The then publisher Insel Games encouraged its own employees to write reviews about their game “Wild Buster: Heroes of Titan.”
All of the publisher’s games were subsequently removed from the Steam platform. Guardians of Ember also suffered significant reputation damage and only managed to achieve 100-200 concurrent players thereafter. Marketing without Steam was simply too difficult.
The new publisher Gameforge wants to make the past events forgotten and believes in the success of the hack and slash MMORPG. The game already entered closed beta in January, and now there is the open beta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISTPrjxuVcw
This is new in the MMORPG: Gameforge has made numerous changes to the game. There are:
Improvements to gameplay, missions, character customization, UI optimization, and more
Greater language diversity (German was already there)
What you get on top: Players who register for the beta will receive special items. It doesn’t matter if you are joining for the first time or already have experiences in the game.
You will have to fight against such beasts.
This is what Guardians of Ember offers:
The game has a total of 4 races and 6 classes with over 300 abilities.
You can prove your skills in over 60 dungeons.
You can also compete with other players in horde mode. Up to 10 players can fight against each other there.
The game reminds at many moments of Diablo and markets itself on its website with the phrase “WoW meets Diablo.”
Do you want to join? The open beta is now free for everyone. You need to download the beta from the official website of the game. It has a total size of 7 GB.
There are also other games that are similar to Diablo. Here are our alternatives:
In The Division 2, you can craft and recalibrate equipment. Here are all the information and tips for crafting at the crafting station, for recalibrating station, and for the materials in the guide.
In The Division 2, you obtain equipment not only by killing enemies and looting their drops. You can also loot containers, buy items – or craft the stuff yourself.
This is done at the crafting station in the Operations Base, where you can craft items.
[toc]
How to unlock the crafting station
How to activate crafting: The crafting station is made available to you early in The Division 2. You just need to reach the first level of the Theater settlement, and you will get the NPC Inaya al-Khaliq for the White House.
Location of the crafting station: Walk straight through the main entrance of the White House past the quartermaster, turn left and go directly through the first gate on the left side. There, Inaya is next to the crafting station.
Inaya is waiting for you here
How crafting works in The Division 2
Basic information about crafting:
You can craft items (weapons, armor pieces, mods, projects) at the crafting station
The prerequisite is a blueprint of the item you want to craft
Blueprints can be bought, found, or obtained as rewards (e.g. through projects and missions).
For crafting, you need certain materials which you can discover throughout the open world (through boxes, backpacks, due to enemy kills etc.) or obtained by disassembling excess equipment.
The crafting station needs to be upgraded to craft higher-quality items.
Information about blueprints:
The blueprints in your possession scale with your character. If you get a blueprint at character level 5, you can craft items at level 5. When you reach level 6, you can craft items at level 6 with the same blueprint.
To craft better items than “blue” items, you need to upgrade the crafting station. This requires many materials, and you need to have progressed sufficiently in the game. There are several upgrade levels – you need to upgrade the station from blue items to purple items, from purple items to high-end items and in the endgame from world tier to world tier:
You need many materials to upgrade your workbench
Information about crafting materials
You have 2 standard materials:
Closure components – needed for crafting weapons. Can be obtained through disassembly
Protective material – needed for crafting armor. Can be obtained through disassembly
Here are the other crafting materials:
Steel – needed for firearms, often found with the True Sons
Ceramics – needed for armor pieces, often found with the Outcasts
Polycarbonate – needed for various items, often found with the Hyenas
Carbon fiber – needed for lightweight equipment components, often found with the True Sons
Electronics – needed for enhanced equipment components, often found with Hyenas
Titanium – needed for lightweight but durable weapons, often found with the Outcasts
Printer filament (purple quality) – needed for mods (for gear and skills), obtained by disassembling mods
If you need a specific material, you can play a mission from the corresponding faction and have the chance to obtain a relatively large amount of this material through enemy kills and upon mission completion.
Note: In the endgame, the Black Tusk can drop all rare crafting materials.
Carbon fiber, electronics, and titanium are rarer than ceramics, steel, and polycarbonate.
Additionally, crafting costs you E-Credits, which you can obtain by selling items or loots (sewing kits, cameras, solar calculators, etc.) that you find everywhere.
These are high-end materials: In addition, there are many high-end materials with which you can craft armor pieces of certain brands:
High-end crafting materials
You obtain high-end materials for the brand sets by disassembling equipment pieces of that brand.
You should not craft weapons or armor pieces at the start. Because you level up relatively quickly and find better loot soon, so the crafted items will only be useful for a short time.
It’s best to save your materials for the endgame – specifically for World Tier 5 – as soon as it goes live. Because the required materials are the same for all world tiers and levels, and you will benefit most and longest if your items are at the highest possible Gear Score.
What you can already craft in advance: Weapon mods. If you find a weapon mod blueprint, you can create the mod directly. Because it remains permanently with you and always has the same stats – no matter when you craft it.
So only use your materials before World Tier 5 to craft weapon mods and to upgrade the crafting station.
Unlock the benefits “Crafting Materials” and “Disassemble” with SHD Tech at the quartermaster to increase storage capacity for materials and to obtain more materials when disassembling.
White House in The Division 2, where you can craft and recalibrate
Information about the recalibration station
How to unlock recalibration: While crafting is unlocked early in the campaign, recalibration is only possible after a few gameplay hours.
You need to recruit Emma Richards at the Campus settlement, which is possible after three missions for the Campus settlement.
Location of the recalibration station: This station is located directly to the right of the crafting station.
How recalibration works:
With recalibration, you can transfer a talent or a stat bonus from one item to another item
You first need an item that has the desired stat to transfer that stat to the other item
The items must belong to the same category. In other words, to recalibrate a chest piece, you need another chest piece that has that stat. The same applies to weapons.
An example: In this screenshot, a stat bonus on a mask is replaced through the stat bonus of another mask by recalibration:
The item that “donates” the desired stat bonus is destroyed after recalibration
Recalibration costs credits and materials
Recalibration does not work with items you crafted
Advantage (compared to Division 1): You now know directly what new stat you receive on the item after recalibration. The randomness is removed.
However, you first have to find an item that has the stat you want.
In the video by MarcoStyle, you can see crafting and recalibration in motion:
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In FIFA 19Ultimate Team, TOTW 27 (Team of the Week) has been introduced. Find out which players made it here.
What is the Team of the Week? Every week, 23 players are chosen by EA Sports for the Team of the Week. These players then receive upgraded Inform cards, which are available in packs for one week.
The best players in TOTW 27: The strongest Inform card with an overall rating of 90 goes to Di Maria. De Vrij (86) and Richarlison (86) also received very strong new cards.
Last weekend, Lionel Messi scored a hat trick against Betis Sevilla. This was reason enough for many experts to expect him in TOTW 27. Therefore, it is quite surprising that he did not receive an Inform card.
This would have been by far the strongest card of the Team of the Week 27.
The new Inform card of Di Maria: This week, Di Maria receives his third TOTW card in FUT 19.
3rd Inform Card Di Maria (90
Compared to his last Inform card, a lot has improved. All stats received a nice boost. However, his shooting and passing attributes made the biggest jump.
Shooting: 81 -> 87
Passing: 86 -> 90
All Inform Cards of Di Maria
It is also interesting that the new Inform card of Di Maria has received a position change. You can now place him in the forward position. And that’s not a bad idea, given the new top stats of this card.
Players from the Bundesliga in TOTW 27: This week Delaney (84), Kruse (84), and Weghorst (84) made it into the Team of the Week.
Bronze or Silver TOTW cards can also be found in the corresponding Bronze and Silver packs.
The chances of actually pulling a card from the TOTW, however, are very low.
On the Transfer Market: The Inform cards from the Team of the Week will also be found on the Transfer Market. Here, the prices for the best players are extremely high.
The German development team Sandbox Interactive has announced the transition of Albion Online to a free-to-play model. The MMORPG will then be free to play.
When will Albion Online be free-to-play? On April 10 at 12:00 PM our time, the switch in the payment system is scheduled to take place. From then on, all players who want to play Albion Online will be able to access the servers for free.
The game client for the game is available on the official website and needs to be downloaded. Alternatively, the game can also be played via Steam.
What changes with the transition? To currently play the MMORPG Albion Online, you must purchase one of the starter kits. These include access to the game, gold, a premium account for a limited time, and special items.
These starter packages previously cost between 30 and 100 Euros. They are currently reduced by 34%. However, they will be completely removed with the transition to free-to-play.
Those who purchased such a package in advance will additionally receive:
A mount skin
Gold
and premium currency.
This also applies to all veterans of Albion.
Otherwise, there are no changes to the game system. All free-to-play players will receive full access, and the premium system will remain in place.
The new ghost wolf as a reward for veterans
New Patch brings randomized dungeons and a new tutorial
Together with the announcement of the payment system switch, Sandbox Interactive today released the Oberon update. This brought among other things the new dungeons.
What are randomized dungeons? This type of dungeon is designed to provide players with variety. Entrances appear randomly in the open world and are not shown on the map.
When entered, they are supposed to be randomly generated. The strength of the enemies depends on the area you are in. In safe zones, the dungeons should also be doable in small groups. In the Outlands, however, only in larger groups.
The rewards are supposed to depend on the difficulty of the dungeons. Each visit should, according to the developers, be worthwhile. Completing a dungeon should take between 15 and 40 minutes.
What else did the patch bring? The Oberon update also brought reworking of the tutorial and the quality of the game:
A brand new tutorial for a better start for free-to-play players
Improvements in crafting and transmutation times
New settings for graphic options
Improvements to client performance
Protection against spam in chat
Some balance changes
The trailer for the Oberon patch
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How has it been for Albion recently? The Nimue update from November 21, 2018 was very well received by the players. The innovations in GvG and several other changes have also pushed player numbers up.
In the Steam charts, the MMORPG saw an increase in November and also in January and February of this year. At peak times, about 560 players played Albion Online via Steam simultaneously.
Sandbox Interactive published the latest FAQ with their player numbers. Between 9,500 and nearly 11,500 players log in daily.
Currently, 35 people are working on the development of Albion. However, they would like to expand the team if the game allows it. Originally, more than 50 people worked on the game. In early 2018 many of them were laid off.
Roadmap gives players hope: A general roadmap for the game has also been published in the forum. The goal of the upcoming updates is to revise the Outland map and to gather players for PvP.
Additionally, further changes to faction wars and guild fights are planned.
What is Albion Online?
Albion Online is a sandbox MMORPG set in a medieval setting. The focus of the game is on the economy and on PvP. There are also some interesting features for character customization and player housing.
More about the structure of the game and an initial assessment can be found in our review from August 2017:
The new mobile MMORPG Era of Legends has been released for Android devices. The role-playing game features a lot, but strongly resembles the MMORPG classic World of Warcraft.
What is Era of Legends? Era of Legends is a mobile MMORPG released on March 19, 2019, for Android. Apple users will have to wait a bit longer; an iOS port is not yet available but is expected to come.
The setup is quite classic: You create a character from eight different classes and play with other people.
You have an open world with dungeons, quests, and loot to explore and conquer. You can find a first gameplay impression in the embedded Youtube video.
These are the features of Era of Legends: Era of Legends offers both PvP and PvE features. You can fight bosses and monsters with friends in raids or battle other players in arenas in 3v3 or 5v5 matches.
That’s why it looks like WoW: The trailer shown above strongly resembles some aspects of the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. The characters shown could also be adventuring in Azeroth:
The sorceress from Era of Legends could also be a gnome from WoW.
Also, some other creatures like the griffons particularly with their armor look like the armored griffons from World of Warcraft. Moreover, many of the features appear almost copied:
3v3 and 5v5 arenas are popular modes from PvP in World of Warcraft
Mounts, pets, and skins (“transmogs”) are also popular to collect in WoW
some sound effects sound the same
All of this makes Era of Legends look very much like World of Warcraft, just in a mobile version.
Griffons in Era of Legends.
An armored white griffon in WoW. Image source: wowhead.
Apex Legends offers free loot boxes in the Battle Pass for Season 1. But if you don’t want random loot, you can currently use a simple trick to make the loot more specific.
What is the problem with the loot boxes in the Pass? The Battle Pass for Season 1 in Apex Legends contains several free loot boxes at certain levels. These include a guaranteed epic item once and later a legendary item.
The problem is that there are tons of items in Apex. Your guaranteed Epic or Legendary loot can also be a skin for a hero you don’t play, a silly banner, or an alternate look for the unpopular weapon Mozambique.
In Belgium, there is no random loot, only crafting parts.
This is how crafting works: The crafting parts can be specifically converted into loot. Exactly the stuff you want. You simply select the desired object in your weapons or legends menu and click on “Unlock”.
Here’s how many crafting parts you need:
Common: 30
Rare: 60
Epic: 400
Legendary: 1,200
This is how much crafting parts you get in Belgium: Belgian players regularly receive crafting parts. In total, there are:
Level 26: 250 parts
Level 43: 60 parts
Level 53: 60 parts
Level 73: 60 parts
Level 83: 60 parts
Level 86: 800 parts
Level 93: 60 parts
That adds up to 1,350 crafting parts, enough to craft any legendary part immediately. Overall, this is less than you would get from loot boxes, which would guarantee 5 rare and one epic and legendary item each. But the prospect of guaranteed loot instead of RNG loot is more attractive to many players.
No one wants a legendary Mozambique!
This is how you bypass the loot boxes: So if you don’t want random loot, you have to move to Belgium or use this trick. Because according to some Reddit users, it’s currently quite easy to set your region to Belgium by adjusting your account on the EA website.
How that works is explained in the following video.
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Wait, is that allowed? Apparently, yes, but don’t expect this workaround to last forever. EA surely won’t be happy that you are circumventing loot boxes so easily. It’s quite possible that additional restrictions will be implemented soon to ensure that you are really Belgian.
However, according to a Reddit user, this action might also send a signal to EA that loot boxes are simply not well-received by many players and that this needs to change.
Shiny Sonnfel and Lunastein are now live in Pokémon GO, but these shiny Pokémon are something truly special. They are the first regional shinies in the game.
This is what makes the shinies so rare: Lunastein and Sonnfel are not found all over the world. While Lunastein can be caught here in Europe, Sonnfel can only be found in other regions of the world.
For us German players, this means that Sonnfel cannot currently be caught. Therefore, a shiny of that Pokémon is even rarer.
This is known about Shiny Sonnfel and Lunastein
Here you can find the regional Pokémon: Since the event that has started, the two Pokémon have swapped their locations. This will continue to be the case after the event ends.
The two regional Pokémon Sonnfel and Lunastein
Lunastein can now be found in Europe, Asia, and Australia, while Sonnfel appears in North and South America as well as in Africa.
This is what it means for German players: We will only find Lunastein here for now. If you want a shiny Sonnfel, you will need to travel to other regions of the world.
How rare Lunastein is: In the current plant event, Lunastein can be found quite frequently. However, once this event is over, that regional Pokémon is likely to be much harder to find. It will become a very rare shiny.
If you absolutely want a shiny Lunastein, you should take advantage of the current event as much as possible.
This is what the shinies of Lunastein and Sonnfel look like
Is there still a chance for Sonnfel? The regional Pokémon have already swapped their regions last year. A further change cannot be ruled out.
This is why it’s so special: Lunastein and Sonnfel are the first shinies that are regional. All other shinies can be caught worldwide. For Sonnfel, you now have to travel or hope for another change.
Currently, Lunastein and Sonnfel are not in raids. However, these bosses are available:
In Fortnite a new weapon has gone live today: the Stone Throwing Pistol. This pirate weapon was previously torn apart by the community, but now it proves to be useful or at least interesting. It allows for wonderful jumping and avoiding fall damage.
What the new weapon can do: The Stone Throwing Pistol came today in the new update to Fortnite. It deals high damage but has significant drawbacks:
You can only fire one shot with it, then you have to reload
the reload takes an eternally long 3 seconds
the Stone Throwing Pistol only works at close range
it also knocks the player back and the target opponent back
What players said before the patch about the weapon: Players were relatively shocked when they learned the “pure” stats of the weapon through datamining. Especially the three-second reload troubled them.
In their eyes, the weapon seemed completely useless. They saw hardly any way to finish off an opponent with it.
If you were reloading it, you would simply get shot.
Moreover, there are already many pistols and handguns in the game, and an additional one seemed pointless and unnecessary to the players.
This is how the weapon is now used in Fortnite: A few hours after the update went live, first stunts on reddit show that the weapon indeed has some utility.
However, not because it deals damage, but because it knocks the player back.
The first videos demonstrate how the thing is used effectively.
Here you see a player using the Stone Throwing Pistol to catapult themselves through the air, switching to a shotgun while in flight, and then taking out the opponent.
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One can be curious about what ways the resourceful Fortnite players will find to use the weapon to their advantage. Perhaps the weapon will even find use in competitive play.
Recently, there was fear of the powerful hamster, Kugler, but now he is being thrown far away with impulse grenades: even fun items have to be balanced and countered.
A bug during the recent maintenance work on Destiny 2 allowed some players to take a look at the Eververse rewards of the Spring event “Revelry.” Here’s what they look like.
What is this bug about? During the Update 2.2.0.2 on March 19, maintenance was performed. In principle, all players should have been returned to the title screen by 5:45 PM if they had not loaded the update.
However, some Guardians unexpectedly remained in the game and noticed some strange things happening in Destiny 2. Apparently, it was due to a bug.
This event set seems to be available through the event itself and not from engrams
Bug grants early look at event rewards
How did the error manifest? Some players received items from the Eververse that they hadn’t actually earned.
For instance, one Guardian simply had the weapon ornament for the Thorn in their inventory – even though they neither owned the weapon itself nor had drawn the ornament from an engram before.
Others had various items in their character’s equipment slots that didn’t belong there at all. Some players reported having brand new ghost shells in the emblem slot or different engrams in armor or weapon slots.
Source: Reddit user MurderToysx
How could the rewards of the Spring event be viewed? Some fans found a completely new type of engram in their inventory – a so-called Glimmering Engram. Currently, this is not available in the game.
However, fans and experts are sure that this engram will be included in the Spring Festival “The Revelry” and will include corresponding Eververse event rewards.
After looking at the contents of the engram, many fans feel validated in this assumption. Not only the items, but also the description of the engram clearly indicates that the contents will only be available during the Revelry.
Warning, potential spoilers ahead! Continue at your own risk.
What’s inside the Glimmering Engram – The Highlights
Some players have already inspected the new engram and captured the contents in pictures and videos. Many items thematically align with the Spring theme.
From the event engram, you will receive:
7 ships, one of which is exotic
8 sparrows, 2 of which are exotic
An event-specific armor set for each Guardian class (separate from the event armor seen in some promotional images for Season 6)
5 emotes, one of which is exotic
8 ghost shells, 2 of which are exotic
4 ghost projections
numerous shaders and teleport effects
We have summarized the highlights for you below:
The exotic Lapin shell:
The exotic Ladybug shell:
The exotic Auroral Sparrow:
The exotic Sparrow Equinox Edge:
The exotic ship Mayfly:
The exotic emote Perfect Swing:
Many other items can be seen in this YouTube video by Keynen S:
https://youtu.be/iQNv1poMqCQ
What is known so far about the Spring event? The Spring event “The Revelry” is free for all owners of the base game and independent of any additional content.
The event starts on April 16 and runs until May 6. It takes place in the Everforest, among other locations, and offers specific armor sets (not just the sets from the event engram). Whether or what additional event rewards will be available during the Revelry is currently unknown.
Apex Legends has finally released the highly anticipated Battle Pass for Season 1. Our author and battle royale fan Jürgen has also been eagerly waiting for this. But what he got in the end made him very unhappy.
Do you remember the feeling when you were a little kid and received a gift, and in your imagination, there were all sorts of amazing things in the package? And then you open it, and it’s just a pair of lame socks in a box!
A huge disappointment that really ruins your mood. And that’s exactly how I felt yesterday with the new Battle Pass from Apex Legends.
High Expectations
This is what I expected: Those who know me know that I love gifts. This even includes loot boxes and battle passes. I just love unlocking rewards in a game that I enjoy.
When the pass finally arrived, I immediately threw 9.50 Euros at it and looked forward to the cool rewards!
But what was that? There were three rather lame skins at the start. Well, surely more will come. But nope! The majority of the pass seems to consist of some stupid stat trackers with numbers.
Hey, what’s up with that? And then there are only a few quotes for the intro, banner graphics, and colorful weapon skins. In the end, there’s one – admittedly very cool – skin for the Havoc.
These are the only new skins in the Battle Pass. Seriously?!?
What’s missing in the pass? But all the things I wanted were not in the pass. Because I wanted:
cool kill animations
more quotes (not just for the intro)
and especially crazy skins for the cool heroes in the game!
Especially the cool skins were always a reason for me to spend money in Fortnite and grind for hours!
Instead, I now have a few boring jungle fighter skins and otherwise only new looks for weapons, half of which I don’t even favor. Great job, Respawn!
Endless Grind for Lame Rewards
But okay, there’s no point in complaining. Now I’ve already bought the thing, and at least a few of the weapon skins, the quotes, and the cool level 100 Havoc are somewhat cool.
Wow, so much grind!
So, I started Apex last night and played for a good hour. That should bring me two to three levels in the pass, right?
How bad the grind is: Nope! After a good hour of gameplay with randoms – including a win – I had just over half of level 2 filled!
Wow, with 100 levels total, this will be tough for an average player to complete the pass in 90 days. Moreover, I miss the constant feeling of receiving rewards that I have gotten so used to in Fortnite.
Even a win didn’t bring a level in the pass.
That’s why the buddy bonus is dumb: And yes, I know that you get a big multiplier when playing with buddies, but I usually play Apex very late at night when none of my buddies are still online.
Why are there no challenges? The fact that Respawn does not offer challenges and quests to get bonus XP or levels in the pass doesn’t help either.
I get that the tasks in Fortnite and PUBG were sometimes quite silly, but for the developers to say, “We’d rather do nothing and give you an intense grind so you can get to know the pass” seems to me a pretty lame and cheeky excuse.
Hey, where are the challenges?
Instead of bringing dumb challenges, they could have thought about what they could do better. That the developers have already proven their good thoughts on improving the BR genre with all the wonderful gameplay ideas in Apex.
The fact that they come across as so unimaginative and conservative regarding the Battle Pass and the first season really makes me sad. In my opinion, Respawn wasted a big opportunity and fell far short of the possibilities.
But enough whining. Apex is still fun, and I’ll do my best to grind through the pass. But there remains a feeling of deep disappointment.
Do you feel the same way, or do you actually like this Spartan approach in Season 1?
A new patch is online in Overwatch. Along with the new hero Baptiste, changes are made to many heroes. Most heroes are getting buffs – except GOATS.
What’s in the patch? The biggest highlight in the patch is the new hero Baptiste. Baptiste is a combat medic who functions in Overwatch as a hybrid healer and DPS. He can heal, boost, and even make his team immortal while dealing good damage himself. You can find Baptiste’s abilities in detail in our article.
Other highlights from the patch include
Buffs for many non-GOATS heroes
Adjustments to how armor works
Adjustments to knockback and damage boosts
Many changes have already been tested earlier on the PTR. We will show you what changes in detail and what impact it has in the patch notes.
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What’s changing for the heroes: Most of the revised heroes simply receive a buff to their damage or shorter cooldowns. The buffs for McCree and Soldier 76 are particularly interesting.
Soldier 76 generally deals more damage per shot from his pulse rifle and can shoot faster after sprinting. Additionally, his Tactical Visor can now target Junkrat’s tire and Baptiste’s Immortality Field and destroy them.
McCree receives a big buff.
Which heroes are getting nerfed? A nerf is particularly given to three heroes that are often played in the currently popular GOATS composition:
Lúcio’s speed boost increases speed less significantly. However, his wall ride is faster.
Zarya’s alternate fire doesn’t grow with increasing charge but always has a diameter of 2 meters.
Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord now only increases the damage the target takes by 25% instead of 30%. However, he deals more damage with his regular shots.
Ana also receives a small nerf. Her Nanoboost now heals only 250 (previously 300). All nerfs weaken the particularly unpopular GOATS meta among viewers. How strong the impact is will soon show, as the patch will also be applied to the Overwatch League.
Zenyatta’s nerf could hit GOATS particularly hard.
What’s changing with shields and damage: All beam weapons, such as the attacks from Mei, Winston, or Symmetra, are now only reduced by 20% from armor (previously up to 50%). Damage-over-time effects are no longer reduced by armor at all. Details about the adjustment of armor were already given beforehand.
Additionally, the boosting of projectiles, such as by Mercy’s damage boost, will now be calculated when they are fired. Previously, the calculation occurred upon impact, which led to seemingly incorrect calculations in some cases.
Knockback effects should now be more consistent. Flying heroes can also now be slowed or knocked back.
The Division 2 is now being used to illustrate how many issues Anthem still has. That is really annoying, says our author Schuhmann. Especially when considering the past of The Division.
It is in the nature of things: People like comparisons.
It is also right and important to compare games to explain to potential buyers what they can expect from a game and what they cannot.
Anthem and The Division 2 can certainly be compared. Both games differ significantly from each other, but they target the same player base that is supposed to buy and play the game:
To clarify what a game will be like, I find comparisons excellent.
Also, comparisons are perfectly okay to help people decide which game they should get at the moment.
However, when that leads to a rivalry between two groups, it annoys me every time.
In 2014, there was a battle between ESO and WildStar.
This was in 2014: We had a similar situation in 2014:
The Elder Scrolls Online, a fantasy MMORPG, was released in April 2014
WildStar, a science-fiction MMORPG, in June 2014
Both games were quite different but targeted the same buyer demographic and somehow that turned into a battle of ideologies.
The great battle of 2014 was also a battle of aesthetics
Even beforehand, fans of both games were at each other’s throats, declaring how the other game would fail:
When ESO started with major issues, WildStar fans made their jokes.
When later WildStar struggled, ESO fans returned and asked: “So, where are you now?”
At least back then, it was still mocking at eye level.
This time it is different:
In 2014, both games started under similar conditions:
Both were “big online games” from new teams.
Both had significant launch difficulties and struggled to find their way.
Both received similar criticisms and faced similar headwinds.
Now with The Division 2 and Anthem, there are similarities, but two major differences:
The Division 2 is a sequel from the same team that made almost the same game back in 2016 – Anthem is a new game
Anthem receives a lot of criticism – The Division 2 is still in its “honeymoon” phase and is being praised.
Where is Anthem headed?
This is what is being said: Just in the last few days, major “This is how to do it right, BioWare” articles have appeared on US sites:
On TechRadar it states “After Anthem, The Division 2 now shows BioWare how to make a looter shooter”
On Insider it reads “A new game set in the ruins of Washington, D.C. is the new best shooter and Anthem should be ashamed.”
In comments on our site The Division 2 is frequently referenced and praised in articles about Anthem.
One user writes:
Since last week I have been playing The Division 2, and it feels so immediately after Anthem as if it were a single, realized looter shooter dream – technically/gameplay/quality of life/balance/game mechanics/world/story/immersion/variety/loot spiral/AI/combat dynamics/scope/depth – EVERYTHING is eons ahead of Anthem
The fans of Anthem are driven to fury by this. They cannot hear it anymore.
The Division 2 was born in pain
Why is The Division 2 currently so good? The Division 1 was down for a year in 2016, and the developers admitted: “Our game is not fun.” The Division 1 was ridiculed and scorned.
Apparently, Massive has drawn the right lessons from this: The original team seems to have started developing “The Division 2” back in 2016 while other Ubisoft studios dealt with repairing and improving The Division 1.
The Division 2 is in 2019 in a completely different situation than Anthem, as the developers have learned from the mistakes of the first part. They also had the opportunity to do so.
With Anthem, we are where The Division was three years ago. A studio in the search phase.
Yes, The Division 2 can really be a role model, but: Massive took three years to achieve this.
That’s why I find the comparison understandable, but annoying: Currently, I find comparisons between Anthem and The Division 2 more annoying than truly helpful. They lead to players being put in a bad mood. They are not productive.
Ultimately, both games are in different situations.
The comparison seems to be, at the moment, as if someone wanted to sprinkle salt in the wound or kick someone who is already down.
The comparisons of Anthem from the perspective of The Division buyers, who are glad to have made a “correct decision”, I find understandable – yet they annoy me somewhat.
It seems a bit like the behavior of a “bad winner” who has forgotten that they were just as down three years ago.
By the way: Two years ago, we made an article to give hope to the then quite dejected fans of The Division 1.
Back then, we compared the situation of The Division 1 with that of The Elder Scrolls Online, which had struggled over the last three years and had transitioned from a crisis game to a new MMORPG hit.
I find such comparisons, in retrospect, really good.
The digital sales on PC are also excluded from the statistics.
Anthem is already included in the EA Access Premier subscription service.
What do the numbers indicate? In the USA, Anthem was the best-selling game in February 2019, according to the NPD Group. The market researchers track physical sales at retailers and obtain data from digital sales of the publishers (except for PC).
According to a representative of the market research group, Anthem was the best-selling game of February 2019 and is currently in second place among the best-selling games of the year 2019.
The most sold game of the young year 2019 so far is Kingdom Hearts 3, which was released on January 25, 2019.
Retail sales have significantly declined in recent years, since 2017. Anthem seems to be performing much better digitally than in retail.
Among the best-selling games of 2019, Anthem was outperformed by Kingdom Hearts 3.
How is Anthem rated? Despite the sales success, opinions about the game are mixed. Shortly after the launch, the press gave a Metascore of 61 on Metacritic.
Many tests and reviews from the press are now available for The Division 2. This overall rating is displayed on Metacritic.
What are these grades? Metacritic is a site that collects review scores from around the world and presents them in an overview. From this, a Metascore – an average overall rating of all reviews – is calculated.
This allows for a quick view of how games like The Division 2 perform in the reviews of the press.
Many interested parties wait for this Metascore and the reviews of testers before purchasing a game. The ratings on Metacritic thus have a significant influence on the purchasing decision of many players.
Rating Overview for PS4, Xbox One, and PC
Just over a week after the early access launch of The Division 2, many representatives of the press have settled on a score for Ubisoft’s shared-world shooter. They needed this time to play through the campaign, get an overview of the endgame, and form an opinion.
Here you get an overview of the previous ratings (as of March 20) – bearing in mind that Metacritic calculates all scores into its own rating system (x out of 100 possible points, with 100 being the maximum).
The Division 2 – PS4 Ratings
So many scores are available: For the PS4 version, there are currently 15 reviews.
This is how the current score should be interpreted: Most reviews rate The Division 2 with a score significantly above 80. However, as there are currently still relatively few reviews available, the few negative scores drag the Metascore down, particularly for the PS4 and Xbox versions.
Nevertheless, The Division 2 is already doing quite well. With an average rating of 80 on the PS4, The Division 2 is among the highest-rated current PS4 games. For comparison:
Red Dead Redemption 2 tops the list with 97
The highly acclaimed Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has 83
Battlefield 5 has 73
With 80, The Division 2 is currently ranked 14th among the highest-rated PS4 games on Metacritic.
Metascore comparison with previous MMO shooters (PS4):
Anthem has 55
Destiny 2 received 85 at launch
The Division 1 received 80
Agents in The Division 2
Some Opinions on The Division 2
Review from GameStar
This is what GameStar says: The colleagues from GameStar rated The Division 2 with an 88.
Praised for among other things
Presentation with a varied lighting atmosphere, solid German speakers, and good sound design
The game design with a gripping weapon feel and a motivating loot cycle
The balance with intelligent opponents and well-balanced weapon types
The atmosphere with dynamic fights and many details in the game world
The Division 2 is enjoyable both solo and in co-op.
Criticized are
A few bugs and graphical errors,
recycled missions in the endgame
and the uninspiring story with uninteresting characters
“The Division 2 presents itself as a polished loot shooter with meaningful detail improvements upon release.”
GameStar
Review from GameWatcher
This is what GameWatcher says: This site has so far given the highest score with 95.
Praised are
The great world
The fantastic combat
The graphics and sound
The weapons that feel great
The voice acting and semi-realistic story
The endgame
Criticized are
The long loading screens to get into the game and to log out
Balance issues with skills and weapon mods
The skills, which do not feel as impressive compared to The Division 1
“A great game with fantastic world-building and gameplay. The biggest problems of The Division 2 can be easily fixed.”
GameWatcher
Review from Variety and Guardian
The reviews with the worst scores come from Variety and Guardian.
Variety states that The Division 2 exhibits ruthless violence and becomes repetitive after just a few hours. It is blind to basic narrative techniques and quite clumsy. No characters stand out, they lack personalities.
The Guardian concludes that The Division 2 is a rather boring and macabre game – and gives 2 out of 5 stars.
Blizzard eliminates the paid option for loot boxes in Heroes of the Storm. The patch notes for the current update show that you no longer need Gems to purchase the boxes. Players are now fearing that this could be the beginning of the end for the MOBA.
What has Blizzard announced? The patch notes from March 18 state that loot boxes in Heroes of the Storm can no longer be purchased with the premium currency Gems. Instead, they can now only be acquired with Gold that you earn.
Blizzard has not provided an explanation. It does not appear to be a temporary change, but rather a permanent one.
You now only acquire loot boxes in HotS with earned Gold.
A very big change
What do the loot boxes offer? In the boxes, you can find the following:
Common items such as sprays and emojis.
Rare items such as common skins and mounts.
Epic items, including new heroes, special skins, and mounts as well as announcer packs.
Legendary items such as the latest heroes, as well as special skins and mounts.
Will there still be loot boxes? Yes. You can still earn the boxes or purchase them with Gold. Only the option to buy loot boxes with Gems will be removed.
What does this mean for HotS? The game loses its gambling character, as loot boxes have often been referred to as gambling in the community. However, Blizzard is also losing a revenue source for the MOBA.
How will HotS continue to be funded?
How are players reacting? The community’s opinion is divided. Some are happy about it, as they generally do not like loot boxes, especially when they can be purchased with real money.
yoloswagrofl writes on Reddit: “This is fantastic! I’m so glad the community is being heard.”
tzucon comments: “The decision is probably related to recent investigations regarding gambling and loot boxes in some countries. I don’t think Blizzard wants to get on the radar of authorities.”
Shadowdragonuniverse says: “Removing the paid option for the boxes could lead to HotS being discontinued, as it surely won’t generate as much revenue as WoW or Overwatch.”
joetothejack disagrees, stating: “It’s a stroke of genius from Blizzard. Players will now buy boxes, mounts, and announcers with in-game Gold and spend their money on new heroes.”
How this change will affect Heroes of the Storm in the long term remains to be seen. The future of the game does not look too bright:
This is the official status:Official information about the next installment of the “Call of Duty” series is scarce. So far, it is only known that there will be a massive and expandable multiplayer world as well as enjoyable co-op gameplay. A single-player campaign has also been confirmed. The responsible studio is Infinity Ward – the creators of the entire Modern Warfare series.
The game’s roots would lie in one of the most important stories of Call of Duty. However, fresh rumors may now reveal some additional potential details.
New Rumors About Call of Duty 2019
About these rumors: The US site GamingIntel claims to have received new information from its own “exclusive sources” regarding the upcoming Call of Duty 2019. It concerns modes, weapons, maps, and the general direction of the game.
While the site does not elaborate on the mentioned sources, it is generally regarded as serious and reliable. Nonetheless, these supposed details should be viewed with the appropriate degree of skepticism. As of now, these are unconfirmed rumors.
Weapons and Maps from Modern Warfare 3 and 4: GamingIntel refers to the upcoming Call of Duty as Modern Warfare 4.
According to its sources, numerous popular weapons and maps from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and 4 are set to make their way into the traditional multiplayer of Modern Warfare 4. The source did not comment on which specific weapons and maps are involved, as such aspects may change during development.
This decision was justified by the fact that the campaign of Modern Warfare 2 is supposed to appear in a remastered version – but without multiplayer. Accordingly, multiplayer elements would flow into the multiplayer component of Modern Warfare 4.
Furthermore, Modern Warfare 4 is supposed to be exactly what Black Ops 4 is for the Black Ops series. They aim to evolve certain key mechanics of the series and bring back popular elements in remastered form.
No Specialists Anymore: According to the sources, Modern Warfare 4 is said to forgo specialists or other class mechanics such as the divisions from Call of Duty: WW II and lead the series back to its roots.
This specifically means: There will be no powerful abilities or over-the-top weapons as seen in Black Ops 3 and 4 or in Infinite Warfare. Players will have to rely on the classic standard loadout of Call of Duty.
No Battle Royale: The source also revealed that Modern Warfare 4 will not have its own battle royale mode, unlike Black Ops 4. Instead, they want to focus on the single player, the traditional multiplayer, and the co-op experience.
No Zombies Mode: There will supposedly also not be a zombies mode in Modern Warfare 4, according to the source.
After 5 years full of the undead, it’s time for something different. Zombies are to be replaced by another co-op experience in the style of the survival mode from Modern Warfare 3.
There, one also fought against waves of AI soldiers in a kind of horde mode. Players could order air support with earned currency, acquire new weapons, or call in AI-controlled comrades for support.
Unfortunately, how exactly the new co-op mode of the upcoming Call of Duty will look like has not been revealed.
The online shooter Evolve was not a big success. The servers were shut down last fall. But now the developers are back with Back 4 Blood, an online game that sounds a lot like Left 4 Dead.
What is Back 4 Blood? Basically, it is a spiritual successor to the zombie online shooter Left 4 Dead. No wonder, it was also developed by Turtle Rock studio when it was still part of Valve.
The developers don’t want to reveal much about the gameplay yet. But we can expect the following:
You will hunt zombies in a team just like in Left 4 Dead.
You will experience a story through a campaign.
There will also be PvP, which will probably play out similarly to Evolve.
The team will not integrate a battle royale mode.
There are supposed to be some unnamed innovations compared to Left 4 Dead and Evolve.
Basically, the team wants to return to its roots, but modernize them a bit.
The creators of Evolve want to return to the zombie genre with Back 4 Blood.
Not Left 4 Dead 3, but something of its own
That’s why it’s not Left 4 Dead 3: The developers explicitly state that they are not making Left 4 Dead 3. On the one hand, they do not have the naming rights, and on the other hand, they want to offer a modern and new gaming experience that is based on Left 4 Dead.
Fans should therefore not expect exactly what they got with Left 4 Dead.
How are the players reacting? On Reddit, this announcement is being discussed. In the process, the failed online shooter Evolve is also a topic. Players are somewhat tempering their expectations because of the flop. However, the excitement about getting a game in the style of Left 4 Dead is also present.
Finget says: “Good news but I don’t want to get my hopes up. Evolve was the first game that the studio produced itself and it was a flop.”
Mrbrick states: “These are great news. No zombie shooter has been really good since Left 4 Dead.”
Left 4 Dead is the model for the zombie online shooter Back 4 Blood.
Everything is still in flux
What about microtransactions? In the FAQ on Turtle Rock’s website, the developers explain that they primarily want to make a good game. Should microtransactions find their way into Back 4 Blood, they should feel valuable for the players.
When and for which systems will the game be released? Back 4 Blood will be released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The team has not yet announced a release date.
What happened to Turtle Rock’s dark fantasy shooter? The developer studio announced about two years ago that it would produce a dark fantasy co-op shooter for Perfect World. The FAQ on the studio’s website now states that both companies have since parted ways. Therefore, the game will no longer be released.
Many Guardians are currently complaining about the monotonous rotations during the Weekly Reset in Destiny 2, and rightly so.
Why Destiny 2 is frustrating right now: Yesterday, on March 19, was the Weekly Reset. This weekly reset is supposed to bring fresh activities and some variety to Guardian life. But in the last weeks and even months, the same activities were constantly rotating.
Specifically, these are:
the Nightfall strike: The strikes surrounding Nokris (Strange Terrain) and Xol (Will of the Thousands) are appearing way too often. Especially Nokris is a regular guest. Looking at just the last 5 weeks, this strike was featured on March 19, March 5, February 26, and February 19 as Nightfall.
Ada-1’s weapon forms: This character brings only the sword and automatic rifle weapon forms with similar frequency.
Ada-1 and Nokris (see title image) are currently quite annoying.
Why is this annoying? If the same activities and weapon forms are constantly available, it’s not only boring but also really frustrating. Guardians also need other content for their progress:
In the Nightfall, the strike “The Corrupted” is especially called for. This is required for a title. Guardians point out on reddit that it has been 10 weeks since The Corrupted was featured – on January 8.
Moreover, you can’t access all Nightfall-exclusive rewards if Nokris and Xol keep coming up in the rotation.
And at Ada-1, Guardians also want to receive other weapon forms. The Hammerhead, the machine gun, is for example desired.
Xol – one of the Worm Gods
Bungie is looking into the matter
This is what the Guardians say: In the MeinMMO comments of the Weekly Resets, many readers express their frustration:
Shin Malphur writes: “Again Xol… again Nokris… again no The Corrupted. Sorry Bungie, but your “randomization system” is terrible […].” He demands that Bungie take a few minutes to review the Weekly Reset – or to create a proper random generator.
Also, I_Sarius writes frustrated: “The same crap as every Tuesday, thanks for that!”
And Lars Patzenbein asks: “Honestly, what’s up with that?” Because Ada-1 doesn’t have the Hammerhead again.
This topic is also making waves on reddit right now.
With nearly 4000 upvotes, one of the top topics is: “We’ve had the same Nightfalls and NO machine gun weapon form for weeks!”
With 1400 upvotes, a user complains that The Corrupted has not been the Nightfall for 10 weeks.
And several posts with fewer upvotes are complaining about the same issue.
This is what Bungie says: Community Manager Cozmo commented on all these complaints on reddit a few hours ago. He states that this will be forwarded to the team. Specifically, he mentions the issue that The Corrupted hasn’t been the Nightfall for 10 weeks. Players should get the chance to earn the title again.
It remains to be seen when these contents will be playable again and whether Bungie will permanently adjust the Weekly Reset rotation.
Anthem tells the story of freelancers who protect the people from enemies and monsters. In early concepts, however, the game was supposed to focus on the survival of a ship on an alien planet.
Where does the other story come from? In early concepts, Anthem was supposed to tell a very different story than the one we have seen since the release. This can be read in the art book for Anthem, where some developers talk about the game’s backstory. Here you can view some pages of the book in the Google Play Store.
In the beginning, when Anthem was nothing more than “Project Dylan”, the game was supposed to revolve more around survival in a hostile world.
What was the story? In early drafts, the players were supposed to come from a futuristic Earth. With their ship, they would have crashed in the “Bermuda Triangle of space” and landed on an alien planet.
In an early concept, the Javelins were spacesuits repurposed for combat.
The survivors of the crash had to settle in this new, dangerous world. The Javelin were initially nothing more than suits used for space travel, which were then repurposed into combat suits.
The team even considered that players could salvage parts of the crashed spaceship to build structures or improve their suits.
A small glimpse into an early stage of Anthem, or rather Project Dylan, was already given in a teaser for E3 2014:
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What is the story of Anthem now? The players take on the role of a freelancer who protects the people of Fort Tarsis in their Javelin. The world was created by the “Shapers” but is still incomplete.
For its creation, the Shapers used the “Hymn of Creation”, which no one really knows where it comes from. However, the hymn cannot be controlled and continues to create – or destroy – even without the Shapers.
Even now, Anthem still has surprising stories to offer:
The new raid bosses in Pokémon GO are focused on grass Pokémon. You also get the chance to obtain many shinies. We will tell you what to expect.
These are the new bosses: In addition to the grass event, there are also many grass raid bosses in Pokémon GO. Additionally, there are various shinies that you can obtain from the raids.
We will show you the list of current raid bosses and then give you an insight into the possible shinies.
These are the raid bosses for the grass event
Alola-Kokowei is one of the current raid bosses
Raid level
Raid boss
1
Tuska Sonnkern Endivie Loturzel Shinux
2
Flunkifer Roselia Alola-Kokowei Kokowei Reptain
3
Alola-Raichu Machomei Kapilz Tangela
4
Absol Despotar Alola-Knogga Tengulist Sarzenia
5
Dialga
Which raids can I complete alone? If you are level 35+, you should be able to defeat all raids up to and including level 3 raids solo.
The level 4 raids should be manageable with three people. Absol and Tengulist are even quite easy to defeat with two.
Absol and Despotar can be found in level 4 raids
This is interesting: In the level 2 raids, you get double the chance at Kokowei. This Pokémon appears in both its normal form and its Alola form.
These shinies are available: Not only grass Pokémon are available as raid bosses. There are also many Pokémon that can be shiny. We have a list of all possible shinies:
Sonnkern
Endivie
Sheinux
Flunkifer
Roselia
Alola-Raichu
Absol
Alola-Knogga
Alola-Raichu is also available as shiny.
How likely are the shinies? There are no exact numbers on shiny probability in raids. Flunkifer is said to have a chance of about 1 in 35. Absol, on the other hand, is said to have a probability of 1 in 70.
