A team of top players is now completing the new raid Scourge of the Past in Destiny 2 faster than some guardians can finish a regular strike. They have once again outdone their own performance.
When everything is complete in Destiny 2 and guardians are waiting for fresh content, many players set their own wacky goals or challenges. Many try to master the toughest content of the game with fewer players, completely solo or even without weapons. Speedruns in raids are also a popular activity.
What happened? During such a speedrun, a team from the famous Redeem clan, led by the exceptional player Gladd, has outdone themselves and completed the new raid of the Black Armory in an incredible record time.
After completing the new raid in 8 minutes and 3 seconds, the group has now mastered the Scourge of the Past in less than 8 minutes.
As speedrunners continued to approach the 8-minute mark, it was considered questionable whether the raid could even be completed in under 8 minutes. Now, a new record of 7 minutes and 55 seconds has been set. The magical “Sub 8” is therefore possible.
How did the team achieve this? The team documented their run in a video, where you can follow the entire process from crushTy’s perspective:
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Some players use the Worldline Zero Glide. With this technique, a exotic sword Worldline Zero can allow Warlocks to cover extremely long distances in no time.
Part of the team can completely skip the raid’s Sparrow phase by dying before this phase begins. Two players then drive through the Sparrow passage normally, while the others respawn at the next checkpoint.
They employed Wells of Radiance on the Tanks to increase the damage of the small rockets. Furthermore, by leaving the tank at the right moment and re-entering immediately, they could fully replenish the rockets again.
What do the fans say? The performance has received much praise and recognition from the community. Finally, the magical mark of 8 minutes has been broken.
Fans are also making all sorts of jokes. It is often mentioned that the team now runs the raid faster than some take to reach the tower or gather enough players for the raid. Now, this raid is being run faster by these top players than most players need for a regular strike.
The maximum character limit of servers in World of Warcraft will probably change drastically soon. The limitation could be lifted.
The character limit in World of Warcraft is currently set at 18 on a single server. This means that each player can uniquely own each class and also have one character per allied race. However, those who want to play most classes on both sides (Horde and Alliance) have to spread their characters across multiple servers. However, that could soon come to an end.
The server limit is to be raised to 50: In a Q&A, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas answered some questions. One questioner wanted to know if players could simply create all characters of an account on the same server if Blizzard keeps raising the character limit.
Hazzikostas seemed to think about the question briefly and explained that it shouldn’t be a technical difficulty. He will discuss it with his team, but currently sees no issues with allowing “at some point after Patch 8.1.5” all character slots on one server. That would then be identical to the account limit, so 50 characters.
Twink fans rejoice: Particularly players for whom twinking and leveling a new character is the greatest fun will probably be pleased with this change. Soon it will be possible to have up to 50 characters on the same server and thus play all classes on both Horde and Alliance simultaneously. Roleplayers will also be happy, as they often had to delete old characters for “new character ideas”.
Keep in mind with this information that it is currently just the statement of the Game Director, who currently sees “no problem in raising the character limit.” However, this is not yet a guaranteed commitment.
What do you think of this planned change? Is it cool to have the whole account on one server? Or was there no need for this?
Monster Hunter World is celebrating its one-year anniversary with an event. The Festival of Gratitude brings back many event quests and collaborations.
What’s new? Monster Hunter: World is one year old. The developers are celebrating for almost an entire month with the “Festival of Gratitude” event. During the event, you will have the opportunity to get new outfits for your hunters and Palicos, as well as the following items:
New backgrounds, titles, and poses for the guild card
Costume “sparkling celebration” for the Poogie
Costume “Friendly Felyne” for the field expert
Special gratitude dish for the gathering hub
The festival was introduced in the developer stream, and the video can be found here (starting at 13:30):
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How long will the Festival of Gratitude last? You will have plenty of time to experience all the festival content:
Start: January 26, 2019
End: February 21, 2019
What loot is available? As has become tradition, players will receive a new outfit from the event. There are two versions: a regular outfit and an Alpha version. For both sets, you will need the following items:
Gala Costume:
Gratitude Ticket x 5
Monster Bone+ x 8
Gala Costume Alpha:
Gratitude Ticket x 15
Elder Dragon Bone x 8
Great Award x 10
Additionally, there are two new weapons you can acquire:
Spear of the Fifth:
Gratitude Ticket x 3
Legiana Hide x 3
Sturdy Bone x 5
Sleep Sac x 2
And “White Wind Spear”:
Gratitude Ticket x 5
Legiana Hide+ x 3
Coma Sac x 3
Great Award x 1
There are also two outfits for your Palico in the new Superstar look:
Superstar Set:
Gratitude Ticket x 3
Light Crystal x 3
Superstar Set Alpha:
Gratitude Ticket x 9
Novacristal x 3
How do you get the Gratitude Tickets? The tickets are received each time you log into the game during the festival. The quantity of tickets is limited to one per day.
However, you can also obtain them from daily limited loot quests. As a little bonus, there’s also the Gratitude Firework.
What event quests are there during the festival? Almost all previous events will return for the duration of the festival. This means that players will not only be able to get the collaboration outfits and armor, but also have higher chances of gold crown monsters.
The new quest that will be available at the start of the Festival of Gratitude is the quest for the Great Jagras. The Great Jagras is the most hunted monster of the year and is now seeking revenge on the hunters.
A “feature” is currently annoying raid players in World of Warcraft. Because they can no longer wear their equipment.
The raid “Battle of Dazar’Alor” has been available in World of Warcraft for a few days. While many players praise the raid compared to Uldir, there are also a few problems and difficulties with the new raid. One specific detail has massively disturbed some players – although it is technically a game mechanic and not a bug.
Rollback causes equipment problems: Depending on the faction, players experience a rollback at certain times in the raid. They switch their faction to experience this rollback. Alliance characters become Horde chars and vice versa. This transformation comes with the exchange of all racial bonuses.
And that is exactly the problem. Because some racial abilities grant a bonus to certain professions. However, some items that can be crafted by these professions have a requirement of a certain profession level to be able to wear the item. Without this bonus, it can happen that corresponding items can no longer be used.
An example of the “feature”: Your character is wearing cloth gloves that require tailoring 100. Your tailoring is 97 plus 5 from your racial bonus, so 102. After your character switches factions, the racial bonus is lost and tailoring skill drops to 97. As a result, the cloth gloves are automatically unequipped because the character can no longer use them.
Feature and not a bug: Strictly speaking, it is of course a feature, because it is intended that the characters exchange their racial bonuses and have to fight with the new bonuses. However, nobody probably considered that this could lead to the inability to wear certain equipment.
The solution is quite simple; the affected characters just had to continue leveling up their profession so that the necessary threshold can be reached even without a racial bonus. However, this initially caused confusion and frustration in many raids – because a break was necessary.
In summary, this problem only affects a very small number of players – but they were extremely upset when their armor was suddenly removed in the middle of a raid.
Are you also wearing armor that you crafted with your profession?
Tonight marks the end of the VIP demo of Anthem, but BioWare has prepared a gift. All Javelins are now unlocked for the final hours before the beta ends.
This is the surprise: BioWare announced at 10:35 PM German time via Twitter with some good news.
Everyone who participated in the VIP demo now has the choice of all four Javelins.
Before, players only had the option to play the Ranger and choose one additional Javelin starting at level 12. They were limited to these two Javelins during the demo.
If players cannot see the four Javelins, they should log out and log back in, advises BioWare.
Who is this intended for? The offer is certainly aimed at players in North America. It is currently afternoon there, and people have until the evening to try out the additional Javelins.
Here in Germany, the offer comes very late for a Sunday evening. Most Germans probably won’t have the luxury of testing this for a few more hours. The demo ends at 3:00 AM from Sunday to Monday.
The bonus Javelins are not the only gift to players today. A few hours ago, BioWare announced it would give players a skin as an apology for the technical issues of the past days.
In Anthem, you can customize your Javelin visually with skins and also paint it. You can create the color of your Javelin individually. You do not have to stick to the provided palette. This way, you customize your Anthem and give it a unique color.
In Anthem, you can extensively customize your Javelins. There are vinyl skins that give your Javelin a different pattern. You can edit all body parts individually and give them new shapes. It is possible to change the material of the Javelin, which can make it look glossy or matte.
Creating custom colors: Especially cool is the ability to choose a custom shade on a color prism that does not exist as a standard. The streamer Rory Plays has created a mini video guide about this on Twitter.
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At the bottom right of the Javelin, you will find the option “Color”
If you select this, a menu with materials and colors will open
Click on the colored boxes on the right to access the color palettes
Here you will find a section in the center where you can create your own colors
Click on the empty field with the plus
Now a circular color menu opens
You can use the outer ring to choose the base color
In the triangle in the center, you can now define a color with the small circle
If you like the color, just click on the button at the bottom right to add the color
Nothing stands in the way of your fashion game! Admittedly, the Javelin of the author, which is shown here, is rather a taste deviation in color. But you have to show what is possible.
Gift for fashion enthusiasts: The VIP demo of Anthem did not go smoothly at all. BioWare has since apologized for this.
As a gesture of friendship, players of the VIP demo receive a vinyl skin for the Javelins. In a letter to the community, the skins are shown, and there are a few explanatory words regarding the issues.
The CS:GO pro gamer Marcelo “coldzera” David is being targeted and trolled by stream snipers. With the intention of getting him banned from Twitch, they sneak into his matches. Now he has had enough.
Who is “coldzera”? In the CS:GO community, Brazilian Marcelo David is considered one of the best CS:GO players in the world. Over the years 2016 and 2017, he won one MVP award after another and was honored by the eSports industry as “Best eSports Player 2016.”
Currently, coldzera plays for the Brazilian team “Made in Brazil” and has recently streamed actively on Twitch. However, according to his own statement, this will change for the time being.
What happened? Stream snipers are not an unusual phenomenon on Twitch. Viewers often try to sneak into the multiplayer matches of large streamers to gain advantages through the stream and kill the streamer.
However, with coldzera, it’s about more than just a kill. In his stream, the trolls attempt to get the pro gamer banned from Twitch by, for example, setting images of penises as avatars.
These images then appear in coldzera’s stream when he is waiting in the lobby for a match. Although the images sometimes appear for only a few seconds, it is enough to get a ban from Twitch.
Is there any way to censor the images? The appearance of offensive content is a problem that is not easy to solve. While it is indeed possible to disable certain UI elements in CS:GO, player avatars are displayed at the end of a match on the scoreboard.
At Valve, there are also no filters or safety measures to prevent such avatars from being uploaded in-game.
What is the pro gamer doing now? It is unclear if there is a specific reason why coldzera is being targeted by the trolls. Nevertheless, it is not the first time the streamer has faced such an issue.
A year ago, the pro gamer had to deal with this problem already. And just like then, he has also announced this time that he will temporarily stop streaming for an indefinite period. When he returns, it will probably be without a microphone or cam, as coldzera mentioned in a tweet.
Dead by Daylight, meanwhile, is taking action against its biggest streamer troll:
Valve took a step into the card game genre with Artifact. With such a successful company backing it, Artifact was expected to be a success on Steam. Now, it is practically dead and no one seems to care anymore.
Artifact celebrated its release on November 28, 2018. Although there was little advertising for it, many streamers in Germany saw a future in Artifact. Especially the fact that the creator of the famous card game Magic: The Gathering, Richard Garfield, worked on Artifact promised high quality.
A success on Twitch could have also meant a success in the community. But that didn’t happen.
Artifact – no players, no information
Twitter is silent: The developers revealed little about the game before the release of Artifact. Since its launch, things have only gotten quieter, until complete silence set in.
The last official tweet from the Twitter channel of Artifact was posted on December 21. The community has now been left in the dark for over a month about the state of the game, what is planned, and what could change.
And this despite the initial high interest in the game. There was an active community on reddit, and with the patch that changed some cards and introduced a kind of ranking system, players briefly returned. However, these players now feel abandoned.
The last tweet from Artifact.
This is how players react: The apparent lack of effort by Artifact to present itself and evolve is reflected in the reception. Since its release, the ratings have almost constantly fallen.
Currently (as of January 27), the recent reviews on Steam are “mostly negative” (35%). The biggest criticism is directed at the lack of game content and the random factor, which influences some matches too much.
This is also reflected in the player numbers. Shortly after the release, Artifact was no longer even in the top 70 of the most popular games on Steam. In the past week (as of January 27), the peak player count was below 3000 players at the same time. At the beginning of Artifact, over 60,000 players were playing simultaneously.
Artifact is a card game set in the Dota 2 universe. The game is played on three game boards at the same time, known as “lanes.” The goal is to destroy two enemy towers or an ancient through heroes, creeps, and spells.
In addition to the three playing fields, what makes Artifact special is that cards can be actively bought and sold on the Steam marketplace. However, this quickly led to the most popular card costing more than the game itself. What the future holds for Artifact is uncertain.
Cortyn has been of the opinion from the very beginning that Artifact will fail:
In a conversation with a former pro gamer, the Lead Hero Designer ofOverwatch discussed potential changes to several heroes. Specifically, certain attacks are supposed to deal more damage against armor.
Geoff Goodman, Lead Hero Designer of Overwatch, spoke in a stream with streamer and former Overwatch pro André “iddqd” Dahlström. During the discussion, it was noted that Winston’s attacks are too weak against armor. This observation extended to several heroes.
“Beam” attacks are too weak against armor
Which heroes are in question? Geoff Goodman mentioned in the interview “beam” attacks or “channelled” attacks. This type of attack currently applies to four heroes:
Winston
Zarya
Symmetra
Moira
All four heroes deal pulsating damage to their target in quick succession, rather than delivering a larger amount of damage in one go. In theory, this shouldn’t change the damage per second but has a significant downside.
If a hero has armor, each pulse is mitigated by the armor, which means significantly less damage over a certain time compared to heroes that hit harder. The team intends to address this issue.
What is the problem with armor? Armor reduces the strength of an attack by a certain value. Since the patch on January 24, 2019, this is 3 points of damage per attack (previously 5).
Armor blocks each attack individually. Therefore, if a major attack with 50 damage points hits, it only deals 47 hit points of damage. However, if there are five attacks with ten damage points each, only 35 points get through.
This makes armor significantly more effective against rapid attacks than against heroes who can hit harder. For heroes like Winston, this is a problem according to Goodman that needs to be addressed.
Heroes like D.Va in her mech have particularly high armor and health points.
This is supposed to change: According to Goodman, there is a “new technology” that allows the team to balance the damage of channelled attacks and the reduction by armor. However, the specifics have not yet been disclosed.
However, it was stated that the solution does not involve making the attacks of the affected heroes slower and therefore stronger. Goodman wrote in the official forum that it does not feel “good” when the attacks are slower. It is better as it is now. Also, the attacks did not receive a buff per se; the damage against armor is simply to be adjusted.
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An exact timeline for the patch is not yet known. However, Goodman mentioned that the changes could be possible “starting with the next patch.” This means that Zarya, Winston, Moira, and Symmetra could be better against armor starting with the next PTR patch.
At the launch of Anthem, you can play with four Javelins. However, some players cannot find the option to switch between the Javelins.
Unlocking new Javelins: New exosuits are unlocked by reaching levels 2, 8, 16, and 26.
In what order do I unlock Javelins? You decide that yourself.
Once you reach level 2, you can choose one from the four Javelins. There are Ranger, Interceptor, Colossus, and Storm.
With each new level you reach, you get to choose again which suit you would like next. You can find the option in the Forge. In the corresponding menu item, you will make your choice.
Go to the “Forge” menu item: Here you will find a menu item with the Javelins in the bottom left corner. There is an orange tab that says Javelins. You need to click on this.
Switching in Fort Tarsis and mission menu is possible: If you are already in the menu where you choose a mission, Freeplay, or a raid, you can still switch the Javelin.
In the bottom right, you will find a tab called “Forge,” from which you also have access to your Javelins and loadouts.
Now click on the name of the Javelin of your choice: A new menu opens, in which you see the names of the Javelins on the left. Click here on the name of the Javelin of your choice.
Click Standard: It is not enough to simply click on the name of the Javelin. When you click it, another menu opens. Here is a tab called “Default Loadout” or “Standard.” Only when you select this will you have switched your Javelin. You will now also go on missions with this when you start one.
The currently active Javelin is now also visible in Fort Tarsis, where you can get into the Javelin to set off on a mission.
More info about Javelins: Javelins all have individual abilities and playstyles. For those who want an overview of the skills and a quick explanation of how the skill system works in Anthem, check this out:
In light of the upcoming changes to the sandbox and extensive weapon tuning, a popular perk for grenade launchers will be nerfed in Destiny 2. And hardly anyone understands why.
What happened? In the current “This Week at Bungie” blog, the developers provided further insights into the upcoming sandbox changes that will be introduced with the massive update 2.1.4 on Tuesday, January 29.
It has now been revealed that adjustments will also be made to the grenade launchers. This weapon class will generally be buffed. However, a popular perk will be nerfed to the extent that it almost completely loses its justification for existence.
What exactly is changing for grenade launchers? In general, grenade launcher projectiles are being improved to feel more consistent on direct hits. Additionally, the ammunition reserves for grenade launchers using special ammo will be increased. Furthermore, grenade launchers with special ammo will spawn with more ammunition in PvE.
At the same time, proximity grenades will be weakened. These can no longer directly hit – meaning they cannot land a direct hit.
What does this nerf mean for players? In practice, this means that proximity grenades with special ammo grenade launchers will no longer be able to secure kills with a single hit in the Crucible. Thus, at least this perk will essentially become useless in PvP.
What is being discussed now: Even though grenade launchers, with some exceptions, are currently not among the most popular weapon classes in PvP, this perk is often and happily utilized by grenade launcher enthusiasts.
However, even if some Guardians find it easier to secure kills with it – hardly anyone perceives proximity grenades as a problem in PvP right now. They are considered anything but overpowered. Therefore, the players’ confusion was even greater.
Source: GameRant
Many fans are now complaining that Bungie has nerfed these grenade launchers entirely without cause. With the upcoming update, they will become virtually useless. And that, even though no one has asked for a nerf in any way.
Particularly given the fact that controversial gear pieces, such as the One-Eyed Mask of the Titan, remain untouched despite loud debates, this nerf rubs some players the wrong way.
Some Guardians are at least trying to soothe that this type of grenade launcher won’t become completely useless. Instead, it’s only the proximity grenade perk that will soon become entirely unnecessary.
Players could also choose other perks like spike grenades, with which these launchers could still secure kills in PvP with a single shot in the event of a direct hit. However, even these players cannot really understand the nerf.
Thus, grenade launchers now simply have one less useful perk in the eyes of many players – without any apparent reason.
What else is changing in the sandbox: In addition to grenade launchers, several other weapons are receiving nerfs and buffs. Furthermore, Bungie is changing numerous Supers of the individual Guardian classes. You can find out more about this here:
However, 6 players are now showing another way. Each player has a complete team of Pikachu ready, and the legendary Pokémon Kyogre can be defeated with ease.
This is how 6 trainers defeat a Kyogre using only Pikachu
How do the trainers manage this? For this artwork to succeed, the players have leveled up their Pikachu. The trainer shown in the video fights with 6 Pikachu with 100% IV and at the maximum level. The other trainers will have similar teams.
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Why does it work with Pikachu? Pikachu is not only one of the most well-known Pokémon in the game, but also of the Electric type. Kyogre is very susceptible to Electric attacks, making Pikachu very effective against it.
Can I do it too? Potentially, any player should be able to achieve this. You only need a fully leveled team of Pikachu. However, one should question whether such a team is actually worth the invested stardust. About 1.5 million stardust, depending on the level of the Pikachu, should have been spent on this team.
What’s behind this challenge: In Pokémon GO, it is a trend to continuously defeat raid bosses with particularly few trainers or with unusual Pokémon. We have reported on this several times. You can find articles on:
Deoxys is defeated alone with particularly unusual Pokémon
The VIP demo of Anthem has been struggling with various bugs and technical difficulties. BioWare has already addressed many of these issues. However, the most bothersome bug, which is preventing many from playing, is unlikely to be fixed over the weekend.
What happened? As the head of BioWare’s Live Service, Chad Robertson, recently announced in an update blog, it seems they will not be able to fix the loading screen bug of the Anthem VIP demo over the weekend.
This is currently the most annoying bug in Anthem, as it prevents numerous fans from playing the demo as intended or restricts their ability to do so.
What is going on with the infinite Anthem loading screen bug? This bug prevents players from starting an expedition or even entering the game. The game freezes at the start or when initiating an activity during the loading screen. The loading bar does not progress and usually gets stuck at around 95% completion.
Why isn’t the freezing on the Anthem loading screen being fixed? BioWare has stated that they do not want to beat around the bush and want to be very direct. It is a difficult problem that is not easy to solve.
While they noticed this problem during internal testing, it only occurred sporadically, and they assumed it had already been resolved. However, that appears not to be the case; the problem has even worsened during the VIP demo.
However, since it does not occur consistently, they do not want to take any action that might ultimately spoil the experience for all players.
What can be done about this problem? Since the bug prevents the game itself or the activity from loading further, affected players have no choice but to restart the demo.
BioWare itself also advises players to restart the game. If they receive the message “Game server / ongoing expedition found, do you want to rejoin?” upon restarting the demo, they should confirm with yes. This might potentially break this “blockade” and bring them into the game or the activity.
However, this is not a fix. Moreover, this method may not always work and not for all affected players.
What is being offered as compensation: BioWare has apologized to players for the ongoing issues with the VIP demo of Anthem and is offering all participants a gift as a small gesture of reconciliation.
These issues have already been resolved: Apart from the “Infinite Loading Screen” bug, BioWare has managed to resolve several annoying issues either completely or partially.
Freezing on the Anthem loading screen: Work is still ongoing, but there is now an initial workaround. The problem could be partly due to redeeming the Anthem code on the wrong EA account. If that’s the case, follow the steps on this page.
Rubber Banding: BioWare has identified the cause of the issue and has already made initial changes. More should follow over the weekend.
Second Javelin cannot be unlocked: This issue should have been resolved for most players by now. If you are still affected, you should contact BioWare support.
Issues with the friend code redemption page: Clear your browser cache or use the private mode of your browser. Reload the page afterwards.
The item spiral is a lasting motivation in World of Warcraft – but not for everyone. The number of players who do not enjoy it is steadily increasing.
Due to the many issues with World of Warcraft, the mood on social media is currently quite tense. The launch of Season 2 brought much joy due to the cool cinematics, but soon problems and complaints overshadow the initial joy.
But today I want to talk about some systems that have become increasingly prominent in recent expansions, are taking on a more obvious role in World of Warcraft, and are becoming more disturbing for me: the catch-up systems.
What are catch-up systems? In MMORPGs, a “catch-up” system or “catch-up mechanic” refers to various features that are intended to make it easier for players to reach the level of those who have been playing for a longer time.
They are meant to give newcomers or former players a chance to experience the current content of a game. This usually happens through easily obtainable, strong equipment, which months ago required completing particularly difficult content.
Catch-up systems have run their course
“In the past,” there were one or two catch-up systems. For example, one could visit dungeons to earn tokens, which could then be used to purchase decent equipment – at least for some gear slots. Those who wanted to fill every slot still had to engage in specific activities to be truly well-equipped.
But today there is no longer “a catch-up system” – everything is a catch-up system. Regardless of whether the player is tackling world quests, completing emissary quests, visiting dungeons at all conceivable difficulty levels, tackling warfronts, defeating world bosses, or engaging in PvP. All content brings the player “up to speed”.
Everything has become just a chase to keep up with the current raid.
And that is exactly what is frustrating. On one hand, it is great that everyone can play only the kind of content they enjoy. This means no one is forced to participate in raids or engage in PvP. On the other hand, the incentive for individual content is low. If I can get a complete set of gear from every activity in the game that is roughly at the current level, the motivation to improve is lacking.
Why should I try to complete a “Mythic+10” dungeon next week and improve with my group when it offers rewards that I can also obtain from many other activities?
The uniqueness of the rewards has disappeared. Sure, there are certain mounts from raids or specific toys from the warfronts that players can only obtain there. But this is typically “small stuff” that does not directly relate to character development. This may motivate some, but by no means all.
Additionally, the item spiral kicks in and certain points where all earned equipment becomes useless. When this happens at the beginning of an expansion, at the start in a new world, it feels okay. But when it happens with every raid tier and every minor patch, it becomes a problem. Even more so when the difficulty of old content increases. If I could complete a “Mythic +10” dungeon effortlessly two weeks ago and now it is almost impossible, then that feels bad.
All these factors lead to a feeling that much in the current World of Warcraft is arbitrary. It leads to logging in, running around in circles with the character (which does not exist), and not knowing what to do with my time in the game. The anticipation for the next day, that I will finally tackle a specific type of content to earn a very special reward only there, has disappeared.
Currently, it seems to be primarily friendships that keep players together in World of Warcraft, along with a few die-hard fans who actually enjoy the content.
How could it be better?
I must be honest and say that I have few ideas on how to improve these systems. I think I would prefer if “Mythic+” would scale even higher (such as to +20 or +30), without raising the difficulty at the start of a new season. It is frustrating to fail at a number that was easily achievable just a few weeks ago. It is disheartening when equipment from two weeks ago is still more than sufficient, and now it is no longer enough in the same content.
Furthermore, the devaluation of items gnaws at me more each time. I don’t spend as much time in WoW as many others, but I was quite proud of my item level of nearly 380. That item level 400 is now thrown at me through a trivial PvP quest bothers me more than it did a few expansions ago. This is also because, subjectively, the gaps between these catch-up mechanics are getting shorter, and there are hardly any phases in which you can truly enjoy what you’ve earned.
I wish to be able to earn things of lasting significance again. Things that won’t be devalued in a few weeks. Things that can simply last until the next expansion. It doesn’t have to be much, as catch-up systems are sensible – but the extent has become too great.
How do you feel about this? Do you share my opinion or do you find the item spiral with the catch-up mechanics sensible and good? Should it stay this way because that’s how it has “always been”?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Fortnite, the start date of Season 8 is already causing concern. This time, things are not going so smoothly. There are two points of conflict: how will Epic resolve them?
When does Season 8 start in Fortnite? The current Season 7 of Fortnite ends on February 28. This was revealed at the beginning of the season in December.
The start date of Season 8 is likely either Thursday, February 28, directly, or March 1, 2019, a Friday.
Problem 1: Two Dead Weeks
That’s why the start date is so strange: Season 7 is two weeks too long.
Typically, game seasons in Fortnite last 10 weeks. Everything in the game is designed around that. Every Thursday, there are 7 new challenges – but only 10 packages are planned.
Players in Fortnite will face a dry spell from February 14 to February 28, without new weekly challenges. This is a new situation for Fortnite.
Additionally, many players have already completed their Battle Pass after 10 weeks and have little motivation to log in again. At the end of a season, enthusiasm for Fortnite noticeably decreases.
Why is this season longer? Epic has stated that they are giving themselves a “holiday period” and are therefore extending the season by two weeks.
This is how Epic could solve the problem: Epic says they are planning further updates and challenges for this “break time” anyway.
The question is, what exactly Epic has in mind and whether they can adequately fill the “downtime”. Recently, the Ice Storm event received a lot of criticism, as players found there was too little new – the event felt like a rehash of the Halloween event.
Problem 2: Important eSports Tournament at the Season Start
Here’s why the season start disturbs the professionals: There is another problem regarding the season start that disturbs Fortnite. The professionals are concerned.
Because right at the start of the new season, the Intel Extreme Masters will take place in Katowice, Poland. This is an important eSports tournament of the ESL.
Some top stars of Fortnite have already been secured to play for $500,000. Among them are players like Tfue, Vivid, Poach, Nate Hill, and Teeqyz. They will compete in duos.
If Fortnite changes as significantly with Season 8, professionals will have no chance to adjust to the “new Fortnite” when the season start and the tournament coincide so closely.
This is how Epic could solve the problem: The tournament could be played with an “older version” of Fortnite without the innovations of Season 8.
We can definitely look forward to what Epic comes up with to bridge the two “dead” weeks and to structure the season start in a way that doesn’t upset the pros again as it did last time.
Those playing the VIP demo of Anthem are currently encountering many issues, including a quite nasty bug. BioWare is now apologizing to the players and giving them a gift.
This is why BioWare is apologizing: The VIP demo of Anthem is anything but smooth. A loading screen bug is causing significant problems for players. They get stuck on the loading screen before setting off on a mission, making the demo essentially unplayable.
BioWare is giving away vinyl skins: As compensation, BioWare is now giving players of the VIP demo a second vinyl skin. Players already receive a blue vinyl skin for all Javelins for playing the VIP demo. The vinyl skins will be available with the release of Anthem. They cannot be recolored.
BioWare explains the problems in a letter to fans
Chad Robertson highlights the issues regarding the VIP demo in a blog post. Robertson is the Head of Live Service at BioWare. He asserts that Anthem and the platforms were tested for several months.
Servers should not be the issue: According to Robertson, nothing went wrong in planning regarding the necessary servers. BioWare ensured that there was enough capacity to cater to the growing number of players. There were even surplus capacities available, which still exist to accommodate more players.
These are the three biggest issues
BioWare has identified three main problems:
Large number of players at launch: The disruptions occurred when the servers opened and a peak number of players entered Anthem. These issues did not arise during testing.
Incorrectly assigned account rights: Players have access to certain pre-order bonuses or the VIP demo depending on their edition. There is a bug that appears with certain combinations of entitlement rights, preventing some players from accessing the demo when they should be able to.
Issue in the loading screen: The loading screen bug mainly occurs when players want to go on a mission from Fort Tarsis. This bug reportedly rarely appeared during internal tests. However, it was believed to have been fixed.
This bug worsened as new external factors came into play with the players, which are hard to simulate in a testing environment. These include home networks and many different internet service providers.
Players of the VIP demo will receive these blue vinyl skins anyway. The green ones from the title image will be given as an apology on top.
BioWare apologizes and works on the issues
On behalf of BioWare, Robertson sincerely apologizes to the players currently suffering from the issues of the VIP demo. He assures that BioWare continues to work on the problems.
This is what BioWare wants to work on: The priorities lie with the issues mentioned above. Additionally, there is a desire to improve server performance and resolve the “rubber banding” issue. This means that players are repeatedly pulled back in the game like on a rubber band.
Robertson promises the community that BioWare will continue to stay in touch with the players. They want to maintain communication even when problems arise.
Will there be an extension of the VIP demo? Probably not. Employee BioChris commented on this. The entire strength of BioWare is now focused on fixing the issues.
Anthem is receiving positive feedback despite issues: Although the VIP demo is plagued by many problems, many enjoy Anthem itself. The gameplay is well-received, and especially the flying in Anthem is considered fantastic.
The communication of the employees is also particularly praised. Although many things are going wrong with the VIP demo, the employees do not break contact with the fans. This is appreciated and respected.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny 2, numerous supers for individual Guardian classes will be adjusted soon. Bungie has now released a short teaser showcasing a revamped super for the Hunter, and fans think it’s cool.
What happened? On Tuesday, January 29, Destiny 2 will receive the massive Update 2.1.4. This patch will fix numerous bugs and implement extensive sandbox changes. As part of this, many supers for the Guardians will be adjusted.
After Bungie had already presented changes to the ultimate abilities, the company released a video showcasing the improved Golden Gun of the Hunter in action, as a prelude to the upcoming update.
The current state of the Golden Gun: Currently, this is not a very popular super for the Hunter. In PvE, it is used in some boss fights in combination with the exotic Helmet “Celestial Nighthawk”. Otherwise, it sees almost no use in combat against AI opponents.
In PvP, it is still used by some enthusiasts, but currently the Blade Barrage super is usually preferred for the Solar subclass.
What changes with the 6-shot Golden Gun? But the Golden Gun could soon become much more popular. One reason is that the Blade Barrage is being nerfed, and the Golden Gun itself will be strengthened.
The Golden Gun will return one shot with a kill when equipped with 6 shots. Additionally, its damage will be increased. Bungie has now showcased how this looks in practice in a short clip on Twitter.
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There, the Hunter can land a total of 11 hits with his Golden Gun super and effectively deal with the adds. As a result, this super will be highly dependent on the player’s skills. Good players will be able to utilize this ultimate attack more often during its active time, provided they score kills with the Golden Gun.
How does the Hunter benefit from this super change? In PvP, not much is likely to change for the 6-shot Golden Gun. It is already difficult to land 6 hits there. Therefore, the possibility of landing additional hits wouldn’t realistically help. However, in PvE, the Solar Hunter would finally have the chance to eliminate more than just a few enemies.
Fans are particularly excited to see if this extra shot can also be regained in connection with the Celestial Nighthawk helmet, which consolidates all 6 shots into one mega shot, causing massive damage. Killed enemies also explode.
As a result, the Hunter could attain an exceptionally powerful build, which would enable taking down multiple strong enemies easily.
How fans react: The showcased super change has been very well received by fans. The Reddit post on this topic received more than 3,000 upvotes within a day. Many Hunter players are eager to try out the revamped ability themselves.
Guardians even joke that Bungie consciously chose this video, as after the presentation of changes to the supers, particularly Hunters complained that they are once again not getting enough love and are one of the big losers of the sandbox changes.
The VIP demo of Anthem has officially started, but not everyone can play. Many cannot even enter the game. We will keep you updated on the status of the servers.
Since today, January 25th, the VIP demo of the shared-world shooter Anthem is running. Actually. Because many players across platforms cannot access the servers.
Therefore, we will keep you updated in our ticker with news. You can also keep an eye on the EA support Twitter account.
Anthem Demo – The Live Ticker
The demo officially started at 18:01. Since then, more and more players are reporting issues.
18:45: There are cross-platform issues. Players are reporting connection problems. For example, on the PS4, the message appears: “We are sorry, but the EA servers have reached their maximum capacity. Please try again later.”
EA has already addressed this in the subreddit for Anthem. They are working on creating more space for additional players on the servers. Gradually, more players should be online.
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Jesse Anderson, an employee at Bioware, also reports that more players are getting onto the servers:
We see that more and more players are entering the VIP demo servers. We are monitoring the situation and will keep you updated. Thank you all for your patience, we are still working on it.
18:46: The head of BioWare, Casey Hudson, thanks the players for their patience. The team is working hard to increase server capacity.
19:25: Those looking to discuss the current server status and later content with other Javelins should join our Facebook group for Anthem.
19:30: EA support is now receiving messages that people would rather take a break and wait until it runs. EA understands this. They are working on increasing server capacity and hope that Anthem will run when players try again later.
19:32: Even those who can get into the game are not safe. Players report that Anthem crashes and they have problems getting back in.
19:34: Those who are stuck in a loading screen in Anthem that never ends are advised by EA: Restart the game and try again. They are working on a fix.
19:38: Our author Leya was able to experience the VIP demo for about 30 minutes. Leya says:
“I keep being kicked out of Anthem and have not been able to play a mission yet. As soon as I enter the Javelin, I am trapped in an endless loading screen. Many seem to have this issue currently. The Fort Tarsis has already impressed me quite well. It creates a mysterious and dreamy atmosphere.”
19:50: Although some players are getting into the VIP demo, many remain stuck in the loading screen.
19:55: EA says a bit remorsefully, they do not know how long the login issues will last. But thank you all for your patience.
20:23: Jesse Anderson from EA says:
If you receive any server message, you can continue trying to log in.
But if you see a loading screen that does not end, you should reboot the game – this refers to a loading screen with no button that can be pressed.
20:55: Right now, 25,319 people are watching the German Twitch streamer Gronkh as he gets frustrated with online games. He would prefer Anthem to be a single-player game with optional co-op like The Forest. Even Gronkh currently cannot log into Anthem.
20:59: The problem seems to be the additional friend codes that were issued. The friend keys have effectively turned a “VIP demo” into a “demo for VIPs and three times as many others”. EA apparently did not foresee the rush.
Anthem causes disruption at Origin
21:15: The server problems of Anthem are temporarily affecting other EA games. EA now states that they are checking login problems with other games and service offerings. Players should hang in there, they are working on it and will provide information as soon as they have it.
21:33: Casey Hudson has now tweeted that it doesn’t seem to be a server capacity issue, but another problem that did not occur during previous stress tests. The teams are addressing it.
23:29: EA has reported: The login services have recovered and they are seeing an improvement in stability. They are still dealing with issues that Xbox users are apparently having.
Saturday, January 26; 9:53 AM: Most connection problems with Anthem on PC and PS4 were likely resolved last night. However, Xbox One had more difficulties than the other platforms. Currently, there are issues when players reach level 12 and should actually choose the second Javelin. BioWare is currently working on this.
12:34 PM: Currently, EA is working on these 4 problems:
The endless loading screen when entering the game or an expedition.
Players cannot get past the Anthem title screen.
Some players on Xbox One are unable to join the Anthem VIP demo.
And some players are unable to use their Anthem VIP friend codes.
19:03: Not much has happened in the last few hours; it was also the middle of the night in the USA. The latest news are now two messages:
The problems for Xbox One players have either been resolved or at least improved.
As a new problem, they are working on the “rubber banding” that occurs during missions or in the open world.
EA continues to work on the other problems.
19:07: At BioWare, game director Jonathan Warner emphasizes again that the problems have nothing to do with server capacity. The friend codes that were sent out were not responsible for the issues. They are now working on the existing issues to resolve them as quickly as possible.
23:20: EA reports: The problem with unlocking the second Javelin should now be resolved for most players. They should find a corresponding item in the forge that unlocks the 2nd Javelin when they reach level 12.
Anthem apologizes – More details on issues
Sunday, January 27, 11:00 AM: BioWare has apologized for the issues in the meantime. As compensation, players of the VIP demo will receive an additional vinyl skin. In an open letter the head of live service explained how the problems occurred.
As an apology, players of the VIP demo will receive these skins at the launch of Anthem.
12:00: BioWare has released an update, which problems have now been resolved. They also have some suggestions on how to potentially work around some issues.
These issues are still present:
Players get stuck on the loading screen when they start the game or want to go on a mission.
It is impossible to get past Anthem’s start screen.
These issues have been resolved or at least mitigated:
Some Xbox One players were unable to access the VIP demo – problem resolved.
“Rubber-banding” during missions or freeplay – problem mitigated (during “rubber-banding” players are pulled back as if on a rubber band).
Friend codes could not be redeemed – problem resolved.
This is what BioWare suggests to work around problems:
Getting stuck on the start screen: It could be that players with this problem did not redeem their VIP code with the correct EA account. In this case, follow these steps on the EA website.
Not receiving a token to unlock Javelin: Players should now see a token to unlock a second Javelin in the forge. If this is not the case, contact BioWare or EA support.
Friend codes cannot be redeemed: Clear your browser’s cache or open a window in incognito mode. Then try reloading the code redemption page again.
15:20: The loading screen bug may not be resolved this weekend. The head of BioWare’s live service shared this. This bug would be a challenging problem to solve. Since the loading screen bug does not occur universally, they do not want to risk further restricting players in the demo.
22:50: All players of the VIP demo can unlock all Javelins next week in the open demo of Anthem. This is meant as a thank you to the participants of the demo. In the demo, you can only play with two Javelins.
In collaboration with the Convini store chain “Lawson”, there is now fried chicken with “Final Fantasy XIV” flavor in Japan. Players can also receive a code for a special mount that is currently exclusive to Japan.
What kind of campaign is this? The “Karaage-kun” brand is well known in Japan for its high quality and good taste. Apparently, this fried chicken has managed to not only convince singer Katy Perry, but also the director of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida.
With the “Limit Break Flavor”, FFXIV receives its own flavor in a promotional campaign, packaged in a cute box with a Moogle on it.
Such campaigns are not unusual, and Final Fantasy 14 has previously collaborated with the store chain “7-Eleven”.
What do you get out of it? Aside from the cool FFXIV jingle that plays at the register when paying, buyers of the nuggets will earn points on their Lawson account with every purchase.
Once you have collected 18 points, you receive a special code. FFXIV players can redeem this in the account management to receive a new mount.
The Chocobo is considered one of the mascots of the MMORPG, and through the campaign with Lawson, Japanese players can get the black version of the Chocobo.
Europeans and Americans will have to wait for now
Will we also get the black Chocobo? As mentioned earlier, this is not the first time that FFXIV has conducted such promotional campaigns. In the past, players could obtain a butler/maid outfit or the Kumulus cloud as a mount.
These promotions were available here in Germany through Gamestop and Dr. Pepper. It is therefore very likely that the black Chocobo will find its way to us sooner or later.
Can’t I just use a Japanese code? Theoretically, it is possible to obtain such a promotion code through indirect means. However, these codes are region-locked.
This means that they can only be redeemed if you specified “Region” as Japan when creating your account, so basically, you need to have a Japanese account.
European players will therefore have to wait.
You can find out where to locate other cosmetics and mounts from Patch 4.5 here:
Shiny Enton is now available for the first time in Pokémon GO, even here in Germany. If you evolve this Pokémon, you will receive a Shiny Entoron. The shimmering version is only available to catch more frequently today.
Currently, the Safari Zone is taking place in Porto Alegre in Brazil. In the Brazilian city, there are numerous rare Pokémon like Relicanth and Kindwurm available throughout the weekend.
Shiny Enton is more common in Germany: Trainers in Germany also benefit from the Safari Zone in Brazil. It is said on Twitter that the events there have caused a breakout of Enton that are now wandering around the world.
Among them are more shimmering Enton that glow in a bright blue. Normally, Enton is yellow. Our reader Promethox sent us a picture of his shimmering Enton that he caught at Lake Constance.
Enton will continue to be available as Shiny: The Shiny rate is now just higher than usual. Afterwards, Enton will appear in the wild like any other Shiny. The rate is then 1 in 450.
No. This event only increases the rate for shiny Enton. Entoron cannot be caught in the wild.
Diligent Shiny collectors know that a shiny Pokémon can also evolve into its Shiny form. The evolution of Enton is Entoron, which is also of the Water type.
You need 50 candies to evolve Enton into Entoron. The normal version of Entoron is already blue, but slightly lighter than its shiny variant. This is how you can also obtain a shiny Entoron.
Shiny Enton is only available for a short time!
When does the Safari Zone end? The Safari Zone will end today (Sunday, January 27). However, it is unclear at what time the event will end. So if you want a Shiny Enton, you should quickly go out and hunt.
Update January 27: As Julia Carstensen notes in the comments under this post, Brazil is in the time zone behind us. The event is still ongoing there all day locally on Sunday. This could mean for Germany that Enton could still be caught frequently until late at night.
