages in the form of perks.
Here are the most important features, the best perks, and things you should keep in mind with the Survival Specialist.
The Survival Specialist is suitable for every player type
What distinguishes the Survival Specialist: This specialization favors multiple playstyles.
It can fulfill the role of a supporter well. Both healing and status effects can be utilized effectively. However, you can also take quite a bit of damage and build effective DPS sets.
These are the features of the Survival Specialist:
The unique weapon: With the Survival Specialist, you gain access to the crossbow. This weapon fires bolts that explode after a short time and can cause area damage.
The unique skill mod: The specialization includes a mod for the seeker mine. This now has a healing effect for armor. You can have the mine follow either yourself or your teammates.
Grenade type: The Survival Specialist has access to incendiary grenades.
Unique outfit: Each specialization has its own outfit, which is unlocked upon activation.
However, the grenade type and the seeker mine must first be unlocked in the skill tree with specialization points.
These perks are particularly recommended: With enough specialization points, you can complete the entire skill tree. However, it takes a while before you have enough points.
Therefore, we show the perks that are the best and should be skilled first:
Elite Defense (3 Ranks): Up to +15% protection against elites
Triage Specialist (3 Ranks): Up to +15% additional healing for teammates
Critical Times: +10% cooldown reduction when in cover
Tactical Link: Your group deals +10% more damage against enemies with status effects
Incendiary Grenade: All enemies in a certain radius are ignited
Individual Weapon Damage (4 Ranks): Up to +145% damage for your unique weapon.
Shotgun Ready (3 Ranks): Up to +15% shotgun damage
E.M.I: Up to +15% assault rifle damage
Flicker: Seeker mine follows either you or a manually marked ally and heals armor
Distributed Repair: Armor kits heal over time, the healing effect also affects teammates within a radius of up to 10 meters
Group Supply of Individual Ammunition: When your group members kill enemies affected by a status effect, they have a chance to gain ammunition for their individual weapons.
To complete a skill tree, you need 160 points.
How do I get skill points for my specialization? Complete tasks where the faction Black Tusk is your enemy. They reward you with specialization points after completion.
You always get points for the specialization that you currently have active.
An overview of all talents can be found in our guide:
Overall, the Survival Specialist is more balanced than the other specializations. The crossbow does not deal as much damage as the grenade launcher, but it is more precise.
Additionally, with the appropriate skill strength, you can create a strong healer build that keeps your teammates and yourself alive. The armor kit that can heal you and your team over time is very helpful.
However, the skill tree also allows you to combine the Survival Specialist with pure DPS sets. You essentially have free choice, as your equipment mainly determines how your set functions.
With the crossbow, you can still deal enough damage, and the incendiary grenades are extremely useful in combat.
A more offensive build variant is shown in this video by LethalvD:
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Is The Division 2 too hard? I keep dying, but I still find it just right. What is your opinion on this topic?
If you hang out on the Division subreddit and in other forums, you’ve likely come across discussions over the past few days focused on the difficulty level of The Division 2.
Some say the game is way too hard and needs to be simplified. Particularly single players are having a hard time in Washington D.C.
Others, however, argue that the developers shouldn’t lower the difficulty just because a few players are complaining.
This is my opinion on the matter: I clearly side with those players who find the difficulty just right. So far, the tough opponents have motivated me much more than they have frustrated me.
This is how I play The Division 2: I’m one of those players who level quite slowly. I’m still quite a ways from World Tier 4.
I prefer to examine everything closely and “enjoy” the campaign, the lore of the collectibles, and the hidden details in the world before the tough endgame grind begins for me – which I won’t really start until World Tier 5.
Additionally, I have only played The Division 2 solo so far. This is because
I wanted to experience the main missions myself without having to rush behind other players who are speeding through
my long-time Division buddy was on vacation and he also wants to reach the endgame solo.
That’s why I find the difficulty okay: Last week I had a pretty frustrating moment in The Division 2. I wanted to finish a story mission in time for the kickoff of a national team soccer match, but the boss fight held me back for ages.
I had to take down a big flamethrower boss who was extremely well-armored. His flames dealt massive damage to me, and their reach was so great that I died multiple times pathetically.
And as the kickoff of the soccer match drew nearer, I became more reckless and frantic – and died even faster.
After I hit my innocent couch twice, cursed the flamethrower dude, and was about to quit the mission, I decided to take a calm and thoughtful approach once more.
I revamped my tactic, proceeded more cautiously than ever, and voila, suddenly the armor was breached and the flamethrower guy was on the ground. I missed the first 10 minutes of the soccer match, but I was still satisfied.
I recall that a year and a half ago, I only died once or twice during the entire campaign of Destiny 2. It didn’t present a challenge; meanwhile, flamethrower guy was an entirely different caliber.
And I think that’s awesome! I want games that challenge me. That aren’t a walk in the park from the start, but rather say: “Tom, step it up, or it won’t work!” Destiny 2 bored me during the campaign; The Division 2 does it much better.
The difficulty in The Division 2 is not only about whittling down massive amounts of health points from bosses. Instead, it’s the intelligent AI that challenges you, flanking you skillfully and can appear right behind you out of nowhere.
Right here, I definitely don’t want to compare The Division 2 with Dark Souls or Bloodborne, but those were also games I loved for their tough challenges. Because when you master those challenges, you know you’ve accomplished something truly special.
In short, The Division 2 provided me with some challenges as a solo player over the last few days that I gladly accepted, which motivated me, forcing me to proceed slowly and tactically. For me, it was a welcome change from the fast, shallow games that are easy to digest.
The community has mixed opinions on the difficulty level
What agents who find the game too hard say: In the Division forum, a user incredulously asked the developers: “What’s wrong with you?” Because The Division 2 is “unplayable” for solo players.
The difficulty is way too high
You are just a single agent and have to face many, many enemies. 15 vs. 1, that’s a joke
In some missions, you are in a room where enemies come from all sides. This is seen as unfair.
The user cannot believe he paid 100 dollars for a game with “impossible” difficulty
He emphasizes that The Division 2 was advertised as a game for multiplayer AND single player. And to master the game, he sees no choice but to play it in a group.
Division 1 had appropriate difficulty; part 2 does not at all
He is upset that he now has something for his money that he cannot use.
A developer has already responded that they will forward this complaint to the team.
What users who find the difficulty okay say: A reddit post with over 4400 upvotes states that Massive has done a fantastic job regarding the difficulty during the campaign for solo players. Massive should not listen to players who want an easy game.
The Division 2 is indeed challenging in some places, but if you proceed slowly and tactically, it is quite manageable. People are just too lazy to engage their brains during combat. And this is no reason for the game to be nerfed.
On the contrary: These challenges make The Division 2 interesting and motivating for solo players. If you die, you just have to learn the combat sequence, get better each time, and then it works out.
But what do you think? Do you find The Division 2 too hard? Participate in our survey. The difficulty relates to the campaign for solo players:
Feel free to share your detailed opinion in the comments.
While Anthem and The Division 2 dominate the headlines in gaming, there is a lot happening with the competition:Warframe is celebrating its anniversary and is now bigger than ever after six years. There is more content and more players than ever in the history of the shooter.
How big is Warframe right now? Warframe, the action loot shooter by Digital Extremes, has been on the market for six years now. During this time, the once quite simple game has developed significantly. Now, Warframe has a few impressive numbers to offer:
It now has almost 50 million registered players (in 2018 there were “only” 38 million)
In 2019, new records were achieved for daily and monthly users.
A total of 111 hotfixes have been released
26 major updates have been pushed to the servers so far
With 406,447 concurrent viewers during TennoCon 2018, Warframe ranked 14th on Twitch for games with the highest concurrent viewer count
These were the highlights of Warframe: In 2019, Warframe already released two major updates.
At the end of February, Nightwave was the first content update. The alarm system of Warframe was thoroughly revamped with seasonal and story-based content and rewards.
Later, Operation: Buried Debts was added. This was the second update for Fortuna, which introduced the Tank Warframe Hyldrin, Deck 12, and a completely new boss fight into the game.
Here’s why Warframe is worth it right now
All these records and updates show that Warframe has developed well. However, the developers don’t want to rest on their laurels, but rather want to deliver more:
Remasters: The Plains of Eidolon and the cloud city on Jupiter (Gas City) are set to be thoroughly revamped. There will be a gameplay and presentation remaster.
Here’s why Warframe doesn’t have to shy away from the competition: Loot shooters are currently popular. Recently, The Division 2 from Ubisoft and Anthem, despite poor reviews at launch, is still far from being out of the picture.
Nevertheless, Warframe remains a strong alternative. This is mainly due to the fact that Warframe is still free to play and has a remarkably fair free-to-play system.
In addition, there is a wealth of content that is unparalleled. There are now dozens of Warframes, offering different classes in the game. These allow for completely new tactics both solo and in teams.
Stuffed Animal Invasion! From Reddit user Raikunoso
The frames are complemented by a vast arsenal of weapons for melee and ranged combat and an extremely extensive upgrade system.
Arena battles in Pokémon GO can also run long-term. A player from his city reports that there is a constant battle between the fire department and the police – over an arena.
This is the battle: On Reddit , the player “penguintree” reports of a confrontation in his city. There, police officers and firefighters are constantly fighting for dominance in an arena.
The post receives a lot of support, and other police officers also recount how relaxing it is to unwind with Pokémon GO after a tough assignment.
This is the battle between police and firefighters
The player reports on Reddit: penguintree describes that an arena near the library in his city keeps changing colors between blue and red.
The arenas in this city seem to be heavily contested
When he went to the arena and settled in, he was approached by police officers. They told him that they have a real battle with the firehouse around the corner. Apparently, they regularly throw each other out of the arena.
This is even fitting: In line with the colors of the police and the fire department, the police officers are on Team Blue and the firefighters are on Team Red.
This is what players say: This action is celebrated on Reddit. It’s nice to see people with very serious jobs playfully competing against each other, many players say.
Pokémon GO is very popular with the police
A law enforcement officer even responds to this post. He says:
As someone who has been in law enforcement for 30 years, this is probably true. Any job where you are confronted with sudden work accidents all day long is really improved by something like Pokémon GO. I played for a long time, and when I was sitting in court (the statue in the front was a PokéStop) to testify about a case, every police officer around me was on their phone and at least half were playing Pokémon GO.
Global football star Zlatan Ibrahimović joins the many critical voices who criticize the latest Patch 8.2 for the online shooter Fortnite . Epic should take it back.
This is what Ibra says: He keeps it short. He simply tweeted “Zlatan says take it back” to Fortnite developer Epic Games.
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The tweet has already received 36,200 likes on Twitter. Ibrahimović has about 5.6 million accounts following him on the platform with the bird.
This is how his followers react: Most are amused by the tweet, cheering or posting gifs.
For many, Zlatan Ibrahimović is somewhat like Chuck Norris or simply “God.” When he says something, it automatically means that he is right and that people have to follow him.
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What is this about? The Patch 8.2 was released last Thursday for Fortnite and has been a topic of discussion in the community since then. Zlatan Ibrahimović does not specify exactly what bothers him about the update, but it will probably concern the change that has been controversially discussed for days.
The patch on Thursday reversed changes to the basic rules of Fortnite that Epic implemented 6 weeks prior to Fortnite and which were active in all modes. It is now back to how it was before:
Players no longer receive health or shield points for kills
Additionally, farming building materials now takes significantly longer (40% fewer resources than before the patch)
Killed opponents no longer automatically leave 50/50/50 building materials
Moreover, the limit for building materials has increased again from 500 to 999
the calmer Fortnite with standard rules, where players are supposed to farm more
and a faster Fortnite with “aggressive rules,” which is then used for esports and in which the new arena mode also runs
Because Epic’s problem is that Fortnite should be accessible to everyone. But by now, the regular players are so skilled that beginners hardly have a chance against them.
Current football stars like Antoine Griezmann are also considered enthusiastic Fortnite players: Here Griezmann celebrates a World Cup goal in Fortnite style.
Will Epic change this again? Epic is known for frequently changing its online shooter.
However, the change on Thursday is receiving much criticism – even from Zlatan Ibrahimović. In the past, such fierce criticism has already led to Epic reversing such changes.
Let’s see how it goes this time.
Note: We sourced the title image of the article from the footballer’s Facebook page. It shows him in the dress of his current club LA Galaxy.
With this DPS build, you deal a lot of damage in The Division 2. It is built around the best rifle in the game. Over 1 million DPS can be reached quickly with it.
What kind of build is this? It is a DPS build (SPS build) with which you can deal massive damage per second. Over a million DPS are said to be quite easy to achieve.
It is best to play this build in a group, as you can withstand very little damage yourself. However, it is also suitable for solo players – the faster you kill the enemies, the less damage they can deal to you.
This DPS build, centered around the MK17 rifle, is presented by YouTuber Mtashed. You can see it here in the video; we present the build below:
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Mask from Wyvern Wear with bonuses to skill power and damage to elites. Talent “Hard Hitting,” which grants +15% damage to elites
Backpack from Wyvern Wear with bonuses to critical hit chance, weapon damage, and critical hit damage. Talent “Hard Hitting,” which grants +15% damage to elites
Chest piece from Overlord Armaments with bonuses to headshot damage, critical hit chance, and weapon damage or crit damage. Talent “Hard Hitting,” which grants +15% damage to elites
Gloves from Airaldi Holdings with bonus to rifle damage. Talent “Devastating,” which grants +5% weapon damage; or surgical, which grants +8% critical hit chance
Holster from Airaldi Holdings with bonus to critical hit damage. The precise talent gives +15% headshot damage
Kneepads from Wyvern Wear with bonus to critical hit chance. The talent is “Braced,” which increases weapon handling by 25% while in cover. This talent is said to be top-notch as it significantly improves precision, stability, and reload speed.
These are the brand benefits:
3 pieces of Wyvern Wear give +7% critical hit damage, +15% drone skill power, and +10% critical hit chance
2 pieces of Airaldi Holdings give +10% precision and +10% headshot damage
1 piece of Overlord Armaments gives +10% rifle damage
Since the bonus to drone skill power from Wyvern Wear is pretty useless, you can also take three pieces from Douglas & Harding. This way, you gain +5% precision along with the crit bonuses.
Besides a strong, normal weapon damage, this build also relies on critical hits. Keep in mind that these are not headshot hits but random “crits” with bonus damage. It’s worth increasing both the chance and crit damage.
You will need this weapon:
MK17 Police version (Rifle, Highend) – This rifle is the best rifle in the game. It is important that you have a high damage roll on the weapon; the talents are secondary.
Mtashed has pretty bad talents on the weapon. The only useful talent is Boomerang, which gives critical hits a 50% chance to return the bullet to the magazine. When that happens, the next shot deals +20% damage. Additionally, talents that improve stability or precision would be useful.
These weapon mods are important:
C79 scope (3.9x) with +15% damage to elites (-20% reload speed)
Muzzle with +20% critical hit damage (-10% stability)
Laser pointer with +10% critical hit chance (-10% stability)
Magazine with +20% stability and -20% optimal range to compensate for the loss of stability
Additional weapons: Besides the MK17, you can equip these weapons:
The exotic pistol “Freedom” – When you holster this, you benefit when playing with the MK17. Destroying enemy weak points will refill 20% of your magazine.
Reviver drone stock: Sends out small drones that revive incapacitated allies nearby. If you play solo and die, this skill gets you back on your feet
Booster Chem Launcher: Releases a gas cloud that repairs and strengthens your armor
This specialization is used:Take the Sharpshooter. The important bonuses are that you receive +25% headshot damage, +30% reload speed, +15% rifle damage, and +30% stability
In the upper video, you can see a damage output demonstration starting from minute 10:10. Although Mtashed’s build is not yet perfected, he exceeds 1 million DPS significantly.
After the rather unfortunate launch and many complaints about the lack of game content and the high degree of randomness, there was a massive drop in player numbers in January 2019.
Currently, according to SteamCharts, Artifact has about 417 active players:
What does Valve say about the situation? Now Valve has broken the silence. In a statement on Steam, the developers said they want to put updates for Artifact on hold indefinitely.
The reason is that Valve wants to address the fundamental issues of Artifact.
Artifact represents the biggest discrepancy between our expectations and the actual result. However, we do not believe that players have misunderstood our game or are playing it incorrectly. Artifact is an opportunity for us to improve and to use this knowledge to create a better game.
Valve employee Jeep Barnett
The developers have been monitoring the player base and collecting feedback since the launch. Therefore, they will now reassess the core aspects of Artifact. These include:
Fundamental game design
The game economy
Social experience when playing
According to the Steam announcement, the work is expected to “take a lot of time.” However, the developers view this as a challenge.
What are the reactions? Many players on Steam and Reddit reacted to this news with mixed feelings. While some fans wish the development team good luck, others are more than skeptical.
In the Reddit thread about the announcement, players speculated about a complete relaunch of Artifact, similar to what happened with Final Fantasy XIV.
Several people also made the joke about “Valve Time” and that working on Artifact would likely take years or even never be completed, as it has been the case with the Half-Life games.
What do you think? Can Artifact still be saved? What would you change about the game?
In Destiny 2, two well-deserved and well-known employees have announced their departure. Weapon specialist Jon Weisnewski and sandbox design lead Josh Hamrick are leaving. The two have been responsible for the “balance” in Destiny for years.
Personnel changes are normal in the gaming industry, but Bungie rarely replaces its key figures. Many faces associated with Destiny 2 have become familiar over the years.
We look at the recent departures. Both developers had their last working day at Bungie on Friday, March 29, 2019, as they announced via Twitter.
How much damage should the weapon do? For a long time, this was determined, among others, by Weisnewski and Hamrick.
This is what the sandbox team does: Both departures were part of the sandbox team. The team takes care of the core and balancing of Destiny:
Player abilities
Grenades
Melee
Vehicles
Weapons
Armor
Hamrick and Weisnewski had clear roles, both externally and internally: Hamrick explained how class abilities change. Weisnewski elaborated on how individual weapons and weapon types shift.
While Hamrick, as the team leader, appeared more frequently in streams, Weisnewski’s appearances were rare.
Hamrick (wearing a hat) was often a guest at streams – here with DeeJ.
This is Josh Hamrick: He has been the “sandbox design lead” since 2016. Thus, he was responsible for balancing the game, ensuring that no class is too strong or too weak.
He is also known to players as the “Hat Guy” because Hamrick wore some form of headgear in every appearance.
This was Hamrick’s career:
Hamrick had been at Bungie since 2009 as a “senior gameplay designer” and worked on Destiny 1.
Then he was with Bethesda for a year starting in August 2015, working on Fallout 4.
However, he returned to Bungie in September 2016 and was the “gameplay design lead” here.
This was Hamrick’s job: He was responsible as the “sandbox lead” for “balance changes” and also explained them in streams:
He is known for his statement that he personally nerfed the perk “Hungry Blade” of the Blade Dancer. He was criticized for this, as that specialization of the Hunter was already considered too weak.
It was Hamrick who openly criticized the “mod system” from the release version of Destiny 2 and spoke of operational blindness – that was in May 2018, a kind of “turning point” when Destiny developers spoke frankly.
And he had to endure questions like “Are you stupid?” during the “dark times” of Destiny 2.
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This is how Hamrick says goodbye: He appeared emotional and thanked the fans. He never expected to work on something that moves and inspires people like Destiny.
He will now take a break and then do something with games again.
Weisnewski – the weapon nerd of Destiny
This is Jon Weisnewski: He was the “weapon guy” of Destiny. He was responsible for the balance of weapons and archetypes. He was always called upon when it came to explaining the balance changes to the individual weapon types that would come with the next patch to the Guardians.
Weisnewski is the one who is sticking out his tongue.
This was Weisnewski’s career: It is significantly more straightforward than Hamrick’s.
Weisnewski had been at Bungie since 2009; he started as a test lead, became a gameplay designer in 2013, and was promoted to senior gameplay designer in September 2015. (via LinkedIn)
This was Weisnewski’s farewell: Like Hamrick, emotional. After 12 magical years, he is leaving now. The experience of building “this thing” with everyone else has been the experience of his life.
However, he now feels the urge to push himself again and try something new.
The Battle Pass in Apex Legends faced a lot of criticism. However, after the first week, it turns out: it’s not that bad at all. Our author Benedict has discovered a huge advantage.
What makes the Battle Pass so good? A special feature that I think makes the Battle Pass particularly good for people with little time is the “Resting Experience.”
This is what the developers call the feature that allows players to gain more experience for playing the different legends in Apex Legends. In the first week after the release of the Battle Pass, that was 25,000 bonus EXP, which are available for each legend.
However, in the second week, it didn’t just reset to 0, allowing players to earn the 25,000 again. The current status was simply maintained, and the maximum was set to 50,000.
This is how the Battle Pass works: The EXP are necessary to level up in the different tiers of the Battle Pass. With the tiers, there are increasing rewards, up to a maximum tier of 100.
This is what is being criticized: The levels of the Battle Pass seem to require an enormous amount of experience points. These can be boosted through a game with friends or this “Resting Experience.” But it still takes forever. The lack of challenges makes it even worse.
For players like me with little time, who either have a lot to do or are playing other games, this sounded really annoying. Completing the Battle Pass in the relatively short time seemed impossible, as Season 2 is supposed to start in June.
This led to players like my colleague Jürgen finding the Battle Pass really bad. The system, as it is, takes a lot of pressure and compulsion away from the Pass, so I feel more motivated to earn the tiers again.
The grind annoys many players
Fans also think it’s good
The decision was well received not only by me. Fans are also more than satisfied with this system.
Even before Respawn’s official post, some people noticed on reddit that the experience points were not reset. They thought the idea was great, as long as it wasn’t a bug:
If this really just expands instead of resetting, it could be the best feature of Season 1 so far. Please keep it.
In Pokémon GO, there seem to be fewer lucky Pokémon. More and more players are reporting this. We explain what is known about it and speculate on what might be behind it.
Players speculate about lucky Pokémon: On Reddit, more and more players are reporting that lucky Pokémon have become rarer. This special form of Pokémon appears significantly less often when exchanging Pokémon.
What exactly is behind this is unknown. However, many players suspect that the new feature with lucky friends is behind it. This has not been confirmed and is purely speculation for now.
These are the players’ speculations
Here’s how it came to light: On Reddit, the user “Valdihr” asked if other players were also getting fewer lucky Pokémon. He trades about 40 Pokémon a day and hasn’t received a single lucky Pokémon in the last few days.
Lucky Pokémon seem to be rarer
The post received much support and numerous players agreed with the user. They also report fewer lucky Pokémon when trading.
Another user writes: “I traded about 100 Treecko during Community Day and only received one lucky Pokémon. It feels like a reduction.”
What could this be due to? Niantic has neither confirmed nor denied the assumption. Players in the Reddit thread also speculate about the reasons why the rate might have been lowered.
Many players are sure: It is due to the new lucky friends feature, which was recently found in the code. Although it is not yet in the game, it is supposed to provide guaranteed lucky Pokémon.
A new feature may be to blame for this nerf
In order not to let too many lucky Pokémon distort the game, Niantic has lowered the rate. At least that is the theory of some players. However, this is not confirmed.
When can we expect clarification? The lucky friends feature has been in the code for a week now. It could therefore be released soon. Niantic may also provide a bit more clarification then. We will have to wait and see.
What do you think? Have you also received fewer lucky Pokémon in the past few days?
A Korean Overwatch pro had to deal with messages from a racist in his stream. His solution to the problem was as simple as it was funny.
What happened? Pro player Jong-ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park is part of the Overwatch team “New York Excelsior” and is known in the scene for his joint streams with his wife.
In one of his private streams, the pro gamer had to confront a racist who bombarded him with insults and threats.
This is how the pro gamer blocked the messages: To hide the spam of racist comments, the streamer took his camera image, stretched it to the appropriate dimensions, and covered the messages with his own elongated face.
His Twitch chat exploded with laughter and memes:
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Why did the racist spam work? Normally, there is a voice filter in Overwatch that prevents severe insults from actually being displayed. Jong-ryeol’s opponent had somehow managed to glitch through the system.
He repeatedly sent Jong-ryeol friend requests with racist comments and insults in the text, which were displayed at the top of the screen.
The pro gamer could not block these messages in the middle of the match, but his own solution was all the better for it.
On April 2, there will be a split of the European data center in Final Fantasy XIV into two new centers. We have compiled an overview of the most important information as well as answers to frequently asked questions for you.
What is happening in FFXIV? Currently, there is only one data center in FFXIV located in Europe: Chaos. This is set to change in the near future.
To prevent overcrowding of the data center and to reduce loading times and lags, the existing European servers will be split into two data centers: Chaos and Light.
The new distribution of the servers will look as follows:
When will the split occur? Before the launch of the new data centers, there will be a 24-hour server maintenance.
It starts on April 1 at 11 AM and is expected to end the next day at 12 PM noon. Keep in mind that the maintenance could be delayed or completed early.
All owners of an active FFXIV account will receive one day of game time as compensation.
What does the server separation mean for me? Due to the separation of the servers into different data centers, players in these centers will no longer be able to play together in content and party searches.
For example: A character from the Moogle server will no longer be able to play or talk in-game with a character from the Odin server.
Can I switch to another server? Yes, you will be able to switch for free between servers and data centers from April 3 to April 17.
However, keep in mind that transferring to congested servers will still not be possible. Although there are currently no locked servers, this could change at short notice.
The usual restrictions regarding server switching will not apply. You can:
Take all your money with you. There is only a limit of 999,999,999 Gil.
If you have to give up your house during the switch, you will be refunded all the money. And an additional three million as compensation for furniture.
Apartments will be refunded with 500,000 Gil and an additional 500,000 Gil for furniture.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Server Separation
What happens to my/our house? Nothing. If you stay on your server during the separation and do not go anywhere, nothing will happen. Houses will only be lost if you actively decide to switch, for example from Zodiark to Ragnarok.
How often can I switch for free? There is no strict quantity limitation. However, keep in mind that at least 3 days must pass between two switches on a service account. So, you cannot transfer one character and immediately after that another.
To which data centers can I transfer my characters? To any. Your FFXIV account is not bound to a data center region, meaning you can easily transfer to US servers if you wish. However, transferring to Japanese servers will cost money.
Is it worth switching servers within a data center? Subjective. Starting April 23, it will be possible for all players to travel freely between the servers of a data center with the World Visit System.
If you have friends on Shiva and you’re on Lich, you will soon be able to visit Shiva easily. There will be no time restrictions for such visits.
However, if you want to be in the same FC and maybe buy a house there, you can use the time for free transfer.
Where will the new centers be? Nothing has been officially announced regarding the location yet.
Will the two new servers also go online on April 2? No, the two new servers (one for Chaos and one for Light) will be launched with the release of Shadowbringers.
Also, keep in mind all special cases in which the server transfer cannot take place, such as when the character is less than 3 days old or in the case of a name change. You can find the full list on Lodestone.
