Want to go resource hunting with self-built mechs? The MMO Pantropy will soon allow you to do that in its early access phase.
The German development studio Brain Stone Games has ambitious plans with Pantropy. For example, no microtransactions are planned.
An MMO with Mechs and Base Building
What is Pantropy? The MMO places you in a distant world. In this world, three factions fight for dominance. It is important to build fortifications and mechs. With the combat colossi, you try to destroy other players’ fortifications while protecting your own base.
How advanced is Pantropy? Development is progressing well. On January 31, the online game will enter early access.
The developers state that they are making rapid progress. Just recently, a major update was completed, which greatly improves performance.
How does Pantropy differ from similar online games? Pantropy can perhaps be compared to Warframe. You are in mechs, completing missions and fighting enemies. The difference, however, is that in Pantropy you can further and more individually upgrade, expand, and optimize your mech. This is based on a modular system.
Additionally, you are not just in the mech, but also running around as a human in the game world.
Are there already opinions on the MMO? Kickstarter backers are already allowed to play an alpha version. They state that Pantropy has great potential and is already fun in its early version. However, there are still many issues. The AI does not quite cooperate yet and there are still some bugs present – which is, however, normal for such an early development phase.
From January 31, you can also join in the early access phase of Pantropy.
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VIP demo start time for Anthem is today, January 25th, at 6:00 PM. Just before the demo release, we summarize all the important information here again. Here you will find the times, bonuses and system requirements, as well as everything about inviting friends.
What time does the VIP demo of Anthem start and end?
Start: Today, January 25, 2019 at 6:01 PM
End: Monday, January 28, 2019 at 3:01 AM
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
How to participate in the VIP demo: To participate in the demo, you must pre-order Anthem. Access to Anthem will be obtained via:
You need to redeem the demo code: You will receive a VIP demo code. This must be redeemed on EA’s website. If you pre-ordered Anthem from a different retailer than the ones mentioned above, you will receive the code from your chosen retailer.
However, there seem to be issues with Amazon at this time. Players report that the codes are used up here.
The VIP code is not there despite pre-ordering: There have been complaints from pre-orderers that they have not yet received their VIP code. This seems to be the case if you pre-ordered digitally. So if you purchased Anthem digitally in the Xbox Store or PlayStation Store.
In this case, according to the developers, you should receive the code by today (January 25) at 6:00 PM at the latest.
You will receive a friend pass link when you are signed in
Copy the link and send it to a maximum of three friends. You will see how many of those codes have been redeemed
Your friends will receive instructions once they click the link
The friend code is valid for all platforms: Your friends can choose the platform they want to play the VIP demo on. They are not bound to your own platform. However, there is no cross-play, if you want to play with friends, you need to choose the same platform.
Once the friend pass link is used, players will be presented with a selection of platforms.
The bonus for VIP demo players: Vinyl skins
VIP demo players receive a gift: Anyone who plays during the VIP demo weekend will receive the special vinyl skin. The skin is for all Javelins. The skins will then be available in the release title.
Technical details for consoles: This much FPS will be achieved
Anthem does not reach 60 FPS on consoles: Neither on the standard versions, nor on the more powerful PS4 Pro or Xbox One X. FPS means how many frames per second run on the screen. The faster this process is, the smoother the game runs.
For the consoles, BioWare aims for 30 FPS, whether in Full HD or 4K resolution.
You can play two Javelins: In the demo you start with the Ranger, just like in the main game. Throughout the demo, you can then decide which of the other three suits you want to unlock.
The demo differs from the main game: In the demo, the economy and the leveling curve are heavily adjusted. This allows you to unlock everything faster, and the demo feels “lighter”. Here you will find a list of all differences between Anthem’s demo and the main game.
More info about the demo: A detailed description of these contents can be found in our demo hub. Here you can learn more about the open demo that everyone can play.
The desire for a “Star Wars” MMORPG is great. But can SWTOR still satisfy that desire?
The “Star Wars” franchise is one of the largest in the world with a long history and numerous fans. However, despite its size, there are relatively few games in this field. For those who enjoy exploring MMORPGs, there is only a single title: Star Wars: The Old Republic.
The game has been running for several years, and in recent months, fans’ doubts have become increasingly evident. While there are no official numbers, players report servers feeling emptier as new content is released only in small bites. Major expansions have been missing for a while.
For many players, it is clear: EA has scaled back funding for SWTOR, and the MMORPG is now running on “low flame” – occasional, small updates are the result, and that is now being felt.
Petition to Save SWTOR
The concern surrounding SWTOR has led one player to start a petition. Here, players can participate if they believe that EA should partner with Disney to financially rebuild Star Wars: The Old Republic. Development should be pushed forward, and more personnel should be hired to create new content.
According to the creator, SWTOR has “great and fantastic stories that have amazed players.” With the current funding and resources of the developers, SWTOR is, however, “only a shadow of what it could be.” For instance, the latest patch contains only a single boss.
So far, the petition is still quite small and has gathered around 1100 signatures – however, it has more than doubled since yesterday. So it could very well be that the petition gains more support than initially thought.
Whether the petition and the resulting discussions and attention will ultimately have a noticeable effect remains to be seen. Because at the end of the day, that’s exactly what it is: for now, just an internet petition.
Some players, however, are sure that SWTOR’s time has long since passed and find that to be a good thing. Because as long as SWTOR is still “operational,” there would be no new MMORPG in the Star Wars realm. The old game must disappear first to make way for a new one – even if that might still be years away.
In general, many players lament the old engine of SWTOR, which caused errors and problems even at the launch of the MMORPG. Since then, engines have improved significantly, allowing for a more stable and fluid gameplay experience with more action components. Because although in SWTOR you wield lightsabers, blasters, and force lightning, the combat system is classic and lacks significant action elements.
Do you hope that SWTOR will recover financially? Would you like to see a new MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe? Or is the time for MMORPGs simply over?
BioWare’s new online shooter Anthem is often compared to Bungie’s Destiny 2 in early playtests. But is there any truth to this? And how does Anthem fare according to first impressions?
Some gaming journalists had the opportunity to play Anthem for a longer period (according to PC World 8 hours) and are now also comparing it to Destiny 2.
Why is Anthem compared to Destiny? Both games are known as “loot shooters”. Together in a group, you fight enemies in missions, collect loot, and upgrade your hero or the Javelin.
Anthem and Destiny are online games that focus on cooperation. Additionally, both take place in a science fiction scenario. Thus, comparisons between Anthem and Destiny are quite natural.
How does Anthem fare against Destiny? The testers have differing opinions. The general sentiment is that Anthem is a solid online shooter that will certainly find its audience.
However, those expecting a new Mass Effect are likely to be disappointed. And as for Destiny, Anthem might not take enough risks to stand out.
Nevertheless, there is much potential in BioWare’s action game and the testers were enthusiastic about the gameplay.
Polygon states that the story feels very familiar. The missions are relatively linear, but the combat, the world, and the development of the Javelins are a lot of fun.
Gamesradar mentions that the similarities to Destiny are quite noticeable, especially during the missions. As a result, Anthem lacks a bit of its own identity, but is still enjoyable as an online shooter.
According to PC World, the similarities to Destiny are palpable. Anthem is said to play fantastically, but particularly regarding depth and story, it seems to lack what one expects from a BioWare game after playing.
Gamecrate believes that while the parallels to Destiny exist, Anthem still plays independently and quite well. The landscapes and the action-packed gameplay are especially convincing.
WCCFTech praises the fast-paced gameplay, which is especially fun when playing with friends. However, beyond the action, Anthem feels somewhat unpolished. Nevertheless, according to the tester, it will find its audience.
As Gamespot reports, Anthem plays similarly to online shooters already known. However, the game possesses its own elements that will need to show whether Anthem can truly distinguish itself with them in the endgame.
What are the positive aspects? The testers generally agree that particularly the gameplay in Anthem is fun.
This means that the battles are fast and require teamwork, tactics, and a smart approach. Defeating enemies is enjoyable.
Moreover, the vast landscapes are impressive and worth exploring.
Flying is also something that receives praise, as it offers a sense of freedom that is lacking in Destiny.
Collecting loot and expanding the Javelin are well-received.
What is criticized? However, the testers also discovered a few negative points after their play session.
They primarily criticize that the story in Anthem doesn’t feel like something that one expects from BioWare. The narrative lacks depth and intrigue.
Furthermore, the missions are said to feel too familiar, as if seen too often in other games.
Another point of criticism is that BioWare talks too little about the endgame, and one simply does not know how Anthem will hold up against the competition in the long run.
The comparison to Destiny will likely always stick to Anthem as well. BioWare’s game must prove its independence.
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Why you should play the demo: Every player approaches a game with different expectations. Some enjoy experiencing an exciting story, while others are not interested in the narrative at all. Hence, the gameplay becomes all the more important. Therefore, you should check out the demo for Anthem to see whether the online game meets your expectations.
The demo of Anthem is tonight. Players are excited to see what awaits them. Our author Schuhmann says: I have concerns, but I hope that Anthem will be really good. Just like always before a new online game.
Even if everything goes well, the first months in a game are always so hard. There is too little content, the balance is off, then you’re in the endgame, and somehow the excitement is gone.
Every new studio – no matter how big it is – struggles to transition to a live game and is working hard at it. Have you forgotten how terrible The Elder Scrolls Online was in the first days or Bless – that’s only been three-quarters of a year ago?
My heart says: Awesome, the first time in a new game. Those are the moments you will remember for years to come.
Your first time in Dark Age of Camelot was ages ago, but you still remember exactly how you played the beta back then – those were the most intense memories you have of the game now.
And it was the same with WoW later on. You met new people, spent a lot of time with them, and you still remember how blown away you were the first time you were really in a raid.
The beginning is simply the best. It’s the time you will remember for a long time: Every experience is intense and offers something new.
Also, Anthem is different. The trailers look fantastic, the developer swears that it’s the project of his life and this time everything will be better.
And you can be a Colossus – which is basically the Hulkbuster!
It would be great if Anthem works out. That would solve so many content problems. Then you could play that when Destiny gets boring and return to Destiny when there’s a content lull in Anthem.
Then the head responds: You told yourself that before WildStar.
And then I stop listening to my head. It’s just a real killjoy.
How do you feel before the start of the demo tonight?
If you enjoy leveling twinks in World of Warcraft, you will soon receive new assistance. The heirlooms will be upgraded.
Leveling in World of Warcraft is always a hotly debated topic. For some players, it is the main motivation, while others can’t level up quickly enough and would prefer to be at level 120 right away. For the latter, there is soon reason to rejoice, as with Patch 8.1.5, players will be able to upgrade their heirlooms.
What are heirlooms? Heirlooms (or “Erbstücke”) are armor items that “level with the player.” They maintain solid stats at all times, regardless of the character’s level. Many of these heirlooms come with a built-in bonus to experience points gained, allowing the leveling phase to be massively shortened. So far, these heirlooms only scale up to level 110. After that, the items lose their XP bonus and do not increase further.
With Patch 8.1.5, there will be new items that can upgrade the heirlooms to scale up to level 120. This should shorten the leveling phase in Kul Tiras and Zandalar by 30% – 40%.
How will the upgrades be available? What the upgrades will be available for is not yet known. However, it is likely that they can simply be purchased for a nice chunk of gold at the respective vendor.
Azerite bonuses may be missing: The problem with the heirlooms will be that shoulder, chest, and helm armor are not Azerite items. If players use these items, they would have to forgo Azerite bonuses while leveling. Whether the heirlooms will later receive a few “level Azerite bonuses” remains to be seen. Currently, it doesn’t look like it.
Are you waiting for the heirlooms before leveling another character? Or have all your chars already reached level 120?
The latest patch of Fortnite on Tuesday added three items to the vault, thus removing them from the game. And one that players really miss is the Grappler. Its end was demanded by Tfue, a well-known streamer. He had a good reason for this – but players don’t know it.
The item is a kind of hook pistol in the plunger version. Players can shoot it at objects and then pull themselves up to them. This made it possible to cover an enormous distance quickly.
The item was epic and had 10 charges until it was used up.
Tfue had called for the end of the Grappler just a few days before the patch, saying Epic needed to nerf the weapon or remove it from the game.
Tfue didn’t demand this for no reason, just because he was annoyed by the Grappler, but because he knew there was a “new exploit” with the weapon.
Therefore, Tfue said: It was silly, just dumb. You couldn’t stop the glitch. And opponents who used the exploit could always claim the high ground.
What was the problem with the Grappler? Tfue had noticed this exploit with the Grappler and shared it with his viewers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVuTSJutAGI
Through the exploit, it was possible to jump to players who had built high but to go over them again, giving a significant advantage.
What’s interesting: The glitch that Tfue found was probably not known by most players who are now complaining that the Grappler was removed from the game. There was also no announcement from Epic about why the Grappler flew out of Fortnite.
Many players find Epic’s decision to vault the Grappler incomprehensible. For them, it was a fun item that could also bring success in Fortnite without building.
Perhaps Epic will bring the item back once they have fixed the exploit.
The Barschwa Day in Pokémon GO was not well received. It turns out that the Shiny rate in Europe was lower than in the rest of the world.
What happened? Last weekend, the Barschwa Day took place. During this event, players could collect numerous field research tasks for 3 hours, all of which rewarded Barschwa. From these tasks, players could also obtain a Shiny Barschwa.
Now an analysis shows: The Shiny rate was significantly lower in Europe than in the rest of the world.
How likely was Shiny Barschwa?
What does the analysis show? This analysis was conducted by TheSilphRoad. They had experts from around the world look into how many Shiny Barschwa came from the quests.
In total, 3500 field research tasks were included in the analysis. From this, it was determined how many Shinys came from these quests and the probability of getting one.
These are the statements from the analysis: It was surprisingly found that players in Europe received significantly fewer Shinys from their field research than, for example, Americans or Australians.
Shiny rate in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India: 1 in 40
Shiny rate for the rest of the world: 1 in 20
What does this tell us? The criticism from Europe appears to have been justified. In Australia, for example, it was twice as likely to encounter a Shiny than here. It seems that players in Europe had a clear disadvantage.
How significant is this analysis? Of course, there are no official numbers from Niantic on this. However, such a difference is quite clear and cannot be attributed to chance. After all, over 1500 quests were completed in Europe to arrive at this result.
What could be the reason for the difference? We players in Europe were the first region to experience the Barschwa Day. All other regions had to wait until after us.
It is possible that Niantic responded directly to player criticism and increased the Shiny rate during the event. Our region suffered from this, while the other areas had a higher chance, and the criticism in those countries was less significant.
In Pokémon GO you will soon receive guaranteed Sinnoh Stones. We will tell you how:
After the separation from Bungie, publisher Activision seems to be facing lengthy processes. Initial class action lawsuits are being filed by investors. What is going on with the creators of Destiny 2?
The surprise was great – also for numerous investors. Some major law firms have since begun investigations into whether Activision was involved in “business practices not in accordance with the law.” However, the first lawsuits against the publisher have now emerged.
Rasputin in his original form
Who is suing Activision? Numerous investors feel cheated out of their money. Therefore, the first class action lawsuits have now been filed through the law firms Rosen Law Firm and Shaw Law Firm. The Rosen Law Firm, in particular, is considered an expert in this field and is among the three oldest law firms in the USA.
Interests of investors who acquired securities of Activision Blizzard from August 2, 2018, to January 10, 2019, are being represented. Affected parties still have time until mid-March to join the lawsuit.
What is Activision accused of? Activision Blizzard is specifically accused of making false and misleading statements in public and to investors, although it apparently knew about the impending separation. However, examples of such statements are not provided.
Why is there a lawsuit? According to the lawsuits, investors lost money due to these statements from Activision. After the surprising announcement of the separation, Activision’s stock plunged by nearly 10%, resulting in the loss that many investors are unwilling to accept.
Alongside titles like Call of Duty, the Destiny franchise was one of the largest pillars in Activision’s portfolio. The loss of a franchise that became the best-selling new IP at launch and made $500 million on its first day had significant impacts on the stock price.
What happens next? It is currently difficult to assess whether the accusations and lawsuits will hold up in court. What is certain is that Activision can likely expect lengthy processes. Extensive and in-depth investigations will likely take place, which can also take years in similar cases.
Today it is our duty to inform you about a loss. The MMORPG community mourns the end of the online game Ragnarok Online 2. May it rest in peace.
The successor of one of the most iconic MMORPGs unfortunately has to close its doors. Development has been halted.
What happened? Gravity Interactive, the developer of the online role-playing game, announced that they have pulled the team from RO 2. There will be no more support. No further events are planned either. Thus, the game is effectively dead.
Why is the MMORPG being discontinued? Ragnarok Online 2, the successor to the iconic Ragnarok Online, officially launched in early 2013, but was unable to captivate players even then. The Steam launch in mid-2013 also did not bring the desired success. Therefore, the servers in Korea were taken offline already in December of the same year.
Gravity Interactive then received a financial injection to save the MMORPG. However, this did not really help. As can be seen from Steam charts, players left Ragnarok Online 2. Now the final end is coming. The developers state that the MMORPG simply could not meet expectations.
Cash Shop remains open, but there will be no more support
When will the servers be shut down? There is currently no date. Gravity Interactive wants to leave the MMORPG in maintenance mode for now. Players do not have to worry about being faced with closed doors for the time being.
Why are players upset then? There is some criticism that the servers remain open, and this is related to the cash shop. The developers are keeping the so-called Kafra Shop open. Players can continue to buy in-game items even though the MMORPG is no longer being developed. This frustrates some players.
Thus, we see with Ragnarok Online 2 the first MMORPG that meets its end this year.
The best players in FIFA 19 are strong but expensive. However, the game offers plenty of alternatives: We show you the best and most popular players in FUT.
These are the best players in Ultimate Team: Obviously, anyone with a Cristiano Ronaldo in their team will unavoidably score a lot of goals with the forward from Juventus Turin. Other Top 100 players like Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé will also bring you closer to victory, as will Icons or Event players. But they all have one thing in common: they are extremely expensive.
A Base Form CR7, for example, costs over 2,000,000 coins, which significantly affects the in-game wallet. Few players want to spend that many coins on just one player. It’s no wonder that, as in previous years, players have emerged in FIFA 19 who are extremely popular in the community. The key point: most are significantly cheaper than the classic top players.
Price/Performance Ratio: These Players Dominate in FUT
This is how the list is compiled: Reddit, futbin, and other FIFA sites provide a comprehensive picture of which players are currently in demand in FUT. Who scores the most goals? Who keeps the defense tight? Which players are considered hidden gems?
Top players who are well-known but expensive, such as Paul Pogba, Alex Sandro, or Virgil van Dijk, are not mentioned here. The following players are relatively easy to obtain even with a smaller budget – with some exceptions. If you’re still looking for the optimal reinforcement for your Ultimate Team, you will find it here!
The Best Players in Attack
These players score consistently: If your budget doesn’t allow for the absolute top attackers like Ronaldo, Suárez, or the various Icons, you can try these players.
Dries Mertens (Base/87)
Dangerous Long-Range Shooter: With an overall rating of 87, Mertens is no longer a hidden gem. The problem: Mertens plays in Serie A, which is not as popular in FUT as, for example, the Premier League. However, as a Belgian, Mertens can be easily integrated into various teams.
In addition: The forward, originally costing over 100,000 coins, is now only 30,000. For a player of this class, that’s a bargain: Whether in attack or as a CAM, Mertens creates scoring opportunities with strong dribbling and high speed. If you equip him with a Sniper or Deadeye style, he will be particularly accurate. Mertens is one of the best finesse shooters ever.
Andrea Belotti (Inform/84)
The Complete Forward: Belotti is a great partner for Mertens. The forward is more accurate than Immobile, Icardi, or Higuain, despite having an 84 rating. He boasts a 5-star weak foot and originally comes from TOTW 8. The community loves Belotti: With the right chemistry style (Hunter), the forward brings physical presence, pace, powerful shots, and good finishing – an absolute monster. Cost: About 30,000 coins.
Arnautovic (Base/82)
The Premier League Forward: Arnautovic from West Ham United has established himself as a strong “Big Man” in the Premier League: Well-placed crosses can be perfectly headed into the corner of the goal with Arnautovic. With the Hawk chemistry style, the somewhat underestimated forward also provides the necessary speed to push forward. With Arnautovic, you get an affordable forward for your England team: 700 coins.
Wissam Ben Yedder (Base/81)
Forward for the Budget-Conscious: Ben Yedder’s base card looks like not much with its 81 overall rating. However, the community is enthusiastic about the forward. As a French forward from the first Spanish league, he offers not only great connections: Ben Yedder excels with strong positioning, good dribbling skills, and also serves as a provider. Cost: 700 coins.
Wissam Ben Yedder (Inform/84)
Popular but Expensive: If you really want to instill fear in the opposing penalty area, this card is an option for you! The inform card of Ben Yedder brings an overall of 84 and is one of the most popular cards overall. Originally released in TOTW2, the community has played with this card over 14 million times.
This makes inform Ben Yedder the second most used attacker overall, behind Mbappé. Even as a CAM, Ben Yedder is incredibly dangerous, as his 5-star weak foot makes him a threat in any situation. The downside: At 141,000 coins, this version is extremely expensive.
Timo Werner (Base/83)
The Speed Machine: The attacker from RB Leipzig has made a name for himself as a deadly counter striker in FIFA 19. Werner zooms past most defenders with pace 93, but you should still help with Chemistry Styles when finishing. The best argument for Werner: The price of 2000 coins. If you have the money, get one of the three (!) inform cards that Werner has already collected.
The Number Two: Davinson Sánchez is currently the second most popular player with 20 million games. The Tottenham defender may not be the strongest defender in the Premier League, but he is a very solid solution. Especially since his price has dropped: From over 50,000 to now 10,000 coins.
Kenny Lala (Inform/84)
The Mbappé Link: When it comes to popularity, Kenny Lala must also be mentioned: The inform card from TOTW 6 has accumulated over 15 million games, making him the most popular full-back after Kyle Walker and Alex Sandro. No wonder, since Lala has a well-balanced card that ensures perfect links with French players from Ligue 1. The downside: Lala currently costs 75,000 coins.
Antonio Valencia (Base/82)
The Known Name: Sure, the 33-year-old and well-known Valencia is not a newcomer. But because of his age, some may no longer have the ManU defender on their radar. For the price of 5,000 coins, however, you hardly get another full-back that reliably holds the line. Especially with Anchor style and the instruction to stay back, Valencia is difficult to beat. Just keep him on the right side: the weak left foot has only 2 stars.
Kostas Manolas (Base/85)
The Top Defender: Manolas is a fantastic Serie A defender regarded as one of the best defensive players in the community. Manolas’ only weakness is in short passing and therefore in building up play. But this can be remedied with the Powerhouse style. Manolas shows great strength in intercepting balls and forms one of the strongest defensive duos with Kalidou Koulibaly.
With these players, you can go far in FUT without spending too much money. Do you know any other top players? Share them in our Facebook group for FIFA 19! More top players were introduced by the “Future Stars” event:
On Reddit, there is an increasing number of posts from so-called WoW refugees seeking a new home.
Are players leaving World of Warcraft? Looking at the comments on Reddit, there seems to be almost a “refugee wave” towards other MMORPGs.
What are the reasons for this “flight”? There are many reasons why players are turning their backs on WoW. We conducted a survey and identified the five most common reasons. These include:
Boredom due to lack of content
Too many random factors
The Azerite system
The game is too easy
Additionally, more and more players seem to be “outgrowing” the MMORPG. Those who enthusiastically played Blizzard’s online game 13 years ago have simply grown older. Life catches up with you. Job, family, less time to play. All of this plays a role. And subsequent generations of gamers are growing up with different games. This makes it difficult for Blizzard to retain players and find new ones.
Many of these “refugees” mainly blame the last addon, Battle for Azeroth. According to the fans, it continues to push the issues that were already poorly received in Legion. BFA is not well received according to the comments on Reddit.
What do the “refugees” want? Interestingly, many WoW fans are now turning their backs on the game. They are searching for a new home. This indicates that they actually have the time to play World of Warcraft. Players are looking for diverse things, primarily for something new and a game that they can commit to for a long time. It seems that WoW fatigue has set in alongside frustration over BFA.
The guide humorously explains the major differences between the games, as well as the pros and cons of FFXIV from the perspective of a WoW player.
In addition to Final Fantasy 14, some are switching to The Elder Scrolls Online or seeking advice in the general MMORPG subreddit about which online RPG suits them best.
WoW players are fascinated by Final Fantasy 14 after switching, needing to show it to everyone. However, they are sometimes made fun of for it.
Are WoW players really leaving? It is indeed striking how many inquiries there are from “WoW Refugees”. However, it will be interesting to see how future updates and expansions will affect the situation. WoW is known for players returning in droves, especially with story expansions.
If the content becomes depleted, the “flight” recurs. For now, it is best to wait and see how the situation develops.
In recent years, the trend has spread to hold beta sessions ahead of the release of a major title. Why does Anthem call its teaser “Demo”? What is behind it and what are the differences?
This is usually the case: In most other blockbusters, the beta shortly before launch is simply the beginning of the game to a certain degree and with a clear level cap.
This is how players react to this demo: There are two major currents:
Some are excited and say: Finally a demo like in the old days. They let us test the game for free. This is transparent and fair.
Some other players react skeptically to the demo approach. They fear that the experience will not show them the “real game”, but a “sugar-coated” picture without the grind they expect in the final game.
Why doesn’t Anthem just hold abeta? Forbes asked Anthem producer Michael Gamble:
For us, it was important to give players an impression of as much content as possible, whether it’s the strongholds, free play, or story progression. It should be exactly that: a demonstration. Of course, we still have bugs in the game here and there, but players get a demonstration of the content that will be available in the game.
Players are thus served a buffet (a vertical slice), where everyone can try out everything that the final game will have to offer. This is also one of the essential differences from a beta.
This is how demo and beta differ: Most major games in recent years rely on beta gameplay ahead of a release. Beta versions are not final and can be loaded with bugs and other obstacles.
However, this is not the only difference:
A beta version serves specifically as a stress test for the servers in online games. A demo is meant to provide players with an overview of the game’s content.
Beta versions are generally just parts of the entire game, while demos are tailored more precisely.
Betas are also meant to gather player feedback to eliminate problems or even change features. In contrast, this is generally not the case with demos.
Especially the second point is interesting. In the Anthem demo, you will experience a different game economy than in the final game. This is mainly because Bioware wants to give you the opportunity, even in such a short game variant like a demo,
to find rare gear without having to grind for hours,
to at least explore the item shop rudimentarily, or
to customize your javelins without having to spend real money.
What is better for the players? Demo or beta? A demo will give you a better overview of most features to be discovered in a game, while betas only show a small snippet (like a multiplayer map or the first two hours of the story).
However, players at least on paper have more influence within a beta, which often aims to gather feedback to eliminate bugs and rectify weaknesses. How often player feedback actually leads to changes is, however, unknown.
Whether a demo or a beta is better must be decided by each person for themselves. Personally, I find Bioware’s approach refreshing and look forward to seeing as many features in the game as possible.
Will Anthem be significantly more grind-heavy? The finished game will undoubtedly differ from the demo; this is less true for beta versions aside from bug fixes.
How exactly the actual economy will look is still not known. In the demo, players will start with 100 coins and cosmetic items will cost 25 coins. The actual “shop” of Anthem could be much stingier.
We also do not yet know how many hours we will actually have to grind to get the rarest gear. The demo will not be able to provide more precise insights here.
Those who want to see for themselves can use the VIP demo starting today for pre-orderers, or convince themselves in the context of an open demo for everyone that will launch on February 1.
Battlefield 5 has finally tackled the annoying issue with its in-game currency “Company Coins”. Now there is compensation for those affected. But what does it look like?
What happened? Many players were waiting for this. Battlefield 5 has resolved the issues with Company Coins. The annoying bug has finally been fixed. Many are now eagerly waiting to see how the compensation will be.
Because DICE already promised some time ago that players affected by the pesky bug will be taken into account retroactively and compensated. Now it is clear how.
What does the compensation look like? As the developers of Battlefield 5 have announced on Twitter and Reddit, all players affected by the bug will now receive a Company Coin bonus.
The amount of this bonus is individual. It is based on the number of coins that players lost since the last compensation a few weeks ago and the final resolution of the problem. The calculation is based on the XP earned during this period.
When will the bonus be received? As DICE stated on Twitter, the compensation has already been delivered. It will automatically be added to the inventory of the affected players – you don’t have to do anything for it. You can view your Company Coin balance in the upper right corner of the in-game menu.
This problem still remains: Currently, at the end of a round, the amount of coins earned may still be displayed incorrectly. This is a display error in the user interface, and the developers are working to eliminate this bug as well.
You don’t have to worry about it. Only an incorrect amount is displayed in this “End of Round” screen. However, you will receive the correct amount of Company Coins credited and will not lose any currency.
This was the problem with Company Coins: Players could no longer earn additional Company Coins in Battlefield 5 once they reached the highest level in the game, level 50. This bug had been troubling fans since the launch. As more and more players reached max level, an increasing number of players were affected by this problem.
Due to the bug, affected players missed out on a lot of in-game currency and thus the opportunity to purchase more cosmetics. This caused considerable discontent among fans. Especially when it became known that EA wanted to introduce Battlefield Coins, a real-money currency, even though there were issues with Company Coins, many emotions boiled over.
In week 8 of Season 7 in Fortnite: Battle Royale, it’s time to search again. The task is “Search between a mysterious hatch, a giant stone woman, and an uncertain low loader”. We will show you the sought location.
What is it about? Every week, new challenges start in Fortnite where players have to deal a certain amount of damage or shoot with selected weapons. There are also more creative tasks that send players on a kind of treasure hunt.
We will show you the location where you need to look this week.
Where to search between the mysterious hatch, stone woman, and low loader?
Fortnite describes a specific spot in the game with this task. If you search there, you will secure an upgrade in the Battle Pass. So you won’t have to search long for it, we will show you the location.
Prerequisite: This is not a task from the paid part of the Battle Pass of week 8. Every player can solve this task.
Here you should search: The locations of the hatch, the stone woman, and the low loader can all be found near Wailing Woods. Choose a spot between Wailing Woods and Lonely Lodge as your drop-off point.
The sought location is in grid cell J3 on a small hill, west of the low loader. You can either land directly there or build a small staircase upwards.
On the embedded map, you will discover the sought locations marked with red crowns. Exactly in between, at the player’s position, is the sought location.
Video tutorial: You will surely find the sought spot if you follow this video. There you can see exactly where you can loot the treasure.
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The Chinese New Year in Overwatch has begun. There are some balance changes that should please Reaper fans.
With the start of the “Lunar New Year” event in Overwatch, there was also a small patch that changed the balance. Reaper is the big winner of this patch as his self-healing is drastically increased. He should thus be almost impossible to kill for tanks and is able to save himself even in precarious situations.
However, things look bad for D.Va and Brigitte. These two heroes are being nerfed.
This is what happens to D.Va: D.Va will now have a double cooldown when using her Defense Matrix. This is intended to give opponents more opportunities to counter D.Va and ensure they can really land a hit after the Matrix is turned off before it is reactivated.
This is how Brigitte changes: Brigitte must endure a nerf to her ultimate. Her “Inspiration” still grants the same amount of health and armor, but they now last only 30 seconds before disappearing automatically. This is to ensure that good teams do not constantly benefit from the bonus. Particularly skilled players were able to transition from one “Inspiration” to the next almost seamlessly.
Patch Notes for Lunar New Year 2019
General
Armor now only reduces incoming damage by -3 instead of -5 points.
Brigitte
Inspiration: The bonus armor granted by this ability now lasts only a maximum of 30 seconds.
D.Va
Defense Matrix: The cooldown between individual uses of this ability has been increased from 1 second to 2 seconds.
Reaper
Reaper’s self-healing from damage dealt increases from 30% to 50%.
What do you think of these changes? Did Reaper really need the buff? Or is the Edgelord of Overwatch now way too powerful?
In a new “From the Vault,” Bethesda has released more detailed information about the upcoming PvP mode for Fallout 76. The mode will be called “Survival,” will run separately from the regular gameplay mode, and will have some special rules.
What is the PvP mode? The Survival mode is the newly planned PvP mode for Fallout 76. In this new mode, players will be able to actively fight each other without consideration for pacifists or the risk of disturbing other players while gaming. Every player outside the group is automatically an enemy.
When you start the game and select “Play,” you will then have the options to play the regular or the “Survival” mode. According to the report, the beta for the mode is supposed to arrive “soon.”
This is how Fallout 76 aims to improve PvP
This is what makes the mode special: Although all players are fundamentally enemies, the bounty system will be retained. So, anyone who diligently kills players and destroys bases will be marked on the map and will lose caps upon dying to other players.
In the “Survival” mode, however, there will be no possibility to take “revenge.” Those who die will have to respawn in their C.A.M.P. or in Vault 76. The lost junk will most likely remain with the killer.
Otherwise, the mode does not differ from the regular gameplay mode. All quests and tasks are the same. Characters can be transferred, and what happens to a character in one mode also affects the other. This includes:
Inventory
Death
Progress
Bethesda has more planned: Furthermore, additional rules for the mode are in the works. The team has some ideas that could be implemented. However, according to the report, the changes are “not yet finalized.”
players may lose assistance items and other gear upon death
Especially the fact that more items than just junk can be lost is a significant shift from the regular gameplay mode. This is intended to make deaths matter more and PvP fights more rewarding.
What is the purpose of this mode? The new gameplay mode is designed for players seeking more challenge. If the wasteland is not dangerous enough, then the Survival mode with hostile players is meant to provide more thrill and difficulty.
Additionally, there will be a leaderboard. Those who perform best in the “Survival” mode will rank higher. However, the exact criteria for scoring are not yet known.
The upcoming patch brings even more
Patch 5 is expected to be released by the end of January. It will address further issues, some of which Bethesda already mentions in “From the Vault”:
already known blueprints will be marked
the “Travel Medicine” skill now correctly reduces the weight of all chems
a bug in the “Early Warning System” quest has been fixed, which previously caused the quest to freeze
With the latest patch in Fortnite, a snowman has been added that you can use like the bush. Players love the new item.
What happened? The latest update of Fortnite also brought a new item: the snowman. You can find this snowman just like any other normal item on the map of Fortnite.
The snowman functions similarly to the bush. You can hide in it and disguise yourself from enemies.
How to use the snowman effectively
How does the snowman work? When you find a snowman, you will discover five of them right away. They only appear in groups. You can “wear” a snowman to disguise yourself, as well as throw snowmen. You can place them beside you to blend into the crowd.
When you have thrown on the snow figure, it acts as a kind of shield with 100 health points. The downside of the snowman is that you cannot build while using it.
Here’s how you can effectively disguise yourself: To make it even harder to be found, hide in a snowman and throw additional snowmen around you. When an enemy notices you, they must destroy every snowman until they find you.
During this time, you can pop out of your cover and surprise the enemy. If you are good at aiming, you should win the fight.
That’s why people love the snowman
That’s why the snowman is so popular: Just the look of the snowman is appealing. It is wonderfully quirky when suddenly a clump of snow runs across the map. That’s the humor that has made Fortnite so great.
Additionally, the snowman is an item that works well. Epic had received criticism from players for numerous items before, such as the sword or the boombox. However, the snowman works well, and no player complains about unfair things that can be done with it.
This is what the pros say: Many streamers on Twitch, including Tfue, have a lot of fun with the snowmen. They organize hide-and-seek games or troll their opponents.
The video provides an insight into the streamer scene and their reactions to the snowman:
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The Chinese New Year in Overwatch is back. The New Year event once again offers you limited skins and other cosmetics throughout the festivities in 2019.
Today, on January 24, 2019, the Chinese New Year event starts in Overwatch. You have until February 18 to earn or purchase loot boxes to get the exclusive cosmetics.
The skins of the New Year event 2019
What can you get? For the New Year event 2019, there are 8 new legendary and epic skins to collect for various heroes:
Hong Gildong Tracer in a white suit with leather vest
Zhuge Liang Zenyatta with pointed beard
Zhang Fei Torbjörn with dragon tongs and gold belt buckle
Guan Yu Reinhardt in noble green and gold
General Brigitte with black-red armor and finally with helmet (epic skin)
Huang Zhong Hanzo with fancy helmet and yellow armor
Lü Bu Reaper in gloomy black and red with eerie mask
Sanye Orisa with white paper scraps and mask as a festive dragon (epic skin)
You can view the skins in our gallery. Each skin costs 3000 credits (epic skins 750) and can be purchased directly or obtained through wins in the arcade as well as through level-ups in loot boxes.
Get old skins: You also have the option to purchase skins from past New Year events. If you were unlucky in 2017 and 2018, you now have the chance to repurchase the skins or obtain them in loot boxes. As a reminder:
The skins have standard prices of 250 credits for an epic skin and 1000 credits for a legendary skin. So make a purchase while it’s still cheaper if you are missing your favorite skins from past events.
Which skin do you think is the best? Which one will you definitely get from this or the past years? Test
Stay up to date. On our Overwatch page on Facebook, you will find all the news and specials about the game. If you are looking for teammates, just stop by our Overwatch group.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Many gamers are currently looking forward to the upcoming VIP demo of Anthem, which will start this weekend. Our reader Cadeyrn85 has closely followed the development of the new game from Bioware and searched through the tweets of the developer Ben Irving for information.
Who is Ben Irving? As the Lead Producer of Anthem, Ben Irving is one of the central figures in the development team of BioWare’s new game. He coordinates and plans all operations related to Anthem.
For example, he decides which parts of the script will make it into the final game and how the budget for the game will be allocated. Therefore, he knows as much about Anthem as very few others.
On Twitter, Irving has diligently answered fans’ questions about Anthem in recent weeks. Here are his responses.
Irving talks about combos and difficulty levels
How do combos work in Anthem? The Javelins in Anthem can apply various effects to enemies with their abilities. This is referred to as “Priming.” Once an enemy is primed with such an effect, it can be detonated. This is triggered by different weapons. Here’s what Irving says in his tweets about it:
Combo effects are Javelin-specific and not specific to certain abilities.
Weapons do not have a primer function for combos, meaning they cannot apply effects to enemies.
Frost freezes enemies and is a strong crowd control effect.
Lightning/Elemental creates a pulsating “AOE” area.
Lightning and Frost abilities are more effective against shields, while Acid and Fire are effective against armor.
Frost negates fire status effects but does not cool down the jets for flying.
Cooldowns depend on actions you take in combat. (“affected by things you do in combat”)
Non-combo abilities do higher damage compared to detonators that do not detonate. They also deal more damage than a “raw” primer, as they do not apply a “Prime” effect to the enemies.
Changing the difficulty affects all enemies: both in missions and in the Open World.
The difficulty level “Grandmaster 3” is reportedly very difficult. (at least for Ben Irving ?)
When a player unlocks Grandmaster, other players who have not yet reached this difficulty can join them.
The strength of the enemies scales with the player’s level.
Legendary contracts will also be available for the three Grandmaster difficulty levels.
The higher the difficulty, the rarer the drops that are not at least epic.
Can missions be completed in a team? Missions are quests in Anthem that you complete to earn money, gear, and skins.
There is no Friendly Fire.
You can only change your weapons and gear before a mission, not during it.
Matchmaking works universally for all activities.
You can always easily join and leave missions of other players.
When encountering enemies from two factions, they will focus on players and enemies according to threat algorithms.
Information on equipment in Anthem
What does the Lead Producer say about loot? Gear and weapons are among the most important aspects of a loot shooter game like Anthem. Thanks to Irving’s tweets, we know a lot about how equipment and looting work in Anthem.
Loot drops are random, but they will tend to favor the currently equipped Javelin. (“Strong preference to current Javelin”)
Loot is player-specific and cannot be gifted or sold.
Loot cannot be stolen.
The strength and rarity of loot is: Epic -> Masterwork -> Legendary.
Masterwork and legendary items you leave behind will be sent to you by mail. The rest will be lost.
There are “easy-to-obtain Masterworks” without legendary abilities and “harder-to-obtain Masterworks” with.
What do we know about cosmetics?
The different components of Javelins do not affect their appearance. Armor sets do.
Only the armor can be cosmetically customized, not the weapons. The armor has cosmetic areas that can be changed in color, texture, and material.
What do we know about weapons in Anthem?
Weapons have no durability.
Weapons have a certain range efficiency.
Components have two Inscription slots, while weapons and armors have four. Inscriptions are special random effects that can be on the equipment.
With the capabilities of components and gear, builds focused more on gunplay than abilities will be possible.
It will be possible to carry two primary weapons, such as an assault rifle and a sniper.
The inscriptions, that is, special effects, of both equipped weapons will apply, not just the weapon currently held in the “hands.”
How do equipment bonuses work?
The bonuses from individual items stack.
The highest possible power level is 47. The difference between 45 and 47 is said to be significant.
The gear score cap is at 517. (47*11)
What the Lead Producer said about Javelins
At level 1, you receive a loaned Ranger; at level 2, you can select your first Javelin. Additional Javelins will become available at levels 8, 16, and 26.
Level 30 is the maximum level.
Javelins are not gender-specific.
Ranger:
The gathering point only buffs weapon damage, not skills or ultimates.
