Even a voice actress from Overwatch disagrees with the layoffs at Blizzard. She has harsh words for such practices.
The nearly 800 layoffs at Activision Blizzard have caused a huge uproar in the gaming community. This step seems particularly absurd, as Blizzard recorded a record year with huge revenue last year.
The whole situation has caused such waves that even voice actors, such as Jennifer Hale, the English voice of Ashe in Overwatch, have publicly spoken out against these practices.
What did Hale say? On Twitter, she made her stance quite clear regarding what she thinks about the current layoffs and payments to CEOs. She stated:
“The average salary of CEOs was 30 times higher than that of an employee in 1980.
Today, the average salary is 500 times higher than that of an employee.
Grab the pitchforks. It’s time.”
It should be clear that Hale is not really calling for violence. It is more about showing the development studios and especially the bosses in another way that one disagrees with the development – such as with the wallet by not buying the next games.
In other tweets, she also expressed herself critically about the incident and used a few harsher words:
Why Hale can afford this: Jennifer Hale is one of the most well-known voice actresses in the gaming industry. Not only can she be heard in Overwatch, but she also provided the voice for Female Shepard in Mass Effect and Samus Aran from the Metroid series.
Some fans believe that Hale may not be the voice of Ashe for much longer after she has taken a stand against the management at Blizzard – her current employer. Other fans think that Hale probably doesn’t care much, as she has a pretty secure position in the industry.
What do you think about this statement from Jennifer Hale? Is it good for people who work for Blizzard to position themselves so clearly? What is your stance on this whole development?
The new update 7.4 brings new content today, Thursday, February 14th. The servers of Fortnite will be offline on all platforms (PC/Mac, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, iOS, Android). Maintenance will bring a new patch. When will the servers go offline and when will Fortnite be playable again?
What is happening today in Fortnite? February 14th is not only Valentine’s Day, but also the start of maintenance work in Fortnite. The server maintenance was actually supposed to take place yesterday, but Epic identified a problem at short notice.
Special skins for Valentine’s Day
Fortnite servers go offline – When will they be back online?
When does the server maintenance in Fortnite start? At 09:30 AM CET, you will no longer be able to join an active game. At 10 AM CET, the servers will then be completely shut down. Fortnite will no longer be accessible.
When will the Fortnite servers be back online? The exact times vary. Usually, Fortnite is back online around noon. However, this depends on whether the problems from yesterday don’t recur and the maintenance runs smoothly.
As soon as the servers are back online, you will be informed as usual on MeinMMO. We will also provide you with the patch notes as soon as Epic publishes them.
What’s in the update for Fortnite: Battle Royale: The update to the new game version 7.4 will bring some great new features that players are looking forward to. In addition, there will be an event tailored to Valentine’s Day.
A new historical rifle comes to Fortnite: Battle Royale
Anthem has released its launch trailer. This clearly shows the feeling that the action RPG wants to convey: the supernatural power of a superhero.
What does the trailer show? We get primarily a taste of what the four Javelin classes are capable of. The exosuits all have overpowered skills, which they demonstrate in all their glorious power in the video.
Be it the Interceptor, which acrobatically slashes through enemies with its blades, or the Storm, which unleashes a magnificent elemental storm upon its foes.
This trailer shows: Javelin are damn powerful!
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This is what makes Anthem special: Anyone who steps into the exosuit should feel like a superhero. That’s why flying in Anthem is so important to the developers at BioWare . The complete map is designed for vertical gameplay.
Flying is one of humanity’s oldest dreams. BioWare wanted flying to be a core aspect of the superhero fantasy that Anthem fulfills. In the video, you can also see how the Javelin zooms through the areas.
Anthem fulfills a power fantasy where the world is at our feet. The launch trailer makes this even clearer. Sparks and explosions fly everywhere, and the camera cuts are fast-paced. It resembles a trailer that could have been produced for the Avengers.
From the trailer: “Feel the power of the Javelin, its precision. Trust each other, unleash your power. Never give up: You are Freelancers.”
Players take on the role of a Freelancer. These are people who are able to pilot the Javelin. They are also called pilots.
Release of Anthem is just around the corner: Starting February 15, the first players can play Anthem. This applies only to players on PC and Xbox One in the head start. On February 22, the official release will take place, allowing PS4 players to join. Will you step into the Javelin and become a superhero?
In Apex Legends there is a playable character named Caustic who decimates enemies with poisonous gas. A streamer took this to heart and used it for a spectacular multi-kill.
What happened? The streamer 1cePrime chose the nasty character Caustic in the new battle royale game Apex Legends. He can set up large barrels of gas and throw deadly gas grenades.
The gas barrels are actually traps that release toxic gas when triggered. However, the barrels are also massive objects that cannot be moved once they are set down.
The streamer took advantage of this and lured his enemies into a room with windows. Once all the enemies were inside, he blocked the doors with a gas trap. The opponents could not open them anymore and were trapped in the room. However, there was still a small gap left open.
1cePrime then threw a gas grenade in there. What happened next was a top-notch role-playing performance, as the character Caustic is in the lore of Apex a crazy psycho who enjoys killing people with gas out of scientific curiosity.
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The opponents met a miserable end in the gas cloud and 1cePrime and his team watched gleefully through the windows during the death struggle. Eventually, the entire enemy squad was wiped out and 1cePrime became the new kill leader in the match.
Heroes are the big feature of Apex
The scene with Caustic shows how cool and fitting the heroes in Apex Legends fit into the game. The skills of the legends are not just a nice addition. They can be decisive at the right moment.
How to get Caustic? Those who want to replicate the stunt of 1cePrime must first unlock the character Caustic. Unfortunately, the gas freak is only available for 12,000 units of in-game currency. Alternatively, you can buy him with real money as a microtransaction.
According to Origin, Anthem was supposed to have its release in Early Access on February 14. However, this release date is incorrect. When can players start with Anthem now?
What is the new start date? On Friday, February 15, at 4:00 PM, players with Origin Access (Premier) can start at the earliest.
What start date was assumed so far? Anthem was originally supposed to have its Early Start on February 14 at 11:30 PM. At least that was shown by Origin, the proprietary gaming platform of Electronic Arts.
Was there a display error in Origin?
It was said the whole time by EA and BioWare that the Head Start of Anthem would be on February 15.
However, due to the display in Origin, many assumed that the release would be on the night of February 14. The assumptions suggest that this was probably a display error in Origin.
Meanwhile (February 13, 11:00 PM), Origin is showing the correct date.
The confusion in the community (Reddit) was great. Because different release dates for the Early Access start in Origin have been shown so far.
However, the developers confirmed in an official dev stream that the release will be worldwide on February 15 at 4:00 PM.
Anthem has another official release: Players who have access to Origin Access or Origin Access Premier can participate in the Head Start on February 15. This applies only to PC and Xbox One.
The preparations for the Warfront: Darkshore in World of Warcraft are complete. For the Alliance, a powerful item awaits.
After a fairly quick gathering phase, the Alliance in WoW has completed the resource collection once again. Now the preparations are finished, and the Alliance can once again plunge into the Warfront: Darkshore!
What are the requirements? To participate in the Warfront: Darkshore, players of the Alliance must reach level 120 and have an average item level of at least 335. Additionally, they must have completed the introductory quest line on at least one character. In this quest line, Tyrande becomes the Night Warrior.
What rewards are available? Each victory at the Warfront will reward you with an item of item level 355+. Furthermore, there is a quest that can be completed once per character and Warfront cycle, which offers a random item of level 400+. There are also a few badges which you can use to buy mounts, bonus XP potions for twinks, or mounts from a vendor.
How is the Warfront played? The Warfront: Darkshore is played very similarly to the Battle for Stromgarde in Arathi. First, you must capture a camp and then upgrade it. The camp resembles the buildings of the Night Elves from Warcraft 3. These must be built with wood and iron to capture further control points and ultimately defeat the boss.
How long will the Warfront be active? Players of the Alliance have exactly one week, until February 20, 2019. After that, the Horde can gather resources and subsequently play the Warfront.
What item did you receive from the reward chest? Was it an upgrade for you?
Stay informed: Don’t want to miss any news or articles about World of Warcraft? Then leave a Like on our WoW Facebook page!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Here you will find everything about the release, early access, gameplay, Javelin classes, pre-ordering, and multiplayer of Anthem. First impressions from the demo are also available.
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Anthem is an action RPG that is often compared to Destiny, Warframe, or Division. However, we see Anthem as a mix of genres: a loot shooter with roots in (MMO)-RPG.
February 22, 2019 (PS4, PC, Xbox One) as the regular launch
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, and PC
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Age Rating: 16 years according to USK
This article was published on June 10, 2018, and updated on February 13, 2019.
Anthem: Release, preload, time, and size
When can I play Anthem? Anthem has an early access start and a regular release. Whether you have access to early access depends on your platform and how you access Anthem:
The PC system requirements for Anthem are already higher for PC. It may well be that you need to upgrade your PC again to play Anthem with nice graphics.
No 60 FPS, regardless of which console: Neither on the standard versions nor on the stronger PS4 Pro or Xbox One X will 60 FPS be achieved. The consoles reach 30 FPS.
The trailer for the Legion of Dawn Edition reveals some details about the story behind the Legion. Here you can also see what the exclusive skin looks like.
The exclusive “Legion of Dawn” skin
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What is Anthem about?
What is the background story? In the beginning, there were the gods, known as Shapers. They controlled the “power of the Anthem” with special tools. With this, the Shapers created the world of Anthem.
Before the Shapers completed their work, however, they disappeared. Only their tools of creation remained. The world is still unfinished.
The conflict in Anthem: No one can tame the Anthem without the tools of the Shapers. Those who sought to harness the power of the Anthem were corrupted by world-changing cataclysms.
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You will fight against these enemies in the world of Anthem
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The emergence of the Javelin: The world was then dominated by chaos, and people sought a way to survive. Their ancestors created the Javelin exosuits. These are handcrafted armors that give their wearers superhuman powers. The Javelin were to tame the chaos and bring peace to humanity.
Where you live in Anthem: You live in the city of Fort Tarsis and protect its inhabitants from the dangers lurking outside the walls. Your task is to protect people from the chaos outside the wall.
In the video below, you can see more of the struggle for survival of the people in Fort Tarsis.
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BioWare stands for deep storytelling: The studio has made a name for itself with well-thought-out and engaging single-player role-playing games. The story is central to the series about Mass Effect.
Some fans of the studio are concerned that Anthem, as a multiplayer game, will not have a deep story.
You will experience the main story in single-player: The city of Fort Tarsis serves as a base for players and is a solo experience. The main action takes place here. Only your own decisions and actions influence this place. There are dialogues where you can choose between two responses. Your character is fully voiced.
The world of Anthem will be a world that you share with other players, but the base belongs to each player alone. Here, Anthem becomes a single-player experience. This is how BioWare aims to ensure that Anthem can tell a strong story.
No BioWare-style romance: In Anthem there will be deep relationships between characters, but these will remain purely platonic.
How extensive will the story be? BioWare is keeping it secret. They do not want to commit to a playtime. According to the developers, it depends on the player themselves. After all, there are side missions that everyone can complete at their own pace.
BioWare intends to expand the story like a good Netflix series. New characters may be added or well-known NPCs may die. The environment can change due to the power of the Anthem.
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Anthem aims to be the Netflix series among games that captivates players
von Leya Jankowski
You also follow a multiplayer story: Missions and co-op experiences take place in the open world. Everything that changes in the open world also affects all players equally. If, for example, a mountain in the open world is destroyed, it applies to everyone.
The multiplayer part of the story is event-driven: Regularly, major events are meant to shake the world of Anthem, impacting each player.
What are social features? We understand them in multiplayer games as components that specifically support playing together. This can include features that make it easier for you to find friends.
Matchmaking for all content in Anthem: The map will be part of matchmaking. Players can see what other players are doing. The group search is enabled for all activities. Anyone wanting to play alone must manually turn off matchmaking first.
There will be a social hub:After a mission, you can head to the “Launch Bay”. This will be the multiplayer hub where you can see your teammates. Here you can:
Form alliances with friends: Alliances are a shared reward system. If you and your friends from your friends list play an expedition, meaning missions, Contracts, Freeplay, and Strongholds, you will receive alliance XP at the end.
These are not only your own earned points. The points of other players count as well. You even receive rewards when you’re not playing. This can be in the form of coins, the in-game currency.
The Javelins are overpowered exosuits that you fight against monsters and factions with. They each have individual skills and ultimate attacks. You operate the Javelin and develop them continuously to defeat stronger opponents.
There will be four classes at launch:
The Ranger will be the all-rounder, particularly versatile.
The Colossus will be a walking turret equipped with cannons and flamethrowers. He can also fill the role of the tank.
The Storm will be a mage class utilizing elemental attacks like fire and ice. He can hover longer than the other classes.
The Interceptor is designed for close combat and fulfills the role of the assassin. His strength lies in taking down individual targets.
Extensive customization: Your Javelins can be enhanced and customized with many different equipment components. The loot system resembles Diablo more than Destiny. There are again the classic colors that determine the rarity of equipment. This ranges from common to legendary equipment.
These parts can be modified on the Javelin:
Components
Support Gear
Weapons
Additionally, there are two slots depending on the Javelin
For example, the Colossus has a heavy rocket launcher, while the Ranger is equipped with a light launcher and grenades.
Parallels to Destiny and Division: As in the two mentioned online shooters, Anthem also has a score that shows the level of your equipment. This value is referred to as Gear Score.
Unwanted equipment can be dismantled, and generally, the inventory should have enough space for the multitude of loot found in Anthem.
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Anthem reveals details about loot in the stream – Fans excited
Optical adjustments can be purchased: There will be cosmetic items known as “vanity items.” These can be special skins or armor pieces. You will be able to buy these directly with the premium currency “shards.” However, there will be no loot boxes.
Everything cosmetic can be earned: Paying for optical adjustments is optional. Because cosmetic items can also be earned. With in-game currency “coin,” you will be able to earn and pay for all items. How long it takes to unlock each skin and adjustment is still difficult to estimate.
When does the endgame start? BioWare defines the endgame from level 30 for the pilot. From there, everything revolves around upgrading and improving your personal Javelin exosuit. It can be modified with weapons, components, and skills. You will face tougher opponents, for which you will need stronger items.
These endgame contents are available
Legendary Contracts: These are randomly generated, dynamic quests. You receive the contracts as missions from factions, and this can occur fairly early in the game. The legendary contracts are particularly challenging and designed for the endgame.
Anthem has 6 difficulty levels: The difficulty is to be set by you before you leave Fort Tarsis. The higher the difficulty, the more likely you are to receive rare loot. Enemies will have more health points and deal more damage.
The difficulty levels are:
Easy
Normal
Hard
Grandmaster 1
Grandmaster 2
Grandmaster 3
Grandmaster levels will be unlocked from level 30. You can think of these as the qualification levels in Diablo.
Strongholds: Strongholds are like dungeons or smaller raids from other games. These missions are somewhat longer and designed for group play. In a stronghold, you have to navigate through and solve various sections. At the end, there is a boss. Strongholds should be particularly challenging and yield the best loot.
Daily, weekly, and monthly trials: Challenges are milestones with a limited time window. These challenges must be completed within a certain timeframe. If you complete the trials within the given timeframe, you will receive additional rewards.
Cataclysms and Shaper Storms: These are major events in the world of Anthem. We already know that these global events can last several weeks and are accessible to all players simultaneously. BioWare describes these events as seasonal and they can change large parts of the game. A small preview of the endgame events was already given in the demo when a giant titan made the area unsafe.
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Long-term motivation: What is planned for the future of the endgame?
This is still to come: BioWare relies on an event system in Anthem. Through the large Cataclysms and Shaper Storms, the world is meant to continuously change and offer something new. Players should feel like they are following a larger story, like in a good Netflix series. This should avoid large content gaps.
Whether this will truly maintain long-term motivation is difficult to judge at this time. Anthem first needs to be out for a few weeks to months.
More information about the endgame: We have a detailed special that highlights every endgame activity:
Initial conclusions and reviews from the Anthem demo
What many players like: In the demo, especially the gameplay of the Javelins was well received. The vertical gameplay involving flying is felt as a refreshing change. The game world is often praised as it is full of mysteries and looks appealing. Already after the demo, there were first fan favorites: the Klauninchen.
It is often noted that all Javelin exosuits feel and play completely differently. Our author Sven conveys this gameplay feeling in his opinion:
What many players do not like: In the demo, it quickly became apparent that Anthem still has significant technical flaws. There were some bugs, and the load times were unusually long for a game from 2019. However, BioWare promises that many of the problems from the demo will be fixed by launch. Gameplay-wise, some players on PC feel the controls while flying and diving are awkward.
Moreover, there has often been criticism that the AI in Anthem is too dim-witted and behaves more like bullet sponges.
Comprehensive conclusion of the demo: In the article below, you can read again in detail what went well and what went poorly in the demo. You will also find some player voices sharing their experiences:
Technical issues are to be expected at launch: It may take a while for BioWare to truly eliminate all technical flaws. Anyone wanting to play Anthem right from the start should prepare for that.
However, it should be noted that at its core, Anthem is an action RPG. The abilities of the Javelin play an important role and create more of a synergy with the weapons. The gunplay is not the focus of Anthem.
you want to compete against others. There will be no PvP in Anthem. A player-versus-player mode is currently not planned. BioWare wants to wait to see how significant the demand is from players, so the developers do not rule it out entirely. However, you should not expect this. If you particularly enjoyed the PvP in Destiny, you might miss it in Anthem.
If you want to go solo in Anthem, you will face challenges in the endgame. Many contents are designed for groups to combat the strong opponents. However, the story can be played solo and will also be continuously expanded.
If you expect a pure loot shooter in Anthem, you might want to rethink. Anthem has more RPG elements.
Anthem vs. The Division 2: Which game is worthwhile for whom? The Division 2 releases on March 15, which is close to the launch of Anthem. Some players are torn between these two titles as they are both shared-world shooters in a similar vein. Therefore, we have written a comparison of the games.
as well as the winter upgrades, the “ratings refresh”.
The first 3 winter upgrade cards: For the “ratings refresh”, EA Sports has now revealed three cards in advance:
Winter Refresh brings even more upgrades
The cards are:
Marco Reus: The Dortmund player will be upgraded from an overall rating of 85 to a strong 88. Additionally, his position will change from LM to CAM.
Kylian Mbappé: The speedster from PSG increases from 87 to 88.
Raheem Sterling: He improves from 85 to 87.
For comparison, this is the current standard card of Reus:
Reus will leave his 85 on the standard card behind
When will the remaining cards be revealed? The winter upgrades are expected to be released gradually starting next Friday. However, we believe that not all cards will be available in packs at the same time, but will be released step by step, sorted by leagues.
In contrast to other game modes in FIFA 19, the FUT cards are not continuously adjusted to the real performances of the respective professional players. The standard cards are inflexible in this regard.
While some players do receive “in-form” cards (IF Cards) over the course of the season, the stats of the standard cards remain unchanged. Only special card types, like the OTW cards, adapt dynamically.
The winter upgrades only affect the “non-special cards” – and introduce some updated standard cards into the Ultimate Team mode.
A gym teacher in the USA promised his students a round of Fortnite: Battle Royale, if they improved their grades. This cost him his job.
The gym teacher Brett Belsky (29) from a school in Brooklyn, New York, noticed that his students talked a lot about Fortnite. At the same time, the kids’ grades were getting worse. So, he devised what seemed to be a good plan.
Here’s how the teacher wanted to motivate his students to learn: Belsky, a fan of Fortnite himself, wrote his Xbox gamer tag on the board and offered to play Fortnite with his students if they improved academically and their parents gave their consent.
And that’s what happened, with an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old student qualifying for the Fortnite reward program. So, Belsky played Fortnite with them for a total of 20 minutes in March 2018.
Fortnite reward costs teacher his job
These were the consequences of the reward action: Unfortunately, the action did not sit well with the father of the 11-year-old child. When the boy told his father about it, he immediately went to the principal to complain about the Fortnite initiative.
This, in turn, had serious consequences for the teacher. The U.S. Department of Education took notice of the case and sent the teacher to the “Rubber Room” for a few months. This is what the “Reassignment Centers” for teachers who have committed serious violations are called.
He stayed there until a decision from the Department was finally announced in the fall of 2018. Belsky was fired for “inappropriate internet behavior towards students.”
Teachers should only engage with students online when it involves pedagogically valuable content. Additionally, there had been further issues with his performance as a teacher.
Teacher claims no wrongdoing
Teacher does not accept the dismissal: Belsky admits that he should have discussed the Fortnite action better with his superiors. Nevertheless, he does not want to simply accept the dismissal and has hired a lawyer to reclaim his job in court.
He had been a teacher for eight years, and there had never been any complaints. He also defends his Fortnite action:
“This game is incredibly popular with children. I need to find a way to reach them, to persuade them to do their homework. I love what I do; I am a good teacher!”
So it remains to be seen whether Belsky’s dismissal will stand or whether he will get his job back.
Today, the first patch for Apex Legends went live. Update 1.03 fixes a major issue with crashes and includes additional updates. We summarize them for you.
This is what the patch fixes: Today, on February 13, the first update with version number 1.03 for Apex Legends was released. The first patch for the young free-to-play game addresses a major issue with crashes that players have been complaining about.
Additionally, there are new Valentine’s outfits and various stability and performance improvements.
The patch notes 1.03 of the new update
This major issue is fixed: The new update primarily addresses the crash issue that some players have been experiencing. According to the patch notes, this primarily occurred for players with slower hard drives.
However, it seems that the issues have not completely disappeared. Some are still reporting crashes and connection problems.
The community manager Jay Frechette already announced on Reddit that they are working on the issues.
This is also included in the patch:
The Valentine’s Day cosmetics, the “Through the Heart” skin and “Love of the Game” Pathfinder banner frames were added. They are available in the store from today until February 19.
There were various improvements to the user interface.
Among other things, a glitch that seemingly allowed item duplication was fixed.
Some points on the map were fixed that could have caused players to glitch through the ground.
Storm is currently the most popular Javelin in Anthem. During the demo, the developers noticed that the exosuit was too powerful and issued a nerf to it.
What kind of nerf is this?Storm is able to hover in the air. While hovering, its shield bubble becomes stronger.
In the demo, Storm’s shield bubble provided immunity against status effects. These are triggered by elemental attacks such as ice or acid. This will no longer be the case at the release of Anthem.
Storm will be able to receive a status effect at launch despite having an active second shield.
Storm generates an additional shield when hovering.
Here’s why Storm is getting the nerf
All Javelins in Anthem are capable of flying. One of Storm’s strengths is that it can do this longer than the other exosuits. If Javelins are affected by a status effect, they fall down and can no longer fly. Once Storm’s second shield was active, enemies could not bring it down by inflicting a status effect.
Why the nerf is important: Flying gives Javelins a significant advantage as they can attack their enemies from above. This provides better oversight, and they can also more easily hit multiple foes. Storm causes high elemental area damage. When in the air, it can effortlessly bombard entire groups of enemies and prepare powerful combo attacks .
In the video below from MrTriggahigga of the MeinMMO community, you can see why Storm’s shield was so strong. MrTriggahigga also alerted the author to the nerf. In a reaction to the video, Lead Producer Ben Irving announced the nerf to Storm.
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The developers wanted Anthem to make everyone feel like a superhero. In the beginning, flying was their primary focus, and the entire gameplay was built around it.
Flying becomes quickly too powerful: In an interview with Jeux Video, the developers explained how tricky it is to find the right balance regarding flying. They want players to be able to live out their power fantasies and feel powerful. However, it should not be the case that players become so powerful that they have no challenges left.
Therefore, the developers designed ways for Javelins to be ripped from the air under certain circumstances. Status effects are among them.
Storm is quite strong: This is actually not surprising, as Storm is shaping up to be a quite powerful Javelin. Especially the long hovering gives it an advantage. Its elemental attacks are the perfect setup for combo attacks.
Combo attacks consist of Primers and Detonators. Primers deal elemental damage and must be applied first. When a player then uses a Detonator attack, it triggers the combo effect, making the attack stronger. Storm, with its elemental attacks, is the perfect combo starter.
What do you think of this Storm nerf? Will the Storm mains among you now look for a different Javelin?
Apex Legends has successfully concluded its first tournament full of highlights. However, pro player Shroud received criticism and was suddenly cut off.
What happened during the stream? During the tournament, Twitch’s studio briefly switched to Shroud in his private stream, where he was sharing his tournament experience. One might have expected an exciting scene, but it seems they had caught the wrong moment.
Because the pro was actually criticizing the event heavily and complained about the unfortunate tournament scheduling:
“Oh yeah, you can’t take a break! The format is really kind of crap! Four hours of continuous crap…”
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The Twitch viewers couldn’t hear Shroud any longer, as the broadcast was cut off here and switched back to the Twitch studio.
It seemed like Twitch did not want to hear the criticism of the tournament and just cut Shroud off in the middle of his sentence. The viewers in the stream commented on this en masse with laughter in the chat window.
Twitch moderator slightly amused by Shroud
Why was Shroud dissatisfied? The pro gamer was apparently unhappy with the tournament scheduling. The tournament lasted a full four hours, and a “bathroom break” was not planned. This apparently did not sit well with Shroud. The criticism in Twitch’s studio was, however, taken humorously.
“Sounds like Shroud is just now realizing what he signed up for,” commented the moderator in the Twitch studio briefly and without further ado.
By the way, pro player Ninja from Fortnite snagged the victory at the Twitch Rivals tournament but received quite a bit of criticism for the win:
How many players should Anthem have at once? According to Electronic Arts, the online shooter is expected to sell about 6 million copies in the first 6 weeks. EA was disappointed by similar sales figures for Battlefield 5 in 2018,but for a new brand, that would be remarkable.
These are EA’s expectations for Anthem: As announced by Electronic Arts’ CFO, Blake Jorgensen, EA expects to sell 5 to 6 million units of Anthem by the end of the fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2019.
So Anthem has only 6 weeks to sell about the number of copies that Battlefield 5 has sold since its release.
This is what EA says: The CEO of Electronic Arts, Andrew Wilson, stated that the expectations for Anthem have not changed compared to the last quarter.
According to Wilson, the demo made it clear to people that Anthem is a different game than anything they have played before. Wilson believes there is a great opportunity for Anthem, not just this year, but the title is expected to sell well for a long time, while continuously expanding the game.
How many units is that in comparison? With 6 million units sold, Anthem would be about as strong as Battlefield 5, which sold around 6.2 million copies – but fell short of expectations and was a disappointment. EA had actually expected to sell a million more units of Battlefield 5.
Battlefield 5, however, was in a completely different situation as an established franchise compared to the “new brand” Anthem.
For BioWare’s last game, Mass Effect Andromeda, there are no exact sales figures. It is assumed to have sold about 2 million units. Currently, the franchise is on ice.
For FIFA 19, the TOTW 22 (Team of the Week 22) is now known. These players will receive new Inform cards in Ultimate Team.
The best cards in TOTW 22: Two players with a 90 overall rating made it into the team: James Rodriguez and Pogba. Also, Casemiro and Thiago Silva are strong contenders with a rating of 89 each.
Bundesliga players in the current Team of the Week: Rodriguez from Bayern with a rating of 90 is the top Bundesliga player in TOTW 22. Additionally, Bellarabi (85), Hinteregger (81), Selke (81), and Cordoba (80, 2. Bundesliga) are part of the team.
The entire Team of the Week 22 at a glance:
All player cards in the new TOTW 22
Starting XI – TOTW 22:
GK: Salvatore Sirigu, 84 – FC Turin
CB: Thiago Silva, 89 – PSG
LB: Aymeric Laporte, 86 – Manchester City
CB: Dante, 83 – OGC Nice
CDM: Casemiro, 89 – Real Madrid
CM: Paul Pogba, 90 – Manchester United
CM: James Rodriguez, 90 – FC Bayern Munich
RM: Pizzi, 85 – Benfica Lisbon
LW: Raheem Sterling, 87 – Manchester City
RW: Karim Bellarabi, 85 – Bayer 04 Leverkusen
ST: Edin Dzeko, 87 – AS Roma
Substitutes – TOTW 22:
GK: Alban Lafont, 81 – AC Florence
CB: Martin Hinteregger, 81 – Eintracht Frankfurt
CM: Younes Belhanda, 83 – Galatasaray Istanbul
RM: Robert Skov, 82 – FC Copenhagen
ST: Davie Selke, 81 – Hertha BSC
ST: Mata, 81 – FC Getafe
ST: Billy Sharp, 82 – Sheffield United
CB: Artur Jedrzejczyk, 78 – Legia Warsaw
CM: Mohammed Osman, 76 – Heracles Almelo
ST: Che Adams, 78 – Birmingham City
ST: Youssef En-Nesyri, 79 – CD Leganes
ST: Jhon Cordoba, 80 – FC Cologne
The release time of TOTW 22: The Team of the Week will be released on February 13th at 7 PM. You will be able to get it from packs in FUT 19 for a week until the next Wednesday at 7 PM.
Which of these players do you want in your Ultimate Team?
However, the chance of getting them is quite low; you will need a lot of luck accordingly.
Additionally, it is possible to buy the TOTW cards on the transfer market. However, prices are often extremely high, especially for top players.
Investing and trading with Team of the Week cards
Trading and investments with TOTW cards: If you are willing to take a certain risk, you can earn a lot of coins with TOTW cards and the predictions around them. You need to be aware that these predictions never match the “real” TOTW 100%. Therefore, there is no guarantee that your investment will pay off.
What was said? Last night, Activision Blizzard held its earnings call. The company leaders had to answer to investors. They discussed the successes and failures of the past year and gave an outlook on 2019 and the following years.
What exactly was said? The developer teams for all major franchises will be significantly increased over the course of 2019. In total, they want to raise the number of developers by about 20% and have already begun to “aggressively recruit new talent.” This will likely continue throughout the year. As a result, 2019 will be a rather quiet year, as there are no major releases from Blizzard.
More Warcraft and Diablo in the future: Blizzard cited World of Warcraft as an example of a franchise that continues to receive a lot of content even after years and delivers regularly. But new Warcraft games are also in planning, as “Blizzard is also investing in other Warcraft games and working on further ways to satisfy the community of this ongoing and beloved franchise.”
Also
for Diablo, the “number of developers” is steadily increasing. The
teams are working on several new projects, but also on the global
launch of Diablo Immortal.
Which games could come? The statements leave a lot of room for speculation. In addition to Diablo Immortal, work is reportedly also actively ongoing on a Diablo 4. A more action-oriented title, possibly from the first person perspective, has been discussed for Diablo from time to time but has never been confirmed.
For
Warcraft, fans are also expecting a mobile offshoot that
leans more towards strategy and delivers short, punchy rounds like
in Hearthstone. While fans are also yearning for a Warcraft 4, it seems rather unlikely for now, as Blizzard would then be competing with its own Warcraft 3: Reforged.
In summary,
it can be said that many Warcraft and Diablo games are planned for the
coming years. Whether they will target Blizzard’s “core players” remains to be seen.
However, anyone who is open to all gaming platforms has reason to be
happy.
Do you look positively towards the future? Are you already excited for many new games from Blizzard? Or are the negative news just too overwhelming for any joy to arise?
Our author Noah has long been at level 40 in Pokémon GO and now critically views the maximum level. For him, level 40 is too easy to reach and therefore worthless.
I love Pokémon GO and have been there since day 1. Leveling up in the game has always been a lot of fun for me. But I’m slowly getting tired of leveling and am annoyed that the XP is almost thrown at you.
Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to gain experience points. Leveling in the game has changed dramatically over the years. For me, this change is more negative, because now level 40 is hardly worth anything.
What particularly bothers me about leveling
When I recently went to a raid, I realized again how little significance level 40 has nowadays.
A Palkia was on the arena. I have often defeated this monster with two others. Now two other players also signed up for the raid with me. Both level 40.
But in the end, the three of us couldn’t defeat the raid boss. Simply because the other two players didn’t have decent Pokémon in their ranks.
This is a problem: Many players have reached level 40 so quickly and easily, that there is simply a lack of stardust and good Pokémon. Just because a player is at the maximum level doesn’t mean they have strong Pokémon.
This was different in the early days. And I preferred it that way.
This is how leveling has changed
This is why: There are now so many ways to level up quickly. Be it through raids or the friendship feature. But you don’t have to catch Pokémon for that.
I became level 40 when there were just raids for a month. Otherwise, there was only catching and evolving Pokémon to earn XP.
EXP inflation in Pokémon GO devalues the level
This is how one always received more EXP in Pokémon GO: When raids were introduced, I was quite shocked when they said you could get 10,000 XP for just one raid.
Now there is also the friendship feature. I find the amount of XP you get for a level-up to be way too high. You just need to open one gift a day and after 90 days you get 200,000 XP? That is not in any relation to normal leveling.
Even though you don’t receive the XP after just a few days, it is still much easier to generate experience points.
There is a lot of EXP for that: To illustrate the change of the EXP, I will show examples of what gives a lot of EXP and when these features were introduced:
Action in the game
Introduction
Amount of XP
Catch Pokémon
June 2016
100 XP
Evolve Pokémon
June 2016
500 XP
Legendary Raid
July 2017
10,000 XP
Become Best Friends
June 2018
100,000 XP
This is the result: Nowadays, a large part of the player base in my region is at maximum level. Many players only had to open gifts and activate a lucky egg. Many players don’t even have 10,000 Pokémon caught before reaching level 40.
When I leveled up in August 2017, I had already caught over 20,000 Pokémon. This is noticeable in the stardust and strong Pokémon.
That’s why I find level 40 worthless
This is what I think of the current maximum level: Don’t get me wrong. Reaching level 40 is still a great experience and a goal that many players have set for themselves. I just don’t find it comparable to a level-up back in the day.
The classic Pokémon catching should be in the foreground again and better rewarded. Sitting on the couch for 5 minutes and opening your gifts should not give more XP than several hours of intense Pokémon hunting. Here, the roles are simply reversed.
This is what I find unfortunate: A few days ago, I reached 100 million XP. You only need 20 million for level 40. However, at first glance, you can’t see any difference between me and a player who just reached the maximum level, even though the difference is huge.
If you can’t see the difference, then it’s difficult to plan raids. Can I do the raid with three people? Do we need perhaps a fourth player? This is no longer possible with just a simple glance at the level. Therefore, for me, this level is simply worthless now.
When you can get XP so easily, why not just increase the maximum level or make it visible to everyone how many experience points the players have?
A few days ago, I reached 100 million XP.
My conclusion: If nothing changes in the system, I will continue to find level 40 worthless, as it says nothing about a player’s strength and their Pokémon.
On one side, I’m always happy for players in my community who reach the maximum level, but on the other side, the level is becoming more and more worthless because players have to do less and less for it.
Are you level 40 and don’t know how to motivate yourself anymore? We have tips:
Fortnite: Battle Royale faces competition from the surprise hit Apex Legends. Top Fortnite player Tfue believes he knows the reasons and has advice for Epic on how to turn things around.
Why does Tfue think Fortnite is at a disadvantage against Apex? Tfue is the best Fortnite player in the world and has previously played various battle royale games. He knows his stuff.
It’s mainly because Fortnite is too complex and stressful for newcomers and casuals.
“The way these kids build in Fortnite today… Motherf**ker, if some lazy casual gamer comes into the game, they get walled in, trapped, and shot. How is that supposed to be fun for them?”
The skill gap, meaning the difference in skill between veterans and newcomers, has become too large in Fortnite.
In Apex, however, it’s different. There’s no building, and the game is still new and fresh; you just pick up a weapon and start shooting. According to Tfue, everyone can have fun and success in Apex Legends.
In Fortnite, however, newcomers and casuals face frustration and annoyance as they get devoured by better players.
Fortnite needs to be fresh and exciting again
According to Tfue, this is Fortnite’s big problem: Tfue believes Fortnite has a significant issue. And it’s not the currently overpowered hand cannon. The game has simply become too repetitive, too old-fashioned, and stale.
Even though Epic constantly changes things and throws in new weapons and items, the game has become too monotonous for Tfue.
This is the solution Tfue has for Fortnite: Therefore, Tfue demands that Epic finally change the game from the ground up. This primarily includes a new map. That would make everything exciting and new again.
A new map has long been demanded by Fortnite fans. However, nothing has been seen so far. However, the competition from Apex has already led to Fortnite suddenly announcing ranked play, a feature that fans have been waiting for just as long as a new map.
It’s quite possible that the upcoming Season 8 will change more than previously assumed. So far, little is known about it, so groundbreaking innovations may very well be on the way.
Players have stumbled upon hidden triumphs in the context of the Crimson Week in Destiny 2, which can be unlocked during the event. We will show you what you need to do.
Secret triumphs discovered: The Valentine’s Day event “Crimson Week” is currently ongoing in Destiny 2. During this festival of love, players can test the bonds with their best friends and grab all sorts of event-specific loot.
For collectors’ hearts, the event offers numerous exclusive rewards as well as new triumphs. However, some of these feats are hidden and are not even showing up in the database yet. Only once you fulfill them will they be visible in-game in the Triumphs tab.
What lies behind the secret triumphs: Aside from the 10 visible triumphs, there are three additional hidden ones that can be earned during the Crimson Week. Clever guardians have figured out how to unlock them. All three send you into the Crucible.
However, note that specific exotic weapons are required for these triumphs, which not everyone may possess yet. Particularly Year 2 exotics are still a foreign concept for some guardians.
Furthermore, there are no points awarded for these triumphs. They are a nice bonus for all collectors and completionists. They are not required for the exotic Ghost shell.
How to unlock the secret triumphs:
Avenged a team member in the Crimson Doubles playlist. Use the pulse rifle Wings of the Vigilant
Achieve a double kill in the Crimson Doubles playlist with the hand cannon Crimson
Take out an entire enemy team in the Crimson Doubles playlist. Use the rocket launcher Twin-tailed Fox
Keep in mind that you have until February 19 to earn these achievements. Then this year’s Valentine’s Day event ends. By the way, this is the last planned content for Season 5. You can learn what happens next in Destiny 2 here:
In Overwatch something is set to happen in 2019. The developers promise this in a conference call. We will show you what Blizzard has already announced.
In 2019, significantly more time should be invested in the game and more developers should be involved with Overwatch. Blizzard has not yet disclosed specific plans, but something is expected to happen.
What awaits Overwatch in 2019
This is how Blizzard wants to do more for Overwatch: In their “Earnings Call” for the 4th quarter of 2018, numerous Blizzard employees spoke about the changes in 2019. For Overwatch, Blizzard promised an expansion of the development team.
Despite the layoff of nearly 800 employees, Blizzard will increase the Overwatch team by 20% in 2019. More people will work on new features and improvements to the game.
Are there specific plans? So far, Blizzard has not said anything concrete about their plans for Overwatch. The developers stated that they have “numerous new ideas” for the game.
2019 will likely remain quite calm around Overwatch. The new developers are expected to be hired throughout the year. The new ideas will likely only be realized then. However, it might happen faster, and perhaps by the end of 2019, some new features might be visible. This remains to be seen.
That’s why it’s surprising: In their conversation, the developers also mentioned that the games Overwatch and Hearthstone experienced a decline in net revenues in 2018. They did not generate as much money as they used to.
It is all the more surprising that Blizzard is planning an expansion of the Overwatch team. Apparently, the company still sees significant potential in its game and wants to halt the decline in revenue.
What else has been said? In their conference, Blizzard also addressed their other games and provided insights into what is planned for these games. The plans are largely identical – more employees and more content, but probably not until 2020.
It remains to be seen when we can expect the innovations. The Overwatch team will likely not be expanded until the coming weeks. Now, it’s up to the community to find out what major innovations Blizzard is planning.
Despite the major innovations being announced, Blizzard’s financial situation in 2019 does not look very good:
The new trailer for Far Cry: New Dawn shows cosmetic items and the crazy unicorn trike of the game.
The release of Far Cry: New Dawn is imminent, the latest title in the Far Cry series. It directly follows one of the possible endings of Far Cry 5.
Colorful clothes fit the colorful world: However, the new installment takes place 17 years after a nuclear catastrophe. The world has been in regeneration for quite some time now. In many places, you’ll find colorful flowers and many plants that shine in their colors. It fits the bill to incorporate crazy colorful cosmetics.
The unicorn trike: Who wouldn’t want to speed through the post-apocalyptic world of Far Cry on a bright pink trike equipped with a machine gun? This is probably a question the developers at Ubisoft asked themselves and decided to gift all pre-order customers this cute vehicle.
It can accommodate a driver and a passenger. The passenger then stands in the back in the shooter’s area and can shoot the Highwaymen that cross your path during your adventures.
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What cosmetics are available? In the trailer, you also see weapons like a flamethrower, which is colored in pink, yellow, and blue similar to the unicorn trike. A knight’s armor is also part of the cosmetics.
The thumbnail of the YouTube trailer also shows a unicorn outfit made up of a blue overall with a hood that has a unicorn head.
The exclusive “Legion of Dawn” skin
