The free battle royale game has a price on PS4. And that is due to the age rating of Apex Legends.
A price for a free-to-play game? On February 4, Apex Legends was released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. This is a battle royale set in the Titanfall universe. And although you can download the game for free on PC and Xbox One as announced, you will be charged in the PS Store.
On PS4, Apex Legends costs 25 cents for the standard version.
What is the minimum age for Apex Legends? The USK rated Apex Legends as “Not rated for youth” and therefore for ages 18 and up. Sony is not allowed to offer games without youth release for free in the PS Store. That’s why there is a small fee of 25 cents for Apex Legends. This is probably to be understood as a symbolic value that says “See? Not free.”
As GamePro knows, this regulation only applies to users of the German PS Store.
Subscribers to the PS Plus service receive Apex Legends for free, as the members must prove that they are 18 years old.
Not the first free game that costs something on PS4: The shooter Warframe is also actually free, but has a price of 49 cents in the PS Store. The reason is that this shooter has an age rating of 16 and did not receive a youth release.
How to download Apex Legends without PS Plus
The purchase price creates a barrier for some PS4 users, even if the price is low. If you do not have any balance on your Sony account, you need to top it up first.
If you don’t want to share your account information, you have to resort to gift cards, which are available starting at a value of 5€. However, you often still have leftover amounts on your Sony account from previous purchases that you can use to pay for the game.
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ID Check – Confirm age in the PS Store: For age verification in the PS Store, an ID is needed that confirms your age. This can be an identity card or a passport. This age verification is only necessary once. After that, the account is permanently cleared for purchases with age restrictions.
In FIFA 19 the TOTW 21 (Team of the Week) will be released today on February 6th in Ultimate Team. Which players will get new Inform cards this week? You can find out here in the overview.
The release time for TOTW 21: The Team of the Week will be available on February 6th at 7 PM in Ultimate Team mode. Then the special cards of the TDW players will be available in packs starting from 7 PM.
The players in Team of the Week 21: Here you can see all the new Inform cards:
Team of the Week 21 Overview – All Cards
How to get TOTW players: You can pull the Inform cards from all packs that may contain gold players,
Additionally, it is possible to buy the TOTW cards on the transfer market. However, the prices are often extremely high, especially for good players.
When will the new TOTW players be available? The TDW players are available in the sets for one week – from Wednesday at 7 PM to the following Wednesday at 7 PM.
This is how you can earn money beforehand
Many football and FIFA experts make their predictions about which players might land in the upcoming TOTW. You can read the predictions for TDW 21 here.
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. However, be aware that these predictions never match the “real” TOTW 100%. So, there is no guarantee that your investment will pay off.
For some players, it is the worst “nerf” in Hearthstone. Because the lovely Jaina Proudmoore is now dressed more modestly.
A new patch in Hearthstone is live and brought many changes with it. In addition to a cool new card back, there are also some nerfs to old cards. However, it didn’t take long for fans to discover another “nerf” to one of the oldest characters ever: Jaina.
Jaina is now more covered: Actually, it is just a very small change to the representation of the hero Jaina, but it caught the attention of many players right away. Jaina has now been given a undershirt to cover her cleavage a bit more and significantly reduce the neckline.
Fans react outraged: The players are reacting negatively to this adjustment, and corresponding posts in the Hearthstone subreddit are popping up everywhere. Many are wondering why a bit of cleavage on Jaina is such a terrible thing, when other characters, like Garrosh, are present in the game with bare upper bodies. This has led to images like this one, which speaks of a “Garrosh nerf”:
Players respond with sarcasm: As expected, the adjustment was of course a fitting reason for a lot of mockery and ridicule. A corresponding post on Reddit has now received more than 6,500 upvotes. In addition, there are plenty of sarcastic comments pouring in:
“That’s why I hate video games, because they are just trimmed for the female fantasy.”
“Calm down, guys. She’s only wearing that because it’s winter.”
“This has really bothered me for years, and that’s why I stopped playing Hearthstone. Now I can give the game another chance and maybe even make it to Legend without being overwhelmed by my impulses. Thanks, Blizzard!”
A small “workaround”: The Hearthstone community wouldn’t be the Hearthstone community if they didn’t find a “workaround.” Because the Death Knight variant of Jaina has not been given an additional piece of fabric.
For many players, this is probably “the worst nerf to the classic set of all time.” Let’s see if the Jaina fans will recover from this.
Apex Legends is, for our author Jürgen, the battle royale game he has always wished for. You can find out why here.
This was my first reaction to Apex: When I, Jürgen, first heard about Apex Legends, it was still said here in the editorial office, “Hey, apparently a new game from the Titanfall developers is supposed to be coming out on Monday. It’s going to be freshly announced and immediately released and is supposed to be a battle royale game in the Titanfall setting.”
When I heard that, I just thought, “What nonsense! Who needs a new battle royale game in 2019? And it’s supposed to just come out without announcement and hype? What rubbish!”
But I was completely wrong.
Good ideas thought through to the end
Since I really like battle royales, I still wanted to try out Apex Legends. As soon as I started the game, I quickly noticed a lot of cool features that make Apex better than Fortnite and others.
These were mainly things that I found annoying and dumb in the other BR games:
This is how Apex addresses waiting times: I hate nothing more than the stupid lobby in BR games. Waiting for minutes and uselessly lounging around while the server looks for enough players is incredibly annoying! I have limited free time and want to use it optimally. Being stuck in a lobby is the opposite of fun.
Instead of a dumb lobby, Apex starts in just a few seconds.
In Apex Legends, things happen extremely quickly. There is no lobby, just a screen that assembles the required 60 players into 20 teams of 3 in seconds. Once the round is full, it goes to hero selection and we’re already in the plane and can jump.
This is how jumping out becomes enjoyable: What also annoys me about Fortnite and others: trolling teammates who just randomly jump out of the plane and land who-knows-where. Of course, they get quickly devoured and the remaining players also won’t last long.
In a team with the Jumpmaster, we all go to the landing point together.
In Apex, however, there is a randomly selected Jump Leader for each team by default. When he jumps, the team automatically jumps with him and glides down to the landing spot in sync and very quickly.
You can voluntarily detach from the team jump at any time, but the standard is the synchronised jump. This way, you are guaranteed to reach the target area as a team and can have a lot of fun even with randoms.
This is how Apex solves one of the big problems in the genre: A large part of the thrill in battle royale comes from the fact that you can be shot at any time and then permanently eliminated from the round. In team mode – and Apex only supports teams of 3 – you still have the chance of revival, but if you miss that, you’re out for a while and the team can often forget about it because they are outnumbered.
Especially with random teams, this often leads to frustration when you are not revived in time due to teammates’ mistakes. But unlimited respawns would ruin the essence of battle royale.
My teammate successfully carried my banner to the spawn beacon. I’ll be back in action soon!
But here, the developers at Respawn Entertainment (the name says it all!) have come up with a brilliant idea. There are respawns in the game, but they are not easy to obtain.
If you go down and no one revives you, you are dead. But your mates have 60 seconds to retrieve a “banner” from your death location. The player then carries the banner, and if he takes it to one of the strategically distributed respawn beacons on the map, you can re-enter the game.
However, you are completely unarmed again and must find equipment or be gifted by generous teammates.
Still, these respawns are a very good idea that promotes team play even in random teams and can give disadvantaged teams a chance for a comeback.
This is how Apex improves reviving: Overall, Apex seems to place a lot of value on team play and reviving. When you go down, you can activate a special shield that at least partially protects you from fire.
With the shield, I can safely revive my friends and fully play my medic role.
This way, a brave medic can heroically throw himself into the hail of bullets and has a real chance of reviving you. Also, you earn points for the revive, so you can really contribute to the game as a medic.
This is how Apex supports team play in random groups: One problem in many BR games is when you play in a random group and communication is off. Voice chat, which Apex also has, could be an idea, but not every player has a mic or is willing to use it.
And the language barrier is also a problem when you play with people who only speak their native language.
In Apex, there is the option to trigger a lot of predefined commands and announcements with a simple mouse click. This way, you can quickly mark loot, ping enemies, or announce the approach of the death zone. There’s even a function that lets you say “thank you” at the press of a button when your teammates gift you something.
This increases team bonding and also the atmosphere, as the announcements are voiced by your hero in his voice and with character-appropriate sayings.
This is how Apex ensures a fast flow of the game: The gameplay of Apex is fast-paced and straightforward, yet surprisingly complex. There are weapon addons like scopes or stock attachments. However, they are automatically integrated into the currently active weapon in its best version when you find them. So you don’t have to fumble around in your inventory until you mount the right upgrade.
On top of that, the gameplay is pleasantly fast and the gunplay is smooth and fun. You usually play quite actively, running and shooting from cover to cover. Campers have a hard time due to various anti-camping skills of individual heroes. This improves the flow of the game.
This is how Apex creates a great battle royale atmosphere: The map of Apex is quite small and the 20 teams of 3 fill it optimally. With zip lines, climbing, and diving mechanics, and no fall damage, you can traverse this map quickly. You can encounter enemies anywhere.
Then it may pay to be well-equipped. But that’s where Apex tightens the screws, as there isn’t really much loot. And when you finally have a weapon, ammunition is also scarce.
Unlike in Fortnite, where you are bombarded with loot, good loot in Apex is rare, and thus especially wild fights over the first weapons erupt during landing.
To make the fun even greater, the game designates special zones at the beginning as “hot zones” that promise especially good loot – and displays this prominently and clearly for everyone on the map!
Here you can see right away where there will probably be a lot of loot and likely also enemies!
Especially daring players jump right at the beginning onto a floating supply depot, where a lot of loot is packed into a tight space and epic massacres occur!
Also cool: the game declares before each match a player who performed particularly well in the previous round as the champion. If you take them down, you’ll earn a lot of points for your progress. Large video screens display at all times who the sought-after champion is.
Here you can see who is currently worth a lot of points.
When they are taken out, there is a big announcement over the speakers. This is fun and enhances the atmosphere of being in a futuristic killer game show.
Finally Battle Royale with Heroes
Apex Legends was also marketed as a Battle Royale with heroes like Overwatch. That sounded really cool and no game had managed to do this properly yet. Realm Royale had recently failed colossally at this. Will Apex finally deliver here?
Here’s why the heroes are a great idea: In short: Yes, the heroes work! Each team picks a hero per player before the game starts. Duplicate heroes in the team are not possible. The selection happens in a fixed order. So if you see that there’s already a tank and DD in the team, a supporter might be a good idea.
The eight heroes, referred to as Legends, can use every weapon and equipment. They also have the same health stats. However, they differ in their appearance and skills. Each hero has one active, one passive, and one ultimate skill.
The latter must recharge during gameplay, while the active skill has a cooldown time.
This is how the skills work: The sprightly medic Lifeline can call in a healing drone that repairs the whole team in seconds. The soldier Bangalore, on the other hand, becomes faster when shot at. If you don’t catch her immediately, you might never have the chance again. And when you play as Wraith, you can even become briefly invisible and attack enemies from behind.
While I revive a teammate, the drone takes care of healing.
The mix of skills appears to be well-balanced so far, and the right choice of heroes can determine victory or defeat. I once had a round where a scout player named Bloodhound reliably spied out opponents with his “wall hack skill” and pinged all the information to the team.
In another match, a player chose the robot Pathfinder, who easily reached the respawn beacon with his grappling hook, bringing our team back from the dead. I, on the other hand, could completely heal my team with Lifeline and the healing drone, as well as the care package drop after we stumbled out half-dead from the “zone,” allowing us to optimally prepare for the final battle.
Jürgen’s conclusion: I don’t need Fortnite anymore!
Apex Legends captivated me from the first round more than all the other battle royale games before it. Everything works here! The game runs smoothly, finds a match in seconds, and finally offers unique heroes! The gameplay is at my pace, and the building that I’ve never gotten the hang of in Fortnite is thankfully absent!
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And the fun is not missed. Apex relies on dark humor that somewhat resembles Borderlands in its look. The robot always has a happy smiley on the screen, and the big tank has a finishing move where he simply sits on the opponent!
Therefore, I won’t be getting away from Apex anytime soon. Now I only hope that the infamous “curse of the flop” doesn’t apply to battle royale and that Apex Legends has a long life ahead of it.
At least the current player numbers are promising, and if the developers continue consistently, they could finally create a serious competitor to Fortnite. After all, Fortnite also emerged from nowhere and fought its way to the top. Why shouldn’t this happen again?
A new card back in Hearthstone requires a certain level of friendliness. Only then can you obtain it.
A new patch has been deployed in Hearthstone. This included among other things nerfs to some old cards, but also a cool new feature that all players can now experience. There is a new card back, for which players must complete a specific task: Play.
How to get the Hakkar back: A few players automatically received the new card back “Hakkar” after the patch. If you’re not one of the lucky ones, you will need to play matches (in Arena, Standard, Wild, and even private matches) until you face an opponent who already possesses and has equipped the card back. Once you finish a game against an opponent who had the card back equipped, you will also receive it in your collection.
Trolls could be annoying: Those who are stingy and do not want to contribute to the spread of the card back could simply not equip it. However, it is likely only a matter of time before all players receive the card back – because fortunately, the internet is not just full of selfish trolls.
Reference to WoW event: The card back from Hakkar and its spread is a reference to an incident in the history of World of Warcraft. There, the boss Hakkar could inflict players with the Blood Plague, which spread to other players. Due to a bug, players could “carry out” the plague from the raid, infecting innocent players in the cities. In no time, Orgrimmar was wiped out.
That’s what it looked like back in WoW.
The Moon Festival brings extra rewards: Besides the card back, the Moon Festival is currently taking place in Hearthstone. Quests grant additional Arcane Dust alongside Gold for a few weeks, allowing you to craft rare cards faster. It’s worth being a bit more active in the coming days.
Have you already got the new card back and are you sharing it widely? Or are you not using it so that not everyone gets the new card back?
With some crazy skin concepts, fans have given the Overwatch heroes a new look. The ideas show that some of the heroes would really make great employees at various fast food chains.
Fans of Overwatch express their creativity time and again with new concepts for heroes or skins. This results in alternatives to the official skins like those from the current New Year’s event. This time, the community has come up with various skins inspired by McDonald’s and Subway.
The latest idea is a McDonald’s skin for McCree from Twitter user EmBBu. In classic red and yellow, McCree has fries instead of his cigar and a ketchup bottle and a soft drink cup in his holsters.
The details like the “MEAL” on his belt buckle, “I’m lovin’ it” on his gun belt, and a McDonald’s M on his robot arm are causing great amusement in the community.
Subway Hanzo with Dragon Sandwich: One of the first skins was given to the archer Hanzo, also by EmBBu. In his Subway skin, he wears the classic green, a short apron, and of course the sandwich chain’s logo.
However, the highlight of the skin is his ultimate. Instead of shooting two dragons, he fires two sandwiches that spin around each other. The community humorously titled it: “Let the sandwich consume you!”
Genji works at a “cooler place”: In response, Twitter user TueJellygay created a skin for Genji. He was supposed to work “at a cooler place” than his brother.
So Genji received the uniform of a Starbucks employee including a green hipster hat and a milk dragon. The excited reactions from fans with phrases like “The Latte becomes me!” will not be translated due to apparent issues with the word “Latte.”
Cinnamon Rolls for Zenyatta: TrueJellygay continued to be creative and created a new skin for Zenyatta. He works in his alternate form for the lesser-known chain Cinnabon in Germany.
Cinnabon is a bakery and coffee chain, particularly known for its cinnamon rolls (hence Cinnabon from the English “cinnamon”). Accordingly, Zenyatta’s orbs in this skin consist of cinnamon rolls with icing.
Starbucks Ashe was the first stone: Several ideas have also been suggested on Reddit. Among others, there was an idea for a “Coffee Shop” skin for the latest hero Ashe, which was soon implemented as well. Reddit user Snoween displayed his interpretation of the skin.
The version is still quite unrefined and shows few details. However, fans mainly celebrate Bob’s appearance, even though he still has a rather creepy look.
For trademark reasons, the skins you see above will likely not be implemented as is. However, they are so popular that a similar adaptation is quite likely.
In Pokémon GO there is now, for a limited time, Shiny Meltan. Many players consider this event to be Pay2Win by Niantic. We investigate these concerns.
What happened? Until March 4, players worldwide now have the chance to catch Shiny Meltan. The Meltan come from the Mystery Box, which you receive when trading Pokémon with a Let’s GO game.
Many players are now annoyed because they do not want to buy such a game just to get the Mystery Box and thus a Shiny Meltan. They accuse Niantic of being Pay2Win, meaning you only get something if you pay beforehand. But is that really the case?
What annoys players about the Mystery Box
This is the problem: Meltan cannot be found in the wild or in raids. When you complete the special research, you only get one Meltan. You only receive additional Meltan if you trade a Pokémon with one of the Let’s GO games. It is therefore assumed that you have access to a Let’s GO game.
This is what players say: In our Facebook group, many players are complaining about this event. Jennifer B. writes, “Great, without a Switch this event is also stupid” and receives support.
Thomas M. sees the whole thing a bit more relaxed and writes: “Pfff – nobody buys the Switch just for Shiny Meltan. Eventually, there will be another event where everyone gets thrown the creatures.”
Some players are also frustrated on Reddit. They say: “What if you don’t have access to the Mystery Box? Then you are out of luck.”
This is what players accuse Niantic of: You can definitely only get a Mystery Box in connection with another console and another game. Players now accuse Niantic of only being able to take advantage of this event if you invest money and buy a Let’s GO game.
How you can bypass the purchase: Other players only see this principle as a clever marketing tactic by Niantic. You do not necessarily need to own a Let’s GO game to access the Mystery Box.
It is enough if another player owns a Let’s GO game and then provides everyone access. For example, they can bring the Switch to a raid and within 10 minutes, everyone in the raid group has a Mystery Box on their account. All you have to do is connect with the Switch and send a Pokémon. In return, you get the Mystery Box.
What do you think of the event? Do you consider the Mystery Box to be Pay2Win?
There is also another event currently running in Pokémon GO. You can find everything about the New Year event here:
We are giving away two copies of Youtuber’s Life OMG! for the PS4 here. You can find out how to participate in the giveaway here.
What is Youtubers Life OMG? In this simulator game by U-Play online, you take on the role of a small Youtuber who wants to make it big. You start your life at your parents’ house, find your first fans, and collect more likes.
There are several different “career paths” to choose from. These include:
Gaming Youtuber
Music Youtuber
Or Cooking Youtuber
They all have to complete different tasks to advance their channel and continue to grow. This means you have to make advertising and influencer contracts with big companies, but also interact with your fans and haters on social media.
Youtuber’s Life OMG is available on all platforms, including iOS and Android. You can watch the launch trailer here:
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What can you win? You can win one of the two physical copies of Youtubers Life OMG! for the PS4.
How can I participate? To participate in the giveaway, you must complete at least three of the actions listed below in the Gleam tool. There will be a total of two winners. The prizes will be sent to you by post.
The end of the giveaway is on February 13th. Legal recourse is excluded.
Your pilots will not receive a skill tree in Anthem. Some players are disappointed by this and believe that an important RPG element is being lost.
What happened? We reported in June 2018 that Anthem will not have skill trees for the individual Javelins, but rather for the pilots, meaning the characters who are in the suits. These were also supposed to gain experience points and thereby improve skills or learn new skills, such as dealing more damage overall or being able to fly longer.
After rumors that the talent trees had been scrapped, a Reddit user has now directly asked the developers. Employees of BioWare confirmed that they opted for a different system and that the pilots will not have abilities in the finished game.
This is what will happen to the feature: According to BioWare, they love abilities and talent trees, but the planned system in the game was not as impressive and engaging as they had hoped.
The developers have taken this as an opportunity to revise the components for the Javelins. This should satisfy the hunger for growth and various statistics for Javelin builds and abilities.
However, they did not rule out that they would take another look at the talent trees for the pilots in the future.
This is what players say: While some players are looking forward to the new system, others seem very disappointed that the talent trees for the pilots will not make it into the finished game.
In the Anthem subreddit, some users say they are disappointed because a major RPG factor would be lost.
Thus, the user GhostOfHodor states that the RPG aspect had first sparked his interest in the game. In his opinion, it feels like a big piece of Anthem has simply been cut away. He is also afraid that progression will now depend too much on randomness.
demonofelru1017 says that it makes him sad because the skill tree for pilots was one of the few true RPG aspects of this game, and now it’s gone.
What do you think about the talent tree for pilots? Are you sad that the idea has been discarded or are you rather looking forward to collecting the components for the Javelins?
Fans of the Titanfall universe can look forward to a new title this year. Presumably not Titanfall 3.
What’s currently happening with Titanfall? In recent days, Titanfall fans have had a hard time. First, there were leaks about Apex Legends, described as “Titanfall without Titans.” Players were already skeptical about what to expect.
Then Apex Legends was released, and players celebrated it. The developers announced that there is currently no development of Titanfall 3. A tough message for the fans.
But now things are looking up again: The development of a new Titanfall title, expected to be released in 2019, has been announced.
New Titanfall in 2019 – With a twist!
EA recently held a conference call and talked about sales figures. They also discussed the confusion caused by Apex Legends and Titanfall. Additionally, they talked about the future of the franchise.
What is being worked on? EA says that Respawn is working on a new premium game. A premium game means it is a game that you have to purchase, so not free-to-play. The game is set to be released later this year and will bring a “new twist” to the Titanfall universe.
This could mean anything right now. Strictly speaking, Apex Legends is also a new twist in the Titanfall universe. However, the CEO of Respawn also commented on this. On Twitter, Vince Zampella writes:
“Tons of things for Apex Legends are planned for the future. We are also committed to listening to player feedback.
We are also working on more Titanfall for later this year (Yes, I said the T-word). We love being able to experiment in this crazy universe!”
So is this Titanfall 3? After insisting that Titanfall 3 is not in development, this statement is now confusing for fans. It is known that a new Titanfall is definitely coming. However, it does not sound like it will be TF 3.
Respawn is also still working on a VR game. But this announcement is not about that, Zampella explains.
Apex Legends is currently doing well, players like it:
Patch 8.1.5 of World of Warcraft has received a new cutscene. Check out what will happen between Baine and Sylvanas here.
In the late evening hours, a new version of Patch 8.1.5 was deployed to the World of Warcraft test server. In addition to some new items and adjustments, there were also new models for Derek Proudmoore and a fresh cutscene. This finally provides a clear insight into what happens to Baine Bloodhoof in Patch 8.1.5.
Spoiler Warning:If you do not want to be spoiled about the story of Patch 8.1.5, do not continue reading.
Baine, the Traitor: Sylvanas learns that the undead priest Zelling helped bring Derek Proudmoore to the Alliance and free him from captivity. Derek was supposed to be brainwashed and then carry out assassinations against the Proudmoores. However, this was thwarted by the players and Baine, who instead handed Derek over to Jaina.
This betrayal is now revealed and addressed before the assembled leaders of the Horde. Baine wants to protect Zelling and explains that it was his own plan. Sylvanas then thanks Baine for his honesty and has Zelling killed anyway.
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Baine, however, is taken captive and escorted away on Sylvanas’ orders, while the rest of the Horde watches. It seems no one wants to oppose her command. Since she is reacting to direct betrayal, one cannot blame her for that.
What then happens to Baine is still uncertain. However, dissatisfaction is growing within the Horde. When speaking with the various leaders after the cutscene, some are dissatisfied and warn about what will happen to the Horde if they continue to divide.
It remains exciting to see how things will progress for the Horde after Patch 8.1.5 and what fate Sylvanas is working towards.
For ages, Bungie has struggled to balance abilities and weapons meaningfully between PvE and PvP in Destiny 2. Do more radical solutions need to be considered? Should Bungie ban the Super attacks from the Crucible?
What is meant by balancing? For all abilities, weapons, and Super attacks, the developer must always consider that the rules differ in combat against computer-controlled enemies in PvE compared to human opponents in PvP.
Take for example a weapon that can take out normal enemies in PvE with one shot. If this were also the case in competitive multiplayer, all players would use the same weapon.
Bungie must constantly perform a balancing act and reconcile competing ideas:
Abilities like grenades and Super attacks should feel powerful in PvE but not bring an unfair advantage in the Crucible
All available tools in the game should shine in certain situations, not in all
Different playstyles between PvE and PvP necessitate a different approach (PvE is generally played more aggressively than in multiplayer mode)
Balancing each ability and weapon separately would allow for fair gameplay, but hundreds of variables would need to be considered
Especially the last point is a significant challenge. If every ability and weapon were to be considered differently in various game modes, it might not only be difficult for players to understand, but also for the developer, who would have to deal with a myriad of side effects with each adjustment.
On the other hand, one class was hit particularly hard: The Warlock with his Nova Warp has been considered “overpowered” since its introduction with Forsaken, with update 2.1.4, the focus is now nearly useless, not only in PvP but everywhere.
Many Guardians cannot understand why the class has now become useless in both game modes, especially since Nova Warp was far from being overpowered in PvE content. Therefore, we take the current discussion as an opportunity and ask you, the Guardians: Should the Super abilities simply disappear completely from the Crucible? But first, let’s weigh the pros and cons!
What would speak in favor of removing the Supers from the Crucible? The advantages are clear. Bungie could finally allow all players their fantasy of omnipotence without having to deal with the pitfalls of the Crucible. However, a multiplayer mode without Super abilities would have further advantages:
The skill of the individual player and their handling of weapons would come more to the forefront
Players would no longer need to orient themselves towards the “meta”, meaning which Super is currently particularly efficient in the Crucible, but could make decisions based on the remaining abilities.
What would speak against removing the Supers from PvP? Destiny and Destiny 2 thrive on the abilities of the different classes. If part of these abilities were no longer available, a piece of “identity” would also disappear, one of the unique characteristics of Destiny. But there would be further disadvantages:
Some equipment items have been specifically designed for Super abilities. These would become useless in the Crucible. Not only abilities would be affected, but also another core element of Destiny 2 – the loot.
Mods on armor can also influence Super abilities. These would also be obsolete in PvP.
A multiplayer mode that focuses more on weapons can already be found in competitors like Battlefield or Call of Duty. Destiny 2 would lose one of its essential elements and could ultimately become interchangeable.
The Crucible of Destiny 2 is also a place for grand comebacks and panic moments that are created with a well-timed Super. These moments would become rarer.
What is your opinion? Should Bungie remove the Supers from the Crucible or not? Vote in the following poll:
How could Bungie achieve better balancing? All changes made by Bungie could first be tested on a separate test server before they go live. Especially for more rare balance adjustments, like those made by Bungie, this approach would make sense.
Other games like Diablo 3 have been practicing this successfully for years. The downside, however, is that additional resources would need to be provided, thereby increasing costs. However, the player experience would be significantly improved through this. Bungie could also identify and fix more complex side effects through extensive testing.
In theory, it would even be possible to consider only certain game modes in the Crucible. A competitive playlist could do without Supers, while the quick play could continue to use Super attacks. However, what sounds nice at first reveals itself to be a bit of a ruse, as separate balancing would still be necessary, and thus nothing would be gained.
What do you think of the whole topic? Should everything stay as it is? Or does something need to change?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Fortnite: Battle Royale has received the new bottle rockets as weapons in the last patch. They have some crazy applications that turn harmless shopping carts into deadly rocket launchers.
What are bottle rockets?Bottle rockets were introduced as a new weapon in Update 7.30 on February 5th. They are a strange item. You can have up to 6 stacks of them and can drop the rocket battery in front of you. Once it’s placed, it will automatically fire small rockets at everything in the target area for a while.
What can the rockets do? The rockets themselves are not particularly strong. They deal 10 damage to players per hit and 40 to buildings and environmental objects. They are thus better suited for demolishing structures and fortifications than for killing opponents.
And then the rockets are also fixed in place and cannot be moved after being dropped. Or can they?
Rockets + Plane = Bomber
How to build bombers and mobile rocket launchers: It didn’t take long for creative players to find entirely new applications for the rockets. They discovered that they stick to just about any surface when thrown on it.
It wasn’t long before the first Quad-Rammer drove through the vegetation, with a rocket battery loudly and brightly firing projectiles out the back. An amazing spectacle!
But it gets even crazier. The rockets can also be attached to the wings of planes. When a plane with two rocket batteries (more cannot be placed by a single player at the same time) flies over you, it rains death and destruction over a very wide area.
Players are already reverently talking about an AC-130 in Fortnite. This is a heavily armed version of what is normally a harmless transport aircraft.
This is why the shopping cart is so dangerous: Furthermore, the rockets lead to a revival of the shopping cart. Because on the cart, you can place the rockets directly facing forward and fire right in front of you. Thus, the small cart becomes a deadly weapon!
According to a picture on Reddit, it should even be possible to stick rockets to a turret and use both rockets AND the MG simultaneously.
How the rockets are received by the fans: When the rockets were announced, the excitement of the fans was huge. Wouldn’t this just be another overpowering nonsense like the turret or the boombox? But so far, the excitement has been limited.
While some complain that the rockets would ruin building once again, most players find them more amusing than truly overpowered. How this will change with the now possible armed vehicles remains to be seen.
What have your experiences with the new rockets been so far?
Tibia is quite retro in itself, but now special retro servers are being introduced to the MMORPG from Germany.
One of the oldest MMORPGs is still running
What is Tibia?The MMORPG is one of the oldest representatives of the genre. It was developed in 1995 by students Stephan Börzsönyi, Guido Lübke, Ulrich Schlott, and Stephan Vogler and launched in 1997 via the servers at the University of Regensburg. Due to its increasing popularity, the three were able to found the company CipSoft GmbH in June 2001. The ongoing success enables the now 60-strong company to generate annual revenue of more than 7 million euros.
Why is Tibia so popular? For one, many gamers from Germany play the MMORPG because it is a German game. Additionally, many can identify with its development. A group of students programs an MMORPG and has achieved success for decades. Furthermore, the online game plays very classically and reminds players with its isometric view of RPGs from the 1990s, especially the Ultima series. Regular updates also keep the fans engaged.
Initially, he tried to charge his fellow players money to show them what was behind the mysterious gate. How much money he managed to raise is unclear, but he did not reach his target of 5,000 dollars as he adjusted the amount downwards several times. So, he streamed how he went through the door. Behind it lay a tropical island with some traders – which many viewers found disappointing.
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Why is a retro server coming now? Tibia is a very classic MMORPG but has, of course, evolved over the years. Especially in terms of PvP, which is not as “brutal” as it was at the launch of the online game. With the new retro servers, a gaming experience is created similar to what it was in the early days of the game – without a punishment system for player killers. Six servers will be launched, three for PvP fans and three for players who want PvP only optionally:
Retro Hardcore PVP: Furia (EU), Funera (NA), and Assombra (SA)
Optional PvP: Relania (EU), Cosera (NA), and Venebra (SA)
The servers are currently only playable with premium accounts. Generally, you can also play Tibia for free.
Often, while grinding in an MMORPG, you watch YouTube videos. But in Identity, you can do that directly in the game.
Watch YouTube in the game
What is Identity? Identity aims to provide you with a kind of second virtual life, focused on a cops-and-robbers system. You can become a regular citizen of a large city or embark on a criminal career, manufacturing and selling drugs. Other players can take on the role of police officers and hunt down the dealers.
In general, you should enjoy a lot of freedom to experiment in the sandbox world.
What about YouTube? With an update, the developers have introduced that the TV in your apartment in the game actually works. You can now watch YouTube videos on it. If other players are in the apartment with you, they can watch along, as the video feed is synchronized for all players. This allows you to sit in front of the TV in-game and simply watch YouTube videos for hours.
What else has been improved?Currently, only the Town Square, the marketplace of Identity, is available. There you meet with other players, visit your apartment, and explore the area a bit. With the latest update, it’s now also possible to visit the basement of the police station. There you will find a shooting range. However, there are still no weapons available. Additionally, some bug fixes, optimizations, and new cosmetic items have been introduced.
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What is the team working on now? The work has shifted to the SWAT module. This means a combat system is being developed. Soon, weapons will be introduced into the game, with which you can practice at the shooting range.
Why is it taking so long? Identity is developed by a very small team that has set itself enormous goals. Achieving these takes time. That’s why the developers are only making small steps forward. There is also no release date yet for the MMO.
Sales of Battlefield 5 fell short of EA’s expectations. And the company already knows what caused it.
What happened? Battlefield 5 was released in November 2018, and it quickly became clear that it was not selling as well as EA hoped. Just weeks after the release, there were already many discounts aimed at boosting sales.
In EA’s latest earnings call, CEO Andrew Wilson spoke about how Battlefield 5’s sales fell short of expectations. However, it is believed that the title will perform well in the future.
Why did Battlefield 5 sell so poorly? Andrew Wilson addressed the reasons for the lower sales figures during the earnings call. It involved the release timing and the absence of a battle royale mode.
The delay of the release from October to November made it particularly difficult for Battlefield 5. This pushed it deeper into the competitive Christmas sales window. Although it was still far from Red Dead Redemption 2, that likely did not help.
They made the decision to prioritize content such as the single-player experience at launch over a battle royale mode, Wilson explained. “As a result of these decisions, we struggled to gain momentum and did not meet our revenue expectations for the quarter.”
Fans are eagerly awaiting a battle royale mode. Firestorm has already been introduced by EA and could push player numbers up again.
When is Firestorm coming? The BR mode for Battlefield 5 launches in March 2019, and the developers believe that Battlefield 5 will flourish again as a result. “We are responding to our players in Battlefield 5 by bringing the content they most want to the live servers. At a pace that will provide the community with new experiences over many months.”
EA believes Battlefield 5 will continue to do well for a long time because the Battlefield community is loyal to the series. As Dualshockers reports, Battlefield 1 still has 4 million players, and even the Battlefield 4 community still consists of about 2 million active players.
In Battlefield 5, the new cooperative mode Combined Arms is now available, but the teaser has caused some complaints:
Sea of Thieves may have had its launch issues, but it is evolving into an interesting pirate MMO that even has a strong presence on Twitch.
With an upcoming “Mega Update,” the title is set to improve further and expand with exciting content.
The biggest update yet is coming!
What does the “Mega Update” offer? The team behind the online game isn’t revealing much yet. Only on March 20, for the first anniversary of Sea of Thieves, will there be solid details. However, a few hints have already been dropped:
The Arena game mode is being introduced – PvP will be in focus as you fight against other pirate crews for treasures
Pets are coming to the game – What the animals will do is still unclear. According to the developers, it would be fun to keep them and throw them overboard
New quests – There will be a series of story quests that will make sailing the seas more interesting and varied
When is the update coming? No date has been announced for the Mega Update yet. However, a patch is still planned for this month that will reduce the installation size of the game.
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The new update with its content could also be interesting for some streamers. In recent weeks, Sea of Thieves has been soaring on TwitchTV. With the Mega Update, viewer numbers could increase again.
It’s taking too long for some
What do the developers hope to achieve with the update? Discussions are already happening on Reddit. The prevailing opinion is that the Mega Update, with many new features and adjustments, is meant to refresh Sea of Thieves for newcomers. However, according to the developers, it will definitely be the biggest update of the game so far.
How are the players reacting? Opinions on Reddit are somewhat divided. There are too few details about the update for anyone to think about how the changes will affect the MMO. Many are curious about what’s coming. However, others are disappointed that it’s taking so long for the update for Sea of Thieves to be released. They had hoped for quicker content delivery.
When Lady Jaina Proudmoore was defeated in World of Warcraft yesterday, the joy at Method was immense. Fortunately, all of this was captured multiple times.
However, achieving that was not easy. Besides weeks of preparation, the actual race lasted quite precisely one week and required the players to engage in nearly 17 hours of intense gaming each day, maintaining maximum concentration. All of that, however, drops off the players the moment the fight is won. The aptly named “Nerd Screams” are always a funny sight, thankfully captured through numerous streams.
This is what true joy looks like when days of tension release – but be warned, it might get a bit loud:
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Is this still joy? It must have been rather strange for the demon hunter Spookie. He is visibly happy as well, but only for a brief moment. After that, he rushes straight to the loot chest, loots his prize, and logs out of the game before being seen uninstalling World of Warcraft. It must have been quite exhausting over the last few days.
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Pokémon GO has released the next Shiny: Shiny Meltan and its evolution Melmetal are now in the game and can be caught by any trainer worldwide. Additionally, Niantic made some changes to the Mystery Boxes
What happened? For a few months, players have been able to catch the Pokémon Meltan. This monster does not belong to any of the current generations, but is a completely new Pokémon.
This Pokémon is now also available as Shiny. While you still can’t catch it in the wild, you have a good chance of encountering the shiny version of the Pokémon with the Meltan box.
How to get the Mystery Box and Shiny Meltan
What does Shiny Meltan look like? You will recognize the shiny Pokémon when it stands in front of you. The Shiny is significantly darker than the normal Meltan and shines more golden instead of yellowish.
It’s time-limited: This Shiny will soon disappear again. You have almost a month to encounter a shiny Meltan. On March 4, the chance for the Shiny will end and only the normal Meltan will be available.
The Special Research gives you exactly one Meltan. Many have already completed the quest, and restarting it is not possible.
Here you have the best chance: To maximize your chance of getting a shiny Meltan, you need to open the Mystery Box. There, you will receive about 20 Meltan in half an hour – so the chances are quite high.
How do I get a Mystery Box? To obtain a Meltan box, you need to trade a Pokémon with one of the Let’s GO games on the Nintendo Switch. If you don’t own the game yourself, you can also ask a friend, as you only need to connect with one game.
How often can I get a Mystery Box? Normally, you can get a box every 7 days. However, until March 4, you can pick up a Mystery Box more frequently. You can then pick up and open the box every 3 days. So it’s worth connecting your account with a Let’s GO game.
Currently, there is also an event around the Chinese New Year. We have the information for you:
The Moonrise event makes it more rewarding for Killers in Dead by Daylight. But Survivors also benefit from a small change that provides more bonuses.
Currently, a special event is taking place in Dead by Daylight, the Moonrise event. Survivors and Killers can earn special points and thus coins, with which they can unlock special cosmetic items.
However, the event had a problem: Survivors can earn points much easier, while Killers have to fight fiercely for every point. The consequence was already evident on the first day. Fewer and fewer players wanted to be Killers and switched to Survivors to grab all the cosmetic items during the event.
This is what the hotfix does: The hotfix increases the points Killers receive in the various categories of the event. Specifically, this means:
Hanging a Survivor now gives 3 points (previously 2).
Destroying a Lunar Vessel now awards 4 points (previously 3).
If you haven’t “felt” the changes yet, then it’s a display error. The points are already being stored correctly internally; however, the event display is still buggy until the patch is applied. Once an update for Dead by Daylight is downloaded from Steam, the correct amount of points will be displayed.
Another patch for the offerings: Later in the week, a small patch is supposed to follow that makes changes to the blood webs. All blood webs at level 50 should then contain at least 2x the offering “Red Envelope”, which provides additional blood points and more Lunar Vessels on the map. This is intended to simplify farming a bit more.
However, when exactly the patch will be applied is still unknown. It was only said “later in the week”.
What do you think about this change? Will you play Killers again now? Or will you finish the event as a Survivor?
