Catch-up for Twinks is currently a bit difficult in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. A change should help.
In the AMA (“Ask me Anything”) with Ion Hazzikostas, the Game Director of World of Warcraft, many community questions were addressed. Especially the grinding of reputation is a thorn in the side of the community, particularly for Twinks. Therefore, a change will soon come for the Champions of Azeroth.
What will change? What the change will specifically look like is not yet known. However, Hazzikostas explained that there will be catch-up mechanics in an upcoming patch, allowing players to increase this reputation faction particularly quickly. Possible ideas could be especially rewarding follower missions or an increase in reputation gain from world quests. Hazzikostas hasn’t mentioned any specific ideas yet.
Why only the Champions of Azeroth? The Champions of Azeroth are particularly important for character progression. Reaching new reputation levels allows Magni to upgrade the Heart of Azeroth, each time by a whopping 15 item levels. This means that reputation with this faction is particularly valuable.
With strong gear becoming increasingly accessible, it can quickly happen that the Heart of Azeroth is the worst item in possession. That shouldn’t be the case for long.
The community wants more: The player base of World of Warcraft is not satisfied with this promise. They wish for account-wide reputation, which is also reflected in one of our surveys.
Many players are attached to their main characters and have a strong bond with them because they have 70, 80, or even more factions at revered. Leaving this years of work behind for a new character is difficult for many. What is your opinion on this adjustment? Is it enough for you if the Champions of Azeroth are easier to farm? Or is that just a drop in the bucket?
It is already known that Microsoft and Sony are working on the successors to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. In an interview, Pete Hines hinted that Bethesda already knows quite a bit about the next consoles, but cannot reveal anything yet.
Some developers have reportedly already been informed about the next console generation by Microsoft and Sony. Bethesda’s marketing manager Pete Hines stated in an interview that his company already knows “some things” about the new systems. However, he could not disclose any real details yet.
Bethesda is already in the loop
What could Hines already reveal? In a recent interview, Pete Hines, the marketing manager at Bethesda, stated that his company has already been informed about the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony. However, not much seems to have been revealed, as Hines himself seems still curious about some details.
I am curious to see how they look and how different they are. I am in on things I can’t really talk about, but there is also a lot that I am not sure how it will look. And more importantly, how big the shift is that we can expect.
Will there be a significant graphical difference again? Hines further explained that there was a significant shift in graphical quality from the original Xbox/PS2 era to Xbox 360 and PS3. This was the transition from “the old way” to high definition. In his opinion, the transition from Xbox 360 and PS3 to Xbox One and PS4, however, was less dramatic.
Whether there will be another significant graphical improvement with the next console generation, Hines stated he does not know.
Will games be more expensive in the next generation?
Why should games become more expensive? In the interview, Hines speculated that developing triple-A games would become even more expensive with the next console generation. Smaller games, however, are unlikely to see much of a price increase.
Games are already so diverse. To say that all games will become more expensive would probably be too broad. A big triple-A game like Starfield is not cheap. It never was. Back then with Morrowind, we had a team of 35 people. That is not nearly as big as with Fallout 76. But alongside that, you have a game like The Elder Scrolls Legends, which has a significantly smaller team than many other games. So it depends on what kind of game it is and how big and extensive it is.
A new trailer for the big winter update in Blade and Soul shows that the Lyn will also receive the Protector class. There are also various new features and a recap of the PvP tournament in Korea.
What is the Protector? The Protector is an offensive tank class that can properly slice opponents into small pieces with a huge sword. Players of the Jin and Gon races can already test the class, and with the big winter update, the Lyn will also receive their own variation of this class.
After the start of the Ultra Bonus in Pokémon GO, Mewtwo can no longer learn the charged attack Shadow Ball. Therefore, you should teach it quickly with TM now.
When Mewtwo moves from EX Raids to normal Raids on September 20 at 10:00 PM, it will no longer be able to learn the charged attacks Shadow Ball or Hyper Beam. Anyone who already has Mewtwo in their collection can still use charged TMs to ensure that the Pokémon can learn one of the attacks. It is advisable to have Mewtwo with Shadow Ball.
The “Mewtwo for everyone” is different from EX Raids
Due to the Ultra Bonus, Mewtwo is released for T5 Raids. These are the normal legendary battles. This gives every trainer the chance to add this rare Pokémon to their collection. But it does not have the same attacks it could learn before. Here, Mewtwo was defeated by a horde of Rattata.
What is new? The attacks Shadow Ball and Hyper Beam will soon be exclusive to the Mewtwo you catch in EX Raids.
How can Mewtwo still learn the attacks now? Use charged TMs until September 20 at 10:00 PM to teach Mewtwo Shadow Ball or Hyper Beam.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
Which attack is better? Mewtwo with Shadow Ball is currently significantly more effective than Mewtwo with Hyper Beam. It is therefore a strong attacker against Mewtwo itself and also against some legendary bosses from Generation 4.
Should one keep Hyper Beam Mewtwo? If you have several Mewtwo, you should at least keep one with the Hyper Beam attack. Perhaps the meta will change so that the attack becomes more important. Otherwise, you have it for your collection.
Which charged attacks does Mewtwo have during the event? When the event starts, Mewtwo will initially only have the charged attacks Focus Blast and Psychic. Whether Niantic will introduce a new attack for the event to make gathering even more worthwhile is still unclear. The community hopes for attacks like Psystrike (Mewtwo’s signature move), Psycho Cut, or Seer.
Can Mewtwo ever learn Shadow Ball or Hyper Beam again?
This question is currently on the minds of the community. Niantic framed the announcement in such a way that there are two possibilities:
Mewtwo can never learn Hyper Beam or Shadow Ball again – Only until the start of the event on September 20
or Mewtwo can learn the attacks Shadow Ball and Hyper Beam again in EX Raids after the event
On Reddit, a user found a note in the Japanese announcement indicating that these attacks may no longer be learned by Mewtwo afterwards.
Whether this translation is actually correct will only be seen when Mewtwo appears in EX Raids again. What is still unclear.
Why is Niantic doing this?
Now some trainers are asking why the Mewtwo from the Ultra Event can no longer learn these attacks.
Niantic values the trainers’ hard work: By only allowing Mewtwo from EX Raids to learn these strong attacks, Niantic is making Mewtwo stronger than those that will soon be available in all raids. If there were stronger attacks for the event Mewtwo, that bonus would be gone. Then, the EX Raid Mewtwo would simply be rare specimens.
Why should the new ones be weaker? There was an uproar in the community when it became clear that now every trainer has the chance to get Mewtwo. Trainers who could already catch Mewtwo in the rarer EX Raids took extra time to travel to raids. They thought it was unfair that now every trainer with less effort should be able to get the same Mewtwo.
Recently, things have been quiet around the survival online game ARK: Survival Evolved. But now the developers are back with a modding contest, offering a prize of $15,000.
Why a mod contest? Mods keep games alive longer. They bring new variations and diversity to a game. This is particularly evident with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. An online game thrives on new content, which developers often can’t deliver as quickly as players consume.
Therefore, it makes sense that Studio Wildcard is reaching out to the modding community to keep ARK fresh and interesting. Mod contests, which also offer cash prizes, serve as an incentive to motivate modders to participate.
Wildcard gains new content to pass on to players, who are constantly supplied with updates. A win-win situation. This is why mods are so important for the online survival game ARK.
ARK Survival Evolved – Archaeopteryx from Update 2470
Later, Studio Wildcard sought to engage with its modding community. The developer studio has previously held mod contests to encourage the community to actively participate in development.
There are now a whole range of modifications that you can incorporate into your game. And more are coming.
To further foster the creativity of the community and to keep ARK interesting through mods, another competition is now taking place. This is intended to lead to regular contests that will be held monthly.
The rules for the mod contest
How can you participate? If you are involved with mods and would like to join the contest, you can do so through the official ARK website:
Read the rules, which state that you must not infringe copyrights and that you can submit the mod only twice a year for such competitions
Here’s how to win: After you submit your mod, Studio Wildcard will evaluate it. This evaluation counts for 70 percent of the overall score. The submitted mods will also be rated by fans in a public voting that counts for 30 percent towards the overall score. The entry with the highest score wins.
In Destiny 2, there was recently confusion about the third Seed of Light. This seems to be tied to the raid. Bungie commented on it.
3rd Seed of Light in the Raid: When the first Guardians defeated the first raid boss in Last Wish, they and their viewers were quite astonished. Because for many raiders, the 3rd Seed of Light dropped. This is an item that is extremely rare and has been puzzling many players for days on how to obtain it.
There will be more sources for the 3rd Seed of Light
Bungie comments on the seed: On Twitter, a user asked whether Bungie really forces players into the raid if they want to play with all their Guardian skills and super attacks. Community Manager Cozmo replied that there are other ways to obtain the third Seed of Light besides the first raid encounter.
“There will be more ways to obtain Seeds of Light,” said Cozmo.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
What options are there? This is actually still not known. There are scattered and unconfirmed user reports that the 3rd Seed can now be randomly obtained through stage 3 of the Blind Well. However, some users seem to confuse this drop with the 2nd Seed of Light, which is tied to the Blind Well.
Finally, Cozmo mentioned that additional options will “be available”. Likely, these are not in the game yet.
Would island expeditions in World of Warcraft work without time pressure, allowing for exploration? The Game Director is planning something.
In an AMA (“Ask me anything”), Game Director Ion Hazzikostas answered questions from the community. A major topic was also the island expeditions, which can hardly hold up to what was promised. The rewards have already been fixed, they now drop more frequently. However, other aspects are still facing a lot of criticism.
Exploration is missing: The island expeditions were touted as an opportunity to explore and experience alien islands. However, this is hardly possible at all, because due to the time pressure (after all, there is also an enemy team on the island), one has to constantly rush from one objective to the next. For real “exploration”, there is simply no time if you don’t want to doom your group to failure.
Or as Hazzikostas puts it:
“We have received feedback that the speed of the island expeditions feels too frantic, and the “Go! Go! Go!” race to collect Azerite diminishes the ability to explore the islands or fully understand what is happening. Ultimately, the theme of “Alliance vs Horde” in the expeditions creates a competitive feel, and we know that this is not necessarily something for all players.
But we would really like to use the technology underlying the expeditions for other content that does not have the same speed.”
No exact time frame: While this is not a firm promise, it sounds like they want to revisit content where exploration and random events occur at a later date.
Whether this will happen in Battle for Azeroth or only in a future expansion remains pure speculation at this point.
Future of island expeditions: More content is still planned for island expeditions, which are set to appear in upcoming patches. This will include not only new islands but also new events and mechanics that can arise there. However, no details have been provided yet.
How would you feel about island expeditions with more freedom and less time pressure? What could that even look like to still keep it exciting when the race is absent?
In the next update of Fortnite, players can expect a new item: the Port-a-Fort. This should be the last new item in Fortnite before Season 5 ends and Season 6 begins. Here’s what we know about the Port-a-Fort.
New item announced: At the end of Season 5, Epic announces a new item for Fortnite: the “Port-a-Fort” is expected to arrive with the next update, which could be as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.
After the Grappler and the Rift-to-Go in Fortnite, the “Port-a-Fort” is the next movement item that should bring some excitement to the Battle Royale mode.
Is that a fort in your pants?
What kind of item is this? We don’t know the exact details yet. However, the item has already been teased in Fortnite itself.
The Port-a-Fort seems to be the legendary XXL version of the well-known blue Port-a-Fort: You throw it on the ground and a structure quickly appears that you can occupy. This serves as an escape option or a quickly erected defense facility.
While the Port-a-Fort only builds a three-tier fort, the legendary variant, the Port-a-Fort, is expected to be a larger fortification. If you look closely at the artwork, you can see a pattern. This might provide clues about the dimensions of the new fort.
Port-a-Fort
Legendary fort significantly larger than blue
How big will the fort be? From the graphic, it seems that the Port-a-Fort might be 4 units long with an entrance door and then 4 towers at the corners. It would then be bigger and wider than the Port-a-Fort, which only measures “three units”.
As the website Forbes speculates, the Port-a-Fort might not be a game-changer, but it could add some variety to the game. In any case, it will be exciting to see what else awaits us in Fortnite.
What are 5-star skillers? These are players who are able to perform more complex moves than players with lower skill ratings on the virtual pitch. The skill rating ranges from 1 to 5 stars. 5-star skillers can perform all – and the most beautiful – tricks.
Who needs 5-star skillers? Players can not only perform nice flicks that are pleasing to the eye – simple tricks like the ball roll also come easier with 5-star skilled players. So anyone who likes to pull off tricks should take a closer look at the following list of all 5-star skillers in FIFA 19.
All 5-star skillers from the Bundesliga in FIFA 19
There are also some tricksters in the Bundesliga. These players from the German top division have a 5-star skill rating:
Alexandru Maxim:
As in previous years, the number ten from Mainz 05 again received five stars this year. Anyone looking for an affordable 5-star skiller for their FUT Bundesliga team will find Alexandru Maxim.
Thiago:
Thiago, the Spanish technician from FC Bayern, will likely be a lot more expensive: He is again one of the best dribblers in FIFA 19.
Franck Ribery:
Thiago’s teammate Franck Ribery received five stars again despite his advanced age and decreased overall rating, making him a good option to outsmart the opposing defense.
Kingsley Coman:
The third Bayern player is World Champion Kingsley Coman: The lightning-fast winger not only brings a lot of speed but also a 5-star skill rating to the pitch.
Jadon Sancho:
New among the 5-star skillers of the Bundesliga is Jadon Sancho: The young winger from Borussia Dortmund has a total rating of only 72, but he masters all the special moves of the game.
Three-time champion Faker and his team SK Telecom T1 failed to qualify for the Worlds in League of Legends (LoL) 2018. Internal problems and strong competition from young players are making it hard for the champs.
Who is Faker?Faker is like the Lionel Messi of eSports. Only he is a 22-year-old South Korean and not a bearded Argentine. He is generally regarded as the “best LoL player” there has ever been. But even Faker, like Messi, can no longer lead a team to victory alone.
Faker plays the “Mid-Lane” position in League of Legends, the central spot. There, he can have a significant impact on the game. For years, fans around the world have admired his insane stunts and crazy kills.
His team has been SK Telecom T1 since 2014. He has never played for another organization. This is a rarity in League of Legends, where players usually swap teams quickly.
A popular champion for Faker: Akali
Here’s how it went in recent years: The most important tournament in League of Legends is the World Championships at the end of each year, the “Worlds.” Teams must qualify from their regions.
SK Telecom T1 has won the Worlds three times in the last 5 years:
In 2013, the team was actually just the “B” team for SK Telecom, but won the World Championship for the first time and started an incredible run.
In 2014, they did not qualify.
In 2015 and 2016, the team won the Worlds again – then people thought it would become a dynasty.
This is what happened: SK Telecom T1 failed to secure one of the three spots Korea has for the Worlds in 2018.
In the decisive series, they lost again to the finalists from 2017 with 3:2. The rivals are now called Gen G., after Samsung withdrew. However, top players like Ruler and Ambition still play for Gen G.
Weakness Jungle: In the decisive game 5, they neutralized Faker through concerted play.
After ADC Bang had so many problems at the Worlds 2017, this time the jungler Blank proved to be the weak link. He was caught and killed for the second time at 2:30 minutes, and throughout the match, Gen.G frequently claimed his scalp:
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
What was the reason? Apparently, SK Telecom T1 has several problems, as observers note (via vEsports):
While newcomers shine in other teams, SKT 1 also has top rookies but does not trust them – they benched the young jungler talent Blossom after making mistakes.
The veterans appear to have weaknesses for years now, and the departure of old top players cannot be compensated.
Then the head coach changed.
And the harmony and synergy are not there.
Other teams in South Korea are just getting stronger – this year some great rookies joined the league. Teams like KT Rolster or Afreeca Freecs are now simply stronger than SK Telecom T1.
Who will represent Korea at the World Championship? The defending champions Gen G. have snatched the last spot. They will compete for South Korea along with Afreeca Freecs and KT Rolster. Faker and his team will have to watch the Worlds 2018 from home.
Even Faker Can No Longer Win Alone
What’s behind it: Never has South Korea been stronger than this year, as observers believe. Apparently too strong for SK Telecom T1.
It is now also no longer possible for the LoL God Faker to carry a team to victory virtually alone. The same phenomenon could be observed with Lionel Messi during the World Cup. Even the best player in the world cannot consistently make a difference with such a high level of competition.
A team led by YouTuber Datto completed the raid “Last Wish” in Destiny 2 after 24 hours of continuous play. However, they were 2 minutes short of the coveted reward.
Every team that completes it in 24 hours receives special emblems
And anyone who finishes the raid before the reset can purchase a jacket from Bungie
This is the exclusive emblem.
Who raided? The perhaps most well-known YouTuber from Destiny is Datto. He is playing with his clan “Math Class”.
It’s a small, self-ironic joke. Since Datto came from WoW and compared to other YouTubers is more academic, he has the reputation of approaching the game scientifically in long guides. He is considered somewhat of a nerd and explainer of Destiny.
That’s why his clan is called “Math Class”.
The YouTuber Stefan “Datto” Jonke
The team was surely eager to complete the raid “Last Wish” within the 24 hours and snag the emblem. Therefore, they didn’t take long breaks, but kept pushing through the night.
Only 2 raid teams get the emblem
The tragedy then: They did complete the raid in 24 hours but were exactly 2 minutes over the time limit. So no emblem for the Math Club.
Only 2 groups received the emblem: The world-first killers Redeem and a second group around Gigz. Even star player SlayerAge and his team only succeeded after about 30 hours.
Raid report shows: Only 3 teams completed it in 24 hours – Datto’s was 2 minutes over.
The moment must be immortalized
Fans want a reference: The fans on Reddit now demand an item from Bungie to honor this attempt for all eternity.
Their suggestion is a weapon called “Two Minutes Too Late.” The lore text could read: “But I was only 2 minutes late to math class.”
Such an honor would be better than any emblem.
Loser takes it with grace: Datto himself comments on Twitter with a mix of pride and melancholy. “Two minutes missing for the emblem. That feels bad. But third place in the raid race isn’t bad.”
Besides, Datto goes pro: 67,000 viewers at peak – that’s by far the highest concurrent viewer count he’s ever had.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
Many players criticize the number of bugs in the current addon of World of Warcraft. The Game Director is trying to relativize this. He refers to the many bugs in Legion.
Even though the launch of Battle for Azeroth went nearly perfectly, the current addon of World of Warcraft is far from it.
Especially in the forums and on Reddit, complaints about issues are piling up, whether small or large. While Blizzard is relatively quick at fixing the bugs, many players believe it should never have come to this point.
Ion Hazzikostas, the Game Director of WoW, has now commented on this.
What did Hazzikostas say? In the AMA (“Ask me Anything”) on Reddit, Hazzikostas answered several questions. Regarding the state of the many bugs, he made a comparison with Legion:
“More than 30,000 bugs were found during the alpha, beta, and release of Battle for Azeroth. 95% of these bugs have been fixed and most of the current problems are those that have been reported recently. These bugs will be fixed either right now or with the next major patch. By the way, Legion had similar numbers as a comparison.”
Low reproducibility of the bugs: A major problem is also bugs that developers simply cannot reproduce, Hazzikostas explains further. If, for instance, an NPC gets stuck during a quest and only data from two or three players is available (for example, in the beta), then the problem cannot always be traced back. Such bugs are initially marked as “Not reproducible” while developers work on other bugs.
Later, in the live version, not just a few players are affected, but several thousand. This results in more data, and such bugs can be fixed more easily when there is more information available.
Why is the outcry so large this time?
If the bugs were already so numerous earlier, the question arises as to why there is such a large outcry from the community this time. Several reasons could contribute to this.
Bugs are more noticeable: The biggest difference this time may lie in the visibility of the bugs. While in Legion, mostly small bugs only affected a minority of players, this time, larger masses are affected, and the impact is significantly felt.
Especially on the US realms, which are often confronted with bugs first, issues – like the undeserved super loot – cause anger and frustration.
Dissatisfaction as a catalyst: Additionally, there is the fact that many players are dissatisfied with the mechanics in Battle for Azeroth. Farming reputation, grinding artifact power, and the features of the Azerite armor are met with little favor. This increases players’ irritability and thus the perception of game bugs.
It is clear that a completely bug-free game of the size of World of Warcraft will probably never exist. However, the question is whether the state at launch was acceptable, or whether they should have taken another 1-2 months for testing.
A new hotfix will be provided for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on September 18th for Xbox One X. This is intended to temporarily reduce the graphics to cope with the performance issues on the console.
The battle royale shooter PUBG is currently only available on consoles for Xbox One. However, players on the Xbox One X still suffer from performance issues: Notably, the unstable frame rate is under criticism. A new hotfix is expected to provide at least temporary relief next week.
Stability through graphical downgrade
How will the hotfix help? On September 18th, a hotfix for PUBG will be released on Xbox One that aims to address the frame rate issues on Xbox One X. This will involve disabling some graphic options or reducing the intensity of certain features. This is expected to temporarily lead to performance improvements.
The following changes will be introduced with the hotfix:
Shadow quality (both dynamic and static) will be reduced
Post-processing
Motion blur will be disabled
Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) quality will be reduced
Depth of field will be disabled
Lens flare will be disabled
Eye adaptation quality will be reduced
This option affects the time needed for eyes to adjust to darkness when moving from a bright to a dark place
Effects
Screen reflection (SSR) will be disabled
This affects the reflection from windows and similar surfaces
Refraction will be switched off
This affects light refraction
Subsurface Scattering (SSS) will be disabled
This refers to light fields in objects that make objects appear more lifelike
Particle lighting will be disabled
This affects the dynamic lighting of various effects, such as explosions
The number of generated particles will be reduced
The resolution and textures, on the other hand, are expected to remain unchanged.
A long-term solution is being sought: The developers apologized in the blog post, as they know some players experience no issues at all.
The hotfix will affect all players, albeit only temporarily.
In the meantime, work will continue on a long-term solution. The developers anticipate offering two paths for different target groups in the future: one path for players who prefer better graphics and one for gamers who prefer better performance.
In Fortnite, a 10 million dollar tournament is starting soon. It’s not just about intense eSport fights, but also about mini-games like golf or golf cart racing.
What kind of tournament is this? Epic plans to start the series “Fall Skirmish” on the weekend of September 21/22. The tournament will have a prize pool of 10 million US dollars (around 8.6 million euros).
The lucrative tournament is set to run for 6 weeks and will conclude on October 26/27 at TwitchCon.
This is the second official tournament that Epic is planning for Fortnite. It is shorter and has a larger prize pool than the first one, the Summer Skirmish. Overall, Epic has a budget of 100 million US dollars in prize money for Fortnite planned for the 2018/2019 season.
eSport with casual mini-games
The special feature: The tournament will not only focus on battle royale in the traditional sense. Epic has now revealed that they have a new approach. Epic wants to mix “competitive elements” with “entertaining elements”.
There will be a special challenge every week. For example:
Golf cart racing like in an amusement park
Masterful golf matches
and other mini-games
Additionally, there will be “competitive tournaments” every weekend.
How do these tournaments factor into the victory? It is said that players compete in teams under a certain theme and then accumulate points in both formats: in the traditional and in the entertaining.
How exactly this is weighted is still not known. So, it could be that a tournament is decided not in the battle royale mode, but on the golf course.
Anyone can qualify: Epic has also announced that “Showdown Royale” will return to Fortnite at the beginning of October. This is a ranked mode that anyone can participate in through the normal client.
Those who perform well here can soon play with the professionals for 10 million US dollars.
In the Summer Skirmish, Epic directly invited about half of the players – mostly streamers and eSports pros.
The other half of the player base was recruited from the best in Showdown Royale.
How are the fans reacting? The mini-games are not yet widely known, and therefore it’s not a big topic yet, as this was just the preliminary news. More information is expected in the coming weeks.
On reddit, players have only sporadically discussed how eSport and such mini-games fit together. Some find a golf cart race for 10,000 dollars absurd. But it could also be fun.
Players think: When it comes to such large sums of money, everyone will take the party games seriously. However, it could be that eSport purists now see Fortnite even more critically as “too casual”.
What’s behind this: In everyday Fortnite, there are the “weekly challenges” to spice up the game. Players must play Fortnite golf or zoom around with golf carts.
Apparently, Epic is planning this for eSport too. A tournament could also have a bit of that “big Saturday night show” feel. Even in German television, shows work where contestants perform silly party games for huge sums (e.g., Schlag den Raab).
This fits with the idea that Fortnite is an eSport for everyone:
The preparation for the warfront in World of Warcraft is underway for the Alliance. Those who participate will speed up the process.
Almost two weeks have already passed since the warfronts in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth were opened. However, so far the Alliance has had to look on, as only players of the Horde could participate in the actual battle. Now the Alliance’s preparations have begun, at the end of which players of the Alliance can finally join the war for Stromgarde. For this, however, you need to gather a lot of resources.
How can one help with gathering? In the harbor of Boralus, right next to the ship where you also start your mission tables, there are numerous NPCs with repeatable quests. These grant artifact power and reputation with the 7th Legion (which is needed for the unlocking of the Dark Iron Dwarves) upon completion, while simultaneously advancing the progress for the preparation of the warfront.
What do you need to do for the quests? The requirements for the repeatable quests change every day. There are different requirements for all crafting or gathering professions that rotate each day. These include cloth, ores, herbs, but also crafted items like enchantments on scrolls. If you want to complete all quests, you’ll need to stock up on resources at the auction house or from friends.
How long does the preparation take? This depends on the preparation quests that players complete. If many players participate and complete the quests every day, then the preparation is finished in about 3 days. Otherwise, it can take, in the worst case, about 5 days if only a few players join in on the gathering.
Why have the Alliance not been able to play yet? Warfronts in World of Warcraft are only accessible to one faction at a time. While the Horde planned and executed the attack on Arathi, the Alliance still holds the area. As “compensation,” they could defeat rare enemies and an extra world boss.
Increased requirements: Please note that you can only enter the warfront after unlocking it if you already have an average item level of 320 or higher. This requirement was recently added.
An interview provides more insight into Crowfall, its development, and what the game wants to be for its players.
Interview about the specifics of Crowfall: The developers of Crowfall discuss in an interview with mmorpg.com what Crowfall is supposed to be and how it differs from other games.
What does Crowfall want to become?
mmorpg.com spoke with Creative Director J. Todd Coleman, Executive Producer Gordon Walton, and Vice President of Marketing DebySue Wolfclaw about Crowfall. There were also comparisons made to Game of Thrones.
Campaigns constantly change everything: In Crowfall, there are campaigns that behave almost like standalone games within the game. Campaigns often have their own rules, are subject to the seasons, and can be “won.” To expand your kingdom, you need to gather resources from campaigns with up to 1,000 players.
Coleman: “Every new campaign that starts with a new map and new rules is a new opportunity for us to gather completely different experiences. As a designer, that excites me the most personally.”
In this area, Crowfall differs significantly from other games. Coleman continued: “Normally, I only get a start with an MMO. I know that may seem financially correct for Crowfall. But from a design standpoint, I’m usually constrained by the rules we established at launch that I can’t change without it being a bigger problem for the community. Unless it’s clearly a change for the better.”
The rules constantly change in the game itself. When asked if this seasonal setup doesn’t exactly allow for saying that everything will change next season, Walton added: “Exactly, that was one of the core pieces of the puzzle. We don’t want to get stuck on one path. Because then there come nerfs and [things like] ‘You’re changing my player experience!’ No, we even promise that we’ll change your player experience.”
Crowfall feels episodic: Through the campaigns, a dynamic comes into play that the developers compared to other games. It is difficult to market the game correctly when it combines so many things.
“It’s a bit like WoW. But actually more like EVE. But it’s completely dynamic. It’s actually stories driven by the players, not by us. You won’t be led on rails,” Coleman said.
Coleman even adds a comparison with well-known series: “The maps are completely procedurally generated. Players can chop down trees. You can win a campaign. It feels more like you’re playing a season of Game of Thrones. I mean, that’s a lot, right?”
The hunger brings a dynamic to the game: Even within the individual sections, there is a dynamic in Crowfall. The “Hunger”, the seasons, and even day and night have a constant impact on the world.
Coleman: “As we have the day-night cycles set up at the moment, every night there’s a chance that the infection will take over part of the game. It randomly appears and then spreads. When the Hunger takes over an area, it essentially transforms the world around it into winter. Harvestable resources in that area are no longer available. You go there, and they are frozen.”
Coleman continued: “If you want to gather in an area, you have to destroy the Hunger first. The Hunger gets worse over the course of the campaign – it spreads. The idea is to make the world appear more and more desolate and resources become scarcer as winter approaches.”
Whether Crowfall will succeed with its completely different approach to the MMORPG genre will be revealed at the latest with the delayed release in 2019.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Ion Hazzikostas took the time to explain why the Alliance has to wait so long for their warfront in World of Warcraft.
On Friday evening (14.09.2018), the Game Director of World of Warcraft, Ion Hazzikostas, answered pressing questions from players on Reddit during an “Ask me anything” (AMA). He took several hours to respond to many topics that were on the players’ minds. One topic in particular caused an uproar: The warfronts.
What was the problem? When it was announced that the warfronts would soon begin, all players were excited. But there was quickly a damper. While the Horde was able to participate in the warfront after a short wait, Alliance players still have to wait. Only one side can attack at a time; the other can kill a world boss and rare mobs in the Arathi Highlands. However, they can only do this once, after which the front must change hands.
Poor communication as the reason: Hazzikostas admits that they did a very poor job in communication. For testing purposes, the durations of the individual phases during the beta were much shorter. Then the front changed hands roughly every three days. Now, a cycle takes about 25 days – depending on the activity of the players, a bit more or a bit less.
Limitation of rewards: Another reason for the long duration of the cycle is that they want to offer players a particularly strong reward (like 370 gear from the quest) without that reward being too often available and thereby devaluing other content. If you only get these big rewards every three to four weeks, the impact on other content is minimal.
More warfronts solve the problem: Hazzikostas also mentions that more warfronts will come in the future. The various timers and wait times will then intertwine, so there will be more to do more frequently. While the Horde fights over Arathi, Alliance players could already conquer another front.
The CEO of publisher Take Two, Strauss Zelnick, is behind games like GTA 5 Online and Red Dead Redemption 2. Take-Two also makes money in China, but there are issues.
Who is speaking? It is the CEO of one of the largest western gaming publishers, Strauss Zelnick, speaking in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz about the Chinese gaming market for western game companies.
Take-Two includes franchises such as:
Borderlands
Civilization
Grand Theft Auto
Red Dead Redemption
and XCom
What is Zelnick’s problem? When US companies or other foreign gaming publishers want to distribute their games in China, they need a license from the Chinese government.
It is an open secret that it is necessary to make deals with Chinese companies. For example, Blizzard is linked with NetEase.
Even larger than NetEase is the Chinese IT company “Tencent”, which long has been considered one of the 7 largest companies in the world. Tencent is the partner for many western publishers looking to make money in China. Also for Take-Two.
Take-Two plans to distribute their games NBA 2K Online and Kerbal Space Program through “WeGame”, Tencent’s platform, in China.
This is what Zelnick says about the future in China: At a conference, Goldman Sachs Communacopia, Strauss Zelnick spoke about the current block for the approval of new games in China. He sees it optimistically. His company itself is not affected, they have held the licenses for a long time.
He hopes that in the long term, the barriers will fall, and China will open up to western products. Zelnick believes that the Chinese government will eventually realize that western products are good for the Chinese population. The Chinese customers already want the entertainment products from the USA. They love what Take-Two can offer them.
But while Zelnick sees the future in China as bright, he criticizes the past and present harshly.
Zelnick accuses China of extortion in principle
Unfair market conditions: Zelnick finds the market conditions in China simply unfair as an American:
„We have a totally skewed situation. Chinese companies come to the USA and buy our companies – that’s no problem for them at all. And if they don’t do that, then they can bring their games here and distribute them in the market, all no problem.
But if we want to go to China, then half of our business needs to belong to a Chinese company. The good news is that we get their expertise. We have a good relationship with companies like Tencent. We are happy to do business with them. But to be clear: We have no other choice either.”
Zelnick then continues that one needs the approval of the Chinese government. That is a political decision. One does not understand why the USA thinks it is okay that the second largest export commodity of the USA, after aerospace technology, is treated this way. Global trade relations have changed, and that needs to be reflected in political conditions as well.
Bad Penguin: The mascot of Tencent
Zelnick complemented his speech with:
„Oh yes, by the way, the other background is that China has been stealing our intellectual property for a really long time. These things need to change.”
The topic that hardly anyone talks about
This is what lies behind it: Zelnick is essentially calling for:
a trade war. The USA would have to impose the same obstacles on the Chinese as the Chinese do in return to create equal conditions
or the abolition of all barriers in China for US companies
The unfair competitive conditions with China are a topic that has long occupied the western industry – not just in gaming. Even in Germany, these “forced joint ventures” are likely a major internal problem for companies, as reported by economic magazines (via Handelsblatt).
In everyday life, Chinese influence plays a role: Chinese corporations now hold shares or control major western gaming companies like Epic Games (Fortnite) or Riot Games (League of Legends).
Interestingly, this topic is almost never addressed in gaming, even though some news suggests that such practices have a significant influence on everyday life:
or one finds a curious language regulation: it is said that they are forming a partnership because they need the “local expertise” to address the “particularities of the Chinese market” as in Diablo 3.
Clearly, western publishers simply have no choice if they want to make money in China – and they do want to.
The players of Fortnite: Battle Royale were quite surprised when the “Rogue Agent” outfit suddenly appeared in the shop. The skin had previously only been available for a short time as part of a starter pack. Now the “Halo Skin” costs three times the price!
What is the Rogue Agent Skin? The “Rogue Agent” skin is an outfit that many players referred to as the “Halo Skin“. This is because it looks a bit like an “Orbital Drop Shock Trooper” from Bungie’s shooter hit.
What was special about the skin? The outfit was released at the end of March 2018 and was not regularly available in the shop. Instead, it was only available as part of a starter pack. This included the skin, a backpack, and 600 V-Bucks.
All of this cost only 5 Euros – the 600 V-Bucks in the package were worth 6 Euros “if” bought with real money.
“Halo Skin” was perceived as exclusive: Many players bought the skin at the time, in part because they thought the “Rogue Agent” would be a unique, exclusive offer that would never return.
Super rare skins that hardly anyone has and that will never be available again are highly sought after by many fans in Fortnite. Accounts with skins like the Skull Trooper or the Black Knight are worth a fortune on eBay and so on.
Is it soon the end for rare skins?
Old skin at three times the price: After the Rogue Agent was unavailable for a while, it has now reappeared. It is part of the shop offer from September 15 and has a proud price of 1,500 V-Bucks!
That is three times the price it cost in the starter pack back then. Of course, there are no free V-Bucks this time.
Fans are not happy: Besides the high price, many players are currently upset because they thought the skin was an exclusive offer that would never return. So anyone who bought the “Halo Skin” back then often assumed they had acquired a super rare outfit along with a bargain.
Will other “exclusive” skins return soon? The Rogue Agent is definitely a precedent for the return of an outfit that no one expected anymore. Therefore, many players now fear that Epic will open the floodgates and soon bring other extremely rare skins, such as the coveted Skull Trooper or the Black Knight, to the shop.
Community divided:
If rare skins were to return, the special aspect of these skins would disappear for many owners, as they would no longer be rare.
Others are hoping exactly for their return because they missed the skins back then but have always wanted them.
There was a similar outcry recently with the no less rare outfit Power Chord:
For many Overwatch fans, this is bad news: Smurfing in Overwatch is allowed and does not lead to any penalties.
In Overwatch, many players complain about accounts from other players that have a low level but play like a pro. Often, these are second accounts from professionals. Is this “smurfing” actually a form of cheating? Jeff Kaplan from the Overwatch team has clarified: No, it is not.
What is smurfing? A “smurf” refers to the second or third account of a very good player.
With a fresh account, he does not yet have the high skill rating of his main account and will often face players who are significantly inferior to him.
What did Kaplan say? In the official forum, Jeff Kaplan, the game director of Overwatch, stated: “Starting a new account does not violate the rules. Boosting or throwing, however, does.”
Boosting refers to “pulling” other players to raise their skill rating.
Throwing, on the other hand, is deliberately giving up by not participating or trolling your own team.
Kaplan further explained: “If you start a new account and play normally, the matchmaker will quickly categorize your skill and let you compete against similar players.”
This makes it official: Smurfing is completely legal in Overwatch.
Cortyn says: Smurfing is one of those annoying problems for which there is simply no real solution. I have some friends who tried Overwatch during the “Free Weekend” and quickly lost interest because they were shot by Widowmaker from 200 meters as soon as they left the spawn room.
This is a real deterrent for newcomers, hindering rather than promoting the fun of the game.
What is your opinion on smurfing? Should Blizzard reconsider and change their stance on this? Or is there no reason to do so?
