The Lunar New Year event in Pokémon GO brings you numerous Shinies and bonuses, but a medal can also be significantly easier to complete during the event.
In Pokémon GO there are numerous medals. Many of these medals don’t really provide much benefit to the player, but are still waiting to be golded. Especially two medals, namely for 300 big Magikarp and 300 tiny Rattata, are particularly difficult. Therefore, players are motivated to bring these to gold status.
In the current event, which runs until February 13th, you can progress one of the medals significantly easier.
You can now catch tiny Rattata more easily
Why is it easier now? In the Lunar New Year event, there are also more Rattata to catch. This means you can increase your medal more easily.
There haven’t been this many of the little rodents to catch in a long time, as more Pokémon and numerous events are overshadowing the spawns of this Generation 1 Pokémon.
So far, there has never been an event focused on this Pokémon, so now is the time to take advantage of it.
What counts as a tiny Rattata? To have really caught a tiny Rattata, it is not enough for its size to say “XS”. Your team leader must confirm during the evaluation that it is tiny.
Why do trainers want the Rattata medal? There isn’t really a purpose behind this medal. It doesn’t strengthen anything for you. However, for many players, it’s a goal to gold all medals. Many players who have already reached the maximum level are still focused on this medal. They want to complete the game and take on this difficult medal challenge for that.
This is why Rattata is the star of the players: On Reddit, Rattata is becoming the hidden star of the event. Many players are happy about the increased numbers of the Pokémon. A player “DoubleM101” writes in a thread: “Enjoy all the Rattata in the event to gold your medal!” and gets almost 600 upvotes.
Many players agree: “I am definitely happy with all the Rattata. There are also other advantages: They are not Pikachu, which are difficult to catch, and they don’t wear a silly hat.”
What do you think about all the Rattata? Have you already golded the medal?
Currently, there’s also an event around Meltan. We have the information for you:
For some days now, there has been rumbling in Fortnite. Players are already speculating about what these sounds could mean. Some are already suspecting the earthquake event.
What happened? Only players who have their game sound turned up can hear it: A very quiet rumble while you are navigating the map of Fortnite.
These sounds are likely related to the earthquake event, which data miners have already found in the code of the latest patch. Exact details about the event are not yet known, but the rumbling would fit with an earthquake.
This indicates the earthquake event
Here’s what is known about the event so far: A folder named “Earthquake” was found in the Fortnite Patch 7.30. More folders related to events around the Super Bowl and DJ Marshmello were also found. Those events have already taken place. Now only the earthquake event is missing.
In another leak, data miners showed a sound file that sounds like earthquake noises. This rumbling is comparable to the sounds that can also be heard in the game until now. In the game, the sound is just significantly quieter.
Is Season 8 coming now? Many assume that the prisoner skin could be related to the rumbling and an earthquake. In previous seasons, there was also a special skin that appeared at the end of the season and initiated the next one.
The prisoner skin has disappeared from his prison and has not appeared yet. Many see him as a kind of fire king who could split the Fortnite map with a massive earthquake.
When can we expect more about the earthquake event? The season 7 ends on February 28. If the prisoner skin is connected with the earthquake and the new season, we should learn more about the event soon.
Possibly, with the next patch, which is expected as early as next week, new content will be added that brings some more clarity about the earthquake event.
So far, we can only continue to hear a quiet rumble that stands out from the bustle of Fortnite.
Many players believed that the prisoner skin was related to the new campfire:
In the new gameplay trailer for Anthem we learn more about the endgame. It shows what serves long-term motivation and when the endgame actually starts.
When does the endgame of Anthem begin? The video defines the start of the endgame when players reach level 30 with their character. At this point, players have completed the main story and face new challenges.
Strongholds: These are mini-raids that are particularly difficult and can only be entered with four players. Here you can find particularly valuable loot.
Collecting cosmetics: Players can earn all skins, cosmetic items, and emotes. The video shows some suggestions here.
Those who want to master the highest levels must continually improve their Javelin. Players then obtain the necessary loot for new weapons and components by completing missions, challenges, and world events.
The goal is essentially to become progressively stronger in order to master new difficulty levels.
Cataclysms as the highlight
The world of Anthem will change: As a particular highlight of the endgame and also of Anthem in general, Cataclysms are mentioned. These are particularly large world events in which the map of the game can change.
In the months after the release of Anthem, new characters and story expansions are to come. BioWare described it as if Anthem were a Netflix series. There are expected to be new events and occurrences related to Anthem that players will discuss and be captivated by.
The Elder Scrolls Online offers all Morrowind fans and those who want to become one a particularly good reason to visit the island of the Dark Elves soon. In the great Morrowind event, there’s the addon at a special price and plenty of goodies to win.
Why should you go to Morrowind now? From February 7 to February 18, the special Morrowind event takes place in ESO. In it, you can snag especially many rewards in the homeland of the Dark Elves:
Double yield when collecting crafting materials, including for jewelry crafting. However, the bonus does not apply to fishing and special findings in Vvardenfell
Double loot from all bosses. This also applies to the trial “Halls of Fabrication”
Double reward chests for “daily quests” in Vvardenfell
It is definitely worth exploring the island and collecting bosses and crafting materials there.
Here’s how you can get Indrik feathers: Additionally, there are further opportunities to get the coveted Indrik mount. You will receive event tickets again:
One event ticket for the first daily quest against a world boss per day
One event ticket for the first daily quest to a dungeon per day
In total, you can collect 26 tickets if you fully enjoy each day. You will hand in the tickets as usual at the Impresario to receive Indrik feathers and berries. What you do with them, you can find out in our Indrik guide.
Here’s how to get the right quests in Vvardenfell: To find the right bosses and dungeons, you should go to Vivec City in the Hall of Justice. There, you will find NPCs who give you quests for a daily boss and a dungeon.
Morrowind at a Special Price
This is how inexpensive the addon is right now: If you do not have Morrowind, you unfortunately cannot enter the island of Vvardenfell. Fortunately, Zenimax is offering the addon at a special price during the event.
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For 1,750 crowns (about 12 Euros), you can get the addon with all features except the Warden class. This is a 50 percent discount. So if you haven’t purchased the addon yet, starting February 7 is a good opportunity to do so.
The hiring of a “Director of Player Voice” for Halo Infinite seems to suggest the business model of the game. Is a Halo coming as a Games-as-a-Service title?
What is it about? The developer studio 343 Industries announced that they have hired Justin Robey as the “Director of Player Voice” for Halo Infinite. Robey is expected to work with the active Halo community and convey the players’ voices to the developers.
The creation of such a position could be a confirmation of the shift towards a Games-as-a-Service title.
What could this mean? Justin Robey stated on Twitter what his newly created position means for the development of Halo Infinite and the players.
This new role is about working with you, the players, to give you an active voice throughout the development, launch, and lifespan of Halo Infinite.
So this could mean that Robey is actively engaging with the Halo community, filtering players’ feedback on social media, and passing it on to the developers. Especially during the so-called “Flights” where players are invited to test features of Halo Infinite, this could become an important task.
What suggests GaaS? Robey’s wording about wanting to give players a voice “during the lifespan of Halo Infinite” appears to be a hint towards a Games-as-a-Service model.
Furthermore, a job posting in September 2018 hinted at different live services for Halo Infinite. An Online Experience Design Director was sought who would “design and deliver a social AAA experience that fosters community,” while also delivering a “AAA player investment experience” that encourages players to “express their passion for Halo.” Microtransactions were mentioned as an example.
The Online Experience Design Director should also have an understanding of player psychology, especially what keeps gamers coming back. The job listing also described Halo Infinite as a “Live Service” game.
What do the players say? The new position of Robey is being critically discussed in the Halo subreddit. Players are concerned that the new “Director of Player Voice” could filter too much of the feedback.
For instance, the user Chudston_Plang believes that the position is just a new way for 343 to decide which feedback they want to hear.
In contrast, the 343 employee ske7ch343 replied that they have never had an employee dedicated solely to ensuring that player input is heard and contributes to the development process. He believes this is a very exciting addition. The community team is excited to work with someone to ensure that important issues and feedback topics are evaluated and incorporated into the development plan.
On the other hand, galactix100 mentions that he does not envy Justin Robey for his new job as he would first have to separate real player criticism from other nonsense.
Can you imagine a Games-as-a-Service game in the Halo universe? Or would you prefer a completely different Halo Infinite?
After both demos of Anthem have been completed, the developers have taken some player criticism to heart. Now, 19 more changes are known to be implemented in the release version of Anthem. Many players are pleased about this.
The developers of Anthem have interacted with the community on Twitter. Some players had questions about changes for the final game after the Anthem demo, including 21 things fans wish for after the launch of Anthem. The developers have responded to some of these.
The site Polygon has compiled the tweets in which the developers answered questions. You can find this overview below.
[toc]
22 Changes in Anthem After the Demo
The responses to the community’s questions came from developers Ben Irving, Mike Gamble, and Jonathan Warner, as well as Executive Producer Mark Darrah.
1. Voice chat is always active by default
In Anthem, voice chat will be always active by default. If players do not want to use it, they need to disable it through the options. This option is meant to promote teamwork, as Anthem is designed for groups of four players.
However, this change raises another question: Will there be a text chat? One user asked this on reddit. He is mute and therefore cannot speak at all and currently has no way to communicate. This is one of the things the community still wishes for.
2. Team members are easier to find
Players in a group will now be able to see the members of the group on their HUD. The health bar and position of all team members will be displayed at all times.
In the demo, this was a bigger problem, as players often got lost in the vast areas and had to awkwardly search the map. The health display also helps to assess whether a teammate needs assistance.
3. More endgame content
Some fans have expressed concerns that the endgame content of Anthem will not be sufficient to keep players entertained for long. What was seen in the demo was simply too little.
This point was already criticized after the first VIP demo and was apparently not fixed in the open demo either. Players will finally be able to move faster in Fort Tarsis in the finished game. Only slow walking was possible in the demo.
5. FPS rate on consoles will be capped
This news will mainly interest players on Xbox One and PS4. The console version of Anthem will be capped at 30 FPS. This is intended to deliver a smoother experience at launch.
6. The group leader can be changed
It is now possible to select a different leader for the group through the group menu. In the demo, the group system had difficulties in some places, especially when someone left. The groups would break apart or had to be constantly redone.
This change is meant to keep groups together even when someone leaves by simply selecting a new leader.
7. You can create guilds
In Anthem, you will have the option to create guilds with other players. This will allow you to team up with friends or popular players repeatedly. This was not possible in the demos.
In the demo, loot often had incorrect values shown. Accordingly, many inscriptions displayed values like “0% improvement.” This error is said to have been fixed.
9. Combos are easier: Primer and Detonator are now clearer
In Anthem, many attacks build on powerful combos. For these, a so-called “Detonator” attack must be executed on a target that has previously been marked with a “Primer” status from a corresponding attack.
How exactly this works was not clear to many players while playing the demo. Therefore, in the finished game, the icons will be redesigned to allow for easier combos.
To improve orientation, it is supposed to become brighter underwater.
11. Inscriptions now come for the correct Javelin
In the demo, you could receive loot that was not intended for your Javelin. Some effects could therefore not be used with the corresponding suit. For the final version, this issue is now supposed to be corrected; the effects will be universally applicable. However, the developer says they still need to double-check this.
12. You will get the first Javelin after the tutorial
The demo started for everyone at level 10 and with the Ranger as the standard Javelin, while the next Javelin was only unlocked at level 12. This caused confusion.
13. The balance between weapons and abilities will change
What exactly will be changed here has not yet been revealed. It is merely stated that the balance between Javelins, weapons, and abilities will be changed. Until now, weapons appeared to be secondary in the Anthem demo, while abilities seemed significantly more important.
According to Jonathan Warner, some changes have already been made. However, these are not yet final.
14. Prices from the cash shop will be clearer
Accordingly, the prices from the cash shop will at least initially be clearly defined. When Anthem launches, there will likely not be any changes to the prices in the cash shop.
The previous prices have already led to heated discussions in the community, as many players felt the prices were a bit too high.
Anyone who wants to craft items in Anthem will need to find and farm the corresponding materials in the world. It is not possible to buy materials with real money.
Even though the problems were not resolved by the open demo, they are supposed to no longer be an issue at launch on February 22.
17. Players can no longer keep echoes indefinitely
This issue has likely annoyed some players quite a bit. In the demo, it was possible to pick up and keep echoes that were necessary for certain missions. The problem was that only a limited number of echoes actually existed.
Trollers or players who picked up echoes unknowingly disturbed players with the corresponding missions. This will be fixed in the finished game.
18. The size of the display will be adjustable
For some players with larger display devices, there were problems with the scaling of Anthem’s HUD. Some game elements were not displayed to them as they were off-screen.
A new option to adjust the display size is supposed to fix this.
Players who played the demo could purchase certain cosmetic items using a premium currency in Anthem. However, in the finished game, all cosmetic items should also be freely earnable.
According to Michael Gamble, nothing in Anthem should be hidden behind microtransactions.
21. Enemies no longer disappear
This bug has likely frustrated most of you: enemies simply disappear when you are fighting them or when they are about to attack you. This was particularly annoying when they were necessary for a mission.
The corresponding bug that caused this is supposed to be fixed at launch.
22. You will get factions to work for
In Anthem, there will be three factions for you to complete tasks for. With these, you can gain reputation and acquire blueprints, challenges, and other goods. Additionally, they will change the appearance of your personal Fort Tarsis.
This is how the community reacts
Many of the changes are currently being hotly discussed on reddit. Most points are largely ignored or only briefly mentioned. The conversations mostly revolve around two points.
On one hand, players are happy that they will no longer be bound to the Ranger when they start. They are excited that they can choose their own Javelin after completing the tutorial.
On the other hand, they are asking for more information about the changes in the balance between weapons and abilities. More info from developers is being demanded about what exactly will be changed.
The chat is also widely and heatedly discussed. However, here it is more about the fact that a text chat should be implemented in addition to voice chat.
What do you think of the changes?
A feature that players were counting on, by the way, will probably not be included:
A player has found a way to stack foundations in their C.A.M.P. in Fallout 76. This is actually not intended, but some players have followed suit and even built giant pyramids with it. Even Bethesda is amazed.
On Reddit a post has surfaced, in which the user pandaru_express showcases their camp. The special thing about their C.A.M.P. is that it was built in the style of an Inca pyramid, which is actually not possible with the available parts in Fallout 76.
pandaru_express used a technique to stack specific foundations. As seen in the picture, concrete foundations form the blocks of the pyramid, with steps made from simple stairs.
At the top, pandaru_express has set up a small altar surrounded by torches. Burning trash cans light the way up. Even the interior is furnished and decorated.
How do you actually build pyramids in Fallout 76?
This is how the trick works: The YouTuber Monsterbird Nation has shown in a video how it is possible to stack foundations. This exploits what appears to be an unintended bug that allows the parts to connect.
He first places foundations together that make up the ground. Then he sets up stairs that face each other and must have at least two parts distance at the top. To one of these stairs, he attaches two half ceilings.
A campfire is placed on these ceilings so that it protrudes slightly over the edge. Now a new foundation can be placed on the ceiling, standing directly on the lower foundation.
By picking up and placing the campfire and the stairs again, more foundations can be built next to or above each other.
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Bethesda finds the pyramid cool: In the Reddit thread from pandaru_express, even an official employee from Bethesda commented. He stated:
!!! This is amazing!!!
The reaction surprised the community given the fact that the pyramid was created through a glitch or exploit. Apparently, this glitch is considered not too serious.
Players are now hopeful that Bethesda will implement a feature that allows foundations to be stacked by default. As the pyramid shows, really cool structures are possible this way. Furthermore, people wish for a larger building budget – or even the ability to build entire cities.
Since it is still unclear how Bethesda will handle the glitch, we advise against recreating such structures at the moment.
What do you think of the pyramid? For more cool stories and hot news about Fallout 76, check out our Fallout page on Facebook.
Other players prefer to focus on role-playing rather than building their homes:
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?
