During a match of the Overwatch League, there were loud boos. These reflect the fans’ dissatisfaction with the current state of the meta.
What led to the boos? On Sunday, February 25, there was a match between the Houston Outlaws and New York Excelsior in the Overwatch League. Both teams are among the better teams in the league, with New York remaining undefeated in Season 2 while Houston is currently struggling.
Nevertheless, the match created excitement as the teams faced each other on the map Temple of Anubis. Excelsior played defense with a GOATS composition, which the commentators typically refer to simply as “defensive line-up” for understanding.
Houston wanted to start the attack with Pharah and Tracer on their team, which earned them loud applause from the audience. However, after seeing the enemy composition, they quickly switched to GOATS themselves and were booed for it.
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This is what it’s about: GOATS is a composition consisting of three tanks and three healers, which originally (from Team GOATS) consists of six precisely defined heroes:
D.Va
Reinhardt
Zarya
Brigitte
Moira
Lúcio
The composition combines strong shields and a lot of health with enormous healing. Due to its strength in almost every situation and the lack of effective counters to GOATS, this setup has been the meta of Overwatch for a long time.
GOATS is a defensive composition that robs the fights of both dynamics and action. Offensive heroes with flashy plays currently have no place in the meta; the fights are very static.
In the end, it’s all about which Zarya can set a Graviton Surge first so that the opposing team is wiped out. It’s a constant back and forth until a team makes a mistake or gets lucky.
The first sales figures of Anthem are in. However, the retail sales from the UK are not particularly good and could mean serious problems for the game.
For several days now, Anthem has been available and many players have dived into the new co-op shooter from BioWare. But how many players are there actually? Is Anthem selling well? The answer is a bit more complicated.
Because at least in comparison to other top titles, the retail sales figures of Anthem are rather low.
Only a quarter of Destiny 2: The basis of these statements are the sales figures in the UK. They are not representative of the whole world, but they often give a first impression of a game’s performance. This refers to so-called “box sales,” meaning the sales of the classic box version of a game. Digital sales are not included, as they are unknown:
On the launch weekend, Anthem sold only about a quarter as many units as Destiny 2 – but had less time since the game was released on Thursday.
In comparison with its predecessor Destiny (1), it’s even only 10% of the sold units.
Anthem also lags behind the sales figures of single-player games, such as Kingdom Hearts 3 or the remake of Resident Evil 2.
Stay informed: All the latest information about Anthem is always available on our Anthem Facebook page.
The retail sales figures do not tell the whole story
Online sales are the big unknown: Nevertheless, all these sales figures should initially be taken with caution. Because Anthem can of course not only be purchased as a box version but also bought digitally or played in conjunction with the “Origin Access Premier” service on PC.
So how high the actual sales figures of Anthem are can only be guessed.
EA has estimated the digital sales on PS4 and Xbox One at around 47% for the past year – this at least suggests that Anthem is not doing very well.
It is known that there is a significant shift from “retail sales” to “digital sales.” When Destiny 2 was released, significantly more was sold in stores than today.
Fans are worried about support: In various discussions on this topic, initial fears and concerns from the community are already emerging. There are fears that EA could simply “drop” Anthem, as they did with Mass Effect: Andromeda. In this case, planned DLCs were simply scrapped and never released.
Are you surprised by these sales figures for Anthem? Do you think the game is performing better in other regions (like the USA)? Or are the digital sales figures perhaps much higher?
In The Division 2 the setting shifts to the U.S. capital Washington D.C. Now developer Massive explains why the map offers significantly more variety than that of the first game.
In an interview with Gadgets360, the focus is on the game world of The Division 2. This is one of the biggest innovations compared to its predecessor. It’s not just set in a different city, but also in a different season.
The Division 2 takes place 7 months after the events of the wintry Christmas first part, in the middle of summer. Creative Director Chadi El-Zibaoui now emphasizes the advantages of the new setting.
More Variety, Not Just Visually
This is what Massive’s El-Zibaoui says: El-Zibaoui himself was previously a level designer. He still finds the setting of the first game “beautiful”. However, New York was “built on a grid”, while Washington D.C. would offer “much more variety”.
The Division 2 benefits especially on two levels from the new setting:
Washington D.C. plays an important role in the Division universe, which is especially exciting for story fans.
Additionally, the level design brings a lot of variety to the game and makes the game world significantly more diverse than in the predecessor.
Visually alone, the change of setting makes a big difference:
This is what the map of The Division 2 offers: El-Zibaoui names several examples that clearly distinguish D.C. in the game from New York, such as
the large, open areas and levels
and the historical monuments and government buildings.
Additionally, the warmer climate allows for significantly more vegetation.
However, there are some places like the residential areas that, aside from their height, resemble parts of New York.
In this context, El-Zibaoui mentions the 3 different Dark Zones that are scattered across D.C. in the west, south, and east. They are a good example of how differently the map of The Division 2 has been designed.
You can learn more about the Dark Zones in our special:
What does Washington D.C. offer? The map of The Division 2 is divided into 6 different regions:
Suburbs
Nature
Residentials
Commercial
Government
Historic
This is the map of D.C. including the 6 marked regions
The game world is significantly larger than in The Division 1. This is also due to the fact that Massive “recreated” the city at a 1:1 scale.
A large intersection has the same dimensions as in reality. This is supposed to apply to the entire map. In the predecessor, Manhattan was still largely compressed.
In the MMORPG Black Desert, there is usually a lot of complaining. However, this has improved lately. At the beginning of 2019, there is even praise for the new content, and the marketplace is also being received better.
What do players currently like? The mood in Black Desert has noticeably improved lately. This is especially due to the new content:
Shadow Arena: This is the battle royale mode of the MMORPG, where 50 players loot items and fight monsters and other players to be the last survivor – new players can also participate without having to gather very good equipment first.
Dark Rifts: These events appear randomly in the game world and offer participants exciting battles against nasty bosses with interesting rewards – Black Desert fans celebrate this content, as both newcomers and veterans can find a challenge and obtain good items.
How players are reacting: These two changes are being well received in the community.
huntersood writes on Reddit: “I loved all the changes so far. Dark Rifts are fun and rewarding, the Shadow Arena is not my thing, but I will never complain about more gameplay options with good rewards and incentives.”
ANewErra says: “I am considering returning to the game.”
Players are currently satisfied
What is the opinion in the forum? The new features are also being discussed in the official Black Desert forum. Generally, there is a better mood here than a few months ago. The forum indicates that, in addition to the Shadow Arena and Dark Rifts, the new marketplace plays a significant role in why Black Desert is now better received.
Because in the marketplace, most items are now constantly available without the need to bid on them.
Furthermore, you can access banking functions for items and silver from any city.
Additionally, a “pre-order” system has strengthened the in-game economy.
The marketplace can now generally be used much better.
The improved communication from Pearl Abyss through producer letters is currently being praised and highlighted.
Now the question arises how long the good mood in Black Desert Online can last.
Anthem offers you legendary contracts that are meant to keep you busy in the endgame. How to unlock this type of contracts, we have explained here for you.
What are contracts? Contracts are short side tasks in Anthem that increase your reputation with a certain faction. For each faction, you need to visit a different NPC:
Yarrow for the Freelancers
Brin for the Sentinels
Matthias for the Arcanists
Contracts are already offered to you during the Anthem campaign at a low level. The normal contracts are meant to serve as a kind of “training” for what players can expect in the endgame.
Matthias Sumner is the contact person for the Arcanists.
Legendary contracts are among the activities in the endgame and provide a means to further improve your Javelin. They do not guarantee masterworks or legendary items, but the chance of getting the best gear is higher in legendary contracts than in normal contracts.
Faction missions can be recognized by the icon with triangles, as shown here at the top with “This is how Freelancers work”.
How to unlock legendary contracts: You receive legendary contracts when you have completed the Anthem campaign and have reached level 30 with your pilot. You should also have completed the faction story. This means, if you want the legendary contracts of the Sentinels, you must complete their story as well.
If you want to receive the legendary contracts of all factions, you must also have played through the stories of all three factions. You complete them when you finish all tasks of the factions. If you regularly talk to the NPCs in Fort Tarsis after your missions, you will automatically pick up the storylines of the factions.
You can find the Freelancer contracts with Yarrow.
You do not need to have reached the full reputation points for the respective faction to get the legendary contracts. Just complete the Anthem campaign, finish the side quests of the factions, and reach level 30. Then the legendary contracts should be available to you.
How many legendary contracts can you receive? While normal contracts of the factions can be repeated, legendary contracts are limited: Players can accept three legendary contracts per day, one contract per faction.
More guides to Anthem can be found in our overview:
A shitstorm is raging against the football skins in Fortnite . We tell you what players hate about these skins.
These are the skins: Since mid-February, the football skins have been available for purchase in Fortnite again. These skins were first released for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and are available again in Fortnite. They returned to the shop on February 16.
This is the problem: As the US site Polygon explains, many players now see a problem with these skins. For them, this outfit represents the new “Try-Hard Skin” and stands for aggressive gameplay. A shitstorm against the football players broke out on Twitter.
That’s why players have a problem with the skin
That’s why the skin is hated: The football players were particularly popular among many YouTubers and streamers. Therefore, many fans also emulated their idols and purchased the outfit.
The prejudice is: Players now want to prove that they are just as good in Fortnite as the streamers. Anyone wearing a football skin is determined to get every possible kill. Aggressive gameplay is the consequence.
It can be assumed that when one sees such a skin, they will also be attacked. At least that’s what some players claim.
This is what the players say: On Twitter, there are real hate messages directed at the wearers of the football skins. We present you some highlights:
The football skin is especially something for kids, says this player This player simply hates all football skins. No matter what they do.The football skin wearers should not have a good morning. At least according to this player.
Football players in Fortnite are the new John Wicks
They are not the first skins: This kind of hate towards skins is not new. The John Wick skin from Season 3 received similar hate. This skin could only be obtained if you played a lot. The John Wick was one of the first “Try-Hard Skins” in Fortnite.
Season 8 is just around the corner! Check out the first teaser for the new season here:
Fans demand German aircraft for paratroopers in Battlefield 5. However, the response from a developer is met with criticism and sparks discussions in the community about the expectations of AAA titles.Because the developer presents fans with a choice.
This is the problem at hand: When German troops attack in the Airborne mode of Grand Operations in Battlefield 5, they jump from Allied aircraft. The crew members are also clearly visible as being part of the Allies.
This situation disrupts immersion and annoys many fans.
For quite some time, players have urged DICE to finally introduce a German aircraft model and a German crew in Battlefield 5.
The developers have now commented on this demand and are presenting the fans with a choice.
What the developers say: On Twitter, senior designer Niklas Astrand addressed the fans. He explained that occasionally players complain about jumping as German soldiers from a C-47 (US plane) instead of from a JU-52 in Airborne mode.
At launch, it was decided to allow both sides to use the C-47 and instead provide more usable vehicles such as tanks, transports, fighter planes, or bombers.
The non-controllable C-47 was at least as expensive to create, if not more expensive, than any usable vehicle in the game. And it is only employed in a mode where players jump from it.
Now they want to know from the fans:
Should the work on new vehicles be interrupted to instead build the comparable JU-52?
Or should they deliver more usable vehicles to players and only address this German aircraft when or if there is ever time for it?
What do the fans say? Currently, the survey shows that building the German aircraft is leading with 58%. The developers’ response is not well received by the fans.
On Reddit, a new debate has arisen regarding the expectations of Battlefield 5. Fans are questioning whether it is really acceptable for a €70 AAA title to put players in such a situation.
For many, it is clear that Battlefield 5 was released too early and in an unfinished state. If the game were complete, players wouldn’t have to face such a choice.
Some emphasize that at the very least, a German crew could have been included in the plane. Instead, they feel they are being given an ultimatum and must decide whether to have further new vehicles or a German aircraft – one that many believe should have been in the game at launch and was possibly just not finished.
Many fans find the tone of the developers particularly upsetting. Fans feel the stance is aggressive. It seems as if they dared to question the developers about a missing feature and are now facing the consequences.
It creates the impression that the players are now to blame for the studio’s need to make a decision. While it could be fixed, fans are punished with waiting. The motto seems to be: Decide – No aircraft, or all other vehicles will be delayed.
Many fans also emphasize that if they can’t even manage to add an aircraft for one faction without completely interrupting work on other new vehicles – how will new factions and other new content ever stand a chance?
Data miners have found hints of another new hero in the game files of Apex Legends. Along with his name, even the name of one of his abilities has already been discovered.
Who is it about? The website GamingINTEL has discovered hints of a legend named Prophet. This was figured out by an ability with the filename “prophet_pregoc_target”.
What can Prophet do? According to the leak, one of his abilities, which makes the legends in Apex Legends unique, will be named “Precognition”. In German, “Vorausahnung” or “Vorkenntnis”. What exactly Precognition will do is still unknown. However, there are some speculations:
Prophet might know the location of the final ring, similar to Pathfinder.
Prophet might know where the next supply drop will land.
Prophet might know where certain loot is located on the map.
Especially the last two possibilities sound likely, as the found code with the suffix “target” refers to a target associated with the ability. Thus, Prophet might be able to target an item and use Precognition to see where copies of that item are located.
The loot zones of Apex Legends. Could Prophet possibly foresee loot?
When will Prophet be released? So far, there is no exact date known for Prophet’s release. However, it is likely to happen only after the beginning of Apex Legends seasons in March.
So far, there are only 8 legends in Apex Legends. More could be coming soon.
How reliable is the information? So far, only a few files have been found. Therefore, it is not certain when Prophet will arrive or if he will even make it into the game.
The found files might also represent drafts or discarded plans that did not make it into the balancing of the current legends and therefore exist only as remnants.
More evidence for more legends
After the leaks of some names for upcoming legends, game files have now appeared that at least prove the existence of these legends. In a reddit thread, the user HansLandaBlackout posted a list of character names.
This list of names was found.
In this list, Prophet is also found, which at least makes his appearance more likely. However, whether and when the new legends will come needs to be confirmed officially first. At least one new map seems to be in the works.
What do you think? Will Prophet come, and if so, what will “Precognition” do?
Not in the mood for Apex Legends in a squad? There is new information about the solo and duo modes:
Today there is a rather long server maintenance in the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO). New code is being implemented for the ESO database to prepare it for the future. However, fans know how to bridge the waiting time.
A long but necessary server maintenance
Why is the server maintenance taking place? The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMORPG that continues to grow. With Wrathstone, the next DLC is already on the way, Elsweyr will be a major addon. This means that the game’s database is getting larger. Now it is necessary to make adjustments to be prepared for the future.
What does this mean for the server maintenance? Today it takes a bit longer before fans can continue playing. According to statements, the servers of the PC version are down from 9 AM until at least 4 PM. The console versions will receive maintenance on February 27th starting at 10 AM. The ESO servers will then be unavailable until at least 1 PM, possibly even until 6 PM.
A long loading screen follows, which can last between 5 minutes and several hours – depending on how many items you have in your inventory. This long loading screen will only happen once. After that, ESO will load normally again.
Fans understand and pass the time
How do players react? Maintenance work is occasionally necessary for an MMORPG. Although today it takes a bit longer than usual, the ESO community shows understanding. However, many hope that there won’t be any issues, such as losing items.
How do fans bridge the waiting time? There is a thread in the forum where players talk about what they plan to do in the coming hours. Links to browser games are shared there, which lead to small games that can be played in between.
There is also a survey where players can participate after the ESO maintenance. The survey aims to show how long the loading times were for players after logging in.
Some players want to use the time to finally catch up on household chores, while others temporarily switch to another game, such as The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.
Generally, players are curious about how things will go after the maintenance and how long they will have to endure the loading screen before they can finally continue playing. We will know that at the earliest from 4 PM.
You feel like there was more loot in Anthem before? With this feeling, you are correct, as confirmed by BioWare. A loot frenzy after the last patch was to blame.
Since then, reports from players have been increasing that they suddenly receive much less loot than they did before the patch.
This is particularly noticeable when playing at higher difficulty levels like Grandmaster 2.
Alegost shows on Reddit the difference in his loot drops before and after the patch. It can be seen:
that in the upper image after 30 minutes on GM 1 he received some masterwork items (orange), which are among the best loot.
In the lower image, despite double the playtime and a higher difficulty level, he received much less loot and has even more common items, indicating a worse yield.
Which loot is obtained is determined by chance.
However, after the last patch, so many players noticed that they were getting less loot that it was already referred to as a nerf.
BioWare explains the sudden loot nerf
Lead Producer Ben Irving has now commented on the “loot nerf”. According to BioWare, there was no “loot nerf” on February 23, but the patch on February 22 had briefly led to a loot frenzy.
Actually, the big loot frenzy was probably due to a bug related to the patch on February 22.
In our changes on Friday, one of our adjustments had the side effect of increasing certain drop chances. This was not intended. When we identified the problem, we reverted it. That was about 11 hours later.
Ben Irving, Lead Producer of Anthem
BioWare needed some time to be internally sure about what the problem was. That’s why it took a while to explain the issue to the community. It was not BioWare’s intention to change anything without being transparent about it.
Players want the loot frenzy back
This is how players react:RENNYandBENNY opened a thread on Reddit stating: Bring this condition back. We never had so much fun in Anthem as during the time when loot was raining. With 1.6K upvotes, it receives a lot of support.
RENNYandBenny: “During this 11-hour window, everything felt rewarding. Strongholds were still the best for good loot, but freeplay was a lot of fun. Give the drops their buff back, add a few bosses to freeplay, take the class-specific perks off the wrong items, and let us grind for masterworks until we drop dead.”
Other users agree with this opinion. The loot system in Anthem is still not refined.
Nicarass: “It’s the same argument we had at the launch of Diablo 3, Destiny, Division, and so on. The fun is not in getting that one item once. The point of this type of grind is to receive billions of drops and crafting materials to get the rolls you want for the item. For this to happen, the game needs to shower you with loot like crazy.”
The loot problem for players is related to inscriptions (perks): In Anthem, items receive random stats via inscriptions. This means that the same item can have different effects. The inscriptions are additionally vaguely described. Many players do not understand what each inscription means.
To get items that players really want, with inscriptions of their choice, they need to collect certain drops quite often. That’s why many enjoyed the loot frenzy so much.
To get items that players really want, with inscriptions of their choice, they need to collect certain drops quite often. That’s why many enjoyed the loot frenzy so much.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is packed with little features that players marvel at. A player recently noticed that the city of Saint Denis has no tolerance for rats.
Time and again, players stumble upon smaller nuances that are only revealed upon closer inspection in RDR 2. A player has now discovered that you are rewarded for killing rats.
This is what happened: On Reddit, user ZooNai posted a video. He writes: Fun Fact #5837: Killing rats in Saint Denis increases your honor.
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In the video, you can see how the player finds a rat by the tracks of Saint Denis, aims at it, and finally shoots it with an arrow from his bow. An icon then pops up on the screen, indicating that his honor has just increased.
However, it is better not to attack these animals:
This surprises players: In fact, the city of Saint Denis is very sensitive. A player writes in the comments: “Wrong! Even killing a mosquito will give you a $200 bounty in Saint Denis.”
Another writes: “Really? Has anyone else tried that? I mean, I am really surprised that you don’t immediately have the police on your tail because you had your weapons drawn.”
Others explain that they have also hunted rats in Saint Denis. But when citizens saw them, the players were reported for disturbing the peace.
The city is known for imposing a staggering number of fines for smaller offenses. Therefore, there are regularly memes that poke fun at Saint Denis:
“When you’re literally doing anything in Saint Denis” – Source: Reddit
“When you accidentally bump into a cop in Saint Denis with your horse…” – Source: Reddit
So now it is surprising that the player received honor points, even though the city is actually so sensitive in that regard. Perhaps the residents are secretly pleased not to be overrun by a plague.
Many Pokémon GO players were surprised by the current weekly reward. For many trainers, the Adventure Sync counted more than 10 kilometers of distance.
This is how it actually works: The Adventure Sync of Pokémon GO counts the kilometers walked by the player throughout the week. Every Monday, there is a reward based on how much one has walked. Rewards are given for 5, 25, and 50 kilometers.
This problem exists now: However, this week there were some issues with the distribution of the rewards. Although players walked over 50 kilometers, they only received the reward for 25 kilometers. They would have needed to walk significantly more than 50 kilometers to receive those rewards.
This is the problem with weekly rewards
What players report: On Reddit, some players report this error. For example, “Kevin50n3” shows a screenshot of his 58 kilometers that he walked. However, he only receives the rewards for 25 kilometers, as he suddenly appeared to have walked under 50 kilometers.
This is how Adventure Sync made the rewards of the Reddit user significantly smaller.
Thus, he was cheated out of 10 kilometers and only receives the smaller reward, even though he walked the correct number of kilometers. He would have needed to walk at least 60 kilometers to receive the better reward.
Other players affected: However, the Reddit user is not alone. Over 700 people have already agreed and shared the trainer’s problem. One user writes:
I have the same problem. Adventure Sync shows me 57.8 km, but I am rewarded for only 51.3 km. Luckily, I was still over 50 kilometers.
The problem is not an isolated case: Players repeatedly report issues with Adventure Sync. However, not as many players were often affected. Here, it seems to have impacted a very large portion of the player base. This is particularly frustrating for players who have been deprived of their rewards, even though they walked the correct number of kilometers.
This is how the developers of The Division 2 use data science and machine learning to create better games.
In a blog post by Massive Entertainment, the developers of The Division and The Division 2, Senior User Researcher and Data Scientist Alessandro Canossa poses the question, “What makes a game enjoyable?”
Because at Massive, as Canossa explains, they do not just develop games. They also study them and use various innovative technologies and tools to understand what motivates players to play the games.
Alessandro Canossa in conversation
“Fun” is not the same for everyone
What motivates players? Canossa explains that every developer wants to create a game that is fun. But fun is not the same for everyone. That is why he is working on a project that aims to predict what motivates players in a game solely based on their gameplay behavior.
In other words: He is examining which psychological needs are satisfied by different games and what makes a game enjoyable.
Who is working on the project? Canossa himself was an associate professor at the university in Boston, working in the growing field of game analytics. Due to his academic background, he was able to collaborate with former colleagues at the Institute for Digital Games at the University of Malta to advance this project.
Project aims to collect data from millions of players
Questionnaires collect only limited data: To explore what makes a game enjoyable for gamers, Massive initially developed a specific questionnaire. This is based on the self-determination theory and outlines how much players are driven by the following factors: competence, autonomy, social relatedness, and attitude.
But no matter how good a questionnaire might be, it is difficult to gather comprehensive feedback from millions of players.
Innovative technologies instead of questionnaires: Therefore, as Canossa states, they are now using innovative machines that learn certain techniques to predict player motivation based solely on gameplay behavior.
This technological advancement alone is already incredible, but now they can evaluate not only the motivation data of a few hundred players who filled out the questionnaire but also make use of the data from millions of players out there for future games.
Machines must first learn: They used data collected from around 300 volunteer The Division players. This data was processed through a specific learning algorithm.
By preparing gameplay data, play styles, and the questionnaire, the algorithm was continuously taught how to measure players’ commitment and motivation.
After the learning phase, the algorithm can predict how a player feels—depending on their competence, autonomy, social relatedness, and attitude. Based solely on gameplay data, the algorithm is said to have an accuracy of 97%.
How you play should show what motivates you
The gameplay of players who exhibit high competence differs significantly from players who are not as competent. This can also be observed with the naked eye. However, there are many gradations in between that are not so obvious to detect.
And it has proven tricky to determine motivational factors based solely on in-game actions.
The technology can do it: The machine, however, is now capable of predicting complex psychological constructs in all their nuances based on gameplay.
The success of this project shows that it is possible to use gameplay data, connect it with survey-based insights, and thus represent complex emotional and cognitive states.
Better games become possible: At Ubisoft, they will leverage this deeper knowledge about consumers to deliver better and more personalized gameplay experiences in the future.
Even though the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online is almost 12 years old, it is by no means dead. The developers have now announced plans for 2019 and beyond, surprising us with the announcement of a new expansion.
A new addon!
What have the developers announced? The producer’s letter states that the team intends to focus on the current story around the “Black Book of Mordor” in the near future. This story will lead the heroes to the next expansion. Yes, there is indeed a new addon coming. This is the first major expansion since “Mordor” in summer 2017.
You will visit the Valley of Anduin and uncover its secrets.
You will return to Mordor and explore the fortress Minas Morgul.
There you will face the giant spider Shelob.
All of this is supposed to lead to the addon.
It is not yet confirmed what the addon will be about.
Why is the addon a surprise? After “Mordor,” there was no talk of another expansion. At Daybreak Games, the team focused on smaller, regular content updates that expanded the story. However, the fact that a new addon is coming is exciting.
When will the addon come? It is not yet known when the expansion will be released. It could still be by the end of the year, but it is more likely that it will come in 2020. A name for the addon has not yet been confirmed.
Lord of the Rings Online shines with a great atmosphere!
There is more to come
What else is coming? Standing Stone Games stated that more interesting things will happen in LotRO this year:
Further balancing adjustments to the classes
Game-wide balancing adjustments. The adventures shouldn’t be made harder than they already are in Mordor with the upcoming expansion. Nevertheless, they want to offer high-level heroes special challenges in instances.
A release of a 64-bit client is planned for March, which should improve performance and loading times.
The expansion is expected to enhance crafting, allowing players to create very special and powerful items.
The virtue system is being overhauled: You will soon earn virtue EXP for heroic deeds, which you can distribute to individual virtues.
Kinships and groupings will also be getting updates.
What is missing for the players? While the announced features are well received by fans and the community is especially excited about the new addon, some wonder if a new class or a new race is coming. This was not mentioned in the producer’s letter.
Even though the LotRO community is known for often criticizing announcements, this time it seems that, according to whatever76543 in the official forum: “Surprisingly little to criticize.”
Now the community is eagerly waiting for more details and how the announced features will ultimately affect The Lord of the Rings Online.
In The Division 2, new information about clans is known: This is how the clan system works, how to create, found, and search for clans.
Join together in clans: In The Division 2, you have the opportunity to establish clans and roam together as a clan through the post-apocalypse in Washington D.C.
According to Massive, the clan feature was designed so that you can quickly team up with like-minded agents. This way, strong communities can be formed that pursue common goals.
[toc]
Create, search and establish a clan – This is the maximum number of members
This many players fit into a clan: Up to 50 accounts can connect in a clan. Each account can contribute up to four agents.
When can I create a clan? You cannot use the clan feature directly at the start of The Division 2. However, according to Massive, the clan functions will be unlocked early in the story progression.
Clan requirements: Once you have unlocked the clan feature, anyone can create a clan. However, you need at least three other agents to advance the clan development. Clan progression starts with at least four clan members.
The entire clan management takes place directly in-game. It is designed to be user-friendly and clear. Right in the game, you can search for a new clan if you don’t want to create one yourself.
Search settings: During the clan search, you can set several criteria that you have for the clan. This way, you find the right community that suits you. You can search by these criteria:
Activities: Do you only play PvP or PvE – or both?
Your playtimes: At what times of day are you usually active?
Clan atmosphere: Do you want a relaxed easy-going clan or an engaged clan that wants to be competitive in PvP?
Microphone as a requirement
Language
Region
Clan search settings in The Division 2
Clan management in The Division 2
Create a clan emblem: One of the first things in creating a clan is creating a badge. This emblem represents you outwardly in The Division 2.
Several icons, backgrounds, and frames are available for you to create a personalized clan badge.
Choose a clan name: Your clan needs a name. This must be between 4 and 15 characters long. Additionally, you choose a clan tag consisting of three uppercase letters that is directly visible to all other players. Furthermore, you can write a short clan introduction.
Clan privacy: Furthermore, you determine whether your clan
Open – meaning searchable and open to all players,
Invite only – meaning searchable, but clan leadership must approve the request, or
Private – meaning not searchable. Clan leaders can only send invites to selected players.
Clan menu
Clan structure: Your clan members are divided into four ranks, so your clan is organized and structured. The hierarchy is as follows:
Commander: The clan leader who has access to all administrative functions
Lieutenant: The “officer” who can send invites, promote and demote members, and moderate the clan feed.
Agent: An established clan member who can invite potential recruits into the clan.
Recruit: A new clan member with very limited clan rights.
For clan requests, commanders and lieutenants can inspect the character of the requester, including their gear, to make the right decision for the clan.
The clan progression system
Earn clan XP: All in-game actions where clan members earn experience points also grant you additional clan XP (CXP). You collect CXP as a clan to achieve common goals in The Division 2.
What clan XP brings: With CXP, your clan levels up – up to a maximum of level 30. For each level, clan members receive certain benefits. Additionally, you unlock further customization options for your badge, so you can show the world how experienced your clan is.
Clan progression system
Rewards and tasks for clan members: As a clan, you have goals in the form of weekly projects and an upgradeable clan container. Both yield rewards for all clan members upon successful completion.
The weekly clan container requires a weekly CXP goal, achieved through several sub-goals. There are 3 reward tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. When you reach the Bronze tier, guaranteed rewards are unlocked. The Silver and Gold tiers further improve the weekly rewards.
Clan projects are weekly tasks that provide a CXP boost upon completion. Each of these tasks targets a specific area of the game. If your clan succeeds in completing all weekly projects, the clan receives an additional significant amount of CXP.
White House in The Division 2
The clan social space in the White House
A place for your clan: The east wing of the White House serves as the home for your clan. There you can meet and reorganize. You will also find the clan container where you collect the weekly rewards.
In this clan quarter, there is a clan vendor. The higher your clan level, the better items he offers. Certain clan levels also unlock cosmetic items at this vendor.
Honoring those who deserve it: Additionally, this social space displays your three best clan members who have collected the most CXP during the week. This way, they are honored for their effort – and all other clan members can see this.
According to Massive, there will be more to discover in your social space that you can explore at launch.
Clan features at a glance
More information about clans in The Division 2
There is a clan feed through which you can communicate. There you can write messages, or clan leaders can leave important announcements. This clan feed also informs you about clan activity and clan development.
Additionally, each clan has access to two voice channels, each of which can accommodate up to 25 members speaking simultaneously, regardless of where you are in the game or what activity you are engaged in.
Destiny 2 has apparently learned from its mistakes regarding the launch of the Black Armory. Players who are not yet at the current max level should not have to level up for a long time before diving into the new DLC.
The problem with the first premium DLC was: When the Black Armory launched, not all guardians could immediately start with the new content. For many, it meant leveling up and grinding through old content first.
Because the new activities like the forges had level requirements far exceeding the old power level of 600. Anyone who was not at or just below the previous level cap at the launch of the DLC had no real chance with the new content.
If one was still far from power level 600, they sometimes had to level up for weeks to finally get a taste of the new content – even though Bungie had already nerfed the forges after two days. This circumstance had upset many players.
This should change with the second DLC: But it seems like Bungie has learned from its mistakes with the launch of the first premium DLC.
On Reddit, community manager Cozmo23 discussed this issue with a fan. The player had not played the contents of the first premium DLC. He had also not reached the original Forsaken level cap of 600. Now he wanted to know if he could still start with The Joker’s Wildcard.
Cozmo responded that it will now be possible to level up quickly and dive right into the new annual pass content. Under-leveled players returning to the new DLC apparently no longer have to worry about being excluded from the new content.
Although he did not reveal exactly how leveling up will work, concrete details should be presented later this week. Fans suspect consumables that could push players up to the current level cap of 650, or an adjustment to powerful rewards that would allow for faster leveling.
When does the second premium DLC come out? There is currently no exact start date. However, the Season 6 officially begins on March 5. Fans expect that the start gun for The Joker’s Wildcard will go off on March 12.
After all, the first premium DLC The Black Armory also launched a week after the beginning of Season 5. Official information should not take long to arrive. Bungie has already announced that there will finally be details on the upcoming content this week.
Epic is hosting the first eSports tournament for Fortnite in Germany. There is a prize pool of €25,000. Partnering with the tournament is the YouTuber MontanaBlack, who is inviting well-known players to participate. The tournament took place on Sunday, February 24th.
This is the announcement from Epic: The Fortnite developer Epic Games announced its eSports program for 2019 on Friday this week :
Epic Games is committing a total of $100 million in prize money in 2019
regular tournaments will take place between April and June, each with a $1 million prize
the World Championship featuring $30 million in prizes will take place at the end of July in New York
and they are working with “local partners” to host tournaments on site – they want to reach as many as possible
Local tournaments planned on-site
What about Germany? Epic has not provided specific information about which partners they have in Germany.
However, it appears that the first partner is the YouTuber “Montanablack.” The influencer is the largest YouTuber and streamer in Germany when it comes to Fortnite.
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This is the announcement from Montanablack: He is communicating with his fans on Twitter, adopting a unique communication style.
On Tuesday, Montanablack announced a €25,000 Fortnite tournament. The money is being provided by Epic Games “out of honor.”
It is likely to be a duo tournament: The players will then head out in the “Duo vs Squad” mode and collect the most kills. They are indirectly competing against each other and navigating through regular lobbies.
The player with the most kills after 3 matches wins.
1st place receives €20,000, 2nd place €3,000, and 3rd place €2,000.
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Who is playing? It appears this is not an “open tournament,” but Montanablack has invited well-known players to join the hunt. He has announced 7 duo teams. It remains to be seen if more will be added:
In Fortnite the extension challenges are now active. Tips and help on how to solve the challenges can be found here.
What do the extension tasks bring? These give you the chance to unlock cool content and bridge the time until Season 8. There is a special reward if you complete 13 of the tasks.
Because with this you will unlock the Battle Pass for Season 8 for free. This way you save the V-Bucks worth €9.50 that the pass normally costs.
All Extension Challenges
We show you all 20 extension challenges in this overview and provide tips and assistance for them. The article will be updated regularly as new challenges become active in Fortnite.
Challenge 1: Complete free extension challenges
What do you have to do? For this task, you just need to complete 5 of the new challenges. For this, there’s a variant of the skin Powder Snow.
Challenge 2: Reach Battle Pass Level 71
What do you have to do? Collect enough experience points to reach level 71 in the Battle Pass. Certain tasks like from Week 1 in Season 7, where you have to dance at forbidden places or collect rare items, are suitable for this. As a reward, there’s a version of the skin Trogg.
Challenge 3: Reach Battle Pass Level 87
What do you have to do? Here too, you need to gather experience points in the Battle Pass. You can find more easy tasks in Week 4 or Week 7. Here a version of the skin Onesie awaits as a reward.
Challenge 4: Collect coins on featured Creative mode islands
What do you have to do? For this task, we will soon provide you with a guide on MeinMMO. You need to collect 15 coins. As a reward, you can earn 500 XP.
The Creative Island Center in Fortnite
Challenge 5: Search chests or ammo crates at a motel or trailer park
What do you have to do? Go to the mentioned places and look for chests or ammo crates to open there. As a motel, the building in the grid field D2 is suitable. It is located west of Lazy Links.
You can find trailers between Retail Row and Lonely Lodge. There is a camping site with many trailers. Search for chests and crates there.
But be careful. As can be seen in the pictures, there is currently a lot of activity there. Many opponents land there right at the beginning. So prepare for a battle over the crates.
Overall, you should search 7 crates here. As a reward, there’s 500 XP.
Challenge 6: Reach the Top 15 in Duo Matches with a Friend
What do you have to do? Play together with a friend to land among the best 15 in a match. You need to achieve this 3 times. As a reward, there is a heart paint job.
Challenge 7: Complete free extension challenges to unlock the Season 8 Battle Pass
What do you have to do? For this really cool reward, you only need to complete 13 of the 20 tasks here. New tasks come in every day, and if you keep at it, you will get the free pass.
Challenge 8: Deal damage to opponents with submachine guns and pistols.
What are submachine guns? This task is currently confusing many players, as there is no weapon currently declared as a submachine gun. The Light Machine Gun has been in the vault for a long time. Is it coming back soon?
No, the LMG is not coming back just for this task!
Not at all, because the German translators made a mistake here. Because in the original, it refers to Assault Rifles, which are rifles. So you only need to deal 500 damage with assault rifles or pistols, then the task is yours, and you earn 500 XP.
Challenge 9: Regenerate health through campfires in different matches
What do I have to do here? This task is also very simple to solve. You just need to use a campfire in three different rounds to regenerate a little health. As a reward, there’s 500 XP.
Challenge 10: Visit different named locations
What do I have to do? Here you just need to visit named places. Grab one of the planes, and fly over the locations. It’s quite easy that way.
Challenge 11: Search a supply drop in different matches
What do I have to do? Supply drops drop at different times in matches. You can recognize them by the fact that they fall from the sky as blue crates. Search these in 2 different matches and you will have completed the task.
Challenge 12: Revive a player in different matches
What do I have to do here? To do this, it’s best to play team modes like Duos. In 3 matches, you should revive a team member at least once each. It’s quite simple.
Challenge 13: Visit different waterfalls
What do I have to do here? You need to visit 7 different waterfalls on the Fortnite map. Where to find them can be seen here:
Challenge 14: Deal damage to opponents with shotguns and submachine guns
What do I have to do? For this task, you need to deal 500 damage with shotguns or submachine guns to opponents.
Challenge 15: Search chests or ammo crates at The Block
What do I have to do? Travel to the location in the north where The Block is located. In the building there are many ammo crates and chests waiting for you. You need to search a total of 7. This doesn’t have to be in one match.
Challenge 16: Reach the Top 10 in Team Matches with a Friend
What do I have to do? Here you just need to play together with a friend in team mode and land in the top 10 a total of 3 times.
Challenge 17: Play Drift Matches with a Friend
What do I have to do? You need to play 3 Drift Matches with a friend. You don’t even have to win. Just participate.
Challenge 18: Thank the bus driver in different matches
What do I have to do? In 7 different matches, you need to thank the bus driver.
If you spend too long in the freeplay of Anthem , you will miss out on some bonuses. We reveal why regular returns home are important.
A big appeal in Anthem is the free exploration of the game world. Instead of chasing fixed missions, you can simply explore the surroundings of Fort Tarsis and spend hours enjoying various world events, small dungeons, or searching for lore items. However, you should take regular breaks during “Freeplay”. Otherwise, you will receive less XP.
What limitation exists? The experience points you can gain from the freeplay mode are limited. The soft cap is reached after the third world event in a row. After that, further world events no longer provide experience points – but loot is still available, and challenges can be completed without any problems.
Return after 3 world events: The best tip is to always return to Fort Tarsis after completing the third world event. Once you have briefly entered the base (or the forge), you can plunge right back into the fray. If you don’t do this, you will miss out on valuable experience points and won’t level up at all if you spend hours without a break in freeplay.
Why is there this limitation? There is no clear justification for the limitation. However, there are several explanatory approaches that at least provide some clues. If you could collect “infinite” experience points in freeplay, then:
A large part of the loot would become meaningless at the end, as you would have far surpassed its level.
Players could level up on low-level enemies to the maximum level.
From a gameplay perspective, it makes sense to limit the XP.
What do you think of this limitation? Is it reasonable to have to take a short break after three world events? Or does this circumstance pull you out of freeplay too often?
In FIFA 19 the winter upgrades are known from the Rest of the World. These player cards are now available in the packs in Ultimate Team.
Ratings Refresh from the Rest of the World: The winter upgrades in FUT 19 are entering the final round. On February 24, EA Sports released the last Ratings Refresh batch. With the “Rest of the World”, the Ratings Refresh concludes.
The best Rest-of-the-World upgrades: This time there isn’t a standout player beyond 90. However, there are several solid players with ratings in the mid-80s, such as Bruno Fernandes (84) and Ziyech (84). Additionally, there are many players with an 83 rating.
All Player Cards of the Rest of the World Ratings Refresh
The new cards in FUT 19:
ZOM: Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP) 83 –> 84
ZOM: Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) 82 –> 84
ZOM: Anderson Talisca (Shanghai SIPG) 82 –> 83
ZOM: Oscar (Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao) 82 –> 83
TW: Iker Casillas (FC Porto) 82 –> 83
IV: Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax) 80 –> 83
RM: Edin Višca ( Medipol Başakşehir FK) 82 –> 83
ZM: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax) 77 –> 82
RF: Hirving Lozano (PSV) 80 –> 82
ST: Josef Martínez (Atlanta United FC) 81 –> 82
ST: Moussa Marega (FC Porto) 80 –> 81
LF: Steven Bergwijn (PSV) 77 –> 80
IV: Éder Militão (FC Porto) 75 –> 79
ZOM: Pozuelo (KRC Genk) 76 –> 79
TW: Odisseas Vlachodimos (SL Benfica) 74 –> 78
ST: Wesley (Club Brugge KV) 75 –> 78
LF: Leandro Trossard (KRC Genk) 76 –> 78
LM: Miralem Sulejmani (BSC Young Boys) 77 –> 78
LV: Angeliño (PSV) 73 –> 77
RV: Kevin Mbabu (BSC Young Boys) 76 –> 77
ST: Mbaye Diagne (Galatasaray SK) 73 –> 75
RM: Nikola Vlašic (CSKA Moscow) 70 –> 75
RM: Robert Skov (FC København) 72 –> 75
Information about the Winter Upgrades in Ultimate Team
What Winter Upgrades are: Since the standard cards in FUT 19 have remained unchanged since the release, but many players have shown better performances in the last few months, the winter upgrades enhance the standard cards of many players.
After this “Ratings Refresh”, only the new, updated cards of the respective players can be found in the sets.
How to get the winter upgrades from the Rest of the World
New cards replace old ones in the packs: As soon as the winter upgrade cards are released, they can be drawn in the sets. The only requirement is that the set can contain players. The “old” cards of the respective players are no longer available in the sets from that moment on.
What happens to my old card? If you already own a card of a player who is being upgraded, this card remains unchanged. It will not be automatically updated. If you want the player’s card with upgraded attributes, you have to draw it from a set.
It is also possible to purchase the winter upgrade cards from other players on the transfer market.
